Iran Regime ‘On the Verge of Collapse': Reza Pahlavi
'The moment is approaching very fast, the regime is on the verge of collapse,' says Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran, as he discusses the prospect of regime change in Iran amid the Israel-Iran conflict. Pahlavi says there are plans in place not only for 'liberation from this regime,' but also 'the transition to what we hope will come in a democratic outcome.' (Source: Bloomberg)
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New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Mapping the Israel-Iran Conflict
June 16, 2025, 6:47 p.m. ET Helene CooperEric Schmitt and News Analysis Fordo nuclear site Deep inside a mountain, Fordo is said to contain close to 3,000 sophisticated centrifuges in two enrichment halls. IRAN Support building Tunnel entrances Security perimeter Fordo nuclear site IRAN Deep inside a mountain, Fordo is said to contain close to 3,000 sophisticated centrifuges in two enrichment halls. Support building Tunnel entrances Security perimeter Fordo nuclear site Deep inside a mountain, Fordo is said to contain close to 3,000 sophisticated centrifuges in two enrichment halls. IRAN Support building Tunnel entrances Security perimeter Iran's most heavily fortified nuclear site, Fordo, was built deep inside a mountain to protect it from an attack. Only the U.S. military has the 30,000-pound bomb capable of even reaching it. The bomb is commonly known as a 'bunker buster' because it is designed to destroy deep underground bunkers, or well-buried weapons in highly protected facilities. It is believed to be the only air-delivered weapon that would have a chance of destroying the site. The bomb has a much thicker steel case and contains a smaller amount of explosives than similarly sized general-purpose bombs. The heavy casings allow the munition to stay intact as it punches through soil, rock or concrete before detonating. Its size — 20 feet long and 30,000 pounds — means that only the American B-2 stealth bomber can carry it. Conventional wisdom has been that Israel can't destroy Fordo on its own. The United States has blocked Israel from getting the bunker buster, and while Israel has fighter jets, it has not developed heavy bombers capable of carrying the weapon. But Israel can come close by hitting more accessible power generation and transmission plants that help run the facility, which contains Iran's most advanced centrifuges, military officials said. In conjunction with Israel's aerial bombardment of Iran, going after the Fordo-adjacent plants could significantly slow down the ability of Iran's most protected nuclear facility to keep enriching uranium. The Israel Defense Forces and covert operatives could also look for other ways to disable the site, including destroying the entrance to it. Attacking Fordo is central to any effort to destroy Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons. In March 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that it had discovered uranium that had been enriched to 83.7 percent purity in Fordo — close to the enrichment level, 90 percent, necessary for nuclear weapons. Iran, which is a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The U.S. Air Force is moving refueling tankers, aircraft and additional warplanes to support any additional American operations in the Middle East, U.S. officials said. But President Trump has not, at the moment, moved to reverse years of American policy on providing Israel with the bunker buster bombs. 'We've had a policy for a long time of not providing those to the Israelis because we didn't want them to use them,' said Gen. Joseph Votel, who was commander of U.S. Central Command during Mr. Trump's first term. Instead, the United States viewed its bunker buster bomb largely as a deterrent, a national security asset possessed only by America, but not one that, if made available, might encourage Israel to start a war with Iran. Iran built the centrifuge facility at Fordo knowing that it needed to bury it deep to prevent it from being attacked. In 1981, using F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, Israel bombed a nuclear facility near Baghdad as part of its effort to stop Iraq from acquiring nuclear weapons. That facility was above ground. 'The Iranians fully understood that the Israelis would try to get inside their programs and they built Fordo inside of a mountain a long time ago to take care of the post-Iraq problem' presented by the 1981 strike, said Vali Nasr, an Iran expert who is a professor at Johns Hopkins University. Over the years, the Israelis have cooked up a variety of plans to attack Fordo in the absence of U.S.-supplied bunker busters. Under one of those plans, which they presented to senior officials in the Obama administration, Israeli helicopters loaded with commandos would fly to the site. The commandos would then fight their way inside the facility, rig it with explosives and blow it up, former U.S. officials said. Israel successfully mounted a similar operation in Syria last year when it destroyed a Hezbollah missile production facility. But Fordo would be a much more dangerous endeavor, military officials said. American officials say now that Israel has gained air supremacy over much of Iran, Israeli attack planes could circle over Fordo and render it inoperable, at least temporarily, but not destroy it. 'The Israelis have sprung a lot of clandestine operations lately, but the physics of the problem remain the same,' said Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., who was in charge of the Iran war plans when he ran the Pentagon's Central Command after General Votel. 'It remains a very difficult target.' David A. Deptula, a retired three-star Air Force general who planned the American air campaigns in Afghanistan in 2001 and in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, agreed that Israel has options that would not require American help. For example, Israeli special forces 'could insert/apply or otherwise use a variety of means to disable the facility,' he said. Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the United States, hinted at those options on Sunday on ABC News's 'This Week.' 'We have a number of contingencies, which will enable us to deal with Fordo,' he said. 'Not everything is a matter of taking to the skies and bombing from afar.' Even if Mr. Trump were to authorize American B-2 stealth bombers to drop the 30,000-pound bombs, General McKenzie said, there would be several technical, highly classified challenges in coordinating such a strike with Israel. A decision to use the American bunker busters would also have huge international consequences, General Votel said. For one, there could be nuclear contamination from such a bombardment that could endanger civilians. 'I think there would also certainly be fallout internationally over the idea that the United States joined Israel in what would be viewed as an illegal attack on the sovereignty of Iran,' General Votel added. And Iran could widen its retaliation to U.S. troops and other American targets in the region and beyond, military analysts say. The United States would be back on war footing in the region. Mr. Trump has made clear that he has little interest in more military misadventures in the region, and he is seeking not to alienate a noninterventionist wing of supporters firmly opposed to more U.S. involvement in a Middle East war. Adam Entous contributed reporting.
