‘Where will we go?’ Syrians fear threatened Turkish assault
Syrian Democratic Forces dig trenches on the outskirts of Manbij in preparation for an attack
Updated 23 July 2022
AFP
MANBIJ, Syria: Ghazwan Al-Atman thought he had found refuge in Manbij after years of displacement, but he now fears his family will be uprooted once again as a threatened Turkish onslaught looms over the Syrian town.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has repeatedly vowed to launch a new offensive in northern Syria in what he says is an operation to protect his country from Kurdish militias who have been waging a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
Turkey has launched a string of offensives in Syria in the past six years, most recently in 2019 when it conducted a broad air and ground assault against Kurdish militias after former US president Donald Trump withdrew American troops.
“Our people are completely exhausted,” Atman said, standing in his empty shoe store in downtown Manbij, which lies just 30 kilometers (less than 20 miles) from Syria’s border with Turkey.
“We enjoyed safety and security here. Now, we don’t know where to go.”
The market where he set up shop is usually bustling with customers, but they have now been reduced to a trickle.
Atman said his family settled in Manbij in 2018 having already been displaced “four or five times.”
The 43-year-old built a house and established his business “from scratch,” but is now ready to flee again as he fears for the lives of his children.
“War has destroyed me... All we want is stability in this country,” he said.
The threat of a new assault has intensified, with Turkey saying Thursday it never seeks “permission for our military operations” despite failing to get the green light from Russia and Iran this week.
Turkish media said any potential operation is unlikely to take place before the end of August or early September.
Analysts have warned an attack on densely populated Manbij would cause mass displacement and suffering.
The people of Manbij have been busy stocking up on food in preparation.
Hussein Hamdoush said customers have been flocking to his grocery store to stockpile essentials like milk, rice and bulgur.
Hamdoush said he does not want to leave.
“Displacement means ruin,” he said. “Where will we go? I would rather die in my home.”
Food prices have shot up in the Kurdish-run town, residents say.
Umm Nidal, 48, said she feared displacement as much as she feared for her four children.
“We are facing an economic war rather than air strikes,” she said as she scanned supermarket shelves.
This is not the first time Ankara has threatened to attack Manbij, an Arab-majority town run by Kurdish fighters who expelled Daesh group militants in 2016.
Between 2016 and 2019, Ankara launched three military offensives it said were to root out the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the main component of the autonomous Kurds’ de facto army, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Analysts have told AFP that even without Moscow and Tehran’s stamp of approval, Erdogan could still launch a limited attack.
“Turkish threats are nothing new in Manbij, but the level of these threats ebbs and flows, and it has highly intensified lately,” said Sherfan Darwish, a spokesman for the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council.
The SDF has dug trenches on the outskirts of Manbij in readiness for a potential attack, AFP correspondents said.
“We have trained our forces... based on our experience fighting against IS, though the war against Turkish forces calls for new tactics,” Darwish said.
The SDF has reached out to Damascus for help in fending off a potential Turkish onslaught — as they have done in past campaigns.
Government and Kurdish forces have struggled to find common ground, because Damascus rejects Kurdish self-rule.
In the past few days, the regime has deployed reinforcements near Manbij, as part of a Russia-mediated agreement, to act as a buffer between Kurdish and Ankara-backed forces.
They have come bearing “heavy and high-quality weapons,” Darwish said.
Regime flags were visible on the front lines, while Manbij Military Council fighters were scattered farther back in small numbers, hiding from possible Turkish drone strikes in the shade of olive trees, an AFP correspondent said.
Syrian soldiers have trickled in over the past two days, setting up camp in nearby villages.
Hamdoush said he hopes the army will be able to protect Manbij, but others are skeptical.
“I wish we could have peace,” said Ali Abu Hassan, a 50-year-old Manbij resident. “But this (war) is an international game and we are the victims.”
Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day as nuclear talks are called off
Iran FM says has ‘solid proof’ US forces supported Israel in attacks
Iran partially suspends production at South Pars, the world’s biggest gas field, after an Israeli strike
Updated 8 sec ago
DUBAI: Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day on Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were canceled.
The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side showed any sign of backing down. Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets.
The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling what could be a further widening of the campaign. Around noon local time, explosions were heard again in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel’s actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop.” He said the United States “is a partner in these attacks and must take responsibility.”
