‘Fingers on the trigger': Iran's warning as fragile ceasefire with Israel continues to hold
Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings in Iran's capital have left many dead and several recovering in hospital.
Currently, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran continues to hold despite earlier accusations of violations in the agreement, mere hours after it was announced.
Iran claims it has its 'fingers on the trigger' and is ready to respond if Israel attacks again.
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Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: Return to diplomacy?
Good morning, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will soon make history as the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS). After a 28-hour journey through space, the Axiom-4 mission, carrying Shukla and three other astronauts, is expected to dock at the ISS around 4.30 pm IST today. Shukla's feat is consequential in many ways. Besides the numerous scientific experiments the astronauts will carry out at the ISS, Shukla's space travel experience will be crucial for India's Gaganyaan program, which aims to send a human into space by 2027. Moreover, as space technology becomes a lucrative business, Shukla may inspire more youngsters to enter the space sector, sparking innovation, creating employment and boosting the economy. On that note, let's get to today's edition. A day after Iran and Israel agreed to a fragile truce, authorities were busy assessing the extent of damage to Iran's nuclear sites. An early assessment by US intelligence, a report since rejected by the Trump administration, states that the US airstrikes did not destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities and only set it back by a few months. Trump has claimed that the sites were 'obliterated' and the program was set back by decades. Differing versions have emerged, but no government has yet released a report on the true extent of the damage. Researcher Bashir Ali Abbas, an expert on the Middle East, writes that Iran would have avoided the conflict altogether. Its measured attack against the US military base in Qatar was more symbolic than retaliatory. Unlike Israel, which had maximalist goals, the US refrained from escalating the situation. This indicates that Iran and the US may return to the negotiation table. The Israeli ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, also emphasised a return to diplomacy. In an interview with The Indian Express, Azar asserted that Israel had achieved its goals, and was confident that 'the Iranians will not be able to, for several years at least, build a nuclear weapon'. He added that with ceasefires in India (with Pakistan) and West Asia, it was time to 'go back to things we are good at — promoting prosperity and peace'. Also read: Thousands of Indian workers arrived in Israel to fill the construction industry void left by the Palestinian workforce after the October 2023 Hamas attack. Ritu Sarin spoke to some of the workers about their lives in Israel, especially during the conflict with Iran. In an ongoing Express series, where we look back at the Emergency, 50 years on, today's spotlight is on one Chanderwati, a victim of the regime's brutality. Chanderwati, a mother of four, had joined a protest against the Indira Gandhi government's forced sterilisation drive in Haryana's Pipli on December 2, 1976. 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Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More
Boston Globe
16 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump officials to give first classified briefing to Congress on Iran strikes
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are expected to brief the senators on Thursday. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was scheduled to be at the Tuesday briefing, but will not be attending, according to a person familiar with the schedule. Advertisement The briefing could be contentious as questions have swirled around Trump's decision to strike Iran and whether the attacks were successful. A preliminary U.S. intelligence report found this week that Iran's nuclear program had been set back only a few months, contradicting statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran's nuclear facilities, according to two people familiar with the report. The people were not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Advertisement On Wednesday, Gabbard and Ratcliffe sent out statements backing Trump's claims that the facilities were 'completely and fully obliterated.' Gabbard posted on social media that 'new intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed.' She said that if the Iranians choose to rebuild the three facilities, it would 'likely take years to do.' Ratcliffe said in a statement from the CIA that Iran's nuclear program has been 'severely damaged' and cited new intelligence 'from a historically reliable and accurate source/method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years.' Most Republicans have staunchly defended Trump and hailed the tentative ceasefire he brokered in the Israel-Iran war. House Speaker Mike Johnson even went as far as to question the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, which is intended to give Congress a say in military action. 'The bottom line is the commander in chief is the president, the military reports to the president, and the person empowered to act on the nation's behalf is the president,' Johnson told reporters. But some Republicans — including some of Trump's staunchest supporters — are uncomfortable with the strikes and the potential for U.S. involvement in an extended Middle East conflict. 'I think the speaker needs to review the Constitution,' said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. 'And I think there's a lot of evidence that our Founding Fathers did not want presidents to unilaterally go to war.' Advertisement Paul would not say if he is voting for the resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would require congressional approval for specific military action in Iran. The resolution is likely to fail as 60 votes would be needed to pass it and Republicans have a 53-47 majority. But Kaine says it's important to put the Senate on the record. 'You have a debate like this so that the entire American public, whose sons and daughters are in the military and whose lives will be at risk in war, get to see the debate and reach their own conclusion together with the elected officials about whether the mission is worth it or not,' Kaine said. While he did not seek approval, Trump sent congressional leaders a short letter Monday serving as his official notice of the strikes, two days after the bombs fell. The letter said that the strike was taken 'to advance vital United States national interests, and in collective self-defense of our ally, Israel, by eliminating Iran's nuclear program.'
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First Post
16 minutes ago
- First Post
After Israel-Iran, is a ceasefire in Gaza next?
