A fragile ceasefire in the Iran-Israel war appeared to be holding on Tuesday, June 24, after 12 days of strikes that saw Israel and the United States pummel Iran’s nuclear facilities. After US President Donald Trump, who had first declared the ceasefire, angrily berated both sides for violating it, Iran announced that it would respect the truce if Israel did, while Israel said it had refrained from further strikes. Iran initially stopped short of officially accepting the proposal, but President Masoud Pezeshkian later said that if “the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either.”
Earlier, Israel had accused Iran of firing missiles at it after the truce was meant to have come into effect – which Tehran has denied – vowing to respond. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said Israel had “destroyed a radar installation near Tehran” in retaliation, but had “refrained from further strikes” following a phone call between Trump and the premier.
On his way to attend a NATO summit in The Hague, Trump had publicly castigated both countries for violating the truce, and demanded Israel call off what he characterised as an imminent attack, later saying “the Ceasefire is in effect!”
Claims of victory
Both Israel and Iran appeared to claim victory following the announcement of the truce. Israel, in announcing it had agreed to Trump’s plan, said it had achieved all its military objectives. The Israeli government said Netanyahu had convened his cabinet “to announce that Israel had achieved all the objectives of Operation Rising Lion and much more.” It added that it had removed “an immediate dual existential threat: nuclear and ballistic,” while vowing to respond forcefully to any violations of the ceasefire.
Iran’s top security body, meanwhile, said its forces had “compelled” Israel to “unilaterally” stand down. Its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also hailed a missile salvo fired at Israel “in the final moments before the ceasefire,” saying it taught “a historic and unforgettable lesson to the Zionist enemy.”
In Iran, state television said an overnight Israeli strike in the north killed nuclear scientist Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber, who was under US sanctions.
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 610 civilians and wounded more than 4,700, according to the health ministry. Meanwhile, Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 28 people, according to official figures and rescuers. Early on Tuesday, Israeli rescuers reported four people killed when a missile struck a residential building in the southern city of Beersheba.
Cautious optimism
The international community reacted with cautious optimism to news of the truce. Saudi Arabia and the European Union welcomed Trump’s announcement, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped “that this will be a sustainable ceasefire.”
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China’s foreign ministry said it supported Iran in “achieving a genuine ceasefire so that people can return to normal life.”
Yet French President Emmanuel Macron warned there was an “increased” risk that Iran would attempt to enrich uranium secretly following the US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites.
