Israël affirme que toute aide serait “bienvenue” dans la guerre contre l’Iran

Israël a affirmé jeudi que toute aide serait “bienvenue” pour venir à bout du programme nucléaire iranien, au moment où le président américain Donald Trump annonçait qu’il prendrait une décision durant “les deux prochaines semaines” sur une éventuelle intervention des Etats-Unis.Israël avait plus tôt menacé le guide suprême iranien Ali Khamenei en déclarant qu’il ne pouvait “être autorisé à continuer d’exister”, après un tir de missile qui a touché le plus grand hôpital du sud du pays.Affirmant que l’Iran était sur le point de se doter de la bombe atomique, Israël a lancé le 13 juin une attaque aérienne massive contre la République islamique, qui a déclenché la riposte iranienne.L’Iran de son côté dément vouloir fabriquer l’arme atomique mais défend son droit à développer un programme nucléaire civil. Donald Trump a ces derniers jours entretenu le doute sur une éventuelle entrée en guerre des Etats-Unis aux côtés d’Israël.”Compte-tenu du fait qu’il y a une possibilité substantielle de négociations éventuelles avec l’Iran dans le futur proche, je prendrai ma décision sur le fait d’y aller ou non au cours des deux prochaines semaines”, a-t-il déclaré jeudi.Le Premier ministre israélien, Benjamin Netanyahu, a affirmé que “toute aide est la bienvenue” même si Israël a la capacité de “frapper toutes les installations nucléaires iraniennes”.”J’ai dit qu’on allait changer la face du Moyen-Orient et maintenant je dis: nous changeons la face du monde”, a-t-il déclaré dans un entretien avec la télévision publique. “Nous sommes en route vers une victoire géante”, a-t-il ajouté.- “Menaces existentielles” -Sept jours après le début de la guerre, Israël a détruit “plus de la moitié” des lanceurs de missiles iraniens, a-t-il dit, répétant que Téhéran constituait pour son pays “deux menaces existentielles, le nucléaire et les missiles balistiques”.Donald Trump avait affirmé mercredi que l’Iran était entré en contact avec les Etats-Unis pour négocier, ce que Téhéran a démenti. Le chef de la diplomatie iranienne, Abbas Araghchi, doit néanmoins rencontrer vendredi à Genève ses homologues allemand, français et britannique.Jeudi, un missile iranien a touché l’hôpital Soroka de Beersheva, dans le sud d’Israël, faisant d’énormes dégâts.  Le bâtiment directement touché, évacué il y a quelques jours, “était vide”, a indiqué son directeur, Shlomi Codish, en faisant état de 40 blessés dans d’autres bâtiments.Benjamin Netanyahu a promis de faire “payer un prix lourd aux tyrans” après cette attaque.Son ministre de la Défense, Israël Katz, a de son côté menacé Ali Khamenei, qui “considère la destruction d’Israël comme un objectif”. “Un tel homme ne peut être autorisé à continuer d’exister”, a-t-il déclaré. Les Gardiens de la Révolution, l’armée idéologique de l’Iran, ont affirmé que “le centre de commandement et de renseignement du régime, situé près d’un hôpital”, avait été pris pour cible. Ailleurs en Israël, les secours ont fait état jeudi de 47 blessés après des tirs de missiles.”Quelques instants auparavant, des gens étaient assis ici, espérant que la catastrophe ne les frapperait pas. Ils ont été touchés de plein fouet. Leurs voitures sont détruites. Leurs maisons se sont effondrées. Des gens sont grièvement blessés”, a témoigné Yaakov Seligman, un secouriste arrivé sur les lieux d’une frappe à Holon, près de Tel-Aviv.- “Les gens paniquent” -En Iran, de nombreuses frappes ont visé Téhéran depuis une semaine. Jeudi soir, les médias ont annoncé que la défense aérienne “faisait face à des cibles hostiles” au-dessus de la capitale.”Nous avons eu la guerre avant, mais celle-ci est terrible parce qu’elle est imprévisible et très brutale”, a raconté à l’AFP une pharmacienne iranienne de 50 ans arrivée à la frontière turque.”Les gens paniquent vraiment. Hier, l’internet s’est arrêté et deux grandes banques ont été piratées, si bien que les gens n’ont pas pu accéder à leur argent. Et il n’y a même pas assez de nourriture”, a-t-elle affirmé.Les frappes israéliennes ont fait au moins 224 morts en Iran, selon un bilan officiel. En Israël, les tirs de missiles et de drones iraniens ont fait 25 morts, parmi lesquels une Ukrainienne tuée dimanche et dont le corps a été retrouvé jeudi.Jeudi, l’armée israélienne a dit avoir frappé des dizaines de sites en Iran, dont un “réacteur nucléaire inachevé” à Arak et “un site de développement d’armes nucléaires à Natanz”, dans le centre du pays.L’Iran a confirmé l’attaque sur Arak.L’armée israélienne a également annoncé avoir visé dans l’ouest du pays plusieurs sites de lancement de missiles, après avoir repéré “des tentatives des forces de sécurité” iraniennes de “réhabiliter” des sites déjà frappés.Ali Khamenei avait proclamé mercredi que son pays ne se rendrait “jamais” et averti les Etats-Unis qu’une intervention dans la guerre conduirait à des “dommages irréparables”.La Russie a mis en garde jeudi Washington contre toute “intervention militaire” qui aurait des “conséquences négatives imprévisibles”.Les Etats-Unis, qui ont déployé leur porte-avions Nimitz vers le Moyen-Orient, sont les seuls à détenir la bombe GBU-57, unique arme susceptible d’atteindre le coeur profondément enfoui du programme nucléaire iranien, dans l’usine d’enrichissement de Fordo, au sud de Téhéran.Le chef de l’Agence internationale de l’énergie atomique (AIEA), Rafael Grossi, a affirmé mercredi que l’AIEA “n’est pas en capacité de dire qu’il existe (de la part de l’Iran) un effort direct vers la fabrication d’une arme nucléaire”.Israël maintient l’ambiguïté sur sa propre possession de l’arme atomique mais détient 90 ogives nucléaires, selon l’Institut international de recherche sur la paix de Stockholm (Sipri). 

