Why Countries Are Suddenly Broadcasting Their Spies' Exploits
Agents from Israel's spy agency, Mossad, operated inside Iran before and during the initial attacks earlier this month, Israeli officials said. The disclosure was itself an act of psychological warfare—a boast of Israel's ability to act with impunity inside Iran's borders and Tehran's failure to stop it.
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New York Times
44 minutes ago
- New York Times
Nuclear Inspectors Leave Iran After Cooperation Halted With U.N. Watchdog
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog said on Friday that its inspectors have left Iran, days after the country — still reeling from its war with Israel — suspended cooperation with the international agency. Iran's president enacted a law on Wednesday that halts cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, effectively blocking international oversight into Iran's contentious nuclear program. This comes at a particularly critical moment, when experts are warning that the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities may simply drive the country to take its program underground, making it even more difficult to determine whether it was working toward building a weapon. 'An I.A.E.A. team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,' the U.N. agency said in a statement on the platform X. Tensions between Iran and the agency had been rising since Israel launched attacks on Iranian military and nuclear sites, prompting a war that briefly drew in the United States. Iran had turned some of its ire over the attacks against the I.A.E.A., which declared last month that Iran was not complying with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations. Iranian officials have argued that the censure gave Israel political cover for its attacks, which were launched a day after the agency's declaration, striking nuclear and military sites and killing nuclear scientists. It is not yet clear how badly Iran's nuclear program was damaged in the war. President Trump said that the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, in addition to Israeli strikes over 12 days of war, 'obliterated' the program. Other officials, including the I.A.E.A. director general, Rafael Grossi, have been more circumspect, saying that Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains unaccounted for, and that the program may have been only delayed, rather than destroyed. Uranium enriched at low levels can be used as fuel for producing energy, while highly enriched uranium can be used to make a nuclear weapon. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful uses only, but the I.A.E.A. reported in May that, while it had no evidence that Iran was building a weapon, the country was stockpiling about 882 pounds of highly enriched uranium, which could enable the government to build multiple bombs. Mr. Grossi, the I.A.E.A. director general, stressed in a statement on Friday the 'crucial importance of the I.A.E.A. discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible.' Iranian lawmakers have stipulated two conditions for resuming cooperation, according to state media. One is that the safety of its nuclear program and scientists is secured and the second is an acknowledgment of what it says is its right under international law to enrich uranium. At the same time, Iranian officials have been publicly signaling a willingness to return to negotiations with Washington. 'We are for diplomacy,' Iran's deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, told NBC News on Thursday. 'We are for dialogue.' Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
BBC deemed UK punk-rap duo 'high risk' before controversial anti-Israel performance
The BBC released a public statement on Thursday confirming that it had deemed punk duo Bob Vylan "high risk" before their problematic Glastonbury set last weekend. The broadcast company announced a policy change to end live showings or streaming of such "high risk" performers. The duo performed a high-energy set at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, which ultimately turned into a political platform for the group's singer to shout out anti-Israel rhetoric. While holding the microphone, singer Bobby Vylan shouted, "Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]," several times before turning the microphone toward the crowd to get attendees to repeat the chant. The IDF is the national military of Israel. Videos from the crowd's view showed several Palestinian flags waving as the performer and attendees shouted back and forth. The band's performance was met with widespread condemnation by event organizers and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who slammed the "appalling hate speech." The BBC — the music festival's TV partner — released a statement promising to take action to "ensure proper accountability" and expressed its "regrets" for not pulling the live-set off the air. The British broadcaster also reported that a number of their staff members have been moved off of their music and live events team following the incident. In a statement released by the BBC on Thursday, the broadcaster conceded that the punk duo were deemed "high risk" along with seven other acts at the festival, but were "deemed suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations." "Prior to Glastonbury, a decision was taken that compliance risks could be mitigated in real time on the live stream – through the use of language or content warnings - without the need for a delay. This was clearly not the case," the BBC reported. BBC Chair Samir Shah apologized to all viewers, and "particularly the Jewish community," for allowing the "artist" Bob Vylan to express "unconscionable antisemitic views" live on their network in a statement released Thursday. "This was unquestionably an error of judgment," Shah stated. "I was very pleased to note that as soon as this came to the notice of Tim Davie - who was on the Glastonbury site at the time visiting BBC staff - he took immediate action and instructed the team to withdraw the performance from on demand coverage." As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, BBC Director-General Tim Davie also offered his thoughts on the situation, saying he "deeply regrets that such offensive and deplorable behavior appeared on the BBC" and wanted to "apologize to our viewers and listeners, and in particular the Jewish community." The BBC noted in their statement on Thursday that any future music performances deemed to be "high risk" will no longer be broadcast or streamed live, and that they will provide "more detailed, practical guidance" on the threshold for withdrawing a live performance moving forward. Following the outcry caused by their Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan has been dropped from United Talent Agency and their U.S. visas have been revoked by the State Department. When asked for comment on the updates reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the BBC referred Fox News Digital to their statements issued on Thursday.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Inside America's 6th-gen arsenal: B-21, F-47, and the future of air dominance
