![[Graphic News] Details of US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F06%2F23%2Fnews-p.v1.20250623.bc199f81aba5412fa3c9aa840d2d3f73_T1.gif&w=3840&q=100)
[Graphic News] Details of US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities
US President Donald Trump directly intervened in the Israel-Iran conflict on Saturday by using American military force to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. The following provides details on the targets hit and the weapons used.
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Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
NATO leaders gather for summit
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — US President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts were due to gather for a summit that could unite the world's biggest security organization around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions among the 32 allies. Just a week ago, things had seemed rosy. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was optimistic the European members and Canada would commit to invest at least as much of their economic growth on defense as the United States does for the first time. Then Spain rejected the new NATO target for each country to spend 5 percent of its gross domestic product on defense needs, calling it 'unreasonable.' Trump also insists on that figure. The alliance operates on a consensus that requires the backing of all 32 members. The following day, Trump said the US should not have to respect the goal. 'I don't think we should, but I think they should,' he said. Trump lashed out at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government, saying, 'NATO is going to have to deal with Spain. Spain's been a very low payer." He also criticized Canada as 'a low payer.' Spain was the lowest spender in the alliance last year, directing less than 2 percent of its GDP on defense expenditure, while Canada was spending 1.45 percent, according to NATO figures. Then Trump ordered the bombing of nuclear installations in Iran . In 2003, the US-led war on Iraq deeply divided NATO, as France and Germany led opposition to the attack, while Britain and Spain joined the coalition. European allies and Canada also want Ukraine to be at the top of the summit agenda, but they are wary that Trump might not want President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to steal the limelight. The two-day summit in The Hague involves an informal dinner Tuesday and one working session Wednesday morning. A very short summit statement has been drafted to ensure the meeting is not derailed by fights over details and wording. Indeed, much about this NATO summit is brief, even though ripples could be felt for years. Founded in 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed by 12 nations to counter the threat to security in Europe posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, notably via a strong US presence on the continent. Dealing with Moscow is in its DNA. Keeping the peace outside the Euro-Atlantic area is not. NATO's ranks have grown to 32 countries since the Washington Treaty was signed 75 years ago. Sweden joined last year, worried by an increasingly aggressive Russia. NATO's collective security guarantee — Article 5 of the treaty — underpins its credibility. It's a political commitment by all countries to come to the aid of any member whose sovereignty or territory might be under attack. Trump has suggested he is committed to that pledge, but he has also sowed doubt about his intentions. He has said the US intends to remain a member of the alliance. The US is NATO's most powerful member. It spends much more on defense than any other ally and far outweighs its partners in terms of military muscle. Washington has traditionally driven the agenda but has stepped back under Trump. The US nuclear arsenal provides strategic deterrence against would-be adversaries. NATO's day-to-day work is led by Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister. As its top civilian official, he chairs almost weekly meetings of ambassadors in the North Atlantic Council at its Brussels headquarters. He chairs other 'NACs' at ministerial and leader levels. Rutte runs NATO headquarters, trying to foster consensus and to speak on behalf of all members. NATO's military headquarters is based nearby in Mons, Belgium. It is always run by a top US officer. With Trump demanding greater defense spending, it's unclear what role Ukraine will play at the summit. Zelenskyy has been invited, but it's unclear whether he will have a seat at NATO's table, although he may take part in Tuesday's dinner. Russia's war in Ukraine usually dominates such meetings. More broadly, NATO itself is not arming Ukraine. As an organization, it possesses no weapons of any kind. Collectively, it provides only non-lethal support — fuel, combat rations, medical supplies, body armor, and equipment to counter drones or mines. But individually, members do send arms. European allies provided 60 percent of the military support that Ukraine received in 2024. NATO coordinates those weapons deliveries via a hub on the Polish border and helps organize training for Ukrainian troops. A key part of the commitment for allies to defend one another is to deter Russia, or any other adversary, from attacking in the first place. Finland and Sweden joined NATO recently because of this concern. Under NATO's new military plans, 300,000 military personnel would be deployed within 30 days to counter any attack, whether it be on land, at sea, by air or in cyberspace. But experts doubt whether the allies could muster the troop numbers. It's not just about troop and equipment numbers. An adversary would be less likely to challenge NATO if it thought the allies would use the forces it controls. Trump's threats against US allies — including imposing tariffs on them — has weakened that deterrence. Due to high US defense spending over many years, the American armed forces have more personnel and superior weapons but also significant transportation and logistics assets. Other allies are starting to spend more, though. After years of cuts, NATO members committed to ramp up their national defense budgets in 2014 when Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the NATO allies agreed to make 2 percent of GDP the minimum spending level. Last year, 22 countries were expected to hit that target, up from only three a decade ago. In The Hague, the allies were expected to up the ante to 3.5 percent, plus a further 1.5 percent for things like improving roads, bridges, ports and airfields or preparing societies to deal with future conflicts. Whether they will now remains an open question.
