Trump defends Netanyahu over corruption trial
Donald Trump has criticized prosecutors in Israel regarding Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial. Trump stated that the US, a major aid provider to Israel, would not tolerate the situation. Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges, which he denies. The court rejected a request to delay Netanyahu's testimony. He is scheduled to testify soon.
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US President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at prosecutors in Israel over the corruption trial that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced, saying Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to "stand for this".Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which he denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases.On Friday, the court rejected a request by Netanyahu's lawyers to delay his testimony for the next two weeks because of diplomatic and security matters following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran this month. He is due to take the stand on Monday for cross examination. AFP
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First Post
35 minutes ago
- First Post
Iran's nuclear programme wasn't 'obliterated' or 'set back decades', as Trump said
Contrary to Donald Trump's assertions, Iran's nuclear infrastructure was damaged and not destroyed and experts and leaked intelligence assessments indicate the programme could be revived within months read more A satellite image shows airstrike craters over the underground centrifuge halls of the Natanz Enrichment Facility, following US airstrikes amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Natanz County, Iran. Maxar Technologies/Reuters Despite US President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that Iran's nuclear programme has been 'obliterated' and 'set back decades,' early intelligence assessments suggest otherwise. A preliminary analysis from the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), reported in American media, indicated that American and Israeli airstrikes on June 21 only delayed Iran's nuclear activities by a matter of months, not decades, and certainly not eliminated them. The DIA's report, though classified, was cited by multiple sources familiar with internal assessments. These officials suggested that the damage, while significant, did not dismantle the core industrial and technological infrastructure that underpins Iran's nuclear ambitions. The White House has pushed back hard against this narrative, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the idea that 'unnamed Iranian officials' could know the extent of the damage 'nonsense,' asserting instead that 'their nuclear weapons program is over.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD IAEA director: Damage 'severe but not total' Echoing the cautious tone of US intelligence, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told CBS News that while the strikes had caused severe damage, the destruction was not total. He emphasised that Iran still retained the ability to resume uranium enrichment within a matter of months, noting that the necessary capacities remained in place. He explained that Iran could operate a few cascades of centrifuges to produce enriched uranium, or even less than that. Grossi also warned against assuming that Iran's nuclear program had been eliminated. He said that, frankly, one could not claim that everything had disappeared and that nothing remained. He stressed that Iran's knowledge base and industrial capabilities were still intact, making it possible for enrichment activities to resume once operational challenges were overcome. Intercepted Iranian communications suggest limited damage The Washington Post reported that intercepted communications between senior Iranian officials seemed to show a consensus that the attacks were less devastating than initially feared. The newspaper cited four individuals with knowledge of the intercepted messages, suggesting that Iranian leadership had assessed the damage to their facilities as relatively contained. However, the credibility of these communications remains a subject of debate within intelligence circles. Another source, quoted by Reuters, confirmed their existence but labelled them 'unreliable indicators' of the real state of Iran's nuclear programme. A disputed narrative from the Trump administration Trump has remained unwavering in his version of events. In an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, he described the operation as a 'spectacular military success,' claiming the nuclear programme was 'obliterated like nobody's ever seen before'. His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, echoed this, insisting the strikes marked the 'end to their nuclear ambitions'. Yet, during a Pentagon press briefing, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine struck a more measured tone. Caine admitted that the full battle damage assessment was still ongoing and said it was 'too early' to determine exactly what capabilities Iran retained. He did, however, note that initial assessments showed 'extremely severe damage and destruction' at the targeted sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Enrichment capacity could rebound quickly Despite the high-impact nature of the strikes, experts, including Grossi believed that Iran could resume uranium enrichment relatively quickly. He said if Iran wished to do so, it would be able to start the process again. He said that Iran was a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology, and that its ability to restart centrifuge operations was based on years of accumulated knowledge that could not simply be undone. Grossi also highlighted the absence of IAEA inspectors on the ground as a critical blind spot. Since the strikes, Iran has denied inspectors access to the targeted facilities, citing security and political concerns. Tehran's UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, insisted inspectors were 'in Iran' but said they could not access specific sites. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Khamenei and mixed Iranian messaging The response from Iran's leadership has been uneven. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly dismissed the airstrikes as ineffective, saying they achieved 'nothing significant'. Yet Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged that the damage was 'excessive and serious'. This inconsistency has fuelled speculation that Iran may be deliberately downplaying the impact while preserving the appearance of resilience. Iran's military leadership, meanwhile, has expressed scepticism over Israel's commitment to the recently declared ceasefire. Armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said Tehran was prepared to respond 'with all our power' if provoked again. Diplomatic options still on the table Despite the heightened tensions, Grossi reiterated the importance of a diplomatic resolution. He said that the situation, following the military strikes, would ultimately require a long-lasting solution, which could only be a diplomatic one. He also noted that although Iran had consistently asserted its nuclear program was intended for peaceful purposes, the IAEA had been unable to verify those claims because Iran had refused to answer very important questions. Military action, limited impact While the Trump administration has celebrated the June 21 strikes as a decisive blow against Iran's nuclear programme, a growing body of evidence from intelligence assessments and international experts suggests a far more modest result. The damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure was 'severe' but by no means 'total,' and the core capabilities — technological, industrial, and intellectual — remain intact. Iran could, according to the IAEA, begin spinning centrifuges again within months. As Grossi warned, military strikes alone are unlikely to end Iran's nuclear ambitions. With inspectors still barred and the region on edge, the enduring solution appears to lie not in airpower but in diplomacy.
