North Korea fired multiple-launch rockets from near Pyongyang, South Korea says

North Korea fired more than 10 multiple-launched rockets on Thursday morning from Sunan near the capital Pyongyang in a north-westerly direction, South Korea's military said.
It did not immediately provide other details. The weapons used by the North's military are typically categorized as short-range ballistic missiles by South Korea. North Korea is banned by UN Security Council resolutions from using ballistic missiles.
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Arab News

an hour ago

• Arab News

What to know about the Iranian nuclear sites Trump says were hit by US strikes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: President Donald Trump has said US forces attacked three Iranian nuclear and military sites, further upping the stakes in the Israel-Iran war. Trump said the strikes, which he described as 'very successful,' had hit the Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan sites, with Fordo being the primary target. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency confirmed there were attacks early Sunday at Iran's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. IRNA quoted Akbar Salehi, Isfahan's deputy governor in charge of security affairs, saying there had been attacks around Isfahan and Natanz. He did not elaborate. Another official confirmed an attack targeting Iran's underground Fordo nuclear site. Israel launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites in Iran on June 13, which Israeli officials said was necessary to head off what they claimed was an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. Iran, which has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, has retaliated with a series of missile and drone strikes in Israel, while Israel has continued to strike sites in Iran. The US and Iran had been in talks that could have resulted in the US lifting some of its crushing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran drastically limiting or ending its enrichment of uranium. Until Saturday, Washington had helped shoot down Iranian strikes on Israel but had not launched direct attacks on Iran. Here's a look at the sites Trump said the US struck and their importance to Iran's nuclear program. Natanz enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site and had already been targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Uranium had been enriched to up to 60 percent purity at the site — a mildly radioactive level but a short step away from weapons grade — before Israel destroyed the aboveground part of the facility, according to the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Another part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. The IAEA has said it believes that most if not all of these centrifuges were destroyed by an Israeli strike that cut off power to the site. The IAEA said those strikes caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area. Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or Pickax Mountain, which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility. Fordo enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn't as big as Natanz. Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the IAEA, although Iran only informed the UN nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the US and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence. Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Military experts have said it could likely only be targeted by 'bunker buster' bombs — a term for bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding — such as the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000 pound (13,600 kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels. The US has only configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver that bomb, according to the Air Force. The B-2 is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman, meaning that Washington would have to be involved in such an operation. Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program. Israel has struck buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site, among them a uranium conversion facility. The IAEA said there has been no sign of increased radiation at the site. Other nuclear sites Iran has several other sites in its nuclear program that were not announced as targets in the US strikes. Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Arabian Gulf, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Tehran. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the IAEA. The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns. The Tehran Research Reactor is at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country's atomic program. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was later retrofitted to use low-enriched uranium over proliferation concerns.

