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Israel carried out “preemptive” strikes against Iran on Friday, targeting its nuclear plant and military sites, after US President Donald Trump warned of a possible “massive conflict” in the region. Explosions were heard Friday morning in the Iranian capital, state TV reported, adding that Iran’s air defence were at “100 percent operational capacity”.Israel declared a state of emergency, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying that retaliatory action from Tehran was possible following the operation.”Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” Katz said.Oil prices surged as much as 6 percent on the strikes, which came after Trump warned of a possible Iranian attack and said the US was drawing down staff in the region.”I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday when asked if an Israeli attack loomed. Trump said he believed a “pretty good” deal on Iran’s nuclear programme was “fairly close”, but said that an Israeli attack on its arch foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”Trump quickly added: “Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.”A US official said there had been no US involvement in the Israeli strikes on Iran.– ‘Extremist’ –The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq — long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran.Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defences last year.Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza.The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied.Israel again called for global action after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a “snapback” mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama.Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions.Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as “extremist” and blamed Israeli influence.In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment centre in a secure location.Iran would also replace “all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines” at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urging nations to take “all measures necessary” to place pressure on Israel.Following the United States’ veto of a similar push in the Security Council last week, the General Assembly adopted the non-binding resolution by a vote of 149-12, with 19 abstentions.The text demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, as well as “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” seized during the unprecedented Hamas attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023 that sparked the war.However it goes further than the US-vetoed text, taking direct aim at Israel over its impeding aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip.It “demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately end the blockade… and ensure that aid reaches the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip,” which after more than 20 months of war is facing a catastrophic humanitarian situation.It also calls on all UN members to “individually and collectively take all measures necessary, in line with international law… to ensure compliance by Israel with its obligations.”Israel’s envoy Danny Danon slammed the resolution in remarks to the press ahead of the vote, saying it is “a farce, is a moral failure, is a political stunt.”Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour meanwhile called on all nations to turn their votes “into resolute action.””No arms, no money, no trade to oppress Palestinians,” he urged.- ‘Accountability’ -Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the entire population is at risk of famine, according to the UN.The resolution adopted on Thursday “strongly (condemns) any use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access.”Israel recently ended a total blockade to allow some deliveries to resume through the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution centers.The United Nations, which until now has sought to coordinate aid deliveries throughout Gaza, refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency. It said Israeli forces killed another 21 people waiting for aid on Thursday.GHF meanwhile blamed the Palestinian militant group Hamas for the deaths of at least eight of its staff in Gaza late Wednesday.- ‘Mad march’ -In the absence of Security Council action, Mansour had called last week for all countries to take “immediate and real measures” to force Israel “to stop the mad march it is embarked on.”With the vote taking place just days before an international conference at the UN on the Palestinian issue, the text also reiterates the Assembly’s “unwavering commitment to the two-State solution… where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security.”It was a UN General Assembly resolution in 1947 that divided British-ruled Palestine into two states — one Arab and one Jewish. But only the creation of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948. This triggered a war between Israel and its Arab neighbors.Over the decades, the UN body has expressed its strong support for the Palestinians in the face of the continuing Israeli occupation.Israel has meanwhile relied on strong support from its veto-holding US ally, which has only deepened under President Donald Trump.The resolution “does nothing to free the hostages, improve the lives of civilians in Gaza or bring us closer to a ceasefire,” US acting ambassador Dorothy Shea told the Assembly.Instead, she charged it was “yet another performative action that erodes the credibility of this body.” 

A London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground — but one passenger has miraculously survived.An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — which …

At least 265 dead in India plane crash, one passenger survives Read More »

President Donald Trump warned Thursday that Israel may soon strike Iran’s nuclear sites, but urged the key US ally to hold off as he stressed his commitment to a diplomatic solution.Tensions have soared in the region in the last two days with Trump warning of a “massive conflict” and drawing down US staff. Tehran meanwhile defiantly vowed to increase its output of enriched uranium — a key sticking point in talks with Washington — after being censured by the UN’s atomic watchdog.”I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if an Israeli attack loomed.Trump said he believed a “pretty good” deal on Iran’s nuclear program was “fairly close,” but said that an Israeli attack on its arch-foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”Trump quickly added: “Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.”News outlet Axios reported that Trump had said the United States would not participate in any strikes.- US troops in crosshairs -Trump later appeared to want tensions dialed down in a post on social media, while insisting that Iran must “give up hopes” of developing a nuclear weapon.”We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.Tensions have rapidly escalated in the past few days amid growing speculation that Israel could push ahead with air strikes on Iran.Trump’s Middle East pointman Steve Witkoff is set to hold a sixth round of talks with Iran on Sunday in Oman, which has mediated efforts towards a nuclear deal so far.But Iran has also ramped up rhetorical pressure before the talks, including with a threat to strike American bases in the region if the negotiations break down and conflict erupts.”If the talks fail, the risk of military escalation becomes much more immediate,” said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq — long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran.Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defenses last year.Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza.- ‘Non-compliance’ -The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied.Israel again called for global action after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a “snapback” mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama.Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions.Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as “extremist” and blamed Israeli influence.In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment center in a secure location.Iran would also replace “all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines” at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.