Iran state TV announces ceasefire amid ongoing tensions

Iranian state television reported early Tuesday that a ceasefire had begun in the ongoing conflict with Israel, featuring a bold on-screen graphic to mark the development.

However, the announcement coincided with Israeli alerts about a new wave of missiles launched from Iran, raising doubts about whether the ceasefire was truly taking effect on the 12th day of hostilities.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier claimed that Iran and Israel had agreed to a phased ceasefire, coordinated by the U.S. with assistance from allies, including Qatar. Under the proposed timeline, Iran would halt operations first, followed by Israel 12 hours later. A full cessation of hostilities would be confirmed 12 hours after that.

Despite this framework, air raid sirens sounded across Israel early Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported detecting missile launches from Iranian territory. In Beersheba, a residential building was hit, killing at least two civilians, according to Israeli Fire and Rescue Services.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to confirm compliance with the timeline, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that Iranian military operations continued until 4 a.m. local time. He emphasized that Iran would resume strikes only if Israel failed to hold fire, with a final decision on ending military activity still pending.

In response to Iran’s earlier missile strike on the U.S. Central Command’s forward headquarters in Qatar, Trump dismissed the action as a “very weak response,” adding that no American casualties were reported among the 10,000 personnel stationed there.