Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader

UPDATE 1921 GMT:

An initial US intelligence assessment finds that American military strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of Tehran’s program.

“Three people briefed on the matter” said the attacks likely only set back the program by months.

The assessment was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency. It is based on a battle damage assessment by US Central Command of Saturday’s strikes.

Two of the people familiar with the assessment said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed. One of the people said centrifuges are largely “intact”.

“So the assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops,” one source summarized.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted, “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong.”

UPDATE 1855 GMT:

An official “familiar with the discussions” says Israel’s leadership was “stunned” and “embarrassed” by Donald Trump’s harsh rebuke as the Israelis sent warplanes to attack Iran.

They were surprised that he went and did all that in such a public way and basically switched on them very quickly. They just ended this war on a high and then this is kind of a little… nick.

The official verified that Trump had a testy call with Benjamin Netanyahu, telling the Israeli Prime Minister to bring back the warplanes.

The White House readout confirms the account:

President Trump was exceptionally firm and direct with Prime Minister Netanyahu about what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire. The Prime Minister understood the severity of the situation and the concerns President Trump expressed.

UPDATE 1523 GMT:

Pointing to their expectation of a lasting ceasefire, Iranian officials have announced efforts to rebuild residential areas and public infrastructure damaged by Israeli strikes since June 13.

Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told State TV:

We witnessed attacks on residential areas, as well as on scientific centres, research institutes, healthcare facilities and civilians….Therefore we are facing a major task ahead in terms of reconstruction.

China Foreign Minister Wang Yi supported Iran’s efforts in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi:

China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security, and, on that basis, achieving a genuine ceasefire so that people can return to normal life.

UPDATE 1349 GMT:

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trying to pin blame on Iran for breaking a ceasefire, has posted a statement with significant differences from other accounts, including the Israel Defense Forces.

The statement acknowledges Israel’s attacks before the ceasefire, at 3 a.m. Israeli time, which it claimed had “struck regime targets and eliminated hundreds of Basij and Iranian security forces personnel”.

But whereas Iran says the ceasefire was set for 9 a.m. in Tehran/8:30 a.m. in Tel Aviv, following Israel’s acceptance, Netanyahu’s office says it took efect at 7 a.m. Tel Aviv time.

(EA WorldView posted its summary of the Netanyahu Government’s acceptance, soon after it was announced, at 9:45 a.m. Tel Aviv time — see 0645 GMT below.)

That timing allows the Netanyahu Government to claim Iran’s breaking of the ceasefire with one missile launched at 7:06 a.m. and two more missiles at 10:25 a.m. Tel Aviv time.

UPDATE 1239 GMT:

During his phone call with Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he could not turn around warplanes en route to bomb Iran.

But facing the wrath of a Trump who saw his Nobel Prize-winning ceasefire slipping away, Netanyahu agreed to only one “symbolic” strike.

The Israeli warplanes changed their targeting and hit a radar site northeast of Tehran. Iranian media reports explosions near the towns of Babol and Babolsar.

However, that may not quell discontent. An Israeli official complained that Trump berated Israel in a social media post and comments to reporters “after he knew we would attack”.

Trump has switched his focus to Tehran, posting, “IRAN WILL NEVER REBUILD THEIR NUCLEAR FACILITIES!”

He walked back comments from two days ago welcoming “regime change”, telling reporters this would cause “chaos”.

UPDATE 1139 GMT:

After his outburst warning Israel not to strike Iran, Donald Trump has spoken by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

With reports that Israel’s warplanes were en route to attack, Israeli officials says strikes will be “symbolic”.

Following the call, Trump posted, “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! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

UPDATE 1116 GMT:

Iran officials say at least 610 people had been killed and more than 4,700 during Israel’s war since June 13.

“Over the past 12 days, hospitals…have been confronted with extremely harrowing scenes,” tweeted Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour.

UPDATE 1058 GMT:

While saying both Israel and Iran have violated a ceasefire, Donald Trump has focused his blame on the Israelis. He warned on social media:

ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!

Speaking to reporters before leaving for the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said Israel “unloaded” right after agreeing to the deal.

He explained, “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.”

But he then put the blame on the Israelis:

They didn’t have to unload. Now Israel is going out because of one rocket that didn’t land anywhere.

