Pakistan condemns Trump's bombing of Iran - a day after nominating him for Peace Prize
In Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, thousands marched in protest against the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
A large American flag with a picture of Trump on it was placed on the road for demonstrators to walk over. The protesters shouted out chants against America, Israel and Pakistan's regional enemy India.
Pakistan on Saturday said it was nominating Trump as "a genuine peacemaker" for his role in bringing a four-day conflict with India to an end last month. It said he had 'demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship'.
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CNA
37 minutes ago
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IAEA chief calls 'emergency meeting' for Monday after US strikes on Iran
The head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced an "emergency meeting" at the organisation's headquarters in Vienna for Monday (Jun 23) after the US struck Iranian nuclear sites. After US President Donald Trump decided to join Israel's campaign against Tehran's atomic programme, the United States on Sunday bombarded three nuclear sites in Iran, including a uranium-enriching facility at Fordo located 90 metres underground. "In light of the urgent situation in Iran, I am convening an emergency meeting of the @IAEAorg Board of Governors for tomorrow," Rafael Grossi wrote on X on Sunday. The meeting will start at 10am (4pm, Singapore time) at the agency's Vienna headquarters. Trump said the US air strikes, which he said were aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, though Tehran fiercely denies wanting to do so, "totally obliterated" the Islamic republic's main atomic sites. Speaking to American broadcaster CNN, Grossi said that there were clear signs of the strikes at Fordo, citing satellite images and the IAEA's understanding of the underground facility, which UN inspectors regularly visit. However he said it was too early to judge the extent of the damage. At Natanz, by contrast, the Israeli and US strikes had clearly destroyed the above-ground portion of the facility, he added.
Straits Times
an hour ago
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NATO agrees to higher defence spending goal, Spain says it is opting out
FILE PHOTO: The logo of NATO is seen at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the NATO defence ministers' session together with Sweden as the invitee, at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo NATO agrees to higher defence spending goal, Spain says it is opting out BRUSSELS/MADRID - NATO members agreed on Sunday to a big increase in their defence spending target to 5% of gross domestic product, as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump, but Spain said it did not need to comply just days before a summit in The Hague meant to be a show of unity. NATO officials had been anxious to find consensus on a summit statement on a new spending commitment ahead of Wednesday's gathering. But Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared on Thursday he would not commit to the 5% target. NATO boss Mark Rutte has proposed to reach the target by boosting NATO's core defence spending goal from 2% to 3.5% of GDP and spending an extra 1.5% on related items like cyber security and adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles. After diplomats agreed on a compromise text on Sunday, Sanchez swiftly proclaimed Spain would not have to meet the 5% target as it would only have to spend 2.1% of GDP to meet NATO's core military requirements. "We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so," Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television. Spain spent 1.24% of GDP on defence in 2024, or about 17.2 billion euros ($19.8 billion), according to NATO estimates, making it the lowest spender in the alliance as a share of its economic output. NATO officials argue big defence spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China. TRUMP CRITICISM Sanchez's stance risked setting up a summit clash with Trump, who has frequently accused European countries of not spending enough on defence and threatened not to defend them if they do not meet their targets. On Friday, Trump said Spain "has to pay what everybody else has to pay" and Madrid was "notorious" for low defence spending. However, he also suggested the U.S. should not have to meet the new target, as the U.S. had spent large amounts to protect the continent over a long period. Washington spent an estimated 3.19% of GDP on defence in 2024, NATO says. But Sanchez argued it was not necessary for Spain to meet the new target and trying to do so would mean drastic cuts on social spending such as state pensions, or tax hikes. NATO did not release the compromise summit text, which will only become official when it is endorsed by the leaders of NATO's 32 members at the summit. But diplomats said one tweak in the language on the spending commitment, from "we commit" to "allies commit," allowed Spain to say the pledge does not apply to all members. In a letter seen by Reuters, Rutte told Sanchez that Spain would have "flexibility to determine its own sovereign path" for meeting its military capability targets agreed with NATO. A NATO diplomat said Rutte's letter was simply "an affirmation that allies chart their own course for making good on their commitments" to meet their capability targets. NATO officials have expressed scepticism that Spain can meet its military capability targets by spending just 2.1% of GDP, as Sanchez has suggested. The targets are secret so their costs cannot be independently verified. "All allies have now agreed to the summit statement – which includes the new defence investment plan," said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
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Security Council meets on Iran as Russia, China push for a ceasefire
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council met on 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 bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Sunday. "We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation." "We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear programme," Guterres said. 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. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that while craters were visible at Iran's enrichment site buried into a mountain at Fordow, "no one - including the IAEA - is in a position to assess the underground damage." Grossi said entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit at Iran's sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex, while the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz has been struck again. "Iran has informed the IAEA there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites," said Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency. 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." Danon told reporters before the council meeting that it was still early when it came to assessing the impact of the US strikes. When asked if Israel was pursuing regime change in Iran, Danon said: "That's for the Iranian people to decide, not for us."
