Latest news with #NuclearFacilities
The Independent
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran's supreme leader makes first public appearance since Israel war
Iran 's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made his first public appearance since the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which claimed the lives of top military leaders and nuclear scientists. Seen for the first time in over 20 days, Mr Khamenei was shown in a state television broadcast on Saturday entering a mosque hall and greeting people seated on the floor. It came on a day when worshippers mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a significant date for Shia Muslims. Mr Khamenei, 86, was seen dressed in black as the crowd rose from the ground, raised their fists in the air, and chanted: 'The blood in our veins for our leader!' Mr Khamenei's absence during the war had suggested heightened security measures for the Iranian leader, who holds the final say on all state matters. There was no immediate report on any public statement made. The leader released a pre-recorded video last week to address the Iranian public but had not been seen in public since Israel launched a major military operation against Iran on 13 June. Iran has acknowledged the deaths of more than 900 people in the war, as well as thousands of injured. It also has confirmed serious damage to its nuclear facilities, and has denied access to the sites for inspectors with the UN nuclear watchdog. Mr Khamenei hosted a remembrance of the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad 's grandson, Hussein, at a mosque next to his office and residence in the capital, Tehran. Iranian officials such as the Parliament speaker were present, and such events are always held under heavy security. Shiites represent over 10 per cen of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims, and they view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein's death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, created a rift in Islam and continues to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity. In predominantly Shiite Iran, red flags represented Hussein's blood and black funeral tents and clothes represented mourning. Processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating men demonstrated fervour. Some sprayed water over the mourners in the intense heat. Israel relentlessly attacked Iran beginning June 13, targeting its nuclear sites, defence systems, high-ranking military officials and atomic scientists. According to official figures, the strikes killed more than 900 people in Iran, while retaliatory Iranian missile attacks on Israeli cities left at least 28 people dead. After the US targeted three nuclear facilities during the Iran-Israel war, Donald Trump claimed the strikes had 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear capabilities. However, last week, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran could produce enriched uranium 'in a matter of months'. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told US broadcaster CBS News that the strikes on three Iranian sites had caused significant, though not total, damage. He said: 'Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there. 'They [Iran] can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that … Iran has the capacities there: industrial and technological capacities.'
News24
30-06-2025
- Politics
- News24
Trump says he's not offering Iran 'anything', nor speaking to them
Trump says the US 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear sites and denies offering talks. Iran demands that the US rules out further strikes before any negotiations. Tehran insists on the right to enrich uranium, calling US threats the 'law of the jungle'. US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was not offering Iran anything nor talking to it 'since we totally obliterated' the country's nuclear facilities. 'I am not offering Iran ANYTHING, unlike Obama,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'Nor am I even talking to them since we totally OBLITERATED their Nuclear Facilities.' The statement comes as Iran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC that talks between Washington and Tehran cannot resume unless the US rules out further strikes on Iran. Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the British broadcaster that the US had signalled it wants to return to the negotiating table a week after it struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. Takht-Ravanchi said: We have not agreed to any date, we have not agreed to the modality. 'Right now, we are seeking an answer to this question. Are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?' The US needs to be 'quite clear on this very important question', he said. The two countries were in talks over Tehran's nuclear programme when Israel hit Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure this month, with the US joining by bombing three nuclear sites - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan - on 21 June. The deputy minister revealed to the BBC that the US had signalled it did 'not want to engage in regime change' by targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran should still be allowed to enrich uranium. He said: The level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you, that is the law of the jungle. Israel claims that Iran's nuclear programme is close to producing a bomb, whereas Tehran says it is for peaceful purposes. It is not clear yet how much damage the strikes inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities, which Trump has said were 'totally obliterated'. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Iran would probably be able to begin to produce enriched uranium 'in a matter of months'. Takht-Ravanchi said he did not know how long it would take. Under a 2015 deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium below 3.67% purity for fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018, and Iran responded by producing uranium enriched to 60% - above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.