Indian Express
43 minutes ago
- Indian Express
After Trump ‘terminates' trade talks, Canada scraps proposed levy: What was the Digital Services Tax, how it would hit US firms
Two days after US President Donald Trump said he was terminating all trade discussions with Canada, Ottawa on Sunday (June 29) said it was scrapping the contentious Digital Services Tax. Trump had called the tax 'a direct and blatant attack on our Country'. It was supposed to come into effect on Monday, June 30. After Canada's walk-back, its finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, spoke to the US trade representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday, signalling that the trade deal talks might be back on track. What is Canada's Digital Services Tax, and why was it such a sticking issue with the US? What will its revocation mean for Prime Minister Mark Carney's government? We explain. The tax aimed to collect a levy of 3% of the revenue a digital services firm made from Canadian users, above $20 million in a calendar year. In one of its more controversial clauses, payments were to be retroactive, beginning 2022. While the law had been passed earlier, payments were due from today. Among those impacted would have been major Amercian technology firms, such as Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon, etc. 'The DST was announced in 2020 to address the fact that many large technology companies operating in Canada may not otherwise pay tax on revenues generated from Canadians… While Canada was working with international partners, including the United States, on a multilateral agreement that would replace national digital services taxes, the DST was enacted to address the aforementioned taxation gap,' Canada's finance ministry said on June 29. If the law had been implemented, American companies would have had to pay roughly $2.7 billion to the Canadian government, a report in The New York Times said. Trump was vehemently opposed to the law. On Friday, he posted on Truth Social, 'We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with… has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country… Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period.' Getting a trade deal with the US is important for Canada, which, going by US Census Bureau data, exported $412.7 billion worth of goods to the US last year. At present, Trump has slapped 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and 25% on auto imports, apart from the 10% base tariff he has put on most countries. Along with this, Canada and Mexico face tariffs of 25% apparently to curb fentanyl smuggling to the US. Canada, thus, agreed to scrap the tax to take trade talks forward. 'In our negotiations on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States, Canada's new government will always be guided by the overall contribution of any possible agreement to the best interests of Canadian workers and businesses. Today's announcement will support a resumption of negotiations toward the July 21, 2025, timeline set out at this month's G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis,' PM Carney said on Sunday. Given that Carney had come to power mainly on a platform of standing up to Trump, this fold-up could have been embarrasing for him. However, the tax wasn't too popular within Canada either, as it could have raised the cost of digital services like hailing rides and streaming movies. Robin Guy, a leader of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, had said in July last year, 'The imposition of a retroactive discriminatory digital services tax by the federal government will not only make life more expensive for Canadian families, businesses and workers, but it will significantly harm our relationship with the United States. The government should reverse its unilateral decision that is out of step with our allies, and instead, work with our trading partners on an international solution that would better serve Canadians.' In fact, recently, many had believed that the tax's best purpose could be to use it as a bargaining chip in talks with the US.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
‘I love you Trump': Palestinians cheer as US-backed aid reaches Gaza
The joy of receiving much-needed aid from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was immediately visible as it reached Gaza, with Palestinians in the region chanting, 'I love you Trump' and 'I love you Donald.' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had however last week slammed the US-backed GHF and termed its operation in Gaza as "inherently unsafe". (X/@Osint613) White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt re-shared a video posted by the X handle of Open Source Intelligence, showing scenes of chanting and cheering in Gaza. The arrival of the US-backed aid followed months of delay, during which the United Nations repeatedly warned of a looming risk of famine in the Palestinian region. VIDEO: Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump urged Israel to make a deal with Hamas in Gaza. In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, he said, 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire in Iran has opened "many opportunities", including the possibility of bringing back the remaining hostages from Gaza. While he said that the issue in Gaza needs to be resolved, Netanyahu affirmed his priority of rescuing the hostages. During a visit to a security facility in Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service on Sunday, Netanyahu said, "I want to inform you that as you probably know, many opportunities have opened up now following this victory, many opportunities." "First of all, to rescue the hostages. Of course we will also have to solve the Gaza issue, to defeat Hamas, but I estimate that we will achieve both tasks," he added. ALSO READ | After Israel-Iran ceasefire, mediators try to grab 'opportunity' for a Gaza truce Around 50 Israeli hostages, who were abducted by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, offensive, continue to remain in Gaza. An official said, "The families of the hostages welcome the fact that after 20 months, the return of the hostages has finally been designated as the top priority by the prime minister." Trump on Saturday had said that Netanyahu was "right now" negotiating a deal with Hamas, though neither leader provided any details about it. UN slams US-backed GHF Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the US-backed GHF and termed its operation in Gaza as "inherently unsafe", saying that "it is killing people". While Israel and the US want the United Nations to work through the controversial foundation, the UN has refused to do so and questioned the neutrality of the aid organisation. The UN has also accused GHF's distribution model of militarising aid and forcing displacement. "Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarised zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people," Guterres told reporters. He further said that the UN-led humanitarian efforts are being "strangled", adding that the aid workers themselves are starving. "People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence,' Guterres added. "It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza," he said.
