Latest news with #IranianOfficials
Al Bawaba
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Iran-Israel showdown escalates after Israeli strike on Arak nuclear facility
Published June 19th, 2025 - 05:30 GMT NBC quoted Israeli intelligence admitting Iran's recent missile barrage left them with 'less time to prepare,' acknowledging Iran still holds ample missile stockpiles and capacity for prolonged attacks. ALBAWABA- Iranian air defenses confronted 'hostile targets' over northern Tehran Thursday night, amid claims from Israeli sources that the Arak nuclear facility was destroyed using specialized bunker-penetrating weapons, incinerating its underground infrastructure. Also Read Israel's Soroka hospital hit in latest Iranian missile barrage Satellite imagery and verified videos reveal significant damage to the reactor dome at Iran's Arak heavy water facility, attacked earlier this morning by the Israeli Air Force in what Tehran calls a dangerous new provocation. At least six precision-guided bombs struck the reactor's containment building, marking a serious escalation targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Iran has not confirmed the strike but accuses Israel of waging war on its peaceful nuclear program. Footage of Israeli jets bombing the unfinished nuclear reactor at Iran's Arak heavy water reactor complex this morning. At least 6 guided bombs hit the reactor containment building. — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 19, 2025 Iranian officials lashed out at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with the Deputy Foreign Minister accusing its Director General of silence and bias, calling him a tool of the U.S. and Israel. Tehran announced it will submit official evidence to the UN Security Council over the IAEA's alleged complicity. Meanwhile, NBC quoted Israeli intelligence admitting Iran's recent missile barrage left them with 'less time to prepare,' acknowledging Iran still holds ample missile stockpiles and capacity for prolonged attacks. Interception rates reportedly dropped from 90% to 65% in the last 24 hours. Iran's retaliatory strikes on Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheva have been described as the deadliest yet, hitting key Israeli military and intelligence sites, including the Tel Aviv stock exchange and Soroka military hospital. Iran's Parliament Speaker declared, 'We've proven we can strike any target in Tel Aviv or Haifa,' blaming U.S. backing for Israel's continued aggression. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
European diplomats to hold talks with Iranian officials as US weighs strikes on Iran's nuclear program, AP source says
WASHINGTON (AP) — European diplomats to hold talks with Iranian officials as US weighs strikes on Iran's nuclear program, AP source says.
CNA
a day ago
- Politics
- CNA
Trump keeps world guessing about US military action against Iran
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM: President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday (Jun 19). Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said. Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that". But he added, "It's a little late" for such talks. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva aimed at persuading Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes. The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program. Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall as a result of the Israeli campaign, Trump said: "Sure, anything could happen." Referring to the destruction or dismantling of Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment center, Trump said: "We're the only ones that have the capability to do it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all." Military analysts believe that Israel might need US military help to destroy Fordow, dug beneath a mountain near the city of Qom. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The Americans "should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage", he said. "The Iranian nation will not surrender." In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran's police headquarters. Israel's military said sirens sounded in northern Israel just before 2am local time on Thursday (7am, Singapore time) and that it had intercepted a drone launched from Iran. It said several minutes later that another drone was intercepted in the Jordan Valley area. The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. "We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said. Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Netanyahu also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel", for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact. Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei. Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran's Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: "I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to." A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Iran's mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X, describing him as "a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance". Israel's military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles. FLEEING TEHRAN Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear programme?' In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. A motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said. The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed. At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about. "I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days. Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. LEVERAGE Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important shipping artery for oil. Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed. The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on internet access would be imposed to help prevent "the enemy from threatening citizens' lives and property". Iran's ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran's regional allies - Hamas and Hezbollah - in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023.
CNA
3 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
G7 expresses support for Israel, calls Iran source of instability
WASHINGTON: The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement issued late on Monday (Jun 16) and labelled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East, with the G7 leaders urging broader de-escalation of hostilities in the region. The air war between Iran and Israel – which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes – has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023. "We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel," G7 leaders said in the statement. "Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror," the statement added and said the G7 was "clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon." Israel attacked Iran on Friday in what it called a preemptive strike to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Since then the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has said it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. The United States has so far maintained that it is not involved in the Israeli attacks on Iran although Trump said on Friday the US was aware of Israel's strikes in advance and called them "excellent". Washington has warned Tehran not to attack US interests or personnel in the region. "We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza," the G7 statement said, adding the nations were also ready to coordinate on safeguarding stability in energy markets. An Israeli strike hit Iran's state broadcaster on Monday while Trump said in a social media post that "everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran". Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed the Israel-Iran war in phone calls with his British, French and European Union counterparts on Monday.
LBCI
4 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Israeli army says it killed four senior Iranian intelligence officials, including IRGC intelligence chief
The Israeli army announced that it killed four senior officials in Iranian intelligence, including the head of intelligence for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Reuters
