US helps Israel shoot down barrage of Iranian missiles
WASHINGTON (AP) — American air defense systems and Navy assets in the Middle East helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and top military leaders, a U.S. official said.
The U.S. has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the region capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Iran fired in multiple barrages in retaliation for Israel's initial attack.
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Winnipeg Free Press
16 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump says Israel-Iran will come to deal ‘soon' and warns Tehran against retaliating against US
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on U.S. targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would 'soon' make a deal to end their escalating conflict. Trump in an early morning social meeting posting said the United States 'had nothing to do with the attack on Iran' as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day. Iran, however, has said that it would hold the U.S.—which has provided Israel with much of deep arsenal of weaponry—for its backing of Israel. Israel targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel. 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,' Trump said. Hours later Trump took to social media again to predict 'Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal.' The U.S. president made the that he has built a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities 'just like I got India and Pakistan to make' after the two countries' recent cross-border confrontation. India struck targets inside Pakistan after militants in April massacred 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any links to the attackers. Following India's strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other's territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases. It was the most serious confrontation in decades between the countries. Trump on Sunday repeated his claim, disputed by India, that the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after he had offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate. Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia. 'Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!' Trump said. 'Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!' The growing conflict between Israel and Iran is testing Trump who ran on a promise to quickly end the brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine and build a foreign policy that more broadly favors steering clear of foreign conflicts. Trump has struggled to find an endgame to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. And after criticizing President Joe Biden during last year's campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump found himself making the case to the Israelis to give diplomacy a chance. His administration's push on Tehran to give up its nuclear program came after the U.S. and other world powers in 2015 reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the growing Israel-Iran conflict. And Trump is set to travel later Sunday to Canada for Group of Seven leaders summit where the Mideast crisis will loom large over his talks with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan and the European Union. Some influential backers of Trump are him urging to keep the U.S. out of Israel's escalating conflict with Iran. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson are among the prominent backers of Trump who have argued voters backed Trump because he would not involve the nation in foreign conflicts. Kirk said last week that before Israel launched the strikes on Iran that he was concerned the situation could lead to 'a massive schism in MAGA and potentially disrupt our momentum and our insanely successful Presidency.' Kentucky Republican, Sen. Rand Paul praised Trump for having shown restraint and said he hoped the president's 'instincts will prevail.' 'So, I think it's going to be very hard to come out of this and have a negotiated settlement,' Paul said in an appearance on NBC's 'Meet the Press. 'I see more war and more carnage. And it's not the U.S.'s job to be involved in this war.' — AP writer Gary Fields contributed reporting.
Toronto Star
20 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Mounties, drones, fences, and even children get deployed to keep world leaders safe as the G7 comes to the mountains
KANANASKIS, ALTA — When the yellow school bus came to a halt this morning, Emily Marinelli, 12, wasn't convinced she was going to enjoy this. But now she's in the swing of things. She adjusts her safety gloves and jams the shears that are half her height into the base of a bush, lopping off a buffalo berry branch with an authoritative thwack. 'We're cutting them down so that they don't have to euthanize or kill the bears,' she said, holding out a severed branch, her safety goggles perched on her pink-streaked hair. Drawn in equal parts to forest and sunlight, the berry bushes often grow alongside road and trails, acting as the gateway snack that draws grizzlies and black bears out of the trees and into the path of humans. Sometimes even high-profile humans. 'We're in the area where the G7 is going to be,' she explains, waving at the mountains behind her. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW This G7 legacy project deploys Grade 6 students to help cut down berry bushes that could attract bears. The gathering was always going to be high stakes. It's set against the backdrop of a volatile American-driven trade war and high-profile conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. Leaders from the U.K., France, Germany, Japan, Italy will be in attendance, and of course, U.S. President Donald Trump. Host countries also have the right to invite others — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to attend, while Carney's government has also reached out to leaders whose invitations raised controversy, including India's Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia's Mohammad bin Salman. The Grade 6 students aren't the first line of defence against bears for the meeting. Their particular G7 project is largely educational: these bushes won't produce berries until fall, after the leaders are back home, and in any case, a newly constructed eight-foot fence now surrounds the hotel hosting the summit. But even having to consider bear intrusion plans is part of what makes hosting the G7 in Kananaskis — which will mean welcoming upwards of 5,000 people to a small wilderness refuge and surrounding areas — such a Herculean logistical task. It's one of the biggest security jobs the RCMP has ever faced — one that includes guarding against everything from cybersecurity threats to protesters to lack of cell reception to yes, bears. 