ANDREW NEIL: Israel holds the cards. Trump has been squared. The mullahs in Tehran must now fear for their existence
The United States did not participate in Israel 's initial attacks on Iran but it certainly knew they were coming. admitted as much to the US media yesterday morning.
As early as Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had indicated to him on a call that military action was looking imminent. He spoke again with the President on Thursday to give him a further 'heads up'.
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The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump whines he won't get a Nobel Peace Prize while weighing US strike on Iran
President Donald Trump has again complained he can't win a Nobel Peace Prize, this time, as he weighs whether to attack Iran. Trump took to Truth Social on Friday evening to highlight the peace deal he said his administration brokered between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda while lamenting he'll be denied the Nobel Peace Prize 'no matter what.' 'This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World,' Trump wrote. 'I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for this,' Trump added, before listing other negotiations he says his administration led, including 'stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo' and 'keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia.' 'No, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that's all that matters to me,' the president wrote. The post comes a day after Trump said he'd decide whether to strike Iran within the next two weeks. Earlier Friday, the Pakistani government said it plans to nominate Trump for the prize, citing his 'decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis.' Last month, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire, a deal in which Trump claims he played a significant role. But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi disagrees. Modi 'clearly conveyed' to Trump that he did not play a role in the ceasefire during a recent phone call, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Tuesday. Instead, Modi says the ceasefire was achieved through direct talks with Pakistan. This isn't the first time Trump has pined over the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded to a 'person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.' Trump has appeared frustrated that his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, received the award in 2009, less than a year into his first term. Obama received the award for his 'extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,' and particularly his 'vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.' Last year, Trump claimed that if he 'were named Obama,' he would've 'had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds.' John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser who has since become a vocal opponent of the Republican, once told The New York Times that the 'center of his public life is the greater glory of Donald Trump, and the Nobel Peace Prize would be a nice thing to hang on the wall.'
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
US evacuates 79 staff and family from embassy in Israel as more Americans ask how to leave
The U.S. evacuated 79 staff and families from the U.S. Embassy in Israel on Friday as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies and growing numbers of private American citizens seek information on how to leave Israel and Iran. An internal State Department memo says the military flight, the second known to have occurred this week, left Tel Aviv for Sofia, Bulgaria, where some or all of the passengers were to get a connecting charter flight to Washington. The document, which was obtained by The Associated Press, also said that more than 6,400 U.S. citizens in Israel had filled out an online form on Friday alone asking for information about when and if the U.S. government would organize evacuation flights. An additional 3,265 people, some of whom may also have competed the form, called an emergency number seeking assistance. The document estimated that between 300 and 500 people per day could need evacuation assistance should the U.S. decide to offer flights or ships to get Americans out, as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has said is being considered. There are some 700,000 Americans in Israel, many of them dual nationals, according to estimates, although the exact number at any given time is unclear because U.S. citizens are not required to notify the embassy if they are there or when they might leave. Earlier Friday, before the memo was distributed, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that more than 25,000 Americans had reached out for information on leaving Israel, the West Bank and Iran. She told reporters that those people had sought 'information and support' and were 'seeking guidance' on departing. She would not give a breakdown of where the queries had come from and would not comment on embassy evacuations. In Iran, the document said that at least 84 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, or Green Card holders, had crossed into neighboring Azerbaijan by land since the conflict began and that an additional 774 had been granted permission to enter as of Friday. Nearly 200 American citizens and Green Card holders are awaiting permission to travel overland from Iran to neighboring Turkmenistan, it said.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Israel 'will not stop' attacks until Iran's nuclear threat is 'dismantled', says Israel's UN ambassador
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations has vowed "we will not stop" attacks on Iran until the "nuclear threat is dismantled" and "its war machine is disarmed". The two countries traded angry accusations at the United Nations Security Council, as its secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned that expansion of the Israel-Iran conflict could "ignite a fire no one can control". Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon vowed: "We will not stop. Not until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled, not until its war machine is disarmed." 3:49 His Iranian counterpart Amir Saeid Iravani said Iran would continue to respond to Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear sites that Israel sees as part of a weapons programme. Donald Trump is seeking advice about whether to support Israel's military involvement and is expected make a decision in the next two weeks. But he told reporters in New Jersey on Friday that his director of national intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong in suggesting there is no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon. 0:27 Talks between Iranian and European ministers took place on Friday, but the US president was dismissive of the discussions. "Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one". But he added that he might support a ceasefire between Iran and Israel "depending on the circumstances". Lammy on 'perilous moment' UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned "this is a perilous moment, and it is hugely important that we don't see regional escalation of this conflict", after he and his German, French and EU counterparts met Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva. He also referred to the role of the US in potential negotiations: "There is a... short window to find a diplomatic solution for the Iranians to... end their nuclear programme. "We're urging diplomacy. It's important they get back into serious talks with the United States." 1:04 Iran says attacks are 'grave war crimes' But the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict, did not reveal any indication of an immediate breakthrough. Mr Araghchi described the talks as "a very serious but respectful discussion" but condemned what he called Israel's "atrocities", adding that "Iran will continue exercising its legitimate right of self-defence against the regime". "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again... once aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed. In this regard, I made it clear that Iran's defence capabilities are not negotiable," he added. Earlier, he called Israel's attacks on nuclear facilities "grave war crimes". On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely. Meanwhile, the UK government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country's airspace reopens. Iran wants 'endless negotiations' Jason Brodsky, policy director at the US-based pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran, told Sky News the talks in Geneva would not satisfy the US president. He said: "It seems that the maximum that the Islamic Republic is prepared to give still does not meet the minimum that President Trump is able to accept. "I think the Islamic Republic wants to lure the United States back into an endless negotiating process. They think they can dominate this process and manipulate President Trump. "President Trump has made it very clear that a deadline means a deadline. And he has red lines as well. And his red lines is zero enrichment in Iran." 4:53 Protests over Israeli strikes On Friday, thousands of people protested in Iran's capital Tehran after a week of Israeli strikes which have killed at least 657 people and wounded 2,037 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists. Israel's military says 25 fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Friday morning targeting "missile storage and launch infrastructure components" in western Iran. In the Israeli city of Haifa, at least 19 people were wounded by an Iranian missile barrage. UN issues nuclear warning Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors. "A direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity," said Rafael Grossi, chief of the UN nuclear watchdog. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the country's uranium enrichment sites. Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, although it enriches uranium up to 60%, well beyond the level required for an atomic power station and a step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the IAEA.
