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 during a phone interview with NBC News.
Asked if the war was completely over, Trump said, “Yes. I don’t believe they will ever be shooting at each other again.”
Israel and Iran have not commented yet on the agreement announced by Trump earlier in the evening.
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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. Trump told the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that Israel had agreed to a ceasefire, the diplomat said, and had asked Qatar whether it could get Iran to agree as well.
Neither Iran nor Israel have confirmed to NBC News that they have agreed to a ceasefire.
“As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X after Trump’s announcement.
“However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,” Araghchi wrote. “The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
Iranian health officials recently said that Israel’s strikes have killed at least 400 people in Iran and injured 3,000. Iran’s retaliatory strikes have caused at least 24 deaths in Israel.
“A lot of people were dying and it was only going to get worse,” Trump told NBC News on Monday.
The U.S. 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.
Zoë Richards, Dan De Luce and Keir Simmons contributed.
