China Reacts to Trump Khamenei Threat
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China urged the U.S. to use its "special influence" over Israel to ease the conflict with Iran and not to expand it further, after U.S. President Donald Trump put Tehran on notice with a demand of unconditional surrender on the nuclear issue.
Trump also warned Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that the U.S. knows where he is hiding and he is an "easy target," though safe "for now". Trump added on his Truth Social platform: "Our patience is wearing thin."
At a regular press briefing, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was asked for Beijing's response to Trump's remarks about Khameini and Iran.
"China is deeply concerned about the developments of the current situation," Lin Jian said.
"We oppose any acts that violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, [and] violate other countries' sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.
"The escalation of the situation in the Middle East serves no one's interest.
"Countries that have special influence over Israel should take objective and just positions, shoulder their due responsibilities, and play an active and constructive role in easing the situation, and avoiding the expansion of the conflict."
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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Washington Post
21 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Fear stalks Tehran as Israel bombards, shelters fill up and communicating grows harder
NEW YORK — The streets of Tehran are empty, businesses closed, communications patchy at best. With no bona fide bomb shelters open to the public, panicked masses spend restless nights on the floors of metro stations as strikes boom overhead . This is Iran's capital city, just under a week into a fierce Israeli blitz to destroy the country's nuclear program and its military capabilities. After knocking out much of Iran's air defense system, Israel says its warplanes have free rein over the city's skies. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday told Tehran's roughly 10 million residents to evacuate 'immediately.' Thousands have fled, spending hours in gridlock as they head toward the suburbs, the Caspian Sea, or even Armenia or Turkey . But others — those elderly and infirm — are stuck in high-rise apartment buildings. Their relatives fret: what to do? Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 585 people and wounded over 1,300, a human rights group says. Local media , themselves targets of bombardment, have stopped reporting on the attacks, leaving Iranians in the dark. There are few visible signs of state authority: Police appear largely undercover, air raid sirens are unreliable, and there's scant information on what to do in case of attack. Shirin, 49, who lives in the southern part of Tehran, said every call or text to friends and family in recent days has felt like it could be the last. 'We don't know if tomorrow we will be alive,' she said. Many Iranians feel conflicted . Some support Israel's targeting of Iranian political and military officials they see as repressive. Others staunchly defend the Islamic Republic and retaliatory strikes on Israel. Then, there are those who oppose Iran's rulers — but still don't want to see their country bombed. The Associated Press interviewed five people in Iran and one Iranian American in the U.S. over the phone. 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Now the capital is packed with close-built high-rise apartments without shelters. 'It's a kind of failing of the past that they didn't build shelters,' said a 29-year-old Tehran resident who left the city Monday. 'Even though we've been under the shadow of a war, as long as I can remember.' Her friend's boyfriend was killed while going to the store. 'You don't really expect your boyfriend — or your anyone, really — to leave the house and never return when they just went out for a routine normal shopping trip,' she said. Those who choose to relocate do so without help from the government. The state has said it is opening mosques, schools and metro stations for use as shelters. Some are closed, others overcrowded. Hundreds crammed into one Tehran metro station Friday night. Small family groups lay on the floor. One student, a refugee from another country, said she spent 12 hours in the station with her relatives. 'Everyone there was panicking because of the situation,' she said. 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The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
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Morning Report is The Hill's a.m. newsletter. Sign up here or subscribe in the box below: Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here President Trump is weighing perhaps one of the most consequential decisions yet of his presidency: direct U.S. involvement in a Middle East war. The president on Tuesday signaled he is considering joining Israel in bombing Iran to deal a permanent blow to its nuclear program. It marks a major shift for the president, who only days ago insisted the U.S. would not join Israel in its attacks on Tehran. Following a Situation Room meeting and conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump is considering strikes among a range of other options, hours after he publicly pressed Iran to accept his terms for a nuclear deal. Israeli officials said Tuesday that Israel will achieve its objectives against Iran within a week or two, and continued to pound Tehran with airstrikes overnight. 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The withdrawal, which was widely criticized, resulted in a resurgence of the Taliban, which sharply restricted human rights in Afghanistan. Former U.S. Central Command Cmdr. Gen. Frank McKenzie, who served during Trump's first term, told Bloomberg TV the president 'actually has a unique credibility with Iran because he gave the order to strike Qassem Soleimani back in early 2020.' McKenzie said Soleimani's death markedly weakened Iran, and if Trump decides to hit the target, the U.S. probably could set the Iranian nuclear program back but not eradicate it. WAR POWERS DEBATE: A bipartisan group of House members on Tuesday — led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) — introduced a war powers resolution to prohibit U.S. involvement in Iran as its conflict with Israel intensifies, signaling they may force a vote on the matter. