Iran-Israel Ceasefire | May sign deal: Trump says US, Iranian officials will talk next week

US President Donald Trump has said that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil. However, the White House clarified that the decision by the US president did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions on Tehran.

France and its partners in the Europe are all set to reactivate sanctions on Iran if an agreement is not reached soon regarding its nuclear program, French ambassador to the UN, Jérôme Bonnafont, has warned, reported The Guardian.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that this country would strike Iran again if it rebuild its nuclear project, while describing his war on Tehran a "historic victory" that “will stand for generations”.

Netanyahu said that Israel, in its 12 days war with Iran, removed “the threat of nuclear annihilation”. Adding to it, Netanyahu said Israel had “no intention of easing off the gas pedal” and that Tel Aviv "must complete" its campaign to defeat the Iranian axis.

US President Donald Trump has said that he doesn't want a regime change in Iran amid a ceasefire being called to halt the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.

"I'd like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible. Regime change takes chaos, and ideally we don't want to see so much chaos," Trump said, reported BBC.

At least two flights, carrying people evacuated from Israel, are scheduled to land in Delhi today.

US President Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff has stated that America and Iran are already in discussion to resume the negotiations over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, The Guardian reported.

Witkoff confirmed that both US and Iran were engaged in direct talks and via intermediaries to return to the discussion table amid a ceasefire being called by President Trump between Israel and Iran, halting a 12-day conflict.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lashed out at the CNN for publishing the leaked intelligence report prepared by Pentagon's intelligence arm, Defense Intelligence Agency which stated that US strikes haven't destroyed Iran's nuclear sites rather it has only delayed it for months.

The White House acknowledged the intelligence assessment but said they disagreed with it. Leavitt categorically disputed the report and said the assessment was “flat-out wrong”.

In a post on X, she said "This alleged “assessment” is flat-out wrong and was classified as “top secret” but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community."

The US intelligence report prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which is an arm of the Pentagon, has stated that the US strikes on Iran haven't destroyed Iran's nuclear sites but has only set back the program by months.

What does the leaked intelligence report say:

After US President Donald Trump lashed out at the US media over the leak of the Pentagon's intelligence report, now the president's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has called the leak of the intelligence assessment report of the US strike on Iran as 'treasonous'.

Witkoff, in an interview to Fox News said, "It's outrageous, it's treasonous and it has to be investigated. Whoever's responsible for it should be held accountable."

The US House of Representatives has rejected an effort to impeach President Donald Trump from the presidency after his administration launched strikes on Iran's nuclear sites without prior approval from the Congress.

The action in the House took place after it was brought by Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas, which was not only rejected by the Republicans but even split his own party. The tally after the voting was 344-79 and the effort to impeach the Republican president was overwhelmingly rejected.

"I take no delight in what I'm doing. I do this because no one person should have the power to take over 300 million people to war without consulting with the Congress of the United States of America,” Green said ahead of the vote.

Like the casino owner he once was, President Donald Trump has shown an appetite for risk during the first months of his administration. The US airstrike on Iran, however, may represent Trump's largest gamble yet. While the potential for political reward is high and largely dependent on whether Trump can maintain the fragile peace he is trying to forge between Iran and Israel, experts say, there is a downside risk of events spiraling out of Trump's control while a skeptical American public watches.

For now, Trump appears to have won his bet that he could limit US involvement and force the parties to a ceasefire. “He wagered,” said Firas Maksad, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa practice at Eurasia Group. “Things went his way.” It remains to be seen whether the ceasefire will hold. Early Tuesday, Trump expressed frustration that Israel had launched an attack on Tehran hours after the president had declared a break in the hostilities.

If the agreement doesn't stick - or if Iran ultimately retaliates militarily or economically - Trump risks fragmenting the America First coalition that helped power him back into office by rendering what his movement stands for increasingly nebulous and ill-defined. “If six months from now, Iran continues to be a problem, it will grind down the MAGA coalition,” said Chris Stirewalt, a political analyst with the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

- Reuters

The United Nations ambassador of Iran, Amir-Saeid Iravani, has thanked Qatar for its role in brokering a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel at a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

The Iranian diplomat told the council that "I wish to sincerely thank our brotherly and friendly nation the state of Qatar for its sincere and diplomatic efforts to help end Israeli aggression, establish a ceasefire and prevent a further escalation of regional tensions that threaten peace and stability in the region."

After launching barrage of missiles to dismantle Iran's nuclear program, the targeted strikes by Israel in the past 12 days have also killed at least 14 Iranian scientists who were directly involved in the country's nuclear program advancement and were the brains behind it, Associated Press reported.

