Senator Van Hollen: Netanyahu ‘outsmarted' Trump on Iran
US President Donald Trump has made his administration 'a subcontractor, a junior partner' to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's objectives in the Middle East, argues Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.
As the president mulls further involvement in Israel's attack on Iran, Senator Van Hollen tells host Steve Clemons that 'This notion that you can just drop a few big bombs and be done with it misunderstands history, because there is a real risk that the United States will get dragged deeper and deeper into this war.'
Van Hollen also criticised the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as 'death traps' for Palestinians.
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Al Jazeera
42 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
Iran warns US of consequences after strikes, says Trump betrayed his voters
Iran says the United States will be 'solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences' of its attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, adding that US President Donald Trump has 'betrayed' American voters by submitting to Israel's wishes. During an address to a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US crossed 'a very big red line' by attacking Iran's three nuclear facilities. Speaking just hours after Trump announced that US warplanes had 'obliterated' the nuclear sites, Araghchi condemned the strikes and called on the United Nations Security Council to act. 'It is an outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law,' he said, adding that the 'warmongering and lawless' US administration will be 'solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression'. 'The US military attack on the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of a UN member state carried out in collusion with the genocidal Israeli regime has once again revealed the extent of the United States' hostility towards the peace-seeking people of Iran. We will never compromise on their independence and sovereignty,' he said. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to defend Iran's territory, sovereignty, and people by all means necessary against not just US military aggression, but also the reckless and unlawful actions of the Israeli regime.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who escalated the Middle East conflict by launching strikes on Iran on June 13, praised Trump's 'bold decision' to hit Iran's nuclear sites, and said Israel and the US acted in 'full coordination'. After the strikes, Trump said Iran 'must now agree to end this war' and that under no circumstances could Iran possess a nuclear weapon. But Araghchi said any demand to return to negotiations on the country's nuclear programme was 'irrelevant'. The US and Iran were engaged in nuclear talks before Israel launched a surprise strike on Iran – publicly backed by the US – earlier this month. Iran denies its uranium enrichment programme is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons. Netanyahu has pledged to continue the attacks for 'as many days as it takes' to stop Iran from developing a 'nuclear threat'. 'The world must not forget that it was the United States which – in the midst of a process to forge a diplomatic outcome – betrayed diplomacy by supporting the genocidal Israeli regime's launch of an illegal war of aggression on the Iranian nation,' Araghchi said. 'So we were in diplomacy, but we were attacked. They gave a green light to Israelis, if not instructed them, to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. They have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force.' US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday said he still hopes Iran will return to the negotiating table. 'I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,' he told reporters. Trump also 'betrayed' US voters Araghchi also accused Trump of betraying not only Iran, but his own supporters as well. He said Trump was elected on a platform of putting an end to 'America's costly involvement in 'forever wars''. 'He has betrayed not only Iran by abusing our commitment to diplomacy, but also deceived his own voters by submitting to the wishes of a wanted war criminal who has grown accustomed to exploiting the lives and wealth of American citizens to further the Israeli regime's objectives,' said Araghchi, referring to Netanyahu. Iran says more than 400 people have been killed and at least 3,056 others wounded since Israel launched its attacks on June 13. In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed in Iranian strikes. Araghchi said he would head to Moscow later on Sunday and hold 'serious consultations' with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday morning in the wake of the unprecedented US strikes. 'Russia is a friend of Iran and we enjoy a strategic partnership,' he said in Istanbul. 'We always consult with each other and coordinate our positions.' Meanwhile, Iran's delegation to the UN also formally called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday to discuss the US strikes. In a letter submitted to the council carried by Fars News Agency, the Iranian delegation urged 'immediate action and the adoption of necessary measures under the framework of the United Nations Charter'. 'Silence in the face of such blatant aggression will plunge the world into an unprecedented level of danger and chaos,' Araghchi said in Istanbul. 'Humanity has come too far as a species to allow a lawless bully to take us back to the law of the jungle.'
Qatar Tribune
an hour ago
- Qatar Tribune
US strikes Iran's nuclear sites
WASHINGTON: The United States struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe despite fears of a wider regional conflict. Addressing the nation from the White House, President Donald Trump asserted that Iran's key nuclear sites were 'completely and fully obliterated.' There was no independent damage assessment. It was not clear whether the US would continue attacking Iran alongside its ally Israel, which has been engaged in a nine-day war with Iran. Trump acted without congressional authorization, and he warned that there would be additional strikes if Tehran retaliated against US forces. 'There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran,' he said. Iran's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, warned in a post on X that the US attacks 'will have everlasting consequences' and that Tehran 'reserves all options' to retaliate. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations called for an emergency Security Council meeting to discuss what he described as the US's 'heinous attacks and illegal use of force' against Iran. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that the UN's most powerful body must 'take all necessary measures' to hold the US accountable under international law and the UN charter. The UN nuclear watchdog said later that there has been 'no increase in off-site radiation levels' at the locations that the US hit. The International Atomic Energy Agency sent the message via the social platform X. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran confirmed that attacks took place on its Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz sites, but it insisted that its work will not be stopped. Iran said there were no signs of radioactive contamination at the three locations and no danger to nearby residents. Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and US intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb. However, Trump and Israeli leaders have claimed that Iran could quickly assemble a nuclear weapon, making it an imminent threat. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that aimed 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 American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) 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.' Trump added in a later post: 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was 'gravely alarmed' by the 'dangerous escalation' of American strikes. 'There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,' he said in a statement.
