IRAN

Trump announces Israel-Iran ceasefire hours after Iran attacks largest US base in Middle East

Nabih Bulos / Los Angeles Times — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:27:57 GMT

BEIRUT — President Donald Trump announced Monday, June 23 that Israel and Iran had reached a ceasefire just hours after Iran fired missiles at the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East. Iran had called the attack a “mighty” retaliation for the American bombardment of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Posting on his Truth Social platform around 6 p.m. Eastern, Trump wrote, “Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.”

After congratulating the governments of both countries, Trump said, “This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

Trump added that the conflict should be called “THE 12 DAY WAR.”

Hours earlier in the Middle East, sirens sounded in U.S. military facilities in Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as Iran launched a volley of missiles at Al Udeid Air Base, which Trump visited just five weeks ago.

The Iranian military declared — in a televised announcement on state TV complete with martial music — the beginning of what it described as “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.”

Before Trump posted about a ceasefire, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a statement notable for its relatively softer tone compared with the rhetoric employed by other officials. “We do not harm anyone,” Khamenei wrote. “We will not accept any harassment from anyone under any circumstance. We will not submit to anyone’s harassment. This is the logic of the Iranian nation.”

Trump had said earlier Monday that Iran had given the U.S. advance warning of the attack.

“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE. I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured.”

Trump added, “Perhaps Iran can now proceed to Peace and Harmony in the Region, and I will enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”

Al Udeid, a sprawling, 60-acre facility southwest of the Qatari capital of Doha that houses some 10,000 U.S. troops, hosts the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command, which directs battle operations over a 21-nation region stretching from northeast Africa to South Asia. British and other foreign forces also operate there, alongside the Qatari air force.

Residents in Doha reported their windows rattling as missiles arced overhead before exploding near Al Udeid, while others posted video to social media depicting the missiles streaking through the night sky.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari, in a post on social media, said Qatar’s air defenses successfully intercepted the missiles, that the base had been evacuated earlier and there were no injuries or casualties.

Soon after the attack, the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which is overseen by Khamenei, issued a statement saying the targeting of the base “does not pose any threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar.”

The statement added that Al Udeid is far away from population centers and that it was hit with the same number of bombs used in the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear installations — a signal, observers say, that Tehran considers itself mollified and would not take further action.

That placatory language was met by a furious response from Qatari officials, who called the attack a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and its airspace.

“We affirm that Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression, in line with international law,” said Al Ansari, the foreign ministry spokesman.

But he cautioned that continuing on the path of “escalatory actions” would lead to “catastrophic consequences” and that Qatar had warned of the dangers from Israel’s campaign on Iran.

“We call for the immediate cessation of all military actions and for a serious return to the negotiating table and dialogue,” he said.

An unnamed U.S. defense official quoted by CNN said Al Udeid was attacked “by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran.” Other U.S. bases came on full alert, according to local media outlets, as a number of Persian Gulf nations closed their airspace, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, which had shutdown its skies even before the Al Udeid attack. By midnight all airspace closures were reversed.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy in Qatar asked U.S. citizens to “shelter in place” out of what it said was an “abundance of caution.”

The strikes are Iran’s second-largest attack on U.S. forces since 2020, when it fired more than a dozen missiles on U.S. bases in Iraq in retaliation for Trump ordering the assassination during his first term of Iranian Gen. Qassem Suleimani — a decision that was expected to trigger furious retaliation from Tehran but which never materialized beyond the missile fusillade seen mostly as symbolic.

Monday’s barrage comes after repeated threats from Iranian officials of a painful response for the U.S. strike on the Fordo nuclear facility on Sunday, even as Israel launched a round of airstrikes Monday morning targeting access roads to Iran’s flagship uranium enrichment facility.

Israel also expanded the scope of its attacks to well beyond the nuclear and military targets it had focused on when it launched its campaign June 13. The Israeli military said Monday it hit Evin Prison, a jail notorious for its incarceration of anti-government dissidents; the internal security headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; and its paramilitary wing.

