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Russia, China and Iran are amplifying disinformation about protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles, researchers said Friday, adding to a surge of domestically generated falsehoods and conspiracy theories.The findings from researchers at the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard illustrate how foreign adversaries of the United States are exploiting deep divisions in American society as a tactic of information warfare.NewsGuard said Russian, Chinese, and Iranian state-affiliated sources have published around 10,000 posts and articles about the demonstrations that recently erupted in Los Angeles, advancing false claims framing the city as “ground zero in an American apocalypse.”Seizing on the political rift between President Donald Trump and Governor Gavin Newsom, pro-China accounts on X and Chinese platforms such as Douyin and Weibo have peddled unfounded claims that California was ready to secede from the United States and declare independence.Meanwhile, Tehran-based newspapers have peddled the false claim that popular Iranian singer-songwriter Andranik Madadian had been detained by the National Guard in Los Angeles, in an apparent effort to portray the United States as an authoritarian state.NewsGuard quoted Madadian, better known by his stage name Andy, as denying the claim, stating: “I am fine. Please don’t believe these rumors.” Russian media and pro-Russian influencers, meanwhile, has embraced right-wing conspiracy theories, including the unfounded claim that the Mexican government was stoking the demonstrations against Trump’s immigration policies.”The demonstrations are unfolding at the intersection of multiple vulnerabilities such as eroded trust in institutions, AI chatbots amplifying false claims about the unrest, political polarization, and a rollback of safety and moderation efforts by major platforms,” McKenzie Sadeghi, a researcher with NewsGuard, told AFP.”As a result, foreign actors have a wide-open playing field to flood the zone with falsehoods at a faster rate and fewer barriers compared to previous moments of unrest,” she added.The apparent alignment across the three countries was noteworthy, Sadeghi said.”While Russia, China, and Iran regularly push their own unique forms of disinformation, it’s less common to see them move in such a coordinated fashion like this,” she said.”This time, state media outlets have escalated their messaging to advance their geopolitical interests and deflect attention from their own domestic crises.” The disinformation comes on top of false narratives promoted by US-based influencers.In recent days, conservative social media users have circulated two photographs of brick piles they claimed were strategically placed for the California protesters to hurl at police and inflame violence.The photos were cited as proof that the protests were fueled by nonprofit organizations supported by George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist who has long been a bogeyman for the far right.But AFP’s fact-checkers found that one photo was lifted from an online marketplace, where a Malaysian hardware dealer uploaded it years ago, while the other was snapped near a construction site in New Jersey.”Every time there’s a popular protest, the old clickbaity ‘pallets of bricks’ hoax shows up right on cue,” the Social Media Lab, a research center at the Toronto Metropolitan University, wrote on the platform Bluesky.”The fact that these types of fake images are used isn’t a coincidence. It’s part of a pernicious (and) persistent narrative that protests against government policies are somehow inauthentic.”

