Iran agrees ceasefire with Israel hours after revenge attack on US base

Trump hails pause in fighting after Tehran targets American base in Qatar

Daily Telegraph 

24 June 2025 

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Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel hours after Tehran launched a retaliatory attack on an overseas US air base.

The US president said the truce would take effect around 5am BST (midnight EDT) and congratulated both countries on “having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence” to end their war after more than a week of conflict.

Earlier on Monday Iran fired missiles at America’s largest and most fortified military base in the Middle East in retaliation for attacks on its nuclear programme.

Al Udeid, which also hosts RAF planes, came under fire from a barrage of ballistic missiles in an attack that forced the airspace to close abruptly across the Gulf.

Explosions were heard over the financial hub of Doha, Qatar’s capital, as defence systems worked to intercept the missiles close to the American military base.

Iran also said it had attacked the smaller Ain al-Asad base in Iraq but the US later confirmed no strikes were detected there.

Mr Trump and his national security team monitored the attacks from the situation room in the White House while US jets scrambled from nearby Saudi Arabia.

Iran gave the Qataris advance notice of the strikes and the Trump administration was aware of the attack, sources said.

“CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday evening.

He continued: “During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.”

The war between the two countries will officially end 24 hours after the ceasefire begins, Mr Trump said.

Iran’s foreign minister said the country has not agreed to a ceasefire but it would stop attacks if Israel ceased its “illegal aggression” by 4am local time (1.30am UK).

On Monday night, JD Vance warned Iran that the US would launch more military strikes on Iran if it attempts to build a nuclear weapon.

The US vice-president claimed that American strikes in Iran on Saturday had “buried” the regime’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

He said: “Our hope is that the lesson that the Iranians have learned here is: look, we can fly a bunker-buster bomb from Missouri to Iran completely undetected without landing once on the ground, and we can destroy whatever nuclear capacity you build up.”

Shortly before announcing the ceasefire on Monday night, Mr Trump called for “peace and unity” in the Middle East as he thanked Tehran for giving the advance notice.

The US president said Iran had launched 14 missiles, describing it as “a very weak response” which did not harm any Americans nor cause much damage.

He appeared to signal that the US would not retaliate against the attack and said he would encourage Israel, which bombed Iran on Monday, to make peace.

Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered.”

He continued: “I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done.”

The Pentagon said there were no casualties at the US military base and analysts said the attack had been calibrated to provide a way for both the US and Iran to avoid further direct strikes.

Iran launched the attack after Mr Trump dispatched seven B-2 stealth bombers to drop massive bunker-busting bombs on the heavily fortified enrichment facilities at Fordow and Natanz on Sunday.

The US then warned Iran that retaliating would be “the worst mistake they’ve ever made”.

Nevertheless, on Monday, Iran launched operation “Basharat Fath” (Promise of Victory) using the code “Ya Aba Abdullah,” in reference to a Shia martyr, the Tasnim news agency reported.

“The number of missiles used in this successful operation was equal to the number of bombs that America used in its attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities,” said a statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

The country’s armed forces said they had targeted the Al Udeid base with a “devastating and powerful” missile attack.

It threatened that any further attacks on Iran would accelerate “the collapse of America’s military pillars in the region”.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on Almighty God and the faithful and renowned people of Islamic Iran, will under no circumstances leave aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty and national security unanswered,” the statement said.

However, some urged the president to strike back to force Iran to give up its nuclear programme completely.

John Bolton, a national security adviser under Mr Trump’s first administration, told The Telegraph: “Trump should respond very forcefully. I don’t think they [Iran] should be allowed to play games like this.

“The whole purpose of what they’re doing is just to buy more time to stop the American attacks, stop the Israeli attacks, and let’s have negotiation, as they have done the past 25 years, which has led them to do absolutely nothing to reduce their pursuit of nuclear weapons.”

Iran’s nuclear facilities, including the heavily fortified enrichment facilities at Fordow and Natanz struck during Operation Midnight Hammer, remain viable targets, he added.

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said Iran’s response was simply an attempt to “save face” without provoking the US.

