Trump uses the 'F' word on Iran-Israel ceasefire violations
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that diplomatic efforts should have been exhausted to avoid war in the Israel-Iran conflict. Video: Bryan O'Brien
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Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Frances Black rules herself out of presidential run
Ms Black, who first introduced the bill back in 2018, said while smaller opposition parties had spoken to her about the race to the Áras at the start of the year, she had not heard anything since. In recent week, the senator had said she was 98pc sure she would not run in the upcoming election. 'I'm ruling myself out of the presidency for sure,' Ms Black said. 'I had conversations with people at the beginning of the year, around this, around the smaller opposition parties, and I haven't heard anything since." The Independent senator said candidates need to be brave to decide to run, as the campaign can be 'a bloodbath'. 'I've said it before, you'd want to be a very brave person to go into the presidential election because it's a bloodbath. 'I have too much work to do, particularly on this bill, I think I'm a lot of work to do another even after this bill, I think there's more work to be done,' Ms Black said on the Last Word with Matt Cooper on Today Fm. On Tuesday, Tánaiste Simon Harris brought draft legislation of the Government's version of the Occupied Territories Bill, now called Israeli Settlements Prohibition of Importation of Goods Bill 2025. While the bill will see a ban on the importation of goods from the illegal occupied territories, the bill does not include services, which has been the subject of criticism from the Opposition. While Mr Harris has said he is not against the inclusion of services from a policy perspective, he has sought legal advice from the Attorney General. ADVERTISEMENT 'The Tánaiste has committed to me, both to me, and publicly that the Government is willing to include services in the final bill, if we can get the legal detail right,' Ms Black said. 'I am 100pc certain that we can, and I fully intend on holding him to that promise,' she added. Ms Black said the passing of this bill would be 'the first step to real consequences to what Israel is doing' in Gaza. 'My hope is that other countries will obviously follow suit. I think they're waiting,' Ms Black said. 'I was in Brussels a couple of weeks ago, talking to a fair few different countries, and they're all waiting and watching to see what Ireland is going to do with this bill. 'The world is watching us, and it's a very, very important piece of legislation,' she added.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Tentative ceasefire between Iran and Israel appears to hold
A tentative ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding up yesterday evening, after initial accusations from both sides of violations in the hours after it came into force. United States president Donald Trump put pressure on Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu publicly and privately to stick to the brokered ceasefire agreement. Over the course of the day, Mr Trump issued several demands on his social media platform Truth Social, directing Israel to refrain from striking Iran. Israel and Iran traded accusations that the other had violated the terms of the truce, in the 12-day war that had threatened to destabilise the Middle East. After a small number of early instances of alleged violations, the ceasefire between the two sides appeared to hold. READ MORE Israeli solders survey the destruction following an Iranian missile attack in Bat Yam, Israel, on Tuesday, June 24th, 2025. US president Donald Trump lashed out at Israel and Iran for launching attacks after he had announced a ceasefire. Photograph: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv/The New York Times The tensions in the Middle East and the shaky ceasefire were expected to feature prominently in the discussions of leaders at a Nato military summit in the Netherlands. Speaking before travelling to the summit, Mr Trump described Israel and Iran as two countries 'that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f**k they're doing'. In a statement, Mr Netanyahu's office said Iran had launched three missiles at Israeli territory in the hours after the ceasefire was due to come into effect. 'In response to Iran's violations, the Air Force destroyed a radar installation near Tehran. Pursuant to the conversation between president Trump and prime minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks,' the statement said. Earlier in the day, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said he ordered the military to respond 'forcefully' to ceasefire breaches, sparking concerns the deal had collapsed. Mr Trump, who arrived at the Huis ten Bosch Royal Palace for a dinner with other heads of state on Tuesday evening, seemed confident the two sides would adhere to the truce, following his phone call with Mr Netanyahu. In an online post, the US president said 'both Israel and Iran wanted to stop the War equally! It was my great honour to Destroy All Nuclear facilities & capabilities, and