Netanyahu declares historic win, says Israel removed Iran's nuclear threat in 12-day war
Netanyahu declares historic win, says Israel removed Iran's nuclear threat in 12-day war

Netanyahu declares historic win, says Israel removed Iran’s nuclear threat in 12-day war

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Netanyahu declares historic win, says Israel removed Iran’s nuclear threat in 12-day war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump. He spoke hours after Mr Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Mr Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington. He cited the war against Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since a surprise attack on Oct 7, 2023.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump. PHOTO: REUTERS

TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 24 that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its programme.

“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us – the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” he said, in video remarks issued by his office.

“If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

He called it a historic victory that would stand for generations.

He said Israel had never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump, whose US military dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend.

“Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow,” Mr Netanyahu said.

He spoke hours after Mr Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Mr Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, Israel’s closest ally.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel’s work was unfinished. He cited the war against Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since the Palestinian militant group carried out a surprise attack on Oct 7, 2023.

About 20 are believed to be alive.

“We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead,” he said. REUTERS

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Source: Straitstimes.com | View original article

US strikes failed to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites, intelligence report says

US airstrikes only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months, initial US intelligence assessment finds. US tells UN Security Council that strikes ‘degraded’ nuclear program. Both Israel and Iran acknowledge they had accepted the ceasefire but accuse each other of violating it. Israel launched the surprise air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.. Israel’s military lifted restrictions on activity across the country at 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) and officials said Ben Gurion Airport, the country’s main airport near Tel Aviv, had reopened. Iran’s airspace likewise will be reopened, state-affiliated Nournews reported. A White House official said Trump brokered the ceasefire deal with Netanyahu, and other administration officials were in touch with the Iranian government. The White House said the intelligence assessment was “flat out wrong”

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Summary LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

Israeli prime minister, Iran president both claim victory

US airstrikes only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months, initial US intelligence assessment finds

US tells UN Security Council that strikes ‘degraded’ nuclear program

WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV/ISTANBUL, June 24 (Reuters) – U.S. airstrikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months, according to a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment, as a shaky ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump took hold between Iran and Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, both Iran and Israel signaled that the air war between the two nations had ended, at least for now, after Trump publicly scolded them for violating a ceasefire he announced at 0500 GMT.

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As the two countries lifted civilian restrictions after 12 days of war – which the U.S. joined with an attack on Iran’s uranium-enrichment facilities – each sought to claim victory.

Trump said over the weekend that the U.S. deployment of 30,000-pound bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment by one of his administration’s intelligence agencies, according to three people familiar with the matter.

One of the sources said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear program, much of which is buried deep underground, may have been set back only a month or two. Iran says its nuclear research is for civilian energy production.

The White House said the intelligence assessment was “flat out wrong.” According to the report, which was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the strikes sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities, but did not collapse underground buildings, said one of the people familiar with its findings.

Some centrifuges still remained intact after the attacks, the Washington Post said, citing an unnamed person familiar with the report.

Trump’s administration told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that its weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had “degraded” Iran’s nuclear program, short of Trump’s earlier assertion that the facilities had been “obliterated.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the attack on Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its weapons program.

“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us: the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” Netanyahu said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had successfully ended the war in what he called a “great victory,” according to Iranian media. Pezeshkian also told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Tehran was ready to resolve differences with the U.S., according to official news agency IRNA.

Israel launched the surprise air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.

Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.

‘GREAT VICTORY’

Israel’s military lifted restrictions on activity across the country at 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), and officials said Ben Gurion Airport, the country’s main airport near Tel Aviv, had reopened. Iran’s airspace likewise will be reopened, state-affiliated Nournews reported.

A White House official said Trump brokered the ceasefire deal with Netanyahu, and other administration officials were in touch with the Iranian government.

Item 1 of 21 A satellite overview shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility, along with damage from recent airstrikes, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, near Qom, Iran, June 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS [1/21] A satellite overview shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility, along with damage from recent airstrikes, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, near Qom, Iran, June 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

The truce appeared fragile: Both Israel and Iran took hours to acknowledge they had accepted the ceasefire and accused each other of violating it.

Trump scolded both sides but aimed especially stinging criticism at Israel, telling the close U.S. ally to “calm down now.” He later said Israel called off further attacks at his command.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said he told his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, that his country would respect the ceasefire unless Iran violated it. Pezeshkian likewise said Iran would honor the ceasefire as long as Israel did, according to Iranian media.

