Tensions between Israel and Iran escalated sharply on Tuesday after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that he had ordered strikes on Tehran in response to what he claimed was a breach of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire by Iran.
According to Katz, Iranian forces fired missiles at Israel just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire to end nearly two weeks of intense hostilities.
"In light of Iran's blatant violation of the ceasefire declared by the President of the United States, I have directed the IDF to continue high-intensity operations targeting regime assets and terror infrastructure in Tehran," Katz said in a statement.
Iran swiftly rejected the allegation, with state-affiliated outlet Nour News quoting the country's armed forces general staff as saying there had been no missile launch toward Israel in recent hours. Iran's Foreign Ministry and military sources insisted they were observing the ceasefire announced earlier in the day.
The ceasefire, announced by Trump in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, was intended to mark an end to 12 days of direct warfare, which began with a surprise Israeli strike on June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and missile facilities.
Following the initial ceasefire declaration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had proclaimed that Israel had successfully met its objectives, including crippling Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat," he said.
Iran, however, painted a very different picture. The country's top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, claimed that Iran's military pressure had forced Israel to "unilaterally accept defeat and accept a ceasefire." Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, had stated earlier that Iran would suspend its retaliatory operations if Israel stopped its attacks from 4:00 a.m. local time.
The dramatic back-and-forth has thrown the fragile ceasefire into doubt and raised concerns of renewed escalation.
With both nations offering conflicting narratives and military tensions again mounting, hopes for a sustained peace remain precarious.
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