Explosions in Tehran
New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll released the day before by Iran’s UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded.
In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13. The country’s main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day.
Israeli strikes targeted Iran’s Defense Ministry early Sunday after hitting air defenses, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels.
Death toll mounts in Israel
In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a 9-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing.
An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases.
Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42.
The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for research in Rehovot, said “there were a number of hits to buildings on the campus.” It said no one was harmed.
Israel has sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses that are able to detect and intercept missiles fired at populated areas or key infrastructure, but officials acknowledge it is imperfect.
Israel attacks defense ministry facility in Isfahan
Iranian media said Sunday that Israel attacked a facility affiliated with the defense ministry in the central city of Isfahan, on the third consecutive day of Israeli strikes.
“One of the centers affiliated with the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan was attacked, and possible damages are under investigation,” ISNA news agency reported quoting deputy provincial governor Akbar Salehi.
Pipelines, transmission lines in Haifa damaged
Israel’s Oil Refineries said its pipelines and transmission lines in Haifa had been damaged by missile strikes by Iran, according to a regulatory filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
It said that no injuries or casualties were reported at the sites, with refining facilities continuing to operate despite a shutdown of some downstream operations.
It said it is examining the impact of the damage on its operations and implications on its financial results.
Israeli military issues evacuation warning to Iranians
Israel on Sunday issued an evacuation warning to Iranians residing near weapons facilities in Iran, an Israeli military spokesperson said in a post on X in Arabic and Farsi.
The spokesperson said the evacuation warning includes all weapons factories and supporting facilities.
Iran FM says has ‘solid proof’ US forces supported Israel in attacks
Araghchi said Sunday Tehran had evidence to show US forces supported the intense bombardment campaign Israel launched against the Islamis republic this week.
“We have solid proof of the support of the American forces and American bases in the region for the attacks of the Zionist regime military forces,” Araghchi told foreign diplomats in a meeting broadcast on state TV.
Araghchi also slammed the United Nations Security Council, accusing it of “indifference” over Israel’s deadly attacks on the Islamic republic.
Gas field attack
In the first apparent attack to hit Iran’s energy infrastructure, Tasnim news agency said Iran partially suspended production at South Pars, the world’s biggest gas field, after an Israeli strike caused a fire there on Saturday.
The South Pars field, offshore in Iran’s southern Bushehr province, is the source of most of the gas produced in Iran.
Fears about potential disruption to the region’s oil exports had already driven up oil prices 9 percent on Friday even though Israel spared Iran’s oil and gas on the first day of its attacks.
An Iranian general, Esmail Kosari, said on Saturday that Tehran was reviewing whether to close the Strait of Hormuz controlling access to the Gulf for tankers.
With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and Netanyahu urging Iran’s people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers.
B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization, said on Saturday that instead of exhausting all possibilities for a diplomatic resolution, Israel’s government had chosen to start a war that puts the entire region in danger.
Tehran has warned Israel’s allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles.
However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran’s strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation.
Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon.
Tehran insists the program is entirely civilian and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. The UN nuclear watchdog, however, reported Iran this week as violating obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
Iran says scores killed
Iran said 78 people were killed on the first day of Israel’s campaign, and scores more on the second, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-story apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children.
Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel.
With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and Netanyahu urging Iran’s people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers.
B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organization, said on Saturday that instead of exhausting all possibilities for a diplomatic resolution, Israel’s government had chosen to start a war that puts the entire region in danger.
Tehran has warned Israel’s allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles.
However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran’s strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation.
Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon.
Tehran insists the program is entirely civilian and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. However the UN nuclear watchdog reported it this week as violating obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
‘We will hit every site’
Israel said three people were killed and 76 wounded by Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile barrage overnight, which lit up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu vowed to keep up Israel’s campaign.
“We will hit every site, every target of the ayatollah regime,” he said in a video statement, threatening greater action “in the coming days.”
He added that the Israeli campaign had dealt a “real blow” to Iran’s nuclear program and maintained it had the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu’s defense minister, Israel Katz, warned “Tehran will burn” if it kept targeting Israeli civilians.
Israel’s fire service reported residential buildings were hit following the latest launches.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian fired back that “the continuation of the Zionist aggression will be met with a more severe and powerful response from the Iranian armed forces.”
