Trump says he'll decide on US attacks on Iran within two weeks
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he'll decide within two weeks whether or not Washington will get directly involved military in the conflict between Israel and Iran. Trump says two weeks will be enough to decide whether a diplomatic solution is possible.
The conflict between Israel and Iran has entered the eighth day, with both sides trading hundreds of missile strikes. Dozens of Israelis were killed in cross-border Iranian strikes, while Tehran suffered hundreds of fatalities.
The conflict started last week in the early hours of Friday as Israel carried out a surprise attack on Tehran, targeting military and nuclear sites. Israel says its decision to attack was to guarantee its survival as it grew increasingly concerned about Iran's rapidly developing nuclear programme.
On Thursday, a missile struck the vicinity of the European Union delegation in Tel Aviv, according to several sources consulted by Euronews.
The origin of the missile was not immediately clear, but it was presumed to be a projectile fired by Iran against Israel amid the military escalation between the two countries, which is now on its seventh day.
The distance between the EU delegation and the strike is believed to be between 400 and 500 metres, two sources indicated.
The strike happened on Thursday near a district where several European embassies are located, including those from the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, North Macedonia and Ireland, as well as the Tel Aviv-Savidor Central railway station.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said the personnel were safe.
"While no EU staff were injured today, we note with grave concern that diplomatic premises have been damaged in the attacks by Iran," the spokesperson said.
"Under no circumstances, civilian areas and infrastructures as well as foreign diplomatic staff and missions should be targeted or attacked."
Earlier, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after Tehran struck a major hospital in southern Israel and hit residential buildings near Tel Aviv, wounding at least 240 people.
Israel's military 'has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist," said Katz.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to moderate his approach to the conflict with Iran. According to a German government source, Merz underlined the importance of "diplomatic solutions" to Israel.
On Friday, Germany is expected to hold nuclear talks with its European partners and the Iranian foreign minister at its permanent representation in Geneva.
Iran also appears unwilling to back down as they vowed to continue fighting to defend their land, people and sovereignty against the threat Israel poses.
In an exclusive interview with Euronews, Iran's Ambassador to the UN Ali Bahraini stated that Iran's main priority currently is 'to stop aggression, to stop attacks'.
"I personally cannot imagine there would be a strong probability at the moment for a kind of diplomatic idea or initiative because for us it would be inappropriate if we think or talk at the moment about anything rather than stopping the aggressors," Bahraini noted.
He however noted that Israel is not an entity 'with which somebody can negotiate', adding that Tehran's response must be resolute in order to show Israel that 'it is not able to cross the red lines against Iran'.
Bahraini also slammed the EU, as he stated that the bloc carries some of the blame for the conflict breaking out.
"We believe that the minimum thing Europeans can do is to very explicitly condemn Israel and stop their support for Israel," Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva Ali Bahraini said in an interview for Euronews.
Speaking on a looming US attack amid Trump's recent threats, Bahraini asserted that Iran would respond firmly to any attack by Washington on its land, adding that attacks on US soil are not off the table.
In an extended interview with Euronews on Thursday, Israel's ambassador to the EU and NATO Haim Regev said Israel is in a 'tough war with Iran' not just to destroy its nuclear programme and missiles, but also to defend Europe, to save lives in Ukraine, and to create a space for opportunity and new hope in the Middle East.
But Regev also made it bluntly clear that Israel 'is not negotiating with anybody on the Iran and Gaza threats', when asked about a reset with the EU over Iran following the convulsions of the Gaza crisis.
'We are now doing what is good for the state of Israel, removing the nuclear and missile threat and also on the other hand releasing the hostages from Gaza and eliminating the capability of Hamas to stay there," the ambassador expressed Israel's position in its ongoing dialogue with Brussels.
"So it's not a matter of let's do and let's negotiate and give you that and get that. This is not the case here,' Regev said.