'If we were doing this in Toronto, like the 2010 G20, that has its own challenges,' says RCMP Chief Supt. David Hall, the director of the interagency team that has been planning security measures for the meeting for almost a year. (The gathering in Toronto saw massive antiglobalization protests that, while largely peaceful, also saw storefronts smashed and police cars torched. Hundreds were arrested.) G20 summit protesters clash with riot police in downtown Toronto on Saturday, June 26, 2010. Darren Calabrese THE CANADIAN PRESS 'If you talked to those planners they'd probably say, 'man, I wish I could do it in a remote area, maybe a little bit more secluded,' Hall said. 'You just manage the challenge you're faced with.' Of course, isolation may be partially the point. This will be a repeat performance for Kananaskis, which hosted the then-G8 in 2002. (Russia is no longer in the group, rendering the G8 a G7.) There had been fiery protests at the summit in Italy the year prior and the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center had fed fears of terrorism. Then-prime minister Jean Chrétien switched the location from Ottawa to get back to basics but also because, as political scientist John Kirton wrote that year, Kananaskis was 'difficult for civil society protesters and terrorists to get to and easy for security forces to defend.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Anyone who ventured closer, he added, 'are more likely to require search and rescue services from the Canadian Armed Forces standing guard than to inflict any other inconvenience on them.' Covering a swath of hills and mountains between Calgary and Banff National Park, Kananaskis Country is roughly two-thirds the size of the Greater Toronto Area. The meetings themselves are being held in Kananaskis Village (though the word 'village' might be overstating the case, slightly) which includes a hotel, golf course and nordic spa. There are mountain ranges on all sides, little to no local services, and mostly neighbours of the four-legged variety. Contributors Opinion Jaime Watt: Mark Carney is setting the tone for the G7 and he knows the cost of playing it safe is irrelevance Jaime Watt If you're not looking to climb a mountain, the only access is to leave the Trans-Canada Highway and travel 20 minutes down a two-lane highway that caps speed at 90 km/hour, in part because of the erratic way the road curves and dips through the mountain valley, and in part because of the deer and bighorn sheep and bear that regularly wander into the road. In a boon to local hikers and canoe paddlers, cell reception has been installed on the road, which was previously largely a communications black hole. 'It's a lot of geography to secure, an we have plans that enable us to do that, and we've invested in a lot of different technology that will help secure that space and give us that situational awareness,' Hall says. A black bear roams the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Christian Baum In the days before this year's G7, the patio tables were tarped over and the spa pools at the hotel sat empty, the tranquility of a pond between buildings interrupted only by two men in reflective vests debating where to place the sections of fence stacked on the back of their pickup. Staffers in G7 lanyards perused the plaid sweaters at the still-open gift shop. As the summit approaches, an escalating series of security measures have been put in place, with a local ski area, nearby hiking trails and even a few benches with a scenic view of the river blocked off by yellow tape. The Royal Canadian Air Force has been flying helicopters over the trees at night. The pine trees around the hotel are now dotted with security cameras mounted with shiny new screws and hikers in the area have reported venturing into the forest only to run into the military. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'The remoteness affects accommodations, so all the security personnel need somewhere to sleep and eat,' Hall says. 'We've had to take measures around supplying food and water to our folks, and then factoring in the time if they're commuting from hotels and other communities, what does that do to their shifts and how long they're working? And that affects the number of people we need.' One hotel isn't enough to house everyone, so many participants will be staying in Calgary and the town of Banff, which is an hour away. (If one wonders about the ability of a single hotel to cater to almost a dozen of the most influential people on earth, all presumably accustomed to presidential accommodations, Hall says they will not be commenting on where, exactly, everyone will be sleeping.) But when it comes to getting staff out to Kananaskis, Hall says they've had to stock up on food and water for staff and factor in the travel time from Calgary or Banff when planning out shifts. It's also a challenging location for those looking to express dissent. Protesters won't be able to get to the actual summit location. Designated protest zones have been set up in Calgary and Banff, though the RCMP says the protesters' message will be ' broadcast ' to the G7 leaders. Some activist leaders have said that they have no desire to antagonize police but may not remain inside the zones — something they're not legally required to do. Less than a week before the summit, a controlled access zone is in place that will include a 14-kilometre stretch of road and the surrounding mountain ranges, restricting anyone from getting within several kilometres of the village, in a car or on foot. The day before meetings get underway, a no-fly zone will drop around both Kananaskis Village and the Calgary airport, inside of which unauthorized aircraft or drones risk interception by a Canadian Armed Forces F-18. None of which matters much to the animals that are already there. Both black bears and grizzlies are plentiful in the area where the G7 is being held. (They're particularly fond of the dandelions and other greenery around the golf course, bear experts say.) Among the security forces that will be on hand are conservation officers who be ready to deal with any rogue wildlife. The danger is not non-existent or exclusive to humans. The last time Kananaskis hosted, a bear got too close to the venue and, when officials tried to shoo it away, it fell out of a tree and was injured badly enough that it had to be euthanized. In addition to the fences, the locations of some local bears are monitored and wildlife officers will be standing by to 'haze' any problem bears out of the area by scaring them or ushering them along. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'If you just watch a bear do its normal thing, it's actually really nice,' says Miles Mackinnon, another Grade 6 student who has just used his clippers to make quick work of several buffalo berry bushes growing among the trees next to a parking lot near the G7 site. 'They're really graceful, and they walk really smoothly.' He's glad to be helping remove the berry bushes that risk drawing bears into contact with humans, which he hopes will allow the bears to live their lives peacefully without interference from people. The area makes sense for a serious meeting like this, because it's peaceful, he adds. At least until the motorcades arrive. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Ex-military chief welcomes defence boost amid growing ‘chaos' around world
