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Egypt Today
an hour ago
- Politics
- Egypt Today
Egypt's FM phone calls Iranian counterpart, Witkoff to de-escalate military conflict in the region
CAIRO – 20 June 2025: In a bid to contain the military escalation between Israel and Iran, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made two phone calls with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Friday. Minister Abdelatty reiterated the need to exert all efforts to de-escalate and achieve a ceasefire, and to utilize the available diplomatic channels to contain the escalating situation and neutralize the risk of a comprehensive escalation of the situation in the Middle East. Abdelatty stressed the need to work to prevent the expansion of the conflict and the region from sliding into total chaos, the repercussions of which would not be immune. He reiterated the importance of exhausting all diplomatic and political channels to reach a sustainable agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. Since the outbreak of the war between Iran and Israel on June 13, Egypt has exerted tremendous diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict in which hundreds of people were killed and thousands were injured. The war started when Israel, which has nuclear weapon and not a member of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), launched missile and drones towards Tehran and killed hundreds of nuclear scientists, military leaders and civilians to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Israeli missiles and drones have targeted several nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, Arak and Fordow, causing a minor level of radiation leakage as it was reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Israel, which is totally backed by the US, seeks to be the only country in the region that has nuclear weapons. In retaliation, Iran fired hundreds hypersonic missiles and drones on Israel, causing severe damage to buildings besides the Weizmann Institute of Science, Haifa refinery, and the Gav-Yam Negev Advanced Technologies Park. Israel, which continues its genocidal war on Gaza despite its war with Iran, attempts to draw the US in its conflict with Iran to also topple the Iranian Islamic regime, led by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, Tehran, along with its regional allies in the Middle East in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, threatened if the US entered the war, the US interests in the Middle East will be targeted.
India Today
an hour ago
- Politics
- India Today
Can the Israel-Iran conflict spark the next Chernobyl or Fukushima disaster?
Missiles don't always just kill soldiers. Sometimes, they awaken buried last few days have witnessed Israel unleashing a targeted assault on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, striking Natanz, Isfahan, and the underground fortress at Fordow. These weren't power plants or reactors under fire, but enrichment sites where uranium is processed and these facilities smolder under missile strikes, a chilling question reverberates: Could the next Middle East flashpoint become another Chernobyl—or worse?advertisement What Remains UntouchedIran's nuclear power reactor at Bushehr and its research reactor in Tehran remain unscathed. This distinction matters critically. Nuclear reactors are deceptively fragile structures. A direct hit can breach containment buildings, disable cooling systems, and if fuel pools are destroyed, trigger catastrophic core spectre of Fukushima looms large: radiation leaks spreading across vast territories, contaminating land and water for generations. Fortunately, those nightmare scenarios haven't materialised Real TargetsFordow, Natanz, and Isfahan are enrichment facilities, not weapons arsenals. These sites house centrifuges spinning uranium isotopes—U-235 and U-238—under careful supervision. The process involves enrichment, not detonation. That crucial line still even without reactor meltdowns, the situation remains perilous. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed centrifuge damage at these facilities, with chemical and radiological contamination occurring within the plants. While external radiation levels remain stable for now, containment failures could unleash localised radiation leaks with devastating health impacts aren't abstract: vomiting, severe skin burns, cancer, and long-term environmental contamination. These grim possibilities hang in the balance whenever enrichment bunkers become PrecedentThis isn't Israel's first nuclear strike against regional neighbours. Iraq in 1981, Syria in 2007—both pre-emptive and surgical, executed before nuclear programs could advance. But Iran's facilities present greater challenges: older, deeper, and more dispersed infrastructure. Fordow, built beneath a mountain, exemplifies this defensive immediate catalyst was a damning IAEA resolution revealing Iran's concealment of nuclear activities at three sites—the first such serious breach warning in two Fallout AheadWhile the ingredients for disaster exist, the recipe remains incomplete. Iran hasn't developed nuclear weapons, and conventional strikes cannot trigger nuclear explosions. Chernobyl's radioactive ghosts aren't rising these attacks have shattered the illusion that nuclear facilities are immune to warfare. If strikes continue, containment systems may fail. Even without mushroom clouds, the fallout—radiological, geopolitical, and humanitarian may have already InMust Watch