Arab News

3 hours ago

• Arab News

US has struck three Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel 's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. TEL AVIV, Israel: Israel 's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned that US military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US The US ambassador to Israel announced the US has begun 'assisted departure flights,' the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza. Israel's military said it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in pursuit of its goal to destroy Iran's nuclear program. Smoke rose near a mountain in Isfahan, where the province's deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed Israeli strikes damaged the facility. The target was a centrifuge production site, Israel's military said. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the attack and said the facility — also targeted in the war's first day — was 'extensively damaged,' but that there was no risk of off-site contamination. Iran again launched drones and missiles at Israel but there were no reports of significant damage. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines, estimated the military has taken out more than 50 percent of Iran's launchers. 'We're making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,' he said. The Israeli military's chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, later said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the army to prepare for a 'prolonged campaign.' US aerial refueling tankers on the move US President Donald Trump is weighing active US military involvement in the war, and was set to meet with his national security team Saturday evening. He has said he would put off his decision for up to two weeks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said US military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' He spoke on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Turkiye. Araghchi was open to further dialogue but emphasized that Iran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continues to attack. Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. The US has only configured and programmed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force. On Saturday, multiple US aerial refueling tankers were spotted on commercial flight trackers flying patterns consistent with escorting aircraft from the central US to the Pacific. B-2 bombers are based in Missouri. It was not clear whether the aircraft were a show of force or prepared for an operation. The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. The war's toll The war erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 722 people, including 285 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. One Tehran resident, Nasrin, writhed in her hospital bed as she described how a blast threw her against her apartment wall. 'I've had five surgeries. I think I have nothing right here that is intact,' she said Saturday. Another patient, Shahram Nourmohammadi, said he had been making deliveries when 'something blew up right in front of me.' Several Iranians have fled the country. 'Everyone is leaving Tehran right now,' said one who did not give his name after crossing into Armenia. For many Iranians, it is difficult to know what's going on. Internet-access advocacy group said Saturday that limited Internet access had again 'collapsed.' A nationwide Internet shutdown has lasted for several days. Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Israel's multitiered air defenses have shot down most of them, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and over 1,000 wounded. No date has been set for more talks after negotiations in Geneva failed to produce a breakthrough Friday. Iran's nuclear program Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60 percent — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel's military operation will continue 'for as long as it takes' to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missile arsenal. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that his country will never renounce its right to nuclear power, which 'cannot be taken away from it through war and threats.' Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron via phone that Iran is ready to provide guarantees and confidence-building measures to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, according to IRNA, the state-run news agency. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 percent and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium — at lower levels — in recent talks over its nuclear program. But Trump, like Israel, has demanded Iran end its enrichment program altogether. Attacks on Iranian military commanders Israel's defense minister said the military killed a paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commander who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Iranian officials did not immediately confirm Saeed Izadi's death, but the Qom governor's office said a four-story apartment building was hit and local media reported two people had been killed. Israel also said it killed the commander of the Quds Force's weapons transfer unit, who it said was responsible for providing weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Behnam Shahriyari was killed while traveling in western Iran, the military said. Iran threatens head of UN nuclear watchdog Iranian leaders say IAEA chief Rafael Grossi's statements about the status of Iran's nuclear program prompted Israel's attack. On Saturday, a senior adviser for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, Ali Larijani, said on social media, without elaboration, that Iran would make Grossi 'pay' once the war is over. Grossi on Friday warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. A direct hit 'would result in a very high release of radioactivity,' Grossi said, adding: 'This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.' Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. ___ Rising reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Matthew Lee in Washington, D.C.; and Farnoush Amiri and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show Israel hit one centrifuge production site, not two.

Arab News

7 hours ago

• Arab News

Pakistan tells OIC conference Israeli military actions driving Middle East instability

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday voiced alarm over escalating tensions in the Middle East, blaming Israel's military actions in Gaza and recent strikes in Iran for deepening instability and humanitarian crisis in the region. Addressing the 51st session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated his country's condemnation of Israel's attack on Iran. The high-level conference comes at a moment of crisis for several OIC member states. Two of the bloc's key countries — Pakistan and Iran — have recently experienced military escalations with regional rivals. While Pakistan's brief but intense standoff with India ended in a ceasefire last month, Israel's strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, launched more than a week ago, have shown no signs of de-escalation. 'Israeli aggression against Iran is not an isolated event,' Dar said in his address to the forum. 'It is part of a dangerous and consistent pattern of militarism that Israel has demonstrated across the Middle East.' 'Pakistan remains deeply concerned at the escalating tensions, deepening instability and humanitarian crises across the Middle East,' he added. 'What underpins many of these situations is the continued impunity with which Israel is undermining peace and stability of the broader region.' The Pakistani deputy PM condemned Israel's 'unprovoked aggression' against Iran as a violation of international law and the UN Charter, warning that such actions posed a grave threat to both regional and global peace. 'We can all feel the reverberations of this instability,' he said. Turning to Gaza, Dar said Israel was waging a 'genocidal campaign' against Palestinians, pointing out that over 55,000 people, mostly women and children, had been killed since the start of the conflict in October 2023. He noted Israel was deliberately blocking life-saving humanitarian aid and targeting relief workers, leaving millions displaced and entire neighborhoods in ruins. Calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, Dar said that lasting peace in the region was impossible without a viable, sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital. He also referenced last month's military standoff between Pakistan and India, telling the conference participants that Pakistan had shot down six Indian fighter jets in the confrontation. He said that his country was committed to regional stability and warned that India's unilateral actions — including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — were further escalating tensions. 'Pakistan will not allow India to stop water for our people,' he said. 'It will be treated as an act of war.' Dar also urged the OIC to assert itself as a collective voice for the Muslim world. 'The OIC has a crucial role to play in streamlining the rapidly evolving and deteriorating global order to the benefit of the Muslim world,' he added.