Just hours after a cease-fire between Israel and Iran went into effect, Israel ordered fresh attacks on Tehran, stating that Israeli military detected missiles launched from the Islamic regime.
Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement: “In light of the severe violation of the cease-fire carried out by the Iranian regime, we will respond with force.” The order from Zamir follows Defense Minister Israel Katz responding that he had instructed the IDF to “respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the cease-fire.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel had accepted President Trump’s cease-fire proposal in a statement early Tuesday, saying they had achieved their goal in going to war with Iran on June 13, while retaining the right to respond “forcefully” to any Iranian violations of the agreement: “In light of the operation’s objectives having been achieved, and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel has agreed to the President’s proposal for a mutual cease-fire. This is a tremendous success for the people of Israel and its fighters, who have removed two existential threats to our nation and secured the eternity of Israel.”
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Trump announced that the cease-fire had gone into effect early Tuesday on his Truth Social platform, urging both sides not to violate it. Trump originally revealed on Monday evening that Israel and Iran have agreed to a ‘complete and total ceasefire’. The agreement involves two 12-hour ceasefire periods: Iran will initiate the first 12-hour ceasefire; with Israel following with the second 12-hour ceasefire. After 24 hours, the war will be officially declared ended.
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On Monday, Iran launched an attack on US forces at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base, with the Qatari Defense Ministry later stating that Qatari air defenses “successfully intercepted” a missile attack targeting the air base. The move was in retaliation for the United States’ bombing of its nuclear sites over the weekend, and came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran. Explosions were heard in Qatar on Monday as witnesses said they saw what appeared to be missiles over the country, The Associated Press reported.
Iranian state television network IRIB reported that “Operation Besharat al-Fath” was launched, with Iranian outlet Tasnim confirming (according to an NBC translation of its Telegram post): “Iran has initiated a missile operation targeting American bases in Qatar and Iraq under the name “Besharat al-Fath” (Glad Tidings of Victory), with the operation code phrase: “Ya Aba Abdillah ” (a reference to Imam Hussein.)
A spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement shared to social media: “The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter. We affirm that Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression, in line with international law.”
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar had earlier issued a security alert Monday urging American citizens to shelter in place due to the conflict between Israel and Iran: “Out of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice.”
Senior White House official said the White House and the Department of Defense were closely monitoring the potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which serves as the forward headquarters for CENTCOM with about 10,000 U.S. troops based there. President Trump wrote on Truth Social that no Americans were hurt and “hardly any damage was done” by Iran’s “very weak” and “expected” missile attack, adding that the attack was “very effectively countered.” Trump also said no Qataris were killed or hurt. The President added that Iran fired 14 missiles, of which “13 were knocked down, and 1 was ‘set free,’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction.” Trump said Iran has “gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE …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.”
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