Latest news with #APIsrael
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
07-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Israel strikes Yemen's port city of Hodeida, prompts retaliatory attacks by Iran-backed Houthis
Israel's military said its latest wave of air strikes hit the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, and Salif. Hours later, Israel said two missiles were launched from Yemen. Houthi military spokesman Yehyaa Saree claimed responsibility for it read more In this photo taken from video released by Al Masirah TV channel shows a burning oil tanker after U.S. airstrikes targeted the Ras Isa oil port held by Yemen's Houthi rebels in Hodeida, Yemen. AP Israel said Monday (July 7) that it had launched air strikes on multiple sites in Yemen's Houthi-controlled Red Sea port city of Hodeida and nearby areas, prompting retaliatory missile attacks by the Iran-backed rebel group. The Houthis, who have supported the Palestinian cause since war erupted in Gaza in October 2023, have repeatedly targeted Israel with drones and missiles. Monday's exchange marks another escalation in the regional fallout from the conflict between Israel and Hamas. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Israel's military said its latest wave of air strikes hit 'terror infrastructure belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime,' including the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, and Salif. Among the targets, it claimed, was the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, which was captured by the Houthis in November and allegedly outfitted with a radar system to track commercial shipping in the Red Sea. 'These strikes were in response to the repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel,' the Israeli army said in a statement. Houthi missile response Hours after the Israeli bombardment, the Israeli military reported that two missiles had been launched from Yemen. Houthi military spokesman Yehyaa Saree later claimed responsibility, saying in a video statement that the group had targeted Ben Gurion airport, the ports of Ashdod and Eilat, and a power station in Ashkelon. 'These were in retaliation for this aggression,' Saree said. Houthi-run Al-Masirah television confirmed the Israeli attacks, reporting that 'the Israeli enemy is targeting the port of Hodeida,' and also cited strikes on Ras Isa, Salif, and the Ras Al-Kathib power station. The television station said the strikes came roughly 30 minutes after an Israeli army spokesman warned of imminent action on social media. The Houthis have framed their campaign as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. They resumed attacks on Israel in March after a two-month ceasefire in Gaza broke down and Israel resumed its military operations. Since November, the Houthis have targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, especially vessels they claim are linked to Israel. Continued maritime threats On Sunday (July 6), unidentified gunmen in skiffs attacked a commercial vessel off Yemen's coast in the Red Sea, forcing the crew to abandon ship after it was hit by rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the crew were rescued by a passing merchant ship and were 'all well and safe.' While no group claimed responsibility for that attack, UK-based security firm Ambrey said the targeted vessel matched 'the established Houthi target profile.' The Houthis expanded their maritime campaign earlier this year to include US and British-linked ships after the two nations began air strikes against rebel sites in January in an attempt to protect vital sea lanes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Although the Houthis reached a ceasefire deal with the United States in May that ended weeks of intense US-led strikes, the group has insisted it will continue targeting Israeli vessels. With inputs from AFP
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
12-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Israel ‘fully ready' to attack Iran as US withdraws some officials from West Asia: Report
The State Department has earlier ordered its non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq amid 'heightened regional tensions' read more President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive for a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. AP Israel is said to have told the US that it's fully ready to launch an operation into Iran, CBS News reported Thursday (June 12), citing several American officials. The US, which expects Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes on several American sites in neighbouring Iraq, has already asked some of its personnel to move away from West Asia. President Donald Trump himself acknowledged tensions with Iran while talking to reporters at the Kennedy Center in Washington. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Well they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place,' Trump said. This comes after, on Wednesday, Iran threatened to strike US military bases in the region if a conflict breaks out. 'We've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens,' Trump said. The State Department has also ordered its non-emergency government officials to exit Iraq amid 'heightened regional tensions." Both Iran and the US are poised to hold a sixth round of talks on the country's nuclear programme in the coming days, the CBS report added. The Trump administration is negotiating with Iran to curb its nuclear programme, as reports indicate Tehran continues to enrich uranium close to weapons-grade levels. The discussions are sensitive, with uncertainty about reaching an agreement. Trump insists on zero uranium enrichment by Iran, but Iranian leaders have rejected these terms, according to the president's recent statements. On Wednesday, Trump acknowledged that he is now 'less confident' than he was two months ago about reaching a nuclear deal with Iran. 'I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more — less confident about it. They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame, but I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made,' said Trump. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains highly distrustful of any Iran deal, given the longstanding hostility between the two nations since Iran's 1979 revolution. Netanyahu's office claims Israel has undertaken numerous operations, both overt and covert, to hinder Iran's nuclear ambitions.
