Latest news with #militaryStrikes
SBS Australia
3 hours ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Thousands from Tehran have fled their home. Those who've stayed say they feel 'constant anxiety'
As Iran and Israel continue to trade strikes, human rights organisations have warned of the humanitarian toll of the conflict on both sides. Credit: Middle East Images / ABACA / PA/ Alamy / SBS Persian Columns of "black smoke" rising from different corners of the city, "loud explosive sounds", the constant noise of "gunfire", and empty streets — this is how some in Iran's capital of Tehran are describing their city, a week into the country's conflict with Israel. "I'm in constant anxiety," one citizen told SBS News, hours before the latest internet blackout in Iran. "When I want to sleep in the evening, I think to myself, should I tell my wife, 'I love you'? Should I tell her 'I had a good life with you'? What if this is the last moment?" Another person from Tehran said: "If I say I'm not scared, I'd be lying. We were all scared, we're all anxious. The future is uncertain for all of us." The conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on Friday, 13 June, after Israel launched an aerial assault that it said was aimed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Nuclear facilities, military sites and residential buildings were hit, while Iranian media said military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians were killed. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel, and the two countries have continued to trade deadly attacks since. As of Friday, at least 25 people have been killed in Iranian strikes, according to Israel. Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, but authorities have not issued an updated toll since. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a Washington-based Iranian human rights group, has said at least 639 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Iran. Human rights groups are urging Israeli and Iranian authorities to protect civilians. "What we are seeing in both of these countries is a pattern of indiscriminate and unlawful attacks," Kyinzom Dhongdue, advocacy manager at Amnesty International Australia, told SBS News. "These are not just morally unconscionable, these are a direct breach of human rights law." Iran's capital has been one of the main targets of Israel's attacks in the past seven days. Eyewitnesses from Tehran told SBS News that many had left their homes in recent days. "Many people have left the city to save their lives. The city is almost empty. Most shops are closed. Right now, life in Tehran is not in a good state," one person said. Another person from Tehran said "the usual sound of the city has disappeared". Living in a state of uncertainty, Tehranis say they are concerned for their city, which is completely different from just a week ago. "I'm seeing my city just from the window," a person from Tehran said. "On one hand, I want to go and see up close what's happening," they said. "I want to see it with my own eyes. "But I can't, because I'm scared." Evacuating Tehran has come at a cost for some of its people. Iranian Australian Ramak Bamzar worries for her father in Iran. The Tehran resident was diagnosed with colon cancer a few weeks ago and was receiving urgent treatment at a hospital in the capital. Bamzar said her father was forced to evacuate Tehran amid strikes, as an area near the hospital was bombed. This has meant he has had to stop chemotherapy. "They shot the spot near the hospital, not exactly the hospital, but the shock was really massive," she told SBS News. "He was on the bed in the hospital to start the chemo[therapy] and the nurses, they fainted." Bamzar said her father is now living in limbo. 'We don't know when he can start doing treatment, and it could be very dangerous for him if he doesn't do it as soon as possible. "It's really serious — having cancer and war, it's just like which one is more important?" Amir Ali Savadkoohi, an ICU doctor in Tehran, told SBS News there is dwindling medical support in the city. "Many people have left Tehran, and we're facing a shortage of nurses and doctors," he said. "We've mostly tried to merge departments to make the most of the limited medical staff we have." While Bamzar has not been able to contact her father in the last two days, as many Iranians have lost access to the internet, the distance between father and daughter is being felt more than ever before. "If I was there, maybe I could do something. Here, you are just desperate. You feel like you have no power to do anything to help," she said. While some have decided to flee Tehran, others have decided to stay. Iranian Australian Fariman Kashani's 72-year-old mother is one of them. "She's very strong. She decided to stay at home. She said, 'If they're gonna bomb me, I choose to stay and die in my house,'" he said. Separated by thousands of kilometres, Kashani says he feels "helpless". "I can feel how damaging war can be," he said. "I can feel it with my whole body and my heart."
