WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is touting the ceasefire between Iran and Israel as a diplomatic breakthrough, even as key questions remain over the fate of the Iranian nuclear program. 

A ceasefire between the historic foes took effect early Tuesday, more than a week and a half after Israel began its bombardment of Iran’s military and nuclear sites. It follows Trump’s weekend decision to authorize US military strikes on the heart of Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, which Israel considers an existential threat. 

Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, a fleet of B-2 stealth bombers on early Sunday dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on a pair of Iranian nuclear installations, including the heavily fortified Fordow enrichment facility. Cruise missiles fired from a US Navy submarine struck a third site at Isfahan.

It was a dramatic turnaround for the president who campaigned on ending US entanglement in Middle East wars, which he blamed on “warmongers and America-last globalists.” But Trump's team gambled that Tehran, whose influence has been shattered by the near-collapse of its regional proxy network, would be too weak or unwilling to escalate in a way that would result in further US military intervention.