A ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be in jeapordy early Tuesday, hours after both countries said they agreed to terms outlined by President Trump to halt their 12-day war.
Trump has pushed for a quick end to the Middle East conflict, signaling a desire to move on after the U.S. carried out bombings of Iran nuclear sites over the weekend and Iran retaliated by hitting a U.S. base in Qatar.
Israel's military said early Tuesday it detected another Iranian barrage hours after the start of the ceasefire — underscoring the dangerous state of what the president predicted would be a pause in fighting "forever."
The acceptance of a U.S.-brokered deal by both sides came after Iran's military denied launching a final onslaught of missiles targeting Israel, which Israel said killed at least four people early Tuesday morning. Israel launched a blitz of airstrikes targeting sites across Iran before dawn, The Associated Press reported.
The exchange of strikes continued hours after Trump hailed the phased ceasefire plan knitted together after a flurry of phone calls with help from intermediaries. He told NBC News he did not believe Israel and Iran "will ever be shooting at each other again."
Israel said in a statement just after 3 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. local time that it achieved all of its objectives in the 12-day conflict "and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel agrees to the President's proposal for a bilateral ceasefire."
"Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire," the Israeli government warned.
Trump, who surprised lawmakers and many in his administration with his ceasefire announcement Monday on social media for what he called the "Official END" to the war, later returned to Truth Social to declare the ceasefire in effect.
"PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!" the president posted, hours before he was set to depart the White House to travel to the Netherlands to participate in a NATO summit.
Privately in conversations with Trump and others on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the plan, provided Israel was not subject to further attacks from Iran, The New York Times reported.
▪ NBC News: How the ceasefire came together, according to the White House.
▪ The Hill: Here's how Iran could retaliate against the U.S. if diplomacy fails.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday spoke with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a top aide to the prime minister, according to Israel's Channel 12, to convey that the U.S. sought to wrap up the conflict after bombing Iran's missile sites. Dermer replied that Israel was close to achieving its objectives.
Trump announced the ceasefire hours after Iran fired missiles at the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East on Monday in retaliation for the United States bombing its nuclear enrichment facilities. The president said the agreement called for Iran to initiate a 12-hour ceasefire, and if it held, to be followed by a 12-hour ceasefire by Israel's military.
Earlier Monday, the president on social media thanked Iran for communicating a heads-up ahead of what he called Tehran's "very weak" missile strikes, intercepted by Qatar on paths aimed at Al Udeid Air Base. The president suggested Iran's leaders might have "gotten it all out of their 'system.'"
Trump, who authorized U.S. military intervention after the administration failed to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, said the war with Israel could have been long "and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't, and never will!"
It is unclear that a ceasefire can deliver Trump's objective, shared with Israel, to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon. Many analysts believe Iran will retreat, reassemble its nuclear scientists and rebuild its program.
Vice President Vance told Fox News on Monday that the war appeared to be "effectively over," opening the door to "build a long-term settlement" between Israel and Iran. He asserted that Tehran "doesn't want to keep on fighting."
The U.S. and its allies continue to assess the impact of the bunker-buster bombs dropped on three of Iran's nuclear facilities, a military operation that Trump says "obliterated" Iran's enrichment program. Others eyeing the results are not so sure, report The Hill's Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell.
U.S. officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency concede they do not know the whereabouts of Iran's stockpile of roughly 880 pounds of near-weapons-grade uranium.
"Our goal was to bury the uranium and I do think the uranium is buried," Vance told Fox, arguing that thwarting Iran's enrichment capability and preventing conversion of uranium to a nuclear weapon were U.S. objectives that were achieved in the past week.
Trump on Monday sent Congress a legally required memo saying the U.S. bombings he authorized against Iran last week were intended "to advance vital United States national interests, and in collective self-defense of our ally, Israel, by eliminating Iran's nuclear program."
A lasting ceasefire, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told reporters on Monday, would end his push to get a House vote on a bipartisan resolution to reassert Congress's war powers. The debate about legislative authority over mobilization of U.S. military forces to attack Iran has divided both parties on Capitol Hill.
"If the ceasefire holds and we're not engaged in hostilities, then it's a moot point," he said. "I wouldn't need to bring it to the floor. I just spoke with the Speaker about that."
The GOP lawmaker's willingness to publicly challenge Trump over legislation and congressional authority has frustrated the president, who now backs a political PAC to try to unseat the Kentucky Republican.
Massie, interviewed on MSNBC on Monday, said Trump made no mention of U.S. objectives while announcing a ceasefire agreement, which he said "doesn't mention anything about what our bombing of Iran was predicated on, which is destroying a so-called nuclear program."
"Well, does this mean that Trump's a party to the ceasefire?" Massie added. "He says that Iran and Israel are. I hope the United States is as well, because if it's not, we're going to have to push this [resolution of authority] through Congress."
▪ The Hill: 12 House Democratic military veterans support a war powers resolution.
▪ The Hill: The global economy remains braced for effects tied to the Iran conflict.
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