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Iran’s foreign minister warned Wednesday its forces would respond immediately and forcefully to any US military operation after President Donald Trump declared time was running out to avoid one, but did not rule out a new deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme.The Islamic republic’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi warned its forces have their “fingers on the trigger” to “powerfully respond” to any US strikes, but also used language strikingly similar to Trump’s to describe a possible agreement to defuse the stand-off through a new nuclear deal.”Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR DEAL — on equal footing, and free from coercion, threats, and intimidation — which ensures Iran’s rights to PEACEFUL nuclear technology, and guarantees NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS,” Araghchi posted on X.”Such weapons have no place in our security calculations and we have NEVER sought to acquire them,” he added, restating Tehran’s long-standing insistence — dismissed by sceptical Western capitals — that its nuclear programme is focused only on research and civilian energy development. Earlier, before Trump’s latest declaration, Araghchi had said “conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful”. But if some saw his shift in tone as an opening, Ali Shamkani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, posted more stark language warning of conflict and strikes on US ally Israel.”A limited strike is an illusion,” he posted on X. “Any military action, from America from any origin and at any level, will be considered the start of war, and its response will be immediate, all-out and unprecedented, targeting the heart of Tel Aviv and all supporters of the aggressor.”- ‘Massive armada’ -Hours earlier, Trump had warned that a “massive armada” of US naval vessels was heading to waters off Iran and ready “to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary”.But, mirroring Trump’s language, Araghchi added: “Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties.”After Trump issued his latest threat, his top diplomat Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Iranian leadership was at its weakest ever point and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz predicted the Islamic republic’s “days are numbered” after this month’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.Separately, Germany’s ally France joined Berlin in backing a push for the European Union to declare Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a “terrorist organisation”.  The IRGC is seen as Iran’s ideological army with the mandate to ensure the survival of the 1979 Islamic revolution. It is already designated as a terror group by Canada and the United States, but not yet by the EU or UK.Anti-government protests erupted in late December and peaked on January 8 and 9. A rights group said more than 6,200 people were killed.Washington has expressed support for the revolt, but Trump’s recent statements have focused more on Iran’s nuclear programme than the fate of the demonstrators.In June last year the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic republic. – ‘Severe damage’ -Analysts say US options include strikes on military facilities or targeted hits against the leadership under Khamenei, in a full-scale bid to bring down the system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the shah.Following a call on Tuesday between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Iran reached out to other US allies in the region.The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also foreign minister and expressed support for “efforts aimed at reducing escalation”, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meanwhile held separate calls with both Araghchi and Witkoff, and stressed the need to “work towards de-escalation”, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.- ‘New dimensions of crackdown’ -In an updated toll, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 6,221 people had been killed, including 5,856 protesters, 100 minors, 214 members of the security forces and 49 bystanders.But the group added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities. At least 42,324 people have been arrested, it said.HRANA warned that security forces were searching hospitals for wounded protesters, saying this highlighted “new dimensions of the continued security crackdown”.Monitor Netblocks on Wednesday said internet connectivity was back to around 95 percent nearly three weeks after the blackout was imposed by authorities, but cautioned users still faced “heavy filtering”.

