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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that he did not see a reason for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign immediately, a day after calling for a sweeping review of the Fed.Bessent’s comments to Fox Business come as Powell faces growing pressure from Donald Trump’s administration to slash interest rates, with the president recently ramping up attacks against the independent central bank chief over the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation project.But Trump has said it was highly unlikely he would oust Powell before his tenure is up next year, and on Tuesday told reporters: “I think he’s done a bad job, but he’s going to be out pretty soon anyway.”Bessent added in his television interview, referring to Powell: “There’s nothing that tells me that he should step down right now.”He noted that Powell’s term as Fed chair ends in May 2026, and that Powell should see out his full term if he wants to.But if the Fed chief wanted to leave early, he should as well, Bessent added.Late Monday in a social media post, Bessent called for the Fed to conduct an “exhaustive internal review of its non-monetary policy operations,” accusing the central bank of mission creep.Bessent, in his post on X, said the Fed’s “independence is a cornerstone of continued US economic growth and stability.””However, this autonomy is threatened by persistent mandate creep into areas beyond its core mission,” he added, without specifying which policy areas.The Treasury chief had told CNBC earlier in the day that “what we need to do is examine the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful.”On Tuesday, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman maintained in a CNBC interview that the central bank’s independence in setting monetary policy is “very important.”The Fed has held interest rates steady this year as it monitors the effects of Trump’s sweeping tariffs since returning to the White House — drawing ire from the president.Trump has repeatedly cited mild inflation numbers as a reason the Fed should lower rates, arguing that the country would also pay less interest on debt coming due.Trump said Tuesday that interest rates should be three percentage points lower.But lower rates, while a boost to the economy, can also increase consumer prices.Fed officials have been proceeding cautiously with rate cuts amid warnings that Trump’s tariffs could fuel consumer price hikes and weigh on economic growth.When mulling changes to the benchmark lending rate, officials seek to balance between reining in inflation and maintaining the health of the jobs market.Policymakers expect to have a better understanding of how the levies impact the economy in the summer months.The Fed holds its next policy meeting at month-end, and is widely expected to keep rates unchanged again.Trump and other Republican allies have recently zoomed in on the Fed’s headquarters renovation project as a potential avenue for Powell’s ousting.

US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Tuesday at reaching a trade deal with the Philippines to ease his threatened tariffs as he welcomed his counterpart Ferdinand Marcos to the White House.”We’re very close to finishing a trade deal. A big trade deal, actually,” Trump said as he met Marcos in the Oval Office.”He’s a very tough negotiator. So far we’re not there because he’s negotiating too tough,” Trump said.But Trump, in response to questions, said he believed the two countries would ultimately reach an agreement.”We’ll probably agree on something,” Trump said.The Philippines, a former US colony and longtime ally, was among countries confronted by Trump with letters this month warning of 20 percent tariffs on all their goods coming into the United States as of August 1 — up from a previous threat of 17 percent.The trade rift comes despite increasingly close defense relations between the United States and the Philippines, which has seen high tensions with China.The United States last year under former president Joe Biden deployed ground-launched missiles in the Philippines.Washington has also eyed ammunition manufacturing in the Philippines, despite the closure in 1992 of the US naval base at Subic Bay due to heavy public pressure.”All of what we consider part of the modernization of the Philippine military is really a response to the circumstances that surround the situation in the South China Sea,” Marcos said.”We are essentially concerned with the defense of our territory and the exercise of our sovereign rights,” he said.”Our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States.”China and the Philippines have engaged in a series of confrontations in the contested waters, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.

