Trump calls on Iran and Israel to 'make a deal'
15 June 2025 18:32
Washington (AFP)US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Iran and Israel to "make a deal" and bring their deadly exchange of strikes to an end."Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal," Trump said on his Truth Social media platform, adding that there are "many calls and meetings now taking place" on the issue and that peace could be achieved "soon" between the longtime adversaries.
'It's possible' US gets involved
Trump told a news network on Sunday it remains possible the United States will become involved in the Iran-Israel conflict and that he would be "open" to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin being a mediator."It's possible we could get involved" in the ongoing battle, Trump said in an interview, according to ABC News which said the Republican president stressed that the United States is "not at this moment" involved in the military action.
As for Putin being a potential mediator in the conflict, "he is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it," Trump told an ABC News reporter.
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
How Israel's 'decapitation campaign' could usher in escalation with Iran
In less than 48 hours, Israel killed a tranche of Iran 's top military brass in its multipronged attack. They included the heads of the commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's most powerful military force, the IRGC's aerospace commander, responsible for missile and drone programmes, and the chief of staff of the armed forces. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly announced replacements, likely wishing to avoid a power vacuum and establish a chain of command for Iran's retaliatory attacks, which began hours after Israel's first strikes on Friday morning. Israel trumpeted the killings as a major blow against Iran and its alleged nuclear ambitions. However, the deaths of experienced leaders who were believed to have urged caution behind the scenes could also push more aggressive voices to the fore in Iranian military circles. IRGC chief Hossein Salami was replaced by Brig Gen Mohammad Pakpour, another long-standing senior Revolutionary Guard. Sayyid Majid Mousavi, already deeply involved in Iran's ballistic missile and drone programmes, became the group's aerospace chief, replacing Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Army chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri was replaced by Major General Amir Hatami. Lieutenant General Gholamali Rashid, formerly commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya combatant command headquarters, was replaced by Major General Ali Shadmani. Israel also killed nine scientists involved in Tehran's nuclear programme, including Fereydoon Abbasi, a former head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization. Some of the military leaders are of a similar age and experience to those they replaced. Like his predecessor Salami, Mohammad Pakpour is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, the 1980-1988 conflict that killed over one million people in both countries, leaving an indelible mark. The deaths of so many senior military commanders in such a short space of time was 'not without effect,' but also said they were replaceable, a senior Iranian government official said. 'You saw that in less than 24 hours, new officials started their work in these areas, which shows the existence of capable people,' the official told The National. Their thinking is not hugely different from those they replaced, he believes. 'The intellectual field of the new people is entirely similar to the people we lost.' Israel's attacks were aimed at degrading and destroying Iran's nuclear programme, which is believed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to be aimed at quickly producing a weapon. Iran has always denied it seeks nuclear armament, saying it wants to continue uranium enrichment for what it says are peaceful agricultural and scientific purposes. It will take weeks to gauge the effectiveness of Israel's continuing campaign, which has also targeted ballistic missile launch sites to curb the impact of Iran's retaliation, which is also continuing. According to the Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War, Israel conducted a, 'decapitation campaign,' targeting Iran's military leadership. Khamenei's appointment of successors means the disruption is 'temporary and limited,' the institute said in an analysis note on Friday, although it added that continued Israeli strikes on missile infrastructure may limit their abilities to carry out retaliation. Rashid and Bagheri etc were among the main Iranian commanders who believed that direct military conflict and tension with Israel should be avoided as much as possible,' Tehran-based political observer Rhetorically, the new military commanders have swiftly come out with statements vowing revenge on Israel similar to remarks made by their predecessors after previous strikes on Iranian interests and counter-attacks last year. 'This series of operations will continue on a larger scale and more devastatingly than before until the criminal and aggressor Zionist enemy completely regrets [its actions],' Ali Shadmani said on Sunday. So far, that response has been more devastating than previous direct Iranian attacks on Israel. At least 13 people have been killed as of Sunday afternoon, and hundreds injured, Israeli authorities have said. Buildings in Tel Aviv and other areas of central Israel have been destroyed. Both the intensity of the continuing Israeli operations against Iran, and the loss of commanders who advocated for so-called 'strategic patience' could lead to more intense escalation, analysts believe. According to a political observer in Iran, those killed in the past 48 hours were among commanders who prevented a previous operation that another part of the military wanted to organise against Israel a few months ago. 