WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday said the “12 day war” between Israel and Iran was set to end in a ceasefire, holding out the reported deal as validation for his strategic gamble of ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE,” Trump posted on social media.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would stop its attacks if Israel would. It’s unclear what role Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s leader, played in the talks. He had said on social media earlier Monday that Iran would not surrender. Israel has not publicly confirmed that it has agreed to end hostilities.

“As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” Araghchi wrote on social media. “However, 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.”

A ceasefire, if it culminates as Trump laid out, would be welcome news for the region and the world. But the situation in the Middle East remains far from stable and it was impossible to predict how longer-term dynamics might be affected. The Israeli and U.S. bombing of Iran certainly has slowed Iran’s ability to enrich nuclear material but it might also have steeled Tehran’s resolve to breakout toward a bomb.

Trump’s announcement comes just before he leaves Tuesday for a NATO summit in the Netherlands, where he will likely make the case that his mix of aggression and diplomacy has succeeded.

Iran’s attack Monday on a U.S. air base in Qatar indicated it was prepared to step back from escalating tensions in the volatile region. The U.S. was warned by Iran in advance, and there were no casualties, said President Donald Trump, who dismissed the attack as a “very weak response.”

Qatar condemned the attack on Al Udeid Air Base as “a flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, airspace and international law. Qatar said it intercepted all but one missile, though it was not clear if that missile caused any damage.

Iran said the volley matched the number of bombs dropped by the United States on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. Iran also said it targeted the base because it was outside of populated areas.

Those comments, made immediately after the attack, suggested Iran wanted to de-escalate with the United States, something Trump himself said after the strikes early Sunday on Iran.

Qatar Maj. Gen. Shayeq Al Hajri said 19 missiles were fired at the base that is home to the Combined Air Operations Center, which provides command and control of air power across the region, as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest such wing in the world. Trump said 14 missiles were fired, 13 were knocked down and one was “set free” because it posed no threat.

Iran announced the attack on state television as martial music played. A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response” to “America’s aggression.”

Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: “We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer.”

Earlier reports that a missile was launched at a base housing American forces in Iraq were a false alarm, a senior U.S. military official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said debris from a malfunctioning Iranian missile targeting Israel had triggered an alert of an impending attack on the Ain al-Assad base.

Israel expands war to include symbolic targets

On the 11th day of the conflict, Israel and Iran traded airstrikes that have become a reality for civilians in both countries since Israel started the war to target Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Iran struck Israel with a barrage of missiles and drones while Israel said it attacked “regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.”

But Israeli officials insisted they did not seek the overthrow of Iran’s government.

The latest strikes unfolded only hours after Trump mentioned the possibility of regime change a day after inserting America into the war with its strike on three Iranian nuclear sites.

“If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” he asked on his Truth Social website.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later described Trump as “simply raising a question.”

Tehran strikes open new chapter of war

Before the ceasefire announcement, the Israeli military warned Iranians it would continue to attack military sites around Tehran as its focus shifted to include symbolic targets. The military issued the warning on the social platform X, though Iranians are struggling to access the outside world due to an internet shutdown.

In Tehran, Israel hit the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests and blew open a gate at Evin prison. That facility is known for holding political activists. Iranian state television shared black-and-white surveillance footage of the strike at the facility known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.

Evin also has specialized units for political prisoners run by the paramilitary, all-volunteer Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is the target of both U.S. and European Union sanctions.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Iran or significant damage.

Iranian state television aired footage it said was shot inside Evin, with prisoners under control. However, the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran said many families of detainees “have expressed deep concern about the safety and condition of their loved ones” in the prison.

According to an Israeli official familiar with the government’s strategy, Israel is targeting these sites to put pressure on the Iranian administration but is not actively seeking to topple it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal government deliberations.

The Israeli military also confirmed it struck roads around Iran’s Fordo enrichment facility to obstruct access to the site. The underground site was one of those hit in Sunday’s attack by the United States. The Israeli military did not elaborate.

In Vienna, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he expected there to be heavy damage at the Fordo facility following Sunday’s U.S. airstrike there with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.

Several Iranian officials, including Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, have claimed Iran removed nuclear material from targeted sites ahead of time.

Iran presses on attacking Israel

Iran said its Monday attacks targeted the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television.

In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.

The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from Iranian unrest such as the protests surrounding the death of Masha Amini in 2022, said of those killed, it identified 380 civilians.

The U.S. has evacuated some 250 American citizens and their immediate family members from Israel by government, military and charter flights that began over the weekend, a State Department official says.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday after meeting with Iranian officials that they had explored “how we can get out of today’s situation.”

Putin called the Israeli and American attacks on Iran an “absolutely unprovoked aggression.”

Aamer Madhani, Josh Boak and chris Megerian contributed to this story