GAZA AID GROUP SAYS HAMAS DEATH CULT PEDOPHILES KILLED AT LEAST 8 LOCAL STAFFERS,POSSIBLY OBDUCTED OTHERS.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

 GAZA AID GROUP SAYS HAMAS DEATH CULT PEDOPHILES KILLED AT LEAST 8 LOCAL STAFFERS,POSSIBLY OBDUCTED OTHERS.

INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements (NUKES) shall melt with fervent heat,(BLAST) the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.(BUT ITS NO END OF THE WORLD HOGWASH)
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,(BY NUKES INCLUDING 3 BILLION PEOPLE) what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.

ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2  I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3  I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15  So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)

REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

JOEL 3:2 (YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF (HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION KILLED AS A RESULT)
02-I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

NAHUM 3:13
13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.

DR DOCTORION-ANGEL OF THE MIDEAST
"The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.

FIRST ANGEL: ASIA
But the angel said: "Millions will die in China and in India. Nation will be against nation, brother against brother. Asians will fight each other. Nuclear weapons shall be used, killing millions."Twice I heard the words, "Catastrophic! Catastrophic!"Then the angel said, "Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world."I was trembling while the angel was speaking.
SECOND ANGEL: MIDDLE EAST
Then I saw that the second angel had a sickle in his hand, such as is used in harvesting.The second angel said: "Harvest time has come in Israel and the countries all the way to Iran."I saw those countries in a few split seconds."All of Turkey and those [inaudible] countries that have refused me and refused my message of love shall hate each other and kill one another."I saw the angel raise the sickle and come down on all the Middle East countries. I saw Iran, Persia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, all of Georgia - Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, all of Asia Minor - full of blood. I saw blood all over these countries. And I saw fire; Nuclear weapons used in many of those countries. Smoke rising from everywhere. Sudden destruction – men destroying one another. I heard these words:"Israel, Oh Israel, the great judgment has come."

Jeremiah 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. 

Isaiah 57:21
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Ephesians 2:2
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,(LIBERAL GODLESS AIR WAVES) the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

EZEK 39:11-16
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (300 MILLION RUSSIA,GERMANY, IRAN, TURKEY, ARAB MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: (IN THE JORDAN VALLEY) and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, (NUCLEAR SPECIALISTS) passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

MEANING OF HAMONAH
Hamonah, ham-o'-nah (Heb.)-- host; multitude; noise; tumult; commotion of mind. The prophetic name of a city that is mentioned in conjunction with Hamon-gog: "And Hamonah shall also be the name of a city.
Metaphysical meaning of Hamonah (mbd) - Truth Unity

Strong's Lexicon-Hamonah: Hamonah-Original Word: הֲמוֹנָה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location-Transliteration: Hamownah
Pronunciation: hah-mo-NAH-Phonetic Spelling: (ham-o-naw')
Definition: Hamonah-Meaning: Hamonah

Word Origin: Derived from the Hebrew root הָמוֹן (H1995), meaning "multitude" or "abundance."Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: There is no direct Greek equivalent for "Hamonah" in the Strong's Greek Dictionary, as it is a specific Hebrew proper noun. However, the concept of a multitude or abundance can be related to Greek words like πλῆθος (G4128), meaning "multitude."Usage: The term "Hamonah" is used as a proper noun referring to a specific location mentioned in the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. It is associated with the aftermath of a significant battle, symbolizing the multitude of the slain.Cultural and Historical Background: In the context of the Hebrew Bible, names often carry significant meaning and are used to convey theological and prophetic messages. "Hamonah" is mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, a prophetic text that addresses the restoration of Israel and the judgment of the nations. The name reflects the abundance of God's judgment upon the enemies of Israel, serving as a reminder of divine justice and sovereignty.

DAMASCUS DESTROYED

ISAIAH 17:1,3,13-14
17 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(PALACES OF DAMASCUS)

THE CITIZENS OF IRAN (ELAM IN THE BIBLE) MIGRATE TO ALL NATIONS ON EARTH.
JEREMIA 49:34-39
34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam (IRAN) in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN) the chief of their might.(IRAN SUPLIES ARABS WITH WEAPONS AGAINST ISRAEL)
36 And upon Elam (IRAN)  will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam (IRAN) shall not come.(WORLD MIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(REG BOMBS) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(GROUND TROOPS)
38 And I will set my throne in Elam,(IRAN) and will destroy from thence the king (KHEMEINI  )and the princes,(IRANIAN GUARDS) saith the LORD.
39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

Zamir: Larger standing army will ease burden on reservists-New structural changes to IDF include bolstering border and air defense units-Military says it is reviving defunct tank brigade, establishing new infantry brigade, reorganizing training command; boosting Navy’s ‘strategic capabilities’By Emanuel Fabian-11 June 2025, 8:00 pm

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday announced that it was advancing changes to its structure and expanding several units, as part of lessons learned from Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.The decisions, approved by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, include bolstering border and air defense units, reviving a defunct armored brigade, establishing a new infantry brigade, reorganizing its training command, and increasing the “strategic capabilities” of the Navy.It comes amid efforts by members of Israel’s coalition to advance legislation for the broad exemptions from the army for the ultra-Orthodox community, who already largely do not serve. The government has also failed to approve plans suggested by the IDF to extend the length of mandatory service and raise the exemption age for reserve military service.The military said Wednesday that the “force build-up plan and broad changes in the structure and organization of the army” were aimed at “adapting the IDF to future challenges and addressing the challenges and lessons of the current war.”The effort, led by Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai and Planning and Force Design Directorate chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel, are not meant to replace the army’s multi-year plan, which is a significantly longer process.Some of the moves were supposed to be implemented within months, while others may take several years, and could face setbacks due to the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.Zamir met with troops in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, telling them that “the State of Israel cannot exist on the basis of a minimal force, but rather needs broad defense margins. In addition, more standing army and reserve forces will ease the burden on reservists.”“The campaign is not over, and we are required to continue acting to bring back all our hostages and to defeat the enemy. We will work to shorten the campaign and transition to new combat formats that will allow us to meet our objectives and reduce the burden on the fighters,” he added.As part of the changes to border defenses, the military said it plans to bolster local security teams and regional defense squads, including by providing additional training and equipment.Additionally, the IDF said it would be expanding its units on the borders with Lebanon and Syria. The 474th “Golan” Regional Brigade — responsible for the Golan Heights — and 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade — responsible for Mount Hermon and Mount Dov — would both have additional forces and better equipment, to bring them up to the level of other light infantry brigades, so they can fight on their own if need be.On the Jordan border, the IDF has been establishing a new eastern regional division, dubbed the Gilad Division, which is set to operate from the Israel-Jordan-Syria tri-border area in the north down to the Ramon Airport in southern Israel, encompassing the territory currently handled by the Jordan Valley and Yoav regional brigades.The Gilad Division, part of the Central Command, will begin initial operations on August 1 and later expand its area of responsibility. Israel also plans to upgrade its fence on the border with Jordan in the coming years.The division was set to be staffed by standing army troops as well as members of new light infantry brigades based on volunteer reservists.So far, the new volunteer brigades have recruited over 10,000 soldiers and commanders. Five brigades are planned, and they are based on where the soldiers reside. In addition to operations on the Jordan and West Bank borders, the division’s members would also be ready to respond to sudden events in their respective regions, as they are slated to keep their weapons and equipment at their homes.Following the departure of Maj. Gen. David Zini, who was nominated to head the Shin Bet security agency, from the military, the IDF is restructuring the Training Command, which he had headed.The Training Command was being downgraded to a division, which will be headed by Brig. Gen. Sharon Altit — currently filling in Zini’s former role.The new Training Division will encompass the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders, the Armored Corps training school, the Bahad 1 officers’ school and other training facilities in the IDF Ground Forces.Until now, in wartime those training schools would turn into fighting brigades and be deployed under various other divisions. The new change would see the chief of the Training Division, currently Altit, command those units himself during ground operations.Bahad 1 is also reorganizing, and will have 10 battalions instead of six, split up among the different professions that cadets are training for — combat officers and non-combat roles.The officers’ school until now turned into the 261st Brigade during wartime. The IDF said it would be splitting the 261st Brigade from Bahad 1, and it would become a new reserve infantry brigade, under the 252nd Reserve Division.Meanwhile, the IDF said it was reviving the 500th Armored Brigade, which was closed in 2003. Starting in 2026, the IDF said it would establish the new brigade’s tank battalions.The military also said it plans to reestablish three Armored Corps’ patrol companies, a type of unit that was shuttered several years ago.Also, the IDF said it plans to establish a fifth standing army combat engineering battalion, in addition to the 607th Battalion, which was established recently during the war.Another Home Front Command Search and Rescue Battalion was also being established, and the IDF said it was looking at forming a new reserve battalion for ultra-Orthodox soldiers.Additionally, the IDF said the Israeli Air Force would be further expanding its aerial defense array, and potentially add a new attack drone unit.Meanwhile, the military said it also seeks to expand the Navy to become a “long-range strategic arm,” similar to the IAF, and operate at distant locations with new capabilities.

Islamic State reactivating fighters, eyeing comeback in Syria and Iraq-Western and Middle Eastern authorities see terror group making moves to fill power vacuums, but claim security forces have effective countermeasures in operation-By Ahmed Rasheed, Timour Azhari and Michael Georgy Today, 4:22 pm-JUN 12,25

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Middle East leaders and their Western allies have been warning that the Islamic State group could exploit the fall of the Assad regime to stage a comeback in Syria and neighboring Iraq, where the extremist group once imposed a reign of terror over millions.Islamic State (IS) has been attempting just that, according to more than 20 sources, including security and political officials from Syria, Iraq, the US, and Europe, as well as diplomats in the region. The group has started reactivating fighters in both countries, identifying targets, distributing weapons, and stepping up recruitment and propaganda efforts, the sources said.So far, the results of these efforts appear limited. Security operatives in Syria and Iraq, who have been monitoring IS for years, told Reuters they foiled at least a dozen major plots this year.A case in point came in December, the month Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was toppled.As rebels were advancing on Damascus, IS commanders holed up near Raqqa, former capital of their self-declared caliphate, dispatched two envoys to Iraq, five Iraqi counter-terrorism officials told Reuters. The envoys carried verbal instructions to the group’s followers to launch attacks. But they were captured at a checkpoint while traveling in northern Iraq on December 2, the officials said.Eleven days later, Iraqi security forces, acting on information from the envoys, tracked a suspected IS suicide bomber to a crowded restaurant in the northern town of Daquq using his cell phone, they said. The forces shot the man dead before he could detonate an explosives belt, they said.The foiled attack confirmed Iraq’s suspicions about the group, said Colonel Abdul Ameer al-Bayati, of the Iraqi Army’s 8th Division, which is deployed in the area. “Islamic State elements have begun to reactivate after years of lying low, emboldened by the chaos in Syria,” he said.Still, the number of attacks claimed by IS has dropped since Assad’s fall IS claimed responsibility for 38 attacks in Syria in the first five months of 2025, putting it on track for a little over 90 claims this year, according to data from SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militants’ activities online. That would be around a third of last year’s claims, the data shows.In Iraq, where IS originated, the group claimed four attacks in the first five months of 2025, versus 61 total last year.Syria’s government, led by the country’s new Islamist leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, did not answer questions about IS activities. Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra told Reuters in January the country was developing its intelligence-gathering efforts, and its security services would address any threat.A US defense official and a spokesperson for Iraq’s prime minister said IS remnants in Syria and Iraq have been dramatically weakened, unable to control territory since a US-led coalition and its local partners drove them from their last stronghold in 2019.The Iraqi spokesperson, Sabah al-Numan, credited preemptive operations for keeping the group in check.The coalition and partners hammered militant hideouts with airstrikes and raids after Assad’s fall. Such operations captured or killed “terrorist elements,” while preventing them from regrouping and carrying out operations, Numan said.Iraq’s intelligence operations have also become more precise, through drones and other technology, he added.At its peak between 2014 and 2017, IS held sway over roughly a third of Syria and Iraq, where it imposed its extreme interpretation of Islamic sharia law, gaining a reputation for shocking brutality.None of the officials who spoke with Reuters saw a danger of that happening again. But they cautioned against counting the group out, saying it has proven a resilient foe, adept at exploiting a vacuum.Some local and European officials are concerned that foreign fighters might be traveling to Syria to join jihadi groups. For the first time in years, intelligence agencies tracked a small number of suspected foreign fighters coming from Europe to Syria in recent months, two European officials told Reuters, though they could not say whether IS or another group recruited them.Exploiting divisions-The IS push comes at a delicate time for Sharaa, as he attempts to unite a diverse country and bring former rebel groups under government control after 13 years of civil war.US President Donald Trump’s surprise decision last month to lift sanctions on Syria was widely seen as a win for the Syrian leader, who once led a branch of al Qaeda that battled IS for years. But some Islamist hardliners criticized Sharaa’s efforts to woo Western governments, expressing concern he might acquiesce to US demands to expel foreign fighters and normalize relations with Israel.Seizing on such divides, IS condemned the meeting with Trump in a recent issue of its online news publication, al-Naba, and called on foreign fighters in Syria to join its ranks.At a May 14 meeting in Saudi Arabia, Trump asked Sharaa to help prevent an IS resurgence as the US begins a troop consolidation in Syria it says could cut its roughly 2,000-strong military presence by half this year.The US drawdown has heightened concern among allies that IS might find a way to free some 9,000 fighters and their family members, including foreign nationals, held at prisons and camps guarded by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). There have been at least two attempted jailbreaks since Assad’s fall, the SDF has said.Trump and President Tayyip Erdogan of neighboring Turkey want Sharaa’s government to assume responsibility for these facilities. Erdogan views the main Kurdish factions as a threat to his country. But some regional analysts question whether Damascus has the manpower needed.Syrian authorities have also been grappling with attacks by suspected Assad loyalists, outbreaks of deadly sectarian violence, Israeli airstrikes and clashes between Turkish-backed groups and the SDF, which controls about a quarter of the country.“The interim government is stretched thin from a security perspective. They just do not have the manpower to consolidate control in the entire country,” said Charles Lister, who heads the Syria program at the Middle East Institute, a US think tank.Responding to a request for comment, a US State Department spokesperson said it is critical for countries to repatriate detained nationals from Syria and shoulder a greater share of the burden for the camps’ security and running costs.The US defense official said Washington remains committed to preventing an IS resurgence, and its vetted Syrian partners remain in the field. The US will “vigilantly monitor” Sharaa’s government, which has been “saying and doing the right things” so far, the official added.Three days after Trump’s meeting with Sharaa, Syria announced it had raided IS hideouts in the country’s second city, Aleppo, killing three militants, detaining four and seizing weapons and uniforms.The US has exchanged intelligence with Damascus in limited cases, another US defense official and two Syrian officials told Reuters. The news agency could not determine whether it did so in the Aleppo raids.The coalition is expected to wrap up operations in Iraq by September. But the second US official said Baghdad privately expressed interest in slowing down the withdrawal of some 2,500 American troops from Iraq when it became apparent that Assad would fall. A source familiar with the matter confirmed the request.The White House, Baghdad and Damascus did not respond to questions about Trump’s plans for US troops in Iraq and Syria.Reactivating sleeper cells-The United Nations estimates IS, also known as ISIS or Daesh, has 1,500 to 3,000 fighters in the two countries. But its most active branches are in Africa, the SITE data shows.The US military believes the group’s secretive leader is Abdulqadir Mumin, who heads the Somalia branch, a senior defence official told reporters in April.Still, SITE’s director, Rita Katz, cautioned against seeing the drop in IS attacks in Syria as a sign of weakness. “Far more likely that it has entered a restrategizing phase,” she said.Since Assad’s fall, IS has been activating sleeper cells, surveilling potential targets and distributing guns, silencers and explosives, three security sources and three Syrian political officials told Reuters.It has also moved fighters from the Syrian desert, a focus of coalition airstrikes, to cities including Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, according to the security sources.“Of the challenges we face, Daesh is at the top of the list,” Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab told state-owned Ekhbariya TV last week.In Iraq, aerial surveillance and intelligence sources on the ground have picked up increased IS activity in the northern Hamrin Mountains, a longtime refuge, and along key roads, Ali al-Saidi, an advisor to Iraqi security forces, told Reuters.Iraqi officials believe IS seized large stockpiles of weapons left behind by Assad’s forces and worry some could be smuggled into Iraq.Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Baghdad was in contact with Damascus about IS, which he told Reuters in January was growing and spreading into more areas.“We hope that Syria, in the first place, will be stable, and Syria will not be a place for terrorists,” he said, “especially ISIS terrorists.”

Russia says ready to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran to aid nuclear deal-Offer comes after Putin told Trump last week that Moscow was willing to help advance the negotiations on a new nuclear pact, not only diplomatically but through practical steps-By Guy Faulconbridge and Parisa Hafezi 11 June 2025, 5:00 pm

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) — Russia said on Wednesday it stood ready to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran and convert it into civilian reactor fuel as a potential way to help narrow US-Iranian differences over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.Tehran insists it has the right to peaceful nuclear power, but its swiftly advancing uranium enrichment program has raised fears in the wider West and across the Gulf that it wants to develop a nuclear weapon.The United States is trying to broker a deal to get Iran to rein in its nuclear activities, but President Donald Trump said in an interview released on Wednesday he was less confident than a couple of months ago that Iran would agree to halt enrichment.Last week, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had told Trump in a phone call that he was ready to use Russia’s close partnership with Iran to help advance those negotiations.On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees arms control and US relations, told Russian media that efforts to reach a solution should be redoubled and that Moscow was willing to help in practical ways.“We are ready to provide assistance to both Washington and Tehran, not only politically, not only in the form of ideas that could be of use in the negotiation process, but also practically: for example, through the export of excess nuclear material produced by Iran and its subsequent adaptation to the production of fuel for reactors,” Ryabkov said.He did not make clear whether the nuclear fuel would then be returned to Iran for use in its civil nuclear energy program, which Moscow has helped develop.The United States wants all of Iran’s highly enriched uranium (HEU) to be shipped out of the country. Tehran says it should only send out any excess amount above a ceiling that was agreed in a 2015 deal and cannot abandon enrichment altogether.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday confirmed Moscow’s readiness to accept the uranium.“Here it is very important to say that if necessary, if the parties deem it necessary, Russia will be ready to provide such services,” Peskov told reporters.Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, does not want to see Iran acquire nuclear weapons, but believes it has every right to develop its own civilian nuclear program — as a member of the 1970 global Non-Proliferation Treaty — and that any use of military force against it would be illegal.Moscow has bought weapons from Iran for its war in Ukraine and signed a 20-year strategic partnership deal with Tehran earlier this year.During his 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the US from a landmark 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, including Russia, that had placed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed tough US economic sanctions, Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction,  breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.