Regev said Israel took action against Iran because it did not have a choice, 'to remove a direct threat to the state of Israel', addressing full frontal the fact that diplomacy, agreements and sanctions failed to work.
When asked about regime change in Iran, the Israeli ambassador chose to underline that Israel's offensive in Iran is 'exceeding the original military plan, getting close to achieve all goals for this war'.
As a result, Israel has the capability to act on multiple fronts to 'remove the nuclear and missile threat from Iran and the terror threat in Gaza,' according to Regev.
But the effects of the decisive action against Iran go beyond the Middle East, Israel's top diplomat said, underlining that it is also set to protect Europe because 'Iran poses a threat also to Europe.'
'When people ask me, why not to solve it with diplomacy, I ask why does Iran need a 4,000-kilometre missile to reach Brussels and other places? For what do they need it? For what? Is there any threat that Europe poses to Iran militarily? Why is Iran developing this missile? Why is Iran promoting terror? Why is Iran supporting Russia,' Regev asked.
Following up with a strong, unequivocal statement for Israel, the ambassador said that 'targetting Iranian missile facilities is saving Ukrainian lives, by harming Iran's ability to supply missiles and drones to Russia, contributing or diminishing their capability to harm Ukrainians through Russia because Iran is one of the big supporters of Russia's war with Ukraine.'
When asked about Moscow's offer to mediate the Iran-Israel conflict, the ambassador dismissed the idea swiftly by saying 'right now we are not interviewing leaders for who is going to be the mediator.'
Through all these developments, according to Regev, Israel sees this reality taking shape as 'an opportunity', due to what he calls 'our success'. 'For the first time in years, there is a hope for the people of the region," he said.
In Israel's view, he explained, radical groups such as 'the Mullahs in Iran, the Houthis in Yemen, Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon' controlled the regimes in countries surrounding Israel.
'The idea was let's speak with them, international community, let's try to reach an agreement, let's start to do something, let's start to appease them. It didn't work."
"For the first time in a decade there is a hope for the people there, because see what's happening in Lebanon, see what's happening in Syria. And I hope that we'll see it in Iran. It's thanks to the Israeli operation on the ground,' said the Israeli ambassador, outlining his country's future Middle East policy vision.
'And maybe, not maybe, I'm sure that for the long run it will improve the situation on the ground for the people of the region. For the people of Israel, of course, but also the people in the region,' he said.
But, he stressed, Israel 'is paying a price for that, we understand that this is something that we need to do once and for all, whatever price we will pay. This is right now an opportunity that we cannot stop in the middle,' he expressed the current Israeli decisive mindset.
Israel now sees any future diplomacy in a different paradigm, contrary to the formats that attempted to contain Iran's nuclear programme over the last years.
'When Israel has removed most of the threat, we expect Europe and the international community will step in and verify that Iran is not going back to be a bad player,' he specified.
Since Israel believes that the previous diplomacy formats failed leading to the current crisis, the ambassador underlined again and again throughout the interview the need for Europe and the international community to initiate a new framework in which 'diplomacy will play a role, but this time will be more concrete, practical with the specific outcomes.'
'Israel does not have any interest to go to a large-scale war and I'm not sure that also Iran is interested in that or their regime. So the best thing is to keep pressing Iran, put a strong stand by the international community and Europe, warning Iran."
"They need to understand that nobody is standing with them, and there will be consequences for them to go for a larger scale. So I think it also depends on how the international community in Europe will react to this threat. Directly towards Iran,' the Israeli ambassador presented his government's view of the Middle East's post-war reality.
Asked if negotiations can yield results now, the ambassador answered briefly: 'We are right now focusing on achieving the goal of our military operation.'
'But it needs to be followed by strong measures by the international community, including Europe. This time it should be strict. No nuclear, no missiles."
"Without any loopholes or without any trying and attempts to overcome this sanction,' Regev outlined Israel's position on any future negotiation, 'when the war is over."
