14/06/2025

SATURDAY | JUNE 14, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

8

Israel bombs Iran

BRITAIN NOT PROVIDING SUPPORT LONDON: Britain is not providing military support to Israel to defend against Iran. The Times cited defence sources as saying that Britain was not providing support to Israel. Sky News reported that British warplanes were not involved in helping to defend Israel’s skies, but that this could change as the situation develops. Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged both sides to return to diplomacy. He said Britain was not involved in the strikes on Iran. – Reuters CHINA DEEPLY CONCERNED BEIJING: China said yesterday it was “deeply concerned” over Israeli strikes on Iran, condemning “violations” of sovereignty and offered to help ease tensions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: “The Chinese side is deeply worried about the severe consequences that such actions might bring and calls on relevant parties to take actions that promote regional peace and stability and to avoid further escalation of tensions.” – AFP KREMLIN CONDEMNS ESCALATION MOSCOW: Russia has slammed and expressed concern over what it called a “sharp escalation” between Israel and Iran. “Russia is concerned and condemns the sharp escalation of tensions,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The Russian embassy in Tel Aviv also urged Russians to leave the country if they could and said it “strongly recommends” against travelling there. – Reuters CZECH REPUBLIC SUPPORTS ATTACKS PRAGUE: The Czech foreign minister said Israeli strikes on Iran were a reasonable response given Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and support for groups seeking to destroy Israel. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said: “I have a great deal of understanding for military action aimed at preventing the production of a nuclear bomb in the region. – AFP ‘GERMANY WAS INFORMED OF BLITZ’ BERLIN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the attack on Iran in a phone call early yesterday, Merz said in a statement. Israel has a right to defend itself and Iran should not develop nuclear weapons, it said, but Merz called on both sides to refrain from PARIS: France’s foreign minister urged restraint. “We call on all sides to exercise restraint and avoid any escalation that could undermine regional stability,” Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. Iran has gradually broken away from its commitments under the nuclear deal it struck in 2015. – AFP escalation. – Reuters FRANCE URGES RESTRAINT

DUBAI: Israel launched strikes against Iran yesterday, saying it had targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran promised a harsh response and Israel said it was working to intercept about 100 drones launched towards Israeli territory in retaliation. But at about 0800 GMT (4pm in Kuala Lumpur), Israeli media said an order to citizens to remain near protected areas had been lifted, suggesting that most or all the drones had been neutralised. An Israeli security source said Israeli Mossad commandos had operated deep inside the Islamic Republic before the attack and the Israeli spy agency and military had led 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 carried out a large-scale strike against Iran’s air defences, destroying “dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers”. Media and witnesses reported explosions, including at the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said its top commander, Hossein Salami, had been killed and state media reported the unit’s headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Several children were killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, they said. “We are at a decisive moment in Israel’s history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded video message. “Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival. This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.” He warned Israelis that they might have to remain in shelter for extended periods. Some 200 Israeli fighter jets took part in the strikes, hitting more than 100 targets in Iran, said military spokesman Brig-Gen Effie Defrin. He told an online briefing Israel had been able to confirm that the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards and the commander of Iran’s Emergency Command had all been killed in the strikes. Six Iranian nuclear scientists were killed, Iranian media reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there was no increase in radiation levels at the Natanz nuclear site, citing information provided by Iranian authorities. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had “unleashed its wicked and bloody” hand in a crime against Iran and that it would receive “a bitter fate”. The United States, which was due o Mossad led covert ops on strategic sites

BR I E F S

Residents gather in front of a damaged building in Tehran. – AFPPIC

been forced to act by new intelligence information showing that Iran was “approaching the point of no return” in the development of a nuclear weapon. But a source familiar with US intelligence reports said there had been no recent change in the US assessment that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Khamenei had not authorised a resumption of the nuclear weapons programme that was shut in 2003. While the US tried to distance itself from Israel’s attack, an Israeli official told public broadcaster Kan that Israel had coordinated with Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was not involved in the strikes and Tel Aviv had acted unilaterally for self-defence. – Reuters

to hold the latest round of talks with Iran on restricting its nuclear programme tomorrow, said it had no part in the operation. Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said tens of thousands of soldiers had been called up and “prepared across all borders”. “We are amid a historic campaign unlike any other. This is a critical operation to prevent an existential threat, by an enemy who is intent on destroying us,” he said. President Donald Trump said Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and that the United States was hoping to get back to the negotiating table, in an interview with Fox News after the start of the air strikes. “We will see,” Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin quoted Trump as saying in a post on X. US officials have repeatedly said

any new nuclear deal with Iran – to replace a 2015 accord between Tehran and six world powers from which Trump withdrew – must include a commitment to scrap enrichment, a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Iran has repeatedly denied such intentions, saying it wants nuclear energy only for civilian purposes, and has rejected Washington’s demand to scrap enrichment as an attack on its national sovereignty. The IAEA Board of Governors on Thursday declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. Iran said in a statement that Israel’s “cowardly” attack showed why Iran had to insist on enrichment, nuclear technology and missile power. The Israeli military said it had