(Editor's Note: Coarse language in fourth paragraph)
US President Donald Trump claimed a cease-fire between Iran and Israel was “in effect” on June 24 after lashing out at both sides for violating the agreement he brokered and calling for calm.
Taking questions as he prepared to leave Washington for a NATO summit at The Hague, Trump appeared angry with Israel over reports it was again striking targets inside the territory of its archenemy despite an agreement to hold fire.
“They [Iran] violated it, but Israel violated it, too,” Trump said. He added, ”I’m not happy with Israel."
“I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran, either, but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning,” Trump said adding, “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.”
Israel said it struck Iranian radar stations near Tehran and accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce was supposed to take effect. The Iranian military denied firing on Israel, state media reported.
Trump, who arrived later in Amsterdam to attend the NATO summit, said later the deal was saved. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he held off on a tougher strike against Iran after speaking to Trump.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he told US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that his country would respect the cease-fire unless Iran violated it. Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian likewise said Iran would honor the ceasefire as long as Israel did, according to Iranian media.
Katz said earlier in the day that he had ordered the military to launch new strikes on targets in Tehran in response to what he said were Iranian missiles fired in a "blatant violation" of the cease-fire.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) admitted it had launched 14 missiles at military targets inside Israel, but claimed the operation was carried out minutes before the cease-fire took effect, according to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the group.
Pezeshkian announced the "end of the 12-day war" imposed by Israel in a message to the nation carried by IRNA.
"Today, after the heroic resistance of our great nation, whose determination makes history, we are witnessing the establishment of a truce and the ending of this 12-day war imposed by the adventurism and provocation" of Israel, Pezeshkian said.
Earlier, Trump said no Americans were harmed and hardly any damage was done when Iran fired missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on June 23, adding in a social media post that he hopes both Iran and Israel will "now proceed to Peace and Harmony."
Trump called it a "very weak response" to the US "obliteration" of Iran's nuclear facilities in an attack over the weekend and thanked Iran for giving the United States early notice, which he said made it possible to prevent the loss of life and injuries.
Many experts saw it as a sign that Iran did not want to escalate the crisis, given the limited strike against US interests and the fact that Tehran had given Washington prior notice.
Qatar had previously said its air defenses thwarted the attack, which it said targeted the US air base, and said there were no casualties.
"The Ministry of Defense announced that Qatari air defenses successfully intercepted a missile attack targeting the Al Udeid Air Base," the government said in a statement. "Thanks to God and the vigilance of the armed forces personnel and the precautionary measures taken, the incident resulted in no deaths or injuries."
Multiple explosions rocked Doha after Qatar and the United Arab Emirates closed their airspace amid regional fears of escalation between Iran, Israel, and the United States.
Iran, which confirmed it had fired several missiles at an air base in Qatar, had earlier threatened to retaliate against US strikes on its Fordow nuclear plant the day before, mentioning US air bases in the region.
The Qatari Defense Ministry statement also condemned the attack, calling it a flagrant violation of the country's sovereignty and airspace and said it "maintains the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the scale."
Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on June 24 that relations with Tehran were damaged by the attack but that he hoped ties would eventually "come back to normal."
"The partnership between Qatar and the US is just growing stronger...and I hope the good relationship with Iran comes back to normal as soon as possible," he said.
Al Udeid is the largest US military base in the Middle East, and it is the regional headquarters for the US Central Command (CENTCOM). Several thousand US military personnel are located at the facility.
The US Embassy in Qatar lifted a shelter-in-place order following Iranian strikes. The embassy -- which had issued the directive to American citizens earlier on June 23 -- said it would reopen on June 24.
