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Syrian authorities on Monday announced arrests over a suicide blast targeting a church blamed on the Islamic State group, as President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed those involved in the “heinous” attack would face justice.The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the Saint Elias 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.The interior ministry reported the arrest of “a number of criminals involved in the attack” and the seizure of explosive devices and a booby-trapped motorcycle during a security operation near Damascus “against cells affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist group”.The announcement came hours after Sharaa vowed authorities would “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”.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.- ‘Painful’ -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.During a visit to the stricken church, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch John X said a funeral service for some of the victims would be held on Tuesday.He told clergy and other faithful that “what happened is painful, but do not be afraid”.AFP correspondents saw shops closed in Dwelaa on Monday while people posted death notices onto walls.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.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.- Condemnation -Foreign condemnation of the attack has continued to pour in.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, vowing that Ankara 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 European Union 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,” EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said, using another name for IS.Greek 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”.UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula urged authorities to take “all necessary steps to ensure the protection of civilians”, saying there was “no room for violence and extremism”.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.

She was one of ancient Egypt’s most successful rulers, a rare female pharaoh who preceded Cleopatra by 1,500 years, but Queen Hatshepsut’s legacy was systematically erased by her stepson successor after her death.The question of why her impressive reign was so methodically scrubbed has attracted significant debate, but in new research published Monday, University of Toronto scholar Jun Wong argues far too much emphasis has been placed on her gender. “It’s quite a romantic question: why was this pharaoh attacked after her death?” Wong told AFP, explaining his interest in a monarch who steered ancient Egypt through a period of extraordinary prosperity.Earlier scholars believed Queen Hatshepsut’s stepson Thutmose III unleashed a posthumous campaign of defilement against her out of revenge and hatred, including because he wanted to purge any notion that a woman could successfully rule. “The way in which (Hatshepsut’s) reign has been understood has always been colored by her gender,” Wong said, referencing beliefs that Thutmose III may have viewed her as “a kind of an evil stepmother.”His research, which builds on other recent scholarship and is being published in the journal Antiquity, argues Thutmose III’s motivations were far more nuanced, casting further doubt on the theory of backlash against a woman in charge. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt roughly 3,500 years ago, taking over following the death of her husband Thutmose II. She first served as regent to her stepson, the king-in-waiting, but successfully consolidated power in her own right, establishing herself as a female pharaoh. Experts say she expanded trade routes and commissioned extraordinary structures, including an unparallelled mortuary in the Valley of the Kings on the Nile’s west bank. Wong reassessed a range of material from damaged statues uncovered during excavations from 1922 to 1928.He said there is no doubt Thutmose III worked to eliminate evidence of Hatshepsut’s achievements, but his efforts were “perhaps driven by ritual necessity rather than outright antipathy,” Wong said. Thutmose III may have been trying to neutralize the power of his predecessor in a practical and common way, not out of malice.He also found that some of the statues depicting Hatshepsut were likely damaged because later generations wanted to reuse them as building materials.”For a long time, it has been assumed that Hatshepsut’s statuary sustained a vindictive attack,” Wong said, arguing that a fresh look at the archives suggests “this is not the case.”

