Both sides launch strikes hours after Trump-led pact

A shaky ceasefire between Iran and Israel took effect yesterday, with both sides violating the truce hours after it took effect.

US President Donald Trump on Monday evening (Tuesday morning, Manila time) said the ceasefire would bring about an “official end” to the 12-day conflict.

“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.

By late afternoon, an angry Trump berated Iran and Israel for violating the ceasefire deal, adding that he was “really unhappy” with Israel in particular.

The two countries have been “fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*ck they’re doing, do you understand that?” the US president told reporters at the White House.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday he had ordered the army “to respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire” after incoming Iranian missiles were reported by the military.

“I instructed the Israeli army to respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire by launching powerful strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran,” Katz said in a statement.

Iran’s armed forces, on the other hand, accused Israel of launching strikes at the Islamic republic until Tuesday morning.

“The Zionist regime launched three waves of attacks on sites in Iranian territory until 9:00 am (0530 GMT) today,” a spokesman for the armed forces command was quoted as saying on state TV, without providing further details.

Despite the volatile ceasefire, oil prices sank 3.5 percent and shares in Asia were buoyant as fears of an energy market shock eased.

“Tehran played it cool. Their ‘retaliation’ hit a US base in Qatar – loud enough for headlines, quiet enough not to shake the oil market’s foundations,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

“And once that became clear, the war premium came crashing out of crude.”

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said that the continent “welcomes” the ceasefire announcement.

“It’s an important step towards restoring stability in a region in tension. This must be our collective priority,” she said on X, urging Iran to “engage seriously in a credible diplomatic process.”

Trump’s ceasefire announcement came just hours after Iran launched strikes against an American military base in Qatar, which he described as “weak” retaliation for US strikes over the weekend against Iranian nuclear sites.

Qatar’s prime minister on Tuesday said Iran’s missile strikes targeting the US base on Qatari soil were an “unacceptable” attack on the country.

“The attack on the State of Qatar is an unacceptable act, especially that the State of Qatar has been making great diplomatic efforts in order to have the situation deescalated,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told reporters.

Iran’s foreign minister, for his part, said the attack was not against its Gulf neighbor but an act of “self-defense” after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“The missile operation by the Iranian Armed Forces targeting Al-Udeid base was carried out within the framework of Iran’s legitimate right to self-defense,” Araghchi said in a phone call with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

The Iranian attack “should in no way be interpreted as an action against the friendly and brotherly government of Qatar,” he said, quoted in a statement from his ministry.

Iran and Israel have exchanged wave after wave of air strikes since Israel unleashed a major military offensive on June 13.

Israel said it has agreed to Trump’s declaration of a ceasefire with Iran, adding that it has achieved all its objectives in the 12-day war with its arch-foe.

The Israeli government said: “Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the cabinet… to announce that Israel had achieved all the objectives of Operation ‘Rising Lion’ and much more.”

It added that it had removed “an immediate dual existential threat: nuclear and ballistic.”

Iran’s top security body said the Islamic republic’s forces had “compelled” Israel to “unilaterally” cease fire, adding that they remained “on high alert” to respond to “any act of aggression.”

Referring to a “divine gift,” the Supreme National Security Council said Iran’s actions against Israel led to “victory and triumph that compelled the enemy to regret, accept defeat, and unilaterally halt its aggression.”

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Trump accuses both Iran and Israel of violating ceasefire.”