News24
9 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
‘Are we targeting the downfall of the regime?' Israel claims hit on Iran nuclear site
Israel hit several sites in Iran, including nuclear facilities. Iran launched missiles at Israel as the war ended its first week. The Trump administration will decide on US action in two weeks. The Israeli military said on Friday it carried out strikes on dozens of military targets in Iran overnight, including an attack on the Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), which it said is involved in Iran's nuclear weapons development. The Israeli army said Friday sirens had sounded in southern Israel after missiles were fired from Iran, according to AFP. 'Sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,' the military said on Telegram, adding it was working to intercept them. Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after US President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. READ | Netanyahu warns Iran will 'pay a heavy price' for hospital strike as Trump mulls US action Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, and sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials. Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, although it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites. Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday. 'Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one,' said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister. AFP US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met Lammy on Thursday and held separate calls with his counterparts from Australia, France and Italy to discuss the conflict. The US State Department said that Rubio and the foreign ministers agreed that 'Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.' Lammy said the same on X while adding that the situation in the Middle East 'remained perilous' and a 'window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution'. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The role of the US remained uncertain. AFP Lammy also met Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, on Thursday in Washington, and said they had discussed a possible deal. Witkoff has spoken with Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. The White House said Trump will take part in a national security meeting on Friday morning. The president has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict. Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a 'bunker buster' bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war. That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used 'two weeks' as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide. With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. 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. '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.
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential U.S. involvement would be made within two weeks. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, but also has sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials. "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. Iran has said it is targeting military and defense-related sites in Israel, but it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites. Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday. "Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The role of the United States, meanwhile, remained uncertain. On Thursday in Washington, Lammy met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, and said they discussed a possible deal. Witkoff has spoken with Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. Trump, meanwhile, has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict. Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a "bunker buster" bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said on Thursday Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war. That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide. With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. 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. "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.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
What to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran
The open conflict sparked by Israel's sudden barrage of attacks against Iran's nuclear and military structure shows no signs of abating on the seventh day of hostilities between the two longtime foes that threatens to spiral into a wider, more dangerous regional war. An Iranian missile hit a hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, while others struck an apartment building in Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel, wounding at least 40 people. The barrage led Israel's defense minister to overtly threaten Iran's supreme leader. Israel, meanwhile, struck Iran's heavy water reactor, part of the country's nuclear program, which its government insists is meant for peaceful purposes only. Israel says Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. President Donald Trump has been making increasingly sharp warnings about the possibility of the U.S. joining in attacks against Iran, while Iran's leader has warned the United States would suffer 'irreparable damage' if it does so. The strikes began last Friday, with Israel targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites, killing several top military officials and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by firing hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, some of which have penetrated the country's vaunted multi-tiered air defense system. The region has been on edge for the past two years as Israel seeks to annihilate the Hamas militant group, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Here's what to know about the conflict between Israel and Iran: An Iranian missile hit Soroka Medical Center, in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, early Thursday, striking an old surgery building that had been evacuated in recent days. The hospital, the largest health-care facility in southern Israel, has over 1,000 beds and serves around 1 million residents of the area. Several people were lightly wounded in the strike, local authorities said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, vowing to 'exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.' Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the strike, and said the military 'has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.' U.S. officials said this week that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei. Trump later said there were no plans to kill him, 'at least not for now.' Many Israeli hospitals have activated emergency plans in the past week, moving patients underground to be treated in parking areas converted into hospital floors. Israel also boasts a fortified, subterranean blood bank. On Monday, Iranian authorities said at least 224 people had been killed and more than 1,200 wounded in Israeli strikes. No updated figures have been made available, but a Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded. Retaliatory Iranian strikes on Israel have killed 24 people and wounded hundreds. Israeli fighter jets targeted Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, located about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran, on Thursday. Heavy water is used as a coolant for certain types of reactors, with plutonium -- which can be used to make an atomic bomb -- produced as a byproduct. 