Nigel Farage believes Trump will give Israel ‘ability' to finish the ‘job' in Iran
Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage discusses the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict and the potential for US involvement.
'One of the first things Trump and I bonded over was Iran policy,' Mr Farage told Sky News host Paul Murray.
'My sense of this is that Trump has always thought that Iran were potentially the really bad guys.
'I personally believe he will give Israel the ability to finish this job.'
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The Age
22 minutes ago
- The Age
If Trump goes to war with Iran, he could become a POTUS without potency
Suddenly, Donald Trump's presidency is on the line. Will there be war or Iran's 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER', as Trump has demanded on his platform Truth Social? At home, will Americans revel in Trump's 'Golden Age' of economic miracles or be mired in recession? If Trump stumbles in Iran, and if his 'one big, beautiful' domestic policy legislation fails in Congress, Trump will be a lame duck for the balance of his term as president. In Iran, Trump is at a crossroads. Israel has absolutely staggered Iran by assassinating its military leadership, taking control of the skies and terrifying its population with the aim of inciting an overthrow of the ayatollahs, and it is on the brink of destroying Iran's nuclear program. But there is a catch: Israel does not have or control the only bomb in the world that can obliterate Iran's nuclear-enrichment capability. For Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, failure to destroy Iran's centrifuges – which are buried under a mountain to create nuclear fuel – would echo Israel's failure to destroy Hamas in Gaza after nearly two years of war. Netanyahu has asked Trump to use America's bunker-buster bomb and end Iran's nuclear fixation. Trump has repeatedly declined so far but is now leaning towards entering the war. Peace depends on diplomacy to convince Iran to give up its enrichment inside the country. Will the threat of war with the US work? If war is required because of Iran's obstinacy and zealotry, and the United States carries out the most famous bombing mission since the Enola Gay dropped America's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima to end the war with Japan, will such an attack transform the region, or incite catastrophic anger and retribution against Trump, America and Israel? Loading The political consequences at home could be as serious. Trump is already under fire from more hardline MAGA supporters opposed to him falling into another foreign war of misguided adventurism such as Afghanistan or Iraq. After 9/11, George W. Bush conjured the 'Axis of Evil' of Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Trump has excoriated that campaign and outlined his retreat from the 'forever wars'. As he tries to seek peace in Ukraine – we are over 140 days since his promise to achieve that within 24 hours – Trump keeps saying, 'It's not my war', as if the US will not be affected by what happens there. A president fails if he cannot secure America's foreign policy interests. A failure by Trump in Iran – or a victory that comes back to haunt America's security in the years ahead – would eclipse his wholesale denunciations of Joe Biden in Ukraine and Afghanistan. There is one other curveball: Democrats and some Republicans are demanding a vote in Congress to authorise Trump joining Israel's war against Iran – just as they successfully did to approve Bush's war against Iraq.
The Age
37 minutes ago
- The Age
Israel-Iran conflict LIVE updates: Trump goes to ground after National Security Council meeting, weighs US involvement; Iranian nuclear, weapons facilities attacked in Israeli strikes
Go to latest Pinned post from 1.14pm In brief: The latest on the situation in the Middle East By Hannah Hammoud Thank you for following our ongoing live coverage of the rapidly developing conflict between Israel and Iran. Loading Here's a quick overview of the latest developments from today: The Israel-Iran conflict has intensified, with both nations exchanging missile strikes. Iran has reportedly launched missiles targeting Israeli cities, while Israel claims to have killed a senior Iranian general. CBS News has reported the US is considering military involvement, including potential strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump has demanded Iran's 'unconditional surrender' and warned Tehran residents to evacuate. At the G7 summit in Canada, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after Trump's early departure. Albanese criticised US tariffs, saying they harmed US consumers more than Australian exporters. He also announced that Australia would begin negotiations with the European Union on a security and defence partnership. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 585 people and wounded 1326 others, a human rights group says. Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimised casualties in the past. Its last update, issued on Monday, put the death toll at 224 people killed and 1277 wounded. In response to the escalating conflict, about1000 Australians in Israel and 870 in Iran are seeking help to leave, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said. The New York Times is reporting that Iran is preparing missiles to strike US bases in the Middle East should Trump join the conflict. Trump posted on Truth Social that the US knew where Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was hiding. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' Trump wrote about 2.30am. Trump also posted on social media: 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!' Iranian news websites are reporting Israeli strikes have targeted Imam Hossein University in eastern Tehran. Israel warned earlier today that it could strike a neighbourhood south of Mehrabad International Airport, which includes residential areas, military installations, pharmaceutical companies and industrial firms. Meanwhile, in Gaza, more than 50 people were reportedly killed by Israeli tank shellfire after they tried to get aid from trucks in Khan Younis. You can catch up with everything we know about the Israel and Iran conflict on our regularly updated 'what we know so far' page. 5.18pm First repatriation flights carrying Israelis arrive The first flights to bring Israelis home from overseas since the Israel-Iran conflict began have landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. Israel's Transport Minister Miri Regev greeted the captain in the airport's control tower. 