The US Department of Justice is seeking to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, officials said Tuesday, as President Donald Trump struggles to quell a furor over the handling of the explosive case.The former British socialite is currently serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking minors on behalf of Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial in his own pedophile trafficking case.”President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence” about the Epstein case, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on X.The surprise announcement marked the Trump administration’s latest effort to defuse spiraling anger among the Republican’s own supporters over what they have long seen as a cover-up of Epstein’s crimes and high-level connections.Blanche said an FBI review of the evidence against Epstein — a wealthy financier whose powerful friends once included Trump — had found nothing to suggest new leads.But if Maxwell “has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” said Blanche, who was formerly Trump’s personal lawyer. “No one is above the law — and no lead is off-limits.”David Oscar Markus, Maxwell’s lawyer, confirmed on X that he was in discussions with the government and said “Ghislaine will always testify truthfully.””We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case,” Markus added.Maxwell is the only former Epstein associate who was convicted in connection with his activities, which right-wing conspiracy theorists allege included trafficking young models for VIPs.Trump’s conspiracy-minded supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said on July 7 that Epstein had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a “client list.”Trump has tried a variety of measures to placate his base, including by ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to try to obtain release of grand jury testimony in Epstein’s aborted New York case.At a White House meeting with the Philippine’s president on Tuesday, Trump dismissed the entire Epstein scandal as “a witch hunt.”- Epstein prosector fired -However, the president’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement has long held as an article of faith that “Deep State” elites were protecting Epstein’s associates in the Democratic Party and Hollywood — although not Trump himself.While no evidence has emerged of any wrongdoing by Trump, the president had a close friendship with Epstein and he sued the Wall Street Journal last week after it published a story about a raunchy letter he purportedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday.The latest developments come just days after the federal prosecutor who handled Epstein’s and Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases was abruptly fired by the Trump Justice Department.Maurene Comey — the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, a prominent Trump critic — was dismissed on July 16 from her position as an assistant US attorney in Manhattan.The furor over Epstein has derailed business in the US House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson is sending lawmakers home early to derail demands by Democrats for a vote to release the “Epstein files.”Epstein was found hanging dead in his New York prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.The FBI and New York medical examiner ruled his death a suicide but the determination has done little to quell speculation in right-wing circles that he was murdered.Among those with connections to Epstein was Britain’s Prince Andrew, who settled a US civil case in February 2022 brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.Billionaire Elon Musk accused President Donald Trump on X last month of being in the “Epstein files” after the pair had a falling out, but he later deleted his posts.

General Motors reported Tuesday that second-quarter profits tumbled by more than a third due to tariffs as it confirmed its full-year forecast.GM’s results topped expectations, but shares fell as the automaker projected weaker profitability in the second half of 2025.The Detroit automaker, which has adjusted billions of dollars in investment in light of shifting US trade and environmental policies, said it benefited from continued solid pricing in its home market.Profits overall fell 35.4 percent to $1.9 billion year-on-year, with a $1.1 billion hit from tariffs accounting for much of the drop.Revenues dipped 1.8 percent to $47.1 billion, in spite of higher auto sales globally compared with the year-ago period.GM was among the carmakers that benefited from a surge in demand this spring from US consumers who wanted to beat US tariffs. GM pointed to sales growth in North America where new and revamped trucks and sport utility vehicles sold briskly.The United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported finished cars in early April, a move that affected major GM manufacturing operations in Mexico, Canada and South Korea.Auto companies have also been buffeted by tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and auto parts.GM reaffirmed its forecast of an overall hit of $4-$5 billion from tariffs in 2025 as it continues to import from those three countries “to avoid interruptions for our customers and dealers,” Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told analysts.”Over time we remain confident that our total tariff expense will come down as bilateral trade deals emerge and our sourcing and production adjustments are implemented,” Jacobson said.Chief Executive Mary Barra declined to predict “a worst-case” tariff scenario, but said the outcome could potentially be better than the current policies on which forecasts are based.- Lower profitability expected -The Detroit-based company’s outlook for a weaker second half of 2025 reflects “seasonally lower” volumes, increased spending on vehicle launches and the presence of two quarters with a tariff hit, compared to just one, the company said in a slide presentation.GM expects annual operating income of between $10 billion and $12.5 billion after notching $6.5 billion in the first half of the year.GM expects to mitigate “at least” 30 percent of the tariff hit through “manufacturing adjustments, targeted cost initiatives and consistent pricing,” according to a slide.In June, GM announced $4 billion over two years to expand production of plants in Michigan, Kansas and Tennessee, making use of unused capacity in its home market as President Donald Trump’s tariffs penalize imports of finished vehicles.The June announcement included steps to produce in the United States Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Blazer, two vehicles which are currently assembled in Mexico. GM has so far not shifted production from South Korea, home to production for the Chevrolet Trax, a popular compact SUV that is priced affordably. President Donald Trump has set an August 1 deadline to reach broad trade deals with numerous countries, including South Korea, which faces a broad-based 25 percent tariff if there is no deal.Barra told analysts the company’s South Korea operation is one “we’ve had for a long time that’s very efficient and high quality,” adding that the company would avoid long-term decisions until it knows the outcome of talks between Washington and South Korea.As GM has shifted production to the United States, it has also ramped up investments in internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) in light of slowing growth in electric vehicles. Those dynamics will be compounded by the Trump’s recent legislation to phase out tax credits for EVs after September.Recent GM investments will boost GM ability to produce either EVs or ICE vehicles at plants depending on demand, Jacobson said.”That flexibility is going to be important for us as we go through the next several years,” Jacobson said.Shares of GM fell 7.1 percent in morning trading.

