BBC Persian

We have received a number of messages from Iranians since the ceasefire began to take effect earlier today. Below is a brief overview of what people have had to say - all but one asked to remain anonymous.

"This ceasefire will definitely not last, because Israel has not yet achieved all of its objectives, and we’ve seen this type of ceasefire many times in Gaza and Lebanon, but it was never implemented. This regime must come to an end," one says.

Another says that "what we see today is not peace, but rather a new plan from Trump and Netanyahu".

They add that the Iranian regime has "effectively shown its weakness with the ceasefire" and it could start a "staged collapse".

One person, Mehdi, says they believe the conflict has "guaranteed the survival of the Islamic Republic for another four decades".

The cost of the war has been "much higher" for the people than the government, they say, but add that a benefit has been to draw a contrast between the regime, who they say are prioritising themselves, and an opposition "whose primary priority" is unity.

Another adds: "It is our duty to distance ourselves from warmongering and support diplomatic solutions - even if they are complex and time consuming. Perhaps this temporary halt will be the beginning of a better path."

Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Jerusalem

I’ve been hearing from people across Israel about their reactions to today’s ceasefire.

Twenty-six-year-old student Ran from Jerusalem tells me over WhatsApp that the past 12 days "were not easy for most of us".

"I'm thankful I didn't know anyone who got hurt but I know a lot of people whose houses got damaged from the missiles," he says. "Mostly I'm happy it's over but it was necessary - most of all I feel we can now live in a safer country."

Golan, a resident of Haifa in northern Israel, says it's "too early to celebrate".

"It's worth waiting a few days before getting excited and returning to your routine," he says.

In southern Israel, Rami Gold says he believes "it's time for a ceasefire", adding "we still have the Gaza problem to solve".

From Tel Aviv, Mia Goldstein messages to tell me she is "relieved" that the strikes could be ending.

In the southern city of Beersheba, which was hit by an Iranian missile this morning, Oren Cohen says he does not know if he can "count on" the ceasefire lasting, but is focused on repairing the damage at his home and supporting his children.

Image source, Reuters

Iran's president has issued a statement acknowledging a ceasefire with Israel, the country's state media reports.

Masoud Pezeshkian says that the conflict was "imposed" on Iran by Israel's "adventurism" and claims that "people of Iran" determined the end of the "12-day war".

Image source, Reuters

The Israeli military has released a statement acknowledging a ceasefire with Iran and saying "now the focus shifts back to Gaza".

Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, says the military has "concluded a significant phase, but the campaign against Iran is not over".

"We are entering a new phase based on the achievements of the current one. We’ve set Iran’s nuclear project back by years, and the same applies to its missile programme," he says.

He describes actions taken by the Israeli military as a "phenomenal achievement", adding: "Now the focus shifts back to Gaza – to bring the hostages home and to dismantle the Hamas regime."

An unusual ceasefire, imposed by the USpublished at 18:12 British Summer Time 24 June

18:12 BST 24 June

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

In most wars, ceasefires are negotiated, not announced on social media.

So the pause in fighting between Israel and Iran is unusual, in so much that it was largely imposed by the United States.

It also means there is a lot that is unclear. What would be a violation of this ceasefire?

What would the penalty be? What would be considered a legitimate retaliation in such circumstances?

For example, what if a group loosely allied to Iran – such as the Houthis in Yemen – attacked Israel. Would or could Israel legitimately attack Iran in response?

The terms of this pause seem to be little more than both sides halting their missiles. Is Iran expected to resume negotiations over its nuclear programme?

Could it get economic sanctions' relief in return? Questions all to which there are as yet no answers.

Image source, Getty Images

A delicate ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding, after US President Donald Trump lashed out at both sides in an expletive-laden outburst.

It's just past 20:00 local time (18:00 BST) in Israel and about 20:30 local time in Iran.

Here's the latest:

• Trump said "Israel and Iran wanted to stop the war, equally!" in a post on his Truth Social platform
• The president held a phone call with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he was reportedly "exceptionally firm and direct" about maintaining the ceasefire
• Trump earlier expressed anger at both sides, accusing Iran and Israel of violating the ceasefire brokered by the US and Qatar - using an expletive while telling reporters that neither country "knows what ... they're doing"

• The US president also shared a series of text messages from Nato chief Mark Rutte praising his response to Iran - Flattery is a tool many have deployed to try to sway Trump. But it's not always displayed so publicly, says our Europe regional editor

Trump is due to arrive at the Nato summit shortly, where he'll meet world leaders. Stay with us for the latest.

