Summary

Media caption,

Watch: On the second day of a shaky ceasefire, Tehran is beginning to return to normal, Lyse Doucet reports. Our chief international correspondent is being allowed to report in Iran on condition that none of her reports are used on the BBC’s Persian service. This rule from Iranian authorities applies to all international media agencies operating in Iran

  1. Cancellation of flights in Iran extended, local media reportspublished at 13:47 British Summer Time 25 June

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian, World Service reporter

    The cancellation of all domestic and international flights in Iran has been extended until 2pm tomorrow local time (11:30 BST), Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reports.

    It's citing a spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Majid Akhavan.

    The report adds that Akhavan says until further notice, no airline tickets will be sold by airlines or their authorised agents.

  2. Watch: Tehran is starting to look and feel like itself, Lyse Doucet reports from Iranpublished at 13:28 British Summer Time 25 June

    Tehran is starting to look and feel like itself after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, according to the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet.

    She sent this report from inside Iran.

    Lyse Doucet is being allowed to report in Iran on condition that none of her reports are used on the BBC’s Persian service. This rule from Iranian authorities applies to all international media agencies operating in Iran

  3. Analysis

    US strikes will have set back Iran's nuclear programme, but by how much?published at 13:14 British Summer Time 25 June

    Gordon Corera
    Security analyst

    The site of Fordo is probably the most spied on place on the planet.

    Western intelligence first went public in 2009 that it was home to a secret nuclear facility, and now understanding the damage done by US strikes will be vital in determining where the conflict goes next.

    What does it mean to destroy or damage the programme and how do you find out?

    Satellite images of holes and dust reveal little about what really happened underground. And they do not suggest massive, subsidence or a cave in of the mountain.

    That likely indicates that even though the US used multiple bombs, the Iranians used enough reinforced concrete to keep them from reaching the main hall and destroying the machinery inside.

    It was the first time these bombs have been used operationally which adds to the uncertainty. Developing a clearer picture of the damage will require other forms of intelligence.

    That ranges from seismic detectors which can analyse the depth and magnitude of underground explosions, sniffers to look for radiation and sensors like LIDAR – light detection and ranging – which can provide 3D maps using laser pulses from aircraft or drones to try and look inside the mountain.

    The attack will have certainly put back Iran’s programme. But by how much? Any answer depends on working out what remains after attacks and is inevitably going to be an estimate rather than a hard figure.

  4. The US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites - and what followedpublished at 12:56 British Summer Time 25 June

    Donald Trump making announcement at lectern about nuclear strikes on IranImage source, EPA
    • The US operation involved 125 US military aircraft and targeted three Iranian nuclear facilities - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan - between 22:40 GMT and 23:05 GMT on Saturday (02:40-03:05 on Sunday Tehran time)
    • Satellite images soon showed six fresh craters clustered around two entry points at Fordo, with similar craters spotted at Isfahan
    • Trump immediately called the strikes a “spectacular military success” and suggested Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated”
    • But a report from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency - leaked overnight - estimated that the attacks set Iran’s nuclear programme back “only a few months”
    • Asked about the leak ahead the Nato summit, the US president doubled down, insisting again that Iran’s nuclear programme had been "obliterated" and set back “decades”. His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, claimed there was a “political motive” behind the leak
    • But even if the US’s “bunker buster” bombs were successful in finding their targets, it’s unclear whether they actually hit Iran’s uranium supplies. That’s after sources confirmed to CBS that some of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile was moved before the strikes
    • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has “interesting intel” on the location of Iran's 60% enriched uranium, when asked about its whereabouts following the US strikes
  5. 'Daddy has to sometimes use strong language': Nato chief on Trump expletivepublished at 12:29 British Summer Time 25 June

    As we've been reporting, world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are gathered for a Nato summit, taking place in The Hague.

    During an earlier press briefing - which you can read about in more detail - Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and Trump discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran.

    We can bring you more on what was said now, including Trump comparing the countries to "two kids in a school yard".

    "They fight like hell. You can't stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes. Then it's easier to stop them," he said.

    Referencing Trump's use of an expletive on Tuesday when referring to Iran and Israel, Rutte said: "And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language."

    Trump added: "You have to use strong language, every once in a while, you have to use a certain word."

  6. Iran internet returning to its 'previous state', minister sayspublished at 12:12 British Summer Time 25 June

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian, World Service reporter

    Iran's communications minister says that the internet in Iran has returned to its "previous state" - meaning before the recent disruption imposed by the government - following the ceasefire.

    Sattar Hashemi writes in a post on X that Iran "will not experience the situation again".

    The Iranian government announced on 17 June that the authorities had slowed down the internet to "combat cyber-attacks", however near-total internet blackouts have been reported.

    The ban on major social media platforms - such as X - is still in place in Iran, and people inside the country use VPNs and other methods to circumvent it.

    Many Iranian officials, such as Iran’s supreme leader, also have accounts on X, despite the ban imposed on it by the country itself.