Crude oil prices slid more than seven percent Monday while Wall Street stocks advanced after markets shrugged off Iran’s rebuttal to the US weekend attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.Iran announced it had launched missiles at a major US base in Qatar, with explosions ringing out in Doha and projectiles seen streaking overhead.But Qatar described the …

Oil prices tumble as markets shrug off Iranian rebuttal to US Read More »

Iran fired at a US military base in Qatar on Monday, as the war between longtime foes Israel and Iran raged after the United States sent bombers to attack the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites.Here are the latest developments:- US base in Qatar -Iran launched a retaliatory strike aimed at the United States’ Al Udeid military base in Qatar, the largest US military facility in the Middle East.  Qatar said it had successfully intercepted the attack, which it called a “flagrant violation” of sovereignty and said it reserved the right to respond.No casualties were reported at the base, a US official said.US President Donald Trump dismissed the attack as “very weak.”He said Iran gave “early notice” of the strike, thanking the Islamic republic for the move that “made it possible for no lives to be lost, nobody to be injured.””Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.- IAEA cooperation -The speaker of Iran’s parliament said that Tehran is considering suspending its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), accusing the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency of lacking objectivity and professionalism.- Iran Guards, Tehran prison -Israel carried out “strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government oppression in the heart of Tehran”, Defence Minister Israel Katz said as an AFP journalist heard loud blasts in the north of the Iranian capital.Katz said the targets included the notorious Evin prison in the city’s north, known to hold political prisoners and dissidents as well as foreign detainees.Iran’s judiciary confirmed Evin was struck, reporting “damage” and stressing the situation was “under control”. Israel also carried out a strike on Fordo, according to the military and Iranian media, a day after US “bunker buster” bombs hit the underground nuclear site south of Tehran.In Israel, air raid sirens sent people to bomb shelters on Monday, with the military reporting at least three missile barrages in less than two hours. – Iran warns United States -Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi vowed on Monday that the country would take “firm action” in response to US strikes on key nuclear sites. “This crime and desecration will not go unanswered,” said Mousavi in a video statement published on state TV, adding that “we will take firm action against the American mistake”.Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces “in the region or elsewhere” could be attacked.The US embassy in Bahrain — home to a major US naval base — reduced on-site staffing citing “heightened regional tensions”.In Qatar, home to large a US airbase, the American embassy told its citizens to “shelter in place until further notice”.Meanwhile, major international oil companies in Iraq, where the US has troops deployed and Iran backs various armed groups, had evacuated foreign staff, the state-owned Basra Oil Company said.- ‘Spillover’ -China on Monday warned against “the spillover of war”, urging the international community to do more to prevent the fighting from impacting the world’s economy, noting the global importance of the Gulf maritime trade routes off the Iranian coast.Oil prices briefly fell on Monday after surging earlier, as traders weighed the possible extent of retaliation by Iran.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 strait would be “extremely dangerous”.Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed attacks on Iran as “unprovoked” and “unjustified” in a Moscow meeting with Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said of the strikes, “There is no reason to criticise what America did at the weekend. Yes, it is not without risk. But leaving things as they were was not an option either.”NATO chief Mark Rutte, meanwhile, said alliance members had “long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon” and called an Iranian atomic bomb his “greatest fear”.French President Emmanuel Macron called for a return to negotiations. “The spiral of chaos must end. I call on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, de-escalate and return to the negotiating table,” he wrote on x.- Nuclear stockpiles -The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency demanded Monday the return of inspectors to Iran’s nuclear sites in a bid to “account for” its highly enriched uranium stockpiles.”Allow IAEA inspectors to go back to Iran’s nuclear sites and account for the stockpiles of uranium” including the “400 kilograms enriched to 60 percent”, said agency chief Rafael Grossi.At an emergency meeting of the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna, he said Tehran had sent him a letter on June 13 announcing the implementation of “special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials”.burs-dcp/yad/gv