Israeli airstrikes on Friday hit dozens of targets across Iran, including nuclear sites, as well as killing several top military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran called the attack “a declaration of war” and launched missiles at Israel hours later.US President Donald Trump — insisting his country was not involved — warned Iran the next planned attacks will be “even more brutal”.International calls for restraint are multiplying, as fears grow the Middle East could be on the threshold of a broader conflict.Here is what we know:- Nuclear sites hit -The attacks started in the early hours of Friday, a day of rest and prayer in Iran, and continued through the day, on various sites.A key target was a vast underground nuclear site in Natanz, which Israel hit several times, Iranian state television said.Radiation levels outside the facility “remain unchanged”, the head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said.Israel said it struck another important nuclear site in Isfahan, where Iranian news agency Mehr reported a “massive explosion” late Friday.- Commanders killed -Top brass killed included the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, and the chief of staff of its armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri, with replacements swiftly named by supreme leader Ali Khamenei.The Revolutionary Guards said that its aerospace commander, Amirali Hajizadeh, was also killed. He was in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile forces.Iranian media said several nuclear scientists were killed.State media said senior Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani was hurt in one of the strikes.- Ongoing strikes -Additional strikes hit sites in Iran’s northwestern East Azerbaijan province, with 18 people killed there, state news agency IRNA said.The Israeli raids will “continue as many days as it takes”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.A military spokesman said “more than 200 targets” were hit.Netanyahu’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said “there is currently no plan to kill” Khamenei and other political leaders.Internet restrictions were imposed across Iran, the country’s communications ministry said, adding they would be lifted “once normalcy returns”.- Iran’s response -Iran launched dozens of missiles, the Revolutionary Guards and Israeli official said, hours after the Israeli military said “most” of the 100 drones fired by Iran were intercepted outside Israeli territory.Khamenei warned Israel faces a “bitter and painful” fate over the attacks.His newly appointed Revolutionary Guards chief, Mohammad Pakpour, said that “in retribution… the gates of hell” will be opened on Israel.Netanyahu said: “We expect to be exposed to several waves of Iranian attacks.”There was a state of emergency declared in Israel, and the country closed many of its embassies around the world, including in Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.- ‘Declaration of war’ -Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called the Israeli attacks “a declaration of war” and urged action from the UN Security Council, which is due to hold an emergency meeting at 1900 GMT.Iran had previously warned it would hit US military bases in the Middle East if conflict occurred. The United States pulled out non-essential personnel from several sites days ahead of the Israeli attack.Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the United States would protect its forces in the Middle East.”Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel,” Rubio said.- US involvement? -Trump said Israel fully informed him of its raids ahead of time, but insisted the United States was not involved.He warned Iran that the “next planned attacks” will be “even more brutal” and said Tehran should cut a deal to roll back its nuclear programme “before there is nothing left”.The US leader has repeatedly said he will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.Trump came to power vowing not to drag the United States into more wars in the Middle East, but some of his domestic political allies are worried the turn of events could lead to that.- Nuclear programme -Tehran has long denied seeking atomic bombs, but had been enriching uranium to a level close to weapons-grade.The United States and Iran had been holding talks on the issue. The next round, scheduled for Sunday in Oman, now looks to be cancelled.- Reactions -The attack, and likely Iranian response, is fuelling international alarm.Many capitals were urging restraint, fearing the consequences if the Israel-Iran conflict widened and drew in the United States, and if Middle East oil production and shipments were impacted.The leaders of France, Germany and Britain were to hold a call to discuss the Israeli strikes, Berlin said. The UN’s atomic energy agency planned an emergency meeting for Monday.Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspaces.Several airlines cancelled flights servicing the region, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air France and Lufthansa. Others flying through the Middle East, such as Air India, had to turn planes back or reroute.- Oil prices -Oil prices leapt dramatically on Friday, trading sharply up to around $75 a barrel before falling back a little.Analysts underlined the risk to the 20 percent of the world’s crude oil supplies that are shipped through the narrow Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.burs/rmb/gv/ami/jsa

The Salvadoran migrant at the heart of a row over US President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation policies pleaded not guilty on Friday to human smuggling charges.Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, 29, was summarily deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March and brought back to the United States last week.He was immediately arrested on his return and charged in Nashville, Tennessee, with smuggling undocumented migrants around the United States between 2016 and 2025.Abrego Garcia entered a plea of not guilty to the criminal charges on Friday before a federal district judge, US media reported.The US Supreme Court had ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia after he was mistakenly deported to a notorious maximum security prison in El Salvador.Abrego Garcia was flown back to the United States on June 6 but Attorney General Pam Bondi insisted to reporters that his return resulted from an arrest warrant presented to Salvadoran authorities.Abrego Garcia was living in the eastern state of Maryland until he became one of more than 200 people sent to the CECOT prison in El Salvador as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.Most of the migrants who were summarily deported were alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has declared a foreign terrorist organization.Justice Department lawyers later admitted that Abrego Garcia — who is married to a US citizen — was wrongly deported due to an “administrative error.”Abrego Garcia had been living in the United States under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in his home country.Bondi alleged that Abrego Garcia “played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring” and was a smuggler of “children and women” as well as members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13.She said Abrego Garcia would be returned to El Salvador upon completion of any prison sentence in the United States.

