Iran president says will not halt nuclear activity ‘under any circumstances'
'We are ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities,' said PezeshkianTEHRAN: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country will not halt nuclear activity 'under any circumstances' amid ongoing fighting with Israel which hit nuclear sites.'We are ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities, however, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,' said Pezeshkian during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches across Europe
LONDON: Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in European cities Saturday calling for an end to the war in Gaza, amid concerns the Iran-Israel conflict could spark wider regional devastation. In London, AFP journalists saw tens of thousands of protesters, who waved Palestinian flags as they marched through the British capital clad in keffiyeh scarves. In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the center of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures. And in the Swiss capital Bern, march organizers estimated that 20,000 people rallied in front of the national parliament, urging the government to back a ceasefire. There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza. This Saturday, protesters there carried signs including 'Stop arming Israel' and 'No war on Iran' as they marched in the sweltering heat. 'It's important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now,' said 34-year-old Harry Baker. 'I don't have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation.' This was his third pro-Palestinian protest, he added. Saturday's marches comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel's strikes against Iran. Tehran said Saturday that more than 400 people had been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies. Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures. One marcher in London, a 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was 'scared.' 'I'm worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it's still my country. I'm scared,' she said. Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade. Gaza's civil defense agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites. 'People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That's where the genocide is happening,' said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus. In Berlin, demonstrators gathered mid-afternoon close to the parliament, some chanting 'Germany finances, Israel bombs.' 'You can't sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up,' said protester Gundula, who did not want to give her second name. For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the 'genocide currently taking place' and the 'dirty work' being done by the German government. In Bern, demonstrators carried banners calling on the federal government to intervene in the war in Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians. The rally there was called by organizations including Amnesty International, the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Swiss Trade Union Federation. Slogans included 'Stop the occupation,' 'Stop the starvation, stop the violence,' and 'Right to self-determination.' Some marchers chanted: 'We are all the children of Gaza.' The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry. Israel has denied it is carrying out a genocide and says it aims to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
What is Netanyahu's endgame?
A direct, large-scale military confrontation between Iran and Israel was always perceived as too dangerous because it risked consequences too devastating for either side to seriously contemplate, let alone initiate. That was until Israeli authorities decided last week to strike first in what is their biggest military gamble since the nation's founding fathers made the decision to declare independence. An overnight Israeli operation, daring and successful beyond imagination, turned a decades-long war of words into an actual war between the two major military powers in the Middle East. And they have already demonstrated their ability, and desire, to inflict great damage on one another in what might become an open-ended war of attrition. Unless common sense prevails among both leaderships, which appears a far-fetched hope, or, more likely, concerted international pressure can succeed in halting this deadly confrontation immediately, it might well spiral out of control. To state the very obvious, no one outside Iran, and few inside the country, wants to see it armed with nuclear weapons, which would inevitably lead to a nuclear arms race. As a matter of fact, a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East must be a long-term objective. But Israel's decision to embark on a military operation of this scale, and the timing of it, raises questions and concerns about its true objectives. It is no secret that for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the self-proclaimed 'Mr. Security,' there have for a long time been two main overarching objectives, to the point of obsession: to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. He views them both as existential threats to the Jewish state and, equally, as his own ticket to political relevance and endurance. There has been much discussion about, and will eventually be a formal investigation into, the ways in which Netanyahu's destructive policies designed to prevent the possibility of a two-state solution to Israel's conflict with the Palestinians contributed to the events of Oct. 7, 2023, the most devastating Israeli security failure ever which led to the ongoing war in Gaza. For him to now embark on what might prove to be the most consequential war in his country's history, people need to be convinced beyond any shred of doubt that the decision was not tainted by any ulterior motive. Alas, the Israeli prime minister's behavior throughout his political career, and most definitely during his present term in office, has failed to instill the necessary confidence that this is the case. Moreover, entering into a conflict that by some estimates could result in hundreds, if not thousands, of civilian casualties requires a united country. His government has not only divided the nation more than ever before, it has made unwarranted and acerbic criticisms of the very people now charged with carrying out the strikes against Iran, simply because they peacefully opposed the government's attacks on the country's democratic foundations, or called for an end to the war in Gaza and to bringing the hostages home. In such a high-stakes confrontation with an enemy