President Donald Trump vowed that his order to bomb Iran would be a one-off and not the beginning of another prolonged US war in the Middle East.But with Trump musing about everything from “unconditional surrender” to regime change, it remains to be seen if the US intervention will remain limited — or if Iran will let it be.Two days after the United States bombed Iran’s key nuclear sites as part of an Israeli-led military campaign, Iran fired missiles at a major US base in Qatar that were shot down.Trump said that Iran gave advance notice of the missiles and offered thanks, apparently seeing a choreography to show that Iran can hit back without causing American casualties that would be sure to trigger another US strike.Iran acted similarly in 2020 when Trump ordered the killing of top general Qasem Soleimani, hitting back at a base in Iraq housing US troops without killing any — and tensions then subsided.But Israel’s strikes on Iran starting on June 13 mark the biggest attack on the region’s second most populous country since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, with the risks potentially existential for the Islamic Republic.Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security, said that the US strike was “incredibly successful” on a tactical level but “it’s not clear that it’s actually achieved the operational or strategic objectives.”Iran is suspected to have moved highly enriched uranium stockpiles out of targeted sites.Iran also has plenty of other options to respond, including by threatening global oil prices through action in the oil-rich Gulf — which can range from closing the Strait of Hormuz to harassing ships with low-cost drones.”The Middle East is a theater where US military success, hearkening back to the first Gulf War, has often proved to be rather ephemeral and led to long-term commitments in terms of US forces to maintain stability after that initial success,” she said.- Trump warms to interventionism -Trump campaigned by billing himself as anti-war and just last month delivered a speech in Riyadh in which he denounced “nation-builders” who failed by “intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves.”But Trump, always in tune with television images, quickly backed Israel after the apparent success of initial strikes, even through Trump had publicly urged Netanyahu to hold off and give a chance for diplomacy.Since then, and despite criticism from some in his right-wing base who loathe US interventionism, Trump has dialed up the tone.He has taken to social media to urge Tehran’s nearly 10 million people to evacuate, to demand “unconditional surrender” by Iran even though he said the United States was not at war, and to speak of the benefits of regime change, refashioning his campaign slogan to say, “Make Iran Great Again.”Netanyahu has also expanded goals well beyond nuclear sites, with Israel striking the gate of Evin prison, notorious for jailing political prisoners.Netanyahu has called on Iranians to rise up against Iran’s theocratic government, which has long faced wide domestic opposition. Iran under the Shah, who was deposed in 1979, was an ally of the West and Israel.But some Iran watchers expect a nationalist backlash against US and Israeli strikes — and so long as the Islamic republic is in place, the next moves for Trump are murky.The United States and Israel may have pushed back the Iranian nuclear program but it is unclear if Tehran would accept a binding agreement, said Max Boot, a military historian at the Council on Foreign Relations who was an advocate for the 2003 Iraq invasion.If Iran does not, “we’re locked in this kind of perpetual war with Iran, where every time there’s any detection of any advance in their nuclear program, then Israeli aircraft are going to wind up having to bomb again,” he said.”I’m not sure that there has been a carefully thought-out end-game in here.” 

Iran announced it had launched missiles at a US base in Qatar Monday in retaliation for American strikes on key nuclear facilities, with US President Donald Trump shrugging off the response as “very weak” and saying it was now time to make peace.A US defence official said no one was hurt in the attack — which Trump said Iran had given advanced notice of — and oil prices sank afterwards as traders breathed a sigh of relief at what one analyst called the “somewhat measured” response.Qatar, which lies 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Iran and is home to the largest US military facility in the Middle East, said its “air defences successfully intercepted a missile attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base”.Iran’s National Security Council confirmed having targeted the base “in response to the US aggressive and insolent action against Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities”. In its statement, the council said the number of missiles used “was the same as the number of bombs that the US had used”, in a signal that it had calibrated its response to be directly proportional.After more than a week of Israeli strikes on nuclear and military targets across Iran, the United States joined its ally’s campaign on Sunday, carrying out attacks on three key Iranian nuclear facilities, including on an underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo using massive bunker-busting bombs.”Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform after the attack, thanking Tehran “for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured”.Adding that Iran had “gotten it all out of their ‘system’,” he said: “Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”The New York Times, citing Iranian officials, reported that the response had been designed to allow “all sides an exit ramp”, drawing a parallel to a similar Iranian attack on a US base in Iraq following Washington’s assassination of top Iranian general in 2020.With international concern mounting that Israel’s campaign in Iran could lead to a regional spillover — concern that only intensified after the US strikes — French President Emmanuel Macron said after the Iranian retaliation that “the spiral of chaos must end”. – ‘Right to respond’ -Iran’s security council maintained that its “action does not pose any threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar”.But Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said his country “reserves the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression”.Its much larger neighbour Saudi Arabia, historically a rival of Iran, condemned Tehran’s attack and offered “all its capabilities to support the sisterly State of Qatar in any measures it takes”.AFP reporters heard blasts in central Doha and in Lusail, north of the capital, on Monday evening, and saw projectiles moving across the night sky.The US defence official said Al Udeid was “attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles”, and Ansari said it had been evacuated as a precaution ahead of time.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said six missiles had hit the base, according to state media.Iranians gathered in central Tehran on Monday night to celebrate the attack, images on state TV showed, with some waving the flag of the Islamic republic and chanting “Death to America”.Earlier in the day, Qatar had announced the temporary closure of its airspace in light of “developments in the region”, while foreign embassies there including that of the United States had warned their citizens to shelter in place.After the attack, Qatar said “the security situation in the country is stable, and there is no cause for concern”.- Tehran strikes -Just as Iran was announcing the new attacks, blasts were heard in the north of Tehran, according to an AFP journalist, who reported yellow flashes typical of Iranian air defences in the sky over the capital shortly before 9:00 pm (1730 GMT).Earlier in the day Israel reported carrying out what it said were its most powerful strikes yet on Tehran.Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military hit sites in Tehran including Evin prison, which Katz said “holds political prisoners and regime opponents”, as well as command centres for the domestic Basij paramilitary and the Revolutionary Guards.Iranian media and the Israeli military said Israel also struck Fordo on Monday “in order to obstruct access routes” to the site.Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran’s health ministry has said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout.- Oil prices fall -Oil prices sank more than six percent on Monday after the attack.Around 1815 GMT, futures for West Texas Intermediate fell 6.5 percent to $69.96 a barrel, while Brent oil futures dropped 6.4 percent to $72.07 a barrel, its lowest level in 10 days.John Kilduff of Again Capital described the Iranian action as “somewhat measured”.”This is a face-saving measure by the Iranians and hopefully the diplomatic off-ramp will be taken,” Kilduff said.On Sunday, after the Pentagon stressed the goal of US intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump had 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.burs-smw/dcp

Iran announced it had launched missiles at a major US base in Qatar on Monday in retaliation for American strikes on key nuclear facilities, with explosions ringing out in Doha and projectiles seen streaking overhead.Qatar, which lies 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Iran and is home to the largest US military facility in the Middle East, said its “air defences successfully intercepted a missile attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base”.Iran’s National Security Council confirmed having targeted the base “in response to the US aggressive and insolent action against Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities”. In its statement, the council said the number of missiles used “was the same as the number of bombs that the US had used”, in a signal that it had calibrated its response to be directly proportional.After more than a week of Israeli strikes on nuclear and military targets across Iran, the United States joined its ally’s campaign on Sunday, carrying out attacks on three key Iranian nuclear facilities, including on an underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo using massive bunker-busting bombs.With international concern mounting that Israel’s campaign in Iran could lead to regional spillover — concern that only intensified after the US strikes — French President Emmanuel Macron said after the Iranian retaliation that “the spiral of chaos must end”. Iran’s security council maintained that its “action does not pose any threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar”.But Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said his country “reserves the right to respond directly in a manner proportional to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression”.Its much larger neighbour Saudi Arabia, historically a rival of Iran, condemned Tehran’s attack “in the strongest terms”, and offered “all its capabilities to support the sisterly State of Qatar in any measures it takes”.AFP reporters heard blasts in central Doha and in Lusail, north of the capital, on Monday evening, and saw projectiles moving across the night sky.A US defence official said Al Udeid was “attacked by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran”, adding there were no immediate reports of casualties.Ansari said the base had been evacuated as a precaution ahead of time.