Whether the Israel-Iran truce can hold is a major question given the deep mistrust between the two foes. But Trump’s ability to broker a ceasefire showed Washington retains some leverage in the volatile region.

Israeli armed forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir said a “significant chapter” of the conflict had concluded but the campaign against Iran was not over. He said the military would refocus on its war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza.

Iran’s military command also warned Israel and the U.S. to learn from the “crushing blows” it delivered during the conflict.

Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed in their country by Israeli strikes and 4,746 injured. Iran’s retaliatory bombardment killed 28 people in Israel, the first time its air defenses were penetrated by large numbers of Iranian missiles.

Oil prices plunged and stock markets rallied worldwide in a sign of confidence inspired by the ceasefire, which allayed fears of disruption to critical oil supplies from the Gulf.

CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS?

Earlier in the day, Trump admonished Israel with an obscenity in an extraordinary outburst at an ally whose air war he had joined two days before by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites.

Before departing the White House en route to a NATO summit in Europe, Trump told reporters he was unhappy with both sides for the ceasefire breach but particularly frustrated with Israel, which he said had “unloaded” shortly after agreeing to the deal.

“I’ve got to get Israel to calm down now,” Trump said. Iran and Israel had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”

Netanyahu’s office acknowledged Israel bombed a radar site near Tehran in what it said was retaliation for Iranian missiles fired three-and-a-half hours after the ceasefire was due to begin.

It did not explicitly say whether the strike on the radar site took place before or after they spoke.

The Islamic Republic denied launching any missiles and said Israel’s attacks had continued for an hour-and-a-half beyond the time the truce was meant to start.

“Who mediated or how it happened doesn’t matter,” said Reza Sharifi, 38, heading back to Tehran from Rasht on the Caspian Sea, where he had fled with his family. “The war is over. It never should have started in the first place.”

Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay and Reuters bureaus; writing by Andy Sullivan, Mark Heinrich, Peter Graff and Jonathan Allen; editing by Timothy Heritage, Ross Colvin, Joe Bavier, Cynthia Osterman and Stephen Coates

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Source: Reuters.com | View original article

Live updates: Iran-Israel conflict: Trump rebukes both sides hours after ceasefire

More than 400 American citizens, permanent residents and their family members have departed Israel on US-facilitated flights since Saturday. The planes are a mix of charter and US government aircraft. The decision to launch the flights was driven by a lack of availability of commercial flights and the need to take US citizens “from danger to safety.

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More than 400 American citizens, permanent residents and their family members have departed Israel on US-facilitated flights since Saturday, a State Department official said Tuesday.

The decision to launch the flights was driven by a lack of availability of commercial flights and the need to take US citizens “from danger to safety,” the official said. They expressed hope that the ceasefire would allow commercial flights to resume.

The planes are a mix of charter and US government aircraft.

Demand for the US flights has exceeded capacity, but some of the planes have left with seats empty due to passengers being unable to reach the airport or pick-up point, the official said.

Americans who take the flights are required by law to pay the US government for them, but they are informed of the cost upfront. Flights have cost roughly $250 for those going to Rome and $140 for those going to Athens, the official said.

Thousands more have left Israel on their own via land routes to Jordan since the start of the Israel-Iran war and several hundred have left via Egypt in the past two days, the official said.

Several thousand people have also departed on boats to Cyprus, which have been arranged by Birthright and other tourist groups.

“There’s a lot of people who, I think, are waiting in the hopes of US government assistance. And our message to them is, if you have other options to depart through your tour company, through land, please consider using other options first,” the official said.

Source: Cnn.com | View original article

Israel says it will respect Iran ceasefire ‘as long as the other side does’ – live updates

Israel will respect ceasefire if Iran does, defense minister says. Comments echo those made earlier on Tuesday by Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, who said Iran will respect the ceasefire announced by Trump, provided that Israel also upholds its terms. Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok produced inaccurate and contradictory responses when users sought to fact-check the Israel-Iran conflict, a study has said, raising fresh doubts about its reliability as a debunking tool. The DFRLab analysed about 130,000 posts in various languages on the platform X, where the AI assistant is built in. Grok demonstrated that it struggles with verifying already-confirmed facts, analysing fake visuals and avoiding unsubstantiated claims, the study found. It oscillated – sometimes within the same minute – between denying the airport’s destruction and confirming it had been damaged by strikes. In some responses, Grok cited the a missile launched by Yemeni rebels as the source of the damage. In others, it wrongly identified the AI-generated airport as one in Beirut, Gaza or Tehran.

