Here's a look at US military assets available for use in the Middle East
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
IAEA inspectors depart Tehran after US-Israel-Iran conflict
A team of inspectors from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog have left Iran, following Tehran's decision to suspend cooperation with the organisation after the 12-day conflict with Israel and the United States. In a statement posted on X on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its employees would return to its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi stressed 'the crucial importance' of holding talks with Iran to resume its monitoring and verification work as soon as possible, the post added. Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said it was not clear what proportion of the IAEA staff left the country. 'Based on the language used, it is not clear if all or some of them left Iran, but we understand that some of them are still here,' he said. 'What we know is that they did not fly out; this departure happened through land into Armenia yesterday or the day before,' he added. 'And then they went to Vienna,' Serdar said, adding that the development has started an era of 'nuclear ambiguity' in Iran. The inspectors stayed in the Iranian capital throughout the recent fighting, which started on June 13 when Israel attacked Iranian military sites and killed a number of the country's most senior commanders, top scientists, and civilians. The US later became involved in the conflict, dropping bunker-buster bombs on nuclear facilities in Iran, in a mission the Trump administration claimed had significantly set back the country's nuclear programme. In the aftermath of the US and Israeli aerial attacks, Iran, which has said it is still committed to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), made painfully clear its burgeoning distrust of the IAEA. Since the start of the conflict, Iranian officials have sharply criticised the IAEA not only for failing to condemn the Israeli and US strikes, but also for passing a resolution on June 12 accusing Tehran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations, the day before Israel attacked. On Wednesday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the country to cut ties with the nuclear watchdog. A bill to suspend cooperation had already been passed in the Iranian parliament and approved by the country's Guardian Council. Guardian Council spokesperson Hadi Tahan Nazif said the decision had been taken for the 'full respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran'. The bill itself says the suspension 'will remain in effect until certain conditions are met, including the guaranteed security of nuclear facilities and scientists', according to Iranian state television. On Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi summarily dismissed Grossi's request to visit nuclear facilities bombed by Israel and the US. 'Grossi's insistence on visiting the bombed sites under the pretext of safeguards is meaningless and possibly even malign in intent,' Araghchi said, adding that 'Iran reserves the right to take any steps in defence of its interests, its people and its sovereignty.' The US Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce called Iran's decision to suspend cooperation with the IAEA 'unacceptable', urging Tehran 'to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity'. 'Iran cannot and will not have a nuclear weapon,' she reiterated. Tehran denies wanting to produce a nuclear bomb, reiterating for years that its nuclear programme is for civilian use only. Neither US intelligence nor Grossi said they had found any proof Tehran was building a nuclear weapon.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US judge clears the way for imminent deportation of 8 migrants to South Sudan
By Jody Godoy and Nate Raymond (Reuters) -Eight migrants lost their last-ditch effort to halt their deportation to South Sudan by the Trump administration on Friday, clearing the way for their imminent transfer after a judge in Massachusetts denied their request. Lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department said the men were scheduled to be flown to South Sudan on Friday at 7:00 pm Eastern Time after two courts considered the request on an emergency basis on July 4, when courts are otherwise closed for the Independence Day holiday. Lawyers for the migrants had filed new claims in Washington late Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that a judge in Massachusetts could no longer require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to hold them. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington paused the deportation briefly on Friday afternoon, but sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston. Murphy said the Supreme Court order required him to deny their bid, saying their claims that deportation was being used as a form of punishment were "substantially similar" to the ones he had ruled on previously. The order was the latest round in the fight over the legality of the Trump administration's campaign to deter immigration through high-profile deportations to countries where migrants say they face safety concerns, and which has already gone from lower courts to the Supreme Court twice. Jennie Pasquarella, a lawyer with the Seattle Clemency Project who represents the migrants, called the ruling disappointing. No court will hear their claim that the Trump administration is unconstitutionally using deportation to dangerous countries as a form of punishment, on top of criminal sentences the men have already served, she said. "Both courts' decisions today have denied them their opportunity to have these claims heard and to protect their own lives. That is what is so tragic about where we came out," she said. Pasquarella said the men do not plan to file an appeal. A spokesperson for Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. Department of Justice attorney Hashim Mooppan told Moss during Friday's hearing that court orders halting agreed-upon deportations pose a serious problem for U.S. diplomatic relations and would make foreign countries less likely to accept transfers of migrants in the future. The men have been convicted of various crimes, with four of them convicted of murder, the Department of Homeland Security has said. South Sudan has long been dangerous even for locals. The U.S. State Department advises citizens not to travel there due to violent crime and armed conflict. The United Nations has said the African country's political crisis could reignite a brutal civil war that ended in 2018. The eight men, who their lawyers said are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Burma, Sudan and Vietnam, argue their deportations to South Sudan would violate the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. "It seems to me almost self-evident that the United States government cannot take human beings and send them to circumstances in which their physical well-being is at risk simply either to punish them or send a signal to others," Moss said during the hearing. But he ultimately found their new claims should be heard by the court in Massachusetts. The Friday effort to prevent the deportations came after months of back and forth between Murphy, the Supreme Court, and the Trump administration. Murphy ruled in May to block the U.S. from immediately moving the men to South Sudan after he found that officials had violated his earlier ruling in a class action lawsuit concerning the due process rights of migrants. That ruling, in April, had blocked the administration from sending migrants to countries where they have no ties without giving them the chance to raise safety concerns. The Supreme Court on June 23 put Murphy's April injunction on hold. But Murphy that same day said the high court ruling did not apply to his May order. Calling Murphy's decision a "lawless act of defiance," the Justice Department the next day urged the Supreme Court to clarify its decision. The nine-member Supreme Court on Thursday, over the dissent of two of its liberal justices, sided with the Trump administration and said its decision serves to reverse Murphy's May order blocking the deportations to South Sudan.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US-Iran nuclear talks to resume in Norway next week: Report
(NewsNation) — White House envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Norway's capital next week to restart nuclear talks, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the situation. There is no official date set for the Oslo meeting, according to Axios. Trump to sign 'big, beautiful bill' at July 4 White House picnic It would be the first direct talks since Trump embroiled the U.S. in the Israel-Iran conflict by ordering strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. The Islamic Republic retaliated with an attack on America's largest installation in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base. Days later, Trump helped broker a ceasefire between Iran and Israel — which has sparked hope for an end to violence in Gaza. Hamas suggested Wednesday that it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but stopped short of accepting a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day pause in fighting. Israel said it has already accepted the deal. Iran could restart uranium enrichment in 'months': UN nuclear watchdog On Thursday, Trump met with Edan Alexander, a former American-Israeli hostage, at the White House. 'I told the most powerful man in the world what I went through, what my friends there are going through, and asked him to continue doing everything in his power. … I hope he can achieve another historic breakthrough — a comprehensive deal to free them all, all 50 hostages,' Alexander said in a statement following the meeting. Pressure is mounting as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to travel to Washington on Monday for his own meeting with Trump. Before his departure, 35 hostage families signed a letter to the Netanyahu instructing what they want from the conversation. 'Prime minister, you must reach a comprehensive agreement that guarantees the return of every last hostage and brings an end to the fighting,' they wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