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said six missiles had hit the base, according to state media.Iranian official press agency IRNA had reported that missiles were also launched at a US base in Iraq, though the National Security Council made no mention of Iraq in its statement.Iraqi security and military sources told AFP that Iran had not attacked US bases there “so far”.Earlier in the day Qatar had announced the temporary closure of its airspace in light of “developments in the region”, while foreign embassies there including that of the United States had warned their citizens to shelter in place.Neighbouring Bahrain and Kuwait also temporarily halted air traffic in the wake of the missile attack.President Donald Trump boasted that Sunday’s strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the impact on Iran’s atomic programme.- Tehran strikes -Just as Iran was announcing the new attacks, blasts were heard in the north of Tehran, according to an AFP journalist, who reported yellow flashes typical of Iranian air defences in the sky over the capital shortly before 9:00 pm (1730 GMT).Earlier in the day Israel reported carrying out what it said were its most powerful strikes yet on Tehran.Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military hit sites in Tehran including Evin prison, which Katz said “holds political prisoners and regime opponents”, as well as command centres for the domestic Basij paramilitary and the Revolutionary Guards.Iranian media and the Israeli military said Israel also struck Fordo on Monday “in order to obstruct access routes” to the site.Israel’s national electricity company reported “damage near a strategic infrastructure facility” in the south that disrupted the power supply, without naming the location or specifying the cause.The country’s military censorship rules bar the publication of some details about damage in Israel.Iranian media, meanwhile, said Israel’s strikes hit a power supply system in Tehran, triggering temporary outages.Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran’s health ministry has said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout.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.- Trump floats ‘regime change’ -After the Pentagon stressed the goal of US 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.His press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump was “still interested and engaging in” diplomacy.She suggested, however, that Iranians could overthrow their government if it did not agree to a diplomatic solution.Top US general Dan Caine has said early assessments indicated the US strikes caused “extremely severe damage” at all three nuclear sites.Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that it had not been possible to assess the underground damage at Fordo.”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 it was doing so despite the Islamic republic being the only non-nuclear armed state to enrich uranium to 60 percent.burs-smw/dcp

When Donald Trump said on Thursday he’d give himself two weeks to decide on bombing Iran, critics wrote it off as the US president using a familiar timeframe to put off difficult decisions.The next evening he left the White House for a fundraising dinner at his New Jersey golf resort, and much of the world seemed to believe that there was still space for diplomacy.In reality, Trump was already on the verge of making his mind up. A few hours after his arrival at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on Friday night, the first B-2 stealth bombers took off from a US airbase.The next day, while the bombers were still in the air, Trump made the call on attacking three Iranian nuclear facilities, in the first direct US military strike on Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.”The president gave the final order to the Secretary of Defense on Saturday,” a senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.”In the week leading up to the strike, the president was continuing to pursue diplomacy, mainly through Special Envoy (Steve) Witkoff’s efforts, while the Pentagon was simultaneously preparing the operation,” added the official.- ‘Misdirection’ -Trump’s “two weeks” gambit appeared to be part of a broader campaign of what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called “misdirection,” which included several B-2s flying in the opposite direction as a decoy.Trump, the tycoon who prides himself as an expert on the “art of the deal,” had ladled on the strategic ambiguity all week.First he flew home early from the G7 summit for talks with his national security team. Then he unleashed a barrage of bellicose social media posts against Iran’s supreme leader. On Wednesday he said that “I may do it, I may not” when asked about striking Iran.Finally, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read out a statement from Trump in the White House briefing room on Thursday, saying there was a “substantial” chance of talks and that he would decide “whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”It played into a frequent criticism of Trump for setting two-week deadlines on everything from Ukraine to health care and then ignoring them. But behind the scenes, Trump was increasingly determined, US officials said.Trump had opposed Israel attacking Iran right up until it did so on June 13 — but afterwards he openly admired Israel’s success and was talking daily to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Israel’s achievement of air superiority over Iran presented Trump with a unique opportunity to hit the nuclear program that he had railed against since his first term.Trump was “briefed daily on the Israelis’ efforts and the operation itself as he decided whether to move forward,” the senior White House official said.The US commander-in-chief held daily meetings with his National Security Council in the White House’s basement Situation Room as he pondered his options.And to head off opposition in his “Make America Great Again” movement to another Middle Eastern “forever war”, he reportedly met his influential former aide Steve Bannon.