Explosions have been heard in Tel Aviv overnight - plunging the US president's claims of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran into doubt. Iran's foreign minister has thanked "our brave Armed Forces who remain ready to defend our dear country until their last drop of blood".
Tuesday 24 June 2025 05:41, UK
Iranian state television says its ceasefire with Israel has now begun.
Earlier, Tehran's foreign minister said his country's armed forces would keep fighting "until the very last minute".
Three people have died in southern Israel after an Iranian missile struck a residential building in the city of Beersheba, emergency services say.
In an update online, Magen David Adom says one woman and two men died, while two more have been taken to hospital in a moderate condition.
The Israeli military says it is still identifying missile launched towards Israel from Iran and that defence systems are operating to intercept them.
It's just gone past midnight in Washington DC, but Donald Trump is still posting on his Truth Social account.
The president says the ceasefire "deal" between Israel and Iran (which is still yet to be confirmed by either country) would not have been possible without America's B-2 bomber pilots.
He says their mission two days ago to strike Iran's nuclear facilities "brought everyone together" and led to a deal.
As a reminder, Trump's initial post announcing the ceasefire said it would begin "approximately six hours" from when he made the announcement. That time has just passed.
By James Matthews, US correspondent
These days, peace is a post on social media. On Donald Trump's Truth Social site, it came in two parts.
Part one read: "CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT'S TIME FOR PEACE."
The Magna Carta it wasn't, but it was a peace treaty for our times - a US president announcing there would be no retaliation against Iran's missile attack.
An anxious world watching for US bombers returning to Iranian skies could cool its jets - and the primetime president could feel vindicated, having enjoyed the sugar rush of strategic success.
Trump has tweaked the politics and military landscape around Iran to suit US interests, without a single American life lost.
He had framed US intervention in Iran as an effort to prevent a "forever" foreign war, not to provoke it, and he is sitting pretty, following ugly predictions he'd be sucked into conflict.
Then, on Truth Social, there was peace "part two".
A couple of hours after announcing non-retaliation, Trump wrote the sequel: "Ceasefire."
He posted: "CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!" - saying a "complete and total" ceasefire had been fully agreed between Israel and Iran.
Quite the day of problem-solving for the self-styled "peacemaker-in-chief". Quite the day of problems unsolved too - time will tell.
As deadlines loomed, neither Israel nor Iran appeared fully committed to the Trump script, and fresh missiles were fired overnight.
Daytime will test the durability of a ceasefire. There are motivations on both sides to continue a conflict in which both see the other as an existential threat.
Can Tehran regard Donald Trump as a trusted broker of peace when he floated the idea of regime change in Iran, as pursued by Israel?
Can Israel be convinced to pull back on its military advantage when its instinct will be to reinforce superiority and undermine an Iranian rebuild?
Trump's influence will be tested, as ever, when he flies to a NATO summit in The Netherlands today. For him, it can be a difficult crowd and one for whom he remains a mystery.
A positive result in the Middle East will help to confound their curiosity, for the better.
It's the most important day for Donald Trump since the last one.
By Mark Stone, US correspondent
I've spoken to a diplomat involved in the fast-moving developments of the past 12 hours.
The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to speak publicly, told me that Donald Trump called the Emir of Qatar yesterday evening.
Trump told the emir that he had a commitment from Israel that it would cease its attacks on Iran. Trump asked the emir to try to secure the same commitment from the Iranians.
The Qatari PM and vice president JD Vance engaged on the details of what they hoped could be achieved.
The Qatari PM then spoke to Iranians (it's not clear who within the Iranian power structure the Qataris spoke to, and my source wouldn't say). The Iranians agreed to stop their attacks.
Shortly after, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi posted the confirmation, saying: "The military operations of our powerful armed forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4am.
"Together with all Iranians, I thank our brave armed forces who remain ready to defend our dear country until their last drop of blood, and who responded to any attack by the enemy until the very last minute."
My source could not comment on the complex timeline (six hours, 12 hours, 24 hours) laid out in Donald Trump's Truth Social post, but it's thought that this might have been overtaken now by agreements made by Trump, the Israelis, the Iranians, and Qatar. Time will tell.
It's clear from the tone of the messages I have had from various sources that the pace and style of the developments of the past 12 to 24 hours have left even these seasoned diplomats startled.
Messages from several Middle Eastern diplomats have included emojis reflecting exasperation, surprise and bewilderment.
About four hours after claiming that a "total ceasefire" has been agreed between Israel and Iran - something denied by Tehran - the US president has posted again on his social network.
He wrote: "Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, 鈥淧EACE!鈥� 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. They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of RIGHTEOUSNESS & TRUTH.
"The future for Israel & Iran is UNLIMITED, & filled with great PROMISE. GOD BLESS YOU BOTH!"
Trump's post didn't acknowledge an earlier X post from Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who said no "agreement" has been made to end its military operations.
Despite Donald Trump claiming that a ceasefire is about to come into effect, Israel's Defence Forces says Iran has launched a fresh round of missiles towards its territory.
Sirens have sounded in several areas - and members of the public who received an alert have been ordered to take shelter.
Explosions were later heard over Tel Aviv.
Iran's foreign minister has posted on X to say no "agreement" has been reached on a ceasefire with Israel.
However, he said if Israel stopped attacks by 4am Tehran time then Iran had "no intention to continue our response afterwards".
Seyed Abbas Araghchi said a final decision on stopping military operations would be made later.
In a follow-up post 17 minutes later, he said Iran's military operations had continued "until the very last minute, at 4am".
He also thanked "our brave Armed Forces who remain ready to defend our dear country until their last drop of blood".
By , and , data and forensics team
Three of Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities - Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan - were targeted in US airstrikes on 22 June.
The prime target of the attacks was Iran's most advanced facility at Fordow, suspected of being used to enrich uranium close to what's needed for a nuclear bomb.
Donald Trump has insisted significant damage was done.
He even posted on his social media site Truth Social just a few hours ago raging at media coverage of the strikes - see our 20.42 post.
"The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it," he wrote.
Sky News' Data and Forensics team has assessed how much those airstrikes actually achieved...
After its nuclear facilities were attacked over the weekend, is Iran in a position to potentially develop a nuclear bomb?
It may depend on how much of a certain resource Iran managed to store away before recent strikes.
Our science and technology editor Tom Clarke breaks it down in this short video...
