Latest news with #Hamas'
CNBC
5 hours ago
- Politics
- CNBC
Europe and Iran to hold talks as Trump sets two-week deadline for U.S. strikes decision
Top U.K., France and Germany diplomats are pushing for eleventh-hour diplomacy with Iran in Geneva on Friday, as Washington weighs the possibility of joining Israel's military campaign against Tehran over the next two weeks. Iran and Israel have been trading fire for the past week, in the latest climax of tensions that have been simmering since the Tehran-backed Hamas' terrorist attack against the Jewish state in October 2023. Israel has since been fighting a war on multiple battles against the Palestinian militant group and other Iranian proxies, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi — which Tehran says are acting independently. The conflict has risked further escalation since the start of the week, amid signals that the U.S. — historically a close ally and weapons supplier of Israel — could intervene militarily against Tehran. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," U.S. President Donald Trump said, according to a statement read out on Thursday by White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. Following a Thursday meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy said the three "discussed how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict" and that "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution." "There is no room for negotiations with the U.S. until Israeli aggression stops," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is expected to attend talks in Geneva, was quoted as saying on Iranian state TV on Friday, according to Reuters. Trump's aversion to Iran's nuclear program has been a central point of his statesmanship across both mandates. The White House leader pulled the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during his first presidency, tightening the noose on Iran's coffers through a string of stringent financial and oil-linked sanctions. Self-proclaimed 'peacemaker' Trump has so far fruitlessly pursued a second nuclear program deal since the start of his second term, initially expressing a preference for a diplomatic breakthrough — the likes of which European officials are now hoping to strike. "In the United States, [there are] many political officials who are convinced that we must not once more make the errors of the past. What we saw in Libya, what we saw in Afghanistan, what we saw in Iraq, we do not want to see reproduced," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a TV interview with French media, according to a CNBC translation. Notably, the U.K., France and Germany — alongside Iran's allies Russia and China — were previously involved in the JCPOA with Washington and Tehran. Markets have been rattled by the possibility of the conflict destabilizing the wider oil-rich Middle East and potentially drawing in the world's largest economy, spurring investors on a flight to safe-haven assets and broader focus on defense companies and initiatives.
San Francisco Chronicle
5 hours ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Photos of a tense week as Iranian missiles bypass air defenses in retaliatory strikes on Israel
Last Friday, Iran began firing missiles at Israel in retaliation for a barrage of strikes inside its territory that targeted military and nuclear sites and killed top officials and scientists. Iranian attacks have intensified in their frequency and reach since then, despite Israel having one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world. Iranian projectiles have been intercepted but some have hit Israeli cities including Tel Aviv, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and residential buildings. While Israel maintains air superiority over its enemy and possesses the capacity to strike targets deep inside Iran, the ongoing attacks suggest that missile threats to population centers remain a serious and unresolved challenge. Israel has long relied on its multilayered missile defense system to protect communities around the country against rocket barrages from militants in Gaza or Lebanon. Since the wars in the Middle East erupted following Hamas' attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that list has grown to include fire from rebels in Yemen and Iran. This gallery offers a visual account of a tense and unpredictable week in Israel, one marked by continued Iranian and Israeli strikes and questions about the limits of modern air defense. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
UPI
12 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
Rubio, Britain's Lammy meet on Iranian nuclear capabilities
June 19 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran and agreed that Iran should never possess a nuclear weapon, the State Department said. The meeting in Washington, D.C., comes amid speculation that President Donald Trump will join Israel in its ongoing strikes against Iran. "I may do it. I may not do it," Trump told a group of reporters after returning to the White House following a G7 summit in Canada. "I mean nobody knows what I'm going to do." Israel and Iran have been in a proxy war for years, though it exploded into the open following Tehran-backed Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Last week, the fighting intensified with Israel launching a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, crippling the infrastructure and killing several top Iran military personnel and nuclear scientists. Iran -- which does not have a nuclear weapon and states its nuclear program is peaceful -- has responded with strikes of its on. Washington-based Human Rights Activists has said that at least 639 people have died in the Israeli strikes on Iran, 263 of them civilians. Israel warned Thursday that it was targeting the area near the Arak heavy water reactor, about 155 miles west of Tehran. Israeli officials warned people on X to evacuate the area. Rubio and Lammy also discussed other issues, including ways to cooperate on ending the current three-year war between Ukraine and Russia. The pair also talked about an upcoming NATO summit and reaffirmed the importance of increased defense spending to secure peace and stability.
