Latest news with #MiddleEastWar
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Israel ‘tarnishing reputation', Lammy says as country rejects UK warnings
The Israeli government is 'tarnishing' its reputation by ignoring calls from Britain and other nations for an end to the Middle East war, David Lammy has warned, after it dismissed international accusations over its actions in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary said Palestinians have been subject to a 'grotesque spectacle' as he addressed MPs amid a ground operation targeting Deir al-Balah, the main hub for humanitarian efforts in the enclave. Earlier on Monday, Mr Lammy and counterparts from 24 other nations including France, Canada and Australia urged Israel to lift restrictions on the flow of aid. They condemned the government's 'dangerous' system for delivering humanitarian assistance, which they said 'deprives Gazans of human dignity.' 'We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,' the statement, which was also signed by the EU commissioner for equality, said. In response, Israel's foreign ministry claimed the statement was 'disconnected from reality' and 'sends the wrong message to Hamas.' 'The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognise Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation,' the ministry said. 'Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides. 'At these sensitive moments in the ongoing negotiations, it is better to avoid statements of this kind.' Asked about the situation later on Monday, Mr Lammy told the Commons: 'That ignoring of the international community is tarnishing greatly the reputation of Israel. 'We continue, of course, to look at what further we may need to do as he would expect.' Palestinians have been subjected to a 'grotesque spectacle' and a 'litany of horrors,' he said, adding: 'I utterly condemn the killing of civilians seeking to meet their basic needs. 'I firmly believe the Israeli government's actions are doing untold damage to Israel's standing in the world, and undermining Israel's long-term security.' Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller had earlier asked Mr Lammy: 'Can he explain why there have been so few consequences since he and the minister spoke so powerfully in the last two months? 'And can he dispel the widespread view that he is not setting the policy he would choose, but that he is instead being reined in by No 10's desire not to upset President Trump, by acting more boldly.' Mr Lammy said 'it is a source of great regret' that the conflict has not been brought to an end. Earlier this month Israeli defence minister Israel Katz laid out plans for the 'humanitarian city' in Rafah, Gaza's most southern city which has been heavily damaged through the war. He reportedly said that the military would initially move 600,000 Palestinians there, with the aim of eventually transferring the whole population to Rafah. 'Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a 'humanitarian city' are completely unacceptable,' the foreign ministers said on Monday. 'Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.' The signatories also pledged that they would be 'prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire'. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry have said dozens of people were killed trying to access food aid over the weekend. At the Commons Liaison Committee, Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his commitment to recognising a Palestinian state and described the situation in Gaza as 'intolerable'. 'Whether that's the deaths of those that are queuing for aid, whether it's the plans to force Palestinians to live in certain areas or be excluded from certain areas, they are all intolerable and absolutely wrong in principle,' he said. Sir Keir's Government also faced criticism from the Labour chairwoman of the Commons International Development Committee over the continued supply of parts for the F-35 fighter jet to Israel. Sarah Champion said: 'Alongside 25 other countries, the UK has issued a statement condemning Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank but failed to provide concrete actions on how they will be held to account. 'The committee's recent report on upholding international law, and our challenge on F-35 components, both give the Government practical tools to compel Israel to meet its obligations as an occupying nation.'
