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Trump says Iran looking to de-escalate conflict with Israel

Trump says Iran looking to de-escalate conflict with Israel

"They have to make a deal," Trump said. "And it's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it's too late."
More: Can Trump pull off peace plans, trade deals at the G7? What to know about the summit
Trump brushed off a question about what it would take for the U.S. to get involved in the conflict, saying he didn't want to discuss it. Later when asked about intelligence-sharing with Israel, he said: "We've always supported Israel... Israel's doing very well right now."
Israel and Iran were in their fourth day of air strikes, with gas fields burning in Iran and Israeli apartment houses pummeled by ballistic missiles.
The strikes and counter-strikes began June 13, when more than 200 Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of military and nuclear targets in Iran, including top generals and scientists.
Iran retaliated with ballistic missile and drone strikes on Israel, which has continued to attack Iranian targets.
The Trump administration has been negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program with the goal of preventing the country from obtaining a nuclear bomb when Israel attacked.
Although Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes only, the International Atomic Energy Agency recently concluded Tehran was very close to reaching the 90% uranium enrichment level required to build a nuclear weapon.
Contributing: Reuters, Kim Hjelmgaard

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Putin will exploit Middle East chaos to hit Europe with never-seen-before attack, Ukraine warns as tyrant meets Iranians
Putin will exploit Middle East chaos to hit Europe with never-seen-before attack, Ukraine warns as tyrant meets Iranians

Scottish Sun

time27 minutes ago

  • Scottish Sun

Putin will exploit Middle East chaos to hit Europe with never-seen-before attack, Ukraine warns as tyrant meets Iranians

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) VLADIMIR Putin could be plotting to exploit the crisis in the Middle East to launch an attack on Europe, a Ukrainian government insider has warned. The alarm was raised as today Putin became the first world leader to meet the Iranians after US President Donald Trump launched a wave of strikes on the Ayatollah's nuclear sites. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Vladimir Putin is feared to be plotting an attack on Europe Credit: Getty 7 Putin met today with the Iranians Credit: Reuters 7 An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike in Kyiv Credit: Reuters 7 Planes are left burning on a runway during operation Spiderweb, which Putin could take inspiration from Russia has warned Trump has opened up a "Pandora's Box" with his B-2 bomber blitz over the weekend - which Vlad himself slammed as "unprovoked aggression", despite his own illegal war in Ukraine. However, a senior Ukrainian insider warned Putin will be rubbing his hands with glee as he plans to exploit the crisis while the West's eyes are turned to the Middle East. The cunning tyrant may even attempt to mimic Ukraine's elaborate Spiderweb operation that blitzed strategic targets inside Russia. A Ukrainian source told The Sun: "The West should be prepared that the Spiderweb operation may be reconfigured and deployed by Russia as a hybrid attack on any Nato Eastern flank nation. "That would be the major Article 5 test that the Alliance has not experienced yet." Humiliated Putin was left reeling after Ukraine's spectacular raid that - after 18 months of planning - inflicted billions of pounds worth of damage, leaving his bomber fleet in tatters. Daring agents smuggled drones and explosives deep inside the sprawling country before unleashing a coordinated assault on June 1. More than 100 drones were hidden in trucks across Russia before being deployed to five air bases - thousands of kilometres from the Ukrainian border. At least 41 of Putin's prized aircraft were wrecked in the attack - including Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 bombers and A-50 spy planes. Delivering such a decisive blow has left Ukraine's enemy scrambling. Bodies pulled from under rubble after Vladimir Putin bombs Kyiv killing 28 as EU chief says 'fight or learn Russian' But a Ukrainian government insider has warned it would also have left Putin's cronies eager to learn from the clandestine operation - and look to mimic it. The source said it could spell disaster if Vlad uses it as a blueprint to launch an attack on a European country. They told The Sun: "We have seen how quickly Russia managed to adapt and learn from Ukraine. "It's not only Nato states that are learning lessons from Ukraine, it's the adversaries too. "There was a time when Russia was two months behind Ukraine in its drone technology, now it is ahead with fibreoptic drones. "Ukraine is catching up and trying to develop techniques to best tackle those. "We have already seen Russian espionage and sabotage acts in Europe. "We can now be almost 100 per cent sure that they have taken on the Spiderweb as an example of something they can mimic in, for example, one of the Baltic states. "That's where the attribution of the operation will be very hard to achieve, but the consequences could be quite significant both for the country/countries in question and for the unity of Nato." The insider believes conniving Putin could sign off an assault while world leaders grapple with the spiralling conflict in the Middle East. With the Trump administration turning its sights to Israel and Iran, and security challenges in China, Europe has largely been left to fend for itself. After more than a week of Israel and Iran trading blows, Trump unleashed bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran - with Tehran threatening to retaliate. 7 Combat work by an M109 A3 gun crew on June 17, 2025 near Kostiantynvka, Ukraine Credit: Getty 7 It comes as the EU's top diplomat warned Moscow has a plan for long-term aggression against Europe. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas last week said Putin's determination to throw huge sums of money at his military suggests he is scheming to use his armed forces elsewhere. She pointed to the fact Russia is spending more on defence than the EU's 27 nations combined. Megalomanic Putin is set to invest more on defence than his nation's heath care, education and social policy combined, Kallas said. She warned lawmakers in Strasbourg, France: "This is a long-term plan for a long-term aggression. You don't spend that much on military if you do not plan to use it. "Europe is under attack and our continent sits in a world becoming more dangerous." Both Kallas and the Ukrainian source noted a series of acts of sabotage and cyberattacks - including Russian airspace violations and attacks on energy grids, pipelines and undersea cables. The insider added: "Russia never misses out on devious and cunning techniques. Especially with the upcoming Nato summit. 'UK must bolster defence or pay will blood of its people', Penny Mordaunt warns by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) BRITAIN will pay with the blood of its people if more money isn't spent to bolster the UK's defence, Penny Mordaunt has warned. The ex-defence secretary has urged the government to "wake up" and fund the UK's security properly before it's too late. Former Navy reservist Mordaunt argued that Britain is "emboldening our enemies" if we fail to invest in other forms of deterrence. She warned the consequences with be "incalculably grave" if the government does not open up the treasury purse. Ms Mordaunt told The Sun: "I'm confident that if you prepare for war, you invest in it, you train for it, then conflicts don't start. "Because your foes know it is not worth them doing that. They're going to lose. "The consequences of retaliation against them are too great." READ MORE HERE "During last year's summit, China was conducting military exercises in Belarus, sending a clear signal. "Russia may be distraught with the fact that one of its strongest allies in this war against Ukraine is getting bombarded, but at the same time, they may well use the opportunity of Europe being distracted and the US fully withdrawn to conduct a hybrid attack on Europe." Acts of sabotage have previously been pegged at attempts to undermine Europe's support of Ukraine by military officials and experts. But there are fears Russia could test Nato's Article 5 security guarantee that pledges an attack on any of the allies would be met with a collective response. And with no sign of a peace deal being thrashed out between Moscow and Kyiv despite international pleas after more than three years of war, an assault on the EU appears to loom closer. Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) Bruno Kahl last week warned against underestimating Russia's threat to the West. He told the Table Today podcast: "We are very certain, and we have intelligence evidence for this, that Ukraine is just a step on the path to the West. "They want to catapult Nato back to the state it was in at the end of the 1990s. They want to kick America out of Europe, and they'll use any means to achieve that." It comes as Nato heads of state are set to meet at a crunch two-day summit this week in The Hague - with setting a new target for allied defence spending the primary issue up for discussion. Allied nations are expected to agree a new defence investment pledge and pour billions of dollars into elevating security-related spending.