Barnama
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Barnama
IAEA To Continue Inspections In Iran When Security Conditions Permit
BERLIN, June 20 (Bernama-TASS) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue its inspections in Iran in accordance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as soon as security conditions permit, said IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, according to TASS. "The Agency is and will remain present in Iran. Safeguards inspections in Iran will continue as required by Iran's safeguards obligations under its NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) Safeguards Agreement, as soon as safety and security conditions allow," the IAEA press service quoted him as saying. Israel began to launch airstrikes against Iran on June 13, targeting multiple locations including on its nuclear programme, prompting Iran to carry out retaliatory attack.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump buys himself time, and opens up some new options
In fact, within an hour of the White House release of Trump's statement that 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks', Netanyahu signalled that he was likely to use the time to try his own attacks on the deeply buried Fordow nuclear plant. 'I established that we will achieve all of our objectives, all of their nuclear facilities,' he said. 'We have the power to do so.' In fact, American and foreign experts say, the Israelis have been preparing military and covert options for years, examining how they might interrupt the massive electrical supply systems that keep the centrifuges buried in an enrichment hall under a mountain. Even the introduction of a surge or a pulse in that electrical flow could destabilise and destroy the delicate machines as they spin at supersonic speeds, like a top spinning out of control. In recent days, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that Israel's destruction of the electric plant above another enrichment centre, at Natanz, probably critically damaged the thousands of centrifuges spinning below. The Israelis have considered what it would take to bomb and seal the tunnel entrances into the facility, trapping workers inside and making it all the more difficult to bring near-bomb-grade fuel into the plant for a final boost that would make it usable in a weapon. That fuel itself, stored in the ancient capital of Isfahan, would also be a target for the Israelis, American officials say. But the first question is whether the Iranians have the political flexibility to seize on the time period Trump has opened up. Administration officials say Steve Witkoff, the president's special envoy, has already been in touch in recent days with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with whom he has been talking since early April. 'I think the question is, can the Iranians see this as an opportunity to avoid the significant challenges that would come from the destruction of their last remaining facility?' asked Laura Holgate, who served as American ambassador to the IAEA during the Biden administration. But she said that 'direct surrender is probably not on the table for them', or 'total abandonment of enrichment capacity either, even now'. Robert Litwak, a scholar who has written extensively on diplomacy with Iran, said, 'Here is the diplomatic needle both sides need to thread: the US accepts that Iran has a right to enrich uranium, and Iran accepts that it must completely dismantle its nuclear program'. The conflict between Israel and Iran has consumed the president's week, as he returned early from the Group of 7 meeting in Canada to deal with the war. He spent the early part of the week posting a series of bellicose threats on social media, seeming to lay the groundwork for the US to join Israel's bombing campaign. He urged all the residents of Tehran, a city of roughly 10 million people, to evacuate, claimed the US had 'complete and total control of the skies over Iran', and said American officials knew where Iran's leader was hiding but would not kill him – 'at least not for now'. Many of the president's allies believed that the US's entrance into the war was imminent. But on Wednesday, the president said he had not made a final decision about whether to bomb Iran, and he berated Iran for not agreeing to a new deal to limit its nuclear program. Still, he said, it was not too late for a diplomatic solution. 'Nothing's too late,' he said. Trump's public flirtation with entering the war has sharply divided his base – so much so that Vice President JD Vance wrote a lengthy social media post on Tuesday seeking to downplay concerns that the president was abandoning his commitment to keep America out of overseas conflict. Loading 'I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people's goals,' Vance wrote. But some of the president's most prominent allies, including Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former aide Steve Bannon have criticised the prospect of the US getting involved in another country's war. 'Anyone slobbering for the US to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA,' Greene posted on social media. On the other end of the spectrum, many of Trump's hawkish allies in the Senate, including South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, are urging the president to take a more aggressive posture toward Iran. 'Be all in, President Trump, in helping Israel eliminate the nuclear threat,' Graham said this week on Fox News. 'If we need to provide bombs to Israel, provide bombs. If we need to fly planes with Israel, do joint operations.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Age