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel ‘tarnishing reputation', Lammy says as country rejects UK warnings
The Israeli government is 'tarnishing' its reputation by ignoring calls from Britain and other nations for an end to the Middle East war, David Lammy has warned, after it dismissed international accusations over its actions in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary said Palestinians have been subject to a 'grotesque spectacle' as he addressed MPs amid a ground operation targeting Deir al-Balah, the main hub for humanitarian efforts in the enclave. Earlier on Monday, Mr Lammy and counterparts from 24 other nations including France, Canada and Australia urged Israel to lift restrictions on the flow of aid. They condemned the government's 'dangerous' system for delivering humanitarian assistance, which they said 'deprives Gazans of human dignity.' 'We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,' the statement, which was also signed by the EU commissioner for equality, said. The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. Alongside 25 other partners, the UK message is clear: the war in Gaza must end now. We need an immediate ceasefire, release of all hostages and a full resumption of — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) July 21, 2025 In response, Israel's foreign ministry claimed the statement was 'disconnected from reality' and 'sends the wrong message to Hamas.' 'The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognise Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation,' the ministry said. 'Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides. 'At these sensitive moments in the ongoing negotiations, it is better to avoid statements of this kind.' Asked about the situation later on Monday, Mr Lammy told the Commons: 'That ignoring of the international community is tarnishing greatly the reputation of Israel. 'We continue, of course, to look at what further we may need to do as he would expect.' Palestinians have been subjected to a 'grotesque spectacle' and a 'litany of horrors,' he said, adding: 'I utterly condemn the killing of civilians seeking to meet their basic needs. 'I firmly believe the Israeli government's actions are doing untold damage to Israel's standing in the world, and undermining Israel's long-term security.' Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller had earlier asked Mr Lammy: 'Can he explain why there have been so few consequences since he and the minister spoke so powerfully in the last two months? 'And can he dispel the widespread view that he is not setting the policy he would choose, but that he is instead being reined in by No 10's desire not to upset President Trump, by acting more boldly.' Mr Lammy said 'it is a source of great regret' that the conflict has not been brought to an end. Earlier this month Israeli defence minister Israel Katz laid out plans for the 'humanitarian city' in Rafah, Gaza's most southern city which has been heavily damaged through the war. He reportedly said that the military would initially move 600,000 Palestinians there, with the aim of eventually transferring the whole population to Rafah. 'Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a 'humanitarian city' are completely unacceptable,' the foreign ministers said on Monday. 'Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.' The signatories also pledged that they would be 'prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire'. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry have said dozens of people were killed trying to access food aid over the weekend. At the Commons Liaison Committee, Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his commitment to recognising a Palestinian state and described the situation in Gaza as 'intolerable'. 'Whether that's the deaths of those that are queuing for aid, whether it's the plans to force Palestinians to live in certain areas or be excluded from certain areas, they are all intolerable and absolutely wrong in principle,' he said. Sir Keir's Government also faced criticism from the Labour chairwoman of the Commons International Development Committee over the continued supply of parts for the F-35 fighter jet to Israel. Sarah Champion said: 'Alongside 25 other countries, the UK has issued a statement condemning Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank but failed to provide concrete actions on how they will be held to account. 'The committee's recent report on upholding international law, and our challenge on F-35 components, both give the Government practical tools to compel Israel to meet its obligations as an occupying nation.'
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran-Israel conflict leaves Iranian Americans feeling helpless, hopeless
