Trump Says Truce Holding But Warns Iran And Israel Over Violations

France, Germany, and other Western nations welcomed the US announcement of a cease-fire between Israel and Iran, even as missiles continued to fly before and after it was supposed to take effect.

France's Foreign Ministry said the proposal, announced by US President Donald Trump, "must must lead to a complete cessation of hostilities, which France calls on all parties to respect."

Germany's chancellor, meanwhile, voiced hope that the cease-fire would take hold "following the decisive US military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities."

Speaking to reporters on June 24 before boarding a flight to the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said he was "not happy" with either side, and he accused Israel of "unloading" shortly after agreeing to the truce.

US President Donald Trump said that both Israel and Iran violated a cease-fire just hours after he announced it.

"Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Speaking to reporters on June 24 before boarding a flight to the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said he was "not happy" with either side, accusing Israel of "unloading" shortly after agreeing to the truce.

Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, earlier announced that the military had been ordered to conduct new strikes against Tehran after accusing Iran of firing missiles toward Israel in violation of the cease-fire.

(Editor's Note: video contains explicit language)

The US and Israeli bombing campaigns have set back Iran's nuclear program years, but the country's leadership isn't likely to give their ambitions for a nuclear weapon, an expert said.

Speaking to Current Time on June 24, Nikita Smagin, an analyst and commentator on Iranian policies and Russian policy in the Middle East, also said Iran should welcome a cease-fire to "catch its breath and regroup" after more than 12 days of Israeli air strikes.

"I think that Iran should be primarily interested in a cease-fire. It needs at least a break — to catch its breath and regroup," he said. "In that sense, it seems to me that the Iranian side should be the one most interested in it. Another matter is that a cease-fire, of course, doesn’t mean an end. And here, the end isn’t really in sight, in the sense that Iran still has enough missile capabilities and will almost certainly use them.

Iran's "nuclear program has been pushed back many, many years," he said. "In that sense, for Iran to restore what it once had, it will take not just one year — most likely not even two or three. So Iran will have to work on this over a very long-term horizon."

Watch the full interview (in Russian) here:

Israeli emergency workers rushed to search rubble of an apartment complex hit by an Iranian missile in Beersheba, as the death toll rose to six and was expected to climb further.

The attack on the southern Israeli city came early June 24 hours after US President Donald Trump announced a cease-fire to end 12 days of fighting between Israel and Iran.

US officials claimed this weekend’s US bombing “obliterated” Iranian facilities that are key to the country’s disputed nuclear programs.

Two days later, however, it’s still unclear the scope of damage -- and whether the US effort, combined with the nine previous days of Israeli air strikes across the country, would have a decisive effect on Iran’s efforts.

Tehran has long claimed its programs are civilian in nature, intended for power generation, for example.

However, the presence of highly enriched uranium, as documented by international inspectors, has raised questions about whether Tehran is in fact barreling toward a nuclear weapon.

A series of images from commercial satellite companies provides one way to compare the scope of the bombing, both US and Israeli.

Satellite imagery taken before and after the June 22 US strike on three Iranian nuclear fuel enrichment sites at Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz. US President Donald Trump claimed key Iranian nuclear sites had been "obliterated," while Iran claimed it had removed nuclear material before the strikes.

Iran's missile strike on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was a highly symbolic act, carefully calibrated to send a message of resolve while avoiding a broader and more destructive conflict.

Iran explicitly stated that the number of missiles launched late on June 23 matched the number of bombs dropped by the United States on Iranian nuclear sites, signaling its intent to deliver a proportional response rather than escalate the situation uncontrollably.

This symmetry in action highlights Iran's desire to demonstrate it will not leave attacks on its territory unanswered but also that it does not seek a full-scale war.

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Israel's defense minister says he has ordered the country's military to respond to what he called an Iranian violation of the cease-fire deal.

"In light of Iran's blatant violation of the cease-fire declared by the President of the United States -- through the launch of missiles toward Israel -- and in accordance with the Israeli government's policy to respond forcefully to any breach, I have instructed the [Israeli Defense Forces]...to continue high-intensity operations targeting regime assets and terror infrastructure in Tehran," Israel Katz said in a post to Telegram.

The statement comes just hours after US President Donald Trump declared that a cease-fire between Israel and Iran was in effect.

US President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, declared that an agreed cease-fire between Israel and Iran was in effect and issued a call to "not violate" it.

In an earlier post, Trump said Iran would start the cease-fire, with Israel joining 12 hours later.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said his country agreed to Trump's cease-fire proposal, claiming in a statement that Israel's goal of neutralizing the nuclear and ballistic missile threat from Iran had been achieved.

Three people were killed in the Israeli city of Beersheba when an Iranian rocket smashed into a high-rise apartment building, minutes before the reported 7 a.m. start of a cease-fire announced earlier by US President Donald Trump, Israeli officials said.

Details are still unclear from the southern Israeli city of some 214,000 people as sirens blared over multiple regions from 5 a.m. until 7 a.m. on June 24.

Trump announced that a “complete and total” cease-fire had been agreed to in the conflict between Israel and Iran and that it was due to take effect in phased steps.

Trump posted the announcement on his Truth Social platform, saying it would start "approximately" six hours later, which indicated a 7 a.m. start time in Israel.

Israel has not commented on the cease-fire announcement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi appeared to acknowledge that a pause in attacks had was in the works.

Sirens began blaring over the Haifa region at 5:15 a.m. in Israel after the military warned citizens of an incoming missile launch from Iran.

After 6 a.m., the military said another wave of missiles had been launched toward Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beersheba.

Israeli officials reported that at least three people had been killed and another person was missing when the high-rise building in Beersheba was struck, although details were not immediately available.

With reporting by Reuters

US President Donald Trump announced that a “complete and total” cease-fire had been agreed to in the conflict between Israel and Iran, due to take effect in phased steps, potentially bringing an end to what he called the “12-day war.”

Trump said the cease-fire will begin in "approximately six hours" and be phased in over 24 hours, “at which point the War will be considered, ENDED.”

Despite the announcement, Israel reported multiple waves of Iranian missile attacks minutes ahead of the reported 7 a.m. start of the cease-fire. Israeli officials reported at least three people were killed in the city of Beersheba at around 6 a.m. when a high-rise building was hit.

Some details remained unclear following Trump’s detailed social media post on June 23.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi appeared to acknowledge that a pause in attacks was in the works, but his comments early on June 24 caused some confusion following Trump's cease-fire announcement.

“At the moment, there is no agreement on the issue of a cease-fire or a cessation of operations,” he wrote on Telegram in the first official comments by the Iranian government.

“However, on the condition that the Israeli regime ceases its illegal aggression against the Iranian people by 4 a.m. today, we have no intention of continuing to respond,” he added.

Israel did not immediately comment. It was not stated if Iran had agreed to terms set down by the United States demanding the end to uranium enrichment.

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