Major social media platforms are enabling and profiting from misinformation around extreme weather events, endangering lives and impeding emergency response efforts, a research group said Tuesday.The report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) — which analyzed 100 viral posts on each of three leading platforms during recent natural disasters including deadly Texas floods — highlights how their algorithms amplify conspiracy theorists while sidelining life-saving information.”The influence of high-profile conspiracy theorists during climate disasters is drowning out emergency response efforts,” the report said, adding that the trend was “putting lives at risk.”Nearly all of the analyzed posts on Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram lacked fact-checks or Community Notes, a crowd-sourced verification system increasingly being adopted as an alternative to professional fact-checkers, the report said.Elon Musk-owned X lacked fact-checks or Community Notes on 99 percent of the posts, while Google-owned YouTube “failed entirely,” with zero fact-checks or Community Notes, CCDH said.The report noted that well-known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s false claims during the LA wildfires amassed more views on X throughout January than the combined reach of major emergency response agencies and news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times.”The rapid spread of climate conspiracies online isn’t accidental. It’s baked into a business model that profits from outrage and division,” said Imran Ahmed, CCDH’s chief executive.During the wildfires, online scammers placed social media advertisements impersonating federal emergency aid agencies to steal victims’ personal information, Ahmed said, citing local officials.”When distraught people can’t distinguish real help from online deception, platforms become complicit in the suffering of innocent people,” he said.The tech platforms did not immediately respond to requests for comment.- ‘Dangerous’ falsehoods -Following natural disasters, misinformation tends to surge across social media — fueled by accounts from across the political spectrum –- as many platforms scale back content moderation and reduce reliance on human fact-checkers, often accused by conservative advocates of a liberal bias.During Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida last year, social media was flooded with baseless claims that the storm had been engineered by politicians using weather manipulation.Similarly, the LA wildfires were falsely blamed on so-called “government lasers,” a conspiracy theory amplified by viral posts.Augustus Doricko, chief executive of cloud seeding company Rainmaker, said he received death threats online after conspiracy theorists blamed him for the devastating floods in Texas.”I can confirm that we have received multiple threats since the flooding event,” Doricko told AFP, highlighting the real-life consequences of such falsehoods.The CCDH study found that the worst offenders spreading extreme weather misinformation were verified users with large followings, many of whom were attempting to monetize their posts.Eighty eight percent of misleading extreme weather posts on X came from verified accounts, CCDH said. On YouTube, 73 percent of such posts originated from verified users, while on Meta, the figure was 64 percent.”Climate disinformation costs lives,” said Sam Bright of DeSmog, which reports on climate misinformation campaigns.”As extreme weather events become more and more frequent, these falsehoods will only get more dangerous.”

