Trump warns ‘next week will be big' as he considers US intervention in Iran
The president is considering authorising American airstrikes against Iran 's underground Fordow nuclear facility to support Israel 's efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program.
Such an operation would require specialised bunker-buster munitions delivered by B-2 stealth bombers, necessitating a complex, long-duration mission.
The president has issued stern warnings to Iran, including a social media threat to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demanding unconditional surrender and indicating dwindling US patience.
Concurrently, the US is undertaking a significant military buildup in the region, deploying carrier groups and advising Americans in Israel to evacuate.
Despite earlier statements of non-participation, the president is now reportedly weighing direct US military involvement, though a final decision remains pending.
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Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Iran foreign minister to attend OIC meet in Turkey on Saturday, source says
ANKARA, June 19 (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to attend a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Thursday, as war rages between Israel and Iran. The source said a special session of the 51st OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is expected to focus on Israel's recent strikes against Iran, including Thursday's attack on the Khondab nuclear site in Arak. The Israeli military said it targeted a partially built heavy-water reactor at the site, which experts say could produce weapons-grade plutonium. Turkey has sharply criticised Israel, called its actions illegal and said Iran was legitimately defending itself. Opening the two-day summit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to call on Muslim countries to unite in the face of "destabilising actions" across the region, the ministry source said. President Tayyip Erdogan will also address the conference. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which includes 57 member states, has long served as a political and diplomatic forum for Muslim countries.
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Starmer 'must give green light for Trump's Iran strikes': Frantic diplomacy as US could launch nuclear bunker raids from Diego Garcia base - with UK bracing for retaliation
Keir Starmer could have to give the green light for US bombers to use the Diego Garcia military base for strikes on Iran. Donald Trump is keeping the world guessing about whether he will join Israeli attacks on Tehran's nuclear facilities. The PM has been urging 'de-escalation' and so far UK forces are not thought to have played a direct part in defending Israel from retaliation. However, Sir Keir might be forced to choose amid speculation that B-2 stealth bombers would use the Chagos Islands airbase if they are brought in to target an enrichment plant deep under a mountain. There are concerns that would leave UK assets and personnel facing reprisals, with RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus a potential target. More jets have been moved into the region to bolster security. With the situation on a knife edge, David Lammy will hold talks with the US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington later. After seeing Mr Trump at a G7 summit in Canada earlier this week, Sir Keir insisted that he did not think the US was on the verge of joining the operations against Iran. But the premier convened an emergency Cobra meeting yesterday to take stock of diplomatic efforts and UK support for British nationals in the region. There are claims that Attorney General Lord Hermer has been advising that the UK can only legally take part in military actions to defend allies. Mr Trump told reporters outside the White House he was considering strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. He said: 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Israel and Iran have been exchanging fire for days after Benjamin Netanyahu announced a campaign to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iranian officials insist the country's nuclear programme is peaceful, and claim Israel has caused hundreds of civilian casualties. A previous deal to limit Iran's enrichment of uranium was torn up by Mr Trump during his first presidency because he regarded it as too weak. The Israeli military has urged residents to evacuate the area around the Arak heavy water reactor, about 155 miles south west of the capital. Iranian state television said the reactor had been attacked, but had been evacuated and there was 'no radiation danger whatsoever'. The Soroka Medical Centre in Beer Sheba, the main hospital in southern Israel, received 'extensive damage' after being hit by an Iranian missile, according to a spokesperson for the hospital. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected Mr Trump's call for surrender and warned American military involvement would result in 'irreparable damage'. Nuclear talks with Iran and senior diplomats from the UK, Germany and France as well as the EU will take place in Geneva tomorrow. In his comments outside the White House, Mr Trump had suggested the US could still hold talks with Iran. 'I can tell you this, Iran has got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate,' he said. He said 'it's very late to be talking', but 'we may meet'. Under the recently agreed deal to hand back the Chagos Islands, the UK leases the DIego Garcia base from Mauritius, while the US pays for its operating costs. Sir Keir had played down the prospect of US intervention, telling reporters at the G7 that 'nothing' he had heard from the president suggested Washington was poised to get involved. Asked yesterday whether the Prime Minister was confident that Mr Trump would not involve US forces in the conflict, a No10 spokesman said the UK's position was still that 'we want to de-escalate rather than escalate'. The US State Department has started evacuating non-essential diplomats and their families from the American embassy in Israel. The US is also making plans for evacuation flights and ships for private citizens, the country's ambassador to Israel said. The UK's Foreign Office has evacuated family members of embassy staff from Israel, but has not advised British nationals to leave the country. The department said the evacuation was temporary and a 'precautionary measure', with staff remaining at the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem. Britons have already been advised against all travel to Israel and those already in the country have been urged to register their presence with the embassy. The Foreign Office has also said land borders with Jordan and Egypt remain open, and consular teams are in position to provide assistance to British nationals who choose to leave Israel by land. Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer said: 'Our first job is to keep British nationals safe, and our dedicated teams in the region are working around the clock to do this. 'We are asking all British nationals in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to register their presence so that we can share our updates with them and make sure we're giving them the best advice possible.'
