UN Security Council to meet on Iran as Russia, China push for a ceasefire
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will meet Sunday (Jun 22) to discuss US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, said diplomats, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.
The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, which also condemns attacks on Iran's nuclear sites and facilities. The text does not name the United States or Israel.
The world awaited Iran's response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had "obliterated" Tehran's key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
Iran requested the UN Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body "to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms."
Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the US and Israel "do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday branded the US strikes on Iran as a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge - and a direct threat to international peace and security."
"At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace," Guterres said in a statement.
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CNA
32 minutes ago
- CNA
Iran threatens US bases in response to strikes on nuclear sites
WASHINGTON: Iran on Sunday (Jun 22) threatened US bases in the Middle East after massive air strikes that Washington said had destroyed Tehran's nuclear programme, though some officials cautioned that the extent of damage was unclear. International concern focused on fears that the unprecedented US attacks would deepen conflict in the volatile region after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran earlier this month. Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation. "Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces," he said in a message carried by the official IRNA news agency. "America has attacked the heart of the Islamic world and must await irreparable consequences." US President Donald Trump urged Iran to end the conflict after he launched surprise strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz. "We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the 'bomb' right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)" he said on social media. And while Trump did not directly advocate regime change in the Islamic republic, he openly played with the idea - even after his aides stressed that was not a goal of American intervention. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing earlier that Iran's nuclear programme had been "devastated," adding the operation "did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people". Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that while it would be "way too early" for him to determine the level of destruction, "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction". Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said his country's military strikes will "finish", once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. TEHRAN PROTESTS As Iran's leaders struck defiant tones, President Masoud Pezeshkian also vowed that the US would "receive a response" to the attacks. People gathered on Sunday in central Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans. In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was "truly shocked" by the strikes. "Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near," she said. In an address to the nation hours after the attack, Trump claimed success for the operation, and US Vice President JD Vance followed up on Sunday morning. "We know that we set the Iranian nuclear programme back substantially last night," Vance told ABC. But he also suggested Iran still had its highly enriched uranium. "We're going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel," he said. "They no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium." Another Khamenei advisor, Ali Shamkhani, said in a post on X that "even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn't over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain". Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that attacks on nuclear facilities could cause radiation leaks, but the IAEA had not detected any. RETALIATION RISK Israel's military was checking results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordow, with a spokesman saying it was uncertain if Iran had already removed enriched uranium from the site. The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers that flew 18 hours from the American mainland to Iran. Trump said on Sunday the planes had landed safely on US soil after the marathon mission. In response to the attack, which used over a dozen massive " bunker-buster" bombs, Iran's armed forces targeted sites in Israel, including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded. Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed on Sunday, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was also struck in Israeli attacks on central Iran. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people so far, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticised the US strikes and called for de-escalation. French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday warned against an "uncontrolled escalation" in the Middle East, as he and his German and British counterparts called on Tehran "not to take any further action that could destabilise the region".
Straits Times
34 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Oil surges as Trump's attack on Iran ramps up risks to supplies
SYDNEY – Oil surged when markets opened on June 23 after the US struck Iran's three main nuclear sites and threatened further attacks, exacerbating a crisis in the Middle East and stoking concerns that energy supplies from the region could be disrupted. Global benchmark Brent rallied as much as 5.7 per cent to US$81.40 a barrel, extending three weeks of gains. The Middle East accounts for about a third of global crude output, and higher, sustained prices would boost inflationary pressur In a weekend address, US President Donald Trump said air attacks had 'obliterated' the trio of targets, and threatened more military action if Iran didn't make peace. In its initial reply, Tehran warned the strikes would trigger 'everlasting consequences.' The US assault – which targeted sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – dramatically raises the stakes in the confrontation and increases the premium that traders are pricing into the global energy market. Still, the extent of the gains will hinge on how Tehran opts to respond to the US moves. The global oil market has been gripped by the crisis since Israel attacked Iran more than a week ago, with futures pushing higher, options volumes spiking along with freight rates, and the futures curve shifting to reflect tensions about tighter near-term supplies. 