Miami Herald
25 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
David Hogg Says Dems Backing Iran War Should Be Primaried
David Hogg has slammed any Democrat who supports deeper U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran, saying anyone who does "needs to be primaried." In a post on X, a former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, pointed to the cost of previous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Our generation grew up going through two multi trillion dollar wars we should have never been involved in," Hogg wrote on Monday. "We are not f****** going back to that. If you think this is a good idea read a history book." Newsweek has contacted Hogg and the Democratic Party for comment via messages and emails sent outside regular business hours. Hogg, a gun control activist, was removed from his role as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee following a clash with leadership over his plan to raise money for progressive candidates challenging Democratic incumbents in safely blue districts. The infighting in the party comes as Democrats are seeking to rebuild ahead of the 2026 midterm elections after losing power to President Donald Trump in November's election. Meanwhile, direct U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict could also anger Trump supporters who were buoyed by his promise to end the nation's involvement in expensive foreign wars. Hogg said that Democrats must present a united front against Trump, who on Monday warned Tehran's citizens to evacuate as he cut short his trip to Canada for a Group of Seven summit tor return to Washington for talks with his national security team. In another post, Hogg questioned the silence of lawmakers who usually oppose high government spending. "Where are all the 'we can't afford it' politicians now that we're on the brink of what could be another multi trillion-dollar war?" he wrote. Hogg, who rose to national prominence as a gun control advocate after surviving the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, became a DNC vice chair in a February election. The DNC removed him following a complaint over gender parity, saying the election had not followed the party rules. Hogg said he would not run in redo elections. His removal came after he announced that his political action committee (PAC), Leaders We Deserve, would invest some $20 million to support primary challengers against incumbent Democrats in safely blue districts. On Monday, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, introduced a resolution to require that Trump first seek authorization from Congress before using military force against Iran. The conflict between Israel and Iran entered a fifth day on Tuesday, and Trump has backed Israeli strikes. "Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday night. "IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON," he wrote, adding that "everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" The president was expected to arrive at the White House early on Tuesday. He told reporters as he left Canada, and the G7 summit, that he would be monitoring developments in the Middle East from the Situation Room, according to CBS News' Jennifer Jacobs. He later wrote that French President Emmanuel Macron was wrong to say the U.S. was working on a ceasefire, saying his reason for returning to Washington early was "much bigger than that." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Fox News late on Monday that the movement of U.S. assets in the region were to "ensure that our people are safe" if the conflict further escalates. And a Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. had not joined Israel in attacking Iran on Monday night. "American Forces are maintaining their defensive posture & that has not changed," Sean Parnell wrote in a post on X. "We will protect American troops & our interests." The conflict began with Friday's surprise Israeli attack on Iran's military and nuclear program. Israel said its assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists, is necessary to prevent its longtime foe from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon. Israel's strikes have killed at least 224 people since Friday. Iran has retaliated by launching more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people in Israel have been killed and more than 500 injured. Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful. The U.S. and others had recently assessed that Tehran had not had an organized effort to pursue a nuclear weapon since 2003. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that the country has enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs should it choose to do so. David Hogg wrote on X: "Democrats must be united against Trump and his war. We can't f*** this up." President Donald Trump told ABC News on Sunday that "it's possible" the U.S. becomes involved in the conflict between Iran and Israel. He said: "We're not involved in it. It's possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved." Senator Tim Kaine said in a statement on Monday: "It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States. I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict. "The American people have no interest in sending servicemembers to fight another forever war in the Middle East. This resolution will ensure that if we decide to place our nation's men and women in uniform into harm's way, we will have a debate and vote on it in Congress." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News' Jesse Watters on Monday that "of course" Trump wanted to see a deal made to curb Iran's nuclear program. He said: "His position has not changed. What you're watching in real time is peace through strength and America first. Our job is to be strong. We are postured defensively in the region to be strong in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that's what happens here. And America first means we're going to defend American personnel and American interests. So when you see jets and you see air defense assets and counter-UAS assets, that's because my job as the Secretary of Defense is to ensure that our people are safe and that we're strong." The latest talks between the U.S. and Iran were canceled over the weekend. On Sunday, Tehran said that Iran would stop its strikes if Israel does the same. On Monday, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, appeared to make a veiled outreach for the U.S. to step in and negotiate an end to hostilities between Israel and Iran. This article includes reporting from The Associated Press. Related Articles DNC Faces Fresh Blow as 23-Year Veteran Resigns Amid Leadership FalloutDavid Hogg Takes Multiple Swipes at Democrats: 'Asleep at the Wheel'David Hogg Reacts After DNC Vote to Redo Vice Chair ElectionDavid Hogg Says Jasmine Crockett Is Leader Democrats Need 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
30 minutes ago
Exiled crown prince of Iran sees 'best opportunity' to get rid of regime
Reza Pahlavi says there's "no hope for a better future as Iranians" as long as the current regime is in place.
