Latest news with #Netanyahu
Toronto Sun
22 minutes ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
PARKER: America must support Israel to thwart Iran's nuclear goals
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL / AFP via Getty Images Per the U.S. State Department, in a statement issued in April 2025, 'Iran remains the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world and has financed and directed numerous terrorist attacks and activities globally, through its IRGC-Qods Force and proxies such as Hizballah and Hamas.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account On June 15, Fox host Bret Baier interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asked him why Israel attacked Iran. Netanyahu explained the 'existential threat' to his country, as well as to the whole world, from Iran on the verge of having nuclear weapons. Further, Netanyahu explained Israel's concerns about Iran producing larger quantities of ballistic missiles, which would be used to attack his country. 'We can't have the world's most dangerous regime have the world's most dangerous weapons,' he summed up. It seems black and white. However, despite the awesome precision and success with which Israel has carried out its operations, it still needs U.S. help. One key uranium enrichment site, Fordow, is buried half a mile under a mountain. It can't be destroyed without the 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs that only the U.S. has. With this facility left intact, Iran likely will retain the capability to make a nuclear bomb. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. U.S. support here should be straightforward, as in the past. But one stream of the MAGA crowd, whose most prominent voice is podcaster Tucker Carlson, doesn't see it. According to Carlson, the U.S. should 'drop Israel' and U.S. involvement to prevent Iran's nuclear capability betrays Trump's 'America First' campaign promise. The real issue, per Carlson, is between 'warmongers and peacemakers,' and those who support Israel's effort to prevent 'the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world' from going nuclear are warmongers. He calls out commentator Mark Levin among these. To think that acquisition of nuclear weapons by a maniacal regime — one that calls America the 'great Satan' and Israel the 'little Satan,' where the American flag is burned, where demonstrations are calling for 'Death to America' — is not a problem is logic that can be at best called deeply twisted. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Fortunately, many understand there is indeed a special and vital relationship between the U.S. and Israel. Different explanations are given. Many say it is because Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. But I see more. As a Christian, I love Israel because I love God. And I read about the special relationship between the Jewish people and the Creator every morning when I read Psalms and Proverbs. Regarding America First, I would explain it by turning to the words of a Jewish rabbi named Hillel who lived 2,000 years ago. He said, 'If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?' The internal crisis America is experiencing is about meaning. It flows directly from the extent to which Americans have pushed faith in the God of the Bible out of their lives and substituted various secular ideologies. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Polling shows that lower support for Israel correlates with the weakening of religion in the country. But the good news is that it's turning around. In a new Gallup poll asking the question, 'Do you think religion … is increasing its influence on American life or losing its influence?' 34% said increasing, compared to 20% one year ago and 59% said losing, compared to 75% one year ago. Our country is a free nation under God. The first order of business is to live up to our responsibilities at home. But we are rooted in universal truths with corresponding universal responsibilities. Anyone with any connection to Scripture knows that Israel is a special and unique country. It is vital to understand we have a special relationship and must work together to make a better world. For now, the U.S. must work with Israel to ensure that Iran does not achieve nuclear capability. Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education Read More MMA NHL Canada Toronto & GTA World
CBC
23 minutes ago
- Politics
- CBC
Israel believes it has proof Iran is close to a nuclear weapon. Others doubt it
This time, Israel's fears over Iran's intention to build a nuclear bomb really may be valid. Or not. And for better or worse, it will be U.S. President Donald Trump making the decision about what facts to accept or to reject. For most of his nearly 20 years leading Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been stoking international concerns that his country faces the threat of "nuclear annihilation" if Iran is able to build an atomic weapon. As early as 1996, he proclaimed: "Time is running out." Sixteen years later, in 2012, Netanyahu stood before the UN with an almost cartoon-like drawing of a round bomb with a lit fuse, urging the international community to stop Iran's ayatollahs before it was too late. Finally, seven nights ago, Netanyahu gave the order to attack Iran directly, stating that the mission is to take out Iran's institutions, facilities and scientists related to its nuclear program. "If not stopped, Iran could take steps to produce a weapon in a very short time," Netanyahu said in a video statement justifying his decision. Israel's sweeping campaign of airstrikes in and around Tehran