Coca-Cola on Tuesday said it would release a version of Coke in the United States made with US-grown real cane sugar, a move requested by President Donald Trump.”We’re going to be bringing a Coke sweetened with US cane sugar into the market this fall, and I think that will be an enduring option for consumers,” said CEO James Quincey on a call with analysts.The company currently uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for many of its US products — a sweetener that has long drawn criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.Trump last week said that the company had agreed to use cane sugar in the United States version of Coke.”This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.Coca-Cola at the time did not confirm the move even if it said it appreciated Trump’s “enthusiasm” for its brand.In announcing the new option, Quincey insisted that the main Coke product would still be made with corn syrup, with the cane sugar version offered as an alternative.Mexican Coke — which is made with cane sugar — is often sold at a premium in US stores and prized for its more “natural” flavor.The US president did not explain what motivated his push for the change, which would not impact his well-known favorite beverage, Diet Coke.Since his return to the White House, Trump has reinstalled a special button in the Oval Office that summons a helping of the sugar-free carbonated drink.HFCS became popular in the 1970s, with its use skyrocketing thanks to government subsidies for corn growers and high import tariffs on cane sugar.Any shift away from corn is likely to draw backlash in the Corn Belt, a Midwestern region that has been a stronghold of support for Trump.Both HFCS and sucrose (cane sugar) are composed of fructose and glucose, but differ at the structural level.Those differences don’t appear to significantly affect health outcomes, according to research.Trump’s preferred Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame — a compound classified as a “possible carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week for tariff talks, eyeing an extension to a mid-August deadline for levies to snap back to steeper levels.Bessent told Fox Business that he will be speaking with Chinese officials on Monday and Tuesday for a third round of high-level negotiations, to work out what he said would be a likely postponement of the deadline.Washington and Beijing slapped escalating, tit-for-tat levies on each other’s exports earlier this year — reaching triple digit levels — stalling trade between the world’s two biggest economies as tensions surged.But after top officials met in Geneva in May, both sides agreed to temporarily lower their tariff levels in a de-escalation set to expire next month. Officials from the two countries also met in London in June.”That deal expires on August 12, and I’m going to be in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday with my Chinese counterparts, and we’ll be working out what is likely an extension then,” Bessent said in the interview.He noted that Washington also wanted to speak about a wider range of topics, potentially including Chinese purchases of Iranian and Russian oil.For other economies facing an earlier August 1 deadline for higher US tariffs to kick in, Bessent said he expects the duties will boomerang back up — but signaled Washington would continue negotiations.Trade talks between the United States and China had initially stalled after their Geneva meeting in May, although Bessent said trade is in a good place now with Beijing.Disagreements bubbled to the fore when US officials earlier accused Beijing of violating their pact and slow-walking export license approvals for rare earths — crucial materials for making electronics and other goods.Since then, the two countries have agreed on a framework to move forward with their Geneva consensus.The United States has been seen relaxing certain restrictions on semiconductor sales to China, while Beijing has been reviewing applications for export licenses of controlled items. Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has imposed a sweeping 10 percent tariff on allies and competitors alike, alongside steeper levels on steel, aluminum and autos.The 10 percent blanket rate is expected to increase for dozens of economies — although not China — come August 1, unless they reach an agreement with Washington to avert this outcome.So far, the Trump administration has only announced deals with Britain, Vietnam and Indonesia. But Bessent maintained Tuesday that more pacts are to come.

Stephen Colbert had an unflinching message for US President Donald Trump in his first broadcast since his “Late Show” was cancelled amid a political firestorm — “the gloves are off.”Colbert, who addressed the cancellation of his show by a broadcaster that has been widely accused of seeking to curry favor with Trump for business reasons, came out swinging — telling Trump to “go fuck yourself.””The Late Show,” a storied US TV franchise dating back to 1993 when it was hosted by David Letterman, will go off the air in May 2026 following a surprise announcement by broadcaster CBS last week.The channel is part of Paramount, which is in the throes of an $8 billion takeover that requires approval by the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission. It pulled the plug three days after Colbert skewered CBS for settling a lawsuit with Trump.He accused it of paying what he termed a “a big fat bribe” of $16 million to the president for what he called “deceptive” editing of an interview with his 2024 election opponent, former vice president Kamala Harris.Trump reveled in the firing of one of his most prolific detractors, posting on his Truth Social platform that “I absolutely love that Colbert was fired.”Colbert joked Monday that it had always been his dream starting out as an improv comic in Chicago in the 1980s to have a sitting president celebrate the end of his career.He also disputed the logic of CBS who insisted the cancellation was “purely a financial decision.”He said that in an anonymous leak over the weekend, CBS had appeared to suggest his show lost $40 million last year.Colbert joked that he could account for losing $24 million annually — but wasn’t to blame for the other $16 million, a reference to CBS News’s settlement with Trump.Monday’s cold open was an unsparing riff on Trump demanding