Following a significant Iranian missile strike on a United States military installation in Qatar, President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration moved swiftly to negotiate a peace agreement aimed at ending hostilities between Iran and Israel.
While Trump maintained direct communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, high-level officials including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff worked through a mix of direct and backchannel contacts with Iranian officials, a senior White House official confirmed.
Qatar played a key role in facilitating the negotiations. At a crucial point in the talks, Trump personally contacted Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to enlist regional support for the emerging peace deal.
Less than 48 hours after U.S. airstrikes hit Iranian nuclear facilities and mere hours after Iran’s retaliatory missile barrage, Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that a peace agreement had been reached.
He described it as a “complete and Total CEASEFIRE” and declared it would lead to “an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR.”
Uncertainty persisted late Monday in the United States and early Tuesday in the Middle East over the durability of the ceasefire.
A White House official stated that Israel agreed to the ceasefire on the condition that Iran would refrain from further attacks. The official also confirmed that Iran had accepted those terms.
According to two sources familiar with the talks, Trump informed the Qatari Emir that Israel had committed to halting its military actions and thanked him for Qatar’s crucial role in brokering the deal. Trump also encouraged the Emir to help persuade Tehran to commit to the agreement.
Vice President Vance reportedly collaborated with the office of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani. Following conversations between Al-Thani and Iranian officials, Tehran accepted the ceasefire terms, according to both a source familiar with the negotiations and a regional diplomat.
A U.S. official underscored the importance of Emir Tamim’s multiple calls with Iranian leadership, describing them as instrumental in securing Iran’s agreement to halt hostilities.
Iranian state media reported early Tuesday that the ceasefire had been “imposed on the enemy” following what it called retaliatory military action against “U.S. aggression.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hailed the military’s performance and signaled an end to fighting, posting on X, “The military operations of our powerful Armed Forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4 a.m.”
Earlier, Araghchi had said that Iran would halt its offensive if Israel ceased its strikes by that same deadline.
As of Tuesday, Israel had not publicly confirmed its participation in the ceasefire agreement.
Shortly after announcing the ceasefire, Trump wrote on Truth Social that both countries had reached out to him with a desire for peace, stating, “Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, ‘PEACE!’ I knew the time was NOW. The World, and the Middle East, are the real WINNERS! Both Nations will see tremendous LOVE, PEACE, AND PROSPERITY in their futures.”
Just prior to that statement, the Israeli military confirmed that missiles had been launched from Iran and said its defense systems were engaged in response.
The White House credited the ceasefire’s success in part to U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities conducted on Saturday.
Earlier Monday, U.S. officials in Doha were alerted by their Qatari counterparts to incoming Iranian missile attacks. The missiles were intercepted, and no injuries were reported. Sources said Iranian officials had provided advance warning to Qatar before launching the strikes.
Diplomats told CNN the Iranian retaliation might serve as a turning point, allowing Iran to de-escalate while claiming a strong national response—thereby opening space for renewed negotiations. The fragile truce is seen as an opportunity for further U.S.-Iran dialogue.
In response to Israel’s earlier strikes on Iran, the Trump administration launched a diplomatic push to restart nuclear talks with Tehran.
Throughout the week, messages were exchanged through multiple mediators in an attempt to revive diplomacy. One regional source said an effort was made to arrange a meeting between Trump and Iran’s president in Turkey, but the plan failed to come together.
Iran maintained that any return to negotiations would require Israel to first halt its military operations. Despite U.S. strikes, a source close to the talks said Iranian officials remained open to discussions if that condition was met.
Before launching military action on Iran’s nuclear sites, U.S. intermediaries conveyed a two-part message: the strikes would be limited, and the only U.S. demand was an end to uranium enrichment.
Although Iran has long insisted on its right to enrich uranium, sources said the U.S. dropped other preconditions, narrowing its stance to a single core issue. This marked a shift from earlier rounds of negotiations, which involved broader demands.
Envoy Steve Witkoff continued to maintain indirect contact with Iranian intermediaries even after the U.S. strikes, according to a senior official and a source familiar with the outreach.
Meanwhile, Secretary Rubio publicly advocated for renewed talks. Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation, he reiterated the administration’s openness to diplomacy: “If they call right now and say we want to meet, let’s talk about this, we’re prepared to do that.”
He added that a deal remained possible under which Iran could maintain a civil nuclear program without enrichment.
