Global protests over US strikes on Iran
Video shows protests across the world in response to US air strikes on Iran. Demonstrators gathered in cities including Manila, Karachi, Athens, Toronto, Tokyo, Washington DC and New York to condemn the attacks.
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Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Iran in the Israeli Calculus: What Comes Next?
At the end of its 12-day campaign against Iran in June 2025, Israel revised its strategic calculations based on key national security objectives: eliminating the Iranian nuclear project, undermining Iran's regional influence and destroying its missile power, and bringing down the Iranian regime or at least hastening its collapse. Estimates of the damage sustained by Iran's nuclear programme vary widely, but the consensus is that it was not irrevocably incapacitated. After the ceasefire, the Iranian leadership pledged to continue uranium enrichment and suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which it accused of failing to honour its obligations. The departure of IAEA staff from Iran and the suspension of its periodic reports compromises the ability of Tel Aviv and Washington to monitor the status of Iran's nuclear programme. In response, the Israeli leadership will likely exaggerate the threat to lay the groundwork for a new attack. Both Israel and the United States will also likely attempt to build a UN consensus for severe sanctions on Iran to force renewed IAEA inspections, though Russia and China could thwart their attempts to secure a resolution in the UN Security Council. In terms of the conventional military balance between the two countries, the war revealed Israel's military edge. Israel carried out sophisticated intelligence operations that allowed it to act freely within Iranian territory and gave it near-total air supremacy in Iranian skies. The Axis of Resistance was shown to be severely fragmented and largely ineffective, while Israel's own defence system proved highly effective, intercepting 60–90 percent of Iranian missiles. Despite this disparity, Iran's missile strikes inflicted heavy losses on Israel, with estimates indicating that 77 of the 550 missiles hit their targets, and Israel's air defences lost effectiveness with time. Though presently weakened, the Axis of Resistance remains capable of inflicting harm on US and Israeli interests in the region. As for Israel's goal of regime change, the war exposed the unreality of its expectations. Despite Israeli appeals urging Iranians to liberate themselves, there were no anti-regime protests, and, in fact, most Iranians rallied in defence of their country, seeing the attack on nuclear facilities as unprovoked aggression. Given that Israel was unable to completely eliminate perceived Iranian threats to its national security, it is expected to continue pursuing its goals. New assaults are unlikely in the near future because it needs to assess the impact of its attacks on nuclear facilities, replenish its stock of interceptor missiles, and coordinate with the US, all of which will take time, especially considering the depletion of the US's own stock of THAAD interceptors. These obstacles may spur Israel to focus on intelligence and cyber operations, which have proven effective against the nuclear programme in the past. It may also act to weaken pro-Iranian armed factions, especially Hezbollah, to prevent their resurgence. In parallel, it may seek to isolate Iran regionally by expanding normalisation agreements in the region, betting on its successful deterrence of Iran to bring Arab states on board. But the outcome of the war makes this unlikely. Israel needed direct US intervention to defend itself, and it is unclear whether Israel was capable of continuing or ending the war on its own. Iranian missiles also proved increasingly effective in penetrating advanced Israeli defence systems. If Iran found itself without better options, it might shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which would harm everyone. In the medium term, Israel will adapt to Iranian behaviour. If Iran proceeds with uranium enrichment with the goal of obtaining a nuclear weapon, Israel will again attempt to thwart it with further attacks on nuclear facilities. The cost for Israel, however, will be steeper because Iran will have corrected its own shortcomings exposed by the war and will certainly continue to develop its ballistic missiles. It will also move its nuclear facilities to highly fortified mountainous areas inaccessible to Israeli or US warplanes. If Israel cannot disrupt the nuclear programme, it will prioritise the overthrow of the Iranian regime, which would entail more assassinations of political, military and security leaders, and the sabotage of communications, electricity and water networks with the aim of fomenting chaos and thereby weakening the regime's ability to control the street. In the final analysis, the 12-day war brought the confrontation between Israel and Iran out of the shadows and into the open. Unless both sides radically change their perceptions of the nature of external threats, the most recent confrontation will be a prelude to future rounds or a long-term war.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Protests held across UK supporting banned Palestine Action despite arrests
