Latest news with #WANA
Straits Times
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Iran's divided opposition senses its moment but activists remain wary of protests
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message following the Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. A man holds an image of Reza Pahlavi, as people protest against the Iranian regime, following the death of Mahsa Amini, outside Iran's consulate, in London, Britain, October 9, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo DUBAI -Iran's fragmented opposition groups think their moment may be close at hand, but activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. Exiled opponents of the Islamic Republic, themselves deeply divided, are urging street protests. In the borderlands, Kurdish and Baluchi separatist groups look poised to rise up, with Israeli strikes pummelling Iran's security apparatus. While the Islamic Republic looks weaker than at nearly any point since soon after the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. Whether such an uprising is likely - or imminent - is a matter of debate. The late shah's son, U.S.-based Raze Pahlavi, said in media interviews this week he wants to lead a political transition, proclaiming it the best chance to topple the Islamic Republic in four decades and saying "this is our moment in history". Triggering regime change is certainly one war goal for Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing Iranians to say "we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom". Within a ruling system long adept at quashing public displays of dissent, there are signs it is readying for protests. Mohammad Amin, a member of the Basij militia that is often deployed against protesters, said his unit in Qom had been put on alert to root out Israeli spies and protect the Islamic Republic. However, while the strikes have targeted a security hierarchy that crushed previous bouts of protest, they have also caused great fear and disruption for ordinary people - and anger at both Iranian authorities and Israel, the activists said. "How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran. MASS PROTESTS Daemi's concerns were also voiced by Iran's most prominent activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, in a social media post. Responding to an Israeli demand for people to evacuate parts of Tehran, she posted: "Do not destroy my city." Two other activists Reuters spoke to in Iran, who were among the hundreds of thousands involved in mass protests two years ago after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, said they also had no plans to demonstrate yet. "After the strikes end we will raise our voices because this regime is responsible for the war," said one, a university student in Shiraz, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. Another, who had lost her university place and been jailed for five months after the 2022 protests and who also requested anonymity, said she believed in regime change in Iran but that it was not time to take to the streets. She and her friends were not planning to stage or join rallies, she said, and dismissed calls from abroad for protests. "Israel and those so-called opposition leaders abroad only think about their own benefits," she said. Apart from Pahlavi's monarchists, the main opposition faction outside Iran is the People's Mujahideen Organisation, also known as the MEK or MKO. A revolutionary faction in the 1970s, it lost a power struggle after the shah was toppled. Many Iranians have not forgiven it for then siding with Iraq during the stalemated war of 1980-88 and rights groups have accused it of abuses at its camps and of cult-like behaviour, both of which it denies. The Mujahideen are the main force behind the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which like Pahlavi has cultivated close ties with some Western politicians. At a Paris forum this week, the council's leader Maryam Rajavi reiterated her opposition to any return of the monarchy, saying "neither the shah nor the mullahs". How far opposition groups outside Iran enjoy any support inside the country is uncertain. While there is fond nostalgia among some Iranians for the period before the revolution, it is an era that most are too young to remember. Within Iran, the successive rounds of national protests have also focused around differing issues. In 2009, demonstrators flooded the streets over what they saw as a stolen presidential election. In 2017, protests focused on falling living standards. And in 2022 women's rights were the trigger. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the election candidate protesters said had been cheated in 2009, has been under house arrest for years and is now 83. His policy was to reform the Islamic Republic rather than replace it - the goal of many protesters in later movements. For opponents of the Islamic Republic inside Iran, those unanswered questions of whether or when to stage protests, what agenda to pursue, or which leader to follow are only likely to grow more pressing as Israel's airstrikes continue. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Barnama
a day ago
- Politics
- Barnama
Iran Denies Targeting Soroka Hospital In Southern Israel
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a meeting with ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025. Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ISTANBUL, June 19 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Iran denied on Thursday Israeli accusations of intentionally striking Soroka Hospital in southern Israel, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. 'Our powerful Armed Forces accurately eliminated an Israeli Military Command, Control and Intelligence headquarters and another vital target,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on his X account. He said the blast wave caused superficial damage to a small section of the nearby, and largely evacuated Soroka Military Hospital. bootstrap slideshow 'The facility is mainly used to treat Israeli soldiers engaged in the Genocide in Gaza 25 miles away, where Israel has destroyed or damaged 94 per cent of Palestinian hospitals,' he added. Iran's state news agency IRNA claimed the missiles targeted the headquarters of the Israeli army and intelligence service near Soroka Hospital. Hostilities began on Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes. In Iran, 585 people have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to Iranian media reports. -- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