Video shows moment Iranian missile hits Beersheba apartment blockpublished at 17:47 British Summer Time 24 June

17:47 BST 24 June

By Peter Mwai and Joshua Cheetham

We've been looking at several videos emerging from Israel and Iran to understand what’s been happening today, after Trump accused both sides of breaking a ceasefire.

Trump announced a ceasefire would begin at 06:00 BST. Just after 07:00 BST, Israel said it had agreed to the proposal, after Iran indicated that it would stop attacking if Israel did the same.

Before this, at 03:40 BST, a missile hit an apartment block in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, which emergency services say killed at least four people.

Here's how we verified a video showing the moment of the explosion, filmed from a nearby building:

• We worked out the location by looking on Google Street View and matching roads and building structures with those seen in the clip
• We also put screenshots from the video into search engines. No results older than today are showing, indicating it was uploaded online recently

BBC Verify is continuing monitor for visual evidence of the latest attacks.

Nato chief goes big on flattery as Trump flies inpublished at 17:29 British Summer Time 24 June

17:29 BST 24 June

Danny Aeberhard
Europe regional editor, BBC World Service

A little earlier, on his way to a Nato summit in the Netherlands, Trump posted a message he received from the alliance's secretary general, Mark Rutte.

Nato has confirmed the message is genuine, but hasn't said whether Rutte intended it to get a worldwide audience.

Flattery is a tool many have deployed to try to sway Trump. But it's not always displayed so publicly.

Rutte lays it on thick. "Dear Donald," he writes, "your decisive action in Iran... was truly extraordinary, and something no-one else dared to do."

"You are flying into another big success in The Hague", Rutte continues, referring to the expectation that Nato members will agree to reach, within a decade, a target of spending 5% of their GDP on defence and security.

"You will achieve something no American president in decades could get done," he adds.

The "no" is in capitals, as is the "big" in "Europe is going to pay in a big way, as they should".

Imitation, it would seem, really is the sincerest form of flattery.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian, World Service reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The announcement of a ceasefire following 12 days of war with Israel has divided Iranians, who are responding with a mixture of relief, scepticism, fear and frustration.

"I can't believe the US and Israel made peace with them, especially after all they said about regime change, giving us false hope," one Tehran resident tells me over a secure messaging app.

Donald Trump says he does not want to see regime change in Iran, after previously floating the idea.

"I don't think positively of this ceasefire. I’m not even sure that it will last. Israel hasn’t killed enough Iranian officials," says another Iranian.

"I wanted the war to continue until all mullahs [religious leaders] are dead," they add. "The fact that they are staying and might continue to stay and crack down on us scares me more than the war itself."

Iran has arrested hundreds of people since 13 June on "security charges", a broad term used by officials that includes public criticism of the regime.

Meanwhile, some pro-regime users on social media aren’t happy either. On X, some are critical of Iran's leaders for "surrendering to an imposed war".

As always, because of restrictions on access to the country, it’s very difficult to know what all Iranians think about the ceasefire.

Image source, EPA

The head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says he welcomes announcements today about the situation in Iran.

"Resuming co-operation with the IAEA is key to a successful diplomatic agreement to finally resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities," Rafael Grossi says.

He adds that he has written to the Iranian foreign minister to stress the importance of working together and proposing they meet soon.

IAEA inspectors have remained in Iran throughout the conflict and are ready to start working as soon as possible, the organisation says in a statement.

"During these attacks, we have seen extensive damage at several nuclear sites in Iran, including its uranium conversion and enrichment facilities.

"Our assessment is that there has been some localised radioactive as well as chemical release inside the affected facilities that contained nuclear material – mainly uranium enriched to varying degrees – but there has been no report of increased off-site radiation levels,” Grossi says.

Little is known about seemingly fragile ceasefirepublished at 16:45 British Summer Time 24 June

16:45 BST 24 June

Ione Wells
Reporting from Jerusalem

The terms of this ceasefire remain unclear, and its status remains seemingly fragile – if in place, for now.

After Donald Trump announced it, and both sides indicated they had agreed to it, Israel then accused Iran of violating it and said a missile was fired towards Israel. Iran denied this.

Israel’s defence minister said the country would respond with "intense activity" of striking what he described as "regime targets" in Iran. Iranian media said Israel launched strikes on its territory after the ceasefire.

Donald Trump responded furiously. He said he was not happy with either side but especially Israel, who he accused of "unloading" after the deal.

After a call with Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump reiterated a deal was now in place.

Nobody knows what the terms of it are, or if there are plans for further negotiations now. Leaders from both sides have said they will now respect it if the other does.

The next few hours, and days, will tell.

US President Donald Trump has again posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

"Both Israel and Iran wanted to stop the War, equally!" he says.

"It was my great honor to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capability, and then, STOP THE WAR!"