New York Post
07-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump warns of possible military action if Iran enriches more uranium: ‘We're going to have no choice'
WASHINGTON — President Trump warned Friday that Iran will not be allowed to enrich uranium — hinting at possible military strikes following the revelation that Tehran has been secretly building out a near weapons-grade nuclear program for months. 'They won't be enriching. If they enrich, then we're going to have to do it the other way,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. 'And I don't really want to do it the other way but we're going to have no choice,' he added. 'There's not going to be enrichment.' 5 'They won't be enriching. If they enrich, then we're going to have to do it the other way,' President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday. AP Israel also reassured the White House earlier this week that it won't launch an attack on Iranian nuclear sites unless Trump signals that ongoing talks with Tehran about its nuclear program have failed, Axios reported. 'He may go into a war. But we're not getting dragged in,' Trump had said of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Time magazine interview in April to mark his first 100 days in office. 'I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack.' In May, the president said he'd warned Netanyahu not to bomb Tehran's nuclear facilities because the US had been 'having very good discussions with' Iranian negotiators. But Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that ending uranium enrichment was '100%' against his country's interests — and lashed out at the US for being 'arrogant' in its proposal for a revamped nuclear deal. That drafted agreement, submitted by Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff on May 31, permitted low-level uranium enrichment for civilian use. 5 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that ending uranium enrichment was '100%' against his country's interests. via Getty Images 'Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?' Khamenei said in a televised speech. 'If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us.' On Tuesday, the State Department clarified that the US did not support Iran enriching uranium at any level. 5 Levels of 90% uranium enrichment are considered weapons-grade. REUTERS 'The fact is, President Trump tweeted that there is going to be no uranium enrichment,' spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. The US and Iran have already gone through five rounds of talks over the nuclear issue — without any breakthroughs. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency last week reportedly disclosed that, in the background, Tehran had been upping its 60%-enriched uranium stockpile — from 274.8 kilograms to 408.6 kilograms between February and May — a roughly 50% jump between February and May. 5 A nuclear deal proposal, submitted by Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff on May 31, would permit low-level uranium enrichment for civilian use. Getty Images Levels of 90% are considered weapons-grade, and US officials have warned that Iran could convert their stockpile to reach that threshold needed for a single weapon in two weeks' time. That prompted Netanyahu to call on international allies 'to stop Iran,' sounding the alarm about the uranium enrichment levels being only appropriate for 'countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons.' Trump previously revived a 'maximum pressure' of sanctions on Iran after returning to the White House — and European nations privy to the UN nuclear report's findings may also be considering further snapback sanctions previously lifted under former President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Tehran. 5 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week called on international allies 'to stop Iran,' sounding the alarm about the uranium enrichment levels being only appropriate for 'countries actively pursuing nuclear weapons.' AP That 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was supposed to reduce Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium by 98%, though the UN findings have undercut that. Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
31-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
'Accept or be annihilated': Israel says Hamas will be 'forced' to back US ceasefire proposal
While Israel has accepted the proposal, which calls for the release of 10 living and 18 dead hostages and a 60-day-long ceasefire of fighting in Gaza, Hamas said that it is still reviewing the deal read more Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip. AP Israel has warned Hamas to accept the US-backed ceasefire proposal 'or be annihilated', hours after the Palestinian terror group said that the deal, submitted by President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, failed to meet its demands. The Hamas murderers will now be forced to choose: accept the terms of the 'Witkoff Deal' for the release of the hostages – or be annihilated," the country's defence minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Israel has accepted the proposal , which calls for the release of 10 living and 18 dead hostages and a 60-day-long ceasefire of fighting in Gaza, Hamas said that it is still reviewing the deal. The proposal comes months after the two warring parties have been unable to reach a truce, forcing Gaza to enter a new level of humanitarian crisis as Israel blocked aid to the Palestinian region for months, pushing thousands into hunger. Trump says Israel and Hamas 'close' to a deal Meanwhile, Trump has said that he believes a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is 'very close'. 'They're very close to an agreement on Gaza. We'll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow. And we have a chance of that,' the president said during a joint press conference with Elon Musk. Humanitarian crisis in Gaza The United Nations condemned Friday a group of 'armed individuals' for raiding warehouses in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and looting large amounts of medical supplies. The group 'stormed the warehouses at a field hospital in Deir al-Balah, looting large quantities of medical equipment, supplies, medicines, nutritional supplements that was intended for malnourished children,' said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The stolen aid had been brought into war-ravaged Gaza just a day earlier, he said. 'As conditions on the ground further deteriorate and public order and safety breaks down, looting incidents continue to be reported,' he said. With inputs from agencies