Iraq’s main candidate for the premiership Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday denounced Washington’s “blatant interference”, after President Donald Trump threatened to end all support to the country if Maliki took the post.The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.”We categorically reject the blatant American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs,” said Maliki, the only former Iraqi prime minister to have served two terms since the invasion.”We consider it a violation” of Iraq’s “democratic system”, in place since 2003, he added on X.In response to Trump’s threat, several hundred people protested in the evening near the US embassy in Baghdad, chanting “Yes for Maliki”, while some burned a poster bearing the image of Trump and an American flag, an AFP journalist said.Maliki fell out with Washington during his premiership (2006-2014) over growing ties with Iran and accusations that he pushed a sectarian agenda. But the 75-year-old shrewd politician has remained a central figure in Iraq’s politics and a powerbroker whose approval is considered indispensable to any governing coalition.On Tuesday, Trump said that Iraq would make a “very bad choice” if Maliki were selected for the top post.He warned that because of Maliki’s “insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq”. Maliki was endorsed as Iraq’s next prime minister by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite groups with varying links to Iran that has emerged in recent years as the main ruling coalition.- ‘Until the end’ -Since the invasion, Iraq has long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, with successive governments negotiating a delicate balance between the two foes.But Iraq’s new prime minister is set to return to power at a time of seismic changes in the Middle East, as Tehran’s regional influence wanes and as Washington threatens possible military intervention in Iran.In his post on Wednesday, Maliki said the US involvement “infringes upon the Coordination Framework’s decision to nominate” its candidate. He added that, in line with that decision, he “will continue to work until the end, in a way that achieves the higher interests of the Iraqi people”.Several Iraqi political sources told AFP that the coalition is set to meet soon to discuss Trump’s ultimatum.It is “a complicated situation”, said a source close to the Framework, adding that there had been internal divisions within the coalition over supporting Maliki, but that a majority vote ultimately settled the issue.Maliki’s backers are now pushing to maintain his candidacy and “not back down”, he added.Trump’s statement came days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced similar concerns in a telephone call with outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.Sudani’s parliamentary bloc said on Wednesday that choosing a prime minister is an “Iraqi affair”, while stressing the need “for positive, balanced relations with friendly and allied countries, especially the United States, based on mutual respect”.The US had also sent a letter to Iraqi politicians saying that Washington views Maliki negatively, political sources told AFP.Iraq’s new premier will be expected to address Washington’s longstanding demand that Baghdad disarm Tehran-backed factions, many of which are designated terrorist groups by the United States.- ‘Precarious moment’ -Two US-sanctioned armed groups that are part of the Coordination Framework on Wednesday slammed Trump’s meddling in Iraq’s affairs.”We reject all attempts to interfere in our country’s internal affairs or influence the peaceful transfer of power, and we refuse any external dictates,” said the Asaib Ahl al-Haq faction, while Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada also expressed its rejection of Trump’s remarks.Last month, Iraqi officials and diplomats told AFP that Washington demanded that the incoming government exclude Iran-backed armed groups.Before Trump’s call, an Iraqi political source said that the Coordination Framework was set on moving forward with the nomination, believing that Maliki could eventually allay Washington’s concerns.Maliki “thinks differently today”, an Iraqi politician told AFP.After decades of conflicts and chaos, Iraq has recently regained a sense of stability.But it is struggling with weak economic growth and cannot risk punitive measures by the US, which has already sanctioned several Iraqi entities, accusing them of helping Tehran evade sanctions.Political scientist Renad Mansour warned that the US might use its leverage over Iraq. “Sanctions, access to US dollars… and of course, the military threat is there,” he said, referring to strikes against pro-Iran groups.”Iraq is now in a very precarious moment… and there’s a lot of concerns over the relatively newfound stability.”

Tova Friedman, one of the dwindling band of Holocaust survivors, took to the floor of the German parliament Wednesday to urge lawmakers to get “tougher” on resurgent antisemitism.In a speech that left some MPs visibly moved, 87-year-old Friedman recounted her experiences as a survivor of the Auschwitz extermination camp and appealed on those present to “use your power to fight”.”Don’t let antisemitism grow and bloom here,” she said.Born in 1938 close to Danzig (modern-day Gdansk in Poland), she survived Auschwitz after being sent there at the age of five together with her mother.Her family emigrated to the United States after the war, where she became a psychotherapist.”I walked out of Auschwitz thinking I’ll never have to be afraid again to be Jewish, never again, but here we are,” she said.”Now, 81 years later, much of the world has turned against us,” Friedman told the audience.”I just hope with all my heart that you become, say, a little tougher” in combatting antisemitism, she told those present, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.”Jews around the world again feel exposed, targeted, and hated,” she said.Friedman gave the example of her own grandson having to hide his Star of David and her granddaughter leaving her student dormitory after being harassed.”Shouts of: ‘Hitler was right!’ and ‘Gas the Jews’ are heard on the streets of New York, Paris, Amsterdam, London,” she said.She was applauded for several minutes at the end of her speech, held as part of a special session to commemorate Nazi Germany’s murder of six million European Jews during World War II.Germany has grown increasingly alarmed about rising anti-Jewish sentiment since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.A record 6,236 antisemitic crimes were recorded in 2024, compared with just 2,641 in 2022, according to figures from the federal domestic intelligence agency (BfV).Nearly half of those incidents were attributed to right-wing extremism.The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has a narrow lead in some national polls, and the party includes figures who have called for the country to move away from its “culture of remembrance” of Nazi atrocities.

