Netizens troll Macron's post about Rafale jet reminding of Pak-India skirmish
French President Emmanuel Macron, posted a French-made Rafale fighter jet with the caption 'European friends, you have a call,' on X on Friday, leading netizens especially within Pakistan to comment below, remind readers of the recent fate of the aircraft between the India-Pakistan skirmish.
Macron, in his defense is urging Europe to strengthen its arsenal and reduce reliance on the United States.
However, users were quick to comment below the post, reminding users of the recent skirmish between India and Pakistan, where Pakistan Air Forces (PAF) shot down 3 Rafale jets with the help of Chinese-made J-10 fighter jets, leaving India humiliated.
Memes continue: Pakistanis celebrate air dominance over India on social media
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
20 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
European powers urge Iran to continue US nuclear talks
GENEVA: European powers on Friday urged Iran to continue diplomacy with the United States to find a solution in the standoff over its nuclear programme as Israel keeps up its bombardment of the Islamic republic. 'The good result today is that we leave the room with the impression that the Iranian side is ready to further discuss all the important questions,' said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in a statement alongside his British, French and EU counterparts after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. 'It is of great importance that the United States takes part in these negotiations and the solution,' he added. The statement read by all four top diplomats in their native languages after the talks expressed hope of further progress but did not make any mention of a breakthrough in the talks in Geneva. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'We are keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States.' 'This is a perilous moment, and it is hugely important that we don't see regional escalation of this conflict,' he added. Iran says no nuclear talks under Israeli fire, Trump considers options French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there 'can be no definitive solution through military means to the Iran nuclear problem. Military operations can delay it but they cannot eliminate it'. After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Barrot also warned: 'It is illusory and dangerous to want to impose a regime change from the outside. It is up to the people to decide their own destiny.' 'We invited the Iranian minister to consider negotiations with all sides, including the United States, without awaiting the cessation of strikes, which we also hope for,' he said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said for her part: 'Today the regional escalation benefits no-one. We must keep the discussions open.' Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said earlier the Iranian delegation 'emphasised that Iran has not left the negotiating table'. Israel began its campaign on Friday last week saying the operation was aimed at halting Tehran from obtaining an atomic bomb, an ambition Iran denies having. Iranian strikes launched in response have also caused damage in Israel.
Express Tribune
40 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Iran fires 20 missiles in strikes on Israeli military sites, leaving two injured
A view of burnt cars and a damaged residential building at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, in Be'er Sheva, Israel, June REUTERS Listen to article About 20 missiles were fired in those latest Iranian strikes, an Israeli military official said, and at least two people were hurt, according to the Israeli ambulance service. Fars news agency quoted an Iranian military spokesman as saying Tehran's missile and drone attacks on Friday had used long-range and ultra-heavy missiles against military sites, defence industries and command and control centres. A week into its campaign, Israel said it had struck dozens of military targets overnight, including missile production sites, a research body it said was involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran and military facilities in western and central Iran. The Israel Defense Forces later said they had also struck surface-to-air missile batteries in southwestern Iran as part of efforts to achieve air superiority over the country. At least five people were injured when Israel hit a five-storey building in Tehran housing a bakery and a hairdresser's, Fars news agency reported. Also Read: Europe pushes diplomatic solution to Iran-Israel war in Geneva Iran fired missiles at Beersheba in southern Israel early on Friday and Israeli media said initial reports pointed to missile impacts in Tel Aviv, the Negev and Haifa after further attacks hours later. The head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned against attacks on nuclear facilities and called for maximum restraint. "Armed attack on nuclear facilities... could result in radioactive releases with great consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked," Rafael Grossi, director of the International Agency for Atomic Energy, told the UN Security Council on Friday. He spoke a day after an Israeli military official said it had been "a mistake" for a military spokesperson to have said Israel had struck Bushehr, Iran's only nuclear power plant. He said he could neither confirm nor deny that Russian-built Bushehr, located on the Gulf coast, had been hit. Iran said on Friday its air defences had been activated in Bushehr, without elaborating. Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities but that it wants to avoid any nuclear disaster. The White House said on Thursday President Donald Trump would decide on US involvement in the conflict in the next two weeks. Iran said on Friday it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel, as Europe tried to coax Tehran back into negotiations and the United States considers whether to get involved in the conflict. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there was no room for negotiations with the US "until Israeli aggression stops". But he later arrived in Geneva for talks with European foreign ministers at which Europe hopes to establish a path back to diplomacy over Iran's nuclear programme. Before the meeting with France, Britain, Germany and the European Union's foreign policy chief, two diplomats said Araqchi would be told the US is still open to direct talks. But expectations for a breakthrough are low, diplomats say. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes, retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons. It neither confirms nor denies this. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US -based human rights organisation that tracks Iran. The dead include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed in Iranian missile attacks, according to authorities. Trump has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks. His special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, has spoken to Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. The Trump administration announced on Friday fresh Iran-related sanctions against various entities with the aim of disrupting Tehran's efforts to obtain dual-use technology. Western and regional officials say Israel is trying to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian opposition groups think their time may be near, but activists involved in previous protests say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest with their nation under attack. Iranian state media reported rallies in several cities, describing them as rallies of "solidarity and resistance".
