Iran air defences 'confront hostile targets' over Tehran: state media
05:34
19/06/2025
'Aid being deliberately engineered' to displace Palestinians, NGO says
Middle East
19/06/2025
As US considers joining operation against Iran, 'region reaching tension levels not seen in decades'
Middle East
19/06/2025
In Tel Aviv, residents flock to overnight bunkers to avoid missile strikes
Middle East
19/06/2025
Israeli government in 'full bore' campaign to persuade Trump to join Iran war
Middle East
19/06/2025
'I may do it, I may not': Trump weighs US involvement in Israel-Iran war
Middle East
18/06/2025
Toppling Iran's regime only way to end nuclear program, says former Israeli PM Barak
Middle East
18/06/2025
Ehud Barak asserts US won't battle Iran in full-scale war: 'US has not won any war in last 75 years'
Middle East
18/06/2025
Israeli government 'defiant' as conflict with Iran escalates
Middle East
18/06/2025
'Trump did not have the desire, the courage, or the will to tell Israelis not to start this war'
Middle East
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France 24
43 minutes ago
- France 24
Europeans push for renewed diplomacy with Iran as Trump mulls military action
European foreign ministers are set to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday aiming to create a pathway back to diplomacy over its contested nuclear programme despite the US actively considering joining Israeli strikes against Iran. Ministers from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, as well as the European Union's foreign policy chief spoke to Abbas Araqchi earlier this week and have been coordinating with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In a rare call they pressed upon Araqchi the need to return to the negotiating table and avoid further escalation. At Iran's suggestion the two sides agreed to meet face-to-face. The talks will be held in Geneva, where an initial accord between Iran and world powers to curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions lifting was struck in 2013 before a comprehensive deal in 2015. They come after negotiations between Iran and the United States collapsed when Israel launched what it called Operation Rising Lion against Iran's nuclear facilities and ballistic capabilities on June 12. 04:47 "The Iranians can't sit down with the Americans whereas we can," said a European diplomat. "We will tell them to come back to the table to discuss the nuclear issue before the worst case scenario, while raising our concerns over its ballistic missiles, support to Russia and detention of our citizens." The European powers, who were not part of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the United States, had grown increasingly frustrated by the US negotiating strategy in the talks. They deemed some of the demands unrealistic, while fearing the possibility of a weak initial political framework that would lead to open-ended negotiations. Two diplomats said there were no great expectations for a breakthrough in Geneva, where the European Union's foreign policy chief will also attend. But they said it was vital to engage with Iran because once the war stopped, Iran's nuclear programme would still remain unresolved given that it would be impossible to eradicate the know-how acquired, leaving it potentially able to clandestinely rebuild its programme. An Iranian official said Tehran has always welcomed diplomacy, but urged the E3 to use all available means to pressure Israel to halt its attacks on Iran. "Iran remains committed to diplomacy as the only path to resolving disputes — but diplomacy is under attack," the official said. 45:34 Prior to Israel's strikes the E3 and US put forward a resolution that was approved by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN watchdog, which declared Iran in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. As part of last week's IAEA resolution, European officials had said they could refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council later in the summer to add pressure on Iran if there was no progress in the nuclear talks. That would be separate to them reimposing UN sanctions, known as the snapback mechanism, before October 18 when the 2015 accord expires. The Europeans are the only ones who can launch the snapback mechanism, with diplomats saying the three countries had looked to set a final deadline at the end of August to launch it. "Iran has repeatedly stated that triggering snapback will have serious consequences," the Iranian official said.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
US immigration agents barred from LA baseball stadium: team
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived at the stadium and "requested permission to access the parking lots," the Dodgers said in a statement. "They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization," the Dodgers said in a statement, adding that the team's game later Thursday would go ahead as scheduled. Images and video shared on social media showed a line of unmarked trucks and masked ICE agents at one Dodger Stadium entrance while protesters chanting "ICE out of LA" gathered nearby. The incident comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions in Los Angeles, which has become ground zero of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown across the US. The city has seen scattered violence but mostly peaceful protests in recent weeks ignited by an escalation in federal immigration sweeps that have targeted migrant workers in garment factories, car washes and other workplaces. In addition to mobilization of ICE agents, Trump ordered the deployment of thousands of US National Guard troops and hundreds of US Marines into the city in response to the protests -- a move that was opposed by city leaders and California Governor Gavin Newsom. The incident at Dodger Stadium on Thursday comes as the reigning World Series champions have faced criticism for their response to the immigration crackdown. A huge part of the team's fan base is drawn from the Latino community, with some fans claiming a sense of betrayal over the franchise's failure to speak out against the ongoing raids. © 2025 AFP
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Israel says Khamenei 'can no longer be allowed to exist' after Iran strikes hospital
Israel's defence minister warned that Iran 's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on Thursday, spiking tensions in the week-old war. As President Donald Trump dangled the prospect of US involvement, Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba was left in flames by a bombardment that Iran said targeted a military and intelligence base. Meanwhile Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an "extremely dangerous step". Israel, fearing Iran is on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy last week, triggering deadly exchanges. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would "pay a heavy price" for the hospital strike, while Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed – he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals," Katz told reporters. "He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal. Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist." 06:54 The latest escalation came on the seventh day of deadly exchanges between the two countries that have plunged the region into a new crisis, 20 months into the Gaza war. Hospital director Shlomi Codish said 40 people were injured at the Soroka, where an evacuated surgical building was hit leaving smoke billowing. "Several wards were completely demolished and there is extensive damage across the entire hospital," he told journalists at the site. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called attacks on health facilities "appalling", while UN rights chief Volker Turk said civilians were being treated as "collateral damage". 'People are really panicking' People fleeing the attacks on Iran described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. "People are really panicking," a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist who did not want to be named told AFP at the Kapikoy crossing on the Turkish border. "Yesterday the internet stopped and two major banks were hacked so people couldn't access their money. And there's not even enough food." 01:33 Khamenei has rejected Trump's demand for an "unconditional surrender", despite the president's claim that Iran wants to negotiate. Trump has been deliberately vague about joining the conflict. The White House said on Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel's strikes on Iran within the next two weeks as there is still a "substantial" chance of talks to end the conflict. Any US involvement would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs. The White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday, a US holiday. Top US diplomat Marco Rubio is set meet his British counterpart for talks expected to focus on the conflict. In Moscow, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that any US military intervention would have "truly unpredictable negative consequences". Nuclear sites On Thursday, Israel said it had carried out dozens of fresh raids on Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. The Israeli military said the Arak site in central Iran had been hit "to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development". There was a "near-total national internet blackout" in Iran on Wednesday, a London-based watchdog said, with Iran's Fars news agency confirming tighter internet restrictions after initial curbs imposed last week. An Israeli military official, who asked not to be named, said Wednesday that Iran had fired around 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones since the conflict began on Friday. Iranian strikes have killed at least 24 people and injured hundreds since they began, Netanyahu's office said on Monday. Iran said Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent – far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. Israel has maintained ambiguity on its own arsenal, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
