Trump says Israel-Iran ceasefire in effect after deal initially faltered

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on June 24, 2025, to attend the NATO's Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on June 24, 2025, to attend the NATO's Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague. (AFP)
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Updated 24 June 2025
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Trump says Israel-Iran ceasefire in effect after deal initially faltered

Trump says Israel-Iran ceasefire in effect after deal initially faltered
  • Israel earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after truce was supposed to take effect
  • Trump: “All planes will turn around and head home, while doing friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran. Nobody will be hurt”

BEERSHEBA, Israel: US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was in effect Tuesday after the deal initially faltered and the American leader expressed deep frustration with both sides.

Israel had earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce was supposed to take effect and the Israeli finance minister vowed “Tehran will tremble.”

Iran’s military denied firing on Israel, state media reported — but explosions boomed and sirens sounded across northern Israel midmorning, and an Israeli military official said two Iranian missiles were intercepted.

Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for a NATO summit that in his view, both sides had violated the nascent agreement. He had particularly strong words for Israel, a close ally, while suggesting Iran may have fired on the country by mistake.

But later he said the deal was saved.

“ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly “Plane Wave” to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!” Trump said in his Truth Social post.

Indeed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he held off on tougher strike against Iran after speaking to Trump.

The conflict, now in its 12th day, began with Israel targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, saying it could not allow Tehran to develop atomic weapons — and that it feared the Islamic Republic was close. Iran has long maintained that its program is peaceful.

Many worried the war might widen after the US joined the attacks by dropping bunker-buster bombs over the weekend and Israel expanded the kinds of targets it was hitting.

But after Tehran launched a limited retaliatory strike on a US military base in Qatar on Monday, Trump announced the ceasefire.

Israel accuses Iran of violating the truce. Iran denies that

The deal got off to a rocky start.

An Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations said Iran launched two missiles at Israel hours into the tenuous ceasefire. Both were intercepted, the official said.

Iranian state television reported that the military denied firing missiles after the start of the ceasefire — while accusing Israel of conducting strikes.

As Trump spoke to reporters at the White House before departing for the NATO summit, he expressed disappointment with both sides.

Iran “violated it but Israel violated it too,” Trump said. ”I’m not happy with Israel.”

Trump’s frustration was palpable, using an expletive to hammer home his point.

“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— — they’re doing,” he said.

Later, however, he announced that Israel had backed off its threat to attack Tehran and would turn its jets around.

Netanyahu’s office said Israel struck an Iranian radar in response to the Iranian missile attack early Tuesday — but held off on something bigger.

“Following President Trump’s conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from additional attacks,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Breakthrough announced after hostilities spread

Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with Iran, in coordination with Trump, after the country achieved all of its war goals, including removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country would not fire at Israel if it was not fired upon, but that a “final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”

It’s unclear what role Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s leader, played in the talks. He said earlier on social media that he would not surrender.

Trump said Tuesday that he wasn’t seeking regime change in Iran, two days after first floating the idea.

“Regime change takes chaos,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Over the weekend, he mused on his social media account that “if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”

The ceasefire came after hostilities spread further across the region.

Israel’s military said Iran launched 20 missiles toward Israel before the ceasefire began on Tuesday morning. Police said they damaged at least three densely packed residential buildings in the city of Beersheba. First responders said they retrieved four bodies from one building and were searching for more. Earlier, the Fire and Rescue service said five bodies were found before revising the number downward. At least 20 people were injured.

Outside, the shells of burned out cars littered the streets. Broken glass and rubble covered the area. Police said some people were injured while inside their apartments’ reinforced safe rooms, which are meant to withstand rockets but not direct hits from ballistic missiles.

Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a US military base in Qatar, retaliating for earlier American bombing of its nuclear sites. The US was warned by Iran in advance, and there were no casualties.

Drones attacked military bases in Iraq overnight, including some housing US troops, the Iraqi army and a US military official said Tuesday.

A senior US military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said US forces had shot down drones attacking Ain Assad in the desert in western Iraq and at a base next to the Baghdad airport, while another one crashed.

No casualties were reported and no group claimed responsibility for the attacks in Iraq. Some Iran-backed Iraqi militias had previously threatened to target US bases if the US attacked Iran.

Conflict has killed hundreds

In Israel, at least 28 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 974 people and wounded 3,458 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.

The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from Iranian unrest, said of those killed, it identified 387 civilians and 268 security force personnel.

The US has evacuated some 250 American citizens and their immediate family members from Israel by government, military and charter flights that began over the weekend, a State Department official said.

There are roughly 700,000 American citizens, most of them dual US-Israeli citizens, believed to be in Israel.


