After nearly two weeks of brutal exchanges between Iran and Israel, a tenuous ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to be holding on Wednesday. Both nations have claimed victory following a punishing 12-day conflict that drew the United States directly into the theatre of war.
The conflict began on 13 June, when Israeli forces launched a sudden aerial offensive targeting Iranian nuclear installations, reportedly eliminating several senior Iranian military commanders. The campaign marked Israel&rsquo;s most devastating strike against Iran since the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
In support of its regional ally, the United States entered the fray with a wave of coordinated airstrikes aimed at disabling Iran&rsquo;s uranium enrichment facilities. While the Trump administration initially declared that Iran&rsquo;s nuclear weapons ambitions had been &ldquo;obliterated,&rdquo; subsequent intelligence assessments suggest a less conclusive outcome.
According to defence sources familiar with early intelligence evaluations, the strikes succeeded in blocking access to two enrichment facilities but fell short of destroying Iran&rsquo;s subterranean nuclear infrastructure. Several centrifuge units are believed to have remained operational, and Iran&rsquo;s overall nuclear timeline may have been delayed by only a few months&mdash;not dismantled as initially claimed by Washington.
The White House has dismissed these findings as inaccurate. Nonetheless, the contradiction has cast a shadow over the extent of strategic success achieved through the military campaign. Despite the disparity in assessments, the U.S. formally reported to the United Nations Security Council that the weekend strikes had &ldquo;degraded&rdquo; Iran&rsquo;s programme, a more measured stance than the president&rsquo;s original pronouncement.
In Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the operation as a triumph that neutralised existential threats to the state. He declared that the combined military action had eliminated both the immediate danger of a nuclear Iran and the looming threat posed by Iran&rsquo;s vast ballistic missile arsenal.
In Tehran, President Masoud Pezeshkian proclaimed what he described as a &ldquo;great victory&rdquo; in ending the conflict on Iran&rsquo;s terms. Iranian media reported that Pezeshkian conveyed to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Iran remains open to resolving long-standing hostilities with the United States.
Meanwhile, in Washington, there is cautious optimism. President Trump&rsquo;s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, described ongoing diplomatic exchanges with Iran as &ldquo;promising&rdquo; and hinted at the possibility of negotiating a long-term peace framework. U.S. officials are reportedly engaging with Tehran both directly and through intermediaries, with aspirations of re-establishing regional stability and reshaping the geopolitical dynamics of the Gulf.
As the dust settles, the larger questions remain: whether this fragile calm can be sustained, and if the spectre of nuclear escalation in the Middle East has truly been pushed back&mdash;or merely postponed.
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Devastation after exchange of air strikes between Israel and Iran (image source: social media)

After 12 days of war, a fragile calm prevails as nuclear claims face growing scrutiny

Ceasefire Holds, Questions Linger Over Iran Strikes

After 12 days of war, a fragile calm prevails as nuclear claims face growing scrutiny

June 25, 2025 | 14:01 IST