Tehran: A series of powerful explosions shook Tehran early Tuesday morning as intense negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran were underway. Warplanes were heard overhead, and blasts were reported in the north and center of Iran's capital around 3 am local time (11:30 pm GMT).

According to France24.com, these explosions occurred just hours before a planned staggered ceasefire was scheduled to commence at approximately 4 am GMT. The ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump, who stated that Iran had decided to unilaterally halt all operations as part of the agreement.

Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, played a crucial role in securing Iran's agreement to the US-brokered ceasefire proposal. This agreement followed the Iranian strikes on a US airbase in Qatar on Monday. An official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters that the Prime Minister's intervention came after a request from US President Donald Trump, who had already secured Israel's agreement to the ceasefire and sought Doha's assistance in persuading Tehran.

In addition to the ceasefire announcement, US President Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that both Israel and Iran had agreed to a phased-in ceasefire over 24 hours. He emphasized that a "Complete and Total CEASEFIRE" had been fully agreed upon by both nations.

The explosions in Tehran were significant enough for the Israeli army to call for an evacuation of a central Tehran area. In a social media post, the Israeli military urged civilians to evacuate immediately from the marked zone in District 7, citing concerns over the targeting of the Iranian regime's military infrastructure.

As the ceasefire was set to take effect, Qatar announced the reopening of its airspace, which had been closed following the Iranian missile strikes on the US Al Udeid base. The Qatari aviation authority confirmed the resumption of air traffic and the return of normalcy to the country's airspace.