Latest news with #TASS
Miami Herald
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Russia Issues New Nuclear Warning on Iran-Israel Conflict-'Alarm Bells'
The Western media should be ringing "alarm bells" about the nuclear risks involved in the Iran conflict, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, as Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb and says it is acting before that can happen. The U.S. is also considering strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Iran says its nuclear program is for civil energy purposes. "It's remarkable how little attention Western media are paying to the nuclear risks involved," Zakharova said at a meeting with journalists during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), state media agency TASS reported. "No alarm bells are being rung, no calls for restraint-as if this is just another routine escalation that we've seen many times before." Zakharova also said "precision strikes" do not preclude a nuclear disaster. "Sure, it's easy to claim that these are targeted, carefully calculated operations, but we've already witnessed missiles going off course, triggering fires and explosions far from their intended targets," Zakharova said. "Radiation doesn't check passports. It doesn't care about ethnicity, borders, or permissions. It seeps into water, air, and soil - and it can remain there for decades, even centuries, destroying lives." This is a developing article. Updates to follow. Related Articles Satellite Imagery Shows Evacuation at Largest U.S. Air Base in Middle EastU.S. Issues Security Warning for Biggest Middle East BaseIran Unleashes Heavier Missiles Against IsraelUS Confirms Iran Contact As Trump Weighs Strike Decision 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
NDTV
6 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Kim Jong Un Sends 6,000 More To Kursk After Massive Troop Losses In Russia
North Korea is set to send 6,000 personnel, including combat engineers and military workers, to assist in reconstruction efforts in Russia's Kursk region, according to Moscow's top security official. The announcement was made during Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu's visit to Pyongyang, marking his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this month, highlighting deepening ties between the two nations. "Chairman of the State Affairs of the DPRK Kim Jong Un has decided to send 1,000 sappers to Russia to clear mines on Russian territory, as well as 5,000 military construction workers to restore infrastructure destroyed by the occupiers," Shoigu said, according to Russian state media TASS. According to Shoigu, Moscow and Pyongyang also plan to create memorials for the Korean soldiers who died while liberating the Kursk Region. "The heads of our states have decided to perpetuate the feat of the soldiers of the Korean People's Army who took part in the fighting. Specifically, we are talking about the unveiling of memorials in Russia and the DPRK in memory of the Korean soldiers who fell in the battles for the liberation of the Russian territory. In this regard, during the visit, the construction of a memorial complex with a museum in Pyongyang with the participation of the Russian side was discussed," he added. According to news agency TASS, Shoigu is visiting Pyongyang for the third time in nearly three months. He explained this frequency by a high pace of implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang. "First of all, it is related to the intensity of implementation of this agreement, which was actually signed a year ago," he stressed. "The pace that has been set in the implementation of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement, of course, requires constant attention and regular adjustments and decision-making at all levels." According to Business Insider, Kim initially sent some 12,000 troops in the fall of 2024 to Kursk, the oblast where Ukraine entered in August of that year and seized up to 500 square miles of Russian soil. Aided by Pyongyang's soldiers, the Kremlin's forces recaptured almost all of those gains by March 2025, effectively ousting Ukrainian forces from the region by late spring. On June 15, the UK Defense Ministry said in an intelligence update that it estimated that more than 6,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in Kursk.
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Russia issues 'catastrophic' nuclear warning to US as Trump ponders Iran strikes
United States president Donald Trump has not yet ruled out whether to use American nuclear weapons to attack the underground Fordow enrichment site in Iran Russia has sent a stark warning to the USA as it considers whether to use tactical nuclear weapons in Iran. The Kremlin believes that even if the Americans were to use their weapons carefully the consequences would be "catastrophic". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian TASS news agency there "have been a lot of speculation". Asked about media reports that Donald Trump was still deciding about what to do, and had not yet ruled out whether to use nuclear weapons to attack the underground Fordow enrichment site in Iran, Mr Peskov said: "This would be a catastrophic development. But there are so many speculations that in fact, it's impossible to comment on them." The heavily guarded mysterious Fordow bunker is built into the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, around 60 miles of Iran's capital Tehran. It remains the most heavily defended known enrichment site in Iran, buried some 80 to 90 metres underground. Israel is believed to lack the capability to destroy the site on its own and would need the help of American bombers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal of attacking Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials have said Fordow was part of that plan. Russia has presented itself as a possible mediating force between US-backed Israel and Iran, although Donald Trump has publicly been reluctant to accept the offer. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene rejected US calls to surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause 'irreparable damage to them'. US officials said this week that Trump had rejected an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, later adding that there were no plans to kill him 'at least not for now'.
Barnama
8 hours ago
- Business
- Barnama
TASS Elected Oana Chair For Next Three Years
ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (Bernama-TASS) -- Russian state news agency TASS has been unanimously elected as chair of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) until 2028. The decision was made during the plenary meeting of the 19th OANA General Assembly held in St. Petersburg, TASS news agency reported. TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov was also elected president of OANA for the duration of the chairmanship, while TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman will serve as the organisation's secretary-general.
Gulf Insider
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Kremlin Warns Against US Intervention In Iran, Tells Israeli Leaders 'Come To Your Senses'
Moscow has warned Washington against getting involved in military actions targeting Iran, saying that such interference could lead to uncontrollable escalation and dire consequences, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described during a Thursday press briefing at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). 'We would like to especially warn Washington against military intervention in the situation, which would be an extremely dangerous step with truly unpredictable negative consequences,' she said. 'The priority today is to halt the escalation of violence, achieve a ceasefire, and restore peace. These steps are crucial for creating the necessary conditions to bring the situation back to the negotiating table. We are committed to facilitating this process in every possible way,' she continued. Since the opening days of the crisis which began with Israel's large warplane attack against Iran's nuclear and military sites in the early hours of Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin engaged in telephone discussions with both the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of Iran. TASS also reports that Putin spoke with President Trump on the matter, urging de-escalation before another major war and quagmire engulfs the whole region once again. However, this seems to already be happening. Russia had previously to this current fighting offered to mediate the nuclear issue between Iran and Israel. Zakharova continued to explain: 'Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also been active, communicating with the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and Oman. The current crisis in the Middle East was a topic of discussion in Lavrov's conversations with the Azerbaijani foreign minister, as well as during negotiations with Indonesia's foreign minister. These dialogues are ongoing.' That's when she laid out more of the Kremlin's position on the matter: 'We hope that all parties recognize that there is no viable alternative to seeking mutually acceptable negotiated solutions to the problems at hand. Our support for a resolution concerning the Iranian nuclear program will always be grounded in international law, the principle of equal and indivisible security, and a balanced consideration of mutual interests.' She backed Iran's 'clear commitment to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty' – at a moment the White House has been demanding that Tehran agree to zero enrichment, which so far it has rejected, calling it a violation of its national sovereignty. 'We particularly warn Washington against military intervention that would be an extremely dangerous step with truly unpredictable negative consequences' 'Russia calls on the Israeli leadership to come to senses and immediately stop attacks on nuclear installations' — Zakharova 'Moscow fully endorses this position and firmly believes that a lasting resolution can only be realized through diplomacy and negotiations,' Zakharova concluded. Still, Russia is not expected to play any direct military role in defending Iran, also as it has its own war raging in Ukraine. But the two sides are defense and arms trade partners. Trump has been emphasizing that 'Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon' but also that no one 'knows what I'm going to do.' He has also on Thursday pushed back on prior evening reports that he has made up his mind to get the US military involved. 'The Wall Street Journal has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
