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

With all the current talk of regime change in Iran, now's probably a good time to re-up this graphic showing how the country's levers of power actually operate.

Israel's defense minister confirmed Tehran's notorious Evin prison was a target during air strikes on June 23.

"The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is now attacking with unprecedented force regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran, including the Basij headquarters, Evin Prison for political prisoners and opponents of the regime, the "Israel Destruction" clock in Palestine Square, the internal security headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideology headquarters, and other regime targets," Israel Katz said in a post on X.

Evin Prison is primarily used for political prisoners, dissidents, and individuals accused of security-related offenses. Established in 1972, the facility has long been associated with reports of human rights abuses and harsh detention conditions. It has garnered international attention due to cases involving the political figures, activists, journalists, and scholars detained there.

Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the organization's board of governors in Vienna on June 23 that access is needed to Iranian nuclear facilities after recent Israeli and US air strikes to "account for" its enriched uranium supplies.

Grossi said he recieved a letter from Iran 10 days ago that said "special measures" had been taken to protect nuclear equipment and materials, but that a halt in attacks is needed for IAEA teams to go in an assess the situation properly.

"Craters are now visible at the Fordow site, Iran's main facility for enriching uranium at 60 percent, indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions," he said referring to air strikes at the weekend by the United States.

Grossi said "very significant damage" was likely inflicted on site.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the US bombing of Iran “unprovoked aggression,” as he told Iran’s visiting foreign minister that Moscow was trying help the Iranian people.

Speaking at a June 23 Kremlin meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Putin called this weekend’s strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities “unjustified.”

"This is an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran," Putin said in televised comments.

Araqchi thanked Putin in response, telling him Russia stood on "the right side of history.”

Russia is a close ally of Iran, having helped it build a nuclear power generating plant, among other things.

Iran, for its part, has supplied Russia with drones and extensive drone technology that Moscow has used in its ongoing war on Ukraine.

The Mizan news agency linked to Iran's judiciary has confirmed that projectiles had hit the country's notorious Evin Prison, which incarcerates political prisoners, damaging parts of the facility. The agency claims that "all means have been used to manage the prison complex, and the situation is now under control."

Serhiy Danylov, the deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Ukraine, has been talking to Current Time about the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and Russia's role in the region.

Here's what he had to say about potential responses from Tehran:

Well, there are three options. Terrorism -- the weapon of the weak and the poor. Terror is very cheap. But in this case, the Iranians have always acted through proxies. Here, the Americans are warning that they will interpret any terrorist act as a direct attack on the United States, meaning that American bombings of Iran will continue.

A strike on American military bases-- that’s the most obvious and most widely anticipated consequence. But there are nuances here as well. The bases vary in significance. There’s a base in Iraq that has been shelled multiple times, once by the Iranians themselves. In other cases, by proxies -- specifically, Iraqi Shi'ite militias. There are far more important bases -- in Qatar, in Bahrain, or the air base in Qatar.

I don’t really believe that the [Iranian] response will be very loud or very strong. More likely, it will be some kind of middle-ground option -- symbolic, just enough for the Iranian regime to say, 'We responded, we crushed the enemy.' [...] If they strike an Iraqi base, for example, it will mean that the incident is, so to speak, concluded. And that’s it, move on.

As for the third option -- blocking the Strait of Hormuz -- I don’t really believe in that either, for many reasons. They would only block the strait in the event of existential threats -- meaning, when the regime decides it no longer matters because they’re going to be swept away or destroyed by external aggression anyway.

He also had this to say about how the latest developments may affect Iranian perceptions of Russia:

In Iran, frustration and dissatisfaction with Russia are growing—both within the establishment and among ordinary citizens. Russia is perceived as a country that trades away Iran’s interests, and clearly, that perception is accurate. Russia is seen as a traitor, as one that made promises and failed to deliver.

Now, obviously, the Iranians will be asking, for example, for ammunition for the Pantsir-S1 air defense system, which they actively use and which is one of the few capabilities they still have left.

They’ll ask for missiles for air defense, or just air defense equipment in general -- but they won’t get anything. Perhaps some ammunition might arrive by sea, but overall, Russia can’t really do anything for Iran right now.

In fact, I think it doesn’t even want to -- because for Russia, its relationship with Donald Trump is much more important than its relationship with Iran.

Loud explosions rocked parts of Tehran after US President Donald Trump suggested he might welcome the toppling of the government in Iran despite members of his administration insisting that recent attacks on the country were not intended to bring about “regime change."

The Israeli Air Force said it was striking targets in Tehran on June 23 with witnesses reporting loud explosions.

The Israeli air force said in a statement it had begun "a series of strikes toward military targets in Tehran." It did not elaborate and the extent of the damage from the attacks was not immediately clear.

Meanwhile Iranian state television said the underground nuclear facility at Fordow, one of the focuses of weekend attacks by the United States, was hit again. Israeli media, quoting unnamed sources, said the attacks were on roads leading to the complex, and not directly on the facility itself.

Iran also launched a new round of air strikes targeting Israel in the early morning hours of June 23.

Earlier in the day, Trump said "monumental damage" had been inflicted on Iran's main nuclear facilities, adding that "obliteration is an accurate term" to be used to describe the effects of US bombing of the sites.

“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 also wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on June 23 the US bombing likely resulted in "very significant" damage to the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, which is dug into a mountain in central Iran.

To read the full story, click here:

Iran's nuclear facility of Fordow was hit again on June 22 in an Israeli attack, the spokesperson for Qom Province's Crisis Management Headquarters said, according to the semofficial Tasnim news agency, a day after the US struck the same target.

SEE ALSO:

Iran's Fordow Nuclear Facility: A Target Too Deep For Israeli Weapons Alone

Here' s some more from RFE/RL's Radio Farda on the reported Israeli strikes on Tehran:

Iranian media reports and images posted on social media indicate that Israel intensified its attacks on various areas in Tehran on June 23, with vast plumes of smoke rising from many neighborhoods in the capital.

According to reports, a building of the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB was one of the targets of the attacks. A live broadcast of the media outlet's news channel was cut off, but the station's other channels are still broadcasting.

Images of rocket fire around the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, have also been published.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the area around Iran's notorious Evin prison has also been bombed.

There has been no word yet on possible damage or casualties.

The attacks intensified after Iran targeted various parts of Israel from north to south with heavy missile and drone attacks on June 23.

Israel’s military says it “has now begun a wave of attacks against military targets in Tehran.”

Iranian media reported “large explosions” in the capital, as “multiple strikes” targeted the city’s north and east.

The ILNA news agency said that electricity has been cut in northern Tehran following the Israeli strikes.