President Donald Trump said on Monday, June 23, on social media that Israel and Iran have agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire” to be phased in over 24 hours.
The US president said on Truth Social that the ceasefire would bring an “Official END” to the war, a major change in the hostilities that follows a US strike over the weekend on three Iranian nuclear sites. “On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR,’” Trump posted.
Earlier, Trump thanked Iran for giving the US and allies “early notice” of Monday’s retaliatory missile strike aimed at a major US military installation in the Gulf nation of Qatar. The president expressed hope that Tehran − with its reprisal for the US bombardment of three key Iranian nuclear facilities − had “gotten it all out of their ‘system’” and that the moment would lead to a de-escalation in the Israel-Iran war.
“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” Trump said on social media. “I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured. Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”
The Iranian attack on US forces at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base marked Tehran’s first act of direct retaliation against the US since Trump ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Trump said Iran launched 14 missiles at the base, a sprawling facility that hosts the forward headquarters of the US military’s Central Command and was a major staging ground during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The base houses some 8,000 US troops, down from about 10,000 at the height of those wars. The president said 13 of the Iranian missiles “were knocked down,” by US air defense systems while one was “‘set free’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction.”
Hours before Iran launched its attack on Monday, the US Embassy in Qatar issued an alert on its website urging American citizens in the energy-rich nation to “shelter in place until further notice.” The Qatari government issued an extraordinary order to shut its busy airspace.
As for Iran’s future, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday appeared to play down Trump calling into question the future of Iran’s ruling theocracy, seemingly contradicting his administration’s earlier calls on Tehran to resume negotiations and avoid an escalation in fighting. “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump posted on social media. “MIGA!!!” Leavitt said Trump’s “posture and our military posture has not changed. The president was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking.”
