Tehran says it will halt missile barrages if West Jerusalem stops its attacks first

FILE PHOTO: An armed member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stands next to an Iranian-made long-range surface-to-surface missile. © Getty Images / Morteza Nikoubazl

On Monday evening, US President Donald Trump announced that he had brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. While Israel has not issued a public statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran would end hostilities if West Jerusalem halts its attacks first. However, Araghchi denied that any ceasefire agreement is currently in effect.

Earlier on Monday, Iran launched missiles at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a day after American B-2 bombers struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. According to Trump, no Americans were harmed and “hardly any damage was done” to the military outpost.

On Sunday, Trump hinted at a possible regime change in Iran, although both the US and Israel have denied that toppling the government is their immediate goal. After US bombers struck nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, Trump suggested that it was now “time for peace.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the American and Israeli strikes as illegal under international law during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the Kremlin on Monday. Araghchi stated that “Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interests, and people.”

Tehran has previously warned Washington and other countries against joining the conflict, threatening to target any hostile assets and weapons shipments bound for Israel. A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis also warned that if the US becomes involved, the group “will target its warships in the Red Sea.”

 

READ MORE: ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT AS IT UNFOLDED OVER THE PAST WEEK

On June 13, Israel began a series of strikes it said were aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Tehran, which denies having a military nuclear program, called the attack an act of war and responded with missile and drone strikes of its own.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 430 Iranians and injured more than 3,500 civilians so far, according to Iran’s Health Ministry. Israeli officials have reported 25 deaths and over 2,500 injuries.

24 June 2025

17:59 GMT

In a message to the nation carried by the official Irna news agency, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced the end of the conflict with Israel.

“Today, after the courageous resistance of your great and history-making nation, we are witnessing a ceasefire and a halt to the 12-day war that was imposed on the Iranian nation by the adventurism and incitement of the Zionist regime.”

17:03 GMT

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has said that the “campaign against Iran is not over.”

“Now, the focus returns to Gaza, to bringing the hostages home and toppling Hamas rule,” he added.

15:22 GMT

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has lauded US President Donald Trump for his “decisive action” in Iran, according to screenshots shared by the latter on social media.

 

 

 

13:58 GMT

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Tehran will respect the truce with West Jerusalem if Israel does same.

"If the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either,” Pezeshkian told Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the phone, according to the presidential website.
 

FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a press-conference. © Getty Images / Majid Saeedi

 

13:40 GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has confirmed that he spoke with US President Donald Trump after West Jerusalem accused Tehran of targeting its territory and announced retaliatory strikes on Iran despite agreeing to a Washington-brokered ceasefire.

”President Trump expressed his immense appreciation for Israel, which achieved all of its war goals. The president also expressed his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Axios reported earlier that Trump had called the Israeli PM to urge him in “exceptionally firm” terms not to respond to Iran.

12:48 GMT

US President Donald Trump has called Prime Minister Netanyahu on the phone and asked him not to attack Iran, an Axios journalist claimed in a post on X, citing an unnamed Israeli official.

Netanyahu allegedly told Trump that he is unable to call off the attack, but promised that it would be significantly scaled back, hitting just a single target, according to the report.

12:09 GMT

Iranian news agencies have reported that Israel has launched attacks in the western part of the country after agreeing to the Washington-brokered ceasefire. ISNA said that were explosions were heard near the cities of Babol and Babolsar, while Mehr claimed that the projectiles landed in an empty, unpopulated area.

Israeli officials told The Times of Israel that the IDF has carried out “a small strike” against an Iranian radar north of Tehran in response to an earlier attack by Tehran.

11:29 GMT

US President Donald Trump has accused both Israel and Iran of breaching the Washington-brokered ceasefire.

Trump told journalists that he was not happy with both countries, but especially Israel, which he said had “unloaded” right after agreeing to the truce.

READ MORE: Trump drops ‘F-bomb’ over Israel and Iran

In a separate post on his Truth Social platform, the US president wrote in all capital letters: “ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!”

10:29 GMT

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has said that Tehran’s missile attack on American Al Udeid base on Monday was an act of self-defense, which “had nothing to do with our friendly neighbor Qatar.”

 

 

09:54 GMT

Moscow welcomes the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and hopes that it will be “sustained,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

”This is what Russia has been calling for from the very beginning of this conflict. So yes, this can and should be welcomed,” Peskov told journalists.

According to Moscow’s information, the truce was a result of “contacts, mediated by Qatar, between US President [Donald Trump] and a number of his counterparts in the Middle East,” the spokesman said.

Russia supported Iran during the crisis through “the clear stance that it has taken,” Peskov said. “Of course, we intend to further develop our relations with Iran,” he added.

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