Greece repatriates dozens of citizens, foreigners from Israel
ATHENS: Greece has repatriated 105 of its citizens and foreign nationals from Israel, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, as the Iran-Israel conflict raged.
'The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes,' it said in a statement.
Along with Greek citizens and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, it said.
Visitors have rushed to leave Israel after it launched an unprecedented bombing campaign last Friday targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.
Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the fighting broke out, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens.
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The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trump to make Iran war decision in ‘next two weeks'
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel's strikes on Iran within the next two weeks as there is still a 'substantial' chance of talks to end the conflict. Trump's move to hit the pause button could open up space for diplomacy, after days of fevered questions about whether or not he would order US military action against Tehran. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read out a message from Trump after what she called 'a lot of speculation' about whether the United States would be 'directly involved' in the conflict. 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' Trump said in the statement. Trump has set two-week deadlines that subsequently shifted on a series of other tough topics in the past, including the Russia-Ukraine war -- but Leavitt denied he was putting off a decision. 'If there's a chance for diplomacy the president's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well,' Leavitt said. At the same time Leavitt reinforced the sense of urgency, telling reporters that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in the space of a 'couple of weeks.' 'Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that, and it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon,' she said. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, saying that its program is for peaceful purposes. - 'Trust in President Trump' - Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had asked to send officials to the White House to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program and end the conflict with Israel -- although Iran denied making any such request. Washington and Tehran had continued 'correspondence' since Israel first struck Iran last week, Leavitt said. She said however that there were currently no plans for Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff to join European diplomats meeting Iran's foreign minister in Geneva on Friday. Trump met his top national security team in the White House Situation Room for the third day in a row on Thursday. He will have similar meetings daily until he leaves for a NATO summit in the Netherlands on Monday, the White House said. His two-week deadline comes after a tense few days in which Trump publicly mulled joining Israel's strikes on Iran and said that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an 'easy target.' Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path towards a deal to replace the nuclear deal with Iran that he tore up in his first term in 2018. But he has since backed Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and military top brass, while mulling whether to join in. A key issue is that the United States is the only country with the huge 'bunker buster' bombs that could destroy Iran's crucial Fordo Iranian nuclear enrichment plant. 'We have capabilities that no other country on this planet possesses,' said Leavitt. The White House meanwhile urged Trump supporters to 'trust' the president as he decides whether to act. A number of key figures in his 'Make America Great Again' movement, including commentator Tucker Carlson and former aide Steve Bannon, have vocally opposed US strikes on Iran. Trump's promise to extract the United States from its 'forever wars' in the Middle East played a role in his 2016 and 2024 election wins. 'Trust in President Trump. President Trump has incredible instincts,' Leavitt said.
New Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Israel: Iran's Khamenei 'can no longer exist' after hospital attack
JERUSALEM: Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on Thursday, spiking tensions in the week-old war. As President Donald Trump dangled the prospect of US involvement, Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba was left in flames by a bombardment that Iran said targeted a military and intelligence base. Meanwhile Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an "extremely dangerous step." Israel, fearing Iran is on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy last week, triggering deadly exchanges. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would "pay a heavy price" for the hospital strike, while Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed – he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals," Katz told reporters. "He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal. Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist." The latest escalation came on the seventh day of deadly exchanges between the two countries that have plunged the region into a new crisis, 20 months into the Gaza war. Hospital director Shlomi Codish said 40 people were injured at the Soroka, where an evacuated surgical building was hit leaving smoke billowing. "Several wards were completely demolished and there is extensive damage across the entire hospital," he told journalists at the site. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called attacks on health facilities "appalling", while UN rights chief Volker Turk said civilians were being treated as "collateral damage." People fleeing the attacks on Iran described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. "Those days and nights were very horrifying... hearing sirens, the wailing, the danger of being hit by missiles," University of Tehran student Mohammad Hassan told AFP, after returning to his native Pakistan. "People are really panicking," a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist who did not want to be named told AFP at the Kapikoy crossing on the Turkish border. "Yesterday the internet stopped and two major banks were hacked so people couldn't access their money. And there's not even enough food." Khamenei has rejected Trump's demand for an "unconditional surrender", despite the president's claim that Iran wants to negotiate. Trump has been deliberately vague about joining the conflict, saying Wednesday: "I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. "The next week is going to be very big," he added, without further details. Any US involvement would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs. The White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday, a US holiday. Top US diplomat Marco Rubio is set meet his British counterpart for talks expected to focus on the conflict. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told aides on Tuesday he had approved attack plans but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear programme. The US president had favoured a diplomatic route to end Iran's nuclear programme, seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term. But since Israel unleashed the campaign against Iran last week, Trump has stood behind the key US ally. In Moscow, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that any US military intervention would have "truly unpredictable negative consequences." On Thursday, Israel said it had carried out dozens of fresh raids on Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. The Israeli military said the Arak site in central Iran had been hit "to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development." There was a "near-total national internet blackout" in Iran on Wednesday, a London-based watchdog said, with Iran's Fars news agency confirming tighter internet restrictions after initial curbs imposed last week. An Israeli military official, who asked not to be named, said Wednesday that Iran had fired around 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones since the conflict began on Friday. Iranian strikes have killed at least 24 people and injured hundreds since they began, Netanyahu's office said on Monday. Iran said Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent – far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. Israel has maintained ambiguity on its own arsenal, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.--AFP
New Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Netanyahu: Israel is 'changing the face of the world' with Iran war
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was "changing the face of the world" in its war with Iran, as he welcomed "all help" in destroying the Islamic republic's nuclear sites. "I said that we're changing the face of the Middle East, and now I say we're changing the face of the world," he told public broadcaster Kan. Seven days into the war, Netanyahu said Israeli forces were ahead of schedule in their offensive against Iranian nuclear and missile sites, but refused to provide a clear timeline for an end to the most intense confrontation in history with arch foe Tehran. "We are at war. I'm not going to reveal our timeline. I'm not going to tell them [the Iranians] what we're preparing," said Netanyahu. "When you enter a war, you know when it begins, but not when it ends," he added. He said Israel had already destroyed "more than half" of Iran's missile launchers and was "capable of striking all of Iran's nuclear facilities." But, in an apparent nod to key ally the United States, Netanyahu added: "All help is welcome." During his interview with Kan, Netanyahu went on to say that US President Donald Trump "will do what is good for for the United States, and I will do what is good for the State of Israel."
