Iran pounds Zionist entity
TEHRAN: Iran struck Zionist entity with barrages of missiles on Saturday, a day after a massive onslaught against its nuclear and military facilities killed top generals and nuclear scientists. Zionist emergency services said two people were killed when a rocket hit a residential area early Saturday, as the two sides traded fire for a second day despite international calls for de-escalation. Iran called on its citizens to unite in defense of the country as Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged them to rise up against their government.
Air raid sirens and explosions rang out across Zionist entity through the night, with many residents holed up in bomb shelters until home defense commanders stood down alerts. Zionist entity said dozens of missiles - some intercepted - had been fired in the latest salvos from Iran, with AFP images of the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv showing blown-out buildings, destroyed vehicles and streets strewn with debris. Rescuers said two people were killed and 19 wounded on Saturday by rocket fire on a residential area in the coastal plain.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked dozens of targets in Zionist entity. Zionist firefighters had worked for hours to free people trapped in a high-rise building in Tel Aviv on Friday. Resident Chen Gabizon told AFP he ran to an underground shelter after receiving an alert. 'After a few minutes, we just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place,' he said. Rescuers said 34 people were wounded in the Gush Dan area, including a woman who later died of her injuries, according to media reports.
Speaking to CNN, Zionist ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Iran had fired three salvos of ballistic missiles on Friday, some 150 in total. 'We expect that the Iranians, who have a considerable volume of ballistic missiles, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000, will continue to fire them,' Leiter said. In Tehran, fire and heavy smoke billowed over Mehrabad airport early Saturday, an AFP journalist said, as Iranian media reported an explosion.
Blasts were heard across the capital as Iran activated its air defenses against the incoming fire. The military said it had struck Iranian 'defense arrays' in the Tehran area in the overnight strikes. Dozens of Iranians took to the streets to cheer their country's military response, with some waving national flags and chanting anti-Zionist slogans. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said Friday that 78 people had been killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of strikes by Zionists. As fears mounted of wider conflict, UN chief Antonio Guterres called on both sides to cease fire. 'Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,' he said on X late Friday.
NABLUS: Debris of missiles fired from Iran toward Zionist entity leave trails in the night sky over Nablus in the occupied West bank after being intercepted.- AFP
'Dialogue and diplomacy'
US officials said they were helping Zionists defend against the missile attacks, even as Washington insisted it had nothing to do with the strikes on Iran. US President Donald Trump agreed in a call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that 'dialogue and diplomacy' were needed to calm the crisis, Starmer's office said. Trump also spoke with the Zionist prime minister, US officials said without elaborating.
Iran's missile barrages came in response to intense strikes on Friday that killed several top Iranian generals and most of the senior leadership of the Revolutionary Guards' air arm. Iran's Tasnim news agency said six nuclear scientists were also among the dead. In a televised address, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to bring Zionist entity 'to ruin'. Netanyahu urged Iranians to rise up against their leaders, warning more attacks were coming. 'As we achieve our objective, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom,' he added.
Radiation levels 'unchanged'
Zionists pounded Iranian nuclear sites, including its main underground uranium enrichment facility at Natanz in central Iran. Zionist entity said it had damaged the facility's enrichment centrifuges but Iran said most of the damage was above ground and no casualties had been sustained. 'Most of the damage is on the surface level,' said Iran's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi. He said the damage to the Fordo and Isfahan nuclear sites was also only limited. The conflict threw into doubt plans for a fresh round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Oman on Sunday.
After the first wave of strikes, Trump urged Iran to 'make a deal', adding that Washington was 'hoping to get back to the negotiating table'. The United States and other Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an ambition it has consistently denied. Netanyahu said Zionist intelligence had concluded that Iran was approaching the 'point of no return' on its nuclear program. 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.- Agencies
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
9 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Iran Embassy opens condolence book to honor victims of Zionist aggression
Iranian Ambassador hails positions of GCC countries KUWAIT: The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kuwait opened a condolence book, on Monday, to honor the victims of the recent aggression against Iran. The event was attended by officials, ambassadors, and media. Iranian Ambassador to Kuwait Mohammad Toutounchi expressed his appreciation for the positions of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, especially Kuwait, regarding the recent events, noting that Kuwait's Foreign Minister had called his Iranian counterpart in a gesture that reflects the strength of bilateral relations, describing the presence of ambassadors at the embassy as 'Noteworthy and Positive.' The ambassador said in a statement that his country endured twelve days of intense aggression by the Zionist entity, joined by the United States in the final two days, explaining that Iran faced simultaneous attacks from countries equipped with nuclear capabilities and advanced technology, backed by NATO. He emphasized that the planners of this aggression had expected Iran to collapse within days. However, 'The unity of the Iranian people inside and outside the country formed a formidable barrier.' He added that US intervention came only after ten days of failed efforts to achieve any ground breakthrough. Toutounchi revealed that the number of victims exceeded 620 martyrs, with more than 5,356 wounded, including 13 children and 43 women, some of whom were pregnant, adding 'Seven hospitals, six health centers, and dozens of ambulances were destroyed. These martyrs cannot be replaced whether they were children, military leaders, or academics, calling for the Zionist entity and the United States to be held accountable before international bodies to prevent such crimes from recurring. Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait Al-Manhal Al-Safi Sudanese Ambassador to Kuwait Awadal-Karim Balla. Regarding Iran's nuclear program, the ambassador reiterated Iran's commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), pointing out that the country's nuclear program, which represents less than 3 percent of global peaceful nuclear activities, has undergone over 23 percent of international inspections. He argued that this high inspection rate indicates no deviation toward military objectives. He disclosed that Iran had recently agreed to five rounds of indirect negotiations aimed at reviving the diplomatic track and ensuring the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. He also stressed that Iran's response against US military and intelligence bases in Qatar was a legitimate act of self-defense and was not directed at any neighboring countries, affirming Iran's full respect for their sovereignty. He noted that Iran had communicated with Qatari leadership to clarify its position, stating that military bases in neighboring countries used by US forces cannot be considered safe havens for launching attacks. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait Al-Manhal Al-Safi expressed his deep gratitude to Kuwait's leadership, government, and people for facilitating the return of over 3,000 stranded Iraqi citizens by issuing more than 3,500 transit visas in just 12 days. The Iraqi ambassador affirmed his country's full solidarity with Iran and condemned the aggression, revealing that Zionist aircraft had breached Iraqi airspace, prompting Baghdad to file an official complaint with the UN Security Council. In the same context, the Sudanese Ambassador to Kuwait Awadal-Karim Al-Rayah Balla offered his condolences to Iran, describing the incident as 'A blatant and unacceptable attack.' He called for regional unity to confront shared challenges, emphasizing that the targeting of Iran threatens all free peoples in the region. He urged a joint response to protect stability and to revive the Palestinian cause as a priority. The Sudanese envoy also pointed to the double standards in the international system, calling for crises to be addressed through international legitimacy rather than the imposition of forceful agendas.
Kuwait Times
10 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Bangladesh ex-PM denies crimes against humanity charges
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (center) weeps while she visits a metro station in Mirpur vandalized by students during the anti-quota protests. -- AFP DHAKA: Bangladesh's fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina has denied accusations that she committed crimes against humanity, her state-appointed defense lawyer said Tuesday. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August last year, according to the United Nations, when Hasina's government ordered a crackdown on protesters in a failed bid to cling to power. Hasina fled to India at the culmination of the student-led uprising in August and has defied orders to return to Dhaka, where her trial in absentia opened on June 1. Prosecutors have filed five charges against Hasina — abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder — that amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. Defence lawyer Amir Hossain said Hasina has denied all charges, telling journalists that he would present 'arguments to seek her discharge from these allegations'. The ousted leader's banned Awami League, in a statement issued in London, called it a 'show trial' and said that the accused 'categorically denies the charges'. To illustrate the allegations against Hasina, prosecutors have drawn up a list of key examples from their bulky dossier. They accuse her of incitement to violence, as well as ordering the use of lethal weapons including from helicopters. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said Hasina was driven by a desire to cling to power at all costs. He pointed to her alleged push for people to 'worship' her late father, the founding president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 'Her father had the same obsession with holding on to power,' Islam said. Prosecutors say Hasina holds overall command responsibility in three specific cases—the separate trials of which are ongoing—connected to the violent suppression of the uprising. Those cases are the murder of 23-year-old student protester Abu Sayeed, the killing of six others in the Chankharpul area of Dhaka, and the killing and burning of six people in Ashulia, another suburb of the capital. Hasina is on trial with two other officials. One of them, former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, who faces similar charges, is also a fugitive. The second, ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, is in custody. The trial continues. – AFP
Kuwait Times
13 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Zionists eye ties with Syria and Lebanon after Iran war
Entity held meetings with Syria's new rulers • Damascus won't give up Golan Heights JERUSALEM: Zionist entity is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Zionist entity Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday. Zionist leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month's 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Zionist entity. The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Zionist entity also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar Al-Assad. A loader removes debris from the site of a Zionst strike on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. (Right) Palestinians react near the rubble of a residential house that was hit in overnight Zionist strikes in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on June 30, 2025.-- AFP In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Zionist entity since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalization agreements with Zionist entity were deeply unpopular in the Arab world. 'We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization, while safeguarding Zionist entity's essential and security interests,' Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem. 'The Golan will remain part of the Zionist entity', he said. Zionist entity annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While most of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Zionist sovereignty over it during his first term in office. Following Assad's ousting, Zionist forces moved further into Syrian territory. A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory. The official also said that normalization efforts with Zionist entity must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, and not carried out through a separate track. A spokesperson for Syria's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalization with Zionist entity in exchange for its withdrawal from occupied territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem, which Zionist entity also captured in 1967, as its capital. Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Zionist entity was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Zionist entity's Saar said it was 'not constructive' for other states to condition normalization on Palestinian statehood. 'Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Zionist entity', he said. In May, Reuters reported that Zionist entity and Syria's new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border. The same month, US President Donald Trump announced the US would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria's new president, urging him to normalize ties with Zionist entity. — Reuters
