In brief
After 12 days of conflict, a cease-fire between Israel and Iran appears to hold, with President Trump's intervention playing a key role in persuading Iran to halt hostilities while Israel redirects its military attention.
June 24, 2025, 6:00 p.m. ETA tenuous cease-fire has been established between Israel and Iran, effective Tuesday morning, following a relentless 12-day cycle of violence. The truce, however, comes amid considerable tensions and pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who unexpectedly announced the arrangement late Monday night.According to diplomatic sources who requested anonymity, Trump specifically sought assistance from Qatar to mediate the situation. The Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, reportedly succeeded in convincing Iranian leadership to cease fire methods. Notably, the announcement occurred following a retaliatory missile attack by Iran on an American military base in Qatar, which was interpreted as a response to U.S. airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities earlier that weekend. Fortunately, most of Iran's missiles were intercepted, and no casualties were reported.Discontent swirled as the cease-fire commenced. President Trump expressed frustration with both nations, accusing them of undermining the agreement. While en route to The Hague for NATO discussions, the president made unsparing comments to the press, suggesting that both corners of the conflict had become ensnared in their long-standing hostilities.Mr. Trump directed particularly harsh remarks towards Israel, criticizing them for launching significant airstrikes immediately following the announcement of the truce. “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and dropped a load of bombs,” he stated, illustrating his disappointment while emphasizing that he did not wish to see Israel retaliate against Iran for what he termed a “non-event”, referring to a single rocket that, according to him, did not strike its target.The current scenario highlights the fragility of the cease-fire and raises concerns about the potential for renewed violence, as tensions remain high between the nations involved.
