Latest news with #IsraelStrike
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Over 700 foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Armenia
Smoke rises from the building of Iran's state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo) More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said Tuesday. The Caucasus countries border Iran's northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres (310 miles) from Tehran by road. 'Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,' a government source told AFP on Tuesday. The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and 'flown to their home countries on international flights,' the source said. Among those evacuated are citizens of post-Soviet countries Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam. Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada told AFP that Baku 'is reviewing requests from more than 1,200 foreign nationals from 51 countries seeking to leave Iran' via Azerbaijan. 'Border-crossing permits are being arranged,' he added. Israel has launched waves of strikes on Iran since Friday, saying it aims to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon -- a goal Iran denies pursuing. The Israeli attacks have killed at least 224 people and wounded more than 1,000, according to an official toll released Sunday. In retaliation, Iran has carried out attacks that have killed at least 24 people in Israel since Friday, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Temporary border opening Azerbaijan shut its land borders in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has kept them closed ever since. But the official said that 'in light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran.' India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia, Ani Badalyan, Yerevan's foreign ministry spokeswoman, told journalists. Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, said 'many Iranian citizens who had previously been in Turkey and Russia have returned to Iran via Armenia'. 'Efforts are ongoing to facilitate the return of Iranian citizens amid flight cancellations,' Sobhani said in comments translated into Armenian at a news conference in Yerevan. Poland's foreign ministry said it would evacuate part of its embassy staff in Tehran via Baku. 'We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of staff who do not need to remain in the country, so-called non-essential personnel,' Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters. 'Our colleagues will try to reach the border with Azerbaijan,' she said, without specifying how many people were involved. Turkmenistan, one of the world's most closed-off countries, said it had also allowed the transit of around 120 people evacuated from Iran through its territory, mainly citizens of Central Asian countries.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israeli Strike Directly Hit Iran's Natanz Underground Enrichment Plant, IAEA says
An Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear complex at Natanz directly hit the underground uranium enrichment plant there, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday, revising its assessment after initially reporting it had been hit only indirectly. Since Israel's launched wide-ranging attacks on Iran on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency has been providing updates on its assessment of the damage to nuclear sites, although it has not been able to carry out inspections. The IAEA had previously said an above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz was destroyed but the larger underground plant was not directly hit, although IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday its centrifuges had very likely been badly damaged by a strike on the plant's power supply. However, on Tuesday it said on X: "Based on continued analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery collected after Friday's attacks, the IAEA has identified additional elements that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz." It said there was "no change to report" at Iran's two other major nuclear sites, Isfahan and Fordo. Grossi had said on Monday there was little or no apparent damage at Fordo, where Iran has enriched uranium up to 60%, close to the 90% weapons grade, at a plant dug deep into a mountain. At the Isfahan nuclear complex, several facilities were destroyed, including Iran's plant that converted uranium into a form into which it could be fed into centrifuges for enrichment, the IAEA has reported.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Iranian TV presenter goes back on air moments after Israeli strike hits her studio
A presenter at Iran's state TV broadcaster is back on-air after an explosion caused by an Israeli strike shook the studio. Sahar Emami was seen live on air shortly after an explosion rocked her studio, causing her to run off-screen as debris rained down and people could be heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" - meaning "God is great". Shortly after, Ms Emami came back on-air from another studio, telling viewers that "bodies of reporters" were at the site of her initial broadcast. She later joined other presenters in chanting "death to Israel" live on-air. The married mother-of-one has been praised by Iranian officials, including Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, for her "resilience" and act of defiance in going back on air shortly after the strike. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz confirmed Israel struck the Iranian TV station. "The Iranian regime's propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of the area's residents," he said in a statement. "We will strike the Iranian dictator everywhere." The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it struck "a communication centre that was being used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces". Human rights groups said deliberately targeting journalists was a war crime. The spokesperson for the Iranian foreign minister also condemned the strike as "a wicked act of war crime" and called on the international community to demand justice for the attack on the broadcaster.
CNN
3 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump disputes intel chief Tulsi Gabbard on Iran
President Donald Trump disputed his own director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, on how developed Iran's nuclear capabilities are and said Iran was on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon when Israel struck in recent days.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Netanyahu derails any 'diplomatic pathway' with Iran attack
Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, says Israel's strike on Iran has likely derailed any diplomatic path to restrain Iran's nuclear programme.
