U.S. President Donald Trump claims a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was “in effect” on Tuesday, after expressing deep frustration with both sides for violating the agreement he brokered.
Israel earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce was supposed to take effect. The Iranian military denied firing on Israel, state media reported.
Trump expressed anger and frustration as he told reporters at the White House that both Israel, a close ally, and Iran had violated the ceasefire plan. But later he said the deal was saved, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s office later said he held off on a tougher strike against Iran after speaking to Trump.
Here is the latest:
Israel-Iran ceasefire is opportunity ‘to avoid catastrophic escalation,’ UN political chief says
Rosemary DiCarlo told the U.N. Security Council that the ceasefire is also an opportunity to peacefully resolve the Iran nuclear issue.
She said, “Diplomacy, dialogue and verification remain the best option to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program and to bring about concrete economic benefits to the people of Iran.”
DiCarlo spoke at a council meeting on the remaining U.N. sanctions on Iranian nuclear activities and transfers under the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with six key nations in 2015 that expire in October. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018.
Israel’s UN ambassador says diplomacy ‘will happen soon’ following the Israel-Iran ceasefire
Danny Danon told U.N. reporters that “We will have to speak and negotiate and make sure that we will not repeat and get to the situation where we were 12 days ago, where we had a major threat in the Middle East.”
While it’s still too early to assess all the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, he said, “We know we were able to push back the program, we were able to remove the imminent threat that we had.”
As for calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Danon said Israel hopes to renew negotiations on the ceasefire proposal that U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff put on the table.
He also said he has no doubt that Israel’s ability to confront the threats it faced during the conflict will lead other countries to normalize relations with his country.
In response to a question, Danon said, “I think that president Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.”
Israel to ease nationwide civil defense restrictions
Israel’s military announced Tuesday that it is easing nationwide civil defense restrictions, allowing most of the country to return to full activity starting at 8 p.m. local time.
The decision, made following a situational assessment and approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz, applies to all areas except communities near the Gaza border, which will continue to follow Southern Command guidelines, the military said.
Netanyahu says Israel brought Iran’s nuclear program ‘to ruin’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel’s war against Iran brought the country’s nuclear program “to ruin.”
Speaking in a televised statement, he listed Israel’s achievements in the war, including its attacks on top generals and nuclear scientists. He said Israel destroyed nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan, along with the Arak heavy water reactor.
“For dozens of years, I promised you that Iran would not have nuclear weapons and indeed … we brought to ruin Iran’s nuclear program,” Netanyahu said.
After US strikes on Iran, Trump told Netanyahu not to expect further American offensive military action, White House official says
After the U.S. carried out strikes on Iran, President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to expect further American offensive military action, a senior White House official said.
Following Sunday’s bombardment on three key Iranian nuclear sites, Trump told Netanyahu that it was time to stop the war and return to diplomatic negotiations.
Trump’s position was that the U.S. had removed any imminent threat posed by Iran, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive diplomatic talks.
The U.S. official said Netanyahu understood Trump’s stance that the U.S. had no desire to be further involved with the situation militarily.
-By Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak
Secretary of State makes Iran-related phone calls with various foreign ministers
The State Department said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken to Turkmenistan’s foreign minister, Rashid Meredov, about the conflict, mainly to impress the importance the U.S. places on allowing American citizens to leave neighboring Iran by land through his country.
Nearly 200 American citizens had been stuck at the Iranian-Turkmenistan border over the weekend waiting for permission to enter.
The State Department sent a diplomatic note to Turkmenistan appealing for assistance in the matter on Sunday and officials said Tuesday that the situation appeared to have been resolved.
“The United States expressed gratitude for Turkmenistan’s cooperation and looks forward to further partnership with Turkmenistan, including expanding economic and commercial ties,” the State Department said in a readout of Rubio’s call.
Rubio also spoke by phone about Iran with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in part to review “next steps to promote a durable peace between Israel and Iran.”
Italy has hosted several rounds of now-stalled nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran and has offered, along with the Vatican, to host more in the future. The readout of the Rubio-Tajani call provided no additional details.
