Iran’s Foreign Minister swiftly corrected Donald Trump following his announcement that Iran had agreed to a ceasefire with Israel.
For several days, there have been ongoing exchanges of strikes between Israel and Iran after Israel launched surprise attacks on Iranian nuclear and military sites on June 13.
Iran retaliated, leading to U.S. involvement, which included airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend.
President Trump urged Iran not to retaliate further and to reach an agreement with Israel, but Iran attempted to strike a U.S. air base in Qatar on the night of June 23.
Qatari air defenses successfully intercepted the missiles, and officials confirmed there were no casualties.
Trump referred to Iran’s action as ‘a very weak response’ and expressed gratitude to Tehran ‘for giving us early notice’ to prevent any casualties.
He claimed that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ‘complete and total ceasefire’ to be implemented over 24 hours. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi quickly corrected this statement.
On Twitter, he wrote: “As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around.
“As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any 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.
“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
Araghchi elaborated in a subsequent tweet: “The military operations of our powerful Armed Forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4 am.
“Together with all Iranians, I thank our brave Armed Forces who remain ready to defend our dear country until their last drop of blood, and who responded to any attack by the enemy until the very last minute.”
Recently, Trump announced that the ceasefire is now ‘in effect’ and urged both Iran and Israel to ‘not violate it’.
In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump expressed his hope that the ceasefire will be lasting.
“I think the ceasefire is unlimited. It’s going to go forever,” he told the news outlet.
When questioned if the conflict between Iran and Israel is over, Trump responded: “Yes. I don’t believe they will ever be shooting at each other again.”
Iranian state television has confirmed that the ceasefire has commenced.
Israel echoed similar sentiments in a new statement, saying it agreed to the ceasefire after ‘achieving the objectives’ of its attacks on Iran, as reported by the BBC.
“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defense and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement concludes.