In a dramatic turn of events on Tuesday, a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump between Israel and Iran appeared to falter within hours of its announcement, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms.
Trump, speaking to reporters before departing for a NATO summit in The Hague, expressed dissatisfaction with both countries. “Both sides violated the ceasefire I announced, and I’m not happy with either of them—especially Israel,” he said.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump says Israel “unloaded” right after agreeing to the deal. “They didn’t have to unload,” he says.
“Now Israel is going out [to strike Iran] because of one rocket that didn’t land anywhere,” he says.
A short time later, Trump wrote on social media that Israel must turn its planes around. Israel had said it would “forcefully strike the heart of Tehran” after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel after the start of the ceasefire.
“I gotta get Israel to calm down now,” he says. “I’m gonna see if I can stop it.”
“Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now! Donald J. Trump, president of the United States,” he writes on Truth Social.
The exact timing of the start of the ceasefire is unclear. Israel’s most recent strikes in Iran targeted missile launchers primed to fire an early morning barrage. Prior to that, Israel carried out more intense strikes in the hours before Trump said the truce was in effect.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that he had instructed the military to respond "forcefully" to what he described as Iranian violations of the ceasefire. According to the Israeli military, missile launches from Iran were detected just two-and-a-half hours after the truce was supposed to take effect.
Katz’s remarks followed Israel’s formal acceptance of the US-brokered ceasefire, after nearly two weeks of open military confrontation with Iran. A statement from the Israeli government said it had achieved all key objectives of the operation, claiming to have neutralised “dual immediate existential threats”—referring to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
Iran, however, denied launching any missiles in the hours following the truce announcement. A statement from the general staff of the Iranian army insisted there had been no missile attacks “towards the occupied territories [Israel] in the last few hours”. Iran also accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire, with a military spokesperson alleging that Israeli forces struck Iranian targets in three waves up until 9 am local time.
Iranian state television had earlier reported that a ceasefire would begin at 7:30 am local time on Tuesday. Iranian officials claimed that Israeli strikes continued even after that time.
Meanwhile, violence also escalated in Gaza, where the death toll from Israeli fire on civilians awaiting humanitarian aid rose to 25, according to Palestinian witnesses and hospital sources. The Israeli military said it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties near the east-west Netzarim corridor, an area that has seen repeated clashes.
The UN Human Rights Office issued one of its strongest statements yet on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, warning that the “weaponisation” of food aid could constitute a war crime. UN spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said: “Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risking being killed while trying to get food.”
The latest ceasefire agreement came after Iran launched a limited retaliatory missile strike on a US military base in Qatar and Israel responded with a pre-dawn blitz targeting military sites inside Iran. At least four people were reported killed in the final salvo before the truce.
However, tensions remained dangerously high hours later, as Israel’s military said it detected yet another missile barrage from Iran. Air-raid sirens were heard in northern Israel, and explosions followed as air defences intercepted incoming fire.
While both nations have nominally agreed to the ceasefire plan put forward by President Trump, the continued exchanges of fire underscore the fragility of the situation and the deep distrust on both sides.