Israel-Iran conflict: Trump slams ‘fake news’, says ‘completely destroyed’ nuclear sites

‘Iran much further away from nuclear weapon’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Politico on Wednesday that Iran is “much further away from a nuclear weapon” after a US strike on Iran’s three main nuclear sites over the weekend.

“The bottom line is, they are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action,” Rubio told Politico.

“Significant, very significant, substantial damage was done to a variety of different components, and we’re just learning more about it,” he added.

Iran approves UN nuclear watchdog suspension bill 

Iran’s parliament approved a bill on Wednesday to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, Iran’s Nournews reported.

The country’s Supreme National Security Council now needs to give final approval to the move, it added.

India winds down evacuation in Iran

The Indian Embassy in Iran announced that it will be gradually winding down its evacuation exercise for Indians, initiated after the escalated conflict in the region following Israel’s strikes on Iran, as a ceasefire deal was made between the two countries on Tuesday.

In a post on X, the embassy detailed the closure of the contact desk set up for registering new names of Indian nationals for evacuation, while assuring continued monitoring of the security situation.

Celebrations across Iran, Iraq

Iranians and Iraqis celebrated the ceasefire between Israel and Iran in what they called a victory by Iran after US President Trump announced a truce.

Why did US attack Iran

US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities “effectively fulfilled our narrow objective: to degrade Iran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon,” acting US envoy to the UN Dorothy Shea told the United Nations Security Council.

“These strikes — in accordance with the inherent right to collective self-defense, consistent with the UN Charter — aimed to mitigate the threat posed by Iran to Israel, the region and to, more broadly, international peace and security,” Shea told the 15-member council.

“I think it’s still early to assess all the strikes. We know we were able to push back the (nuclear) programme. We were able to remove the imminent threat that we had,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.

Trump says Iranian nuclear weapons development programme exists

US President Donald Trump told Congress this week that the Iranian sites bombed by the US housed a “nuclear weapons development programme,” even though US spy agencies have said no such programme existed.

Trump’s claim raised questions whether US intelligence backed up his decision to order the strikes on Iran on Sunday.

The Republican president made the assertion in a letter dated Monday to House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a key ally, and it was posted on the White House’s website.

“United States forces conducted a precision strike against three nuclear facilities in Iran used by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its nuclear weapons development programme,” Trump wrote.

Iran to hold funerals for commanders, scientists 

Iran will be holding funerals for top commanders and scientists who were killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, June 28, the state media said.

‘Intense strikes’ 

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been instructed to respond with force if Iran violates the ceasefire.

Taking to social media, Katz said, “I have instructed the IDF, in coordination with the Prime Minister, to respond forcefully to the violation of the ceasefire by Iran through intense strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran.”

Did Iran attack again?

During the early hours of Wednesday, Israel’s military spokesperson said its air force intercepted drones outside Israeli territory.

Iran’s revolutionary guards denied any such drone attack in the northwestern city of Tabriz after reports of air defenses being activated in the area, according to three Iranian news sites report.

‘Time is running out’ 

France and its European partners are still prepared to reactivate sanctions on Iran if an agreement is not reached soon on its nuclear programme, the French ambassador to the UN warned.

“Time is running out,” said Jerome Bonnnafont at a UN Security Council meeting, in reference to the October expiration of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“We expect Iran to return to talks without delay in order to achieve a robust, verifiable and lasting diplomatic solution,” he added.

Bonnafont said negotiations were the only way to “guarantee the impossibility of an Iranian military nuclear programme,” days after the United States conducted strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Erdogan hails ceasefire

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the Iran-Israel ceasefire and urged “close dialogue” to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as he held talks with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a NATO summit.

The Turkish president “expressed his satisfaction with the ceasefire achieved between Israel and Iran through President Trump’s efforts, hoping it would be permanent,” his office said. 

Latest developments 

After mounting fears of regional spillover, the international community breathed a sigh of relief at the apparent Iran-Israel truce.

Trump, who had previously toyed with “regime change” in Iran, rejected the idea en route to a NATO summit in the Netherlands.

Here are some of the latest developments:

• Israel “refrained” from further strikes on Iran on Tuesday after a call between Trump and Netanyahu, the premier’s office said, though it did destroy a radar installation.

• Trump had accused both Iran and Israel of violating the ceasefire he announced late on Monday, but hours later he posted that it was in effect.

• A US-proposed ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding early Wednesday.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed a “historic victory” in the 12-day conflict. In a national address, Netanyahu vowed to thwart “any attempt” by Iran to rebuild its nuclear programme, which armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said Israeli strikes had set back “by years”.

• US media on Tuesday reported that a classified US intelligence document had concluded that American strikes last weekend did not fully eliminate Iran’s centrifuges or stockpile of enriched uranium.

• Trump rebuffed the media reports, saying the attacks had “completely destroyed” Iranian nuclear sites.

US to open Jerusalem embassy 

US’ embassy in Jerusalem said it will be opening its doors today, on June 25, following the ceasefire between Israel and Iran and “home front command” lifting all restrictions.

Why UAE is best positioned to absorb regional shock

After days of escalating Gulf tensions following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, both Iran and Israel announced a ceasefire, easing fears of a full-fledged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

While Tehran’s parliament had approved the option to block the vital waterway on June 22, pending approval by its Supreme National Security Council the recent truce and Iran’s restraint signal that this dramatic move was never likely.

But experts now say the UAE was never truly in the line of fire, and even if the worst had materialised, the country is among the best positioned in the region to absorb the shock.

Read here to find out why.

Long-term peace deal

Trump’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff said that talks between the United States and Iran were “promising” and that Washington was hopeful for a long-term peace deal.

We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising. We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran,” Witkoff said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” show.

“Now its for us to sit down with the Iranians and get to a comprehensive peace agreement, and I am very confident that we are going to achieve that,” he added.

Iran arrest 700 people

Iran said it has arrested 700 people accused of ties with Israel during the 12-day conflict, according to the state-affiliated Nour news.

Iran hangs 3 for spying for Israel 

Iran said it executed three men accused of spying for Israel, the day after a truce between the two countries came into effect.

“Idris Ali, Azad Shojai and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, who attempted to import equipment into the country to carry out assassinations, were arrested and tried for… cooperation favouring the Zionist regime,” the judiciary said, referring to Israel.

“The sentence was carried out this morning… and they were hanged.”

The three men were accused of spying for Israeli agency Mossad, according to a report by Mizan News.

The executions took place in Urmia, a northwestern city near the border with Turkey, the judiciary said, sharing photos of the three men in blue prison uniforms.

Oil prices rise 

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday as investors assessed the stability of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, but held near multi-week lows on the prospect that crude oil flows would not be disrupted.

Brent crude futures rose 85 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $67.99 a barrel at 0341 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 87 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $65.24.

Trump slams media outlets 

President Donald Trump rebuffed US media reports of intel finding the US strikes on Iran only set back Tehran’s nuclear programme by a few months. 

“The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed! Both the Times and CNN are getting slammed by the public!” the president posted on Truth Social.

Trump claimed the news outlets were spreading “fake news” in what he called was an attempt to “demean one of the most successful military strikes in history”.

Conflict enters Day 13  

Khaleej Times returns this morning with the latest updates as the Israel-Iran conflict enters its 13th day.

For in-depth coverage of the ongoing hostilities, explore our previous real-time updates:

• June 13–18 live blog

• Day 7 live updates

• Day 8 live blog

• Day 9 live blog

• Day 10 live updates

• Day 11 live blog

• Day 12 live blog

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