Trump announces ceasefire between Iran and Israel

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Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450 others. (AFP)
Live An injured man is treated in a hospital, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 21, 2025. (REUTERS)
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An injured man is treated in a hospital, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 21, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 24 June 2025
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Trump announces ceasefire between Iran and Israel

Trump announces ceasefire between Iran and Israel
  • The US president called said there will be a ‘complete and total’ truce
  • Iran FM says ‘no intention’ to continue strikes if Israel ‘stops’

RIYADH/DUBAI: US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel hours after Tehran attacked a US base in Qatar in retaliation for US strikes on military sites in Iran over the weekend.

The Iranians said there was no agreement but will stop attacks if Israel halted too.

The US president said both sides had agreed to a staggered cessation of hostilities until there is an end to the conflict.

Iran will begin observing the ceasefire first, with Israel watching if Tehran complies for the following 12 hours, if it does, then Tel Aviv will join in, bringing to an end what Trump is calling a “12 Day War”.

The deal allows for a six hour window for both sides to wrap up ongoing operations, the president explained in a Truth Social post on Monday evening.

The president wrote: “This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!” 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said early on Tuesday that there was no “agreement” on any ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

But he added that if Israel stopped its “illegal aggression” against the Iranian people no later than 4 a.m. Tehran time (0030 GMT) on Tuesday, Iran had no intention of continuing its response afterwards.
“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” Araqchi added in a post on X.

Around the same time as Trump made the announcement, several loud explosions were heard in Iran’s Karaj and Rajai Shahr, according to local media. 

Reports from the Iranian capital said the city was under an intense attack. 

A senior Iranian official confirmed to Reuters that Tehran is agreeing to Qatar mediated, US-proposed ceasefire with Israel. 

Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450 others, a human rights group said Monday.

The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists offered the figures, which covers the entirety of Iran. It said of those dead, it identified 380 civilians and 253 security force personnel being killed.

Human Rights Activists, which also provided detailed casualty figures during the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports in the Islamic Republic against a network of sources it has developed in the country.

Iran has not been offering regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. On Saturday, Iran’s Health Ministry said some 400 Iranians had been killed and another 3,056 wounded in the Israeli strikes.




Iran has not been offering regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. (AFP)

Qatar suspends air traffic as precautionary measure: statement

Qatar temporarily suspended air traffic around the country, its foreign ministry said Monday, after nearby Iran threatened retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear sites.

“The competent authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the country’s airspace, as part of a set of precautionary measures taken based on developments in the region,” the foreign ministry said. 

It comes as the US embassy in Qatar advised Americans there to “shelter in place” on Monday, with other Western embassies echoing the warning.

Read the full story here.

Israeli strikes on Iran may have violated international law, UN mission says

A fact-finding mission mandated by the United Nations said on Monday that some of Israel’s strikes on Iran may have broken international humanitarian law, citing the killing of civilians in an apartment block and three aid workers in the capital Tehran.

“Among those killed in Tehran were dozens of residents of an apartment complex and three humanitarian workers from the Iranian Red Cross, while damaged sites included a clinic for children with autism and a hospital in Kermanshah,” the investigative body said in a statement to journalists.

“This, and the reported lack of effective advance warning by Israel, which may affect the population’s ability to reach safety, raise serious concerns in relation to the principles of proportionality, distinction, and precaution under international humanitarian law.”

 

However, NATO chief Mark Rutte told reporters on Monday US strikes on Iran over the weekend did not violate international law. He was speaking during a briefing ahead of a summit for the military alliance. 

Tehran vows to avenge attack on nuclear sites

Tehran threatened on Monday to inflict “serious” damage in retaliation for US strikes on the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities, as the Iran-Israel war entered its 11th day despite calls for de-escalation.

Aerial assaults meanwhile raged on, with air raid sirens sounding across Israel and AFP journalists reporting several blasts were heard over Jerusalem.

The Israeli military said it had struck missile sites in western Iran as well as “six Iranian regime airports” across the country, destroying fighter jets and helicopters.

President Donald Trump said US warplanes used “bunker buster” bombs to target sites in Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz, boasting the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Other officials said it was too soon to assess the true impact on Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel and some Western states consider an existential threat.

