U.S. involvement could lead to 'further regionalization' of Iran-Israel conflict, says risk consultancy
Giorgio Cafiero, the CEO and founder of Gulf State Analytics, discusses the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and its wider implications for the region.
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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
British-Iranians struggling to contact friends and family who fear punishment by Tehran regime
With Iran now in the midst of a near-total internet blackout, communication is dire - but we've managed to piece together a picture of a country where there is fear and panic, but where activists say the ruling regime is still in control. We meet British-Iranians Amir Javadzadeh and Attieh Fard in the UK - struggling to get through to their friends and family in Iran. Hour by hour, it's getting harder and harder. Amir finally makes contact with a friend in the eastern city of Mashhad. We are calling the friend "Ali" to protect his identity. Ali paints a worrying picture of people struggling to get hold of basics like bread and fuel. Middle East latest: Trump says he 'may or may not' strike Iran He later sends us a video he's taken of a huge fuel queue in the city. "My wife is in hospital and I have to go there all the time and I don't have any fuel or medicine for her. "Really it's a difficult time for us, and we don't have gasoline, we have problems preparing food. All the people have fear,' he adds. Not only is there a shortage of fuel - but some people who have fled the capital Tehran are coming to Mashhad, he adds. 'I'm really angry… we're actually, you know, we are stuck in the middle of a war between our government and the Israelis,' Ali said. People in Iran are terrified to speak to Western media - afraid of being punished by the Iranian regime. Although some have been prepared to share videos with us anonymously, like the one below, that they've filmed of the bombing in Tehran. Attieh Fard shared with us a message exchange between her and one of her relatives, one says: 'Everyone has worries and stress….They (the Israelis) won't stop until they hit the target.' Despite the dangers, one member of a group of anti-regime activists agreed to speak to us from the capital Tehran - we have changed his name to "Sam", to hide his identity. Read more: With America threatening to bomb Iran, Sam described the ongoing conflict as a "very historical moment in our Iranian history'. Asked if he is afraid of US intervention, he said: "Not at all because the Americans, we believe, are not going to fight with the people, they are fighting with the Islamic Republic. They're against the ideology of the Islamic republic. So that's why we're not afraid. 'The view from inside Iran is that if a US attack happens, I think it will result in the fall of the Islamic Republic. I think these are the tools and the people inside are ready to take over the situation once the regime is weakened."
USA Today
29 minutes ago
- USA Today
US bombs Iran: Trump's gamble: Nuclear threat ended? Or the start of 'endless war'?
It's Donald Trump's war now. The decision to bomb Iran revealed the conflict between some of the president's fundamental impulses. The highest hope of President Donald Trump's bombing of Iran: A rogue nuclear program that had defied a half-dozen of his predecessors has finally been destroyed. The deepest fear: Just four years after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan ended America's longest war, the United States is now enmeshed in another war in a volatile region, with perilous and uncertain consequences. "Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terror," Trump said in a late-night announcement in the East Room on June 21, interrupting Americans' Saturday night plans with news that B-2 bombers had dropped the world's most powerful conventional bombs on three sites considered crucial to Tehran's nuclear program. "Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace." Watch Trump's address to the nation after US bombed Iranian nuke sites More: US on 'high alert' for Iran retaliation, says nuke program 'obliterated' That's the calculation behind "Operation Midnight Hammer," anyway − that despite its initial bluster, Tehran will be forced to abandon its nuclear program. But Trump acknowledged there were other possibilities. "Remember, there are many targets left," he said, surrounded by a solemn-looking trio of advisers − Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speech and skill." A war between Trump's fundamental impulses The White House debate over whether to launch the bombers put at odds some of Trump's most fundamental impulses. One is his fervent opposition in all three of his presidential campaigns against "forever wars," including the costly and controversial conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. His "America First" agenda reflects a determination to focus less on places like Ukraine and more on challenges close to home. Though most Republican congressional leaders praised the president for the decision, some people prominent in the MAGA movement did not. "This is not our fight," Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene complained on social media. "Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war." On the other hand, Trump is also famously impatient with problems that have frustrated standard solutions. Witness, for instance, his willingness to press the limits of the law in identifying and deporting millions of undocumented immigrants. The lengthy efforts at negotiation with Iran, like much of diplomacy, seemed unlikely to reach the sort of dramatic and decisive conclusion he favors. The bombing of Iran also reflects his alliance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who argues that Iran's nuclear program poses an existential threat to his country. For the prime minister, achieving his decades-old dream of destroying that program is the stuff of legacy. It's the stuff of Trump's legacy, too − a powerful message for a president who cannot run for the Oval Office again. Netanyahu struck that chord. "Congratulations, President Trump," he said in Tel Aviv. "His leadership today has created a pivot in history that can help lead the Middle East and beyond to a future of prosperity and peace." Congressional leaders notified as planes headed home For better or worse, this will be Trump's war. For one thing, he didn't seek the approval of Congress, which under the Constitution has the right to declare war, though the president has broad authority to order the use of military force. The War Powers Act, passed after President Richard Nixon's secret bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, requires presidents to notify Congress and limits the length of deployments. After the U.S. bombers had left Iranian airspace, the administration immediately notified congressional leaders, Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon briefing early June 22. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said Trump had risked dragging the United States into a long war "without consulting Congress, without a clear strategy, without regard to the consistent conclusions of the intelligence community, and without explaining to the American people what's at stake." Those will be the elements of the debate ahead, in echoes of the Iraq War. How serious was the Iranian nuclear threat? And how will voters weigh the stakes and the cost? In Istanbul, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Trump of having "deceived his own voters" by launching a strike despite his campaign promises. The U.S. administration holds "sole and full responsibility for the consequences of its actions," he said. But he didn't specify whether Iran would retaliate against U.S. forces in the region. Hours after the bunker-buster bombs were dropped, Iran launched a new round of missiles toward Israel. On June 23, the foreign minister plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an ally but one who has his own war to fight.
The Hill
32 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump in wake of Iran attack: ‘Everyone, keep oil prices down'
In the wake of the U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, President Trump on Monday urged 'everyone' to keep oil prices down. 'EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!' Trump said on Truth Social. Oil is traded on a global market, and the energy produced in not only the U.S. but in players around the world including Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia contribute to the prices that Americans pay at the pump. Prices have spiked in recent days amid escalations between the U.S. and Iran — and gasoline prices were up an average of 8 cents compared to a week ago, according to the American Automobile Association. The $3.22 cent average price was still well below highs in 2022 when the national average was as high as $5 per gallon. Iranian state media reported Sunday that Tehran is considering a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's oil supply flows, threatening further price increases. Trump also wrote on social media calling on the Department of Energy to drill quickly. 'To The Department of Energy: DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!' he added on Truth Social. The Energy Department is primarily a research and funding agency — and is also tasked with maintaining the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. Unlike many countries, the U.S. does not have a state-run oil company, so the government cannot make the unilateral decision to try to drill. It is up to private companies whether they want to produce oil in the U.S., though some government agencies such as the Interior Department can try to make it more attractive to drill on public lands. Presidents have relatively little influence on oil and gasoline prices generally. —Alex Gangitano contributed.