Last lifelines in Gaza are being cut, UN chief warns

Last lifelines in Gaza are being cut, UN chief warns
Updated 15 sec ago
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Last lifelines in Gaza are being cut, UN chief warns

Last lifelines in Gaza are being cut, UN chief warns
  • Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again raises alarm over increasingly dire humanitarian crisis as restrictions on aid mount and civilians run out of safe places to shelter
  • He expresses grave concern over series of attacks in recent days that hit locations in which Palestinians were seeking shelter or trying to obtain food

NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said he was “appalled” by the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, condemned recent deadly strikes against displaced people, and warned that the enclave is on the brink of total collapse as fuel supplies run out.

He expressed grave concern over a series of attacks in recent days that hit locations in which Palestinians sought shelter or were trying to access food.

Guterres’ spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, read a statement that said: “Multiple attacks (have) killed and injured scores of Palestinians. The secretary-general strongly condemns the loss of civilian life.”

Civilians in Gaza are running out of safe areas in which to shelter as Israeli evacuation orders continue to expand, Dujarric added as he warned of a dire humanitarian crisis amid mounting restrictions on the delivery of aid and rising casualties among relief workers.

Israeli authorities issued a new displacement order on Thursday targeting parts of Gaza City, citing as a reason rocket fire from Palestinian groups. It affected an estimated 40,000 people, including those living in a displacement site, a medical facility, and a neighborhood previously spared evacuation orders since a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas ended in March.

“As of earlier today, about 900 families are estimated to have fled,” Dujarric said, adding that approximately 78 percent of the Gaza Strip has now been affected by the cumulative effects of more than 50 such orders. When combined with the effects on areas designated as Israeli militarized zones, the figure rises to 85 percent, leaving just 15 percent of the territory available for civilians to live.

“Those areas are, of course, overcrowded,” Dujarric said. “They also severely lack basic services or proper infrastructure.”

He described the remaining habitable zones as fragmented and unsafe, and compared the humanitarian conditions there to having more than 2 million crammed into Manhattan but

“instead of buildings, the area is strewn with the rubble of demolished and burnt-out structures without any infrastructure or basic support.”

The UN Population Fund has reported that an estimated 700,000 women and girls in Gaza are experiencing “a nightmare” situation as a result of lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, water and privacy. It said it has nearly 170 truckloads of supplies ready for delivery but they remain blocked from entering Gaza.

Meanwhile, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that nine more aid workers from five organizations have died in Gaza since last Thursday, bringing the death toll among aid personnel to 107 in 2025, and 479 since the war began in October 2023; 326 members of UN staff are among the dead.

OCHA also highlighted the significant obstacles humanitarian operations faced in June. Out of nearly 400 attempts to coordinate with Israeli authorities, 44 percent were denied, and 10 percent were initially approved but later obstructed. Only a third of the missions were fully facilitated, while 12 percent were canceled due to logistical or security issues.

Four out of 16 humanitarian coordination efforts were denied on Thursday alone, Dujarric said, hindering efforts to relocate medical supplies and clear debris.

“The space left for civilians to stay is shrinking by the day,” he added.

In his statement, Guterres underscored the fact that international humanitarian law is “unambiguous” in its requirement for civilians to be protected and their basic needs met.

He warned that the continuing blockade on fuel deliveries, now entering an 18th week, threatens to bring remaining humanitarian operations to a halt.

“Without an urgent influx of fuel, incubators will shut down, ambulances will be unable to reach the injured and sick, and water cannot be purified,” he said, adding that the UN and its partners might soon be unable to deliver even the limited amount of aid that remains in Gaza.

Guterres repeated his call for “full, safe and sustained humanitarian access,” and said the UN has a ready, proven plan to deliver aid “safely and at scale” to civilians across the territory.

He also renewed his appeal for an “immediate, permanent ceasefire” and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” and stressed that all parties involved in the conflict must uphold their obligations under international law.


UAE president, king of Bahrain discuss ties in Abu Dhabi

UAE president, king of Bahrain discuss ties in Abu Dhabi
Updated 29 min 9 sec ago
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UAE president, king of Bahrain discuss ties in Abu Dhabi

UAE president, king of Bahrain discuss ties in Abu Dhabi
  • Several Emirati and Bahraini officials attended the meeting
  • Leaders explored ways to strengthen Abu Dhabi-Manama ties in support of shared interests

LONDON: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain at his residence in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss relations between the two countries.

The two leaders discussed cooperation between Manama and Abu Dhabi, exploring ways to strengthen their ties in support of shared interests and aspirations for continued progress, development and prosperity, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Several UAE officials attended the meeting, including Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, deputy chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Martyrs Families affairs, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, deputy chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs.

The Bahraini side included Lt. Gen. Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the national security adviser, Royal Guard commander and secretary general of the Supreme Defense Council of Bahrain, and Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the first deputy chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and president of the General Sports Authority of Bahrain.


