The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding on Wednesday while U.S. President Donald Trump said that U.S. and Iranian officials will talk next week.
who helped negotiate the ceasefire that took hold Tuesday on the 12th day of the war, told reporters at a NATO summit that he wasn鈥檛 particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that U.S. strikes had destroyed its nuclear program.
However, Iran has insisted it will not give up its nuclear program and its parliament agreed to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country鈥檚 . Iran also has not acknowledged any talks taking place next week, and an Iranian official questioned whether the United States could be trusted after its weekend attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
Meanwhile, an Israeli military official said seven Israeli soldiers were killed Tuesday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis when their armored vehicle was struck by an explosive. The announcement comes a day after witnesses and hospitals in Gaza said Israeli forces and drones opened fire toward hundreds of Palestinians waiting for aid, killing at least 44.
鈥斺赌斺赌-
Here is the latest:
UN chief welcomes Trump鈥檚 announcement of US talks with Iran
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres 鈥渧ery much hopes鈥 the talks which President Donald Trump said will take place next week will lead to an end to the Israel-Iran conflict, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Guterres also hopes the momentum from the Israel-Iran ceasefire will also lead to negotiations to end the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, Dujarric said.
Israel's military says Iran's nuclear program now has systematic damage
The Israeli military鈥檚 chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said in a video statement Wednesday evening that according to the army鈥檚 assessment, the damage to Iran鈥檚 nuclear program 鈥渋s not localized damage but systemic damage.鈥
鈥淲e hit the main facilities, factories, industries and knowledge centers,鈥 Zamir said. 鈥淭he cumulative achievement allows us to determine that the Iranian nuclear project suffered severe, broad and deep damage and was set back years.鈥
He added that the army 鈥渁chieved all of its planned goals 鈥 and even more.鈥
Zamir revealed that Israeli ground commandos operated inside Iran during the war. 鈥淭he forces operated covertly, deep inside enemy territory, and created operational freedom for us.鈥
Of the American strikes on Iran, he said 鈥淭he operation of the U.S. forces was precise, powerful and impressive.鈥
Erdogan says peace with Israel impossible amid Gaza strikes
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled out a 鈥減eaceful鈥 relationship with Israel as long as the country continues its military actions in Gaza.
Speaking at the end of a NATO summit on Wednesday, Erdogan strongly criticized Israel鈥檚 blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying organizations like the Red Cross were being obstructed.
鈥淧eace and harmony between us is not possible as long as they (Israel) continue in this manner,鈥 Erdogan said. 鈥淚srael cannot ensure the safety of its own people by destabilizing the region.鈥
Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but ties have soured under Erdogan鈥檚 two-decade long rule. He has strongly criticized Israel鈥檚 treatment of Palestinians, while Israel objects to his support for Hamas.
Israel鈥檚 foreign intelligence chief says Israel will 鈥渒eep a close watch鈥 on Iran
In a rare video released by the Mossad, the agency鈥檚 chief, David Barnea, said Israel鈥檚 achievements in its 12-day war with Iran were 鈥渦nimaginable at first.鈥 Addressing Mossad agents at the agency鈥檚 command center, he said 鈥淲e will continue to keep a close watch on all the projects in Iran, which we know very well. And we will be there, just as we have been there until now.鈥
Barnea expressed appreciation for 鈥渙ur key partner, the CIA,鈥 and thanked his own agents for their work 鈥渙ver many months and even years鈥 of doing 鈥渁ll of the right actions to get to the one right moment.鈥
In comments posted alongside the video on the agency鈥檚 official Facebook page, Israel鈥檚 military campaign was described as having 鈥渟ignificantly thwarted鈥 a 鈥渓ongstanding threat鈥 posed to Israel by Iran.
鈥淭hanks to accurate intelligence, advanced technologies, and operational capabilities beyond imagination, we helped the Air Force strike the Iranian nuclear project, establish aerial superiority in Iranian skies, and reduce the missile threat,鈥 the statement said.
Trump says US and Iran officials to meet next week
President Donald Trump says U.S. and Iranian officials will talk next week, continuing a dialogue that was interrupted by the recent war between Israel and Tehran.
鈥淚鈥檒l tell you what, we鈥檙e going to talk with them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don鈥檛 know,鈥 Trump told a press conference during the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
Trump said he wasn鈥檛 particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that U.S. strikes had destroyed its nuclear program.
鈥淭he way I look at it, they fought, the war is done,鈥 he said.
Iran did not immediately comment.
Iran鈥檚 mission to UN calls for a 鈥榬eturn to the logic of diplomacy鈥
A day after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, Iranian officials hit the airwaves and spoke to journalists about what comes next for the Islamic Republic as it recovers from U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Iran鈥檚 mission to the United Nations posted on X that 鈥渢hreats, intimidation and use of military force鈥 proved to be 鈥渇utile.鈥
鈥淭he logic of war has failed鈥攔eturn to the logic of diplomacy,鈥 the account posted.