'Rashid and Bagheri, etc, were among the main Iranian commanders who believed that direct military conflict and tension with Israel should be avoided as much as possible,' he told The National. 'For example, that Iranian counter-attacks should be more symbolic as much as possible, and deterrence should be demonstrated rather than enforced.' More widely, as waves of killings forces replacement and promotion of younger men in Iran's military, a new generation without the experience of the Iran- Iraq war, and its devastating consequences, will come to the fore. A war involving Iran could give less experienced leaders the same sort of clout that older war veterans have, according to Serhan Afacan, director of the Istanbul-based Iranian Studies Centre. 'Although this does not necessarily mean that they will drag the country into war if they take power, it can be said that they will be less flexible in finding common ground with the US and the West in general,' he told The National. The impact on Iran of Israel's continuing strikes could deepen if attacks on energy infrastructure that started overnight escalate. On Saturday night, the Israeli military struck a refinery at the giant offshore South Pars gasfield, and Tehran's Shahran oil depot, in an escalation of its operations from military and nuclear sites to the energy sector. Iran is already unable to produce enough electricity to prevent rolling power cuts in the summer months, or sufficiently supply gas for winter heating. Any further erosion of its energy supplies could have a dramatic impact and stoke anger among the population. Even Iranians who oppose their government have condemned the Israeli attacks on their country, seeing them as attacks on Iranian sovereignty and resulting in civilian fatalities. Many Iranians circulated pictures of Parsa Mansour, a padel player, and Parnia Abbasi, a poet in her 20s, both killed in the strikes. Parvaz Park in the north of the Iranian capital was filled with more people than usual on Saturday night, as crowds gathered to watch missiles being launched from Iran to Israel, the political observer in Tehran told The National. People there 'had various different feelings,' the man said, on condition of anonymity. 'The part that is against the Islamic Republic was even upset about the Israeli attack on Tehran. In their contradictory feelings, they would not mind if Iran targeted Israel with force that night.'
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
Tens of thousands rally for Gaza in Netherlands and Belgium
Tens of thousands of people dressed in red marched through the streets of The Hague and in Brussels on Sunday to demand more action from their governments against what they termed a "genocide" in Gaza. In France on Saturday, thousands of other people joined similar protests, as part of a weekend mobilisation around the world against the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territory. Some 150,000 people participated in the march in the Hague, according to organisers. Protesters wave Palestinian flags and signs as they attend a demonstration in support for the Palestinians, in The Hague. AFP In Brussels, where protesters were also calling for action from the EU, turnout was estimated at 110,000 by organisers and 75,000 by police. Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Oxfam organised the demonstrations, which were aimed at creating a so-called "red line" on the issue. Tens of thousands of red-clad protesters marched past the Peace Palace, housing the International Court of Justice, rear, demanding their government do more to halt Israel's campaign in Gaza. AP With many waving Palestinian flags and some chanting "Stop the Genocide", the demonstrators in the Dutch city turned a central park into a sea of red on a sunny afternoon before a march towards the International Court of Justice. Protesters brandished banners reading "Don't look away, do something", "Stop Dutch complicity", and "Be silent when kids sleep, not when they die". Protesters condemn 'genocide' Organisers urged the Dutch government — which collapsed on June 3 after a far-right party pulled out of a fragile coalition — to do more to rein in Israel for its military offensive on the Palestinian territory. "More than 150,000 people here dressed in red — and a clear majority of the Dutch population — just want concrete sanctions to stop the genocide in Gaza," said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib, a Dutch branch of the international aid group. "We demand action now from our government," added Servaes. Demonstrators protest against conditions in Gaza and demand that the caretaker government impose sanctions against Israel, in The Hague. Reuters Dodo Van Der Sluis, a 67-year-old pensioner, told AFP: "It has to stop. Enough is enough. I can't take it anymore." Prime Minister Dick Schoof wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "To all those people in The Hague I say: we see you and we hear you." "In the end, our goal is the same: to end the suffering in Gaza as soon as possible." In Brussels, many families were seen taking part, with the crowd yelling "Free free Palestine!" and aiming invective at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A large sign noted that Netanyahu was "Wanted for Crimes Against Humanity", referring to an ICJ warrant out against him. French actress Corinne Masiero (2nd-R) takes part in a march in Paris against Israel. AFP In Paris on Sunday, meanwhile, a dozen protesters began a march to Brussels to demand EU sanctions on Israel. The group, which includes a French actress, Corinne Masiero, wants the European Union "to hear the voice of civil society reminding it of its duties", said Nathalie Tehio, head of the NGO Human Rights League. The marchers want EU officials to meet with them on June 23, when a regular meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers is to be held. Agence France-Presse
Zawya
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