Europeans' meeting with Iranian foreign minister yields hope of more talks
A man walks in the damaged headquarters of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Iranian state television, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: pubinfo.section: cms.site.custom.site_domain : thestar.com sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false firstAuthor.avatar :
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The Province
3 hours ago
- The Province
The decision to enter the war against Iran lies with Trump, Israeli minister says
'The U.S. has an excellent president who knows exactly what is in the best interest of his country,' Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli told JNS A member of the local emergency services watches of the destruction at site of an Iranian missile attack in a residential area in Beersheba in southern Israel, on June 20, 2025. Photo by MAYA LEVIN / AFP via Getty Images The United States will make its own decision about whether to enter the war against Iran, and Israel will not pressure the Trump administration to do so, Minister of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli told JNS on Thursday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The statement follows the White House's announcement that President Donald Trump will make a definitive decision on whether to enter the conflict within two weeks. Israeli soldiers search through the rubble of residential buildings destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Bat Yam, central Israel, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner, File) 'The United States has an excellent president who knows exactly what is in the best interest of his country,' Chikli said. 'We don't make decisions for them.' 'But it's no secret that Iran is the enemy of the United States,' he continued. 'At every conference and parade of this regime, they shout, 'Death to America, Death to Israel.'' Chikli said that the world has not forgotten Iran's nefarious activities, such as the 1979-81 U.S. embassy hostage crisis in Tehran, where American diplomats were held captive for more than a year. He also referenced the 1983 Hezbollah attack on the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, which resulted in the deaths of 241 American service members and 58 French personnel. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Israeli flag flutters in front of a destroyed building at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images) These events, he emphasized, are stark reminders of Iran's longstanding hostility toward the United States and its direct involvement in attacks on Americans. 'Iran is an enemy of America, an enemy of Israel, and an enemy of Western civilization,' Chikli said. 'It's up to each state, including the U.S., to decide if they want to join us,' he continued. 'We respect every decision. We are grateful for President Trump's diplomatic support in recent weeks and for his role in removing the arms embargo imposed by the Biden administration, which has allowed us to purchase the crucial weapons needed for these operations.' Chikli stressed that Israel is facing an existential threat, particularly from ballistic missiles, which are now being systematically neutralized. He added that the military is targeting missile factories, arsenals and launchers, having already eliminated two-thirds of the stockpile. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Regarding the nuclear threat, Chikli said, 'We're taking steps, one by one, targeting key sites like Natanz, Isfahan and Arak. Top scientists working on Iran's nuclear project have been eliminated, and we're determined to finish the job.' Debris fills a street a day after an Iranian missile struck an area in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 20, 2025. Photo by JOHN WESSELS / AFP via Getty Images Opposition lawmaker Karine Elharrar (Yesh Atid) told JNS that Iran represents a 'grave threat' not only to Israel but to the entire world. She highlighted Tehran's ballistic missile strike on Thursday that targeted Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva. 'The threat will only be neutralized if Iran is completely prevented from acquiring nuclear capabilities and if its ballistic arsenal is dismantled,' she said. 'Additionally, Iran must be deterred and made to understand that it cannot continue to act against us in the region without facing serious consequences.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Religious Zionism lawmaker Simcha Rothman told JNS that the world should not require an attack on a hospital to recognize Iran as a threat, pointing out that the Islamic Republic has been targeting civilian areas from the very beginning of the war. 'Iran was behind Hamas's vicious attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, both before and after, and has been behind Hezbollah's attacks as well. Iran has always directed its attacks at civilians in the most brutal ways, both then and now. The world sees this, and those who choose not to stand with Israel do so willingly, supporting evil,' he said. A picture taken from inside a damaged house shows a damaged building a day after an Iranian missile struck an area in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 20, 2025. Photo by JOHN WESSELS / AFP via Getty Images He emphasized that Israel is following the right course of action, saying that it is essential to dismantle Iran's missile and nuclear programs, as both pose a direct threat to Israel and global peace. The ultimate goal, he added, is to eliminate Iran's capacity to target Israel. 'I believe President Trump understands the situation,' said Rothman. 'We see how he speaks publicly, and he recognizes that this is an opportunity to make the world a better place. I believe he wants to be part of it and lead this effort.' Read More
Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Europeans' meeting with top Iranian diplomat yields hope of more talks but no breakthrough
GENEVA (AP) — A meeting between Iran's foreign minister and top European diplomats on Friday yielded hopes of further talks but no immediate concrete breakthrough, a week after the crisis centered on the Iranian nuclear program erupted into war between Israel and Tehran. Foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany, as well as the European Union's foreign policy chief, emerged from talks at a Geneva hotel about 3 1/2 hours after Iran's Abbas Araghchi arrived for the meeting.