has wiped out the top tier of Iran's military command, damaged its nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds. Iranian retaliatory strikes, meanwhile, have killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel. But finishing the job of destroying Iran's nuclear program may be beyond Israel's capabilities. With some key components and facilities fortified up to 80 metres underground, it may require weaponry and heavy bombs possessed only by the U.S. Trump — under intense pressure domestically from many Republicans who want him to intervene, and perhaps an equal number who want him to stay out of the fight — said Thursday he'll make a decision within the next two weeks on what course to take, to give diplomacy with Iran more time. At least one former top Israeli intelligence official believes the evidence of both Iran's capability and intent to produce such a weapon of mass destruction is incontrovertible. "I think the last report of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) says that Iran has more than 400 kilograms of 60 per cent enriched uranium, which, if you enrich it to 90+, is enough for 10 nuclear devices," said Sima Shine, a former officer at Israel's spy agency Mossad who is now with the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. The only outstanding issue was Iran's willingness to build a bomb, she said, given that such a move would surely invite a devastating Israeli response. "Our impression was that in the last year, the interest of Iran to go the extra mile and actually reach a nuclear, military nuclear capability has changed, if we compare to its previous use," Shine told CBC News. She said since the Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel, Israeli attacks have critically weakened Iran's key proxy militias in Gaza and Lebanon — Hamas and Hezbollah. That's left Iran deeply weakened, she said, forcing the ayatollahs to change Iran's calculations about the necessity of building a nuclear weapon to project-strength. Military enrichment? Other Iran watchers in the West share Shine's assessment. "There is no purpose at all for having that level of nuclear enrichment and that stock of enriched uranium other than military," said John Sawers, former chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service MI6, speaking to the BBC. Israeli authorities have suggested their own intelligence efforts have also turned up proof of Iran's intentions, beyond what the IAEA has reported. Quoting unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal said Israeli agents learned of Iran's interest in developing and perfecting chain-reaction explosions, which are required for nuclear weapons. Megan Sutcliffe, an analyst with the private intelligence firm Sibylline, said that beyond the actual manufacture of a nuclear device, it's also possible the Iranians were working on improving missiles and rockets that could carry a bomb. "The IAEA does not monitor this," she said. "And so the intelligence that Israel is likely referring to is something to do with Iran possibly making strides toward testing the viability of some form of delivery system." Doubts persist Still, in the absence of that information being shared publicly, doubts persist about both Iran's intentions and its capabilities. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, told Congress earlier this year that U.S. intelligence agencies did not believe Iran had made a decision to weaponize its nuclear program. The Washington-based Arms Control Association, a think-tank that promotes arms control and diplomacy, issued a statement earlier this week, denouncing any U.S. involvement in Israel's war against Iran. "There was no imminent threat that Iran was weaponizing its nuclear program before Israel's attack began," it wrote. The group argued U.S. intervention could have the opposite effect — strengthening Tehran's resolve and leading it to weaponize its nuclear program, if it is not completely destroyed or is eventually rebuilt. And while the chief of the IAEA ruled last week that Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for a lack of disclosure, Raphael Grossi also said the global nuclear watchdog had seen no evidence that Iran's enriched uranium was being steered toward military or non-civilian purposes. "We cannot say that we at the IAEA have enough credible elements which would be pointing directly at this," he said. In an interview with CBC News, Iran's ambassador in Geneva reiterated his country's right to have a nuclear program and to develop enriched uranium from it. "There is no evidence of Iran moving toward military nuclear activities," said Ali Bahreini. "Our nuclear activities are peaceful." Enriched uranium can also be used to produce medical isotopes or as fuel for nuclear power plants. WATCH | About That on how the U.S. might be pulled into the Israel-Iran war: How deep will the U.S. be pulled into the Israel-Iran war? | About That 2 hours ago Duration 25:38 U.S. President Donald Trump has consistently denied his country's involvement in the intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran. But Andrew Chang explains the role the U.S. has already played. Then, Will South Korea's new leader save the country? Israel's nuclear program Israel is widely believed to have had its own nuclear weapon capabilities for several decades, although the country's official policy is deliberate ambiguity with regards to the existence of such a program. "Essentially, it is widely acknowledged that Israel does have a nuclear arsenal and that they also have … a nuclear submarine, which gives them a second-strike capability; the ability to respond to a nuclear weapon being fired toward them," said Sutcliffe. Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has not accepted IAEA safeguards on some of its principal nuclear activities, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation notes. The Washington-based group also notes that "the lack of clarity surrounding an Israeli nuclear weapons program is a key obstacle to establishing a weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East." Nonetheless, most countries — including Israel's current and historic adversaries — have generally accepted the country's nuclear policies. Sutcliffe said she believes the different treatment between Iran and Israel on their nuclear programs stems from long-standing, repeated statements from Iran's leaders about their intent to destroy Israel, if given the opportunity. "Iran has characterized itself as being a threat to Israel — both through its direct actions, but also through its support of proxies to threaten Israel," she said. Iran's leadership has expressed strong support for Palestinians being free of Israeli occupation, and it was a strong financial and military supporter of Hamas in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, however, has repeatedly said Iran's support of Hamas has not helped the Palestinian cause, nor been beneficial to the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. For both Trump and Netanyahu, the decision over which intelligence and analysis to go with will have immense consequences — for Israel and far beyond. Gershon Baskin, a longtime advocate for peaceful coexistence between Arabs and Israelis and fierce Netanyahu opponent, said he believes that most Israelis hope Trump jumps into the war on their side. "They're living this kind of hubris that Israel can do whatever it wants, wherever it wants, at any time," said Baskin referring to public sentiment over the damage Israel's military has inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities and the assassinations of its nuclear scientists. But he cautioned domestic politics could shift quickly against Netayahu and his efforts to reign in his Iranian enemies, should his calculations over damaging Iran's nuclear program backfire.
Arab News
27 minutes ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Israel changing ‘the world' with Iran war: Netanyahu
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was 'changing the face of the world' in its war with Iran, as he welcomed 'all help' in destroying the Islamic republic's nuclear sites. 'I said that we're changing the face of the Middle East, and now I say we're changing the face of the world,' he told public broadcaster Kansas Seven days into the war, Netanyahu said Israeli forces were ahead of schedule in their offensive against Iranian nuclear and missile sites, but refused to provide a clear timeline for an end to the most intense confrontation in history with arch foe Tehran. 'We are at war. I'm not going to reveal our timeline. I'm not going to tell them (the Iranians) what we're preparing,' said Netanyahu. 'When you enter a war, you know when it begins, but not when it ends,' he added. He said Israel had already destroyed 'more than half' of Iran's missile launchers and was 'capable of striking all of Iran's nuclear facilities.' But, in an apparent nod to key ally the United States, Netanyahu added: 'All help is welcome.' During his interview with Kan, Netanyahu went on to say that US President Donald Trump 'will do what is good for for the United States, and I will do what is good for the State of Israel.' Following the remarks, Trump offered a fresh timeline for a possible US intervention in the conflict, saying in a statement that he would decide whether to attack Iran within the next two weeks due to a 'substantial' chance of negotiations.
Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Netanyahu says fall of Iran's leadership not a goal but could be a result
June 19 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the change or fall of Iran's leadership was not a goal of Israel's attacks but could be a result. "The matter of changing the regime or the fall of this regime is first and foremost a matter for the Iranian people. There is no substitute for this. "And that's why I didn't present it as a goal. It could be a result, but it's not a stated or formal goal that we have," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel's Kan public television. He said Israel had the power to remove all of Iran's nuclear facilities, whether U.S. President Donald Trump decides to join in or not. Netanyahu spoke before the White House said Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved. Military analysts believe Israel might need the help of U.S. military bunker-busting bombs to destroy the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear program buried beneath a mountain near the city of Qom. Asked whether Fordow could be addressed with or without the Americans, Netanyahu said: "We have the power to remove all our targets, all their nuclear facilities, but the president's decision whether he wants to join or not is again his decision. "He will do what is good for the United States and I will do what is good for the State of Israel and I must say that up to this moment everyone is doing their part," Netanyahu said. On Wednesday, Trump said the United States alone had the capability to destroy or dismantle Fordow. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it - at all," Trump said.
Al Jazeera
35 minutes ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘Says one thing, does another': What's Trump's endgame in Iran?