At least 400 people have been killed in Iran since Israel attacked and more than 3,000 injured, according to Iranian officials. Observer groups believe the death toll to be more than double the state figures.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 24 people have been killed and 1,361 others injured in retaliatory attacks. Around 15,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Companies operating around the region have already begun taking precautions against a wider conflagration.

On Monday, Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Co. said British Petroleum, Eni and TotalEnergies evacuated foreign personnel working in Iraqi oilfields. Marine traffic data reveal some tankers avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that Iran is threatening to shut down. And many airlines — both regional and European — remain reluctant to share sky lanes with flying ordnance.

Trump’s visit to Al Udeid in May was part of a tour of the Middle East, during which he said the United States and Iran had “sort of” agreed to a nuclear deal. At Al Udeid on May 15, he said that “my priority is to end conflicts, not start them, but I will never hesitate to wield American power if it’s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners.”

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Iran launches missiles at US bases in retaliatory strike

Fiona MacDonald / Bloomberg News — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 18:49:03 GMT

Iran fired missiles at a U.S. air base in Qatar after promising it would respond “proportionately and decisively” to President Donald Trump’s weekend airstrikes on three of its nuclear facilities.

Qatar said the barrage at Al Udeid base — the biggest such U.S. facility in the Middle East — was intercepted and that there were no casualties. Al Udeid is the regional headquarters for U.S. Central Command, which oversees the American military in the region, and is home to several thousand U.S. service members, though many staff had been evacuated.

Oil prices fell immediately after the attack, with Brent dropping 3.3% to $74.48 a barrel as of 6:10 p.m. The attack included at least six missiles fired toward U.S. military bases in Qatar, according to a person familiar with the matter. The UAE and Bahrain closed their airspace as a precaution.

Iran’s missile strike on Qatar was telegraphed and had been expected by the United States and its allies, according to another person familiar with western intelligence assessments who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. United Kingdom and U.S. diplomatic missions advised Doha-based residents earlier in the day to shelter in place “until further notice.”

Iranian officials also suggested the move had a symbolic element. The number of missiles fired matched the number of bombs deployed by the U.S., and the Qatar strike “poses no danger” to a “friendly and brotherly country,” the state-run IRNA news agency said.

A Qatari government spokesman said on X that the base had been evacuated earlier.

The move comes after the U.S. struck three major nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night. Tehran vowed to retaliate for what it called a “grave mistake” by Trump in joining Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, said in a video posted on social media by Iran’s state broadcaster on Monday.

Trump had previously vowed to meet any retaliation with force “far greater” than the U.S. strikes on the nuclear sites. He also floated the possibility of regime change in Iran, although U.S. and Israeli officials Sunday stressed that isn’t their aim.

Israel had earlier ratcheted up attacks on various Iranian targets in the more than weeklong conflict, with the Israel Defense Forces warning residents of Tehran to expect further strikes in the coming days.

The Islamic Republic fired several missiles of its own at Israel, suggesting no immediate plans to pare back the hostilities.

Trump’s decision to deploy bunker-busting bombs and cruise missiles on the country’s three main nuclear sites pushed the Middle East into uncharted territory and boosted risks in a global economy already facing severe uncertainty over his trade wars.

The U.S. operation — which targeted nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — marked Washington’s direct entry to the war that began on June 13 when Israel unleashed attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, and killed senior commanders and atomic scientists. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes had a “limited” objective, focused on destroying Iran’s atomic program.

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US forces bomb Iran nuclear sites

Phil Stewart and Steve Holland / Reuters — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 00:45:12 GMT

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a "very successful attack," President Donald Trump said on Saturday, adding that Tehran's nuclear program had been obliterated.

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 represents a major escalation of the conflict.

"The strikes were a spectacular military success," Trump said in a televised Oval Office address. "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated."

In a speech that lasted just over three minutes, Trump said Iran's future held "either peace or tragedy," and that 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. reached out to 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 said U.S. forces struck Iran's three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. He told Fox News six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Fordow, 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.

"A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow," Trump posted. "Fordow is gone."

"IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR," he added.

Reuters had reported earlier on Saturday the movement of the B-2 bombers, which can be equipped to carry massive bombs that experts say would be needed to strike Fordow, which is buried under a mountain south of Tehran.

