The President of the United States, Donald Trump, during a press conference with the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.Robin van Lonkhuijsen
The truce between Iran and Israel promoted by Donald Trump, President of the United States, seems to be effective as during the first night of it, no attacks between both countries were reported. Trump believes in the truce so much that he announced the reopening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Iran has acknowledged that its nuclear facilities have been "severely damaged" by the US attacks, which bombed Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan last Sunday.
Additionally, Iranian authorities have detained 700 people accused of spying for Israel during the twelve days of war with the Jewish country, as reported by the Iranian agency Fars, linked to the Revolutionary Guard of Iran.
In the afternoon, Trump equated the "successful" attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities that "ended the 12-day war" between Israel and Tehran, with the American nuclear bombs that devastated the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.
"(The attacks on Iranian plants) ended the war. Someone said, in a way, it was devastating. In fact, if you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, you know that also ended a war. This (the Saturday attack on Iranian nuclear facilities) ended a war in a different way, but it was devastating," said Trump during a press conference in The Hague, where he is attending the NATO summit.
Trump says Netanyahu's corruption trial must be "immediately canceled"
The US President, Donald Trump, said on Wednesday that the corruption trial against his ally Benjamin Netanyahu must be "immediately canceled" and urged that the "prime minister in times of great war" of Israel be exonerated after the conflict with Iran.
"What a WITCH HUNT for a man who has given so much, it is unthinkable to me," wrote Trump in a long post on his Truth Social platform, in which he added that the "trial against Netanyahu must be CANCELED IMMEDIATELY."
Iran reopens its airspace in the eastern half of the country
Iran partially reopened its airspace on Wednesday, which had been closed since the early hours of June 13 when Israel launched an attack on its military facilities and nuclear program, although the opening is currently limited to the eastern half of the country.
"With the aim of gradually returning to normal flights and fully maintaining flight safety and protection, the airspace in the eastern half of the country has been opened to international transit flights," Iranian authorities reported, according to the IRNA news agency.
National and international flights to or from airports in the north, south, and west of the country "will not be possible until further notice," including the Imam Khomeini International Airport (Tehran), Iranian authorities pointed out. Thus, only air traffic to "national and international flights with origin or destination at airports located in the east of the country" is reopened.
Iran closed its airspace after the Israeli attack on its military facilities and its military program, which led to a series of attacks between the two countries that ended on Tuesday after US President, Donald Trump, announced a ceasefire.
The Palestinian Authority claims a teenager died from Israeli gunfire in the West Bank
The Palestinian Authority stated on Wednesday that a 15-year-old teenager died from Israeli troops' gunfire in the occupied West Bank. "The child Rayan Tamer Houchiyeh was shot in the neck by Israeli soldiers in the city of Al-Yamoun, northwest of Jenin," declared the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah, in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. Previously, the Palestinian Red Crescent had reported that its teams had treated a teenager "seriously injured" in Al-Yamoun, only to later discover that he had died. The Red Crescent also stated that a 30-year-old man had suffered "serious head injuries" in an attack by Israeli settlers in the city of Kafr Malek, near Ramallah.
Iran's cooperation with the IAEA is "an obligation"
Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its nuclear program remains "an obligation," stated its Director-General, Rafael Grossi, on Wednesday after the Iranian parliament voted to suspend this cooperation. "Iran's cooperation with us is not a favor, it is a legal obligation, as long as Iran remains a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," Grossi stated on France 2 television, at a time when questions arise about the whereabouts or possible destruction of about 400 kg of highly enriched uranium in the Israeli attacks.
The ceasefire between Israel and Iran, an "opportunity" for the families of hostages in Gaza
"The Israeli government started a war with Iran without having finished the one that has been going on in Gaza for some time," protests Viki Cohen, whose son Nimrod has been held as a hostage in the Gaza Strip for over 627 days.
Following the announcement of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, Mrs. Cohen now hopes that the Israeli government will achieve the release of the hostages. During the 12 days of the war, Israel lived to the rhythm of air raid alerts and statements from the chief of staff.
US and Iranian officials to talk next week
The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran seemed to hold on Wednesday as President Donald Trump stated that US and Iranian officials will talk next week, generating cautious hope for long-term peace, although Tehran insisted it will not give up its nuclear program.
Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire established on Tuesday on the twelfth day of the war, told reporters at a NATO summit that he was not particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that the US attacks had destroyed their nuclear program. Earlier in the day, an Iranian official questioned whether the US could be trusted after its weekend attack.
"We may sign an agreement, I don't know," Trump stated. "As I see it, they fought and the war is over."
Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters celebrate their ally Iran's "victory" over Israel
Hundreds of supporters of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah gathered on Wednesday in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut to celebrate what they consider a "victory" of their ally Tehran over Israel in the war fought between the two over the past two weeks.
Participants in the event waved Hezbollah and their also Shiite ally Amal's flags, as well as those of Iran and Lebanon, while shouting slogans against Israel and in support of the Lebanese movement such as "At your service, Nasrala," in reference to its late secretary-general assassinated by the Jewish state last year.
Russia allows flights to Israel and Qatar and maintains the veto on Iran, Iraq, and Jordan
The Russian federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsia, eased restrictions on flights to Israel and Qatar on Wednesday and maintained the ban on flights to Iran, Iraq, and Jordan following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
According to the regulator's statement, until July 12, flights to Israel will be allowed between 07:00 (04:00 GMT) and 01:00 Moscow time (22:00 GMT the previous day), as well as flights to Qatar.
However, Rosaviatsia instructed Russian airlines not to fly in the airspace of Iran, Iraq, and Jordan and to seek alternative routes. The escalation in the Middle East began in the early hours of June 13 when Israel launched several attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Macron meets with the IAEA director to discuss Iran
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet on Wednesday night in Paris with the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, to assess "the state of the program" nuclear of Iran after Israeli and US attacks, announced the Elysee.
"Following the recent attacks on the Iranian nuclear program, they will address the state of the program, the radiological risks, the role of the agency, and the means to ensure full compliance with non-proliferation standards," the French presidency specified.