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Hindustan Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Israel hammers Iran's nuclear programme but won't admit its own
Israel remains hellbent on stopping Iran from pursuing its ambitious nuclear plans, reaffirming its determination to dismantle the programme with strikes that started on June 13 and have now spiraled into a full-fledged war-like conflict. Satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc. shows construction at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona, Israel, on February 22, 2021. (Planet Labs Inc via AP/File) While Israel calls Tehran's covert pursuit of atomic weapons an existential threat, it parallelly continues its longstanding policy of nuclear ambiguity, a strategy that has raised accusations of double standards from critics in the region and beyond. Follow Israel Iran conflict live updates Israel has never confirmed nor denied possessing nuclear weapons, but for decades it has been widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East. Experts, cited in a Reuters report, said this deliberate vagueness for Israel has served as a powerful deterrent without inciting a regional arms race or inviting preemptive strikes. Israel among 5 countries not part of NPT Israel is one of just five countries that have not signed the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), freeing it from international obligations to disarm or submit to nuclear inspections. Critics, particularly in Iran, have pointed to this policy as evidence of Western hypocrisy. While Iran's nuclear programme remains under strict international surveillance, and Tehran insists it is for peaceful purposes, Israel's suspected arsenal continues to evade formal scrutiny. On Sunday, the US directly intervened in Israel's campaign, striking three Iranian nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan – resulting in a sharp escalation in the ongoing confrontation. Israel's nuclear programme: A history of secrecy Israel's nuclear programme is said to have begun in 1958 with the establishment of the Negev Nuclear Research Centre in Dimona under the then Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion. Surrounded by hostile neighbours, Ben Gurion believed nuclear deterrence was essential to Israel's survival. Some historians say the weapons were always intended as a last-resort option. For nearly a decade, the facility's purpose remained concealed. According to a 2022 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article, Israel told US officials the Dimona site was merely a textile factory. This file image made from a video aired Jan 7, 2005, by Israeli television station Channel 10, shows what the television station claims is Israel's nuclear facility in the southern Israeli town of Dimona, the first detailed video of the site ever shown to the public. (Channel 10 via AP/File) That article, co-authored by Hans M Kristensen and Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists, stated that Israel has possessed the capability to launch nuclear warheads since the early 1970s, relying on plutonium produced at Dimona. Plutonium is a radioactive chemical known for its use in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Israel's carefully guarded nuclear policy took a major hit in 1986 when former Dimona technician Mordechai Vanunu leaked photos and reactor details to The Sunday Times of London. He was later convicted of treason, serving 18 years in prison, and remains barred from leaving Israel or speaking to foreigners, according to the Reuters report. A hidden arsenal Though unacknowledged, Israel is believed to possess between 80 and 200 nuclear warheads, with most estimates leaning toward the lower end of that range. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Israel has stockpiled up to 1,110 kilograms of plutonium—potentially enough to manufacture 277 nuclear weapons. The country operates six submarines, reportedly capable of launching nuclear cruise missiles, and possesses ballistic missiles with ranges up to 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles). Israeli navy sailors stand atop the submarine "Rahav" upon its arrival at the military port in Haifa, Israel, on Jan. 12, 2016. The INS Rahav is a nuclear-capable, German-built Dolphin-2 class submarine that serves in the Israeli Navy.(AP) All six submarines were supplied by Germany and are stationed in Haifa, according to Kristensen and Korda's research. Middle East on edge In a region rife with conflict and political volatility, nuclear proliferation is particularly dangerous, said Or Rabinowitz, a Hebrew University scholar and visiting associate professor at Stanford. 'When nuclear armed states are at war, the world always takes notice because we don't like it when nuclear arsenals ... are available for decision makers,' Reuters quoted Rabinowitz. Rabinowitz suggested Israel's military leaders might consider deploying nuclear weapons in extreme scenarios—such as a WMD being used against them. This grab taken from UGC images posted on social media on June 23, 2025 shows a plume of smoke billowing after Israeli strikes in Tehran. (AFP) Besides Israel, only India, Pakistan, and South Sudan have not signed the NPT. North Korea withdrew. Iran remains a signatory, but was censured last week by the UN's nuclear watchdog for violations—just a day before Israel launched its offensive. According to Susie Snyder of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Israel's opacity has allowed it to dodge accountability. 'Its policy has also shined a light on the failure of Western countries to rein in nuclear proliferation in the Middle East,' Snyder said. They 'prefer not to be reminded of their own complicity,' she added. (with inputs from Reuters)
Ya Libnan
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Contrary to what Putin and Trump claim, Ukrainians not ‘encircled' in Kursk Intelligence shows
View of smoke rising from buildings that were purportedly struck by Ukrainian forces, amid their ongoing incursion, in Glushkovo, Kursk region, Russia August 21, 2024 in this satellite image. 2024 Planet Labs Inc/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo By Erin Banco NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk have lost ground in recent days but are not encircled by Russian forces, contrary to recent comments by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to three U.S. and European officials familiar with their governments' intelligence assessments. U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, have shared that assessment with the White House over the past week, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter said. However, Trump has continued to claim that Ukrainian troops are surrounded in western Russia's Kursk region. The U.S. and European intelligence assessments show that Ukrainian troops have faced intense pressure from Russian forces but they are not completely surrounded, the officials said. Trump has said he hopes to bring a quick end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Experts described a claim by Putin on March 13 that Ukrainian forces in Kursk were cut off and would ultimately need to 'surrender or die' as misinformation intended to show that Russia is offering concessions by saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, giving Putin leverage in ceasefire negotiations. In a social media post on March 14, Trump said he had asked the Russian president to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainians who he said were 'completely surrounded' and vulnerable. Putin said that he would do so if they surrendered. Trump repeated the claim about 'encircled' Ukrainian forces during a speech at Washington's Kennedy Center on Monday and in a Fox News interview on Tuesday. The U.S. National Security Council did not respond directly to questions about the intelligence assessments but referred Reuters to a joint statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz that mentioned Trump's call with Zelenskiy on Wednesday and how the two leaders agreed to continue to share intelligence on Kursk. The White House, the CIA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence all declined to comment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has denied that Ukrainian forces are surrounded and said Putin was lying about the reality on the ground. The Ukrainian leader acknowledged his military is in a difficult position in Kursk and that he expects continued attacks from Russia as it attempts to push Ukrainian forces out of the region. Zelenskiy's office and the Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Since August, when Ukrainian soldiers smashed their way across Russia's western border in Kursk, Kyiv has lost almost all of the territory it gained. It once held close to 500 square miles of land but now only holds between 20 and 30 square miles, according to open source reports. Trump spoke with Putin on Tuesday. During that call, the Russian leader said he would halt attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days, a promise that fell short of the full 30-day ceasefire Trump has called for and that Zelenskiy has said Ukraine would be prepared to accept. 'This is likely part of Putin's effort to make the point that they are winning the war and that resistance is useless and that it is inevitable that Russia's greater strength will bring victory. That resonates with Trump,' said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'Both sides are maneuvering to get into a better position for the negotiations.' Although Russian forces appear to be making incremental advances in Kursk, the officials who spoke to Reuters and experts who study the battlefield said Putin's March 13 statement was not accurate. The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based conflict monitor, said on March 14 that it had 'observed no geolocated evidence to indicate that Russian forces have encircled a significant number of Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast or elsewhere along the frontline in Ukraine.' Reuters
