Donald Trump’s Middle East ceasefire deal collapsed within hours, triggered by a shocking betrayal that left him furious and scrambling to prevent all-out war.
Donald Trump thought he had brokered a historic deal.
But once unleashed, some things are hard to get back in the bottle.
And Donald Trump just got blindsided by one jaw-dropping betrayal that left him absolutely furious.
Trump’s ceasefire deal collapses within hours
President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran on Monday evening, bringing what appeared to be an end to 12 days of fighting that had the world on edge about a regional war.
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The deal came after Iran launched missiles at a U.S. air base in Qatar, which Trump called a "very weak response" to American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Trump had coordinated the ceasefire at the highest levels with Vice President JD Vance and Qatari leaders, according to diplomatic sources.
But the deal fell apart almost immediately.
Within hours of the ceasefire taking effect Tuesday morning, both Israel and Iran were trading accusations about who violated the agreement first.
Trump was livid when he learned what happened.
"These guys got to calm down. Ridiculous," Trump told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, using an expletive to describe how both countries "have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing."
The President made it clear he held both sides responsible for the immediate collapse of his carefully negotiated deal.
"I think they both violated it. … I’m not sure they did it intentionally," Trump said, according to The Washington Post.
But Trump was particularly angry with Israel for what he saw as excessive retaliation.
"I’m not happy with Israel for dropping ‘a load of bombs’ shortly after agreeing to the deal," Trump stated.
Israel accused of major ceasefire violation
The ceasefire was supposed to be phased in, with Iran halting attacks first and Israel following 12 hours later.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had confirmed that Iran’s military stopped its operations at 4 a.m. local time, but said Israel must do the same.
Instead, Israel carried out a massive final bombardment before the ceasefire took effect.
Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin said Israel dropped over 100 munitions on Tehran in what appeared to be a "blistering last-minute attack before the ceasefire came into effect."
Then Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Iran of firing missiles toward Israel after the ceasefire began.
Katz said he instructed the military to "respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire."
An Israeli military official claimed that two missiles were launched from Iran and were intercepted.
But Iran’s state broadcaster denied launching any missiles, citing Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces.
Iran then accused Israel of launching three waves of attacks after the truce took effect.
Trump wasn’t buying Israel’s justification for the heavy bombardment.
"They didn’t have to unload, and I didn’t like the fact that the retaliation was very strong. But in all fairness, Israel unloaded a lot," he told reporters.
The President was so frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he called him directly.
Trump "asked him not to send an immediate military strike in response to what Israel said was Iran’s violation of the ceasefire," according to a person familiar with the exchange who spoke to The Washington Post.
Trump even took to Truth Social to publicly dress down Israel.
"ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!" Trump posted.
How Trump brokered the deal behind the scenes
The blueprint for the ceasefire came from discussions with Iranian officials, according to a senior U.S. official.
Iran made it clear to the Trump administration that they would come back to the negotiating table and discuss their nuclear program on one condition.
Israel had to stop bombing them.
That required Trump to secure agreement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease his bombing campaign.
The campaign had "wreaked havoc on Iran’s missile defenses and resulted in U.S. bombers badly damaging Tehran’s nuclear program without sustaining any counterfire," according to The Washington Post.
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff had communicated with the Iranians through direct and indirect channels to make the deal happen.
Trump also worked directly with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to coordinate the agreement.
The deal was supposed to give both sides a face-saving way to end the conflict.
The President had to scramble to prevent his ceasefire from completely falling apart.
Trump posted another message on Truth Social announcing that Israel "is not going to attack Iran."
"All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran," Trump wrote. "Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!"
It was an embarrassing moment for Trump, who had to publicly order an ally to stand down after they violated his peace agreement.
The collapse showed just how fragile the situation remains in the Middle East, something critics argue the President should have understood before listening – reportedly over the objections of voices in his own administration like Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – to the bad advice of Washington war hawks like Lindsey Graham and Mark Levin who have counseled Trump to continually ramp up U.S. involvement in the regional quagmire on behalf of Netanyahu, despite Iran not possessing any nuclear weapons, warheads, or ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.
Israeli attacks on Iran killed at least 610 people over the 12 days of fighting, according to Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour.
At least 13 of the dead were children, with the youngest just 2 months old.
More than 4,700 were injured, with 971 still hospitalized as of Tuesday.
Rights groups believe the actual death toll is likely much higher, with one Washington-based organization putting the number of dead at almost 1,000.
Trump forced to clean up the mess
This incident reveals the enormous challenges Trump faces in the Middle East.
Both Israel and Iran have been locked in conflict for decades, with deep-seated grievances that don’t disappear with a single phone call.
Trump’s frustration was evident when he had to publicly scold Israel, one of America’s closest allies, for jeopardizing his peace agreement.
The fact that Trump had to use an expletive to describe both countries shows just how exasperated he is with the situation.
This isn’t the first time Trump has had to manage explosive tensions in the Middle East, but the immediate collapse of his ceasefire deal was particularly embarrassing.
Trump did score a victory with U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, which he said completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear program.
"That place is under rock. That place is demolished. The B-2 pilots did their job," Trump said.
But the ceasefire fiasco shows that even Trump’s dealmaking skills have their limits when it comes to ancient Middle Eastern conflicts.
The President now faces the challenge of keeping both sides from escalating further while maintaining America’s relationships in the region.
