Israel-Iran conflict deepens, European diplomacy steps in
As the air war between Israel and Iran enters its second week, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany are making renewed efforts to draw Iran back to negotiations, while US involvement remains undecided.
Israel began striking Iranian targets last Friday, citing a mission to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks, insisting its nuclear program is peaceful.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, Israeli strikes have killed 639 people in Iran, including senior military officials and nuclear scientists. Iran's retaliatory attacks have reportedly killed at least two dozen civilians in Israel. Reuters has not independently verified the death tolls.
While Israel has focused on nuclear and missile infrastructure, Western and regional officials say its broader aim includes destabilising the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Amid growing concerns of regional escalation, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, along with the EU's foreign policy chief, are scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Geneva on Friday.
'Now is the time to stop the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a broader conflict that serves no one,' said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of the meeting.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have condemned Israel's actions and called for de-escalation, according to the Kremlin.
The US role remains uncertain. Lammy met in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to explore diplomatic options.
Sources say Witkoff has held several phone calls with Araqchi since the conflict began. President Trump has alternated between threatening Tehran and encouraging a return to suspended nuclear talks.
The White House said Trump will decide within two weeks whether the US will intervene militarily. However, observers note that the two-week timeline is often flexible, as Trump has previously allowed such deadlines to slip.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arabian Post
19 minutes ago
- Arabian Post
Junta Claims Full Control Over Somair Uranium Operations
Niger's military-led government announced on 19 June 2025 that it is nationalising the Somair uranium joint venture, formerly dominated by French nuclear fuel company Orano. The announcement, aired on national television, declared that the State will now hold full ownership and management of the mine, citing inappropriate and inequitable conduct by Orano. Authorities assert that the 63 per cent stake held by Orano—alongside the remaining 37 per cent via state firm Sopamin—has been improperly leveraged. The accord underpinning Somair's operations expired in December 2023, and the government accuses the French entity of exceeding its share entitlement and engaging in misconduct, though specific details remain undisclosed. Operational control of the mine was already transferred to Nigerien authorities following the 2023 coup, and Orano was stripped of its permit for the Imouraren site, which contains an estimated 200,000 tonnes of uranium reserves. The company responded by launching arbitration and legal proceedings and by filing a domestic lawsuit after its director disappeared and its offices were raided in May. ADVERTISEMENT Orano, 90 per cent owned by the French government and operating in Niger for more than five decades, has been exploring options to divest its stakes—potentially to Russian or Chinese entities—as Franco–Nigerien relations deteriorate. The firm reported substantial financial losses and warned that governmental interference has undermined the mine's viability. Niger produces about 5 per cent of the world's uranium, supplying approximately 20–26 per cent of France's demand—critical for a nation generating around 70 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power. With Somair's output at risk and Imouraren's permit revoked, Nigerien uranium exports may fall sharply in 2025, potentially triggering supply shortages across Europe. The move reflects Niger's broader shift towards resource sovereignty, embedding itself among Sahel countries like Mali and Burkina Faso that are revising mining contracts and exerting stronger state control over critical commodities. These regimes are renegotiating higher revenue shares and demanding local stakeholder benefits. However, their tactics—raids, executive detentions, unilateral expropriations—have prompted concern and legal challenges from affected companies. Analysts warn that Niger's action may energise global uranium market volatility, as utilities, notably in Europe, scramble to secure alternative sources. Kazakhstan and Canada stand out as potential beneficiaries, though ramping up supply will take time and investment. Orano has indicated plans to diversify, including pursuing projects in Mongolia and Namibia to offset Niger's production decline. Nonetheless, its dispute with Niger will proceed through international arbitration via ICSID, and possibly domestic courts, with the outcome likely to span months or years.