in possession of potentially devastating capabilities, there is a need for trust in the leadership directing it, but this is hardly the case here. Most Israelis support the war against Iran — but not Netanyahu and his government. This is not that surprising, considering his legal woes, his desperation to remain in power, and his record of trying to deflect attention from his own domestic and foreign failures by pursuing a more aggressive stance, verbal or otherwise, on unresolved conflicts with Israel's neighbors. Most Israelis support the war against Iran — but not Netanyahu and his government. Yossi Mekelberg There is a lingering concern that his decision to turn up the heat on Iran had as much to do with the ongoing crisis within his own coalition government, and the fact that he is in the early stages of the prosecution's cross-examination in his corruption trial, as it had to do with the security threat emanating from Tehran. In the event of a prolonged war with Iran, it is almost impossible to envisage that any member of the coalition would resign, and Netanyahu would have the perfect excuse to delay for weeks, if not months, his appearance in court. He has claimed that the attacks on Iranian targets were justified based on new information, which he was not prepared to share, about the imminent successful conclusion of a secret Iranian program to finally obtain nuclear weapons. He stated that Tehran already had the capacity to build a number of bombs, a claim refuted by several American intelligence reports that concluded Iran is still a few years away from developing such weapons. It is more likely that Israeli authorities feared the US might reach what they consider to be an unsatisfactory nuclear deal with Iran. It is also the case that Israeli decision-makers identified an opportune moment to strike, given that Iran's 'axis of resistance' has been substantially weakened, and the Trump administration, while it did not give a green light for Israel to proceed with a military operation, neither did it order them to hit the brakes. In fact Washington is still sending mixed signals about whether it is more interested in an immediate ceasefire, or would be happy to see Iranian negotiators return to the bargaining table with their country badly wounded and humiliated — a strategy that might backfire. Israel, despite its impressive military performance until now, does not on its own have the capability to completely degrade Iran's nuclear project, and it is too early to assess the extent of the damage inflicted so far. Netanyahu gambled the US would be sucked into the conflict, either to finish the job, should the first stages of the war succeed in creating a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity to put to bed the Iranian nuclear program once and for all or, if things went seriously wrong, that Washington would come to Israel's rescue. Increasingly, it seems as though Trump is inclined to order his military to finish the job; he has stated his desire to see a 'real end' to the conflict and demanded 'total surrender' from Iran, rather than a ceasefire. Top Israeli officials, chief among them Netanyahu, have not hidden their yearning for a humiliating defeat of Iran on the battlefield that could lead to regime change. However, there is no evidence to suggest the regime in Tehran would not be able to weather such a storm, or that there are opposition forces ready and able to mount an effective challenge. If anything, Iranian citizens who see their country under attack are more likely to rally round the flag. To the regime, meanwhile, the conflict provides a further excuse to take even harsher action against any signs of domestic discontent. Moreover, regime change commonly suggests a desire among the external forces that attempt to initiate it to install an administration more favorable to them — yet past experiences do not provide much reassurance that this is what would happen; quite the reverse, in fact. Netanyahu has taken the gamble of his life and in doing so he is also gambling with Israel's long-term security, and possibly that of the wider region as well. No one will benefit from a prolonged war that could entangle other regional powers. Diplomacy must step in quickly and play a central role in resolving the conflict or this will be a long and bloody summer.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Ex-bodyguard of slain Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli strike in Iran
His former bodyguard Hussein Khalil was killed in IranAn Iraqi border guard officer said Khalil and a member of an Iraqi armed group were killed by 'an Israeli drone strike'BEIRUT: A former bodyguard for Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, was killed Saturday in an Israeli strike in Iran, an official from the Tehran-backed militant group more than a week, Israel has been carrying out waves of air attacks on Iranian targets in the foes' worst confrontation in assassinated Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27 last year, during a war that left Hezbollah severely former bodyguard Hussein Khalil — commonly known as Abu Ali, and nicknamed Nasrallah's 'shield' — was killed in Iran near the Iraqi border, the Hezbollah official told AFP on condition of Iraqi border guard officer told AFP that Khalil and a member of an Iraqi armed group were killed by 'an Israeli drone strike' after crossing into the neighboring Iraqi group, the Sayyed Al-Shuhada Brigades, said that the commander of its security unit, Haider Al-Moussawi, was killed in the 'Zionist attack,' along with Khalil and his son former bodyguard had appeared alongside Nasrallah for years during the leader's rare public two men also shared family ties, with one of Khalil's sons married to a granddaughter of Nasrallah's funeral in February, Khalil stood atop the vehicle carrying the slain leader's funeral drew a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people, the first mass event organized by Hezbollah since the end of its war with five children were wounded in Iraq on Saturday by fallen debris from a missile near the town of Dujail in the northern province of Salaheddin, security and medical sources told AFP on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the children sustained moderate and minor injuries, a medical source said.A security source in the area confirmed the children were wounded by 'a fallen fragment from a missile.'The origin of the missile was not Israel launched its unprecedented attack on Iran last week, Iranian missiles and drones have been crossing paths with Israeli warplanes in the skies over Iraq, forcing Iraq to close its airspace to commercial traffic.
