Latest news with #Iranian
Boston Globe
24 minutes ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
In crisis with Iran, US military officials focus on Strait of Hormuz
In several days of attacks, Israel has targeted Iranian military sites and state-sponsored entities, as well as high-ranking generals. It has taken out many of Iran's ballistic missiles, though Iran still has hundreds of them, US defense officials said. Advertisement But Israel has steered clear of Iranian naval assets. So while Iran's ability to respond has been severely damaged, it has a robust navy and maintains operatives across the region, where the United States has more than 40,000 troops. Iran also has an array of mines that its navy could lay in the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow 90-mile waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean is a key shipping route. A quarter of the world's oil and 20 percent of the world's liquefied natural gas passes through it, so mining the choke point would cause gas prices to soar. It could also isolate US minesweepers in the Persian Gulf on one side of the strait. Two defense officials indicated that the Navy was looking to disperse its ships in the gulf so that they would be less vulnerable. A Navy official declined to comment, citing operational security. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Advertisement Iran has vowed that if attacked by US forces, it would respond forcefully, potentially setting off a cycle of escalation. 'Think about what happened in January 2020 after Trump killed Soleimani and times that by 100,' said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. Qassem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian general, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad during Trump's first administration. Iran then launched the largest-ever ballistic missile barrage at US bases in Iraq, leaving some 110 troops with traumatic brain injuries and unintentionally hitting a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard. 'Iran is strategically weaker but operationally still lethal across the region,' Katulis said, 'and Americans still have troops across that part of the world.' Iran has mined the Strait of Hormuz before, including in 1988 during its war with Iraq, when Iran planted 150 mines in the strait. One of the mines struck a US guided missile frigate, the USS Samuel B. Roberts, nearly sinking it. General Joseph Votel, a former leader of US Central Command, and Vice Admiral Kevin M. Donegan, a former commander of US naval forces in the Middle East, each said Wednesday that Iran was capable of mining the strait, which they said could bring international pressure on Israel to end its bombing campaign. But such an action would probably invite a massive US military response and further damage Iran's already crippled economy, Donegan added. Advertisement 'Mining also hurts Iran; they would lose income from oil they sell to China,' he said. 'Now, though, Iranian leadership is much more concerned with regime survival, which will drive their decisions.' Military officials and analysts said missile and drone attacks remained the biggest retaliatory threat to US bases and facilities in the region. 'These would be shorter-range variants, not what they were launching against Israel,' Donegan said. 'That Iranian capability remains intact.' Donegan also expressed concerns about the possibility that the Quds Force, a shadowy arm of Iran's military, could attack US troops. 'Our Arab partners have done well over the years to root most of that out of their countries; however, that Quds Force and militia threat still remains in Iraq and to some extent in Syria and Jordan,' he said. Iranian officials are seeking to remind Trump that, weakened or not, they still can find ways to hurt US troops and interests in the region, said Vali Nasr, an Iran expert and a professor at Johns Hopkins University. Striking Iran, he said, 'gets into such big unknowns.' He added, 'There are a lot of things that could go wrong.' Much is at stake for Iran if it decides to retaliate. 'Many of Iran's options are the strategic equivalent of a suicide bombing,' said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'They can do enormous damage to others if they mine the Strait of Hormuz, destroy regional oil facilities, and rain a missile barrage against Israel, but they may not survive the blowback.' But Iran can make it hugely expensive and dangerous for the US Navy to have to conduct what would most likely be a weekslong mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to one former naval officer who was stationed on a minesweeper in the Persian Gulf. He and other Navy officers said that clearing the strait could also put American sailors directly in harm's way. Advertisement Iran is believed to maintain a variety of naval mines. They include small limpet mines containing just a few pounds of explosives that swimmers place directly on a ship's hull and typically detonate after a set amount of time. Iran also has larger moored mines that float just under the water's surface, releasing 100 pounds of explosive force or more when they come in contact with an unsuspecting ship. This article originally appeared in
The Advertiser
29 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Australia's Iran embassy staff leave after US warning
Australia has closed its embassy in Tehran, as Iran and Israel continue to bomb each other and after President Donald Trump signalled the US could enter the conflict. All foreign affairs staff and their dependents in the Iranian capital have been told to leave "based on advice about the deteriorating security environment". The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deploying consular staff to Azerbaijan, including its border crossings, to support Australians departing Iran. "We urge Australians who are able to leave Iran to do so now, if it is safe," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday. "Those who are unable to, or do not wish to leave, are advised to shelter in place. "We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries." Overnight Mr Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the US might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington, quoting a message from the president. The conflict between Israel and Iran erupted a week ago, when the former launched an attack against the Islamic republic's missile capabilities, claiming it was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1300 others, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Israel says Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 24 and wounded hundreds more. Mr Trump has demanded that Iran unconditionally surrender, saying he knew where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding. Iran has warned of "all-out war" if the US joins the fray. There are now more than 2000 Australians who have registered for assistance to leave Iran, up from 1500 on Thursday. "It's a difficult, hard situation, the airspace is still closed," Health Minister Mark Butler told Seven's Sunrise program on Friday. "We'll be exploring every opportunity we can to support people getting out in other ways." The government has already helped Australians flee Israel using a border crossing to Jordan, and some of those people only got 55 minutes to get moving. "When the opportunity arises to get people out, we take that opportunity," Mr Butler said. There are still more than 1200 Australians registered for assistance to depart Israel, where the airspace is also closed. with Reuters Australia has closed its embassy in Tehran, as Iran and Israel continue to bomb each other and after President Donald Trump signalled the US could enter the conflict. All foreign affairs staff and their dependents in the Iranian capital have been told to leave "based on advice about the deteriorating security environment". The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deploying consular staff to Azerbaijan, including its border crossings, to support Australians departing Iran. "We urge Australians who are able to leave Iran to do so now, if it is safe," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday. "Those who are unable to, or do not wish to leave, are advised to shelter in place. "We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries." Overnight Mr Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the US might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington, quoting a message from the president. The conflict between Israel and Iran erupted a week ago, when the former launched an attack against the Islamic republic's missile capabilities, claiming it was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1300 others, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Israel says Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 24 and wounded hundreds more. Mr Trump has demanded that Iran unconditionally surrender, saying he knew where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding. Iran has warned of "all-out war" if the US joins the fray. There are now more than 2000 Australians who have registered for assistance to leave Iran, up from 1500 on Thursday. "It's a difficult, hard situation, the airspace is still closed," Health Minister Mark Butler told Seven's Sunrise program on Friday. "We'll be exploring every opportunity we can to support people getting out in other ways." The government has already helped Australians flee Israel using a border crossing to Jordan, and some of those people only got 55 minutes to get moving. "When the opportunity arises to get people out, we take that opportunity," Mr Butler said. There are still more than 1200 Australians registered for assistance to depart Israel, where the airspace is also closed. with Reuters Australia has closed its embassy in Tehran, as Iran and Israel continue to bomb each other and after President Donald Trump signalled the US could enter the conflict. All foreign affairs staff and their dependents in the Iranian capital have been told to leave "based on advice about the deteriorating security environment". The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deploying consular staff to Azerbaijan, including its border crossings, to support Australians departing Iran. "We urge Australians who are able to leave Iran to do so now, if it is safe," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday. "Those who are unable to, or do not wish to leave, are advised to shelter in place. "We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries." Overnight Mr Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the US might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington, quoting a message from the president. The conflict between Israel and Iran erupted a week ago, when the former launched an attack against the Islamic republic's missile capabilities, claiming it was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1300 others, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Israel says Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 24 and wounded hundreds more. Mr Trump has demanded that Iran unconditionally surrender, saying he knew where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding. Iran has warned of "all-out war" if the US joins the fray. There are now more than 2000 Australians who have registered for assistance to leave Iran, up from 1500 on Thursday. "It's a difficult, hard situation, the airspace is still closed," Health Minister Mark Butler told Seven's Sunrise program on Friday. "We'll be exploring every opportunity we can to support people getting out in other ways." The government has already helped Australians flee Israel using a border crossing to Jordan, and some of those people only got 55 minutes to get moving. "When the opportunity arises to get people out, we take that opportunity," Mr Butler said. There are still more than 1200 Australians registered for assistance to depart Israel, where the airspace is also closed. with Reuters Australia has closed its embassy in Tehran, as Iran and Israel continue to bomb each other and after President Donald Trump signalled the US could enter the conflict. All foreign affairs staff and their dependents in the Iranian capital have been told to leave "based on advice about the deteriorating security environment". The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deploying consular staff to Azerbaijan, including its border crossings, to support Australians departing Iran. "We urge Australians who are able to leave Iran to do so now, if it is safe," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday. "Those who are unable to, or do not wish to leave, are advised to shelter in place. "We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries." Overnight Mr Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the US might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington, quoting a message from the president. The conflict between Israel and Iran erupted