Photos: US, Israel and Iran agree to a 2-week ceasefire

Iran, the United States and Israel reached a two-week ceasefire in the war that tore across the Middle East and disrupted the global energy market, with U.S. President Donald Trump pulling back from his threats to destroy Iranian “civilization.”

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

A woman walks past a mural in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The White House is seen in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. EDT. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

A woman walks past a mural in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Employees work inside a bakery near Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Pedestrians walk through Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A nurse attends to a patient at Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People take cover in a bomb shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Ramat Gan, Israel, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Mourners carry the flag-draped bodies of three members of the Gershovich family, killed when an Iranian missile struck their building, during their funeral in Haifa, Israel, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People drive their motorbikes past a billboard that shows a graphic depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A man takes a selfie while taking cover with three others along a highway as air raid sirens warn of an incoming Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

President Donald Trump departs after speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

An Iranian cluster munition missile explodes in the sky over northern Israel, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Pro-government demonstrators chant slogans as they hold Iranian flags and a poster of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in a gathering after announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian pro-government demonstrators chant slogans in a gathering after announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian pro-government demonstrators burn an Israeli flag during a gathering after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the Unites States and Israel, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A government supporter chants slogans during a gathering after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire with the United States and Israel in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Iranian pro-government demonstrators attend a gathering after announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei during a gathering after announcement of a two-week ceasefire with the United States and Israel, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Government supporters chant slogans after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire with the United States and Israel in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea Wednesday in its second launch event in two days, South Korea’s military said, hours after a senior North Korean official released crude insults against Seoul’s hopes for warmer relations.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles lifted off from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Wednesday morning and flew about 240 kilometers (150 miles) each in a direction toward the North’s eastern waters. It said an additional North Korean ballistic missile fired later Wednesday traveled more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) off the North's east coast.

South Korea's military said it maintains a readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea under a solid military alliance with the United States. It earlier said it detected the launch of an unidentified projectile from North Korea’s capital region Tuesday.

South Korean media reported the projectile, also likely a ballistic missile, disappeared from South Korean military radars after displaying an abnormal development in the initial launch stage. This indicated the launch ended in failure, according to the reports.

The back-to-back launches came after North Korea made it clear that it has no intentions of improving ties with South Korea, whose liberal government has steadfastly expressed its hopes to restore long-dormant dialogue.

On Tuesday night, Jang Kum Chol, first vice minister at Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry, said South Korea would always remain North Korea's “most hostile enemy state.” He derided South Korea as “world-startling fools” engaged in wishful thinking over a recent statement by Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

After South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over alleged civilian drone flights into North Korea, Kim Yo Jong late Monday praised him for what she called honesty and courage, but reiterated a threat to retaliate if such flights recur. South Korean officials responded by describing Kim Yo Jong’s statement as meaningful progress in relations.

Jang said her statement was intended as a warning. He cited Kim Yo Jong as calling South Korea “the dogs affected by mange that blindly bark to the tune of neighboring dogs” as she criticized it for recently co-sponsoring of a U.N. resolution on the North’s purported human rights violations.

North Korea has refused to return to talks with South Korea and the U.S. and pushed to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim Jong Un’s diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. North Korea has instead sought to strengthen ties with Russia, China and other countries embroiled in confrontations with the U.S. Last September, Kim Jong Un traveled to Beijing to attend a military parade alongside other foreign leaders and held his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.

North Korea’s state media said Wednesday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea on Thursday for a two-day trip.

Earlier this week, North Korea said Kim Jong Un had observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal.

Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long.

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday the engine test was likely related to an effort to build a more powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.

Experts say North Korea wants multi-warhead missiles to penetrate U.S. missile defenses, but they doubt Pyongyang has mastered the technology needed to acquire such a weapon.

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)