BREAKING: Israel's Fresh New Attack On Tehran; 60 Fighter Jets Target Military Sites
BREAKING: Israel's Fresh New Attack On Tehran; 60 Fighter Jets Target Military Sites | WION
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Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Niger to nationalise uranium mine operated by French state-affiliated firm
Niger plans to nationalise a uranium mine operated by French nuclear firm Orano as it continues to pivot away from former colonial ruler, France. The company, which is 90 percent owned by the French state, said on Friday that Niger's military rulers' planned nationalisation of the Somair mine was part of a 'systematic policy of stripping mining assets', threatening to take legal action over the move. The military government – which came to power in a 2023 coup, pledging to review mining concessions – had said a day prior that it intended to take control of the Somair mine, accusing Orano of taking a disproportionate share of uranium produced at the site. Orano holds a 63 percent stake in Somair, while Niger's state-owned Sopamin owns the remainder, but the government said that Orano had taken 86.3 percent of production between the mine's launch in 1971 and 2024. 'Faced with the irresponsible, illegal, and unfair behaviour by Orano, a company owned by the French state, a state openly hostile toward Niger since July 26, 2023 … the government of Niger has decided, in full sovereignty, to nationalise Somair,' the authorities said on Thursday. Wave of nationalisations Niger's military leaders have turned their back on France since taking power, seeking closer ties with Russia instead. In 2024, Niger removed Orano's operational control of its three main mines in the country: Somair, Cominak and Imouraren, which has one of the largest uranium deposits in the world. On Friday, Orano said it intended 'to claim compensation for all of its damages and assert its rights over the stock corresponding to Somair's production to date'. Orano, which has been operating in Niger for 50 years, is involved in several arbitration processes with the country. Last month, it sued the Nigerien authorities after the disappearance of its director and the raiding of its local offices. Niger's decision to nationalise Somair comes amid a wave of mine nationalisations across West Africa, notably in Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which are governed by military governments.
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump says US intelligence ‘wrong' about Iran not building nuclear bomb
United States President Donald Trump has said his director of national intelligence was 'wrong' when she testified that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had not re-authorised the country's suspended nuclear weapons programme. The comments come after Trump earlier this week cast doubt on Tulsi Gabbard's March 25 report to Congress, in which she reiterated the US intelligence community's assessment. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters, 'I don't care' that the intelligence community's finding contradicted his own claims, saying Iran was in the late stages of developing a nuclear weapon. But speaking on Friday, Trump went further. A reporter asked, 'What intelligence do you have that Iran is building a nuclear weapon? Your intelligence community said they have no evidence.' The president responded, 'Then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?' 'Your DNI [director of national intelligence], Tulsi Gabbard,' the reporter replied. 'She's wrong,' Trump said. It is extremely rare for a US president to openly contradict the country's intelligence community, with critics accusing Trump of flagrantly disregarding evidence to justify potential direct US involvement in the fighting, according to Al Jazeera's senior political analyst Marwan Bishara. 'This is not just one person, one team saying something,' Bishara said. 'It's the entire intelligence community in the United States. That he would dismiss them … it's just astounding.' Speaking on Friday, Trump also appeared to downplay the prospect of the US brokering a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel, saying he 'might' support such a deal, while adding, 'Israel's doing well in terms of war, and I think you would say that Iran is doing less well.' 'It's hard to make that request right now. When someone's winning, it's harder than when they're losing,' he added. Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera's Heidi Zhou Castro noted that Trump was 'really making a point that he's not going to make an effort to ask Israel to ease up on its aerial bombing of Iranian targets'. 'It seems that Trump is very squarely on Israel's side as things are progressing, and … it appears that he is not leaning towards the diplomacy route, though, again, he is giving himself that two weeks' time to make a final decision,' she said. Trump on Thursday said he would take two weeks to decide the US response to the conflict. Experts say the decision would likely be transformative. The US is seen as one of the few countries with the leverage to pressure Israel to step back from the brink of wider-scale regional war. At the same time, the involvement of the US military is seen as key to Israel's stated mission of completely dismantling Iran's nuclear programme, which hinges on destroying the underground Fordow enrichment plant. A successful attack on the facility would require both Washington's 30,000-pound (13,000kg) GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator and the B-2 bombers needed to deliver it. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump also downplayed the potential role of European countries in de-escalating the situation. That came hours after Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met the top diplomats from France, the UK, Germany and the EU in Geneva. 'Europe is not going to be able to help,' the US president said.
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel's Gaza actions may breach EU-Israel human rights agreement: Report
There are indications Israel may have breached its human rights obligations under the terms of a pact governing its ties with the European Union, a review of the agreement shows. According to an EU document seen by the Reuters and AFP news agencies on Friday, the European External Action Service said that Israel's actions in Gaza were likely not in line with rules laid out in the EU-Israel Association. 'On the basis of the assessments made by the independent international institutions … there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations,' the audit drafted by the EU's diplomatic service read. The report comes after months of deepening concern in European capitals about Israel's operations in Gaza and the humanitarian situation in the enclave. 'Israel's continued restrictions to the provision of food, medicines, medical equipment, and other vital supplies affect the entire population of Gaza present on the affected territory,' it said. The document includes a section dedicated to the situation in Gaza – covering issues related to denial of humanitarian aid, attacks with a significant number of casualties, attacks on medical facilities, displacement and lack of accountability – as well as the situation in the occupied West Bank, including settler violence, Reuters reported. The document said it relies on 'facts verified by and assessments made by independent international institutions, and with a focus on most recent events in Gaza and the West Bank'. The audit was launched last month in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, in a push backed by 17 states and spearheaded by the Netherlands. The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is expected to present the findings of the report to the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. EU-Israel agreement Under the EU-Israel agreement, which came into effect in 2000, the two parties agreed that their relationship would be based on 'respect for human rights and democratic principles'. Suspending the agreement would require a unanimous decision from the bloc's 27 members, something diplomats have said from the beginning was virtually impossible. According to AFP, diplomats have said that they expect Kallas to propose options on a response to the report during the next foreign ministers' meeting in July. 'The question is … how many member states would still be willing not to do anything and still keep on saying that it's business as usual,' an unnamed diplomat told the news agency ahead of the review's findings. 'It's really important to not fall into the trap of Israel to look somewhere else,' they said. The EU is Israel's largest commercial partner, with 42.6 billion euros ($48.2bn) in goods traded in 2024. Trade in services reached 25.6 billion euros ($29.5bn) in 2023. Israel's mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment about the contents of the document.