Israel's ambassador to the EU chose to be equally clear and firm about his government's current interactions with the European Union on the crisis with Iran, saying 'we hear different tones, but at the end of the road we see and we feel the support.'
The Israeli government has 'a continuous and intensive interaction' with the top EU institutions in Brussels, but 'of course it is complicated when it comes to have one position in the Union composed of 27 member states.'
When asked if he perceives a reset over Iran after the political reactions over the Gaza crisis, Regev said, 'It depends on who you ask, it's the honest answer."
'There is a war right now and Israel is actually leading this war against Iran, that this is the war also for the benefit, for the long run of Europe. So this is not the time right now to examine or to push things or to try to put obstacles in the Israel-EU relations."
"This is definitely not the time or the day after we got hit by rockets, with many dozens of civilians injured and killed. Right now it's time to focus on this war with Iran and this is what we expect that the EU will do,' Regev stated.
But still, he chose to make it clear that the 'operation in Gaza is not related to Israel's relation with the EU, but it is related to what is happening on the ground' even if 'there is a group that pushes for reviewing and keeps putting the issue of Gaza on the table, while there are other groups that understand that this is not the time.'
'And this is what we try to do, to push more for the group and the actors that understand that this is not the time right now,' the ambassador seemed to urge the pro-Israel voices to speak up.
'There are still 53 hostages there, and they must be released before if we want to end this war. Second, as long as Hamas is there, controlling Gaza, we don't want to see them the day after."
"So we want this war to end, like everybody. But we want the hostages back and we want to see that Hamas does not have any control. It's not only related to our relation with the EU, and we try as much as we can to explain this line,' Regev concluded.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
44 minutes ago
- Euronews
Why do Europeans still believe a nuclear deal with Iran is possible?
Europe hopes to use diplomacy to avoid the threat of all-out war in the Middle East, amid fears that the conflict between Israel and Iran could engulf the wider region. On Friday, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, together with the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, will hold talks with representatives of the Tehran regime in Geneva. The meeting aims to de-escalate the fighting between the two Middle Eastern powers, which began when Israel launched airstrikes against Iran and killed some of its top military commanders last Friday. The Europeans seek to initiate a form of shuttle diplomacy between Israel, Iran, Washington and the main European capitals. They would like to reestablish a security dialogue with Tehran, similar to the one interrupted in 2018 when the first Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPA, which was signed by Iran along with China, the EU, France, Germany, Russia and the UK in 2015, stipulated an easing of Western sanctions against the Middle Eastern country in exchange for Tehran's commitment to a drastic reduction of Uranium stockpiles and centrifuges at its nuclear facilities. Such sites are now being targeted by Israeli missile attacks, including those at Natanz and Isfahan. In 2018, despite the UN nuclear agency saying that Tehran was progressively adopting the restrictions required by the agreement, Trump's administration withdrew from the JCPOA, effectively rendering it null and void. By walking back on the JCPOA, the US put an end to one of the main achievements of European foreign policy. David Rigoulet-Roze, an author and associate research fellow at IRIS, a French foreign policy institute, said the cancellation of the Iranian nuclear deal of 2015 was a hasty act. "The agreement had the merit, despite all its imperfections, of existing, of serving as a basis, including for the possible subsequent renegotiation of something more binding', said Rigoulet-Roze. 'Even though, the Europeans were not in control of the process'. The accord represented an opportunity for the EU to reopen trade relations with Iran after decades of US and Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic. However, after the JCPOA's demise, the regime in Tehran stigmatised the EU for the failure of the agreement. 