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Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a “heinous” suicide attack on a Damascus church would face justice, as he called for unity in the diverse, multi-faith country.The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said.The Islamist authorities who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group, which has not yet claimed the attack.”We promise… that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialised security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” interim President Sharaa said in a statement.The attack follows incidents of sectarian violence in recent months, with security one of the greatest challenges for the new authorities.The attack “reminds us of the importance of solidarity, and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation’s security and stability”, Sharaa said.Interior Minister Anas Khattab and intelligence services chief Hussein al-Salameh held an emergency meeting to discuss the investigations, the ministry said in a statement.The attack was the first suicide bombing in a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.It was also the first attack of its kind in the Syrian capital since Assad’s ouster.A prayer service at the church is scheduled for 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).- Foreign condemnation -Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged them to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria’s transition, particularly after the recent violence.Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said Sunday that “the security of places of worship is a red line, and all efforts will be made to ensure people’s freedom to perform their religious rites”.IS “aims to sow sectarian division and incite all components of Syrian society to take up arms, seeking to show that the Syrian state is unable to protect its communities and citizens”, he told a press conference.The top cleric of Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority, Grand Mufti Osama al-Rifai, condemned acts of violence and terrorism in a statement Monday.”We express our complete rejection of targeting places of worship and terrorising believers,” he said.Foreign condemnation of the attack continued to roll in on Monday.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, vowing that Turkey would “continue to support the Syrian government’s fight against terrorism”.Turkey, which is close to the new authorities, has repeatedly offered its operational and military support to fight IS and other militant threats. French President Emmanuel Macron also denounced the “horrible” attack, while the EU said it “stands in solidarity” with Syria in combating ethnic and religious violence.”It is a grave reminder of the need to intensify efforts against the terrorist threat and to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh and other terrorist organisations,” spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said, using another name for IS.Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed anger after the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church, calling on the new authorities “to take concrete measures to protect all ethnic and religious minorities”.Syria’s Christian community has shrunk from around one million before the war to fewer than 300,000 due to waves of displacement and emigration.IS seized large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in the early years of the civil war, declaring a cross-border “caliphate” in 2014.The jihadists were territorially defeated in Syria 2019 but have maintained a presence, particularly in the country’s vast desert.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a “heinous” suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.”We promise… that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialised security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice,” Sharaa said in a statement.The attack “reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation’s security and stability”, he added.Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack — the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities’ greatest challenges.Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria’s transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.

Around 84 percent of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz is destined for Asia, leaving the economies of China, India, South Korea and others vulnerable should Iran blockade the crucial trading route over US strikes on its nuclear sites.Around 14.2 million barrels of crude oil and 5.9 million barrels of other petroleum products pass …

Asian countries most vulnerable to Strait of Hormuz blockade Read More »

An Israeli strike on Evin prison in Tehran on Monday is completely irresponsible and puts prisoners “in mortal danger”, said Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler who is jailed there.Iran’s judiciary said Israeli strikes left sections of the facility damaged and Israel’s defence minister confirmed the army was targeting it.Cecile Kohler has been held along with her partner Jacques Paris in Evin since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject.Overall, Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals in what some Western governments describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.Most are held in Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex notorious among activists for rights abuses.It is located in a northern district of the Iranian capital.”This strike is completely irresponsible. Cecile, Jacques and all the prisoners are in mortal danger,” Noemie Kohler told AFP.”This is really the worst thing that could have happened,” she added.”We have no news, we don’t know if they are still alive, we’re panicking,” Noemie Kohler said.She urged the French authorities to “condemn these extremely dangerous strikes” and secure the release of the French prisoners.She also expressed concern about the risk of “chaos” and “riots”.Noemie Kohler has tirelessly campaigned to secure the release of her sister and her sister’s partner Jacques Paris.Chirinne Ardakani, a lawyer for the Kohler family, denounced the strikes as “illegal”.”The risk of riots, general confusion and reprisals by the security forces against the insurgent prisoners raises fears of bloodshed,” she told AFP.”Both sides are playing with people’s lives.”The Iranian judiciary’s website, Mizan Online, said that the prison buildings remained “under control.”