Iranian armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on state television that the US “hostile act,” following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would “pave the way for the extension of war in the region.”

“The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you with powerful and targeted (military) operations,” he warned.




Iran foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described Sunday’s attacks “lawless and criminal” behavior. (AFP)

Iran foreign minister to meet key ally Putin

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due to hold “important” talks with key ally Vladimir Putin on Monday, 48 hours after a major US attack on Iran’s key nuclear facilities.

Moscow is a crucial backer of Tehran, but has not swung forcefully behind its partner since Israel launched a wave of attacks on June 13, strikes that triggered Iran to respond with missiles and drones.

While Russia condemned the Israeli and US strikes, it has not offered military help and has downplayed its obligations under a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed with Tehran just months ago.

“In this new dangerous situation ... our consultations with Russia can certainly be of great importance,” Russian state media reported Araghchi as saying after landing in Moscow.

Australia says it supports US strike, calls for return to diplomacy

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that Canberra supported the United States strike on Iran and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.

“The world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon and we support action to prevent that,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

Albanese said “the information has been clear” that Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent and “there is no other explanation for it to reach 60, other than engaging in a program that wasn’t about civilian nuclear power.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog that inspects Iran’s nuclear facilities, reported on May 31 that Iran had enough uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons.

“Had Iran complied with the very reasonable requests that were made, including by the IAEA, then circumstances would have been different,” said Albanese, referring to limitations on enrichment.

 

 


Sudanese fleeing war are at risk of worsening hunger in neighboring nations, UN warns

Sudanese fleeing war are at risk of worsening hunger in neighboring nations, UN warns
Updated 1 min 30 sec ago
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Sudanese fleeing war are at risk of worsening hunger in neighboring nations, UN warns

Sudanese fleeing war are at risk of worsening hunger in neighboring nations, UN warns
  • Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces, escalated to fighting in the capital of Khartoum and spread across the country

CAIRO: Millions of people fleeing the conflict in Sudan risk falling deeper into hunger as they seek refuge in countries already grappling with food insecurity, the United Nations warned.
The World Food Program, the UN’s food agency, said Monday that over four million Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries are at risk of suffering further food insecurities as crucial funding for life-saving food assistance is expected to dwindle in the coming months in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Uganda and Chad.
About 40,000 people have been killed and nearly 13 million displaced, including to other countries, by Sudan’s civil war that began in April 2023, according to estimates from UN agencies.
Nearly half of the population remaining in Sudan is facing acute food insecurity, with some areas of the country suffering from malnutrition, which has killed 239 children in the past six months in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, the Sudan Doctors Network said.
The group said the children died as a result of severe shortages of food and medicine, and the bombing of nutrition warehouses in the Sudanese province between January and June.
Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces, escalated to fighting in the capital of Khartoum and spread across the country.
But those fleeing the conflict continue to suffer from malnutrition even beyond Sudan’s borders.
“Refugees from Sudan are fleeing for their lives and yet are being met with more hunger, despair, and limited resources on the other side of the border,” said Shaun Hughes, WFP’s Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan Regional Crisis. “Food assistance is a lifeline for vulnerable refugee families with nowhere else to turn.”
Food insecurity and famine conditions have spread across Sudan. The Darfur Victims Support Organization on Tuesday posted pictures on Facebook showing scores of citizens lining up to receive a meal from a charity kitchen. The group appealed to international organizations to take notice of the humanitarian situation in the city and called on armed groups to declare a truce and open corridors to deliver much needed civilian aid.
The southern part of El Fasher saw renewed clashes between the army and the RSF Monday morning despite the UN calling for a week-long ceasefire in the city for aid distribution, which the Sudanese army accepted, the Darfur-based group said.
The El Fasher Resistance Committee said Sunday that heavy artillery shelling targeted several residential areas and the livestock market for the third day in a row, killing and injuring civilians amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the area.
The Trump administration’s cuts to the US Agency for International Development have also had an impact, with programs being defunded. In Sudan, 90 communal kitchens closed in Khartoum, leaving more than half a million people without consistent access to food, according to the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid organization.

