Live: Confusion as Iran claims no ceasefire reached with Israel
US President Donald Trump is claiming a ceasefire has been fully agreed upon between Israel and Iran.
"There will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!" he posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
Israel and Iran are yet to confirm the ceasefire.
Shortly before Trump's announcement, Iran was calling on Israeli's to evacuate the city of Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, with reports of explosions a short time later.
Trump's declaration of a ceasefire comes after Iran fired missiles at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in response to a US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities at the weekend.
Explosions were heard over Qatar's capital Doha on Monday, according to a Reuters witness, shortly after a Western diplomat said there had been a credible Iranian threat against the base.
Some flights from New Zealand headed for Doha were diverted to Oman, and Auckland Airport had warned flights to and through the Middle East may be affected by temporary airspace closures.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
an hour ago
- Scoop
On The Israel–Iran War: Diplomacy Must Prevail
The Disarmament and Security Centre (DSC) expresses deep alarm at the escalating military conflict in the Middle East and its nuclear implications. On 13 June 2025, just two days before talks between Iran and the United States were due to take place in Oman, Israel launched strikes on Iran's military, civilian, and nuclear infrastructure. In response, Iran launched retaliatory strikes, prompting further Israeli attacks and renewed Iranian retaliation. On 22 June, the United States joined the conflict, with President Donald Trump ordering strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran has responded with more strikes into Israel and a US air base in Qatar. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that we are descending into a 'rathole of retaliation after retaliation.' Despite the latest announcement of a potential ceasefire, the DSC echoes his urgent warning, as the situation remains volatile and highly unstable. The historical context of this conflict is essential to understanding its causes. In 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, was agreed between Iran and the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the EU. This landmark agreement placed strict, verifiable limits on Iran's civilian nuclear energy programme—ensuring it did not develop the capacity to build a nuclear weapon—in exchange for a lifting of economic sanctions. For the first three years, Iran complied with its obligations. However, in 2018, US President Donald Trump—seeking a 'better deal'—unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement. This decision effectively derailed further progress under this historic framework and has directly contributed to the current crisis. For over two decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran is 'a year away or less' from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran remains under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scrutiny, and inspections have confirmed that its uranium enrichment has exceeded the JCPOA limit, reaching 60%—a concerning development, as it is well above the 3% to 5% required for civilian energy use, though still below the 90% needed to produce a nuclear weapon. Despite this, on 18 June—five days after the conflict began—the IAEA Director General, Raphael Grossi, stated that recent inspections 'did not find elements in Iran to indicate that there is an active, systematic plan to build a nuclear weapon.' Israel, by contrast, is the only state in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal—estimated at 80 to 90 warheads—has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and does not permit IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities. Due to US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, IAEA inspectors in the country are now unable to conduct further assessments—let alone determine the extent of the damage or any possible radiation leaks or chemical toxicity. We echo the IAEA's warning that nuclear facilities must never be targeted. Ultimately, this crisis reveals a deeper truth about the flawed thinking behind nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence. The belief that possessing nuclear weapons guarantees security has once again been disproven. Israel's nuclear arsenal has not deterred Iran's attacks, and Iran, in turn, understands that pursuing nuclear weapons offers no real guarantee of protection. Rather than preventing war, the logic of deterrence has bred mistrust, escalation, and pre-emptive violence. The result is a cycle of fear that brings the world closer to catastrophe, not peace. Nuclear weapons don't keep us safe—they keep us trapped. We urge the media to reflect on the lessons of history and avoid repeating the mistakes that paved the way for past wars. While Iran's political system differs greatly from those of Western democracies, this does not justify externally imposed regime change, as is now being suggested. The disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq—also based on claims of weapons of mass destruction—serves as a sobering precedent, resulting in mass civilian deaths, long-term instability, and no nuclear weapons ever being found. We are also deeply concerned that this escalation is drawing attention away from the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where Palestinians continue to be killed daily while attempting to access food aid. All conflicts must be addressed with equal urgency, accountability, and respect for international law. We support the New Zealand Government's call for a political resolution to the conflict through diplomatic means, and we share its position that Iran must not become the world's tenth nuclear-armed state. At the same time, we urge a renewed commitment to New Zealand's nuclear-free principles and to the prevention of nuclear proliferation through diplomacy, multilateral agreements, and dialogue—not military force. Finally, we call on the media and the public to reject the dangerous dehumanisation of Iranians, Palestinians, or Israelis. People are not their governments. Fear-driven narratives fuel war; we must instead rely on facts, international law, and historical lessons to guide us forward.