The first US Marines ordered by Donald Trump to Los Angeles will deploy Friday, the Pentagon said, raising the stakes in a standoff that pits the president against protesters claiming growing authoritarianism.The approximately 200 Marines are part of a group of 700 set to join 4,000 National Guard soldiers, while local police conduct a crackdown on unrest over Trump’s sweeps for undocumented migrants.The Marines — normally used as crack troops in foreign conflicts — will be equipped with riot gear to guard a federal building starting from 12:00 pm (1900 GMT), Major General Scott Sherman told reporters.An intense legal battle is underway over Trump’s authority to deploy troops on US soil, as the country braces for widespread protests Saturday, when the Republican will be overseeing a rare large-scale military parade in Washington.The parade celebrates the 250th anniversary of the US Army but also coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday and will be the first time tanks and other heavy weaponry has rolled through the capital city in three decades.A “No Kings” movement has sprung up promising to stage protests in more than 2,000 places across the country in response.Trump dispatched about the California National Guard to Los Angeles last weekend following mostly peaceful, but occasionally violent protests against a surge in immigration raids in the second-largest US city.In a show of political force, Trump overrode the objections of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom who usually would control the Guard. The president repeatedly exaggerated the scale of violence, claiming that without troops, Los Angeles would be “burning to the ground right now.”Late Thursday, District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump’s actions were “illegal” and ordered that he return control of the guard to Newsom. Breyer said the LA unrest fell “far short” of the “rebellion” that Trump had described.However, a higher court quickly paused the order pending an appeal hearing with the Trump administration next Tuesday.The Department of Justice slammed Breyer’s ruling as “an extraordinary intrusion on the President’s constitutional authority as Commander in Chief.”The dispute mirrors multiple other tussles over Trump’s attempts to expand the limits of presidential power, but is the first to involve troops.The use of Marines is especially controversial, although those deploying Friday will be at a building nowhere near the site of last week’s protests.- ‘Voices for the people’ -Many in Los Angeles are angry about immigration raids carried out as part of Trump’s ambition to deport vast numbers of undocumented migrants around the country.Outrage at Trump’s raids and the use of masked, armed immigration agents backed by uniformed soldiers has already sparked protests in other cities, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago and San Antonio, Texas.”What brings me out here? The people that were taken, people who don’t have voices. We are the voice for the people,” Jasmine, a protester in Los Angeles, told AFP on Thursday.Tensions hiked further Thursday when California Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The incident “reeks of totalitarianism,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, calling for an investigation.The White House hit back, claiming despite video evidence to the contrary, that Padilla “lunged toward Secretary Noem.”

Establishment Republicans have backed Israel’s strikes on Iran, but the crisis is forcing President Donald Trump to walk a political tightrope between the hawks in his base and the isolationists who helped sweep him to power.Trump ran for reelection as a peacemaker who distained the foreign adventures of his predecessors, boasting that he would have little difficulty ending conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.Many Trump followers see Israel’s offensive as the sternest test yet of his “America First” credentials, fearing that he will allow the United States to get dragged into the hostilities.The announcement of strikes was applauded by Mark Levin, a rightwing political analyst and longstanding Trump loyalist, who crowed: “The Iranians are about to get their asses kicked.””They think this is Joe Biden’s administration, that they would get away…. Thank God we have Donald Trump as president of the United States,” he thundered on Fox News.Beyond the government buildings and TV studios of Washington, however, Trump’s Make America Great Again, or MAGA, activists oppose US boots on the ground abroad and warn against shows of support for Israel.- ‘Sticky one for Trump’ -“This is a sticky one for Trump, who has long pledged to end ‘forever wars’ and keep the US away from dangerous foreign entanglements,” Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, told AFP.”Trump’s America First base is divided. There’s a strong strain of isolationism there, and yet Israel and efforts to tamp down anti-Semitism pull Trump in the other direction.” Levin received blowback from Tucker Carlson, a leading voice on the American far right, who posted on X that his former Fox News colleague was “hyperventilating” to distract from the real goal — regime change in Iran.