Israël affirme que toute aide serait “bienvenue” dans la guerre contre l’Iran

Israël a affirmé jeudi que toute aide serait “bienvenue” pour venir à bout du programme nucléaire iranien, au moment où le président américain Donald Trump annonçait qu’il prendrait une décision durant “les deux prochaines semaines” sur une éventuelle intervention des Etats-Unis.Israël avait plus tôt menacé le guide suprême iranien Ali Khamenei en déclarant qu’il ne pouvait “être autorisé à continuer d’exister”, après un tir de missile qui a touché le plus grand hôpital du sud du pays.Affirmant que l’Iran était sur le point de se doter de la bombe atomique, Israël a lancé le 13 juin une attaque aérienne massive contre la République islamique, qui a déclenché la riposte iranienne.L’Iran de son côté dément vouloir fabriquer l’arme atomique mais défend son droit à développer un programme nucléaire civil. Donald Trump a ces derniers jours entretenu le doute sur une éventuelle entrée en guerre des Etats-Unis aux côtés d’Israël.”Compte-tenu du fait qu’il y a une possibilité substantielle de négociations éventuelles avec l’Iran dans le futur proche, je prendrai ma décision sur le fait d’y aller ou non au cours des deux prochaines semaines”, a-t-il déclaré jeudi.Le Premier ministre israélien, Benjamin Netanyahu, a affirmé que “toute aide est la bienvenue” même si Israël a la capacité de “frapper toutes les installations nucléaires iraniennes”.”J’ai dit qu’on allait changer la face du Moyen-Orient et maintenant je dis: nous changeons la face du monde”, a-t-il déclaré dans un entretien avec la télévision publique. “Nous sommes en route vers une victoire géante”, a-t-il ajouté.- “Menaces existentielles” -Sept jours après le début de la guerre, Israël a détruit “plus de la moitié” des lanceurs de missiles iraniens, a-t-il dit, répétant que Téhéran constituait pour son pays “deux menaces existentielles, le nucléaire et les missiles balistiques”.Donald Trump avait affirmé mercredi que l’Iran était entré en contact avec les Etats-Unis pour négocier, ce que Téhéran a démenti. Le chef de la diplomatie iranienne, Abbas Araghchi, doit néanmoins rencontrer vendredi à Genève ses homologues allemand, français et britannique.Jeudi, un missile iranien a touché l’hôpital Soroka de Beersheva, dans le sud d’Israël, faisant d’énormes dégâts.  Le bâtiment directement touché, évacué il y a quelques jours, “était vide”, a indiqué son directeur, Shlomi Codish, en faisant état de 40 blessés dans d’autres bâtiments.Benjamin Netanyahu a promis de faire “payer un prix lourd aux tyrans” après cette attaque.Son ministre de la Défense, Israël Katz, a de son côté menacé Ali Khamenei, qui “considère la destruction d’Israël comme un objectif”. “Un tel homme ne peut être autorisé à continuer d’exister”, a-t-il déclaré. Les Gardiens de la Révolution, l’armée idéologique de l’Iran, ont affirmé que “le