  7. How is uranium enrichment used for nuclear bombs?published at 12:03 British Summer Time 25 June

    Graphic breaking down how uranium enrichment is used for nuclear bombs. This shows the journey from uranium ore being mined, to the uranium rods being placed in the reactors.
  8. US attacks on Iran's nuclear sites - who's said what?published at 11:48 British Summer Time 25 June

    An aerial image of a hole at the Isfahan nuclear site in Iran after US bombing attacksImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    The Isfahan nuclear site in Iran was one of those hit by US attacks

    Over the weekend, the US targeted three nuclear sites in Iran. Let’s take a wider look at who’s said what.

    US President Donald Trump has doubled down on the the impact of the aerial attacks, suggesting they set Iran’s nuclear programme back “decades”.

    That’s after a leaked intelligence report suggests that the US strikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities; instead only setting it back “a few months”.

    US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth calls the operation “flawless” and used the press conference to attack the leak, which he says has a “political motive”.

    In Iran, meanwhile, the deputy political director of the country's state broadcaster, Hassan Abedini, claims the three sites targeted by the US had been evacuated a "while ago", and that Iran "didn't suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out".

    Israel also conducted its own strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country has been successful in curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, as well as destroying its missile arsenal.

    International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) boss Rafael Grossi says it is undeniable that Iran maintains the industrial capacity and technical knowledge for its nuclear programme.

  9. Kremlin says strikes on Iran forced it to suspend co-operation with UN watchdogpublished at 11:37 British Summer Time 25 June

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme forced the country to suspend its co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

    “This decision is a direct consequence of the unprovoked attack on Iran, of the unprecedented strikes against nuclear facilities,” he says in a daily press briefing.

    “IAEA’s reputation has been seriously damaged in this situation. Therefore, this situation naturally causes concern,” Peskov says.

    Commenting on conflicting accounts of damage done to Iran’s nuclear programme, Peskov says it is too early to tell: “I don’t think anyone’s got realistic data yet.”

    In remarks carried by Russian news agencies, he stopped short of naming the countries that carried out the strikes.

    Moscow sees Iran as an ally, and it has condemned the recent strikes against it as "unprovoked".

    But earlier this week, Peskov played down the possible impact it might have on bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington.

  10. BBC Verify

    New satellite images released of Iran’s nuclear sitespublished at 11:21 British Summer Time 25 June

    Satellite imagery shows a damaged site at an Iranian nuclear facilityImage source, Maxar

    BBC Verify has received a new set of satellite images overnight showing Iran’s nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz.

    These were the three sites targeted by the US military at the weekend using B-2 bombers and cruise missiles, and have also been targeted by Israeli air strikes.

    US President Donald Trump, as we've just heard, has repeatedly said that the American attack caused a "total obliteration" of the facilities.

    High resolution satellite images released by Maxar Technologies show damage to buildings both under and above ground and their access roads and tunnels.

    BBC Verify has started analysing the images to understand the extent of damage and how the latest strikes affect the use of these sites. You can read more analysis on the BBC Verify live page.

  11. EU foreign policy chief says US must justify strikes under international lawpublished at 11:10 British Summer Time 25 June

    Jonathan Beale
    Defence correspondent, reporting from the Nato summit

    Kaja Kallas, speaking to the BBC's Jonathan Beale earlier
    Image caption,

    Kaja Kallas, speaking to the BBC's Jonathan Beale earlier

    The European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has suggested it’s still not clear whether US strikes on Iran were legal.

    She says everybody who uses force “also has to justify that this is under international law”. When asked directly whether the US strikes were legal, she says "it is not up to me".

    Kallas says she believes the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites have set back its programme. But she says it has not “erased” Iran’s nuclear “know how” - which, she says, underlines the need for a diplomatic solution.

    Kallas tells the BBC the West still has other issues to address with Tehran - including its ballistic missile programme, its support for Russia in the war in Ukraine, and European citizens detained in Iran.

    "We need to sit down and discuss all these issues”, she says.

    Correction 14:00 - An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported that, when asked about the legality of the US strikes, Kallas said it is "not absolute". She actually said "it is not up to me".

  12. Iran's supreme leader yet to acknowledge ceasefirepublished at 10:55 British Summer Time 25 June

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian, World Service reporter

    Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Image source, National TV

    It was yesterday when some senior Iranian officials and bodies, including the president, confirmed the ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

    However, there has yet to be any public acknowledgment from the individual regarded as the most powerful figure in the country: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

    The supreme leader usually has the final say on state matters, and eyes inside and outside Iran remain focused on when he will comment on the ceasefire.

    Khamenei has reportedly left his usual residence in central Tehran and is now sheltering in a secure bunker, but this hasn't been confirmed by Iran.

    He last appeared on state television on 18 June in a pre-recorded message, in which he dismissed US President Donald Trump's call for Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.

    Although his official accounts on X had been active prior to the ceasefire, he has not been seen in public since Israel’s strike on Iran on 13 June, when another pre-recorded message was aired following the attack.

    The most recent images showing him in a public setting date back to 11 June, during a meeting with members of the Iranian parliament.