“The Iranians don’t want to escalate, because it’s one thing to claim that you are a superpower – it’s another thing to actually be one,” he told The Telegraph.

“The Iranians know that they’re getting pummelled, and the longer this goes on, the more they’re to get pummelled.”

An Iranian statement declared that “the period of hit-and-run has ended” and warned of the country’s determination to respond to any future attacks.

The Al Udeid air base is home to US Central Command’s HQ and British military personnel serve there on rotation, too. It also hosts the RAF’s operational headquarters in the Middle East. However, many planes have been moved in recent weeks, satellite imagery shows.

While the US still maintains a presence at its Iraq base, it is significantly smaller than during the peak of the Iraq war.

British soldiers are not currently stationed at Al Udeid, a senior government insider monitoring the situation playing out over Qatar told The Telegraph.

The insider said there was a “degree of calm” during the early moments of Iran’s retaliation to the American air strikes.

UK Government figures are monitoring the situation to make an assessment about whether the strikes over Qatar are a genuine attempt by Iran to injure Americans or a public show of standing up to the US primarily aimed at a domestic audience.

It emerged that Sir Keir Starmer had been informed about the US attack on Sunday one hour before it struck Iran.

The Prime Minister was informed by an aide shortly before 11pm, The Times reported.

Britain is thought to be the only ally outside Israel that was given forewarning.

Qatar, which has one of the best relations with Iran of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, condemned the attack on the US base, saying it was a “flagrant violation” of sovereignty.

Doha reportedly received advanced notice from Iran before the attack, shutting down its airspace moments beforehand.

A number of commercial flights approaching the United Arab Emirates from the west were seen to turn away from Emirates airspace, indicating the country’s skies have been closed to inbound civilian traffic.

Doha said its air defences “thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles”.

“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard,” a spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement shared to social media.

“We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that the targeted base “was far from urban facilities and residential areas in Qatar” and said the action posed no threat to Qatar or its people.

The attack bears similarities to Iran’s measured response after a US drone strike killed General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.

Then, Tehran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Al Asad Air Base and another base in Erbil, Iraq, but analysts viewed the response as calculated, designed to send a message without provoking a full-scale war.

Mr Rubin said Iran was relying on “the same playbook” it used after Mr Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.

“Step one, swear revenge. Step two, bluster. Step three, warn people in advance an attack is coming so you don’t accidentally hit anyone,” he said.

“And then step four, have this performative action that you can show on state television to show that you got your revenge.”

The attacks on Qatar came amid fears Iran was preparing to block the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would cause huge disruption to global oil supplies.

Ships heading through the narrow pinch-point began turning around, according to tracking data. There were also reports that Iran was attempting to jam communication data.

On Monday morning Iran also struck Israel, raining down ballistic missiles in its latest barrage.

Israel bombarded Tehran as well, targeting bases belonging to the hardline Revolutionary Guard and also striking the notorious Evin prison.

Israeli forces blew up the gates of the jail, which houses Iran’s political prisoners, causing damage to parts of it and raising the possibility that dissidents may have been able to escape.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian dual citizen, was held there for four years on bogus espionage charges.

Israeli forces also struck the Sayyid al-Shuhada Corps, a Revolutionary Guards unit. Additional strikes targeted the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces’ information security unit.

Later in the day it emerged some 63 vulnerable British citizens had been evacuated from Israel on RAF planes.

Many more are trapped in the country, forced to take cover in bomb shelters as the war has escalated.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials met Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where they delivered a letter requesting help from Russia.

Russian diplomats told The Telegraph that Putin was “avoiding” becoming entangled in the war in order to maintain relations with Mr Trump. Officials said they were pleased with relations over Ukraine, and did not want to rock the boat.

Iran also lashed out at the West in a statement to the UN.

The Iranian mission accused Israel of “hijacking” US foreign policy and dragging its allies into the war.

“Undoubtedly, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Israeli regime, and the IAEA General Director will bear full responsibility for the death of innocent civilians in Iran, especially women and children,” a spokesperson said.

Iranian state TV has reported that around 500 people have been killed since Israel’s attack against Iran on June 13, citing the country’s health ministry. Some 24 Israelis have been killed.