UN chief urges Israel and Iran to respect the ceasefire and hopes it can be replicated in Gaza
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed U.S. President Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire and said the fighting must stop.
“The people of the two countries have already suffered too much,” he tweeted on X.
As for the war in Gaza, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been able to achieve limited ceasefires between Israel and Hamas.
“It is high time that leaders on both sides find the political courage to put a stop to this carnage,” he said
Pakistan welcomes ceasefire between Iran and Israel, urges parties to uphold the agreement
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in the Tuesday statement that Islamabad welcomes and supports efforts aimed at reviving dialogue and diplomacy in the region.
“Pakistan believes that lasting peace and stability can only be achieved through strict adherence to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and by refraining from the use of force,” the ministry said.
The country has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has said it is ready to play a role in promoting peace in the Middle East.
The IAEA says additional impacts from US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran may have caused localized contamination
The IAEA said it has identified additional impact points at the Fordo and Natanz nuclear sites, including possible localized contamination and chemical hazards.
“Regarding the additional strikes to Fordo that were reported early on Monday – after the U.S. bombing of the facility early on Sunday – the IAEA assesses that access roads close to the underground facility and one of its entrances were hit,” the statement read.
At Natanz, the IAEA said that it has identified “two impact holes from the U.S. strikes above the underground halls that had been used for enrichment as well as for storage.”
“Based on its knowledge of what these halls contained, the IAEA assesses that this strike may have caused localized contamination and chemical hazards,” it added.
UN nuclear watchdog chief stresses need for agency to resume work in Iran
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said that he wrote a letter to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressing the need for a resumption of the agency’s work in Iran and expressing readiness for a meeting.
“Resuming cooperation with the IAEA is key to a successful diplomatic agreement to finally resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities,” he said in the statement published by the agency.
The agency’s inspectors have “remained in Iran throughout the conflict and are ready to start working as soon as possible, going back to the country’s nuclear sites and verifying the inventories of nuclear material – including more than 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60% – which they last verified a few days before the Israeli air strikes began on 13 June,” the statement said.
Oil prices drop further
Oil prices are dropping further on hopes that Israel’s war with Iran will not damage the global flow of crude.
A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude has fallen 4.9% to $65.12. Brent crude, the international standard, has dropped 4.8% to $67.13.
Oil prices have dropped so much in the last two days that they’re below where they were before Israel attacked Iran nearly two weeks ago.
Iran is a major producer of crude, and it could try to block the Strait of Hormuz off its coast. That’s where 20% of the world’s daily oil needs pass through on ships.
UN calls Israeli attack on an Iranian prison a breach of international law
The United Nations human rights office has called Israel’s attack on Iran’s Evin prison a “grave” breach of international humanitarian law. It says the prison should not have been a target.
Israel on Monday attacked the prison, which is known for holding political activists. Israel said it attacked “regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.”
Iran says it has transferred all inmates out of the prison so workers can repair damage.
US official: Iran still has tactical capability to threaten US
A top U.S. military official says Iran still possesses “significant tactical capability” in spite of an American strike over the weekend on three of the country’s nuclear sites.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told lawmakers Tuesday that capability was demonstrated by a limited retaliatory missile strike by Iran a day earlier on a U.S. military base in Qatar.
In response to a question about whether Iran still poses a threat to U.S. troops and Americans around the world, he replied, “They do.”
US strikes on Iran add to global travel disruptions
The U.S. entry into Israel’s war with Iran caused travel disruptions to pile up globally this week, with flight cancellations continuing Tuesday.
Airports and skies throughout the region have been on edge since Israel began the deadly war on June 13. And in the days following the escalatory U.S. strikes, more and more carriers canceled flights, particularly in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which sit just across the Persian Gulf from Iran.
Qatar Airways said its flights were suspended because of Monday’s closure of air traffic in Qatar. Qatar Airways shared that it was working to restore operations after the country’s airspace reopened — but noted that disruptions may continue through Thursday.
Emirates suspended all flights to Iran and Iraq, including those serving Baghdad and Basra, through June 30.
Elsewhere, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Dutch carrier KLM were among firms cancelling some flights to Middle Eastern airports.
