President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire that ended 12 days of war between ally Israel and Iran was going “very well”, while leaked US intelligence cast doubt on the damage caused by US strikes to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Here are the latest developments on the second day of the ceasefire:
- ‘Disgraceful’ -
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei branded NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s gushing note to President Donald Trump on US strikes as “disgraceful, despicable and irresponsible”.
While Iranian officials have yet to disclose the exact scale of the damage resulting from US and Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities, Baqaei told Al Jazeera English that they had been “badly damaged”.
- Iran eases internet curbs -
Iranian authorities announced the gradual easing of internet restrictions imposed during the war.
“The communication network is gradually returning to its previous state,” said the Revolutionary Guards’ cybersecurity command in a statement carried by state media.
- ‘Decades’ of damage -
Trump insisted on Wednesday that US strikes had resulted in the “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, setting the country’s atomic programme back by “decades”.
“They’re not going to be building bombs for a long time,” said Trump, who added that the ceasefire since Tuesday was going “very well”.
But US media had earlier cited people familiar with a preliminary US intelligence report as saying that weekend strikes did not fully eliminate Iran’s centrifuges or stockpile of enriched uranium.
The US bombardments sealed off entrances to some facilities without destroying underground buildings, setting Iran’s nuclear programme back by several months, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency report.
- ‘Significant hit’ -
The Israeli military said it had delivered a blow to Iran’s nuclear programme, but added that it was “still early to assess the results of the operation”.
“I believe we have delivered a significant hit to the nuclear programme, and I can also say that we have delayed it by several years,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised press conference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hailed a “historic victory” in the 12-day conflict and vowed to thwart “any attempt” by Iran to rebuild its nuclear programme.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday the Islamic republic would continue to “assert its legitimate rights” to the peaceful use of atomic power.
- State funerals -
Iran will hold state funerals on Saturday for senior military commanders and top scientists killed during the war.
Hossein Salami, the Revolutionary Guards chief killed by Israel on the war’s first day on June 13, will be laid to rest in central Iran on Thursday.
According to the Iranian health ministry, Israeli strikes during the war killed at least 610 civilians.
Iran’s attacks on Israel killed 28 people, according to official Israeli figures.
- ‘Terror’ designation -
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, on Wednesday designated Iran’s central bank a “terror organisation”.
“Part of Israel’s broader campaign against Iran”, the move aims “to target the heart of the Iranian regime’s terror financing system, which funds, arms and directs terror throughout the Middle East”, said a statement from his office.
- Iran MPs on IAEA -
Iranian lawmakers voted Wednesday in favour of suspending cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
“The International Atomic Energy Agency, which refused to even marginally condemn the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, put its international credibility up for auction,” Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, according to state TV.
The decision still requires the approval of the Guardian Council, a body empowered to vet legislation.
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