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Greenpeace joins protests against gala Bezos wedding in Venice
VENICE, Italy (Reuters) — Global environmental lobby Greenpeace added its voice on Monday to protests against this week's celebrity wedding in Venice between American tech billionaire Jeff Bezos and journalist Laura Sanchez. The event, expected to attract some 200 guests including US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as scores of stars from film, fashion and business, has been dubbed "the wedding of the century." But some locals see the celebration as the latest sign of the brash commodification of a beautiful but fragile city that has long been overrun with tourism while steadily depopulating. Activists from Greenpeace Italy and UK group "Everyone hates Elon" unfolded a giant banner in central St. Mark's Square with a picture of Bezos laughing and a sign reading, "If you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax." Local police arrived to talk to activists and check their identification documents, before they rolled up their banner. "The problem is not the wedding, the problem is the system." We think that one big billionaire can't rent a city for his pleasure," Simona Abbate, one of the protesters, told Reuters. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and regional governor Luca Zaia have defended the wedding, arguing that it will bring an economic windfall to local businesses, including the motor boats and gondolas that operate its myriad canals. Zaia said the celebrations were expected to cost 20-30 million euros ($23-$34 million). Bezos will also make sizable charity donations, including a million euros for Corila, an academic consortium that studies Venice's lagoon ecosystem, Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper and the ANSA news agency reported on Sunday. Earlier this month, anti-Bezos banners were hung from St. Mark's bell tower and from the famed Rialto bridge, while locals threatened peaceful blockades against the event, saying Venice needed public services and housing, not VIPs and over-tourism. The exact dates and locations of the glitzy nuptials are being kept confidential, but celebrations are expected to play out over three days, most likely around June 26-28.
Korea Herald
3 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Where is Iran's uranium? Questions abound after US strikes
Vienna (AFP) — After President Donald Trump bragged US strikes had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities, officials cautioned it was still too soon to assess the impact on the country's nuclear program. Many questions remain after Sunday's strikes, especially about the whereabouts of Iran's sensitive stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent — a short step from the 90 percent required for a nuclear weapon. Where is Iran's enriched uranium? The US attacks, carried out by B-2 stealth bombers, targeted three Iranian nuclear sites: Isfahan and Iran's main enrichment plants in Fordo and Natanz. While significant damage has been reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency has voiced concern about Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium. Tehran has an estimated 408.6 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, according to the UN nuclear watchdog, whose inspectors last saw that stockpile on June 10. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs. IAEA head Rafael Grossi on Monday demanded access to Iran's nuclear sites, saying the agency needs to "account for" the uranium stockpile. Concerns about the fate of the sensitive stockpile have loomed large. On June 13, the day Israel began its Iran offensive, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the IAEA, announcing the implementation of "special measures to protect nuclear equipment and material." Days before the US attacked, satellite imagery showed vehicles near Fordo's entrance. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had "interesting intelligence" on the matter, declining to elaborate. Israel announced Monday it had carried out strikes to block access routes to Fordo. "It will be difficult if not impossible to track down all of Iran's 60 percent enriched uranium, stored in small canisters that are easily transportable by car," Kelsey Davenport, an expert with the Arms Control Association, told Agence France-Presse. "They (Iranians) no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium, and that was really the goal there," US Vice President JD Vance told ABC News. He added the Trump administration would deal with the uranium "in the coming weeks." Can Iran still make a nuclear bomb? Analysts have been treading carefully when addressing this issue. Before the attacks, Iran had about 22,000 centrifuges — the machines used to enrich uranium. Many of them were damaged when Natanz was hit, the IAEA head said. Grossi also said "very significant damage" is expected to have occurred at Fordo, "given the explosive payload utilized and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges." Experts however say that it is unclear how many centrifuges Iran has, with some of them believed to be stored at unknown locations. With "60 percent enriched uranium and a few hundred advanced centrifuges, Iran still has the capability to weaponize, and now there is more political impetus to dash for a bomb," said Davenport. What are proliferation risks? Before the conflict, the IAEA said it had "no indication" of the existence of a "systematic program" in Iran to produce a nuclear weapon. But without access to nuclear sites, the agency no longer has oversight. Grossi warned Monday that the "global non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security ... could crumble and fall", urging parties to return to diplomacy. Iran ratified the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) in 1970, committing it to declare its nuclear material to the IAEA. But it has recently begun preparing the grounds for a possible withdrawal from the treaty, accusing the agency of acting as a "partner" in Israel's "war of aggression." Reza Najafi, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, said Monday the "unlawful act of aggression" by the United States had "delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow" to the non-proliferation regime. "I do think there is a major risk that Iran withdraws from the NPT and expels inspectors, or simply does not provide them with access to key sites," said Eric Brewer of the US research institute Nuclear Threat Initiative. He added that Iran could also "over time, build (a) covert" programme like North Korea, which withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and went on to become a nuclear-armed power.