An Iranian official, cited by Tasnim news agency, confirmed that part of the Fordow site was attacked by "enemy airstrikes."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his "bold decision," which he said will change history.

"History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime, the world's most dangerous weapons," Netanyahu said.

DIPLOMACY UNSUCCESSFUL

The strikes came as 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 the attacks on Iran, saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities have been unsuccessful.

In recent days, Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have argued that Trump must receive permission from the U.S. Congress before committing the U.S. military to any combat against Iran.

Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi applauded the operation but cautioned that the U.S. now faced "very serious choices ahead."

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, a Republican, said that despite the heavy U.S. bombings over Iran, "This war is Israel's war, not our war."

He added, "There will not be American boots on the ground in Iran."

One Republican lawmaker, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, simply said, "This is not constitutional."

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said the U.S. public "is overwhelmingly opposed to the U.S. waging war on Iran" and accused Trump of displaying "horrible judgment."

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

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 by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies. More than 450 Iranian missiles have been fired towards Israel, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.

Israeli officials said 1,272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.

An Iranian official, cited by Tasnim news agency, confirmed that part of the Fordow site was attacked by "enemy airstrikes."

Israel's public broadcaster Kan cited an Israeli official saying the country was "in full coordination" with Washington on the U.S. attack.

A White House official said Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the strikes.

The strikes came as 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 the attacks on Iran, saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities have been unsuccessful.

In recent days, Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have argued that Trump must receive permission from the U.S. Congress before committing the U.S. military to any combat against Iran.

Israeli military officials said earlier Saturday that they had completed another series of strikes in southwestern Iran, having targeted dozens of military targets.

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

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.

Israeli officials said 1,272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.

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Man with Detroit Lakes ties, who bicycled across Africa, escapes 'dire' situation in Iran

Nathan Bowe — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 19:55:23 GMT

DETROIT LAKES — Ian Andersen, who bicycled across Africa and North and South America, has narrowly escaped a bad situation in Iran, which has been under heavy aerial assault by Israel since June 13.

@ridewithian
“I can no longer protect you. If you’re stopped by police, I should just wave goodbye because there’s nothing I can do.” That’s what my guide Reza told me this morning. The borders are shut except apparently Iraq. We gotta get out—like, yesterday. Fast facts: Total distance: ~10,000 miles (16,000 km) Key gear: stove, tent, patch kit, cigs Today’s distance ridden: 0 miles (0 km) Total distance ridden: 4,328 miles (6,980 km) Currently in: Harijan, Iran 🇮🇷
♬ original sound - Ian Andersen

He was in Iran because he is in the middle of another cross-continental trip — this time biking across Europe and Asia. He posts his adventures on TikTok under @ridewithian.

Andersen is part of the Daggett clan. His mom is Polly Andersen, whose parents are Delta and Karen Daggett of Detroit Lakes. Ian grew up in the Twin Cities, but spent a lot of time in the Frazee and Detroit Lakes area in the summertime.

With Iran now essentially at war with Israel — and the United States widely perceived by Iranians to be on Israel’s side — Andersen had to abandon his bikepacking plans and lie low in a rural area about 80 miles north of Iran’s capital city of Tehran.

After Israel launched its attack, he found himself desperately trying to avoid any contact with Iranian police and get out of the country. But that was not easy to do, he said on a TikTok video posted June 14, because border crossings had been closed and flights had been canceled.

He and a guide had been heading by car to Tehran to get a visa to enter Afghanistan, which was going to be the next leg of his journey. But with a steady flow of cars leaving the city amid ongoing bombardments, they had to give up that plan. “It’s too dangerous,” he said on his Biking to Japan Vlog. “There’s likely police blockages into and out of the city. I would surely be arrested.”

The situation is “quite dire,” he added, looking tired and stressed. Iranians, who had been friendly when he first biked into Iran, “now see the U.S. as being tied directly to Israel. Now people see the U.S. as the enemy. So I’m in quite a bit of danger here,” he said on his video blog. “No longer safe to bike. In my opinion, it’s a matter of escape and survival. Evading police capture.”

The previous night, he added, “while social media was still working,” he read people’s messages of support and encouragement. “I just appreciate all of you for sharing your well-wishes and strength,” he said.

