'Deception': Top Iranian official directly refutes Trump's claim of 'ceasefire'
On Monday, President Donald Trump suddenly declared a "ceasefire" had been reached between Israel and Iran in what he asked the media to call the "12-day war." But one senior Iranian official says Trump is lying.
CNN reported Monday evening — shortly after Trump posted about the supposed ceasefire on his Truth Social account — that an unnamed top official in the Iranian government said they never received a ceasefire proposal from Israel or the United States. The source also described Trump's post as "a deception" that seemed designed to convince Iran to let down its guard.
"At this very moment, the enemy is committing aggression against Iran, and Iran is on the verge of intensifying its retaliatory strikes, with no ear to listen to the lies of its enemies," the source told CNN.
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Trump's post about a ceasefire came just hours after Iran attacked a U.S. military base in Qatar, which in turn followed the U.S. bombing of several of Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend. Trump insisted in his post that the "ceasefire" was agreed upon by both Israel and Iran in which the latter would cease hostilities in six hours, while the former would cease their own military actions after a 12-hour period.
"This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will!" Trump wrote. "God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!"
Tensions had been escalating between Israel and Iran in June, after Israel conducted a series of strikes and accused its primary rival in the Middle East of developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with a series of missile strikes on Tel Aviv, most of which were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome.
Initially, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio distanced the U.S. from Israel's bombings, and insisted that Israel "took unilateral action." However, last weekend's strikes marked the first time the U.S. military became officially involved in Israel's conflict with Iran since Trump's second term began in January.
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Click here to read CNN's report.
