Trump says it's 'very hard' to ask Israel to stop Iran attacks
US President Donald Trump has played down the possibility of asking Israel to halt its attacks on Iran, as the two countries continue to trade missiles.
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9 News
an hour ago
- 9 News
The US can end Iran conflict with one call, Iranian official says
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Diplomacy with Iran can "easily" be started again if US President Donald Trump orders Israel's leadership to stop its strikes on Iran, Majid Farahani, an official with the Iranian presidency, told CNN on Friday. "Iran believes in civilian dialogue," he said. "Directly or indirectly is not important." "President Trump can easily stop the war by only one telephone (call) to (the) Israelis," he said, repeating the Iranian position that talks were impossible while Israeli bombs were striking Iran. Majid Farahani speaks during an interview in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. (CNN) Farahani said that Iran would not countenance halting nuclear enrichment – which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes - but added that concessions were possible. "Maybe it can be lower but we don't stop it," he said. In recent days, European powers have joined American and Israeli calls for a ban on enrichment, hardening their positions on the key issue, with France putting forward "a clear position on zero enrichment," France's foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine told CNN Friday. Iran says it needs enriched uranium for peaceful purposes, while also manufacturing large quantities of near-weapons-grade material. Trump's decision to open a two-week negotiating window before deciding on striking Iran has offered a slim – if improbable – path to a peace deal between Iran and Israel. Demonstrators in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. (CNN) Talks took place in Geneva on Friday between the foreign ministers from Iran, Britain, France, and Germany, along with the European Union's foreign policy chief, the first confirmed face-to-face meeting of its kind since the conflict began. After days of increasingly aggressive messages from the Trump administration, it has opened the possibility that military action can be averted. Indeed, Trump's own camp appears to be starkly divided on whether to pursue direct strikes against Iran. "If America gets involved in the war," Farahani said, "there are so many options and all (of) those options are on the table." Pro-government protests on Friday on the streets of Tehran saw an outpouring of anger at both Israel and the United States. A CNN team in Tehran witnessed massive crowds, with protesters waving Iranian, Hezbollah and Palestinian flags and burning US and Israeli flags. Chants of "death to Israel, death to America" – a staple at such events – rang out, while Iranians spoke of their fury at the bombing campaign. "Trump, you are threatening my leader," one woman told CNN, "Don't you know that my nation believes death is sweeter than honey?" World Iran Israel Israel Iran Conflict USA Donald Trump CONTACT US
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Is Iran close to building a nuke? Trump says his intelligence community 'is wrong'
"My intelligence community is wrong." With those words, Donald Trump waved away the advice of the entire US spy infrastructure — from the CIA, to the Defence Intelligence Agency, to the intelligence arms of the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force — and its assessment that Iran was not trying to build a nuclear weapon. That assessment was presented to the US Congress in March by Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's hand-picked director of National Intelligence. "The IC [intelligence community] continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon," Ms Gabbard said. "Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorised a nuclear weapon program that he suspended in 2003." On Wednesday, Donald Trump said simply, "She's wrong." As is so often the case under Trump, what once would have been a breathtaking shattering of norms is just another day. Trump's rejection of the intelligence community's advice has deep resonance in the United States, and particularly among Trump's MAGA base in the Republican Party. Trump campaigned hard on keeping America out of foreign 'forever' wars like Iraq, based on faulty intelligence over Saddam Hussein's non-existent weapons of mass destruction. It's why key figures in Trump's MAGA, America First base of support are dead against any US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. But there are influential old-school Republican Iran hawks, like Senator Lindsey Graham, who are pushing the president for regime change in Iran. "Be all in, President Trump, in helping Israel eliminate the nuclear threat," Senator Graham said. "If we need to provide bombs to Israel, provide bombs. If we need to fly planes with Israel, do joint operations. "But here's the bigger question: Wouldn't the world be better off if the ayatollahs went away and were replaced by something better? Wouldn't Iran be better off?" The two sides met head-on in a fiery exchange between media figure Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz, both firm Trump supporters. "How many people live in Iran, by the way?" Carlson asked. "I don't know the population at all," Cruz replied. Carlson was incredulous. "You don't know the population you seek to topple?" The big question is — which side is getting in the president's ear as he waits to decide on whether the US will attack Iran? Tulsi Gabbard certainly appears to be on the outer. Today, she took to X to try to repair the relationship with Trump. "The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division," she wrote. "America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalise the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree." The "missing" context was that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile was "at its highest levels, and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons". She also testified that nuclear weapons advocates in the Iranian leadership were feeling "emboldened". The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also recently found that Iran has not been complying with weapons inspectors since 2019 — its first such finding in two decades. In the end, none of that may matter. Donald Trump has said he will decide in two weeks about whether to choose the military or diplomatic option. He may be waiting to see which option is more likely to succeed — or which way the debate among his supporters goes.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Israel-Iran conflict LIVE updates: Israel says ‘new wave' of attacks has begun; Donald Trump scorns EU peace efforts, as death toll nears 700
Go to latest Pinned post from 12.12pm What you need to know Good afternoon. If you are just joining our ongoing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East and the Israel-Iran war, here's a quick overview of the latest events: Israel and Iran launched more attacks in the past few hours, with a barrage of Iranian missiles exploding over central Israel and the Israeli Air Force bombing sites in central Iran. A missile strike on the Israeli city of Haifa wounded 30 people overnight. Israeli strikes killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including many who were seeking food aid, local officials said. US President Donald Trump has scorned European peace efforts, after foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany held inconclusive talks with their Iranian counterpart. Iran says it would not discuss the future of its nuclear program while it was under attack by Israel. Israel's UN envoy told the UN Security Council his country would not stop its attacks 'until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled', while the country's top general warned of a 'prolonged campaign'. Israel's foreign minister claimed the bombing campaign had already set back Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons efforts by two to three years. Australia has shut its embassy in Tehran, and sent defence personnel and assets to the region to help evacuate Australians. Earlier, Trump said he would decide whether the US would join military action against Iran within two weeks. 1.31pm Gabbard blames 'fake news' after Trump rebukes her over Iranian weapons program The US Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has taken to social media to assert that Iran is 'weeks to months' away from producing a nuclear weapon, after US President Donald Trump branded her 'wrong' for stating in March that there was no evidence Iran was building a weapon. She said the media has taken her March testimony 'out of context' and was trying to 'manufacture division.' Trump contested intelligence assessments relayed earlier this year by his spy chief that Tehran was not building a nuclear weapon when he spoke with reporters at an airport in Morristown, New Jersey, this morning. 'She's wrong,' Trump said. Gabbard posted this morning on the social media platform X that she agreed with Trump. 'America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalise the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree.' 'The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division.' 1.11pm Australians may be able to get flights out of Israel from Monday Australians wishing to leave Israel may be able to do so on commercial flights from Monday after the Israeli government said it was reopening airspace for some outgoing tourists. 'We are aware of reports airspace in Israel may reopen soon,' the government's latest travel advice says. Loading 'We're contacting registered Australians who want to leave Israel about our plans for assisted departures. 'If you have an existing ticket for cancelled flights, we encouraged you to keep speaking with airlines. This may be the fastest way for you to depart.' The federal government is urging Australians in Iran, Israel and Palestine to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade here. Israel's Transportation Minister Miri Regev said on Friday that some outgoing flights would be allowed from Monday. The federal government is advising people not to travel to the region and leave if they can. The latest warning on the website is here.