Israel's Ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, said that the killing of scientists and the damage of nuclear infrastructure would make it almost "impossible" for Tehran to build nuclear weapons after US strikes also damaged the three key nuclear sites in Iran, where B-2 bombers dropped bombs and tried to destroy the site.

"The fact that the whole group disappeared is basically throwing back the program by a number of years, by quite a number of years," Ambassador Zarka said.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit is taking place in Netherlands from June 24 to June 25 and the leaders gathered in The Hague are poised to discuss Iran and the situation in the Middle East as one of the biggest items on their agenda. Increasing defence spending is also going to be discussed.

According to UK government, a meeting between its Prime Minister Keir Starmer, France President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was held and the leaders "reflected on the volatile situation in the Middle East" and agreed now is "the time for diplomacy and for Iran to come to the negotiating table," BBC reported.

US President Donald Trump told the Congress this week that the sites targeted by the B-2 bombers in Iran hosted "nuclear weapons development program," contradicting the intelligence agencies as the US spy agencies have categorically denied the existence of any such program.

"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 program," Trump wrote in a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.

President Donald Trump sought to maintain a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and said while traveling to a two-day NATO summit at The Hague that he's not seeking regime change in Tehran. The summit is laden with uncertainty over Iran’s response to US airstrikes, the fate of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the future of US troops based in NATO countries.

NATO leaders are expected to endorse a goal of spending 5% of their gross domestic product on their security. Trump last week suggested the US should not have to abide by the spending pledge, although he appeared to soften those comments on Tuesday. The administration also postponed classified congressional intelligence briefings on the US strikes. A Senate briefing is rescheduled for Thursday so Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio can attend. The House will be briefed Friday, according to Speaker Mike Johnson.

- AP

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's call for a sequential ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and appealed to the two parties to adhere to it, in a post on his X account on Tuesday.

"If this ceasefire succeeds after the decisive US military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, it is a very good development," Merz wrote.

The German leader said he would discuss ways to stabilise the situation with American and European partners on the sidelines of Tuesday's NATO summit.

- Reuters

The Israeli government has said that it agreed to ceasefire proposal, brokered by US President Donald Trump, after "achieving the objectives" of its attacks on Iran which includes removal of Iran's "dual immediate existential threat" from nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

The Israeli government said it has "inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets."

While thanking President Trump for participating in eliminating Iran's nuclear threat, the statement added "Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat."

A part of the administrative building in Iran's Evin prison has been damaged in Israeli strike which took place on Monday but no casualties have been reported, a judiciary spokesperson said, Reuters reported.

Global shares rallied and the dollar extended declines on Tuesday as a ceasefire to end a 12-day war between Iran and Israel came into effect, while oil prices dived to nearly two-week lows on easing concerns about supply disruptions.

Most of the moves came after US President Donald Trump announced late on Monday that Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. A few hours later, Trump said the ceasefire was now in effect and urged both countries not to violate it.

Oil prices fell over 3%, having already slid 9% on Monday when Iran made a token retaliation against a US base which came to nothing and signalled it was done for now. With the immediate threat to the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane seemingly over, US crude futures fell another 3.7% to $65.96 per barrel, the lowest since June 11 before Israel's attacks on Iran began.

"With markets now viewing the escalation risk as over, market attention is likely to shift towards the looming tariff deadline in two weeks time," said Prashant Newnaha, senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD Securities.

- Reuters

Israel has reopened its airspace to incoming flights after closure due to barrage of missile attack by Iranian military on Tel Aviv and other parts of the country, the airport authority has said, Reuters reported.

After Iran launched a barrage of missiles towards Israel early on Tuesday morning, the Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom (MDM) said that at least four people have been killed.

Death toll in Israel post Iranian strike:

The Israeli emergency services have said that death toll in Beersheba strike, carried out by Iran's military, have risen to four people with at least a dozen people reportedly injured, AP reported.

Just prior to ceasefire announcement, the Iranian military launched its sixth barrage of missiles towards Israel, wherein one of them hit a residential building in southern Israel. At least three people were killed as a result of the strike, Israel's emergency services confirmed.

The Israel defense Forces (IDF) had said "missiles were launched from Iran towards Israeli territory a short time ago. Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat."

Iranian state TV has confirmed that a ceasefire has begun in its conflict with Israel after a fresh barrage of missiles attacked Israel killing three people. Tel Aviv is yet to confirm their agreement to the ceasefire.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump had announced a "complete and total ceasefire" in the hostilities surrounding Israel and Iran's conflict.