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Reuters
an hour ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US military evaluating options to prevent nuclear-armed Iran, general says
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - The top U.S. general overseeing American forces in the Middle East said on Tuesday there were a range of options when asked if the military was prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. "I have provided the secretary of defense and the president with a wide range of options," U.S. Army General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), told a congressional hearing. Kurilla was responding to Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, who asked if CENTCOM was prepared to respond with overwhelming force if Iran does not permanently give up its nuclear ambitions. "I take that as a yes?" the Alabama Republican asked, after Kurilla responded. "Yes," Kurilla said. Iran said on Monday it would soon hand a counterproposal for a nuclear deal to the United States in response to a U.S. offer that Tehran deems unacceptable, while U.S. President Donald Trump said talks would continue.
Arab News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
‘Precise, proportionate': Pakistan says only targeted Indian facilities involved in civilian killings
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan exercised restraint and only targeted Indian military facilities and entities that were involved in the killings of Pakistani civilians in this week's incursions, a Pakistani military spokesman said on Sunday, a day after the United States (US) brokered a truce between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Tensions between India and Pakistan over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir escalated on Wednesday, when India struck multiple Pakistani cities with missiles, quickly followed by what Islamabad said was the downing of five Indian fighter jets. Both neighbors continued to attack the other's territory with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery until Saturday evening, when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire that has largely held, except for a few alleged violations in Kashmir. Briefing the media about operational details, Pakistani military spokesman, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said Pakistan hit 26 Indian military facilities and dozens of its drones hovered over major Indian cities, including India's capital New Delhi, in their counter-offensive against India. 'Pakistan's military response has been precise, proportionate and still remarkably restrained,' Chaudhry said, sharing details of 'Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.' 'It was carefully calibrated to avoid civilian casualties and it exclusively targeted those entities and facilities which were directly involved in orchestrating and executing cold-blooded killings of Pakistani civilians.' Four days of fighting, the worst conflict between the neighbors since 1999, has killed nearly 70 people on both sides, with some residents of border villages still waiting to return to their homes. Diplomacy and pressure from the United States helped secure the ceasefire deal when it seemed that the conflict was spiraling alarmingly. But within hours of its coming into force, artillery fire was witnessed in Kashmir, which has been divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both. A top Indian army officer said on Sunday the Indian military had sent a 'hotline message' to Pakistan about violations of a ceasefire agreed this week and informed it of New Delhi's intent to respond if it was repeated. 'Sometimes, these understandings take time to fructify, manifest on the ground,' Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, India's director-general of military operations, told a media briefing, referring to the truce. 'The [Indian] armed forces were on a very, very high alert [on Saturday] and continue to be in that state.' The hostilities were triggered by the attack in Indian-administered Kashmir's Pahalgam resort town that killed 26 tourists on April 22. India accused Pakistan of backing the assault, Islamabad has denied it and called for a credible, international probe. The Pakistani military spokesman said Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos had been a 'great example' of coming together of all elements of Pakistan's national power to effectively counter the threat to national sovereignty and integrity, warning of a similar response to any such attempt in the future. 'No one should have any doubt that whenever our sovereignty would be threatened and territorial integrity violated, the response would be comprehensive, retributive and decisive,' he said. Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947. On Sunday, Trump said he would try to work with both India and Pakistan to see if they can resolve their dispute over the Kashmir territory, vowing to 'substantially' increase trade with both nations. 'While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations,' Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, referring to India and Pakistan. 'Additionally, I will work with you both to see if, after a 'thousand years,' a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,' he added.
