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The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Israel v Iran: Trump says ‘I warned Iranian hardliners…they're all DEAD now' as Tehran calls blitz ‘declaration of war'
DONALD Trump has urged Iran to make a deal "before it is too late" after Israel launched a blitz on its nuclear sites and assassinated its top generals. It came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as a "declaration of war" in a letter to the UN. 7 7 7 7 7 In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal." He went on: "Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. "They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE." Iran remains under attack after Israeli commandos spearheaded an incredible blitz on its nuclear sites by building a secret drone base deep inside enemy territory. Elite troops smuggled kamikaze drones and precision weapons into Iran in one of the most audacious military operations ever attempted. Their mission - planned for years and backed by intelligence - paved the way for 200 Israeli warjets to blast 100 targets across the rogue Islamist nation. An Israeli official said: 'The operation relied on groundbreaking thinking, bold planning and surgical operation of advanced technologies, special forces and agents operating in the heart of Iran while totally evading the eyes of local intelligence.' Israeli commanders said the overnight raids were the start of up to two weeks of action intended to wipe out Iran's atom threat. The Middle East now stands on the brink of all-out war after Israel unleashed a massive wave of missile strikes on Iran - with Tehran then responding with a wave of drones. Israeli forces on Friday targeted Tehran's nuclear facilities and killed top military & scientific figures in a lightning offensive dubbed Operation Rising Lion. Israel appears to have defied urges for restraint - including from US President Donald Trump - and said they were responding to the imminent danger that Tehran would obtain a nuclear weapon. Iran have vowed vengeance, already begun to blame the US, and launched at least 100 drones towards Israel. The strikes came just days before Iran was due to meet with the US for another round of nuclear talks to try and strike a deal. Iran has since pulled out of scheduled nuclear negotiations with the United States. Tehran cancelled talks that were set for Sunday and suspended all discussions 'until further notice', The Telegraph reported. 7 7 Which Iranian military chiefs and scientists have been killed? ISRAEL has dealt a major blow to Iran's command chain - wiping out several of its top brass. Key nuclear scientists have also been eliminated in Israel's overnight strikes. Those killed include: Generals Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces and the second-highest commander after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Gen. Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Gen. Gholamali Rashid, deputy commander in chief of the armed forces Ali Shamkhan, key adviser and confidant of Khamenei Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Forces Nuclear scientists Fereydoun Abbasi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Dr Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, theoretical physicist and president of the Islamic Azad University in Tehran In a ferocious show of force, around 200 Israeli fighter jets roared across Iranian skies early Friday. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said they used 330 munitions on 100 targets, including uranium enrichment plants and key command centres. Major strikes have taken place on Iran's military bases, the homes of top officials and nuclear sites such as the uranium enrichment base at Natanz . And the heads of Iran's armed forces - Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami and Iranian chief of state Mohammad Bagheri - have both been killed. At least two nuclear scientists - Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi - have also been killed, says Iranian state TV.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Even here in Israel, government statements about Greta Thunberg's ‘selfie yacht' are seen as crass
News of Israeli commandos taking control of the Madleen Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessel bound for Gaza made headline news in Israel on Monday morning, as it did in many places around the world. But by early afternoon, the story had already moved down Israelis' newsfeeds. Dramatic images of the Hamas tunnels of Gaza ; the funerals of four Israeli soldiers; the Iran nuclear deal; and a potential constitutional crisis between the Binyamin Netanyahu government and the attorney general were a few of the stories competing for the attention of people here. It is a truism that there is never a slow news day in Israel, and certainly not in the past two years. Climate activist Greta Thunberg and her crew had the misfortune of nearing Israeli-controlled waters in the week that prime minister Netanyahu, on trial for bribery for five years, was finally cross-examined in a Jerusalem court. The forceful boarding of the yacht also happened the same morning one of his erstwhile coalition partners threatened to bolt the government, potentially triggering an election. Still, the story – particularly the lead-up to the raid – received considerable attention across all Israeli media outlets. There was, however, the usual difference between how the mainstream news channels and social media treated the story. While the former mostly took it seriously, coverage on social media mercilessly mocked Thunberg. And that included Israeli state accounts. Her dramatic and presumably pre-recorded message, 'we have been kidnapped by occupational forces', calling for help to her 'comrades ... to release me as soon as possible', was widely lampooned on social media here. (To be fair, the mocking wasn't only confined to Israeli social media.) The undisguised sarcasm of some of the statements by the Israel Foreign Ministry on X mirrored the contemptuous tone elsewhere in Israel. 'The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,' the ministry stated. It then put out images of a smiling picture of Thunberg being offered a sandwich with the caption: 'Greta Thunberg is currently on her way to Israel, safe and in good spirits.' The ministry went on to accuse 'Greta and others' of 'a media provocation whose sole purpose was to gain publicity' – presumably that was indeed the point. READ MORE Israeli forces intercept the Madleen, carrying pro-Palestinian activists attempting to bring aid to Gaza. Video: David Dunne Even here in Israel, the description of the flotilla, which had sought to bring attention to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, as a 'selfie yacht' of 'celebrities' struck some as crass. The 'selfie yacht' sneer drew criticism from Ynet – the online news service of Israel's largest daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth – which drily compared that phrase to the seriousness of the reporting on the story across the international media. Mainstream television coverage in Israel generally took a more sober approach. On the evening before the yacht was forcibly boarded, the coverage focused on the risks to the reputation of Israel if the tragic events of the 2010 flotilla were to be repeated. On that occasion, the Mavi Marmara – a flotilla organised by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH) – was boarded by Israeli forces in international waters, and 10 activists were killed during the raid. International relations between Israel and Turkey rapidly deteriorated in the ensuing weeks and never recovered. In 2013, Israel apologised for 'operational mistakes' in the raid. A compensation deal is still being negotiated between the two countries. The Israeli-Arab rights group Adalah put out a sombre statement, noting that Israeli forces had detained the flotilla in international waters 'where Israel has no legal jurisdiction or authority', thus violating international humanitarian law. There was the predictable eye-rolling in Israel to an Iranian foreign ministry press statement from Tehran which said: 'The assault on this flotilla – since it happened in international waters – is considered a form of piracy under international law.' [ Harris praises Madleen volunteers for highlighting 'urgent need for humanitarian aid' to reach Gaza Opens in new window ] It is an open secret that Iran has been funding their proxies, the Houthis in Yemen , for a decade or more. The Houthis, with the guiding hand of Iran, have been openly attacking commercial shipping in international waters in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea for years. A week doesn't go by in Tel Aviv without deafening sirens going off due to incoming missiles from Yemen. [ Despite the politics, Ireland is Israel's second-biggest export market for goods Opens in new window ] Once in Israel, Thunberg and her fellow crew members were reportedly forced – on the direct order of Israeli defence minister Israel Katz – to watch a 40-minute graphic video of the Hamas atrocities on October 7th, 2023. 'It is only fitting that the anti-Semitic Greta [Thunberg] and her Hamas-supporting friends see exactly who this terrorist group Hamas is – the one they came to support and act on behalf of – and the horrors it carried out against women, the elderly and children,' Katz said in a statement. On Tuesday morning, the foreign ministry said the passengers had been taken to an airport in Tel Aviv for deportation. Judging by international news coverage over the past 24 hours, Thunberg and her crew on the Madleen have certainly commanded the headlines. Whether they managed to bring aid any closer to the starving millions in Gaza remains to be seen. One thing is virtually certain: the polarised views of many Israelis and non-Israelis will not have moved an inch. Paul Kearns is an Irish-born freelance journalist based in Tel Aviv.
