Trump says he expects the Israel-Iran ceasefire will last 'forever'
President Donald Trump said Monday night that he expects the ceasefire that he announced between Israel and Iran will end all military hostilities between the two countries.
“I think the ceasefire is unlimited. It’s going to go forever," Trump said in a phone interview.
Asked whether the war was completely over, Trump said: “Yes. I don’t believe they will ever be shooting at each other again.”
Trump said on Truth Social that the two countries had agreed to enter into a ceasefire, which would be rolled out in stages over the next 24 hours.
A diplomat briefed on the negotiations told NBC News that Trump and Vice President JD Vance brokered the deal with the help of top Qatari leaders who delivered a ceasefire proposal to Iran.
According to a senior White House official, Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and bluntly told him, “No more war, no more fighting. The Iranians have been significantly weakened."
As Trump was speaking with the Israelis from the Oval Office, his national security team was sending messages to the Iranians through intermediaries, the senior White House official said.
The senior White House official said Trump got Netanyahu to agree to the ceasefire and then Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff signaled to the Iranians — “both directly and indirectly” — that the United States wanted a ceasefire and that the Iranians should agree to it.
The phased-in ceasefire — in which Iran would stop firing for 12 hours before Israel would do the same for another 12 hours — was Trump’s idea to appease Israeli concerns that Iran would not hold up its end of the deal, the official said.
Another source familiar with the outreach to foreign officials told NBC News that Trump called the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, earlier Monday to say he could get Israel to agree to a ceasefire if Qatar could get Iran on board. The source said that Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, then coordinated with Vance and that the prime minister spoke with the Iranians.
Israel has agreed to a bilateral ceasefire, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement early Tuesday, hours after Iran said it "imposed a ceasefire" on the country, according to Iranian state-aligned media.
Iran has launched its last round of missiles at Israel as a ceasefire takes effect, according to Iranian state media.
“Ceasefire begins following four waves of Iranian attacks on Israeli-occupied territories,” English-language state media Press TV said on X.
Iranian health officials recently said Israel’s strikes have killed at least 400 people in Iran and injured 3,000. Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 24 people in Israel.
"A lot of people were dying, and it was only going to get worse," Trump told NBC News on Monday night.
The United States attacked Iran over the weekend, hitting three nuclear facilities in a strike that involved more than 125 U.S. military aircraft.
Defying a warning from Trump that retaliation against U.S. assets “will be met with even greater force," Iran attacked a base in Qatar where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed. Qatar said there were no casualties.
Trump called Iran’s retaliatory strike a “weak response” Monday afternoon on Truth Social, adding that Tehran could “proceed to Peace” and that he would “enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”
When Trump later announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached, he suggested the conflict between Israel and Iran should be called “THE 12 DAY WAR.”
The senior White House official said the name was Trump's idea.
