Latest news with #MaayanLubell
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel signals Iran campaign can end soon but much hinges on Tehran
By Maayan Lubell, Alexander Cornwell and Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV (Reuters) -Israel is looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and has passed the message on to the United States, according to three Israeli officials, though much depends on its adversary's next move. According to two other officials, Israeli leaders are trying to work out the precise exit strategy that will conclude the campaign and end Iran's missile and drone attacks, to avoid tit-for-tat strikes paralysing the country. Another source briefed on the matter said that the military has signalled that it was close to achieving its goals. But although Israel picked the moment to launch its surprise strike on Iran, it cannot control when the conflict ends and risks being drawn into a costly war of attrition if Tehran chooses to extend the fight, officials and analysts say. Since unleashing its offensive in the early hours of June 13, Israel has killed senior Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, dismantled air defence systems, and struck multiple atomic-related sites and ballistic missile facilities. "We are not there yet but it looks more like a matter of days than weeks," said Eran Lerman, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser, in comments that chimed with the views of the three Israeli officials. "The end game is not that far from an Israeli point of view." On Sunday, Israel received a significant boost when the U.S. Air Force joined the hostilities, hitting three Iranian nuclear complexes with massive, bunker-busting bombs that Israel does not have in its arsenal. Hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that Israel was close to meeting its objectives and had no desire to prolong the operation. "We won't pursue our actions beyond what is needed," he said. "When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting will stop." That could prove wishful thinking. On Sunday and Monday, Iran fired barrages of ballistic missiles across the length of Israel, sending millions of people fleeing into bunkers as interceptor rockets sped into the sky knocking out most, but not all, of the incoming projectiles. The missile barrages have killed 24 civilians and damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings, rendering thousands homeless. Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub, has been a frequent target. Israel has moved into a tightened wartime posture: non-essential businesses are closed, schools are shut and its airspace sealed to all but a handful of flights. Israel's vibrant economy cannot afford prolonged lockdown. And Israelis have already been growing increasingly weary of the war against Iran's ally Hamas in Gaza, triggered in 2023 by the Palestinian militant group's October 7 2023 attack. Despite Israeli officials publicly messaging that the war objectives were close to being achieved, a European official and two foreign diplomats in the Middle East said there had been no such messaging by Israel with non-U.S. allies and partners. SEEKING AN OFF-RAMP Military and government officials have acknowledged that the duration of Israel's campaign hinges on Tehran. "It depends on the Iranians," one military official said last week. If Iran refrains from further escalation, officials believe there is a case for ending the operation sooner rather than later. Analysts say Iran may choose to minimise the significance of the U.S. strikes, consolidate power internally, and maintain limited missile fire on Israel using its surviving launchers. "The only option is to continue shooting at Israel, which they will do, but in a very calculated way," said Sima Shine, a former Mossad official and analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. "They understand their capabilities aren't endless, so they're rationing them." Two European diplomats said Tehran would have to signal a willingness to de-escalate. But one warned that, if Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei felt secure, he might choose to prolong the conflict, making it a drawn-out confrontation. Israel's strikes on Monday against Iranian ruling symbols were a message to Tehran, said Lerman. "It's meant to indicate to the regime, to Khamenei that a war of attrition could be a very costly business for him and for the survival of his power structure." Netanyahu said that if Iran dragged out its attacks, Israel would launch strikes that would "exact a price from the Iranian regime". Netanyahu, asked whether he and U.S. President Donald Trump saw eye to eye on how the war should conclude, said he could think of a few mechanisms to end it but declined to offer details. "We're in a time of war," he said. "There's the fog of battle ... I am working closely with President Trump." For now, hope of a negotiated off-ramp remains alive but uncertain. "This could end like it often does with Hamas—Israel declaring its objectives achieved and offering to stop if the other side does," said Shine, referring to past conflicts between Hamas militants and Israel in Gaza. "But Iran is not Hamas. A negotiated agreement would be a better outcome." Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said Israel would not accept a one-sided halt. "A unilateral stop on our part would mean (Iran) firing at our civilians," he said. "The ball, to a certain extent, is in Khamenei's hands and he himself has yet to decide," Edelstein told Israel's N12 News. (Additional reporting by Howard Goller, Writing by Crispian Balmer, Editing by William Maclean)
Zawya