then, STOP THE WAR.' The conflict began on June 13th when Israel launched a sustained bombing campaign, which it said was necessary to curtail Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with its own barrage of missiles, many of which were prevented from hitting their intended targets, due to Israel's sophisticated Iron Dome air defence system. Mr Netanyahu's government succeeded in getting the US to support the campaign, resulting in Mr Trump ordering US bombers to strike three Iranian nuclear facilities at the weekend. The full extent of the damage, particularly to Iran's underground Fordow site seen as key to its nuclear programme, remains unclear. On Monday, Iran choreographed an attack on a US military base in Qatar, as a largely symbolic response to the US strikes on its nuclear facilities. It was reported that Iran had signalled the attack with the US and Qatar beforehand, and no US personnel were injured. The number of casualties from Israeli air strikes in Iran has been hard to determine. The regime reported at least 610 had been killed and more than 4,700 wounded. Israel has said 28 people were killed by Iranian strikes. Irish diplomats helped a further two Irish citizens to leave Iran on Friday and three Irish citizens were assisted in leaving Israel, according to Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trump arrives in The Hague for Nato summit as members agree to increase defence spending
US president Donald Trump has arrived in The Hague where he will attend a landmark Nato summit on Wednesday. The gathering is expected to substantially boost military spending in support of Ukraine and as a deterrent against further Russian aggression in Europe. Mr Trump is expected to be told that Nato member states – with a special exemption for Spain which has been criticised by Mr Trump – have agreed to an increase of 5 per cent of GDP in defence spending. The two-tier agreement designed by Nato secretary general Mark Rutte commits the alliance to an increase of 3.5 per cent of GDP for military spending combined with an additional increase of 1.5 per cent of GDP for dual-use costs, such as infrastructure and cybersecurity. READ MORE Under the new agreement, the increases will come into effect incrementally by 2035 – although countries on Nato's eastern flank, such as Estonia, insist this lead-in time is too long to prevent further aggression by Moscow. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived earlier on Tuesday for a series of meetings on the margins of the summit – although, because Ukraine is not a Nato member, he will not attend the leaders' North Atlantic Council meeting on Wednesday to seal the military spending deal. In a brief comment, he said he expected to meet Mr Trump for talks which remained to be scheduled. Despite past differences, he praised Mr Trump for continuing to engage with Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose all-out invasion of Ukraine began the war in February 2022. Mr Zelenskiy's first meeting was with caretaker Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof – formerly head of the country's intelligence service – at his official residence a short distance from the summit venue. At that meeting, Mr Zelenskiy appealed for more European support for Ukraine's defence industry and heard that the Netherlands has unilaterally allocated another aid package of €175 million for Ukraine, including €80 million for drones and radar equipment. Afterwards, he addressed a joint session of both houses of the Dutch parliament, where he expressed concerns about Moscow's links to other 'bloody regimes' and called for strict enforcement of sanctions. As the Nato leaders gathered, Mr Rutte told a public forum he believed there was 'total commitment' to Nato on the part of Mr Trump and the US – despite the president's persistent complaints that Europe and Canada had not been paying enough. Mr Rutte also insisted that the US decision to strike three nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran over the weekend would not affect Nato's combined focus on supporting Ukraine. 'Today, Nato's military edge is being challenged by a rapidly rearming Russia, backed by Chinese technology and armed with Iranian and North Korean weapons,' he warned. 'Only Europe and North America together can rise to meet the challenge of that rearmament.' However, there was an embarrassing end to the day for Mr Rutte when an apparently private email he sent to President Trump on board Air Force One was retweeted by the president. Flattering him for his 'decisive action in Iran', Mr Rutte added, 'You are flying into another big success in The Hague.' Mr Trump had been expected to stay with his entourage at a hotel on the North Sea coast. However, in a late change to his schedule, he accepted a rare invitation to overnight at Huis ten Bosch palace, home to King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and their three daughters. Mr Trump boarded Air Force One at Andrews air base around lunchtime, landed at Schiphol airport in early evening and travelled directly to the palace for a formal banquet attended by 45 heads of state and government, including Mr Zelenskiy.