'Somewhat wrongly, because we obviously didn't provoke the cancellation of the accord and we have also suffered the consequences of what is known as the extraterritoriality of American law', Rigoulet-Roze said. He noted the capacity of the US to impose sanctions on a global scale, particularly secondary sanctions, 'which are formidable and which have obviously curbed Europe's desire to develop trade relations that were authorised after 2015'. Iran has been a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty since the time of Shah Reza Pahlavi, who was the original founder of Iran's nuclear programme. Therefore, Tehran has been obliged to open up its sites for inspection by UN agencies. This motivated Brussels to treat Iran as a potentially rational actor despite its puzzling decisions and smoke and mirrors regarding its nuclear programme. Years ago, Tehran ended its highly enriched uranium production, yet it continued developing its military conventional ballistic capabilities and financing Middle Eastern proxies, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. "This was a kind of matter of national pride as far as the Iranians were concerned. So I don't think that they, and this is in retrospect, ever planned to negotiate it away,' senior British diplomat and adviser Robert Cooper told Euronews. A strategic nuclear force, Cooper explained, "was going to mark them out as one of the most important powers in the Middle East. And as an international power beyond the Middle East as well." The Iranian nuclear programme and the existence of uranium enrichment equipment and heavy water facilities were officially made public by then-president Mohammad Khatami, a reformist who persuaded France, Germany and the UK to reach a deal that was meant to oblige Tehran to stop the uranium enrichment. Javier Solana, the EU foreign and security policy chief at the time, attended the negotiations in Tehran. The Spanish diplomat was one of the deal's key architects, who believed that a deal is better than any conflict, and that the EU is best poised to broker it. "Solana was fascinated by Iran, and you know, we had a certain admiration for it. Our aim at the time was to persuade the Iranians that a military nuclear programme would make them a target,' Cooper recalled.
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Israelis face daily fears of missile strikes as Iran conflict surges
On Thursday, Jimmy, a volunteer paramedic and one of the first respondents on site during the 7 October Hamas attack, rushed to action when a series of sirens sounded across Holon, a city south of Tel Aviv. "When the sirens sound, first respondents have to get into their vehicles and wait for the calls from the control hub to start coming in," Jimmy, a 36-year-old Arab-Israeli, who grew up in Jordan and East Jerusalem, told Euronews. "As we headed to the impacted site, I realised that we were nearing my building. When we got there, I discovered that yes — it was my building which had been destroyed by a missile." "I had only moved in the day before, because the apartment I had been living in for four years in Revohot — south of Tel Aviv — was destroyed by an Iranian missile earlier this week," explained Jimmy. "All the remaining clothes I own are ruined, as is the few bits of furniture I had left." "I've been through — and seen — a lot in the last few years, but with time I have learned to disconnect my feelings, because otherwise I would just sit and cry at this never-ending war," said Jimmy, who runs a delivery business, alongside his volunteering activities. "The hardest part for me is that I have an eight-month-old son who I haven't seen for months now, because my wife and he are in Eilat, in the south of Israel, where it's much safer than here." "The thing is, I have to keep working when I can, and I also feel that I am needed as a volunteer," added Jimmy. Although the country has been on standby since Wednesday — the sixth day of Israel and Iran's open conflict — restrictions on civilians were eased, and workplace activities, as well as small gatherings, were allowed to resume. Despite this, schools remain shut and the streets are empty. For many in Israel, raising children in this climate is tough. "I wouldn't be so worried if I didn't have her", 30-year-old Emma from the US told Euronews. She lives in Jaffa in southern Tel Aviv, with her husband and their 10-month-old son. "We don't have a bomb shelter in our building because we live in an Arab neighbourhood, my husband is an Arab Israeli. Many of the affordable apartments in Israel are not equipped, so at night we take our baby and go sleep at my mother-in-law's house," Emma told Euronews. For Emma, there is a clear reason that Israel finds itself in this situation. "I think my morale is better than most Israelis' and that's because I don't believe that what the government is doing is right — so I understand why we are in this position." Nizan, 34, is a tech entrepreneur and father-to-be who usually resides in Tel Aviv. But since Israel's escalating conflict with Iran, he and his wife have relocated to Haifa, in the north of the country, to stay with her family. 