JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel has agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire with Iran after it achieved its goal of removing Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defense and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement said.
“In light of the achievement of the operation’s goals, and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel agreed to the President’s proposal for a mutual ceasefire,” the statement added.
Trump said on Tuesday a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was now in place and asked both countries not to violate it, only hours after Iran launched waves of missiles, which Israel’s ambulance service said killed at least four people.
Netanyahu, who will deliver a statement later on Tuesday, also said Israel would respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire.
Israel, joined by the United States on the weekend, has carried out attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, after alleging Tehran was getting close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies ever having a nuclear weapons programme, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that if it wanted to, world leaders “wouldn’t be able to stop us”.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jeursalem, Nayera Abdallah and Tala Ramadan in Dubai; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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