centre de commandement et de renseignement du régime, situé près d’un hôpital”, avait été pris pour cible. Ailleurs en Israël, les secours ont fait état jeudi de 47 blessés après des tirs de missiles.”Quelques instants auparavant, des gens étaient assis ici, espérant que la catastrophe ne les frapperait pas. Ils ont été touchés de plein fouet. Leurs voitures sont détruites. Leurs maisons se sont effondrées. Des gens sont grièvement blessés”, a témoigné Yaakov Seligman, un secouriste arrivé sur les lieux d’une frappe à Holon, près de Tel-Aviv.- “Les gens paniquent” -En Iran, de nombreuses frappes ont visé Téhéran depuis une semaine. Jeudi soir, les médias ont annoncé que la défense aérienne “faisait face à des cibles hostiles” au-dessus de la capitale.”Nous avons eu la guerre avant, mais celle-ci est terrible parce qu’elle est imprévisible et très brutale”, a raconté à l’AFP une pharmacienne iranienne de 50 ans arrivée à la frontière turque.”Les gens paniquent vraiment. Hier, l’internet s’est arrêté et deux grandes banques ont été piratées, si bien que les gens n’ont pas pu accéder à leur argent. Et il n’y a même pas assez de nourriture”, a-t-elle affirmé.Les frappes israéliennes ont fait au moins 224 morts en Iran, selon un bilan officiel. En Israël, les tirs de missiles et de drones iraniens ont fait 25 morts, parmi lesquels une Ukrainienne tuée dimanche et dont le corps a été retrouvé jeudi.Jeudi, l’armée israélienne a dit avoir frappé des dizaines de sites en Iran, dont un “réacteur nucléaire inachevé” à Arak et “un site de développement d’armes nucléaires à Natanz”, dans le centre du pays.L’Iran a confirmé l’attaque sur Arak.L’armée israélienne a également annoncé avoir visé dans l’ouest du pays plusieurs sites de lancement de missiles, après avoir repéré “des tentatives des forces de sécurité” iraniennes de “réhabiliter” des sites déjà frappés.Ali Khamenei avait proclamé mercredi que son pays ne se rendrait “jamais” et averti les Etats-Unis qu’une intervention dans la guerre conduirait à des “dommages irréparables”.La Russie a mis en garde jeudi Washington contre toute “intervention militaire” qui aurait des “conséquences négatives imprévisibles”.Les Etats-Unis, qui ont déployé leur porte-avions Nimitz vers le Moyen-Orient, sont les seuls à détenir la bombe GBU-57, unique arme susceptible d’atteindre le coeur profondément enfoui du programme nucléaire iranien, dans l’usine d’enrichissement de Fordo, au sud de Téhéran.Le chef de l’Agence internationale de l’énergie atomique (AIEA), Rafael Grossi, a affirmé mercredi que l’AIEA “n’est pas en capacité de dire qu’il existe (de la part de l’Iran) un effort direct vers la fabrication d’une arme nucléaire”.Israël maintient l’ambiguïté sur sa propre possession de l’arme atomique mais détient 90 ogives nucléaires, selon l’Institut international de recherche sur la paix de Stockholm (Sipri). 