Trump buys himself time, and opens up some new options
In fact, within an hour of the White House release of Trump's statement that 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks', Netanyahu signalled that he was likely to use the time to try his own attacks on the deeply buried Fordow nuclear plant. 'I established that we will achieve all of our objectives, all of their nuclear facilities,' he said. 'We have the power to do so.' In fact, American and foreign experts say, the Israelis have been preparing military and covert options for years, examining how they might interrupt the massive electrical supply systems that keep the centrifuges buried in an enrichment hall under a mountain. Even the introduction of a surge or a pulse in that electrical flow could destabilise and destroy the delicate machines as they spin at supersonic speeds, like a top spinning out of control. In recent days, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that Israel's destruction of the electric plant above another enrichment centre, at Natanz, probably critically damaged the thousands of centrifuges spinning below. The Israelis have considered what it would take to bomb and seal the tunnel entrances into the facility, trapping workers inside and making it all the more difficult to bring near-bomb-grade fuel into the plant for a final boost that would make it usable in a weapon. That fuel itself, stored in the ancient capital of Isfahan, would also be a target for the Israelis, American officials say. But the first question is whether the Iranians have the political flexibility to seize on the time period Trump has opened up. Administration officials say Steve Witkoff, the president's special envoy, has already been in touch in recent days with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with whom he has been talking since early April. 'I think the question is, can the Iranians see this as an opportunity to avoid the significant challenges that would come from the destruction of their last remaining facility?' asked Laura Holgate, who served as American ambassador to the IAEA during the Biden administration. But she said that 'direct surrender is probably not on the table for them', or 'total abandonment of enrichment capacity either, even now'. Robert Litwak, a scholar who has written extensively on diplomacy with Iran, said, 'Here is the diplomatic needle both sides need to thread: the US accepts that Iran has a right to enrich uranium, and Iran accepts that it must completely dismantle its nuclear program'. The conflict between Israel and Iran has consumed the president's week, as he returned early from the Group of 7 meeting in Canada to deal with the war. He spent the early part of the week posting a series of bellicose threats on social media, seeming to lay the groundwork for the US to join Israel's bombing campaign. He urged all the residents of Tehran, a city of roughly 10 million people, to evacuate, claimed the US had 'complete and total control of the skies over Iran', and said American officials knew where Iran's leader was hiding but would not kill him – 'at least not for now'. Many of the president's allies believed that the US's entrance into the war was imminent. But on Wednesday, the president said he had not made a final decision about whether to bomb Iran, and he berated Iran for not agreeing to a new deal to limit its nuclear program. Still, he said, it was not too late for a diplomatic solution. 'Nothing's too late,' he said. Trump's public flirtation with entering the war has sharply divided his base – so much so that Vice President JD Vance wrote a lengthy social media post on Tuesday seeking to downplay concerns that the president was abandoning his commitment to keep America out of overseas conflict. Loading 'I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people's goals,' Vance wrote. But some of the president's most prominent allies, including Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former aide Steve Bannon have criticised the prospect of the US getting involved in another country's war. 'Anyone slobbering for the US to become fully involved in the Israel/Iran war is not America First/MAGA,' Greene posted on social media. On the other end of the spectrum, many of Trump's hawkish allies in the Senate, including South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham and Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, are urging the president to take a more aggressive posture toward Iran. 'Be all in, President Trump, in helping Israel eliminate the nuclear threat,' Graham said this week on Fox News. 'If we need to provide bombs to Israel, provide bombs. If we need to fly planes with Israel, do joint operations.'
