Pezeshkian blames US for escalation as Israel intensifies strikes on Iranian provinces
'This assault confirms the US is the true power driving the Zionist regime's [Israel's] aggression,' Pezeshkian told Iran's IRNA news agency. 'Israel lacks the capability to act alone against Iran,' he added, asserting that Sunday 's Iranian strike on Israel was a direct response to Washington's hostile policies.
His comments followed a fresh round of Israeli airstrikes targeting multiple provinces. State outlets reported blasts in Bushehr—site of Iran's only nuclear power plant—and strikes on military and energy sites in Yazd. A military waste depot was hit, and air defenses were activated near Damavand, east of Tehran.
Israel's Channel 14 confirmed the air force had bombed 'critical command centers and missile launch platforms' in central Iran.
The latest escalation comes in the wake of US strikes Sunday on three major nuclear facilities—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Since June 13, Iran and Israel have exchanged near-daily waves of missiles and drones. Despite international appeals for restraint, both sides continue trading fire across multiple fronts.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Shafaq News
29 minutes ago
- Shafaq News
Syria pledges fair Euphrates water allocation to Iraq
Shafaq News - Baghdad/Damascus Syria will continue delivering Iraq's agreed share of the Euphrates River under existing treaties, a top Syrian water official said on Saturday, as both countries face declining river flows and prolonged drought. Ahmad al-Kawan, Director of Syria's General Authority for Water Resources, told Shafaq News that Iraq receives 58 percent of the Euphrates' volume at the Syrian–Turkish border, while Syria keeps the remaining 42 percent, noting that Turkiye is obligated to release more than 500 cubic meters per second on average and to compensate for monthly shortfalls. Water flowing to Iraq passes through al-Bukamal in eastern Syria, sourced from upstream inflows entering Syria at Jarabulus. Al-Kawan confirmed that a joint Iraqi–Syrian committee is monitoring the quantities reaching Iraq, and both sides intend to install a modern gauging station at the border. 'These arrangements reflect the two countries' commitment to fair distribution and transparent tracking of Euphrates water,' he emphasized. Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that both Turkiye and Syria had agreed to increase water discharges, with Ankara releasing 320 cubic meters per second toward Mosul Dam and 350 through Syria. Iraq, one of the world's most climate-affected countries, faces intensifying water shortages linked to low rainfall, rising temperatures, and upstream controls by Turkiye and Iran. A 2022 World Bank report estimated that Iraq would need $233B in investment by 2040—roughly 6 percent of its GDP annually—to meet essential development goals and adapt to climate stress. In a separate 2025 assessment, Iraq's Strategic Center for Human Rights warned that nearly 30 percent of the country's productive farmland has been lost over the past three decades due to persistent drought and water scarcity.
Rudaw Net
an hour ago
- Rudaw Net
Kurdistan should do more for special needs students, says wheelchair-bound grad
Also in World UN nuclear watchdog inspectors leave Iran Swedish gang leader arrested in Turkey US sanctions Iraqi network over Iranian oil smuggling Kurdistan's Zakho, Minnesota's Moorhead forge friendship pact A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish student at a German university drew from her own experiences in a wheelchair for her research into how the education systems in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region accommodate people with special needs. Arwa Abdulhameed is paraplegic and spends her life in a wheelchair. In her bachelor's thesis for her social work degree at Cologne's University of Applied Science, she showed that in Germany 10 percent of people have special needs while in Iraq that number is 11 percent and that there is a big difference in how they are treated. Her research found that two out of five students with special needs in Iraq cannot go to school because, as the schools have said themselves, they lack the necessary resources. She pointed to a lack of proper transport as an example, something she observed while visiting the Kurdistan Region, where she was born. 'There I had to rent a car and find a ramp to use when getting in and out. This problem exists in Iraq and Kurdistan,' she told Rudaw's Diaspora program that aired on Friday. 'It's very important and necessary to help with transportation by providing buses or special cars.' Abdulhameed noted that the Kurdistan Region is taking steps in the right direction with an effort to provide support for special needs students in 25 percent of the schools. 'Rebaz School had opened a special class for those students and said: 'We accept them and help them to complete their education,' but they also indicated that their problem is that the government doesn't help them,' Abdulhameed said. 'The difference appears here in Germany too. Without government help, things are difficult, but here that help is provided,' she added. Abdulhameed is a new graduate and is looking to begin a career in social work. At the moment, she stays busy doing volunteer work, visiting hospitals and talking to people who have recently been paralyzed about what to do once they go back home. 'People with special needs are those who have alternative abilities, meaning each of them has a characteristic and can provide a service to their surroundings in a different field,' she said. While some progress is being made in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for supporting and including people with special needs, the journey requires continued government support, increased funding, robust policy implementation, and a fundamental shift in societal attitudes.
Shafaq News
3 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Russia's Borisoglebsk Airport struck by Ukraine
Shafaq News – Kyiv/Moscow On Saturday, Ukrainian military forces targeted Borisoglebsk Airport in Russia's Voronezh region, hitting a bomb storage facility and damaging a training aircraft in what officials described as a precise operation. Following the strike, the Russian Federal Aviation Agency suspended flight operations at Egis and Ivanovo airports, citing concerns over potential Ukrainian drone attacks. The attack coincided with an announcement by US President Donald Trump, who emphasized that Ukraine would require additional Patriot missile systems to reinforce its air defense capabilities. Hours earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he and Trump had agreed during a phone call to enhance cooperation on air defense. Describing the conversation as 'fruitful,' Zelenskyy noted that the two leaders also discussed expanding broader defense collaboration, including joint production and procurement. 'We have also agreed to a meeting between our team,' he added. The call, which lasted approximately 40 minutes, came after Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 3. According to the Kremlin, Putin reaffirmed Russia's intention to pursue its military objectives in Ukraine. In turn, Trump accused the Russian leader of prolonging the conflict, stating, 'Putin wants to push forward and keep killing people.'