Iran-Israel war: latest developments

Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Thursday, the seventh day of the war between the longtime enemies.Here are the latest developments:- Trump waiting to decide -US President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel’s strikes on Iran within the next two weeks as there is still a “substantial” chance of negotiations to end the conflict.”Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump said in the statement.Iran and European diplomats said nuclear talks will be held in Geneva on Friday, bringing together top diplomats from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union as well as Tehran’s Abbas Araghchi.The Wall Street Journal reported Trump has told aides he has approved attack plans but is holding off to see if Iran will give up its nuclear programme.Tehran ally Moscow said any US military action “would be an extremely dangerous step”, while pro-Iran groups in Iraq threatened retaliatory attacks.- Hospital strike -A hospital in southern Israel was hit as Iran fired “dozens” of missiles at the country, officials said.The Soroka Hospital in Beersheba was left in flames, and its director Shlomi Codish said 40 people had sustained injuries.Iran said the main target of its missile attack was not the hospital but a nearby military and intelligence base.The International Committee of the Red Cross said “hospitals must be respected and protected”, citing international law.UN rights chief Volker Turk urged restraint from both Iran and Israel, saying it is “appalling to see how civilians are treated as collateral damage in the conduct of hostilities”.Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran would pay a “heavy price”.- Nuclear sites, missile launchers -The Israeli military said it struck an “inactive nuclear reactor” in Arak in overnight raids on Iran that also saw the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz targeted again.It said the strike on the Arak site was carried out “to prevent the reactor from being restored”.Iranian atomic energy chief Mohammed Eslami condemned the “barbaric and unlawful attack” on Arak, asking the UN nuclear watchdog to intervene.Netanyahu told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that Israel had destroyed “more than half” of Iran’s missile launchers since Friday.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said more than 100 “combat and suicide” drones were launched at Israel on Thursday, while Iranian media reported blasts in Tehran.- Death toll -The body of a Ukrainian woman was recovered on Thursday from a building struck by an Iranian missile four days earlier, Israeli officials said.Maria Peshkarova, 31, is the ninth victim of the Sunday hit in the city of Bat Yam, taking the overall death toll in Israel to 25 since the war began, according to authorities.Iran said Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Authorities have not issued an updated toll since.- Arrests -Iranian police announced the arrest on Thursday of 24 people accused of spying for Israel and “trying to disturb public opinion and to tarnish and destroy the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.Authorities in both Israel and Iran have announced arrests for espionage and other charges since the war began on Friday.Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 223 people have been arrested nationwide on charges related to collaboration with Israel, cautioning that the actual figure was likely higher.