Middle East Eye
33 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
On World Refugee Day, scores of families approved for resettlement in US are stuck in limbo
Friday, 20 June, marks International Refugee Day, but celebrations across the US have been muted since the Trump administration's 20 January refugee ban remains firmly in place. Since the ban was implemented, around 12,000 refugees who had security screenings and were booked for travel to the US had their flights cancelled. Another approximately 108,000 remaining refugees who had been 'conditionally approved' to come to the US remain stranded in precarious situations overseas. Only a very small number of refugees are currently being resettled and allowed to access support services under exceptions to the refugee ban. The Biden administration had announced a target of 125,000 refugees for fiscal year 2025, and according to the United Nations, there were 42.7 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2024. Refugees currently being settled in the US include dozens of white South Africans and approximately 160 refugees protected by an injunction under a lawsuit known as Pacito vs Trump. While multiple lawsuits against the ban have been, and are being filed in courts, the Pacito vs Trump case, filed by International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) in February, is one of the most significant and high-profile challenges to the refugee ban. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The class action lawsuit filed by IRAP represents a group of nine individuals affected by the ban and several refugee resettlement agencies seeking to have the executive order and suspension of refugee-related funding declared illegal and their implementation halted. It also looks to restore vital funding to the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). On 5 May, the Western District Court of Washington issued a compliance order to the government to process and provide resettlement support to refugees who were conditionally approved and had travel scheduled before 20 January 2025. This order covers 160 individuals who had imminent travel plans as of 20 January and will retain protection under the ruling. On 15 May, the district court also affirmed that the government must immediately resume the processing of around 11,840 vulnerable refugees who were conditionally approved for resettlement with confirmed travel plans before the executive order. Laurie Ball Cooper, vice president for US legal programmes at IRAP, affirmed that some more people may be eligible to resume their plans to come to the US. 'In addition, among the remaining - approximately 12,000 people minus the 160 - there are surely people who can meet the standard set by the Ninth Circuit of showing that they have a strong reliance interest in the travel and therefore are still protected by the injunction,' she said. 'The district court has indicated that they will set up a process using a special neutral individual [special master] to adjudicate disputes around who meets that standard and who does not. But that process hasn't started yet,' Ball Cooper said. 'Bittersweet' From the approximate 108,000 refugees who were 'conditionally approved', Ball Cooper remains optimistic that the current litigation would also be able to find them some relief. 'Our underlying litigation continues to challenge the executive order as it applies to all refugees, and so over the long term, I hope that we will prevail on those arguments and see people able to proceed to safety.' USRAP was created in 1980 by the Refugee Act of 1980 to provide a safe and legal pathway for people fleeing persecution, war, or conflict to come to the United States to either join with family or to meet foreign and humanitarian policy priorities of the US government. Despite political rhetoric that often scapegoats refugees as a burden, refugees are a fiscal success for the United States. Based on a study commissioned by the Trump administration during his first term, refugees were shown to contribute $63 billion more in federal, state, and local taxes than they had taken in services and assistance between 2005 and 2014. US grants dozens of white South Africans refugee status Read More » 'Every refugee who enters is someone who is able to pursue the life that they are meant to be able to pursue here: in many cases, to reunite with family members, to join communities that are ready to welcome them. So every single arrival is something worth celebrating, and more should be coming!' Ball Cooper added. Despite the statistical net positive that refugees bring to the US, celebrations on World Refugee Day have been bittersweet. 'I would describe observances of International Refugee Day today as mixed,' Ball Cooper said. She said that everyone in refugee communities or refugee-serving communities was continuing to take time today to celebrate the many ways refugees 'enrich our communities in the US, and the great joy it is for those of us who get to know, work with and live with refugees'. 'At the same time, it is certainly bittersweet, because there are so many tens of thousands of refugees who should be here already, and they're not because of the refugee ban,' she said. 'This is deeply sad, extremely frustrating, heartbreaking and life-threatening for many of the refugees themselves.'
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel says ‘ready for a prolonged campaign' against Iran
Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said on Friday that his country should be 'ready for a prolonged campaign' against Iran. 'We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude, against such an enemy. We must be ready for a prolonged campaign,' Zamir said in a video statement. He added: 'The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days still lie ahead.'
