Good morning. Donald Trump’s sudden announcement of an Iran-Israel ceasefire caught the region off-guard – more on that below, along with a made-in-Canada social-media platform and a scorching heat wave.

Donald Trump took to Truth Social yesterday evening to declare that Israel and Iran had agreed to a “Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately six hours from now).” It was a rather dramatic turn of events for the region, landing two days after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites and one day after the President floated the idea of regime change in Tehran. Trump’s post also came just hours after Iran fired several missiles at a U.S. military base outside of Doha. That move on Iran’s part was more expected – not least because it gave Qatar and the White House a heads-up on the attack. The Trump administration evacuated the base well before the launch, Qatar intercepted the missiles, and no injuries were reported.

The latest: Both Israel and Iran accepted the ceasefire early this morning – and both sides continued to trade strikes. Israel accused Iran of launching a missile at an apartment building in the southern city of Beersheba, killing at least four people. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the military would respond forcefully against targets in Tehran.

Trump’s timeline: According to the President’s post – which was admittedly a tad confusing – the ceasefire is meant to unroll in waves, the first of which kicked off just after midnight ET this morning. “Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World,” he wrote. And then? “I think the ceasefire is unlimited,” Trump told NBC. “It’s going to go on forever.”

Signs of a détente: By warning the White House of yesterday’s attack, Tehran mimicked the approach it used in 2020, after a U.S. air strike on Baghdad killed General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top security and intelligence commander. In response to that killing, which Trump ordered during his first term, Iran fired ballistic missiles at an American air base in Iraq. More than 100 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in the assault, but no one was killed. Trump held off on a counterstrike and tensions subsequently cooled.

An about-face on Truth Social: On Saturday, after his address to the country about the U.S. bombings, Trump posted in all caps that any retaliation by Iran would be met “with force far greater than what was witnessed tonight.” Yesterday, however, he struck a far more conciliatory tone. First, Trump thanked Iran for giving notice of its attack on the U.S. air base; then, he congratulated both Israel and Iran on “having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence” to end what he keeps calling “THE 12 DAY WAR.”

Is the nuclear threat over? Despite Trump’s repeated insistence that the U.S. destroyed Iran’s nuclear program – “obliteration is an accurate term!” he also posted yesterday – it’s too early to claim total success. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, says it isn’t in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordow, though satellite images suggest Iran managed to move some of its uranium stockpiles to another complex.

Tehran’s nuclear capabilities have been seriously degraded by U.S. and Israeli bombs this month, but its atomic ambitions remain intact, and experts fear these strikes have given Iran compelling new reasons to seek a nuclear deterrent. Iran’s national-security committee approved a plan yesterday to suspend co-operation with the IAEA, while the foreign-relations committee signalled its willingness to pull out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Since 1970, only one country has left the international accord, which works to stop the spread of atomic weapons: North Korea in 2003. Three years later, it detonated its first test device.

Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec notched record-breaking temperatures yesterday as residents tried to stay cool under a lingering heat dome. The daytime high in Toronto reached 36 C, while the humidex in Montreal climbed to 45. Read more here about the scorching heat wave expected to last through tomorrow.

At home: Five Canadian tech leaders – with the support of a Dragon’s Den star – will launch a homegrown social-media platform in October to buck U.S. dominance.

Abroad: The Globe’s Mark MacKinnon reports from inside a Kyiv bomb shelter as Russia’s air assault on Ukraine escalates.

Outer space: The first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, built on a Chilean mountaintop, reveal why this telescope will change astronomy forever.

Inner workings: The Canada Revenue Agency’s new online chat service was meant to reduce calls to its phone lines – but fewer than 100 agents are actually staffing the chat.