Trump says military action still possible over Iran nuclear deadlock
Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman to discuss Tehran's response to the US proposal for a nuclear agreement.
Iran has presented a counterproposal, deeming the US offer to halt uranium enrichment as "unacceptable."
Trump has expressed diminishing confidence that Tehran will agree to halt uranium enrichment as part of a deal with Washington and warned military action remained on the table if an agreement could not be reached.
Negotiations between the US and Iran have been ongoing since April, primarily mediated by Oman, with the US aiming to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Amid stalled negotiations, Trump announced the withdrawal of some American personnel from the Middle East, citing potential dangers, while US intelligence suggests a possible Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Timeline of tensions and hostilities between Israel and Iran
Israel and Iran opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict when Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday that set off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel said it targeted nuclear and military facilities. Iranian state media reported the leader of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and two top nuclear scientists were killed. Israel's attack comes as tensions have escalated over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, which Israel sees as a threat to its existence. Here is a timeline of some significant events in the hostilities between the two countries: Iran's nuclear program is a primary target 2010 — The Stuxnet computer virus is discovered and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation. The virus disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges. 2018 — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel obtained tens of thousands of pages of data showing Iran covered up its nuclear program before signing a deal with world powers in 2015. An ex-Mossad chief confirms the information was obtained by more than a dozen non-Israeli agents from safes in Tehran in 2018. 2020 — Alleged Israeli attacks against Iran's nuclear program are stepped up significantly after the disintegration of the 2015 nuclear deal meant to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. July 2020 — A mysterious explosion tears apart a centrifuge production plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. Iran blames the attack on Israel. November 2020 — A top Iranian military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is killed by a remote-controlled machine gun while traveling in a car outside Tehran. A top Iranian security official accuses Israel of using 'electronic devices' to remotely kill the scientist, who founded Iran's military nuclear program in the 2000s. April 11, 2021 — An attack targets Iran's underground nuclear facility in Natanz. Iran blames Israel, which does not claim responsibility, but Israeli media widely reports the government orchestrated a cyberattack that caused a blackout at the facility. April 16, 2021 — Iran begins enriching uranium up to 60%, its highest purity ever and a technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. June 2022 — Iran accuses Israel of poisoning two nuclear scientists in different cities within three days of each other, though circumstances remained unclear. Mideast wars Oct. 7, 2023 — Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip storm into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, beginning the most intense war between Israel and Hamas. Iran, which has armed Hamas, offers support to the militants. Feb. 14, 2024 — An Israeli sabotage attack causes multiple explosions on an Iranian natural gas pipeline running from Iran's western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province to cities on the Caspian Sea. April 1, 2024 — An Israeli airstrike demolishes Iran's Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing 16 people including two Iranian generals. April 14, 2024 — Iran launches an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel, firing over 300 missiles and attack drones in response to the Israeli airstrike in Damascus. Working with a U.S.-led international coalition, Israel intercepts much of the incoming fire. April 19, 2024 — A suspected Israeli strike hits an air defense system near an airport in Isfahan, Iran. July 31, 2024 — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is assassinated by an apparent Israeli airstrike during a visit to Tehran. Israel had pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the Oct. 7 attack. Sept. 27, 2024 — Israeli airstrike kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Formed by Iranian Revolutionary Guard members who went to Lebanon in 1982 to fight invading Israeli forces, Hezbollah was the first group that Iran backed and used as a way to export its brand of political Islam. Oct. 1, 2024 — Iran launches its second direct attack on Israel, though a U.S.-led coalition and Israel shoot down most of the missiles. Oct. 16, 2024 — Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip. Oct. 26, 2024 — Israel openly attacks Iran for the first time, striking air defense systems and sites associated with its missile program. April 30, 2025 — Iran executes a man it said worked for Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency and played a role in the killing of Revolutionary Guard Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in Tehran on May 22, 2022.
