Latest news with #IranUSConflict
The National
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Controversial game simulating US–Iran War sees 95% price cut as real-world tension rises
Battlefield 3, a video game that simulates a fictional war between the United States and Iran, has been steeply discounted, even as real-world tension rises between the two countries. The game, developed by DICE studios and published by Electronic Arts, was originally released in 2011. It went on sale for 95 per cent off globally on Thursday via the popular digital storefront Steam. While the game has often gone on discount since its release, the timing of the latest sale has raised eyebrows in the gaming community, with fans questioning the move. 'They saw an opportunity to make some money,' said one X user, with another adding: 'Life imitates art.' According to the independent database SteamDB, player counts have risen nearly 250 per cent since the day before the sale. In the game, Iran is presented as a country hijacked by extremists, leading to a US military invasion, with key sequences depicting combat across the country. The game garnered controversy upon release, with Iran banning its sale and strictly cracking down on the distribution of pirated copies. Iranian gamers also protested the release of the game, calling for an apology from its developers. There is no indication that the current discount was deliberately timed to current events, as the publisher is offering summer discounts on many of its library titles. 'It's probably a coincidence and not nefarious,' added another X user. The National has reached out to game publisher Electronic Arts for comment. The combat simulator Call of Duty series, published by Activision Blizzard, garnered controversy for its depiction of conflict in real-world countries. In 2019, the first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which imagined a conflict between the US and Russia received sizeable backlash for what users called 'anti-Russian propaganda'. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sequels have since avoided depicting Iran as a stage for war, instead setting conflicts in fictional countries such as Urzikstan. This is not the first time that a video game has seen a spike in popularity in the wake of real-world happenings. In early 2020 in the early days of Covid-19, the pandemic-themed game Plague Inc shot to the top of the Apple App Store across the world, prompting China, one of the game's settings, to declare the release 'illegal' in February of that year. Ndemic Creations, the developers of the strategy simulation game in which players evolve a deadly pathogen to infect and eliminate the human population, issued a public statement urging people not to use the game as a source of real-world medical information. The firm later donated $250,000 to the World Health Organisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations towards relief efforts.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Iran-Israel live: Trump says US bombs ‘obliterated' key Iranian nuclear sites; Tehran says ‘dangerous war' has begun
Iran has said a 'dangerous war' with the US has begun after president Donald Trump announced that US warplanes had 'obliterated' three nuclear facility sites in Iran. At around 8pm ET on Saturday, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social that 'very successful' strikes had been carried out on the nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. Iran responded by saying it 'reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people,' and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. Shortly after the US strikes, missile attacks launched by Iran injured 11 people in Israel. The strikes caused severe damage in Tel Aviv, with several two-story residential buildings heavily damaged or collapsing, emergency responders said. And Israel said it had resumed its own strikes on Sunday morning, targeting military sites in western Iran. Israel began launching attacks on Iran on 13 June, saying it was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its atomic programme is only for peaceful purposes. Why are Iran and Israel fighting Israel and Iran have been engaged in shadow warfare for decades, with a long history of clandestine attacks by land, sea, air and cyberspace, which Tehran has conducted via its various proxies and allies in the region. The two nations had been allies prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979, which installed a new theocratic regime ideologically opposed to Israel's existence. Israel would also come to view Tehran's nuclear ambitions as an existential threat. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Iran's new regime helped to establish Hezbollah by lending the militant group funds and training. Tehran also funds Hamas in Gaza, Yemen's Houthis, and other paramilitary groups in Iraq and Syria, according to the US State Department. But after Hamas sparked the ongoing war in Gaza on 7 October 2023, Israel has killed much of the group's senior leadership, while also decimating Hezbollah and striking Houthi targets over the same period, leaving Tehran significantly more isolated. Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:28 Watch: Benjamin Netanyahu reacts to Trump's US military strikes on Iran Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:24 Oman says Trump targeting Iran threatens to 'widen the war', state media reports Oman has said Donald Trump targeting Iran threatens to 'widen the war', according to state media. It also reported that Oman accused the US of violating international law. Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:24 Tel Aviv shares jump at open and hit record highs after US strikes Iran nuclear sites Israeli stocks opened more than 1.5 per cent higher on Sunday and hit fresh all-time highs after the US attacked Iran's nuclear sites. The broad Tel Aviv 125 index was 1.5 per cent higher, while the blue-chip TA-35 was 1.6 per cent higher in early trading. Shares rose during all five sessions last week, gaining some 6 per cent, as Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military targets. Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:22 Full story: Starmer backs Trump's bombing of Iran saying it 'can never be allowed to develop nuclear weapon' The US president said the attacks carried out at Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan were 'very successful'. In a statement the prime minister said: 'Iran's nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat. Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor David Maddox report: Starmer backs Trump's Iran bombing saying Tehran cannot develop a nuclear weapon US president bombs Iranian nuclear sites and says key facilities 'completely and totally obliterated' Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:20 Iranian lawmaker says US strikes give Iran legal right to exit nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Iran has the legal right to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) based on its Article 10 following US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, parliament foreign policy committee head Abbas Golroo said on X on Sunday. Article 10 states that an NPT member has 'the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country'. Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:17 IAEA chief announces emergency meeting The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief has announced an emergency meeting 'in light of the urgent situation in Iran'. Rafael Mariano Grossi posted on X this morning: 'In light of the urgent situation in Iran, I am convening an emergency meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors for tomorrow.' Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:14 Saudi Arabia expresses concern after US attacks on Iran nuclear sites Saudi Arabia expressed its "great concern" following US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, according to a statement by the foreign ministry posted on X on Sunday. The kingdom called on the international community to boost efforts in such 'highly sensitive circumstances' to reach a political solution to end the crisis. Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:06 Farage backs Trump's decision to strike Iran Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has backed Donald Trump's decision to strike Iran. He said: "Reform UK stands behind the military actions of the USA overnight. "Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons, the future of Israel depends on it." Tara Cobham22 June 2025 08:01 Who are Iran's regional allies and could they be activated in its response to US Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance is a network of militant groups across the Middle East that the country has long relied upon. However, the network is a shadow of what it was before the war ignited by Hamas' 7 October, 2023, attack on Israel out of the Gaza Strip – but it still has some formidable capabilities. Israel's 20-month war in Gaza has severely diminished the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, and Israel mauled Lebanon's Hezbollah last fall, killing most of its top leadership and devastating much of southern Lebanon, making its involvement unlikely. But Iran could still call on the Houthis, who had threatened to resume their attacks in the Red Sea if the US entered the war, and allied militias in Iraq. Both have drone and missile capabilities that would allow them to target the United States and its allies. Iran could also seek to respond through militant attacks further afield, as it is widely accused of doing in the 1990s with an attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina that was blamed on Iran and Hezbollah. 22 June 2025 08:00