Fortunately, his Iranian guide stuck by him — even though he had to warn Ian he could no longer protect him from arrest if they were stopped at a police checkpoint. “That’s the scariest part,” Ian said in a June 15 video. “There’s not much he can do. If they suspect me of anything, they’ll just chuck me in prison for a few years, and that will be the end of it.”

Then Ian found out from the U.S. State Department that “there’s a possibility to exit via Azerbaijan,” an eight-hour drive away along the Caspian Sea.

“Azerbaijan is a risk,” he said on the video. “Because we don’t have the ability to enter. We have no visa. No authorization to cross the border.” But they went for it anyway, with Ian saying, “We’re hoping to get both of those things before we get there.”

Along the way, they went through an Iranian military checkpoint without incident, with the soldiers largely ignoring cars and focusing on pickup trucks that might be carrying hidden attack drones.

Before they got to the border, Ian received an emailed document from the Azerbaijani government providing both the necessary visa and the necessary permission to cross the border.

Others were also crossing there, and once across the border, they were unexpectedly met by the Azerbaijani media for TV interviews.

“That border is never opened,” Ian said in the video. “It hasn’t been open for five years. Very grateful to Azerbaijan.”

At the end of the video, Ian was biking again, and the local time was around midnight. He was tired but happy. “I’m going to sign off here and go find a hotel," he said.

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Iran fires missiles at Israel in response to attacks

By Alexander Cornwell, Parisa Hafezi and Steve Holland / Reuters — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 20:40:07 GMT

TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON — Iran launched retaliatory airstrikes at Israel on Friday night, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the country's two biggest cities, following Israel's biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy.

Air raid sirens sounded across Israel as authorities urged the public to take shelter. Missiles were seen over Tel Aviv's skyline, with the military saying Iran had fired two salvos.

The U.S. military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, two U.S. officials said on Friday.

In the Tel Aviv area, Israel's ambulance service said five people were treated for shrapnel injuries. Live footage of Tel Aviv showed what appeared to be a missile hitting an urban area. A critically injured woman was admitted to Beilinson Hospital in nearby Petah Tikva, a hospital spokesperson said.

The unprecedented Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent Iranian retaliation raised concerns about a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran's huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles and most were intercepted or fell short.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having initiated a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful.

Israel's operation "will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address.

Netanyahu, who for decades has raised the alarm about Iran's nuclear program, said he authorized the air assault in an effort to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. Israel and its Western allies have said this is Tehran's objective but Iran has denied it.

In a video issued by his office, Netanyahu appealed to the Iranian people to stand up against their leaders. "I am with you, the Israeli people are with you," he said.

"Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future."

Iran has long insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. The U.N. nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.

U.S. President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the Israeli bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear program.

Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran had rejected the last U.S. offer.

Attacks on Iran

Iranian media showed images of destroyed apartment blocks in Iran, and said nearly 80 civilians were killed in attacks that targeted nuclear scientists in their beds and wounded more than 300 people.

Israel's military said it was striking Iranian missile and drone launching sites, and had struck another nuclear site in Isfahan.

An Israeli military spokesperson denied Iranian media reports that an Israeli fighter jet was downed with a pilot detained.

In a phone interview with Reuters, Trump said nuclear talks between Tehran and the United States, scheduled for Sunday, were still on the agenda though he was not sure if they would take place.

"We knew everything," Trump said of the Israeli attack plans.

"I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out," Trump said. "They can still work out a deal, however, it’s not too late."

Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said military action by itself would not destroy Iran's nuclear program, but could "create the conditions for a long-term deal, led by the United States" to get rid of it.

Commanders slain

Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed, a stunning decapitation reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia last year. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists had been killed.

Among the generals killed on Friday were the armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and the Revolutionary Guards chief, Hossein Salami.

Major General Mohammad Pakpour, swiftly promoted to replace Salami as Guards commander, vowed retaliation in a letter to the Supreme Leader read on state television: "The gates of hell will open to the child-killing regime."

Iranians described an atmosphere of fear and anger, with some people rushing to change money and others seeking a way out of the country to safety.

