Iran's options, uranium stockpiles and Trump on regime change
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Iran considers its options after U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. President Donald Trump raises the possibility of regime change in Tehran. Plus, the fate of Iran's stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium is unclear.
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Further Reading
US urges China to dissuade Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz
US lawmakers call for Congress to review Trump's Iran actions
Ukraine fighting 10,000 Russian troops in Kursk region, Ukrainian commander says
Israeli forces recover bodies of three hostages from Gaza
Abrego Garcia ordered released pending trial on migrant smuggling charges
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The future of Iran
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Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Dollar stumbles as optimism from fragile Israel-Iran truce lingers
SINGAPORE, June 25 (Reuters) - The dollar struggled to regain lost ground on Wednesday as investors who have been starved of good news latched onto optimism over a fragile truce between Israel and Iran as a reason to take on more risk. Markets were jubilant and an index of global shares hit a record high overnight as a shaky ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump took hold between Iran and Israel. The two nations signalled that the air war between them had ended, at least for now, after Trump publicly scolded them for violating a ceasefire he announced. Investors heavily sold the dollar in the wake of the news, after pouring into the safe-haven currency during the 12 days of war between Israel and Iran that also saw the U.S. attack Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities. Currency moves were more subdued in early Asia trade on Wednesday though the euro remained perched near its highest since October 2021 at $1.1621, having hit that milestone in the previous session. Sterling eased 0.02% to $1.3615 but was similarly not far from Tuesday's peak of $1.3648, which marked its strongest level since January 2022. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar , which rallied sharply in the previous session, last traded 0.02% higher at $0.6492. While the truce between Israel and Iran appeared fragile, investors for now seemed to welcome any reprieve. "The market is complacent about some of the downside risks," said Joseph Capurso, head of international and sustainable economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The thing I get is this issue is not over, which means it could come back to be a driver of commodity prices and currency markets again." In other currencies, the New Zealand dollar rose 0.13% to $0.6015, while the yen steadied at 144.96 per dollar. Some Bank of Japan policymakers called for keeping interest rates steady for the time being due to uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs on Japan's economy, a summary of opinions at the bank's June policy meeting showed on Wednesday. The Swiss franc , which scaled a 10-1/2-year high on Tuesday, steadied at 0.8049 per dollar. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar eased slightly to 97.91. While Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his cautious approach and reiterated that the central bank was in no rush to ease rates at his semi-annual testimony to Congress on Tuesday, markets continue to price in a roughly 18% chance that the Fed could cut in July, according to the CME FedWatch tool. "We think economic growth is slowing and the improvement in services and shelter inflation will push back against tariff rises, allowing cuts to resume in September," ANZ analysts said in a note. A raft of weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data in recent weeks have bolstered expectations of Fed cuts this year, with futures pointing to nearly 60 basis points worth of easing by December. Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in June as households grew increasingly worried about job availability, another indication that labour market conditions were softening. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield , which typically reflects near-term rate expectations, fell to a 1-1/2-month low of 3.7870% on Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year yield was little changed at 4.3043%.
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Iran live news: Iranian nuclear program could restart in months, Pentagon finds, as fragile ceasefire holds
Update: Date: 2025-06-25T01:21:36.000Z Title: Opening summary Content: Welcome to our rolling coverage of the Israel-Iran war. The shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding after Donald Trump expressed deep frustration with both sides for violating the agreement he brokered. Israel earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce was supposed to take effect. The Iranian military denied firing on Israel. But while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel had brought Iran's nuclear program 'to ruin', an initial classified US assessment of 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 Defence Intelligence Agency – the Pentagon's intelligence arm – 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 was moved before the strikes. The report also contradicts statements from Trump, who has said the Iranian nuclear program was 'completely and fully obliterated'. The White House called the assessment 'flat-out wrong'. In other key developments: Iran and Israel both said they would honour the ceasefire if the other side did the same. Earlier on Tuesday Iranian 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, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said he told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that 'Israel will respect the ceasefire – as long as the other side does'. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear project. Describing his war on Iran as a 'historic victory' that 'will stand for generations', the Israeli prime minister claimed that Israel, in its 12 days of war with Iran, had removed 'the threat of nuclear annihilation'. He also said 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 rebuke. Iran's air space would reopen on Tuesday night, Iranian state news reported, while Israel Home Front Command said Israeli citizens could resume full activity without restriction for most of the country and that Ben-Gurion and Haifa airports would return to full operations. Donald Trump said China can continue to purchase Iranian oil, a move the White House clarified did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions. 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.
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump administration expects deal with Harvard by end-June, Washington Post reports
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is ramping up negotiations with Harvard University and expects a deal by the end of June to resolve the White House's campaign against the country's oldest and richest university, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. On Friday, Trump said a deal could be announced "over the next week or so" to end a months-long battle with the Ivy League school, which sued after the administration terminated billions of dollars in grants and moved to bar the school from admitting international students.
