Trump Expects Israel-Iran Ceasefire To Last "Forever" As Attacks Continue

US President Donald Trump on Monday night announced a truce deal between Israel and Iran, even as the two arch enemies continued exchanging missiles for the 12th straight day. The American leader said he expects the ceasefire that he announced between Tehran and Jerusalem will end all military hostilities between the two countries.

"I think the ceasefire is unlimited. It's going to go forever," he told NBC News during a telephonic interview.

Trump said he believes Israel and Iran will never be "shooting at each other again" as he expects the ceasefire to last "forever."

"I think the ceasefire is unlimited. It's going to go forever," he told the network.

Trump earlier said that Iran and Israel had agreed to a staggered ceasefire beginning Tuesday that would bring about an 'official end' to the conflict.

"It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE," Trump wrote Monday evening on his Truth Social platform.

There was no immediate comment from Israel confirming the agreement, but the Iranian Foreign Minister indicated that Tehran did not intend to continue its strikes if Israel stopped its attacks.

As outlined by Trump, the ceasefire is supposed to be a phased 24-hour process beginning at around 4:00 am GMT on Tuesday, with Iran unilaterally halting all operations. Israel would follow suit 12 hours later.

"Upon the 24th hour, an official end to the 12-day war will be saluted by the world," he said, adding that both sides had agreed to remain "peaceful and respectful" during each phase of the process.

Significance Of Trump's 12-Day War Reference 

Trump called the war between Israel and Iran the “12-Day War.” That recalls the 1967 Mideast war, known by some as the “Six Day War,” in which Israel fought a group of Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and Syria.

Trump's reference carries emotional weight for the Arab world, particularly Palestinians.

In the 1967 war, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Though Israel later gave back the Sinai to Egypt, it still holds the other territories, setting the stage for decades of conflict that continue to reverberate today.

Confusion Over Ceasefire

While Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, suggested that Tehran had already halted its operation at 4 am Tehran time, and wanted a simultaneous end to attacks from Israel as well, the Israeli military said early on Tuesday that it was working to intercept Iranian missiles launched a "short while ago", without specifying the exact time of the attack.

"A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel," the Israeli military said in a statement posted to Telegram around 5:00 am (0200 GMT).