'This could set us on a path toward US$100 oil, if Iran responds as they have previously threatened to,' said Saul Kavonic, an energy analyst at MST Marquee. 'This US attack could see a conflagration of the conflict.' There are multiple, overlapping risks for physical crude flows. The biggest centres on the Strait of Hormuz, should Tehran seek to retaliate by attempting to close the chokepoint. About a fifth of the world's crude output passes through the narrow waterway at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. Iran's parliament has called for the closure of the strait, according to state-run TV. Such a move, however, could not proceed though without the explicit approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rival suppliers In addition, Tehran could opt to target crude infrastructure in rival suppliers in the Middle East, such as fellow Opec+ producers including Saudi Arabia, Iraq or the United Arab Emirates. After the US attack, both Riyadh and Baghdad expressed concern about the targeting of the nuclear facilities. Elsewhere, Tehran could orchestrate attacks on ships on the other side of the Arabian peninsula in the Red Sea, encouraging Yemen-based Houthi rebels to harass vessels. After the US attacks, the group threatened retaliation. If the hostilities escalate, Tehran's own oil-producing capabilities could be targeted, including the key export hub at Kharg Island. Such a move, however, could send crude prices soaring, an outcome that America might want to avoid. So far, Kharg Island has been spared, with satellite imagery pointing to a drive by Iran to expedite its exports of oil. The crisis will also throw a spotlight onto the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and its allies including Russia. In recent months, Opec+ has been relaxing supply curbs at a rapid clip seeking to regain market share, and yet members still have substantial idled capacity that could be reactivated. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
34 minutes ago
- Straits Times
In Los Angeles' Little Persia, US strikes on Iran met with both celebration and angst
A sign calling for the overthrow of the Islamic government in Iran is placed behind glass in a bookstore in an Iranian-American area of Los Angeles. PHOTO: REUTERS In Los Angeles' Little Persia, US strikes on Iran met with both celebration and angst In the cafes and restaurants of Little Persia, a Los Angeles enclave of about half a million Iranian-Americans, hatred for Iran's Islamic government is red hot and widely felt. What's less agreed upon is whether American and Israeli forces should have launched strikes on nuclear and military facilities in Iran, including the dropping of 30,000-pound US bunker-busting bombs ordered by President Donald Trump on J une 21 . Within this huge Iranian diaspora in western Los Angeles, the largest Persian community outside Iran, Iranian Jews interviewed by Reuters said they are all in on Israeli and US bombing raids, and want to see more. Iranian Muslims in the area - also called Little Tehran or Tehrangeles - were more ambivalent, with many suspicious of Israel and wary of America getting embroiled in another Middle Eastern conflict. Most of the two dozen people who spoke to Reuters did not want their full names published or their pictures taken, such is their fear of the Islamic Republic led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. All still have relatives there. Reza , a 38-year-old college professor who left Iran 15 years ago, says he received a call from an Iranian official in 2024 from his sister's mobile phone. He was told that if he did not stop publishing anti-Islamic Republic posts on his social media accounts, his sister could be in danger. 'It's a very sensitive topic. I am definitely happy Israel and the US are destroying their nuclear program. I don't trust the Iranian regime having access to nuclear technology,' said Reza, an Iranian Muslim. 'But I'm also sad for my family there. The people are suffering. It's a very scary time. And I do not like the US getting involved in another war.' Three blocks away, outside a Starbucks coffee shop, seven men, mostly Iranian Jews, were discussing the war between Israel and Iran, now in its second week, and the bombing of three nuclear sites by the US on June 21. The world braced on June 22 for Iran's response after the US joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. Outside the Starbucks, the mood was celebratory. 'This regime should not exist anymore, they torture their own people, they put their own people in prison. These mullahs are causing problems all across the Middle East and the world,' said Shawn, 72, a mortgage broker. Iran has so far not followed through on its threats of retaliation against the United States and has said it will consider all possible responses. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful and its UN Ambassador has accused Israel and the US of destroying diplomacy. Sol, 58, who left Iran in 1983 and has relatives in Iran and Israel, said the group outside Starbucks had been celebrating since Israel began striking Iran earlier in June . 'Israel is doing a very good job. God Bless them,' he said. 'We want those mullahs out!' Roozbeh, 48, a mechanical engineer who left Iran in 2007, said he was worried about his parents and two brothers still in Iran and had just spoken to them. 'They are in the north. Israel bombed it for the first time yesterday,' he said. 'I hope the Israeli military action will bring down the regime, of course.' Younger Iranian-Americans also expressed their hatred for the Islamic Republic - but were far more sceptical about Israeli and US strikes on the country. Raha, 33, was born in the US Her parents fled Iran during the 1979 revolution, which led to the overthrow of the US-backed government and the creation of the Islamic Republic. Raha has visited relatives in Iran about 10 times. On one visit she says she had an encounter with the 'morality police,' because her hijab headdress had slipped. She recalled the 2022 death of Ms Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian who died in a hospital in Tehran, the Iranian capital, after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with the Islamic government's standards. Raha said she and her friends celebrated when an Israeli strike killed the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps i n June . 'That's a good thing. We want them all down,' Raha said. 'I absolutely want to see the regime in Iran fall.' REUTERS Check out ST's Food Guide for the latest foodie recommendations in Singapore.
