Latest news with #IsraelAtomicEnergyCommission
New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
When the spin is the win
These days, truth is much like a B2 stealth bomber. It is hard to detect it, though it hovers right over our heads. The US bombing of the nuclear reactors in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan was allegedly on behalf of Israel. How did a war between Israel and Iran spin around to consolidate the narrative that the US has returned as the global supercop and that Donald Trump is the only world leader worth talking about? Satellite imagery showed six gaping wounds at Fordo, a blackened sprawl at Isfahan, and an 18-foot hole at Natanz. Trump repeatedly asserted that Iran's nuclear programme was 'completely obliterated', a claim the Israel Atomic Energy Commission backed. Yet, making defiant noises from his bunker, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proclaimed a 'severe slap' to America and a 'victory' over the 'Zionist regime'. There were photographs of Iranians dancing on the streets in celebration, having chosen to believe in their victory. As a great author said, patriotism is the opium of the people. Closer home, one thought of Operation Sindoor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said it was an unqualified success. Pakistan's General Asim Munir, in return, claimed his army had shot down Indian planes. We chose officially not to believe him. Yet, the latest on this front is an admission of downed planes by an Indian defence attaché, a naval officer, at a seminar in Jakarta on June 10. But we still don't know how many planes India might have lost, or how many died or were wounded during the operation. We don't even seem to know for certain if the families of the Pahalgam victims have been compensated for their plight. In short, we are swallowed by the official bubble. In the absence of clear evidence, then, you are free to live in the truth bubble of your choice. Or so one thought until Trump bombed Iran, marking the return of the unipolar world, where the American version of the truth increasingly seems to be the only one, gaining ascendance over other national narratives. The indeterminacy of reality is a haze enveloping the world. Never mind if we are living in one of the most surveilled times in history: almost nothing goes unrecorded. Even what we search for on the internet comes back to haunt us as advertisements. We walk naked in the crowd, as it were.
India Today
27-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
How a country that helped Israel get nuclear weapons junked its own nukes
It began with a rescinded invite. In 1955, Israel was all set to attend the Bandung Conference in Indonesia, a landmark summit of newly independent Asian and African nations, which would be the beginning of the India-propelled Non-Aligned Movement. The invitation was quietly withdrawn after then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, under pressure from Egypt, Pakistan, and other Arab states, snapped his support. Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was Bandung moment marked more than just a diplomatic slight. It exposed newly formed Israel's isolation in the postcolonial world, a world increasingly shaped by Third World solidarity and Arab-led opposition to Zionism. Rejected by India, shut out of African-Asian unity, and encircled by hostile neighbours, Israel pivoted west and south. Its search for allies would lead to a shadowy and strategic nuclear partnership with an unlikely friend: apartheid South Israel had technology, South Africa had uranium. And for a brief period in Cold War history, both had the same goal: survival. South Africa wasn't the only or the first country that Israel clandestinely cooperated with for nuclear weapons. It was France that supported Israel's nuclear programme first. However, the cooperation with South Africa – in the 1970s – is interesting because the country went on to junk its nuclear weapons while Israel emerged as an undeclared nuclear nuclear programme is an interesting study against the backdrop of its 12-day war with Iran, which was triggered after the Jewish nation targeted Iranian nuclear sites. Israel faces existential threats from the regime of Ayatollah Khamenei, and has worked for decades to deny Iran nuclear also stands out among the nuclear powers because it never conducted a nuclear test at home. That's where the South African collaboration comes in. The "Double Flash" of 1979, detected by the US off South Africa, was suspected to have Israeli participation and had all the hallmarks of a nuclear CRISIS AND THE BIRTH OF ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMMEThe Double Flash must have been a sign of the maturing of Israel's nuclear programme, because its N-programme is almost as old as the country PM Ben-Gurion, nuclear capability was not just a defence priority, it was a moral and existential by the Holocaust and aware of Israel's precarious position in a hostile region, he saw atomic power as a safeguard against complete annihilation, writes Sasha Polakow-Suransky in The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South in 1952, the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) was led by Ernst David Bergmann, who declared that a nuclear bomb would ensure Jews were "never again led as lambs to the slaughter", reflecting the post-Holocaust drive for strategic IAEC was set in secret and began quietly scouting for uranium. It recruited Jewish scientists from abroad, forged academic ties, and laid the technical and ideological groundwork for its nuclear it was the 1956 Suez Crisis that turned Israel's ambition into grateful for Israel's role in the joint invasion of