A fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel gives rise to hopes for
longer peace
[June 25, 2025]
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING and FARNOUSH AMIRI
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The fragile ceasefire between Israel
and Iran appeared to be holding Wednesday after a rocky start, giving
rise to cautious hope it could lead to a longer term peace agreement,
even as Tehran insisted it would not give up its nuclear program.
The ceasefire took hold Tuesday on the 12th day of the war between
Israel and Iran, with each side initially accusing the other of
violating it until the missiles, drones and bombs finally stopped.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump, who helped negotiate the
ceasefire, told reporters at a NATO summit in the Netherlands that it
was going “very well.”
“They’re not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich,”
Trump added.
Iran has insisted, however, that it will not give up its nuclear program
and in a vote underscoring the tough path ahead, Iranian parliament
agreed to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the
country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the
Vienna-based United Nations organization that has been monitoring the
Iranian nuclear program for years.
Ahead of the vote, parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf
criticized the IAEA for having “refused to even pretend to condemn the
attack on Iran's nuclear facilities” that were carried out by the U.S.
on Sunday.
“For this reason, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will suspend
cooperation with the IAEA until security of nuclear facilities is
ensured, and Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will move forward at a
faster pace," Qalibaf told lawmakers.

Questions over effectiveness of American strikes
The American strikes hit three Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump said
had “completely and fully obliterated” the country's nuclear program.
Trump’s special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff said on Fox News late
Tuesday that Israel and the U.S. had now achieved their objective of
“the total destruction of the enrichment capacity” in Iran, and Iran's
prerequisite for talks — that Israel end its campaign — had also been
fulfilled.
“The proof is in the pudding,” he said. “No one's shooting at each
other. It's over.”
At the NATO summit, when asked about a U.S. intelligence report that
found Iran's nuclear program has been set back only a few months, Trump
scoffed and said it would at least take “years” to rebuild.
Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Wednesday his
country's assessment was also that Iran's nuclear facilities had been
“significantly damaged” and its nuclear program “set it back by years.”
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss
internal deliberations, said the ceasefire agreement with Iran amounted
to “quiet for quiet,” with no further understandings about Iran's
nuclear program going ahead.
Hopes for a longer term agreement
In the Fox News interview, Witkoff said Trump is now looking to land “a
comprehensive peace agreement that goes beyond even the ceasefire.”
“We’re already talking to each other, not just directly, but also
through interlocutors,” Witkoff said, adding that the conversations were
promising and “we're hopeful that we can have a long-term peace
agreement.”

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Iranian protesters attend an anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rally at
Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in downtown Tehran,
Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and close
Iranian partner, also weighed in on Wednesday, saying it hoped a
“lasting and effective ceasefire can be achieved so as to promote
the realization of peace and stability in the Middle East.”
China is a major buyer of Iranian oil and has long supported its
government politically, blaming Israel for starting the latest
conflict and destabilizing the region.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing
that in the wake of the conflict, China is willing to "inject
positive factors to safeguard peace and stability in the Middle
East.”
Iran executes 3 more prisoners on spying allegations
During the war with Israel, Iran executed several prisoners accused
of spying for Israel, sparking fears from activists that it could
conduct a wave of executions after the conflict ended.
It hanged three more prisoners on spying charges on Wednesday,
bringing the total number of executions for espionage up to six
since June 16.
The hangings happened in Urmia Prison in Iran’s West Azerbaijan
province, which is the country’s most northwestern province.
State-run IRNA cited Iran’s judiciary for the news, saying the men
had been accused of bringing “assassination equipment” into the
country.
Iran identified the three men as Azad Shojaei, Edris Aali and Iraqi
national Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul. Amnesty International had previously
raised concerns that the men could be executed.
During the 12 day war, at least 28 people were killed in Israel and
more than 1,000 wounded, according to officials.
In Iran, the government on Tuesday put the death toll at 606 people
killed, with 5,332 others wounded. The Washington-based Human Rights
Activists group released figures Wednesday suggesting Israeli
strikes on Iran had killed at least 1,054 people and wounded 4,476
others.

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.
Tehran experienced intense Israeli airstrikes throughout the war,
including those that targeted Iran’s top military leadership and
other sites associated with its ruling theocracy.
With the ceasefire in place, Iranians began trying to return to
their normal lives.
State media described heavy traffic around the Caspian Sea area and
other rural areas outside of the capital, Tehran, as people began
returning to the city.
_____
Associated Press writers Josef Federman and Julia Frankel in
Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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