Fighting between Israel, Iran continues despite Trump's proclamation of ceasefire
Despite an announcement by US President Donald Trump that Israel and Iran had agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire, hostilities have continued, with deaths reported in Israel following an Iranian missile strike.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the ceasefire would be "complete and total".
Iranian state TV IRINN has also announced a ceasefire but Israel's military has reported a fourth wave of missiles launched by Tehran.
Trump's comments came after Iran made good on its threat of retaliation against the United States, launching a missile attack on a US military base in Qatar on Monday (Jun 23).
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AsiaOne
42 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
Big questions loom over Trump's announcement of Israel-Iran ceasefire deal, World News
WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump sent US bombers to strike Iran's nuclear sites last weekend, he was betting he could help ally Israel cripple Tehran's nuclear programme while keeping his long-standing vow to avoid entanglement in a protracted war. Just days later, Trump's surprise announcement on Monday (June 23) of an Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement suggests he may have bombed Tehran's rulers back to the negotiating table. But a long list of big unanswered questions remains, not least whether any ceasefire can actually take effect and hold between two bitter foes whose years-long "shadow" conflict had erupted into an air war marked by the past 12 days of strikes on each other's territory. Also still unknown and unmentioned in Trump's effusive social media post announcing an imminent "Complete and Total CEASEFIRE" are the terms the two sides have agreed to; whether the US and Iran will revive failed nuclear talks; and the fate of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium that many experts believe may have survived the US and Israeli bombing campaign. "The Israelis have accomplished much of their objectives... and Iran was looking for an off-ramp," said Jonathan Panikoff, a former deputy US national intelligence officer for the Middle East. "The US hopes this is the beginning of the end. The challenge is whether there is a strategy for what comes next." Questions also remain about what has actually been agreed to, even as Trump's declaration raised hopes for the end of a conflict that has prompted fears of a broader regional war. There was no immediate confirmation from Israel of a ceasefire deal, and the Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran towards Israel in the early hours of Tuesday. Four people were killed in a missile strike on a building in Beersheba, Israel's ambulance service said. Soon after, Trump said the ceasefire between Israel and Iran was "now in effect" and urged both countries to not violate it. While an Iranian official earlier confirmed that Tehran had accepted a ceasefire, the country's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said there would be no cessation of hostilities unless Israel stopped its attacks. But that did not stop Trump and his loyalists from touting what they see as a landmark achievement of a foreign policy approach they call "peace through strength." Trump had endorsed Israel's assessment that Iran was getting close to developing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has long denied. US intelligence agencies said earlier this year they assessed that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and a source with access to US intelligence reports told Reuters last week that that view hadn't changed. Iran's calibrated response Trump's announcement came just hours after Iran launched missiles against a US air base in Qatar, causing no casualties, in retaliation for the US dropping 30,000-pound (about 13,607kg) bunker-buster bombs on Iranian underground nuclear facilities over the weekend. [[nid:719411]] Trump administration officials deemed Iran's response on Monday to have been calibrated to avoid further escalation with the US, according to sources familiar with the matter. Trump called for talks with Israel and Iran, and a senior White House official said Israel agreed to a ceasefire so long as Iran did not launch fresh attacks. Iran signalled that no further strikes would take place, the official said on condition of anonymity. Trump spoke directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff were involved in the direct and indirect communications with Iran, the official said. Qatar also helped broker contacts with the Iranians. Iran was also amenable to the ceasefire because it was in a severely "weakened state," the White House official said. The Iranians had faced days of Israeli bombardment of nuclear and military sites as well as targeted killings of top nuclear scientists and security commanders. Trump in recent days had also mused publicly about the prospects for "regime change" in Iran. Earlier on Monday, three Israeli officials had said their government was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the US but that much would depend on Tehran. "Now that Trump declared 'world peace,' it will be hard for Netanyahu to publicly contradict him," said Laura Blumenfeld, a Middle East expert at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies in Washington. Trump's big gamble For his part, Trump's unprecedented decision to bomb Iran's nuclear sites marked a step that he had long pledged to avoid - to intervene militarily in a major foreign war. In the biggest and potentially riskiest foreign policy move of his presidency, Trump was betting not only that he could take out Iran's key nuclear site at Fordow but also draw only measured retaliation against the US There have been fears that Tehran could respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil artery, attacking multiple US military bases in the Middle East and activating proxies against US and Israeli interests worldwide. If Trump is able to defuse the Israel-Iran