Israel on Wednesday laid to rest the last hostage from Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the funeral that the country’s enemies would pay a heavy price for any future aggression.Netanyahu’s threat came as Hamas told AFP it was prepared to carry out a full transfer of governance in Gaza to a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee established under a US-backed ceasefire plan.Hundreds of tearful mourners packed a stadium in southern Israel on Wednesday for the funeral of Ran Gvili, the last Gaza hostage whose burial marked the end of a painful national saga triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attack.Israeli forces on Monday brought home the remains of Gvili, who was killed in action and whose body Palestinian militants took into Gaza during their attack.A large banner bearing Gvili’s portrait hung inside a stadium in Meitar, the hometown of the 24-year-old police officer, where crowds gathered for his funeral before he was laid to rest.In front of the sombre crowd, which included tearful family members, Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, Gvili’s coffin lay draped in an Israeli flag.”I hoped you would come back on your own two feet, and that gave me strength,” said his mother Talik Gvili in her eulogy, describing her son as “the first to leave, last to return”.”For two years and four months, we talked about you constantly, and you became everyone’s child,” she added. “Rani, you are with me all the time.” Herzog hailed the return of his remains but said he could only regret not having known Gvili while he was alive.”Gvili family, I ask you, as president, for forgiveness that we were not there for him… an entire nation mourns with you today,” he said during the ceremony.An officer in the elite Yassam unit, Gvili was on medical leave ahead of shoulder surgery when Hamas launched its deadly attack in southern Israel, but grabbed his gun and raced towards the area.Of the 251 hostages taken by militants on that day, Gvili’s were the last remains held in the Palestinian territory.”Know this, you cowards: Rani and the martyrs give us the strength to erase you from the world, to erase evil, to wipe out the seed of Hamas and (Islamic) Jihad,” Talik Gvili told the crowd of mourners, referring to the two Palestinian militant groups.- ‘Hero of Israel’ -Netanyahu described Gvili as a “hero of Israel” and announced the creation of a new village in his honour as he offered his eulogy.He warned Israel’s enemies that they would pay a heavy price if they attacked Israel.”We are determined to complete our missions: to disarm Hamas and demilitarise Gaza, and we will succeed. Let our enemies know that anyone who raises a hand against Israel will pay an exorbitant price,” he said.The return of the hostages from Gaza dragged on over the course of the war between Israel and Hamas in a series of ceasefire and prisoner-swap deals as well as efforts to rescue them militarily.The most recent set of hostage handovers was part of the US-backed Gaza ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10.The first phase of the deal stipulated the return of every hostage, and Gvili’s family had opposed moving on to the second phase before they had received his remains.Nicknamed the “Defender of Alumim” by his family and the kibbutz of that name, Gvili was killed in combat during the October attack.Earlier, a hush had fallen over the stadium as a large screen broadcast the arrival of the coffin carrying his body. As some in the crowd began to cry, only muffled sobs broke the silence.Hundreds of onlookers clutching Israeli flags had lined the roads as a convoy carrying Gvili’s body headed from the military base Camp Shura in central Israel towards Meitar under an overcast sky.- ‘Suffering is immense’ -“Today, my brother, this hero, has come home… you are the pride of the entire nation,” said Gvili’s brother Omri during the ceremony.”Our suffering is immense, but the pride we feel for you is even greater.”On Tuesday, Netanyahu said that Israel had “fully completed the sacred mission of returning all of our hostages”.Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem meanwhile said the group was ready to transfer the governance of Gaza to the Palestinian committee.”Protocols are prepared, files are complete, and committees are in place to oversee the handover, ensuring a complete transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip across all sectors to the technocratic committee,” Qassem said.The committee is charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza and will work under the supervision of the “Board of Peace”, chaired by US President Donald Trump.bur-vid-acc-jd/jsa