Canada's former chief of the defence staff says he's glad to see a renewed urgency in Ottawa to boost defence spending given the ever-increasing global threat environment, which he describes as 'unpredictable' and even 'crazy.' Retired general Wayne Eyre, in his first interview since leaving the top military post last year, says the 'sheer number of conflicts and wars around the world' has made the need for Canada to invest in its national defence ever more critical. 'The rules-based international order that for so long provided the guardrails against large-scale international conflict — those have been eroded, and what's emerging we don't know yet, but it is much more dangerous and this transition period is rife for miscalculation,' he told Mercedes Stephenson in the interview, which aired Sunday on The West Block. 'We have chaos reigning around the world. It's crazy out there.' Story continues below advertisement Eyre made the comments shortly after Israel launched strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and killed Iranian military commanders in an attack late last week. Iran soon retaliated by striking the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv. That conflict is unfolding amid Israel's ongoing military offensive in Gaza, while Russia continues to ignore international efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine. Fighting is also raging in other parts of the Middle East and Africa. Eyre said he remains most concerned about the alignment between Russia and China, both of which have sought to gain entry into the Arctic. He said the 'disregard for sovereignty' and the proliferation of nuclear technologies by hostile actors are threats that 'we need to be very worried about.' 2:07 How will Canada meet its defence spending targets? Eyre was replaced as leader of the Canadian Armed Forces by Gen. Jennie Carignan, who stood next to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week as he announced the federal government will invest over $9 billion in defence this fiscal year. Story continues below advertisement Carney said the investment will ensure Canada meets NATO's defence spending target of at least two per cent of GDP — a goal Carney had previously said wouldn't be met until 2030. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Defending the country is the top role of a government. Everything else is secondary,' Eyre said. 'The realization of that, given the increasingly dangerous world that we're in, that was excellent to see.' The new defence spending plan will focus immediately on boosting pay and benefits for Canadian military members, as well as the restoration of bases and existing equipment. Eyre, who warned while serving as chief of the defence staff about Canada's military readiness, said focusing on people and infrastructure was particularly important to restore that capability. 'You can buy all the nice, new, shiny equipment you want, but if you don't have the people, the infrastructure, the components of readiness that go into making a capability work, it's useless,' he said. He added that 'it's going to take some time' to restore that readiness, however, 'because we have had decades of hollowing out of the Canadian military, and you can't just fix that overnight.' 'What we need, and I am detecting it, is a sense of urgency to get us ready to face this increasingly dangerous world.' Story continues below advertisement Carignan has said her top priority is boosting recruitment to the armed forces. Nearly 7,000 people joined Canada's military over the last year, the government said last week, exceeding recruitment goals and marking a 10-year high in enrolment. 2:08 Carney vows to meet 2% NATO defence target this fiscal year Canada will face further pressure to ratchet up its defence spending at this month's NATO summit, where allies will be asked to agree to a new target of 3.5 per cent of GDP with an additional 1.5 per cent on broader security-related investments, for a total of five per cent. U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed NATO members to boost defence spending to five per cent and take on more burden-sharing for the military alliance. Eyre said the entire federal government and all political parties must remain committed to ensuring Canada's renewed defence investments are sustained into the future, as well as educating Canadians on why they are needed. Story continues below advertisement 'We've got to be in this for the long run,' he said. 'We can't just be doing it because our allies berate us. We have to be doing it for the right reason, and that's to defend Canada against some very, very real threats.' Ottawa also says the procurement of new equipment will prioritize Canadian defence manufacturers as well as partners in Europe in a bid to diversify away from reliance on the United States. 0:27 Canada should no longer send 75% of defence capital spending to the U.S., Carney says In an interview that also aired Sunday on The West Block, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said talks with the U.S. on securing a new security and economic partnership include the recent defence investments. Yet he stressed that any co-operation with the Americans is contingent on removing tariffs on the Canadian economy. Story continues below advertisement 'Our obvious desire is to work on that partnership with the Americans,' he said. 'At the same time, as they're hammering our automobile, steel and aluminium sectors, those border tariffs (related to issues of) fentanyl and illegal migration — which has, thank God, been massively, massively reduced if not resolved — why would those tariffs and the threat of those tariffs still remain in place?' Eyre said a 'mesh' between investments in U.S., European and Asia-Pacific defence partnerships is in Canada's national security interest given the unpredictability in Washington. 'Alliances are predicated on certainty, and if there is uncertainty, that raises the question as to how reliable an ally is,' he said. 'In my belief, we need to hedge. We need to have a diverse group of allies, partners and friends … because we just don't know what the future is going to bring.'