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From 6h ago 19.26 BST Israel will respect ceasefire if Iran does, defense minister says The Israeli minister of defense, Israel Katz, said he has spoken with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, to thank the US for Donald Trump’s “bold decision to act with Israel against the Iranian nuclear threat”. In a post on X, Katz added: I emphasized that Israel will respect the ceasefire — as long as the other side does. Hegseth praised Israel for the “historic achievements made”, Katz said. His comments echo those made earlier on Tuesday by Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, who said Iran will respect the ceasefire announced by Trump, provided that Israel also upholds its terms. “If the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either,” Pezeshkian said during a phone conversation with Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, according to the presidency’s website. Share Updated at 19.41 BST

13m ago 01.14 BST Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok produced inaccurate and contradictory responses when users sought to fact-check the Israel-Iran conflict, a study has said, raising fresh doubts about its reliability as a debunking tool. Agence France-Presse reports that with tech platforms reducing their reliance on human fact-checkers, users are increasingly utilising AI-powered chatbots – including xAI’s Grok – in search of reliable information, but their responses are often prone to misinformation. “The investigation into Grok’s performance during the first days of the Israel-Iran conflict exposes significant flaws and limitations in the AI chatbot’s ability to provide accurate, reliable and consistent information during times of crisis,” said the study from the digital forensic research lab (DFRLab) of the Atlantic Council, an American thinktank. Grok demonstrated that it struggles with verifying already-confirmed facts, analysing fake visuals and avoiding unsubstantiated claims. View image in fullscreen AI chatbot Grok showed ‘significant flaws’ in fact-checking on the Israel-Iran war, the study says. Photograph: AP The DFRLab analysed about 130,000 posts in various languages on the platform X, where the AI assistant is built in, to find that Grok was “struggling to authenticate AI-generated media”. Following Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel, Grok offered vastly different responses to similar prompts about an AI-generated video of a destroyed airport that amassed millions of views on X, the study found. It oscillated – sometimes within the same minute – between denying the airport’s destruction and confirming it had been damaged by strikes, the study said. In some responses, Grok cited the a missile launched by Yemeni rebels as the source of the damage. In others, it wrongly identified the AI-generated airport as one in Beirut, Gaza or Tehran. Share Updated at 01.15 BST

41m ago 00.46 BST Israelis have responded calmly to Donald Trump’s criticisms and accusations their country had violated a truce he brokered with Iran, expressing gratitude for his mediation and relief at the conclusion of the 12-day war. Reuters reports that earlier on Tuesday the US president admonished Israel after waking in Washington to find the ceasefire had been violated by both sides, telling the media: “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.” In Haifa, northern Israel, Daniel Kopylkov, a 27-year-old cook, said: “Honestly, I don’t care that much about what Trump said about Israel. At the end of the day, I think he’s the one that truly helped to bring an end to this war and that’s what’s important to me.” Kopylkov was one of several people Reuters interviewed in Haifa, a target of Iranian missiles during the conflict. It is Israel’s third-largest city after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and home to Israel’s busiest seaport and a naval base. Historian Marc Volovici, 42, said Trump’s outburst underscored Israel’s dependence on US political, military and financial support. This was just a very small but significant demonstration of how Israel relies on international legitimacy, and especially [the] American one. View image in fullscreen People gathered at the site of an Iranian strike in Haifa, Israel, at the weekend. Photograph: Florion Goga/Reuters A 70-year-old resident identifying herself only as Esther said: It’s like a parent scolding the child. He’s scolding us. But it’s not anything dramatically serious. I’m not a politician, you know, I’m just feeling it like that. Lawyer Ephraim Glazberg, 75, expressed a similar view, saying: “I think it was the agony of the moment. I don’t think this is a problem.” Share Updated at 00.53 BST

1h ago 00.16 BST Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel “never had a better friend that President Trump in the White House” in video remarks issued by the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu also said that in its 12 days of war with Iran, Israel had removed “the threat of nuclear annihilation”. You can see the video here: Live Live Israel ‘never had a better friend than Trump in the White House’, says Netanyahu Share Updated at 00.16 BST

