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

Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Iran's last shah, said he had volunteered to become an interim leader for the country if the current regime were to fall.

Pahlavi, 64, made the comments during a news conference in Paris on June 23 -- a day after US Air Force jets bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, plunging the entire Middle East into new uncertainty. It comes as US President Donald Trump has mused openly about trying to force out the current theocratic regime.

"We are a proud, ancient, and resilient people," Pahlavi said. "To my compatriots: This is our moment. I am with you. Let us build this new Iran together."

He also directly addressed the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling on him to resign.

"Step down. And if you do, you will receive a fair trial and due process of law. Which is more than you have ever given any Iranian," he said.

"This is our Berlin Wall moment," he said.

Pahlavi is a controversial figure among Iran's global diaspora. For some, he symbolizes the brutal dictatorship that his father led until the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For others, he is a genuine alternative to the theocratic government that has ruled since 1979.

Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Ephraim Dufferin has been holding a press briefing in Tel Aviv.

After an Iranian strike on southern Israel caused a major power outage this morning and suggested Tehran was now targeting Israeli infrastructure, Dufferin was asked whether the IDF intends to respond in kind.

Radio Farda reports that he answered by saying Israel's operations will continue based on a predetermined plan and against symbols of the Iranian regime.

The Israel electricity authority announced that it had "quickly restored" power to 8,000 customers in the south of the country whose supply had been cut off.

Previously, Iranian media reported a missile had hit the Ashdod power plant in southern Israel.

Europe is still looking for a role in the Israel-Iran conflict after it was caught by surprise following the United States' strikes on Iran over the weekend.

But it's fair to say there is a sense of humiliation as the American attack on various nuclear facilities in Iran came some 24 hours after the foreign ministers of the E3 (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met with their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqhchi, in Geneva on June 20.

Those talks didn't lead to much, not even an agreement for a new rendezvous.

But Kallas was adamant when pressed on the issue going into the EU foreign affairs council on June 23 that Tehran has been opening up on nuclear and broader security issues.

Not that US President Donald Trump agreed. He claimed European efforts had gone nowhere and the Iranians weren’t even that keen to speak to them.

So what now?

European foreign ministers will be discussing the issue in Brussels, and there are a few contours of a common position -- even if it may not have much impact on the ongoing conflict.

Read more here.

Some black-and-white video that seems to be CCTV footage has been released, apparently showing the moment of the Israeli strike near Evin prison. (Video embed taken from the Instagram page of RFE/RL's Radio Farda)

Hours after the Israeli attack, the Iranian state-run news agency released a video report of the damage caused by the attack. The footage shows images of the ruins and at least one injured person.

Some more UGC footage has been posted of an apparent Israeli strike on Seppah Square in the city of Karaj in nothern Iran in a part of the city associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Abolfazl Ghadiani, who is incarcerated in Evin prison said in a phone call to his son that all the windows in Ward 4 -- where political prisoners are held -- had been broken.

"My father called from Evin Prison. Evin Prison has been attacked and all the windows of the ward have been broken," Ahmad Ghadiani wrote in a post on X. "Apparently, the health center has also been damaged and someone said that the prison gate has been broken into."

The Fars news agency, which is close to the Iran's revolutionary guards, reported on the afternoon of June 23 that the prison was targeted by a drone or a small explosive device.

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.