Egypt, became a crucial partner, not just diplomatically, but technologically, writes Polakow-Suransky in his FRANCE PASSED ON NUCLEAR KNOW-HOW TO ISRAELIn a secret agreement, France provided Israel with the nuclear know-how, materials, and equipment necessary to build a reactor. French engineers helped design and construct the facility at Dimona in the Negev Desert, officially a research centre, but one that housed a hidden underground plutonium reprocessing plant, according to a report by The began in 1958, shrouded in secrecy even within France's own atomic agency. The assistance included reactor blueprints, uranium fuel, and a separate heavy water supply routed via adopted a policy of nuclear opacity, amimut, refusing to confirm or deny its was the same time that US inspectors were allowed into Dimona, but the visits were choreographed. Lead inspector Floyd Culler reported fresh plaster on the walls that later turned out to conceal elevator shafts to the secret reprocessing facility, The Guardian report growing American suspicions, US pressure waned under President Richard Nixon. In 1969, Israeli PM Golda Meir and US President Richard Nixon agreed upon silence on Israel's nuclear status. In 1969, Nixon and Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir struck a quiet understanding: no public nuclear tests or declarations from Israel, and no pressure from Washington to sign the Non-Proliferation the time of the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel had assembled two or three crude nuclear devices, ready as a last resort. They were never used, but the nuclear threshold had already been crossed, silently, ISRAEL, APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA TEAMED UPIn the 1960s and 70s, Israel and apartheid South Africa had a secretive but powerful vastly different in identity, one a Jewish state born from the ashes of genocide, the other a white supremacist regime enforcing racial domination. As traditional allies distanced themselves, the two turned toward each military prowess, especially its swift victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, impressed South African leaders. When France, after a change in leadership, imposed an arms embargo on Israel after 1967, Pretoria stepped in with spare parts for Mirage fighter and South Africa were united by a sense of siege, strategic necessity, and deepening global isolation. One of their earliest connections was had the technology but lacked uranium. South Africa had uranium but lacked the technical 1962, South Africa sent Israel 10 tons of yellowcake uranium. By 1965, this flow was formalised in a deal that dodged international the decade, South Africa helped Israel quietly amass 500 tons of uranium. In return, Pretoria gained access to Israeli nuclear know-how. Officially, both insisted their nuclear programmes were peaceful, but in secret, each pursued Yom Kippur War in 1973 marked a decisive shift: while 20 African nations severed relations with Israel, South Africa extended 1974, South Africa even tested a basic nuclear device, likely with Israeli then, Pelindaba had become South Africa's main nuclear research centre. Its adjacent Y-Plant at Valindaba, built with covert assistance and drawing on earlier Israeli collaboration, began producing weapons-grade uranium by 1978. The enriched uranium was used to assemble six nuclear bombs by the mid-1980s. Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, located near Cape Town, began construction in 1976 and became operational in 1984. (Image: AFP) DID ISRAEL OFFER WARHEADS, MISSILE TO SOUTH AFRICA?In 1975, Israeli Defence Minister Shimon Peres met secretly in Zurich with South African Defence Minister PW meeting suggested a far deeper level of trust between the two Africa, under growing international pressure and eager to secure a nuclear deterrent of its own, sought to purchase Israeli Jericho missiles, which were believed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to a report by The South African documents later revealed that Peres had hinted the "correct payload" could be made available "in three sizes", a phrase widely interpreted as a veiled offer of nuclear warheads.A memo by senior official RF Armstrong confirmed Pretoria's belief that this was a nuclear offer, and a draft agreement was drawn up, complete with a clause stating it must never be disclosed under any the deal fell through. The exact reasons remain uncertain: the cost may have been too steep, or Israeli leaders may have feared the international consequences if the deal ever came to light. Peres would later deny offering nuclear the Zurich meeting remains striking. Even without a final handshake, it showed how two pariah states—bound by secrecy, ambition, and fear—were willing to step into the shadows of nuclear SATELLITE DETECTED MYSTERIOUS DOUBLE FLASHOn 22 September 1979, the US Vela 6911 satellite detected a mysterious double flash over the South Atlantic near South Africa, widely seen as a nuclear test signature. No country claimed responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on apartheid South Africa and Israel.A US enquiry led by physicist Jack Ruina concluded the flash might have been natural or a sensor glitch, but many intelligence officials and independent experts disagreed. CIA analysts believed it was likely a covert joint test by Israel and South documents suggest both had motive and Africa had a working bomb design; Israel, already nuclear-capable, had never officially tested it. Their past nuclear cooperation, South African naval presence in the area, and perfect weather conditions only deepened never confirmed, the Vela Incident is widely viewed as evidence of secret nuclear collaboration between two