Latest news with #USIranTalks
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Rescuers search for missing crew after Red Sea attack
Rescuers are searching for more than a dozen crew members who went missing after Yemen's Houthi rebels sank a ship in the Red Sea, as the United States alleged the group may have 'kidnapped' those on board. The Houthis released dramatic footage of the sinking of the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned Eternity C, which the rebels targeted with gunfire and explosive drones for hours, killing at least three crew members. Advertisement The attack on the Eternity C, as well as the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas after another attack on Sunday, represent a new level of violence being employed by the Houthis after a months of holding their fire in a campaign they tie back to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, a possible ceasefire in that war – as well as the future of talks between the US and Iran over Tehran's battered nuclear programme – remain in the balance. A statement from the European Union naval mission in the Red Sea said the crew of the Eternity C included 22 sailors, among them 21 Filipinos and one Russian, as well as a three-member security team. Rescuers on Wednesday recovered five Filipinos and one Indian. Three people also were killed during the hours-long attack on the ship, the EU force said, and their nationalities were not immediately known. Advertisement Israeli airstrikes targeted the port in Hodeida, Yemen, on Tuesday (Planet Labs PBC via AP) In footage released by the Houthis, a rebel can be purportedly heard on a VHF radio transmission offering those on board the ability to flee the sinking vessel. However, it was not clear if any more crew fled and what happened to them. In a post on X, the US Embassy in Yemen – which has operated from Saudi Arabia for about a decade now – alleged that the rebels may have taken some of the crew. 'After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship and hampering rescue efforts, the Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members of the Eternity C,' the embassy said. Advertisement 'We call for their immediate and unconditional safe release.' The Houthis have not acknowledged taking any of the fleeing crew members and did not mention whether it had any of them in their custody. However, the rebels can take days before acknowledging any attacks. In the Philippines, migrant workers secretary Hans Cacdac has been leading efforts to reach out to the families of the missing Filipino sailors to update them on the search and rescue operation. 'It's human nature that one should be terribly worried and distraught about the situation,' Mr Cacdac told The Associated Press by telephone. Advertisement 'It's our role in government to be there for them in their utmost hour of need to ensure that not just government services, but throughout this hand-holding process, we will provide the necessary support.' The Eternity C, flagged out of Liberia but owned by a Greek firm, likely had been targeted like the Magic Seas over its firm doing business with Israel. Neither vessel apparently requested an escort from the EU force.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Rescuers search for missing crew from Red Sea attack as US alleges Yemen rebels may have them
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rescuers searched Thursday for more than a dozen crew members who went missing after Yemen's Houthi rebels sank a ship in the Red Sea as the United States alleged the group may 'have kidnapped' those on board. The Houthis released dramatic footage of the sinking of the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned Eternity C , which the rebels targeted with gunfire and explosive drones for hours, killing at least three crew members. The attack on the Eternity C, as well as the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas after another attack Sunday, represent a new level of violence being employed by the Houthis after a months of holding their fire in a campaign they tie back to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, a new possible ceasefire in that war — as well as the future of talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran's battered nuclear program — remain in the balance. A statement from the European Union naval mission in the Red Sea said the crew of the Eternity C included 22 sailors, among them 21 Filipinos and one Russian, as well as a three-member security team. Rescuers on Wednesday recovered five Filipinos and one Indian. Three people also were killed during the hourslong attack on the ship, the EU force said, and their nationalities weren't immediately known. In footage released by the Houthis, a rebel can be purportedly heard on a VHF radio transmission offering those on board the ability to flee the sinking vessel. However, it wasn't clear if any more crew fled and what happened to them. In a post late Wednesday on the X, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen — which has operated from Saudi Arabia for about a decade now — alleged that the rebels may have taken some of the crew. 'After killing their shipmates, sinking their ship and hampering rescue efforts, the Houthi terrorists have kidnapped many surviving crew members of the Eternity C,' the embassy said. 'We call for their immediate and unconditional safe release.' The Houthis haven't acknowledged taking any of the fleeing crew members and didn't mention whether it had any of them in their custody. However, the rebels can take days at times before acknowledging attacks. In the Philippines, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said that he has been leading an effort to reach out to the families of the missing Filipino sailors to update them on the search and rescue efforts. 'It's human nature that one should be terribly worried and distraught about the situation,' Cacdac told The Associated Press by telephone. 'It's our role in government to be there for them in their utmost hour of need to ensure that not just government services, but throughout this hand-holding process, we will provide the necessary support.' The Eternity C, flagged out of Liberia but owned by a Greek firm, likely had been targeted like the Magic Seas over its firm doing business with Israel. Neither vessel apparently requested an escort from the EU force. ___ Jim Gomez contributed to this report from Manila, Philippines.
