US tells Israel it won't take part in any Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Axios reports
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration told the Israeli government the U.S. will not be directly involved in any Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two U.S. sources and an Israeli source familiar with those discussions.
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Israel gambles that Iran's enfeebled regime is on its last legs
T he Israeli bombardment of Iran's nuclear complex is codenamed Operation Rising Lion. That points to Israel's broader hopes for the campaign: not only to halt Tehran's gallop towards acquiring a nuclear weapon but also to encourage domestic resistance to the clerical regime and incite an uprising. Iran's quest for the bomb was always supposed to establish it as a regional leader, the defender of Shia Muslims everywhere and the ultimate answer to US interference in the Middle East. But Friday's assault showed that the Iranian regime is incapable of defending the nation, that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cannot guard his country's strategic treasure, cannot stay true to the principles of the Islamic revolution or even keep his people happy. He is a supreme leader in name only.
The Guardian
12 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Benjamin Netanyahu must be stopped
Benjamin Netanyahu must be stopped. The Israeli prime minister's lust for war as a solution to his myriad problems is nothing short of a threat to us all, one that extends far beyond Israel's neighbors. Netanyahu knows no other way. War is his doctrine. War is his reflex. War is his answer. He believes the power of war will unite Israeli society and will stifle any American criticism of him, necessary since the machinery he needs to make his wars comes mostly from Washington. And, with his aggression against Iran, he seeks to drag the United States further into another endless military quagmire in the region and light the world on fire. Early Friday morning, Israel launched a series of unprovoked strikes against Iran, targeting Iran's nuclear energy facilities, its top scientists, its military commanders, and parts of its military and civilian infrastructure. Television images show a residential building in Tehran damaged by what looks like a missile attack. Iran, which has not suffered an assault this severe since its war with Iraq in the 1980s, is reporting at least 70 people killed and 320 injured thus far. Meanwhile, Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza continues out of the public eye, as an internet blackout halted most aid operations. Netanyahu argues that the Israeli attack on Iran was a 'pre-emptive strike' against a clandestine nuclear weapons program. But that's simply a lie. A 'pre-emptive' strike requires an imminent threat of invasion or military force. Iran was not imminently to attack Israel, with or without a nuclear weapon. What Israel engaged in last night was better described by its defense minister as a 'preventive' strike against an opponent's infrastructure. Regardless of what you think about Iran's nuclear energy program, about the status of negotiations with the United States regarding its nuclear program, or about recent pressure the International Atomic Energy Agency has brought on Iran, a preventive strike by Israel against a sovereign nation is a blatant act of aggression. It is fundamentally illegal under international law and will further erode the prospect of sovereign states living in peace and security with each other. Iran has long claimed that it is only pursuing a civilian nuclear energy program and has no ambition to make a nuclear weapon. That might also be a lie, but who would blame them for wanting such a deterrent now? It's widely understood that North Korea's nuclear arsenal effectively functions as a deterrent against an American attack, after all. 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Is Donald Trump getting dragged into a war of Netanyahu's making or is he willingly joining a partnership of aggressors? Netanyahu has said the US knew about the attack in advance, but even if the US is sleepwalking its way into war, the prospect of another US-sponsored conflagration is a terrible one (and certainly won't get Trump his much-desired Nobel Peace Prize). If there is one thing the people of this region do not need, it is more war, the effects of which could also reverberate terribly around Europe and the rest of the world. Where are the European leaders now? Will Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, and Friedrich Merz stand up to Netanyahu and Trump? Will they use some real power to reject Netanyahu's warmaking barbarism, based as it is on naked domination, supremacy, violence, and conquest, or will we hear only vague and useless platitudes about 'restraint' after the fact? 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The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer urges Netanyahu to de-escalate with Iran amid reports of fresh strikes
Israel and Iran must de-escalate and work towards a 'diplomatic resolution', Sir Keir Starmer has told his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu amid mounting tensions in the Middle East. Sir Keir spoke with Mr Netanyahu as a fresh wave of Israeli strikes targeting Tehran began on Friday afternoon, according to media reports. Israel's earlier attacks overnight targeted nuclear facilities and missiles factories, and killed Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In a video address posted on Friday, Mr Netanyahu said Israel was striking 'the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponisation programme'. Sir Keir spoke with France's President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday morning, and the three leaders called for Iran and Israel to use restraint. The Prime Minister also convened a Cobra meeting on Friday, joined by senior ministers and officials. Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the UK, was also seen outside the Cabinet Office in Whitehall after the meeting. Giving a readout of Sir Keir's call with Mr Netanyahu, a Downing Street spokesperson said: 'The Prime Minister was clear that Israel has a right to self-defence and set out the UK's grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. 'He reiterated the need for de-escalation and a diplomatic resolution, in the interests of stability in the region.' Sir Keir and his French and German counterparts had earlier 'discussed the long-held grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, and called on all sides to refrain from further escalation that could further destabilise the region', according to No 10.