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, normally a foreign policy hawk, was quick to distance the United States from Israel’s “unilateral” strikes, which hit uranium-enrichment facilities and killed top Iranian military officials.Trump himself had repeatedly insisted that Iran could not be allowed to have nuclear weapons — but made clear before the strikes that he was against military action.He appeared to have changed tack by Friday, with ABC quoting the president describing the attack as “excellent.” That won’t sit well with many of his supporters.Saagar Enjeti, a populist right-wing anchor on the Breaking Points YouTube show, accused Trump of letting down the “America First” isolationists in his base.- ‘Disastrously split’ -“Trump has now praised Israel’s strike, affirmed US material support, and Israeli media is reporting his public opposition was a disinformation campaign to mislead Iran,” he said.”So in other words Trump, not Israel, has made a mockery of all of us wanted to avoid this war.”Charlie Kirk, a pro-Israel online MAGA star and one of Trump’s staunchest allies, went live on his podcast to find out how his pro-Trump audience was reacting to events.”The emails are so largely overwhelmingly against Israel doing this, I’d say it’s probably a 99 to one,” Kirk said.Kirk went on to ask how the “America First” foreign policy doctrine can “stay consistent with this,” before concluding: “This, right now, is going to cause, I think, a major schism in the MAGA online community.”Kirk asked his five million X followers if America should “get involved in Israel’s war against Iran” and almost 90 percent of the 300,000+ people who had responded by Friday morning said no.Fellow MAGA activist Jack Posobiec warned before the strikes that they would “disastrously split” Trump’s coalition. “Trump smartly ran against starting new wars, this is what the swing states voted for,” he said.”The midterms are not far and Congress’ majority is already razor-thin. America First!”

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said a tariff pact between the EU and Washington should be “fair and balanced,” although both sides remain far from a deal as a July deadline approaches.”There is still a long way to go to reach an agreement, but there remains the will to do so,” Cuerpo told AFP in an interview on Thursday.His comments came on the sidelines of a trip to Houston, Texas, as he sought to reassure Spanish businesses rattled by US President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs.Trump has slapped a 10 percent tariff on almost all trading partners including the European Union since returning to the presidency in January.He also threatened to impose heftier duties of 50 percent on the bloc, although pausing the higher rate until July 9.For now, Trump’s existing tariffs, including 25 percent US duties on imported automobiles and 50 percent levies on steel and aluminum, are affecting European companies, Cuerpo said.Pressure is mounting as July approaches.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC this week that an EU deal will likely be among the last that Washington completes, even as he remained optimistic that both sides would reach this goal.Arriving at a deal by July 9 would be ideal as it signals “certainty and confidence,” Cuerpo said.He maintained that things are “progressing,” stressing that “there is unanimity among the 27 member states to reach a fair and balanced agreement.”- No ‘overreaction’ -He added that while Europe has prepared a response package to Trump’s tariffs, Brussels is holding off implementation so that it cannot be “interpreted as an escalation in this tariff conflict.”It is critical that the EU gives a “very clear signal” that it wants to strike a deal with the Trump administration, he said.”The fundamental thing is to avoid any element of overreaction,” he added.Besides the EU, higher US tariffs on goods from dozens of economies including Japan and India are also due to take effect in July.Trump has taken an especially harsh stance on China as Beijing pushed back on US levies, with both sides engaging in an escalating tariffs war that has only been temporarily rolled back.The Spanish minister expects Trump’s tariffs to have limited effect on his country’s economic growth this year, given its smaller exposure to the US market.But he warned that certain sectors like olive oil and wine are at higher risk as more of such exports head to the United States.In the interim, Cuerpo noted the importance too of the Mercosur agreement, a trade deal between the European Union and four South American nations including Brazil.Asked if a new global trade order is emerging, Cuerpo said: “This feeling is widely shared.””We are witnessing a rebalancing of these trade relations at the international level and what nobody knows is what’s the new point we will reach,” he added.

Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo is eying a political comeback after being dogged by sex assault claims, hoping to become mayor of the largest US city New York. But to take the big chair, he must first get around an insurgent leftist candidate who is closing the gap on the political scion with major financial firepower.The other major obstacle facing Cuomo at the June 24 Democratic party mayoral primary, in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one, might prove to be his past.In August 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Cuomo, whose father was also governor, of sexually harassing eleven women. He resigned and then his brother Chris, a star anchor on CNN, had to leave for advising him. It marked a spectacular downfall for the Cuomo dynasty. But just four years later, cries of “Cuomo, Cuomo, Cuomo” rang out at a small Harlem venue, where the candidate and his Hollywood smile, were welcomed by cheering supporters.As mayor of the mega-city, the winner of the November election will have a unique berth from which to stand up to President Donald Trump and his campaign against migrants in diverse metropolises.”We have that existential threat, called Donald Trump, and now, that is a serious threat… he has declared war on New York City,” Cuomo said from the podium.When a handful of reporters pressed Cuomo on his checkered past with women, the former governor fired back.”This would have been a high-profile case against the governor of New York, it would have got a lot of headlines, they could have been hero to the ‘MeToo’ movement… and there was no case,” he said.In the audience, Iris, a Democratic activist, said she does not want to revisit the past but wants to focus on the future.  Cuomo can be the future of resistance to Trump and improve the lives of the middle class and the most disadvantaged in society by building social housing, she said.As forward-looking as his supporters might be, Cuomo still has to contend with his complicated legacy.”Cuomo did not erase the scandal from the past. His sexual harassment scandals are still on voters’ minds,” said Ester Fuchs, a professor of political science at Columbia University. But the central issue of the campaign is who can stand up to Donald Trump, Fuchs continued. “And this is where Cuomo rises above the rest of the candidates in the pool.”- Trump’s ‘worst nightmare’? -Once the front-runner, the 67-year-old centrist candidate has seen his lead shrink against openly “socialist” Zohran Mamdani, 33, in a battle that has laid bare divisions within the Democratic Party. A fresh survey by Public Policy Polling had Mamdani beating Cuomo 35 percent to 31 percent for the first time, with the rest split between seven other candidates. In the primary, Democratic voters rank the candidates in order of preference. The winner will be the first to pass the 50 percent support mark, whether outright or after votes have been reapportioned according to voters’ candidate rankings. Born in Uganda, Mamdani is the son of renowned historian Mahmood Mamdani, author of the book “Saviors and Survivors” about the Darfur war, and filmmaker Mira Nair, who directed the classic “Salaam Bombay!” While former New York Mayor billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Democratic heavyweights have endorsed Cuomo, the young Democratic Congressional star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has thrown her support behind Mamdani. “The difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in DC,” said Mamdani, whose eye-catching posters adorn storefronts in neighborhoods including Brooklyn. A New York State Assembly representative, Mamdani bills himself as Trump’s “worst nightmare” and champions social policies like free bus travel, raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030, and a tax hike for the wealthy. “Trump would go through Mr Mamdani like a hot knife through butter,” Cuomo said during a debate, criticizing his rival for lacking the experience to run a city with a $112 billion annual budget and 300,000 employees. Mamdani insists he is ready, and more than capable of addressing the number one issue for New Yorkers — the high cost of living.