Aid dispersed overnight by GHF despite IDF ban-Gaza aid group says Hamas killed at least 8 local staffers, possibly abducted others-GHF says terror group attacked bus ferrying workers to distribution site, while Hamas-linked accounts say its gunmen targeted members of Israel-backed Abu Shabab clan, which the clan denies -By Jacob Magid and Lazar BermanToday, 5:29 amUpdated at 1:30 pm-JUN 12,25

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said Wednesday that Hamas gunmen attacked a bus transporting its local Gazan staffers, killing at least five, injuring others and potentially taking some hostage. On Thursday, it updated the death toll of its “local team members and volunteers” to eight and reiterated its “fear that some of our team members have been taken hostage.”The bus was ferrying 20 staffers to one of GHF’s aid distribution sites west of  Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday when it came under attack, the GHF said on Thursday.The statement noted that GHF was still working to gather the facts on what unfolded, and a spokesperson did not immediately provide corroborating evidence.Hamas-linked social media accounts published a statement on what they said was the terror group’s attack on members of the Israel-backed Abu Shabab clan in which five people were killed and 12 more were injured.It was not immediately possible to verify the identities of those killed. However, a Facebook page run by the Abu Shabab clan issued a statement denying that its members were targeted by Hamas.“This attack did not happen in a vacuum. For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers, and the civilians who receive aid from us. These threats were met with silence,” GHF said, adding that the attack will not deter the organization’s efforts to provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza.Despite the violence, GHF decided to open three distribution sites on Thursday morning.According to its own figures, the GHF delivered the most meals it has in a single day today.It opened three sites, two in southern Gaza’s Tel Sultan and one at Wadi Gaza in the central Strip. The organization distributed over 45,000 boxes of food aid, with more than half of those distributed at its original aid site in Rafah, near the shore along the Gaza-Egypt border.The US- and Israeli-backed foundation says each box contains meals for 5.5 people for 3.5 days.“We carefully considered closing our sites today given the heightened security risks and safety concerns, but we decided that the best response to Hamas’ cowardly murderers was to keep delivering food for the people of Gaza who are counting on us,” said GHF interim executive director John Acree on Thursday. “We will not be deterred from our mission towards providing food security for the Palestinian people in Gaza.Hamas has pushed for the resumption of aid distribution through UN-backed mechanisms, which Israel and the US say allowed the terror group to divert much of the aid. The UN has denied this, while arguing that the GHF model for aid distribution endangers Palestinians, by forcing them to walk long distances across IDF lines in order to pick up boxes of food.Red Cross and Hamas-linked health officials have reported near-daily fatal shooting incidents involving Palestinians trekking to aid sites since GHF’s launch on May 26. The IDF has acknowledged on at least eight occasions that it fired what it said were warning shots against those who strayed off the approved access routes.GHF said Wednesday it has distributed roughly 271,200 boxes of aid to date, though these are largely filled with dry food products that need to be prepared elsewhere.An average of 65 aid trucks have entered Gaza each day since Israel partially lifted its blockade on May 19, but the World Food Program, a UN agency, says roughly 300 trucks a day are needed to serve Gaza’s population, which IDF officials acknowledged was on the brink of starvation before Israel resumed allowing aid in last month after a 78-day blockade.The UN and other humanitarian organizations have argued that neutralizing the threat of looting requires flooding Gaza with as much aid as possible so demand and costs go down, rather than rationing assistance as Israel has done over the past month.Just before 3 a.m. Thursday local time, GHF issued an additional statement updating Gazans that it had just finished distributing boxes of food at its central Gaza site, even though the IDF has repeatedly warned Palestinians not to approach aid sites before 6 a.m.The GHF announcement was made on its Arabic Facebook page, which it uses to communicate with Palestinians about operating hours at the distribution sites.A GHF spokesperson did not explain why the Israeli- and US-backed organization appeared to be distributing aid overnight, when the IDF has cautioned Palestinians against walking to the sites. It has done so on several other occasions over the past two and a half weeks of operation.Hours earlier, footage of a GHF aid site being completely overrun by Gazans upon opening on Tuesday had gone viral on social media. The scene highlighted the chaos that has plagued GHF aid distribution sites since their launch.

Gazans seeking aid from Israel-backed GHF forced to contend with chaos, peril-Testimonies and footage – including some released by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation itself – point to disorderly distribution of assistance and other issues as well By Nurit Yohanan-Today, 2:57 amJUN 12,25

Testimony and footage from Gaza show that newly opened aid distribution centers are plagued by logistical and security problems amid a lack of organization and oversight, making it difficult and dangerous for Gazans to pick up packages of food.The centers are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israel-backed initiative that has boasted of handing out millions of meals to Gazans. However, many aspects of the organization and its operations are shrouded by secrecy or clouded by a lack of transparency, making it impossible to verify its claims, amid significant questions about how effective its work has been.The foundation says it is operating four distribution sites in Gaza, and has promised to open more, though it has struggled to keep even those four operating due to logistical and security issues.The sites are fenced in and located in areas where the Israeli military has taken over and forced civilians out of, meaning Gazans must travel long distances across Israel Defense Forces lines to reach the aid.Though Israel disputes the high death tolls reported in shooting incidents outside of aid centers, apparently due to soldiers firing on crowds trying to reach the sites, there seems little doubt that making the journey is fraught with danger for Gazan civilians.Speaking to The Times of Israel via WhatsApp, a Gazan man said he avoids going to the centers because they are too far and the roads are dangerous.“Why would I expose myself to danger?” asked the man, who requested anonymity due to fears for his safety. “The roads are dangerous, the type of aid is unclear and it’s very crowded there.”The spokesperson for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation did not respond when contacted for comment by The Times of Israel. A list of questions sent to an email address maintained by the group for media inquiries was not answered.Israel began allowing food, medicine and other assistance to trickle back into the Strip on May 18, after a 78-day blockade that had brought the enclave to the brink of starvation.At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited concerns over hunger in the Strip as some in his government protested allowing aid to resume before GHF was ready to begin working, and it is unclear if the foundation and the Israeli military were in fact prepared by May 26, when GHF announced the opening of its first distribution center.According to Israel, as of June 8, over 1,200 truckloads of aid had been allowed into the Strip. The figure includes assistance earmarked for distribution via the World Food Program and other UN-affiliated humanitarian organizations, which have operated throughout the 20-month war. It also includes trucks carrying boxes of food being handed out by GHF.The new initiative has been hounded by controversy even since before it officially began operations. Though officially independent, the mechanism was set up with American and Israeli backing as a way to get aid to Gazans in a way that did not leave the goods vulnerable to being stolen by Hamas, which allegedly sold them on the black market to fund its continued operations.The UN, which denies any systematic diversion of aid away from civilians, has vociferously opposed GHF’s operations, saying it is unable to meet mounting needs and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon by determining who can receive it. Critics, including much of the international community, have also accused GHF of putting aid seekers in harm’s way by placing the aid centers in IDF-controlled zones.GHF has noted that among its critics is also Hamas, the terror group ruling the Gaza Strip, which Israel is fighting to remove from power following its October 7, 2023, onslaught into southern Israel.According to GHF, Hamas threats directed at the foundation’s drivers and at local Palestinian staff helping operate the distribution sites forced it to shutter operations on Saturday.Free-for-all-On Monday, GHF said it suspended operations again, though only at one of three facilities, a distribution site in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, blaming the “chaos of the crowds.”Indeed, footage of the sites points to chaos and crowds being regular features of GHF distribution.Videos and pictures, including some published by GHF itself, show little order to the distribution of aid inside the fenced-off sites. One clip from May 31 shows a veritable free-for-all at a site in Rafah, with hundreds of Gazans rushing toward aid and grabbing packages as quickly as they can.No registration, verification, or organized distribution is apparent, with the process seemingly open to the uneven distribution of aid, despite GHF gently requesting that desperate Gazans stick to a one-box-per-family limit.A system of fences apparently meant to help organize lines of recipients appear to be largely ignored in some footage, with Gazans flowing in, out and over them.“The main problem is the mechanism. There is no organized process in the distribution centers — whoever shows up just takes aid,” a Gazan told The Times of Israel. “For comparison, the World Food Program takes down names and phone numbers, and families get an SMS with their scheduled pickup time. The American company doesn’t do that. If you arrive late, you don’t get aid. There’s no screening, no supervision, no name registration. There’s no mechanism to ensure that once you’ve received aid, you can’t come again.”The only source of information regarding how much humanitarian aid is being distributed at the centers comes from GHF itself, which claimed Monday to have distributed over 192,000 boxes of food over the previous two weeks.According to GHF, which employs inconsistent math in daily statements about its distribution efforts, each box contains nearly 58 meals, which it says is enough to feed 5.5 people for 3.5 days.However, GHF does not provide Gazans with ready-to-eat meals, as aid groups recommend in such humanitarian crises. Instead, the boxes are filled largely with dry food products that require cooking equipment to prepare. The nutritional value of the boxes is not disclosed, and there are questions over the uniformity of the aid packages.Many of the products appear to come from Israeli factories, with Hebrew labels and kosher markings. Gazans also appear to find the use of cardboard boxes inconvenient for transporting the heavy products over the long trek back to their homes or tents. Footage of areas around aid sites usually shows the ground littered with cardboard as people transfer the goods into sacks for the long walk back.“People walk on foot,” a Gazan told The Times of Israel via Zoom. “There are no cars and no fuel. Some ride animals.”It’s common for sites to run out of aid, sometimes within an hour of opening, leaving crowds of angry and disappointed Gazans.“I went there at 2 a.m., hoping to get some food. On my way there, I saw people returning empty-handed. They said aid packages have run out in five minutes. This is insane and isn’t enough,” Gazan Mohammad Abu Amr, 40, told Reuters on Tuesday with a chat app. “Tens of thousands arrive from the central areas and from the northern areas too, some of them walked for over 20 kilometers (12 miles), only to come back home with disappointment.”GHF communicates with the Palestinian population largely through an Arabic Facebook page where it publishes updates on which sites will open and when. But the posts often aren’t published until the last minute, giving Gazans little time to prepare for the long trek to the distribution sites.According to one Gazan who spoke to The Times of Israel, information about openings is sometimes only spread via word of mouth.“There’s no clear way to get information,” he said. “People get updates from the American on site. Displaced people staying near the centers are told by officers: ‘We’re opening the gate.'”Danger zone-The foundation has urged recipients not to show up early, warning that the access routes are not safe when the sites are not open. Last week, the IDF warned Palestinians not to approach routes leading to GHF sites between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time, describing these roads as closed military zones.GHF’s first two weeks of operations have been replete with near-daily reports and video clips of recipients coming under fire as they make the trip to the distribution centers.The Red Cross and Hamas-linked authorities in the Strip have claimed the IDF has been behind the gunfire, claiming dozens killed and hundreds wounded over the past two weeks. The IDF has admitted to firing warning shots at those who have strayed from the military-approved paths for reaching the sites, but has asserted that Hamas has inflated the death counts from these incidents.On Monday, witnesses said members of a local militia allied with Israel opened fire on people trying to reach a GHF site, with Gazan health authorities claiming 10 were killed.The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting UN aid trucks. GHF has said it does not work with the Abu Shabab group, which Israel has admitted to arming.GHF has sought to distance itself from the shootings, claiming that there have been no injuries or clashes at its sites.Who runs the sites? Footage last month showed the environs guarded by what appeared to be heavily armed American defense contractors in military gear, who were seen stopping crowds of Gazans attempting to reach a distribution site.However, neither Israel nor the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has disclosed who is operating the facilities.According to testimonies and videos, some of the guards are employees of UG Solutions, a small US defense contractor that has also been involved in guarding checkpoints in Gaza.A job listing posted online by UG Solutions for a mission “securing key infrastructure [and] facilitating humanitarian efforts” said the company was seeking former special forces soldiers, SWAT police and other law enforcement officers with combat experience.The listing also sought “Arabic speakers with Egyptian, Jordanian, Iraqi and Lebanese dialects.”In videos, armed guards are seen struggling to communicate with crowds of Gazans about the site’s closure and when it will re-open, with one saying “Tomorrow at 10 a.m.” in American-accented English.In another video recorded by a Gazan on May 29, a man films himself after receiving an aid package, alongside an armed individual who speaks English with an American accent.US contractor Safe Reach Solutions has also been reported to be involved in GHF operations. A job listing posted by SRS lists various qualifications, including Arabic proficiency and experience with major international NGOs, for a role supporting a humanitarian operations center in an active combat zone somewhere in the Middle East.There is also evidence that some involved with the operation may come from the Gulf. While Gulf states have not announced any support for or cooperation with the program, at least one clip from a distribution center shows a worker speaking to Gazans in Gulf-accented Arabic.In footage aired by the Qatari Al-Araby channel, a Gazan resident who received aid at the Rafah center on May 28 said that most of the workers are Arabs, but there are also a few Americans. He added that IDF forces are stationed near the compound.Though registered in the United States and officially run by American evangelical leader Johnnie Moore, a New York Times investigation has revealed that GHF was the brainchild of Israeli reservists and businessmen.Documents published by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster indicate that, contrary to government claims, the food distributed under the program is at least partially funded by the State of Israel, using money previously allocated to the Defense Ministry’s budget.In response to the Kan report, the Prime Minister’s Office and Finance Ministry issued a joint statement denying that Israel was funding any humanitarian aid going into Gaza.Jacob Magid, Lazar Berman and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Iran says 'friendly' country warned it of potential attack-Israel said ready to strike Iran, possibly within days, even as nuke talks set to resume-Israel may hit nuclear sites without US help, NBC says; Iran reportedly prepared to launch hundreds of missiles at Israel in response; Oman confirms parley planned for Sunday By ToI Staff and Reuters Today, 11:05 am-JUN 12,25

US officials believe Israel is ready to carry out an attack on Iran and could launch military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming days, reports suggested early Thursday, even as high-level talks aimed at a diplomatic deal over Tehran’s nuclear activity remained on track for Sunday.The reports, from US networks NBC and CBS, that Israel was moving toward a long-threatened military strike came hours after the US announced it would evacuate some personnel from the region amid fears they could be targeted by Iran in reprisal actions.The moves came after US President Donald Trump indicated he was no longer as confident as he had been previously that his administration could reach a deal with Iran, after negotiations appeared to snag over Tehran’s insistence that it be allowed to maintain low-level uranium enrichment.A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday that a “friendly” regional country had alerted Tehran over a potential military strike by Israel.The official said tensions were intended to “influence Tehran to change its position about its nuclear rights” during talks with the United States set for Sunday in Oman, and vowed that Tehran would hold firm to its insistence on maintaining some enrichment.Citing five unnamed sources familiar with the situation, NBC News reported that Israel was considering launching an attack on Iran within days and without the support of the US, which is still holding out hope for the talks.According to the report, Israel was weighing the option of striking the Islamic Republic’s nuclear infrastructure, fearing that Washington could agree to a deal that falls short of its demands regarding Iran ending all nuclear enrichment.Sources told the news network that they were not aware of any plans in the US to aid Israel in its endeavor to strike Iran, directly or indirectly, in the form of aerial refueling or intelligence sharing.But the sources said US officials were on alert.CBS News, citing multiple sources, said US officials have been told Israel is “fully ready to launch an operation into Iran.”Both reports cited worries that Iran could retaliate against US personnel stationed in neighboring Iraq as the reason the State Department and Pentagon authorized some US officials and their families to leave the region on Wednesday.Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday that if Iran was subjected to strikes, it would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region.Iran’s military and government had also prepared a plan for an immediate counterstrike on Israel with hundreds of ballistic missiles, a senior Iranian official told The New York Times.In October, Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel, though much of the attack was thwarted by air defenses in Israel and with the help of regional allies and the US.Retaliatory strikes by Israel later that month severely damaged Iran’s air defense systems, and analysts have speculated that Israel prefers to launch military action before the Islamic Republic has time to rebuild its air defense array.Asked about the decision to move US personnel out of the region, Trump said Wednesday, “They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens.”“They can’t have a nuclear weapon. Very simple, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he added in response to a question about what could be done to lower tensions with Iran.Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear program fail, and in an interview released earlier on Wednesday said he was growing “getting more and more less confident” that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand.“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame. I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them,” he said in the interview, which was recorded Monday.Earlier Wednesday, a statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, a Mideast-based effort overseen by the British navy, issued a warning to ships in the region that it “has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners.”Talks set for Sunday-Despite the rising tensions, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi confirmed Thursday on X that Muscat will host a sixth round of nuclear talks between the US and Iran on Sunday.A US official told Reuters that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff planned to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and discuss Iran’s response to the recent American proposal for a nuclear deal.The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, insists its nuclear program is peaceful, although it has enriched uranium to levels that have no use for civilian purposes.Speaking at a United Hatzalah gala in New York on Wednesday, Witkoff said he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day and asserted that the Islamic Republic “must never be permitted to enrich uranium or develop any nuclear capability.”“A nuclear Iran represents an existential threat to Israel, as does an Iran with a large amount of missiles,” he said. “That is as big an existential threat as the nuclear threat.”“We must stand resolute and united against this danger and ensure that Iran never obtains the means to achieve its deadly ambitions, no matter what the cost,” he said to applause.Iran’s mission to the UN posted on social media that “threats of overwhelming force won’t change the facts.”“Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability,” the Iranian mission wrote.Nasirzadeh, the Iranian defense minister, separately told journalists Wednesday that he hoped talks with the US would yield results, though Tehran stood ready to respond.“If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” he said. “We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.”Security expert Michael Knights, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, posited that the evacuation of staff was intended to let Iran know that it is not a sure thing that Washington will intervene to prevent Israel from launching an attack.“It’s about trying to get Iran to respect the president’s wishes,” he said.Agencies contributed to this report.