According to a statement from his office, Pezeshkian also condemned Washington’s “dishonesty” for supporting Israel while engaged in nuclear talks with Iran — which mediator Oman said would no longer take place on Sunday.
Western governments have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it denies.
Amid the continued conflict, planned negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program were canceled, throwing into question when and how an end to the fighting could come.
Urgent calls to deescalate
World leaders made urgent calls to deescalate and avoid all-out war. The attack on nuclear sites set a “dangerous precedent,” China’s foreign minister said.
The region is already on edge as Israel makes a new push to eliminate the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas in Gaza after 20 months of fighting.
After decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time the arch-enemies have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a prolonged conflict that could engulf the Middle East.
Highlighting the unease, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned against a “devastating war” with regional consequences in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Ankara said.
Israel — widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East — said its hundreds of strikes on Iran over the past two days have killed a number of top generals, nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s UN ambassador has said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded.
Jordan announced the closure of its airspace late Saturday for a second time since the start of the most intense direct confrontation between arch-foes Israel and Iran.
The civil aviation authority in Jordan, which borders Israel, announced in a statement the closure until further notice of the country’s airspace, as well as the suspension of all takeoffs, landings and transit.
Turkiye denies sharing information with Israel
At the United Nations, the Turkish mission dismissed as "black propaganda" reports that “information was shared with Israel from the radar base in Kürecik.”
In a statement, the mission said the Kürecik Radar Station, a NATO installation, was established in line with Türkiye's national security and interests and is intended to ensure the protection of the NATO allies.
"The data obtained from the Kürecik radar base is exclusively shared with NATO allies within a specific framework, in accordance with NATO procedures," said the statement. "Sharing radar base data with non-NATO allies, such as Israel, is absolutely out of the question."
It maintained that "Türkiye stands against Israel's operations to destabilize the Middle East and will never support Israel's actions in this regard."
Reports of alleged data transmission came a day after Israel, without any provocation, bombarded Iran's capital on Friday.
Iran calls nuclear talks ‘unjustifiable’
The sixth round of US-Iran indirect talks on Sunday over Iran ‘s nuclear program will not take place, mediator Oman said. “We remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon,” said a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomacy.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and US intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran was not actively pursuing the bomb. But its uranium enrichment has reached near weapons-grade levels, and on Thursday, the UN’s atomic watchdog censured Iran for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s top diplomat said Saturday the nuclear talks were “unjustifiable” after Israel’s strikes. Abbas Araghchi’s comments came during a call with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat.
The Israeli airstrikes were the “result of the direct support by Washington,” Araghchi said in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency. The US has said it isn’t part of the strikes.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with the US on its nuclear program, adding that “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.”
‘More than a few weeks’ to repair nuclear facilities
Israel attacked Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage there. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility.
UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said.
Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, including “infrastructure for enriched uranium conversion,” and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said four “critical buildings” at the Isfahan site were damaged, including its uranium conversion facility. “As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected,” it added.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official procedures, said that according to the army’s initial assessment “it will take much more than a few weeks” for Iran to repair the damage to the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. The official said the army had “concrete intelligence that production in Isfahan was for military purposes.”
Israel denied it had struck the nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Tehran.
Among those killed were three of Iran’s top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard’s aerospace division, which oversees its arsenal of ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajjizadeh. On Saturday, Khamenei named a new leader for the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division: Gen. Majid Mousavi.
Iran rallies citizens to unite, ‘rise up’ says Netanyahu
Iran called on its citizens to unite in the country’s defense, while Netanyahu urged them to rise up against against the government.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said Tehran had warned Britain, France and the United States it could retaliate if they came to Israel’s defense.
AFP images from the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv showed blown-out buildings, destroyed vehicles and streets strewn with debris after Iran’s first wave of attacks.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck dozens of targets in Israel. One Iranian missile wounded seven Israeli soldiers, the military said.
Firefighters had worked for hours to free people trapped in a Tel Aviv high-rise building on Friday.
Chen Gabizon, a resident, said he ran to an underground shelter after receiving an alert.
“We just heard a very big explosion, everything was shaking, smoke, dust, everything was all over the place,” he said.
In Tehran, fire and heavy smoke billowed over Mehrabad airport on Saturday, an AFP journalist said.
The Israeli army said it had struck an underground military facility Saturday in western Iran’s Khorramabad that contained surface-to-surface and cruise missiles.