The timing of Israel’s plan to attack Iran was top secret. But Washington pizza delivery trackers guessed something was up before the first bombs fell.About an hour before Iranian state TV first reported loud explosions in Tehran, pizza orders around the Pentagon went through the roof, according to a viral X account claiming to offer “hot intel” on “late-night activity spikes” at the US military headquarters. “As of 6:59 pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity,” the account “Pentagon Pizza Report” posted on Thursday.Not confining its analysis to pizza, the account noted three hours later that a gay bar near the Pentagon had “abnormally low traffic for a Thursday night,” and said this probably pointed to “a busy night at the Pentagon.”While far from scientific, the Pentagon pizza theory “is not something the internet just made up,” The Takeout, an online site covering restaurants and food trends, noted earlier this year.Pentagon-adjacent pizza joints also got much busier than usual during Israel’s 2024 missile strike on Iran, it said, as there are “a multitude of fast food restaurants in the Pentagon complex, but no pizza places.”Pizza deliveries to the Pentagon reportedly doubled right before the US invasion of Panama in December 1989, and surged again before Operation Desert Storm in 1991.President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal he was fully aware in advance of the bombing campaign, which Israel says is needed to end Iran’s nuclear program. “We know what’s going on.”For the rest of Americans, pepperoni pie activity was not the only way to tell something was about to happen.Washington had already announced it was moving some diplomats and their families out of the Middle East on Wednesday.And close to an hour before Israel unleashed its firepower on Iran, the US ambassador in Jerusalem, Mike Huckabee, sent out a rather revealing X post: “At our embassy in Jerusalem and closely monitoring the situation. We will remain here all night. ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!'”

When US President Donald Trump publicly implored Israel not to attack Iran, he declared, once again, that his goal was to be a peacemaker.Hours later on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — one of Trump’s closest international allies — unleashed a major military campaign described as a “preemptive” strike against Iran’s nuclear program.The attack marks the latest setback for Trump’s lofty goal set out at the start of his second term of being a “man of peace.”Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Trump has also boasted a warm relationship, has rebuffed his overtures for a ceasefire with Ukraine.And Israel resumed another massive offensive in Gaza after talks bogged down on extending a ceasefire with Hamas reached with Trump’s support at the end of his predecessor Joe Biden’s term.Trump’s friend and roving envoy Steve Witkoff — who has negotiated in all three crises — had been set to meet Iranian officials again Sunday in Oman.Trump later was careful not to distance himself from Israel, where some sources sought to suggest that the public US statements were meant to catch Iran off guard.In successive social media posts, Trump said that Iran had failed to accept his terms and that the attack came one day after a 60-day deadline he had issued, although that did not explain why Witkoff had still scheduled talks with Iran.Trump separately has repeatedly hailed US diplomacy that helped reach a ceasefire last month between India and Pakistan as a triumph, saying he averted nuclear war.- ‘It would blow it’ -Before Israel launched its operation, Trump said: “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”Netanyahu has described Iran’s cleric-run government, which backs Hamas, as an existential threat and already last year ordered strikes that knocked out its air defenses.”We’ve clearly seen a fork in the road in the American and Israeli approaches to this problem set,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official who is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.”These strikes are going to disrupt and delay and degrade Iran’s nuclear program. The question, I think, is whether or not the United States and Israel in the future are going to work together on what to do to maximize the time that’s put back on the clock,” she said.Stroul noted that rifts had been building between Israel and Trump, who last month agreed to remove sanctions on Syria after former Islamist guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa swept into power.Trump embraced the new Syrian leader after appeals on a tour of Gulf Arab monarchies — which have also backed diplomacy on Iran.In Qatar last month, Trump said after meeting the emir that he believed a deal was in sight with Iran and that there would be no “nuclear dust” over the region.- ‘Reckless escalation’ – Despite growing disagreements, Israel enjoys robust support in Trump’s right-wing base.The Trump administration in recent days has again taken lonely positions to back Israel, with the United States casting one of the only votes at the UN General Assembly against a Gaza ceasefire resolution and criticizing top allies, including Britain, for imposing sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers.Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the Israeli attack will “destroy US diplomatic efforts” on Iran and called for Trump to reject any US military role in protecting Israel from retaliation.”Israel has the right to choose its own foreign policy. At the same time, it has the responsibility to bear the costs of that policy,” he said.But lawmakers in Trump’s Republican Party quickly rallied behind Israel. Senator Tom Cotton said that the United States should “back Israel to the hilt, all the way,” and topple Iran’s Islamic Republic if it targets US troops.Trump’s Democratic rivals, who mostly backed his diplomacy on Iran, were aghast at Israel’s action ahead of new US-Iran talks.”Israel’s alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence,” said Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

