Tel Aviv, Tehran burn as Israel-Iran tension enters bloodiest phase; five dead in latest missile strikes
JERUSALEM, June 16 — Iran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities early Monday, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation.
AFP images showed gutted residential buildings in Tel Aviv and fires smouldering outside the coastal city of Haifa, after Israel's army warned people to take cover from incoming Iranian missiles.
In Jerusalem, an AFP journalist heard loud explosions, while footage showed Israeli air defences lighting up the night sky.
After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, Israel's surprise assault on Iran last week has touched off the most intense fighting yet and triggered fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the Middle East.
Israel says its attacks have hit military and nuclear facilities, and killed many top commanders and atomic scientists -- but a senior US official said Sunday that US President Donald Trump told Israel to back down from a plan to kill supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump has urged the foes to 'make a deal', but told reporters Sunday that 'sometimes they have to fight it out' first.
Monday's Iranian missile attack followed Israeli strikes in central Iran, which Israel's army said targeted surface-to-surface missile sites.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in a statement quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Monday they had 'successfully' struck Israel and vowed 'effective, targeted and more devastating operations' to come.
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said five people had been killed and 92 wounded following the latest Iranian attack.
Rescuers work near a damaged building in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv following an Iranian missile attack on June 16, 2025. — AFP pic
'A heavy price'
Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the hostilities broke out Friday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slamming Iran Sunday for allegedly targeting civilians.
'Iran will pay a very heavy price for the premeditated murder of civilians, women and children,' he said while visiting a residential building struck by a missile in the coastal city of Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.
Iranian strikes since Friday have killed more than a dozen people in Israel.
Iran's health ministry reported at least 224 people killed and more than 1,200 wounded in Israeli attacks since Friday.
Iranian state television reported at least five people were killed Sunday by an Israeli strike that hit a residential building in central Tehran.
Colonel Reza Sayyad, a spokesman for Iran's armed forces, threatened a 'devastating response' to Israel's attacks.
'Leave the occupied territories (Israel) because they will certainly no longer be habitable in the future,' he warned in a televised address, adding shelters will 'not guarantee security'.
Addressing parliament on Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged citizens to 'stand strong against this genocidal criminal aggression with unity and coherence'.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz later warned that Tehran's residents would 'pay the price' for Iranian attacks on Israeli civilians.
Despite reports of people fleeing the Iranian capital, some were determined to stay.
'It is natural that war has its own stress, but I will not leave my city,' Shokouh Razzazi, 31, told AFP.
'Make a deal'
Trump said Washington 'had nothing to do' with Israel's bombing campaign but threatened to unleash 'the full strength and might' of the US military if Iran attacked American interests.
On Sunday, he urged the two foes to 'make a deal' but expressed scepticism about the prospects for peace.
'But sometimes they have to fight it out, but we're going to see what happens,' Trump told reporters at the White House.
A senior US official told AFP that Trump had urged Israel to drop a plan to assassinate Khamenei.
'We found out that the Israelis had plans to hit Iran's supreme leader. President Trump was against it and we told the Israelis not to,' said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Asked in an interview with Fox News whether regime change in Iran was one of the objectives of Israel's strikes, Netanyahu said that 'it certainly could be the result, because the Iran regime is very weak'.
Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi maintained Tehran had 'solid proof' that US forces had supported Israel in its attacks.
He also told a meeting of foreign diplomats that Iran's actions were a 'response to aggression'.
'If the aggression stops, naturally our responses will also stop,' he added.
Iran scrapped planned nuclear talks with the United States, saying it was 'meaningless' to negotiate while under fire.
Iranian judiciary said a convicted agent for Israel's Mossad spy agency was hung on Monday.