The texts began coming late one night from somewhere outside Tehran, shaking Shaghayegh Cyrous from her sleep. For more than two weeks, the Los Angeles-based artist had tried in vain to reach her parents, retired designers who live near the capital city of Iran, the country from which she had left 14 years ago. Israeli bombs had been hitting oil depots, military installations and nuclear facilities. The United States had just launched its own attack and worries were rising about a full-blown Middle East war. Cyrous frantically made a video call. Her parents kept saying they were OK, but the internet signal was so weak, she could barely see them. 'It's very terrifying,' said Cyrous, 38, who left for America in 2011 and declined to provide her parents' names, fearing for their safety. 'We're just trying to send prayers for peace. Sometimes, I feel both helpless and hopeless.... I don't want them to be in danger.' As the conflict between Israel and Iran rests on a fragile ceasefire, Cyrous and other Iranian Americans expressed dismay at American involvement and fear for loved ones still in Iran, saying a resurgence in violence could ripple around the world. 'Iranian Americans are worried, obviously, about their loved ones,' said Neda Bolourchi, executive director of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans. Bolourchi said the national advocacy organization, based in Washington, D.C., has lobbied Congress to help Iranian Americans stay in touch with family and friends in Iran during times of crisis. Reza Rajebi, an Iranian-born novelist and physician who now lives in Houston, said he worries daily about loved ones still living in his homeland. 'Like many in the diaspora, I live in two worlds,' said Rajebi, who came to the United States in 2005 and writes under the pen name Diako Hazhir. 'One is here in the U.S, where I work, making a living and care for my family. The other is in my mind, always carrying the weight of anxiety for those I love and all the people in Iran who have no escape.' The situation, Rajebi said, represents a 'national tragedy' with roots in the 1979 revolution that vaulted Iran's theocratic regime to power. 'The leadership has made it clear that they would rather see the country burn than surrender their grip on power,' he said. 'Step by step, cell by cell, soul by soul, the holy men who once claimed to protect the oppressed transformed into oppressors.' On June 24, Trump told reporters he was not seeking regime change in Iran and scolded both sides for violating the ceasefire. Lana Silk, the Iranian-born CEO of Transform Iran, an international Christian humanitarian organization with offices in Glendale, California, said among the broad emotions unleashed by the U.S. airstrikes were feelings of relief from those who resent the longstanding regime. 'These past days have felt surreal,' Silk said. 'What once seemed like a distant hope now feels within reach …. While any form of military engagement brings with it the heavy burden of civilian suffering, many Iranians are acknowledging that the strikes have delivered the most significant blow to the Islamic Republic in over four decades.' Silk said the Iranian regime 'does not negotiate in good faith' and employs diplomacy as a deceitful stalling tactic designed to preserve the Islamic theocracy. 'As war unfolds and daily life is disrupted by severe shortages of essential resources, many Iranians are facing displacement and growing fear,' she said. 'In the midst of this suffering, there is a desperate cry not only for freedom but for a swift end to the violence – even if that means welcoming further international intervention.' Firuzeh Mahmoudi, of Berkeley, California, agreed. "It is well established that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not mind killing civilians indiscriminately," Mahmoudi said. "We saw this during the Women, Life, Freedom movement and again in Iran's attacks on Israel." War is not the means through which many Iranians want to achieve freedom after decades of undemocratic regimes that have combined religion and authoritarian control, said Nahid Siamdoust, a former journalist who grew up in Iran and is now a professor of media and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas, Austin. 'It's a very depressing moment for Iranians right now,' said Siamdoust, who left Iran at age 10 with her family. 'They are not happy with the Islamic Republic, and they do not want war and destruction, but the historical precedents don't show anything favorable.' More than a third of the nearly 400,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States live in the Los Angeles area, and more than half overall are in California, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. A national poll conducted last year by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans said Iranian Americans were nearly divided on the 2024 presidential election. About 45% of Iranian Americans voted for Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and 41% for Trump, the GOP nominee. 40,000 reasons to worry: U.S. troops in Middle East could face Iran blowback Until last weekend, Trump had pursued negotiations to end Iran's nuclear enrichment program but began warning of annihilation after Israel's June 13 attacks on the country's nuclear and military operations killed multiple military leaders and nuclear scientists. Siamdoust said she is "saddened for my people," believing America's involvement further complicates matters. "It does not appear to be the case of a one-and-done," Siamdoust said. "Trump said he would keep the U.S. out of these 'forever wars,' and the U.S. has just engulfed itself in yet another war in the Middle East that will cost Iranians dearly." Persis Karim, an Iranian American and professor of comparative and world literature at San Francisco State University, said that as much as her family dislikes the regime, they've already lived through a war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s that killed more than a million people combined. They don't want another one. 'They know what war looks like,' Karim said. 