that the Washington Commanders change its name back to its former name which was widely considered a slur against Native Americans.The segment suggested Trump sought to rename the franchise the “Washington Epsteins”, in reference to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein whom it has been widely reported was close to Trump.Colbert returned to this topic after addressing his show’s cancellation, proclaiming that they had killed his show but not him, and doing a deep dive on reporting about just how close Trump and Epstein were.It was a formula that would have been familiar to fans of the show: the deadly serious leavened with humor and quick wit.Outside the taping at Midtown Manhattan’s Ed Sullivan theater, protesters held placards that said “Colbert Stays! Trump Must Go!”Audience member Elizabeth Kott, a 48-year-old high school teacher, called Colbert’s firing “terrible.” “It’s really awful that it’s come to that in this country, where companies feel the need to obey in advance. It’s really awful,” she told AFP.- ‘A plague on CBS’ -Colbert’s lead guest Monday, acclaimed actress Sandra Oh, did not hold back, proclaiming a “plague on CBS and Paramount” — the network on which Colbert’s channel is broadcast and its media giant proprietor.Colbert’s lip trembled as Oh paid tribute to his work speaking truth to power while staying funny.His other guest, actor Dave Franco, said he had loved Colbert’s work in everything from “The Daily Show” to “The Colbert Report” and then “The Late Show.”It was on “The Daily Show,” under the supervision of comic “anchor” Jon Stewart, that Colbert perfected his alter-ego — a blowhard conservative reporter whose studied ignorance parodied actual right-wing broadcasters night after night.He moved up to a show of his own on the same network, Comedy Central, which was then part of Viacom and today is part of Paramount.Before long he took one of the most coveted chairs in US television — host of the CBS late-night slot.Colbert dropped his arrogant conservative persona and cultivated a reputation as one of the most trusted yet funniest figures on US television.Through the coronavirus pandemic he became a reassuring presence for millions, broadcasting from a spare room in his house and narrating the challenges he faced alongside his wife Evelyn.He also became an arch-critic of Trump, skewering the president for everything from his policies to his fondness for Hannibal Lecter.Skipping a promised question and answer session following the taping of Monday’s show, Colbert told his studio audience that “I was nervous coming out here.””I will miss you.”

Venezuela announced a probe Monday into torture claims by 252 migrants the United States had sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison where they said they were beaten, sexually abused and fed rotten food.Attorney General Tarek William Saab presented photos and testimonies at a news conference in Caracas of some of the men, who said they had feared not making it out alive.Several had bruises on their bodies, marks of being shot with rubber bullets, and one had a split lip.Andry Hernandez Romero, a 32-year-old beautician among those sent to the notorious CECOT prison as part of US President Donald Trump’s migrant crackdown, said he barely survived the ordeal.”We were going through torture, physical aggressions, psychological aggressions,” he said in a video presented by Saab.”I was sexually abused.”Saab said the prosecutor’s office was interviewing the returned migrants.Many spoke of being held in “inhuman cells,” deprived of sunlight and ventilation, and given rotten food and unsafe drinking water.The men had no access to lawyers or their relatives, and the last time many of them were seen was when President Nayib Bukele’s government issued photos of them arriving at the prison shackled and with their heads shorn.- ‘Mom, it’s Mervin’ -By Monday afternoon, the migrants had not yet been reunited with their families.Officials said they were undergoing medical exams, being issued with new Venezuelan ID cards, and interviewed by the prosecutor’s office.Mercedes Yamarte, 46, told AFP she was preparing a welcome party for her 29-year-old son Mervin — one of the men released from the prison Bukele built as part of his mass anti-gang crackdown.She had put up balloons, banners and prepared food at their home in a poor neighborhood of Maracaibo in northern Venezuela, but had no idea when to expect him.At lunchtime on Monday, she received a call, and heard the words: “Mom, it’s Mervin.””I hadn’t heard my son’s voice in four months and seven days, listening to him was a joy, a joy I cannot describe,” she told AFP.- Crimes against humanity -The men were accused in the United States of being gang members and flown in March to El Salvador, after Trump invoked rarely used wartime laws to deport the men without court hearings.Their treatment elicited an international outcry.Saab said the Venezuelan investigation would target Bukele and other Salvadoran officials for alleged crimes against humanity.And he urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Human Rights Council to act.The men were freed last Friday and flown back home in what the Trump administration said was an exchange for 10 Americans or US residents and dozens of “political prisoners” held in Venezuela.President Nicolas Maduro on his TV show Monday claimed Bukele had tried “last minute” to prevent the migrants from leaving.”You could not stop the first plane, but for the second plane he put some car on the runway… to provoke either an accident or prevent them from leaving,” he said. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado labeled the process as an “exchange of prisoners of war” during a television interview Monday.Venezuela itself faces an investigation by the ICC in The Hague, with similar allegations of torturing prisoners and denying them access to legal representation.Hundreds of people are held for political reasons in Venezuela, according to rights group Foro Penal.Some 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed and 200 injured in a crackdown on protests that broke out last July after Maduro claimed victory in elections he is widely accused of having stolen.On Sunday, Maduro’s government insisted negotiations for the migrants’ release were held “only with the United States of America” and not “the clown” Bukele. 