Elated with the Iran-Israel ceasefire, Donald Trump has revealed that 'great progress' is being made in Gaza truce talks. The US president cited the attack on Tehran's nuclear sites for the progress in negotiations between the Jewish nation and Hamas, which have been at war since October 2023 read more Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a fuel station where displaced people shelter, in Gaza City. Reuters After 12 days of the Israel and Iran war, which also saw the US bombing Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, an American-brokered ceasefire is holding, bringing tenuous peace to the region. The world has reacted to the truce between the two rival countries with hope and wariness with calls now growing even louder for a renewed push for a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza. Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire had been accepted, voices in Israel and abroad called for renewed focus on the war in the Gaza Strip, demanding the return of the hostages still held by Hamas. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday said that 'the moment has come' for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The question is — Can Trump broker a ceasefire just as he did between Iran and Israel? And if he can, how soon can we expect it? War in Gaza continues Amid the Israel and Iran war, the firing didn't abate in Gaza. A CNN report reveals that since June 13, when Israel began its bombing of Iran, more than 860 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire. In fact, on Tuesday, seven Israeli soldiers were killed by a bomb attached to their armoured carrier in Khan Younis, as clashes continue in southern Gaza. The Gaza health ministry has also noted that Israel's military operation in the Strip has killed 56,077 people so far. This war was sparked by Hamas' surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians, who, according to Gaza's health ministry, were killed in an Israeli air strike, at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City. Reuters Moreover, countless others have died as a result of poor living conditions, with the United Nations warning that a man-made famine is becoming increasingly likely in the territory. The world agency claims that the Jewish nation has weaponised aid — an increasing number of civilians are being killed while they access food supplies. More than 500 have been killed by the Israeli military seeking aid since May 27, reported the Gaza health ministry. On Tuesday, the UN Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights called Israel's actions 'a likely war crime.' Calls grow louder for ceasefire in Gaza As Trump announced the ceasefire between Israel and Iran on Tuesday, the calls for a truce in Gaza also rang louder with many calling on the US president to get both sides to agree to a peace deal. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which comprises loved ones of the hostages held by Hamas, said in a statement Tuesday that the Israel-Iran 'ceasefire agreement must expand to include Gaza. We call on the government to hold snap talks that will lead to the return of all the hostages and an end to the war.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'After 12 days and nights in which the Israeli people could not sleep because of Iran, we can finally go back to not sleeping because of the hostages,' the statement continued, alluding to repeated nighttime ballistic missile attacks. 'Ending the operation in Iran without using it to return all the hostages would be a grave diplomatic failure,' the group added. Relatives and supporters of hostages held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas protest for the release of all hostages outside the headquarters of the Likud Party, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Reuters Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid also agreed that the Israel-Iran ceasefire was the right time for the hostages to be brought back. 'And now Gaza. It's time to [finish] there too. Return the hostages, and end the war. Israel needs to start rebuilding,' Lapid said in a statement. Internationally, even German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking to his country's parliament on Tuesday, welcomed the announced ceasefire between Israel and Iran and said, 'Today… the moment has come to conclude a ceasefire for Gaza.' Trump reveals Gaza ceasefire 'very close' And reacting to calls for a Gaza ceasefire, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday admitted that progress was being made on the same. 'I think great progress is being made on Gaza,' Trump told reporters, adding that his special envoy Steve Witkoff had told him: 'Gaza is very close.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He further told reporters, 'Because of this attack that we made (in Iran), I think we're going to have some good news… Gaza's very close. Speaking at the Hague, US President Donald Trump said that progress was being made to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Reuters Mediators intensifying Gaza ceasefire efforts And it seems that the Israel-Iran ceasefire has spurred on the mediators to get a deal finalised between the Jewish nation and the Palestinian group. Qatar , which has played the role of mediator and helped secure the release of some hostages, said they were hoping for talks to resume in the next two days. The Qatari prime minister said talks were 'ongoing,' adding that Qatar and Egypt are in touch with both sides to try to find a 'middle ground'. The Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson even said that mediators in the Gaza conflict are using 'momentum' created by the ceasefire between Israel and Iran to restart the stalled negotiations. 'This is the time now for President Trump to push for it and we believe he is sincere about it. … We are willing to help on that,' said the spokesperson to CNN. Even Hamas officials have admitted that mediators have intensified efforts for a ceasefire. One Hamas authority told BBC that mediators were 'engaged in intensive contacts aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement'. Hamas's Taher al-Nunu told AFP, 'Our communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, he admitted that Hamas had not received any new proposal. Earlier efforts on a ceasefire broke down in May when US envoy Steve Witkoff said that Hamas sought 'totally unacceptable' amendments to a US proposal backed by Israel for a 60-day truce, during which half the living Israeli hostages and half of those who have died would be released. A previous ceasefire-hostage deal collapsed on March 2, when its 42-day first phase ended amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to negotiate the second phase in which the IDF would have to fully withdraw from Gaza. Notably, a Palestinian-American political activist, who has been mediating between the Trump administration and Hamas, was also quoted as saying that a Gaza ceasefire deal was possible 'within days.' Bishara Bahbah, in an interview with the Jordanian Al Ghad TV channel, said that he was optimistic about the chances for a deal following the ceasefire struck hours earlier between Israel and Iran, arguing that it put Gaza back atop the regional agenda. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
