Trump Says Cease-Fire 'Now In Effect' In Iran-Israel Conflict

Meanwhile, this just in from the IDF:

A senior Iranian military official has warned that the recent US strikes had broadened the range of legitimate military targets for Tehran.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters -- the country’s top operational command within its armed forces -- delivered the message in a video statement.

"Mr. Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it," Zolfaqari said in English at the end of his message.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Moscow to hold talks with senior Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on June 23 Araqchi would hold "a series of negotiations" during his visit.

Interfax, quoting Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, reported that Putin will meet with Araqchi at some point during the day.

The Mizan news agency, the official outlet of Iran's judiciary, says Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh has been executed on espionage charges. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency had described him as being the head of a cyber-team affiliated with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Just days earlier Amnesty International had warned that Shayesteh was one of a number of detainees at risk in Iran due to what it called "arbitrary executions."

"Official calls for expediated trials and executions of those arrested for alleged collaboration with Israel show how the Iranian authorities weaponize the death penalty to assert control and instill fear among the people of Iran." said Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Hussein Baoumi.

US President Donald Trump, in comments late on June 22, said the June 21 US air strikes against Iran caused "monumental damage" to all of its nuclear sites, citing satellite images.

"Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!"

Trump earlier had said attacks on facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan had been “completely and totally obliterated.”

Amid the backdrop of the U.S. military's air strikes against Iran and rising tensions in Middle East, the US State Department issued a "Worldwide Caution Security Alert," advising US citizens to exercise increased caution while overseas.

"The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East. There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad."

"The Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution," it said.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on June 22 called US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities "good news" for the Middle East and Europe, saying it helped eliminate a "concrete threat."

Pistorius told German broadcaster ARD that military escalation is never desirable, but he added that if US and Israeli claims are accurate, the regime in Tehran had made significant progress toward developing a nuclear weapon.

"The key thing, I believe, is first of all that a major threat has been eliminated," Pistorius said.

Pistorius said Israel had a right to self-defense and that Washington had taken responsibility for security in the region in response to a "concrete threat."

Separately, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a quick return to diplomacy told end the conflict.

Iran must "immediately enter into negotiations with the US and Israel and to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict," Merz said.

With reporting by ARD, dpa, and AFP

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, following a trip to Turkey, is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on June 23 as he looks to bolster support amid his country's 10-day-old armed conflict with Israel.

Iran and “Russia always have common concerns and common enemies, and we always consult about coping with those common challenges and threats, and that is what we will be doing with the Russian president on Monday,” Araqchi was quoted by Iran’s Mehr news agency as saying.

He added that the talks will be conducted “under these new and precarious circumstances” after US forces entered the conflict with a series of air strikes on Iranian nuclear-related sites.

During his top in Istanbul, Araqchi contended that Washington was “fully responsible” for whatever actions his country would make in response, without being more specific.

“They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities," he told a news conference. “I don’t know how much room is left for diplomacy.”

US President Donald Trump said the US action was taken to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons.

The Israel Defense Forces early on June 23 said it conducted "intelligence-based strikes" using more than 30 munitions in the Tehran, Kermanshah, and Hamedan areas of Iran.

In a social media posting, it said 20 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in the strikes on several sites, including on a surface-to-air missile launcher near the capital.

Targets also included missile storage and launch infrastructure sites and radar and satellite systems used for aerial intelligence, the IDF said.

"These strikes are part of our ongoing effort to degrade the Iranian regimes military capabilities and secure aerial superiority to protect Israeli civilians," the posting on X said.

Meanwhile, Iranian media reported that air defenses had been activated in Karaj, west of the capital, and that explosions had been heard.

US President Donald Trump suggested he might welcome the toppling of the government in Tehran, hours after members of his administration insisted that recent attacks on Iran were not intended to bring about “regime change."

“It’s not politically correct to use the term, “Regime Change,” but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The comments came hours after leading members of his administration -- Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth -- indicated a negotiated settlement was the goal of the US air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and not the toppling of the current Islamic-led theocratic government.

At a news conference, Hegseth called the strikes a "precision operation" aimed only at Iran's nuclear program, not Iranian troops or the Iranian people. "This mission was not, and has not been, about regime game," he said.

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