Loud explosions rocked Tehran on Monday as Israel said it struck “regime targets” in the city, escalating tensions a day after US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel and vowed retaliation against the United States, as both sides intensified attacks on the war’s 11th day.An Iranian news agency said Israel struck Fordo — a key nuclear enrichment facility buried deep in the mountains south of Tehran. The previous day, the United States hit the site with “bunker buster” bombs in support of its ally Israel.”The aggressor attacked the Fordo nuclear site again,” the Tasnim agency reported, quoting a provincial official.President Donald Trump boasted Sunday’s US strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the impact on Iran’s nuclear programme, which Israel and some Western states consider an existential threat.Aerial assaults meanwhile raged on, with sirens sounding across Israel and AFP journalists reporting blasts were heard over Jerusalem.The Israeli military said it had struck missile sites in western Iran, “six Iranian regime airports” across the country, and unspecified “military targets” in the capital.An AFP journalist in Tehran reported hearing loud explosions in the city’s north, and the Iranian Red Crescent said an Israeli strike hit near its building in the same area.Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military was “carrying out strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government oppression in the heart of Tehran”, adding to speculation that Israel may seek to topple Iran’s clerical leadership.Iranian media said Israel’s strikes hit a power supply system in Tehran, triggering outages.In Israel, the national electricity company reported “damage near a strategic infrastructure facility” in the south that disrupted power supply, without naming the location or specifying the cause.Some details of the damage in Israel are barred from publication due to military censorship rules.An AFP photographer in Tel Aviv saw people rush to a bomb shelter after sirens sounded, including beach-goers with in swimsuits and carrying surfing boards.Footage shared by the Israeli military of what it said were the latest airport strikes showed grainy black-and-white footage of fighter jets and helicopters explode upon impact.Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran’s health ministry said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.- ‘Extremely dangerous’ -After the US strikes, global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday but dipping later in the day.China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout.Iranian armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on state television that the US “hostile act”, following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would “pave the way for the extension of war in the region”.”The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you,” he warned.Oman, a key mediator in the stalled Iran-US nuclear talks, condemned the US strikes and called for calm.Iran’s foreign ministry accused Washington of betraying diplomacy.”Future generations will not forget that the Iranians were in the middle of a diplomatic process with a country that is now at war with us,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said closing the strategic strait would be “extremely dangerous”.With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad.In Bahrain, home to a major US base, the US embassy said it had “temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework” citing “heightened regional tensions”.- Trump touts ‘regime change’ -After the Pentagon stressed the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea.”If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.Hours later he posted: “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran… Obliteration is an accurate term!”At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said “initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country’s bombardments would “finish” once the stated objectives of destroying Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved.”We are very, very close to completing them,” he said.Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage.”Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place,” he added.Iran has consistently denied seeking an atomic bomb, and Grossi has said there was no evidence to suggest so despite the Islamic republic’s advanced uranium enrichment and other activities.The IAEA said on Monday Tehran had informed it of “special measures to protect nuclear material” when the Israeli campaign began.The US agency also said it was seeking access to Iranian nuclear sites to “account for” stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States of deciding to “blow up” nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war.burs-ami/dv

President Donald Trump said Sunday that US strikes on Iran caused “monumental damage” to its nuclear sites, as Washington joined ally Israel’s bombing campaign.While Washington insists the United States is not seeking to topple the government in the Islamic republic, comments by US President Donald Trump have been more ambivalent.With Iran vowing retaliation and the international community pushing to avert a wider conflagration in the region, here are the latest developments:- ‘Obliteration’ -Trump wrote on social media on Sunday that “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” He did not share the images he was referencing. The attack targeted Isfahan, Natanz and the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, with Iran’s media reporting that all three sites had been hit.US Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said seven B-2 stealth bombers had flown 18 hours to drop 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs — a powerful 13,600-kilogram (30,000-pound) weapon.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes had “devastated the Iranian nuclear programme”, but “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people”.Vice President JD Vance said the US air strikes had “set the Iranian nuclear programme back substantially”.- ‘Regime change’ -Trump “seeks peace”, Hegseth said at a press briefing, adding: “This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change.”But Trump himself, in comments later Sunday, mulled the possibility.”It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”Iran “must now agree to end this war”, Trump said after the strikes, insisting that under no circumstances should it possess a nuclear weapon.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “thanks to President Trump, we have moved closer to our goals”.At a UN Security Council emergency meeting Sunday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned against “descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation”.The leaders of France, Germany and Britain called on Iran “not to take any further action that could destabilise the region”.The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at key nuclear sites in Iran after the US strikes.- ‘Worldwide caution’ -Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation.”Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces,” he said in a message carried by the official IRNA news agency.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also vowed that the United States would “receive a response” to the attacks. The US State Department issued a “worldwide caution” for Americans on Sunday, saying the conflict in the Middle East could put those travelling or living abroad at increased risk.”There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad,” the State Department’s security alert said.”The Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution.”- Iran and Israel trade fire -Sirens sounded across Israel and Iran early Monday as the arch enemies exchanged their latest round of fire.The Israeli army said it was intercepting missiles from Iran, while Iranian state media Fars said the air defence system was working to counter a drone attack. After the US attacks, Iran’s armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel, including Ben Gurion airport, a “biological research” facility, logistics bases and various layers of command and control centres.Tehran governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian told state TV that “more than 200 locations have been attacked” across the capital since the start of Israel’s bombing campaign on June 13.Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran’s health ministry said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.- Strait of Hormuz -US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route, following the American strikes.Analysts have said Iran may opt to retaliate to Washington’s attack by shutting the Strait, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.”I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that because they heavily depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio said on Fox News.burs-csp/tc/lb