Asharq Al-Awsat
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Three Boxer Fighters and an Unprecedented Abyss
Unprecedented scenes in this terrifying region. In the scorching Middle Eastern ring, three great boxers face off over patches of blood and lakes of rubble. The people of the region woke up to the news that US bombers had struck three Iranian nuclear facilities at dawn. The Israelis woke up to destruction they had never seen since the founding of the state in 1948. The people of Iran awoke to Israeli fighter jets having seized their skies, raining down missiles on military bases, radars, and launch sites, hunting down generals and nuclear scientists. The three boxers whose decisions will determine whether the region is secure and stable, as well as the health of the arteries that connect the region to the world. The story is bigger and more dangerous than Hormuz. Three men who can land heavy blows cannot back down after having gone too far. Three boxers, each seeking either to expand his country's influence or restore its greatness. The eldest of the boxers was born on June 14, 1946. That is, he happened to be born in the month that engendered more wars in the Middle East than any other. In another coincidence, he celebrated his birthday the day after Israeli raids on Iran. A few days ago, he entered the final year of his seventies, and his eighties will catch up to him in the White House. He has not fought in Vietnam or elsewhere. He chose to go into business and learned 'the art of the deal.' Profit is his obsession, and he hates to admit defeat. He understood the magic of the screen, making regular appearances before Americans, who memorized his famous line: 'You're fired.' Success in real estate fueled his desire for the keys to the White House. He jumped between parties before joining the Republicans, eventually managing to take over the party and win the race to the White House. A man who did not belong to the establishment became the decision-maker of the "only remaining superpower. "In his first term, Donald Trump made two dangerous decisions relevant to current development. The first was withdrawing from the nuclear agreement with Iran, and the second was the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad International Airport. Before his second term, however, he presented himself as a candidate eager to end wars and go down in history as a peace-maker with a Nobel Prize. In addressing Iran's nuclear program, he negotiated, set deadlines, and made terrifying threats. The result was what it was. His engagement was crowned by American raids on Iran's nuclear facilities. The second boxer was born on April 19, 1939. He is now sailing through the second half of his eighties. On June 4, 1989, he became known as the 'Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution.' It is not a mandate achievement to be entrusted with Khomeini's legacy and granted unlimited powers in a country like Iran. Ali Khamenei stuck to the policy of exporting the revolution- a goal that has been enshrined into the Iranian constitution. He backed Qassem Soleimani's plans to surround Israel and the region with missiles and 'parallel armies.' Under Khamenei's leadership, Iran made gains in post-Saddam Iraq, post-Ali Abdullah Saleh Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon. However, its successes were destroyed by something like a hurricane after Yahya Sinwar's 'Flood.' The Syrian front collapsed, and Bashar al-Assad is watching the flames spread from his Russian exile, while Ahmad al-Sharaa has managed to steer Syria away from the line of fire. In a scene that must have been no less painful to the Supreme Leader, Lebanon's Hezbollah was deprived of Hassan Nasrallah. It has lost the capabilities needed to wage a new war against Israel, even in defense of Iran itself. It was difficult for Khamenei, now in the latter half of his eighties, to offer a major concession to Soleimani's killer in hopes of avoiding strikes from Nasrallah's assassin. The Supreme Leader has witnessed many unprecedented scenes recently: Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, was killed in Tehran itself. Nasrallah was killed in Beirut, along with several of his top aides. Sinwar and other Hamas leaders were killed in Gaza. Ahmad al-Sharaa shook hands and received promises of aid, washing Syria's hands of the Iranian era. Then came Trump, offering Iran a future without Syria, without the militias, and without the insurance policy that it increasingly needs: a nuclear bomb, or being on the verge of obtaining one. Khamenei could not prevent the two other boxers from ganging up on his country. The third boxer was born in Tel Aviv on October 21, 1949. He is now in the latter half of his seventies. He has broken a number of records and exhausted the region. He has spent 17 years in the prime minister's office so far, outlasting all of his predecessors. He has also killed more Palestinian people and leaders than anyone else, and the same applies to senior figures in Lebanon's Hezbollah. For many years, he has been dreaming of taking his battle to its 'real theater,' of a direct clash with Iran. Indeed, he has long regarded Iran's nuclear program as an 'existential threat' and has repeatedly knocked on the White House door seeking American help to unleash a hurricane in Iran. It is clear that Benjamin Netanyahu managed to get into Trump's head. He has shaped the latter's calculations and pivots. The future of the region now hinges on the decisions of three heavyweight boxers. All of them have their historic legacies on their minds. The game is delicate and dangerous. If the Iranian boxer retaliates directly against the American boxer, the scale of the ensuing conflict could undermine the very foundations of the regime itself. It is hard to imagine that he could keep exchanging blows with the Israeli boxer without triggering American intervention. Addressing a small circle of confidants one day, Qassem Soleimani claimed that America is the thread that maintains the 'unjust balances' in the Middle East. 'This thread must be cut, and this is possible.' He also said that if Israel is an American aircraft carrier, then carriers can be sunk by piercing deep holes into them and pushing their inhabitants to lose faith in their army and government. Have the Israeli and American boxers now agreed to destroy the Iranian nuclear program and sever the thread that ties Tehran to its proxies? They are three great boxers. Unprecedented scenes. So who can pull the terrifying Middle East back from the brink?
Washington Post
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump's bombing achieved less than Obama's nuclear accord
The 12-day war pitting Israel and the United States against Iran is over. Now the questions begin over what it did — and did not — accomplish. The good news is that both Israel and the United States showed they can bombard Iranian nuclear facilities and other targets at will — in the case of U.S. Operation Midnight Hammer, dispatching B-2 stealth bombers on an around-the-world flight to drop 14 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs. Iran appears weaker and more vulnerable than ever. The aura of power it had used to intimidate its neighbors has been broken.
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
CIA says intelligence indicates Iran's nuclear programme severely damaged
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday said a body of credible intelligence indicated that Iran's nuclear programme was severely damaged by recent US missile strikes, and that it would take years to be rebuilt. 'This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,' Ratcliffe said in a statement. - Reuters More to follow...
