Iran's supreme leader says it would strike back if attacked in first appearance since ceasefire
©Reuters
Iran would respond to any future U.S. attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday, in his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached between Iran and Israel.
Khamenei, 86, claimed victory after 12 days of war, culminating in an Iranian attack on the largest U.S. base in the region, located in Qatar, after Washington joined the Israeli strikes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
The Tánaiste has published the outline of the Occupied Territories Bill - here's what's in it
TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS yesterday published a broad outline of the updated Occupied Territories Bill as he endeavours to soon include services amongst prohibited trade activity. Ireland is the only EU country seeking to pass legislation sanctioning trade with businesses located in Palestinian land that is under the military control of Israel since its declaration of independence in 1967 – otherwise known as the Occupied Territories. These territories include the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights in southwest Syria. Israeli settlements in the territories are illegal under international law, as laid out in Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which stipulates that the transfer by a state of its own citizens into the land of another territory is illegal. This has been happening in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – particularly in the West Bank – for decades. A map of modern Israel showing the Occupied Territories of Palestine (marked by grey and white stripes) United Nations United Nations The Occupied Territories Bill was first introduced by Independent Senator Francis Black in 2018 and proposed making it an offence 'for a person to import or sell goods or services originating in an occupied territory or to extract resources from an occupied territory in certain circumstances'. The slightly amended bill proposed now by the Tánaiste, and formally known as the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill, would make it a crime under the Customs Act 2015 to import goods into Ireland that originate in Israeli settlements built over what is legally recognised as Palestinian land. Advertisement New homes being constructed in the West Bank After the Israeli government approved the expansion of Jewish settlements. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo However, services such as tourism and IT are as of yet excluded in the latest draft of the legislation. An estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which were seized by Israel in during the Six Day War in 1967. At present, Ireland is Israel's second largest trading partner after the US, purchasing €2.9 billion of its total exports, according to data from the Central Statistics Office. What will be included in the Bill? In its current form, the Bill only applies to goods imported from the Occupied Territories. The broad outline published by the Tánaiste yesterday breaks down the proposed terminology. Goods – materials and products, animate or inanimate. Material – indicates ingredients or component parts used to manufacture a good. Product – the good being manufactured, even if intended for use in a later manufacturing process. Importation - the act of bringing goods into the State from outside of the State (as per the Customs Act 2015). Israeli settlement - a city, village or industrial zone located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Parties found to be importing goods that are subject to prohibition under the Bill will be subject to punishment as outlined in Section 14(1) of the Customs Act. Will services be included? The Government has faced backlash for not including services in its recent outline of banned imports, with Labour accusing the Taoiseach of instead publishing a 'retreat'. Micheál Martin has commented on the difficulty of incorporating services into the Bill, stating that it is 'genuinely more complex than goods transferring' due to issues over defining where the service originates. However, Simon Harris has vowed to seek their inclusion in an enhanced version of the Bill due to go before an Oireachtas committee for examination. 'Let's not forget one thing before we get into the detail of the legislation, there isn't another country in the European Union that you can visit today and ask a government minister about their Bill to ban trade and the detail of it, because they don't have one,' Harris said. He is also understood to be looking for a second opinion from the Attorney General on the legalities surrounding the inclusion of services before passing it through to the pre-legislative stage. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
No known intelligence Iran moved uranium before US attack
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said that he is unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from American strikes over the weekend. US military bombers targeted three nuclear facilities, using more than a dozen bunker-buster bombs. The results of the strikes are being closely watched to see how far they may have set back Iran's nuclear programme. "I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Mr Hegseth said in an often fiery news conference. US President Donald Trump, who watched the exchange with reporters, echoed his defence secretary, saying it would have taken too long to remove anything. "The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of (the) facility," he wrote on social media, without providing evidence. Several experts cautioned this week that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of the deeply buried Fordow site before the strikes. They also said that the country could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, US and United Nations nuclear inspectors. The experts noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing "unusual activity" at Fordow on Thursday and Friday, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility. A senior Iranian