'The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development,' the Israeli military said. Iranian state television said there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever' and that the facility had been evacuated before the attack. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the heavy water research reactor was hit, adding that 'it was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so no radiological effects.' The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said it had no information on whether the heavy water plant next to the reactor had been hit. Israel views Iran's nuclear program as an existential threat, and has said its airstrikes are necessary to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon. U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA have repeatedly said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon when Israel unleashed its airstrikes. But the U.N. agency has questioned Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium and last week censured the country for failing to comply with inspectors. Iran enriches uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. It is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich at that level. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East but does not acknowledge having such weapons. Trump has made increasingly pointed warnings about the possibility of U.S. military involvement in the conflict. On Wednesday, he said he didn't want to carry out a U.S. strike on Iran but suggested he was ready to act if necessary. 'I'm not looking to fight,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'But if it's a choice between fighting and having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.' He has been noncommittal on what his plans might be. 'I may do it, I may not do it,' Trump said of a potential U.S. strike. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. Nothing is finished until it is finished. The next week is going to be very big — maybe less than a week.' Khamenei has rejected U.S. calls for surrender, saying that 'the Iranian nation is not one to surrender.' 'Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them,' he said in a video statement Wednesday. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Iran and Israel broaden attacks as conflict escalates
Israel and Iran issued evacuation orders to residents of both countries as the conflict escalated on a fourth day, underlining the potential to trigger a broader war. Iran on Monday threatened to leave the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and separately told the United Nations Security Council that its strikes on Israel were self- defence. In a letter to the Security Council, Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani added that any co-operation with Israel would make countries 'complicit in the legal responsibility and consequences of this crisis'. Meanwhile, Israeli forces issued an evacuation order to residents of a large part of Tehran, warning them of the imminent bombing of 'military infrastructure' in the area in a social-media post very similar to those regularly directed at Palestinians in Gaza over the past 20 months. READ MORE The post on X was from the account of the Israel Defense Forces ' Arabic spokesperson, Col Avichay Adraee, and is a further sign of the evolving nature of the Israeli campaign against Iran, which began with attacks on air defences, nuclear sites and the military chain of command, but appears to have drifted towards a war of attrition focused on Iran's oil and gas industry and on the capital. Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on Monday evening that a new wave of missile attacks on Israel had begun. The attacks include drones and missiles, believed to be targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv. More than 1,800 people in Iran have been injured since Israel launched its attack on June 13th, according to the country's health minister. A total of 24 people in Israel have been killed so far in the Iranian missile attacks, all of them civilians. In another sign of the changing targets of the Israeli offensive, Iran's state TV announced on Monday evening that it was under attack, and had to cease live broadcasting. The sound of an explosion could be heard in a live transmission, and the news presenter hurried off camera as dust and debris appeared in the studio. Speaking to personnel at Tel Nof air force base, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu , confirmed the evacuation orders on the Iranian capital. 'The Israeli air force controls the skies over Tehran. This changes the entire campaign,' he said. 'When we control the skies over Tehran, we strike regime targets, as opposed to the criminal Iranian regime which targets our civilians and comes to kill women and children. We tell the people of Tehran to evacuate, and we act.' Netanyahu later said killing Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, would 'end the conflict' in what would be another ominous escalation. After the surprise Israeli attack on Friday morning, Iran has carried out retaliatory missile strikes on Israeli cities, focusing on the most populated areas between Tel Aviv and the port of Haifa. Both sides have targeted each other's oil and gas facilities, increasing the threat of environmental disaster, and explosions were reported on Monday near oil refineries in southern Tehran. Earlier on Monday, Iran threatened to leave the NPT as Israeli bombing raids entered a fourth day, underlining the conflict's potential to trigger a broader war and Tehran's race to construct a nuclear weapon. The human cost of the war continued to escalate with both sides broadening their range of targets, as G7 leaders convened in the Canadian Rockies with no clear plan to end the conflict. There were reports on Monday that Donald Trump was refusing to sign a joint statement calling for the conflict to be scaled down. 'They should talk, and they should talk immediately,' Trump said of Tehran during the summit. 'I'd say Iran is not winning this war.' [ Israelis under attack from Iran shift to full-scale war mode Opens in new window ] The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, announced on Monday that Iran's parliament, the Majlis, was preparing a Bill that would withdraw the country from the 1968 NPT agreement, which obliges it to forgo nuclear weapons and to undergo international inspections to verify compliance. Baghaei added that Tehran remained opposed to the development of weapons of mass destruction. Israel is the only Middle East state with nuclear weapons and did not sign the NPT, but has never formally acknowledged its arsenal. US forces have so far helped Israel intercept Iranian missiles, but have not taken part, at least overtly, in offensive bombing operations. – Guardian and Reuters
