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UPI
2 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
Rubio, Britain's Lammy meet on Iranian nuclear capabilities
June 19 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Thursday discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran and agreed that Iran should never possess a nuclear weapon, the State Department said. The meeting in Washington, D.C., comes amid speculation that President Donald Trump will join Israel in its ongoing strikes against Iran. "I may do it. I may not do it," Trump told a group of reporters after returning to the White House following a G7 summit in Canada. "I mean nobody knows what I'm going to do." Israel and Iran have been in a proxy war for years, though it exploded into the open following Tehran-backed Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Last week, the fighting intensified with Israel launching a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, crippling the infrastructure and killing several top Iran military personnel and nuclear scientists. Iran -- which does not have a nuclear weapon and states its nuclear program is peaceful -- has responded with strikes of its on. Washington-based Human Rights Activists has said that at least 639 people have died in the Israeli strikes on Iran, 263 of them civilians. Israel warned Thursday that it was targeting the area near the Arak heavy water reactor, about 155 miles west of Tehran. Israeli officials warned people on X to evacuate the area. Rubio and Lammy also discussed other issues, including ways to cooperate on ending the current three-year war between Ukraine and Russia. The pair also talked about an upcoming NATO summit and reaffirmed the importance of increased defense spending to secure peace and stability.
Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Rights abuses continue in North Korea a decade after probe, says UN investigator
A decade after a landmark U.N. report concluded North Korea committed crimes against humanity, a U.N. official investigating rights in the isolated state told Reuters many abuses continue, exacerbated by COVID-era controls that have yet to be lifted. James Heenan, who represents the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, said he is still surprised by the continued prevalence of executions, forced labour and reports of starvation in the authoritarian country. Later this year Heenan's team will release a follow-up report to the 2014 findings by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which said the government had committed 'systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations' that constituted crimes against humanity. DPRK is North Korea's official name. While the conclusions of this year's report are still being finalised, Heenan told Reuters in an interview that the last 10 years have seen mixed results, with North Korea's government engaging more with some international institutions, but doubling down on control at home. 'The post-COVID period for DPRK means a period of much greater government control over people's lives and restrictions on their freedoms,' he said in the interview. North Korea's embassy in London did not answer phone calls seeking comment. The government has in the past denied abuses and accused the U.N. and foreign countries of trying to use human rights as a political weapon to attack North Korea. A Reuters investigation in 2023 found leader Kim Jong Un had spent much of the COVID pandemic building a massive string of walls and fences along the previously porous border with China, and later built fences around the capital of Pyongyang. A report this week by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said the COVID pandemic raged in North Korea for more than two years before the regime admitted in May 2022 that the virus had permeated its borders, and that the regime bungled the response in a way that violated freedoms and left most citizens to fend for themselves. On Wednesday SI Analytics, a Seoul-based satellite imagery firm, released a report noting North Korea is renovating a key prison camp near the border with China, possibly in response to international criticism, while simultaneously strengthening physical control over prisoners under the pretence of facility improvement. Heenan said his team has talked to more than 300 North Koreans who fled their country in recent years, and many expressed despair. 'Sometimes we hear people saying they sort of hope a war breaks out, because that might change things,' he said. A number of those interviewees will speak publicly for the first time next week as part of an effort to put a human face on the U.N. findings. 'It's a rare opportunity to hear from people publicly what they want to say about what's happening in the DPRK,' Heenan said. He expressed concern about funding cuts for international aid and U.N. programmes around the world, which is pressuring human rights work and threatening support for North Korean refugees. While human rights has traditionally been a politically volatile subject not only for Pyongyang but for foreign governments trying to engage with the nuclear-armed North, Heenan said the issues like prison camps need to be part of any engagement on a political settlement. 'There's no point self-censoring on human rights, because… no one's fooled,' he said.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Donald Trump to decide in two weeks whether US will strike Iran: White House
