Washington: US President Donald Trump said a "complete and total" ceasefire between Israel and Iran will go into effect, aiming to end the 12-day conflict between the two countries, just as both sides were threatening new attacks. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said early on Tuesday that there was no "agreement" on any ceasefire between Israel and Iran. But he added that if Israel stopped its "illegal aggression" against the Iranian people no later than 4 am, Tehran time (0030 GMT) on Tuesday, Iran had no intention of continuing its response afterwards."The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later," Araqchi added in a post on X.

A senior White House official said Israel agreed to the ceasefire on the condition that Iran refrains from further attacks. Trump reportedly brokered the deal during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump suggested that both countries would have time to conclude ongoing missions before the ceasefire begins in a staged process.

“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',” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani secured Tehran’s agreement during a call with Iranian officials, according to a source briefed on the talks. Trump then informed Qatar’s emir that Israel had agreed to the ceasefire, the source added. Neither Iran’s UN mission nor the Israeli embassy in Washington immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

Hours earlier, three Israeli officials indicated that Israel was preparing to end its campaign in Iran and had relayed this to the United States. According to Israel's Channel 12, Netanyahu instructed ministers not to speak publicly following a cabinet meeting early Tuesday.

End to the fighting?
Despite the announcement, signs of calm remained elusive. The Israeli military issued two evacuation alerts for areas in Iran’s capital Tehran—one late Monday and another early Tuesday. Israeli Army Radio also reported early Tuesday that alarms were activated in the southern Golan Heights over concerns about a possible hostile aircraft intrusion.

Earlier Monday, Trump dismissed an Iranian attack on a US air base that caused no injuries, thanking Tehran for what he called early notice of the strike. The attack followed US B-2 bombers dropping 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iranian underground nuclear sites over the weekend, aligning with Israel’s air campaign in a conflict now in its 12th day.

Large parts of Tehran’s population of 10 million have reportedly fled the city after days of heavy bombing.

The Trump administration maintains that the US objective was limited to dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme, not escalating into full-scale war. However, in a social media post Sunday, Trump hinted at efforts to topple Iran’s clerical rulers, long a central US adversary since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel had made no secret of its broader ambitions. Its strikes targeted sites such as Evin prison, known for housing political detainees, and were aimed at weakening the Iranian regime’s grip on power.

Market reaction
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% late on Monday, signalling expectations of a positive US market open on Tuesday. US crude futures fell in early Asian trading to their lowest level in over a week, as fears of regional supply disruption eased following Trump’s ceasefire announcement.