By Kanishka Singh, Andrew Mills and Parisa Hafezi
WASHINGTON/DOHA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said that a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran will go into force with a view to ending the conflict between the two nations, moments after both sides threatened new attacks.
Trump appeared to suggest that Israel and Iran would have some time to complete any missions that are underway, at which point the ceasefire would begin in a staged process.
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR’,” he wrote on his Truth Social site.
Neither Iran’s U.N. mission nor the Israeli embassy in Washington immediately responded to separate requests for comment from Reuters.
Hours earlier, three Israeli officials had signaled Israel was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the United States.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “very, very close to completing” its goals.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had agreed to the U.S.-proposed ceasefire.
Earlier on Monday, Trump said he would encourage Israel to proceed towards peace after dismissing Iran’s attack on an American air base that caused no injuries and thanking Tehran for the early notice of the strikes.
Iran’s attack came after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel’s air war against Iran in a conflict that has entered its 12th day.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% late on Monday, suggesting traders expect the U.S. stock market to open with gains on Tuesday.
U.S. crude futures fell in early Asian trading hours on Tuesday to their lowest level in more than a week after Trump said a ceasefire had been agreed, relieving worries of supply disruption in the region.
(Writing by Costas Pitas; Additional reporting by Howard Goller, Humeyra Pamuk, Noel Randewich; Editing by Nia Williams and Don Durfee)
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