"People on my street rushed out of their homes in panic. We were all terrified," said Marziyeh, 39, who was awakened by a blast in Natanz.

While some Iranians quietly hoped the attack would lead to changes in Iran's hardline clerical leadership, others vowed to rally behind the authorities.

"I will fight and die for our right to a nuclear program. Israel and its ally America cannot take it away from us with these attacks," said Ali, a member of the pro-government Basij militia in Qom.

Iran's ability to retaliate with weapons fired by its regional proxies has been sharply degraded over the past year, with the downfall of its ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the decimation of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Israel said a missile fired from Yemen — whose Houthi militia are Iran-aligned — had landed in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Red Crescent said three Palestinian children were wounded by shrapnel there.

'Cowardly'

Israel said that Iran launched around 100 drones towards Israeli territory earlier on Friday, but Iran denied this and there were no reports of drones reaching Israeli targets.

The United Nations Security Council was due to meet on Friday at Tehran's request. Iran said in a letter to the council that it would respond decisively and proportionally to Israel's "unlawful" and "cowardly" acts.

The price of crude LCOc1 leaped on fears of wider retaliatory attacks across a major oil-producing region, although there were no reports that oil production or storage was damaged. OPEC said the escalation did not justify any immediate changes to oil supply.

An Israeli security source said Mossad commandos had been operating deep inside the Islamic Republic before the attack, and the Israeli spy agency and military had mounted a series of covert operations against Iran's strategic missile array.

Israel also established an attack-drone base near Tehran, the source added. The military said it had bombarded Iran's air defenses, destroying "dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers."

Israeli officials said it may be some time before the extent of damage to the underground nuclear site at Natanz is clear. Western countries have long said Iran refined uranium there to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use.

Later on Friday, Iranian media reported explosions on the northern and southern outskirts of Tehran and at Fordow, near the holy city of Qom, a second nuclear site that was spared in the first wave of attacks.

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Iran launches drone attack at Israel, expected to unfold over hours

Dan Williams and Parisa Hafezi / Reuters — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 23:28:50 GMT

JERUSALEM/DUBAI — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday, an attack that may trigger a major escalation between the regional archenemies, with the U.S. pledging to back Israel.

Israel's military said more than 100 drones, which Iraqi security sources said were seen flying over the country from Iran, would take hours to reach their targets. Israeli Channel 12 said some had been shot down over Syria or Jordan.

Iran's state news agency cited a source saying its military had also launched a first wave of ballistic missiles against Israel.

Iran has vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Guards officers including two senior commanders and said its strike was a punishment for "Israeli crimes." Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack.

"Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe," the Iranian mission to the United Nations said, warning the U.S. to "stay away." However, it also said Iran now "deemed the matter concluded."

U.S. President Joe Biden, who on Friday had warned Iran against an attack, cut short a visit to his home state of Delaware to meet national security advisers in the White House Situation Room, an official said. He pledged to stand with Israel.

The Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, now in its seventh month, has driven up tensions in the region, spreading to fronts with Lebanon and Syria and drawing long-range fire at Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq.

British maritime security company Ambery said in a statement that drones were also reportedly launched against Israel by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group.

Those clashes now threaten to morph into a direct open conflict pitting Iran and its regional allies against Israel and its main supporter the United States, with regional power Egypt urging "utmost restraint."

U.S. and British warplanes were involved in shooting down some Israel-bound drones over the Iraq-Syria border area, Channel 12 reported. Three U.S. officials said the U.S. military had shot down drone aircraft without saying how many.

Escalation

"This is a severe and dangerous escalation. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest level of readiness ahead of this large-scale attack from Iran," said Israel's military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose official jet took off shortly after the attack began, convened the war cabinet at a military headquarters in Tel Aviv, his office said.

Israel's military said sirens would sound in any threatened areas and that its defenses were poised to deal with the drones, which it said were "explosive."

"We are used to having around 20 seconds to get to shelters when missiles come in. Here, the warning comes hours ahead of time. It naturally raises the anxiety level among the Israeli public," said Nir Dvori, a Channel 12 TV correspondent on social media.

Israel's military told residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to stay close to bomb shelters, putting the area on standby for possible impact from drone strikes.

