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Photos of missiles over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in a retaliatory attack by Iran

Photos of missiles over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in a retaliatory attack by Iran

Independent18 hours ago

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fire to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv as others explode and traces fly over Jerusalem during a missile attack by Iran in retaliation for deadly Israeli attacks on nuclear sites and military leaders.

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Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort
Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort

The Independent

time36 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort

A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon. Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine's position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. 'The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,' Zelenskyy said. 'The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.' Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation in the region could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. Zelenskyy to address concerns with the US Zelenskyy said he planned to raise the issue in an upcoming conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. 'In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,' he said. Zelenskyy also expressed concern that U.S. military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine toward Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East. 'We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,' he said. 'Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.' Ukraine's military needs have been sidelined by the United States in favor of supporting Israel, Zelenskyy said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, that had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel. 'And for us it was a blow,' he said. 'When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.' An air defense system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the U.S. for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of U.S. ambivalence over providing a backstop. 'This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there,' he said. Coalition of the Willing offer under consideration The offer of a foreign troop 'reassurance force' pledged by the Coalition of the Willing was still on the table 'but they need a backstop, as they say, from America,' Zelenskyy said. 'This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine.' The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia. 'It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991,' he said. But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Trump. Without crushing U.S. sanctions against Russia, 'I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us,' Zelenskyy said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine. Body and prisoner returns follow Istanbul talks In other developments, Russia repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Russian officials said Saturday, cited by Russian state media. The officials said Ukraine did not return any bodies to Russia on Saturday. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed in a statement that Russia returned 1,200 bodies. The first round of the staggered exchanges took place Monday. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the talks in Istanbul on June 2. Russia says push continues Continuing a renewed battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its troops captured another village in the Donetsk region, Zelenyi Kut. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the Russian claim. Russia launched 58 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said its air defenses destroyed 23 drones while another 20 were jammed. Russia's defense ministry said it shot down 66 Ukrainian drones overnight. Attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During the June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a quick deal unlikely. ___

Briton stranded in Jerusalem during Iran attacks says city ‘like a ghost town'
Briton stranded in Jerusalem during Iran attacks says city ‘like a ghost town'

The Herald Scotland

timean hour ago

  • The Herald Scotland

Briton stranded in Jerusalem during Iran attacks says city ‘like a ghost town'

