United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres offered rare praise for President Donald Trump on Tuesday, after the president announced a cease-fire between Israel and Iran. Guterres, a vocal critic of Trump, issued the positive statement just days after condemning the U.S. strikes in Iran.
"I very much welcome President Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. I urge the two countries to respect it fully. The fighting must stop," Guterres wrote. "The people of the two countries have already suffered too much. It is my sincere hope that this ceasefire can be replicated in the other conflicts in the region."
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On June 22, after the U.S. struck Iran’s nuclear facilities, Guterres said the actions taken by the U.S. marked "a perilous turn in a region that cannot endure another cycle of destruction." One day earlier, the U.N. chief offered a similar condemnation, saying he was "gravely alarmed" by the strikes.
"There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world," Guterres wrote.
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Trump announced a cease-fire just over 48 hours after Guterres’ warning, putting an end to what the president called the "12-Day War" — likely a reference to Israel's historic 1967 Six-Day War.
On Tuesday, Trump expressed frustration with both Israel and Iran as the cease-fire appeared to be on the verge of faltering. He told reporters he was "not happy with Israel" after the country took what he saw as aggressive action just before the cease-fire went into effect. The president was also upset when Israel vowed to retaliate after Iran allegedly broke the cease-fire, something that Tehran denied.
Trump later announced that Israel would not attack Iran and that the country’s planes would "turn around and head home." In a subsequent post, he reaffirmed his opposition to Iran possessing a nuclear weapon and vowed that Tehran would "never" rebuild its facilities. The president also insisted that both sides wanted to end the war "equally."
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