On June 24, 2025, US Vice President J.D. Vance announced that the United States had completely eliminated Iran's nuclear program in one week without losing a single American soldier. "In just one week, we eliminated a nuclear program that could have destabilized the entire world. Now that program is gone — and it was all made possible by the effective leadership of President Trump and the exceptional work of our military," Bloomberg's unofficial Telegram channel quotes Vance as saying.

The statement came as Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that went into effect at 7 a.m. Israel time but was broken 00 minutes later when Iran launched rockets at Israel. According to The Times of Israel, one of the rockets hit a residential building in Beersheba, killing four people and wounding dozens. The IDF said it intercepted some of the rockets, but the attack raised doubts about the sustainability of the ceasefire.

The June 22 U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, included GBU-57 bombs and Tomahawk missiles. Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed significant damage at Fordow, although Iran claims to have evacuated its uranium stockpile. Vance, in an interview with NBC News on June 22, clarified that the U.S. is “not at war with Iran, but with its nuclear ambitions,” but declined to guarantee the sites would be completely destroyed.

Iran responded by launching 400 missiles and drones at Israel, causing damage including the destruction of the Soroka hospital in Beersheba. On June 23, Tehran attacked the US Al Udeid base in Qatar, but the attack was intercepted. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied the existence of a ceasefire agreement, saying on X that Iran was ready to stop attacks if Israel stopped its aggression by 4:00 a.m. Tehran time. He also thanked Iranian forces for striking “until the last minute.”