Meeting Trump, Turkiye's Erdogan hails Iran-Israel truce
THE HAGUE: Turkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a NATO summit late Tuesday, hailing the Iran-Israel ceasefire and urging 'close dialogue' to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Turkish president 'expressed his satisfaction with the ceasefire achieved between Israel and Iran through President Trump's efforts, hoping it would be permanent, and emphasized the importance of close dialogue... in peacefully resolving the Russia-Ukraine war,' a statement from his office said.
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Pakistan says Trump still deserves Nobel for halting India clash, Iran-Israel fighting
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday defended Islamabad's decision to recommend United States President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in brokering two ceasefires in under two months. The government last week announced it would formally nominate Trump for what it called his 'decisive diplomatic intervention' during last month's military standoff with India, a brief but intense escalation in which the nuclear-armed rivals exchanged missile, drone and artillery strikes before the US brokered a truce on May 10. The standoff, which killed nearly 70 people on both sides, renewed fears of a wider conflict between Pakistan and India, who have fought three full-scale wars, mostly over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Indian officials have denied that Trump played any role in securing the May 10 ceasefire, but Pakistan insists his behind-the-scenes push was key to defusing the crisis. The nomination, however, has sparked public criticism after Trump last week launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in retaliation for attacks on Israeli targets. The region narrowly avoided further escalation when Washington subsequently said it had brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel on Monday, ending nearly two weeks of missile and drone attacks that killed over 200 Iranians and about 30 Israelis. 'I believe that within just a month and a half, President Trump has managed two ceasefires,' Asif told Independent Urdu in an interview. 'So, our endorsement for his Nobel Prize, it's not just about one but two ceasefires that has further strengthened our case for it.' Asif also credited Trump for preventing a wider regional war in the Middle East and urged him to build on the momentum by reviving efforts for a two-state solution in Palestine. 'And I would take it a step further that President Trump should now work toward a two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state,' he said. While reports of violations continued to emerge after the Iran-Israel ceasefire was announced, the truce has largely held under heavy US pressure. Trump, who campaigned on pledges to act as a 'peacemaker' and quickly resolve conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza — both still ongoing five months into his presidency — has called the Iran-Israel truce a personal diplomatic triumph. Trump has also claimed credit for mediating a deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to defuse tensions over rebel groups operating near their border. He has also previously offered to mediate the decades-old Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan and has sought to portray himself as a mediator in the long-running Serbia-Kosovo conflict.
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Israel claims victory as US intel says Iran nuclear sites not destroyed
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a 'historic victory' against Iran despite a US intelligence report concluding that American strikes set back Tehran's nuclear program by just a few months. Iran and Israel agreed a ceasefire on Tuesday ending 12 days of tit-for-tat strikes, after US President Donald Trump joined the conflict with bunker-busting bombs at the weekend that he said destroyed key Iranian nuclear sites. A classified preliminary US intelligence report however, concluded that American strikes on Iran set back its nuclear program by just a few months. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the authenticity of the assessment but said it was 'flat-out wrong.' In an address to the nation after the ceasefire announcement, Netanyahu said 'Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.' 'We have thwarted Iran's nuclear project,' he said. 'And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild it, we will act with the same determination, with the same intensity, to foil any attempt.' Israel had said its bombing campaign, which began on June 13, was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied. Israel's military said that its strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program 'by years.' After Trump angrily berated both sides for early violations of the truce on Tuesday, Tehran announced it would respect the terms of the deal if Israel did the same, while Israel said it had refrained from further strikes. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was willing to return to negotiations over its nuclear program, but that his country would continue to 'assert its legitimate rights' to the peaceful use of atomic energy. US media on Tuesday cited people familiar with the Defense Intelligence Agency findings as saying the American strikes did not fully eliminate Iran's centrifuges or stockpile of enriched uranium. The strikes sealed off entrances to some facilities without destroying underground buildings, according to the report. White House Press Secretary Leavitt responded on social media: 'The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran's nuclear program.' While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict was by far the most destructive confrontation between them. Israeli strikes hit nuclear and military targets — killing scientists and senior military figures — as well as residential areas, prompting waves of Iranian missile fire on Israel. The war culminated in US strikes on underground Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-busting bombs — which Israel lacks — followed by an Iranian reprisal targeting the largest US military facility in the Middle East. Trump shrugged off that response as 'weak,' thanking Tehran for giving advance notice and announcing the contours of the ceasefire just hours later. Some Israelis welcomed the prospect of a truce. 'Everyone is tired. We just want to have some peace of mind,' said Tel Aviv resident Tammy Shel. 'For us, for the Iranian people, for the Palestinians, for everyone in the region.' In Iran, people remained uncertain whether the peace would hold. Amir, 28, fled from Tehran to the Caspian Sea coast and told AFP by phone, 'I really don't know... about the ceasefire but honestly, I don't think things will return to normal.' Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least 610 civilians and wounded more than 4,700, according to the health ministry. c, according to official figures and rescuers. The international community reacted with cautious optimism to the truce. Saudi Arabia and the European Union welcomed Trump's announcement, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped 'that this will be a sustainable ceasefire.' But French President Emmanuel Macron warned there was an 'increased' risk that Iran would attempt to enrich uranium secretly following the strikes on its nuclear sites. After the truce was announced, Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir said Israel's focus would now shift back to Gaza. The Israeli opposition, the Palestinian Authority and the main group representing the families of Israeli hostages all called for a Gaza truce to complement the Iran ceasefire.
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A whirlwind 48 hours: How Trump's Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement came together
WASHINGTON: In a 48-hour whirlwind, President Donald Trump veered from elated to indignant to triumphant as his fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement came together, teetered toward collapse and ultimately coalesced. Trump, as he worked to seal the deal, publicly harangued the Israelis and Iranians with a level of pique that's notable even for a commander in chief who isn't shy about letting the world know what he thinks. The effort was helped along as his aides and Qatari allies sensed an opening after what they saw as a half-hearted, face-saving measure by Tehran on Monday to retaliate against the US for strikes against three key nuclear sites. And it didn't hurt that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after 12 days of bombing, could tell the Israeli public that Iran's nuclear program had been diminished. 'This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't, and never will!' Trump declared in a social media post announcing the ceasefire. Netanyahu is less than enthusiastic about Trump's message The agreement began taking shape early Sunday morning, soon after the US military carried out blistering strikes on Iranian nuclear sites that US defense officials said have set back Tehran's nuclear program. Trump directed his team to get Netanyahu on the phone. The president told Netanyahu not to expect further US offensive military action, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the sensitive diplomatic talks. The US president made the case that it was time to stop the war and return to diplomatic negotiations with Iran. Trump also noted that the US had removed any imminent threat posed by Iran, according to the official. For his part, Netanyahu listened to Trump's argument as Israel was nearing its own objectives with Iran, the official said. Netanyahu did not enthusiastically agree, but understood Trump's stance that the US had no desire for additional military involvement. Around the same time, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, telling him to come back to the bargaining table because Iran had seen what the US military could do and that it was capable of doing much more, the official said. Witkoff stressed that the US wanted peace — and Iran should, too. The president's envoy said Tuesday in an appearance on Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle' that Trump now wants to land 'a comprehensive peace agreement that goes beyond even the ceasefire.' 'We're already talking to each other, not just directly, but also through interlocutors,' Witkoff said. 'I think that the conversations are promising.' Trump ebullient about Israel-Iran deal prospects Less than 48 hours later, Trump took to his social media platform to announce that a 'Complete and Total CEASEFIRE' had been achieved. The ceasefire was based solely on the end of military hostilities, rather than on additional conditions about Iran's nuclear program or its economic interests. Trump was acting on the belief that Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons had been crippled. But as Trump spoke with confidence about the coming ceasefire, the Israelis and Iranians were notably quiet — neither side publicly commented on what Trump described as a deal that would be phased in over the coming hours. Araghchi spoke out first, acknowledging the wheels were in motion for a deal, but stopping short of saying Iran had signed off. 