isolated regimes operating far from global SOUTH AFRICA GAVE UP NUCLEAR WEAPONSSouth Africa's decision to dismantle its nuclear programme and sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1991 was not just historic, it was layered with strategic calculation, moral posturing, and political was the only instance in which a state developed nuclear weapons independently, then gave them up entirely, voluntarily, and transparently, writes Sasha Polakow-Suransky in his Ukraine too gave up its nuclear stockpile as a barter for independence, those were Soviet-era weapons and not Africa's arsenal, six fully built bombs and a seventh under construction, had been assembled during the height of apartheid, amid fears of Soviet expansion, Cuban involvement in Angola, and domestic insurgency. For the white minority government, nuclear weapons were never meant for battlefield use; they were strategic bargaining chips, meant to signal strength and deter external by the late 1980s, with the Cold War winding down and the apartheid regime losing legitimacy, the weapons began to look less like protection and more like a political was also a deep anxiety within the ruling elite about the future: what if these weapons fell into the hands of the African National Congress (ANC) after the democratic transition? Dismantling the programme before handing over power allowed the apartheid government to retain control over the legacy of the weapons, and perhaps even rewrite its final chapter on its own pressure played its part too. South Africa was still under economic and military sanctions, and rejoining the global economy required a clean break from the secrecy and militarism of the 1991, it became a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). By 1993, President FW de Klerk confirmed what had long been rumoured -- that South Africa had nukes. Klerk also declared that the country didn't have any took no such step and operates the Dimona reactor, built in the desert with French help. The Jewish nation is believed to possess at least 90 nuclear warheads, with stockpiles of fissile material sufficient to build many from the Centre for Arms Control and Nonproliferation and the Nuclear Threat Initiative suggest the true arsenal could even be far larger than publicly Africa, which collaborated with Israel, gave up its nuclear weapons while the Jewish nation holds on to them. For a period in history, their secret pact, one with uranium, the other with know-how, helped shape one of the world's most opaque nuclear programmes.- EndsTune InTrending Reel
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House pushes Israeli assessment of damage to Iran's nuclear sites
The White House on Wednesday pushed the Israeli assessment of the U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as part of its ongoing effort to argue the hits destroyed Iran's nuclear program. The White House asked the press pool traveling with the president to send out the statement on behalf of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, just after President Trump publicly hit back at reporting that Iran's nuclear program was only set back a matter of months. 'The devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site's critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. We assess that the American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran's military nuclear program, has set back Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,' the commission statement said. 'This achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material,' it added. The president was asked at a press conference if the U.S. is relying on Israeli intelligence, after he read the statement, and he denied it, saying the Iranians have had the same assessment. The administration's internal assessment found Saturday's strikes of the three facilities delayed Iran's nuclear program by only a few months, despite initial assertions from Trump administration officials that those sites had been destroyed. The report also said Iran had moved much of its enriched uranium before the strikes, according to multiple outlets. Trump, while speaking at the NATO summit in The Hague, called media outlets that reported on the internal assessment, including CNN, The New York Times and NBC, 'scum' and insisted the U.S. attack led to 'total obliteration' of Iran's nuclear sites. Other top officials also pushed back, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said an investigation was underway into leaks of a preliminary classified report, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told Politico 'very significant, substantial damage was done.' Updated 10:19 a.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Key Takeaways From the 2025 NATO Summit
In a week that dealt with the aftermath of the U.S. launching strikes on Iran and the brokering of an Israel-Iran cease-fire, albeit a fragile one, global leaders put on a somewhat united front at the 2025 NATO Summit. President Donald Trump arrived at The Hague in the Netherlands on Tuesday, hours after issuing a public rebuke of Israel and Iran amid accusations of cease-fire violations and threats of further military action. Unsurprisingly, the Israel-Iran conflict, and its far-reaching impact, was a key talking point during the summit. NATO members also discussed defense spending, with the United Kingdom set to buy at least a dozen F-35 capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and Spain showing restraint on committing to the 5% defense spending target. The war in Ukraine was a key focus of the summit too, with leaders reiterating their support for President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, posing an ongoing, prevalent