Israeli embassy in Berlin closed until further notice
The Israeli embassy in Berlin is closed on Friday due to the escalation in the Middle East and will remain so until further notice, an embassy worker told Reuters.
Israel launched strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of an operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.
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Arab News
18 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israel seeks swift action on Iran, sources say, with a split US administration
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM: Israeli officials have told the Trump administration they do not want to wait two weeks for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle key parts of its nuclear program and Israel could act alone before the deadline is up, two sources said, amid a continuing debate on Trump's team about whether the US should get involved. The two sources familiar with the matter said Israel had communicated their concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what they described as a tense phone call. The Israeli officials said they do not want to wait the two weeks that US President Donald Trump presented on Thursday as a deadline for deciding whether the US will get in the Israel-Iran war, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. • US and Israel held tense phone call on Thursday • Israel signals it could act on Fordow before end of Trump's deadline The Israeli participants on the call included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir, according to a security source. The Israelis believe they have a limited window of opportunity to move against the deeply buried site at Fordow, the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear program, said the sources. The US is the only country with the bunker-busting bombs powerful enough to reach the facility, which is dug into the side of a mountain. Reuters reported on Saturday that the United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, reinforcing the possibility that the US could participate directly in an attack. The B-2 can be equipped to carry America's 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground, such as the one at Fordow. A person in Washington familiar with the matter said Israel has communicated to the US administration that it believes Trump's window of up to two weeks is too long and that more urgent action is needed. The person did not say whether the Israelis made that point during the high-level call. During the call, Vice President JD Vance pushed back, saying the US should not be directly involved and suggesting that the Israelis were going to drag the country into war, said the sources. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also participated in the call, said a security source. A White House official strongly disputed the characterization of Vance's comments in the call but declined to elaborate. 'The Vice President did not say this during the call,' said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The Jerusalem Post reported earlier that a phone call had taken place on Thursday. The prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some prominent members of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Vance has frequently criticized past US involvement in conflicts, including Iraq and Afghanistan, but has lately defended Trump against Republican critics who urge the administration to stay out of the Iran conflict. Other Republicans, including Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have said they hope Trump will help Israel finish destroying Iran's nuclear program. Trump, who campaigned on a promise to keep the US out of what he called 'stupid' foreign wars, has himself seemed conflicted at times about whether to join the Israeli attack on Iran or focus on diplomatic efforts to end Tehran's nuclear program. But his rhetoric in recent days has become increasingly aggressive toward Iran. Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The Israeli Prime Minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran's mission to the United Nations also did not immediately respond. STRIKE ON FORDOW INCREASINGLY LIKELY Publicly, Netanyahu has not ruled out Israel attacking Fordow alone, though officials have not provided any details on how that would be achieved. Four sources said it is now increasingly likely that the country will launch a solo military operation. Israeli air superiority over much of Iran makes an operation more feasible, though still risky, said two of the sources. The Israelis feel they have the momentum and have limited time given the costs of the war, one source added. 'I don't see them waiting much longer,' said the source. It is not clear whether such an operation would involve bombing, ground forces, or both. Two of the sources said that rather than attempting to destroy the entire site Israel could instead do significant damage to it. That could mean focusing on destroying what is inside the site rather than the site itself, said one of the sources, declining to elaborate. Some analysts have speculated that Israel could use special forces to enter Fordow and blow it up from inside. Another scenario being considered, according to a source familiar with the matter, would be to drop a series of munitions in rapid succession in an attempt to breach the fortified site, similar to how the Israeli military killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last year. Such a strike could be followed by an incursion by special forces, the source said. It is not clear that Israel has munitions powerful enough to penetrate the fortified facility. It is widely believed that to have a high chance of success, US intervention would be needed. But even with the massive firepower of a joint US-Israeli military action, military and nuclear experts believe that a military operation would probably only temporarily set back a program the West fears is already aimed at producing atom bombs one day, although Iran denies it.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
US bombs three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow: Trump
US President Donald Trump announces attack on three nuclear sites in Iran. 'A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,' he says in a post on his Truth Social platform
Arab News
an hour 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.