22-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Flights from Israel will partially resume on Monday, Airport Authority says
JERUSALEM: Flights to and from Israel's main airport will partially resume on Monday, Israel's Airport Authority said on Sunday, with safety restrictions limiting the number of flights and passengers. "Beginning tomorrow, Monday, June 23, 2025, both incoming and outgoing flights will resume at Ben Gurion Airport, marking a significant step toward the gradual restoration of routine international travel," the IAA said in a statement. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Daily Maverick
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Iran says no nuclear talks under Israeli fire, Trump considers options
By Maayan Lubell, Parisa Hafezi and Trevor Hunnicutt A week after it began attacking Iran, Israel's military said it had carried out new strikes on dozens of military targets overnight, including missile production sites and a research organisation involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran. Iran launched at least one new barrage of missiles early on Friday, striking near residential apartments, office buildings and industrial facilities in the southern city of Beersheba. The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump would decide on 'whether or not to go' with U.S. involvement in the conflict in the next two weeks, citing the possibility of negotiations involving Iran in the near future. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday there was no room for negotiations with Israel's superpower ally the United States 'until Israeli aggression stops'. But he was due to meet European foreign ministers in Geneva later on Friday for talks at which Europe hopes to establish a path back to diplomacy over Iran's nuclear programme. Two diplomats said before the meeting involving France, Britain, Germany and the European Union's foreign policy chief that Araqchi would be told the U.S. is still open to direct talks. Expectations for a breakthrough are low, diplomats say. Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes, retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons. It neither confirms nor denies this. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based human rights organisation that tracks Iran. The dead include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have been killed in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side. Details of casualties in the latest strikes were not immediately known. CIVILIANS KILLED Both sides say they are attacking military and defence-related targets, but civilians have also been caught in the crossfire and each has accused the other of hitting hospitals. An Iranian news website said a drone had struck an apartment in a residential building in central Tehran on Friday, but did not give details. Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear installations so far pose only limited risks of contamination, experts say. But they warn that any attack on the nuclear power station at Bushehr could cause a nuclear disaster. Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities but that it wants to avoid any nuclear disaster in a region that is inhabited by tens of millions of people and produces much of the world's oil. The meeting in Geneva was due to start on Friday afternoon. The Swiss city is where an initial accord was struck in 2013 to curb Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions being lifted. A comprehensive deal followed in 2015. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in 2018. A new series of talks between Iran and the U.S. collapsed when Israel launched what it called Operation Rising Lion against Iran's nuclear facilities and ballistic capabilities on June 12. Trump has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks. His special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, has spoken to Araqchi several times since last week, sources say. The Middle East has been on edge since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked it in October of 2023, triggering the Gaza war, and Israel has been fighting on several fronts against Iran's regional allies. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned on Friday of further action against Iranian ally Hezbollah, a day after the Lebanese militant group suggested it would come to Iran's aid. Western and regional officials say Israel is trying to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday 'the downfall of the regime … may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom.' Iranian opposition groups think their time may be near, but activists involved in previous protests say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest with their nation under attack, and Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on dissent. 'How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets,' said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Analysis-Israeli air power reigns over Iran, but needs US for deeper impact
