Israel-Iran War Updates: Iran confirms its military commander Ali Shadmani was killed in Israeli strikes

Iran confirmed that Major General Ali Shadmani, who served as the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was killed after sustaining injuries in Israeli strikes last week. The confirmation came from Iran on Wednesday

At least 627 people were killed in Iran during its conflict with Israel in the period between June 13 and June 25, Iranian state media said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, at least 4,870 others were injured during that time.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States would hold talks with Iran next week, with a possible agreement on the table about Tehran's nuclear programme. "We're going to talk to them next week with Iran, we may sign an agreement, I don't know," said Trump.

Trump, while speaking at the NATO summit, said, “All of the nuclear stuff is down there” in the tunnels of nuclear facilities. His remarks came as a rejection of the argument that nuclear material was moved out of the target sites, especially Isfahan, before the U.S. struck the facilities with so-called bunker-busting bombs over the weekend.

The New York Times reported that the Israeli military just said it shot down an incoming drone believed to have been fired from Yemen. The Houthis, a Yemeni militia backed by Iran, have been firing ballistic missiles and drones at Israel for well over a year in support of their Palestinian allies in Gaza, NYT said.

“The devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable,” said the statement, which the White House distributed. “We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years. The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.”

Iran has admitted to damage that its nuclear sites have suffered, after days of engaging in attacks with Israel.

Mediators in the Gaza conflict are using the “momentum” created by the ceasefire between Israel and Iran to restart the stalled negotiations, a Qatari official said Wednesday, as reported by CNN.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Qatar had been in contact with “all sides” over the past couple of days to “convince (Israel and Hamas) to get into talks again.”

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz signed an order, designating the Central Bank of Iran and other entities as terrorist organizations.

US President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, compared US strikes in Iran to the Second World War bombings in Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki and said that the US Strikes helped Iran and Israel reach a swift solution amid their attacks on each other. Trump dismissed an intelligence leak that said that US strikes on Iran had a very limited impact.

>> U.S. Justifies Airstrikes on Iran: Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, claiming the country is now “much further away” from acquiring a nuclear weapon, despite intelligence reports suggesting only a temporary setback.

>> Trump Backs Strike Impact: President Trump echoed Rubio’s stance, stating on Truth Social that Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were “completely destroyed.”

>> Conflicting Assessments on Damage: While the U.S. administration asserts significant impact, early intelligence and Israeli military statements suggest it’s too soon to fully assess how much Iran’s nuclear capabilities were actually affected.

>> Satellite Imagery Confirms Extensive Damage: High-resolution satellite images released by Maxar Technologies visibly confirm heavy destruction at the targeted Iranian nuclear sites, supporting claims of a precise and powerful U.S. operation.

>> Iran Plans National Funerals for Top Officials: Iran will hold state funerals for military and scientific leaders killed during the 12-day war with Israel, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami, highlighting the conflict’s severe human toll.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, this morning, defended the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, insisting the country is now “much further away from a nuclear weapon” than before.

Speaking to Politico on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Rubio pushed back against media reports, citing a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that the strikes may have only delayed Iran’s nuclear programme by a few months.

“The bottom line is, they are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action,” Rubio said, referring to last weekend’s strikes on Iran’s key nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

His comments align with President Donald Trump’s statements on Truth Social, where he claimed the sites had been “completely destroyed.”

Iran's parliament, this morning, overwhelmingly voted to suspend cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing its inaction and silence during the conflict.

According to Iranian state media, the legislation, approved by 221 lawmakers with one abstention and no opposition, would see Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation halt all collaboration with the IAEA until assurances are provided for the safety and security of its nuclear facilities.

The proposed measure still needs the approval of the Guardian Council, Iran’s top legislative vetting body, before it can be enforced.

Lawmakers reportedly erupted into chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" after casting their votes, underscoring the rising anti-Western sentiment in Iran's political establishment.

Tehran has long been critical of the IAEA, but frustrations have deepened since the war, as officials claim the agency turned a blind eye to repeated violations of Iranian sovereignty and international law.

Israel’s military, this morning, said it is too soon to determine the full extent of damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a 12-day conflict that concluded with a fragile ceasefire just a day earlier.

“It is still early to assess the results of the operation,” Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said at a televised press briefing.

The statement comes amid contrasting reports, with U.S. intelligence assessments suggesting that American airstrikes have likely set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, despite initial claims of devastating impact.

Iran will hold state funerals on Saturday for several high-ranking military commanders and leading scientists who were killed during the 12-day conflict with Israel, the country’s official media announced today.

According to the IRNA news agency, the national ceremony will begin at 8:00 am (0430 GMT) in Tehran, honoring those referred to as “martyrs of the Zionist regime’s aggression.” The announcement comes just one day after Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, following nearly two weeks of intense hostilities.

Among those being honored is Hossein Salami, chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who was killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Salami will be buried separately in a ceremony scheduled for Thursday, IRNA said.

Newly-released satellite imagery has revealed extensive destruction at three of Iran’s critical nuclear facilities, Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, following the U.S. airstrikes conducted on June 22 by B-2 stealth bombers.

The high-resolution visuals, released by Maxar Technologies on June 24, offer the most definitive visual confirmation to date of the scale and precision of the American military operation.

The strikes were reportedly designed to disrupt Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which U.S. officials have long regarded as a serious threat to regional and international security. Check out here.

Meanwhile, following the June 22 U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, hackers aligned with Tehran have launched cyberattacks against American banks, defense contractors, and oil companies, officials confirmed.

While the attacks have not yet disrupted critical infrastructure, cybersecurity analysts warn the situation could quickly deteriorate if the fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire collapses.

According to U.S. federal authorities, the recent wave of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, which flood networks to knock websites offline, is likely just the beginning.