 


Egyptian driver who killed 19 heads to trial as outrage grows over traffic safety

Egyptian driver who killed 19 heads to trial as outrage grows over traffic safety
Updated 19 min 56 sec ago
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Egyptian driver who killed 19 heads to trial as outrage grows over traffic safety

Egyptian driver who killed 19 heads to trial as outrage grows over traffic safety
  • Egypt’s official statistics agency says 5,260 people died in road accidents last year, compared to 5,861 in 2023 — a 10.3 percent decrease

CAIRO: Egyptian prosecutors on Tuesday referred a driver to trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter after he crashed his truck into a minivan last week, killing 18 girls and their driver.
Friday’s crash on a newly constructed highway stirred up public outrage over the poor transportation safety record in the world’s most populous Arab country. Many, including pro-government commentators and lawmakers, lashed out at the government and called for accountability. Most criticism was directed at Transportation Minister Kamel Al-Wazir, with some calling for his resignation.
A statement from the office of chief prosecutor said the truck driver was accused of abusing drugs and driving the truck without a relevant license.
Prosecutors also requested the court to initiate a misdemeanor procedure against the truck’s owner for allowing the man to drive the vehicle while knowing that he didn’t have the required license.
The trial is scheduled to start on July 8, the statement said.
The truck collided with a microbus — a mass transit minivan — on a highway in the Nile Delta city of Ashmoun. The microbus was carrying girls to a vineyard where they worked as informal laborers.
Three other girls were injured in the crash, according to the Labor Ministry. The crash happened on part of the highway that was under maintenance.
Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, with many caused by speeding, bad roads or poor enforcement of traffic laws.
Egypt’s official statistics agency says 5,260 people died in road accidents last year, compared to 5,861 in 2023 — a 10.3 percent decrease. But 76,362 were injured in 2024, up from 71,016 the previous year — an increase of 7.5 percent.

 


Pro-Palestinian Georgetown student can remain free, US appeals court rules

Pro-Palestinian Georgetown student can remain free, US appeals court rules
Updated 30 min 51 sec ago
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Pro-Palestinian Georgetown student can remain free, US appeals court rules

Pro-Palestinian Georgetown student can remain free, US appeals court rules
  • Suri, 41, was arrested in Virginia in March and then moved by the US government to Texas, where he was released in May after the ruling by Giles
  • The Trump administration has attempted to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student protesters while accusing them of being antisemitic, threats to American foreign policy and extremist sympathizers

WASHINGTON: A pro-Palestinian Georgetown University student from India, detained by President Donald Trump’s administration but then released on a judge’s order, can remain free while fighting deportation efforts, a US appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 against the administration’s request that Badar Khan Suri be returned to immigration detention. The 4th Circuit said it found no grounds to overturn the decision by US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles to order Suri’s release.
“To allow the government to undermine habeas jurisdiction by moving detainees without notice or accountability reduces the writ of habeas corpus to a game of jurisdictional hide-and-seek,” Judge James Andrew Wynn wrote on Tuesday.
Habeas corpus refers to a procedure under which the legality of a person’s incarceration can be challenged in court.
Suri, 41, was arrested in Virginia in March and then moved by the US government to Texas, where he was released in May after the ruling by Giles. Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, part of the Jesuit university’s School of Foreign Service.
The Trump administration has attempted to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student protesters while accusing them of being antisemitic, threats to American foreign policy and extremist sympathizers. Suri has denied the US government’s allegations that he spread Palestinian militant propaganda and antisemitism on social media. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, have said the US government has conflated criticism of Israel’s military assault in Gaza with antisemitism and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. Human rights advocates have raised free speech and due process concerns over the administration’s actions toward these students. Other pro-Palestinian students who were arrested by the government and subsequently released under judicial orders include Columbia University students Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi and Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk.
Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, is a US citizen. Saleh is from Gaza, according to the Georgetown University website, which said she has written for Al Jazeera and Palestinian media outlets and worked with the foreign ministry in Gaza. Saleh was not arrested.

