Latest news with #GideonSaar
Roya News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Roya News
'Israel' FM says world has 'obligation' to stop Iran getting nuclear bomb
'Israel's' foreign minister said Friday the world was obliged to stop Iran developing an atomic bomb, days after 'Israel' claimed it had "thwarted Iran's nuclear project" in a 12-day war. "Israel acted at the last possible moment against an imminent threat against it, the region and the international community," Gideon Saar wrote on X. "The international community now has an obligation to prevent, through any effective means, the world's most extreme regime from obtaining the most dangerous weapon." 'Israel' and Iran each claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire on June 24. The conflict erupted on June 13 when 'Israel' launched a bombing campaign that it claimed aimed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon – an ambition Iran has consistently denied. Following waves of 'Israeli' attacks on nuclear and military sites, the United States bombed three key facilities, with President Donald Trump insisting it had set Iran's nuclear programme back by "decades". 'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to the nation after the ceasefire, announced that "we have thwarted Iran's nuclear project". But there is no consensus as to how effective the strikes were. Iran on Friday rejected a request by UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi to visit the bombed facilities, saying that it suggested "malign intent". The comments from Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after parliament approved a bill suspending cooperation with the UN watchdog.
Business Recorder
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Israel FM says world has ‘obligation' to stop Iran getting nuclear bomb
JERUSALEM: Israel's foreign minister said Friday the world was obliged to stop Iran developing an atomic bomb, days after Israel claimed it had 'thwarted Iran's nuclear project' in a 12-day war. 'Israel acted at the last possible moment against an imminent threat against it, the region and the international community,' Gideon Saar wrote on X. 'The international community now has an obligation to prevent, through any effective means, the world's most extreme regime from obtaining the most dangerous weapon.' Israel and Iran each claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire on June 24. The conflict erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a bombing campaign that it said aimed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon – an ambition Iran has consistently denied. Israel set back Iran nuclear project 'by years': military Following waves of Israeli attacks on nuclear and military sites, the United States bombed three key facilities, with President Donald Trump insisting it had set Iran's nuclear programme back by 'decades'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to the nation after the ceasefire, announced that 'we have thwarted Iran's nuclear project'. But there is no consensus as to how effective the strikes were. Iran on Friday rejected a request by UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi to visit the bombed facilities, saying that it suggested 'malign intent'. The comments from Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after parliament approved a bill suspending cooperation with the UN watchdog. In a post on X following the move, Saar said Iran 'continues to mislead the international community and actively works to prevent effective oversight of its nuclear programme'.
DW
21 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Fact check: Viral Evin prison blast video is likely AI-fake – DW – 06/27/2025
A viral video claiming to show an Israeli strike on Iran's Evin prison is probably AI-generated. Experts reveal key visual inconsistencies. A video went viral this week, allegedly showing the footage of a surveillance camera filming the entrance to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran being destroyed by an explosion. According to Israel, it had fired on the prison; Iran's judiciary confirmed the attack. The prison is known for reports of human rights violations against political prisoners of the Iranian regime. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had shared the black-and-white video (archived here) on his X account, writing: "We warned Iran time and again: stop targeting civilians! They continued, including this morning. Our response: Viva la libertad, carajo!" Numerous international media outlets featured or referenced the six-second video to report on the attack. These included the New York Times, BBC, and the German channel ARD. They have since deleted the footage and added disclaimers to their publications. But the video appears to be fake. Most probably generated with AI with the help of an old image of the prison gate. DW Fact check looked at the puzzle pieces. A photo of the prison entrance, which is identical down to the smallest details, was used in a Persian-language article by Voice of America from May 2023. It shows a larger section of the image and was presumably taken from this post on X, from January 2023. If you compare the video circulating now and the image from 2023 you will see that there are a lot of similarities which are just too exact for pictures of the same location that have been taken at least 2 years apart: Compare the missing tiles on the left side of the entrance, or the bare shrubs in the right lower corner of the marked in both images. The shrubs are also an indication that the photo cannot be recent, but was instead taken in winter, as there are no leaves at all. Other pictures of Evin Prison on the internet, which were actually taken in summer, show the bushes and shrubs covered in dense foliage. One example, presumably from 2021, can be found here. Also, images of the damage actually caused at the prison now, shared by Iranian news agencies, show trees and bushes covered in leaves, and not bare, as in the black and white video sequence. Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in digital forensics, also pointed out the inconsistencies in the video shared by Saar in a post on LinkedIn on Tuesday. He wrote: "Unfortunately, the video is heavily compressed, making forensic analysis challenging. (…) It seems more likely that an AI-powered image-to-video generator was used with this image as the source The poor video quality seems plausible by faking a surveillance camera recording and complicates reverse image searches, as does the change in color footage to black and white. Farid added: "If this video is, in fact, fake, then it adds to a growing and disturbing trend of fake content circulating online as major world events unfold, making our understanding of what is happening and how to respond shaky, at best." Various fact checks, for example by Libération, VRT and ABC News Australia, have already come to the same conclusion: the video is not authentic. However, many users online and media outlets fell for it because there really was an attack on the prison. According to Iranian media, the attack not only struck the prison's main entrance but also damaged a prosecutor's office and two courts within Evin, cited in media reports. Further confusion was caused because the viral video matches real footage of the entrance gate. Farid told DW in a previous interview, "The problem with the fake content is that it's not just that people are creating fake content. It's that they are muddying the waters and suddenly everything is suspect." With the improvement of AI-generating programs and the sheer amount of content shared online, this "muddying of waters" is making it more and more difficult to distinguish between what is real and fake.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Israel hits Iran's Evin prison, says strikes on Tehran are biggest yet
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz made clear that Israel was now going after the Iranian government's ability to maintain power. (EPA Images pic) TEL AVIV : Israel targeted Evin prison in Tehran today, one of the most potent symbols of Iran's governing system, in what Israel called the most intense bombing yet of the Iranian capital, a day after the US joined the war by blasting nuclear sites. Iran repeated earlier threats to retaliate against the US. But it had yet to so in a meaningful way more than 24 hours after US bombers dropped 30,000 pound bunker-busters on its underground nuclear sites, while US President Donald Trump openly mused about overthrowing the Iranian govenrment. Oil prices barely budged on the first trading day after the US joined the war, suggesting traders doubted Iran would follow through on threats to disrupt oil supplies from the Gulf. The Mizan news outlet of Iran's judiciary confirmed that the prison had been hit. It said part of the building was damaged but the situation was under control. A video posted by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar on X showed an explosion at a building with a sign identifying it as an entrance to Evin prison in northern Tehran and the accompanying words 'Viva la libertad!' – Spanish for 'Long live liberty.' Reuters could not immediately verify the video. Evin has been the primary prison for housing political detainees and security prisoners, notably since Iran's 1979 revolution, and the site of executions that remain potent symbols for the opposition. It is where several high-profile foreign prisoners are also held. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz made clear that Israel was no longer limiting its attacks to its initial stated targets such as Iran's nuclear programme and missiles, and would go after the Tehran government's ability to maintain power. 'The IDF is currently striking, with unprecedented force, regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran,' he said in a statement. There were conflicting reports on Iranian media about the full extent of strikes on Tehran, a city of 10 million people where much of the population has fled after 10 days of bombing. Tasnim news agency reported a strike at an electricity feeder station in the Evin neighbourhood. Power company Tavanir reported some areas in the capital saw electricity cuts. Iran's student news network reported that Shahid Beheshti University, one of the main universities in Tehran, had also been hit. The university's public relations office denied it. Limited options Since Trump joined Israel's campaign by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning, Iran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. But while it has continued to fire missiles at Israel, it has yet to take action against the US itself, either by firing at US bases or by targeting the 20% of global oil shipments that pass near its coast at the mouth of the Gulf. 'Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,' Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesman for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in English in a recorded video statement. Trump's administration has repeatedly said that its aim is solely to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, not to open a wider war. But in a social media post on Sunday, Trump spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington's principal foes in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 revolution. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' he wrote. Experts surveying commercial satellite imagery said it appeared that the US attack had severely damaged the site of Iran's Fordow nuclear plant, built inside a mountain. Trump called the strike a 'Bullseye!!!'