'It's messy, it's ugly, and it does not resolve a situation.' While Karim, 63, doesn't believe Iran is innocent, "I think the negotiating table is the only wise choice,' she said. However, she fears Iranians in the United States will be vilified "just like Latinos are vilified, just like Arabs were vilified and like we were vilified after 9/11." That concern is shared by Bolourchi, of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, which had worked with the Justice Department's civil rights division to help fight discrimination and hate crimes against Iranian Americans. She worries the Trump administration's elimination of that unit earlier this year may put the community at risk of increased targeting should the conflict escalate. 'Iranian Americans constitute the fabric of our American society,' she said, and risk 'getting caught up in a resurgence of post-9/11 Islamophobia and hate, even though Jews, Christians and Baha'is make up who we are.' Despite the dire situation in Iran, Mahmoudi said, many Iranians remain cautiously hopeful about the potential for change. "It is heartwarming to see how unified Iranians (in Iran) are becoming, helping each other wherever they can," said Mahmoudi, founder and president of United for Iran, a nongovernmental organization working to improve civil liberties in Iran. "Doctors are offering free medical support, strangers are opening their homes and assisting the elderly, and restaurant owners are providing free food. It's a good omen of what the future could bring." Siamdoust said she feels for those back home just struggling to live normal lives. 'The country has among the best-educated young people in the Middle East," she said. "They don't deserve the tightrope they have been put on and … the devastation that is yet to come. They've worked so hard to bring about changes to their political and social circumstances.' "#ww3"?: Gen Z, Iran and the mass panic happening on TikTok Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, urged restraint and expressed concern for people living in the region who will suffer the consequences should tensions reignite. 'Our hearts are with everyone in Iran who has been impacted by this horrific war already and could soon be put at risk by the consequences of this outrageous choice to broaden the war,' he said in a statement. '… The way ahead seems more perilous than ever.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel-Iran conflict: Iranian Americans feel helpless, hopeless
Bloomberg
23-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Surveillance: Israel-Iran Conflict
Watch Tom and Paul LIVE every day on YouTube: Bloomberg Surveillance hosted by Tom Keene & Paul Sweeney June 23rd, 2025 Featuring: 1) Richard Haass, Senior Counselor with Centerview Partners & President Emeritus at Council on Foreign Relations, joins for a discussion on the Israel-Iran conflict. Iran vowed retaliation and continued attacks on Israel following US strikes on its nuclear facilities, fueling fears of a wider war in the Middle East and rattling global markets. The conflict has also raised concerns about oil prices and inflation. 2) Robert D. Kaplan, author and foreign affairs expert, joins for a discussion on the Iran-Israel conflict and whether the US involvement stops at this weekend's strikes. The US operation targeted nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, and included 125 aircraft, strikes by Tomahawk missiles, and the use of 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs. 3) Lori Calvasina, Head of US Equity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets, on why oil has now become central to her 2025 S&P target. US equity futures advanced and crude prices fluctuated on speculation that Iran's response to Washington's bombing of its nuclear sites is unlikely to significantly disrupt oil traffic from the Middle East. 4) Steven Englander, Global Head of G10 FX Research and of North America Strategy for Standard Chartered Bank, brings us into the market open and discusses how the Fed's approach to rates could be reshaped by a potential oil and inflation spike. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 4.39%, and a data release showed private sector activity in the euro area barely grew in June, as erratic US trade policy and geopolitical conflicts leave companies uncertain about what's next. 5) Paul Sankey, Lead Analyst at Sankey Research, discusses the path for oil and energy from here. Oil prices initially surged after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, but later dropped as fears of an immediate supply disruption faded. The oil market remains gripped by an escalating crisis, with risks including a potential disruption to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on crude infrastructure in rival suppliers.
The Independent
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Iran's revenge hits home that Israel risks a ‘forever war': The Independent reports from Tel Aviv
Iran 's revenge has hit home that Israel risks a 'forever war ', reports The Independent from Tel Aviv. World affairs editor Sam Kiley spoke with residents bombed out of their homes, fearing for their future as the Middle East conflict between Iran and Israel rages on. Resident Ravita Yemeni said: 'I think it's a stupid war. I think every war is stupid. I think that we're bullies, they're bullies. Everybody's crazy … We want to live in peace. The Iranians want to live in peace, and they [the world leaders] don't let us. All the dictators rule the world now, and they don't let us live in peace.'