Tehran says it will open third nuclear site-Iran vows to ramp up enrichment after UN watchdog finds it breached nuke safeguards-International Atomic Energy Agency says Tehran failing to uphold its obligations, urges answers ‘without delay’; defiant Iran says it’ll build new uranium enrichment site By Lazar Berman and Agencies Today, 1:35 pm-JUN 12,25

The International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution Thursday declaring that Iran is in noncompliance with its nuclear safeguards obligations, further ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic over its controversial program amid strained negotiations with the US and concerns Israel may strike its facilities.Iran reacted immediately, saying it will establish a new enrichment facility and scale up uranium enrichment after the vote against it. The announcement said the facility will be “in a secure location” and that “other measures are also being planned.”The UN nuclear watchdog passed the resolution at its Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, the first such censure against Iran in two decades.“Iran’s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran… constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement,” the resolution said.The US, France, UK, and Germany put forward the resolution.Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board, which represents the agency’s member nations, voted for the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.Three countries opposed — Russia, China, and Burkina Faso — and there were 11 abstentions and two that did not vote.The measure is sure to give additional momentum to efforts by European countries to reinstate United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran this year.The resolution renewed a call on Iran to provide answers “without delay” in the investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites, according to a draft resolution seen by the Associated Press.Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003.Under the so-called safeguards obligations, which are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is legally bound to declare all nuclear material and activities and allow IAEA inspectors to verify that none of it is being diverted from peaceful uses.The draft resolution found that the IAEA’s “inability… to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful gives rise to questions that are within the competence of the United Nations Security Council, as the organ bearing the main responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.”Speaking to Iranian state television after the vote, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that his agency immediately informed the IAEA of “specific and effective” actions Tehran would take.“One is the launch of a third secure site” for enrichment, spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said. He did not elaborate on the location. Iran has two underground sites, at Fordo and Natanz, and has been building tunnels in the mountains near Natanz since suspected Israeli sabotage attacks targeted that facility.The other step would be the advanced centrifuges at Fordo. “The implication of this is that our production of enriched materials will significantly increase,” Kamalvandi said.Iran’s leaders, who are sworn to destroy Israel, have publicly denied seeking nuclear weapons, but have stocked up on 60%-enriched uranium — far above what is necessary for civilian uses, and a short step away from weapons-grade.The IAEA vote came at a sensitive time as tensions in the region have been rising, with the US State Department announcing on Wednesday that it is drawing down the presence of people who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East.A number of reports pointed to increasing readiness by Israel to take military action against Iranian nuclear facilities.US President Donald Trump has previously said that Israel or the US could carry out airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed.It also comes as the US and Iran have been holding talks on Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Oman’s foreign minister said earlier Thursday that a sixth round of negotiations will be held in his country on Sunday.The draft resolution makes a direct reference to the US-Iran talks, stressing its “support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by the Iranian nuclear program, including the talks between the United States and Iran, leading to an agreement that addresses all international concerns related to Iran’s nuclear activities, encouraging all parties to constructively engage in diplomacy.”Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad chief David Barnea will take off Friday for talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff ahead of the next round of talks between Tehran and Washington on Iran’s nuclear program, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.The Israel-US meeting is designed to “clarify Israel’s position,” said the official.The Prime Minister’s Office declined to answer where the meeting will take place.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to send the two senior officials after he and Trump spoke at length on Monday about Iran’s nuclear program.A senior Western diplomat last week described the IAEA resolution as a “serious step,” but added that Western nations are “not closing the door to diplomacy on this issue.”“The objective of the resolution is for Iran to resolve the issue,” the source said, which is why the resolution will not immediately refer Iran’s noncompliance to the UN Security Council to consider triggering more sanctions. “They will have a window to finally comply and respond to all the requests that have been made over the last six years.”However, if Iran fails to cooperate, an extraordinary IAEA board meeting will likely be held in the summer, during which another resolution could get passed that will refer the issue to the Security Council, the senior diplomat said.The three European nations have repeatedly threatened in the past to reinstate sanctions that have been lifted under the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal if Iran does not provide “technically credible” answers to the UN nuclear watchdog’s questions.The authority to reestablish those sanctions by the complaint of any member of the original 2015 nuclear deal expires in October, putting the West on a clock to exert pressure on Tehran over its program before losing that power.The resolution comes on the heels of the IAEA’s so-called “comprehensive report” that was circulated among member states at the end of last month. In the report, the UN nuclear watchdog said that Iran’s cooperation with the agency has “been less than satisfactory” when it comes to uranium traces discovered by agency inspectors at several locations in Iran.

Israeli troops enter southern Syrian village to arrest alleged Hamas members-Syria denies detained suspects are members of terror group, says one person killed during operation in Beit Jinn, some four miles from Israel-held Golan Heights By Emanuel Fabian-Today, 12:45 pm-JUN 25,25

Israeli troops raided a village in southern Syria and detained several Hamas operatives in an overnight operation, the military said Thursday.The alleged Hamas operatives were nabbed from the village of Beit Jinn, some 6 kilometers (4 miles) from Israel’s frontier with Syria, outside of an Israeli-held buffer zone.The operation was carried out by reservists from the Alexandroni Brigade, the Israel Defense Forces said.“Following intelligence collected in recent weeks, IDF troops carried out a pinpoint nighttime operation in Syria and arrested several terrorists from the Hamas terror organization, who tried to advance many terror attacks against Israeli citizens and IDF troops in Syria,” the military said.According to a military source, the troops reached several homes in the village and nabbed the suspects within 45 minutes, then headed back to Israel.The IDF said the operatives were brought to Israel to be interrogated by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504.Several weapons were captured during the raid, the army added.A spokesperson for Syria’s interior ministry told Reuters seven people were arrested in the Beit Jinn raid, but denied they were from Hamas, saying they were civilians from the area. The spokesperson said one person was killed by Israeli fire.Asked whether anyone was killed in its raid, the Israeli military said in response to a query that when one of the suspected members attempted to flee, shots were fired and “a hit was identified.”The IDF added that the incident was under further investigation.The raid came days after the IDF said it targeted a member of Hamas in the same town.Sources told Reuters last month that Syria was holding direct talks with Israel aimed at calming tensions and securing the region.The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”Hamas had a significant foothold in Syria until civil war broke out in the country in 2011, but has since reduced its presence. Its status in the country has become uncertain following the fall of Assad, as the regime of Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, seeks to consolidate power, take arms out of the hands of non-governmental groups, and avoid confrontation with Israel.Last month, Sharaa confirmed the existence of indirect talks with Israel that he said were aimed at calming tensions.The contacts mark a significant development in ties between states that have been in conflict in the Middle East for decades, as the US encourages the new Islamist rulers in Damascus to establish relations with Israel.Israel has cautioned against swift recognition of the new government in Syria, expressing deep skepticism about Sharaa, a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head from the US.But Israeli airstrikes on former Assad military sites and criticism of the new regime have substantially subsided in recent weeks.Agencies contributed to this report.

Iran says to target US bases if conflict breaks out.

Tehran, June 11 (AFP) Jun 11, 2025-Iran threatened Wednesday to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out, while President Donald Trump said he was "less confident" about reaching a nuclear deal.Amid escalating tensions, a US official said staff levels at the embassy in Iraq were being reduced over security concerns, while the UK Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, advised ships to transit the Gulf with caution.Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails."All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail."God willing, things won't reach that point, and the talks will succeed," the minister said, adding that the US side "will suffer more losses" if it came to conflict.The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar.Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington calling it as a "red line".Trump had previously expressed optimism about the talks, saying during a Gulf tour last month Washington was "getting close" to securing a deal.But in an interview published Wednesday, Trump said he was "less confident" the United States and Iran could reach a deal, in response to a question on whether he believed he could stop Tehran from enriching uranium.- 'A shame' -Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.Western countries, including the United States and its ally Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.Last week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said enrichment is "key" to Iran's nuclear programme and that Washington "cannot have a say" on the issue.During the interview with the New York Post's podcast "Pod Force One", which was recorded on Monday, Trump said he was losing hope a deal could be reached."I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more -- less confident about it. They seem to be delaying and I think that's a shame. I am less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago," he said."Something happened to them but I am much less confident of a deal being made... Maybe they don't wanna make a deal, what can I say? And maybe they do. There is nothing final."Trump maintained that Washington would not allow Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons, saying "it would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying".On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal for a nuclear deal, with Araghchi later saying the text contained "ambiguities".Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer relief from sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.On Monday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday to discuss Iran's atomic activities and other issues.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting followed a report issued by it criticising "less than satisfactory" cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites.Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on "forged documents" provided by its arch-foe Israel.In January 2020, Iran fired missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the US strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani days before at Baghdad airport.Dozens of US soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Trump says US personnel moved as Iran tensions mount.

Washington, June 11 (AFP) Jun 11, 2025-President Donald Trump said US personnel were being moved from the potentially "dangerous" Middle East on Wednesday as nuclear talks with Iran faltered and fears grew of a regional conflict.Trump also reiterated that he would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, amid mounting speculation that Israel could strike Tehran's facilities.Iran threatened Wednesday to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out.A US official had earlier said that staff levels at the embassy in Iraq were being reduced over security concerns, while there were reports that personnel were also being moved from Kuwait and Bahrain."Well they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place," Trump told reporters in Washington when asked about the reports of personnel being moved."We've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens."Trump then added: "They can't have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We're not going to allow that."Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.The two sides were due to meet again in coming days.Trump had until recently expressed optimism about the talks, but said in an interview published Wednesday that he was "less confident" about reaching a nuclear deal.Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails.The US president says he has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off striking Iran's nuclear facilities to give the talks a chance, but has increasingly signaled that he is losing patience.Iran however warned it would respond to any attack."All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail.- 'Suffer more losses' -"God willing, things won't reach that point, and the talks will succeed," the minister said, adding that the US side "will suffer more losses" if it came to conflict.The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar.In January 2020, Iran fired missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the US strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani days before at the Baghdad airport.Dozens of US soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries.Amid the escalating tensions, the UK Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, also advised ships to transit the Gulf with caution.Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington calling it a "red line."Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.Western countries have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.Last week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said enrichment is "key" to Iran's nuclear program and that Washington "cannot have a say" on the issue.During an interview with the New York Post's podcast "Pod Force One," which was recorded on Monday, Trump said he was losing hope a deal could be reached."I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more -- less confident about it. They seem to be delaying and I think that's a shame. I am less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago," he said.Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer relief from sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.burs-dk/jgc

UK maritime group issues warning to shipping in the region-US begins evacuating Mideast embassies, army bases as Iran nuclear talks come to a head-CENTCOM chief shelves Senate testimony as nonessential embassy staff, troops’ dependents depart region; Iranian defense minister threatens to strike US bases amid stalled talks-By Jacob Magid and Agencies Today, 12:18 am-JUN 12,25

The United States is drawing down the presence of people who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East due to the potential for regional unrest, the US State Department and military said Wednesday as tensions with neighboring Iran rose amid deteriorating nuclear talks.“President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our Mission in Iraq,” a State Department official told The Times of Israel.Trump later confirmed that some US personnel are being moved out of the Middle East “because it could be a dangerous place.”“We’ll see what happens… We’ve given notice… Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters before attending “Les Miserables” at the Kennedy Center in Washington.Earlier Wednesday, two US officials told The Associated Press that the State Department was preparing to order the departure of all nonessential personnel from the US Embassy in Baghdad due to the potential for regional unrest.The department also authorized the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait, giving them an option on whether to leave the country.In addition, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said. Another US official said that it was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain — where the bulk of them are based.Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the US and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse.In light of mounting friction, Michael Kurilla, who directs American forces in the Middle East as the head of US Central Command, postponed his testimony before US lawmakers he was set to give on Thursday, according to two officials.Kurilla was set to testify in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.The next round of talks — the sixth — had been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, according to two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters. However, those officials said Wednesday that it looked increasingly unlikely that the talks would happen.However, a US official later told Reuters that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and discuss Iran’s response to the recent American proposal for a nuclear deal.Trump, who has previously threatened to use military force against Iran if negotiations failed, gave a less-than-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran, telling the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that he was “getting more and more less confident about” a deal.“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame. I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them,” he said in the interview, which was recorded on Monday.US Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, said during comments Wednesday at the Kennedy Center that he does not know if Iran wants a nuclear weapon. Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas however said Hegseth on Wednesday “confirmed that Iran’s terrorist regime is actively working toward a nuclear weapon.”“For the sake of our national security, the security of our allies, and millions of civilians in the region this cannot be allowed to happen,” said Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.Iran’s mission to the UN posted on social media that “threats of overwhelming force won’t change the facts.”“Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability,” the Iranian mission wrote.Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh told journalists Wednesday that he hoped talks with the US would yield results, though Tehran stood ready to respond with strikes on American bases in the region.“If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” he said. “We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.”In a separate sign of mounting tensions, a statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, a Mideast-based effort overseen by the British navy, issued a warning to ships Wednesday in the region that it “has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners.”It urged caution in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. It did not name Iran, though those waterways have seen Iranian ship seizures and attacks in the past.Much of the world’s oil and key commodities, including grains, pass through the region’s busy sea lanes.In a separate statement Wednesday, British maritime security company Ambrey said that “Israel-affiliated merchant shipping is assessed to be at heightened risk of reciprocal military action.”“Substantial US support to Israeli offensive action would raise the risk to US shipping and vessels carrying US cargo,” the statement read.Shipping industry and insurance sources said there was growing concern over a spillover from any action by Israel and its arch foe Iran, especially in waters around the Gulf and nearby waters.Last year, Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, and Israel launched airstrikes on targets inside Iran.“Any attack will have a certain potential to escalate and impact shipping as well as implicate military forces of other countries operating in the area, including the United States,” said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer with the BIMCO shipping association.“A full-blown armed conflict between Israel/U.S. and Iran would most certainly effectively close the Straits of Hormuz at least for a period of time and drive up oil prices,” he continued.Meanwhile, the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency was potentially set to vote on a measure to censure Iran. That could set in motion an effort to snap back United Nations sanctions on Iran via a measure in Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that’s still active until October. Trump withdrew from that deal in his first term.

Katz urges Egypt to block Gaza-bound activist convoys-Cairo says it backs ‘pressure on Israel’ to lift blockade but stresses foreigners seeking to visit border with Strip must receive official approval By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 3:33 am-JUN 12,25

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday called on Egypt to block two pro-Palestinian activist convoys planning to head to Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with Gaza.“I expect the Egyptian authorities to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border and not to allow them to carry out provocations or attempt to enter Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.Katz added that such actions “would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed.”His comments came as hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on a Gaza-bound convoy arrived in the Libyan capital, driving eastward with the stated aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.The Soumoud convoy — meaning steadfastness in Arabic — left Tunis in buses and cars on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt, which organizers say has yet to provide passage permits, to reach Gaza.Egypt said on Wednesday that it backs efforts to put “pressure on Israel” to lift its blockade on Gaza, but added that any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval through official channels.Egypt “asserts the importance of putting pressure on Israel to end the blockade on the (Gaza) Strip,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.It added that Egypt “will not consider any requests or respond to any invitations submitted outside the framework defined by the regulatory guidelines and the mechanisms followed in this regard.”The Sinai Peninsula is a tightly controlled security zone, with access routes frequently punctuated by military and police checkpoints.Detentions-After 20 months of war sparked by the Hamas-led October 2023 terror onslaught, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.The United Nations has claimed Gaza was “the hungriest place on Earth.”Another activist group, the Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said it is organizing a separate mobilization starting in Cairo on Friday.Organizers told AFP on Wednesday that around 4,000 participants are expected to join the march, adding they are not planning to enter Gaza.According to the plan, activists would travel by bus to the city of Arish in northern Sinai before walking on foot for 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the Gaza border.Participants would then camp near the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing for a few days and return to Cairo on June 19.Catherine Le Scolan-Quere, spokesperson for the group’s French delegation, said that several French nationals who arrived in Egypt to take part in the event were detained in their hotels or upon arrival at Cairo airport.Carolie Laghouati, a 39-year-old French nurse, said her friend along with nine others were detained by the Egyptian police at Cairo airport.“We’re locked up here, they tell us not to leave, they don’t tell us what’s going on, our passports are confiscated,” said her friend in a video sent to AFP.The spokesperson of the French delegation hoped the permits would be issued “quickly” by the Egyptian embassy in Paris and the French embassy in Cairo.

'International community is being manipulated by terrorists'-Milei, visiting Knesset, says Argentina to move its embassy to Jerusalem in 2026-Argentinian president warmly welcomed by Netanyahu, Ohana and Lapid, who all praise his pro-Israel stance, welcome him as a ‘true friend’By Sam Sokol-and ToI Staff 11 June 2025, 10:16 pm

Argentinian President Javier Milei, who is on a three-day visit to Israel, spoke at a special Knesset plenum session held in his honor on Wednesday, at which he announced that his country would move its embassy from the Tel Aviv area to Jerusalem next year.He was warmly welcomed in the Knesset by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, all of whom effusively praised the warm ties that have developed between Israel and Argentina under his leadership.“Javier, you are a true friend. With this visit, we are bringing our relations to new heights. 12,000 kilometers separate Buenos Aires, Israel and the Knesset in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said to the visiting South American leader. “This great distance is compensated for by the closeness of our hearts.”Milei, who first announced his intention to move the embassy during his first state visit to Israel in February 2024, announced in the Knesset plenum that “in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of West Jerusalem.”The embassy is currently located in Herzliya, just outside Tel Aviv.Milei opened his remarks on a somber note, addressing the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror onslaught in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip, now in its 21st month.“The world witnessed great barbarity” on October 7, he said. “We believed that we had finally put an end to this barbarity — the tragedy of October 7 woke us up from this dream.”“Argentina stands by you in these difficult days,” he told members of the Knesset. “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about a large part of the international community that is being manipulated by terrorists and turning victims into perpetrators.”The visiting Argentinian leader said that Buenos Aires will continue to demand that the hostages be released, including the four with Argentinian citizenship.He also took the opportunity to criticize climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was detained and deported by Israel earlier this week after sailing to the region on a mission aimed at breaking the Gaza blockade.Thunberg “became a hired gun for a bit of media attention, claiming that she was kidnapped when there are really hostages in subhuman conditions in Gaza,” he said, according to the translation of his remarks from Spanish provided by the Knesset.“How does the world allow a murderous terrorist organization to continue to hold innocent civilians hostage?” he asked. “When the sides are good and evil, there is no moral equality here.”He then adopted a more positive tone, and turned to describing the “many miracles” that Israel and the Jewish people have performed.“The first miracle is the establishment of the State of Israel after the Holocaust, and the second is Israel’s survival after repeated attempts to destroy it,” he said.He suggested that a third miracle performed by Israel was that of “the agricultural revolution that made the desert bloom.”“You managed to grow food on land where nothing else grew,” he praised.Netanyahu, for his part, thanked Milei for “standing by our side in the campaign against the forces of darkness,” and declared that Israel and Argentina “will achieve enormous things” together.In the face of Hamas’s “brutal and unprecedented aggression, you said in clear words – we are on your side in the battle against the forces of darkness,” the premier said.He told the Argentinian president that Hamas is trying to “trample human dignity and will not hesitate to do so by any means.”“I can assure you that we will continue to fight them. Israel is a fortress of democracy in the Middle East,” he declared. “We will not fall, nor will we surrender, we will win, and we will bring back all the living and the dead. We will make sure that Gaza no longer threatens Israel.”The praise for Argentina’s direction under Milei was repeated by both Lapid and Ohana, who declared that he was “the best friend ever to the State of Israel and the Jewish people” in his country’s history.“Time and again, you have chosen to prefer truth over comfort, faith over fashion, and a moral compass over belonging to an automatic majority,” Ohana said. “By standing by the State of Israel, you have woven yourself and the Argentinian people into the eternal story of the Jewish people.”Lapid addressed Milei in Spanish from the Knesset rostrum, telling him conspiratorially that, “since the prime minister does not know Spanish, I can tell you in secret that we disagree on almost everything. But there are two things on which we agree.”“The first is that Jews have the right to defend themselves. Israel will not surrender or bend. Neither in the face of terrorism nor in the face of lies,” said the opposition leader. “The second is that your friendship and support for Israel move us all.”Switching to Hebrew, Lapid took the opportunity to launch a coded attack on Netanyahu through praise of Milei’s economic reforms.Milei is “not only a great friend of Israel, he is also a true economic right-winger,” said Lapid, noting that the “first thing” he did upon taking office was to close all of his government’s “unnecessary ministries.”“Today, they have eight government ministries. A country of 46 million people. Enough for them. Cut jobs, fired cronies, reduced benefits, fought a culture of idleness and living at the expense of others,” Lapid said, adding: “Let’s learn from the man who came to visit us today.”AFP contributed to this report.