  13. Undeniable Iran maintains knowledge and capacity for nuclear programme, head of UN watchdog sayspublished at 10:36 British Summer Time 25 June

    Bethany Bell
    Vienna correspondent

    The head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, says his inspectors need to return to Iran and re-engage with the country.

    Grossi says his top priority is to return, but adds that it would not be an easy thing.

    When asked about reports that Iran’s nuclear programme had only been set back a few months by strikes on its nuclear facilities, Grossi says: "I don't like this hourglass approach, it's in the eye of the beholder. In any case, the technological knowledge is there, the industrial capacity is there, that no one can deny."

    Grossi says: “There's a chance for a diplomatic solution, an opening. We shouldn't miss that opportunity."

    He adds that "it is not important whether it's two months or three months, we need a solution that will stand the test of time".

  14. Middle East looms large as second day of Nato summit beginspublished at 10:27 British Summer Time 25 June

    Nato family photoImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Donald Trump and Keir Starmer bagged top spots at the front of this morning's Nato family photo

    The press conference just now between Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump has kicked off the second day of the Nato summit in the Netherlands.

    As we saw, the conflict in the Middle East loomed large over that short chat with reporters, and it is expected to be mentioned throughout the day.

    Soon after this morning's sit-down, the pair could then be spotted together front and centre at the traditional Nato leaders family photo.

    After posing for pictures, the various heads of state will meet for discussions on matters including the Middle East, Ukraine, and defence spending targets.

    Then this afternoon Rutte will hold a press conference, and we’re also expecting to hear remarks from Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at some stage.

  15. Trump insists Iran's nuclear sites were set back 'decades' by US strikes - a recappublished at 10:08 British Summer Time 25 June

    Mark Rutte sitting back on chair while Donald Trump, sat next to him, leans forward and gestures with his hands as he speaksImage source, Pool via Reuters

    Now that press conference has finished, here's a recap of the key lines:

    • US President Donald Trump maintains that Iran's nuclear programme was set back "decades" by US military strikes, despite an intelligence report casting doubt on their success
    • Asked about the leaked intelligence report, Trump says they "really don't know" and reiterates that the strikes caused a "total obliteration" of Iran's nuclear sites
    • US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth describes it as a "flawless" mission, and says the intelligence report is “preliminary” and has a "political motive"
    • Likewise Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the leak is part of a "game these people play"
    • Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised the US strikes, saying they "took out the nuclear capability of Iran", and were carried out in an "impressive way"
  16. Trump says he told Putin: 'Help us on Russia, not on Iran'published at 09:59 British Summer Time 25 June

    Trump says he has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he says is offering to help on Iran.

    The US president says he told Putin: "Help us on Russia, not on Iran".

    That's it from the press conference, we'll recap the key lines shortly.

  17. Trump continues to go after media for reporting leakpublished at 09:56 British Summer Time 25 June

    Trump continues to rail against several US media organisations, singling out CNN and the New York Times for reporting on the intelligence leak.

    The US president describes the industry as "scum".

    Referencing his use of the word "obliteration" in reference to damage at Iran's nuclear sites, Trump says it is a strong word, but that it is a characterisation he says Israel has also used.

  18. Strikes set Iran's nuclear programme back decades, Trump sayspublished at 09:52 British Summer Time 25 June
    Breaking

    U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured), at the NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025.Image source, Reuters

    Donald Trump is asked how long he thinks the Iranian nuclear programme has been set back by the strikes.

    "I think basically decades," he responds. "I think they've had it, they just went through hell... the last thing they want to do is enrich."

    "That hit ended the war," he adds.

    As a reminder, an early Pentagon intelligence assessment of the US's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities says it did not destroy the country's nuclear programme and probably only set it back "a few months, tops".

    Trump goes on to describe the conflict between Israel and Iran like "two kids in a school yard".

    "Let them fight like hell for two or three minutes and then it's easy to stop them", he says.

    And, away from Iran, Trump also suggests that "great progress" is being made to resolve the war in Gaza.

    "Even before this I think we were very close to making a deal on Gaza; I think this helped," he adds.

  19. Nato chief says US sent signal of strength in Iran bombingpublished at 09:48 British Summer Time 25 June

    U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025Image source, Reuters

    Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte jumps in and says the US "took out the nuclear capability of Iran".

    He says this was crucial, with the attack carried out out in an "impressive way".

    Rutte says the signal this shows to the rest of the world is one of strength.

  20. Iran would not have agreed to a ceasefire if facilities weren't destroyed - Trumppublished at 09:45 British Summer Time 25 June

    Nato meeting with Trump, Rubio and Hegseth picturedImage source, Reuters

    Trump repeats that the US strike on Iran's nuclear sites "was a devastating attack" which "knocked them for a loop".

    He says if their facilities were not destroyed then the Iranian government "wouldn't have settled" and agreed to a ceasefire.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio interjects to address the leaked intelligence report, saying it was based on a leaker "telling you what the intelligence says" and was part of a "game these people play".

    Rubio adds that the "conversion facility" needed to make nuclear bombs was taken out and cannot be seen anymore. He does not specify where this site was.

    "Everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape," he says, adding that Iran is "way behind" in its nuclear programme than it was a week ago.