Page 21 - Iran

US strike on Iran would expose limits of China's influence in region

China, which depends on Iran for oil and to counter American influence, has a lot to lose from a wider war. But there's not much it can do about it

Europeans see 'opportunity' for diplomacy as they meet Iran's top diplomat

Iran's foreign minister plans to meet in Geneva on Friday with leading European counterparts, who hope to open a window for a diplomatic solution to the week-old military conflict that has seen Israeli airstrikes target Iranian nuclear and military sites and Tehran firing back. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who will meet Iran's Abbas Araghchi together with his French and German counterparts and the European Union's foreign policy chief, said that a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution. The talks will be the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict. Lammy is traveling to Geneva after meeting in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of .

What is the secretive 'doomsday plane' spotted amid West Asia tensions?

The Boeing E-4B Nightwatch, also known as the 'doomsday plane', acts as an airborne command centre for the President, defence secretary, and the joint chiefs of staff, during crises

Israel-Iran war escalates; Iran's cluster bombs bring war to civilians

As the Israel-Iran war enters its eighth day, missile and drone strikes escalate tensions. While Trump weighs US military support, an Iranian cluster bomb injures dozens at an Israeli hospital

Israel threatens Iran's supreme leader as Iranian strikes wound over 200

An Iranian missile hit the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, wounding people and causing extensive damage but no serious injuries, the medical facility said. Israeli media aired footage of blown-out windows and heavy black smoke. Other missiles hit a high-rise apartment building in Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel. At least 240 people were wounded by the Iranian missiles, four of them seriously, according to Israel's Health Ministry. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist. Israel, meanwhile, carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, its latest attack on Iran's sprawling nuclear programme. Iranian state television said there was no radiation danger whatsoever and that the facility had been evacuated before the attack. Here's the latest: 19 killed in Isr

Iran's regime under siege as Israel strikes, crisis deepens at home

The Iranian regime finds itself in its most difficult position 46 years after the revolution that brought it to power. But does it mean the end?

'Not looking for a fight' but ready to act...Trump on Iran | Iran-Israel war | Iran Nuclear Program

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that he does not intend to initiate a strike on Iran, but he indicated he is prepared to take action if it becomes necessary to eliminate Iran's nuclear

'Khamenei can no longer be allowed to exist': Israeli defence minister

The threat comes after an Iranian missile attack hit Soroka hospital in southern Israel on Thursday, prompting both Katz and Netanyahu to issue statements; Iran has denied targeting the hospital

Hackers say they wiped out $90 million from Iran cryptocurrency exchange

Hackers with possible links to Israel have drained more than USD 90 million from Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to blockchain analytics firms. The group that claimed responsibility for the hack leaked on Thursday what it said was the company's full source code. ASSETS LEFT IN NOBITEX ARE NOW ENTIRELY OUT IN THE OPEN, the group wrote on its Telegram account. The stolen funds were transferred to addresses bearing messages that criticised Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic wrote in a blog post. It said the attack likely was not financially motivated as the wallets the hackers had poured the money into effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message. The hackers group, Gonjeshke Darande Predatory Sparrow in Farsi accused Nobitex of having helped Iran's government to evade Western sanctions over the country's rapidly advancing nuclear programme and transfer money to militants, in a post on X claiming the

Can Israel's interceptors outlast Iran's missiles as war drags on?

Israel has a world-leading missile interception system but its bank of interceptors is finite

Iran fires missile barrage at Israel; one of the largest hospitals impacted

Iranian missile attack comes as the West Asia conflict enters day seven with no end in sight. The missile barrage hit Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Holon, injuring 16 people so far

IDF warns people to evacuate area around Iran's Arak heavy water reactor

Israel's military warned people Thursday to evacuate the area around Iran's Arak heavy water reactor. The warning came in a social media post on X. It included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle like other warnings that proceeded strikes. The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns. In 2019, Iran started up the heavy water reactor's secondary circuit, which at the time did not violate Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Britain at the time was helping Iran redesign the Arak reactor to limit the amount of plutonium it produces, stepping in for the U.S., which had ..

Operation Sindhu: 110 Indians evacuated from Iran land safely in Delhi

Indian government has launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran in view of the deteriorating situation as a result of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel

Iran executed at least 975 people last year, highest since 2015: UN report

Iran carried out executions at an alarming rate last year with at least 975 people killed, the United Nations chief said in a report that also cited other human rights abuses, from barriers to freedom of expression to the use of torture and arbitrary detention. UN deputy human rights commissioner Nada Al-Nashif, who presented the report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on Wednesday, urged Iran to halt all executions as a first step toward a ban. She also called for urgent diplomatic negotiations to end the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. The 975 people executed in 2024 surpassed the estimated 834 in 2023 and was the highest rate of executions since 2015, said the report by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Four of the executions were carried out publicly. Iran carries out executions by hanging. Of those executed, 52 per cent were for drug-related offenses, 43 per cent for murder, 2 per cent for sexual offenses and 3 per cent for security-related offenses, the

India launches Operation Sindhu to evacuate its nationals from Iran

India on Wednesday announced launching 'Operation Sindhu' to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran as the conflict between Iran and Israel showed no sign of letting up. "India accords highest priority to the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. More than 4,000 Indian nationals are living in Iran and half of them are students. The MEA said the Indian embassy in Tehran has evacuated 110 Indian students from northern Iran, assisting them in safely crossing over into Armenia on Tuesday. The students have travelled by road to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, under the supervision of the Indian missions in Iran and Armenia. "These students departed Yerevan on a special flight at 1455 hours on June 18 and will arrive in New Delhi in the early hours of June 19 as part of the initial stages of Operation Sindhu," the MEA said. New Delhi said it is grateful to the governments of Iran and Armenia for the smooth facilitation of the evacuati

'I may do it, I may not; No one knows what I'll do': Trump on striking Iran

Donald Trump said his patience with Iran had run out, as Israeli airstrikes intensified in Tehran. Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei rejected Trump's call for unconditional surrender

Explained: Why Israel can’t strike Iran’s Fordo nuclear site

Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility, buried deep within a mountain, is considered nearly impossible to destroy, except by one specific American weapon.

Chinese nationals flee Iran by land as Israel conflict escalates

China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by bus on Tuesday, a distance of 1,150 km, state-run China News Service reported Wednesday

Despite close ties with Iran, Russia stands aside as Israel attacks

Analysts say the Kremlin is prioritizing its own war against Ukraine, as well as its relations with Gulf nations that don't want to see a stronger Iran

Iran war reflects a changed west asia and a new Israeli military doctrine

For years, Israel contained its conflicts with Tehran, Hamas and Hezbollah. The broad assault on Iran highlights a shift in strategy