US slams UN conference on Israel-Palestinian issue, warns of consequences-Washington sends cable to governments worldwide discouraging ‘anti-Israel actions’ ahead of French- and Saudi-organized conference to advance Palestinian state By Reuters, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff 11 June 2025, 10:40 pm

US President Donald Trump’s administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending a UN conference next week on a possible two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a US cable seen by Reuters.The diplomatic demarche, sent on Tuesday, says countries that take “anti-Israel actions” following the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences from Washington.The demarche, which was not previously reported, runs squarely against the diplomacy of two close allies France and Saudi Arabia, who are co-hosting the gathering next week in New York that aims to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.“We are urging governments not to participate in the conference, which we view as counterproductive to ongoing, life-saving efforts to end the war in Gaza and free hostages,” read the cable.French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested France could recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza at the conference.French officials say they have been working to avoid a clash with the US, Israel’s staunchest major ally.“The United States opposes any steps that would unilaterally recognize a conjectural Palestinian state, which adds significant legal and political obstacles to the eventual resolution of the conflict and could coerce Israel during a war, thereby supporting its enemies,” the cable read.The US for decades backed a two-state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians that would create a state for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel.Trump, in his first term, was relatively tepid in his approach to a two-state solution, a longtime pillar of US Middle East policy. The Republican president has given little sign of where he stands on the issue in his second term.But on Tuesday, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, a long-time vocal supporter of Israel, said he did not think an independent Palestinian state remained a US foreign policy goal.Asked Wednesday whether the Trump administration no longer supports a two-state solution, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dodged the question, while asserting that Trump’s top priority is to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages.Trump “views the situation in Israel and Gaza as deeply unfortunate and needing to end,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.“The president is realistic about the current state of affairs in this region. That’s why the president has said that the number one focus and priority of this administration is to release all of the hostages from Gaza and to end this conflict as soon as possible,” Leavitt added.Hiking international opposition to Gaza war-“Unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state would effectively render October 7 Palestinian Independence Day,” the cable read, referring to when Hamas terrorists carried out a cross-border attack on southern Israel in 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.Hamas’s attack triggered Israel’s air and ground counteroffensive in Gaza in which more than 55,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead, according to Hamas figures, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.If Macron went ahead, France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, would become the first Western heavyweight to recognize a Palestinian state.This could lend greater momentum to a movement hitherto dominated by smaller nations generally more critical of Israel.Macron’s stance has shifted amid Israel’s intensified Gaza offensive and escalating violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and there is a growing sense of urgency in Paris to act now before the idea of a two-state solution falls to the wayside.The US cable said Washington had worked tirelessly with Egypt and Qatar to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, free the hostages and end the conflict.“This conference undermines these delicate negotiations and emboldens Hamas at a time when the terrorist group has rejected proposals by the negotiators that Israel has accepted,” it read.This week Britain and Canada, also G7 allies of the United States, were joined by other countries in placing sanctions on two Israeli far-right government ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.“The United States opposes the implied support of the conference for potential actions including boycotts and sanctions on Israel as well as other punitive measures,” the cable read.Israel has repeatedly criticized the conference, saying it rewards Hamas for the attack on Israel, and it has lobbied France against recognizing a Palestinian state.“Nothing surprises me anymore, but I don’t see how many countries could step back on their participation,” said a European diplomat, who asked for anonymity due to the subject’s sensitivity. “This is bullying, and of a stupid type.”The US State Department and the French Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

UN set to hold non-binding vote on Gaza ceasefire; Israel slams ‘charade’-Draft resolution is similar to text vetoed by US at Security Council last week calling for hostages’ and Palestinian prisoners’ release, does not explicitly condemn Hamas By Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 9:48 am-JUN 12,25

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza, a week after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council.The 193-member General Assembly is likely to adopt the text with overwhelming support, diplomats say, despite Israel lobbying countries this week against taking part in what it called a “politically motivated, counterproductive charade.”General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry weight as a reflection of the global view on the war. Previous demands by the body for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists have been ignored. Unlike the UN Security Council, no country has a veto in the General Assembly.Thursday’s vote also comes ahead of a UN conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States has urged countries not to attend.In a note seen by Reuters, the US warned that “countries that take anti-Israel actions on the heels of the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences.”The US last week vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that also demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” and unhindered aid access in Gaza, arguing it would undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.Dorothy Shea, acting US Ambassador to the United Nations, raises her hand to veto a draft resolution calling for an immediate and permanenThe other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where the UN warns famine looms, though previous assessments have been found to have been exaggerated and based on flawed data.After a two-and-a-half-month blockade of Gaza aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing the hostages and relinquishing power, Israel started allowing in some basic aid last month, while a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began separately distributing aid from three sites.‘False and defamatory’The draft resolution to be voted on by the General Assembly on Thursday demands the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.It demands unhindered aid access and “strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians… of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supply and access.”“This is both false and defamatory,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to UN member states on Tuesday, which was seen by Reuters.Danon described the General Assembly draft resolution as an “immensely flawed and harmful text,” urging countries not to take part in what he said was a “farce” that undermines hostage negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas.Shortly after the Hamas onslaught that sparked the war in October 2023, the General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza with 120 votes in favor. In December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Then, in December last year, the body demanded — with 158 votes in favor — an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.Israel launched its war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage. Terror groups in Gaza continue to hold 53 hostages, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 who are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.The Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 55,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 42

MBS attendance at 2-state confab could signal France will recognize Palestinian state-Final decision not made, but diplomats tell ToI that Saudi crown prince instructed staff to prepare for his arrival at UN conference, which could lead other world leaders to take part BY Jacob Magid-By Jacob Magid Today, 4:39 am-JUN 12,25

France is weighing whether to recognize a Palestinian state, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s attendance at a UN conference next week aimed at promoting a two-state solution will signal if Paris will go ahead with the pivotal move, four diplomats familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.While Saudi Arabia is co-sponsoring the UN confab along with France, Riyadh has yet to publicly announce whether bin Salman will attend along with French President Emmanuel Macron.Two Arab diplomats and two Western diplomats told The Times of Israel that the crown prince — known by his initials MBS — is unlikely to attend the conference unless it includes a major deliverable seen to advance a two-state solution.A French decision to become the most prominent Western country to recognize a Palestinian state would be more than enough to warrant MBS’s presence in New York, the diplomats said.“He will attend if France decides to recognize Palestine,” one of the Arab diplomats said.Macron has publicly expressed his desire to make such an announcement, but he is facing pressure from the Trump administration, which opposes the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state and argues that it would harm Washington’s efforts to secure a hostage deal in Gaza. That argument was also used by the Biden administration to oppose such efforts last year.There is also concern whether the move will provoke punitive steps by Israel to collapse the Palestinian Authority or formally annex parts of the West Bank.Some opponents of the move also warn that it will prove to be merely symbolic, as other unilateral recognitions have been, if not coupled with a broader diplomatic initiative with which Israel is willing to cooperate.For its part, Israel has asserted that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state would amount to a “reward” to Hamas for its October 7, 2023, attack that started the ongoing Gaza war.Supporters of the move maintain that joint international recognition of Israel and a Palestinian state helps actualize a two-state solution — which Hamas opposes — and that waiting for the perfect conditions while maintaining the status quo on the ground helped create the conditions that allowed the October 7 onslaught to unfold.A spokesperson for France’s Mission declined a request to comment, but a Western diplomat said the chances of Paris recognizing a Palestinian state were boosted by a letter that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sent earlier this week.The letter saw Abbas stake out a series of positions that fall in line with those of France and Saudi Arabia, including the PA’s readiness to assume governing responsibilities for Gaza; a call for Hamas to step down and hand over its weapons to the PA; an invitation to Arab and international forces to deploy in Gaza in order to stabilize the security situation in the Strip; a commitment to continue reforming the PA, including by holding elections within a year; and backing for a peace agreement with Israel that creates a demilitarized Palestinian state.Abbas himself has not confirmed whether or not he will attend, though a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that he is planning to do so and give a speech similar to what he expressed in his letter to Macron and bin Salman.An Arab diplomat said MBS has directed his aides to prepare for him to attend the UN conference, even though he has not made a final decision.MBS’s attendance — and the French recognition it would signal — would likely draw additional world leaders to attend the conference, with the Arab diplomat expressing hope that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would be among them.“France would like the UK to join it in recognizing a Palestinian state,” a second Western diplomat said.Starmer is scheduled to already be in North America next week for the G7 in Canada, which ends Tuesday, the same day that the four-day UN conference is slated to commence. The Saudi crown prince has also been invited to attend the G7 summit, giving him a shorter commute to New York as well.For its part, Paris did not join London in sanctioning far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday.Smotrich responded to the move by the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway by directing his office to waive the indemnity that Israeli banks have been given to correspond with Palestinian banks, in a move that risks paralyzing the Palestinian economy if implemented.A source involved in France’s deliberations argued that if Israel is moving to collapse the PA even before Paris has made a decision, there is less of a justification to hold off on recognizing a Palestinian state.Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Washington and the UK’s Mission to the UN did not respond to requests for comment.

US, European powers submit Iran resolution at UN nuclear agency: diplomats-by AFP Staff Writers.

Vienna (AFP) June 10, 2025-European powers and the United States submitted a resolution to the UN's nuclear watchdog board on Tuesday condemning Iran's "non-compliance" with its nuclear obligations, in a bid to up pressure on Tehran, diplomats told AFP.It is the latest move in a years-long effort to restrict Iran's nuclear activities over fears that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, which it denies.The diplomatic manoeuvre comes as the United States and Tehran have held several rounds of talks mediated by Oman, aimed at securing an agreement on limiting Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief."The text has been submitted," three diplomatic sources told AFP on Tuesday night.Paris, Berlin, London and Washington formally tabled the resolution at this week's board meeting of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is expected to come to a vote on Wednesday evening at the earliest.The draft resolution obtained by AFP calls on Iran "to urgently remedy its non-compliance" with its commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).It also "deeply regrets" that Tehran "despite repeated calls from the Board and many opportunities offered... has failed to cooperate fully with the Agency".The agency's "inability... to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful gives rise to questions that are within the competence of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)", which can draw up sanctions.The resolution follows an IAEA report in late May that showed "a general lack of cooperation" by Tehran, diplomats said, including in providing "credible" answers to questions by the agency as well as the theft of confidential documents and the cleaning up of undeclared sites.The report also criticised "less than satisfactory" cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining nuclear material found at undeclared sites in the past.For years, the agency has been trying to obtain clarification on nuclear material and equipment found at undeclared sites and resulting from undeclared activities carried out until the early 2000s.Tehran has also accelerated its production of near-weapons-grade uranium in recent months.Iran's ambassador to the IAEA Reza Najafi rejected the recent IAEA report, telling AFP that it "lacks a firm and hard foundation" and "many issues in the report are referring to past issues"."Claiming that Iran is not cooperating fully is not acceptable," he said, adding that the resolution was "politically motivated".Najafi also threatened that Tehran will "react very strongly", in case the resolution is adopted.Iran had earlier accused Israel of contributing "unreliable and misleading information" to it.The development comes with high tensions in the Middle East over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.Iran has denied seeking nuclear arms and says it needs the uranium for civilian power production.

Iran says new round of US talks planned for Sunday.

Tehran (AFP) June 10, 2025 - The sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks is planned for Sunday, Tehran said as the two sides appear locked in a standoff over uranium enrichment nearly two months into the high-stakes negotiations.It came as European powers and the United States submitted a censure motion to the UN's nuclear watchdog in an effort to ramp up pressure on Iran, in spite of Tehran's warnings.Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme."The next round of Iran-US indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement on Tuesday.There was no immediate comment from mediator Oman, which has hosted some of the previous rounds, while Washington has said the talks could be held as early as Thursday.The longtime foes have held five rounds of negotiations since April, the highest level contact since President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from a 2015 nuclear accord during his first term.Trump has said the next meeting was expected on Thursday, although a source familiar with preparations said it would more likely be on Friday or Saturday.Iran's top negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, will be attending the annual Oslo Forum in Norway on Thursday, his office said.On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal for an agreement, which Araghchi has criticised for its "ambiguities".Tehran has said the offer failed to include issues raised in previous negotiations including the lifting of sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.On Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Baqaei said Iran would present a "reasonable, logical and balanced" counter-proposal.- 'National interests' -Trump said that the next round of talks could make it clear if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action.In a key sticking point, Tehran has defended its right to enrich uranium as "non-negotiable", while Washington called any Iranian enrichment a "red line".Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.Western countries, including the United States and its ally Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.In an interview published on Tuesday, Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said there was no "deadlock" in the talks, and that the next round would be the first in which the parties discuss "any written material"."Any negotiations with an international dimension come with their own sensitivities and require a great deal of patience for them to reach a result," he told the official IRNA news agency."What matters to us is that we can safeguard the national interests of the country through these talks, and that is how we proceed."In a statement issued on Tuesday, a group of Iranian lawmakers accused the United States of turning the negotiations into a "strategic trap" in coordination with Israel.They said Washington's "aim is to impose demands through coercion, adopting positions that are insulting and entirely incompatible with the legitimate rights of the Iranian people."- 'Less than satisfactory' -On Monday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday to discuss Iran's atomic activities and other issues.The International Atomic Energy Agency meeting followed a report issued by it criticising "less than satisfactory" cooperation from Tehran, particularly in explaining past cases of nuclear material found at undeclared sites.Iran has criticised the IAEA report as unbalanced, saying it relied on "forged documents" provided by its arch foe Israel.On Tuesday, European powers and the United States submitted a resolution to the meeting which would condemn Iran's "non-compliance" with its nuclear obligations, diplomats told AFP.A vote on the motion is expected on Wednesday.Earlier on Tuesday, Araghchi had reiterated Tehran's criticism of the planned resolution."Any ill-considered and destructive decision in the Board of Governors against Iran will be met with an appropriate response," Araghchi said during a phone call with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.Iran has said it would reduce cooperation with the IAEA if the resolution passed.

AI-enabled control system helps autonomous drones stay on target in uncertain environments-by Adam Zewe | MIT News.

Boston MA (SPX) Jun 12, 2025-An autonomous drone carrying water to help extinguish a wildfire in the Sierra Nevada might encounter swirling Santa Ana winds that threaten to push it off course. Rapidly adapting to these unknown disturbances inflight presents an enormous challenge for the drone's flight control system.To help such a drone stay on target, MIT researchers developed a new, machine learning-based adaptive control algorithm that could minimize its deviation from its intended trajectory in the face of unpredictable forces like gusty winds.Unlike standard approaches, the new technique does not require the person programming the autonomous drone to know anything in advance about the structure of these uncertain disturbances. Instead, the control system's artificial intelligence model learns all it needs to know from a small amount of observational data collected from 15 minutes of flight time.Importantly, the technique automatically determines which optimization algorithm it should use to adapt to the disturbances, which improves tracking performance. It chooses the algorithm that best suits the geometry of specific disturbances this drone is facing.The researchers train their control system to do both things simultaneously using a technique called meta-learning, which teaches the system how to adapt to different types of disturbances.Taken together, these ingredients enable their adaptive control system to achieve 50 percent less trajectory tracking error than baseline methods in simulations and perform better with new wind speeds it didn't see during training.In the future, this adaptive control system could help autonomous drones more efficiently deliver heavy parcels despite strong winds or monitor fire-prone areas of a national park."The concurrent learning of these components is what gives our method its strength. By leveraging meta-learning, our controller can automatically make choices that will be best for quick adaptation," says Navid Azizan, who is the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor in the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS), a principal investigator of the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS), and the senior author of a paper on this control system.Azizan is joined on the paper by lead author Sunbochen Tang, a graduate student in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Haoyuan Sun, a graduate student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The research was recently presented at the Learning for Dynamics and Control Conference.Finding the right algorithm-Typically, a control system incorporates a function that models the drone and its environment, and includes some existing information on the structure of potential disturbances. But in a real world filled with uncertain conditions, it is often impossible to hand-design this structure in advance.Many control systems use an adaptation method based on a popular optimization algorithm, known as gradient descent, to estimate the unknown parts of the problem and determine how to keep the drone as close as possible to its target trajectory during flight. However, gradient descent is only one algorithm in a larger family of algorithms available to choose, known as mirror descent."Mirror descent is a general family of algorithms, and for any given problem, one of these algorithms can be more suitable than others. The name of the game is how to choose the particular algorithm that is right for your problem. In our method, we automate this choice," Azizan says.In their control system, the researchers replaced the function that contains some structure of potential disturbances with a neural network model that learns to approximate them from data. In this way, they don't need to have an a priori structure of the wind speeds this drone could encounter in advance.Their method also uses an algorithm to automatically select the right mirror-descent function while learning the neural network model from data, rather than assuming a user has the ideal function picked out already. The researchers give this algorithm a range of functions to pick from, and it finds the one that best fits the problem at hand."Choosing a good distance-generating function to construct the right mirror-descent adaptation matters a lot in getting the right algorithm to reduce the tracking error," Tang adds.Learning to adapt-While the wind speeds the drone may encounter could change every time it takes flight, the controller's neural network and mirror function should stay the same so they don't need to be recomputed each time.To make their controller more flexible, the researchers use meta-learning, teaching it to adapt by showing it a range of wind speed families during training."Our method can cope with different objectives because, using meta-learning, we can learn a shared representation through different scenarios efficiently from data," Tang explains.In the end, the user feeds the control system a target trajectory and it continuously recalculates, in real-time, how the drone should produce thrust to keep it as close as possible to that trajectory while accommodating the uncertain disturbance it encounters.In both simulations and real-world experiments, the researchers showed that their method led to significantly less trajectory tracking error than baseline approaches with every wind speed they tested."Even if the wind disturbances are much stronger than we had seen during training, our technique shows that it can still handle them successfully," Azizan adds.In addition, the margin by which their method outperformed the baselines grew as the wind speeds intensified, showing that it can adapt to challenging environments.The team is now performing hardware experiments to test their control system on real drones with varying wind conditions and other disturbances.They also want to extend their method so it can handle disturbances from multiple sources at once. For instance, changing wind speeds could cause the weight of a parcel the drone is carrying to shift in flight, especially when the drone is carrying sloshing payloads.They also want to explore continual learning, so the drone could adapt to new disturbances without the need to also be retrained on the data it has seen so far.Research Report:Meta-Learning for Adaptive Control with Automated Mirror Descent

Japan says two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific-By Kyoko Hasegawa and Katie Forster.

