No increase in radiation levels in Egypt after strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran: ENRRA - Society
In a statement, ENRRA stressed that none of the countries neighbouring Iran have reported detecting any changes or increases in radiation levels.
The authority also affirmed continuous monitoring around the clock of developments related to the status of nuclear facilities in the regional vicinity as events unfold.
It added that it is following up on reports issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concerning the situation at these facilities and constantly coordinating with the concerned national authorities.
The statement emphasized that ENRRA is monitoring the radiation background through the Authority's radiation monitoring, alert, and early reporting system, which uses the latest radiation detection devices spread throughout the country.
The authority also urged citizens to rely only on official statements as a trusted source of information in this regard.
The IAEA issued a statement earlier confirming that there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels after US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran also confirmed that there were no signs of contamination at its nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordo, and Natanz after US airstrikes targeted the facilities.
In the early hours of Sunday, American B-2 stealth bombers unleashed several 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs against the heavily fortified Iranian nuclear sites, while US submarines launched about 30 Tomahawk missiles.
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Egypt Independent
12 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
In Alaska, Trump gifts Putin more time to grind down Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine — It was not the applause, or the red carpet, or the ride in the Beast, or speaking first on the podium, that were the biggest gifts offered up to Vladimir Putin at the Alaska summit. President Donald Trump's greatest favor to his Russian counterpart was time. Even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky heads to Washington on Monday with a phalanx of European leaders to hold hurried talks with Trump, the war grinds on. Russian success or failure on the front line will be measured in a matter of weeks. Putin has until mid-October until the weather cools, ground softens, and advances become harder. That is a full two months. His forces are on the brink of turning painfully incremental and costly micro-advances into 'nowhere' villages in eastern Ukraine into a more strategic gain. Almost every day, another settlement falls. The secondary sanctions Trump has threatened – which would penalize those buying Russian oil and gas – and has now twice backed away, would not stop Putin's war effort this year. But it has already clearly piled pressure on him, in the forms of calls from the leaders of India and China, and may have led him to accept the invitation to meet with Trump in Alaska, where he was welcomed so graciously. Putin does not want to maintain a lengthy war effort under economic pressure from his two main energy customers and effective sponsors, themselves having to endure tariff pain from the United States. And so, he is in a rush on the battlefield, but agonizingly slow at the negotiating table. An oil tanker passes storage tanks at an oil refinery in Mumbai, India, on August 11. Washington is ratcheting up the pressure on New Delhi over oil flows from Russia with a wave of new tariffs. Abeer Khan/Bloomberg/Getty Images Trump's instincts correctly assessed that reality in Anchorage, his pained expression belying the positive claims from Russian and American staffers of how well the meeting had gone. Getting on well with another president you have welcomed with clapping and a limousine is not real diplomatic progress. And he perhaps knew that. In truth, Alaska did not go as awfully as it could have for Kyiv. Ukrainians had to endure a relatively brief revisionist history lesson from Putin at the podium, and the distasteful repetition of how Ukraine and Russia are 'brotherly' nations, despite Moscow's nightly murder of Ukrainian civilians in air assaults. But there were two positive notes for Kyiv. Firstly, Trump and Putin did not cook up a madcap, real-estate, Sharpie-map peace deal in a hurry, that was short on detail and heavy on wins for Moscow, as some had feared they might. The opposite happened – no deal emerged. The second gain for Ukraine is that the intransigent nature of Putin – despite all of Trump's fawning – was widely on display. Trump appeared sullen: no lunch, no questions from the press, no return invitation to Moscow unequivocally accepted, and even the suggestion, in an interview with Fox News, that – of all things – he wished he hadn't agreed to talk to network host Sean Hannity. At the end, Trump apparently did