News and Analysis 6/25/25

“Core components of Tehran’s nuclear effort were damaged but not destroyed by U.S. airstrikes on three key facilities, according to three people familiar with a Defense Intelligence Agency initial assessment” …

• U.S. Initial Damage Report: Iran Nuclear Program Set Back by Months, Not Obliterated (Washington Post)

… but Trump “is more willing to listen to Israel”:

• Trump Is Not Interested in Listening to US Experts on Iran’s Nuclear Program (The Guardian)

Trump accuses both Israel and Iran of violating the ceasefire, even as he maintains it remains in effect:

• Live Updates: Trump Lashes Out at Israel and Iran amid Accusations of Ceasefire Violations (NBC News)
• Can Iran, Israel and the U.S. Now All Claim to Have Won? (NY Times)
• A Whirlwind 48 Hours: How Trump’s Israel-Iran Ceasefire Agreement Came Together (AP)

Israeli war crimes continue:

• 44 Said Killed near Gaza aid Sites; UN Condemns ‘Weaponization’ of Food Distribution (Times of Israel)
• Harvard-linked Study Finds Israel ‘Disappeared’ Nearly 400,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Half of Them Children: Report (The Cradle)
• Gaza: Palestinians Seeking Food Continue to Be Killed by Israeli Military (Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights)
• How Israel’s War on Palestinians Became Systematised Cruelty (Middle East Eye)

“Israel is attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, but Tehran’s secret path was blazed by the Israelis”:

• How Israel Deceived the United States About Its Nuclear Weapons Program (Washington Post)

“Mr. Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of New York City, and his faith played a role in expanding the diverse coalition that propelled his campaign”:

• Zohran Mamdani’s Success Is Especially Meaningful for Muslim New Yorkers (NY Times)

“[D]ifferent factions of Mr. Trump’s allies jockeyed to win over a president who was listing in all directions over whether to choose war, diplomacy or some combination”:

• Shifting Views and Misdirection: How Trump Decided to Strike Iran (NY Times)

The worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism makes “a clear distinction between the Jewish people, our siblings in faith, and the acts of the Government of Israel”:

• WCC Central Committee: End Apartheid, Occupation, and Impunity in Palestine and Israel (Oikoumene)

“Will America’s pre-emptive strike discourage other countries from pursuing a weapon — or just the opposite?”

• The Bombing of Iran May Teach an Unwelcome Lesson on Nuclear Weapons (NY Times)

“[T]he men had been accused of bringing ‘assassination equipment’ into the country” in connection with the war with Israel:

• Iran Executes 3 More Prisoners It Accused of Spying for Israel (AP)

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