Page 24 - Israel

US airstrikes on Iran marks perilous turn in West Asia, says UN chief

The US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities marks a perilous turn in the Middle East, UN chief Antonio Guterres told an emergency session of the Security Council here, amid escalating tensions in the region. The 15-nation Council met for the emergency session on Sunday after President Donald Trump announced that the US had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling. From the outset of the crisis, I have repeatedly condemned any military escalation in the Middle East, Secretary General Guterres told the UN Security Council. Guterres said the people of the region cannot endure another cycle of destruction. And yet, we now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation. The UN Chief stressed that the international community must act immediately and decisively to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on

Destruction could reach 'unthinkable levels' if diplomacy fails: IAEA chief

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday that the US attacks on three Iranian nuclear sites threaten a widening of the Israel-Iran conflict but also offer a return to diplomacy. If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels, and the global nonproliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall, the International Atomic Energy Agency director general said. Grossi urged a return to diplomacy, and for Iran to allow IAEA inspectors to go back to its nuclear sites to account, most importantly, for the 4,400 kg of uranium enriched to 60%. He said IAEA inspectors are in Iran but need a cessation of hostilities to go to nuclear sites, assess damage, and protect nuclear materials and equipment Grossi told the emergency meeting called by Iran that craters are visible at the Fordo site, indicating the US use of ground penetrating munitions, but the underground damage cannot be assessed yet. At the Isfahan s

World braces for Iran's response after US airstrikes signal new era

Trump's use of bunker-buster bombs in first US strike on Iran marks a major shift, pushing the Middle East into uncharted territory and heightening geopolitical risks for the global economy

US state dept issues 'worldwide caution' for Americans after attack on Iran

The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East, the State Department said

US eliminated top threat to humanity with strikes on Iran: Israeli envoy

Warning of the global consequences of inaction, the envoy added, A nuclear Iran would have been a death sentence

Americans react to US strikes on Iran with worry, support for Israel

One of Layton Tallwhiteman's earliest memories was watching the news at his uncle's house in Montana in 2003 and seeing the US bomb Baghdad to launch the war in Iraq. Recollections of that war waged in part to find weapons of mass destruction that did not exist flooded back for Tallwhiteman after President Donald Trump ordered weekend bombing strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities amid its escalating conflict with Israel. The administration has indicated it wants to avoid getting pulled into all-out war. Tallwhiteman, who grew up on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation southeast of Billings, is sceptical. Their idea is to eliminate the threat. Like Bush said in Iraq, We're going to eliminate the threat. We're going to find weapons of mass destruction and eliminate them.' Did that work the way he planned? No, obviously it didn't, said Tallwhiteman. The 30-year-old driver for a food distribution company said he usually votes Libertarian, but backed Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump last

How US stealth bombers struck Iran's nuclear sites without detection

It was an unprecedented attack years in the making, with some last-minute misdirection meant to give the operation a powerful element of surprise. US pilots dropped 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear programme that Israel views as an existential threat and has been pummelling for more than a week. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site. Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, US officials say the plan was characterised by a precision strike that devastated the Iranian nuclear programme, even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing. For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate. Taking off from the US heartland, B-2 stealth bombers delivered a total of 420,000 pounds of explosives, aided

Trump approved Iran nuclear strikes just minutes before launch: US VP Vance

The US is now closely watching whether Iran attacks American troops or continues its nuclear weapons programme, Vance said

Israel-Iran Highlights: Explosions rock Iranian cities of Bushehr and Yazd; cause unclear

Highlights: Catch all live developments in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict here

Israel says remains of three hostages have been recovered from Gaza

The Israeli military says it has recovered the remains of three hostages held in the Gaza Strip. It identified them as Yonatan Samerano, 21; Ofra Keidar, 70; and Shay Levinson, 19. Kobi Samerano said in a Facebook post that his son Yonatan, was killed during Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack and his body was taken into Gaza. Samerano said the remains were returned on what would have been his son's 23rd birthday.

