Washington, June 24 (UNI) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that both Israel and Iran violated the ceasefire agreement, and claimed that the Israeli and US strikes had destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Both sides broke the ceasefire,” Trump told reporters before leaving for the NATO summit in The Hague, referring to the US-brokered truce that was announced hours earlier and confirmed by both governments.
He did not specify which side acted first but added, “I didn’t like that Israel unloaded right after we agreed to a ceasefire.”
Trump’s statement contradicted reports from Tel Aviv and Tehran over who initiated strikes after the ceasefire took effect. While Israel said that Iran launched two ballistic missiles on its territory in little less than an hour post ceasefire, Iran denied the accusation and alleged that Tel Aviv continued to fire on its positions for more than an hour after the truce was supposed to begin, Iran International reported.
Trump, who has taken credit for brokering the ceasefire, also made claims about the destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities. “Iran will never rebuild its nuclear program,” he said. “Their nuclear capacities are gone.”
Trump later said on social media that Israel will not carry out further attacks on Iran and that all military aircraft involved in operations would return home, as the ceasefire between the two countries remains in effect.
"All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'Plane Wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He also warned Israel not to drop any more bombs on Iran or it would be a violation of the ceasefire he is trying to broker between the two countries.
"Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!" Trump wrote in a post on his social media site shortly after he left the White House for a trip to the NATO summit in The Hague.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following a call from Trump to stop the attack, said that a retaliation by Jerusalem was unavoidable, stating that he could not cancel a planned military response against Tehran, following what he described as a ‘grave violation’ of the newly declared ceasefire.
Nonetheless, Netanyahu confirmed that the IDF did not carry out any additional action after Trump told Israel to “not drop those bombs.”
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