Israel and Lebanon said they were closing their airspace on Saturday night. Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defenses to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, two regional security sources said.

Residents in several Jordanian cities said they heard heavy aerial activity.

Syria, an ally of Iran, said it was putting its ground-to-air defense systems around the capital and major bases on high alert, army sources there said.

Condenmation

The European Union, Britain, France, Mexico, Czechia, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands all condemned Iran's attack.

Israel has been bracing for an Iranian response to the Damascus consulate strike since last week, when Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel "must be punished and shall be" for an operation he called equivalent to one on Iranian soil.

Biden said on Friday that his only message to Iran was "Don't," but added that "we are devoted to the defense of Israel."

Iran's main ally in the region, the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah that has been exchanging fire with Israel since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, said early on Sunday it had fired rockets at an Israeli base.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries.

MSC, which operates the Aries, confirmed Iran had seized the ship and said it was working "with the relevant authorities" for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.

MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all the vessel's activities. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.

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Smoke, gunfire at Tehran jail holding political prisoners, dual nationals

Dominic Evans / Reuters — Sat, 15 Oct 2022 19:35:00 GMT

TEHRAN — Gunfire broke out at a prison in Tehran holding political prisoners and dual-national detainees on Saturday, witnesses said, and smoke could be seen rising above the jail.

State media quoted a security official blaming "criminal elements" for the unrest, which broke out after nearly a month of protests across Iran over the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian.

The official said calm had returned, but one witness said gunfire could still be heard.

"Roads leading to Evin prison have been closed to traffic. there are lots of ambulances here," said a witness contacted by Reuters. "Still we can hear gunshots."

Another witness said families of prisoners had gathered in front of the main prison entrance. "I can see fire and smoke. Lots of special forces. Ambulances are here too," they said.

The activist website 1500tasvir shared video footage it said showed special forces on motorbikes heading for the prison.

The prison mostly holds detainees facing security charges, including Iranians with dual nationality. It has long been criticized by Western rights groups and it was blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2018 for "serious human rights abuses."

Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American imprisoned for nearly seven years on espionage-related charges rejected by Washington as baseless, returned to Evin on Wednesday after being granted a brief furlough, his lawyer said.

Human Rights Watch has accused authorities at the prison of using threats of torture and of indefinite imprisonment, as well as lengthy interrogations and denial of medical care for detainees.

The unrest at Evin prison came after nearly a month of protests across Iran since Amini - a 22-year-old woman from the country's Kurdish region - died on Sept. 16 while being held for "inappropriate attire."

The protests have posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

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Politics, not substance, seen guiding U.S. and Iran on terror listing

Arshad Mohammed and Parisa Hafezi / Reuters — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 13:31:00 GMT

One of the last obstacles to reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — Tehran's demand to remove its Revolutionary Guards from a U.S. terrorism list — is more an issue of politics than substance, analysts said.

While the two sides had appeared close to reviving the pact a month ago, talks have since stalled over last-minute Russian demands, the Nowruz holiday, and the unresolved issue of whether Washington might remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list.

The United States and Iran have been engaged it fitful, indirect talks for more than a year on reviving the 2015 deal under which Iran limited its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

The United States has weighed dropping the designation in return for some kind of action or commitment from Iran to rein in IRGC activities, one source has said.

However, the White House is well aware of "the political sensitivity and price associated with" removing the elite force from the list, said Dennis Ross, a long-time U.S. Middle East negotiator, noting that some Democrats oppose dropping it.

"There is hesitancy on the part of the political side of the White House," he added.

A senior administration official said U.S. President Joe Biden did not intend to drop the terrorism designation, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported on Friday.

Asked about that report, a senior Biden administration official said, "We are not going to negotiate in public. There are still gaps."

"The onus here is really on Iran at this stage, particularly on this issue," the official added on condition of anonymity.

LITTLE ECONOMIC IMPACT

When the Trump administration designated the IRGC as an FTO in 2019, it was the first time Washington had so blacklisted part of another country's military and was seen by some as a poison pill to make it harder to revive the nuclear deal, which then-President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.

