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Iran-Israel ceasefire announced; phased start with early violations

24 June 2025 · written 8 June 2026

At approximately 6:00 p.m. EDT on 23 June 2025, hours after Iran’s strikes on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, President Donald J. Trump announced on Truth Social that Iran and Israel had “agreed to a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE” and that the “12 DAY WAR” was “officially ended”: Iran was to halt hostilities at midnight EDT 24 June, Israel twelve hours later.1 Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani conveyed the U.S. proposal to Tehran; Trump separately spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.234 Within hours of the ceasefire’s stated effective time, Israel reported an Iranian missile launch at approximately 7:00 a.m. local time on 24 June; Israel struck an Iranian radar site in response, and Trump told reporters on the South Lawn before his departure to The Hague, “I’m not happy with Israel … I’m not happy with Iran either … they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” and intervened directly to restore the ceasefire.56 Casualty totals at the dateline: Iranian Ministry of Health figures placed Iranian deaths at approximately 610, the Israel Prime Minister’s Office and Magen David Adom placed Israeli deaths at approximately 28.78 The ceasefire ended what Trump termed the “12-Day War,” which began with Israeli strikes on Iran on 13 June 2025 (Operation Rising Lion) and included U.S. Operation Midnight Hammer on 22 June 2025.9

  1. The phased start created a window during which Iran was under ceasefire while Israel was not; compliance during the phasing window depended on the parties’ incentive to preserve the brokered outcome and on the mediator’s leverage. The same-day Iranian launch and Israeli response tested the framework within hours of its effective time.

  2. The ceasefire suspends kinetic operations but does not address Iran’s nuclear programme or the legal posture of the U.S. strikes. A leaked Defense Intelligence Agency preliminary battle-damage assessment characterised damage to Fordow and Natanz as more limited than the administration’s “obliterated” framing; CIA Director John Ratcliffe was expected to respond publicly to the leak.10 IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi had publicly stated that inspector access to the struck facilities was not assured; the Iranian parliament was reportedly preparing to vote on suspending cooperation with the IAEA.11

  3. The ceasefire is separate from continuing U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas hostage negotiations on Gaza. Trump’s remarks in the South Lawn gaggle on 24 June 2025 included continuing pressure on “the next deal.”12

Footnotes

  1. @realDonaldTrump, Truth Social post of 23 June 2025 (~6:00 p.m. EDT) announcing Iran-Israel ceasefire and characterising the conflict as the “12 DAY WAR.” https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump ↩

  2. Qatari Amiri Diwan readout and White House statements on Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s mediation between the United States and Iran, 23 June 2025. https://www.amiridiwan.qa/en/news ↩

  3. White House readout of telephone call between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 23 June 2025. The White House page for this document is no longer retrievable: the month-index URL cited here returns 404, the item does not appear in whitehouse.gov search, and the Wayback Machine could not be reached on 17 September 2026 (HTTP 429 throughout). The link is removed rather than redirected to a section index, which is what made it unverifiable in the first place. Tracked at debt whitehouse-june-2025-readouts. ↩

  4. Office of the President of Iran statement on telephone call with President Trump, 23 June 2025. ↩

  5. Israel Defense Forces statement on Iranian missile launch and Israeli response, 24 June 2025. ↩

  6. White House pool report, President Trump’s gaggle on the South Lawn before departure to The Hague, 24 June 2025 (criticising both Iran and Israel for ceasefire violations). ↩

  7. Iranian Ministry of Health figures on Iranian deaths in the 13-24 June 2025 conflict, reported via IRNA on 24 June 2025. ↩

  8. Israel Prime Minister’s Office and Magen David Adom figures on Israeli deaths in the 13-24 June 2025 conflict. ↩

  9. Israel Defense Forces statements on Operation Rising Lion (beginning 13 June 2025); U.S. Department of Defense briefing on Operation Midnight Hammer (22 June 2025). ↩

  10. Leaked Defense Intelligence Agency preliminary battle-damage assessment of Operation Midnight Hammer, first reported by CNN and The New York Times, 24 June 2025. ↩

  11. International Atomic Energy Agency, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, statements on inspector access to Iranian nuclear facilities, 23-24 June 2025. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements ↩

  12. White House pool report, President Trump’s gaggle on the South Lawn, 24 June 2025 (remarks on Gaza hostage negotiations). ↩

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