Israel says new missiles from Iran after ceasefire, Tehran denies

Jerusalem/Tehran:Israel said on Tuesday it had identified missiles from Iran, shortly after the Israeli authorities said it had accepted a ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump.

Iran had rejected reports of having launched missiles towards Israel following the ceasefire declared between the two sides earlier in the day, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that he had “instructed the military to respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire with intense strikes” against targets “in the heart of Tehran.”

The missiles triggered air raid sirens across the Haifa area before being intercepted by the Israeli air defence systems, according to the military. No injuries or damage had been reported.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force continued its strikes in Iran, unleashing another wave of strikes in western Iran, with the military saying they targeted missile launchers.

The latest escalation came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that Israel had accepted a ceasefire proposed by Trump and had achieved its war goals against Iran.

According to a statement by the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu declared that Israel had achieved its goal of removing Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat.

As Israel announced its acceptance of Trump’s proposal for the ceasefire, Iran’s top security body said the country’s armed forces were ready to respond to any act of aggression.

“The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, without any trust in the enemies’ remarks, have their fingers on the trigger and are ready to give a decisive and regret-inducing response to any act of aggression by the enemies,” reported the Nour News, a news outlet affiliated with the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

Trump had earlier announced that a ceasefire between the two sides would begin around 0400 GMT, with Iran expected to halt its operations first.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said earlier that there was no “agreement” on a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. However, he suggested Iran would be prepared to halt further retaliation if Israeli attacks stopped by 4 a.m. Tehran time.

“If Israel stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 a.m., Iran has no intention of continuing its response afterwards,” Araqchi wrote in a post on X, adding that “the final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”

Hours earlier, a senior Iranian official told CNN that Tehran had not received any formal ceasefire proposal from the United States and saw no reason to halt hostilities.

“At this very moment, the enemy is committing aggression against Iran, and Iran is on the verge of intensifying its retaliatory strikes, with no ear to listen to the lies of its enemies,” the official was quoted as saying. He added that remarks from US and Israeli leaders would be seen as a “deception” intended to justify further attacks on Iran.

The conflicting narratives raised questions about the implementation and durability of any potential ceasefire. It remained unclear whether the reported deal had been communicated through diplomatic channels or whether either side intended to follow the terms, Xinhua news agency reported.

Trump announced Monday evening that Israel and Iran have reached a formal agreement to implement a complete and total ceasefire, marking what he called the end of the “12-Day War.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform Monday, Trump said the ceasefire will initially last 12 hours, during which the opposing sides will maintain a posture of “peace and respect.”

“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will,” Trump wrote, “I would like to congratulate both countries … on having the stamina, courage, and intelligence to end what should be called ‘The 12 day war.'”

Calling the agreement a breakthrough that “could have saved the Middle East from years of destruction,” Trump ended his announcement with a sweeping message of unity: “God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and God bless the world!”

IANS