Macron warns that Iran-Israel ceasefire is volatile
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that the ceasefire between Iran and Israel is 鈥渧olatile and fragile," and urged renewed diplomatic negotiations on Iran鈥檚 nuclear program.
After a NATO summit in the Netherlands attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, Macron said he hopes that the ceasefire holds.
Asked by The Associated Press about next steps, he said 鈥硍e should resume diplomatic and technical work on the nuclear question鈥 with Iran, the U.S. and European countries. 鈥矷n the coming weeks we will have a choice to make on this issue," he said.
Macron is meeting later Wednesday with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Paris.
Trump lashes out at media over intelligence assessment
The White House, looking to support President Donald Trump鈥檚 contention that Iran鈥檚 nuclear program was devastated by U.S. airstrikes, distributed a statement from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission.
"We assess that the American strikes on Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran鈥檚 military nuclear program, has set back Iran鈥檚 ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,鈥 the statement said.
A U.S. intelligence assessment that was leaked on Tuesday said there was a delay of only a few months. Trump said Wednesday that media outlets were 鈥渄isgusting鈥 for reporting on the assessment, describing them as 鈥渧ery unfair" to the pilots, who risked their lives for our country.
Iranian defense minister arrives in China for security forum
Iran鈥檚 Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh has arrived in China for the opening of a security forum, his first known trip abroad since the start of the war with Israel.
Nasirzadeh is expected to attend a meeting in the coastal city of Qingdao between defense ministers of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The security-focused group was established in 2001 by China and Russia, and includes Iran as a member alongside countries such as India, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.
A video of Nasirzadeh arriving at the forum was posted on social media by Yuyuantantian, a publication affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV.
Iran, which became an SCO member in 2023, has held joint military drills with Russia and China for the past five years.
Egyptian president tells Iran Egypt rejects Iranian attack on Qatar
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi has told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Egypt rejects the Iranian attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar and condemned any actions that infringe upon the sovereignty of states.
El-Sissi told his counterpart during a call Wednesday that Egypt welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Iran. He emphasized the importance of abiding by the agreement, and said that Egypt will exert all efforts to ensure that the ceasefire holds.
He also stressed the importance of resuming negotiations on the nuclear program between Washington and Tehran, the need to address concerns related to nuclear nonproliferation, and the push toward establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
Iran's foreign ministry says nuclear facilities 鈥榖adly damaged鈥 by US strikes
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei confirmed Wednesday the country鈥檚 nuclear facilities had been 鈥渂adly damaged鈥 in American strikes over the weekend.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Baghaei refused to go into detail but conceded the Sunday strikes by American B-2 bombers using bunker buster bombs had been significant.
鈥淥ur nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥 he said.
Palestinians frustrated that their war is still dragging on
Some Palestinians in Gaza City expressed frustration that the war in the territory has dragged on for nearly two years, while the conflict between Israel and Iran appeared to have ended after 12 days Tuesday when a fragile ceasefire was reached.
鈥淚 live in a tent and now my tent is gone too and we鈥檙e living in suffering here. The war between Israel and Iran ended in less than two weeks and we鈥檝e been dying for two years,鈥 said Um Zidan, a displaced woman from the north.
鈥淲e have been suffering for two years ... There are no houses, trees, or rocks, or humans left. Everything was destroyed,鈥 said Mazen al-Jomla, a displaced resident of Shati camp.
Israel says it killed head of currency exchange in Lebanon
Israel鈥檚 military said it killed Haytham Bakri, the head of a currency exchange in Lebanon, in a strike on Tuesday, claiming he was transferring funds to Hezbollah for militant activities.
The military said Wednesday that Bakri was the head of the 鈥淎l Sadiq鈥 exchange, which funneled funds from the Quds force -- the expeditionary arm of Iran鈥檚 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard -- to Hezbollah.
Israel鈥檚 claims about Bakri could not be immediately verified and there was no immediate response from Hezbollah. Despite a ceasefire in Lebanon, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily airstrikes targeting what it says are Hezbollah sites and officials.
IAEA chief suggests Iran can rebuild nuclear infrastructure
The head of the U.N. nuclear agency has declined to offer an assessment of a report that the strikes against Iran鈥檚 nuclear sites only set back Iran鈥檚 atomic program a few months. But he suggested that Tehran could rebuild the infrastructure.
Some of the infrastructure has survived the attacks and 鈥渢he reconstruction of the infrastructure is not impossible,鈥 said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, after meeting with senior Austrian officials Wednesday. 鈥淭his is work that Iran knows how to do. It would take some time."
Grossi said he wants to try to 鈥渞eengage鈥 with Iran as soon as possible so that inspectors can return to its nuclear sites. He said that 鈥渨e cannot afford that, because of this, the inspection regime is interrupted.鈥
He didn鈥檛 address criticism of the IAEA by Iran.
Asked about the possibility of Iran opting out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Grossi said that would be 鈥渧ery regrettable."
