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The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
2 SDF planes leave Japan for Djibouti for possible Mideast evacuation
TOTTORI (Kyodo) -- Two Self-Defense Forces planes departed Japan on Saturday for eastern Africa to stand by for a possible evacuation of Japanese nationals from the Middle East amid mounting safety concerns over the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. The C-2 transport planes left Miho Air Base in Tottori Prefecture, western Japan, carrying about 120 personnel, according to the Defense Ministry. They will stand by at a Self-Defense Forces base in Djibouti, with no specific airlift plans at present as major airports in Israel and Iran remain closed. Since Israeli strikes on Iran on June 13, the two countries have exchanged attacks, with tensions further escalating after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested using military options to pressure Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. On Friday, a total of 87 Japanese nationals and their family members were evacuated, with 66 traveling from Iran to Azerbaijan and 21 from Israel to Jordan on government-arranged buses, according to the Foreign Ministry. Before the bus evacuation began, about 280 Japanese citizens were in Iran, and around 1,000 were in Israel, the ministry said. On Tuesday, Japan raised the travel alert for all of Iran to its highest, Level 4, advising nationals to "evacuate and avoid all travel." Most of Israel has remained subject to the second-highest Level 3 advisory, which urges people to "avoid all travel."
India Today
a day ago
- Politics
- India Today
Israel-Iran fray: How much military does Uncle Sam have in West Asia?
United States President Donald Trump's see-saw statements on Iran have now swung more towards military force in West Asia. A month ago, he claimed at a conference in Qatar that the US and Iran were in serious negotiations to resolve their nuclear dispute for long-term on June 17, he posted the words 'unconditional surrender' in all caps on his TruthSocial account. And now, he's dithering over whether the US will get involved directly in the Iran-Israel conflict. Nevertheless, US actions seem to be more decisive now as it's been moving some of its military might closer towards Iran since Israel's first attack on Iran on June US has deployed fighter aircraft, including the F-16, F-22, and F-35, as well as 30 refuelling aircraft, mainly KC-135R Stratotankers and KC-46A Pegasus tankers, in several locations across Europe and West Asia. It already has the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group warships stationed close to Oman. And now, the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is reportedly sailing from East Asia towards the West. Both can hold about 7,500 personnel and 75 aircraft, including fighter jets. The US military has a sizeable presence in West Asia, going back more than five decades. Currently, it has more than 40,000 troops deployed at 19 sites. Usually, there are about 30,000 troops in the region, though the number surged to 43,000 in October 2023 after the Hamas attack in Israel and the continuous attacks by Houthis on ships in the Red largest concentrations of US forces are located in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Here's a look at the most prominent ones:Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar): At 60 acres and with almost 10,000 troops, it is the largest US military installation in West Asia. It functions as the forward headquarters for US Central Command, also known as CENTCOM, and can house nearly 100 aircraftNaval Support Activity, Bahrain: Located in Manama, it is the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. It hosts approximately 9,000 personnelCamp Arifjan (Kuwait): Established in 1999, it hosts a sizeable proportion of the 13,500 American forces stationed in KuwaitAl Dhafra Air Base (United Arab Emirates): This strategic air base hosts 5,000 US military personnel and advanced aircraft, such as F-22 Raptor stealth fightersPrince Sultan Air Base (Saudi Arabia): More than 2,700 American forces are stationed here. Recent deployments to this facility have included F-16 fighter jets relocated from ItalyMuwaffaq Salti Air Base (Jordan): This base hosts approximately 3,000 American troops and is reported to have several MQ-9 Reaper drones, crucial for intelligence and strike missionsTrump, in his most recent statement today, said that he will allow two weeks for further negotiations before deciding on striking Iran. Americans are hoping that in the meantime, Iran will relent and agree to terms it had rejected earlier, including abandoning its enrichment of on Thursday also warned the US not to take military action against Iran. Moscow is one of Tehran's most important allies. "We would like to particularly warn Washington against military intervention in the situation," Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. Though Trump has reportedly rejected Russia's offer to broker the sidelines, foreign ministers from France and Germany, and the European Union's high representative, Kaja Kallas, are meeting Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva today to find a diplomatic solution for Tehran's nuclear InMust Watch
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Ally Reveals Chinese Military Activity Near American Base
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China has reportedly dispatched naval vessels to waters near a United States air base in South Korea, as the East Asian power continues to expand its military presence in the contested region. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese defense and foreign ministries for comment by email. Why It Matters South Korea—a U.S. ally that hosts American forces—created the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) in the Yellow Sea, where Seoul and Beijing's 230-mile-wide Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) overlap, as the two countries have yet to establish permanent maritime boundaries. China has recently expanded its military presence in the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea, including repeated deployment of warships and the declaration of "no-sail zones" for war games, raising South Korea's concerns that its neighbor is attempting to alter the status quo. What To Know Citing South Korean military data provided to a lawmaker on Tuesday, newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily reported that the Chinese navy deployed ships to "South Korean-controlled waters" in the Yellow Sea approximately 170 times between January and May. Chinese vessels—equipped with surveillance systems—reportedly sailed within 37 miles of South Korea's territorial waters west of Eocheong Island several