. 'Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran,' he wrote. More Israeli strikes Israel's airstrikes on Iran have met little resistance from Iranian defences since Israel launched its surprise attack on June 13, killing many of Iran's top commanders. In an apparent effort to limit panic, Iran has released few images of the damage since the initial days of the bombing. The internet has largely been down for days, making it difficult for information to circulate within Iran and abroad. The Israeli military said a missile launched from Iran early on Monday had been intercepted by Israeli defences. Air raid sirens blared overnight in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel. But Iran's ability to retaliate is far more limited than a few months ago, since Israel inflicted defeat on Iran's most feared regional proxy force, Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran's most powerful client ruler, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, fell soon after. Iran's most effective threat to hurt the West would be to restrict global oil flows from the Gulf, but oil prices have not shot up to crisis levels. After briefly jumping above US$80 a barrel at the open, Brent crude futures were up just 0.5% to US$77.38 in Monday morning trading, having even at one point even been down on the morning. Prices are still above the level before Israel started its attacks this month. Traders said even that premium could fade. 'It's worth noting that the current geopolitical risk premium – now exceeding US$10 per barrel – cannot be sustained for long without a tangible supply disruption,' said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank. Iranian lawmkers have discussed shutting the Strait of Hormuz that leads into the Gulf, though no decision has been taken. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down the threat. 'It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that,' he said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Nowhere to escape': Israel strike intensifies distress in notorious Iran jail
Alarm has intensified over the welfare of inmates after an Israeli strike on Evin prison in Tehran, one of Iran's most notorious penal complexes which haunts prisoners long after they are released. Rights groups say that Evin, which is believed to have the capacity for hundreds of inmates, is home to dozens of "political prisoners" innocent of any crime, including foreigners, and women who are kept in a separate wing. Israel targeted the prison in an air strike on Monday, before an American call for a ceasefire, destroying not just the front entrance but also inner parts of the complex, according to activists who had contact with prisoners, and also killing several people, according to the Iranian judiciary. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar hailed the strike by posting "long live freedom!" while former UK premier Boris Johnson said it was "great to see that Israel has blown the doors off Evin prison". But rights groups accused Israel of causing only additional anguish to detainees who are already deeply distressed and at least some of whom have been relocated to other prisons. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said the strike caused severe damage to critical areas including the women's section, ward 8, believed to house political prisoners, the infirmary and the prosecutor's office. Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who was held in the prison until being allowed temporary leave for medical reasons last year, said that as a result of the strike the infirmary was destroyed and prisoners were under intensified security conditions or relocated. "Families are filled with fear and anxiety," she said in a statement. - 'Distressed prisoners' - The judiciary's Mizan Online website confirmed that prisoners had been transferred to other facilities within Tehran province but did not specify how many inmates were moved. Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said multiple people were killed and wounded in the strike, "including administrative and judicial staff, visiting civilians, family members of inmates and the inmates themselves". Mohammadi expressed concern that among those killed were family members of inmates who had visited the prosecutor's office at the prison -- located close to the entrance –- seeking information about their loved ones' cases. The Norway-based Hengaw rights group said hours after the attack Evin prisoners were transferred by bus to other prisons in the region and the women inmates to Qarchak prison outside Tehran which has a dire reputation for its conditions. Amnesty International said it was "extremely distressed" by the attack on the prison "where hundreds of prisoners, including political dissidents and human rights defenders" are held. "Prison security forces must not use force or firearms against distressed prisoners," it said. The CHRI published a letter signed by inmates -- whose names were withheld for their safety -- accusing the Evin authorities of "creating a highly repressive atmosphere" rather than helping prisoners during the strikes. "We had nowhere to escape during the bombing, nor have we had any refuge from the organised violence that has crushed our lives and dignity for years," they said, adding several prisoners had been injured as they rushed downstairs in search of safety. - 'Huge complex' - British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held in Evin for several years, wrote in Britain's Guardian newspaper she vehemently opposed the bombing of the prison by Israel. "So bringing down those gates might have seemed like a symbolic act for faraway media. But it did not feel like it made anyone safe inside," she said. Built in 1972 under the reign of the former shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Evin has long been a looming presence, looking down on Tehran from its northern limits in the foothills of the Alborz mountains. In October 2022, at the height of nationwide protests against the authorities, Evin was hit by a fire, with reports of gunshots, that left at least eight inmates dead. The circumstances of the blaze remain murky. "It's a huge complex," said Taghi Rahmani, husband of Narges Mohammadi, now living in exile in France, who spent time in this prison between 1986 and 1994, and in 2010-2011, before fleeing Iran. He pointed in particular to section 209 -- run by the intelligence ministry for political prisoners -- as a "prison within a prison". Louis Arnaud, a Frenchman held for two years in Evin until his release last year, said he feared for his former cellmates. "In these very dark days, we don't know what could happen in this building." cf-sjw/ekf/yad
