Welcome to our live coverage of the escalating situation in the Middle East.

Donald Trump has fired off at Israel and Iran as a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East took hold after 12 days of strikes that pummelled the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities.

Iran said on Tuesday it was ready to return to negotiations with the US, but Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would continue to “assert its legitimate rights” to the peaceful use of atomic power.

The head of Israel’s military said Tuesday that its strikes had set back Iran’s nuclear program “by years” and the campaign against the country was now “entering a new phase”.

“We have concluded a significant phase, but the campaign against Iran is not over. We are entering a new phase based on the achievements of the current one,” Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said in a statement.

“We’ve set Iran’s nuclear project back by years, and the same applies to its missile program.”

Israel said earlier Tuesday that it had removed the “dual existential threat” of Iran’s nuclear program and missiles.

Israel has said its war, which began on June 13, was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran has long denied holding.

After Mr Trump angrily berated both sides for early violations of the truce on Tuesday, Tehran announced it would respect the terms of the deal if Israel did the same, while Israel said it had refrained from further strikes.