Aid has crossed the border of Gaza, UN has not received permission from Israel to collect it
Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East Correspondent with The Economist, outlines international - and local - pressure facing the Israeli government for its' military operation in Gaza.
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RTÉ News
22 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Iran threatens 'devastating' response to Israel's attacks
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian warned of a "more devastating" retaliation should Israel's nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear programme "under any circumstances". Israel said it had killed three more Iranian commanders in its unprecedented offensive, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed Iran's alleged progress towards a nuclear weapon had been set back by two years. "We will do everything that we can do there in order to remove this threat," Mr Saar told the German newspaper Bild, adding that Israel would keep up its onslaught. Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on 13 June, saying Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Yesterday, Israel said it had attacked Iran's Isfahan nuclear site for a second time, with the UN nuclear watchdog reporting that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop had been hit. Later, Iran's Mehr news agency said Israel had launched strikes on the southern city of Shiraz, which hosts military bases. And early this morning, Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced that a "vast" wave of "drones" had been launched against "strategic targets" across Israel. Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb, and Mr Pezeshkian said its right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme "cannot be taken away... by threats or war". 'Not prepared to negotiate' In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Pezeshkian said Iran was "ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities". "However, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances," he added, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency. Referring to the Israeli attacks, he said: "Our response to the continued aggression of the Zionist regime will be more devastating." Iran's armed forces threatened to strike shipments of military aid to Israel "from any country". Israel's main arms supplier is the United States, whose President Donald Trump warned on Friday that Iran had a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes as the US weighed whether to join Israel's campaign. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul yesterday for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict. Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany met Mr Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume nuclear talks with the United States that had been derailed by the war. But Mr Araghchi said: "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again, and once aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed." "We're not prepared to negotiate with them (the Americans) anymore, as long as the aggression continues," he added. Hundreds killed Mr Trump, dismissive of European diplomatic efforts, said he was unlikely to ask Israel to stop its attacks to get Iran back to the table. "If somebody's winning, it's a little bit harder to do," he said of Israel's campaign. Any US involvement would likely feature powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses to destroy an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo. US B-2 stealth bombers capable of carrying bunker busters were flying across the Pacific Ocean, according to tracking data and media reports, fuelling speculation over their intended mission. Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if the United States joined the war, despite a recent ceasefire agreement. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said that, based on its sources and media reports, at least 657 people had been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians. Iran's health ministry gave a toll of more than 400 people killed in the Israeli strikes. Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures. The Israeli military said it had launched a fresh wave of strikes in the area of southern Iran's Bandar Abbas, targeting drone storage sites and a weapons facility. Iran's Tasnim news agency said air defences were activated in the area. Overnight, Iran said it had targeted central Israel with drones and missiles. Israeli rescuers said there were no casualties after an Iranian drone struck a residential building. Revolutionary Guards spokesman Mohammad Ali Naini said Iran's armed forces had "hit 14 strategic military" targets in the overnight attack, including Haifa's Sail Tower, the city's oil refinery and the Ovda air base. On the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Israel said that an Iranian terror plot targeting Israeli citizens had been "thwarted". 'Tired' Israel's National Public Diplomacy Directorate said more than 450 missiles had been fired at the country so far, along with about 400 drones. In Tel Aviv, where residents have faced regular Iranian strikes for nine days, some expressed growing fatigue under the constant threat from Iran. The streets of Tehran, meanwhile, were still largely quiet yesterday, though a few cafes and restaurants were open. Western powers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the expansion of Iran's nuclear programme, questioning in particular the country's accelerated uranium enrichment. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has said Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60%. However, his agency had "no indication" of the existence of a "systematic programme" in Iran to produce a bomb.
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Tensions in Middle East ramp up as B-2 stealth bombers leave US for possible strike on Iranian targets
TENSIONS in the Middle East ramped up further yesterday as B-2 stealth bombers left the US for a possible strike on Iran. US president Donald Trump is believed to have signed off on a hit on the rogue state's underground atomic plant at Fordow. 4 Middle East tensions rise as B-2 stealth bombers left the US for a possible strike on Iran Credit: Alamy 4 Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks Credit: Getty It came after a Trump, who said on Thursday he would decide whether to join the offensive 'within two weeks', yesterday gave Israel free rein to continue attacking its enemy Iran. Meanwhile, B-2 bombers took off from the US and were thought to be heading to the Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam. The powerful B-2 Spirit is the only aircraft capable of delivering the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs needed to smash Iran's atomic site at Fordow, south of READ MORE ON IRAN Waves of attacks would be needed to destroy the plant, which is encased in steel under a mountain. Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is also said to be sheltering in a bunker as Israel targets military leaders and nuclear facilities in his country. US officials last night said no orders had yet been given to move the B-2s beyond Guam. But it ramped up more pressure on Khamenei to cut a deal — with Trump demanding Iran scrap its nuclear and ballistic missile plans. Most read in The Sun Meanwhile, a suspected spy linked to Iran was arrested amid fears he was spearheading a massive attack on UK forces in Cyprus. Sources said he was posing as a British tourist when he was detained near the RAF's Akrotiri base with a large camera with telephoto lenses. US deploys bunker-buster bomb carrying B-2 planes to new military base as Iran tensions grow He was also found to have three mobile phones when armed officers swooped on Friday. Police sources confirmed yesterday he was being held on suspicion of terror-related offences and espionage. He is suspected to have links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Police swooped on him in the Zakaki suburb of Limassol. He has been in the country since April and is feared to have been mapping troops and jets. The Foreign Office confirmed he was a British national who is understood to be of Azerbaijani descent. 4 The apparent remains of a ballistic missile lying on the ground in northern Israel Credit: Reuters Akrotiri — where hundreds of British pilots, troops and back-up staff are based — is just 200 miles from Israel and well within range of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal. Britain and the US have been warned by Khamenei that their bases will be hit if their forces join Israel. The suspect appeared before the Limassol District Court on Friday and was remanded in custody for eight days pending inquiries. Cypriot sources said he was understood to have had the sprawling UK airbase 'under surveillance' and also watched Cyprus's own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos. Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar yesterday also claimed Iran tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus. Extra £3k in Persian MI5 jobs By Dominik Lemanski SPYMASTERS are offering £3,000 bonuses to recruit Persian speakers to tackle Iranian terror. Persian Language Specialists at MI5 and MI6 will support investigations to block Tehran-backed assassins and kidnappers. Recruits will be paid up to £44,818 with £3,000 a year extra on qualification. An advert, which is also hiring for GCHQ, reads: 'We're looking for Persian linguists for a role that goes well beyond translation and transcription. 'You will be a significant asset in helping to safeguard the UK.' In April last year, Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati, 37, was stabbed in South West London, in an attack believed to have been ordered by Tehran. It was not known if it was linked to the Brit's arrest. Cyprus has become a transit point for stranded travellers since Israeli airspace was shut at the start of Operation Rising Lion nine days ago. Britain has upped the number of RAF Typhoons at Akrotiri and sent extra Voyager air-to-air refuellers. British and US warjets have previously helped shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel. But Sir Keir Starmer's government has so far kept the RAF out of the war amid fears of further escalation. Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces' biggest scalp yesterday was terror kingpin Saeed Izadi — the financial mastermind of the Izadi, head of the Palestinian Division of Iran's Quds Force, was killed in a strike on a 'safe house' in the Iranian city of Qom. The Israeli military's Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir said: 'Izadi was one of the key figures involved in planning and executing the October 7 massacre. The blood of thousands of Israelis is on his hands.' 4 Israel's biggest scalp yesterday was terror kingpin Saeed Izadi Credit: @IDF The Israeli military later said it killed another commander of the Guards' overseas arm, Benham Shariyari, in western Tehran. He was said to be 'responsible for weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East'. An 11th nuclear scientist was also assassinated at a safe house located by Israeli intelligence. Iran's foreign minister said he will not negotiate while attacks continued. But Trump hit back: 'It's very hard to make that request right now. Israel is doing well, in terms of war, and…Iran is doing less well.' But he added: 'We're ready, willing and able and we've been speaking to Iran.' Iran fired more missiles at Israel overnight which were intercepted amid reports of minimal damage. Palestine marcher in 'bottle hurl' bust By Eleanor Gunn PRO-Palestine protester was arrested after a bottle was thrown at marchers supporting Israel in London yesterday. His missile fell short but the suspect was chased down The Strand and detained, police said. Thousands of pro- Palestine demonstrators chanted 'Shame on you' as they passed a pro-Israel counter-protest on Waterloo Bridge. Later, footage emerged seeming to show a protester in a keffiyeh scarf performing a Nazi salute. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addressed crowds. He said politicians were seeking to 'turn people who protest against the invasion of Iran or the occupation of Palestine into terrorists'. Yesterday's protests came as ministers draw up plans to ban group Palestine Action under anti-terror laws. It came after two yobs from the group broke into RAF Brize Norton Oxfordshire on Friday and doused jets in paint
The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
President of Iran says country won't halt nuclear activity 'under any circumstances'
IRAN HAS COME under Israeli fire today, with five army personnel having been killed in an attack in the west, while bomb blasts have been heard near Tehran's centre. Today the President of the country, Masoud Pezeshkian said the country won't halt nuclear activity 'under any circumstances'. He told French President Emmanuel Macron that while Iran is ready to 'discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities', there will be no total cessation of those activities. Israel pressed forward with its bombing campaign today which has killed more than 400 people since it began last week, according to the health ministry in Iran. Israel's military has said it has killed Saeed Izadi, a top Revolutionary Guards official in charge of military coordination with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as well as two other commanders overnight. Iran's news agency said this evening that five officers were killed and nine were wounded in the western city of Sumar. Israeli rescue services said that a drone strike hit a two-storey residential building in northern Israel. Advertisement Iran's strikes since 13 June have killed at least 25 people in Israel. Israel also targeted two nuclear sites overnight in Iran. The UN's nuclear watchdog, the Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a centrifuge manufacturing worksop at the Isfahan nuclear facility was struck. US stealth bombers were flying Saturday across the Pacific Ocean, according to tracking data and media reports, fuelling speculation over their intended mission as President Donald Trump considers joining Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear sites. Multiple B-2 bomber aircraft left a base in the central United States overnight, The New York Times and specialist plane tracking sites reported. The B-2 is capable of carrying America's heaviest payloads, including the bunker-busting GBU-57 – the only weapon capable of destroying Iran's deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo. Iran has threatened to strike shipments of military aid to Israel during the ongoing fighting. 'We warn that sending any military or radar equipment by boat or aircraft from any country to assist the Zionist regime will be considered participation in the aggression against Islamic Iran and will be a legitimate target for the armed forces,' a spokesman said in a video statement broadcast on state TV. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
