Why Trump Basks in Iran Ceasefire Success Despite Doubt Over Extent of Damage?

Trump Claims Victory in Iran-Israel Ceasefire, Despite Doubts Over Nuclear Damage, Future Peace Talks, and Rising Tensions Across Region Following Devastating 12-Day Conflict.

- TDG NETWORK

By June 24, 2025, the Middle East witnessed a ceasefire that halted the deadliest confrontation yet between Iran and Israel, with U.S. President Donald Trump quick to claim success. Standing confidently at a NATO summit in The Hague, Trump credited his decision to launch U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities with ending the war, calling it "a victory for everybody." However, the path ahead is riddled with uncertainty, conflicting narratives, and geopolitical fragility.

THE ANATOMY OF A BRIEF BUT FEROCIOUS WAR The war, triggered by Israel's surprise air assault on June 13, marked a terrifying escalation of decades-long hostilities between the two regional powers. Israel's strikes, backed by the U.S., reportedly decapitated much of Iran's military leadership and targeted sensitive nuclear and missile sites. In response, Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles, many of which penetrated Israel's formidable air defense system, a first in their long history of skirmishes. The human toll was devastating: Iran reported 610 dead and nearly 5,000 injured, while 28 were killed in Israel. These numbers, though, tell only part of the story. The psychological and political aftershocks are only beginning to manifest.

Trump Declares "Obliteration" — But Was It? Trump, addressing the NATO summit, declared that Iran's nuclear facilities had been "obliterated" and insisted that the regime would now choose diplomacy over enrichment. He dismissed the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) preliminary assessment that Iran's nuclear timeline had only been set back by a matter of months.

"It was very severe. It was obliteration," he said. "They want to recover. The last thing they want to do is enrich anything right now."