France has no reason to change diplomatic staffing in Middle East, foreign ministry says
PARIS, June 12 (Reuters) - France has no reason to change its diplomatic personnel staffing in the Middle East at this stage, a French foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
"There is no reason that would justify a change in our diplomatic personnel at the moment, but we are following the situation closely," the spokesperson told reporters.
The remarks came one day after the United States said it was moving U.S. personnel out of the Middle East as a result of unspecified security threats.
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Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
How a surge in late-night pizza orders at the Pentagon predicted Israel's attack on Iran
Israel 's attack on Iran fueled online rumors that an influx of pizza deliveries to the Pentagon was an indicator that a foreign disaster was on the horizon. Pentagon Pizza Report, an account on X with over 69,000 followers, posted a photo on Thursday night of a traffic surge at the Domino's Pizza in Arlington, which is about a 10-minute drive from the Pentagon. The account monitors online orders for pizzerias near the Pentagon and the White House and posts screenshots of when they're busy. At around 7 pm on Thursday night, Pentagon Pizza Report posted, 'As of 6:59pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity.' A few hours later, the account shared wait times for a nearby bar, writing, 'Freddie's Beach Bar, the closest gay bar to the Pentagon, has abnormally low traffic for a Thursday night. Potentially indicating a busy night at the Pentagon.' Israel launched the first air strikes against Iran on Friday at 3 am local time/8 pm EST, just an hour after the Pentagon Pizza Report noted a drastic surge in activity. Pizza takeout only grew as the night continued, with the account noting that the Domino's on 2602 Columbia Pike had abnormally high traffic just before 9 pm EST. Traffic continued to skyrocket, and the second closest Domino's to the Pentagon also picked up some additional customers, experiencing 'extremely' high levels of activity around 11 pm EST. Social media users were quick to point out the connection online, with one comment reading, 'This was a great catch, within an hour bombs flying in Tehran.' 'I feel like this really is telling us that there's a panic at these places,' another added. 'The pentagon needs its own pizza place inside the building. this is embarrassing,' a third noted. A fourth agreed, 'This is a security risk.' Pentagon Pizza Report screenshots data from Google, which uses an algorithm to track what times of day certain businesses are popular. Google displays the graph when someone uses the search engine to look up a business. Live visit data is also displayed so customers can check Google to see how busy a business is at that time. Google uses an algorithm from users who have opted in to Google Location History to display the data. Owners can't manually alter the information, and the tracking graph only comes up for businesses that have enough data from Google Location History. Although the data isn't perfectly accurate, it does give an estimate of when businesses tend to experience their busiest hours. Social media users have taken to accounts like Pentagon Pizza Report online to not only track if nearby businesses are experiencing high activity, but have also used the platform as a way to see if military personnel are staying late at the office. The attack in the Middle East on Thursday night indicated a foreign relations emergency for high-level officials in Washington DC. Israel's attack against Iran on Friday morning targeted the country's nuclear facilities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the operation was intended to 'roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's survival. ' Three of Iran's top military leaders and two nuclear scientists were killed in the strikes. sending over 100 drones to Israel, most of which were deflected.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Israel's blitz was years in the planning: Mossad agents smuggled drones into Iran desert, army chiefs and nuclear scientists were killed and Tehran's radar and missile bases eliminated in most devastating attack on Iranian soil for nearly half a century
Months, if not years in the planning, it was the most devastating attack on Iranian soil for nearly half a century. A perfect fusion of high-grade conventional capabilities, human ingenuity and the latest advances in military technologies. Outcome: Iran 's nuclear-enrichment programme set back, dozens of air-defence systems wiped out and leading nuclear scientists and military commanders killed. Israel 's primary aim was to degrade Iran's nuclear-enrichment capabilities. But a political agenda was also emerging yesterday, as regime change in Tehran appeared a distinct possibility. At around 1am UK time about 200 Israeli military aircraft took off from bases inside the country. But by then much of the painstaking work had already been done, entirely in secret. The ground had been laid some time ago by Mossad agents and Israeli special forces who infiltrated Iran, smuggled weapons into the country and prepared drones ahead of what Israel named Operation Rising Lion. 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First reports of Israeli airstrikes emerged in northern Tehran: an explosion in the residential area of Nobonyad. Details remained scant yesterday, but some reports indicated this may have been where some of the country's leading nuclear scientists lived. Subsequently, the Iranian government confirmed the deaths of a number of academics: Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Dr Mohammed Mehdi Tehranchi, president of the Islamic Azad University of Tehran, and Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Ahmad Zolfaghari and Amirhossein Feqhi, from Tehran's Shahid Behesti University. Meanwhile, deep in the deserts of central and western Iran, Israeli special forces troops released swarms of drones which targeted radar facilities and surface-to-air missile capabilities – the military hardware an Iranian response to Israel's attacks would rely on. Israel is expert in such clandestine operations. 