Iran strikes back, the US calls it quits… is that it?
Iran fires missiles at a US military base - with Qatari airspace shut off and Britons told by the Foreign Office to "take shelter".
And then, a ceasefire - announced by Trump on Truth Social - declaring himself the arbiter of world peace and an end not just to US-Iranian hostilities, but to the conflict between Iran and Israel.
A head-spinning few hours. We unpack it all.
If you've got a question you'd like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.
You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
12 minutes ago
- Times
Iran-Israel ceasefire: IDF claims truce breached as missiles launched
Following the apparent breach of the ceasefire, sirens are expected to sound in northern Israel in the coming minutes, the Times of Israel reports, with ballistic missiles said to have been fired from Iran Missiles have been launched from Iran after a US-brokered ceasefire with Israel began, according to Israel's military 'A short while ago, the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel,' a statement from the IDF read. 'Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.' 'Upon receiving an alert, the public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.' 'Leaving the protected space is only permitted following an explicit directive. Continue to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command.' Families of hostages held in Gaza called for an end to the war there and bring back those in Hamas captivity following the ceasefire with Iran. 'The ceasefire agreement must expand to include Gaza; we call on the government to engage in urgent negotiations that will bring home all the hostages and end the war. Those who can achieve a ceasefire with Iran can also end the war in Gaza,' a statement from the hostage family forum, an umbrella group of those seeking a ceasefire, read on Monday morning. 'After 12 days and nights during which the people of Israel couldn't sleep because of Iran, we can finally go back to not sleeping because of the hostages,' they added. The 56 Israeli and foreign nationals hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, have been held in captivity by Hamas and other Gazan militants since October 7, 2023,. The death toll from a missile strike that hit residential buildings in southern Israel early this morning has risen to five. Another 20 people were injured in the strike, according to Israeli authorities. The attack on the city of Beersheba took place before a ceasefire took hold. It marks the highest death toll from one Iranian missile in the course of the war. A video posted on social media has shown a group of evacuees appearing to land in the UK on an RAF evacuation flight from Israel while singing Israel's national anthem, followed by a rendition of God Save the King. The video was posted by Max Radford, a British delegate of the World Zionist Congress and co-founder of Ballistra group, a technology business with ties in Israel. In the Instagram post, Radford thanked the RAF for its 'amazing' support. Oil has fallen sharply after President Trump announced a 'complete and total ceasefire' between Israel and Iran. Brent crude has fallen to $68.76 a barrel, having topped $79 a barrel in recent days on fears that the Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of total global oil supplies and fifth of global exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) pass. • Business live: Oil price drops after Trump announces ceasefire Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international hub, will reportedly resume full operations later this morning. The number of rescue flights departing from the airport is also expected to increase dramatically in the coming hours, according to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12. Earlier this morning, it was announced Ben Gurion would allow the first outgoing flights to depart since Israel's conflict with Iran began on June 13. Iranian nuclear scientist Mohammad Reza Seddiqi Sabir was killed by an Israeli attack early this morning, Iranian media has reported. The attack took place before a US-brokered truce began, according to Nornews. The Israeli strike was said to have targeted Sabir's apartment, with his 17-year-old son also being killed. The US imposed sanctions on the scientist in May, alleging he was involved in the development of nuclear weapons. Israel has claimed to have 'removed a dual immediate existential threat' posed by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, the prime minister's office said in a series of statements posted on social media. Writing on X, it said Israel had achieved a 'tremendous success', with Binyamin Netanyahu's office adding: 'The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] has achieved complete air control over Tehran's skies, inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets. 'In the past 24 hours, the IDF has also severely struck government targets in the heart of Tehran, eliminating hundreds of Basij operatives — the terrorist regime's suppression mechanism — and eliminating another senior nuclear scientist. Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat.' Israel has agreed to Trump's ceasefire proposal with Iran, the Israeli prime minister's office has confirmed. Binyamin Netanyahu's office said it would respond 'forcefully' to any violations, adding that he would deliver a statement later today. 'In light of the achievement of the objectives of the operation, and in full co-ordination with President Trump, Israel has agreed to the president's proposal for a bilateral ceasefire,' a statement read. • Trump announces Israel-Iran ceasefire after attacks on US bases President Trump is expected to fly to the Hague later today for a planned Nato summit. While the conference had been expected to focus on how alliance members are heeding Trump's calls to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP, the conflict in the Middle East will almost certainly loom large. If a ceasefire appears to hold throughout the day, Trump is likely to take credit for mediating peace between Iran and Israel, arguably his biggest foreign policy achievement yet. However, with Israel yet to confirm the truce, the US leader may be unable to perform his victory lap. Concerns that Trump would talk down Nato during the summit — and discuss withdrawing US troops from Europe while abandoning support to Ukraine — have eased somewhat. President Zelensky has now been invited to a