World News Update...

[The Founder]

US strikes on Iran will ‘encourage more states’ to seek nuclear weapons
The US Arms Control Association, a nonpartisan group, has condemned US attacks as “illegal” and says it only increases the risk of Iran and other countries seeking nuclear weapons.

“President Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel’s illegal attacks against the Iranian leadership, civilian targets, and the country’s major nuclear sites represents an irresponsible departure from Trump’s pursuit of diplomacy and increases the risk of a nuclear-armed Iran,” the organisation said in a statement.

“The failure to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis will further erode confidence in the global nonproliferation system and encourage more states to consider the pursuit of nuclear weapons to thwart attacks by other nuclear-armed states,” it added.

[The Founder]

Right now the only way one can see Israel backing down is if the US and Iran reach an agreement.

At this point, given everything that we’ve heard from Washington and Tehran, that doesn’t look like it’s on the horizon.

The reports from the Israeli media, citing military sources, talk about continuing Israeli strikes.

Meanwhile, Israel is bracing itself for an Iranian response.

Estimates in the Israeli media, on the army radio, is that Iran’s first response will be towards Israel, and so restrictions on movement in Israel have been increased to the maximum.

[The Founder]

Israel intercepts two drones ‘launched from the east’
The Israeli military says the drones launched “from the east” were intercepted near its border with Jordan.

The report comes as Israel braces for a possible retaliatory attack from Iran following the US strikes today.

[The Founder]

Cuba, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela slam US attacks on Iran
Some of the first global reactions to the US attacks have come from Latin America. And they have been quite critical.

Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel strongly condemned the US bombing saying it constitutes a “dangerous escalation” and a serious violation of the UN charter. He added that it “plunges humanity into a crisis with irreversible consequences”.

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric too called the US action illegal.

“Chile condemns this US attack,” he wrote on X. “Having power does not authorise you to use it in violatation of the rules that we as humanity have given ourselves. Even if you are the United States.”

Mexico meanwhile called for dialogue.

“In keeping with our constitutional principles of foreign policy and our country’s pacifist conviction, we reiterate our call to de-escalate tensions in the region. The restoration of peaceful coexistence among the states of the region is the highest priority,” the Mexican foreign ministry wrote on X.

Venezuela also denounced the attack.

In a statement on Telegram, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said his country “firmly and categorically condemns the bombing carried out by the US military, at the request of the state of Israel”. He also called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities”

[The Founder]

Israel reopens airspace after three hours
Israel’s Airports Authority says the country’s airspace has reopened for emergency flights after closing earlier due to an hours long barrage of missiles from Iran.

[The Founder]

Trump’s timeline – The proposed Iran-Israel ceasefire
Trump sent out a post on his Truth Social platform at around 6pm local time on Monday in Washington DC (22:00 GMT) stating that the ceasefire would begin to take effect “in approximately 6 hours from now”.
That six-hour period – which expired at 04:00 GMT (7:00am in Israel, 7:30 am in Tehran) – was to allows Iran and Israel to wind down and complete their “final missions”.
Trump said Iran will start the ceasefire first (04:00 GMT on Tuesday).
Israel will follow 12 hour later at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT).
Israel must stick to the ceasefire for 12 hours, after which ceasefire will be considered to be in full effect.
Trump said this timeline will mark the official end to what he termed the “Twelve Day War” between Israel and Iran.

[The Founder]

Trump says ‘ceasefire is now in effect’
US President Donald Trump has said “the ceasefire is now in effect” in a post on Truth Social.

“Please do not violate it!” he added.

Neither Iran nor Israel have officially confirmed the agreement announced earlier by Trump on ending the conflict that has killed hundreds in Iran and two dozen in Israel.

The US leader had said the ceasefire would be a phased 24-hour process beginning at around 04:00 GMT on Tuesday, with Iran unilaterally halting all operations. Israel would follow suit 12 hours later.

[The Founder]

Two men and a woman among the dead in Israel’s Beersheba
We’ve been following reports of four people killed in the southern city.

According to Israel’s Channel 14, a woman in her 40s was among those people killed in the strike in the country’s southern area.

Also killed was a man in his 40s and a young man in his 20s, the report said.

In addition, emergency workers evacuated two people in their 50s, who sustained “moderate” injuries, while six others, who sustained light injuries, were treated on site.

[The Founder]

Ceasefire process ‘moving in positive direction’ despite confusion
Former US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey says that while there has been confusion surrounding the details of the Trump-declared truce between Israel and Iran, ceasefires are typically “messy”.

“Over the past 50 years … I’ve seen a dozen ceasefires. They’re all messy,” Jeffrey told Al Jazeera. “Not all the troops get the orders … The timelines are [often] wrong.”

“This confusion is normal confusion, but it’s clear that it’s moving in a very, very positive direction given what the Iranian foreign minister has said [on halting attacks if Israel does],” he said.

Jeffrey said Israel may prove the bigger obstacle due its hardline cabinet members, but “Trump is going to make it very clear” that he’s done Netanyahu a great service by bombing Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, and “he’s not going to take no for an answer”.

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14m ago (06:45 GMT)
WATCH: Trump announces ceasefire between Israel and Iran
Trump’s announcement came shortly after an Iranian missile attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which houses US troops.

“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR,’” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Here’s how it all unfolded:

[The Founder]

Iranians hope Israel realises attacking Iran was a ‘strategic mistake’
We’ve been speaking to Foad Izadi, a professor in the World Studies department at the University of Tehran.

He said he believes Israel wants to repeat its experience with Lebanon in Iran, by “claiming to have a ceasefire but attacking anytime they want and killing anyone they want”.

But this plan will not work, he said.

“Iran’s ballistic missiles are fully functioning and we had the last rounds of missiles this morning…. So the Iranian side hope Israelis to realise that attacking Iran was a strategic mistake. They couldn’t do regime change, although they publicly asked for it. They couldn’t stop Iran’s ballistic programme, and they thought that by killing Iranian leaders, the military will become dysfunctional. That didn’t happen,” Izadi said. “So I think Americans and Israelis need to re evaluate what they have done, and if they do that correctly, they realise that attacking Iran in that manner was not a good idea.”

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