Middle East pushes to preserve fragile peace between Israel and Iran

The National

7 hours ago

Middle East leaders were pushing to uphold a fragile peace on Tuesday, after Israel and Iran stepped back from their 12-day air war.
US President Donald Trump told Israel to "bring your pilots home" after announcing a ceasefire deal assisted by Qatar and Oman. It followed a tumultuous 4 in which the US bombed Iran and an American base in Qatar was attacked in response.
Both sides signalled they would pause attacks. But Israel accused Iran of breaching the truce and said it attacked a radar site in response.
In an angry swipe at the alleged breaches, Mr Trump said Israel and Iran "don't know what they are doing". He told Israel: "Do not drop those bombs."
Iran sought to repair relations with the Gulf after its attack on the Al Udeid base in Qatar sparked widespread condemnation. President Masoud Pezeshkian told Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim that the strike was "merely a reaction to the direct and overt involvement of the United States" in Israel's war.
The missile strike "should not be interpreted as a confrontation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and its friendly, brotherly neighbour," Mr Pezeshkian said. Qatar said it had shot down almost all of Iran's missiles.
In a call with Mr Pezeshkian on Tuesday, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire, state news agency Wam reported. It said he expressed hope it would serve as a foundation for enhancing stability, security and peace across the Middle East.
Qatar revealed it was asked by the US to approach Iran about a ceasefire. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar was surprised to be attacked given it was trying to defuse the conflict.
"We are looking forward to constructing a clear and solid understanding that guarantees that such incidents will not be repeated," he said.
Oman also played a prominent role in a behind-the-scenes diplomatic drive involving Qatar, Egypt and Russia, sources told The National. They said messages relayed between Iran and the Trump administration included thinly veiled threats of using more destructive missiles against Israel or closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel said it had entered the ceasefire having "met all the objectives" of its campaign, known as Operation Rising Lion. The war began with a surprise Israeli attack on June 13 that hit nuclear sites and killed senior Iranian commanders. It then escalated into attacks on government buildings and residential areas of Tehran.
The Israeli military has been told to "maintain a high level of alert and readiness to deliver a powerful response to any violation of the ceasefire", said Brig Gen Effie Defrin. He said Israeli fighter jets hit dozens of military sites in Tehran in the hours before the ceasefire took effect.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired 14 ballistic missiles at Israel before the truce, Tasnim news agency reported. It said more than 600 Iranians had been killed in the war, including civilians and military commanders.
Mr Pezeshkian said though that if "does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not do so". The Iranian Supreme National Security Council boasted that a "determined and powerful response" had forced Israel to agree a truce. Hypersonic missile attacks have damaged buildings in Tel Aviv on a scale beyond what Israel is used to from fighting Hamas, Hezbollah and other militants.
If the ceasefire holds, attention will return to Israel's next move in Gaza, where no peace has taken hold. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed at aid distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a UN human rights official said on Tuesday.
They included 32 people killed on Tuesday morning, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. 'We're still begging for aid to be allowed in, while Iran ended its war in a matter of days,' one Gaza resident, Rasha Abdel Rahman, told The National.
"A nuclear-armed nation ended its war in days,' she told The National. 'But here we are in Gaza, stateless, unarmed, struggling for two years with no end in sight.'
Israeli politicians almost universally rallied behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the attacks on Iran, billed by the US and Israel as a decisive blow against a secret nuclear weapons programme that Tehran denies it is running. But the country is split on the next move in Gaza. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said it was time for Israel to 'start rebuilding'.
Mr Lapid said it "is the time to complete the mission: return all the hostages, end the war in Gaza and stop once and for all the coup that threatens to make Israel weak, divided and vulnerable," referring to the policies of Mr Netanyahu's far-right government.
The US intervened on Sunday with "bunker-buster" bombs dropped on underground Iranian nuclear sites, although it wasn't clear how much of Iran's uranium stockpile had been damage. Iran's retaliation against Qatar, although condemned across the Arab world, was billed by Tehran as a proportionate response that did not put civilian lives at risk.
'Everyone knew that Iran needed a face-saving hit and was allowed to strike Al Udeid, which resulted in nothing militarily – Doha intercepted all the missiles except one, which fell in an empty area," Ali Bakir, assistant professor at Qatar University and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told The National. He warned though that the strike "increases the regional distrust in Iran's policies".
Oman and the other nations involved behind the scenes urged the Trump administration to act "quickly and decisively", warning that a prolonged war would have disastrous results for the Middle East and beyond, said the sources.
"Oman was by far the most active party in these contacts," said one source. "It has orchestrated the contacts between the Iranians and the Americans, delivering messages from the pair to each other."
Mr Netanyahu's office accused Iran of firing a missile just six minutes after the ceasefire took effect, followed by two more on Tuesday morning. Iran denied the claim.
"In response to Iran's violations, the air force destroyed a radar array near Tehran," Mr Netanyahu's office said. "Following President Trump's conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from further attacks."
Iran meanwhile said it has arrested a European tourist for 'spying on sensitive and military areas'. Dozens of alleged foreign spies have been detained since Israel attacked Iran, where authorities claimed to have broken up more than a dozen Mossad-linked cells.