Israel targets Iranian F-5 fighter jets at Dezful, releases strike footage

Israel says it hit the aircraft at Iran's Dezful airport. The F-5s are part of Iran's aging fleet of fighter jets from the era of the shah. Israel released black-and-white footage showing one of the aircraft being destroyed. Israel previously hit F-14 Tomcats flown by the Iranian military in the war. However, it isn't clear if these aircraft were airworthy as many have been grounded over the years due to a lack of parts. Israel also said it struck other sites, including around Isfahan's airport. Iran has not acknowledged losses of aircraft or other materiel in the war so far. Meanwhile, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it launched 40 missiles, including its Khorramshahr-4, during the attack on Israel on Sunday morning. Iran has said the Khorramshahr-4 can carry multiple warheads.

Israel strikes Iran after Tehran launches ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv

A Times of Israel report citing IDF confirmed its latest response, saying it hit primed missile launchers in fresh strikes on western Iran

Israel closes airspace after US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities

Israel's Airport Authority announced Sunday it was closing the country's airspace to both inbound and outbound flights in the wake of the US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. The agency said it was shutting down air traffic due to recent developments and did not say for how long. The US struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying the country's nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe despite fears of a wider regional conflict. Meanwhile, Iran said there were no signs of contamination at its nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordo or Natanz after US airstrikes targeted the facilities. Iranian state media quoted the country's National Nuclear Safety System Centre, which published a statement saying its radiation detectors had recorded no radioactive release after the strikes. There is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites, the statement added. Earlier Israeli airstrikes on nuclear sites simi

Iranian missile, drone strikes have forced evacuations of 8,000 Israelis

Iran's attacks have killed 24 people and injured 1,272 others, including 14 in serious condition

Preparing for possibility of lengthy war against Iran, says Israel

Israel's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, and announced it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks. The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels and warships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign against Iran. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced the US has begun assisted departure flights, the first such flights from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. Inside Iran, smoke rose from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where the province's deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed the Israeli strikes damaged the facility but caused no casualties. The target was a centrifuge production site, Israel's military .

Israel hits Iran's Isfahan nuclear research facility, kills 3 commanders

Israel's military said Saturday it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks as the war between the two nations continued into a second week. Early Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where a local official said Israel had attacked the nuclear research facility in two waves. The target was two centrifuge production sites, and the attacks came on top of strikes on other centrifuge production sites elsewhere in recent days, according to an Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines to brief reporters. It was the second attack on Isfahan, which was hit in the first 24 hours of the war as part of Israel's goal to destroy the Iranian nuclear program. Akbar Salehi, Isfahan province's deputy governor for security affairs, confirmed the Israeli strikes had caused damage to the facility but said there had been no human casualties. Iran

Iran-Israel conflict: India to evacuate Nepalese, Lankans under Op Sindhu

Amid escalating Iran-Israel tensions, India will now help evacuate Nepalese and Sri Lankan citizens from Iran under its ongoing Operation Sindhu mission

Iran, Israel launch fresh attacks after Tehran rules out nuclear talks

Shortly after 2:30 a.m. in Israel (2330 GMT on Friday), the Israeli military warned of an incoming missile barrage from Iran, triggering air raid sirens across parts of central Israel

Israel, Iran launch strikes week into war as diplomatic efforts take shape

Israel and Iran exchanged strikes a week into their war Friday as President Donald Trump weighed US military involvement and new diplomatic efforts appeared to be underway. 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 reach of all but America's bunker-buster bombs. He said he'll decide within two weeks whether the US military will get directly involved in the war given the substantial chance for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared headed to Geneva for meetings with the European Union's top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. A plane with his usual call sign took off from the Turkish city of Van, near the Iranian border, flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed. Iran typically acknowledges his departure hours afterward. Britain's foreign secret

Datanomics: Iran accounts for nearly 20% of Indian students in West Asia

From 2015 to 2025 so far, around eight countries in the world have experienced war-type conflicts