NYT: Trump’s cease-fire announcement catches his own top officials by surprise

President Trump abruptly announced a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Iran after speaking to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Iranian officials, with Qatar helping to mediate, a senior White House official said Monday, ‘The New York Times’ reports.

The official, who was granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly, said Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, played a role in the cease-fire discussions.

The announcement, made minutes after 6 p.m. Eastern time, caught even some of Mr. Trump’s own top administration officials by surprise.

Mr. Trump had help in pressing for a cease-fire from Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy, who had been leading the efforts over the last two months for a deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, the official said.

The three men worked through “direct and indirect” channels to reach the Iranians, the official said. Israel agreed to the cease-fire provided they aren’t subject to further attacks from Iran, the official said.

The official credited the U.S. military strikes on three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites on Saturday with setting the conditions for a cease-fire discussion.

The official did not say what conditions Iran may have agreed to, including whether it answered questions about the whereabouts of its stockpile of enriched uranium.

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