CNA
10-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Pakistan PM says 'avenged the blood of innocent lives'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday (May 10) the military had given "a befitting response" to India after the worst confrontations in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours. "Today, we have given India a befitting response and avenged the blood of innocent lives," he said in a statement issued by his office, after speaking with all political parties. Pakistan said it had launched counterattacks against India on Saturday, using medium-range Fateh missiles to target an Indian missile storage facility and air bases in Pathankot and Udhampur. The strikes came after Islamabad said India had fired missiles at three airbases in the country. Indian wing commander Vyomika Singh told a briefing on Saturday there were "several high-speed missile attacks" on air bases, but "limited damage" to equipment. Pakistan earlier accused India of targeting three of its bases with missiles, including one in Rawalpindi, some 10km from the capital, Islamabad. At least 13 civilians were killed in Pakistani Kashmir in 12 hours until noon on Saturday, the region's disaster authority said, as India and Pakistan traded fire after Islamabad's military action against India in the early hours of the day. More than 50 people were also injured in the region, the authority said. The government has named its new retaliatory operation against India "Bunyan-un-Marsoos". Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the name means 'a wall fortified with lead'. Pakistan's defence minister added on Saturday that no meeting of the top military and civil body overseeing the country's nuclear arsenal had been scheduled following its earlier military operation against India. "This thing that you have spoken about (nuclear option) is present, but let's not talk about it - we should treat it as a very distant possibility, we shouldn't even discuss it in the immediate context," Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told ARY TV. "Before we get to that point, I think temperatures will come down. No meeting has happened of the National Command Authority, nor is any such meeting scheduled." The clashes, involving fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery, are the worst in decades and have killed more than 60 civilians. The fighting was touched off by an attack last month in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir that killed 26 tourists, mostly Hindu men, which Delhi blamed on Islamabad. India accused the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba - a UN-designated terrorist organisation - of carrying out the attack, but Islamabad has denied any involvement and called for an independent probe. The countries have fought several wars over the Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions of since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. "AVOID MISCALCULATION" In a series of calls to senior officials in both countries, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged them to restore direct communication to "avoid miscalculation". Rubio "emphasised that both sides need to identify methods to de-escalate and re-establish direct communication to avoid miscalculation", State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said. For the first known time since the conflict erupted, Rubio also spoke with Pakistan's army chief, considered the country's key powerbroker. China also made a similar appeal as did the G7 group of industrialised nations. The overnight Indian attack on the Rawalpindi air base could be heard from Islamabad. The air base is used to receive foreign dignitaries, and Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir had departed just hours earlier. Separately, AFP reported loud explosions in Srinagar, the capital of India-administered Kashmir. A police officer speaking on condition of anonymity said the Awantipora military airbase outside the city had been struck. "Pakistan's blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions continues along our western border," the army said on X. The army said "multiple enemy drones were spotted flying over" a military cantonment in Amritsar in Punjab, a state adjoining Kashmir, and were "instantly engaged and destroyed by our air defence units". RUSH TO LEAVE In Jammu, Indian-run Kashmir's second biggest city, people scrambled to board a special train dispatched to ferry people out. "There are loud explosions the entire night," said Karan Varma, a 41-year-old mason. "There is no choice but to leave." The overwhelming majority were poor labourers from other parts of India seeking to return to their homes. On Friday, the Indian army said it had "repulsed" waves of Pakistani attacks using drones and other munitions overnight, and gave a "befitting reply". Pakistan's military spokesman denied that Islamabad was carrying out such attacks, and vowed revenge for India's initial strikes on Wednesday. Pakistani military sources said its forces had shot down 77 drones, with debris of many incursions seen by AFP in cities across the country. Pakistan's military on Saturday morning claimed New Delhi's forces had bombed their own territory in Amritsar, without providing evidence. The conflict has caused major disruptions to international aviation, with airlines having to cancel flights or use longer routes that do not overfly the India-Pakistan frontier. India has closed 32 airports, while schools in areas close to the border on both sides were shuttered, affecting millions of children.
Arab News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan military says it will not let India set precedent for cross-border strikes
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military said on Friday it would not allow India to 'set a new norm' where it could carry out cross-border strikes at will, vowing to defend the country's sovereignty and respond at a time and place of its choosing. The two South Asian nuclear rivals have been on the brink of a full-scale war since India carried out strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday, in response to a deadly April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 tourists dead. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack, a charge Pakistan has denied. In the days since, Pakistan has claimed to have downed five Indian fighter jets and over 75 drones, while India said it had retaliated against Pakistani air and drone assaults by destroying an air defense system in Lahore. Global powers have urged both sides to exercise restraint, but tensions remain high. 'They want to set a new norm that at their convenience, whenever they feel like it, they will go cross-border, cross-international, and hit wherever they like,' Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a briefing to foreign media. 'What do you think of Pakistan — that we will allow all this to happen after clearly saying we have every right to protect the honor, integrity and sovereignty of our people?' He added that Pakistan would respond 'at the time, place and method of our choosing.' During the briefing, Chaudhry displayed images of children killed in Indian strikes and asked journalists to keep them in mind. 'Please remember these pictures when you talk about what's happening on the ground and when you ask us what Pakistan is going to do,' he said. Accusing India of sponsoring 'terrorism,' Chaudhry alleged that Indian agencies were operating training camps inside their country and directing armed groups to increase attacks on Pakistani soil. 'They have networks of people whom they train and equip with weapons,' he said. 'Instructions have been issued to terrorist groups to ramp up activities against Pakistan.' India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars, but this is the most serious escalation since both countries became declared nuclear powers in May 1998. The disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both sides claim in full but control in part, has long been a flashpoint and the cause of repeated military skirmishes.