Protests are taking place across the United Kingdom calling for the ban on Palestine Action to be reversed, amid police warnings that those showing support for the proscribed activist group face arrest. Demonstrations have been taking place on Saturday in Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Truro and London as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries, which has already seen dozens arrested. London's Metropolitan police said 55 people have been arrested Saturday in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of the group. The Met police said 70 people were arrested at similar demonstrations in Parliament Square over the past two weekends, while Defend Our Juries said a total of 120 had so far been arrested across the UK. It comes ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which the cofounder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for the green light to challenge the home secretary's decision to ban the group under 'anti-terror' laws. The ban means that membership of, or support for, the direct action group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000, putting the group on a par with armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). Authorities have beefed up police presence in Westminster in the wake of the rallies. A counterprotest by the pro-Israeli Stop the Hate group will also take place in London on Saturday. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said those expressing support for Palestine Action 'will likely be committing an offence and will very likely be arrested'. Five people appeared in court on Saturday over a Palestine Action protest at an Israeli-linked defence firm's site. Members of the organisation, allegedly armed with sledgehammers and whips, are accused of breaking into the Elbit Systems site near Patchway, Bristol, in the early hours of August 6, 2024, 'counter-terrorism' police said. More than 2 million pounds of damage ($2.68 million) was caused, and police officers and a security guard were assaulted, the Westminster Magistrates' Court heard. Prosecutors claim the alleged offences had a 'terrorist connection'. The five involved were charged with aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder. Palestine Action describes itself as 'a pro-Palestinian organisation which disrupts the arms industry in the United Kingdom with direct action'. Since its founding in July 2020, it has carried out hundreds of protests across the UK aimed at disrupting the operations of companies they accuse of profiting from Israeli military operations, with a particular focus on the Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems. The group's tactics typically involve breaking into facilities, chaining themselves to machinery, daubing buildings with red paint and destroying equipment. The UK has seen hundreds of thousands of people peacefully protest on a near-weekly basis, calling for an end to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza in the last 22 months.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
US attorney general paves way for more convicted criminals to own guns
Washington, DC – United States Attorney General Pam Bondi has begun a process to make it easier for individuals with criminal convictions to own guns. The move on Friday comes amid a wider push by the administration of President Donald Trump to make good on campaign promises to gun rights groups, which criticise restrictions on firearm ownership as violations of the Constitution's Second Amendment. Trump ordered a review of government gun policies in February. Gun control advocates, meanwhile, have voiced concerns over the administration's ability to adequately assess which convicted individuals would not pose a public safety risk. In a statement released on Friday, Bondi said individuals with serious criminal convictions have been 'disenfranchised from exercising the right to keep and bear arms — a right every bit as constitutionally enshrined as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to free exercise of religion — irrespective of whether they actually pose a threat'. 'No longer,' she added. Under the plan, Bondi seeks to return the power to determine which individuals convicted of crimes can own firearms directly to her office. That exemption process has currently been overseen by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. However, Congress has, for decades, used its spending approval powers to stem the processing of exemption requests. The Department of Justice said the proposed change 'will provide citizens whose firearm rights are currently under legal disability with an avenue to restore those rights, while keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals and illegal aliens'. The US attorney general would have 'ultimate discretion to grant relief', according to the department. It added that, 'absent extraordinary circumstances', certain individuals would be 'presumptively ineligible' for the restoration of their gun rights. They include 'violent felons, registered sex offenders, and illegal aliens'. The plan was outlined in a 'proposed rule' submitted to the Federal Register on Friday. It will undergo a final public comment period before it is adopted. In Friday's statement, US Pardon Attorney Edward Martin Jr said that his team was already developing a 'landing page with a sophisticated, user-friendly platform for Americans petitioning for the return of their gun rights, which will make the process easier for them'. When details of Bondi's plan initially emerged in March, the gun control group Brady was among those who voiced opposition. 'If and when gun rights are restored to an individual, it needs to be through a robust and thoughtful system that minimizes the risk to public safety,' the group's president, Kris Brown, said in a statement. She added that Trump's restoration of gun rights to those who were convicted — and later pardoned — for their role in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, raised concerns over how the administration would exercise its discretion. 'This would be a unilateral system to give gun rights back to those who are dangerous and high risk, and we will all be at greater risk of gun violence,' she said.
