Shaky Israel-Iran Cease-Fire Appears to Hold After Trump Publicly Rebukes Both Countries

President Donald Trump has said it was his "great honor to destroy all [Iranian] nuclear facilities and capability" and "stop the war" between Israel and Iran. He also said that both countries "wanted to stop the war equally." His statement, shared via social media, came hours after he publicly intervened as the shaky cease-fire threatened to break down entirely when Israel accused Iran of violating the preliminary terms of the deal and vowed retaliation. Iran denied firing further missiles.

Trump issued a stern, public warning to Israel early Tuesday morning, instructing the country not to bomb Iran as the cease-fire he announced just hours before hung in the balance.

"ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME," Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump, who has since travelled to The Hague in the Netherlands to attend a NATO Summit, further aired his frustrations when talking to reporters outside the White House. He claimed both countries had violated the cease-fire, and said he didn't like the fact that "Israel unloaded right after we made the deal."

Taking aim at Israel and Iran, Trump said: "We have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard, that they don't know what the f-ck they're doing."

In a follow-up post online, Trump announced a reprieve in the tensions, saying: "Israel is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'plane wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the cease-fire is in effect."

Doubling down on his previous statements, whereby he said that U.S. strikes had "obliterated" three key Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, Trump added: "Iran will never rebuild their nuclear facilities!"

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a call early Tuesday. Upon confirming a conversation had taken place, Netanyahu’s office said that Israeli forces had destroyed a radar installation near Tehran in response to Iranian missile launches. They announced an intention to stand down from further military action.

“Pursuant to the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks,” the office confirmed.

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Prior to this, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz maintained that a violation had taken place, and said he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces to "respond forcefully."

"I have instructed the IDF, in coordination with the Prime Minister, to respond forcefully to the violation of the cease-fire by Iran through intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran," he said. "The Iranian regime has severely violated the cease-fire declared by the President of the United States and launched missiles toward Israel, and in accordance with the government's policy as determined—we will respond forcefully to any violation."

Amid the back-and-forth discourse, Iranian state media claimed that the cease-fire had been "imposed" due to Iran’s “steadfast defense and crushing retaliatory strikes against the Israeli regime” that “forced the enemy to feel remorse, confess defeat and, approve the unilateral cessation of the onslaught against Iran.”

As tensions simmered down, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he does not want to push through a regime change in Iran, after all, seemingly backtracking after he shared his keenness to "Make Iran Great Again" in a social media post on Sunday.

“I'd like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible… Regime change takes chaos, and ideally we don't want to see so much chaos,” Trump said.

The cease-fire was announced late Monday, after Iran had launched missiles at U.S. military targets at the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar. The strikes were intercepted by the U.S., and no casualties were reported. The military action was retaliatory, a direct response to the U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities over the weekend, which marked a significant turn in the conflict with the U.S. becoming an active participant in the Israel-Iran combat.

The conflict—which started when Israel targeted nuclear and military sites on June 13, amid growing concerns over Iran's nuclear capabilities—has resulted in significant losses on both sides. Israel has reported 24 deaths and over 1,361 injuries. The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported 974 deaths and 3,458 injuries in Iran. Trump had been vocal in his encouragement of a cease-fire to end the "death and destruction."

Read More: Even Iranians Beaten and Imprisoned by an Unforgiving Regime Condemn Foreign Interference. Here’s Why

Meanwhile, after the threat of cease-fire violations abated, Trump returned to social media on Tuesday to share a message sent to him by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who praised the U.S. for its intervention in the Middle East.

“Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safe," Rutte said. “You are flying into another big success in The Hague this evening. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5%!”

The 5% GDP defense spending target is expected to be announced by all NATO members at the summit. The United Kingdom has already confirmed its commitment to reach the spending target by 2035.