not want to be there, and Putin may be in error to have made him feel that way. But the evolution of Trump's thinking is not all a win for Zelensky. Paramount is the overnight evaporation of a demand for a ceasefire. It was the bedrock of European and Ukrainian thinking last week, and even crept into Trump's talking points ahead of Alaska. But Putin has never wanted one, as it would stop his military advances. And so, as of Saturday morning, the demand has vanished and the focus shifted to a quick, enduring peace deal. There is no such thing; a lasting deal could take weeks to formulate, if not much longer. But European leaders stepped back from their ceasefire demand in their Saturday joint statement and Zelensky even said the 'killing must stop as soon as possible' rather than preconditioning further talks on a ceasefire. Trump also took whatever the bad deal was that Putin proposed, and turned it into pressure on the resilient victim – Kyiv. It would be Zelensky's decision what to do next, and Trump urged him to take the deal. Destruction caused by Russian glide bomb strikes on the front-line city of Kostiantynivka in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine is pictured on March 21. Thomas Krych/Anadolu/Getty Images The proposed deal, from what we know, seems potentially quite bad for Ukraine. One European official told CNN that Putin had persisted with his demands for control of all of the Donbas region – something politically and practically impossible for Zelensky to concede, and which he's already rejected. This part-maximalist demand emerged after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's meeting in the Kremlin earlier this month, with added confusion over whether this demand meant Putin had given up on claiming the rest of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, now partially occupied by Russian forces. But Putin is a studied, patient pragmatist. He can take what he can now and then come back for the rest later. He has no electoral cycles to worry about, given his grip on the country, although likely knows his overheated and hyper-militarized economy cannot keep going like this indefinitely. In his post-talks remarks, Putin remained set on what he considers the 'root causes' of the conflict being fixed — which have previously included Ukraine's existence as a sovereign state and NATO's eastward expansion since the end of the Cold War – and on 'peace' for Ukraine, which effectively means its surrender and more dead civilians. He even ominously urged Europeans and Ukraine to not get in the way of whatever proposal he had floated at Trump. Trump has not fully fallen for this play. His Monday meeting in the Oval Office with Zelensky will likely reveal an evolution in their relationship, and Trump's view of Putin, since their ghastly February blowout. It will be another moment when, whatever Zelensky hears, he will have travelled with only one option available to him, and that is to nod along and play nice. But this time, Zelensky will be flanked by more than half a dozen key European leaders, and Trump perhaps is mindful they are better buddies to him than Putin has been. Whether this united front can persuade Trump remains to be seen. While standing next to Zelensky at a press conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen affirmed that Ukraine must become a 'steel porcupine' to deter future invasions. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, right, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on August 6. Kremlin Press Office/Anadolu/Getty Images The problem for Ukraine is not how the circus of diplomacy plays out, but the horrors outside of the tent. The time it would likely take to bring the parties together for further talks could be all Putin needs on the battlefield to effect real change. The coming weeks are the slow limp forwards that Putin wants: Tension between Trump and Zelensky first, followed by European pressure on Trump to ease off on Zelensky, followed by awkward and technical stalling over a three-way meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelensky. Putin only has to claim scheduling or location conflicts for a week to buy yet more time. Then a trilateral meeting, if there is one, only risks repeating the cycle again; Putin makes unreasonable demands he knows Ukraine cannot accept, Trump pressures Zelensky to accept them to get quick points on the board, and European leaders lean on Trump to recall that Ukraine's security is also theirs. And rinse and repeat. Time. Putin needs it to conquer. Trump hates wasting it without points on the board. Zelensky's forces do not have it. European leaders hope it erodes Russia's economic ability to fight. Much of it has passed since Trump came to power promising to end the war in 24 hours, and while he is clearly wiser to Putin than in February, little in terms of the hard dynamics and demands of this war have changed.
