The Israeli minister of defense, Israel Katz, said he has spoken with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, to thank the US for Donald Trump’s “bold decision to act with Israel against the Iranian nuclear threat”.
In a post on X, Katz added:
I emphasized that Israel will respect the ceasefire — as long as the other side does.
Hegseth praised Israel for the “historic achievements made”, Katz said.
His comments echo those made earlier on Tuesday by Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, who said Iran will 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,” Pezeshkian said during a phone conversation with Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, according to the presidency’s website.
Updated at 14.41 EDT
Key events
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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.
“Time is running out,” Jerome Bonnnafont said 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.
Agence France-Presse reports Bonnafont also said on Tuesday said negotiations were the only way to “guarantee the impossibility of an Iranian military nuclear program”, days after the US conducted strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. He told the New York meeting:
France and its E3 partners [Germany and the UK] remain ready to use the leverage established by resolution 2231, that of a ‘snapback’ [of sanctions], if a satisfactory agreement is not reached by summer.
The UN security council meeting in New York. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
UK ambassador Barbara Wood concurred, saying: “We will use all diplomatic levers at our disposal to support a negotiated outcome and ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.”
Updated at 18.22 EDT
The day so far
The shaky truce between Iran and Israel appeared to hold, with both sides saying they would honour the ceasefire if the other side did the same. Earlier on Tuesday Iran’s 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, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said he told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that “Israel will respect the ceasefire — as long as the other side does”.
An initial classified US assessment of Donald 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 Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – 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 that could be put to use for a possible nuclear weapon was moved before the strikes and may have been moved to other secret nuclear sites maintained by Iran. The findings suggest Trump’s declaration about the sites being “obliterated” – and acting US envoy to the UN Dorothy Shea’s statement to the United Nations Security Council that the US strikes “effectively fulfilled our narrow objective: to degrade Iran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon” – may be overstated. Read our story here.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would strike again if Iran rebuilds its nuclear project. Describing his war on Iran as a “historic victory” that “will stand for generations”, the Israeli PM claimed that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed “the threat of nuclear annihilation”. He said on 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 harsh rebuke.
Iranian state news reported that Iran’s air space would reopen on Tuesday night, while Israel Home Front Command said Israeli citizens could resume full activity without restriction for most of the country and Ben-Gurion and Haifa airports would return to full operations.
Updated at 17.46 EDT
Chris Stein
In the US, Democrats are up in arms over the cancellation of classified briefings to Congress scheduled for today, where White House officials were going to inform lawmakers about the bombing raid targeting Iran’s nuclear program.
“What are the facts that the Trump administration is trying to hide? The American people deserve to know the truth,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the briefings were canceled.
“This last-minute postponement of our briefing is outrageous. It’s evasive. It’s derelict. They’re bobbing and weaving and ducking. Senators deserve full transparency. There is a legal obligation for the administration to inform Congress about precisely what is happening,” said Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat.
It was not immediately cleared why the briefings for all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives were canceled.
On X, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson said his chamber’s briefing had been rescheduled to Friday:
I have just confirmed with the White House that the classified bipartisan briefing for all House Members will now be held on Friday. Senior Administration officials will present the latest information pertaining to the situation involving Israel and Iran.
Spokespeople for Senate majority leader John Thune did not respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it intercepted earlier this evening two drones “most likely from Iran” that were making their way towards Israel.
Israel’s Kan radio said the drones were most likely launched in the morning hours about the same time as the launch of a surface-to-surface missile from Iran.
The drones were intercepted outside of Israeli territory, the military added.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have denied earlier reports on Tuesday that there was a drone attack in the northwestern city of Tabriz, three Iranian news sites reported.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian media said air defences were activated in the area amid the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
ShareTrump’s strikes on Iran only set back nuclear program by months, early intelligence finds
Hugo Lowell
An initial classified US assessment of Donald 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 Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – and first reported by CNN, concluded key components of the nuclear program including centrifuges and enriched uranium were capable of being restarted within months.