- ‘Highly classified’ -In public, Trump and the White House took pains to keep things under wraps.The normally talkative Trump said nothing to reporters as he returned to the White House on Saturday night, just one minute after his scheduled 6 pm arrival.The timing was precise for a reason. The first B-2 bomber dropped its bombs just 40 minutes later, at 6:40 pm US time, or 2:10 am Sunday Iranian time. The last submarine-fired Tomahawk missiles struck at 7:05 pm.Trump announced the “very successful” strikes in a Truth Social post at 7:50 pm.The White House then released pictures of a pensive looking Trump in the Situation Room, wearing his red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap.”This was a highly classified mission with very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature of this plan,” US Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said on Sunday.But the tough decisions are far from over for Trump, who was meeting his top team again on Monday in the Oval Office.How will he respond to Iran’s retaliation on Monday? If the US strikes did not completely destroy Iran’s nuclear sites as he claimed, will he launch more?Above all, will Trump go further than striking Iran’s nuclear plants? “If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

Europe and the United States should not give a lifeline to the Iranian leadership under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei through talks when his rule is “closer every day” to ending, the son of Iran’s ousted shah told AFP on Monday.Reza Pahlavi, formerly crown prince and now a key opposition figure, said in an interview in Paris that foreign powers had to seize the chance of what he termed Iran’s “Berlin Wall moment” with its leaders weakened by days of Israeli air strikes.”I can hardly imagine that a regime that is now severely diminished in its capabilities and has been practically humiliated is in the mood for more talks,” he said.He said that the Islamic republic, whose top diplomat Abbas Araghchi held talks with European foreign ministers in Switzerland on Friday, had “time and time again” been “deceitful” in negotiations.”This regime is collapsing… You can facilitate that by standing this time with them (the Iranian people), not throwing this regime another lifeline to survive,” said Pahlavi, 64.”The end of the regime is near… this is our Berlin Wall moment,” the US-based Pahlavi added, referring to the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall that symbolised the downfall of dictatorships in eastern Europe.- ‘Breaking with the regime’ -Israel has carried out 10 days of air strikes against Iran, seeking to degrade its nuclear and ballistics programmes, but also hitting other targets. The United States joined in with unprecedented attacks of its own, including on the heavily-fortified Fordo nuclear site.Khamenei’s whereabouts are unclear and Israel has refused to rule out killing him. He has led the Islamic republic since the 1989 death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who spearheaded the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted Pahlavi’s late father shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and forced the imperial family to flee Iran.Reza Pahlavi, without giving further details, said he had information that Khamenei was underground in a bunker “and unfortunately using people as a human shield”.And he said that he had received “credible reports” that top officials and members of the supreme leader’s family were looking at ways to flee Iran.He also said he had received indications from people in the security forces that they were willing to switch sides and join the opposition. “They are beginning to communicate with us from the military, the intelligence apparatus,” he said.Pahlavi had announced earlier Monday the creation of “formal channel”, a secure platform to handle the “growing volume” of requests from military, security, and police personnel he said were “breaking with the regime”.- ‘Galvanise a nation’ -While Pahlavi has long insisted he is not claiming the Iranian throne, he reaffirmed he was ready “to lead this national transition” that would take Iran to a new era after the eventual fall of the Islamic republic.He said its new system would be based on the core principles of territorial integrity, individual liberty and separation of religion and state.”The final form of this future democracy we seek will be for the Iranian people to decide in a national referendum,” said Pahlavi, the figurehead of just one of several movements opposed to the Iranian leadership who are notorious for bickering among themselves.Asked by AFP if he would see himself as a future president or even king of Iran while leading such a process, he said: “I am stepping in to lead this transition. I don’t believe I need a title to play that role. The important thing is to be someone who can galvanise a nation.”However during his stay in Paris there is no official meeting programmed with French officials. President Emmanuel Macron has warned that to “seek regime change in Iran through military means” would “lead to chaos”.But Pahlavi said he was in touch with governments. “Elements in my team have been at various levels in contact with higher level points of contact with different contacts in Europe and America,” he told AFP.