Govts scramble to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran

Governments around the world are evacuating thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling Israel-Iran conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot.Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.With Israel’s air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated via neighbouring countries.- Europe -European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel.The Czech Republic and Slovakia repatriated 181 people, who were bussed to a neighbouring country and crossed the border on foot, the Czech defence ministry said.Germany scheduled flights for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens would also arrive back on Wednesday.Italian nationals were being offered a charter flight on Sunday from Israel to Egypt and then Italy, with non-refundable reservations set at 500 euros ($575) per adult.Greece said it had repatriated 105 citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Tuesday.Hungary evacuated 21 citizens from Iran via Azerbaijan, mainly diplomats and their families, officials said.Bulgaria repatriated 17, and Slovenia two diplomats and their families.- United States -The US ambassador to Israel announced plans on Wednesday for evacuating Americans by air and sea.The embassy was working on evacuation flights and cruise ship departures for “American citizens wanting to leave Israel,” Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on social media.- China -China has evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel. Its foreign ministry said on Thursday those efforts would continue.- Australia -Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel, although missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft, its foreign minister said.”We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong.- Mexico -Mexico said it had evacuated 18 people from Iran to Azerbaijan, both Mexican nationals and family members.- Pakistan -Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighbouring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home.Around 3,000 Pakistanis have crossed the border from Iran since the conflict started, foreign ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said on Thursday.The families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran have also been evacuated.- India -Around 110 students who fled Iran over the land border with Armenia have landed in New Delhi, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday. There are around 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran.New Delhi also said it planned to evacuate all Indian nationals in Israel who wish to leave. There are around 30,000.- Japan -Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers.- Indonesia -Indonesia is preparing to evacuate around 380 of its citizens currently in Iran by land, Jakarta’s foreign minister said Thursday.At least 11 Indonesians in Israel have also asked to leave.- Vietnam -Vietnam, which has more than 700 citizens in Israel and dozens in Iran, said it was working to ensure their safety.The foreign ministry said on Thursday that 18 Vietnamese from Iran were evacuated, 16 of whom returned to Vietnam. It did not provide further information on evacuations from Israel.- Philippines -The Philippines is preparing to repatriate 28 Israel-based Filipino workers out of 178 who asked for help, the Department of Migrant Workers said on Thursday.At least 21 Philippine government officials have also crossed into Jordan by land from Israel, the foreign ministry said.

Govts scramble to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran

Governments around the world are evacuating thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling Israel-Iran conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot.Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.With Israel’s air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated via neighbouring countries.- Europe -European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel.The Czech Republic and Slovakia repatriated 181 people, who were bussed to a neighbouring country and crossed the border on foot, the Czech defence ministry said.Germany scheduled flights for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens would also arrive back on Wednesday.Italian nationals were being offered a charter flight on Sunday from Israel to Egypt and then Italy, with non-refundable reservations set at 500 euros ($575) per adult.Greece said it had repatriated 105 citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Tuesday.Hungary evacuated 21 citizens from Iran via Azerbaijan, mainly diplomats and their families, officials said.Bulgaria repatriated 17, and Slovenia two diplomats and their families.- United States -The US ambassador to Israel announced plans on Wednesday for evacuating Americans by air and sea.The embassy was working on evacuation flights and cruise ship departures for “American citizens wanting to leave Israel,” Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on social media.- China -China has evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel. Its foreign ministry said on Thursday those efforts would continue.- Australia -Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel, although missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft, its foreign minister said.”We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong.- Mexico -Mexico said it had evacuated 18 people from Iran to Azerbaijan, both Mexican nationals and family members.- Pakistan -Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighbouring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home.Around 3,000 Pakistanis have crossed the border from Iran since the conflict started, foreign ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said on Thursday.The families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran have also been evacuated.- India -Around 110 students who fled Iran over the land border with Armenia have landed in New Delhi, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday. There are around 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran.New Delhi also said it planned to evacuate all Indian nationals in Israel who wish to leave. There are around 30,000.- Japan -Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers.- Indonesia -Indonesia is preparing to evacuate around 380 of its citizens currently in Iran by land, Jakarta’s foreign minister said Thursday.At least 11 Indonesians in Israel have also asked to leave.- Vietnam -Vietnam, which has more than 700 citizens in Israel and dozens in Iran, said it was working to ensure their safety.The foreign ministry said on Thursday that 18 Vietnamese from Iran were evacuated, 16 of whom returned to Vietnam. It did not provide further information on evacuations from Israel.- Philippines -The Philippines is preparing to repatriate 28 Israel-based Filipino workers out of 178 who asked for help, the Department of Migrant Workers said on Thursday.At least 21 Philippine government officials have also crossed into Jordan by land from Israel, the foreign ministry said.