By Maayan Lubell, Lili Bayer, Ece Toksabay and Suleiman Al-Khalidi JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's command of Iranian air space leaves few obstacles in the way of its expanding bombardment, though it will struggle to deal a knock-out blow to deeply buried nuclear sites without the U.S. joining the attack, experts say. While Iran has responded with deadly missile strikes on Israeli cities, Israel has shown its military and intelligence pre-eminence as its warplanes have crisscrossed the Middle East, hitting Iranian nuclear installations, missile stockpiles, scientists, and generals - among other targets. On Monday, several Israeli officials declared the establishment of air superiority over Iran. The military likened its control of Iranian skies to its command of the air space over other arenas of conflict with Iran-aligned enemies, such as over Gaza and Lebanon - where Israel continues to bomb at will. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel's control of Iranian air space was "a game-changer". National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said pilots could operate "against countless more targets" over Tehran, thanks to the destruction of "dozens and dozens" of air defence batteries. But even as Israeli officials laud the damage done so far, some publicly acknowledge Israel won't be able to completely knock out Iran's nuclear program - unless the U.S. joins the campaign with strategic bombers that can drop ordnance with the potential to penetrate sites buried deep underground. Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King's College London, said Israel had achieved "quite a lot of operational and tactical successes ... But translating that into a strategic success will require more than what air power can deliver". Krieg said even the heaviest U.S. bunker-busting bombs might struggle to penetrate Iran's deepest sites - in the event President Donald Trump decides to join the attack - suggesting special, commando-style forces might be needed on the ground. Nevertheless, "Israel can act with impunity now, and they can do that in the way they did in it in Lebanon". Israel launched its campaign on Friday, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb - something Iran has always denied seeking from its uranium enrichment program. While the Iranian military says it has downed Israeli warplanes, Israel denies this and says no crews or planes have been harmed during their missions to Iran, a return journey of some 3,000 km (2,000 miles) or more. A senior Western defence source said Israeli warplanes have been refuelling over Syria - a bastion of Iranian influence until Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December. Israel is now operating over Syria with "near-total freedom", the source said. ECHOES OF LEBANON Israel's assault bears echoes of last year's devastating offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, during which Israel wiped out the Tehran-aligned group's top command - including its leader Hassan Nasrallah - within the first days. Two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday that President Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Netanyahu on Monday did not rule out targeting Khamenei, saying doing so would end the conflict. Further echoing its 2024 campaign in Lebanon, the Israeli military on Monday issued an evacuation warning for a specific area of Tehran, saying in a post on X that it planned to target the "Iranian regime's military infrastructure" in the capital. A regional intelligence source said Israel had built a "truly surprising" network of agents in Tehran, likening the targeted killings of top officials to the blows directed at Hezbollah's leadership. The source said Israel's ability to "penetrate Tehran from the inside" had been astonishing. Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the RUSI think-tank in London, said Iran has "few technical answers" to the combination of Israeli F-35 aircraft capable of waging electronic warfare against its anti-aircraft systems, supported by F-16s and F-15s carrying precision-guided ballistic missiles. Though Israel was long assessed to have the upper hand, the speed, scale and effectiveness of its strikes - particularly against top Iranian generals - caught many off guard, said Barin Kayaoglu, a Turkish defence analyst. Iran's military appeared to have been "sleeping at the wheel", he said. However, he cited challenges for Israel, saying its air force could find it difficult to maintain the current tempo of its operations because of the need to replenish ammunition stocks and maintain warplanes. WEAPONS SHIPPED In April, Israeli media reported an unusually large shipment of bombs arriving from the U.S. An unsourced report by public broadcaster Kan on April 17 said the delivery included hundreds of bombs, among them bunker busters. Iranian air defences were damaged by Israeli strikes during exchanges of fire last year, Israeli officials said then. As last week's attack began, Israel said Mossad commandos on the ground in Iran destroyed more of Iran's anti-aircraft systems. Despite Israeli air supremacy, Israeli officials have acknowledged that Iran's nuclear program cannot be disabled entirely by Israel's military, emphasising goals that fall short of its total destruction. A former senior Israeli security official told Reuters that while U.S. military support was needed to do damage to Iran's most deeply buried facility, the Fordow enrichment plant, Israel was not counting on Washington joining the attack. Israel has said it has not targeted Fordow - built beneath a mountain south of Tehran - to date, rather just the installations at Natanz and Isfahan. Either way, the former official said Israel had already done enough meaningful damage to Iran's nuclear program, declining to be named so he could speak freely about sensitive matters. If after the conflict ends Iran retained a residual uranium enrichment capability but not the people and facilities to do anything of concern with it, then this would be a major achievement, added the official. Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its enrichment program. Emily Harding from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said conventional wisdom held that Israel could not completely eliminate the deepest buried parts of Iran's nuclear program. "But Israel has strongly hinted that it has more capability than that conventional wisdom would suggest. For example, the ability to operate freely over the target allows for multiple sorties that could do a lot of damage," she said. (Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Crispian Balmer and Mark Heinrich)