dinner with Nato leaders after fears Ukraine would be blocked from participating in the conference altogether. In the past few hours, Israeli warplanes struck and destroyed missile launchers in western Iran 'ready to be fired at Israeli territory', the military said in a statement. It appeared to refer to a strike before the ceasefire — which has now officially come into effect, according to the US president. Israel has not confirmed the ceasefire. The missile strike that hit residential buildings in Beersheba before the ceasefire took hold has killed four people. It is the highest death toll from one Iranian missile in the course of the war. Paramedics said that three people— a woman aged about 40, a man about 40 and a man about 20 were pronounced dead at the scene — with another body recovered later. Dvir Ben Ze'ev, an MDA paramedic at the site in southern Israel, said: 'We saw significant destruction to several buildings on the street where the rocket fell. At the entrance to one of the buildings, an unconscious man was lying down, and after further searches, two more casualties — a man and a woman — were found unconscious.' President Trump has said that his promised ceasefire is now in effect after waves of strikes overnight, which have killed at least four. 'THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT!', Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. Israeli emergency services said three people were killed and two left wounded in an overnight Iranian missile strike in southern Israel. Magen David Adom said in a statement on X on Tuesday morning: 'Following the missile impact site in southern Israel: So far, MDA teams have pronounced the deaths of three people, two people with moderate injuries have been evacuated to hospital and approximately six people with mild injuries are being treated at the scene.' Iran's state media said a fifth wave of missiles was headed towards Israel around the time a ceasefire announced by the United States was due to begin. 'The fifth wave of this morning's missile attack from Iran is on its way to the occupied territories,' Irib posted on Telegram just before 4am BST. Israel's military has said waves of missiles were launched by Iran. Israel's national ambulance service said three people were killed in Beersheba — the first reported deaths in Israel since Trump announced the ceasefire. Unidentified drones struck radar systems at two military bases in Iraq early on Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The first attack hit a radar system at the Taji base, north of Baghdad — where US troops were hosted until 2020 — a security source told AFP. A drone also targeted the radar system at the Imam Ali airbase in Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq, the source said Another drone fell in the Radwaniya district, ten kilometres west of Baghdad international airport, the source added, where US troops are deployed as part of an anti-jihadist coalition. The attacks caused material damage but no casualties were reported, Lieutenant General Walid al-Tamimi told the official Iraqi News Agency. As the minutes ticked down to 7am Israel time and a possible ceasefire, Israelis in bomb shelters were unsure on the exact timings of the deal announced by President Trump — or whether it would actually happen. After four consecutive missile barrages that sent residents of Tel Aviv rushing to and from shelters, it was unclear if the salvos were a final blast from Tehran or the start of a new round of escalation. Reports that three people had been killed by an Iranian missile in Beersheba, a city in southern Israel, raised fears that an Israeli response would trigger more Iranian attacks. 'I'm tired and slightly disillusioned now because I don't know if this is really the end or not,' said one woman, moments before another all-clear. President Trump announced a 'complete and total ceasefire' between Israel and Iran after 12 days of hostilities, including a symbolic Iranian reprisal strike on a US base in Qatar on Monday. He posted a message on his Truth Social site hailing an end to the war, as Israel continued its attacks on Iran. 'Congratulations to everyone!' he wrote, 'in approximately six hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!' Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, signalled early on Tuesday morning that Tehran was prepared to halt its missile attacks at 4am local time (1.30am UK). However, three consecutive air raid warnings sounded in Tel Aviv a few hours later. 'The military operations of our powerful armed forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4am,' Araghchi wrote on social media. 'As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,' he added. In a hotel bomb shelter in Tel Aviv, Australian holidaymakers caught up in Israel's war with Iran were doubtful that a ceasefire would hold. After taking a group photo, one of the them said that she suspected Iran had no intention of sticking to any deal. 'I thought the Iranians might give us the night off after hitting Qatar,' said another as booms were was heard in the city. A missile fired from Iran hit a building in Beersheba, a southern desert city in Israel, destroying a building and killing three people. Initial reports said that people may be buried under the rubble, with others critically injured in the strike at 5.40am local time. Paramedics at the scene were treating three people in critical condition and those who were wounded. Beersheba has been badly hit in the war, with a missile striking the largest hospital in the area last week. Another alarm was sounded after dawn as more missiles were fired. Israelis made their way down to shelters at 5am local time on Tuesday morning, with two consecutive warnings to hunker down. The Israeli military said they identified a launch from Iran towards Israel and sirens blared in central Israel. Booms were heard overhead in the central city of Tel Aviv. As news of a potential ceasefire spread, many people spent the minutes underground checking the news and discussing what the day might hold. When asked if there was going to be a ceasefire, some said that it would only happen if Israel had achieved what they set out to do. A hotel worker said he wasn't sure what would happen next and whether or not there was a ceasefire. 'Uncle Donald doesn't know what to think about it,' said Tom Rogers, 65. [Trump] may think he's qualified to run a war, but he's got General Korilla who knows what he's doing. It will be OK.'
Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump funding cut ‘risks Ukraine's abducted children disappearing forever'
Examining Russian adoption databases, a team of analysts identified 314 stolen Ukrainian children, listed as Russian citizens with different names. Without that intelligence, those children might have fallen into the deep cracks of Moscow's scheme to 'Russify' Ukraine's children, lost forever in a state-sponsored effort to conceal their identities. The work of the Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) at Yale University represents the most extensive public effort at documenting Russia's war crimes, especially its large-scale abduction of Ukrainian children. However, as of July 1, its whole operation will be shut down after the Trump administration withdrew its funding. Nathaniel Raymond, the executive director of the research lab, said the stakes could not be higher. He said: 'We are academic researchers going head-to-head with Russia's FSB and battling with the most amount of missing children since the Second World War. 'Yet, we don't know if we will survive the month.' The Ukraine Conflict Observatory, an effort led by the HRL, had been tracking 35,000 children who were forcibly deported from Ukraine, funnelled into re-education camps or adopted by Russian families. Often their identities have been erased. Ukraine, in comparison, has officially identified 19,546 children, calling the abductions a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide. The true number, estimates suggest, could range from 260,000 to 700,000. Only 1,366 children have been returned from deportation so far. Bill Van Esveld, the associate director of the children's rights division at Human Rights Watch, said: 'It's a scandal that the lab is scrambling to be able to continue its work when there is no other source of information about so many Ukrainian kids that could help bring them home.' He said that since day one of the war, the Yale lab has played an 'irreplaceable role'. Launched in 2022, with $6 million in federal funding, the lab has excelled in using open-source intelligence – including satellite imagery, phone data and social media, to track the movements of illegally deported children and preserve critical evidence of war crimes. Its work helped catalyse six International Criminal Court indictments against Russia, including two related to the abduction of children that led to arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, his children's rights commissioner Cut off from own database In February, the department of government efficiency (Doge) – then headed by Elon Musk – terminated its funding without explanation and cut off the task force from its own database. After the move drew outrage, HRL was granted a temporary extension to transfer all its vital repository to Europol and the Ukrainian government, which is now due to expire. US officials warn that the data will quickly become out-of-date, spelling a disaster for efforts to find the children and document the efforts against them. The weight of that responsibility hangs heavy on Mr Raymond, who is in disbelief that Kyiv's allies, including the UK, have not stepped up to ensure the lab's survival. 'It is just us and then Ukrainian bodies – there are no other major efforts tracking the children,' he said. Earlier this month, 30 members of Congress sent a letter to Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, urging the administration to maintain the funding for the lab. The letter stated: 'No explanation has been given to us as to why funding for the Conflict Observatory has been terminated.' It argued that its work 'cannot be replaced by Europol or other organisations'. Congressional aides told CNN that the state department had planned to allocate $8 million to HRL for 2025. Lawmakers are now questioning where that money went. Doug Klain, an analyst at Razom for Ukraine, a US-based humanitarian aid and advocacy organisation, said: 'This was absolutely not an arbitrary decision.' He argued that the lab was specifically targeted as part of the Trump administration's unwinding of its efforts to investigate Russian war crimes. In March, the US government withdrew from a multinational group meant to investigate leaders responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including Putin. It also reduced the work of the justice department's War Crimes Accountability Team and dismantled a program to seize assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, The Washington Post reported. Mr Klain added: 'The Trump administration seemingly decided that refusing to hold Russia accountable would make it more likely Putin would agree to a ceasefire. In reality, we've just seen Putin attack Ukrainian civilians with even greater impunity.' With Washington allegedly turning away from the issue, the HRL's work takes on new importance. In 2023, the HRL identified a network of 43 re-education camps and facilities across 21 Russian regions where abducted Ukrainian children are being held. It also exposed Belarus' role in the deportation campaign, confirming 13 locations there. The lab estimates that there are at least 116 locations, including family centres, so-called summer camps, hospitals, converted military facilities and even buildings owned by the president's office. Mr Raymond said: 'It is a massive gulag system stretching from the Black Sea to the Pacific that is run systematically by Russia's government and could hold up to hundreds of thousands of children.' The majority of camps engage in re-education, often pressuring children to give up their Ukrainian identity, while others provide military training and prevent their return home – violating international human rights law. 