Tokyo (AFP) June 10, 2025-Two Chinese aircraft carriers were operating in the Pacific for the first time, according to Japan, whose defence minister said Tuesday the move revealed the expansion of Beijing's military activities.Beijing said Tuesday the Shandong and Liaoning carriers -- its only two currently in operation, with a third undergoing sea trials -- were carrying out "routine training"."We believe the Chinese military's purpose is to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas," a Japanese defence ministry spokesman told AFP.Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters the sightings show that the Chinese military's "activity area is expanding"."Japan has expressed its position that the Chinese activities should not threaten Japan's safety" through diplomatic routes to Beijing, Nakatani said.The Japanese military would continue to closely monitor and patrol the operations of Chinese naval warships, he added.China's use of naval and air assets to press its territorial claims has rattled the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.A spokesperson for Beijing's navy called the ships' activities "routine training" meant to test troops' defence capabilities, in an online statement.When asked about the moves at a regular news briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian reiterated a statement given the previous day about the Liaoning's trip."The activities of Chinese warships in the relevant sea areas are fully in line with international law and international practice," he said, adding that Japan should "take an objective and rational look at this issue".- Island chains -On Monday, the Shandong sailed inside the Japanese economic waters surrounding the remote Pacific atoll of Okinotori, Tokyo's defence ministry said.It was accompanied by four other vessels including a missile destroyer, and fighter jets and helicopters conducted take-offs and landings there, having also been seen sailing through Pacific waters on Saturday.The ministry previously said that China's other operational carrier Liaoning and its fleet entered Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Pacific over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets.Japanese and US defence officials say China wants to push the American military out of the so-called "first island chain" from Japan down through the Philippines.Eventually, its strategy is to dominate areas west of the "second island chain" in the Pacific between Japan's remote Ogasawara Islands and the US territory of Guam, they say.The Liaoning's recent cruise eastwards marked the first time the Japanese defence ministry has said a Chinese aircraft carrier had crossed the second island chain.Daisuke Kawai, director of the University of Tokyo's economic security research programme, told AFP these activities represent "a highly significant strategic escalation"."China's naval incursions into Japan's EEZ are unquestionably provocative, strategically designed to test Japan's reaction thresholds without crossing the legal line into outright illegality under international law," he said.- Third carrier -In September, the Liaoning sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan and entered Japan's contiguous waters, an area up to 24 nautical miles from its coast.At the time, Tokyo called that move "unacceptable" and expressed "serious concerns" to Beijing.Under international law, a state has rights to the management of natural resources and other economic activities within its EEZ, which is within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of its coastline.Kawai said the anticipated commissioning of Beijing's third aircraft carrier, named Fujian, later this year means that "China's maritime operational tempo and geographic scope of influence will significantly increase".And the timing of the sailings could be linked to the broader context of US-China economic tensions."Senior US policymakers, including President Trump himself, have shifted their focus from strategic containment of China toward securing economic compromises," Kawai said."Thus, Beijing calculated that the United States would be less willing or able to respond militarily at this precise moment, seeing it as an opportune time to demonstrate its expanding military capabilities."

US judge says Trump can’t cite foreign policy as grounds to detain Columbia activist-Court delays release of Mahmoud Khalil until Friday to give time to appeal, notes government is also arguing he was employed by UNRWA but omitted this on visa application-By Agencies Today, 6:46 am-JUN 12,25

The Trump administration cannot use US foreign policy interests to justify its detention of Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a judge ruled on Wednesday, but stopped short of ordering Khalil’s immediate release.US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark, New Jersey, said his ruling would not take effect until Friday morning local time to give the administration the chance to appeal.Farbiarz wrote that the administration was violating Khalil’s right to free speech by detaining and trying to deport him under a little-used provision of US immigration law granting the US secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any non-citizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to US foreign policy interests.“The petitioner’s career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled,” Farbiarz wrote. “This adds up to irreparable harm.”The judge also barred the administration from deporting Khalil on the grounds that his presence was allegedly adverse to US foreign policy.“This is the news we’ve been waiting over three months for,” Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, said Wednesday. “Mahmoud must be released immediately and safely returned home to New York to be with me and our newborn baby, Deen.”Farbiarz noted in his ruling that the government has also argued it is detaining and deporting Khalil in part because of alleged omissions on his green card application.But the judge said evidence presented by his attorneys showed lawful permanent residents are virtually never detained for such a thing.Khalil, in his statement to the court last week, also disputed that he wasn’t forthcoming on the application.For example, he said he was never employed by or served as an “officer” of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, as the administration claims, but completed an internship approved by the university as part of his graduate studies.Neither the State Department nor the Justice Department, which represents the administration in court, immediately responded to requests for comment.Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card. He has since been held in immigration detention in Louisiana.Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of Republican President Donald Trump’s bid to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that swept US college campuses after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military offensive against the Gaza-ruling terror group.Khalil isn’t accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia, but the Trump administration has argued that noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the country. They say such protesters express views that are antisemitic and pro-Hamas.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Australia 'confident' in US nuclear sub deal despite review.

Sydney, June 12 (AFP) Jun 12, 2025-Australia said Thursday it is "very confident" in the future of a US agreement to equip its navy with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, after the Trump administration put the pact under review.The 2021 AUKUS deal joins Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in a multi-decade effort to balance China's growing military might.It aims to arm Australia with a fleet of cutting-edge, nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and provides for cooperation in developing an array of warfare technologies.US President Donald Trump's administration has advised Australia and the United Kingdom that it is reviewing AUKUS, a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Defence confirmed Thursday.Defence Minister Richard Marles said he was "very confident" Australia would still get the American submarines."I think the review that's been announced is not a surprise," he told public broadcaster ABC."We've been aware of this for some time. We welcome it. It's something which is perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do."Australia plans to acquire at least three Virginia Class submarines from the United States within 15 years, eventually manufacturing its own subs.- 'Time to wake up' -The US Navy has 24 Virginia-class vessels, which can carry cruise missiles, but American shipyards are struggling to meet production targets set at two new boats each year.In the United States, critics question why Washingon would sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia without stocking its own military first.Marles said boosting the US production of US Virginia Class submarines was a challenge."That's why we are working very closely with the United States on seeing that happen. But that is improving," he said.Australia's focus is on "sticking to this plan and on seeing it through", Marles said.He criticised Australia's previous conservative government for "chopping and changing" its submarine choice.On the eve of announcing its participation in AUKUS in 2021, the government of the time abruptly scrapped plans to buy diesel-powered submarines in a lucrative deal with France -- infuriating Paris.The AUKUS submarine programme alone could cost the country up to US$235 billion over the next 30 years, according to Australian government forecasts, a price tag that has contributed to criticism of the strategy.Australia should conduct its own review of AUKUS, said former conservative prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, noting that Britain and now the United States had each decided to re-examine the pact."Australia, which has the most at stake, has no review. Our parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed. Time to wake up?" he posted on X.- 'Fading Atlantic empire' -Former Labor Party prime minister Paul Keating, a vehement critic of AUKUS, said the US review might "save Australia from itself".Australia should carve its own security strategy "rather than being dragged along on the coat tails of a fading Atlantic empire", Keating said."The review makes clear that America keeps its national interests uppermost. But the concomitant question is: Why has Australia failed to do the same?"Any US review of AUKUS carries a risk, particularly since it is a Biden-era initiative, said Euan Graham, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.But it is "fundamentally a good deal for the US", he said, with Australia already investing cash to boost American submarine production as part of the agreement."I just do not think it is realistic for Australia, this far backed in, to have any prospect of withdrawing itself from AUKUS," Graham told AFP."I don't think there is a Plan B that would meet requirements and I think it would shred Australia's reputation fundamentally in a way that would not be recoverable."

Russia says pushing offensive into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region-by AFP Staff Writers.

Moscow (AFP) June 8, 2025-Russia said Sunday it was pushing into Ukraine's eastern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its three-year offensive -- a significant territorial escalation amid stalled peace talks.Moscow, which has the initiative on the battlefield, has repeatedly refused calls by Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump for a full and unconditional ceasefire.At May 2 talks in Istanbul it demanded Kyiv pull troops back from the frontline, agree to end all Western arms support and give up on its ambitions to join the NATO military alliance.Dnipropetrovsk is not among the five Ukrainian regions over which Russia has asserted a formal territorial claim.It is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv's struggling military and economy.Dnipropetrovosk had an estimated population of three million before Russia launched its offensive. Around one million people lived in the regional capital, Dnipro.Russia's defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had "reached the western border of the Donetsk People's Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region".The advance of Russian forces into yet another region of Ukraine is both a symbolic and strategic blow to Kyiv's forces afer months of setbacks on the battlefield.There was no immediate response from Ukraine to Russia's statement.Moscow in 2022 claimed annexation of the frontline Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it did not have full control over.Already in 2014, it seized the Crimean peninsula following a pro-EU revolution in Kyiv.In a set of peace demands issued to Ukraine at the latest talks, Moscow demanded formal recognition that these regions were part of Russia -- something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out.- Strategic setback -Tens of thousands have been killed in Russia's three-year offensive, millions forced to flee their homes and cities and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by relentless air attacks and ground combat.In more than a decade of conflict with Kremlin-backed separatists and the Russian army, Ukraine has never had to fight on the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region until now.Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the national security council, said the fresh advance was a warning to Kyiv that it should give in to Russia's demands at peace talks."Those who do not want to recognise the realities of the war at negotiations, will receive new realities on the ground. Our armed forces have started an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region," he said on social media.Russia's army posted photos showing troops raising the Russian flag over the village of Zorya in Ukraine's Donetsk region, close to the internal border.Ukrainian military personnel previously told AFP that Russia could advance relatively quickly in the largely flat region, given there were fewer natural obstacles or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv's forces.The region -- and in particular the city of Dnipro -- have been under persistent Russian strikes for the last three years.Russia used Dnipro as a testing ground for its "experimental" Oreshnik missile in late 2024, claiming to have struck an aeronautics production facility.Earlier on Sunday local Ukrainian officials said one person was killed in the region in an attack on a village close to the frontline.Moscow also continued to accuse Ukraine of refusing to agree to take back the bodies of killed soldiers, after the two countries traded accusations a day earlier for thwarting a prisoner exchange agreed at talks in Istanbul.Russia's defence ministry said trains carrying corpses were headed to the border point, where more than 1,200 had arrived on Saturday in refrigerated trucks.Ukraine said on Saturday that the two sides had never agreed a date or time for some 6,000 bodies in total to be handed back.

Finland says suspects Russian aircraft violated airspace-by AFP Staff Writers.

Helsinki (AFP) June 10, 2025-Finland's defence ministry said Tuesday it suspected a Russian military aircraft of violating its airspace.The incident, off the coast of Porvoo east of the capital Helsinki, came weeks after Finnish officials summoned the Russian ambassador over a similar accusation.Finland, which joined NATO in 2023 following Moscow's fully-fledged invasion of Ukraine, has a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia."An investigation into the alleged violation of airspace was launched immediately," Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said of the latest incident, adding that the coast guard would head the inquiry.Moscow has repeatedly warned Finland of possible repercussions over its decision to join NATO, and tension has been rising.Hakkanen told AFP in mid-May that Finland was "closely monitoring and assessing Russia's activities and intentions".He was commenting after the New York Times published satellite images appearing to show an expansion of Russian military infrastructure near the border.ef/jxb/phz

Former CIA analyst sentenced to 37 months in prison for leaking Israeli attack plans-Asif Rahman faced up to 20 years behind bars for leak of top secret files outlining Israel’s preparations to strike Iran in retaliation for ballistic missile attack-By AFP Today, 4:57 am-JUN 12,25

A former CIA analyst who leaked top secret US intelligence documents about Israeli military plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Wednesday, the Justice Department said.Asif Rahman, 34, who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency since 2016 and held a top secret security clearance, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia in November.In January, Rahman pleaded guilty at a federal courthouse in Virginia to two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.He faced a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.Iran unleashed a wave of close to 200 ballistic missiles on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the killings of senior figures in the Tehran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups.Israel responded with a wave of strikes on military targets in Iran in late October.According to a court filing, on October 17 Rahman printed out two top secret documents “regarding a United States foreign ally and its planned kinetic actions against a foreign adversary.”He photographed the documents and used a computer program to edit the images in “an attempt to conceal their source and delete his activity,” it said.Rahman then transmitted the documents to “multiple individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them” before shredding them at work.The documents, circulated on the Telegram app by an account called Middle East Spectator, described Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran but did not identify any actual targets.According to The Washington Post, the documents, generated by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, described aviation exercises and movements of munitions at an Israeli airfield.The leak led Israeli officials to delay their retaliatory strike.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Hamas’s new Gaza leader: A Hebrew-speaking ‘ghost’ with a $750,000 price on his head-With Israel having eliminated his predecessors the Sinwar brothers, Az al-Din Haddad now heads terror group in Strip where he is said to carry photos of hostages in his phone-By ToI Staff Today, 5:06 pm-JUN 12,25

The new head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Az al-Din Haddad, keeps an extremely low profile, speaks Hebrew and carries photos of Israeli hostages on his cellphone, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday-According to the report, which cited Arab and Israeli officials, as well as a former hostage who met him while in captivity, Haddad helped plan the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 abducted as hostages to Gaza, triggering the ongoing war with Israel.A Hamas official told the Journal that Haddad, 55, is known as the “Ghost of al-Qassam” because of his low profile. He has survived several attempts by Israel to assassinate him and has a $750,000 bounty on his head. His two sons were both killed this year during the war.An unnamed released Israeli hostage said that he met Haddad five times in Gaza, even sleeping in the same apartment as him. In their first meeting in March 2024, Haddad insisted on speaking in Hebrew and told the hostage and others with him that he was responsible for all of the captives. Haddad then showed them photos of hostages he had on his phone.The former hostage said that Haddad was concerned about how captives would describe their treatment. When the hostage told him that some of their guards are better than others, Haddad responded, “This is life. There are good people, and there are bad people.”At the time, Haddad seemed cordial, asking the hostage if there was anything he needed. However, at a later meeting in January, the terror chief was colder, keeping his face covered, and complaining about alleged Israeli war crimes.The hostage later found out that shortly before that meeting, one of Haddad’s sons had been killed.Haddad’s predecessor in charge of Hamas in Gaza, Muhammad Sinwar, was killed in mid-May in an Israeli strike. Before that, the terror group was led by Sinwar’s older brother, Yahya, who Israel killed in October last year.After the military, at the end of May, confirmed the death of Muhammad Sinwar, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the remaining Hamas leaders in Gaza and abroad that they are next.“Izz al-Din Haddad in Gaza and Khalil al-Hayya abroad, and all their partners in crime, you are next in line,” Katz said in a statement.Haddad rose through the ranks of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, eventually taking over as its chief, Arab and Israeli officials said. He was also in the al-Majd, the Hamas internal security group that hunts those who collaborate with Israel and spies. Al-Majd was in the past led by Yahya Sinwar.After the elder Sinwar’s death, Haddad took control of Hamas forces in the north of Gaza while Muhammad Sinwar controlled the south, before eventually going on to become the overall head of Hamas in Gaza.Arab intelligence officials and two Hamas officials told the Journal that Haddad has shown himself to be more pragmatic than the Sinwar brothers before him.It was Haddad who pushed Sinwar to accept a January ceasefire deal that included the release of dozens of Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. He was also said to be in favor of releasing more hostages to keep the truce going, though it eventually collapsed in March. The report also described Haddad as more amenable to Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm as part of a process to end the war, a measure rejected by both Sinwars.