The Standard
a day ago
- Politics
- The Standard
Israel's defense minister says Iran's supreme leader 'cannot continue to exist'
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on, in a televised message following the Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Israel's airstrikes aim to break foundations of Khamenei's rule in Iran
A TV screen displays the televised message of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the Iran-Israel conflict in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo Dubai - Israel's sweeping campaign of airstrikes aims to do more than destroy Iran's nuclear centrifuges and missile capabilities. It seeks to shatter the foundations of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's government and leave it near collapse, Israeli, Western and regional officials said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Iran weakened enough to be forced into fundamental concessions on permanently abandoning its nuclear enrichment, its ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the region, the sources said. He also wants to leave Khamenei's government debilitated. The campaign is about "exhausting the regime's ability to project power and maintain internal cohesion," one senior regional official said. Iran's Islamic government faces an existential crisis unlike anything since the 1979 Revolution - not even the brutal 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war posed such a direct threat to clerical rule. Israel, the Middle East's most advanced military, can strike anywhere in Iran with drones and advanced F-35 fighter jets, assassinations by Mossad operatives, and cyberwarfare technology. In recent days, Israel has broadened its targets to include government institutions like the police and state television headquarters in Tehran. Netanyahu's government is planning for at least two weeks of intense airstrikes, according to four government and diplomatic sources, though the pace depends on how long it takes to eliminate Iran's missile stockpiles and launch capacity. Dennis Ross, a former Middle East envoy and advisor to several U.S. administrations, believes Iran is feeling the pressure and may be inching toward the negotiating table after the strikes eliminated much of Khamenei's inner circle, damaged nuclear infrastructure and missile sites, and killed top security figures. "I do think the regime feels vulnerable," said Ross, now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. While he insisted Israel's primary aim is to cripple Iran's nuclear and missile programs, Ross conceded that if the regime were to fall as a consequence, "Israel wouldn't be sorry." Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's belligerent tone in recent days, he would likely accept if Tehran can offer a credible path to a deal, Ross said. But, after Tehran offered no concessions during six previous rounds of nuclear negotiations with the U.S., Washington will need firm assurances from Iran that its goals, including the permanent abandonment of enrichment, will be met before it will support a ceasefire. "I think the cost to them is going to be high,' he said. For Iran, there is one key calculation: letting the 86-year-old Khamenei retreat without humiliation, two Iranian sources said. Strip him of dignity or the prospect of survival and he may choose all-out conflict, they added. After Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" on social media on Tuesday, Khamenei promised in a televised speech that any U.S. military intervention in Iran would be met with "irreparable damage". In recent days, Netanyahu has also overtly raised the prospect of regime change, promising Iranians "the day of liberation is coming". Regional governments are fearful the situation could spiral out of control, pushing Iran - an ethnically diverse nation of 90 million people that straddles the Middle East and Asia - into chaos or unleashing a conflict that could spill across its borders. "You can't reshape the region through belligerent force," said Anwar Gargash, advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates. "You might resolve some issues, but it will create others." IRAN ISOLATED Iran's decades-old playbook - waging war from the shadows via its proxies - collapsed under an Israeli offensive following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Its regional Axis of Resistance crumbled, with Hamas crushed in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon defeated, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ousted by rebels, and the Houthi militia in Yemen on the defensive. Russia and China - seen as allies of Tehran – have remained on the sidelines, leaving Iran isolated in the face of Western powers determined to end its regional influence and nuclear ambitions. "Iran isn't just facing Israel," said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, based in Washington D.C. "It's facing off the United States and European powers." And while Sunni Arab Gulf states have publicly condemned Israel's strikes, privately leaders in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi – longtime U.S. allies - may welcome a weakening of their Shi'ite rival, whose proxies have targeted vital Gulf infrastructure, including oil facilities, analysts say. Militarily, Tehran has few options. Israel controls the skies over Iran, having largely destroyed its air defences. Much of Iran's stockpile of ballistic weapons is believed to have been damaged by Israeli strikes, and 400-or-so it has fired have mostly been destroyed by Israel's multi-layered aerial defence system. "When the missiles run out, what's left?," asks Vatanka. But with the Iranian opposition fragmented and no signs of divisions within the powerful Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), which has nearly 250,000 fighters including its Basij militia volunteers, there is scant prospect Iran's ruling elite will collapse easily. There have been no major protests on the streets of Tehran, and many Iranians profess anger towards Israel for the attacks. Without a ground invasion or domestic uprising, regime change in Iran is a distant prospect, the officials said. On Tuesday, Trump issued a veiled threat to Khamenei, declaring that U.S. intelligence knows his location and had no intention to kill him "for now". Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September plunged the Lebanese group into disarray but regional officials and observers warned that killing the ageing Khamenei would not have the same impact. "Real power now resides with his son, Mojtaba, and the IRGC, which is deeply embedded despite the loss of key commanders," one regional source said. "They remain the regime's spine." Killing Khamenei, a religious leader to millions of Shi'ites, could cause a major backlash. Jonathan Panikoff, a former deputy U.S. national intelligence officer on the Middle East during Trump's first term, said that if the Israeli campaign does foment regime change in Iran, it could result – at least initially – in a more hardline administration. "What is likely to follow a theocratic Iranian government is not democracy but Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–istan," said Panikoff, now at the Atlantic Council think-tank. "Israel might find itself in a perpetual, ongoing, and far more intense war that is no longer in the shadows." ISRAEL NEEDS AMERICA The next move belongs to Trump, Ross said, who must decide whether to intervene militarily to try to force Iran's hand. Israeli officials acknowledge that to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities – which are hidden in secure locations deep underground like the fortified Fordow site outside Tehran – it would need the U.S. to provide its largest bunker-busting bombs. On the other hand, if Trump declares a ceasefire linked to a nuclear deal with Iran, Netanyahu will not protest provided he can credibly claim that Tehran's threat to Israel has been fundamentally rolled back. In recent days, Trump has hardened his tone towards Iran, making veiled military threats while leaving open the possibility of negotiations. "No-one knows what I'm going to do," he told reporters on Wednesday, adding that Iranian officials had reached out about negotiations. "It's a little late." The message to Iran is clear, Ross said: start serious talks soon, or face a military situation far worse than today's. The White House referred Reuters to Trump's latest remarks and declined further comment for this story. In an effort to restart negotiations, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi on Friday in Geneva. Mark Dubowitz, chief executive at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, said he believed Trump ultimately wanted a diplomatic solution but he was likely to allow Israel more time to pursue its military campaign to give the U.S. more leverage at the negotiating table. Dubowitz, an Iran expert who has been consulted by the Trump administration on its policy, said Israel's main objective appears to be setting back Iran's nuclear program as many years as possible. Central to that is removing its human capacity by killing nuclear and weapons scientists, and Dubowitz said his team had identified 10 to 12 more who are likely being hunted by Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's opposition parties – and the public – have rallied behind Netanyahu, giving him leeway to pursue the difficult operation, despite Iranian missiles hitting Israeli soil. Israel is operating 1,500–2,000 km from home, with complex and costly logistical needs. "This is math," said one Israeli source. "How many missiles they launch. How many we destroy. How long we can keep going." The Israeli strikes have already killed key members of the so-called "weaponisation group" - those Israel alleges are tasked with turning enriched uranium into an actual bomb – and eroded Iran's ability to produce long-range missiles. That, Israeli leaders argue, creates the conditions for a U.S.-Iran agreement that addresses Israel's red lines. Yuli Edelstein, head of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, and a prominent member of the ruling Likud party, told Reuters that if Washington and key European powers engage diplomatically, apply pressure, and shape a clear exit plan, "they can prevent unnecessary developments in this war." DANGEROUS VACUUM If the conflict does escalate, regional officials fear a collapse of Khamenei's government would not lead to democracy but to fragmentation - or worse: a civil war, fuelled by Iran's marginalized minorities - Arabs, Kurds, Azeris, Baha'is, Baluchis and Christians - could erupt in a dangerous power vacuum. "And that," a Gulf source warned, "no one is ready for." The UAE foreign ministry directed Reuters to its statements condemning Israel's strikes against Iran. Saudi Arabia's and Qatar government media office did not respond to a request for comment. French President Emmanuel Macron echoed that warning at this week's G7 leaders summit, saying forced regime change in Iran would bring chaos. He cited the failures of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the 2011 NATO-backed intervention in Libya as cautionary examples. Vatanka, of the Middle East Institute, warned that shockwaves from the collapse of the government in Tehran would not stop at Iran's borders. "A destabilized Iran," he added, "could ignite unrest from Azerbaijan to Pakistan. Its collapse would reverberate across the region, destabilizing fragile states and reigniting dormant conflicts." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
a day ago
- Politics
- First Post
Amid the Iran-Israel conflict, where is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hiding?