Pro-Palestinian hacker collectives, including one calling itself Mysterious Team, claimed responsibility for targeting over a dozen U.S.-based aviation, banking, and energy firms in retaliation for the airstrikes.

The groups have urged others to join what they call a “digital retaliation campaign,” according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremist activity.

The Israeli military, this morning, announced that seven of its soldiers were killed during operations in the southern Gaza Strip, as fighting with Hamas continues unabated.

According to a statement on the army's official website, five soldiers and a platoon commander from the same battalion were confirmed to have "fallen during combat."

A seventh soldier also died, but his identity has not been disclosed at the family's request.

This brings the total number of Israeli military fatalities since the war began to more than 430, following Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack, which left 1,219 people dead, mostly civilians.

A day after the fragile ceasefire came into effect, Iranian authorities announced the execution of three men accused of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

According to Iran’s judiciary, the men, Idris Ali, Azad Shojai, and Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, were arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle assassination equipment into the country in collaboration with Israel.

The statement said the three were convicted of “cooperation favouring the Zionist regime” and hanged early this morning in the northwestern city of Urmia, near the Turkish border.

Executions of alleged Mossad agents were also carried out on Sunday and Monday, part of what appears to be a broader post-war security purge.

The Iranian government has intensified crackdowns on suspected foreign agents since the conflict with Israel erupted on June 13. Authorities had pledged swift justice for anyone found aiding Israel during the 12-day war.

The EU has welcomed the ceasefire, with Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas calling it "good news" but warning the truce remains fragile.

She urged all parties to seize the moment and return to the negotiating table to prevent further escalation.

In a series of posts on X, Kallas stated, “The announced reprieve in fighting between Israel and Iran is good news but remains fragile. All sides should stand by this and refrain from further violence.”

She added that the EU stands in solidarity with all affected, including Qatar, and emphasized that the ceasefire should mark a turning point for the region.

President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Tuesday evening that diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran were showing promise and that Washington was optimistic about reaching a long-term peace agreement.

“We are already talking to each other, not just directly but also through interlocutors. I think that the conversations are promising. We are hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran,” Witkoff said during an appearance on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle.

“Now it’s for us to sit down with the Iranians and get to a comprehensive peace agreement, and I am very confident that we are going to achieve that,” he added.

Global markets extended gains this morning after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, easing fears of a broader Middle East conflict. Asian markets led the rally, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, and Singapore posting solid gains.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 bucked the trend, dipping slightly.

Oil prices clawed back ground, rising over 1% today, though still down about 16% from Monday’s highs when the conflict escalated.

>> A classified US intelligence assessment reportedly concludes that recent American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have only delayed the program by a few months—not destroyed it, as President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed.

>> President Trump dismissed the report as “fake news,” asserting the nuclear sites were “completely destroyed.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the report’s existence but called its conclusions “flat-out wrong.”

>> Despite initial violations, the US-brokered truce between Iran and Israel held into Wednesday. Both sides claimed success, with Israeli PM Netanyahu calling it a “historic victory” and Iran’s President Pezeshkian hailing “heroic resistance.”

>> Hours before the ceasefire began, Iran launched a final wave of missiles toward Israel, killing four in Beersheba. Israel retaliated by hitting a radar installation before halting further action after a Trump-Netanyahu phone call.

>> According to official figures, Israeli strikes killed over 610 civilians in Iran, while Iranian missile attacks killed 28 people in Israel.

>> World leaders expressed relief. Turkey’s President Erdogan welcomed the truce, praising Trump’s efforts. Russia, Germany, and other nations also applauded the de-escalation, wary of further regional fallout.

>> President Pezeshkian reiterated Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy but said Tehran is ready to return to the negotiating table if Israel upholds the ceasefire.

Israeli PM Netanyahu on Tuesday declared a "historic victory" over Iran following a 12-day military confrontation, even as a classified U.S. intelligence report cast doubt on the effectiveness of recent American strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

Netanyahu claimed Israel had “thwarted Iran’s nuclear project,” warning that any future attempt by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear capabilities would be met with equal force. “We have no intention of taking our foot off the gas,” he said in a televised address.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, late Tuesday evening, said that Israel would uphold the ceasefire with Iran “as long as the other side does,” following a phone call with U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Katz said he expressed gratitude to Hegseth for President Trump’s decision to act jointly with Israel in targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, describing Tehran’s program as a regional threat.

In Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday evening pledged to intensify efforts against Iran and Hamas, declaring that Israel would not relent in its security objectives.

In a televised address to the nation, Netanyahu said, “We are neither complacent nor overconfident. We have no intention of taking our foot off the gas.”

He reiterated his government’s commitment to continuing pressure on what he described as the “Iranian axis,” dismantling Hamas, and ensuring the safe return of hostages still held in Gaza.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has strongly rejected the classified U.S. intelligence assessment suggesting that Sunday's U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities failed to dismantle the country’s core nuclear infrastructure.

Leavitt called the report’s findings “flat-out wrong” and denounced the leak of classified material.

Iranian officials, meantime, remained defiant, stating that the country’s nuclear program would continue.

They announced plans to rebuild the damaged facilities and reiterated that Iran’s atomic activities are intended solely for peaceful purposes.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on Tuesday that while it may still be premature for formal diplomatic talks with Iran, such dialogue could be on the horizon.

“It’s too early to assess all the strikes,” Danon told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, referring to Israel’s recent attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, the U.S. told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that its June 22 military strikes in Iran successfully degraded Tehran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon, even as intelligence assessments suggest the impact may have been limited.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said the June 21 airstrikes were a "precision operation" carried out in line with Washington’s right to collective self-defense.

Her remarks, however, come in contrast to the early U.S. intelligence assessment that indicates the strikes fell short of dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.