Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks.
Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It has said its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side.
Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, but also has sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials.
'Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, but it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites.
Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the EN foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday.
'Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no-one,' British foreign minister David Lammy said ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned Israel and agreed de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
The role of the US, meanwhile, remained uncertain. On Thursday in Washington, Lammy met with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, and said they discussed a possible deal.
Witkoff has spoken to Araqchi several times since last week, sources said. Trump, meanwhile, has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict.
Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a 'bunker buster' bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said on Thursday Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war.
That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used 'two weeks' as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide.
With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising.
However, activists involved in previous bouts of protest said they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack.
Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran, said: 'How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots and even their pets.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
22 minutes ago
- eNCA
Trump 'Golden Dome' plan tricky and expensive: experts
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" defence system is a plan that will face mammoth technical and financial hurdles, and could increase global insecurity, experts say. Trump announced plans for the space-based system last month, saying it would eventually cost around $175 billion and would be operational by the end of his term in 2029. The planned defence shield's name is a nod to Israel's Iron Dome that has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets since 2011. But the US defence system would intercept much bigger intercontinental threats. The plan comes after a 2022 Department of defence study pointed to advances by China and Russia. Beijing is closing the gap with Washington when it comes to ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernising its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles, it said. Trump has claimed the "Golden Dome" will be "capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world". But analysts are sceptical. "I'm not holding my breath," said Thomas Withington, an associate fellow at the RUSI defence think tank. "The challenges are so significant at this stage that they may simply be unrealistic to surround in the timeframes that the Trump administration envisages." - 'Poster child for waste' - Thomas Roberts, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the "Golden Dome" plan was based on being able to detect when a long-range missile was fired. A missile's so-called "boost phase" -- which produces a heat blast that lasts one to two minutes and can be observed from space -- is the best time to deploy defences, he said. "If you had an enormous constellation of interceptors in orbit at all times, they could be readily de-orbited -- or systematically removed from orbit -- to strike an intercontinental ballistic missile," he said. But Todd Harrison, from the American Enterprise Institute, said this would require a massive number of satellites. "It takes about 950 interceptors spread out in orbit around the Earth to ensure that at least one is always in range to intercept a missile during its boost phase," he said. But that means that if an adversary launches a salvo of ten missiles, some 9,500 interceptors would be needed to ensure at least ten are within range. "Given that China has about 350 intercontinental ballistic missiles and Russia has 306 -- not including their sub-launched ballistic missiles -- scaling a space-based interceptor system to meet the threat quickly becomes impractical." The non-partisan US Congressional Budget Office estimates that, just to stop "one or two intercontinental ballistic missiles", the United States would need a constellation of satellites costing between $161 billion to $542 billion. The US military could spend billions of dollars on research only for the next administration to nix the project, Harrison warned. "Golden Dome could become the poster child for waste and inefficiency in defence," he said. The plan also calls for developing satellites able to fire lasers at missiles to avoid too much debris on impact. But a European defence contractor said on condition of anonymity that such lasers are "still beyond what even the Americans are capable of doing". "It's just an excellent way to give the US (defence) industry substantial funding so they can increase their technological lead without necessarily aiming for actual operational deployment," the contractor said. - 'Global arms race'? - Trump's plan is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan ambition for a Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s, which also sought to place interceptor satellites in space. China and Russia, which both have nuclear weapons, have slammed the latest plan as "deeply destabilising". Nuclear-armed North Korea has called the plan a "very dangerous" threat. Julia Cournoyer, research associate at Chatham House, said the plan was risky as adversaries would likely see it "as an attempt to undermine the logic of nuclear deterrence". "If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralise a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race," which would exacerbate rather than reduce risk. Withington said Trump might be hoping to use the plan as leverage for talks with China and Russia. "It may be that the Trump administration is hoping that this would bring both countries to some kind of negotiating table to talk about a reduction of nuclear warhead sizes or to revitalise the arms control agenda," he said.
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Nuclear energy and power plays: Vladimir Putin taps into West Africa
Vladimir Putin last week approved a nuclear deal with Mali and Burkina Faso through the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom). The agreement covers the construction of research reactors and nuclear power plants to supply the civilian population's energy needs. This follows March 2025 talks and an October 2024 memorandum signed between Rosatom and Burkina Faso. The agreement is a significant shift in West African energy alliances and reflects Russia's overall geopolitical strategy. Mali and Burkina Faso, both run by military juntas, have kept their distance from Western institutions since 2021. In January 2024, the two countries, along with Niger, announced their intention to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Furthermore, in January 2025, the formal exit took place. These three countries currently make up the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Only 21% of Burkina Faso's population has access to electricity, unlike Vladimir Putin's Russia, which boasts a nearly 100% rate. The nuclear deal, led by Rosatom, is part of a larger effort to address the country's ongoing energy shortages. These nations aim to reduce their reliance on imported oil and biofuels, which currently account for the majority of their energy mix. Rosatom, under Vladimir Putin's authority, will oversee the nuclear fuel cycle and infrastructure development in both Mali and Burkina Faso. To increase its footprint in Africa, the company has signed deals with Rwanda and Nigeria in addition to a $30 billion project (approximately R541.5 billion) in Egypt. Rosatom's engagement in Burkina Faso builds on previous mining collaborations, such as a gold mining licence awarded to Russia's Nordgold in April 2025. To ensure sustainability and safety, experts warn that nuclear infrastructure requires significant regulatory oversight and long-term investment. A deeper strategic realignment in West Africa is reflected in the nuclear deal between Vladimir Putin and the Alliance of the Sahel States (Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso). The Royal United Services Institute's (RUSI) senior research fellow, Dr. Dariya Dolzikova, has expressed 'serious concerns'. Her concern is about Russia's nuclear safety record, especially in light of its military occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility. According to her analysis, Russia controls documented safety violations. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not publicly commented on the agreement. Timelines and funding information are not made public. On 19 June 2025, Russia and Burkina Faso signed an Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025). Moreover, the agreement creates a legal framework for nuclear cooperation. The deal covers isotope production, infrastructure development, nuclear safety regulation, and training for Burkina Faso's nuclear industry. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
Newspaper headlines from around the world - Friday, 20 June 2025
A bundle of newspapers on the table. Image: The South African/CANVA Here are the stories that made headlines on the front pages of newspapers worldwide on Friday, 20 June 2025. The New York Times front page reported that Iranians struck an Israeli hospital as the US sought to buy time. The Wall Street Journal front page reported that Iran's allied militias have chosen to lie low amid the Israel conflict. The Jerusalem Post's front page reported that Soroka Hospital suffered heavy damage from an Iranian missile. China Daily's front page reported that Xi said a ceasefire is a priority for restoring peace. The Daily Mail's front page reported that Jenrick said, 'I will vote no to assisted dying for my nana's sake.' The Guardian front page reported that the US has dropped charges against an LA protester accused of assaulting officers, calling it a huge relief. If you wish to stay up-to-date – for FREE – on the latest international and South African news, then bookmark The South African website for all that plus the latest in the world of finance, sport, lifestyle – and more. Did we mention it was 100% free to read …?