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether to authorise a direct US military strike on Iran, as the conflict between Tehran and Israel intensifies, according to The Associated Press (AP). His statement, read by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, pointed to a 'substantial chance' for renewed diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program. Quoting Trump, Leavitt announced: 'Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiation that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future… I will make my decision whether or not to go, within the next two weeks.' Trump is reportedly considering targeting Iran's fortified Fordo uranium enrichment site — a facility buried deep underground and considered accessible only to US 'bunker-buster' bombs. These bombs are designed to penetrate up to 200 feet of earth or concrete before detonating. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump declined to confirm whether he had decided to join Israel's campaign targeting Iran's nuclear enrichment program. 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' He added that he has 'ideas as to what to do' and that he prefers to make the 'final decision one second before it's due.' The ongoing conflict began with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military installations. According to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group, at least 639 people — including 263 civilians — have been killed in Iran, with more than 1,300 injured. Meanwhile, Israeli officials estimate that Iran has launched roughly 450 missiles and 1,000 drones. Most have been intercepted, but at least 24 Israelis have died and hundreds more have been injured. Tensions escalated sharply after Iranian missiles struck a major hospital in southern Israel and hit residential buildings near Tel Aviv, injuring at least 240 people, as per AP. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz directly threatened Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying, 'In order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.' Israeli fighter jets, too, carried out renewed strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking from the rubble outside Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, said he trusted Trump to 'do what's best for America,' adding, 'they're already helping a lot.' Meanwhile, Soroka Medical Center became one of several hospitals that had already activated emergency protocols amid the escalating threat. At the time of the missile strike, the hospital was treating around 700 patients. At least 80 patients and medical workers were wounded, though most injuries were minor due to pre-emptive evacuations to underground wards. Israel's Home Front Command said one Iranian ballistic missile appeared to be loaded with cluster munitions — a type of weapon that disperses small bomblets over a wide area. Iranian officials denied targeting the hospital, claiming instead they struck a nearby military tech unit. Israel confirmed its air force targeted Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, a facility once central to Iran's ability to produce plutonium — a material usable in nuclear weapons. Iranian state TV said the site had been evacuated and posed 'no radiation danger.' The Arak reactor had been partially redesigned under the 2015 nuclear deal, but work stalled after the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018. Israeli forces said their strike aimed to prevent the facility from being restored to weapons-grade capability. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has acknowledged it no longer has full oversight of Iran's heavy water production due to recent restrictions. (With inputs from AP)
France 24
3 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Trump to decide 'in two weeks' whether US will directly attack Iran
President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether the US military will get directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran given the 'substantial chance' for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, as the two sides attacked one another for a seventh day. Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. His statement was read out by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Earlier in the day, Israel's defense minister threatened Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after Iranian missiles crashed into a major hospital in southern Israel and hit residential buildings near Tel Aviv, wounding at least 240 people. Israel's military 'has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist," Defense Minister Israel Katz said. As rescuers wheeled patients out of the smoldering hospital, Israeli warplanes launched their latest attack on Iran's nuclear program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he trusted that Trump would 'do what's best for America.' Speaking from the rubble and shattered glass around the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, he added: 'I can tell you that they're already helping a lot." A new diplomatic initiative seemed to be underway as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepared to travel Friday to Geneva for meetings with the European Union's top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. 01:35 The open conflict between Israel and Iran erupted last Friday with a surprise wave of 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 Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's Home Front Command asserted that one of the Iranian ballistic missiles fired Thursday morning had been rigged with fragmenting cluster munitions. Rather than a conventional warhead, a cluster munition warhead carries dozens of submunitions that can explode on impact, showering small bomblets around a large area and posing major safety risks on the ground. The Israeli military did not say where that missile had been fired. At least 80 patients and medical workers were wounded in the strike on Soroka Medical Center. The vast majority were lightly wounded, as much of the hospital building had been evacuated in recent days. Iranian officials insisted they had not sought to strike the hospital and claimed the attack hit a facility belonging to the Israeli military's elite technological unit, called C4i. The website for the Gav-Yam Negev advanced technologies park, some 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the hospital, said C4i had a branch campus in the area. 12:05 The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, acknowledged that there was no specific intelligence that Iran had planned to target the hospital. Many hospitals in Israel, including Soroka, had activated emergency plans in the past week. They converted parking garages to wards and transferred vulnerable patients underground. Israel also has a fortified, subterranean blood bank that kicked into action after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. Doctors at Soroka said the Iranian missile struck almost immediately after air raid sirens went off, causing an explosion that could be heard from a safe room. The strike inflicted the greatest damage on an old surgery building and affected key infrastructure, including gas, water and air-conditioning systems, the medical center said. The hospital, which provides services to around 1 million residents, had been caring for 700 patients at the time. After the strike, the hospital closed to all patients except for life-threatening cases. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. But it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. 04:52 Israel is widely believed to be the only country with a nuclear weapons program in the Middle East but has never acknowledged the existence of its arsenal. The Israeli air campaign has targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran, a nuclear site in Isfahan and what the army assesses to be most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers. The destruction of those launchers has contributed to the steady decline in Iranian attacks since the start of the conflict. Israeli airstrikes reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early Friday, Iranian media reported. The Israeli military had warned the public to flee the area around Rasht's Industrial City, southwest of the city's downtown. But with Iran's internet shut off to the outside world, it's unclear just how many people could see the message. On Thursday, anti-aircraft artillery was audible across Tehran, and witnesses in the central city of Isfahan reported seeing anti-aircraft fire after nightfall. Trump's announcement of a decision in the next two weeks opened up diplomatic options, with the apparent hope Iran would make concessions after suffering major military losses. But at least publicly, Iran has struck a hard line. Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday rejected US calls for surrender and warned that any US military involvement would cause 'irreparable damage to them.' Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Thursday criticised Trump for using military pressure to gain an advantage in nuclear negotiations. The latest indirect talks between Iran and the US, set for last Sunday, were cancelled. 'The delusional American president knows that he cannot impose peace on us by imposing war and threatening us,' he said. 01:46 Israel's military said its fighter jets targeted the Arak heavy water reactor, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran, to prevent it from being used to produce plutonium. Iranian state TV said there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever' around the Arak site, which it said had been evacuated ahead of the strike. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that potentially can be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to alleviate proliferation concerns. That work was never completed. The reactor became a point of contention after Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. Ali Akbar Salehi, a high-ranking nuclear official in Iran, said in 2019 that Tehran bought extra parts to replace a portion of the reactor that it had poured concrete into under the deal. Israel said strikes were carried out "in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development.' The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that due to restrictions imposed by Iran on inspectors, the UN nuclear watchdog has lost 'continuity of knowledge' about Iran's heavy water production — meaning it could not absolutely verify Tehran's production and stockpile.
Scroll.in
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Trump says he will decide whether US will get involved in Israel-Iran conflict within 2 weeks
United States President Donald Trump will decide within the next two weeks whether Washington will get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran, the White House said on Thursday. The remarks came amid speculation about the US joining Israeli military operations in Iran. During a media briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quoted a message from Trump: 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' The president's priority was to ensure that Iran did not develop a nuclear weapon, Leavitt added. The US administration has said that Iran has 'never been closer' to building a nuclear weapon, BBC reported. On Wednesday, Trump declined to confirm plans about his involvement in the conflict. 'I may do it, I may not do it,' he told reporters. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.' Washington is an ally of Israel and acts as a guarantor of the country's security. Hours later, Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iran's deputy foreign minister, told BBC that it would cause 'hell' in West Asia if the US got involved. 'This is not America's war,' Khatibzadeh added. The developments came as Israel and Iran continued to exchange fire. On Thursday, the Israeli military announced that it had targeted the Arak nuclear reactor in Iran and struck what it claimed was a nuclear weapons development site in the Natanz area. The Arak facility is a partially-built heavy-water research reactor. The latest round of the conflict between Israel and Iran started on June 13 when the Israeli military struck what it claimed were nuclear targets, and also other sites, in Iran with the aim of stalling Tehran's nuclear programme. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel. The attacks have led to concerns of a wider conflict in the region. On June 15, Iran had said that 224 persons had been killed in the conflict. However, Washington-based rights group Human Rights Activists has claimed that Israeli strikes have killed at least 657 persons in Iran and injured more than 2,000 so far, the Associated Press reported. In Israel, at least 24 persons have been killed in Iranian attacks so far. Israel has claimed that Iran was 'closer than ever' to obtaining a nuclear weapon, and said it had no choice but to 'fulfil the obligation to act in defence of its citizens'. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