Israel has said it had taken two individuals into custody over alleged links to Iranian intelligence. — AFP
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New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Iran, Israel trade deadly strikes as fears of wider war grow
JERUSALEM: Iran launched missiles at Israeli cities Monday after Israeli strikes deep inside the Islamic republic, raising Israel's death toll by 11 on day four of an escalating air war. After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel on Friday launched a surprise aerial campaign targeting sites across Iran, saying the attacks aimed to prevent its arch-foe from acquiring atomic weapons – a charge Tehran denies. Israel's strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities. In retaliation, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had "successfully" struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of "effective, targeted and more devastating operations" to come. The Iranian attacks hit Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa – with shattered homes, smouldering wreckage and stunned residents picking through debris. "The entire shelter shook," said Shlomi Biton, who had taken cover with his five children in Haifa. "There were many, many explosions." Ido, a student whose house was hit, recalled scenes of panic. "There were 12 to 13 children there in the shelter screaming." The death toll in Israel rose by 11 on Monday, the prime minister's office said, bringing the total since Friday to 24. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the missile barrage also lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv. In Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei condemned as a "war crime" an Israeli strike that damaged a hospital in the western city of Kermanshah. A previous report said a nearby workshop had been the target. Iran's missile attack followed waves of intense Israeli air raids that struck targets across the country – from the western border with Iraq to Tehran and as far east as Mashhad, where the airport was hit. While some people fled Tehran, others vowed to stay. "It is natural that war has its own stress, but I will not leave my city," said Shokouh Razzazi, 31, in the capital, where the Grand Bazaar was closed amid the ongoing Israeli strikes. The escalation has sparked growing international concern. China urged both sides to "immediately take measures to cool down the tensions" and avoid plunging the region into deeper turmoil. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also called for calm, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "a negotiated solution is, in the long term, the best solution." Though critical of Israel's campaign in Gaza, she blamed Iran for the latest crisis, citing the UN nuclear watchdog's findings that it was not in compliance with its obligations. "In this context, Israel has the right to defend itself. Iran is the principal source of regional instability," she said. Iran, in turn, urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to condemn Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities. "We expect the (IAEA) Board of Governors and the director general to take a firm position in condemning this act and holding the regime (Israel) accountable," said spokesman Baqaei. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that Ankara is ready to play a "facilitating role" to end the conflict. The Israeli military said Monday it had destroyed 120 missile launchers – one third of Iran's total. In a televised address, Iranian armed forces spokesman Colonel Reza Sayyad vowed a "devastating response" to Israeli attacks. "Leave the occupied territories (Israel) because they will certainly no longer be habitable in the future," he said, adding shelters would "not guarantee security." Addressing Iran's parliament, President Masoud Pezeshkian urged citizens to "stand strong against this genocidal criminal aggression with unity and coherence." US President Donald Trump insisted Washington had "nothing to do" with Israel's military campaign but warned any Iranian attack on American interests would trigger "the full strength and might" of the US military. On Sunday, Trump urged both sides to "make a deal" while expressing doubts about near-term peace prospects. "Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we're going to see what happens," he said. A senior US official told AFP Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We found out that the Israelis had plans to hit Iran's supreme leader. President Trump was against it and we told the Israelis not to," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Asked by Fox News whether regime change in Iran was one of Israel's objectives, Netanyahu said: "It certainly could be the result, because the Iran regime is very weak."
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
‘Elephants trampling on global trade': EU sidelined by US-China showdown
Over two rounds of high-stakes talks on European soil, Europe has watched from the sidelines as the US and China tried to reach a truce that might stabilise the global trading system on which the continent is entirely reliant. Outcomes in Geneva and London that momentarily steadied the ship have been welcomed, even as officials in European capitals frantically parsed statements, posts and tweets for clues as to how the reverberations of US-China engagement would reshape Europe's trade ties, both with the superpowers and beyond. In Brussels and other capitals, the exchanges served as a reminder of the extent to which Europe's fortunes have become hostage to the whims of giants in Beijing and Washington. 