Dutch launch operation Orange Shield to keep NATO summit safe

AMSTERDAM, June 20 (Reuters) - The Netherlands has launched operation Orange Shield to protect next week's NATO summit, deploying combat helicopters, sea patrols, over 10,000 military and police personnel, bomb squads and air defence systems.
About 6,000 delegates and leaders from 32 countries, including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will attend the closed-off event at The Hague's World Forum.
The Dutch navy will deploy seven frigates as part of the country's largest security operation.
"The aim is to observe everything that's happening in the area, at sea, and in the air," commander of the Tromp frigate Dennis Oorburg told Reuters.
Dutch counterterrorism chief Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg told Dutch broadcaster NOS that cybersecurity risks were also being closely monitored.
Heads of state and ministers from NATO countries will arrive at Schiphol Airport on Monday and be escorted to The Hague via a secure highway corridor.
On Tuesday, Dutch King Willem-Alexander will host a state dinner for NATO leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is set not to attend the summit, has also been invited to the dinner but has not yet confirmed his attendance.
The summit officially begins on Wednesday, with NATO boss Mark Rutte aiming to get consensus from leaders on a 5% defence spending target, demanded by Trump. But Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has opposed the higher target.
Protests are expected around the summit, including a planned highway blockade by Extinction Rebellion environmental activists and demonstrations against the war in Gaza and LGBTI+ hate speech. Police say protests will be allowed "within the limits of the law".

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What war in the Middle East means for your money

