After returning to the White House promising to end the world’s conflicts, Donald Trump finally has a ceasefire. The US president failed in his push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and allowed Israel to break the truce that halted the conflict in Gaza. But on Tuesday, he brokered an end to Israel’s assault against Iran.

Trump’s efforts to halt a war that risked spilling across borders and disrupting global energy supplies was a welcome, if belated, move. He did, after all, acquiesce to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to launch the war in the first place and then briefly but forcefully joined in. Iran’s calibrated response to the US bombing of its nuclear sites — a strike on a US base in Qatar — allowed Trump to claim victory and try to move on.

It is, however, a perilously fragile truce. The enmity between Israel and Iran will have only deepened after 12 days of conflict. Outgunned and heavily infiltrated by Israeli intelligence, the Islamic republic has endured devastating blows. Many of its top commanders have been killed. The attacks have destroyed its air defences, bombed nuclear plants and left hundreds of civilians dead. But Iran continued to fire missiles at Israel throughout the hostilities. Those that got through caused significant damage, killing 28 people.