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Investing.com - U.S. President Donald Trump has said that both Israel and Iran have violated a ceasefire agreement he helped broker.
Speaking to reporters before departing for a NATO summit in The Hague, Trump added that he was not pleased with either country, but particularly Israel. He said Israel had "unloaded" a strike shortly after agreeing to a halt in the hostilities.
Trump also suggested that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been eradicated.
His comments come after the Israeli military warned that it has identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel and was ready to retaliate, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire to several days of deadly air attacks between the two regional rivals.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had told the country’s military to respond "forcefully" to the Iranian missiles, saying Tehran had carried out a "violation" of the agreed ceasefire. Katz said Israel’s response would include "high-intensity strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran."
Citing state TV, media outlets in Iran have reported that claims of an attack on Israel after the ceasefire took effect are "denied."
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump declared that the ceasefire between Israel and Iran was now "in effect," adding that neither side should violate it. The statement has lifted expectations that the 12-day bout of fighting between Israel and Iran has come to an end.
Trump’s statements had led to speculation that the ceasefire would take place in stages, with operations already underway being allowed to finish. An Iranian missile attack on Israel on Tuesday killed four people, according to Reuters, citing Israel’s ambulance service. Meanwhile, Tehran said an Israeli strike on northern Iran had killed nine people.
Israel, who was joined by the U.S. in its bid to erase what it has described as Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions, said it had agreed to a halt in the violence, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noting that the operation had achieved its objectives. Iran has maintained that its nuclear plans are peaceful.
Still, questions surrounded the longevity of the ceasefire. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also said Tehran had no intention of continuing its retaliatory strikes moving forward, but stood ready to respond to any further aggression from Israel -- a sentiment that Netanyahu reciprocated.
Oil prices slumped in the wake of the agreement, although some of the losses have been trimmed by renewed concerns over its staying power.
Crude had fallen sharply on Monday after Tehran responded to a weekend attack by the U.S. on Iranian nuclear sites with strikes on an American military base in Qatar. Traders largely interpreted the attack on the base in Doha, which caused no casualties, as symbolic and a precursor to cooling tensions.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)