President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned time is running out for Iran to come to the table and avoid US military action, provoking Tehran to retort that it would respond to any attack “like never before”.Trump has not ruled out an attack after this month’s deadly crackdown on protests. Last June, the US carried out a night of strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic republic. A US naval strike group that Trump described as an “armada” led by aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln is now lurking in Middle East waters.A rights group said that it has verified over 6,200 deaths, mostly of protesters killed by security forces, in the wave of demonstrations that rocked the clerical leadership since late December but peaked on January 8 and 9.Activists say that the actual toll could be many times higher, with an internet shutdown still complicating efforts to confirm information about the scale of the killings.In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump did not mention the protests but said Iran needed to negotiate a deal over its nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.”Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” said Trump.Referring to American strikes against Iranian nuclear targets during the June war which he said resulted in “major destruction of Iran”, he added: “The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again”.In response Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted a screenshot of Trump’s threat on X and wrote: “Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests — BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!”Analysts say US options include strikes on military facilities or targeted hits against the leadership under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a full-scale bid to bring down the system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the shah.- ‘Severe damage’ -But Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said before Trump’s comments were published that “conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful”.”If they want negotiations to take shape, they must certainly set aside threats, excessive demands and raising illogical issues,” he said in televised comments.Araghchi said he had “no contact” with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days and that “Iran has not sought negotiations”.Iranian armed forces chief of staff Habibollah Sayyari warned the US against any “miscalculation”, saying that “they too would suffer damage”.Following a call on Tuesday between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Iran reached out to other US allies in the region, in an apparent bid to rally support.The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also foreign minister, both sides said.Sheikh Mohammed emphasised Qatar’s support for “all efforts aimed at reducing escalation and achieving peaceful solutions”, the Qatari foreign ministry said.Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meanwhile held separate calls with both Araghchi and Witkoff, Cairo said.Abdelatty stressed the need to intensify efforts to “ease tensions and work towards deescalation” and resuming dialogue, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Al-Jazeera television: “It’s wrong to attack Iran. It’s wrong to start the war again.” He urged Washington to reopen talks on the nuclear standoff.- ‘New dimensions of crackdown’ -In an updated toll, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 6,221 people had been killed, including 5,856 protesters, 100 minors, 214 members of the security forces and 49 bystanders.But the group added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities. At least 42,324 people have been arrested, it said.HRANA warned that security forces were searching hospitals for wounded protesters, saying this highlighted “new dimensions of the continued security crackdown”.HRANA said a trial in Malard outside Tehran on Tuesday of a man accused over the death of a police officer was the first such hearing linked to the protests. Images of the hearing were broadcast on state television in Iran. It was a “starting point for a broad series of trials” that would be “aimed at imposing severe penalties on protesters”, HRANA said.Meanwhile, Iran on Wednesday executed a man arrested last year on charges of spying for Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said. Rights groups fear some protesters could also face the death penalty.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow on Wednesday, as the Kremlin seeks to secure the future of military bases vital for its operations in the Middle East.Russia was a key ally of Sharaa’s predecessor Bashar al-Assad during the bloody 14-year Syrian civil war. His toppling at the hands of Sharaa’s rebel forces dealt a major blow to Russia’s influence in the region and threw the status of its prized military bases in Syria into doubt.Putin has been working to build relations with Sharaa since, though Russia’s continued sheltering of Assad and his wife in Moscow remains a major obstacle to improving ties.”Much has been accomplished in terms of restoring our interstate relations,” Putin said in a televised meeting with Sharaa.”We have closely monitored your efforts to restore Syria’s territorial integrity and I want to congratulate you on the momentum this process is gaining,” Putin said, apparently referring to Sharaa’s recent offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria’s northeast.Sharaa, in his second meeting with Putin since coming to power, said Russia had a “historic role not only in Syria’s unity and stability, but in that of the entire region.”Neither mentioned Russia’s military presence in Syria, though Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier he had “no doubt” the issue would come up in their talks.Russia has two remaining military outposts in the country, the Hmeimim airbase and Tartus naval base on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.They are Russia’s only two official military bases outside the former Soviet Union.The Kremlin withdrew its forces from the Qamishli airport in Kurdish-held northeast Syria earlier this week.Syria has expressed a willingness to cooperate with Moscow, though has repeatedly demanded that Russia extradite Assad.US President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised Sharaa as “highly respected” and said things there were “working out very well”.