Govts scramble to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran

Governments around the world are evacuating thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling Israel-Iran conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot.Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.With Israel’s air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated via neighbouring countries.- Europe -European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel.The Czech Republic and Slovakia repatriated 181 people, who were bussed to a neighbouring country and crossed the border on foot, the Czech defence ministry said.Germany scheduled flights for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens would also arrive back on Wednesday.Italian nationals were being offered a charter flight on Sunday from Israel to Egypt and then Italy, with non-refundable reservations set at 500 euros ($575) per adult.Greece said it had repatriated 105 citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Tuesday.Hungary evacuated 21 citizens from Iran via Azerbaijan, mainly diplomats and their families, officials said.Bulgaria repatriated 17, and Slovenia two diplomats and their families.- United States -The US ambassador to Israel announced plans on Wednesday for evacuating Americans by air and sea.The embassy was working on evacuation flights and cruise ship departures for “American citizens wanting to leave Israel,” Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on social media.- China -China has evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and several hundred more from Israel. Its foreign ministry said on Thursday those efforts would continue.- Australia -Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel, although missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft, its foreign minister said.”We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong.- Mexico -Mexico said it had evacuated 18 people from Iran to Azerbaijan, both Mexican nationals and family members.- Pakistan -Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighbouring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home.Around 3,000 Pakistanis have crossed the border from Iran since the conflict started, foreign ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said on Thursday.The families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran have also been evacuated.- India -Around 110 students who fled Iran over the land border with Armenia have landed in New Delhi, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday. There are around 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran.New Delhi also said it planned to evacuate all Indian nationals in Israel who wish to leave. There are around 30,000.- Japan -Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers.- Indonesia -Indonesia is preparing to evacuate around 380 of its citizens currently in Iran by land, Jakarta’s foreign minister said Thursday.At least 11 Indonesians in Israel have also asked to leave.- Vietnam -Vietnam, which has more than 700 citizens in Israel and dozens in Iran, said it was working to ensure their safety.The foreign ministry said on Thursday that 18 Vietnamese from Iran were evacuated, 16 of whom returned to Vietnam. It did not provide further information on evacuations from Israel.- Philippines -The Philippines is preparing to repatriate 28 Israel-based Filipino workers out of 178 who asked for help, the Department of Migrant Workers said on Thursday.At least 21 Philippine government officials have also crossed into Jordan by land from Israel, the foreign ministry said.

US envoy says Hezbollah involvement in Iran-Israel war would be ‘very bad decision’

The US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Thursday against getting involved in the war between its main backer Iran and Israel.Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, is on his first visit to Beirut, where he met top Lebanese officials including parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.”I can say on behalf of President (Donald) Trump… that would be a very, very, very bad decision,” Barrack said after his meeting with Berri, responding to a question on what the US position would be on any involvement by Hezbollah in the war.In a statement, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group will “act as we see fit”.”Tyrannical America and criminal Israel will not be able to subjugate the Iranian people and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” Qassem said.Hezbollah, he added, still had “the responsibility to stand by Iran and provide it with all forms of support that contribute to putting an end to this tyranny and oppression”.Hezbollah suffered devastating losses in its war against Israel last year, which ended with a ceasefire agreement in November.When Israel struck Iran last week, the Lebanese foreign ministry said that it was “continuing its contacts” to spare the country from being dragged into any conflict.In a statement shared by the Lebanese presidency after his meeting with Barrack, President Joseph Aoun said that “communications are ongoing to achieve the goal of weapons monopoly at both the Lebanese and Palestinian levels, and will intensify after stability returns… to the region”.According to the November ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah must pull its fighters back north of the Litani river, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers as the only armed parties in the area.Israel is required to fully withdraw its troops but has kept them in five locations in Lebanon it deems “strategic”.Lebanon has also recently ramped up efforts to disarm Palestinian militant groups, which for decades had been in charge of Palestinian refugee camps in the country.After his meeting with Barrack, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam expressed Lebanon’s “commitment to the choice of security and stability and rejection of being dragged into the ongoing war in the region”.He also asked the US envoy “to assist Lebanon in pressuring Israel for its complete withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories”.Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Israel has carried out repeated strikes in Lebanon, which it has said will continue until Hezbollah has been disarmed.An Israeli strike killed one person in the southern village of Hula on Thursday, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Israel welcomes ‘all help’ in striking Iran, Trump to decide ‘within two weeks’

