A fragile and sudden ceasefire was announced late Monday night between Iran and Israel after nearly two weeks of intense cross-border hostilities that left cities shaken, civilians dead, and critical infrastructure damaged — including a direct missile strike on Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. The ceasefire, declared by U.S. President Donald Trump, took even senior members of his own administration by surprise, The New York Times reported.
The move followed backchannel diplomacy led by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who, according to Reuters, secured Tehran’s tentative agreement after a series of direct and indirect contacts with both sides. A senior White House official confirmed to NBC News that Trump reached the decision after a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he reportedly said, “The war must stop.”
Prior to the announcement, the regime in Iran launched a retaliatory missile strike on the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, as reported by Deutsche Welle and confirmed by multiple agencies including AP, AFP, and Reuters. The strike, which came in response to U.S. attacks on Iranian territory over the weekend, prompted a temporary closure of Qatari airspace. According to the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, the airspace was reopened hours later, and conditions were declared “normal.”
#BREAKING Iran president says country will respect ceasefire if Israel does pic.twitter.com/l3hqkgS9wI
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 24, 2025
Surprising Ceasefire Amid Escalation
Despite the announcement, the violence did not immediately abate. According to Reuters and The New York Times, after Trump’s public statement, both Iran and Israel launched new attacks against each other. Israel reported a fourth wave of missiles from Iran — the latest of which struck an apartment complex in Beersheba, killing five civilians. The Israeli military confirmed that Iran had launched two initial missiles, followed by four more, with significant casualties in the second wave.
While Iranian state media confirmed the ceasefire had begun, Iranian officials offered mixed signals. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that Iran would cease its military responses only if Israel halted “illegal aggression” by 4 a.m. Tehran time, otherwise Iran reserved the right to continue its operations. He emphasized that Israel had initiated the conflict, not Iran.
Evin Prison Bombed
One of the most dramatic and unprecedented consequences of the conflict was the Israeli bombing of Iran’s Evin Prison on June 22. Multiple sources and several state-affiliated Telegram channels confirmed that projectiles struck various administrative and security-related buildings inside the prison complex, which houses political prisoners and detainees in high-security units.
Eyewitness videos and internal reports indicated that glass windows in multiple wards were shattered, part of the women’s ward wall collapsed, and several inmates were injured, including known political prisoners Nasrollah Fallahi and Majidreza Maki. Explosions were reportedly so intense that portions of buildings in Wards 7 and 8 collapsed and caught fire, including the prison’s medical center and the gym.
BREAKING: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says he held off on tougher strikes against Iran after speaking to President Trump. And as a tentative ceasefire takes hold, the U.S. leader affirms he isn't looking for a regime change in Iran. https://t.co/NIU076J007
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 24, 2025
Authorities quickly locked all exits, effectively sealing prisoners inside. The prison’s administrative offices, particularly in Building 209 — home to intelligence operations and interrogations — were reportedly evacuated after taking severe damage. According to multiple reports, detainees from this unit were being transferred to other undisclosed locations.
Domestic Fallout and Political Reactions
The internal situation in Iran has grown tense. In response to the bombing and ongoing threats, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Eje’i ordered all judiciary officials and prosecutors back to work immediately, canceling all scheduled leave. In a speech cited by state media, Eje’i emphasized rapid action against those suspected of collaboration with “the enemy” and stressed the urgency of preserving “national security.”
Meanwhile, NBC News and Al Arabiya both reported that Iran informed the U.S. it would not launch additional attacks against Israel. Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 confirmed that Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire so long as Iran honored it.
Despite these developments, state-aligned platforms like Saberin News and Noor News continued to report warnings of potential Iranian retaliation and confirmed alerts for evacuation in cities like Ramat Gan, Israel. Additionally, regime-backed Telegram channels reported drone strikes on U.S. military bases in Iraq, though official confirmation and details remained sparse.
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized both Iran and Israel for what he said were violations of a ceasefire between the two adversaries in the hours after he announced the truce would go into force. Content warning: profanity pic.twitter.com/KAZh2WgLN5
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 24, 2025
Strategic Targets and Nuclear Concerns
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a special session of the agency’s Board of Governors that the site likely suffered “very significant damage,” although the full extent remains unclear due to the complex nature of the facility.
“The explosive force used, combined with the extreme sensitivity of the centrifuge systems, suggests substantial degradation,” Grossi said, though he noted no agency has yet been able to carry out a full assessment.
In a related statement, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News that “Iran was very close to obtaining nuclear weapons,” but claimed U.S. strikes had eliminated that possibility — at least temporarily.
#Iran’s Digital Apartheid: Regime Loyalists Flood the #Internet While the Rest of the Nation Goes Darkhttps://t.co/qFQw7Bi9wc
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 20, 2025
Looking Ahead
Despite Trump’s declaration on NBC News that “the war is completely over,” the region remains volatile. Both sides have engaged in tit-for-tat attacks since the announcement, and the true durability of the ceasefire remains in question.
In Tehran, damage from explosions in recent days — especially in western and central areas — has been described by Noor News, Jamaran, and IRNA as “unprecedented” in intensity over the 12-day conflict. Civilian fear, infrastructure damage, and the scale of political uncertainty suggest that, while open fighting may pause, the internal consequences for Iran are only beginning. From shaken public morale to the emergency mobilization of judicial forces, and amid fractures emerging at the highest levels of power, the coming days are likely to reveal how deeply this conflict has unsettled the clerical dictatorship— both on the streets and within its leadership.