The UK has welcomed news of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, as both sides announced they had agreed to stop fighting.
Israel’s government confirmed on Tuesday morning it had agreed to the ceasefire plan, proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump first claimed an agreement had been reached overnight, but both Israel and Iran were initially silent.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation had agreed to the bilateral ceasefire in co-ordination with Tehran.
It followed a final onslaught of missiles targeting Israel early on Tuesday, which killed at least four people.
Israel in turn launched a blitz of airstrikes targeting sites across Iran before dawn.
Mr Netanyahu reasoned to his security cabinet that Israel had achieved all its goals in its 12-day war against Iran, including removing the threat of its nuclear programme.
“Israel will respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire,” the Israeli prime minister warned.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier posted on social media site X there was “NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations”.
But he said Iran had “no intention” of continuing attacks if Israel stopped its “illegal aggression against the Iranian people” by 4am Tehran time (2am BST), around a quarter of an hour before his post.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast after news of Israel’s agreement to the deal broke, Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said it was “good news, if the ceasefire holds”.
He also told the BBC: “I welcome the Israeli statement. It’s obviously a fragile situation in the Middle East.
“A number of people have been killed overnight in missile strikes, but I think the whole world will hope that the ceasefire will hold and that Iran will come forward with a credible plan that shows that it will not pursue the development of a nuclear weapon.”
Sir Keir Starmer will arrive at the Nato summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday amid news of the ceasefire.
Despite news of the end to hostilities, the summit is likely to be dominated by the situation in the Middle East, as leaders deal with the aftermath of the conflict.
The UK started evacuating Britons from Israel on Monday, with the first group of 63 flown back via Cyprus.
Downing Street said “around 1,000” people had requested a seat on an evacuation flight – a quarter of the 4,000 who had registered their presence in Israel or Palestine with the Foreign Office.
Writing on his social media site Truth Social, Mr Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed a “complete and total ceasefire” to be brought in over 24 hours, saying the two countries had approached him “almost simultaneously”.
He said the ceasefire would be phased in, giving the two countries six hours to have “wound down and completed their in progress, final missions”.
“The World, and the Middle East, are the real WINNERS!” he posted later. “They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of RIGHTEOUSNESS & TRUTH.”
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