Telegraph
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump ‘to demand that Iran hands over enriched uranium'
Donald Trump will demand that Iran hands over all its enriched uranium as the price for peace, according to Israeli sources. A report ahead of next week's US-Iran talks said America requires the Islamic Republic to give up any nuclear fuel enriched to 60 per cent or more, which is near weapons-grade. Mr Trump is also planning to demand that Iran agrees to a ban on any further enrichment of uranium and a cap on the production of missiles, the report said. The parties are due to meet next week for the first time following Israel's 12-day bombing campaign against Iran, which also included US strikes against the nuclear weapons programme. Mr Trump has said Iran's key Fordow enrichment site, which America attacked with bunker-busting bombs, saw 'total obliteration', and that the operation set back Iran's nuclear weapons programme by 'decades'. On Wednesday, John Ratcliffe, the director of the CIA, said in a statement that intelligence from a 'historically reliable' source indicated that 'several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.' However, there has been concern, prompted in part by satellite imagery showing trucks leaving Fordow before the attack, that Iran may have saved significant quantities of its enriched uranium. This comes on top of earlier intelligence leaks to various US news outlets suggesting that the attacks had only set back the programme by a matter of months, prompting furious denials from the White House. Mr Trump has hit out at the 'scum' who leaked intelligence suggesting his raids on Iran's nuclear facilities were not as effective as he declared. If confirmed, however, the report in Thursday's edition of the Israel Hayom newspaper indicated the Americans were privately less confident about the success of their military intervention. Before the war started on June 13, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it believed Iran had 408.6kg of uranium enriched to 60 per cent. Further enriching the nuclear material to weapons-grade, for which the threshold is 90 per cent, is a relatively quick process. The quantity would provide enough fuel for roughly 10 nuclear warheads. The nightmare for Israeli intelligence officials is that Iran spirited some of this material away to unknown labs where it could be fashioned into a 'crude' device. This is a relatively unsophisticated warhead which has not been miniaturised and mounted onto a ballistic missile. Instead, it would have to be manually delivered to its target – smuggled into Tel Aviv in a truck, for example – before being detonated. Although US-Iran talks had been ongoing for many weeks before Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel's unilateral attack on Iran, progress was understood to have stalled because Iran refused to dismantle its enrichment process. The report in Israel Hayom suggests Mr Trump believes the destruction wrought by both Israel and America over the past week will force the Islamic Republic to soften its stance. Some Israeli officials have a habit of briefing journalists anonymously with scenarios they would like to see happen, rather than ones that are necessarily taking place. Speaking on Wednesday at the Nato summit in The Hague, Mr Trump suggested that Israel had sent agents into the Fordow nuclear plant following the attack, to confirm its success. 'You know they have guys that go in there after the hit, and they said it was total obliteration,' he said. Israeli officials told the Kan public broadcaster that they had no knowledge of such a mission. Mr Trump also said the US would strike Iran again if it restarted nuclear enrichment. Asked how much he thought the Iranian nuclear programme had been set back, Mr Trump said: 'I think it's basically decades, because I don't think they'll ever do it again. 'I think they've had it. I mean, they just went through hell. They've had it.'
Al Jazeera
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Trump says ‘war done' between Israel and Iran; talks coming next week
President Trump says US and Iranian officials will talk next week to continue a dialogue interrupted by the 12-day war between Israel and Iran adding the 'war is done'. Iran's parliament passes a bill to suspend cooperation with the UN's IAEA, which still needs approval from its national security council.
Bloomberg
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Says He Thinks Middle East War is 'Over'
President Donald Trump said the US would hold a meeting with Iran next week, but cast doubt on the need for a diplomatic agreement. Trump claimed that US bombing had "obliterated" Iran's key nuclear sites, including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow facilities, and that the country's nuclear materials were buried under "granite, concrete and steel". The US and Iran are set to resume talks, with Trump citing Iran's foreign ministry assessment that its nuclear installations were "badly damaged" by US airstrikes. Bloomberg's Ethan Bronner reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
