20/06/2025

FRIDAY | JUNE 20, 2025

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Trump considers military action against Tehran

Foreign ministers plan to meet BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his counterparts in France and the United Kingdom are planning to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva today, German Press Agency (dpa) has learned from diplomatic sources. Wadephul adjusted his Middle East trip to Lebanon, Syria and Israel immediately after the start of Israel’s attack on Iran last Friday. Instead, he travelled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman for crisis talks. With this meeting, Wadephul is aiming to coordinate an initiative involving the so-called E3 state (Germany, France and the United Kingdom), which has been negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear programme for years, as well as with neighbouring Arab states, to achieve a solution to the war. For nearly two months, the United States and Iran had been negotiating under the mediation of Oman before Israel launched its attack on Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, military installations and sites in major cities. Iran has responded with intense missile strikes against Israel. – Bernama-dpa Possible peace talks with Ukraine SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday negotiations between Russia and Ukraine could resume after June 22, with contact between both sides ongoing, Sputnik reported. Putin said Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart earlier. “We are in contact. Our negotiating groups are in contact with each other. “They are, in principle, discussing an opportunity to meet after June 22.” However, Putin also said yesterday his troops have “strategic advantage” in Ukraine and are pushing forward on the battlefield. “Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact. Every day, more or less, they go forward. And the advance will continue.“ – Bernama Sputnik/Ria Novosti SYDNEY: Australia has started evacuating almost 3,000 citizens caught up in the spiralling conflict between Israel and Iran, said Foreign Minister Penny Wong yesterday. But rescue efforts have been hampered by missile barrages that made it “too risky” for civilian aircraft to land in either country, she said. Some 1,500 Australians have registered to be evacuated from Iran while more than 1,200 are seeking to get out of Israel, she said. “There is no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed,“ she told national broadcaster ABC. “We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing. We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours. Australians in Iran were advised to leave if it was safe or shelter in place. “In Israel, we have additional options but in Iran, it is very difficult.“

Trump told reporters that Iranian officials “want to come to the White House”, a claim denied by Tehran. He had favoured a diplomatic route to end Iran’s nuclear programme, seeking a deal to replace the agreement he tore up in his first term. But since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unleashed a campaign against Iran one week ago, Trump has stood behind the key US ally. The United States is the only country with the bombs needed to destroy Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant but US military action is unpopular with parts of Trump’s base. Khamenei on Wednesday

claims from the US leader that “Iran has got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate”. Trump has left his intentions on joining the conflict ambiguous, and on Wednesday said: “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I am going to do. The next week is going to be very big. “I have ideas as to what to do but I have not made a final (decision). I like to make the final decision one second before it is due because things change. Especially with war.” The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told aides on Tuesday that he had approved attack plans but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear programme.

insisted that Iran “will never surrender” and called Trump’s ultimatum “unacceptable”. “America should know that any military intervention will result in irreparable damage.” A week of strikes has significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear and military installations, including buildings making and testing centrifuge components in Karaj and Tehran. Iranian strikes have also caused damage in Israel, where at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office. Iran said on Sunday Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Yesterday morning, Israel said it was carrying out fresh strikes on Tehran and other parts of Iran, and warned civilians in two villages, Arak and Khondab, to leave ahead of the attacks. The strikes came after Israel said it had destroyed Iran’s internal security headquarters in Tehran, and Iran unleashed Fattah hypersonic missiles and so-called super-heavy, long-range missiles. An Israeli military official, who asked not to be named, said on Wednesday Iran has fired around 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones since the conflict began. About 20 missiles have struck civilian areas in Israel, the official added. Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The military campaign has sparked calls for a return to diplomacy, with UN chief Antonio Guterres yesterday urging an “immediate de-escalation” and efforts to avoid “further internationalisation of the conflict”. – AFP earlier offer to mediate in the conflict, saying the Russian president should end his own conflict in Ukraine first. “He offered to help mediate. I said ‘do me a favour, mediate your own.‘” Russia has deepened military ties with Iran since 2022 and in January they inked a far-ranging strategic partnership agreement. Kyiv and its allies have long accused Iran of supplying Russia with drones and short-range missiles but Putin yesterday said Iran is not seeking military support from Moscow despite heightened tensions with Israel, dismissing the notion of a military alliance between them. “Iran is not asking us for any military assistance. Even when we offered to jointly develop air defence systems in the past, there was little interest from the Iranian side.” He added that there are options to address the concerns of both sides, which have been presented to relevant partners. – AFP

TEHRAN: President Donald Trump has warned that he is weighing US military action against Iran as Israel launched fresh strikes against Tehran yesterday. As the war entered its seventh day, Israel’s military said it was striking Tehran and other parts of Iran, but all eyes were on whether Washington would enter the fray. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender”, despite o ‘I may do it, I may not do it’ US

Activists protesting outside the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday following the latest exchange of missile strikes between Iran and Israel. – REUTERSPIC

Countries evacuate nationals amid conflict

Putin says Iran-Israel deal possible SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian

to evacuate citizens to neighbouring countries, said Hayashi. C-2 transport planes will “be on standby in order to respond promptly, should transport of Japanese nationals become necessary”, he said. Officials were also preparing a separate operation to evacuate Japanese nationals from Israel to Jordan, Kyodo News reported on Wednesday. China’s embassy in Israel will assist Chinese citizens who want to evacuate to leave in batches beginning today, the embassy said in a notice yesterday. The evacuation operation will bring Chinese nationals to the Taba Border Crossing into Egypt via bus, about 360km from Tel Aviv. “The Israel-Iran conflict continues to intensify, with increasing casualties. The possibility of further deterioration cannot be ruled out,“ the embassy warned. – AFP

New Zealand said yesterday it has closed its embassy in Iran, evacuating two staff members and their family to Azerbaijan by land. “If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency,“ said Foreign Minister Winston Peters. New Zealand’s consular partners are considering evacuation flights when air space reopens and the government is working closely with Australia, he added. Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby to evacuate its nationals from Iran and Israel, said Tokyo’s top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi. About 1,000 Japanese nationals are believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, said Defence Minister Gen Nakatani, citing the Foreign Ministry. The Japanese embassies in Iran and Israel are preparing to use buses

President Vladimir Putin yesterday said a deal to end the fighting between Israel and Iran is possible, and Israel’s strikes on Iran have led to a “consolidation” of Iranian society around its leadership. He said such an agreement could guarantee Israel’s security and Iran’s desire for a civilian nuclear programme. “I believe it would be good for all of us to look for ways to stop the fighting and seek ways for the participants in the conflict to find an agreement.“ He said there are more than 200 Russian employees at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran, which was built by Russia’s Rosatom. “We agreed with Israel that their security would be ensured.“ He said Russia could “continue” to work with Iran on its civilian nuclear programme and “ensure their interests in this sphere”. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to rebuff Putin’s