Tehran, Iran—Iran’s foreign minister said Tuesday Tehran did not intend to continue its strikes if Israel stopped its attacks, hours after US President Donald Trump announced a staggered ceasefire to bring about an “official end” to their conflict.
Abbas Araghchi suggested that Iran had already halted its operation at 4am Tehran time (08:30 a.m. Tuesday in Manila)—and wanted a simultaneous end in attacks from Israel as well.
Trump had said the ceasefire would be a phased 24-hour process beginning at around 0400 GMT (12:00 p.m. in Manila) Tuesday, with Iran unilaterally halting all operations. Israel would follow suit 12 hours later.
“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Upon the 24th hour, an official end to the 12-day war will be saluted by the world,” he said, adding that both sides had agreed to remain “peaceful and respectful” during each phase of the process.
Any cessation in hostilities would come as a huge relief to world leaders frantic about an escalation in violence igniting a wider conflagration.
There was no immediate confirmation from Israel on ending the conflict that has killed hundreds in Iran and two dozen in Israel.
Explosions continued to rock Tehran overnight, with blasts in the north and centre of the Iranian capital described by Agence France Presse (AFP) journalists as some of the strongest since the conflict broke out.
Writing on social media, Araghchi said: “The military operations of our powerful Armed Forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4am.”
“As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,” he added.
The adversaries had been swapping missile fire since Israel carried out surprise “preemptive” strikes against Iran on June 13, targeting nuclear and military sites, and prompting Trump to warn of a possible “massive” regional conflict.
