Tehran: Ater three-and-a-half months of turmoil, conflict and uncertainty, peace could return to the Middle East as Iran and Israel on Monday halted military operations against each other.
The cycle of retaliatory attacks that threatened to jeopardise peace talks may finally be ending.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it was stopping its military operations against Israel, but warned of a “a far stronger and more forceful response” in case of further strikes or hostile actions against Lebanon, Fars news agency reported.
Israel also decided to halt its attacks on Iran, ac
cording to a person briefed on the matter, reported Financial Times.
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump called for an immediate end to hostilities by both sides.
“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting’,” the US President wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Both sides, Israel and Iran, are looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” he added.
Trump’s call had come after fighting between Israel and Iran resumed on Sunday night.
There were explosions in central Tehran on Monday morning, hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at northern Israel, in retaliation for an earlier Israeli strike on southern Beirut targeting the Iran-allied Hizbollah militant group.
The Iranian strikes on Israel were the first by Tehran since a fragile ceasefire took effect in April.
Ever since peace efforts were initiated, Iran has insisted that the Israeli-Hizbollah conflict should be part of the truce, and had warned it would retaliate if Israel struck Beirut.
The US administration has been trying to strike a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for energy supplies.