The ceasefire reached on June 24 between Iran and Israel silenced drones and missiles, but the war continues to haunt Iranian leaders’ statements from all political sides, as well as the daily lives of Iranians, who suffer from what they described as “total uncertainty.”
“Today, we are not in a true ceasefire, but in a temporary suspension of fighting,” said Iran’s first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref, who is close to the reformists, on August 18. “We must be ready to face the enemy at any time.” The day before, Yahya Rahim Safavi, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the country’s ideological army) and adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, also warned that “war with Israel could break out at any moment.” He added, “We are not in a truce but in a state of war (…) and the situation can change at any time. I believe a new conflict is possible.”
From June 13 to June 24, during Israeli strikes against Iran – joined by the US on the final day with the bombing of nuclear facilities – more than 1,000 Iranians were killed, most of them civilians, but also several Revolutionary Guard commanders and officials from the nuclear program. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israeli territory. The 12-day war ended when US President Donald Trump announced on June 24 that a deal had been reached to end the fighting.
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