The conflict between Israel and Iran is the latest geopolitical shock set to hamper the outlook for the UK economy — and, ultimately, your bank balance. Since the attacks began on June 12, the price of oil has risen to a six-month high. Hopes for interest rate cuts have been dashed, fears of rising inflation have been amplified, and any respite from stock market turmoil appears to have been short-lived. • Read more money advice and tips on investing from our experts This week the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said: 'I'm always concerned about the effect of international issues on people back at home. You saw with Ukraine the direct impact it had on energy bills. Equally, with this conflict, you can see the effect it's having on the economy, particularly on the price of energy.' From petrol prices to pension pots, here's what you need to know: Iran is the third-largest oil producer among the 12 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), and there are worries about how a wider regional war could affect the transport of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about 25 per cent of seaborne crude oil transportation, according to the consultancy Capital Economics. The price of a barrel of Brent crude hit a six-month high of about $78 after Israeli attacks on Iran began, up from about $65 at the start of this month. That is bound to have a knock-on effect on motorists, said David Oxley from Capital Economics: 'A rough rule of thumb is that a $10 rise in the oil price will add about 7p to the price at the pump.' It normally takes about two weeks for oil prices to feed into pump prices, Oxley said. Motorists have, however, had some recent respite from the cost of living crisis as petrol and diesel prices hit their lowest in almost four years. Petrol cost an average of 132p a litre last month, the lowest since July 2021, while diesel was at 138p, the lowest since September 2021, according to the motoring organisation the RAC. While prices are likely to rise, they are not expected to reach the high of March 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused the oil price to reach $127 per barrel. The price in sterling peaked in July of that year at more than £100 with pump prices hitting 192p per litre for petrol and 199p per litre for diesel. More than a million homeowners whose fixed deals come to an end this year may have their hopes of further interest rate cuts dashed. The lowest two-year fix was 3.72 per cent last month, but rates are starting to tick up again, according to the property portal Rightmove. The lowest two-year deal is now 3.82 per cent from Lloyds Bank for those with a Club Lloyds account. The lowest five-year fixed rate has gone from 3.78 per cent to 3.88 per cent, also from Lloyds. Lenders had been cutting mortgage rates to compete for business, but changed tack after inflation went from 2.6 per cent for the year to March to 3.5 per cent in April. This makes cuts to the Bank of England base rate less likely — the Bank generally keeps the rate high when inflation is above its target of 2 per cent. The Consumer Prices Index inflation figure for the year to May, released this week, was 3.4 per cent. Uncertainty around President Trump's trade tariffs and conflict in the Middle East has also dampened hopes of further base rate cuts. The Bank held rates at 4.25 per cent this week, which, although a lot higher than the sub 2 per cent rates many mortgage holders will have fixed at three or five years ago, is down from the peak of 5.25 per cent in August last year. Fixed mortgage rates are based on swap rates (the rates at which banks lend to each other, which are in turn based on forecasts of where Bank rate is expected to be in the future), which have edged up over the past week or so, suggesting that mortgage rates could follow. Homeowners who want certainty can lock in a new deal up to six months before theirs ends yet still swap if a cheaper deal comes along. Rising oil prices could also cause other expenses to creep up, particularly if the Iran conflict continues or escalates. Lotanna Emediegwu, an economics lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, said that prolonged conflict could drive up energy bills. The price cap that limits how much suppliers can charge customers on standard variable tariffs will work out at an average bill of £1,720 a year for gas and electricity from July 1 (down 7 per cent from today's cap). At the moment analysts expect the cap to go up 2 to 3 per cent in October, but this could change dramatically. He said: 'Until recently, fuel prices had been rising less than other things, so actually mitigating some inflationary pressures. The recent conflict is expected to reverse this trend. 'The financial repercussions extend beyond immediate energy costs into transportation and logistics. Transport expenses are particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in fuel prices. This affects everything from airline fares to shipping costs for products, ultimately hitting consumer prices.' Before June 12, when Israel launched strikes on Iran, inflation had been expected to rise to 3.5 per cent by the autumn — now it could go further. A sustained $10 per barrel rise in the oil price typically pushes up annual inflation by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points, according to The Economist, meaning that it could be closer to 3.7 per cent by September. Emediegwu said a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route could add a further 0.5 to 1 percentage points, which could take it close to 5 per cent. So far the stock market has been fairly resilient to the conflict in the Middle East. The UK's FTSE 100 is down about 0.77 per cent since the turmoil started, while the US's S&P 500 is down about 1.06 per cent. If a sustained conflict leads to an increase in the price of oil, stock valuations may fall — this is because higher oil prices lead to higher inflation, which means interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer, which makes it more expensive for companies to borrow money to grow and often curbs investors' risk appetite. Losers are likely to include airline and travel stocks, as well as so-called growth stocks, which include technology and healthcare companies. Many investors will have exposure to the US 'Magnificent Seven' tech stocks of Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Tesla, Amazon, Meta and Nvidia. 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In New York Israeli ambassador Danny Danon hit back at his Iranian counterpart furiously that Tehran had a regime that chants: 'Death to Israel, death to America, death to England and Israel is stopping this.' And he said Tehran had 'lied to the International Energy Agency.' He added: 'While the Ayatollah shouts death to America and death Israel many here ignored it. This hypocrisy would allow Iran to get as far as it has,' in its nuclear programme. He added: 'It allowed Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militia in Iraq.' ‌ Earlier Iranian bombs hit multiple cities including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba and Negev, sending locals diving for cover and causing grey smoke in the air above communities. It is believed Tehran's latest onslaught included as many as 39 missiles and at least one of the weapons may have been a cluster bomb. In one attack the city of Beersheba was hit by multiple impacts indicating that Tehran may be using ballistic missile carrying cluster weapons. It followed as many as 60 Israeli warplanes in waves targeting sites throughout Iran including the capital as the march towards major war failed to ease off. US President Donald Trump is weighing up whether to launch US warplanes at Iran and join Israel's attacks on Tehran's nuclear programme. Before his flight, Araghchi said on Iranian state television that his country was "not seeking negotiations with anyone" as long as Israel's attacks continued. ‌ He also accused the U.S. of collaborating with Israel, noting that Trump regularly used "we" in social media posts and interviews talking about the attacks on Iran. He added: "It is the Americans who want talks. "They've sent messages several times - very serious ones - but we made it explicitly clear to them that as long as this aggression and invasion continue, there is absolutely no room for talk or diplomacy. We are engaged in legitimate self-defense, and this defense will not stop under any circumstances." ‌ UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK is arranging charter flights to return British nationals from Israel once Israeli airspace re-opens, the foreign secretary has said. David Lammy confirmed the government was working with Israel to provide flights out of Tel Aviv airport. Israeli airspace is closed due to the ongoing conflict with Iran. The statement came as Lammy arrived in Geneva for talks with Iran, in the hopes of negotiating an agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme. ‌ French President Emmanuel Macron said European diplomats in Geneva will make a "comprehensive, diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation" to Iran, as a key response to the "threat" represented by Iran's nuclear program. He added: "No one can seriously believe that this threat can be met with Israel's current operations alone. We need to regain control on (Iran's nuclear) program through technical expertise and negotiation." And former UK ambassador to Iran Sir Richard Dalton said that there was "no imminent threat" to Israel from Iran. He said strongly opposed the "appalling and unacceptable" rhetoric that Iran has used about Israel for many years. ‌ But he added: "Decades of tolerance of Israeli defiance of international law has cemented Israeli belief that they are untouchable. Whatever their actions, they have a sense of impunity." When asked about Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium - which is close to weapons-grade and something they have refused to explain for several years - the expert said: "They've done that in order to put leverage on the international community to revert to the deal which was working, and which President Trump foolishly scrapped in 2018. It was a highly questionable decision to do that". ‌ Iran had previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors in to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief and other provisions. After Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal during his last term Iran began enriching uranium to higher levels and limiting access to its facilities. Israel said it conducted airstrikes into Friday morning in Iran with more than 60 aircraft hitting what it said were industrial sites to manufacture missiles. It also said it hit the headquarters of Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its acronym in Farsi, SPND. It carried out airstrikes around Kermanshah and Tabriz in western Iran, where the military said 25 fighter jets struck "missile storage and launch infrastructure components.' Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said: "We are strengthening our air control in the region and advancing our air offensive. We have more sites to strike in Tehran, western Iran and other places." ‌ Israeli airstrikes also reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early Friday. The Israeli military had warned the public to flee the area around Rasht's Industrial City, southwest of the city's downtown. In Israel, the paramedic service Magen David Adom said Iranian missiles struck a residential area in southern Israel causing damage to buildings, including one six-story building. They have provided medical treatment to five people with minor injuries such as bruises, smoke inhalation, and anxiety, it said. ‌ On Thursday, at least 80 patients and medical workers were wounded in a strike on the Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba. After Iran hit a hospital in Beersheba Israeli defence minister Israel Katz threatened Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , saying Israel's military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he trusted that Trump would "do what's best for America." Speaking from the rubble and shattered glass around the hospital, he added: "I can tell you that they're already helping a lot." War between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel. At least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. But it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.