The president earlier lashed out at both countries, saying that they had violated a ceasefire announced by him.

The UK government says a second flight evacuating British citizens and their families from Israel has departed Tel Aviv.

An earlier RAF evacuation flight took off from Ben Gurion Airport on Monday afternoon.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says it will operate more evacuation flights depending on demand.

The FCDO is urging stranded British people interested in flights back to the UK to register their presence on their website in order to receive updates.

Land crossings from Israel and the occupied West Bank into Egypt and Jordan remain open, and commercial flights are operating daily from major hubs in both countries.

Image source, PA Media

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says the ceasefire between Iran and Israel "must hold".

"This is an opportunity to secure much-needed stability in the Middle East. Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and they must now return to the table and work towards a lasting settlement," he says in a post on X.

"That’s the message that I’m discussing with other leaders at Nato today," Starmer adds, referring to the Nato summit taking place in the Netherlands.

Earlier in the day, Starmer said he spoke to the emir of Qatar about the Iranian attack on the US base.

On Monday, Iran said Israel struck Evin prison and damaged parts of the facility.

The UN's Human Rights Office has now commented on the strike, calling it a "grave breach" of international law.

"Evin prison is not a military objective, and targeting it constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law," spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan tells reporters in Geneva, without naming Israel.

Evin prison holds thousands of people, including political dissidents, human rights defenders and journalists.

As we've been reporting, at least one person has died following the attack, according to Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir, who was quoted by state TV.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Trump has shared a message sent to him by Nato chief Mark Rutte which congratulates the president for taking "decisive action" in Iran.

"Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do. It makes us all safer," the message says.

It's not explicitly stated which action of the US president's Rutte is referring to. Over the weekend, Trump ordered a strike on Iranian nuclear sites, and in the past 24 hours has pressed both Israel and Iran to reach a ceasefire.

A screenshot showing several messages from Rutte has been shared on Trump's Truth Social platform. Nato has confirmed the messages are genuine.

The message goes on to praise Trump for pressing other Nato members to spend more on defence.

It appears to have been sent directly to the US president - but it's unclear if it was intended to be seen more widely.

Trump is on his way to a Nato summit in the Netherlands, where he will meet with Rutte and other leaders from the 32-country security bloc.

Ghoncheh Habibiazad
BBC Persian, World Service reporter

Iran has continued to fight a shadow war in the recent days against what it describes as Israeli-backed spies and saboteurs in the country.

There has been a major escalation in reported arrests linked to accusations of espionage since 13 June, with reports of hundreds arrested in several provinces - including at least four European nationals.

At least three individuals have been executed in Iran on accusations related to espionage for Israel since Israel launched Operation Rising Lion.

Tasnim news agency, external, affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on 24 June that a European national had been arrested in the southern province of Hormozgan for allegedly spying in the disguise of a tourist.

Another IRGC-affiliated news agency, Fars, external, reported on 23 June that Iranian intelligence forces arrested a European national on the allegation of spying for Israel in the central province of Hamedan.

The Iranian judiciary announced on 22 June that a European national was arrested for spying in the western province of Kermanshah, semi-official Mehr News Agency, external reported.

Iran state media aired a report on 20 June on the arrest of a "Jewish-German" national in central Markazi province accused of "spying in sensitive military and nuclear areas".

An unspecified number of people in several other provinces - including but not limited to Isfahan, Fars and Tehran - have been detained on related charges since Israel’s attacks on Iran started.

The BBC cannot independently verify the allegations against these individuals.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The BBC's US partner CBS understands that Trump was "exceptionally firm and direct with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about what needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire," during a call between the two leaders a little earlier.

"The prime minister understood the severity of the situation and the concerns President Trump expressed," CBS reports.

As we've been telling you, Netanyahu's office released a statement saying that Israel had "refrained from further attacks" after the PM spoke to Trump.

Image source, Reuters

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian says the country will respect a ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump, provided that Israel also upholds its terms, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports.

In a phone call with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Pezeshkian says if Israel "does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it".

"The Iranian people have once again shown that despite some problems and grievances, they will stand united and united against the enemy's invasion until the end," he says.

BBC Persian

BBC Persian has received images showing an Israeli missile attack on a residential house in the city of Astaneh Ashrafiyeh, in northern Iran.

According to reports in Iranian media, this attack killed an Iranian nuclear scientist named Mohammadreza Sedighi. The strikes happened just hours before the ceasefire was announced.

The deputy governor of Gilan province in northern Iran said: "In this attack, four residential units were completely destroyed, and many surrounding houses were damaged due to the explosion."

Iranian officials say that as a result of this attack, nine people were killed, and 33 others were injured.

Image source, BBC Persia