Grossi added that 鈥渉ard words and emotions are of course, perhaps 鈥 if not normal, inevitable at times of war. But we are working for diplomacy. We are working for a solution that (is) really sustainable.鈥
Trump says ceasefire going 鈥榲ery well鈥
U.S. President Donald Trump described the ceasefire between Iran and Israel as going 鈥渧ery well鈥 while speaking to journalists at a NATO summit at The Hague.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not going to have a bomb and they鈥檙e not going to enrich,鈥 Trump added.
Official describes attack on Israeli soldiers in Gaza
Israel鈥檚 military spokesperson says that the seven Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza Tuesday died when a bomb was attached to their tank, setting the armored vehicle aflame.
鈥淗elicopters and rescue forces were sent to the spot. They made attempts to rescue the fighters, but without success,鈥 said Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the military鈥檚 spokesperson.
鈥淭his is a complex event that is still being investigated. When the investigation is completed, we will present it first to the families and then to the public. This our duty.鈥
Turning to Iran, Defrin claimed that Israel had 鈥渟ignificantly damaged鈥 its nuclear program and 鈥渟et it back by years.鈥
China hopes for 鈥榣asting and effective鈥 ceasefire
China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and close Iranian partner, says it hopes a 鈥渓asting and effective ceasefire can be achieved so as to promote the realization of peace and stability in the Middle East.鈥
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun added Wednesday that China was 鈥渨illing to maintain friendly cooperation with Iran to benefit the two peoples and inject positive factors to safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East.鈥
China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and has long supported the regime politically, blaming Israel for starting the latest conflict and destabilizing the region.
Iranian Parliament takes step toward ending cooperation with IAEA
Iran鈥檚 Parliament voted nearly unanimously Wednesday to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country鈥檚 cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to Iranian state TV.
The move comes a day after a ceasefire deal took hold between Iran and Israel following a destructive 12-day war.
If successful, the legislation would make any external oversight of the country鈥檚 nuclear program much more difficult.
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Arab media Tuesday that it was too early to determine whether his government will continue working with the U.N.鈥檚 nuclear watchdog, saying that the IAEA treaty 鈥渇ailed to protect our rights and our facilities.鈥
While Iran鈥檚 Parliament has the ability to pass legislation, the final decision on any security-related matter would ultimately come from Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israeli forces kill a Palestinian woman in east Jerusalem, official says
A Palestinian official says Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old Palestinian woman in east Jerusalem Tuesday night.
Israeli forces stormed the Shuafat refugee camp overnight, killing Zahia Obeidi with a shot to the head around 10 p.m. and seizing her body, said Marouf Al-Refai, an adviser to the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem.
Israeli police said they were investigating her death, saying she arrived at the Shuafat checkpoint with 鈥減enetrating鈥 injuries and was pronounced dead by paramedics on scene.
7 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
Israel鈥檚 military said Wednesday that seven soldiers had been killed the day before inside Gaza.
A military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said that the seven were killed around 5 p.m. when an explosive affixed to their armored vehicle in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis detonated.
The military said another soldier was badly wounded Tuesday from RPG fire.
The incident was an unusually deadly one for Israel鈥檚 troops operating inside Gaza.
The military says over 860 soldiers have been killed since the war began with the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack 鈥 including more than 400 during fighting inside Gaza.
鈥 By Julia Frankel in Jerusalem
Hamas claims attack on Israeli soldiers
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas鈥 military wing, said on its Telegram channel Tuesday it had ambushed Israeli soldiers taking cover inside a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip.
Some of the soldiers were killed and other injured after they were targeted by a Yassin 105 missile and another missile south of Khan Younis, Hamas said.
Al-Qassam fighters then targeted the building with machine guns.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to the Israeli military's announcement that seven of its soldiers were killed Tuesday in Gaza.
Iran executes more prisoners
Iran executed three more prisoners Wednesday over allegedly spying for Israel, its state-run IRNA news agency reported, the latest hangings connected to its war with Israel.
Iran identified the three men executed Wednesday as Azad Shojaei, Edris Aali and Iraqi national Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul.
Iran is one of the world鈥檚 top executioners. After the brutal 1980s Iran-Iraq war, Iran carried out the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners and others, raising concerns among activists about a similar wave coming after the war with Israel.
The hangings happened in Urmia Prison in Iran鈥檚 West Azerbaijan province.
IRNA cited Iran鈥檚 judiciary for the news, saying the men had been accused of bringing 鈥渁ssassination equipment鈥 into the country.
Wednesday鈥檚 executions bring the total number of hangings for espionage around the war up to six.
Israeli strikes killed more than 1,000 in Iran, group says
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 1,054 people and wounded 4,476 others, according to figures released Wednesday by the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, said of those killed, it identified 417 civilians and 318 security force personnel.
Iran鈥檚 government provided sporadic casualty information throughout the war. Its latest update on Tuesday put the death toll at 606 people killed, with 5,332 others being injured.
In Israel, at least 28 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war.
