Latest news with #Iran
CNA
43 minutes ago
- Politics
- CNA
Commentary: Why bending over backwards to agree with Donald Trump is a perilous strategy
LEIDEN, Netherlands: Donald Trump is a difficult figure to deal with, both for foreign leaders and figures closer to home who find themselves in his crosshairs. The United States president is unpredictable, sensitive and willing to break the rules to get his way. But in Trump's second term, a variety of different leaders and institutions seem to have settled on a way to handle him. The key, they seem to think, is flattery. The most obvious example came at the recently concluded NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, where world leaders got together to discuss the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Previous summits with Trump have descended into recrimination and backbiting. The organisers were determined to avoid a repeat – and decided the best way to do it was to make Trump feel really, really good about himself. Even before the summit began, NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte had texted Trump to thank him for his 'decisive action' in bombing Iran. This, he said, was something 'no one else dared to do'. Then, when discussing Trump's role in ending the war between Israel and Iran, Rutte referred to Trump as 'daddy' – a name the White House has already transformed into a meme. 🎶 Daddy's home… Hey, hey, hey, Daddy. President Donald J. Trump attended the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands. Posted by The White House on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 MAKING TRUMP FEEL GOOD The summit itself was light on the sort of contentious and detailed policy discussions that have historically bored and angered Trump. Instead, it was reduced to a series of photo opportunities and speeches in which other leaders lavished praise on Trump. Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda even suggested the alliance ought to copy Trump's political movement by adopting the phrase 'make NATO great again'. NATO leaders aren't the only ones trying this trick. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has had a go at it too. Starmer has made sure that Trump will be the first US president to make a second state visit to the United Kingdom. He described the honour in Trump-like terms: 'This has never happened before. It's so incredible. It will be historic.' After Trump announced global trade tariffs earlier in the year, Starmer was the first leader to give Trump a much-needed victory by reaching a framework trade agreement. But it worked both ways, with Starmer able to land a political victory too. In his first term, flattery was also seen as a tool to be used to get Trump onside. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried it in phone conversations with the US president, calling him a 'great teacher' from whom he learned 'skills and knowledge'. Flattery and compliance clearly have their uses. Trump is extremely sensitive to criticism and susceptible to praise, however hyperbolic and transparent it might be. Buttering him up may be an effective way to get him to back off. But it doesn't achieve much else. At the NATO summit, an opportunity was missed to make progress on issues of real importance, such as how to better support Ukraine in its war against Russia or to better coordinate European defence spending. A summit dedicated to the sole aim of making Trump feel good is one with very limited aims indeed. All it does is push the difficult decisions forward for another day. A MISSED OPPORTUNITY Individual decisions to bow down to Trump also mean missing the opportunity to mount collective resistance. One country might not be able to stand up to the president, but the odds of doing so would be greatly improved if leaders banded together. For example, Trump's trade tariffs will damage the US economy as well as those of its trading partners. That is especially the case if those partners impose tariffs of their own on US goods. If each country instead follows Britain's lead in the hope of getting the best deal for itself, they will have missed the opportunity to force the president to feel some discomfort of his own – and possibly change course. But perhaps the greatest danger of flattering Trump is that it teaches him that he can get away with doing pretty much whatever he likes. For a president who has threatened to annex the territory of NATO allies Denmark and Canada to nevertheless be feted at a NATO summit sends a message of impunity. That's a dangerous lesson for Trump to learn. He has spent much of his second term undermining democratic and liberal norms at home and key tenets of US foreign policy abroad, such as hostility to Russia. He is attempting to undermine all traditional sources of authority and expertise and instead make the world dance to his own tune. Given the expansive scope of his aims, which many experts already think is leading to a constitutional crisis that threatens democracy, the willingness to suck up to Trump normalises him in a menacing way. When his targets roll over, it sends a message to others that Trump is unstoppable and resistance is futile. It encourages not just the next presidential abuse of power, but also the next surrender from those he chooses to attack. Perhaps the best that can be said for this strategy is that maybe it will appease Trump enough to prevent him from doing too much actual harm. But when dealing with such an unpredictable and vindictive president, that is a thin reed of hope. It is much more likely to encourage him to press on – until the harm becomes too severe to ignore.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Israel Killed 30 Iranian Security Chiefs and 11 Nuclear Scientists, Israeli Official Says
Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official said on Friday in summarizing Israel's 12-day air war with Iran. In the United States, an independent expert said a review of commercial satellite imagery showed only a small number of the approximately 30 Iranian missiles that penetrated Israel's air defenses managed to hit any militarily significant targets. "Iran has yet to produce missiles that demonstrate great accuracy," Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at the CNA Corporation specializing in satellite imagery, told Reuters. In Israel, the senior military official said Israel's June 13 opening strike on Iran severely damaged its aerial defenses and destabilized its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict. Israel's air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran's missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official said. "The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime's ability to enrich uranium to 90% was neutralized for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralized," the official said. Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran said it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defenses. Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel. Eveleth, the independent US expert, said Iran's missile forces were not accurate enough to destroy small military targets like US-made F-35 jet fighters in their shelters. "Because of this the only targets they can hit with regularity are large cities or industrial targets like the refinery at Haifa," he told Reuters. Iranian missile salvos, which were limited by Israeli airstrikes in Iran, did not have the density to achieve high rates of destruction, he wrote on X. "At the current level of performance, there is effectively nothing stopping Israel from conducting the same operation in the future with similar results," he wrote. In a statement on Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had directed the military to draft plans to safeguard air superiority over Iran, prevent nuclear development and missile production, and address Iran's support for militant operations against Israel. Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General, Eyal Zamir, said on Friday the outcome in Iran could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Palestinian Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. Zamir told troops in Gaza an Israeli ground operation, known as "Gideon's Chariots," would in the near future achieve its goal of greater control of the Palestinian enclave and present options to Israel's government for further action.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
‘I didn't sleep at all': One mother's terrifying wait for news from a war zone
Nayran Tabiei keeps busy in the kitchen making traditional Syrian dishes for her catering business in Melbourne. But this week, her thoughts were far away, worrying about her three sons in Iran's capital Tehran. "The mobile is cut, the line they cut - no news at all. My heart started to beat. I didn't sleep at all. I tried every night, every day I'm trying to message and you see 100 message in my mobile but no answer." As bombs rained down on the city, Ms Tabiei could only hope her boys - aged in their 20s – had survived. "I'm boiling from inside because the thing - when nothing in your hand and nothing you can do. You just, y'know you want to help. My heart start like where we go, what do we do? And I cannot give them any money. I cannot give them any support, even call." Ms Tabiei is married to an Iranian man and the couple fled Syria in 2012 with their young daughter, leaving three young sons with their grandmother in Tehran. "I make bad decision. I felt so bad. I cannot believe 14 years gone I didn't see them and it's hard for a mum to see them grown up without them beside me." Arriving in Australia as an asylum seeker, Ms Tabiei later opened a small café called Flavours of Syria, offering work and training to many, like herself, who were forcibly displaced. "Hundreds and hundreds of asylum seekers, I help them open their business and start up. It makes me proud. I'm so happy in Australia and sharing my food and culture." Finally, just days ago, Ms Tabiei had the phonecall she hoped for – from her sons who are alive and well, having fled Tehran. "My boy called me, my heart beating - yeah good! They stay in the mountain. They took a room with their friend and when they called I am like 'Oh thank God, they are alive!'" Ms Tabiei wants to reunite her family but says every effort to bring her sons here has so far failed. "From the day I heard that crisis in Iran I sent all the parliament that I need help. My hearts shaken and I need my children beside me. In this moment we need help. And 14 year I didn't see them." In a further loss, rising costs have also forced her to close her Syrian café in Melbourne's St Kilda. "It's