Seoul, June 25: The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and praised the diplomatic efforts led by the US and other involved countries.

“We hope that all parties will faithfully implement the terms of the agreement so that tensions in the region can be eased swiftly,” the ministry said in a statement.

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, South Korea “will continue to participate in the international community’s efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East,” Yonhap news agency reported.

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump declared that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel had officially taken effect, urging both sides to maintain restraint.

“THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!” Trump posted on the social media platform Truth Social.

The announcement came amid escalating violence in the Middle East, but President Trump’s declaration appeared to catch both parties off guard. The ceasefire claim was quickly contradicted by Iran, which asserted it had not received any formal proposal from Washington and had not agreed to a bilateral ceasefire.

US President Trump also wrote, “Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, ‘Peace’! I knew the time was NOW. The World, and the Middle East, are the real winners!”

“Both Nations will see tremendous love, peace and prosperity in their futures. They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of righteousness and truth. The future for Israel & Iran is unlimited and filled with great promise. God bless you both!” he added.

Earlier, Iran announced a unilateral halt to its military operations against Israel, effective 4 a.m. local time, but made it clear that the pause was conditional, based entirely on whether Israel would stop its own airstrikes and military actions.

Kochi, June 25: In a startling revelation made by the National Investigating Agency (NIA), it has surfaced that the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) had prepared a hit list of 950 people in Kerala.

The list, which surfaced in the media on Wednesday, included a now-retired district judge.

Incidentally, this list was submitted early this month by the NIA at a special court here when the bail applications of four accused in the murder of RSS leader Sreenivasan came up for hearing. The NIA opposed the bail strongly. The four accused, identified as Muhammad Bilal, Riyasudheen, Ansar K.P. and Saheer K.V., were arrested for murdering Sreenivasan at Palakkad, Kerala, in 2022.

The list of 950 was compiled after getting confirmed inputs from different places by the NIA probe team. It includes eight documents seized from the 51st accused, Sirajudheen, which contain a list of 240 people from other communities.

Then, while conducting a search held at Periyar Valley Campus at Aluva, NIA was able to get the details of five targeted persons from the purse of the 15th accused, Abdul Wahad, who is presently on the run.

It was in this list that the name of a former district judge was found.

Another document seized from an accused, who turned approver later, contained a hit list with the names of 232 people.

Similarly, a search held at the home of the 69th accused, Ayoob, a hit list containing the names of about 500 people was found.

When the NIA was probing the Sreenivasan case, the PFI link emerged. It was later found that PFI had sinister plans to create unrest in the country.

During the investigation, the anti-terror agency got details of the PFI carrying out physical and arms training for its cadres.

The NIA has now claimed that it has voice clips and witness statements that reveal the ‘India 2047 plan’ of setting up Islamic rule in India.

The special court, after hearing both sides and going through the documents produced before it, observed that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the petitioners was prima facie true, and rejected the bail petition.

Hanoi, June 25: Nearly 50 Vietnamese citizens have been evacuated from the conflict zone in Israel to Egypt, the state media reported on Wednesday.

Several evacuees have already returned to Vietnam, while others are completing necessary procedures to repatriate as soon as possible, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.

The evacuation was carried out through coordinated efforts by the Vietnamese embassies in Israel and Egypt, media reported.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Israel continues to advise citizens remaining in the conflict area to stay calm, maintain regular contact with the embassy, and strictly follow guidance and warnings issued by local authorities, MOFA and the embassy, media reported.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Guterres urges Israel and Iran to fully respect the ceasefire and to stop fighting, noting that the people of the two countries have already suffered too much, said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’ spokesman.

“The secretary-general hopes that this ceasefire can be replicated in the other conflicts in the region,” said the spokesman on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump declared that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel has officially taken effect, urging both sides to maintain restraint.

“THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!” Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social.

The announcement came amid escalating violence in the Middle East, but President Trump’s declaration appeared to catch both parties off guard. The ceasefire claim was quickly contradicted by Iran, which asserted it had not received any formal proposal from Washington and had not agreed to a bilateral ceasefire.

Earlier in the day, President Trump wrote, “Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, ‘Peace’! I knew the time was NOW. The World, and the Middle East, are the real winners!”

“Both Nations will see tremendous love, peace and prosperity in their futures. They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of righteousness and truth. The future for Israel & Iran is unlimited, & filled with great promise. God bless you both!” he added.

Earlier, Iran announced a unilateral halt to its military operations against Israel, effective 4 a.m. local time, but made it clear that the pause was conditional, based entirely on whether Israel would stop its own airstrikes and military actions.