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Israel Claims Iran Violated Ceasefire and Will Retaliate [1]

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Date: 2025-06-24

For those hoping against all reasonable expectations that Trump had somehow actually brokered a real ceasefire between Iran and Israel (and the US), it looks like that may have all been smoke and mirrors. From CBS News:

Israel and Iran both indicated on Tuesday morning that they were complying with a ceasefire agreement announced by President Trump. But the apparent agreement — which Iranian officials had yet to formally confirm they would respect — appeared to falter within just a couple hours. The Israeli military ordered people into bomb shelters yet again and said Iran had launched more missiles at the country. "In light of Iran's complete violation of the ceasefire declared by the U.S. President and the launch of missiles towards Israel, and in accordance with the Israeli government's policy as determined to respond forcefully to any violation — I have instructed the IDF, in coordination with the Prime Minister, to continue the intense activity of attacking Tehran to thwart regime targets and terrorist infrastructures," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Tuesday. The Chief of the General Staff for Israel's military, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, announced earlier that: "In light of the severe violation of the ceasefire carried out by the Iranian regime, we will respond with force." Reuters cited Iran's semi-official ISNA student news agency as saying the Israeli claims of Iranian missile launches after the ceasefire began were false. The ISNA website was not immediately accessible, and there was no confirmation of that claim from Iranian officials publicly, but Iran's state-run Press TV network also said the country "denies launching missiles after the ceasefire took effect." Israeli first responders said one Iranian missile hit the southern city of Beersheba on Tuesday morning, killing four people and wounding about 20 others. Later, at about 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time, sirens blared in northern Israel and the Israeli military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran."

Even worse, it looks like Netanyahu may seize the opportunity afforded by the boost in his approval rating with the Israeli electorate, from what have been perceived so far as ‘successful’ strikes against Iran, to call for early elections that he was so strenuously trying to avoid just a short while ago. From the Times of Israel:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his inner circle are weighing snap elections in light of Israel’s offensive against Iran, which won widespread support among the public and has been broadly seen as a success, according to a Monday night report. Associates of the premier are encouraging him to take advantage of the military campaign and the boost in popularity it is likely to generate at the ballot box, Channel 12 said. According to the report, Netanyahu would run on the promise of normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. ... The failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from IDF service nearly brought down Netanyahu’s coalition earlier this month, as the two ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition, United Torah Judaism and Shas, threatened to dissolve the Knesset. During the coalition crisis in early June, a Channel 12 poll found that former prime minister Naftali Bennett would beat Netanyahu in elections, amid the protracted war in Gaza and perceived capitulation to Haredi interests. That trend may be reversing, however, after a Channel 13 poll showed Netanyahu’s Likud party climbing from 24 to 27 seats, regaining its place as the largest party in the Knesset (the survey was conducted before the outbreak of war with Iran). Israel’s offensive against Iran may have improved Netanyahu’s image in the eyes of voters, with the aerial campaign widely viewed as a triumph and American military assistance — the US dropped bombs on three key Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday, ostensibly causing them heavy damage — seen as a major victory for Netanyahu.

And speaking of that US strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Sen Mullin (R-OK) is now claiming that contrary to reports of enriched uranium and centrifuge equipment being hurriedly evacuated from the underground Fordo facility just prior to the US strike, US intel seems to think those Iranian trucks were actually transporting materials from the more vulnerable sites at Isfahan and Natanz to Fordo, thinking they would be safer there. From CNBC:

U.S. intelligence found that Iran did not move nuclear material from its Fordo facility before American bombers blasted that site, despite a report to the contrary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin said Monday. "They are claiming that they moved some material," Mullin said, referring to Israel and Iran, respectively. "Our intelligence report says they didn't," the Oklahoma Republican said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "In fact, we actually believe they stored more of it in Fordo because they believe Fordo was impenetrable," said Mullin, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "They thought it was a safe place to be." ... The New York Times, in a report Sunday, cited two unnamed Israeli officials with knowledge of the situation who said Iran appeared to have moved uranium and equipment from Fordo before the U.S. attack. But Mullin on Monday said the U.S. had "severely damaged, if not completely destroyed, their ability to have a nuclear weapon." "We have a really good handle on what we've destroyed," he said.

Let’s hope he’s actually right about this, and it’s not just more wishful thinking.

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