Israel hits Iranian government targets, including Evin Prison in Tehran
Israel hits Iranian government targets, including Evin Prison in Tehran

Leader Live

time28 minutes ago

  • Leader Live

Israel hits Iranian government targets, including Evin Prison in Tehran

Other targets include the security headquarters of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, the city's Palestine Square, and the paramilitary Basij volunteer corps building – which is a part of the Revolutionary guard. 'The Iranian dictator will be punished with full force for attacking the Israeli home front,' the ministry said. Iran's underground enrichment site at Fordo, which was one of those hit in Sunday's attack by the US on three nuclear facilities, was also struck again on Monday, Iranian state television reported. There was no immediate word on damage nor who launched the attack, though Israel said earlier it was conducting airstrikes on Iran. In Vienna, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he expected there to be heavy damage at the Fordo facility already following Sunday's US airstrike there with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs. 'Given the explosive payload utilised … very significant damage … is expected to have occurred,' said Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. With the strikes on Sunday on Iranian nuclear sites, the United States inserted itself into Israel's war, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict. Iran said the US had crossed 'a very big red line' with its risky gambit to strike the three sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. IAEA Director General @RafaelMGrossi addressed the Board of Governors this morning at an emergency meeting regarding the situation in Iran. — IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) June 23, 2025 Several Iranian officials, including Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, have claimed Iran removed nuclear material from targeted sites ahead of time. Mr Grossi told the IAEA board of governors on Monday that Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had informed him on June 13 that Iran would 'adopt special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials'. 'I indicated that any transfer of nuclear material from a safeguarded facility to another location in Iran must be declared,' Mr Grossi said, without saying whether Iran had responded. Iran described its Monday attack on Israel as a new wave of its Operation 'True Promise 3,' saying it was targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television. Explosions were also heard in Jerusalem. There were no immediate reports of damage. In Iran, witnesses reported Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Iran's capital, Tehran, around midday. Iranian state television confirmed one Israeli strike hit the gate of Iran's notorious Evin prison. Foreign ministers remain focused on a diplomatic solution, but concerns about the war escalating are high. Any Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be extremely dangerous. My doorstep ahead of today's Foreign Affairs Council ↓ — Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 23, 2025 The report shared what appeared to be black-and-white-surveillance footage of the strike. The prison is known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West. Israel did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the strike. Evin also has specialised units for political prisoners and those with Western ties, run by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is the target of both US and European Union sanctions.

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