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Dear A.,
Last night, President Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
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Click here to read AIPAC's statement on the ceasefire agreement, which we sent to Hill offices.
Israel and the United States have severely degraded Iran's capability to produce nuclear weapons. Israeli intelligence
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assesses that the military action has set back Iran’s nuclear program by "several years" — this assessment is constantly being updated as new information is uncovered.
Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a speech to the Israeli people, laying out what he called Israel's "historic victory — one that will be remembered for generations."
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"We eliminated two immediate existential threats: the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of 20,000 ballistic missiles. Had we not acted now, the State of Israel would soon have faced destruction," Netanyahu said, adding:
"At the critical moment, we rose like a lion, stood firm like a lion, and our roar shook Tehran and echoed across the world...
"I thank my friend President Trump and the United States for their role in defending Israel and eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat. America’s involvement, not only on defense but on offense, is historic...
"We must finish the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring all our hostages home — the living and the fallen...
"We will not let go of this sacred mission until it is fulfilled."
See more on the past 12 days of war below.
What was Accomplished?
By all measures, Israel’s military efforts to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, combined with limited American airstrikes, were wildly successful.
Iran no longer maintains a capability to produce nuclear weapons.
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Iran no longer maintains a capability to enrich uranium. The Natanz enrichment facility, which housed more than 87% of Iran’s operating centrifuges, was completely destroyed.
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The Fordow enrichment facility, which housed the remaining 13% of Iran’s operating centrifuges, is now inoperable, inaccessible and likely destroyed.
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The Isfahan uranium conversion facility and metal fabrication facilities were destroyed. Uranium stockpiles at Isfahan were successfully targeted and buried in rubble.
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Weaponization sites, laboratories, centrifuge manufacturing sites and storage facilities were successfully eliminated.
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Israel eliminated more than a dozen key Iranian nuclear scientists and likely scores of additional personnel at various nuclear sites that were targeted. Israel also destroyed much of Iran’s ballistic missile capability.
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Israel believes it destroyed well over two-thirds of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers.
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Last October, Iran fired over 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. By the end of the recent fighting, it appears Iran was only capable of firing small salvos of less than 10 missiles.
What Was the Cost to Israelis?
Israel has been at war with Iran and its terrorist proxies for 20 months, following Hamas’ horrific October 7 massacre.
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Iran and its allies have launched approximately 45,000 missiles, rockets, and drones at the Jewish state in that time.Over the past 12 days, all of Israel again came under direct attack from Iranian drones and missiles, following the two attacks from Iran in April and October of 2024.
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Iran launched approximately 560 missiles and 1,110 attack drones at our ally.
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More than 65 missiles hit Israel, damaging civilian infrastructure including a mosque, hospital and cancer research institute.
- 29 people in Israel were killed in the 12-day war, including a 7-year-old girl undergoing treatment for leukemia and a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor.
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More than 3,400 people were injured by Iranian attacks.
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Nearly 11,000 people have been forced to evacuate due to destruction caused by missile impacts.The damage to the Israeli home front was significant, but far less than originally predicted.
Our ally was able to fend off the majority of Iran’s attacks thanks to close and ongoing U.S.-Israel defense cooperation, including decades of congressional support for missile defense programs like Arrow and the integration of Israel into CENTCOM.
Since 1990, Congress has appropriated nearly $5 billion for the Arrow family of missile defense systems. This funding helped achieve an interception rate of over 90%, saving countless lives.
What Must Happen Next?
Now that this ceasefire has been achieved, the United States must ensure Iran adheres to the agreement and is not allowed to rebuild its nuclear and missile programs.
This war was only necessary to begin with because of Iran's illegal pursuit of a nuclear weapon and its rejection of repeated diplomatic overtures by President Trump.
The United States must also work with Israel to rebuild our ally’s weapons stockpiles, including its arsenal of missile defense interceptors, to ensure it continues to have the resources needed to defend its families.
The administration must continue maximum pressure on Iran, including sanctions on oil sales, until Iran agrees to permanently and verifiably abandon its nuclear program and enrichment ambitions, destroy its ballistic missiles, and stop funding, arming and supporting terrorists.
Finally, the United States must seek to take advantage of the new dynamic in the region to press for the release of the 50 remaining hostages, including 2 Americans, still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
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Continue to follow AIPAC on social media for the latest updates.
Jake Braunstein
Director of Policy Communications
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
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