What we know
- CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS: President Donald Trump said he is “not happy” that Israel fired more rockets at Iran, adding that he is also displeased with Iran. He said today that he believed both sides violated the ceasefire, adding on social media that the truce remains in effect.
- IRAN RESPONSE: Trump announced the ceasefire hours after Iran launched a strike against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which stations thousands of U.S. troops, in retaliation for the U.S. bombing of three nuclear sites over the weekend.
- NUCLEAR PROGRAM: The U.S. strikes set back Iran's nuclear program several months, sources said. The initial assessment would appear to contradict Trump and Netanyahu’s claims that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were “obliterated” by the U.S. attack.
- DEATH TOLL RISES: In the hours before the ceasefire took effect, nine people were killed in Israeli strikes on the northern Iranian province of Gilan, Iranian state media reported, while five people were killed in Iranian strikes on the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, according to first responders.
- HOW IT STARTED: The war began when Israel bombed Iran on June 13, saying it was trying to stop it from developing nuclear weapons, and Tehran retaliated.
Briefing to House on Iran pushed to Friday
A classified briefing for House members about Iran and Israel that was scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed until Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
“Senior Administration officials will present the latest information pertaining to the situation involving Israel and Iran,” Johnson, R-La., said on X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., questioned why the briefing was postponed. He said at a news conference that members of Congress received no reason for the postponement.
“Is it, in fact, the case that Iran’s nuclear program has been completely and totally obliterated?” Jeffries said. “There apparently are reasons to believe that that was a blatant misrepresentation made by Donald Trump to the American people. That’s one of the questions that needs to be answered by the Trump administration.”
3 ‘Mossad spies’ executed in Iran, Iranian media reports
Three people who were described as “Mossad spies” were executed in Iran, Iranian media outlet Tasnim reported.
Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that “three individuals accused of bringing assassination equipment into Iran” were killed.
“According to the authorities, they smuggled assassination equipment into the country disguised as shipments of alcoholic beverages. These tools were reportedly used in the assassination of a public figure,” Tasnim reported.
Mossad is Israel’s intelligence agency. Tasnim said the executions were carried out Wednesday morning local time.
Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. thanks Qatar for role in ceasefire
Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., Amir-Saeid Iravani, thanked Qatar for its role in a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“I wish to sincerely thank our brotherly and friendly nation, the state of Qatar, for its sincere and diplomatic efforts to end Israeli aggression, establish a ceasefire and prevent a further escalation of regional tensions,” he said at a U.N. Security Council meeting.
Iran had fired into Qatar, targeting a base that houses U.S. troops. The missiles launched at Al Udeid Air Base, a retaliatory move for U.S. airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, were intercepted, Qatar said. It said there were no casualties and condemned the violation of its sovereignty.
Iravani said Israel has targeted Iran’s “peaceful nuclear facilities, civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Iranian state media says 700 ‘Israeli mercenaries’ arrested
Iranian state-aligned media Fars News reported today that more than 700 people who it said were aligned with an Israeli spy network have been arrested over the last 12 days.
Fars referred to them as “Israeli mercenaries.”
“Since the beginning of Israel’s attack on Iran, the Zionist regime’s spy network has been highly active in the country; Iranian intelligence and security forces managed to arrest more than 700 of them within 12 days,” Fars News reported.
It also reported that 10,000 drones have been seized, citing what it said were informed sources.
The claims have not been confirmed by NBC News.
IAEA head proposes meeting with Iran, says diplomacy can resolve dispute
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency today proposed a meeting with Iran’s foreign minister and said diplomacy might answer questions about the country’s nuclear program.
“Resuming cooperation with the IAEA is key to a successful diplomatic agreement to finally resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.
The IAEA said inspectors are “ready to start working as soon as possible” to begin verifying nuclear material.
The agency said inspectors had verified more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% a few days before Israel’s attack on Iranian facilities and the conflict.
“As I have repeatedly stated — before and during the conflict — nuclear facilities should never be attacked due to the very real risk of a serious radiological accident,” Grossi said.
