Iran's retaliation: choreographed charade?
On June 23, two days after the US launched air-strikes against Iran's nuclear sites in what is being dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran launched missiles at al-Udeid air base, headquarters for US Central Command's regional operations and host to some 8,000 US troops. The US said nearly all the missiles were intercepted and their were no casualties. In a post on TruthSocial, President Trump shortly later claimed a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has been reached, with Israeli media reporting that it was brokered by Qatar. Sources also told Reuters that Iran had tipped off Qatar authorities before the attack, who then warned the US—accounting for the light damage and raising the possibility that, as in US-Iran brinkmanship of early 2020, the supposed Iranian retaliation was choreographed to allow Tehran to save face. The US, Israel and Iran alike are now all claiming victory, and it remain unclear how seriously Tehran's nuclear capabilities have in fact been degraded. (BBC News, The Guardian, JP, TWZ, NYT, NDTV, FirstPost)
Shortly before the ceasefire went into effect, Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. Israeli missile defense intercepted one, while the second struck a residential apartment building, killing four people and wounding at least 22. Israel also fired more missiles into Iran. (LWJ, NBC)
It is estimated that Iran has fired 590 missiles at Israel since the onset of the war, leaving 28 people dead and over 3,000 wounded. Estimates of the number of Iranians killed in Israeli strikes range from 400 to 800. (LWJ, UN News)
Iran to suspend cooperation with IAEA
The national security committee of Iran's parliament on June 23 approved a legislative proposal to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Under the proposal, IAEA surveillance cameras would be removed, and on-site inspections and submission of periodic reports to the UN agency would be halted as long as the security of nuclear facilities is not guaranteed. (Reuters)
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi is demanding immediate access to the targeted sites to assess the damage that he said is likely "very significant." He has also called for an emergency meeting of the IAEA at its Vienna headquarters. (UN News, EuroNews)
Hours before the Israeli air-strikes began June 12, the IAEA’s Board of Governors adopted a resolution finding that Iran had breached its NPT obligations by conducting secret activities involving undeclared nuclear material.