times. Waters extending up to 13.8 miles from the coast are considered under South Korean sovereignty. The Yellow Sea island lies approximately 37 miles from Kunsan Air Base—the home station of the U.S. Air Force's Eighth Fighter Wing—on South Korea's west coast. This places the distance between the base and the Chinese navy's operating location at 88 miles. "The presence of these sensor-equipped ships suggests that China is likely engaged in some level of intelligence-gathering," a South Korean defense official said, according to the report. This was the first time South Korea's military has confirmed that Chinese ships operating in the area were equipped with "sea surveillance radars and other reconnaissance technology." United States fighter jets taxi at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea on December 3, 2017. United States fighter jets taxi at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea on December 3, 2017. Senior Airman Colby L. Hardin/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images The Chinese vessels operating near South Korea are reportedly capable of spying from "hundreds of miles" away, enabling them to monitor flight operations, signal transmissions, and electronic communications at Kunsan Air Base. What People Are Saying A South Korean defense official said, according to Korea JoongAng Daily: "While it is difficult to officially assess the intent of another country's military activities, it is presumed that China is seeking to expand its regional influence." Shin Beom-chul, senior researcher at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, told Korea JoongAng Daily: "It's possible that China is using this as an opportunity to test its expanded naval power, strengthened through its Belt and Road Initiative, and may be targeting U.S. military bases near the Yellow Sea." What Happens Next It remains to be seen how South Korea and the U.S. will respond to China's growing naval presence in the Yellow Sea, as they remain preoccupied with countering North Korea's threats.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Live Updates: Trump Says He Hasn't Made Up His Mind on Iran Strikes
Al Asad Air Base Many of the approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq are located at this Iraqi base. Al Asad Air Base Many of the approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq are located at this Iraqi base. Al Asad Air Base Many of the approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq are located at this Iraqi base. Al Asad Air Base Many of the approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq are located at this Iraqi base. Kuwait Five installations are located here. They can hold more than 13,500 troops. Kuwait Five installations are located here. They can hold more than 13,500 troops. Thousands of American troops could be in Iran's direct line of fire if President Trump joins Israel in attacking Tehran's nuclear program and military, as he said on Wednesday that he may or may not do. Many would have only minutes to take cover from an incoming Iranian missile. Experts expect that if Mr. Trump orders the American military to directly participate in Israel's bombing campaign, Iran will quickly retaliate against U.S. troops stationed across the Middle East. 'The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,' Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned on Wednesday, according to state news media. More than 40,000 U.S. active-duty troops and civilians are working for the Pentagon in the Middle East, and billions of dollars in weapons and military equipment are stored there. Over decades, both during and after war, the American military has fortified its defenses in the region, said Dana Stroul, the Pentagon's top official for Middle East policy during the Biden administration. The United States further strengthened those defenses, she said, after Hamas's brutal attacks on Israel in October 2023, which set off a broader conflict between Israel and Iran's regional allies. 'In some ways, the U.S. military has absolutely set the theater to respond to Iranian attacks, should the regime choose to turn its missiles or activate its militias against U.S. forces,' Ms. Stroul said on Wednesday. She added, 'The tipping point in whether this expands, is what decisions the United States makes in the coming days, with respect to partnering with Israel in offensive operations.' Hundreds of, if not a few thousand, American troops are stationed elsewhere in the Middle East, including in Jordan, Syria and Oman, on bases run by those countries. The precise numbers weren't available as the Trump administration looks to trim its footprint in some places, like Syria. Adel Abdel Ghafar, a senior analyst at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs in Doha, Qatar, predicted that American troops stationed in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait would be Iran's first targets. Nonessential American personnel and family have already been withdrawn from the embassies in those three countries. Iran's proxy fighters in neighboring Shiite-majority Iraq and elsewhere pose a formidable ground threat to American military and diplomatic outposts, Mr. Abdel Ghafar said. And it would take only three or four minutes for a ballistic missile fired from Iran to hit bases in Gulf countries housing U.S. troops, he said. 'This gives much less time for air defenses' to intercept incoming missiles, he said, 'so it would be disastrous.' Here is where American troops in the Middle East might be most vulnerable. Iraq As many as 2,500 American troops and military contractors are in Iraq, based in the capital, Baghdad, as well as in the northern Kurdish region and in the western desert. The Al Asad desert base, which is controlled by the Iraqi military, was targeted by Shiite forces backed by Iran earlier this week in drone strikes. American forces stationed there shot down the weapons. The American military has a fraught relationship with the Iraqis, after the eight-year war and the occupation that ended in 2011, but U.S. troops were welcomed back just a few years later to fight Islamic State militants who had seized control of areas in the country's north and west. In 2020, the Trump administration ordered an airstrike that killed the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, as he arrived in Baghdad to meet with Iraq's prime minister. The strike escalated tensions between Washington and Tehran. Bahrain The headquarters of the Navy's Fifth Fleet are in Manama, Bahrain, and host about 9,000 U.S. military and civilian personnel. Part of its mission is to ensure safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world's oil supply flows through. Iran has threatened to seed the strait with as many as 6,000 naval mines, a tactic meant to pin American warships in the Persian Gulf. It would also disrupt global oil trade, especially for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which ship a lot of oil through the strait, as well as energy buyers like China and India. Kuwait Five bases in Kuwait, where about 13,500 American troops are stationed, have served for decades as an essential staging point for forces, weapons and military equipment on their way to battlefields around the world. Military ties between Kuwait and the United States have remained strong since the Persian Gulf war of 1991. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United States led a coalition to contain Saddam Hussein's forces in the region and keep him from seizing Saudi Arabia. Within months, U.S. forces had chased Saddam's troops back into Iraq, liberating Kuwait. American troops have been based in Kuwait ever since. More than a decade later, in 2003, U.S. and international troops used Kuwait as a launchpad to invade Iraq and oust Saddam. Qatar The Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is the largest U.S. military site in the Middle East and is the regional headquarters for the U.S. Central Command, which oversees forces in the region. About 10,000 troops are stationed there. The U.S. military has been using Al Udeid since the days after the Sept. 11 attacks, when it positioned planes there to target the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Two years later, Al Udeid became the main U.S. air operations hub in the region. U.S. commanders used it to coordinate a wide variety of missions during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as strikes against ISIS in Syria. The Air Force has deployed a wide variety of aircraft there, from advanced fighters and long-range bombers to drones, transport planes and in-flight refueling tankers. It also became the central evacuation point for tens of thousands of Afghans and Americans who fled Afghanistan in 2021 when the U.S. military withdrew. United Arab Emirates About 3,500 U.S. military personnel are at the Al Dhafra Air Base, outside Abu Dhabi, where the United States has deployed F-22 fighter jets in recent years, including to protect Emirati fuel tankers that were attacked by Iran-linked Houthi fighters in 2022. The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing of the U.S. Air Force is based at Al Dhafra, from where it has launched combat operations against the Islamic State and the Houthis, and in Afghanistan. It also has been used as an intelligence-gathering and surveillance unit during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for aerial refueling. Graphic by Daniel Wood .
The Herald Scotland
04-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Trump says Putin told him Russia will respond to Ukrainian attack on airfields
The call that lasted for an hour and 15 minutes was Mr Trump's first known with Mr Putin since May 19. Satellite images show, from top, the Belaya Air Base before a Ukrainian drone attack in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia in Russia, and the damage afterwards (Maxar Technologies via AP) Mr Trump said he and Mr Putin also discussed Iran's nuclear programme. Ukraine's Security Service gave more details on Wednesday about its weekend drone strike on Russian air bases, which it claimed destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including strategic bombers. The agency claimed the planes struck included A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, An-12, and Il-78 aircraft, adding that artificial intelligence helped guide the drones thousands of kilometres from Ukraine. It also said it set off an explosion on Tuesday on the seabed beneath the Kerch Bridge, a vital transport link between Russia and illegally annexed Crimea, claiming it caused damage to the structure. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that there was no damage. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its troops have taken control of another village in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, on the border with Russia. Mr Putin announced on May 22 that Russian troops aim to create a buffer zone that might help prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks. Since then, Russia's Ministry of Defence claims its forces have taken control of nine Sumy villages. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairing a Cabinet meeting via videoconference at Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Mr Trump says part of his call with Mr Putin was focused on Iran and 'the fact that time is running out on Iran's decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly!' Mr Trump said in a post on his social media site that he told Russia's president 'that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement'. He said Mr Putin suggested 'that he will participate in the discussions with Iran' and could perhaps 'be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion'. Mr Trump previously boasted that a major announcement on Iran was coming – but none has materialised. He suggested in his latest post that Iran has been slow-walking their decision 'and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!'. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1989 death of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini at his shrine just outside Tehran on Wednesday (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday criticised an initial proposal from the US in negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme, though he stopped short of entirely rejecting the idea of agreement with Washington. The remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei coloured in the red line expressed over recent days – one that says Tehran refuses to give up enriching uranium in any possible deal with the US. That demand has been repeatedly made by American officials, including President Donald Trump, though it remains unclear just how much US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff brought it up in his initial proposal to Iran. But what Ayatollah Khamenei did not say in his speech matters as well. He did not reject the talks, which Iran views as crucial for its economy to lift some the crushing economic sanctions it faces. Ayatollah Khamenei also did not insist on any specific level of nuclear enrichment. Iran now enriches uranium up to 60% – a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who has led the talks with Mr Witkoff, said Tehran will soon offer its response to the US. Ayatollah Khamenei's speech Wednesday at the mausoleum of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini may serve as a preview. 'If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us,' he said. 'If we do not have enrichment, then we should extend our hand (begging) to the US.'