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Iran that time was running out for the Islamic republic to prevent American military intervention as Tehran rejected holding negotiations against a backdrop of threats.Trump has never ruled out a new attack on Iran in the wake of its deadly crackdown on protests this month, to follow the 12-day June war between the Islamic republic and Israel which the US backed and joined. A US naval strike group that Trump described as an “armada” led by aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln is now lurking in Middle East waters.A rights group said that it has verified over 6,200 deaths, mostly of protesters killed by security forces, in the wave of demonstrations that rocked the clerical leadership since late December but peaked on January 8-9.Activists say that the actual toll could be many times higher, with an internet shutdown still complicating efforts to confirm information about the scale of the killings.In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump did not mention the protests but said Iran needed to negotiate a deal over its nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.”Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” said Trump.Referring to American strikes against Iranian nuclear targets during the June war which he said resulted in “major destruction of Iran”, he added: “The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again”.Analysts say options include strikes on military facilities or targeted hits against the leadership under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a full-scale bid to bring down the system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the shah.- ‘Severe damage’ -But Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said before Trump’s comments were published that “conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful”.”If they want negotiations to take shape, they must certainly set aside threats, excessive demands and raising illogical issues,” he said in televised comments.Araghchi said he had “no contact” with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days and that “Iran has not sought negotiations”.Iranian armed forces chief of staff Habibollah Sayyari warned the US against any “miscalculation”, saying that “they too would suffer damage”.New billboards have meanwhile appeared in Tehran, including one showing Iran striking an American aircraft carrier, according to AFP journalists.- ‘Ease tensions’ -Following a call on Tuesday between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Iran reached out to other US allies in the region, in an apparent bid to rally support.The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also foreign minister, both sides said.Sheikh Mohammed emphasised Qatar’s support for “all efforts aimed at reducing escalation and achieving peaceful solutions”, the Qatari foreign ministry said.Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meanwhile held separate calls with both Araghchi and Witkoff, Cairo said.Abdelatty stressed the need to intensify efforts to “ease tensions and work towards deescalation” and create the “necessary conditions to resume dialogue between the US and Iran”, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Al-Jazeera television that “it’s wrong to attack Iran. It’s wrong to start the war again”. He called on Washington to reopen talks on the nuclear standoff.- ‘New dimensions of crackdown’ -In an updated toll, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 6,221 people had been killed, including 5,856 protesters, 100 minors, 214 members of the security forces and 49 bystanders.But the group  added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities. At least 42,324 people have been arrested, it said.HRANA warned that security forces were searching hospitals for wounded protesters, saying this highlighted “new dimensions of the continued security crackdown”.HRANA said that a trial in Malard outside Tehran on Tuesday of a man accused over the death of a police officer was the first such hearing linked to the protests. Images of the hearing were broadcast on state television in Iran. It was a “starting point for a broad series of trials” that would be “aimed at imposing severe penalties on protesters”, HRANA said.Meanwhile, Iran on Wednesday executed a man arrested in April 2025 on charges of spying for Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said. Rights groups fear some protesters could also face the death penalty.