concern for European security. Here are the key takeaways from the 2025 NATO Summit. Early U.S. intelligence on the weekend strikes carried out in Iran reportedly suggests that they were not as effective as initially thought, in stark contrast to Trump's assertion that the strikes 'totally obliterated" the three key nuclear facilities. Speaking at NATO, Trump doubled down on his previous statements, saying that the operation 'was very, very successful. It was called obliteration. No other military on Earth could have done it.' The President cited a report from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, saying it found that U.S. strikes 'destroyed the site's critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility totally inoperable. It was devastated.' Per Trump, the report concluded that Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons had been set back 'for many years to come.' Israel's military meanwhile, has said that it's "still too early to determine" the exact outcome and effectiveness of the strikes upon Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Trump was also asked at NATO about sanctions on Iran and its capability to continue selling oil to China, its main trading partner in the industry. 'I could stop it if I wanted and sell China the oil myself. I don't want to do that,' Trump said. 'We're not taking over the oil. We could have, you know, I used to say with Iraq, 'keep the oil.' I could say it here, too.' Sitting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump was asked by reporters if the U.S. would strike Iran again, should it rebuild its nuclear facilities. To which the President responded: 'Sure, but I'm not going to have to worry about that. It's gone for years." Read More: A New Middle East Is Unfolding Before Our Eyes When praising Trump's intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict, Rutte referred to the U.S. President as 'daddy.' Trump compared Israel and Iran to 'two kids in a school yard' who 'fight like hell,' to which Rutte, referencing Trump's intervention, said: 'Then daddy has to sometimes use strong language." (In an outburst ahead of the summit, Trump told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday: "We have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard, that they don't know what the f-ck they're doing.") The remark from Rutte seemed to catch the room off-guard, and Trump was later confronted about the moment during a press conference. When asked asked if he considers NATO members to be like "his children," Trump said of Rutte's comment: "He likes me, I think he likes me. If he doesn't, I'll let you know. I'll come back, and I'll hit him hard, OK? He did it very affectionately... 'daddy, you're my daddy.'" In a joint statement from 32 NATO leaders at the summit, the countries agreed to 5% of annual GDP going on 'core defence requirements as well as defence-and security-related spending' by 2035. 'We remain united and steadfast in our resolve to protect our one billion citizens, defend the Alliance, and safeguard our freedom and democracy,' the statement read. The 5% target is well beyond what any NATO country currently spends on defense, and a significant increase on the previous 2% guideline laid out by the organization. As of 2024, Poland spends an estimated 4.2% of their annual GDP on defense, at that point the highest of all members. The United States spent an estimated 3.38% in 2024, a slight decrease from spending percentages throughout the ten years prior. NATO members say that the aim of this new target is to provide security in the face of the 'long- term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism.' 'We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty—that an attack on one is an attack on all,' the NATO leaders said. Should one NATO member be attacked, Article 5 commits all other members to take the action 'it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.' The only occasion that Article 5 has previously been invoked was after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Both commitments have been regularly brought up by Trump. Speaking at a press conference at the summit, he said: 'This will be known as the Hague defense commitment… it will add $1 trillion a year. It's a monumental win for the United States because we were carrying much more than our fair share, which was quite unfair actually.' Reiterating his 'America first' mantra, Trump added that it's 'vital that this additional money be spent on very serious military hardware, not bureaucracy. And hopefully that hardware is going to be made in America.' Read More: How U.S. Strikes May Have Inadvertently Helped the Iranian Regime Speaking with Sky News in The Hague, Zelensky was asked if the 2035 spending commitment from NATO members was too slow. 'This is slow, we believe starting in 2030 [Russian President Vladimir] Putin can have significantly greater capabilities. Today, Ukraine is holding him up, he has no time to drill the army,' he said. When asked if he believes if Russia could attack a NATO member, putting Article 5 to the test, Zelensky replied: "Precisely so, I believe so.' Trump also commented about the ongoing efforts to procure a lasting cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, saying that he had shared a phone call with Putin, during which the Russian President offered support in Middle Eastern negotiations. 'I said 'No, no, you help me get a settlement with you, with Russia', and I think we're going to be doing that too,' Trump emphasized. 'Putin really has to end that war. People are dying at levels that people haven't seen before for a long time.' When asked if the U.S. is willing to sell anti-air missiles to Ukraine, Trump said 'we're going to see if we can make some available.' 