a week ago, when the former launched an attack against the Islamic republic's missile capabilities, claiming it was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1300 others, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Israel says Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 24 and wounded hundreds more. Mr Trump has demanded that Iran unconditionally surrender, saying he knew where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding. Iran has warned of "all-out war" if the US joins the fray. There are now more than 2000 Australians who have registered for assistance to leave Iran, up from 1500 on Thursday. "It's a difficult, hard situation, the airspace is still closed," Health Minister Mark Butler told Seven's Sunrise program on Friday. "We'll be exploring every opportunity we can to support people getting out in other ways." The government has already helped Australians flee Israel using a border crossing to Jordan, and some of those people only got 55 minutes to get moving. "When the opportunity arises to get people out, we take that opportunity," Mr Butler said. There are still more than 1200 Australians registered for assistance to depart Israel, where the airspace is also closed. with Reuters
The Advertiser
29 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Trump making decision on Middle East war 'in two weeks'
Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate. "Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area. "Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions." Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb. Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities. There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital. US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president. As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline. Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said. Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack. "That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby. Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region. Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel. On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war. It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis. Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate. "Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area. "Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions." Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb. Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities. There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital. US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president. As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline. Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said. Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack. "That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby. Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region. Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel. On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war. It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis. Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate. "Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area. "Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions." Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb. Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities. There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital. US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president. As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline. Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said. Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack. "That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby. Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region. Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel. On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war. It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis. Israel has accused Iran of using a cluster bomb with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, as the seven day old war between the two countries continues to escalate. "Today, the Iranian Armed Forces fired a missile that contained cluster submunitions at a densely populated civilian area," Israel's embassy in Washington said in an email to Reuters that did not identify the area. "Cluster weapons are designed to disperse over a large area and maximise the chances of a harmful strike," the email continued. "Iran unlawfully fired deliberately at civilian population centres, and seeks to maximise the damage to civilians in them by using wide-dispersal munitions." Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile's warhead split open at an altitude of about 7 km and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 8 km over central Israel. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb. Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities. There's still no sign of an exit strategy from the conflict for either side after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran and and Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital. US President Donald Trump, who has kept the world guessing about whether the United States might join the war on Israel's side, said he would make a decision within the next two weeks. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, quoting a message from the president. As president, Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a timeframe for making decisions, meaning it may not be a firm deadline. Israel launched a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran a week ago, calling it a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price" for a strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Netanyahu said. Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians in the hospital attack. "That is state-sponsored terror and a blatant violation of international law," Defrin told a press briefing. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the hospital. An Israeli military official denied there were military targets nearby. Israel attacked the special forces headquarters of the internal security apparatus in Tehran in the last 24 hours, Defrin said. Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to intensify strikes on strategic-related targets in Tehran in order to eliminate the threat to Israel and destabilise the "regime" of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region. Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. It also targeted the partially built Arak heavy-water research reactor that can produce plutonium, also used to make the core of an atom bomb. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and killed hundreds of people. Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel. On Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched combined missile and drone attacks at military and industrial sites linked to Israel's defence industry in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Israel, which has the most advanced military in the Middle East, has been fighting on several fronts since the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the Gaza war. It has severely weakened Iran's regional allies, Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and has bombed Yemen's Houthis.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trump drops claim of brokering India-Pakistan peace
US President Donald Trump , for the first time, refrained from claiming credit for ending the recent India-Pakistan conflict, saying instead two 'very smart' leaders — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir — had 'decided' not to pursue war. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after hosting Munir for lunch on Wednesday, Trump also said they discussed the Iran situation, indicating that the US and Pakistan could collaborate on Persian Gulf region matters amid escalating Iran-Israel conflict. 'The reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war (with India) and ending the war,' Trump said. 'I am so happy. Two smart people, two very smart people, decided not to keep going with the war. Those are two big nuclear powers.' Trump-Munir Meeting During a phone conversation with Trump on Tuesday, Modi made it clear that India has not accepted and will not accept any mediation in its dispute with Pakistan. Since May 10, when India and Pakistan agreed to stop the military conflict following India's Operation Sindoor strike, Trump has on multiple occasions claimed personal credit for brokering peace between the two nuclear power neighbours. India has maintained that the director generals of military operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan had reached an understanding to cease hostilities after Pakistan DGMO approached his Indian counterpart on May 10 and that no third party was involved. Live Events Wednesday marked the first meeting between a US president and the head of Pakistan's military in decades. It was held without accompanying senior civilian officials. Trump said he was 'honoured' to meet Munir. 'Prime minister Modi just left a little while ago, and we are working a trade deal with India,' he said. 'We are working a trade deal with Pakistan.' The Trump-Munir meeting has caused unease in India as it signals expansion of the US-Pakistan ties, with Washington overlooking New Delhi's contention that Islamabad sponsors cross-border terrorism. Trump, Munir Discuss Iran On discussing Iran with Munir, Trump said, 'They (Pakistan) know Iran very well…better than most, and they're not happy about anything. They see what's going on. And he agreed with me.' He did not elaborate. There have been reports that Pakistan may provide air space to the US military to strike Iran while many expected Munir to try to convince Trump not to enter Israel's war with Iran. On Monday, Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar had told parliament that Iran was willing to return to the negotiating table if Israel stopped further strikes. 'Our intention was always to see successful negotiations between the United States and Iran,' Dar had said, citing direct communication with his Iranian counterpart.
The Mainichi
42 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan court awards asylum seekers damages over prolonged detention
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese district court has ordered the state to pay a total of 1.2 million yen ($8,260) in compensation to two asylum seekers, ruling that in some cases their repeated detentions by the country's immigration agency did not take account of their physical and mental conditions. Deniz, a Kurdish man in his 40s with Turkish nationality, and Heydar Safari Diman, an Iranian national in his 50s, sought about 30 million yen in damages, after they were detained and released several times over the space of more than a decade. They filed the lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court in 2022 focusing on their treatment from 2016. The ruling handed down on Tuesday said that on some occasions, they were detained despite deteriorating health conditions, such as a diagnosis of depression. "We cannot say the necessity of detention overrode their physical and mental disadvantages," the court said, ruling that some of their detentions violated the International Covenants on Human Rights and amounted to unjust physical restraint prohibited by Japan's immigration law. The plaintiffs also questioned the immigration law itself, which allows detention without going through a review process such as trials, saying that it infringes the human rights covenants. But the court dismissed their claim on the grounds that their rights to a trial are guaranteed through a lawsuit seeking release. Masako Suzuki, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, underscored the significance of the ruling, telling a press conference that it "clearly acknowledges that there was a violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights in the detention." The Immigration Services Agency has said it will respond "appropriately" after reviewing details of the ruling, since some of its claims were not upheld. According to the complaint, Deniz, who declined to give his surname for fear of retaliation against his family in Turkey, and Safari Diman had both overstayed their visas and were subsequently repeatedly detained by the Immigration Services Agency. From 2016 to 2020, they were detained several times for a total of more than three and a half years each, the complaint said. They have been on provisional releases since the spring of 2020, according to their supporters. Seeking help from the international community, the two had notified a U.N. expert panel on arbitrary detention of their cases, leading the panel to release an opinion in 2020 that found their deprivation of liberty was "arbitrary" and contravened human rights covenants.
