Assertion follows Iran’s attack on US military base in Qatar, for which the American leader thanked Tehran for ‘giving us early notice’
US President Donald Trump claimed that Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire that is meant to take effect in 24 hours, a dramatic change in direction just hours after the Middle East crisis appeared to widen.
Earlier on Monday, Iran struck back against the United States by firing missiles at an American military base in Qatar, a development that built on weeks of rising tensions between arch-rivals Iran and Israel – and now, Israel’s key ally, the US.
Shortly after Trump’s ceasefire proposal, multiple blasts were heard near Tehran, according to several media reports. Meanwhile, Iran reportedly issued an evacuation warning for residents of Tel Aviv, and the Israeli military issued its own new evacuation warning directed at residents of two areas near Tehran.
Since June 13, Israel and Iran have exchanged waves of devastating and deadly strikes. Israel launched its aerial campaign asserting that Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran, however, has vehemently denied these claims, maintaining that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.
Follow live updates here as the world reacts to this critical and rapidly unfolding development.
Reporting by Bochen Han, Ziwen Zhao and Robert Delaney
