MOSCOW, June 25. /TASS/. Ceasefire between Iran and Israel puts the region’s most serious escalation in years on pause; NATO’s summit in The Hague is dominated by debates over defense spending and alliance cohesion; and oil prices plunge following the Iran-Israel ceasefire. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
The most serious escalation in the Middle East in recent years was brought to a halt in a single day. After twelve days of exchanging missile strikes, including attacks on nuclear facilities, Israel and Iran reached what has been described as a "full and final ceasefire." Although it was US President Donald Trump who announced the truce, and despite both sides subsequently pointing their missiles at one another again, none of these incidents led to a resumption of full-scale military operations. Arguably the most important thing, Izvestia writes, is that the region managed to avoid an all-out war, a scenario that could easily have spiraled into a third world war. Experts interviewed by the newspaper highlighted how cooler heads prevailed in the conflict.
"This could have turned into a major regional war, but that was avoided because neither Iran nor the United States wanted maximum escalation," Middle East expert Ilya Vedeneev told Izvestia. "Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that Iran’s nuclear program remains intact and that the country will not abandon its ambitions to enrich uranium beyond the level needed for a peaceful program. On the contrary, Iran now has a strong incentive to pursue nuclear weapons," he warned. At the same time, Vedeneev noted that some sort of nuclear deal might still be reached, although it would certainly no longer be "comprehensive."