conflict, he may be able to calm the storm of criticism from congressional Democrats and appease the anti-interventionist wing of his Republican MAGA base over bombings that ran counter to his own campaign pledges. It would also allow him to re-focus on policy priorities such as deporting undocumented migrants and waging a tariff war against trading partners. But Trump and his aides won't be able to ignore Iran and the lingering questions it poses. "Can the ceasefire hold?" asked Dennis Ross, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations. "Yes, the Iranians need it and the Israelis have largely now acted against the (Israeli Defence Force's) target list." But obstacles remain. "Iran is greatly weakened but what is the future of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes? What happens to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium? There will be a need for negotiations — and these won't be easy to resolve," Ross said. [[nid:719431]]
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
World facing 'most complex' situation in decades: WEF
[TIANJIN] The world is facing the 'most complex' geopolitical situation seen in decades, the head of the World Economic Forum (WEF) told AFP on Tuesday (Jun 24), warning that turmoil was 'impacting global growth'. 'It is the most complex geopolitical and geo-economic backdrop we've seen in decades,' WEF President and CEO Borge Brende said ahead of a meeting of the multilateral forum in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. 'If we are not able to revive growth again, we can unfortunately see a decade of lower growth,' he warned. Officials including Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will attend this week's WEF meeting in the port city of Tianjin – known colloquially as the 'Summer Davos'. The meeting comes hard on the heels of the United States' involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict and follows months in which the global economy has been battered by a tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump. This month, the World Bank cut its forecast for global growth this year from 2.7 per cent to 2.3 per cent, following a similar reduction by the International Monetary Fund. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Brende told AFP it was still too soon to predict the impact of Trump's swingeing tariffs. It is 'too early to say what these tariffs will end with because the negotiations are still ongoing', he said. 'I think the jury is still out, but the traditional globalisation we saw is now changed into a different system,' he said. 'That is a new chapter... especially since trade was the engine of growth.' Brende also warned mounting conflict could have a 'very negative impact' on global growth. The WEF gathering in Tianjin comes at an uncertain juncture for the Chinese economy, which has struggled under a years-long property sector crisis and sluggish domestic spending. 'China really does matter,' Brende said, adding he expects the country to account for almost 30 per cent of global growth this year. 'China is pivoting its economy more towards digital trade, towards services and also now opening up for increasing domestic consumption – something that is important,' Brende said. Officials in Beijing have since late last year unveiled a string of aggressive measures including key rate cuts and cancellations of home purchasing restrictions. But many economists remain sceptical that the Chinese economy can achieve the government's official growth target for this year of around five per cent. With the tumultuous trade war threatening shipments from the manufacturing powerhouse, Beijing is looking to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence as potential sources of future growth. 'In the past, trade was the driver of growth, but you cannot exclude that new technologies including AI can... maybe replace the important role that trade had', Brende told AFP. While trade will remain 'very important', he said, disruptive technologies can provide the productivity boost needed to 'avoid a decade of sluggish growth'. Attendees bustled around a cavernous conference hall in Tianjin on Tuesday ahead of talks with a lineup of speakers that includes former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to deliver a keynote speech on Wednesday. AFP
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Netanyahu says Israel has agreed to Trump's proposal for ceasefire with Iran
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting where Trump announced nuclear talks with Iran, Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo/File Photo Netanyahu says Israel has agreed to Trump's proposal for ceasefire with Iran JERUSALEM - Israel has agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal for a ceasefire with Iran after it achieved its goal of removing Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday. "Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defense and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat," the statement said. "In light of the achievement of the operation's goals, and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel agreed to the President's proposal for a mutual ceasefire," the statement added. Trump said on Tuesday a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was now in place and asked both countries not to violate it, only hours after Iran launched waves of missiles, which Israel's ambulance service said killed at least four people. Netanyahu, who will deliver a statement later on Tuesday, also said Israel would respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire. Israel, joined by the United States on the weekend, has carried out attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, after alleging Tehran was getting close to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran denies ever having a nuclear weapons programme, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that if it wanted to, world leaders "wouldn't be able to stop us". REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