Critics of dropping the IRGC from the list, as well as those open to the idea, say doing so will have little economic effect because other U.S. sanctions force foreign actors to shun the group.

"It's the administration-wide assessment that it would not have a significant — if any — impact," said a senior U.S. official on condition of anonymity.

This is in part because the IRGC would remain sanctioned as a "specially designated global terrorist" (SDGT) on a separate U.S. blacklist list created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The IRGC, a powerful political faction in Iran, controls a business empire as well as elite armed and intelligence forces that Washington accuses of a global terrorist campaign.

Iranian sources cited multiple reasons why they want the designation removed, including domestic politics and the desire of new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's team to show it can secure a better deal than his predecessor Hassan Rouhani.

"Mostly it is a matter of dignity for the establishment and Iran's negotiators," said a senior Iranian diplomat on condition of anonymity.

"The new team from the beginning insisted on the FTO issue and sees it as a major achievement if those sanctions are lifted. That is mainly for domestic use because they criticized Rouhani's 2015 deal and cannot just revive it," added a former senior Iranian official briefed on the talks.

Another Iranian diplomat said Iran had rejected the idea of removing the designation from the IRGC as a whole but keeping it on the group's elite Quds Force.

SOFT ON TERRORISM?

While U.S. officials are loathe to admit it, the main issue in Washington is also political. Republicans argue dropping the FTO label would show the Biden administration is soft on terrorism, a charge U.S. officials deny.

Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, last week called the IRGC "a killing machine" that threatens Americans and he stressed the political cost to the White House.

"That's going to split the Democratic party in half on this, if not more," he said.

Some Democrats have voiced misgivings, although there is little chance Congress could block a revived nuclear deal.

"We can't gamble with American lives and remove the ... FTO designation," U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, said last week.

Even critics admit removal would have few practical effects.

Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank said labeling the IRGC as an FTO added only two authorities: allowing the U.S. government to bar entry by anyone associated with it and to impose criminal penalties to those who knowingly provided it "material support."

In a recent analysis, Levitt said Iran would use a removal to argue that it does not engage in terrorism, and that dropping the label would undermine the credibility of U.S. sanctions.

"The IRGC should not be removed from the FTO list until there is evidence it has ceased terrorist activities," he wrote.

(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Nandita Bose in Washington; editing by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis.)

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Iran says U.S. has to make decision on reviving nuclear deal

Parisa Hafezi / Reuters — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 13:31:00 GMT

VIENNA — Iran on Wednesday urged Western powers to be "realistic" in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal and said its top negotiator was returning to Tehran for consultations, suggesting a breakthrough in its discussions is not imminent.

After 10 months of talks in Vienna, progress has been made toward the restoration of the pact to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, but both Tehran and Washington have cautioned that still there are some significant differences to overcome.

"Nuclear talks in Vienna are reaching a sensitive and important point," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a news conference with his Omani counterpart in Tehran.

"We wonder whether the Western side can adopt a realistic approach to go through the remaining points of the talks."

Reuters reported last week that a U.S.-Iranian deal was taking shape in Vienna to revive the pact, abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who also reimposed extensive sanctions on Iran.

A draft text of the agreement alluded only vaguely to other issues, diplomats said, adding that what was meant was unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian funds in South Korean banks, and the release of Western prisoners held in Iran.

Diplomats from parties involved in the negotiations have said they have entered a crucial stage, with a Russian envoy saying on Tuesday that the discussions are nearing a conclusion.

Sources close to the negotiations have said a prisoner swap between Iran and the United States was expected soon.

However, an Iranian Foreign Ministry announcement that top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani was returning to Tehran for "a short trip" suggested an agreement was not impending.

The 2015 deal between Iran and world powers limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium to make it harder for it to develop material for nuclear weapons, if it chose to, in return for a lifting of international sanctions against Tehran.

An Iranian official in Tehran told Reuters that "if the talks collapse, Washington will be responsible for it and also for its consequences."

Amirabdollahian said Iran had underlined to the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, during this month's annual Munich Security Conference that Tehran would never cross its red lines during negotiations.

The main remaining disputes appear to include the extent of sanctions rollbacks and questions about uranium traces found at several old but undeclared sites in Iran.