Washington, DC – Over the past week, United States President Donald Trump has been issuing statements on Iran that appear to be contradictory. He has called for ending the war and hinted at peace coming 'soon', only to then suggest that assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could be an option for the US along with joining Israel's bombing campaign. In the latest turn, the White House said on Thursday that Trump will make a decision on whether to join the war within two weeks. These changes in the president's stance has some observers thinking that Trump may not have a clear strategy or endgame; rather he is being dragged to war by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been seeking US attacks on Iran for decades. Alternatively, could Trump be using his increasingly bellicose rhetoric against Iran to compel Tehran to agree to entirely give up its nuclear programme? If so, experts warn that brinkmanship could turn into an all-out war between the US and Iran. Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said Trump could be attempting to build leverage with threats to strongarm Iran into accepting his demands of 'total surrender'. 'I think he's trying to present himself as this madman who is unpredictable, and in so doing, he can then insist on this very hard line that Iran has refused to accept for decades of full dismantlement of its enrichment programme,' Abdi told Al Jazeera. Another possible explanation of Trump's latest statements, Abdi added, is that he is 'being taken for a ride by Bibi Netanyahu to commit the United States to a full-on war with Iran'. Iranian American analyst Negar Mortazavi also said that Trump is being 'outmaneuvered' by Netanyahu. 'I don't even know if President Trump knows what he wants,' Mortazavi told Al Jazeera. 'He campaigned as the president of peace … he promised he's going to end conflicts. Russia-Ukraine hasn't ended. Gaza has escalated, and he just let the third big Middle East war – which looks like a regime-change war – start under his watch. So, he says one thing he does another.' Israel launched its bombing campaign against Iran last week, two days before US and Iranian officials were set to meet for a sixth round of talks in Oman. Hours before the Israeli assault began, Trump renewed his commitment to diplomacy. And the initial US response to the Israeli strikes was to stress that Washington is not involved in the attacks. In subsequent days, however, Trump appeared to take credit for the Israeli bombing campaign. 'We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,' he wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, without elaborating on who the 'we' was. 'Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn't compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured 'stuff.' Nobody does it better than the good ol' USA.' Israel's strikes have targeted Iran's air defences, military and nuclear facilities, oil infrastructure and residential buildings, killing hundreds of people, including top military and political officials as well as many civilians. Iran has responded with hundreds of ballistic missiles that have killed at least 24 Israelis and left widespread destruction across the country. Israeli officials claim they are trying to destroy Iran's nuclear and missile programmes, but also note that their military campaign could lead to the collapse of the Iranian governing system, which they say would be a welcome development. However, it is widely believed that Israel would need US help to destroy Iran's main uranium enrichment facility, Fordow, which is buried inside a mountain. Mortazavi said war hawks and Israeli officials appear to be making the case to Trump that bombing Fordow will be an easy task. 'Instead of a regime change war – a devastating, unnecessary war with Iran, which he has been warning everyone and running against in his campaigns, they're just making this look like, 'Oh, you just use your bunker busters once and done.''But Iran has promised to retaliate harshly against any US attack. Thousands of US troops in the region could come under Iranian missile strikes. If the war escalates, Iran could also disrupt shipping lanes in the Gulf – a major lifeline for global energy. Iranian lawmakers have already suggested that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz that connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and through which 20 percent of the world's oil flows. Mortazavi said escalating the conflict will have 'catastrophic' consequences for the region. 'It will look like Iraq and Afghanistan combined, if not worse. Iran is a big country,' she said. In Iraq, Bush's regime-change war led to years of sectarian bloodshed and the rise of groups like ISIL (ISIS). In Afghanistan, US forces fought for 20 years after deposing the Taliban from the capital Kabul, only to see the group swiftly return to power as US troops withdrew. Even if Iran's governing system is toppled under US and Israeli blows, experts warn that US war hawks should be careful what they wish for. Iran is a country of more than 90 million people. The fall of the government could lead to internal conflict, displacement crises and regional – if not global – instability, analysts say. 'This is not a colour revolution. This is going to be war and chaos, potentially civil war, and unrest,' Mortazavi said. Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the rights group DAWN, said that even if Trump is trying to gain leverage with his threats and is not seeking war or regime change in Iran, it's a risky strategy. 'The possibilities of the assaults on Iran escalating into not just a broader regional war, but potentially a global war, are extremely high,' Whitson told Al Jazeera. 'And so, continued belligerence and hostile rhetoric from President Trump is only throwing fuel on the fire.'