'We are not a beneficiary of any of this [conflict]; we are victims of two elephants trampling on global trade,' said Joerg Wuttke, a partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, who spent decades as Europe's top business lobbyist in China. On Wednesday evening, European Union officials went to bed after hearing US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent say it was 'highly likely' that a pause on Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' of 50 per cent on EU goods would be extended beyond the July 9 deadline. They awoke on Thursday morning to Trump himself saying he would send letters to countries 'in about a week-and-a-half, two weeks ... telling them what the deal is'. 'At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it,' Trump said. For Europe, the timing matters. A summit with China is set for July 24, and Brussels insiders have long believed that the outcome of Trump's tariff review would help determine what could be achieved during those crunch talks in Beijing. 'I personally wouldn't be shocked if they meet on July 24 and things have gone in reverse, where you have tariffs on Europe at 50 per cent and tariffs on China at 30 per cent. Can you imagine?' said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Singapore-based Hinrich Foundation. 'It could be anything and you cannot expect to have greater clarity, or assume you are going to end up with a better situation in the future. I would say to the Europeans – and this is very hard to do – but you have to detach US policy from your own self-interest. What is it that will work for you?' While a loosening of China's export controls on rare earth elements would be welcomed in Europe, where companies have been hit by punishments designed for the US, there has not yet been any formal indication that this has happened. 'As far as I know, that has not been communicated to us yet in any structured way,' EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said on Tuesday. Anecdotally, EU business groups said licences were starting to be allocated. 'China understands that it is a weapon that they need to be very cautious [about] using, because it forces both America and Europe to invest massively in their capabilities,' said Jens Eskelund, chair of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. A lowering of tariffs could help reduce the potential for trade diversion, a downstream impact of Trump's policies that has terrified EU companies. But the broader superpower tensions, Eskelund said, gave Europe a stronger hand when dealing with Beijing. 'No matter how much they actually agree in London, China will seek to decouple from the United States. I think there's so much animosity now that for China, as well as the United States, it is all about reducing dependencies right now,' Eskelund said. 'That is where I think there is a fundamentally different relationship with Europe. You need someone to counterbalance what you lose when you decouple yourself from the United States, and that is where I think, for China, there's a role for Europe to play.' In the meantime, the mood music ahead of the EU-China summit continued to confuse. While Beijing was talking up the potential for positive outcomes, EU officials remained gloomy. Ambassadors from the 27 member states discussed the leaders' summit agenda on Wednesday, with far more negative items floated than issues of cooperation. China's ties with Russia and unbalanced trade are expected to be the EU's top priorities in discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. On June 23, meanwhile, EU foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss China in the context of European security. 'Asking for optimism these days is not a small ask, and I think that is important to keep in mind,' the EU's deputy director general for trade, Maria Martin-Prat, said at an event in Brussels last week, adding that there was 'a huge amount of work that needs to be done between now and the summit'. Several EU insiders rejected a recent statement by China's commerce ministry claiming that a deal that would replace the bloc's tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles with a complex price undertaking arrangement was in the 'final stages'. One of the sources claimed there had been little movement on the talks this year, while a second recognised it as an effort from Beijing to pressure European Commission negotiators to reach a deal. While open to reaching an agreement on EVs, Brussels has doubled down on its tough approach to Beijing on other fronts. A new package of Russia sanctions proposed this week targets two regional Chinese banks accused of using cryptocurrency transactions to import goods covered by previous EU sanctions, the Financial Times reported. The bloc on Tuesday slapped a 62.4 per cent anti-dumping duty on Chinese shipments of hard plywood. The commission said it was also monitoring soft plywood imports over suspicions that Chinese sellers were camouflaging exports of hard plywood to dodge duties. These add to recent moves to put a flat tax of €2 (US$2.30) on small packages after a flood of deliveries from Chinese e-commerce platforms Temu and Shein threatened to overwhelm the bloc's postage services, and to ban Chinese med-tech companies from lucrative EU procurement tenders. Beijing, on the other hand, continued to look for openings in Europe. Amid reports that it would offer to buy hundreds of Airbus craft ahead of the summit, the Post reported this week that China wanted EU regulators to certify its domestically produced C919 aircraft. Such accreditation would help open the door for international airlines and lessors to start purchasing the aircraft, although Europe's aviation regulator said in April that it needed between three and six years to certify the Comac jet. This week also saw developments in two areas in which China was seen to have retaliated against the EU's tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. Sources in the brandy industry confirmed that a range of minimum prices has been offered to Beijing in a bid to have anti-dumping duties removed from EU cognac imports. This would cover some shipments but leave others unaffected. The proposal comes amid job losses among French drink companies, and as some smaller companies have had to stop selling to China due to the rising costs. An industry source described it as a 'survival strategy' ahead of the summit, where they hoped leaders would resolve the feud. Earlier this week, meanwhile, China extended the deadline for an anti-dumping investigation into EU pork shipments until December, buying Spanish, Danish and Dutch farmers a reprieve. But Brussels is unlikely to be moved by a delay in Beijing's application of retaliation against what the EU sees as a legitimate investigation into China's EV subsidies. The bloc has been holding out for something more meaningful. 