Middle East pushes to preserve fragile peace between Israel and Iran

Iran seeks to repair Gulf ties after attack on Qatar base

Iran said it would not respect a ceasefire if there were no further attacks by Israel. Reuters

Middle East leaders were intensifying efforts to support a fragile truce on Tuesday, after Israel and Iran stepped back from their 12-day air war.

US President Donald Trump told Israel to "bring your pilots home" after announcing a ceasefire deal assisted by Qatar and Oman. It followed a tumultuous few days in which the US bombed Iran and an American base in Qatar was attacked in retaliation.

Both sides indicated they would pause attacks as life began returning to normal. But Israel accused Iran of breaching the truce and said it attacked a radar site in response.

In an angry swipe at the alleged breaches, Mr Trump said Israel and Iran "don't know what they are doing". He told Israel: "Do not drop those bombs."

Iran sought to repair relations with the Gulf after its attack on the Al Udeid base in Qatar sparked widespread condemnation. President Masoud Pezeshkian told Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim that the strike was "merely a reaction to the direct and overt involvement of the United States" in Israel's war.

The missile strike "should not be interpreted as a confrontation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and its friendly, brotherly neighbour," Mr Pezeshkian said. Qatar said it had shot down almost all of Iran's missiles.

Qatar reopened its airspace after saying it had 'thwarted' a missile attack from Iran. Reuters

In a call with Mr Pezeshkian on Tuesday, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire, state news agency Wam reported. It said he expressed hope it would serve as a foundation for enhancing stability, security and peace across the Middle East.

Qatar revealed it was asked by the US to approach Iran about a ceasefire. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar was surprised to be attacked given it was trying to defuse the conflict.

"We are looking forward to constructing a clear and solid understanding that guarantees that such incidents will not be repeated," he said.

Oman also played a prominent role in a behind-the-scenes diplomatic drive involving Qatar, Egypt and Russia, sources told The National. They said messages relayed between Iran and the Trump administration included thinly veiled threats of using more destructive missiles against Israel or closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel said it had entered the ceasefire having "met all the objectives" of its campaign, known as Operation Rising Lion. The war began with a surprise Israeli attack on June 13 that hit nuclear sites and killed senior Iranian commanders. It then escalated into attacks on government buildings and residential areas of Tehran.

In signs of the conflict winding down, Mr Pezeshkian announced the "end of the 12-day war", according to state media, while Israel lifted restrictions on schools and public gatherings that had been in place during the war. Flights were set to resume from Ben Gurino

Israel has taken civilian casualties from Iranian counter-strikes. Reuters

The Israeli military has been told to "maintain a high level of alert and readiness to deliver a powerful response to any violation of the ceasefire", said spokesman Brig Gen Effie Defrin. He said Israeli fighter jets hit dozens of military sites in Tehran in the hours before the ceasefire took effect.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired 14 ballistic missiles at Israel before the truce, Tasnim news agency reported. It said more than 600 Iranians had been killed in the war, including civilians and military commanders.

Mr Pezeshkian said that if Israel "does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not do so". The Iranian Supreme National Security Council said that a "determined and powerful response" had forced Israel to agree a truce. Hypersonic missile attacks have damaged buildings in Tel Aviv on a scale beyond what Israel is used to from fighting Hamas, Hezbollah and other militants.

If the ceasefire holds, attention will return to Israel's next move in Gaza, where no peace has taken hold. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed at aid distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a UN human rights official said on Tuesday.

They included 32 people killed on Tuesday morning, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. “We’re still begging for aid to be allowed in, while Iran ended its war in a matter of days,” one Gaza resident, Rasha Abdel Rahman, told The National.

"A nuclear-armed nation ended its war in days,” she told The National. “But here we are in Gaza, stateless, unarmed, struggling for two years with no end in sight.”

Palestinians in Gaza have endured continued Israeli attacks during the air war in Iran. AP

Israeli politicians almost universally rallied behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the attacks on Iran, described by the US and Israel as a decisive blow against a secret nuclear weapons programme that Tehran denies it is running. But the country is split on the next move in Gaza. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said it was time for Israel to “start rebuilding”.

Mr Lapid said it "is the time to complete the mission: return all the hostages, end the war in Gaza and stop once and for all the coup that threatens to make Israel weak, divided and vulnerable," referring to the policies of Mr Netanyahu's far-right government.

The US intervened on Sunday with bunker-buster bombs dropped on underground Iranian nuclear sites, although it wasn't clear how much of Iran's uranium stockpile had been damaged.

Iran’s retaliation against the US by attacking its airbase in Qatar, although condemned across the Arab world, was described by Tehran as a proportionate response that did not put civilian lives at risk.

“Everyone knew that Iran needed a face-saving hit and was allowed to strike Al Udeid, which resulted in nothing militarily – Doha intercepted all the missiles except one, which fell in an empty area," Ali Bakir, assistant professor at Qatar University and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told The National. He warned though that the strike "increases the regional distrust in Iran’s policies".

US President Donald Trump berated Israel and Iran before leaving the White House for a Nato summit. AP

Oman and the other nations involved behind the scenes urged the Trump administration to act "quickly and decisively", warning that a prolonged war would have disastrous results for the Middle East and beyond, said the sources.

"Oman was by far the most active party in these contacts," said one source. "It has orchestrated the contacts between the Iranians and the Americans, delivering messages from the pair to each other."

Mr Netanyahu's office accused Iran of firing a missile just six minutes after the ceasefire took effect, followed by two more on Tuesday morning. Iran denied the claim.

"In response to Iran's violations, the air force destroyed a radar array near Tehran," Mr Netanyahu's office said. "Following President Trump's conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from further attacks."

Iran meanwhile said it has arrested a European tourist for “spying on sensitive and military areas”. Dozens of alleged foreign spies have been detained since Israel attacked Iran, where authorities claimed to have broken up more than a dozen Mossad-linked cells.