The report also found that much of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be put to use for a possible nuclear weapon was moved before the strikes and may have been moved to other secret nuclear sites maintained by Iran.
The findings by the DIA, which were based on a preliminary battle damage assessment conducted by US central command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, suggests Trump’s declaration about the sites being “obliterated” may be overstated.
Trump had said in his televised address on Saturday night immediately after the operation that the US had completely destroyed Iran’s enrichment sites at Natanz and Fordow, the facility buried deep underground, and at Esfahan, where enrichment was being stored.
“The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,” Trump said in his address from the White House.
While the DIA report was only an initial assessment, one of the people said if the intelligence on the ground was already finding within days that Fordow in particular was not destroyed, later assessments could suggest even less damage might have been inflicted.
Updated at 16.53 EDT
Netanyahu declares ‘historic victory’ and claims Israel removed Iran’s nuclear threat in 12-day war
Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed “the threat of nuclear annihilation”.
“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us – the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” the Israeli PM claimed in video remarks issued by his office.
However, despite this and Donald Trump’s recent claim that Iran was “very close” to making a nuclear weapon when Israel launched its bombing campaign, Mark Warner, the vice-chairman of the US Senate intelligence committee, said last Wednesday that senators were briefed on Monday, after Israel’s attack, that US intelligence agencies still see no evidence that Iran was trying to make nuclear weapons.
In an interview with MSNBC, Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said that Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had testified to the Senate in March “that Iran had taken no action towards, moving towards a bomb”.
“And we got reconfirmed … Monday of this week, that the intelligence hasn’t changed,” Warner added.
Back to Netanyahu today, describing his war on Iran as a “historic victory” that “will stand for generations”, he went on to say that “no intention of easing off the gas pedal” and Israel “must complete” its campaign against Iran’s axis, to defeat Hamas and to bring about the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
We must not ease up. We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead.
Updated at 16.32 EDT
US tells UN its strikes degraded Iran’s capacity to build nuclear weapon
American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend “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 on Tuesday.
In her statement, Shea claimed the onus was on Tehran for not yet reaching a nuclear deal with the US, leading to the US carrying out a “precision operation” to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
But as you might remember, two weeks ago Trump told Netanyahu not to strike Iran as he still hoped to secure a nuclear deal with Tehran, and the US president only sought to associate himself with Israel’s offensive after Netanyahu – keen to divert international attention away from Gaza – ignored him and bombed Iran anyway.
What is more, while senior administration figures have insisted that the US was solely targeting the nuclear programme and Shea stresses that the American objective was “narrow”, Trump more than once mooted “regime change” in Iran before doubling back today.
The strikes, Shea went on to claim, “were in accordance with the inherent right to collective self-defense, consistent with the UN charter, [and] aimed to mitigate the threat posed by Iran to Israel, the region, and more broadly to international peace and security”.
But as professor of international relations at the London School of Economics Fawaz Gerges wrote for us on Friday:
Israel’s war on Iran is neither legal nor just … Even if Iran was making a bomb, international law doesn’t give Israel and the US the right to bomb Iran. The UN charter is clear on the use of force in international relations.
Following the Trump-brokered ceasefire, Shea said of Iran (and not Israel, as Trump did earlier today):
In this critical moment, we must all urge Iran to seize this opportunity for peace and prosperity, and to abide by its international obligations.
Updated at 16.07 EDT
Iranian air defenses have been activated against drones in the northwestern city of Tabriz on Tuesday evening, according to two Iranian news sites, amid a shaky US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Reuters reports there is yet to be official confirmation from Iranian authorities, so we’ll bring you more clarity on this as we get it.
Updated at 15.29 EDT
Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites – CNN
An early US intelligence assessment indicated that the US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last week did not destroy the core components of Tehran’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, CNN reports, citing three people briefed on the matter.
The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Pentagon’s intelligence arm, and is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes, one of the sources told CNN.
The analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is ongoing, and could change as further intelligence becomes available.
But the early findings are at odds with Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, and US defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments claiming that Iran’s nuclear ambitions “have been obliterated”.
They’re also at odds with comments I reported just moments ago from Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran’s nuclear project had been “dismantled” and declaring a “historic victory”.
Two of the people familiar with the assessment said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed. One of the people said the centrifuges are largely “intact”.
“So the [DIA] assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops,” one of the sources told CNN.
The White House acknowledged the existence of the assessment but said they disagreed with it. “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong,” CNN quoted White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying.
Updated at 16.44 EDT
Netanyahu says Israel will strike again if Iran rebuilds its nuclear project
In further remarks made in the video address, Netanyahu said Israel would strike again if Iran rebuilds its nuclear project.
We have dismantled the Iranian nuclear project. If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.
Updated at 16.28 EDT
Israel ‘never had a better friend than Trump in the White House’, says Netanyahu
In video remarks issued by the prime minister’s office, Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel “never had a better friend that President Trump in the White House”.
In video remarks issued by his office, the Israeli PM said of Trump, whose US military dropped massive “bunker-buster” bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend:
Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow.
He spoke hours only after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington.
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on 25 March 2019. Photograph: Susan Walsh/APShare
Updated at 16.18 EDT
Israelis to resume full activity without restriction for most of the country, IDF says
Israeli citizens could resume full activity without restriction for most of the country from Tuesday night, according to Israel Home Front Command.
The changes went into effect at 8pm local time Tuesday, the IDF said.
The only area of the country not under full activity without restriction is communities near Gaza. They remain subject to the IDF Southern Command’s guidelines, according to the release.
Meanwhile, the Airports Authority announced that Ben-Gurion and Haifa airports would return to full operations. Previous restrictions on the number of incoming and outgoing flights, as well as the number of passengers on each flight and the arrival of passengers and accompanying persons, were lifted.
ShareIsrael will respect ceasefire if Iran does, defense minister says
The Israeli minister of defense, Israel Katz, said he has spoken with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, to thank the US for Donald Trump’s “bold decision to act with Israel against the Iranian nuclear threat”.
In a post on X, Katz added:
I emphasized that Israel will respect the ceasefire — as long as the other side does.
Hegseth praised Israel for the “historic achievements made”, Katz said.
His comments echo those made earlier on Tuesday by Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, who said Iran will 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,” Pezeshkian said during a phone conversation with Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, according to the presidency’s website.
Updated at 14.41 EDT
Iran’s air space to be reopened tonight, state news reports
Iran’s air space is to be reopened tonight, Iran’s state-affiliated Nournews is reporting, twelve days since Israel’s began its war on the country. No timings were given in the report.
Updated at 14.26 EDT
Iran has not yet reopened its airspace, the Young Journalists’ Club media website reported on Tuesday, citing statements by the spokesperson for the country’s roads and urban development ministry.
The spokesperson said no decision had been made in this regard.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar 24 had said on X earlier on Tuesday evening that Iranian airspace was open to international arrivals and departures to and from Tehran with prior permission.
ShareIsraeli leadership ‘stunned’ and ’embarrassed’ by Trump’s public rebuke – NBC News
Israel’s leadership was “stunned” and “embarrassed” by Donald Trump’s harsh rebuke of both Israel and Iran this morning, a person familiar with the discussions has told NBC News, after Israel continued attacking Iran in the hours before Trump’s ceasefire took effect.
The person told NBC:
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.
Trump earlier swore in an angry outburst while speaking to reporters about the situation as he left the White House. “I gotta get Israel to calm down now, he said.
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.
Trump swears in outburst at Israel and Iran over ceasefire violations – video
The person also verified to NBC News that Trump earlier held a call with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sustain the ceasefire.
A White House source provided a brief readout of the “exceptionally firm and direct” call to ABC News, which reads:
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.
Updated at 13.54 EDT