I gotta get Israel to calm down now,” he says. “I’m gonna see if I can stop it.

He repeated, falsely, that Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been destroyed.

UPDATE 1024 GMT:

Intelligence sources have told UK outlets that Israeli warplanes are over southern Syria, en route to bomb Iranian targets.

Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz had pledged “intense strikes” after two Iranian missiles were intercepted over northern Israel, claiming they violated the ceasefire.

Iran denies the missiles were launched after the ceasefire’s confirmation.

UPDATE 1006 GMT:

Pushing back on Israeli claims that it violated this morning’s ceasefire, an Iranian military spokesperson claimed Israel struck Iran in three stages up until 9 a.m. local time (0530 GMT), 90 minutes after the halt to attacks was supposed to start.

UPDATE 0941 GMT:

Iran judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir says people were killed and wounded in Israel’s strike on Evin Prison in Tehran on Monday.

Jahangir said parts of the administrative building. Administrative and judicial employees, inmates, and members of their families were among the casualties.

“We had martyrs as well but the number is not yet defined,” he said.

The UN Human Rights Office said, “Evin Prison is not a military objective, and targeting it constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law.”

UPDATE 0808 GMT:

Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has instructed the Israel Defense Forces to attack Iran, following the interception of two Iranian ballistic missiles on northern Israel this morning.

Katz said Israel will “respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the ceasefire with intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran”.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tweeted, “Tehran will tremble.”

The Israeli military said it detected the launch of the missiles around 2 1/2 hours after the purported start of the ceasefire — 3:30 a.m. in Israel and 4 a.m. in Iran — which would have been *before* the Netanyahu Government’s confirmation of its acceptance of a halt.

Iranian officials denied their missile launch took place after the ceasefire was confirmed.

UPDATE 0803 GMT:

Iranian State TV has confirmed the killing of an 11th nuclear scientist during Israel’s 12-day war.

Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber was slain at his parents’ residence in northern Iran during an Israeli barrage on Tehran and other areas on Monday.

His 17-year-old son was killed in a strike on their home in Tehran days earlier.

UPDATE 0747 GMT:

Israeli officials claim at least one ballistic missile was launched from Iran, as sirens sounded across northern Israel, after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect.

They said the missile was likely intercepted, and there were no immediate reports of an impact or injuries.

UPDATE 0724 GMT:

The toll has risen to five killed in Iran’s early-morning missile strike on Be’er Sheva in southern Israel.

Four victims were killed in an apartment building. The body of a fifth was pulled from the rubble by first responders.

Another 20 people were wounded, of whom two are in moderate condition.

UPDATE 0645 GMT:

The Netanyahu Government has agreed to a ceasefire, maintaining the fiction that Iran’s nuclear program has been ended.

Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defense and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat.

In light of achieving the objectives of the operation, and in full coordination with President Trump, Israel has agreed to the president’s proposal for a bilateral cease-fire.

The statement declared that Israel achieved all objectives in its 12-day war, removing the “dual immediate existential threat from itself – both in the nuclear and ballistic missile fields”.

The State of Israel achieved great historical achievements and placed itself on a par with the world powers.

It warned of a forceful response to any violation of the ceasefire.

Hard-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich cheered that Israel can now focus on its open-ended war on Gaza and its civilians. He boasted of a “crushing victory” that “removed an immediate existential threat…and severely damaged the Iranian ayatollah regime”.

Now [we turn] with all our strength to Gaza, to complete the task: to destroy Hamas and return our hostages and to ensure, with God’s help, many years of security and growth from strength for the people of Israel.

But former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Liberman, now chair of the opposition party Yisrael Beytenu, objected:

At the beginning of the war, I warned that there is nothing more dangerous than leaving a wounded lion. A ceasefire without a clear and unambiguous agreement will certainly lead us to another war in two or three years, and under much worse conditions.

And, in sharp contrast to Smotrich, opposition leader Yair Lapid posted, And now Gaza. It’s time to [finish] there too. Return the hostages, end the war. Israel needs to start rebuilding.”

Another opposition leader, Yair Golan, posted, “The ceasefire agreement must now be scrutinized: Does it prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and what sanctions, including renewed fighting, will be imposed if it is violated?”