'We are waiting for you here with great anticipation,' she told her in Hebrew. 'Very excited, first rescue flight.' Tens of thousands of Israelis are among people stranded in other countries because of the conflict, according to Israeli media. Local news outlets are also reporting that the country's military intercepted three drones launched from Iran on Wednesday morning, local time. It is just past 10am in Tel Aviv. AP 5.01pm The important question facing Donald Trump By Cassandra Morgan Donald Trump's temptation to join Israel's strikes on Iran goes back to the US president's inclination to 'jump on the bandwagon' of what he thinks is successful, a former Israeli diplomat says. However, the real question is to what scale the US will become involved – if it does. That's the verdict from Alon Pinkas, Israeli consul general in New York in the early 2000s, and an outspoken critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. 'The real question is the scale and the scope of an American military involvement,' Pinkas told ABC's Afternoon Briefing. 'That usually focuses [on] … the uranium enrichment facility in Fordow, which is south of the capital city of Tehran. That facility is dug 80 or 90 metres inside a mountain, is heavily fortified, and requires munitions and the delivery systems to get them there, that Israel does not possess. 'If you do not eliminate Fordow ... or inflict on it severe damage, then the idea of neutralising Iran's nuclear program is not achievable. That is the extent of the American involvement in terms of what Israel would want the US to do. 'If the US does that, obviously it vindicates everyone in the region that thought that the US was complicit in this to begin with, so I am sure that Trump, however his tendency to oscillate and contradict himself, I am sure that he is actually weighing those options.'
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Israel-Iran war: IDF strikes centrifuge production site and multiple weapon manufacturing facilities in Tehran
Israel has struck more of Iran's key nuclear and missile program sites with the aim of 'degrading Iran's ability to threaten the region', as the conflict in the Middle East enters its sixth day. On Wednesday, Israel's military claimed it had targeted a centrifuge production site and multiple weapon manufacturing facilities in the Tehran area, without elaborating on the locations. 'Over 50 IAF fighter jets targeted a facility for producing centrifuges used to enrich uranium beyond civilian levels,' the Israel Defence Forces said in a statement. 'Sites manufacturing parts for surface-to-surface missiles fired at Israel and a facility for surface-to-air missile components used to target aircraft.' The IDF said the latest strikes 'directly degrade Iran's ability to threaten Israel and the region'. Residents of Tehran continued to flee their homes in droves as Israel's air campaign aimed at Iran's military and nuclear program continued. Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure on Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities, killing top generals and six scientists. Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building an atomic weapon, although experts and the US government have assessed that Iran was actively working on such a weapon before the strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the so-called 'Operation Rising Lion' had struck Iran's main uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. A Washington-based Human Rights activist says the strikes have killed at least 585 people across Iran and wounded 1,326 others. It has identified 239 of those killed as civilians and 126 as security personnel. Iran has retaliated against Israel's airstrike campaign by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel. Earlier Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a chilling statement, indicating a new escalation in the developing conflict. 'In the name of the noble Haidar, the battle begins,' he wrote on X. Haidar is the Islamic word for Lion, and is also often associated with the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. The statement came after US President Donald Trump told Iran to surrender. Mr Trump held a security meeting in the White House Situation Room, with reports now claiming the US President is weighing up a strike on Iran. Mr Trump has so far stopped short of allowing the United States to become involved; however, it appears that may be changing. Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, the US President demanded an 'unconditional surrender!' The demand came shortly after Mr Trump said the US knew 'exactly where' the Iranian Supreme Leader was hiding, adding his patience was 'wearing thin'. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there,' Mr Trump wrote. 'We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. 'Our patience is wearing thin.' However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that an assassination isn't off the table. Khamenei has reportedly transferred a 'significant proportion' of his power to the Revolutionary Guards' Supreme Council, amid the threats to assassinate him. Iran's military leaders have vowed that Israel would soon see more attacks. 'The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence,' Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran's army, said in a video. 'The punishment operation will be carried out soon.' Meanwhile, Israel's military warned the population to stay close to shelters as Iran fired new salvos of missiles Wednesday, but officials said most were intercepted and Israel's rescue services had no immediate reports of injuries. Sirens blared in southern Israel, including in the desert town of Dimona, the heart of Israel's never-acknowledged nuclear arms program. Iran has long insisted its nuclear program was peaceful, though it was the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, was still conducting inspections, though limited, in the country. U.S. intelligence agencies, as well, have said they did not believe Iran was actively pursuing the bomb. - With files from AP