'Constant game of cat and mouse' The work to identify the children is delicate and painstaking. 'It is a constant game of cat and mouse,' Mr Raymond said. If Russia's security services sense that HRL or other organisations may be on their tail, the databases are deleted, the children might be moved again and have their names changed. Time is also running out. 'The longer these children remain under Russian control, the more likely it is that they will be lost – not only physically, but in terms of who they are and where they belong,' said Mykola Kuleba, the co-founder of Save Ukraine, a non-profit that organises rescue missions to return deported children. He told The Telegraph: 'This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a crime with generational consequences.' He emphasised how 'invaluable' the work of the lab has been to put the plight of Ukraine's children 'at the forefront of many states' political agendas'. The worst-case scenario is that these children could then be sent to the front line. There is widespread evidence that part of the children's indoctrination involves forced militarisation for Russia 'to prepare future soldiers to fight against their own country', according to Vladyslav Havrylov, a fellow with the Collaborative on Global Children's Issues at Georgetown University. There are also 1.6 million Ukrainian children living under Russian occupation who, Mr Havrylov said, 'are all at danger of being deported'. An independent report earlier this month revealed that the children are already being forced into militarised camps and programmes to be indoctrinated. Identifying and tracing Ukraine's missing children is also central to its broader struggle for justice at future peace negotiations. Without their names Ukraine cannot demand their return from Russia and hold it accountable for their abduction. At the direct talks in Istanbul at the start of June, Ukraine handed Russia a list of 339 children to return home first as a mark of 'good faith' for the peace negotiations. That list is believed to have been heavily influenced by the HRL's work. Mr Raymond said: 'These are the hardest to find, hardest to return children who have been listed on adoption websites.' Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian side denied abducting at least 20,000 children and insisted that the number was merely 'hundreds'. Russia on Thursday announced that it would return five of those on the list. 'The world just did not care' The HRL's state funding dried up mid-June. Now, it is limping along, relying on individual donations to keep it going until July 1. There is a small sliver of hope that enough donations will allow it to survive a month longer. Mr Raymond questioned why there has been no mass mobilisation around the issue of Ukraine's stolen children and how, in turn, the lab has found itself shuttered. He said: 'It shows the world just did not care enough. 'This is a Dunkirk moment. If we don't survive, it means that no one is helping Ukraine to look for the kids and those children are left alone to fend for themselves. 'We wait for rescue, so we can get back in the fight.'
BreakingNews.ie
28 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Israeli forces fire on people waiting for aid in Gaza, killing 25, witnesses say
Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of people waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza early on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian witnesses and hospitals said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Advertisement The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, which received the victims, said the Palestinians were waiting for the trucks on the Salah al-Din Road south of Wadi Gaza. Witnesses told The Associated Press that Israeli forces opened fire as people were advancing eastward to be close to the approaching trucks. 'It was a massacre,' said Ahmed Halawa. He said tanks and drones fired at people, 'even as we were fleeing. Many people were either martyred or wounded'. Hossam Abu Shahada, another eyewitness, said drones were flying over the area, watching the crowds first, then there was gunfire from tanks and drones as people were moving eastward. Advertisement He described a 'chaotic and bloody' scene as people were attempting to escape. He said he saw at least three people lying on the ground motionless and many others wounded as he fled the site. The Awda hospital said another 146 Palestinians were wounded. Among them were 62 in critical condition, who were transferred to other hospitals in central Gaza, it said. In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said it received the bodies of six people who were killed in the same incident. Advertisement Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds seeking desperately needed food, killing hundreds of people in recent weeks. The military says it has fired warning shots at people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner. The deaths were the latest in Israel-Hamas war in Gaza which killed about 56,000 Palestinians, according to the strip's health ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but say more than a half of the dead were women and children. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas's October 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostages. Advertisement Most of the hostages were released by ceasefire agreements.