Egypt Independent
13 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
Hamas says it has agreed to new ceasefire proposal as mediators push to renew talks
Hamas says it has agreed to a new Gaza ceasefire proposal as mediators from Qatar and Egypt push to renew talks ahead of a major Israeli assault on Gaza City. In a statement, Hamas said it had accepted the new proposal presented on Sunday by Qatar and Egypt. Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas' political bureau, said on social media, 'The movement has accepted the new proposal from the mediators. We pray that God extinguishes the fires of this war on our people.' Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel had received the Hamas response from mediators. One of the Israeli officials said that the government's position had not changed, which includes calling for the release of all the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and Israeli security control of the besieged territory. The proposal marks a renewed effort from mediators to restart negotiations that fell apart in July, extinguishing what had been the best hopes to stop the fighting in months. It also dashed chances of an imminent end to the war, and Israel's security cabinet recently voted to escalate the conflict and occupy Gaza City. The newly approved operation increased pressure on mediators to renew talks and secure a deal in an attempt to avert an even worse humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. The new proposal adheres closely to the last ceasefire plan discussed before negotiations fell apart last month. A senior Hamas official told CNN the proposal calls for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages. The hostages will be released in exchange for 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 serving sentences of more than 15 years. Israel will also release all Palestinian minors and female prisoners, the official said. According to a diplomat briefed on the negotiations, Qatari and Egyptian mediators secured a breakthrough that preserves 98% of the last proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, to which Israel had previously agreed. The mediators put pressure on Hamas to accept the proposal. The proposal entails a ceasefire during which Israeli forces redeploy to the lines specified in the Witkoff proposal, while humanitarian aid flows intensively to meet the basic needs of the population in Gaza. This step opens the way to reaching a comprehensive agreement in the best possible manner without endangering the lives of the hostages through further intense military operations and avoiding a worsening of the humanitarian situation for the people of Gaza, who are already suffering greatly, the diplomat said. It also marks the beginning of the road to a comprehensive solution, the diplomat added. A regional source involved in the Gaza talks told CNN that Hamas 'insists' on 'written American guarantees' for a ceasefire 'after 60 days.' Hamas wants the US to ensure that Israel does not return to war, the source told CNN. The most recent ceasefire negotiations, which fell apart in July, focused on a 60-day ceasefire and the release of approximately half of the remaining 50 hostages. A second diplomat involved in the negotiations said, 'Given the developments, Egypt and Qatar will extend an invitation to Steve Witkoff to come to Cairo.' Qatari Prime Minister and minister of foreign affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani arrived in Egypt for discussions about ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian officials said Monday. Qatari officials met with Witkoff last weekend in Spain. Hardening positions Prior to talks collapsing in July, the most difficult issues in the negotiations included the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the hostages, the size of the Israeli buffer zone around Gaza, and the scope of the Israeli withdrawal during the ceasefire. Hamas also demanded a comprehensive end to the war, which Israel has refused. The US and Israel indicated they would harden their positions, only accepting a comprehensive deal instead of a partial agreement, when the last round of negotiations failed. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said on social media, 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.' Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday evening, 'Like you, I hear the reports in the media – and from them, one thing is clear: Hamas is under immense pressure.' He did not say whether he would consider a new proposal after insisting that Israel would only agree to a comprehensive deal that achieved his maximalist positions. He has said that any agreement needs to include the disarmament of Hamas, which has been a red line for the militant organization. This fresh proposal comes after hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv and across the country on Sunday, demanding that Israel agree to a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages and end the war. In a series of events that lasted all day, protesters blocked major intersections across the country, carried out a grassroots strike, and held a massive rally in Hostages Square. Netanyahu's far-right allies, who have demanded an escalation of the war, warned the Israeli premier about accepting a ceasefire deal. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a recorded video: 'Mr. Prime Minister, I'll make this short and simple: you do not have a mandate to go for a partial deal. The blood of our soldiers is not to be disregarded. We must go all the way — to destroy Hamas.' Ben Gvir quit the government over the last ceasefire in January before rejoining when Israel resumed the war two months later. But opposition politicians immediately threw their weight behind Netanyahu and behind the latest ceasefire effort. Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who chairs the Blue and White Party, said in a statement, 'The government has a clear majority and a broad safety net to bring the hostages home. Netanyahu, this is not a time to hesitate — this is a time to make the right decisions for the people of Israel and the security of Israel.' There have been two ceasefires and hostage-release deals in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks. In November 2023, a weeklong ceasefire saw 105 hostages freed from Gaza and around 240 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons before it collapsed. A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025. In just over 8 weeks – the first 'phase' of the ceasefire – Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed. Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the truce and derailing the talks, saying it did so to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Egypt Independent