Chicago Tribune
13 hours ago
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
What to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran
ATHENS, Greece — The open conflict sparked by Israel's sudden barrage of attacks against Iran's nuclear and military structure shows no signs of abating on the seventh day of hostilities between the two longtime foes that threatens to spiral into a wider, more dangerous regional war. An Iranian missile hit a hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, while others struck an apartment building in Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel, wounding at least 40 people. The barrage led Israel's defense minister to overtly threaten Iran's supreme leader. Israel, meanwhile, struck Iran's heavy water reactor, part of the country's nuclear program, which its government insists is meant for peaceful purposes only. Israel says Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. President Donald Trump has been making increasingly sharp warnings about the possibility of the U.S. joining in attacks against Iran, while Iran's leader has warned the United States would suffer 'irreparable damage' if it does so. President Trump says he'll decide whether US will directly attack Iran within 2 weeksThe strikes began last Friday, with Israel targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites, killing several top military officials and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, some of which have penetrated the country's vaunted multi-tiered air defense system. The region has been on edge for the past two years as Israel seeks to annihilate the Hamas group, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Here's what to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran: An Iranian missile hit Soroka Medical Center, in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, early Thursday, striking an old surgery building that had been evacuated in recent days. The hospital, the largest health-care facility in southern Israel, has over 1,000 beds and serves around 1 million residents of the area. Several people were lightly wounded in the strike, local authorities said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, vowing to 'exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.' Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the strike, and said the military 'has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.' U.S. officials said this week that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said there were no plans to kill him, 'at least not for now.' Many Israeli hospitals have activated emergency plans in the past week, moving patients underground to be treated in parking areas converted into hospital floors. Israel also boasts a fortified, subterranean blood bank. On Monday, Iranian authorities said at least 224 people had been killed and more than 1,200 wounded in Israeli strikes. No updated figures have been made available, but a Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded. Retaliatory Iranian strikes on Israel have killed 24 people and wounded hundreds. Israeli fighter jets targeted Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, located about 155 miles southwest of Tehran, on Thursday. Heavy water is used as a coolant for certain types of reactors, with plutonium — which can be used to make an atomic bomb — produced as a byproduct. 'The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development,' the Israeli military said. Iranian state television said there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever' and that the facility had been evacuated before the attack. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the heavy water research reactor was hit, adding that 'it was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so no radiological effects.' The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said it had no information on whether the heavy water plant next to the reactor had been hit. Israel views Iran's nuclear program as an existential threat, and has said its airstrikes are necessary to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon. U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA have repeatedly said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon when Israel unleashed its airstrikes. But the U.N. agency has questioned Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium and last week censured the country for failing to comply with inspectors. Iran enriches uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. It is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich at that level. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but does not acknowledge having such weapons. Trump has made increasingly pointed warnings about the possibility of U.S. military involvement in the conflict. On Wednesday, he said he didn't want to carry out a U.S. strike on Iran but suggested he was ready to act if necessary. 'I'm not looking to fight,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'But if it's a choice between fighting and having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.' He has been noncommittal on what his plans might be. 'I may do it, I may not do it,' Trump said of a potential U.S. strike. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. Nothing is finished until it is finished. The next week is going to be very big — maybe less than a week.' Khamenei has rejected U.S. calls for surrender, saying that 'the Iranian nation is not one to surrender.' 'Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them,' he said in a video statement Wednesday.
20 hours ago
Freed American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander gets joyful welcome home celebration in New Jersey
Joyful residents of Tenafly, New Jersey, lined the streets on Thursday to celebrate the homecoming of freed American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander. The 21-year-old Tenafly native flew from Israel to the U.S., landing on Thursday, about one month after his May 12 release from captivity in Gaza. The crowd of children and adults -- waving Israeli flags, American flags and "welcome home" signs -- erupted in cheers when the motorcade arrived. A smiling Alexander waved and gave high-fives to the crowd as his car slowly drove by. "He looked really happy and we're really happy that he's back!" one girl told New York ABC station WABC. "The community came out!" a Tenafly resident told WABC. "This is so long overdue. Welcome home, Edan." "We're all really excited to have him back. It's a big deal," another resident added. "A part of our town's missing and now he's finally home." Alexander, who moved to Israel at the age of 18, was serving in the Israel Defense Forces when he was captured from his base during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He was 19 when he was abducted and spent two birthdays in captivity. He was released following successful negotiations between the U.S. and Hamas. "We always believed that this moment will come, always," his father, Adi Alexander, told ABC News in an exclusive interview last month. "Hope is mandatory. It finally happened." Edan Alexander was the last living American hostage. Fifty-two hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 people believed to be alive.