Iranian media also reported a “massive explosion” following an Israeli drone strike on an oil refinery in the southern city of Kangan.
The attacks prompted several countries to temporarily ground air traffic, though on Saturday Jordan, Lebanon and Syria reopened their airspace.
Iran’s airspace was closed until further notice, state media reported, as was Israel’s, according to authorities.
Timeline of tensions and hostilities between Israel and Iran
Updated 14 min 10 sec ago
AP
Israel and Iran opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict when Israel launched a major attack with strikes early Friday that set off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
Israel said it targeted nuclear and military facilities, killing Iran’s top military and nuclear scientists.
Israel’s attack comes as tensions have escalated over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, which Israel sees as a threat to its existence.
Here is a timeline of some significant events in the hostilities between the two countries:
Early days
1967 — Iran takes possession of its Tehran Research Reactor under America’s “Atoms for Peace” program.
1979 — Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fatally ill, flees Iran as popular protests against him surge. Pahlavi maintained economic and security ties with Israel. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran and the Islamic Revolution sweeps him to power. Students seize the United States Embassy in Tehran, beginning the 444-day hostage crisis. Iran’s nuclear program goes fallow under international pressure. Iran’s new theocracy identifies Israel as a major enemy.
August 2002 — Western intelligence services and an Iranian opposition group reveal Iran’s secret Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.
June 2003 — Britain, France and Germany engage Iran in nuclear negotiations.
October 2003 — Iran suspends uranium enrichment.
February 2006 — Iran announces it will restart uranium enrichment following the election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Britain, France and Germany walk out of stalled negotiations.
June 2009 — Iran’s disputed presidential election sees Ahmadinejad reelected despite fraud allegations, sparking Green Movement protests and violent government crackdown.
October 2009 — Under President Barack Obama, the US and Iran open a secret backchannel for messages in the sultanate of Oman.
Iran’s nuclear program is a primary target
2010 — The Stuxnet computer virus is discovered and widely believed to be a joint US-Israeli creation. The virus disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges.
July 14, 2015 — World powers and Iran announce a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limits Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
2018 — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel obtained tens of thousands of pages of data showing Iran covered up its nuclear program before signing a deal with world powers in 2015. An ex-Mossad chief confirms the information was obtained by more than a dozen non-Israeli agents from safes in Tehran in 2018. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdraws from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
2020 — Alleged Israeli attacks against Iran’s nuclear program are stepped up significantly after the disintegration of the 2015 nuclear deal meant to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
July 2020 — A mysterious explosion tears apart a centrifuge production plant at Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. Iran blames the attack on Israel.
November 2020 — A top Iranian military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is killed by a remote-controlled machine gun while traveling in a car outside Tehran. A top Iranian security official accuses Israel of using “electronic devices” to remotely kill the scientist, who founded Iran’s military nuclear program in the 2000s.
April 11, 2021 — An attack targets Iran’s underground nuclear facility in Natanz. Iran blames Israel, which does not claim responsibility, but Israeli media widely reports the government orchestrated a cyberattack that caused a blackout at the facility.
April 16, 2021 — Iran begins enriching uranium up to 60 percent, its highest purity ever and a technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.
June 2022 — Iran accuses Israel of poisoning two nuclear scientists in different cities within three days of each other, though circumstances remain unclear.
Mideast wars
Oct. 7, 2023 — Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip storm into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, beginning the most intense war between Israel and Hamas. Iran, which has armed Hamas, offers support to the militants.
Feb. 14, 2024 — An Israeli sabotage attack causes multiple explosions on an Iranian natural gas pipeline running from Iran’s western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province to cities on the Caspian Sea.
April 1, 2024 — An Israeli airstrike demolishes Iran’s Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing 16 people, including two Iranian generals.
April 14, 2024 — Iran launches an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel, firing over 300 missiles and attack drones in response to the Israeli airstrike in Damascus. Working with a US-led international coalition, Israel intercepts much of the incoming fire.
April 19, 2024 — A suspected Israeli strike hits an air defense system near an airport in Isfahan, Iran.
July 31, 2024 — Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is assassinated by an apparent Israeli airstrike during a visit to Tehran. Israel had pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the Oct. 7 attack.
