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Iran prepares counterproposal

‘Israel must end aggression’

facilities and some military sites in June, Trump again began threatening strikes last month as Tehran crushed widespread protests with deadly force. Referring to the crackdown on Friday, Trump said there was a difference between the people of Iran and the country’s leadership. He asserted that “32,000 people were killed over a relatively short period of time”, figures that could not immediately be verified. The US-based group HRANA, which monitors the human rights situation in Iran, has recorded 7,114 verified deaths and says it has another 11,700 under review. Hours after Trump’s statements on the death toll, Abbas said the Iranian government has already published a “comprehensive list” of all 3,117 killed in the unrest. “If anyone doubts the accuracy of our data, please speak with evidence,” he said. Abbas gave no specific timing as to when Iranians would get their counterproposal to Witkoff and Kushner, but said he believed a diplomatic deal was within reach and could be achieved “in a very short period of time”. – Reuters She also slammed the €20 million RM92 million) cost of the rebuild. But others are in favour of the redesign of the house, which many years ago was rented by the Interior Ministry and housed a centre for people with disabilities before it fell into disrepair. Wolfgang Leithner, a 57-year old electrical engineer, said turning it into a police station would “hopefully bring a bit of calm”, preventing it becoming a shrine for far-right extremists. “It makes sense to use the building and give it to the police, to the public authorities,” he said. – AFP

GAZA CITY: Hamas said any discussions on Gaza must begin with a total halt to Israeli aggression, as US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” maps out the territory’s future, with Israel insisting on disarmament before reconstruction starts. Trump’s board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel for rebuilding, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But the board meeting offered no timeline for Hamas to lay down its weapons or for Israel’s army to withdraw from the shattered enclave. “Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression,” Hamas said in a statement. The group also said arrangements for Gaza’s future must start with the “lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people’s legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination”. During the Board of Peace meeting, it was announced that a handful of countries – Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Morocco – would commit troops to a nascent International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the group was open to international forces in the territory, but with caveats. “We want peacekeeping forces that monitor the ceasefire, ensure its implementation, and act as a buffer between the occupation army and our people in the Gaza Strip, without interfering in Gaza’s internal affairs,” Qassem said. The next phase of the Trump plan provides for the disarmament of Hamas, the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military and the deployment of the ISF, with a transitional Palestinian technocratic committee overseeing day-to-day governance. – AFP confirmed that it did not pay the US$1 billion (RM3.9 billion) contribution linked to the Board of Peace, stating that the amount was not a mandatory membership fee. Foreign Minister Sugiono said Indonesia is already a member of the board and that participation is not contingent upon any fixed financial contribution. “Since the beginning, I’ve said that this is not a membership fee. It is not a membership requirement. We are now already a member; even if we do not pay, it is fine,” he said during a press briefing in Washington on Friday. A video of the press conference was uploaded on the President Secretariat YouTube channel on Saturday. Sugiono explained that the

Trump weighs limited strikes

that has fuelled fears of a wider war. Asked on Friday if he was considering a limited strike to pressure Iran into a deal, Trump told reporters at the White House: “I guess I can say I am considering it.” Asked later about Iran at a White House press conference, Trump said: “They better negotiate a fair deal.” After indirect discussions in Geneva this week with Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi (pic) said the sides had reached an understanding on main “guiding principles”, but that did not mean a deal was imminent. Abbas, in an interview ߑ on MS NOW, said he had a draft counterproposal that could be ready in the next two or three days for top Iranian officials to review, with more US-Iran The house where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, and lived for a short period of his early life, is right in the centre of town on a narrow shop-lined street. A memorial stone in front reads: “For peace, freedom and democracy. Never again fascism, millions of dead warn.” When AFP visited this week, workers were putting the finishing touches to the renovated facade. Officers are scheduled to move in during “the second quarter of 2026”, the Interior Ministry said.

WASHINGTON: Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks with the United States this week, while President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes. Two US officials said military planning on Iran had reached an advanced stage, with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing leadership change in Tehran, if ordered by Trump. On Thursday, Trump gave Tehran a deadline of 10 to 15 days to make a deal to resolve their longstanding nuclear ߑ dispute or face “really bad things”, amid a US military buildup in the Middle East

talks possible in a week or so. Military action would complicate efforts to reach a deal, he said. After the US and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear

Austria turns Hitler’s home into police station BRAUNAU AM INN: Turning the house where Adolf Hitler was born into a police station has raised mixed emotions in his Austrian hometown. dilapidated building from its private owner. But for author Ludwig Laher, a member of the Mauthausen Committee Austria that

represents Holocaust victims, “a police station is problematic, as the police are obliged, in every political system, to protect what the state wants”. An earlier idea to turn the house into a place where people would come together to discuss peace-building had “received a lot of support”, he said. Jasmin Stadler, a 34-year-old shop owner and Braunau native, said it would have been interesting to put Hitler’s birth in the house in a “historic context”, explaining more about the house.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” said Sibylle Treiblmaier, outside the house in the town of Braunau am Inn on the border with Germany. While it might discourage far-right extremists from gathering at the site, it could have “been used better or differently”, said the 53-year-old office assistant. The government wants to “neutralise” the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control of the

Indonesia denies paying US$1 billion JAKARTA: Indonesia has

US$1 billion figure had been discussed in relation to the permanent status within the board, but stressed that it was neither compulsory nor a prerequisite for membership. “Some contribute money, some contribute troops … and some send individual contributions to an account at the World Bank,” he said. During the board’s inaugural meeting in Washington, President Prabowo Subianto reaffirmed Indonesia’s commitment to contribute up to 8,000 troops, more if necessary, to take part actively in the International Stabilisation Force in Gaza. On the deployment, Sugiono said the cost of sending the troops would be borne by Indonesia. – Bernama

Laher stands in front of the building in Braunau am Inn, Austria. – AFPPIC