Israel on Thursday welcomed “all help” in striking Iran’s nuclear sites as President Donald Trump dangled the prospect of US involvement in the war, saying he will decide “within the next two weeks”.Israel, claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy last week, triggering deadly exchanges.After an Iranian missile hit an Israeli hospital on Thursday, in an attack that Tehran said targeted a military and intelligence base, Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a threat against Iran’s supreme leader, spiking tensions in the week-old war.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would “pay a heavy price” for the strike on Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba that left 40 people injured and the facility in flames.In an televised interview later on Thursday, Netanyahu said Israel is “capable of striking all of Iran’s nuclear facilities” but “all help is welcome”.”Trump will do what is good for for the United States, and I will do what is good for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu told public broadcaster Kan.Citing “the fact that there’s a substantial chance” to resume nuclear negotiations with Iran — which had been derailed by the Israeli attacks — Trump said in a statement he will decide “whether or not to go within the next two weeks”.Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had asked to send officials to the White House to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme and end the conflict with Israel.Iran denied it would do so, but its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is due to attend nuclear talks in Geneva on Friday with top diplomats from France, Britain, Germany and the European Union, officials and diplomats said.Meanwhile Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an “extremely dangerous step”.Katz, in a stark warning for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told reporters: “He considers the destruction of the State of Israel to be a goal. Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist.”Asked whether Israel plans to kill Khamenei, Netanyahu said: “No one is immune.”The latest escalation came on the seventh day of deadly exchanges between the two countries that have plunged the region into a new crisis, more than 20 months into the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.- Panic -At Soroka, hospital director Shlomi Codish said 40 people were injured.”Several wards were completely demolished and there is extensive damage across the entire hospital,” he said.”It’s only medical professionals here, and patients… and look what happened to us,” ophthalmologist Wasim Hin told AFP. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called attacks on health facilities “appalling”, while UN rights chief Volker Turk said civilians were being treated as “collateral damage”.In Iran, people fleeing Israel’s attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access.”Those days and nights were very horrifying… hearing sirens, the wailing, the danger of being hit by missiles,” University of Tehran student Mohammad Hassan told AFP, after returning to his native Pakistan.”People are really panicking,” a 50-year-old Iranian pharmacist who did not want to be named told AFP at the Kapikoy crossing on the Turkish border.Any US involvement would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs.The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he had approved attack plans but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear programme.The US president had favoured a diplomatic route to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran has consistently denied — seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term.- Nuclear sites -White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Iran was “a couple of weeks” away from producing an atomic bomb.”All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that,” she told reporters.Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent — far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.Israel has maintained ambiguity on its own arsenal, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.A key Iranian government body, the Guardian Council, threatened a “harsh response” if “the criminal American government and its stupid president… take action against Islamic Iran”.On Thursday, Israel said it struck “dozens” of Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.Iranian atomic energy agency chief Mohammad Eslami confirmed in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog that the Arak reactor was hit, demanding action to stop Israel’s “violation of international regulations”.Iranian media reported blasts in Tehran late Thursday, while the Revolutionary Guards said more than 100 “combat and suicide” drones were launched at Israel.In the central Israeli city of Bat Yam, the body of a Ukrainian woman was found in a site hit on Sunday, taking the death toll in Israel from Iranian missiles since Friday to 25 people according to authorities.Iran said Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.burs-sah-adp/th/ami/ysm