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
The danger of an unrestrained president to the world - Oona A. Hathaway
US President Donald Trump did not seek approval from Congress or the UN Security Council, as required by law, before ordering military strikes against Iran. Photo / Anna Rose Layden, The New York Times THE FACTS Trump's unlawful strikes on Iran have laid bare the absence of any effective legal constraints on a US president to use deadly force in the world. Acting on President Trump's orders, the US military conducted a strike early Sunday morning against three Iranian nuclear. Few knew of the strikes in advance. Trump did not seek advance approval from Congress or the UN Security Council, as required by law. The unlawful strikes have thus laid bare the dangerous absence of any effective legal constraints – whether domestic or international – on the decision of the American president to use deadly force anywhere in the world.
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Trump announces 'total ceasefire' between Israel and Iran
United States President Donald Trump has announced a "complete and total" ceasefire between Israel and Iran will go into force with a view to ending the conflict between the two nations. Trump appeared to suggest that Israel and Iran would have some time to complete any missions that are underway, at which point the ceasefire would begin in a staged process. "On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, 'THE 12 DAY WAR'," he wrote on his Truth Social site. Trump declared a ceasefire minutes after each side threatened new attacks. CNN reported shortly before Trump's post that Iran had not received any ceasefire proposal and saw no reason for one, citing a senior Iranian official. The attack strained Iran's relationship with its Arab neighbours: Qatar condemned it, as did Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. Earlier on Monday, Trump said he would encourage Israel to proceed towards peace after dismissing Iran's attack on an American air base that caused no injuries and thanking Tehran for the early notice of the strikes. There was no immediate comment from Israel on Trump's statement. Hours earlier, three Israeli officials had signaled Israel was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the United States. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% late on Monday, suggesting traders expect the U.S. stock market to open with gains on Tuesday. Israel earlier said it carried out its most extensive wave of attacks on Tehran ever on Monday. Targets included a Tehran prison where Iran's leadership holds political opponents, in a renewed demonstration of its willingness to strike beyond its previously stated military and nuclear targets to target key pillars of Iran's ruling system. Despite Iran's threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices fell 7% in volatile trading, suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies. Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, closed its airspace after receiving the advance warning from Iran, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps. STRIKING 'REGIME TARGETS' Israel made clear that its strikes on Evin prison and other targets in Tehran were intended to hit the Iranian ruling apparatus broadly, and its ability to sustain power. Iran's IRIB state broadcaster released video showing rescue workers combing the flattened wreckage of a building at the prison, carrying a wounded man on a stretcher. The Mizan news outlet of Iran's judiciary said urgent action was being taken to protect the health and safety of inmates there. Evin has long been Iran's primary prison for political detainees and people accused of espionage, as well as the site of executions that remain strong memories for the opposition. Several high-profile foreign prisoners are also held there. Israel's military said it had also struck Revolutionary Guard command centres responsible for internal security in the Tehran area. The military was "currently striking, with unprecedented force, regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. Much of Tehran's population of 10 million has fled after 10 days of bombing. Tasnim News Agency reported a strike at an electricity feeder station in the Evin neighbourhood. Power company Tavanir reported some areas in the capital experienced electricity cuts. LIMITED OPTIONS Since the US joined Israel's campaign by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear production sites on Sunday morning, Iran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. "Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it," Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in a recorded, English-language video statement. "Iran was bound to retaliate so as not to appear to have surrendered and look weak," Dennis Ross, a former Middle East negotiator for both Democratic and Republican US presidents, wrote in a post on X. "But (Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei knows, especially if Americans have not been killed, that there is a good chance to end the war with the US and to preserve the regime – always his 1st priority." The Trump administration maintains that its aim is solely to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, not to open a wider war. But in a social media post on Sunday, Trump spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington's principal foes in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Five insiders with knowledge of the discussions said efforts had been ramped up to anoint a successor for Iran's 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His son Mojtaba, 56, and Hassan Khomeini, 53, grandson of the revolution's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, are now seen as the frontrunners, they said. Americans are anxious over a brewing conflict between the US and Iran and worry the violence could escalate after President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday.
