Iran has agreed to a ceasefire with Israel since Tehran’s military objectives have been achieved.
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| Iran declares ceasefire with Israel |
the Iranian Supreme National Security Council has announced. This decisive declaration, issued late Tuesday evening Tehran time, marks a significant de-escalation following nearly two weeks of unprecedented direct military exchanges between the two arch-foes. The Council, the highest authority on Iran's security matters, stated unequivocally that the Islamic Republic's strategic goals in its retaliatory operations against the Zionist entity had been fully met, thereby removing the immediate justification for continued offensive actions. The cessation is framed by Tehran not as a negotiation with the enemy but as a unilateral imposition of its victorious will, a direct consequence of the successful application of its military power and the infliction of sufficient cost on its adversaries.
US President Donald Trump announced earlier that there would be a truce after nearly two weeks of tit-for-tat strikes. Speaking from the White House podium just hours before the Iranian confirmation, President Trump positioned himself as the pivotal mediator in halting the dangerous conflict. Trump claimed that Israel and Iran had approached him “almost simultaneously, and said, ‘PEACE!’, suggesting a mutual, albeit independent, exhaustion with hostilities and a shared desire to step back from the brink. He characterized his role as facilitative, stating that both nations recognized the United States as the indispensable intermediary capable of conveying and solidifying their mutual, albeit unspoken, intent to halt the fighting. Adding that the Middle East and the whole world would be “winners” in a cessation of hostilities, Trump emphasized the global stakes, framing the truce as a vital victory for regional stability and international security, preventing a potentially catastrophic wider war that could have drawn in multiple actors and disrupted global energy supplies.
Iran’s top security body announced “the national decision to impose the cessation of war on the Zionist enemy [Israel] and its vile supporters” in a statement on Tuesday. The phrasing underscores the Iranian narrative of dominance and resistance, portraying the ceasefire not as a compromise but as a command issued by Tehran to a defeated foe and its backers, widely understood to include the United States and potentially other nations perceived as enabling Israeli actions. The statement, disseminated through official Iranian news agencies, meticulously detailed the rationale, asserting that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the regular armed forces had executed their missions with precision and overwhelming force, compelling the adversary into submission. It stressed that this decision stemmed solely from Iran's assessment of its achieved objectives and military superiority, rejecting any notion of external pressure or concession.
The Iranian military “without any trust to the words of the enemy and with their hands on the trigger, are ready to deliver a decisive and deterring response to any violating act by the enemy,” it warned. This stern caveat accompanied the ceasefire announcement, reflecting Tehran's deep-seated suspicion of Israeli and American intentions. It served as a clear deterrent message, signaling that while Iran was choosing to halt offensive operations for now, its defensive posture remained at the highest level of alert. The phrase "hands on the trigger" vividly conveyed immediate readiness for rapid and overwhelming retaliation should Israel or its allies be perceived as breaching the terms of the undeclared truce or launching any new aggression. This warning aimed to establish clear red lines and maintain strategic leverage in the fragile post-conflict environment.
Tehran delivered a “humiliating and exemplary response to the enemy’s cruelty,” including a missile attack on the US base in Qatar on Monday and the latest wave of strikes against Israel. The statement explicitly cited key military actions as evidence of Iran's successful retaliation and fulfillment of its objectives. The reference to the "missile attack on the US base in Qatar" pinpointed the significant strike on Al-Udeid Air Base, a critical hub for US operations in the region, involving a barrage of precision ballistic missiles that reportedly caused substantial damage to infrastructure. The "latest wave of strikes against Israel" encompassed the large-scale drone and missile attack launched over the preceding weekend, involving hundreds of Shahed drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, which, despite significant interceptions, demonstrated Iran's capability and willingness to project force directly into Israeli territory. These actions, Tehran asserted, constituted the "humiliating and exemplary response" that restored deterrence and punished the initial Israeli aggression, widely reported to be the strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus.
“The courage and sacrifice” of the Iranian military “forced the enemy into regret and accepting defeat and the unilateral cessation of its aggression,” it added. The Council's statement lavished praise on the armed forces, particularly the IRGC, attributing the ceasefire entirely to their operational success and steadfastness. The language painted a picture of an enemy coalition left with no choice but to acknowledge its failure and halt its own attacks, implicitly accepting Iran's military ascendancy in this specific confrontation. The term "unilateral cessation of its aggression" reinforced the Iranian claim that Israel, facing the consequences of Iran's powerful response, had independently decided to stop its own strikes even before Iran's formal ceasefire declaration, effectively admitting defeat under the weight of Iranian firepower and resolve.
A few hours before, Israel also officially confirmed agreeing to the ceasefire. The Israeli confirmation, delivered through a brief statement from the Prime Minister's office following a late-night security cabinet session, came shortly after President Trump's announcement and preceded the detailed Iranian proclamation. While lacking the triumphalist rhetoric of Tehran's announcement, the Israeli statement acknowledged the mutual understanding for a cessation of hostilities, emphasizing the successful interception of the vast majority of the Iranian projectiles and the restoration of Israel's deterrence capability. Israeli officials, speaking anonymously, suggested the decision was influenced by intense US diplomatic pressure, the successful defensive operation minimizing damage, and a desire to avoid further escalation that could strain international support or divert focus from other strategic priorities, including ongoing operations in Gaza. The Israeli confirmation, though terse, was the essential reciprocal element solidifying the truce framework hinted at by President Trump.