Donald Trump told NBC News that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran would be “unlimited” and that it was “going to go forever.”
Trump’s call to the network’s Yamiche Alcindor came hours after the president lashed out at the network and other news outlets as “fake news” with “zero credibility.” He had been upset over their reporting on whether the U.S. strikes on Iran completely destroyed the nuclear sites.
Of the ceasefire, Trump told NBC News’ Yamiche Alcindor, “It’s a great day for America. It’s a great day for the Middle East. I’m very happy to have been able to get the job done. A lot of people were dying and it was only going to get worse.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, wrote on X that there was no agreement, but “provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards. The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
Earlier, on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!”
Trump added, “Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL. On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, “THE 12 DAY WAR.” This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”
After the U.S. bombs Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, Trump warned Iran about retaliatory attacks. The Tehran regime fired more than a dozen missiles at the U.S. base in Qatar, but that government said in a statement that its air defenses “successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles.”
No Americans or Qataris were killed or wounded, Trump wrote on Truth Social. He also claimed that Iran’s response was a case of getting their need for retaliation “all out of their ‘system.’”
Trump’s call with Alcindor follows a pattern of the president getting on the phone with individual reporters after major breaking news events, including on Saturday and Sunday after the U.S. bombings, and the day after his social media blowup with Elon Musk.
But a number of news outlets have cautioned that a full damage assessment has not been completed, although satellite imagery showed extensive destruction.
In lashing out at news outlets, Trump referred to Anderson Cooper as “Allison Cooper,” as he has done before, and to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts as “dumb.”
Trump wrote, “The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it. Only the Fake News would say anything different in order to try and demean, as much as possible — And even they say they were “pretty well destroyed!” Working especially hard on this falsehood is Allison Cooper of Fake News CNN, Dumb Brian L. Roberts, Chairman of “Con”cast, Jonny Karl of ABC Fake News, and always, the Losers of, again, Concast’s NBC Fake News. It never ends with the sleazebags in the Media, and that’s why their Ratings are at an ALL TIME LOW — ZERO CREDIBILITY!”