The race to develop 6th-generation aircraft is no longer a future vision – it's now a defining force behind U.S. defense strategy. With cutting-edge platforms like the B-21 Raider, the F-47 and the Navy's F/A-XX on the horizon, the Pentagon is reshaping how the U.S. projects airpower for the next 50 years. These aircraft promise unprecedented advances in speed, stealth and autonomy – but they're also colliding with budget pressures, industrial capacity limits, and an increasingly uncertain global threat environment. Northrop Grumman's B-21 Raider is poised to become the backbone of U.S. long-range strike capability. With its next-gen stealth design, reduced maintenance burden and affordability compared to its B-2 predecessor, the B-21 is seen as critical to deterring strategic threats like China and Iran. The urgency became clear last week when seven B-2 bombers flew an 18-hour mission to Iran, dropping bunker-busting bombs on nuclear targets. While effective, the B-2's high cost and aging systems underscore the need for its replacement. At $692 million per aircraft — compared to $2 billion for a B-2 — the B-21 offers strategic reach at a more sustainable price. The high-tech stealth bomber can carry nuclear and conventional weapons and is designed to be optionally manned, meaning it could fly without a crew on board. Flight tests are already underway at Edwards Air Force Base, with three B-21s in the air and the first units expected to achieve operational capability by 2027. The Air Force has committed to at least 100 Raiders, with internal discussions floating a potential scale-up to 200. "What we need to consider is doubling the production capacity as rapidly as possible to bring up that inventory," said Gen. David Deptula. Once stalled, the Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program roared back to life this spring under a new name and a new contract. Now designated the F-47, the program – awarded to Boeing – is designed to be the most advanced manned fighter in U.S. history. Its capabilities will include stealth, extended range, speeds exceeding Mach 2 and integration with a new class of AI-enabled drones called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The F-47 will serve as the "quarterback" for a team of 1,000 CCAs, controlling them in battle and coordinating sensor and targeting data in real time. "It's critically important that President Trump proceeded with the manned platform for the Air Force," said former Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif. "This academic debate about unmanned-only platforms is aspirational – but the networks just aren't there yet." The aircraft has an ambitious timeline for initial operational capacity – within the 2025-2029 range, according to a graphic posted by Air Force chief of staff David Allvin on X. The Pentagon is going all-in on the F-47 in the 2026 budget: requesting $3.5 billion while decreasing its request for F-35s from 74 to 47. Garcia, a former Navy pilot, emphasized that human pilots are still essential for managing the complexity of 21st-century warfare. However, others within the Pentagon argue that manned fighters may become obsolete before the F-47 is even fully fielded. "AI technologies are evolving far more rapidly than anyone predicted," a former senior defense official said. "If they continue to evolve in five years... you're on exactly the wrong path." Deptula decried "arbitrary" budgets that were set by Congress rather than defense officials' determination of what they need for readiness and argued the more-expensive F-47 might be able to do far more work than less elite aircraft. "Individually, F-47 might be costlier than a previous fighter aircraft, but if it can achieve 15, 20, 30, 40 times what it would take to accomplish the particular outcome using non-stealthy or other less expensive aircraft, which one provides the most value? So that's where the decision calculus needs to go." Unlike the Air Force, the Navy is moving slowly with its own 6th-gen project — the F/A-XX. Garcia sees this as intentional, noting that naval airframes must withstand far greater environmental challenges than their Air Force counterparts. Officials are still unsure whether the Navy's next-gen fighter jet, F/A-XX, will move forward at all, according to the FY 2026 budget proposal. "Waiting for a decision from the secretary of the Navy, secretary of defense, and the president," a defense official told reporters. "That's an active conversation, whether to continue with the program or not." The program will proceed right now with "minimal funding" for design in the budget, the official said. "Designing a naval variant of an Air Force aircraft on the same timeline? It's impossible to do it correctly." Instead, the Navy is expected to borrow technology – like engines and sensors – from NGAD while building a unique carrier-capable fighter suited for saltwater, catapults and fight deck operations. However, Garcia warned that the Navy has a deeper, under-reported problem: a shortfall in carrier-based strike fighters. "A gold-plated 6th-gen aircraft in low quantities isn't the answer. Slightly less capability in higher numbers is what the Navy needs." However, Deptula said there's a question of whether aircraft carriers will even continue to be viable in the future. "The question that a lot of people in the Department of Defense are asking now is what's the viability of an aircraft carrier in a future world proliferated by hypersonic, very precise missiles with 1,500-mile-plus ranges." Carriers "project power" in low-threat environments, Deptula said, but "most people recognize you're not going to put aircraft carriers close enough to use the aircraft." "The Navy wants to lean in and get trillions more for sixth generation. The people that want to watch our $2 trillion deficit ought to keep that in mind here," the former defense official said.