source said on Sunday that most of the 60% highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. The Financial Times, citing European capitals, reported that Iran's uranium stockpile remains largely intact since it was not concentrated at Fordow. Mr Hegseth's comments denying such claims came at a news conference where he also accused the media of downplaying the success of the US strikes following a leaked, preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months. He said the analysis was low confidence, and, citing comments from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, said it had been overtaken by intelligence showing that Iran's nuclear programme was severely damaged and would take years to rebuild. Mr Hegseth described the strikes as "historically successful". His comments came after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East. The 86-year-old claimed victory over Israel after 12 days of war and promised that Iran would not surrender despite President Trump's calls. "The American president exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration," Mr Khamenei said. The US "has gained nothing from this war," he said, adding that the strikes "did nothing significant" to Iran's nuclear facilities. "The Islamic republic won and, in retaliation, dealt a severe slap to the face of America" - a reference to Iran's missile launch on Qatar targeting the largest US base in the Middle East. "I want to congratulate the great Iranian nation ... for its victory over the fallacious Zionist regime," Mr Khamenei added, claiming that Israel had "almost collapsed" because of his country's strikes. Both Iran and Israel had already claimed they won, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailing on Tuesday a "historic victory" for Israel. During the news conference, Mr Hegseth criticised the media, without evidence, for having an anti-Trump bias. "It's in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad," the defence secretary said. "There are so many aspects of what our brave men and women did that ... because of the hatred of this press corps, are undermined," he said. President Trump praised the event on his Truth Social platform, describing it as: "One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' News Conferences I have ever seen!" On X, Mr Hegseth thanked Mr Trump for his praise. During the news conference, the top US general largely stuck to technical details, outlining the history of the bunker-busting bombs used. Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, showed a video testing the bombs on a bunker similar to the ones struck in Iran. He declined to provide his own assessment of the strike and deferred to the intelligence community. Gen Caine denied being under any pressure to change his assessment to present a more optimistic view of the US strikes. He also said that he would not change his assessment due to politics. Uniformed military officials are supposed to remain apolitical and provide their best military advice. "I've never been pressured by the president or the secretary to do anything other than tell them exactly what I'm thinking, and that's exactly what I've done," Gen Caine said.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Diverse and inclusive workforces the ‘most relaxed and happy', says Taoiseach
His comments come as US President Donald Trump has clamped down on American taxpayer spending on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programmes, branding them a waste of money. He was speaking in an interview with Adam Long, board director of the National LGBT Federation (NXF) ahead of this weekend's Pride parade in Dublin. 'Companies will tell you that a diversity inclusive model is the most productive workforce and the most relaxed and happy place,' said the Taoiseach. 'When you go to the Googles of this world or you go to the major companies we have, be it digital companies or pharma, it is really a diverse workforce and a happy one as a result.' He said he visited LinkedIn recently which had a diverse workforce and staff were 'really happy' and 'in their space and in themselves'. The Cork TD said he is 'very anti' culture wars, saying they are rampant in the UK and the US. He said Ireland should 'avoid' it. 'There's too many activists in the UK on this stuff and Ireland should just avoid it. We have our ways of doing things, we should keep on the direction of travel that we began two decades ago or more,' he said. The Taoiseach said recent media interest over his comments in 2021 on how Irish people 'never were a homogenous group' is an example of how issues can get 'distorted'. He made the comments in an opening address to the Glucksman conference, which Independent Ireland TD Ken O'Flynn recently called to be clarified after the remarks were shared widely on social media. 'No one said a word for four years,' said the Taoiseach. 'We are in a space where there is distortion, where there is misinformation.' The Taoiseach affirmed support for LGBT+ people, saying on transgender people: 'Nobody should ever feel like they don't belong.' The Government is now facing legal action from the EU if it doesn't enforce European laws on hate speech and cyber security in the coming months. The Government last year decided to separate out controversial hate crime and hate speech legislation and drop the section on hate speech laws. The Taoiseach disagreed with the EU Commission, saying existing laws already go beyond the proposed EU laws. 'My understanding is the Minister [for Justicer Jim O'Callaghan] believes the Commission isn't quite accurate but it's a matter and we have to work out and deal with the Commission. We want to be in compliance with the European framework,' he said. 'In our common law provisions, we have moved much further than the Commission recognises.' He said the current hate speech laws, first enacted in 1989, were very 'far seeing' when they were implemented at the time. Mr Martin also said the Government and the Attorney General is currently considering a ban on conversion therapy, which the last Government also promised to ban.