He reinforced Lapid’s message: “And now is the time to complete the mission: Return all the hostages, end the war in Gaza, and stop once and for all the coup that threatens to make Israel weak, divided, and vulnerable.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Having been manipulated by Israel into joining its war on Iran, Donald Trump has been manipulated 48 hours later by Tehran — through token missile strikes on an American airbase in Qatar — into declaring a “ceasefire”.

On Monday afternoon in Washington as Trump and his top advisors gathered in the White House Situation Room, Iran fired up to 14 missiles — the same number of “bunker buster” bombs that the US used on Sunday against three Iranian nuclear sites — on the Al-Udeid Base, the largest US military position in the Middle East. The Iranian military proclaimed that it used the multi-warhead Kheibar ballistic missile for the first time, and its Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, said the operations would continue uninterrupted until Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was brought to his knees.

However, the significance was not in the strikes but in Iran sending the message to Washington that the missiles were coming. The warning, sent via Qatar, ensured that American and Qatari personnel were evacuated or in shelters. As a result, there was not a single casualty.

Meanwhile, the Iranians kept open their diplomatic channel, both via Qatar and through direct calls, with US Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff.

After the missile launch, Iran’s Supreme Leader thumped his chest with an Orwellian tweet: “We have not attacked anyone.” He continued over an image of a burning American flag and military facilities: “We absolutely do not accept anyone’s aggression, nor will we submit to anyone’s aggression; this is the logic of the Iranian nation.”

But Tehran was waiting for Trump’s response to their performance. They quickly got it. The reality TV star posted:

I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured. Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.

He quickly added, “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!”

An Iranian official confirmed that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani had obtained Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire. The Iranians told al-Thani that they would agree.

So in a third tweet, Trump proclaimed that the war had ended even more quickly that he had joined it. Maintaining the falsehood that he had “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program with Saturday’s US strikes, he issued a rambling, confused announcement:

It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!

Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.

Vice President J.D. Vance bolstered the unsupported pretext:

Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon. Now Iran is incapable of building a nuclear weapon with the equipment they have because we destroyed it.

Our goal was to bury the uranium, and I do think the uranium is buried, but our goal was to eliminate the enrichment [program] and eliminate their ability to convert that enriched fuel into a nuclear weapon,” Vance tells Fox News in an interview.

“If they have 60% enriched uranium, but they don’t have the ability to enrich it to 90% and further, then they don’t have the ability to convert that to a nuclear weapon. That is mission success.

Arms control experts have noted that the US has not produced any Bomb Damage Assessment verifying that it is “destroyed” facilities such as the Fordoo complex under a mountain near the holy city of Qom. And the US strikes did not touch other facilities, including those at Isfahan or a new, large uranium enrichment complex at Natanz.

One of the experts, Jeffrey Lewis, summarized that Iran can return within five months to potentially enriching uranium to a military grade of more than 90%.

Vance posed that if Tehran returned to its nuclear program, it would again be struck.

Will Israel Play Along?

Iran has made no commitment to halt uranium enrichment. And early Tuesday morning, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi put the onus on Israel to stop the war. He posted on social media:

As of now, there is NO “agreement” on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations. However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 a.m. Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.

The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.

The military operations of our powerful Armed Forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4am.

Together with all Iranians, I thank our brave Armed Forces who remain ready to defend our dear country until their last drop of blood, and who…

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 24, 2025

A “senior White House official” asserted that, after the Iranian token strikes, Trump arranged a ceasefire during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, Netanyahu made no public statement. The Israel Defense Forces said there were no changes to guidelines for the Israeli public.

The only positive signal as of Wednesday morning came from Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli. He thanked Trump and Netanyahu “for making a bold decision that will be remembered in the annals of history as a chapter of faith, courage, and moral clarity”.

Meanwhile, the exchange of attacks continued overnight. The Israeli Defense Forces, having pounded the center of Tehran as well as western Iran on Monday, announced the dropping of more than 100 munitions that destroyed missile launchers and attacked research and development facilities.

Iran responded with a volley which killed four civilians in Be’er Sheva in southern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces said they intercepted four drones on Tuesday morning.

And Trump proclaimed, “I think the ceasefire is unlimited. It’s going to go forever.”

Iran’s Token Missile Strike Manipulates Trump Into Declaring “Ceasefire”