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Iranians react after US bombs three nuclear sites in support of Israel
Gilan, Iran – Iranians inside and outside the country have been closely monitoring and reacting to rapidly unfolding events after United States President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Iran's top nuclear sites amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. US bunker-buster bombs dropped from B-2 Spirit strategic bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from naval platforms hit Iran's three main nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan early on Sunday. Trump claimed the nuclear facilities were 'totally obliterated', though there has been no evidence shown as of yet to confirm that. Iranian authorities confirmed the strikes after several hours, but said there was no radioactive leak. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also confirmed there was no off-site contamination. Iranian state media appeared to downplay the impact, with the government-run IRNA reporting from an area near Fordow, the most significant and hard-to-reach nuclear site, that there was only limited smoke rising from the place where air defences were believed to be stationed and no major activity from emergency responders. Satellite images circulating on Sunday appeared to show possible impact sites at Fordow, where the massive GBU-57 bombs are believed to have burrowed deep underground before detonating in an attempt to destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities dug beneath the mountains. The head of Iran's Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said there had been no deaths in the US strikes. Images also showed substantial movement of trucks and bulldozers around Fordow in the days preceding the strikes, in what appeared to be an attempt by Iran to move out equipment and nuclear materials stored at the protected site in anticipation of US strikes. Heavy machinery also appeared to have been deployed to fill the entrance tunnels of the facility with earth, in a move aimed at limiting damage at the site from the incoming bombs. Speaking in Turkiye's Istanbul, where he was attending a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated a military response by Tehran is inevitable. 'My country has been invaded, and we must respond,' he told reporters. 'We must remain patient and show a proportionate response to these aggressions. Only if these measures are stopped, then will we make decisions about diplomatic pathways and the possibility of restarting negotiations.' In a televised message issued last week from an unknown location, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had warned that it would be to the detriment of Washington if it chooses to directly enter the war. 'The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter. The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if it enters this conflict militarily,' he said. Hardliners call for action Iranian state media and many hardline politicians led a furious response after the US strikes. State television's Channel 3 showed a map of US military bases across the region, including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq, which are within range of Iranian missiles. 'It is now clearer than ever, not just for the Iranian nation but for the whole peoples of the region, that all US citizens and military personnel are legitimate targets. We were negotiating and progressing through a diplomatic path, but you chose to spill the blood of your soldiers. The US president in the Oval Office chose to take delivery of the coffins of up to 50,000 US soldiers in Washington,' the channel's anchor Mehdi Khanalizadeh said. Amirhossein Tahmasebi, another anchor who had released a defiant video from inside the state television IRIB buildings in northern Tehran after they were bombed by Israel last week, said he 'spits' on Trump and anyone who claims he is a president of peace. Hossein Shariatmadari, the Khamenei-appointed ultraconservative head of Keyhan daily newspaper, wrote: 'It is now our turn to immediately rain missiles down on the US naval force in Bahrain as a first measure.' He also renewed his longtime call for Iran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz and said Tehran must deny access to ships from the US, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Hamid Rasaei, one of the most hardline members of Iran's parliament who is close to the Paydari (Steadfastness) faction led by security council member and failed presidential candidate Saeed Jalili, went one step further and said Iran must hit US bases in Saudi Arabia. Relations between Tehran and Riyadh, however, have thawed considerably in recent years. Threats against 'treachery' Most Iranians in the country are still unable to go online due to state-imposed internet restrictions, but those who have managed to find a working proxy connection are also reacting angrily to the war. 'Thirty years of Iranian oil money and thirty years of economic opportunities that could have turned tens of millions of people into citizens like the rest of the world have become three deep pits,' wrote one user on X, in reference to the nuclear sites. 'Trump says let me just drop the heaviest bomb in the world and then it will all be about peace,' another user sarcastically wrote. 'Stalwart like Damavand, to the last breath for Iran,' wrote two-time Oscar-winning film director Asghar Farhadi on Instagram with a picture of Mount Damavand, the highest peak in Iran at 5,609 metres (18,402 feet) and a symbol of national pride. But some Iranians living overseas who are against the ruling theocratic establishment, along with some inside the country, were in favour of the US and Israeli attacks in the belief that they may help overthrow the governing body. This has prompted denunciations, and even threats, by Iranian authorities and state media against any form of 'treachery'. Elias Hazrati, the head of President Masoud Pezeshkian's communications council, said during a late-night state television interview on Saturday that the state views those who side with Israel and the US as 'dishonourable opposition' who are selling out their own country. In a statement on Friday, Iran's Supreme National Security Council said those who have willingly or unwillingly collaborated with Israel have until the end of Sunday to turn themselves in – or face 'the harshest punishment as fifth column and colluders with a hostile country during wartime'. Iran has executed several people since the start of the war, including one person on Sunday morning, after convicting them of 'spying' for Israel.