Israel has said that killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would end the conflict with Tehran. Reports say that the US has stopped the Jewish country from assassinating the Iranian leader. The 86-year-old is reportedly taking refuge in bunkers along with his family read more Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message following the Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has rejected United States President Donald Trump's demand for 'unconditional surrender' amid escalating military tensions between Tehran and Israel. Reports have emerged that the US could enter the conflict in West Asia, as Iran and Israel continue to trade strikes and drone attacks for the seventh straight day. The Iranian Supreme Leader has warned the US against military involvement in his country. Khamenei said in a recorded speech on Wednesday (June 18) that 'military intervention' by the Americans would cause 'irreparable damage to them.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The Iranian nation will not surrender,' he declared. This was Khamenei's first appearance since Israel launched its surprise attack, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, on Friday, triggering a conflict. Speculations have arisen about Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's whereabouts amid threats to his life. Where is he? We take a look. Where is Iran's supreme leader? Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is reportedly in a bunker as Tehran and Israel's conflict intensifies. The 86-year-old was shifted to an underground bunker in Lavizan in northeastern Tehran hours after Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear programme and top military officials on early Friday, informed sources inside Iran told London-based Iran International. All his family members, including his son Mojtaba, are with him. Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to be the frontrunner to replace his father as Iran's supreme leader in the event of his death. Israeli strikes have killed several top Iranian military officials and nuclear experts. The deceased include Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Hossein Salami; Ali Shadmani , Iran's wartime Chief of Staff during Israel's Operation Rising Lion and a senior aide to Supreme Leader Khamenei; and Mohammad Kazemi, the chief of intelligence of the IRGC. On Sunday, Israel targeted the Iranian city of Mashhad, located 2,300 kilometres from the Jewish nation. The airstrike was a warning to Iran's Supreme Leader that he is not safe anywhere in the country, a diplomatic source in West Asia told Iran International. Experts say Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei is expected to avoid public appearances amid threats to his life. 'I think they'll be concerned that Israel has clearly penetrated them inside out, so they will be looking to all possible corners from how to keep him safe, perhaps moving him from place to place,' The Economist's defence editor, Shashank Joshi, told BBC. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Given the current Israeli threat, the Israeli defence minister saying Tehran will burn if you attack our cities, Netanyahu's threat of regime change, the clinical precision attacks on the top generals [on Friday], I think it is unlikely Khamenei will risk coming out,' Joshi added. Will Israel kill Iran's Supreme Leader? After Iran's strikes hit the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened that Khamenei 'can no longer be allowed to exist'. He wrote in a post on X, 'The cowardly Iranian dictator sits in the depths of a fortified bunker and fires missiles at hospitals and residential buildings in Israel. These are war crimes of the most serious kind - and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier claimed that the conflict with Iran will end if his country targets Khamenei. His remarks came amid reports that US President Trump rejected Israel's plan to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader, fearing it would widen the conflict. Netanyahu told ABC News this week, 'It's not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We've had half a century of conflict spread by this regime that terrorises everyone in the Middle East (West Asia); has bombed the Aramco oil fields in Saudi Arabia; is spreading terrorism and subversion and sabotage everywhere,' Netanyahu said. 'The 'forever war' is what Iran wants, and they're bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression, and we can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil.' On whether the Jewish country would target Khamenei, Netanyahu said that Israel was 'doing what we need to do.' Two US officials told Reuters on Sunday that the American president had asked the Israeli PM to refrain from assassinating Khamenei. The US has told Israel not to kill Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AFP In a post on social media on Tuesday (June 17), Trump said the US knew where Khamenei is hiding but doesn't want him killed 'for now.' 'We know exactly where the so-called Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump added. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Will US intervene in Iran war? Trump has been ambiguous about America's next step as Israel and Iran launch strikes and counterstrikes. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump did not offer clarity on whether he has decided to join Israel's military attacks against Iran or not. 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' he said. As per The Wall Street Journal report, Trump told his senior aides he gave a nod to plans to attack Iran, but was not giving the final order to strike the country to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear programme. On whether the Iranian government could collapse due to the Israeli campaign, Trump said: 'Sure, anything could happen.' The US has been increasing its military presence in West Asia. US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was heading west from south-east Asia to join a strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson, already in the Gulf. America is also moving F-35 jets and tanker aircraft to West Asia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