'The noises we are hearing from the shelter are very different to those we hear when there are missiles fired from Hamas or by Hezbollah. Even with the Iron Dome, it sounds like a truck is going through a tunnel right over your head," Nizan told Euronews. Many in Israel fear being caught out by a missile when they are out doing essential things like heading to the shops or driving to pick up supplies, as the conflict remains particularly hard on civilians. According to health officials, some 24 Israelis were killed by Iranian rocket salvos in the first week of the conflict, while more than 2,400 have received medical treatment for injuries. All were civilians. Meanwhile, Iranian rights groups based abroad have reported that at least 657 people were killed in Iran by Thursday. "If you are out, the instructions are to just lay on the ground with your hands above your head — but I don't think that really does much. On the evening of Iran's first attack, we were driving to Haifa and we saw the sky light up with so many missiles." "We weren't sure whether to stop because there are alarms all over the country, and you don't know if it's for the area. If it's safer to go on, or to stop on the side of the road," added Nizan. As a business owner, Nizan manages his team remotely, despite workplace restrictions having been lifted. "I run a business of 12 people. Every morning I get worried calls from my colleagues, who tell me they have children who are scared because of a nearby missile or something, it's hard for them to focus", added Nizan. "I feel misunderstood by people living in Europe. Israel escalated the conflict because Iran has repeatedly stated they want to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth." "However, the success of this open conflict will of course be measured by whether this fighting between Israel and Iran continues long-term", concluded Nizan. Oriella, a teacher who lives in Tel Aviv, told Euronews that she feels "exhausted." "There are no nights, your head is filled with worries and insecurities, because you are mentally exhausted, because we have been at war for years," she said. "In my apartment block we have a shelter, people share small talk, but they don't really want to speak — they are tired of having to converse in the middle of the night. They want to sleep. The children in the shelter are either chatting or crying", said Oriella, 59. "I don't like wars, I believe in diplomatic solutions — I think that is what we should be working towards with Iran. People are experiencing so much suffering and for what? To have wars again, and again, and again," sighed Oriella. 35-year-old Zohran lives in Tel Aviv and works in the nightlife industry. However, his work has been placed on hold, and he is now waiting to see whether he will receive any financial compensation from the government, he explained. "I would say I am used to having my life on hold", Zohran told Euronews. Not having a shelter in his building is a major worry, he added. "Two minutes away from my flat there is an underground parking lot. So I run there, with many other people." "Although I am a strong opponent of Netanyahu, with this war against Iran's regime, most of us are with the government. This is a war with a country, where the leaders say they want to destroy us", concluded Zohran. A US appeals court has allowed President Donald Trump to maintain control of the National Guard in Los Angeles, following a challenge to their deployment by the state's governor. Trump called in the troops following protests over immigration raids. The decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found the president acted illegally in doing so. The National Guard deployment was the first by a US president without the governor's permission since 1965. In its decision, a three-judge panel on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded it was likely Trump lawfully exercised his authority in federalising control of the guard. It said that while presidents don't have unfettered power to seize control of a state's guard, the Trump administration had presented enough evidence to show it had a defensible rationale for doing so, citing violent acts by protesters. 'The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters 'pinned down' several federal officers and threw 'concrete chunks, bottles of liquid, and other objects' at the officers," the court wrote in an explanation of its decision. "Protesters also damaged federal buildings and caused the closure of at least one federal building. And a federal van was attacked by protesters who smashed in the van's windows," the court added. "The federal government's interest in preventing incidents like these is significant.' It also found that even if the federal government failed to notify California Governor Gavin Newsom before federalising the National Guard as required by law, he had no power to veto the president's order. Trump celebrated the decision on his Truth Social platform, calling it a 'big win.' He wrote that 'all over the United States, if our cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should state and local police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done.' Newsom issued a statement expressing disappointment that the court is allowing Trump to retain control of the National Guard. But he also welcomed one aspect of the decision. 'The court rightly rejected Trump's claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court," Newsom said. " The president is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump's authoritarian use of US military soldiers against citizens.' The court case could have broader implications on the president's power to deploy soldiers within the US after Trump directed immigration officials to prioritise deportations from other Democratic-run cities. Trump argued that the troops were necessary to restore order. Newsom said the move inflamed tensions, usurped local authority and wasted resources. The protests have since appeared to be winding down.
