Fragile truce holds as air raids end

TEL AVIV: The ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding yesterday, a day after both countries signalled that their air war had ended, at least for now.

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Each side claimed victory on Tuesday after 12 days of war, which the US joined with airstrikes in support of Israel to take out Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities.

Mr Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said late on Tuesday that talks between the United States and Iran were “promising” and that Washington was hopeful for a long-term peace deal.

“We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising. We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran,” Mr Witkoff said in an interview on Fox News.

“Now it's for us to sit down with the Iranians and get to a comprehensive peace agreement, and I am very confident that we are going to achieve that,” he added.

Mr Trump said over the weekend that US stealth bombers had “obliterated” Iran’s programme to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its enrichment activities are for civilian purposes only.