But what was meant to be a six-day trip turned into a crisis when air raid sirens woke him in the early hours of Friday when his flight home was cancelled following Israeli strikes on Iran and a barrage of retaliatory missiles. 'It feels very eerie, very strange – like a ghost town,' the grandfather-of-four said. 'Before, it was a hive of activity – cars everywhere, everyone having a good time. 'Now everything is shut down, just a few old people shuffling about. 'It feels a lot like the Covid lockdowns.' The retired accountant, who travelled with his Hungarian friend Miki Mogyorossy, 49, from London, said the pair were enjoying the warm weather and had visited key religious sites including the Sea of Galilee and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Projectiles break up in the night sky over Jerusalem during an Iranian missile attack on Friday (Mahmoud Illean/AP) 'We were only supposed to be here six days to see the sights,' Mr Eden said. 'At the time when I booked it there was no hint at all that this was going to start. 'The conflict with Iran has been on the table for 20 years – if you worry about it all the time you would never come here.' But in the early hours of Friday, he was jolted awake by an emergency alert – written in Hebrew – on his phone. 'I didn't understand any of it, but once we spoke to some Israelis they told us it was a warning,' he said. 'The sirens were going off outside – we all rushed out of our rooms but were quickly told to get back to bed. 'We gathered in the stairwell because there was no basement and stayed there for 10 or 15 minutes. 'Then we had another notification saying we could go back to bed.' A phone alert from Israel's home front command, warning of incoming rocket and missile fire (Handout/PA) By the morning, he said, 'everything was shut down – shops and offices all closed, restaurants all closed'. Mr Eden and Mr Mogyorossy managed to find one restaurant open after scouring the city. But as they were walking back to their hotel they saw a barrage of missiles coming across the sky. 'I was standing by a wall – the best place I could find – with a bit of an overhang. 'If any of those missiles had landed, there would have been a huge explosion.' A second phone alert from Israel's home front command, this time in English, warned of incoming rocket and missile fire. The notification gave just 90 seconds for the pair to reach shelter. He said he did not believe any of the strikes landed in Jerusalem, but described the sky lighting up with interceptors from the Iron Dome defence system. Mr Eden was visiting religious sites in Jerusalem (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) Footage taken by Mr Eden shows Iron Dome rockets taking out Iranian missiles overhead. 'I was shocked by the amount of missiles going over,' he said. 'Most people were in safe spaces. I didn't hear any explosions, just a lot of banging from the Iron Dome missiles.' Despite the intensity of the situation, Mr Eden said he remained relatively calm – but fears he will run out of medication. 'At my age I have to take medication and I only have two weeks' supply,' he said. 'Now my flight's been cancelled. At any time there could be another strike.' Mr Eden has been in contact with the British embassy but said he felt let down by the response. 'I've spoken to the Foreign Office – I've texted the embassy, given them my details,' he said. 'There is that sort of feeling that we've been abandoned – why has nobody rang me? 'I would like people to know I'm here. Just say 'we're on the case – give us three to five days, we'll come back'. If that was given, it would be good.' He added: 'The nervous energy takes its toll on you. I was enjoying myself, but now I want to go home.' 'A friend said to me, 'You should have listened to me – why did you go?' But this threat's been around for 20 years.' Despite the shutdown – he has still managed to find a restaurant that is serving a pint of Guinness. 'Somehow I've managed to find a pint of Guinness which I didn't think would be so easy,' he said. 'So it's not all that bad.'

Farage: Iranian people deserve better than current brutal regime
Farage: Iranian people deserve better than current brutal regime

Telegraph

timean hour ago

  • Telegraph

Farage: Iranian people deserve better than current brutal regime

Mr Farage rarely intervene on foreign policy issues, with his party having predominantly focussed on domestic matters affecting voters. The Reform leader tore into the now defunct Iran nuclear deal which was agreed in 2015 between the US, the UK and EU on one side and Iran on the other. Under the agreement Western nations agreed to lift sanctions on Tehran in return for it agreeing to give up its nuclear weapons programme. Donald Trump, the US president, withdrew his country from the agreement, which was struck by Barack Obama, his predecessor, in 2018, effectively terminating it in all but name. Mr Trump described the pact, which Israel was strongly opposed to, as 'a horrible one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made'. Mr Farage said: 'To understand Israel's action against Iran we need to recognise the total failure of the deal struck a decade ago. 'The USA, EU and British Government's naïve agreement allowed Iran to fund multiple terrorist groups and to speed up their nuclear programme. 'The Iranian regime wants to wipe Israel and its people off the map and are close to nuclear capability. Who can blame Israel from trying to stop this?' He added: 'The Iranian people deserve better than the current brutal regime.' Mr Farage's remarks indicated support for Iranian opposition figures, many of whom are in exile, who have called for the overthrow of the mullahs. 'Israel has a right to self-defence' Iran has been run as a religious dictatorship since the overthrow of the previous monarchy in 1979 in what became known as the 'Islamic Revolution'. The country is currently led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, known as the supreme leader, under whose watch it has pursued its nuclear ambitions. Tehran has also supported and financed networks of terror organisations across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Sir Keir expressed 'grave concerns' about Tehran's nuclear programme during a call with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on Friday. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister spoke to the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon following last night's events. 'The Prime Minister was clear that Israel has a right to self-defence and set out the UK's grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. 'He reiterated the need for de-escalation and a diplomatic resolution, in the interests of stability in the region.'

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