Iran’s foreign minister says attack on U.S. base was ‘legitimate act of self-defense’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that a missile attack in Qatar at a base housing U.S. troops was a “legitimate act of self-defense” and that there must be “a halt to aggression” before any negotiations, Iranian media reported.
Qatar intercepted the missiles fired at Al Udeid Air Base, which was in response to U.S. strikes against Iran that U.S. officials said targeted Iran’s nuclear program.
“The strike on Al Udeid was a legitimate act of self-defense. We fully respect the sovereignty of Qatar and other regional countries. Messages from the United States were received both before and after the strike,” Araghchi said, according to SNNTV.
“Returning to negotiations is conditional upon a halt to aggression,” he said.
Araghchi also downplayed the damage from the attacks on its nuclear program.
“The nuclear program continues,” he said, according to SNNTV. “National resolve is stronger than ever.”
Vice President JD Vance says U.S. followed 'Trump doctrine' during Iran strikes
Vice President JD Vance spoke tonight at the Ohio Republican Party dinner, outlining a foreign policy doctrine he dubbed “the Trump doctrine.”
“What I call the Trump doctrine is quite simple. No. 1, you articulate a clear American interest, and that’s in this case that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. No. 2, you try to aggressively diplomatically solve that problem. And No. 3, when you can’t solve it diplomatically, you use overwhelming military power to solve it, and then you get the hell out of there before it ever becomes a protracted conflict,” Vance said.
Earlier today, Vance said on X that the so-called doctrine “will change the country (and the world) for the better.”
Vance complimented Trump’s “strong American leadership” in his remarks, reassuring the audience that this will not become a protracted war.
“To the Americans who are worried about this becoming a protracted conflict, I think the president solved that very quickly. Not only did we destroy the Iranian nuclear program; we did it with zero American casualties. And that’s what happens when you’ve got strong American leadership,” Vance said.
NBC News reported today that an initial intelligence assessment concluded that the United States did not wipe out Iran’s nuclear program but only set it back a few months.
Israel’s military said to be running low on some key weaponry
Israel’s military is running low on some key weaponry as Trump tries to hold together a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, according to three U.S. officials.
Israel is specifically low on munitions, two of the officials said.
The shortage comes amid tensions between Trump and Netanyahu over Trump’s push for a ceasefire after 12 days of strikes between Israel and Iran.
A spokesperson for the Israeli government did not respond to a request for comment.
A defense official declined to comment.
At the same time, acting Chief of Naval Operations James Kilby testified today before the Senate that while the U.S. Navy has enough of the missiles it needs to defend Israel, the United States is using them “at an alarming rate.”
The United States has helped defend Israel against a barrage of Iranian attacks in the past two weeks.
Some senators have seen classified assessment of damage in Iran
The classified assessment of the military’s operation in Iran has been transmitted to Congress and has been viewed by some senators in a secure location, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Armed Services Committee, has reviewed the document but would not discuss the contents of the report because of its classified nature.
“I’ve reviewed the classified material. I’m a little bit disappointed that my colleagues went and looked at it and mainly started talking about it publicly. That’s not we’re supposed to do with a classified report,” he said.
The initial assessment revealed the bombing pushed back Iran’s nuclear program by months but did not cripple it, three people with knowledge of the report said.
Congressional Democrats have been unhappy with the level of input the Trump administration has given Congress as it relates to the Iran attack.
“Is it, in fact, the case that Iran’s nuclear program has been completely and totally obliterated?” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., asked at a news conference this afternoon. “There apparently are reasons to believe that that was a blatant misrepresentation made by Donald Trump to the American people.”
Hegseth says attacks ‘obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapon’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today that the U.S. attacks on Iran “obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons” after details of an assessment reported that the attacks set back the program only by three to six months.
“Based on everything we have seen — and I’ve seen it all — our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons,” Hegseth said in a statement.
“The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran; so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission,” he said.
