Global media reports Israel-Iran ceasefire with caution, speculation

Press Review

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, June 24: We bring you all the latest reactions after US President Donald Trump announces a ceasefire between Iran and Israel after 12 days of war. We also look at what the Iranian threat represents for Trump personally and how all these developments play into the crucial NATO summit that kicks off this Tuesday.

A lot of uncertainty surrounds Trump's announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after 12 days of war. The language in the press is very cautious. The New York Times website's front page reads "Iran announces ceasefire, but status is unclear". There's no comment from Israel, which warns of continued Iranian attacks, while Iranian state television is making the announcement of a ceasefire, hours after Trump's comments. The Washington Post is also reiterating this message, albeit cautiously: "Iran appears to confirm it'll cease attacks on Israel". Haaretz, the Israeli centre-left daily, reports that six waves of missiles have hit Israel since daybreak, killing several people.

The conservative magazine National Review has published an exclusive report which looks at why Trump is particularly wary of the Iranian threat. If US strikes against Iran appear to be an escalation of the conflict, the National Review explains that this stems from a personal fear. The article details how seriously the Trump team has taken the threat of Iran. It feared Iranian retaliation against him after the 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. As far back as 2022, Trump's team cancelled certain international events for fear of exposing him to Iranian threats. The magazine even says that the failed 2024 Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump never yielded a culprit, but that senior campaign staff suspect it may have been part of an Iranian murder-for-hire plot. This takes on new importance given Trump's approval of US strikes against Iran. The National Review says that those who have worked for Trump for years speculate that the regime's assassination plots against him have "hardened his resolve against Iran".

The Financial Times says the last 48 hours have been a real headspin. On Sunday, Trump appeared open to regime change in Tehran, alarming his isolationalist allies on the right. On Monday, he called for a complete ceasefire. It appears, the FT says, that the trigger for this about-face was the limited nature of Iran's response: attacking a US military base in Qatar, but giving ample notice beforehand. For the Emirati paper The National, it's clear that Trump has gone from being a "peacemaker to a wartime president". It also notes a biting coincidence: just as Trump authorised the US strikes on Iran, Pakistan announced it would be putting his name forward for a Nobel Peace Prize for his "pivotal leadership and peacemaker role in the recent Kashmir conflict". If Trump's goal by attacking Iran was peace, it's a roaring success, the Guardian says ironically with a cartoon of the US president depluming a dove.

All these developments come just as NATO leaders prepare to meet at The Hague for a summit beginning this Tuesday. La Croix, the French daily, is looking at the summit on its front page. "NATO under pressure", the paper says. La Croix's editor says the conflict in the Middle East has forced a change in the order of things to discuss at this summit and it will cause an upheaval in European defence, inevitably shifting some focus away from what the bloc believed was the immediate threat: Russia.

The editors of the Washington Post, meanwhile, reiterate a common gripe of Trump's – that Europe needs to more for its security. Spain has already rejected NATO's calls for the Alliance to dedicate 5 percent of its budget to defence spending, with NATO chief Mark Rutte agreeing to exempt Madrid. A somewhat exasperated Post says that Spain’s obstinance gives Trump fodder to call into question the US's commitment to NATO and gives other European countries an excuse to drag their feet down the road on the issue of defence spending.

As Politico advises: "If you ask European officials, the goal is simple at this summit. Keep it short, keep it smooth and keep Donald Trump from blowing it up."

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