Wildfires kill two in western Turkiye, little-known group claims arson attacks

Wildfires kill two in western Turkiye, little-known group claims arson attacks
Updated 03 July 2025
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Wildfires kill two in western Turkiye, little-known group claims arson attacks

Wildfires kill two in western Turkiye, little-known group claims arson attacks
  • The latest casualty was a backhoe operator, Ibrahim Demir, who died while battling the flames in the Odemis district
  • A group calling itself “Children of Fire” claimed responsibility

ISTANBUL: A wildfire killed a second person in Türkiye’s western Izmir province on Tuesday as blazes raged for a seventh day across several regions, while a little-known group claiming ties to Kurdish militants said it was behind dozens of arson attacks.

The latest casualty was a backhoe operator, Ibrahim Demir, who died while battling the flames in the Odemis district, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Earlier, an 81-year-old bedridden man who was home alone in the same area died when fire reached his house, marking the first death since the fires began.

A group calling itself “Children of Fire” claimed responsibility for “tens of fires across six Turkish cities”, according to a statement shared online.

The group, which is little known, says it is affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and European Union. The PKK, which said in May that it was ending a 40-year insurgency and disbanding, has not commented on the claim.

Firefighters continued to battle flames with helicopters and planes dropping water over mountainous terrain in Izmir, while authorities closed some roads to the Aegean resort town of Cesme, Anadolu said.

Broadcasters showed footage of flames lining the main highway as water tankers arrived.

Türkiye, Greece and other countries in the Mediterranean are in an area scientists dub “a wildfire hotspot” — with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate.

Wildfires across Türkiye’s west have damaged around 200 homes and victims have been provided alternative accommodation, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Some 50,000 people were temporarily evacuated earlier this week from areas of fires fueled by high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.

New fires also broke out on Thursday in the southern resort province of Antalya and in forested areas near Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city, Anadolu said. Authorities have managed to contain several of the blazes.


US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran oil trade, Hezbollah

US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran oil trade, Hezbollah
Updated 03 July 2025
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US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran oil trade, Hezbollah

US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran oil trade, Hezbollah
  • Action targets network of companies buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil

WASHINGTON: The US imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said.

A network of companies run by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said has been buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil since at least 2020, the department said.
“Treasury will continue to target Tehran’s revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime’s access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The US has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports over its nuclear program and funding of militant groups across the Middle East.
Reuters reported late last year that a fuel oil smuggling network that generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has
flourished in Iraq since 2022.
Thursday’s sanctions came after the US carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites, including its most deeply buried enrichment plant Fordow. The Pentagon said on Wednesday the strikes had degraded Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years, despite a far more cautious initial assessment that had leaked to the public.
The US and Iran are expected to hold talks about its nuclear program next week in Oslo, Axios reported.
The Treasury Department also issued sanctions against several senior officials and one entity associated with the Hezbollah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
The officials, the department said, conducted millions of dollars in transactions that ultimately benefited, but obscured, Hezbollah.


One person killed, 4 injured in Israeli airstrike on car in Beirut

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site after a reported Israeli strike on a vehicle in Khaldeh, south of the capital Beirut.
Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site after a reported Israeli strike on a vehicle in Khaldeh, south of the capital Beirut.
Updated 03 July 2025
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One person killed, 4 injured in Israeli airstrike on car in Beirut

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site after a reported Israeli strike on a vehicle in Khaldeh, south of the capital Beirut.
  • Israeli military spokesperson says the army ‘targeted a terrorist in Lebanon who was involved in arms smuggling and advancing terrorist plots against Israeli citizens and army forces’
  • Israeli army forces enter Kfar Kila, the closest Lebanese town to Israel, on Thursday morning and blow up a civilian home

BEIRUT: An Israeli drone attack hit a car on Khaldeh Road in southern Beirut at about 5 p.m. on Thursday. Initial reports suggested one person was killed and at least four injured.

The drone fired two guided missiles at the vehicle, scoring direct hits. The road on which it was traveling was described as a typically busy road.

The Israeli army confirmed the attack. In a message posted on social media platform X, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said: “The Israeli army targeted a terrorist in Lebanon who was involved in arms smuggling and advancing terrorist plots against Israeli citizens and army forces on behalf of the Iranian Quds Force.”

The attack took place three days before US envoy Thomas Barrack is due visit to Beirut to receive Lebanon’s response to US disarmament proposals designed to restrict control of weapons in the country to the Lebanese state, and a day after Hezbollah reiterated its rejection of the demand.

Hezbollah’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday that the group “categorically rejects any efforts to disarm. We do not accept being led into humiliation, nor surrendering our land or weapons to the Israeli enemy.”

The matter of weapons is “an internal Lebanese issue that must be addressed internally, without external supervision or interference,” he added.

“The party will not submit to any external threat or pressure. No one decides for us or imposes choices on us that we do not accept. Our weapons are our legitimate and legal right to confront the Israeli occupation.”

On Thursday morning, Israeli army forces entered the southern town of Kfar Kila and blew up a civilian home. Located across the border from the Israeli settlement of Metula, Kfar Kila is the closest Lebanese town to Israel, separated only by a border fence. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese army maintain a permanent presence in the area.