'The Ukraine crisis has also highlighted the urgency of rebuilding our defense industrial base, both in the United States and among the allied nations. We cannot afford to be dependent on foreign adversaries for critical minerals,' Trump said, highlighting the economic deal signed with Ukraine in May. There was no official word on Ukraine's long-sought after NATO membership, which has been a key talking point over the past few years, even more so since Russia's invasion in 2022. 'NATO has no business in Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, neither Russia, my job is to keep it as it is,' said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the summit. Meanwhile, NATO remains clear on its stance. 'Ukraine is not a NATO member. Ukraine is a NATO partner country, which means that it cooperates closely with NATO but it is not covered by the security guarantee in the Alliance's founding treaty,' the organisation's website reads, adding that 'NATO condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia's brutal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.' Speaking at a NATO press conference on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reacted to the fragile cease-fire between Iran and Israel, praising the U.S. intervention. 'We need to make sure that the cease-fire holds, and seize this opportunity to stabilize the region and get Iran back round the negotiation table with the United States. Ultimately this is how we will ensure a complete, verifiable, and irreversible to Iran's nuclear programme,' Starmer said. French President Emmanuel Macron said that the analysis of the damage from U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities is ongoing, including a French investigation. "We will compare that with the analysis of other countries, Israel, the United States, and other Europeans," Macron divulged at the summit. In his joint press conference with President Trump, Rutte also commented on the U.S missile strikes, saying: "This was crucial, you [Trump] did it in a way that is extremely impressive. The signal that it sends to the rest of the world is this President when it comes to it… he is willing to use strength." Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed the simmered-down tensions, telling reporters: 'If the cease-fire between Iran and Israel succeeds, it will be a good development that makes the Mideast and the entire world safer.' Contact us at letters@
India.com
26-06-2025
- Politics
- India.com
US Obliterated Iran Nuclear Sites, US Prez Trump Claims, Praising B-2 Pilots
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump is reiterating his claim that the US "obliterated" Iranian nuclear sites during targeted strikes on June 22, citing an assessment by the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). The IAEC reported that the US strike destroyed the Fordow nuclear site's critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday (local time), Trump noted the assessment made by IAEC on the Fordow nuclear site in Iran, where Israel's primary nuclear regulatory authority stated that the US' strike had "destroyed the site's critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable." Trump stated, "Israel just stated that the Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED! Thank you to our great B-2 pilots and all others involved!" Trump's claim is based on an assessment by the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), which stated that the US strike destroyed the Fordow nuclear site's critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. According to the IAEC, the combined US and Israeli strikes have set back Iran's nuclear weapons development program by many years. The commission noted that the devastating US strike on Fordow destroyed the site's critical infrastructure, making the enrichment facility inoperable. The IAEC assessment reads, "We assess that the American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran's military nuclear program, have set back Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years." "The devastating US strike on Fordow destroyed the site's critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable... The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material," the IAEC read. Trump's repeated remarks on the US destroying Iran's nuclear sites and causing a major setback to its nuclear development programme have gained much pace following a CNN finding that suggested that the strikes did not destroy nuclear sites in Iran as claimed by the US President or his administration. The findings, first reported by CNN, citing seven individuals briefed on the assessments, noted that the early evaluation from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) suggested that the attacks only caused a temporary disruption, possibly setting Tehran's nuclear program back by a few months. CNN further reported that the findings based on a battle damage assessment by US Central Command contradict public claims made by US President Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asserted that the US "completely obliterated" Iran's nuclear capabilities. As per CNN, citing intelligence sources, the centrifuges in Iran's nuclear facilities remain mostly functional, and enriched uranium stockpiles were likely moved before the strikes. The conflict between Iran and Israel began on June 13 when Israel launched a large-scale airstrike targeting Iranian military and nuclear facilities under "Operation Rising Lion". Iran responded by launching "Operation True Promise 3", a campaign involving missile and drone attacks against Israel's infrastructure.