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced a similar resolution in the upper chamber on Monday. Noting the potential costs of U.S. involvement in the conflict, Kaine said Tuesday on the Senate floor that 'engaging in a war against Iran — a third war in the Middle East since 2001 — would be a catastrophic blunder for this country.' Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( said on 'The Hill on NewsNation' Tuesday night that she thinks Trump will opt for 'a peaceful solution' but 'I don't want to take any of the tools out of his toolbox at this point.' Vice President Vance detailed the White House's thinking in a lengthy social media post, saying the president has thus far shown 'remarkable restraint.' JULY 4 DEADLINE IN QUESTION: House and Senate Republicans are coming up short on the clock and with votes to muscle the president's legislative wish list to his desk by the Fourth of July. 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Another hurdle: The level of debt held by the public is estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to total about 124 percent of the nation's economic output by 2035 if the House Republican bill were to become law. That's viewed by many economists as an unsustainable fiscal proposition. GENIUS ADDED UP: The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted for legislation to create a regulatory framework for dollar-backed cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, viewed as a major milestone for the crypto industry. The vote for the GENIUS Act was 68-30 and marked the first significant crypto bill that cleared the Senate, The Hill's Julia Shapero noted. The legislation now heads to the House. ANOTHER HIGH-PROFILE ICE CLASH: New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander (D), the city's comptroller, was under arrest for several hours Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after he tried to escort a migrant through an immigration court hallway. The migrant was arrested while ICE agents, filmed by a journalist, separated Lander from the man, pushed him against a wall and handcuffed him. The city's comptroller was released without charges after being detained. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who later accompanied Lander from the building following his release, initially was turned down when she asked to speak with the city official. 'You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,' Lander was heard in video telling agents as they grabbed him. 'I'm not obstructing. I'm standing right here in the hallway.' Some New York Republicans, as well as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), defended ICE agents' actions and suggested Lander was impeding law enforcement while angling for media attention to help his mayoral campaign. 'The rule of law is not fine, and our constitutional democracy is not fine,' Lander told reporters following his release. It's the latest high-profile clash involving the immigration agency as the Trump administration steps up its enforcement efforts. Federal agents this month pulled Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) out of a room in Los Angeles and handcuffed him when he introduced himself and tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a news conference. Last month, federal agents arrested Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka (D) and later criminally charged Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) following a clash outside an immigration detention center in the city. Trump ordered ICE this week to increase the number of migrants without legal status who are rounded up and deported from Democratic-led cities and communities that endorse 'sanctuary' protections for immigrants. 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Justice Samuel Alito sought a 90-day extension. The court's term ends within weeks and there are 21 rulings outstanding. Many of the biggest cases, argued between December and May, are still on the docket. GROUP OF SIX: As their summit wrapped up Tuesday in Canada, six of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders were trying to show their group still has the clout to shape world events despite Trump's early departure to deal with the emerging situation in the Middle East. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan were joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss Russia's relentless war. Zelensky left the summit with new aid from Canada, but said diplomacy is in 'crisis' as he missed the chance to press Trump for more weapons. ▪ The Wall Street Journal: Zelensky's arrival was overshadowed by Trump's exit. ▪ Politico: Trump hinted at no more U.S. sanctions on Russia at the G7 summit. GAZA: As the world's focus shifts to the conflict between Israel and Iran, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in recent days near aid distribution sites in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry. Israeli forces in recent weeks have repeatedly used lethal force against Palestinian civilians to control crowds on the approaches to new aid sites, forcing many to choose between food and the risk of getting shot. The Guardian: Witnesses describe 'horror' after Israeli forces fire at Palestinians waiting for aid trucks. And finally … 🪶A tropical 'snakebird' recently set bird lovers aflutter in Boulder, Colo., with its long neck, fanciful plumage and underwater hunting skills. The visiting anhinga bird, previously spotted in Colorado as far back as 1931, is more common in steamy Florida and in Mexican wetlands. It's the first known 'chaseable' anhinga in the state's history, meaning human admirers have been able to follow the visitor during its Boulder tour. Other anhingas never stayed around long enough to entertain crowds. 'I was pretty surprised,' said Scott Taylor, director of the University of Colorado's Mountain Research Station. 'It's just the fourth record of one of these birds in the state of Colorado, so it was pretty exciting to hear about it.' Thanks for reading! Sign up for more newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!