1h ago 00.07 BST Oil prices sank for a second straight day and stock markets mostly rose on Tuesday as the ceasefire between Iran and Israel appeared to be holding. Crude futures slumped in volatile trading after Donald Trump announced a ceasefire, extending Monday’s steep losses in oil after Iran’s response to the US attack did not hit energy infrastructure, Agence France-Presse reports. “This morning’s ceasefire further reduced the perceived threat to Middle Eastern oil supply routes,” said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation. The main international and US oil contracts briefly bounced off their lows as Israel and Iran accused each other of breaking the ceasefire, but then resumed their fall after Trump berated the two countries. Prices were also brought down by Trump saying that China could continue to buy oil from Iran. Share

2h ago 23.51 BST Turkey’s president hailed the Iran-Israel truce and hoped it would remain in place as he held talks with Donald Trump on the sidelines of a Nato summit late on Tuesday. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “expressed his satisfaction with the ceasefire achieved between Israel and Iran through President Trump’s efforts, hoping it would be permanent”, his office said. It said Erdoğan also stressed that Ankara and Washington should work closely together to end the war in Gaza, Agence France-Presse reported. He “emphasised the importance of close dialogue in ending the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza as soon as possible”, as well as “peacefully resolving the Russia-Ukraine war”. Erdogan also called for increased defence industry cooperation with the US, which he said could significantly boost trade between them. Advancing cooperation in the defence industry would facilitate achieving the goal of a $100 billion trade volume. View image in fullscreen Trump and Erdoğan meet on the sidelines of the Nato summit in The Hague, Netherlands. Photograph: Turkish presidential press office/Reuters Share Updated at 23.53 BST

2h ago 23.31 BST Donald Trump has said China can continue to purchase Iranian oil after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, a move the White House clarified did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions. “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, just days after ordering the US bombings of three Iranian nuclear sites. Reuters cited a senior White House official as saying the US president was drawing attention to no attempts by Iran so far to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, as a closure would have been hard for China, the world’s top importer of Iranian oil. “The president continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil rather than import Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions,” the official said. View image in fullscreen Vessels in transit in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Oman, on Tuesday. Photograph: Ali Haider/EPA After the ceasefire announcement, Trump’s comments on China were another bearish signal for oil prices, which fell nearly 6%. Any relaxation of sanctions enforcement on Iran would mark a US policy shift after Trump said in February he was reimposing maximum pressure on Iran, aiming to drive its oil exports to zero, over its nuclear program and funding of militants across the Middle East. “President Trump’s greenlight for China to keep buying Iranian oil reflects a return to lax enforcement standards,” said Scott Modell, a former CIA officer, now CEO of Rapidan Energy Group. Share Updated at 23.32 BST

2h ago 23.15 BST At the United Nations, France and its European partners are still prepared to reactivate sanctions on Iran if an agreement is not reached soon on its nuclear program, the French ambassador to the UN has warned. “Time is running out,” Jerome Bonnnafont said at a UN security council meeting in reference to the October expiration of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. We expect Iran to return to talks without delay in order to achieve a robust, verifiable and lasting diplomatic solution. Agence France-Presse reports Bonnafont also said on Tuesday said negotiations were the only way to “guarantee the impossibility of an Iranian military nuclear program”, days after the US conducted strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. He told the New York meeting: France and its E3 partners [Germany and the UK] remain ready to use the leverage established by resolution 2231, that of a ‘snapback’ [of sanctions], if a satisfactory agreement is not reached by summer. View image in fullscreen The UN security council meeting in New York. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters UK ambassador Barbara Wood concurred, saying: “We will use all diplomatic levers at our disposal to support a negotiated outcome and ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.” This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage Share Updated at 23.22 BST

3h ago 22.39 BST The day so far The shaky truce between Iran and Israel appeared to hold, with both sides saying they would honour the ceasefire if the other side did the same. Earlier on Tuesday Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would respect the ceasefire announced by Trump, provided that Israel also upholds its terms. “If the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either,” he said. Hours later, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said he told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that “Israel will respect the ceasefire — as long as the other side does”.

An initial classified US assessment of Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend says they did not destroy two of the sites and likely only set back the nuclear program by a few months , according to two people familiar with the report. The report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – concluded key components of the nuclear program, including centrifuges, were capable of being restarted within months. The report also found that much of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be put to use for a possible nuclear weapon was moved before the strikes and may have been moved to other secret nuclear sites maintained by Iran. The findings suggest Trump’s declaration about the sites being “obliterated” – and acting US envoy to the UN Dorothy Shea’s statement to the United Nations Security Council that the US strikes “effectively fulfilled our narrow objective: to degrade Iran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon” – may be overstated. Read our story here.

Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would strike again if Iran rebuilds its nuclear project . Describing his war on Iran as a “historic victory” that “will stand for generations”, the Israeli PM claimed that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed “the threat of nuclear annihilation”. He said on he had “no intention of easing off the gas pedal” and Israel “must complete” its campaign against the Iranian axis, to defeat Hamas and to bring about the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Netanyahu also declared that Israel “never had a better friend that President Trump in the White House”. His comments came only hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said violated the truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, with the US president saying: “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, the biggest load that we’ve seen. We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.” Israel’s leadership was reportedly “stunned” and “embarrassed” by Trump’s harsh rebuke.

Iranian state news reported that Iran’s air space would reopen on Tuesday night, while Israel Home Front Command said Israeli citizens could resume full activity without restriction for most of the country and Ben-Gurion and Haifa airports would return to full operations. Fragile Israel-Iran truce appears to hold after Trump’s fury at initial violations Read more Share Updated at 22.46 BST

3h ago 22.02 BST Chris Stein In the US, Democrats are up in arms over the cancellation of classified briefings to Congress scheduled for today, where White House officials were going to inform lawmakers about the bombing raid targeting Iran’s nuclear program. “What are the facts that the Trump administration is trying to hide? The American people deserve to know the truth,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the briefings were canceled. “This last-minute postponement of our briefing is outrageous. It’s evasive. It’s derelict. They’re bobbing and weaving and ducking. Senators deserve full transparency. There is a legal obligation for the administration to inform Congress about precisely what is happening,” said Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat. It was not immediately cleared why the briefings for all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives were canceled. On X, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson said his chamber’s briefing had been rescheduled to Friday: I have just confirmed with the White House that the classified bipartisan briefing for all House Members will now be held on Friday. Senior Administration officials will present the latest information pertaining to the situation involving Israel and Iran. Spokespeople for Senate majority leader John Thune did not respond to a request for comment. Share

4h ago 21.48 BST The Israeli military said on Tuesday it intercepted earlier this evening two drones “most likely from Iran” that were making their way towards Israel. Israel’s Kan radio said the drones were most likely launched in the morning hours about the same time as the launch of a surface-to-surface missile from Iran. The drones were intercepted outside of Israeli territory, the military added. Share

4h ago 21.46 BST Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have denied earlier reports on Tuesday that there was a drone attack in the northwestern city of Tabriz, three Iranian news sites reported. Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian media said air defences were activated in the area amid the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Share

4h ago 21.40 BST Trump’s strikes on Iran only set back nuclear program by months, early intelligence finds Hugo Lowell An initial classified US assessment of Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend says they did not destroy two of the sites and likely only set back the nuclear program by a few months, according to two people familiar with the report. The report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – and first reported by CNN, concluded key components of the nuclear program including centrifuges and enriched uranium were capable of being restarted within months. The report also found that much of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be put to use for a possible nuclear weapon was moved before the strikes and may have been moved to other secret nuclear sites maintained by Iran. The findings by the DIA, which were based on a preliminary battle damage assessment conducted by US central command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, suggests Trump’s declaration about the sites being “obliterated” may be overstated. Trump had said in his televised address on Saturday night immediately after the operation that the US had completely destroyed Iran’s enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordow, the facility buried deep underground, and at Esfahan, where enrichment was being stored. “The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” Trump said in his address from the White House. While the DIA report was only an initial assessment, one of the people said if the intelligence on the ground was already finding within days that Fordow in particular was not destroyed, later assessments could suggest even less damage might have been inflicted. Share Updated at 21.53 BST

Source: Theguardian.com | View original article

Netanyahu declares historic win, says Israel removed Iran’s nuclear threat in 12-day war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel had removed the threat of nuclear war with Iran. He said Israel never had a better friend than U.S. President Donald Trump, who had bombed Iran’s nuclear sites. Netanyahu said Israel’s work was still to be done against Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since a surprise attack on October 7, 2023. “We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis,” he said.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks after a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

June 24 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its programme.

“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us – the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” he said in video remarks issued by his office.

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“If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

He called it a historic victory that would stand for generations.

He said Israel never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump, whose U.S. military had dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend.

“Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow,” Netanyahu said.

He spoke hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, Israel’s closest ally.

Netanyahu said Israel’s work was unfinished. He cited the war against Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since the Palestinian militant group carried out a surprise attack on October 7, 2023.

About 20 are believed to be alive.

“We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead,” he said.

Reporting by Howard Goller; Editing by Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis

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Source: Reuters.com | View original article

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