Israel reports waves of Iranian missiles, soon after Trump announced ceasefire

RTÉ News​

4 hours ago

Israel's military said Iran launched waves of missiles, with emergency services reporting three people killed, hours after US President Donald Trump announced a complete ceasefire between Israel and Iran to end a 12-day war.
Witnesses said they heard explosions near Tel Aviv and Beersheba in southern Israel. Israel's military said six waves of missiles were launched by Iran and Israel's national ambulance service said three people were killed in Beersheba, the first reported deaths in Israel since Trump announced the ceasefire late last night.
A senior White House official said Mr Trump had brokered a ceasefire deal in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel had agreed so long as Iran did not launch further attacks.
"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'," Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.
An Iranian official earlier confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire, but the country's foreign minister said there would be no cessation of hostilities unless Israel stopped its attacks.
Abbas Araqchi said overnight that if Israel stopped its "illegal aggression" against the Iranian people no later than 4am Tehran time (1.30am Irish time), Iran had no intention of continuing its response afterwards.
There have been no reported Israeli attacks on Iran since that time.
"The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later," Mr Araqchi added in a post on X.
Mr 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.
Iran's semi-official SNN news agency reported today that Tehran fired its last round of missiles before the ceasefire came into effect.
Israel, joined by the United States on the weekend, has carried out attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, after alleging Tehran was getting close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies ever having a nuclear weapons program but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that if it wanted to, world leaders "wouldn't be able to stop us".
Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman AL Thani secured Tehran's agreement during a call with Iranian officials, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters today.
US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were in direct and indirect contact with the Iranians, a White House official said.
Neither Iran's UN mission nor the Israeli embassy in Washington 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.
Mr Netanyahu had told government ministers whose discussions ended early this morning not to speak publicly, Israel's Channel12 television reported.
Markets reacted favourably to the news.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% late last night, suggesting traders expect the U.S. stock market to open with gains today.
US crude futures fell in early Asian trading hours to their lowest level in more than a week after Mr Trump said a ceasefire had been agreed, relieving worries of supply disruption in the region.
End of fighting?
There did not appear to be calm yet in the region.
The Israeli military issued two evacuation warnings in less than two hours to residents of areas in the Iranian capital Tehran, one late last night and one early this morning.
Israeli Army radio reported early today that alarms were activated in the southern Golan Heights area due to fears of hostile aircraft intrusion.
Earlier yesterday, Mr 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.
He said Iran fired 14 missiles at the US air base, calling it "a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered".
Iran's handling of the attack recalled earlier clashes with the United States and Israel, with Tehran seeking a balance between saving face with a military response but without provoking a cycle of escalation it can't afford.
Tehran appears to have achieved that goal.
Iran's attack came after US bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iranian underground nuclear facilities at the weekend, joining Israel's air war.
Much of Tehran's population of 10 million has fled after days of bombing.
The Trump administration maintains that its aim was solely to destroy Iran's nuclear program, not to open a wider war.
"Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon," Vice-President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier".
"Now Iran is incapable of building a nuclear weapon with the equipment they have because we destroyed it," Mr Vance said.
Mr Trump has cited intelligence reports that Iran was close to building a nuclear weapon, without elaborating. However, US intelligence agencies said earlier this year they assessed that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and a source with access to US intelligence reports told Reuters last week that that assessment had not changed.
But in a social media post on Sunday, Mr Trump spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington's principal foes in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israel, however, had made clear that its strikes on Evin prison - a notorious jail for housing political prisoners - and other targets in Tehran were intended to hit the Iranian ruling apparatus broadly, and its ability to sustain power.
Iran's attack came after US 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.
"We did not assault anyone, and we will never accept being assaulted by anyone," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement. "We will not submit to anyone's aggression - this is the logic of the Iranian nation."
Iran gave advance notice to the US via diplomatic channels hours ahead of the attack, as well as to Qatari authorities. Mr Trump seized on that as a positive sign.
"I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured," he wrote on his Truth Social media site.
"Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same."
He said Iran fired 14 missiles at the air base, calling it "a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered."
"I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed and hardly any damage was done," Mr Trump wrote.
"Most importantly, they've gotten it all out of their 'system,' and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE," he added.
Iran's handling of the attack recalled earlier clashes with the United States and Israel, with Tehran seeking a balance between saving face with a military response but without provoking a cycle of escalation it can't afford.
The country's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran was ready to respond again in case of further action by the United States, according to a statement posted by the ministry's account on Telegram.
The attack strained Iran's relationship with its Arab neighbors: Qatar condemned it, as did Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.
"There are deep ties between the two states (Iran and Qatar) and the two nations, but the attack undoubtedly calls for a genuine meeting and a clear stance," Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Israel said it has carried out its most extensive wave of attacks on Tehran ever.
Targets included a Tehran prison where Iran's leadership holds political opponents, in a renewed demonstration of its willingness to strike beyond its previously stated military and nuclear targets and attack key pillars of Iran's ruling system.
Despite Iran's threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices fell 7% in volatile trading LCOc1, suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies.
Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, reopened its airspace after a brief suspension, its civil aviation authority said early on Tuesday.
Iran's foreign minister met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps.
Striking regime targets
Israel made clear that its strikes on Evin prison and other targets in Tehran were intended to hit the Iranian ruling apparatus broadly, and its ability to sustain power.
Iran's IRIB state broadcaster released video showing rescue workers combing the flattened wreckage of a building at the prison, carrying a wounded man on a stretcher.
The Mizan news outlet of Iran's judiciary said urgent action was being taken to protect the health and safety of inmates there.
Evin has long been Iran's primary prison for political detainees and people accused of espionage, as well as the site of executions that remain strong memories for the opposition.
Several high-profile foreign prisoners are also held there.
Israel's military said it had also struck Revolutionary Guard command centres responsible for internal security in the Tehran area.
The military was "currently striking, with unprecedented force, regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Much of Tehran's population of 10 million has fled after 10 days of bombing.