Latest news with #USstrikes
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran says 'no signs of contamination' after US strikes nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran says 'no signs of contamination' after US strikes nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The U.N. nuclear watchdog says there's 'no increase in off-site radiation levels' after US strikes on Iran nuclear sites
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.N. nuclear watchdog says there's 'no increase in off-site radiation levels' after US strikes on Iran nuclear sites.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel under missile attack, Iran says all options open after US strikes
By Maayan Lubell, Phil Stewart and Steve Holland JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel faced a missile attack on Sunday as Iran said it reserved all options to defend itself after unprecedented U.S. strikes that President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" its key nuclear facilities. Hours after Trump dramatically escalated Middle East tensions by sending B-2 bombers to Iran, the Israeli military warned people to seek cover from a barrage that appeared heavier than the Iranian salvoes fired in the past few days. "The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas, calling the U.S. strikes a "grave violation" of the U.N. charter, international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people," Araqchi posted on X. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said it would not allow development of its 'national industry' to be stopped, and an Iranian state television commentator said every U.S. citizen or military member in the region would be legitimate targets. Israel's ambulance service said at least 16 people were hurt in the morning barrage. Air raid sirens sounded across most of the country, sending millions of people to safe rooms and bomb shelters as explosions rang out and missile interceptions were seen above Jerusalem and in other parts of the country. It was not immediately clear how many missiles had pierced Israel's air defence systems, but police confirmed at least three impact sites in residential areas in central and northern Israel. Video from Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa further north showed rescue teams combing through debris, apartments reduced to rubble, mangled cars along a street filled with debris and medics evacuating injured people from a row of blown out houses. Most airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East after the U.S. strikes, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, with traffic already skirting airspace in the region due to recent missile exchanges. TRUMP SAYS IRAN FACES 'PEACE OR TRAGEDY' Trump, in a televised address to the U.S. people, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called the strikes a "spectacular military success" that had taken out Iran's three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. He warned Tehran it would face more devastating attacks if it does not agree to peace. After days of deliberation and long before his self-imposed two-week deadline, Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign against its major rival Iran is the biggest foreign policy gamble of his two presidencies and one fraught with risks and unknowns. The major escalation of armed conflict in the Middle East risks opening a new era of instability in the Middle East. Trump said Iran's future held "either peace or tragedy," and there were many other targets that could be hit by the U.S. military. "If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill." The U.S. contacted Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes are all the U.S. plans and it does not aim for regime change, CBS News reported. Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity show that six "bunker-buster" bombs were dropped on the deep-underground Fordow facility, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites. U.S. B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Reuters had reported the movement of the B-2 bombers, which can be equipped to carry the massive bombs that experts say would be needed to strike Fordow, which is buried beneath a mountain south of Tehran. Given its fortification, it will likely be days, if not longer, before the impact of the strikes is known. An Iranian official, cited by Tasnim news agency, confirmed part of the Fordow site was attacked by "enemy airstrikes." However, Mohammad Manan Raisi, a lawmaker for Qom, near Fordow, told the semi-official Fars news agency the facility had not been seriously damaged. A reporter from Iranian state media IRNA reporter said he had arrived near the Fordow site at 3 a.m. (2330 GMT on Saturday) and saw smoke that "seems to be related to air defences". He quoted a nearby witness as reporting "six explosions were heard, but they said it wasn't very loud.' DIPLOMATIC FAILURE The U.N. nuclear watchdog said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the U.S. strikes. Hassan Abedini, deputy political head of Iran's state broadcaster, said Iran had evacuated the three sites some time ago. "The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred from the nuclear centres and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our compatriots," he told the channel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his "bold decision", saying, "History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime, the world's most dangerous weapons." Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat that has resulted in deaths and injuries in both countries. Israel launched its attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies. Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities have so far failed. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the U.S. strikes a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security." In the U.S., Democratic lawmakers and some from Trump's Republican Party have argued that he must receive permission from Congress before committing the U.S. military to any combat against Iran. At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry. In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed and 1,272 people injured, according to local authorities.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Israel under missile attack, Iran says all options open after US strikes
JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - Israel faced a missile attack on Sunday as Iran said it reserved all options to defend itself after unprecedented U.S. strikes that President Donald Trump said had "obliterated" its key nuclear facilities. Hours after Trump dramatically escalated Middle East tensions by sending B-2 bombers to Iran, the Israeli military warned people to seek cover from a barrage that appeared heavier than the Iranian salvoes fired in the past few days. "The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas, calling the U.S. strikes a "grave violation" of the U.N. charter, international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people," Araqchi posted on X. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said it would not allow development of its 'national industry' to be stopped, and an Iranian state television commentator said every U.S. citizen or military member in the region would be legitimate targets. Israel's ambulance service said at least 16 people were hurt in the morning barrage. Air raid sirens sounded across most of the country, sending millions of people to safe rooms and bomb shelters as explosions rang out and missile interceptions were seen above Jerusalem and in other parts of the country. It was not immediately clear how many missiles had pierced Israel's air defence systems, but police confirmed at least three impact sites in residential areas in central and northern Israel. Video from Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa further north showed rescue teams combing through debris, apartments reduced to rubble, mangled cars along a street filled with debris and medics evacuating injured people from a row of blown out houses. Most airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East after the U.S. strikes, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, with traffic already skirting airspace in the region due to recent missile exchanges. Trump, in a televised address to the U.S. people, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called the strikes a "spectacular military success" that had taken out Iran's three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. He warned Tehran it would face more devastating attacks if it does not agree to peace. After days of deliberation and long before his self-imposed two-week deadline, Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign against its major rival Iran is the biggest foreign policy gamble of his two presidencies and one fraught with risks and unknowns. The major escalation of armed conflict in the Middle East risks opening a new era of instability in the Middle East. Trump said Iran's future held "either peace or tragedy," and there were many other targets that could be hit by the U.S. military. "If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill." The U.S. contacted Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes are all the U.S. plans and it does not aim for regime change, CBS News reported. Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity show that six "bunker-buster" bombs were dropped on the deep-underground Fordow facility, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites. U.S. B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Reuters had reported the movement of the B-2 bombers, which can be equipped to carry the massive bombs that experts say would be needed to strike Fordow, which is buried beneath a mountain south of Tehran. Given its fortification, it will likely be days, if not longer, before the impact of the strikes is known. An Iranian official, cited by Tasnim news agency, confirmed part of the Fordow site was attacked by "enemy airstrikes." However, Mohammad Manan Raisi, a lawmaker for Qom, near Fordow, told the semi-official Fars news agency the facility had not been seriously damaged. A reporter from Iranian state media IRNA reporter said he had arrived near the Fordow site at 3 a.m. (2330 GMT on Saturday) and saw smoke that "seems to be related to air defences". He quoted a nearby witness as reporting "six explosions were heard, but they said it wasn't very loud.' DIPLOMATIC FAILURE The U.N. nuclear watchdog said no increases in off-site radiation levels had been reported after the U.S. strikes. Hassan Abedini, deputy political head of Iran's state broadcaster, said Iran had evacuated the three sites some time ago. "The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred from the nuclear centres and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our compatriots," he told the channel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his "bold decision", saying, "History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime, the world's most dangerous weapons." Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat that has resulted in deaths and injuries in both countries. Israel launched its attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies. Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities have so far failed. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the U.S. strikes a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security." In the U.S., Democratic lawmakers and some from Trump's Republican Party have argued that he must receive permission from Congress before committing the U.S. military to any combat against Iran. At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry. In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed and 1,272 people injured, according to local authorities.
Gulf Business
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Gulf Business
Israel-Iran tensions: Airlines keep avoiding Middle East airspace after US strike
Image: Getty Images/ For illustrative purposes Airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East on Sunday after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, with traffic already skirting airspace in the region due to recent missile exchanges. 'Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, commercial traffic in the region is operating as it has since new airspace restrictions were put into place last week,' Airlines choose other routes Its website showed airlines were not flying in the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. They have chosen other routings such as north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia, even if it results in higher fuel and crew costs and longer flight times. Missile and drone barrages in an expanding number of conflict zones globally represent a high risk to airline traffic. Since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, carriers have suspended flights to destinations in the affected countries, though there have been some evacuation flights from neighbouring nations and some bringing stranded Israelis home. Israel's two largest carriers, El Al Israel Airlines and Arkia, said on Sunday they were suspending rescue flights that allowed people to return to Israel until further notice. El Al said it would also extend its cancellation of scheduled flights through June 27. Israel's airports authority said the country's airspace was closed for all flights, but land crossings with Egypt and Jordan remained open. Countries evacuate citizens from Iran Japan's foreign ministry said on Sunday it had evacuated 21 people, including 16 Japanese nationals, from Iran overland to Azerbaijan. It said it was the second such evacuation since Thursday and that it would conduct further evacuations if necessary. New Zealand's government said on Sunday it would send a Hercules military transport plane to the Middle East on standby to evacuate New Zealanders from the region. It said in a statement that government personnel and a C-130J Hercules aircraft would leave Auckland on Monday. The plane would take some days to reach the region, it said. The government was also in talks with commercial airlines to assess how they may be able to assist, it added.