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Israel also struck dozens of radar installations in western Iran, probably by means of special forces troops approaching the sites on foot, assembling miniature kamikaze drones and setting them off towards these military facilities. Operating at such short range, these drones evaded Iran's limited surveillance capabilities. Explosions were also reported at the Nojeh airbase in Hamedan, western Iran. A number of senior Iranian military officers were also said to have been killed when they convened for what they thought was a secret meeting to plan pre-emptive strikes on Israel. The venue was chosen for its protection, a bunker deep underground. But, according to reports, the bunker was not deep enough, as an Israeli warhead penetrated the basement. A damaged high-rise building that was hit by Israeli air strikes, north of Tehran, Iran, 13 June 2025 HOSSEIN SALAMI Salami was commander-in-chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Salami, who was born in 1960, in 2019. MOHAMMAD BAGHERI A former IRGC commander, Major General Bagheri was chief of staff of Iran's armed forces from 2016. Born in 1960, he joined the Guards during the Iran-Iraq war that raged in the 1980s. AMIR ALI HAJIZADEH Hajizadeh was head of the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace force. Israel named him as the central figure in directing aerial attacks against it. In 2020, he accepted responsibility for the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet, which occurred shortly after Iran launched missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq to retaliate for a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. GHOLAM ALI RASHID Major General Rashid was head of the IRGC's Khatem-al-Anbiya HQ. He previously served as deputy chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. FEREYDOUN ABBASI Abbasi, a nuclear scientist, was head of Iran's atomic energy organization from 2011 to 2013. A hardliner, he was a member of parliament from 2020 to 2024. MOHAMMAD MEHDI TEHRANCHI Nuclear scientist was head of Tehran's Islamic Azad University. OTHER SCIENTISTS Abdolhamid Minouchehr, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feqhi and Motalibizadeh. Iran later confirmed the deaths of Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the IRGC, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) force, aerial commander Davoud Shaykhian and Mohammad Bagheri, the Iranian Army's Chief of Staff. As precautionary measures, Israel closed its airspace and its diplomatic missions overseas. It also suspended gas production at sites in the Mediterranean. Meanwhile its attacks across Iran lasted for at least five hours – possibly much longer as reports last night suggested that, having secured aerial supremacy, Israeli jets were returning to some of the targets to inflict further damage. By way of response, Iran is said to have launched at least 100 drones towards Israel. Its officials also declared the attacks 'declaration of war'. Iranian drones were found on the ground in Syria after being intercepted by the Israelis. The IDF also released footage of the country's navy shooting down an Iranian drone using Barak-8 surface-to-air missile. That no Iranian ordnance seemingly struck any Israeli targets may have convinced its state news agency Fars to deny it had launched any drones at all, claiming Iran's revenge will 'take place in the near future'. Iranian media also reported at least 78 deaths and 329 casualties from the Israeli attacks, including women and children. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel should 'anticipate a severe punishment', adding the country's armed forces would defend Iran's sovereignty. To the surprise of Western observers, Iran's most loyal proxy group in the region, Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon and armed and financed by Iran, said it would not respond. Iran halted all domestic and international flights from its airspace. US Secretary of State Mark Rubio suggested Israel's actions were 'unilateral'. While the US did not take part in the military action it was fully aware of Israel's intention. Sir Keir Starmer, sidelined by Israel after condemnation of its continuing campaign in Gaza, called for de-escalation. A No 10 spokesman said: 'Our priority is to prevent further escalation in the Middle East, that's in no one's interest... we're working closely with all our allies to press for that diplomatic solution'. Russia, which recently signed a military cooperation pact with Iran, condemned Israel's 'unprovoked attack on a sovereign state'. While China expressed 'concern'. So did Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was last night due to speak to Vladimir Putin. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres asked both sides to 'show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a deeper conflict'. Mr Trump advised Iran to 'make a deal' while it still has the opportunity. He described Israel's attack as 'excellent'. Israel has claimed it was 'just the beginning'. The UN Security Council was meeting yesterday to discuss the continuing crisis. Mr Netanyahu was expected to speak to Sir Keir. The Prime Minister has also discussed the Middle East security crisis with German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
ANDREW NEIL: Israel holds the cards. Trump has been squared. The mullahs in Tehran must now fear for their existence
The United States did not participate in Israel 's initial attacks on Iran but it certainly knew they were coming. admitted as much to the US media yesterday morning. As early as Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had indicated to him on a call that military action was looking imminent. He spoke again with the President on Thursday to give him a further 'heads up'.