 


Gonzalo heads Real Madrid past Juventus and into Club World Cup quarters

Gonzalo heads Real Madrid past Juventus and into Club World Cup quarters
Updated 02 July 2025
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Gonzalo heads Real Madrid past Juventus and into Club World Cup quarters

Gonzalo heads Real Madrid past Juventus and into Club World Cup quarters
  • The Spanish giants will face the winner of Tuesday’s other game between Borussia Dortmund and Mexico’s Monterrey in the last eight

MIAMI GARDENS, United States: Gonzalo Garcia’s 54th-minute header was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Juventus at Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.
The Spanish giants will face the winner of Tuesday’s other game between Borussia Dortmund and Mexico’s Monterrey in the last eight.
It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side and adding to a positive day, Kylian Mbappe made his return from illness, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for his first appearance of the tournament.
The first half was a finely-balanced contest with Igor Tudor’s Juventus starting brightly before Real ended it on top.
There was an early chance for Juve’s Randal Kolo Muani after clever work from Kenan Yildiz to put him through on goal, but the French forward opted for an attempted chip of Thibaut Courtois and his shot floated over the bar.
The impressive Yildiz then burst through the middle and unleashed a fierce effort which deflected off Aurelien Tchouameni and flew wide.
The Turin team, beaten 5-2 by Manchester City in their final group game, were moving the ball around with confidence but Real grew into the contest and they went close when Jude Bellingham forced a save out of Michele Di Gregorio from close range.
Federico Valverde then tested the Juve goalkeeper from long range and Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped a low ball across the face of the goal as Madrid finished the half strongly.
The interval did nothing to alter the momentum of the game with Real creating several chances — Bellingham laid off to Valverde, whose sweetly-struck shot was just wide and then Bellingham himself brought another good save out of Di Gregorio with a shot from the edge of the box.
Dean Huijsen’s rocketing drive was parried out by the busy goalkeeper as Real laid seige to the Juventus goal and it was no surprise when the breakthrough finally arrived.
Alexander-Arnold floated in a cross from the right which Gonzalo met with a perfectly-timed header for his third goal in four games in the tournament.
Juve responded with Portuguese winger Francisco Conceicao bringing Courtois into action from a low shot the Belgian shot-stopper did well to get down to.
But Real wanted to finish the contest off and Valverde tested Di Gregorio’s reactions with an overhead kick before Alonso decided to introduce Mbappe to the delight of the 62,149 crowd.
Juve’s belief remained however and Nicolas Gonzalez flashed a 25-yard drive just wide.
At the other end, Real’s Turkish midfielder Arda Guler saw his crisp shot kept out by the feet of Di Gregorio, but the one goal was enough.


Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urges Hamas to accept deal

Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urges Hamas to accept deal
Updated 54 min 13 sec ago
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Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urges Hamas to accept deal

Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urges Hamas to accept deal
  • The development came as over 150 international charities and humanitarian groups called Tuesday for disbanding a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza because of chaos and deadly violence against Palestinians seeking food
  • Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu did not elaborate on plans for his visit to Washington next week, except to say he will discuss a trade deal

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.
Trump announced the development as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.
“My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump wrote, saying the Qataris and Egyptians would deliver the final proposal.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he said.
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was in Washington on Tuesday for talks with senior administration officials to discuss a potential Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other matters. Dermer was expected to meet with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The development came as over 150 international charities and humanitarian groups called Tuesday for disbanding a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza because of chaos and deadly violence against Palestinians seeking food at its sites.
The joint statement by groups including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International followed the killings of at least 10 Palestinians who were seeking desperately needed food, witnesses and health officials said. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 37 in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital.
“Tents, tents they are hitting with two missiles?” asked Um Seif Abu Leda, whose son was killed in the strikes. Mourners threw flowers on the body bags.
Before Trump’s announcement, Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, had warned that his country would respond forcefully to the firing of a missile the military said originated from Yemen. Sirens sounded across parts of Israel, alerting residents to the attack and the launch of two projectiles from Gaza. All were intercepted by Israeli defense systems.
The missile launch marked the first attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels since the end of the 12-day war initiated by Israel with Iran. Katz said Yemen could face the same fate as Tehran.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, vowed on social media that Yemen will not “stop its support for Gaza ... unless the aggression stops and the siege on Gaza is lifted.”
Speaking to his Cabinet, Netanyahu did not elaborate on plans for his visit to Washington next week, except to say he will discuss a trade deal. Iran is also expected to be a main topic of discussion in Washington after Trump brokered a ceasefire between it and Israel.