Op-ed: Day 614 of the war-As the IDF deepens its hold in Gaza, what exactly is meant to happen next? Domestic and global criticism of the war is growing. So, too, the US president’s impatience. Aid supply is chaotic, often deadly. The far right is bent on permanent reoccupation. Netanyahu is preoccupied with his own survival-By David Horovitz-11 June 2025, 4:33 pm

This Editor’s Note was sent out earlier Wednesday in ToI’s weekly update email to members of the Times of Israel Community. To receive these Editor’s Notes as they’re released, join the ToI Community here.What exactly is the Israeli government, and by extension the IDF, seeking to achieve in Gaza? The question seems absurd, 20 months into a war that began with Hamas’s invasion and massacre.After all, we all know Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goals: war until complete victory — comprising the destruction of Hamas, the return of all the hostages, the elimination of any future threat to Israel from Gaza, and (recently added) the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan for the relocation of the Gaza populace.But this doesn’t really square with declared ministerial policy, with Trump’s current mindset, or, indeed, with the day-to-day IDF military campaign.While Netanyahu speaks in generalities about relentless progress in the campaign to destroy Hamas, insisting that absolute victory is at hand and deriding his critics, far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, without whom Netanyahu would lose power, specifically advocate the morally untenable and unworkable departure of Gaza’s population to places unknown, the permanent Israeli occupation of the Strip, and the renewal of Jewish settlement there.Trump in February delighted the far right by calling for the enforced removal of Gazans, though even that initial plan envisioned a US takeover of the Strip, rather than Israel’s permanent reoccupation and settlement there. He has gradually changed tack, however, first switching to a call for Gazans’ voluntary relocation, then dropping talk of moving Gazans out and instead focusing on concern for their well-being and the need to ensure they receive humanitarian aid. This week, he reportedly told Netanyahu to just sign a deal already — to try and get back all the hostages and end the war, potentially reviving regional normalization efforts and isolating Iran.If the disconnect is apparently widening between the US president and the Israeli prime minister — on Gaza, as well as on how to tackle near-nuclear Iran — the disconnect between the Israeli government and the IDF is a minute-by-minute concern.As ordered by the political echelon, the military is deepening its physical control of Gaza. It controlled 40% of the Strip when the last hostage-truce framework collapsed in March. It now holds some 50%, military sources say, and its declared goal is to take control of 75%, with the two million-plus Gazans largely concentrated in three mainly coastal mini-enclaves.And then what?As far as repeated questioning of military sources can establish, the IDF actually doesn’t know.Expanding its areas of control involves the IDF ordering civilian evacuations and then cleaning out the evacuated areas — blowing up tunnels and booby-trapped buildings, confronting those Hamas gunmen who have not slipped away with the noncombatants to the ostensibly safe zones, and then staying put to await further orders.Smotrich and Ben Gvir anticipate that the IDF will remain in perpetuity, to safeguard the eventual return of Jewish settlers.For his part, Netanyahu used to speak about a “day after” in Gaza in which Hamas would be eliminated as a fighting force, Gaza would be demilitarized, the Gaza populace would be deradicalized and re-educated to the point where the threat of further October 7 atrocities was alleviated, and an alternate governing mechanism would be enabled. But he has since adopted Trump’s “relocate Gazans” plan, even as the US president has moved away from it.Some military sources speculate that the IDF may eventually be asked to oversee a controlled return of the Gaza populace to their largely ruined home areas, under a process that would necessitate screening the returnees to ensure that Hamas forces do not simply come back with them. However nice in theory, the idea is impractical. The IDF is not capable of controlling, much less screening, large masses of civilians.Evidence of that inability has been a terrible daily reality these past few weeks, with dozens upon dozens of Gazans reported killed in the areas surrounding the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid distribution hubs. Military sources have insisted, as regards most of these incidents, that IDF troops have not fired inside, at or immediately outside the distribution points, but acknowledge firing “warning shots” when facing large crowds of Gazans heading toward the aid hubs outside the designated routes and outside the designated opening hours.As far as the aid is concerned, the IDF has taken responsibility for safeguarding the GHF operation — in a framework that supersedes the UN, and thus renders Israel the prime responsible address for the feeding of Gazans. But it is not trained or equipped to fully do so. The result is that a hurriedly constructed program, intended to prevent Hamas’s ongoing looting of aid, is proving bloody and intermittently unworkable in practice, with Hamas predictably doing everything in its power to destroy the effort, and the IDF facing off against huge crowds of desperate Gazans.Hamas must not be allowed to reconstitute itself. Even now, it maintains a rule of fear in parts of Gaza, is able to loose off the occasional rocket, and can drop the occasional explosive drone on troops. Its “destroy Israel” ambition is undimmed. Ending this war would and should not mean ending the battle against Hamas; it will, without doubt, provide Israel with innumerable essential reasons to relentlessly target it in the future, and Israel will know better than to encourage Qatar to fund it.At the same time, domestic and global criticism of the war is growing — especially since the government chose in March not to move ahead with the second and third phases of the January deal it had unanimously endorsed, which was intended to secure the release of all hostages and end the war, and instead resumed the military campaign. Growing, too, is US presidential impatience, in part reflecting deepening dismay from within Republican ranks, and Trump has vast weapon-supply and diplomatic leverage to exert over Netanyahu should he so choose.Hamas’s monstrous slaughter is barely remembered even among those parts of the global political leadership and public that ever cared. Fifty-four hostages have been held for 614 days, and of the male soldiers abducted alive on October 7, 2023, only Edan Alexander has returned. The prime minister is dependent on the “war must not end” far-right and, his particular preoccupation this Wednesday, on the “we’d rather die than serve in the IDF” Haredi leadership.What exactly is the Israeli government, and by extension the IDF, seeking to achieve in Gaza? Not such an absurd question, after all.

US Embassy in Bahrain says activities running per normal-US restricts staff’s travel in Israel as Iran drills its military amid soaring tensions-US diplomats and families in Israel told to remain in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Beersheba; IRGC chief warns response to Israeli attack would be ‘more forceful’ than in past-By Lazar Berman,ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 3:50 pm

The United States on Thursday imposed travel restrictions on employees and their family members in Israel, expanding cautionary warnings for the region as tensions with Iran rise amid deteriorating nuclear talks and reports of possible plans for Israeli military action.The US notice, citing “increased regional tensions,” came as Iran said it was holding military drills aimed at “enemy movements” and threatened a stronger retaliation against Israel than in the past, spiking fears of an expanded regional conflagration.Staff in Israel and their relatives were advised not to travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beersheba areas until further notice. Traveling between the cities and to Ben Gurion Airport is allowed, the notice said.The US Embassy in Baghdad advised American citizens on Thursday against traveling to Iraq, a day after the US State Department decided to pull all nonessential personnel from the mission.The department also authorized the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait, giving them an option on whether to leave the country.Foreign energy firms continue to operate normally in Iraq, a senior Iraqi official told Reuters.Bahrain’s state oil firm Bapco Energies is monitoring the situation in the region and its operations are unaffected, it said on Thursday.The US Embassy in Bahrain also said reports claiming it had changed its posture in any way were false, adding that staffing and operations remain unchanged and activities continue as normal.The US decision to reduce its footprint in the region was made after all US embassies within striking distance of Iran were instructed to take steps to mitigate risk in the event of a possible Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Washington Post reported Thursday.As any Israeli military action would almost certainly be met with an Iranian counterattack, the report said, US missions in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe were instructed to convene emergency action committees and to inform Washington of the steps that needed to be taken to minimize harm.An unnamed State Department official said the procedure, in addition to “recent analyses,” led US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to shrink the size of its mission in Iraq.However, Iraq said its intelligence and field reports show no threats to diplomatic missions, its state news agency reported Thursday.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said Wednesday. Another US official said that it was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain — where the bulk of them are based.The measures were imposed as war drums grew louder on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump indicated earlier in the week that he was no longer as confident as he had been previously that his administration could reach a deal with Iran.Negotiations, which are nonetheless slated to resume Sunday, have become deadlocked over Tehran’s insistence that it be allowed to maintain low-level uranium enrichment.As media outlets reported that US officials believe Israel is ready to carry out an attack on Iran and could launch military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming days, state media in Tehran said Thursday that the Islamic Republic’s military has begun drills earlier than planned to focus on “enemy movements.”Iran’s retaliation to any Israeli aggression will be “more forceful and destructive” than in past offensives, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Hossein Salami told state media on Thursday.Iran has threatened to strike US bases in the region in the event of an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities, and according to The New York Times, has prepared an immediate counterstrike on Israel with hundreds of ballistic missiles.In October, Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel, though much of the attack was thwarted by air defenses in Israel and with the help of regional allies and the US. A similar attack in April 2024, which also used drones and cruise missiles, was also largely foiled.Retaliatory strikes by Israel in October severely damaged Iran’s air defense systems.Trump has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must let talks play out before taking military action.The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, insists its nuclear program is peaceful, although it has enriched uranium to levels that have no use for civilian purposes.In tit-for-tat moves sure to increase tensions, Iran vowed on Thursday to ramp up its enrichment after, for the first time in two decades, the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution declaring that Iran is in noncompliance with its nuclear safeguards obligations.

THE ILLEGAL ALIEN CULT IS GOING AMERICA WIDE.

LA protests live: Marines to take to Los Angeles streets Thursday as Newsom slams ‘stone cold liar’ Trump-Los Angeles enforces a second consecutive curfew to crack down on criminal activity as anti-ICE protests erupt in other major cities-Oliver O'Connell-James Liddell-Maroosha Muzaffar-Thursday 12 June 2025 15:42 BST

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.President Donald Trump has declared Los Angeles as “safe and sound” while protests against his administration’s immigration raids have spread to dozens of cities across the U.S.While LA remains the epicenter of unrest, demonstrations against ICE operations and Trump’s decision to mobilize 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 U.S. Marines have caused protests to flare up in at least 37 cities since last Friday, The Independent has found. More protests are scheduled for Thursday.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed during a Senate hearing on Wednesday his intentions to deploy troops nationwide “if necessary.”Writing on Truth Social Thursday, Trump again defended his decision to deploy troops to LA and said that California Governor Gavin Newsom should be “kissing his a**” for intervening.In an interview with The Daily podcast, the governor described the president as “not all there,” “immoral,” and a “stone-cold liar.”Police officers on foot and horseback dispersed crowds Wednesday evening in downtown LA before enforcing a curfew for the second consecutive night in an effort to curb vandalism and looting. Mayor Karen Bass described it as a response to the president’s “chaotic escalation” of the situation.

Trump deploys Marines as tensions rise over Los Angeles protests-By Huw GRIFFITH.

Los Angeles, United States (AFP) June 10, 2025-President Donald Trump ordered active-duty US Marines and 2,000 more National Guard troops into Los Angeles on Monday, vowing those protesting immigration arrests would be "hit harder" than ever.Trump's extraordinary mobilization of 700 full-time professional military personnel -- and thousands of National Guard troops -- came on the fourth day of street protests triggered by dozens of immigration arrests in a city with huge foreign-born and Latino populations.California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the move, posting on X that US Marines "shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American."The deployment came after demonstrators took over streets in downtown LA on Sunday, torching cars and looting stores in scenes that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets.Monday's demonstrations unfolded largely peacefully, however, after weekend protests triggered by dozens of arrests of people authorities said were illegal migrants and gang members."Pigs go home!" demonstrators shouted at National Guardsmen outside a federal detention center. Others banged on the sides of unmarked vehicles as they passed through police containment lines.One small business owner whose property was graffitied was supportive of the strongarm tactics."I think it's needed to stop the vandalism," she told AFP, declining to give her name.Others were horrified."They're meant to be protecting us, but instead, they're like, being sent to attack us," Kelly Diemer, 47, told AFP. "This is not a democracy anymore."In the nearby city of Santa Ana, about 32 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Los Angeles, law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades on protesters chanting against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as darkness fell.-'Hit harder' -Trump, speaking in Washington, branded the protesters "professional agitators and insurrectionists."On social media, he said protesters spat at troops and if they continued to do so, "I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before."Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, officials and local law enforcement stressed the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful.Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged.Contrasting Trump's descriptions of the protests, Mayor Karen Bass said "this is isolated to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest."Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said local authorities were able to control the city."The introduction of federal, military personnel without direct coordination creates logistical challenges and risks confusion during critical incidents," he told reporters.At least 56 people were arrested over two days and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests in San Francisco-Protesters also scuffled with police in New York City and in Austin, Texas on Monday.Police made several arrests after around 100 people gathered near a federal building in Manhattan where immigration hearings are held, an AFP reporter there saw, while law enforcement fired tear gas on dozens of protesters in Austin, NBC affiliate KXAN reported.Trump's use of the military was an "incredibly rare" move for a US president, Rachel VanLandingham, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and a former lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, told AFP.The National Guard has not been deployed over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement.US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force on home soil absent an insurrection.For good reason, VanLandingham said, explaining that troops such as the Marines are trained to use lethal force, as opposed to domestic peacetime law enforcement."What does 'protect' mean to a heavily armed Marine??? Who has not/not trained with local law enforcement, hence creating a command and control nightmare?" she told AFP via email.The Pentagon said late Monday Trump had authorized an extra 2,000 guardsmen, seemingly on top of the 2,000 he deployed over the weekend.Around 1,700 guardsmen had taken up positions in Los Angeles by late Monday, the US Northern Command said on X.bur-st/sco

Canada to hit 2% defense NATO spending target this year: Carney-By Ben Simon.

Toronto, Canada (AFP) June 9, 2025-Canada will reach NATO's defense spending target of two percent this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Monday, arguing the country had to revitalize its military "to defend every inch of our sovereign territory."Carney's speech at the University of Toronto included stark warnings about the global security order being shaken by US President Donald Trump.But it extended beyond his concern over future US relations. The prime minister warned Canada has not done enough to prepare itself for evolving threats from China, Russia, cyberattacks and the advancing national security implications of climate change."The long-held view that Canada's geographic location will protect us is becoming increasingly archaic," Carney said.With threats facing the country multiplying, the prime minister said Canada "will achieve NATO's two percent target this year -- half a decade ahead of schedule.""We are too reliant on the United States," he added.Trump has repeatedly pressured NATO members to increase defense spending, arguing the United States was paying more than its fair share for collective security.In April, the alliance announced that 22 of its 32 members hit the two percent spending target.But Trump has pushed NATO members to spend even more and warned the United States could refuse to protect countries that don't commit what he considers enough resources to defense.Carney said Canada had become used to a post-war order with the United States as "the global hegemon," and Canada's "closest ally and dominant trading partner.""Now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its contributions to our collective security," he said, condemning Trump's trade war.Carney said Canada would pursue new security relationships with "like-minded partners," with a specific focus on Europe."We are actively seeking to strengthen transatlantic security," he said, indicating a Canada-EU summit this month will be "will be more important than ever."- 'Vulnerable' Arctic-Since taking office in mid-March, Carney has emphasized the changing security landscape in Canada's Arctic, where receding ice caused by climate change is opening the region's vast natural resources to fierce competition.Carney has previously announced plans to substantially expand Canada's military presence in the region, and on Monday he said the "Arctic is becoming more accessible and vulnerable to commercial and military activities."Russia and China are seen as two major rivals who could present increasing Artic security challenges in the years ahead.Carney framed Monday's military spending announcement as a move designed "to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants."He noted the country's military infrastructure was ageing, with only one of four submarines deemed seaworthy, and less than half of maritime fleet and land vehicles operational. 

THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.

LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)-UPDATED VERSION

01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA

THE CLUB OF ROME WANTS A WORLD CHARISMATIC DICTATOR (EITHER RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL OR SCIENTIFICAL) TO HEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. REV 13:3,7-8, DAN 7:23-24

WORLD POWERS IN THE END TIME

NORTH - RUSSIA EZEK 38:1-2, 39:1-2
SOUTH - EGYPT DAN 11:42
EAST - CHINA DAN 11:44,REV 16:12
WEST - EUROPEAN UNION DAN 7:23-24 (NOT THE U.S.A)
http://israel7777777.blogspot.ca/2012/03/10-world-trade-blocs-one-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2006/09/how-eu-takes-world-control.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2012/05/one-world-religion-crislam.html 

FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @ 39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS) and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS) that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Europe facing security 'perfect storm': EU defence chief-by AFP Staff Writers.

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) June 10, 2025-Europe is facing a "perfect storm" on defence as it presses to rearm in the face of Russian aggression and doubts over US engagement, the EU's defence commissioner said Tuesday."Our readiness for defence is not sufficient. It demands an urgent ramp-up and a longer term strategy how to replace American capabilities in Europe," commissioner Andrius Kubilius said."The forthcoming American withdrawal from Europe is a new reality."Kubilius said Europe needs to avoid an "angry divorce" with Washington as US President Donald Trump's administration weighs shifting forces from the continent.NATO countries look set to agree at a summit in the Hague later in the month to massively ramp up defence spending in a bid to keep Trump on side.The EU for its part has launched a raft of initiatives worth some 800 billion euros aimed at helping countries bolster their defences.Next week, Brussels is set to unveil proposals designed to slash red tape to allow Europe's defence industry to bolster production."Without this simplification, nothing else in defence readiness will be possible to achieve," Kubilius said."Red alert against red tape -- bureaucracy must not be an obstacle to our defence."The call from the top EU official overseeing the defence industry comes after NATO chief Mark Rutte on Monday reiterated a warning that Russia could be ready to attack the alliance in five years.Rutte called for a "quantum leap" on defence preparations and said that NATO needed to boost its air defences by 400 percent to face the threat. 

NATO chief urges 400-percent rise in alliance's air defence-By Peter HUTCHISON.

London (AFP) June 9, 2025-NATO head Mark Rutte on Monday urged a "quantum leap" in defence capabilities including a "400-percent increase" in air and missile defence to shield the alliance against Russia.His comments came as he pushes for NATO members to commit to ramping up defence spending at a key summit of the western military alliance later this month."We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies," the NATO secretary general said in a speech to the Chatham House think-tank in London.To maintain credible deterrence and defence, NATO needs "a 400-percent increase in air and missile defence", the former Dutch prime minister added."The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence," he said.Rutte is urging NATO members to commit to 3.5 percent of GDP on direct military spending by 2032, and an additional 1.5 percent on broader security-related expenditure.The proposal is a compromise deal designed to satisfy US President Donald Trump, who has demanded that allies each spend five percent of economic output on defence, up from a current commitment of two percent.Rutte said he "expects" leaders to agree to the proposal at the summit of the 32-country alliance on June 24-25 in The Hague."It will be a NATO-wide commitment and a defining moment for the alliance," he said in his speech.Russia condemned Rutte's comments before he took to the stage, denouncing NATO as "an instrument of aggression".NATO "is demonstrating itself as an instrument of aggression and confrontation", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.Rutte's speech came after he met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, their second Downing Street talks since the Labour leader came into power in July 2024.Starmer's government this year pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027, but has not yet set a firm timeline for further hikes.On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada would hit two percent this year.US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said last week the allies were close to an agreement on the split five-percent target."That combination constitutes a real commitment, and we think every country can step up," he said on Thursday.- 'Fairer, more lethal alliance' -NATO members have been scrambling to bolster their defence capabilities since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Trump's return to the White House in January, and question marks over his commitment to European security, has added urgency."Danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends," Rutte said at Chatham House."We must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full."He added that Russia currently produces the same amount of ammunition in three months as "the whole of NATO produces in a year"."Our militaries also need thousands more armoured vehicles and tanks, millions more artillery shells," Rutte added.Britain announced plans last week to build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines and six munitions factories to rearm the country in response to what it said were threats from Russia.Rutte also warned that China is "modernizing and expanding its military at breakneck speed"."NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance," he added.And he warned that if countries cannot commit to 5.0 percent for defence spending "you could still have the National Health Service, or in other countries, their health systems, the pension system, etc, but you better learn to speak Russian. I mean, that's the consequence".