The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Attorney general warns UK joining war on Iran may be illegal
Britain's attorney general has warned ministers that getting involved in Israel's war against Iran could be illegal beyond offering defensive support, it has emerged. Richard Hermer, the government's most senior legal officer, is understood to have raised concerns internally about the legality of joining a bombing campaign against Iran. An official who has seen Hermer's official legal advice told the Spectator, which first reported the story, that 'the AG has concerns about the UK playing any role in this except for defending our allies'. Keir Starmer is considering whether to provide the US with military support if Donald Trump decides to bomb Iran, and whether to approve the use of the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean for the attack. Hermer's advice could limit the degree of UK support for the US. A spokesperson for the attorney general's office said: 'By longstanding convention, reflected in the ministerial code, whether the law officers have been asked to provide legal advice and the content of any advice is not routinely disclosed. 'The convention provides the fullest guarantee that government business will be conducted at all times in light of thorough and candid legal advice.' The prime minister chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on Wednesday to discuss a range of scenarios and ongoing diplomatic efforts. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, is to meet his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, in Washington DC on Thursday as the US weighs up its options. Trump has yet to make a final decision on whether to launch strikes against Iran. The Guardian reported that the president had suggested to defence officials it would make sense to do so only if the so-called bunker buster bomb was guaranteed to destroy the country's critical uranium enrichment facility, which is between 80 and 90 metres inside a mountain at Fordow. Israel and Iran have been exchanging fire for days after Israel launched airstrikes which it said were aimed at preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iranian officials claim the country's nuclear programme is peaceful and that Israel has caused hundreds of civilian casualties. Taking Fordow offline – either diplomatically or militarily – is seen as central to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons after the International Atomic Energy Agency found the site had enriched uranium to 83.7% – close to the 90% needed for nuclear weapons. Miatta Fahnbulleh, an energy minister, said Starmer would take any decisions with a 'cool, calm head' and be guided by international law. 'Legal advice is for the prime minister, and I think that's where it will stay – and you can understand why I won't comment on that. But what I will say is that we have a prime minister who is a lawyer and a human rights lawyer, he will obviously do everything that is in accord with international law,' she told Times Radio. 'No one wants an escalation. No one wants this to erupt into a major conflict in the region that is hugely destabilising for every country involved, and for us globally. So the most important role that the prime minister can play, and is playing, is to be that cool, calm head to urge all partners around the negotiating table and to find a diplomatic route out of this.' However, the shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, said the UK could 'hide behind legal advice at a time of crisis'. Asked if she believed Hermer was right to sound a warning, Patel told Times Radio: 'I don't think we can hide behind legal advice at a time of crisis and national security when we have to work alongside our biggest ally in the world, the United States, when they look to us for potentially … setting out operational activities through our own military bases.' The UK had not received a formal request from the US to use Diego Garcia in the south Indian Ocean or any of its other airbases to bomb Iran as of Wednesday night. Diego Garcia was recently the subject of a new 99-year lease agreement with Mauritius that left the UK in full operational control of the military base. In practice, Diego Garcia is mainly used by the US, but the fact that it is ultimately a British base means that Starmer would have to approve its use for an attack on Iran. The US is also thought likely to want to request the use of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus for its air tankers, used to refuel B-2 bombers. The UK has deployed 14 Typhoon jets at Akrotiri to protect its bases and forces and to help regional allies, such as Cyprus and Oman, if they come under attack.
