Israel-Iran conflict: Trump accuses both sides of violating ceasefire hours after he announced it
Israel and Iran have both violated a ceasefire within the same day it was declared by US President Donald Trump. Mr Trump also confirmed it had been breached. Trent Murray and Jagruti Dave report.
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Straits Times
15 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US airstrikes failed to destroy Iran's nuclear sites, sources say
People inspecting the apparent remains of a ballistic missile in northern Israel, following an attack by Iran on June 24. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV/ISTANBUL - US airstrikes did not destroy Iran's nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months, according to one initial US intelligence assessment, as a shaky ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump took hold between Iran and Israel. Three sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters of the preliminary assessment. According to two of the sources, the assessment was prepared by the US Defence Intelligence Agency. One of the sources said Iran's enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and in fact the country's nuclear programme may have been set back only a month or two. The assessment contradicted Mr Trump's assertion that the weekend strikes had succeeded in destroying Tehran's nuclear programme and raised questions about further US military action if indeed the programme survived the intense aerial bombardment. The White House said the intelligence report was 'flat out wrong'. Mr Trump's administration told the UN Security Council on June 24 that its weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had 'degraded' Iran's nuclear programme, short of Mr Trump's earlier assertion that the facilities had been 'obliterated'. 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. Israel launched the surprise air war on June 13, hitting Iranian nuclear sites where it said Iran was trying to develop an atomic bomb and killing top military commanders in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq. Iran, which says its uranium enrichment programme is for peaceful purposes and denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated with a series of missile barrages on Israeli cities. Earlier on June 24, both Iran and Israel signalled that the air war between the two nations had concluded, at least for now, after Mr Trump scolded them for violating a ceasefire he announced at 5am GMT (1pm in Singapore). 'Great victory' Israel's military lifted restrictions on activity across the country at 8pm local time (1am on June 25 in Singapore), 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. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had successfully ended the war in what he called a 'great victory,' according to Iranian media. Mr Pezeshkian also told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Tehran was ready to resolve differences with the United States, according to official news agency IRNA. A senior White House official said Mr Trump brokered the ceasefire deal with Mr Netanyahu, and other administration officials were in touch with the Iranians. Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani secured Tehran's agreement during a call with Iranian officials, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on June 24. Both Israel and Iran took hours to acknowledge they had accepted the ceasefire and accused each other of violating it, underscoring the fragility of the truce between the two bitter foes and the challenge of achieving lasting peace between them. Mr Trump scolded both sides but aimed especially stinging criticism at Israel, telling the close US ally to 'calm down now'. He later said Israel called off further attacks at his command. Israel's defence minister, Mr Israel Katz, said he told his US counterpart, Mr Pete Hegseth, that his country would respect the ceasefire unless Iran violated it. Mr Pezeshkian likewise said Iran would honour the ceasefire as long as Israel did, according to Iranian media. A satellite view showing the site of Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant, after the US struck the nuclear facility on June 21. PHOTO: REUTERS Whether the Israel-Iran truce can hold is a major question given the deep mistrust between the two nations. But Mr 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 United States 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 defences 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, Mr 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, Mr 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,' Mr Trump said. Iran and Israel had been fighting 'so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing.' Mr 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. In both countries, there was a palpable sense of relief. 'Who mediated or how it happened doesn't matter. The war is over. It never should have started in the first place,' said Mr Reza Sharifi, 38, heading back to Tehran from Rasht on the Caspian Sea, where he had fled with his family. Mr Arik Daimant, a software engineer in Tel Aviv, said: 'Regrettably, it's a bit too late for me and my family, because our house back here was totally destroyed in the recent bombings last Sunday. But as they say, 'Better late than never', and I hope this ceasefire is a new beginning.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
US strikes may have set back Iran nuclear program only months, sources say
WASHINGTON: A preliminary US intelligence assessment has determined that US strikes over the weekend on Iranian nuclear facilities have set back Tehran's program by only a matter of months, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The initial report was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's main intelligence arm and one of 18 US intelligence agencies, said two of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss classified matters. The classified assessment is at odds with the statements of President Donald Trump and high-ranking US officials - including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They have said the weekend strikes, which used a combination of bunker-busting bombs and more conventional weapons, essentially eliminated Iran's nuclear program. Trump has said the attacks were necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies it is seeking such a weapon and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Hegseth on Sunday said that the strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear ambitions, while Trump said Iran's crucial nuclear sites had been "completely and fully obliterated". Assessing the damage at the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites is expected to be a difficult task, and the DIA is not the only agency tasked with the job. One source said the assessment was not universally accepted and had generated significant disagreement. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US did not know the extent of the damage yet. Still, the initial assessment indicated the strikes may not have been nearly as successful as the Trump administration has claimed. One of the sources said Iran's enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and in fact the country's nuclear program may have been set back only a month or two. The Pentagon disputed the notion that the damage to Iran's nuclear program was minor, though it did not dispute that the DIA assessment exists. "Based on everything we have seen — and I've seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons," Hegseth said in a statement provided to Reuters. "Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target—and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a statement to CNN, which first reported the intelligence assessment, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the conclusion was incorrect. "This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong," Leavitt said, according to CNN. "Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration." Initial military assessments can change as more information comes to light, and it is not uncommon for opinions to vary across different US intelligence agencies. Democrats have previously said Trump's claims that the weekend strikes eliminated or seriously set back Iran's nuclear program were not yet backed by evidence. "There's zero evidence that I've seen that the nuclear program was completely and totally obliterated as Donald Trump has claimed," House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Early US assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, CNN reports
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, before the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran June 20, 2025. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Early US assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, CNN reports WASHINGTON - An early intelligence assessment indicated that the U.S. military strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of Tehran's nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing three people briefed on it. After days of deliberation, U.S. forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites on Saturday. President Donald Trump said Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities had been completely and "totally obliterated," an assertion he has since repeated. While over a dozen bombs were dropped on two of the nuclear facilities, the Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant and the Natanz Enrichment Complex, they did not fully eliminate the sites' centrifuges and highly enriched uranium, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the early assessment. Citing two people familiar with the assessment, CNN reported that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium had not been destroyed. It said the assessment was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency - Pentagon's intelligence arm - and is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by the U.S. Central Command after the U.S. strikes. The report by the Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that the program was delayed less than six months, the New York Times said in another report. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the CNN report in a social media post. "This alleged "assessment" is flat-out wrong and was classified as "top secret" but was still leaked to CNN," Leavitt said on X. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
