President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Tuesday, only to accuse both nations of violating the truce hours later. Trump expressed particular anger towards Israel, issuing a sharp rebuke on Truth Social: “Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!”

The announcement followed reports of planned Israeli strikes on Tehran, which Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed, citing Iranian missile launches as a violation of the ceasefire. Iran, however, denied launching any missiles and claimed Israeli attacks continued for 90 minutes past the ceasefire’s designated start time.

Trump, speaking to reporters before departing for a NATO summit, expressed dissatisfaction with both sides, stating he was “not happy” with the violations, particularly Israel’s actions which he described as “unloading” immediately after agreeing to the ceasefire.

Despite the accusations of violations, there was widespread relief across the Middle East and globally at the prospect of an end to the conflict, which began 12 days prior with a surprise Israeli attack and escalated two days later with US involvement.

Reza Sharifi, a 38-year-old Iranian returning to Tehran after evacuating his family, expressed happiness at the ceasefire, stating: “We’re happy, very happy. Who mediated or how it happened doesn’t matter. The war is over. It never should have started in the first place.” However, Arik Daimant, a Tel Aviv software engineer, noted the devastation caused by the conflict, saying: “Regrettably, it’s a bit too late for me and my family, because our house back here was totally destroyed in the recent bombings last Sunday. But as they say: ‘better late than never’, and I hope this ceasefire is a new beginning.”