NATO learns as Ukraine's 'creativity' changes battlefield By Olivier BAUBE.

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) June 9, 2025-Ukraine's "creativity", including its massive "Spider's web" drone attack deep inside Russia, holds profound lessons for Western militaries, the top NATO commander overseeing battlefield innovation told AFP."What the Ukrainians did in Russia was a Trojan horse -- and the trojan horse was thousands of years ago," French Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said in an interview."Today, we see this kind of tactic being reinvented by technical and industrial creativity."Vandier said the operation showed how crucial innovation and adaptation were for victory, as modern warfare changes at lightning speed."It was a real coup.""We are entering a dynamic era where armies must rely on both major planning but also adaptive planning," the navy commander said."We will witness continuous innovation where, week by week, month by month or year by year, we will be able to invent things we hadn't anticipated."- 'Must act quickly' -Faced with the Russian threat, NATO this week adopted new objectives for its defence capabilities to ensure it will be able to repel Moscow.But Western intelligence agencies have warned that the Kremlin is reconstituting its forces at a pace far outstripping NATO and could be ready to attack the alliance in as little as four years."Time is truly a crucial parameter. We must act quickly," Vandier said.The admiral, who previously commanded France's flagship Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, said NATO needed to amass the forces to dissuade any adversary from trying an attack."When you say 'I'm defending myself', you have the weapons to defend. When you say you deter, you have the weapons to deter," he said."That's what should prevent war -- making the adversary think: "Tomorrow morning, I won't win."NATO countries under pressure from US President Donald Trump are expected to agree a major increase in their defence spending target at a summit in The Hague this month.That should see a dramatic surge in spending on military hardware.But if cheap Ukrainian drones can inflict billions of dollars in damage on Russian bombers, is it still worth investing in vastly expensive systems?"No-one in the military sphere will tell you that we can do without what we'll call traditional equipment," Vandier said."However, we are certain we need new equipment to complement it."Officials say that over 70 percent of battlefield casualties in Ukraine are caused by drones.But while drones are indispensable in modern warfare, they are not omnipotent."Today, you won't cross the Atlantic with a 10-meter-long (33-foot-long) drone. You won't easily locate submarines with such tools," Vandier said."If they accompany your large platforms, you'll be able to achieve much better results at much lower costs."- Integrating new technologies -The admiral, who works out of NATO's US base in Norfolk, Virginia, said the major challenge was "integrating new technologies and new combat methods, based on what we've witnessed in Ukraine".NATO and Ukraine have established a centre in Poland designed to help the alliance learn lessons from Russia's invasion of its neighbour.Artificial Intelligence and robotics are also increasingly having an impact and are set to help reshape the battlefield."All modern armies will have piloted and non-piloted capabilities," Vandier said."It's much more efficient to deliver ammunition with a ground robot than with a squad of soldiers who could face a 155-millimeter (six-inch) shell."This transformation of military capabilities within the alliance, which NATO aims to expand by at least 30 percent over coming years, will come at a significant cost, estimated in hundreds of billions of euros (dollars).Vandier insisted that while the financial effort was "substantial" it was "fully realistic"."Today, we have all the tools. We have the engineering. We have the expertise. We have the technology. So, we need to get started," he said. 

Rare earths: China's trump card in trade war with US-By Peter CATTERALL.

Beijing (AFP) June 11, 2025-China is counting on one crucial advantage as it seeks to grind out a deal to ease its high-stakes trade war with the United States -- dominance in rare earths.Used in electric vehicles, hard drives, wind turbines and missiles, rare earth elements are essential to the modern economy and national defence.AFP takes a look at how rare earths have become a key sticking point in talks between the US and China.- Mining boom -"The Middle East has oil. China has rare earths," Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader whose pro-market reforms set the country on its path to becoming an economic powerhouse, said in 1992.Since then, Beijing's heavy investment in state-owned mining firms and lax environmental regulations compared to other industry players have turned China into the world's top supplier.The country now accounts for 92 percent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.But the flow of rare earths from China to manufacturers around the world has slowed after Beijing in early April began requiring domestic exporters to apply for a licence -- widely seen as a response to US tariffs.Under the new requirements -- which industry groups have said are complex and slow-moving -- seven key elements and related magnets require Beijing's approval to be shipped to foreign buyers.- Deep impact -Ensuring access to the vital elements has become a top priority for US officials in talks with Chinese counterparts, with the two sides meeting this week in London."The rare earth issue has clearly... overpowered the other parts of the trade negotiations because of stoppages at plants in the United States," said Paul Triolo, a technology expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, in an online seminar on Monday.That disruption, which forced US car giant Ford to temporarily halt production of its Explorer SUV, "really got the attention of the White House", said Triolo.Officials from the two countries said Tuesday that they had agreed on a "framework" for moving forward on trade -- with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing optimism that concerns over access to rare earths "will be resolved" eventually.- Rare earth advantage -The slowing of licence issuance has raised fears that more automakers will be forced to halt production while they await shipments.China's commerce ministry said over the weekend that as a "responsible major country" it had approved a certain number of export applications, adding that it was willing to strengthen related dialogue with "relevant countries".But that bottleneck has highlighted Washington's reliance on Chinese rare earths for producing its defence equipment even as trade and geopolitical tensions deepen.An F-35 fighter jet contains over 900 pounds (more than 400 kilograms) of rare earth elements, noted a recent analysis by Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies."Developing mining and processing capabilities requires a long-term effort, meaning the United States will be on the back foot for the foreseeable future," they wrote.- Playing catch up -The recent export control measures are not the first time China has leveraged its dominance of rare earths supply chains.After a 2010 maritime collision between a Chinese trawler and Japanese coast guard boats in disputed waters, Beijing briefly halted shipments of its rare earths to Tokyo.The episode spurred Japan to invest in alternative sources and improve stockpiling of the vital elements -- with limited success.That is "a good illustration of the difficulty of actually reducing dependence on China", said Triolo, noting that in the 15 years since the incident, Japan has achieved only "marginal gains".The Pentagon is trying to catch up, with its "mine-to-magnet" strategy aiming to ensure an all-domestic supply chain for the key components by 2027.The challenge facing Washington to compete with Beijing in rare earths is compounded by sheer luck: China sits on the world's largest reserves."Mineable concentrations are less common than for most other mineral commodities, making extraction more costly," wrote Rico Luman and Ewa Manthey of ING in an analysis published Tuesday."It is this complex and costly extraction and processing that make rare earths strategically significant," they wrote."This gives China a strong negotiating position."

Maritime Launch and T-Minus Engineering Announce Plans for Hypersonic Suborbital Launches from Spaceport Nova Scotia-by Staff and Agencies.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 04, 2025-Maritime Launch Services Inc. (Cboe CA: MAXQ) (OTCQB: MAXQF) is pleased to announce a new collaboration with T-Minus Engineering B.V., a leading Dutch aerospace company, to launch the Barracuda, a hypersonic test platform, from Spaceport Nova Scotia in October 2025.This mission will represent the next step in advancing Spaceport Nova Scotia's suborbital and hypersonic testing capabilities, as Maritime Launch continues to establish Nova Scotia, Canada, as a hub for innovative space commercialization, research, and development. The Barracuda platform, developed by T-Minus, facilitates high-speed, high-altitude experiments for civil and defence applications.Maritime Launch and T-Minus Engineering will launch two suborbital vehicles that carry payloads. Operating within Canada's existing regulatory regime for rocket launch, the vehicles are anticipated to reach altitudes significantly above the Karman line, the acknowledged boundary of space, while achieving speeds over Mach 6. The launches will also accommodate various scientific and educational payloads for clients. T-Minus has successfully conducted launch campaigns at Esrange Space Centre in Sweden, Andoya Space in Norway and MOD Hebrides in the UK. Previous missions have enabled testing for radar tracking and supported atmospheric and environmental research missions in the ionosphere."Our suborbital launch program offers a turnkey solution for clients. With seamless integration of payloads into suborbital missions, our teams will handle all launch logistics, payload integration, and mission execution, allowing clients to concentrate exclusively on their payload objectives," says Stephen Matier, President and CEO, Maritime Launch. "These launches will continue to mature launch heritage at the Spaceport, diversify service offerings, and expand international collaborations with launch vehicle clients."Based in the Netherlands, T-Minus Engineering has a legacy of advancing aerospace systems across Europe and internationally. Their decision to launch from Nova Scotia reflects the growing confidence in Canada's sovereign spaceport capabilities in Nova Scotia and the strategic value of the spaceport's location for transatlantic cooperation."We look forward to bringing our Barracuda platform to Spaceport Nova Scotia," said Mark Uitendaal, Director of T-Minus Engineering. "This launch will demonstrate a fully integrated flight campaign with our Canadian partners and help build momentum for future hypersonic testing programs in Canada. While most of the payload capacity has already been allocated, limited slots remain available. We encourage industry and academic institutions to contact us to propose payloads for this mission."T-Minus will use its flight-proven suborbital vehicles, each configured for specific client applications and capable of delivering payloads to extreme environments. The company's Barracuda rocket is a single-stage, solid-fuel suborbital vehicle that stands approximately 4 metres tall. It features a booster with a diameter of 200 millimetres and a payload compartment measuring 1000 millimetres. Barracuda can carry payloads of up to 40 kilograms to altitudes reaching 120 kilometres.T-Minus and Maritime Launch's suborbital launch will use a mobile launch vehicle integration building to prepare the two rockets for launch. Together, they will construct a mobile launch platform from the suborbital launch pad at the spaceport. While T-Minus has launched Barracuda many times before, this will be the first time the company has done so in North America.The T-Minus suborbital flights are slated to be launched from Spaceport Nova Scotia in October.

York preps first Dragoon Mission for Missile Warning and Warfighter Connectivity constellation-by Staff Writers.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 11, 2025-York Space Systems (York), the Denver-based aerospace technology company dedicated to the rapid deployment of complete space mission solutions, reports that its Dragoon mission is ready for launch. As the first of a 12-satellite prototype constellation, Dragoon is designed to demonstrate secure connectivity to warfighter platforms for targeting, missile warning, and tracking of advanced missile threats. In just seven months since the award was finalized, the spacecraft has been delivered, and is preparing for launch within the next month. The mission represents a key milestone in York's support of national security space initiatives, including efforts aligned with the Space Development Agency's (SDA) broader vision for proliferated space-based defense capabilities.Dragoon is one of five distinct missions York is launching in 2025, showcasing the company's ability to deliver specialized, production-ready space assets at speed and scale to meet a range of government and commercial needs."This mission is a step forward in building the resilient space architectures needed to support real-time operations and stay ahead of evolving threats," said Melanie Preisser, GM and Executive VP at York. "Dragoon demonstrates how York is delivering high-performance spacecraft faster and more reliably than traditional approaches allow."Built on York's LX-CLASS platform, Dragoon exemplifies the company's vertically integrated production model, spanning design, manufacturing, testing, flight software, ground software, automated test systems, and mission operations. The constellation is part of a broader push to rapidly deploy next-generation systems that enable persistent threat detection and direct tactical support."Our production approach is purpose-built for missions like Dragoon," said Michael Lajczok, CTO of York. "With five unique missions launching this year, we're scaling innovation to meet customer requirements and demonstrate what a truly responsive space mission provider can do."York continues to expand its role as major provider of satellites for the Proliferated Warfighters Space Architecture (PWSA) and a trusted partner in delivering complete mission solutions for national defense customers. Backed by a robust, vertically integrated domestic infrastructure, York leverages its investments in mass production and supply chain resilience to deliver operational capabilities at scale - not years from now, but today. From spacecraft and mission software to launch and autonomous operations, York provides an end-to-end technology stack that enables faster deployment, greater responsiveness, and mission assurance across the most demanding defense applications."We're not just delivering the most affordable satellites at scale, we're delivering complete defense technology solutions," added Preisser. "Our ability to integrate software, hardware, and autonomous operations into one seamless system is what sets York apart. We've built the infrastructure, the supply chains, and the expertise to meet the mission needs of our national security partners at speed, at scale, and on their demanding timelines."

US intel chief denounces 'warmongers' after Hiroshima visit-by AFP Staff Writers.

Washington (AFP) June 11, 2025-US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard warned Tuesday after a trip to Hiroshima that "warmongers" were pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, in an extraordinary, if veiled, pitch for diplomacy.Gabbard did not specify her concerns, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly brandished the specter of nuclear war as he cautions Europe and the United States against support for Ukraine.Gabbard, a former congresswoman who has faced criticism in the past for her views on Russia, posted a video of grisly footage from the world's first nuclear attack and of her staring reflectively at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.On August 6, 1945, the United States obliterated Hiroshima, killing 140,000 in the explosion and by the end of the year from the uranium bomb's effects.Three days later, a US plane dropped a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, leaving around 74,000 people dead by the end of the year. Japan surrendered on August 15."This one bomb that caused so much destruction in Hiroshima was tiny compared to today's nuclear bombs," Gabbard said. "A single nuclear weapon today could kill millions in just minutes.""As we stand here today closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before, political elites and warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers," she said."Perhaps it's because they are confident that they will have access to nuclear shelters for themselves and for their families that regular people won't have access to."Taking a tone more customary for a politician or activist than the director of national intelligence, Gabbard said: "So it's up to us, the people, to speak up and demand an end to this madness."Japanese media reports said the comments were "extremely rare" for an incumbent US government official, and at odds with Washington's past justification of the bombings.Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's top government spokesman, declined to comment directly on Gabbard's video.But he said an "accurate understanding" of the destruction and suffering caused by atomic bombs would "serve as the basis for various efforts toward nuclear disarmament"."It's important for Japan to continue its realistic, pragmatic efforts with the United States to realise a nuclear-free world, based on the belief that the carnage in Hiroshima and Nagasaki must not be repeated," Hayashi said.Gabbard's remarks come as aides to President Donald Trump voice growing frustration with Putin, who has refused US-led, Ukraine-backed calls for a temporary ceasefire.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom Gabbard criticized before the two entered Trump's cabinet, has warned that the United States could walk away from diplomacy over the Ukraine conflict if there are no positive signs.Gabbard, a former Democrat, faced a heated confirmation hearing but ultimately prevailed after Democrats and some Republicans questioned her past statements, including some supportive of Russian positions.She has said that the European Union and Washington should have listened to Russian security concerns about Ukraine joining NATO.Gabbard's visit to Hiroshima comes ahead of the 80th anniversary of the world's only atomic bombings.The United States has never apologized for the attacks.

UT partners with Y-12 to establish national security prototype center-by Jennifer Johnson for UT News.

Knoxville TTN (SPX) Jun 04, 2025-Officials with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex for the National Nuclear Security Administration, signed an agreement May 30 to collaborate on initiatives that enhance national security.As part of that collaboration, the partners will develop a National Security Prototype Center in Oak Ridge to solve complex manufacturing problems."The National Security Prototype Center will turn innovative ideas into qualified prototypes that will provide solutions for the nuclear deterrence, national security and nuclear energy sectors," said CNS President and CEO Rich Tighe. "Y-12's demonstrated experience in high-precision classified manufacturing and UT's expertise in next-generation materials and manufacturing are a perfect fit to advance national and energy security imperatives."UT Chancellor Donde Plowman agreed, "UT is well positioned to contribute a unique set of research strengths and capabilities to the center, including advanced materials, integrated manufacturing, nuclear energy and security, and AI," she said. "This partnership with Y-12 is one of many we have with the nation's premier manufacturer of nuclear material for national security. As Tennessee's flagship research-intensive institution, our commitment to supporting and advancing national security through partnerships like this will greatly benefit our region and the nation."In addition to establishing the National Security Prototype Center, the agreement will allow Y-12 and UT to collaborate in other areas:Recruiting a Distinguished Chair for National Security Manufacturing to lead the NSPC program and implement effective collaborations. The position will hold a joint appointment at UT and Y-12.Creating shared facilities to advance NSPC objectives; UT and Y-12 will create shared facilities to house collaborative NSPC programs supported by the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Energy.Leveraging emerging technologies such as digital twins and extended reality for high-consequence industries. Both parties intend to play a national leadership role in the development and deployment of these technologies in high-consequence environments such as nuclear material and energy production and emergency response.Delivering hands-on education and training programs for the nation's future-ready nuclear energy, security and national defense workforce. Programs will include science, technology, engineering, mathematics and areas related to skilled technical work and will be flexible and responsive to employer needs."The capabilities and resources of Y-12 and UT are a perfect match to further the center's objectives, including leveraging emerging technologies, including extended reality, for high-consequence industries and developing the workforce for nuclear weapons intelligence," said Mary Helen Hitson, NNSA Y-12 field office manager. "The work that will take place at the National Security Prototype Center is vitally important to the security of our nation and the world. I look forward to witnessing the fruits of this collaboration."

Unexpected Dust Patterns Found on Uranus Moons Confound Scientists-by Clarence Oxford.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 12, 2025-Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope set out to detect radiation-induced surface changes on Uranus' largest moons but uncovered a different phenomenon altogether.The team had hypothesized that charged particles from Uranus' magnetosphere would darken the trailing hemispheres of its four major moons-Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon-due to constant bombardment. These moons are tidally locked, meaning the same side always faces the direction of travel. Scientists expected the leading sides to be brighter.Contrary to predictions, Hubble's ultraviolet data revealed no such darkening on the trailing sides. Instead, Titania and Oberon, the two outer moons, exhibited darker leading hemispheres. This observation contradicts earlier near-infrared data and suggests that Uranus' magnetosphere might interact with its moons far less than previously thought."These findings are surprising," said principal investigator Richard Cartwright of Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory. "Uranus is weird, so it's always been uncertain how much the magnetic field actually interacts with its satellites."Uranus' magnetic field is tilted by 98 degrees from the ecliptic and 59 degrees from the orbital plane of its satellites, creating a uniquely complex environment. Because the planet and its magnetic field rotate faster than the moons' orbits, charged particles should consistently strike their trailing hemispheres-yet this was not observed.The similarity in brightness on Ariel and Umbriel and the unexpected darkening on the leading sides of Titania and Oberon indicate a different process at play. Researchers now believe dust from Uranus' irregular satellites, displaced by micrometeorite impacts, migrates inward and settles on the outer moons' forward-facing sides.This "windshield effect," where Titania and Oberon collide with dust like insects on a moving car, likely causes their leading hemispheres to appear darker and redder. These outer moons, in turn, shield Ariel and Umbriel from the dust, explaining the uniformity in their surface brightness."We see the same thing happening in the Saturn system and probably the Jupiter system as well," said Bryan Holler of the Space Telescope Science Institute. "This is some of the first evidence we're seeing of a similar material exchange among the Uranian satellites."Cartwright added, "That's dust collection. I didn't even expect to get into that hypothesis, but you know, data always surprise you."These findings suggest that Uranus' magnetosphere may be less active or its interactions with the moons more nuanced than previously believed. Further observations will be necessary to unravel these complexities.Because Earth's atmosphere blocks ultraviolet light, only Hubble's advanced spectroscopic capabilities could detect these subtle variations. "Hubble, with its ultraviolet capabilities, is the only facility that could test our hypothesis," said Christian Soto of the Space Telescope Science Institute, who presented the results on June 10 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Anchorage.Future observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will complement these findings and help further probe the enigmatic Uranian system.

The hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers up a surprise-By Daniel Lawler.

Paris (AFP) May 29, 2025-It's an evocative idea that has long bedevilled scientists: a huge and mysterious planet is lurking in the darkness at the edge of our solar system, evading all our efforts to spot it.Some astronomers say the strange, clustered orbits of icy rocks beyond Neptune indicate that something big is out there, which they have dubbed Planet Nine.Now, a US-based trio hunting this elusive world has instead stumbled on what appears to be a new dwarf planet in the solar system's outer reaches.And the existence of this new kid on the block could challenge the Planet Nine theory, the researchers have calculated.Named 2017 OF201, the new object is roughly 700 kilometres (430 miles) across according to a preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed, published online last week.That makes it three times smaller than Pluto.But that is still big enough to be considered a dwarf planet, lead study author Sihao Cheng of New Jersey's Institute for Advanced Study told AFP.- Distant traveller -The object is currently three times farther away from Earth than Neptune.And its extremely elongated orbit swings out more than 1,600 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, taking it into the ring of icy rocks around the solar system called the Oort cloud.It goes so far out, it could have passed by stars other than our Sun in the past, Cheng said.During its 25,000-year orbit, the object is only close enough to Earth to be observed around 0.5 percent of the time, which is roughly a century."It's already getting fainter and fainter," Cheng said.The discovery suggests "there are many hundreds of similar things on similar orbits" in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune, Cheng said.After taking a risk spending more than half a year sorting through a difficult dataset in search of Planet Nine, Cheng said he was "lucky" to have found anything at all.The researchers are requesting time to point the James Webb, Hubble and ALMA telescopes at their discovery.But Sam Deen, a 23-year-old amateur astronomer from California, has already been able to track the dwarf planet candidate through old datasets."OF201 is, in my opinion, probably one of the most interesting discoveries in the outer solar system in the last decade," Deen told AFP.- What about Planet Nine? -The icy rocks discovered in the Kuiper belt tend to have a clustered orbit going in a particular direction.Two decades ago, astronomers proposed this was due to the gravitational pull of a world up to 10 times larger than Earth, naming it Planet Nine and kicking off a debate that has rumbled since.It is also sometimes called Planet X, a name proposed for a hypothetical world beyond Neptune more than a century ago.Back in 1930, astronomers were searching for Planet X when they discovered Pluto, which became our solar system's ninth planet.But Pluto turned out to be too tiny -- it is smaller than the Moon -- and was demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006.There are now four other officially recognised dwarf planets, and Cheng believes 2017 OF201 could join their ranks.When the researchers modelled its orbit, they found it did not follow the clustered trend of similar objects.This could pose a problem for the Planet Nine theory, but Cheng emphasised more data is needed.Samantha Lawler of Canada's University of Regina told AFP that this "great discovery" and others like it mean that "the original argument for Planet Nine is getting weaker and weaker".The Vera Rubin Observatory, which is scheduled to go online in Chile this year, is expected to shed light on this mystery, one way or another.Deen said it was discouraging that no sign of Planet Nine has been found so far, but with Vera Rubin "on the horizon I don't think we'll have to wonder about its existence for much longer".For Cheng, he still hopes that this huge planet is out there somewhere."We're in an era when big telescopes can see almost to the edge of the universe," he said.But what is in our "backyard" still largely remains unknown, he added.dl/yad/fec

THAT LITTLE LYING CLIMATE NUT CASE BARBIE THUNBERG GOT KICKED OUT OF ISRAEL.NOT KINAPPED LIKE THE CLIMATE NUT CASE GRETA SAYS. SHE BETTER GET BACK TO WERE SHES FROM. SO GOD CAN BURN ALL THE TREES UP IN HER COUNTRY. LIKE HE IS LETTING HAPPEN IN CANADA BECAUSE THE INDIANS WORSHIP TREES INSTEAD OF JESUS.

French MEP refuses to sign expulsion papers, is detained-Thunberg, 3 other flotilla activists booted from Israel; 8 held for refusing deportation-She claims she was kidnapped, interrogated; Trump: ‘Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Thunberg’; Report: Katz wanted to film activists watching Oct. 7 atrocity film, but was stopped By ToI Staff and Agencies 10 June 2025, 1:02 pm

Greta Thunberg and three other pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists were taken to Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday and deported, a day after the Israeli Navy intercepted their vessel, the Madleen, to prevent it from sailing to Gaza.The Foreign Ministry posted to social media a photo of Thunberg on an El Al flight out to Paris, seated in an aisle seat just in front of the bathrooms.Eight further activists, reportedly including a member of the European Parliament, were detained after they refused to sign paperwork agreeing to leave the country.The activists were brought to Israel after IDF forces boarded the protest vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through a naval blockade of the coastal enclave where there is an ongoing war. The interception followed repeated warnings to the activists against attempting to sail to the Gaza coast.Soldiers detained the 12 people aboard, including Swedish campaigner Thunberg, and the British-flagged yacht was taken to the port of Ashdod.Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said in a statement that he issued an order that none of the activists were to be permitted to enter Israel and that they instead be returned to their home countries. Israel “will not permit harm to its sovereignty by way of provocative protest flotillas at its borders,” he said.“Some of the ‘Selfie Yacht’ passengers are expected to leave within the next few hours,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorize their deportation.”Consular representatives from the activists’ home countries met them at the airport, the ministry said.Later, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Thunberg had left the country and would fly to Sweden via France.Environmental activist Thunberg has for years avoided taking flights, citing concerns over her carbon footprint.Adalah, an Israeli organization offering legal support for the country’s Arab minority, said the activists on board the Madleen had requested its services.In a mid-morning statement, it confirmed that four of the activists had left or were about to leave the country.“The remaining eight are still detained and will contest their deportation before an Israeli tribunal,” it said.Adalah spokesperson Moatasem Zedan told the Expressen Swedish-language outlet that lawyers had met with the activists.“I do more good outside of Israel than if I am forced to stay here for a few weeks,” Thunberg told her lawyers, according to Zedan. “If we choose to stay here against the will of the Israeli authorities and are arrested for a few weeks, it will harm our cause.”France’s President Emmanuel Macron requested that the six French nationals aboard the boat “be allowed to return to France as soon as possible,” a presidential official said on Monday.Among those refusing to sign the deportation papers is Rima Hassan, a French lawmaker in the European Parliament, Hebrew media reported.In February, Hassan was one of two European Union parliament members denied entry to Israel over her support for boycotts against Israel. Hassan had sought to participate in a delegation of EU lawmakers visiting Jerusalem and Ramallah.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday that one of the French citizens had signed an Israeli deportation form and will return home. He did not name the activist who agreed to leave voluntarily.The other five French citizens aboard the boat refused to sign, and will appear before a judge in the coming days, said Barrot.French consular officials contacted relatives of the detainees overnight, after visiting them at the detention center in Ramle, near the airport.Two of them are journalists, Omar Fayyad of Qatar-based Al Jazeera, and Yanis Mhamdi who works for online publication Blast, according to media rights group Reporters Without Borders, which condemned their detention and called for their “immediate release.”Al Jazeera “categorically denounces the Israeli incursion,” the network said in a statement, demanding its reporter’s release.An unnamed lawyer representing one of the activists told the Haaretz outlet Tuesday that the boat was kept at sea for many hours and “sailed in circles.”The Israelis who boarded the Madleen, the lawyer said, barely spoke to the activists until the yacht reached Ashdod, but were otherwise “polite.”Thunberg accused Israel of kidnapping her in international waters.“I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible,” she said in a video that was recorded ahead of the Israeli navy action.‘Kidnapped and interrogated’Thunberg repeated the accusation after her deportation flight landed in Paris, telling reporters there that “we were kidnapped in international waters.”“We were well aware of the risks of this mission,” she said. “The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.”Thunberg described a “quite chaotic and uncertain” situation during her detention, adding that the conditions she and the other activists faced “are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now.”Asked why she agreed to deportation, she said, “Why would I want to stay in Israeli prison more than necessary?”Asked whether she was “interrogated” in Israel, she said “Erm,” paused, and said, “Yeah.”US President Donald Trump, who has long feuded with Thunberg, dismissed the climate activist’s claim of being kidnapped. “I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg,” he said. “She’s a young, angry person… I think she has to go to an anger management class.”Thunberg laughed off Trump’s criticism, saying: “I think the world needs a lot more young angry women to be honest, especially with everything going on right now.”Katz plan said foiled by Foreign Ministry, PM’s officeThe Haaretz daily also revealed details about Defense Minister Israel Katz’s declared plan to show the activists a film about the October 7, 2023, atrocities in southern Israel during the devastating Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people.Sources familiar with the developments said that Katz wanted to video or photograph the activists as they watched the film, but the Foreign Ministry refused.The Prime Minister’s Office eventually became involved, and it was decided not to document the screening.According to a Channel 12 report on Tuesday evening, the Foreign Ministry intervened after Katz announced his plan, fearing that it could create a diplomatic incident and undermine Israel’s largely successful handling of the interception of the Madleen. However, Katz felt it was important to show the hypocrisy and ignorance of the activists regarding what Israel faced on October 7.In the end, the activists were put in a room, and the film began playing. They were asked if they wanted to continue watching, and they declined. At that stage, the screening was halted, Channel 12 said.Katz later said the activists refused to watch the film.The harrowing 43-minute video produced by the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson’s office shows uncensored, difficult-to-watch footage of people being massacred and bodies mutilated during the Hamas-led onslaught, much of it taken from terrorists’ bodycams.The flotilla came as Israel faces mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.The activist mission organized by the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel Freedom Flotilla Coalition had been carrying a small cargo of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. Its members said they wanted to raise international awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been devastated by months of war.Israel dismissed the voyage as a pro-Hamas publicity stunt. “The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the ‘celebrities’ will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,” the Foreign Ministry said.Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, saying it aims to stop weapons from reaching Hamas.The blockade has remained in place through conflicts, including the war, which began when over 5,000 Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.Israel responded with a military offensive to destroy Hamas, topple its regime, and free the hostages.Lazar Berman contributed to this report.

Smotrich moves to paralyze Palestinian economy in response to Western sanctions-Finance minister orders cancellation of waiver allowing Israel-PA bank ties, though Palestinian Authority not known to have been involved in UK-led decision to blacklist him and Ben GvirBy Jacob Magid-11 June 2025, 2:03 am

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich directed his office on Tuesday to cancel a critical policy for sustaining the Palestinian economy in retaliation for the decision by five Western countries to sanction him and fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir.Smotrich’s office said in a statement that he had directed the Finance Ministry’s accountant-general, Yali Rotenberg, to waive the indemnity that Israeli banks have been given to correspond with Palestinian banks, “against the backdrop of the delegitimization campaign that the PA is leading against the State of Israel worldwide.”Smotrich had earlier in the day reportedly pledged to collapse the PA in response to the sanctions, even though Ramallah was not known to have had any involvement in the joint decision by the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.The Palestinian economy relies heavily on the banks’ relationships with their Israeli counterparts to process transactions made in shekels, as the PA does not have its own currency. Some NIS 53 billion ($14 billion) were exchanged at Palestinian banks in 2023, according to official data.The overwhelming majority of exchanges in the West Bank and Gaza are in shekels, Israel’s national currency, because the Palestinian Authority is prevented from having a central bank that would allow it to print its own currency.The so-called corresponding banking agreement requires periodic extensions by Israel in order to remain in effect, and the Biden administration — along with the UK and other Western allies — exhausted significant efforts in urging Israel not to allow its expiration. It warned that failure to maintain the banking relations between Israel and the Palestinians would turn the West Bank into a “cash economy,” which would benefit terrorist organizations in the territory and make it harder for the already-weakened PA to fight such groups.The Israeli security establishment also pushed back against the move, and Smotrich ultimately agreed to grant a one-year extension to the banking deal last November.The sanctions announcement from the five countries made earlier Tuesday said that they would freeze assets and bar the entry of Smotrich and Ben Gvir for having “incited extremist violence” against Palestinians in the West Bank.“Settler violence is incited by extremist rhetoric which calls for Palestinians to be driven from their homes, encourages violence and human rights abuses and fundamentally rejects the two-state solution,” read the statement from the five countries’ foreign ministries.Over the past two years, Palestinian villages in the West Bank have been targeted in near-daily attacks by extremist Israeli settlers. The attacks go unpunished in the vast majority of cases.

S embassy to boycott Tel Aviv Pride Parade, in Trump-era reversal-Notification of absence sent to Foreign Ministry reportedly referred to ‘LGB’ community, in line with Trump administration’s moves against transgender communityBy Jacob Magid-and ToI Staff Today, 2:56 pm-JUN 12,25

The US embassy in Israel will boycott this year’s Tel Aviv Pride parade and will not host any Pride Month events of its own, marking a stark departure from previous years.A letter from the embassy informing Israel of the decision cited the “priorities of the Trump administration,” which has embraced conservative values and shifted away from support for progressive causes, the Haaretz daily reported.The letter, sent by email to the Foreign Ministry in February, referred to the “LGB community,” dropping the TQ+ in line with Washington’s policy against recognizing the trans community.The policy matches a State Department directive to embassies around the world not to cooperate with pride marches, Haaretz reported.The Tel Aviv Pride march, the largest such event in the Middle East, is set to take place Friday, drawing thousands to the famously open city.It will be Tel Aviv’s first Pride parade since before October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel killing some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.Instead of a parade, Tel Aviv’s Pride events last year culminated in a toned-down rally that highlighted the plight of the hostages and the wartime contributions of soldiers from the LGBTQ community.The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel said it was “disappointed that the team from the US Embassy in Israel will be forced to stand on the side instead of marching with us, as they did, with pride and without fear, for years.”“What begins with the harassment of trans people quickly spirals to the exclusion of an entire community,” it warned in a post to its Facebook page.Tel Aviv City Council member Reut Naggar, who jointly holds the municipality’s pride portfolio, told Haaretz that in previous years, the US embassy supported the city’s pride march in various ways.There were no US embassy representatives at the Jerusalem Pride March last week, Haaretz noted in its report. A number of foreign envoys, including the ambassadors from Germany, France, Ireland, and the European Union, did attend.New US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a devout Evangelical Christian, is himself an opponent of LGBTQ equality.In 2015, he said asking Christians to accept same-sex marriage is “like asking someone Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli.” He has not since backed down from that position.Changing minds-Transgender influencer and Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner is to be the guest of honor at the Pride event, which will take place on Friday.Jenner, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday, told reporters at a press conference that she is doing her part to change people’s perceptions of the Jewish state.“I was in Israel years ago and I had such a wonderful time and I met the nicest, friendliest people in any country I’ve ever been to in my life,” said Jenner. “And, I thought, some day I’d really like to come back.”It will be Jenner’s first time as guest of honor at the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, which typically draws tens of thousands of participants from across Israel and abroad.“I tell people, the second biggest pride event in the world is in Tel Aviv. And every single response is exactly the same,” she said, describing people’s surprise to learn such a fact.“Israeli people are very open-minded, they’re friendly, they’re great for the LGBT community and nobody knows this,” Jenner said.“We can change people’s minds, the perception of what Israel is all about. That’s why I’m here to do my little part,” she added.In January, Israeli LGBTQ organizations criticized Trump after he signed an executive order declaring that the US would now only recognize “man” and “woman” as genders.Railing against the order, Israeli LGBTQ+ organizations warned that Trump’s move could lead to similar steps against the Israeli transgender community. Even though Israel does not recognize genders other than man or woman, it does allow trans people to change the genders listed in their ID cards after they transition.The following month, Trump signed an executive order to ban transgender athletes from participating in female-only school sports, and the US military moved to ban transgender people from service unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis.Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as states controlled by Democrats and Republicans have moved in opposite directions on policies ranging from medical treatment to what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.Agencies contributed to this report.

PLANES

ISAIAH 31:5
5 As birds flying,(PLANES) so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem;(WITH PLANES) defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.(NUKE OR BOMB ISRAELS ENEMIES)

AUTOMOBILES

NAHUM 2:3-4
3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots(AUTOMOBILES) shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation,(LIGHTS) and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
4 The chariots shall rage in the streets,(DRIVE FAST) they shall justle(ACCIDENTS) one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.(LIGHTS AND FAST)

Air India plane bound for London crashes with 242 on board-Aircraft comes down near India’s Ahmedabad airport shortly after takeoff; manifest included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian By Agencies Today, 2:57 pm-JUN 12,25

AHMEDABAD, India — An Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India’s western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, the airline and police said, and India’s federal health minister said that “many people” were killed.The plane was headed to Britain’s Gatwick airport, Air India said, while police officers said it crashed in a civilian area near the airport.“The building on which it has crashed is a doctor’s hostel… we have cleared almost 70 percent to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer told reporters.There were at least 11 children among the 242 people on board, a source told Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said.“At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates,” Air India said on X. “The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.”Gatwick posted on X that it could confirm the flight, which had been due to arrive at 6:25 p.m. in London, had crashed on departure.British Foreign Minister David Lammy said he was deeply saddened by the news and that Britain was now working with Indian authorities.“Deeply saddened by news of a devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad, India,” Lammy said on X.“My thoughts are with all those affected. The UK is working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support.”The crash occurred just after the plane took off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge jet of fire rose into the sky from beyond the houses.Visuals on local television channels showed smoke billowing from the crash site in what appeared to be a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city with a population of more than 5 million.They also showed people being moved in stretchers and being taken away in ambulances.Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told The Associated Press that Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time. He said 244 people were on board and it was not immediately possible to reconcile the discrepancy with Air India’s numbers.According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39 p.m. from runway 23. It gave a “Mayday” call, signaling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X that rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site.“We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation,” he said.Boeing said it is aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 6.8% to $199.13 in pre-market trade.The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.The aircraft was introduced in 2009 and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website.Air India’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said at the moment “our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.”He said on X that the airline had set up an emergency center and support team for families seeking information about those who were on the flight.“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,” he said.