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Europe pushes diplomatic solution to Iran-Israel war in Geneva
Mourners attend a funeral for those killed in Israeli strikes on Iran, in Qazvin, Iran, June 19, 2025. PHOTO:REUTERS Listen to article European powers hoped to offer a "diplomatic solution" as they met with Iran in Geneva on Friday, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, as Israel again came under Iranian missile fire. The meeting, which is expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme, comes as US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of entering the war between the two foes. Israel, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, launched a massive wave of strikes a week ago, triggering an immediate retaliation from Tehran. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will meet his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva "to make a complete diplomatic and technical offer for negotiations", Macron told reporters. France and its allies Germany and Britain were "putting a diplomatic solution on the table", he added. On the ground, Israel's military said it struck dozens of targets in Tehran overnight, including what it called a centre for the "research and development of Iran's nuclear weapons project". In Israel, sirens sounded in the afternoon after missiles were launched from Iran for the second time on Friday, and rescuers reported two injured, including a 16-year-old in serious condition. A military official said that "approximately 20 missiles were launched towards Israel" in the latest salvo. On Iranian state TV, a news anchor described footage of "Iranian missiles arriving" in the sky over Israel, as the channel broadcast the footage with military music playing in the background. Trump has said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in the fighting. Israel, the United States and other Western powers accuse Iran of seeking an atomic weapon, a charge that it denies. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", while agreeing with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon". France's foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said that "military solutions are not long-term solutions" to ensure Iran respects its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran's Araghchi, however, rejected any prospect of talks with the United States so long as Israel continues its attacks. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Araghchi said Israel's attacks were a "betrayal" of diplomatic efforts to reach a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington. "We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process," he said. In an interview with German publication Bild, Israel's top diplomat Gideon Saar said he did not "particularly" believe in diplomacy with Iran. "All diplomatic efforts so far have failed," said Saar, whose country had supported Trump's 2018 decision to abandon a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. The Iranians, according to Saar, have used negotiations "to gain time while making progress (in their nuclear programme), and I don't think they've changed their nature". The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. The escalating confrontation is quickly reaching "the point of no return", Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday, saying "this madness must end as soon as possible". UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile pleaded with all sides to "give peace a chance". The International Atomic Energy Agency said that while Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 percent, there was no evidence it had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead. "So, saying how long it would take for them, it would be pure speculation because we do not know whether there was somebody... secretly pursuing these activities," the agency's chief Rafael Grossi told CNN. "We haven't seen that and we have to say it." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran could produce an atomic bomb in "a couple of weeks". "If there's a chance for diplomacy the president's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well," Leavitt said. Any US involvement in Israel's campaign would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground nuclear facility in Fordo, using powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses. In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said authorities had restricted internet access to avoid "problems" like cyberattacks. Protests broke out in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers, with demonstrators chanting slogans in support of their leaders, state television showed. "I will sacrifice my life for my leader," read a protester's banner, a reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Switzerland announced Friday the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran, adding that it would continue to fulfil its role representing US interests in Iran, while the United Kingdom announced it was withdrawing its embassy staff. The death toll in Israel from Iranian missile strikes since June 13 was 25 people, according to authorities. Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