a day ago
- Egypt Independent
Zelensky and European leaders face tough choices at pivotal White House showdown
At what was billed as an 'historic' presidential summit, hastily put together in Alaska on Friday afternoon, the optics were as clear and overshadowing as the vast Chugach mountains glistening over Anchorage in the summer sun. US President Donald Trump literally applauded Vladimir Putin as he walked along a red carpet laid out in his honor by genuflecting US troops. After warmly greeting the Russian president, whose full-scale invasion of Ukraine has so far left more than a million people dead and injured, a US B-2 stealth bomber, flanked by fighter jets, roared overhead. But Putin seemed unintimidated by the spectacle. This was, after all, his long-awaited coming out of international isolation party; a political gift bestowed upon the Kremlin strongman, who is indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court, by a US president who called him his friend, 'Vladimir.' Later, in the windowless press room on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, where the White House and Kremlin press pools had gathered wrongly expecting a joint news conference, we found ourselves positioned alongside an energetic, tight-suited reporter from one of the radically conservative news networks who seem to vie for Trump's favor. 'Trump is determined to exit Biden's war,' the reporter confided to me between live shots, referring to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 when Joe Biden was US president. 'But the Ukrainians and the Europeans are in his way,' the reporter added, seemingly frustrated, as Trump, at the reluctance to accept any deal at any price. Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images The comment points to an even bigger, though less obvious, Putin victory than merely returning to the top table of international diplomacy: In pursuit of a quick peace deal in Ukraine, the US president appears to have taken Russia's side on key issues in the conflict. A ceasefire, for example. Ukraine and its European supporters have long argued that halting the violence must be an essential first step in peace talks. Trump, who had earlier accepted that, has apparently changed his mind, posting on his Truth Social platform about going for a full peace deal instead, a long-standing preference of the Kremlin, which sees no benefit in halting offensive operations at a time when it believes Russian forces have the upper hand. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, flanked by European leaders, prepares for direct and urgent talks with Trump, this about-face by the White House will be at the forefront of concerns and negotiations – alongside demands by Putin, and perhaps Trump too, for Kyiv to withdrawal from swathes of strategic territory in the Donbas region of Ukraine that has been annexed by Russia but not yet conquered. That may ultimately be a red line neither Ukraine nor Europe is willing to cross. Signing up to such a deal, which would involve pulling out of the so-called fortress belt of heavily defended Ukrainian towns and cities that have prevented Russian forces from advancing even deeper into Ukraine, would be seen as a security disaster on the continent. Ukrainian and European leaders are likely to push back hard in Washington on these territorial demands, but in doing so risk casting themselves – in the eyes of the White House, at least – as the real obstacles to peace. And saying no to a quick deal that Trump supports, with thoughts of a Nobel Peace Prize within his grasp, could push the mercurial US president to lash out, perhaps cutting off crucial intelligence sharing again, or military aid. Meanwhile, as Putin's forces relentlessly advance on the frontlines, he must be watching all this with some satisfaction. The fact a major territorial concession is being discussed at all is itself, from the Kremlin's point of view, yet another important win. While Ukraine and its Western backers haggle over how much more of Donbas Kyiv should surrender, the land Russia has already captured by brute force is barely mentioned at all. But in the days and the weeks ahead, as the success or failure of peace talks inevitably dominate the news agenda, it's worth acknowledging that it is Trump – not Putin – who is now driving this process forward and that the US President's objectives are not necessarily the same as those of Europe or Ukraine. Ukrainian servicemen fire a multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on June 8. Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters That means there must also be concern about any promised US security guarantees – another key issue in peace negotiations, aimed at preventing the Kremlin from relaunching its war once the it has secured any peace deal advantage. A threat of US military action if, for instance, Russian violates a peace deal, must be credible if it is to be an effective deterrent. But with Trump pressuring for an end to the conflict and US involvement in it, the Kremlin may judge any US security guarantees as hollow in the current climate. Trump wants this war off his hands, a quick win. European security is not his paramount concern. Economic gain, and possible business deals with Russia, appear to be more of a priority, as it the idea of taking his place in a pantheon of leaders who bend the world to their will. Back at anticlimactic Alaskan summit, it was striking how deferential a usually domineering Trump appeared, even allowing Putin – a foreign guest on American soil – to speak first in the joint statements to the press. The US president stood listening quietly at his podium for several minutes as the Kremlin leader held forth on Alaska's Russian and American history before delivering his own impressions of the day's meetings. It was almost as if Putin, who confidently suggested Trump visit Moscow – in a rare English-language remark from the Russian president – was accepting Trump back into the fold, not the other way around; reintroducing him to the world from Alaska as a fellow strongman, with immense power, many thousands of miles away from the petty concerns of Ukraine and Europe.