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Israeli ‘decapitation strikes' wipe out top military command
Israel has launched a series of stunning strikes against Iran, aiming to cripple Tehran's nuclear programme and its military leadership. The IDF said about 200 jets were involved in striking around 100 targets on Friday morning, which appeared to include senior members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and top nuclear scientists. Those killed included Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the powerful IRGC, and Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, according to reports. The attacks are reminiscent of Israeli strikes on Lebanon last year, which decapitated the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group. Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah, was among those assassinated by Israeli bombs in a precision strike on the group's Beirut headquarters last September. Israel appears to be using similar tactics in an attempt to wipe out Iran's senior military leadership. Here is what we know about who the IDF killed overnight. Mohammad Bagheri – chief of staff of Iran's armed forces General Mohammad Bagheri served as the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, the highest-ranking officer in the country's military, since 2016 until his death on Friday. He was responsible for the coordination and supervision of Iran's regular army and the IRGC, which answers only to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and supports Iranian militant groups, and his death is likely to throw the leadership of the IRGC into disarray. Bagheri was also a member of the IRGC Command Network, which according to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) 'dominates the upper echelons of Iran's military and controls planning, operations, intelligence, covert and irregular warfare operations, and internal security'. Born in 1960 in Tehran, he studied engineering and earned a doctoral degree in political geography. He was involved in attacks during the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, when 52 Americans were taken hostage. He joined the IRGC in 1980 as an intelligence official and claimed to play a major role in all operations of the Iran-Iraq War between 1980 and 1988. In February 2022, he announced that Iran was advancing its ballistic missile programme, and in October that year, the White House reported that he was overseeing Iranian army branches supplying Russia with Iranian-made drones. This prompted the UK to sanction Bagheri that same year. The US followed suit, sanctioning him over the brutal suppression of protests that broke out in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini. Hossein Salami – commander-in-chief of IRGC General Hossein Salami joined the IRGC at its inception in 1979 and rose up through the ranks, serving as commander of the guard's Air Force and its deputy commander-in-chief before his promotion to the top position in 2019. 'Without a doubt, Major General Salami was one of the most distinguished commanders of the Islamic Revolution — present on all fronts of scientific, cultural, security, and military jihad,' the IRGC said in a statement, highlighting the significance of his death in Israeli strikes on Friday. He was born in 1960 in Isfahan province, one of the targets of Israel's latest raids. He served in various positions during the Iraq-Iran war, including ground force operations and intelligence gathering. While serving as the deputy chief, General Salami became known for his rhetorical warfare against the US, and his promotion to commander-in-chief came only weeks after the US designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. The appointment also followed US president Donald Trump's decision during his first term to withdraw the US from the international nuclear deal with Iran and restore crippling sanctions. As leader of the IRGC, he increased his threats against the US, vowing to 'take harsh revenge' against the country after the Trump-ordered assassination of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Five days later, Iran launched ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American troops, causing injuries but no fatalities among soldiers there. After Soleimani was killed, Salami said that the US and Israel should know that 'if they threaten our commanders, none of their commanders will find a safe place ' to live. In a 2016 speech, he said there was 'fertile ground' for the 'annihilation, the wiping out, and the collapse of the Zionist regime'. When an Israeli strike in April 2024 killed seven guard members, including two Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, Salami vowed to retaliate. Weeks later, Salami ordered an operation that launched more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles against Israel in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a region-wide war. Ali Shamkhani – top adviser to Khomeini Known as one of Iran's leading strategists, Shamkhani served as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and a key adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader. He was an important interlocutor with Arab countries, and some Western officials saw him as a preferred mediator in discussions with Iran, making his death a significant blow to potential diplomatic efforts. He was born in 1955 in Ahvaz, a city in western Iran, and studied engineering at university. While a student, he was a member of an underground organisation called Mansouroun, which was fighting against Iran's royal dynasty of the day. Shamkhani worked his way up serving in various positions in the IRGC, as well as cabinet minister for the revolutionary guards in the 1980s and for defence from the late 1990s to early 2000s. After the death of Soleimani in 2020, Shamkhani said Iran's response would be a 'historic nightmare' for the US. 'Even if the weakest of these scenarios gains a consensus, the implementation of it can be a historic nightmare for the Americans... The entirety of the resistance forces will retaliate,' he said. In 2023, however, he resigned as the country's top security official over his close ties to a British spy, the New York Times reported at the time. Iran international reported that his resignation was due to his involvement in a government circle linked to a cartel engaged in kidnapping and drug trafficking in collaboration with the IRGC. He was reported to have been injured in Israel's latest strikes, and to have died hours later in hospital. Gholam Ali Rashid – senior commander of IRGC Less was known about General Gholam Alo Rashid. Born in 1953 in Khuzestan, he joined the IRGC at the start of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. He became one of the key decision-makers during the war and was eventually promoted to deputy chief-of-staff of the Iranian armed forces. Like Bagheri, he was also a member of the IRGC's Command Network and had previously declared that any military action taken by the US against Iran would be a strategic mistake. At the time of his death, he was serving as the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, a combatant command that coordinates joint military operations. Nuclear scientists Six nuclear scientists were killed in Israel's strikes, according to Iranian state media, in a blow to Iran's nuclear programme. Nuclear scientist Fereydoun Abbasi and theoretical physicist Dr Mohammed Mehdi Tehranchi had already been named among the dead by Mehr News. Abbasi was a professor of nuclear physics, reported to be a member of the IRGC, who was regularly linked to Iran's nuclear weapons programme. He is reported to have personally directed work to calculate the yield of a nuclear weapon. Less is known about Mehdi, a professor of physics. He was a theoretical physicist and president of the Islamic Azad University in Tehran.
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
Germany's Merz says Netanyahu informed him of attack on Iran
BERLIN, June 13 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about Israel's attack on Iran in a phone call on Friday morning, Merz said in a statement. Israel has a right to defend itself and Iran should not develop nuclear weapons, the statement said, but Merz called on both sides to refrain from escalation. Israel launched strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of an operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Merz said Germany was coordinating closely with partners, particularly the United States, Britain and France. "We call on both sides to refrain from steps that could lead to further escalation and destabilize the entire region," Merz said. Merz convened a security cabinet meeting, which agreed to take all necessary precautions to protect German citizens in Israel, Iran and the region, and to increase the protection of Jewish and Israeli facilities, the statement said. Merz said Germany has expressed concern about Iran's advanced nuclear weapons programme for many years and that Iran continues to fail to fulfill its obligations to disclose its work on enriching nuclear-capable material.