Japan Today
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Israel says attacks on Iran are nothing compared with what is coming
A woman uses her phone at an impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Rishon LeZion, Israel, June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad By Maayan Lubell and Parisa Hafezi Israel pounded Iran for a second day on Saturday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its campaign would intensify, while Tehran called off nuclear talks that Washington had held out as the only way to halt the bombing. A day after Israel wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command with a surprise attack on its old foe, it appeared to have hit Iran's oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field. Netanyahu said Israel's strikes had set back Iran's nuclear programme possibly by years and rejected international calls for restraint. "We will hit every site and every target of the Ayatollahs' regime, and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days," he said in a video message. In Tehran, Iranian authorities said around 60 people, including 29 children, were killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel. Air raid sirens sent Israelis into shelters as waves of missiles streaked across the sky and interceptors rose to meet them. U.S. President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and warned Iran of much worse to come. He said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign, but only if Tehran quickly accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear program at talks with Washington which had been scheduled for Sunday. Host Oman confirmed on Saturday that the next round of talks had been scrapped. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said holding talks was unjustifiable while Israel's "barbarous" attacks were ongoing. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, Iranian media reported a fire on Saturday after Israel bombed the South Pars gas field in southern Bushehr province. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said some gas production there was suspended following the attack. Worries about potential disruption to the region's oil exports had already boosted the price of crude by about 7% on Friday, even though Israel had spared Iran's oil and gas industry on the campaign's first day. An Iranian general, Esmail Kosari, said Tehran was reviewing whether to close the Strait of Hormuz controlling access to the Gulf for tankers. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. "If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Tehran warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for 50 minutes on Saturday, the Kremlin said, with Putin condemning Israel's operation and Trump describing events in the Middle East as "very alarming". But both leaders said they do not rule out a return to negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. NIGHT OF BLASTS AND FEAR IN ISRAEL AND IRAN Iran's overnight fusillade included hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones, an Israeli official said. At least three people were reported killed and 174 injured, mostly lightly, in 17 strikes, including on Tel Aviv, that evaded interceptors. In Tel Aviv, uncertainty lingered on Saturday over the possibility of another Iranian barrage after air raid sirens sent residents across the country rushing into shelters overnight as missiles and interceptors streaked across the sky. Israeli-Canadian Jordan Falkenstein, 39, said he spent the previous night in his building's shelter with all his neighbors. "You can see that people have a sense of precaution this weekend. We're not sure. We're still trying to anticipate what will happen this evening. It's better to play it safe," he said. Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin cautioned as night fell on Saturday that Iranian attacks were not over, urging the public to follow public safety guidelines. In Iran, Israel's two days of strikes destroyed residential apartment buildings, killing families and neighbours as apparent collateral damage in strikes targeting scientists and senior officials in their beds. Iran said 78 people were killed on the first day and scores more on the second, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children. State TV broadcast pictures of a building flattened into debris and the facade of several upper storeys lying sideways in the street, while slabs of concrete dangled from a neighboring building. "Smoke and dust were filling all the house and we couldn't breathe," 45-year-old Tehran resident Mohsen Salehi told Iranian news agency WANA after an overnight air strike woke his family. Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. A military official on Saturday said Israel had caused significant damage to Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz and Isfahan, but had not so far taken on another uranium enrichment site, Fordow, dug into a mountain. The official said Israel had "eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership" and had killed nine nuclear scientists who were "main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) programme". Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. However the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported it this week as violating obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