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
The American GBU-57 bomb is the only weapon capable of reaching Iran's Fordo nuclear site
"This entire operation (...) really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo." As Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the US, summed it up on Fox News on Friday, June 13, the goal of the attack launched against Iran, to put an end to its nuclear program, will only be achieved with the destruction of the uranium enrichment site, located 150 kilometers South of Tehran. The Israeli military claims to have struck the underground section of Natanz – the other Iranian uranium enrichment hub – which was confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), though the extent of the damage was not specified. However, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, which said it had informed the IAEA, Fordo, considered the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear program and protected as such, suffered only superficial damage from the strikes. Buried into the side of a mountain beneath 80 to 90 meters of rock and concrete, the site is out of reach of conventional weapons available to Israeli forces, explained Justin Bronk, a defense systems expert and researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank. The penetrating bombs in Israel's arsenal "might be able to collapse entrance and ventilation passages, only the United States Air Force has a conventional weapon capable of breaching the main facility from the air," he said, referring to the "Massive Ordnance Penetrator GBU-57/B." This precision-guided bomb weighs 13,600 kilograms, including a 2,700-kilogram warhead, and can burrow 60 meters underground before detonating, according to the US Air Force, which will not specify the types of materials it can penetrate. According to Bronk, "at least two weapons dropped sequentially into the same breaching aim point are likely to be required to reach and destroy the main centrifuge facilities at Fordo." The GBU-57 was designed "specifically for Fordo," said Ali Vaez, director of Iran research at the International Crisis Group, recalling that the Pentagon acknowledged in 2012 that the "bunker busters" it then possessed could not reach the site's underground facilities. The new version, presented in 2013 to Israeli political and military officials, according to the Wall Street Journal, was equipped with adjustable fuses to maximize penetration capabilities, more precise guidance systems and devices to evade Iranian air defenses. 'Defensive posture' Several types of heavy American bombers, including the B-52, are capable of carrying the GBU-57, but only the B-2 is authorized to do so. The stealth aircraft, which has a range of 11,000 kilometers, can carry two bombs, according to the US Air Force. "With the aid of aerial refueling [it] could even mount attacks on Fordow and other Iranian hardened targets from their home base in Missouri," noted Bronk. The use of this weapon would therefore require direct US participation in Israeli operations. Donald Trump did not rule this out on Sunday, but it is not currently on the agenda. The White House reiterated on Tuesday that US forces in the region remained in a "defensive posture." However, according to the flight tracking website AirNav Radar, about 30 refueling aircraft left the US on Sunday to land at, among other locations, Ramstein Air Base in Germany, as well as in the United Kingdom, Estonia and Greece. "It is a clear signal of strategic readiness," showing that "the US is positioning itself for rapid escalation," said Eric Schouten, director general of the intelligence firm Dyami Security Intelligence, told Reuters. As for the effectiveness of potentially using one or more GBU-57s, Vaez expressed doubt. American bunker-busting weapons were used in Afghanistan and Yemen, the researcher recalled, but "in both cases, the bomb did not help the US achieve its strategic objectives." Even if the US decided to use them, "it would be difficult for them to destroy the Fordo site," according to Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association. "Even if they manage to do so, the destruction of Fordo "will not put an end to Iran's uranium enrichment program or resolve the risk of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran gained valuable knowledge over the past several years about uranium enrichment and it may have stashed centrifuges at an undeclared site," she said. "Strikes may set Iran back, but it is not a long-term solution to preventing a nuclear-armed Iran."