'As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,' Araghchi posted on X. 'However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.' Commitment from Iran and Israel to Trump's ceasefire remained murky Not long before Trump's announcement, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to social media to declare that Iran wouldn't surrender. It was unclear what role Khamenei, the ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic's theocracy, had in the deal. And Netanyahu was silent. He would wait more than eight hours after Trump's announcement to confirm that Israel had accepted the ceasefire and that it had achieved its war goals against Iran. Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said ceasefire efforts gained steam after Iran's retaliatory attack on a major US base in the emirate on Monday evening. The Iranians fired 14 missiles at the base — with US and Qatari defense systems knocking down 13. One of the missiles, according to Trump, was ''set free' because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction.' Trump also claimed the Iranians gave the US and Qatar a heads up, allowing the troops to take shelter and the Qataris to clear their typically busy airspace. Qatar plays a key role in the ceasefire talks Iran's restrained direct response to the US bombardment suggested to Trump administration officials that Iran — battered by Israel's 12-day assault — and its degraded proxy groups, including Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemen-based Houthis, didn't have the wherewithal to expand the fight. Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had a 'long call' with Trump soon after the Iranian attack on the Al-Ubeid military installation, according to the Qatari prime minister. 'There was an opportunity during this communication to announce a full ceasefire on all fronts, and US authorities asked Qatar to contact Iranian authorities to know how prepared they are for a ceasefire,' the prime minister said. Trump saw the moment as a clear opening The president soon got back in touch with Netanyahu to secure his commitment to end the hostilities, officials said. The prime minister agreed to the ceasefire, as long as there were no further attacks by Iran, the officials said. From there, things moved quickly. Vice President JD Vance was making an appearance on Fox News' 'Special Report' on Monday evening when Trump took to social media to announce the ceasefire deal had been reached and would go into effect over the coming day. The vice president appeared surprised when host Bret Baier told him that Trump had announced a deal had been reached. 'We were actually working on that just as I left the White House to come over here,' Vance said. 'So that's good news that the president was able to get that across the finish line.' But after Trump's announcement, the attacks kept coming. Iran launched a series of strikes on Israel after 4 a.m. local time Tuesday in Tehran, the time that Iran's foreign minister had said Iran would cease its attacks if Israel ended their airstrikes. And the Israeli prime minister's office confirmed that Israel launched a major assault hours ahead of the ceasefire's start, hitting central Tehran. 'We attacked forcefully in the heart of Tehran, hitting regime targets and killing hundreds of Basij and Iranian security forces,' the statement read. Iranian media confirmed nine casualties in the northern Gilan province. 'Four residential buildings were completely destroyed and several neighboring houses were damaged in the blasts.' Fars News Agency reported. A frustrated Trump lashes out Trump, who was scheduled to depart the White House early Tuesday to fly to the Netherlands for the NATO summit, was livid. His frustration was palpable as he spoke to reporters on the White House South Lawn. 'I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran, either, but I'm really unhappy with Israel going out this morning,' Trump said. '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.' Minutes later, he took to his Truth Social platform to send a warning to Israel. 'ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION,' Trump posted. 'BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!' Trump climbed aboard Air Force One and was soon on the phone with Netanyahu. He did not mince words with the Israeli leader, according to one of the White House officials. Trump was 'exceptionally firm and direct' with Netanyahu 'about what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire.' Netanyahu got the message. His office confirmed that the Israeli leader held off tougher action after the appeal from Trump and 'refrained from additional attacks.' After the call, Trump once again took to social media to declare the ceasefire was 'in effect. ' 'ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran,' Trump declared. '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!' The president went on to spend a considerable chunk of his flight celebrating what his administration is calling a signal achievement. 'It was my great honor to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability, and then, STOP THE WAR!'