Iran has made clear it wants an end to the oil and banking sanctions crippling the economy, while insisting also on the lifting of human rights- and terrorism-related curbs.

"There has been very good progress in the talks but now the ball is in the other party's court. It is time for the other party's political decisions. Our country's fate is not linked to this deal," said the Iranian official.

Although the other parties to the accord — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — have shuttled between the two sides to close gaps, diplomats said it is ultimately Iran and the United States that have the power to make or break a deal.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by William Maclean.)

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Iran attacks Iraq's Erbil with missiles in warning to US, allies

Amina Ismail and John Davison / Reuters — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 21:43:04 GMT

ERBIL, Iraq - Iran attacked Iraq's northern city of Erbil on Sunday with a dozen ballistic missiles in an unprecedented assault on the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region that appeared to target the United States and its allies.

The missiles came down in areas near a new U.S. consulate building, according to Kurdish officials. U.S. officials said no Americans were hurt and nor were U.S. facilities hit. Kurdish authorities said only one civilian was hurt and no one killed.

Iranian state media said Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps carried out the attack against Israeli "strategic centers" in Erbil, suggesting it was revenge for recent Israeli air strikes that killed Iranian military personnel in Syria.

The attack, in which huge blasts shook windows of homes in Erbil after midnight, was a rare publicly declared assault by Tehran against allies of Washington.

The last time Iran fired missiles directly at U.S. facilities was when it struck the Ain Al Asad air base in western Iraq in January 2020 - a retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.

Sunday's attack comes as talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal face the prospect of collapse after a last-minute Russian demand forced world powers to pause negotiations for an undetermined time despite having a largely completed text.

It also comes days after Israel carried out an air raid in Syria which the IRGC said killed two of its members and for which it vowed retaliation.

'RESPONSE TO ISRAEL'

The IRGC issued a statement about Sunday's attack which was reported by Iranian state media.

"Any repetition of attacks by Israel will be met with a harsh, decisive and destructive response," it said.

The Iraqi Kurdish regional government said the attack only targeted civilian residential areas, not sites belonging to foreign countries, and called on the international community to carry out an investigation.

Iraq's foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad in protest.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson called it an "outrageous attack" but said no Americans were hurt and there was no damage to U.S. government facilities in Erbil.

France's foreign ministry said the move threatened efforts to conclude nuclear talks with Iran.

In another sign of derailing regional diplomacy, Iran said on Sunday it was suspending a fifth round of talks due this week in Baghdad with regional rival Saudi Arabia.

U.S. forces stationed in a section of the Erbil International Airport complex have in the past come under fire from rocket and drone attacks that Washington blames on Iran-aligned militia groups, but no such attacks have occurred for several months.

Asked about Sunday's attack, Israel's military said it did not comment on reports in the foreign press and the prime minister's office declined to comment.

BATTLEFIELD IRAQ

Iran has not fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces since its January 2020 retaliation attack after the U.S. killing earlier that month of Soleimani at Baghdad airport. No U.S. personnel were killed in that attack but many suffered head injuries.

Iran-backed Shi'ite Islamist militias have since Soleimani's death regularly attacked U.S. forces stationed in Iraq and neighboring Syria. Washington has on occasion retaliated with air strikes.

Some observers said Sunday's attack was retaliation against Israel and not aimed at the United States.

"Iran had carried out attacks against American targets and did not shy away from publicizing this," said Hamidreza Azizi, Visiting Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

"I see this more as a warning sign to Israel and a show of force in the negotiations."

Iraq has been rocked by chronic instability since the defeat of the Sunni Islamist group Islamic State in 2017 by a loose coalition of Iraqi, U.S.-led and Iran-backed forces.

Since then, Iran-aligned militias have regularly attacked U.S. military and diplomatic sites in Iraq, U.S. and many Iraqi officials say. Iran denies involvement in those attacks.

(Amina Ismail reported from Erbil, John Davison and Ahmed Rasheed reported from Baghdad; Additional reporting by Yasmin Hussein and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo and Phil Stewart in Washington, Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Editing by Louise Heavens, Susan Fenton and Hugh Lawson)

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