'Generally, I think the message with China is that it should not be taking for granted the openness of the EU market,' said Martin-Prat. 'I think China has realised how we have been developing a whole range of autonomous measures, what we refer to as our toolbox, and how we are ready to use those tools.' - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Tariff 'stacking' adds another headache for US importers
JOHN Hamer, president of Rodgers Wade Manufacturing in Paris, Texas, makes store fixtures for big retailers like Ross Dress for Less and Ulta Beauty. He sources many of the goods from China, which until recently meant he paid 70% in tariffs on metal fixtures. "The media was saying it was 30%, but that was never true," he said, referring to the tariff rate for China announced in May as part of a truce between the Trump administration and Beijing as it negotiated a broader deal. That's because Hamer's 30% tariff was stacked on top of existing tariffs, including a tariff on Chinese steel products that varies depending on the amount of steel used in a fixture. When U.S. President Donald Trump adds a new tariff the old ones don't go away. Some companies will pay far more because of a phenomenon called tariff stacking, the latest complication for U.S. importers trying to navigate Trump's on-again, off-again trade war. The reality for many U.S. businesses is that their tariff bills are often far higher than the headline number touted in trade talks. Tariff stacking applies to any country exporting to the U.S., but the most extreme cases tend to be with China, where the U.S. has accumulated a long list of sometimes hefty existing tariffs, implemented under different provisions of U.S. trade law. The latest twist is an announcement that the two sides have agreed to a 55% tariff, but that's in part only an estimate of what the average pre-existing tariffs were. Hamer isn't sure what his tariff total will be now, but he figures it couldn't get much worse. "Hopefully this will bring the (tariff) number down - and some of the clients who've been sitting on the sidelines will go ahead and place orders," he said, "because it's been all over the map." 'HERE'S THE TARIFF BILL' Hamer is searching for suppliers outside China to avoid his stacked tariffs. He's checked Mexico and is planning a trip to India next month as part of the effort. In the meantime, he is passing through all the tariffs. "The customers pay the tariff," said Hamer. "When it comes in, we say, 'Here's the tariff bill.'" Many businesses are still hoping for a reprieve from President Donald Trump's trade war. Federal courts, including the U.S. Court of International Trade, have ruled that Trump's imposition of tariffs exceeded his authority. A federal appeals court is considering the administration's appeal to that ruling, and the tariffs remain in effect while that plays out, a process expected to take months. Some are counting on tariff exemptions, a popular tool used by companies during the first Trump administration to get goods imported without the taxes. Michael Weidner, president of Lalo Baby Products in Brooklyn, is one of them. "We believe there should be an exemption for baby products," he said. "Same with toys." The Trump administration has said it will resist creating such carve-outs. And even during the last trade war, it was a complex process. For instance, Lalo imports a "play table" from China that happens to be classified under a customs category that was subject to a 25% tariff under a part of trade law that aims to fight unfair trade practices. So Weidner has been paying 55% tariffs on those, thanks to stacking. Trump campaigned on a vow to use tariffs to pull manufacturing back to U.S. shores and collect revenue to help fund a major tax cut. His battle with China quickly spiraled into a conflagration with the U.S. imposing a 145% across-the-board tariff that shut down much of the trade between the world's two largest economies. The agreement to curb the tariffs is part of a larger effort to negotiate individual deals with most of the U.S.'s trading partners. PASSING COSTS THROUGH On Wednesday, a White House official said the 55% figure represents a sum of a baseline 10% "reciprocal" tariff Trump has imposed on goods from nearly all U.S. trading partners; 20% on all Chinese imports because of punitive measures Trump has imposed on China, Mexico and Canada associated with his accusation that the three facilitate the flow of the opioid fentanyl into the U.S.; and finally pre-existing 25% levies on imports from China that were put in place during Trump's first term. "It sounds like that's the way he's thinking of the baseline - 55% - at least for some products," said Greta Peisch, a trade lawyer at Wiley Rein in Washington. Ramon van Meer's business selling filtered shower heads from China may yet survive the trade war, though he's not certain. That depends entirely on whether he can can manage the multiple tariffs placed on his $159 shower heads, which became a viral sensation on Instagram. When the Trump administration trimmed tariffs on China to 30% in May, van Meer's tariff bill was actually 43%. That's because the 30% tariff was stacked on top of an existing 13% tariff. It's an improvement over the 145% tariffs slapped on Chinese imports in April, when he halted shipments entirely. "At least I can afford to pay it," said van Meer, chief executive of Afina, based in Austin, Texas, referring to his latest calculations. "And I don't have to raise the price by that much."