Edmonton Journal
4 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Iranian who killed someone in England gets another chance to stay in Canada
Breadcrumb Trail Links A Federal Court judge granted Sirus Lotfi's application for a judicial review, overruling an immigration officer's refusal of his last ditch plea to stay in Canada Article content An Iranian whose refugee claim was turned down in Canada because he was convicted in England 16 years ago of a serious assault that left one person dead and another two injured will get another shot at arguing he should be allowed to stay here because his bisexuality, Kurdish ethnicity, conversion from Islam to Christianity and identity as a Westerner would all put him at risk back home. Article content An immigration officer refused Sirus Lotfi's last ditch plea to stay in Canada in March 2024, arguing he had not provided sufficient evidence to establish the basis for his protection claim. 'I respectfully disagree with this position,' Justice Angus Grant wrote in a recent Federal Court decision out of Toronto. 'On the core details related to the applicant's risk factors, the affidavit (outlining those) was detailed and comprehensive. This was particularly the case with respect to (Lotfi's) sexual orientation. The affidavit contained many details, from the applicant's first homosexual encounters, to subsequent relationships, to his time spent in Tehran, frequenting a park where gay men would meet. Moreover, the documentary evidence before the officer clearly raised concerns with respect to the applicant's safety, assuming the risk factors he raised in his affidavit were true. This being the case, there was simply no doubt that the facts set out in the applicant's affidavit, if believed, would have justified granting the application.' Article content The judge noted 'the well-established principle that when an individual in refugee protection proceedings swears to the truth of their testimony, that testimony is presumed to be true unless there is a valid reason to doubt its truthfulness.' The immigration officer's conclusion that Lotfi 'had not established facts that he had categorically and unambiguously sworn to be true' amounted to a 'veiled credibility finding,' Grant said. In other words, the immigration officer questioned Lotfi's honesty without explicitly stating the Iranian's credibility was in doubt. The judge granted Lotfi's application for a judicial review. 'The matter is remitted to a different decision-maker for reconsideration,' Grant said in his decision dated June 18. Lotfi 'entered Canada in November 2022 on a fraudulently obtained passport and made a claim for refugee protection,' said the decision. Article content 'He did not have any other identity documents with him at the time, so he was arrested and detained by the Canada Border Services Agency.' While Lotfi was in detention, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada 'learned that in April 2009, the applicant was convicted in England with intent to do grievous bodily harm,' it said. 'The Canadian equivalent of this offence is aggravated assault.' Because of his conviction, for which he served half of a 10-year prison sentence, 'Lotfi was referred for an admissibility hearing before the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board,' said the decision. It found Lotfi 'was inadmissible to Canada on grounds of serious criminality.' That meant Lotfi became ineligible for his refugee claim to be heard, so he applied for a pre-removal risk assessment — his last ditch plea to stay in Canada. Article content For that hearing, Lotfi submitted a detailed written argument alleging that he would be at risk in Iran on four distinct grounds. But the immigration officer hearing his case noted Lotfi's lack of supporting evidence to establish his claim for protection. The court heard Lotfi 'had essentially no relationship with his mother in Iran, and moved to Germany as a young adolescent, where his father placed him in a boarding school.' At some point his family 'stopped paying tuition fees for this school, and he was subsequently placed in a Christian orphanage where he lived until he turned 18,' said the decision. 'Over the course of these years, (Lotfi) grew disconnected with his Islamic background and gravitated towards Christianity. At one point while at the orphanage, he tattooed a cross on his shoulder.' Lotfi 'also explained how he explored his sexual orientation while in the orphanage, though this was not easy to do. At 20, the applicant learned that his father had committed suicide. This led to a period of serious drug addiction, and in 2007 (he) was removed to Iran.' Latest National Stories