Sept. 27, 2024 — Israeli airstrike kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Formed by Iranian Revolutionary Guard members who went to Lebanon in 1982 to fight invading Israeli forces, Hezbollah was the first group that Iran backed and used as a way to export its brand of political Islam.
Oct. 1, 2024 — Iran launches its second direct attack on Israel, though a US-led coalition and Israel shoot down most of the missiles.
Oct. 16, 2024 — Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip.
Oct. 26, 2024 — Israel openly attacks Iran for the first time, striking air defense systems and sites associated with its missile program.
April 30, 2025 — Iran executes a man it said worked for Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency and played a role in the killing of Revolutionary Guard Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in Tehran on May 22, 2022.
Friday, June 13, 2025 — Israel launches blistering attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists.
Saturday, June 14, 2025 — Israel expands its airstrikes to include targets in Iran’s energy industry as Iranian missile and drone attacks continue on Israel.
Sunday, June 15, 2025 — Israel unleashes airstrikes across Iran for a third day and threatens even greater force as some Iranian missiles evade Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran’s nuclear program in Oman between the United States and Tehran, which could provide an off-ramp, are called off.
Iran says Israel attack on Gulf gas facility attempt ‘to expand war’
Updated 26 min 11 sec ago
AFP
TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday Israel’s attack on a major gas facility on the shore of the Gulf sought “to expand the war beyond” Iran.
“Dragging the conflict into the Arabian Gulf region is a major strategic mistake, likely deliberate and intended to extend the war beyond Iranian territory,” Araghchi told foreign diplomats, referring to the attack on the South Pars refinery, adding that that attack was “an extremely dangerous move.”
Jordan reopens airspace after overnight Israel-Iran attacks
Updated 58 min 22 sec ago
AFP
AMMAN: Jordan announced the reopening of its airspace Sunday morning after a night of attacks by arch-foes Israel and Iran.
The civil aviation authority in Jordan, which borders Israel, said in a statement that the country’s airspace had been reopened “for civilian flights following a careful risk assessment.”
The kingdom had closed the airspace late Saturday, its second closure since the start of the most intense direct confrontation between Israel and Iran.
Israel’s goal might be regime change in Iran: Experts
Iran’s leadership will define victory as being its ‘survival’: Middle East Institute senior fellow
Ex-US Navy commander: ‘It’s a long shot that they’ll come to the (negotiating) table in the near future’
Updated 15 June 2025
RAY HANANIA
CHICAGO: Israel’s military assault against Iran could continue for weeks, with the possible goal of regime change, a panel of experts hosted by the Middle East Institute said on Saturday.
Panelists included retired Gen. Joseph L. Votel, former commander of US Central Command; retired Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, former commander of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet; and Alex Vatanka, MEI senior fellow and Iran specialist who also teaches at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Vatanka said it is too early to determine if Israel’s main goal besides crippling Iran’s nuclear program is regime change, but “we might be going in (that) direction.”
He added: “That’s certainly what I think a majority of Iranian officials think that Israel wants. The big unknown in all of this is whether the Israelis somehow can get (US President Donald) Trump to buy into it the way he bought into the initial attack on Iran.”
Israel has launched attacks against an array of Iranian targets, including its military leadership and nuclear program. Tehran has responded by launching missiles and drones at Israel.
The panelists were in agreement in their belief that the conflict would not expand to include other countries.
Iran’s leadership will define victory as being its “survival,” Vatanka said, adding that while Israel has the backing of the US and “most of Europe,” Tehran “isn’t getting any help from anyone.”
He said: “I don’t think they’re getting help from what’s left of the axis of resistance … I question what the axis of resistance members can actually do at this point.”
Its members include Hamas and Hezbollah, which have been severely weakened by Israel’s military, and the Houthis in Yemen. It included Syria until the fall of President Bashar Assad in December.
Donegan said: “I think the question is, does Iran think they’ve done enough in terms of lashing back that they can throw an olive branch to get some talks going again? I think it’s a long shot, to be honest, that they’ll come to the table in the near future.”
Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, but “the problem with closing Hormuz is they then don’t get the economic benefit of flowing their oil out,” he added.
The end game will be defined by how far Israel intends to go with its war, the panelists said.
“The Americans are playing the good cop here. President Trump has kept the door for diplomacy open,” Vatanka said.
“The Israelis are playing the bad cop, saying, ‘If you don’t give Trump what he wants then we’ll come after you.’”
