Latest news with #IsraelIranWar
New York Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- New York Times
The Iran Emergency
When President Trump said this week that Iran 'cannot have a nuclear weapon' but was perhaps 'a few weeks away from having one,' he was in effect introducing a familiar feature to the public debate over America's involvement in the Israel-Iran war: an element of urgency unsupported by any publicly available facts. Those of us who wrote about the 2003 decision to invade Iraq heard the echo immediately. The run-up to that conflict was replete with alarmist claims that turned out to be false. Vice President Dick Cheney declared, 'There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.' President George W. Bush dismissed fact-finding as an unaffordable impediment: 'We cannot wait for the final proof — the smoking gun — that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.' This time, things are somewhat different. Israel is the nation that sprang to action and Trump is debating whether to help out. And if he does, it seems unlikely that he'll want Americans to stay and reshape Iran, given his dislike of foreign entanglements. But in both cases, the rationale pointed to an imminent crisis that simply could not be ignored. Today's newsletter is about that parallel. The smoking gun No weapons of mass destruction ever turned up in Iraq. A post-9/11 hysteria about what could happen next, rather than actual evidence, impelled American policymakers to war. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran's internet blackout leaves public in dark and creates an uneven picture of the war with Israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As the war between Israel and Iran hits the one-week mark, Iranians have spent nearly half of the conflict in a near-communication blackout, unable to connect not only with the outside world but also with their neighbors and loved ones across the country. Civilians are left unaware of when and where Israel will strike next, despite Israeli forces issuing warnings through their Persian-language online channels. When the missiles land, disconnected phone and web services mean not knowing for hours or days if their family or friends are among the victims. That's left many scrambling on various social media apps to see what's happening — again, only a glimpse of life able to reach the internet in a nation of over 80 million people. Activists see it as a form of psychological warfare for a nation all-too familiar with state information controls and targeted internet shutdowns during protests and unrest. 'The Iranian regime controls the information sphere really, really tightly,' Marwa Fatafta, the Berlin-based policy and advocacy director for digital rights group Access Now, said in an interview with The Associated Press. 'We know why the Iranian regime shuts down. It wants to control information. So their goal is quite clear.' War with Israel tightens information space But this time, it's happening during a deadly conflict that erupted on June 13 with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based group called Human Rights Activists. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli military estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds others wounded. Guidance from Israeli authorities, as well as round-the-clock news broadcasts, flows freely and consistently to Israeli citizens, creating in the last seven days an uneven picture of the death and destruction brought by the war. The Iranian government contended Friday that it was Israel who was 'waging a war on truth and human conscience." In a post on X, a social media platform blocked for many of its citizens, Iran's Foreign Ministry asserted Israel banned foreign media from covering missile strikes. The statement added that Iran would organize 'global press tours to expose Israel's war crimes' in the country. Iran is one of the world's top jailer of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and in the best of times, reporters face strict restrictions. Internet-access advocacy group reported on Friday that Iran had been disconnected from the global internet for 36 hours, with its live metrics showing that national connectivity remained at only a few percentage points of normal levels. The group said a handful of users have been able to maintain connectivity through virtual private networks. Few avenues exist to get information Those lucky few have become lifelines for Iranians left in the dark. In recent days, those who have gained access to mobile internet for a limited time describe using that fleeting opportunity to make calls on behalf of others, checking in on elderly parents and grandparents, and locating those who have fled Tehran. The only access to information Iranians do have is limited to websites in the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, Iran's state-run television and radio stations offer irregular updates on what's happening inside the country, instead focusing their time on the damage wrought by their strikes on Israel. The lack of information going in or out of Iran is stunning, considering that the advancement of technology in recent decades has only brought far-flung conflicts in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and elsewhere directly to a person's phone anywhere in the world. That direct line has been seen by experts as a powerful tool to shift public opinion about any ongoing conflict and potentially force the international community to take a side. It has also turned into real action from world leaders under public and online pressure to act or use their power to bring an end to the fighting. But Mehdi Yahyanejad, a key figure in promoting internet freedom in Iran, said that the Islamic Republic is seeking to 'purport an image' of strength, one that depicts only the narrative that Israel is being destroyed by sophisticated Iranian weapons that include ballistic missiles with multiple warheads. 'I think most likely they're just afraid of the internet getting used to cause mass unrest in the next phase of whatever is happening,' Yahayanejad said. 'I mean, some of it could be, of course, planned by the Israelis through their agents on the ground, and some of this could be just a spontaneous unrest by the population once they figure out that the Iranian government is badly weakened. ___ Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Farnoush Amiri, The Associated Press
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Iran's internet blackout leaves public in dark and creates an uneven picture of the war with Israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — As the war between Israel and Iran hits the one-week mark, Iranians have spent nearly half of the conflict in a near-communication blackout, unable to connect not only with the outside world but also with their neighbors and loved ones across the country. Civilians are left unaware of when and where Israel will strike next, despite Israeli forces issuing warnings through their Persian-language online channels. When the missiles land, disconnected phone and web services mean not knowing for hours or days if their family or friends are among the victims. That's left many scrambling on various social media apps to see what's happening — again, only a glimpse of life able to reach the internet in a nation of over 80 million people.
