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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday declared the “12 day war” between Israel and Iran as likely ending in a ceasefire, validating the strategic gamble of U.S. airstrikes this weekend on three Iranian nuclear sites.
“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE,” Trump posted on social media.
Neither Iran’s UN mission nor the Israeli Embassy in Washington immediately responded to separate requests for comment.
Hours earlier, three Israeli officials had signaled Israel was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the United States. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “very, very close to completing” its goals.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had agreed to the U.S.-proposed, Qatari-mediated ceasefire.
Trump said the ceasefire would start around midnight ET Monday with Iran and then be joined by Israel 12 hours later, with the goal of being fully implemented 12 hours after that.
The respective sides would “remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
If the phased-in ceasefire does, indeed, materialize, the war could end as soon as Wednesday.
“This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!” Trump said.
The announcement came after Iran fired retaliatory airstrikes against a U.S. airbase in Qatar. Local officials said of 19 missiles fired, one hit the base, and Trump later confirmed no Americans were harmed and “hardly any damage was done.”
Trump separately thanked Iran on social media for giving the U.S. and allies “early notice” of the retaliation.
The U.S. president expressed hope that Tehran had “gotten it all out of their ‘system'” and that the moment would lead to a de-escalation in the Israel-Iran war.
“Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The Iranian attack on U.S. forces at Qatar’s Al Udeid airbase marked Tehran’s first act of direct retaliation against the U.S. since Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities this past weekend.