Australia closes Iran embassy citing deteriorating security environment
SYDNEY, June 20 (Reuters) - Australia has suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran due to the deteriorating security environment in Iran and has directed the departure of all Australian officials, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday.
Australia's ambassador to Iran will remain in the region to support the government's response to the crisis, Wong said.
"We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries," Wong said in a statement.
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Reuters
29 minutes ago
- Reuters
Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential U.S. involvement would be made within two weeks. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, but also has sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials. "Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. Iran has said it is targeting military and defense-related sites in Israel, but it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites. Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday. "Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The role of the United States, meanwhile, remained uncertain. On Thursday in Washington, Lammy met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, and said they discussed a possible deal. Witkoff has spoken with Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. Trump, meanwhile, has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict. Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a "bunker buster" bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said on Thursday Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war. That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a time frame for making decisions and has allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide. With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising. But activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack. "How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Girl, 7, dies in Iran missile strike while in Israel for cancer treatment
The family of seven-year-old Nastya Buryk were staying in Bat Yam in Israel while she underwent cancer treatment when their appartment block was hit by a missile A seven-year-old girl has tragically died this week after getting caught up in the Iran missile strike. Israel has been launching missiles at Iran in an attempt to cripple its nuclear capabilities since last Friday, and US President Donald Trump was thinking about getting involved. But, Trump dramatically stepped back from the brink last night as Britain prepared to take part in peace talks with Iran. Yesterday Iranian missiles crashed into a major hospital in southern Israel and hit residential buildings near Tel Aviv, wounding at least 240 people, around 15km away a missile also struck Bat Yam where the family of a young girl were staying while she underwent treatment. Nastya Buryk, from Odesa in Ukraine, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer on August 29, 2022 and she underwent her first course of chemotherapy in Ukraine. Nastya's condition improved, but then she suffered a relapse. She needed more specialist treatment, so with some help from charitable donations, but largely self-funded, her family decided to try and seek treatment in Isal in December 2022. In Israel, Nastya underwent a bone marrow transplant. Sadly, the procedure did not work, and the leukaemia returned. But a new treatment to encourage the failed bone marrow transplant to work offered Nastya's family hope again. Earlier this year Nastya's mother Maria decided to give the new treatment a chance. Nastya's grandmother Olena, 60, flew out to Israel to lend her support. She brought with her two of Nastya's cousins, Konstantin and Ilya, aged nine and seven, who enrolled in local infant schools, reports MailOnline. Should the UK get involved in the Iran-Israel conflict? Take our poll below, and if you can't see it - click here But last week tragedy struck when Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, with the aim of destroying its nuclear and ballistic missile threat. One week on there continus to be intensifying conflict between Iran and Israel,as both nations continue to exchange fire in what has become the region's most volatile standoff in years. Last night, Iran boasted that all its nuclear material had been moved to 'a safe place' before Israeli missiles struck its nuclear sites. Iranian commander Mohsen Rezaei said: "'Israel hit Natanz, Isfahan, Khandab, and Arak, but they were already evacuated. All the materials have been moved to a safe place." Iran retaliated with volleys of missiles and drones at Israel. On the first day of the barrage, June 13, one of those missiles struck the apartment block in the coastal city of Bat Yam where Nastya's family had been staying. Nastya, her mother, grandmother and the two boys, were all tragically killed in the blast. Only Nastya's father Artem, who is fighting on the front line in Kyiv, remains alive.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Iran's ‘propagandist-in-chief' to speak at Scottish mosque
Iran's 'propagandist-in-chief' is scheduled to give an address at a Scottish mosque, it has emerged, as the tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel continue to escalate. Seyed Hashem Moosavi, the UK representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, is due to appear at the al-Mahdi Islamic Centre in Glasgow's southside on Friday. The mosque has been linked to the regime in Tehran, including displaying the Iranian flag and images of its leaders: Ayatollah Khomeini, who proclaimed a death sentence on the British author Salman Rushdie, and his successor Khamenei, who praised Hamas 'resistance fighters' after the October 7 atrocities in Israel. The Times previously revealed the mosque has received grants worth almost £400,000 from the Scottish government. Moosavi is described on adverts for the Glasgow event as a special guest speaker. It has been organised to celebrate Eid al-Ghadir and Mubahala, two significant dates in the Shia Islamic calendar.