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Iran's internet blackout leaves public in dark and creates an uneven picture of the war with Israel
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As the war between Israel and Iran hits the one-week mark, Iranians have spent nearly half of the conflict in a near-communication blackout, unable to connect not only with the outside world but also with their neighbors and loved ones across the country. Civilians are left unaware of when and where Israel will strike next, despite Israeli forces issuing warnings through their Persian-language online channels. When the missiles land, disconnected phone and web services mean not knowing for hours or days if their family or friends are among the victims. That's left many scrambling on various social media apps to see what's happening — again, only a glimpse of life able to reach the internet in a nation of over 80 million people. Activists see it as a form of psychological warfare for a nation all-too familiar with state information controls and targeted internet shutdowns during protests and unrest. 'The Iranian regime controls the information sphere really, really tightly,' Marwa Fatafta, the Berlin-based policy and advocacy director for digital rights group Access Now, said in an interview with The Associated Press. 'We know why the Iranian regime shuts down. It wants to control information. So their goal is quite clear.' War with Israel tightens information space But this time, it's happening during a deadly conflict that erupted on June 13 with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based group called Human Rights Activists. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli military estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds others wounded. Guidance from Israeli authorities, as well as round-the-clock news broadcasts, flows freely and consistently to Israeli citizens, creating in the last seven days an uneven picture of the death and destruction brought by the war. The Iranian government contended Friday that it was Israel who was 'waging a war on truth and human conscience.' In a post on X, a social media platform blocked for many of its citizens, Iran's Foreign Ministry asserted Israel banned foreign media from covering missile strikes. The statement added that Iran would organize 'global press tours to expose Israel's war crimes' in the country. Iran is one of the world's top jailer of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and in the best of times, reporters face strict restrictions. Internet-access advocacy group reported on Friday that Iran had been disconnected from the global internet for 36 hours, with its live metrics showing that national connectivity remained at only a few percentage points of normal levels. The group said a handful of users have been able to maintain connectivity through virtual private networks. Few avenues exist to get information Those lucky few have become lifelines for Iranians left in the dark. In recent days, those who have gained access to mobile internet for a limited time describe using that fleeting opportunity to make calls on behalf of others, checking in on elderly parents and grandparents, and locating those who have fled Tehran. The only access to information Iranians do have is limited to websites in the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, Iran's state-run television and radio stations offer irregular updates on what's happening inside the country, instead focusing their time on the damage wrought by their strikes on Israel. The lack of information going in or out of Iran is stunning, considering that the advancement of technology in recent decades has only brought far-flung conflicts in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and elsewhere directly to a person's phone anywhere in the world. That direct line has been seen by experts as a powerful tool to shift public opinion about any ongoing conflict and potentially force the international community to take a side. It has also turned into real action from world leaders under public and online pressure to act or use their power to bring an end to the fighting. But Mehdi Yahyanejad, a key figure in promoting internet freedom in Iran, said that the Islamic Republic is seeking to 'purport an image' of strength, one that depicts only the narrative that Israel is being destroyed by sophisticated Iranian weapons that include ballistic missiles with multiple warheads. 'I think most likely they're just afraid of the internet getting used to cause mass unrest in the next phase of whatever is happening,' Yahayanejad said. 'I mean, some of it could be, of course, planned by the Israelis through their agents on the ground, and some of this could be just a spontaneous unrest by the population once they figure out that the Iranian government is badly weakened. ___ Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
South African rand flat as uncertainty over Middle East conflict hangs over markets
JOHANNESBURG, June 20 (Reuters) - The South African rand was trading almost flat early on Friday, as investors worried about conflict in the Middle East, with Israel and Iran's air war entering a second week and a decision on potential U.S. involvement. At 0649 GMT the rand traded at 18.0250 against the dollar , little changed from Thursday's close. The U.S. dollar also traded flat against a basket of currencies with investors in limbo after the White House said on Thursday that Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran war. No major domestic data releases are due on Friday but domestically, investors will look to producer inflation (ZAPPIY=ECI), opens new tab and leading indicator (ZALEAD=ECI), opens new tab data set to be released next week, to gauge the health of Africa's most industrialised economy. South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was marginally stronger in early deals, as the yield fell 2 basis points to 10.12%.