Iran called Israel’s wave of strikes on Friday a declaration of war, while US President Donald Trump warned Tehran of “even more brutal” attacks if it does not make a deal on its nuclear programme.Israel said its air strikes had killed several top generals, including most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards’ air force, while hitting about 100 targets including nuclear facilities.Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel it faced a “bitter and painful” fate over the attacks, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as a “declaration of war” and President Masoud Pezeshkian said “Iran will make the enemy regret its foolish act”.The Israeli military said Iran launched around 100 drones, with air defences intercepting them outside Israeli territory, while neighbouring Jordan said it targeted drones and missiles that violated its airspace.Trump urged Iran on Friday to “make a deal”, warning that there will be more “death and destruction” after Israel launched deadly strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.The United States underlined that it was not involved in the Israeli action and warned Iran not to attack its personnel or interests, but Tehran said Washington would be “responsible for consequences”.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck at the “heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme”, taking aim at nuclear scientists and the main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.The strikes would “continue as many days as it takes”, the Israeli premier said, while the military said intelligence showed Iran was approaching the “point of no return” on its nuclear programme.The strikes killed Iran’s highest-ranking military officer, armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, and the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, Iranian media reported.Khamenei swiftly appointed new commanders to replace those killed, while state media said a senior adviser to the supreme leader had himself been wounded.”The senior chain of command of the air force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had assembled in an underground command centre to prepare for an attack on the State of Israel,” the Israeli military said, adding that its attacks had killed most of them.Iran confirmed the Guards aerospace commander had been killed, along with “a group of brave and dedicated fighters”.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the “precise targeting of senior commanders… sends a strong and clear message: those who work toward Israel’s destruction will be eliminated”.AFP images showed a gaping hole in the side of a Tehran residential building that appeared to have sustained a targeted and localised strike.State media said civilians were killed, without providing an exact figure, while an emergency services official said 95 people had been wounded.Tasnim news agency said six nuclear scientists were among the dead.- ‘Scathing response’ -Tehran’s streets were deserted except for queues at petrol stations, a familiar sight in times of crisis.”How much longer are we going to live in fear?” asked Ahmad Moadi, a 62-year-old retiree. “As an Iranian, I believe there must be an overwhelming response, a scathing response.”Air traffic was halted at Tehran’s main gateway, Imam Khomeini International Airport, while Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspace.Israel declared a state of emergency as anxieties grew amid a wave of uncertainty gripped the region.”I’m worried for my children, and also about my livelihood, because this affects the market. You can’t work, you can’t do anything,” Tel Aviv resident Vered Saar told AFP.Oil prices surged while stocks sank on the Israeli strikes, which came after Trump’s warning of a “massive conflict” in the region.Trump had also said the United States was drawing down staff in the Middle East, after Iran had threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict broke out.Prior to the strikes, Trump said he believed a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme was “fairly close”, cautioning however that an Israeli attack on its arch foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.- ‘Within reach’ -With the violence raising questions on whether a sixth round of talks planned between the US and Iran would still take place on Sunday in Oman, Trump said Washington was “hoping to get back to the negotiating table”.Confirming Natanz had been among Israel’s targets, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was “closely monitoring” the situation as the Israeli military said it hit the underground uranium enrichment centrifuges at the site.”Most of the damage is on the surface level,” said the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation’s spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.Israel sees Iran as an existential threat, and Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza.Since the Hamas attack, Iran and Israel have traded direct attacks for the first time.”I think Israel has declared all-out war against Iran,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.”Is Iran a paper tiger, or will Iran stand up and show the Iranians and the world that it’s a pivotal state, it has the capacity and the means and the will to take on Israel?”The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied.Israel again called for global action after the IAEA accused Iran on Thursday of non-compliance with its obligations.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set by a largely moribund 2015 agreement with major powers, but still short of the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.