hard to pay the rent and the cost so high. Before we had plenty of girls in the kitchen, but now I cannot afford to hire." Recent data from credit reporting agency CreditorWatch shows that 10 per cent of all Australian hospitality businesses closed down over the past year. CEO Patrick Coghlan explains: "They are being hit from all sides. Obviously, consumer discretionary spend is down, cost of labour, cost of goods, et cetera, all increasing." From next week, a raft of new costs will add to the pressures, according to Luke Achterstraat, CEO of the Council of Small Business Organisations, or COSBOA. "As of one July, the award rate goes up three and a half percent. The super guarantee increases by 0.5 per cent. So that's 4 per cent already on the wage stack. And don't forget, on top of that you have payroll tax." Mr Achterstraat says more help is needed. "It's the toughest operating environment in recent memory. For a small business with revenue of up to $20 million per year, we are calling for the corporate tax rate to be slashed from 25 per cent to 20 per cent." The most recent Consumer Price Index ,or CPI, shows inflation sitting at 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to May. Creditorwatch CEO Patrick Coghlan says the new figure offers fresh hope. "We've seen two rate cuts already. They're the biggest drivers of economic activity, of GDP, of spending both from consumer and commercial. And we're expecting a couple of more of those this year as well. So, the trend is certainly heading in the right direction." Any interest rate relief is too late for Ms Tabiei, who shut her café to focus on a lower-cost catering business. Keeping busy is a labour of love, she says, and cooking distracts from other worries. "Really I make it with my heart, my love. And when you taste it, you will see that the love in it. And it is all about giving the culture and sharing the love."
Fox News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Former MLB manager Buck Showalter recalls security screening experience at US airport amid Iran tensions
President Donald Trump has said the Iran nuclear program sites targeted by American B-2 stealth bombers were "obliterated." The tense situation in Iran unfolded the same day former MLB manager Buck Showalter was traveling through New York City. Showalter, named the majors' Manager of the Year four times during his lengthy managerial career, recalled his experience during a recent appearance on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich." "Let me tell you what, note to yourself, try not to travel in or out New York City on the day your country bombed Iran. Holy moly, full alert," the former New York Mets skipper said when asked by Dakich whether he had traveled as tensions in Iran reached its latest heights. Showalter added he is a proponent of tight security measures at airports throughout the U.S. "The airport was a lot of fun, Dan, let's put it that way. You know what the people at the security … I want them to check everybody. "Be diligent about it. Take your time, I will stand in line a few more minutes, get it right. Go head run that bag back through again. Make him go through it again. Everybody complaining about security. At what? What do you want them to do. Ah, it's OK. Today is a free day. Just go right ahead." While Showalter's most recent managerial stint was with the Mets, he started his coaching career in the Bronx with the New York Yankees. He was eventually promoted and named the team's manager. Showalter also managed the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. Although U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iranian sites were "destroyed," U.S. intelligence agencies continue to assess the damage. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency's preliminary report, obtained by The Associated Press, said the strikes caused significant damage to the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites. However, the report also noted the sites were not believed to be destroyed. Israel claimed it has set back Iran's nuclear program by "many years," the AP reported. The latest satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed considerable damage to the three nuclear sites. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
CNN
an hour ago
- Politics
- CNN
Could The Iran Nuclear Attacks Backfire? - Amanpour - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Could The Iran Nuclear Attacks Backfire? Amanpour 58 mins The primary goal of Israeli and American attacks on Iran was to remove the country's "existential" nuclear threat. But what if the attacks have the opposite effect, motivating the Iran to pull of the non-proliferation treaty and resume their nuclear program covertly? In parliament, Iranian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to suspend cooperation with the IAEA. This means that Iran would halt inspections, reporting and oversight activities. Iran always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful. For some perspective, we bring you Christiane's 1995 report on her visit to Iran's earliest nuclear power plant in Bushehr. Also on today's show: Gary Samore, former White House Coordinator for Arms Control; Elaine Sciolino, author of "Adventures in the Louvre"; Mark Henson, Dir. of Federal Advocacy and Government Affairs, The Trevor Project