The ceasefire that ended Iran’s 12-day war with Israel has held for nearly a month without incident, but many Iranians remain uneasy, struggling with uncertainty as fears of another confrontation linger.”I don’t think this ceasefire will last,” said Peyman, a 57-year-old resident of Shiraz in Iran’s south, one of numerous cities hit last month as Israel unleashed an unprecedented bombing campaign against its staunch rival.The Israeli offensive targeted key nuclear facilities and military sites, killing top commanders and nuclear scientists and hundreds of other people, while also wreaking havoc in some residential areas.The attacks triggered the fiercest fighting in history between the longtime foes, ending with a ceasefire announced on June 24.But Israel has signalled it could return to fighting if Iran attempts to rebuild nuclear facilities or carry out any actions deemed a threat, such as moving to develop an atomic bomb — an ambition Tehran has consistently denied it was pursuing.Iran, in turn, has vowed to deliver a harsh response if attacked again.Nuclear diplomacy with the United States — which briefly joined the war with strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites — has stalled, deepening a sense of uncertainty about what lies ahead.”I am scared the war would start again,” said Hamid, a 54-year-old government employee who gave only his first name.”It will lead to the death of more innocent people and the destruction of the country’s infrastructure.”During the war, Israel struck major Iranian cities including the capital Tehran, hitting military sites, government buildings and the state television headquarters.More than 1,000 people were killed in Iran, according to authorities. Retaliatory missile and drone attacks killed 29 people in Israel.- ‘Don’t want to flee again’ -Many residents fled Tehran, seeking refuge in other parts of the country, even though few regions were untouched by the blasts and smoke-covered skies.Nearly a month later, a series of fires that broke out across Iran in recent days — including one at a major oil facility — have triggered speculations which officials were quick to dismiss, denying any acts of sabotage.”This war really frightened me,” said 78-year-old housewife Golandam Babaei, from the western Kermanshah province.She lived through the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, a painful memory for many of her generation.”I kept telling myself, please God, do not let the past repeat itself,” Babaei told AFP.The war with Israel, although much shorter and fought mostly with air strikes and missiles rather than by ground forces, revived grim memories of the conflict with Iraq.That war, triggered by an Iraqi invasion in 1980, killed an estimated 500,000 people on both sides.It featured chemical warfare and prolonged front-line bombardments, scarring Iranians in the then-nascent Islamic republic born out of the 1979 revolution.Since then, for decades, Iran had managed to keep conflicts away from its territory. But now after the 12-day war with Israel, some Iranians feel a profound sense of vulnerability.”I kept thinking I don’t want to flee again, we have nowhere to go. I cannot run to the mountains like the past,” said Babaei.- Uncertain future -For Ali Khanzadi, a 62-year-old war veteran, the conflict with Israel highlighted a change compared to the 1980s when “we didn’t have any advanced military equipment” to fight the Iraqis.Khanzadi, who was wounded in battle in 1983, said that the war with Israel, while much shorter, had a more sinister dimension.Unlike in the past, modern military technology means “they can kill a child in his sleep remotely using a drone,” he said.In the face of the Israeli threats and attacks, Iranian authorities have repeatedly invoked national unity.Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the offensive was aimed at toppling the Islamic republic’s clerical system, and urged Iranian diplomats and military officials to proceed with “care and precision” as the country cautiously moves on.Tehran has said it remained open to nuclear diplomacy with the United States which the war had derailed, but officials have expressed concerns over renewed attacks and demanded unspecified US guarantees to resume negotiations.Ordinary Iranians appear to share fears that the conflict could erupt again.”I hope that this will not happen,” said Hamid.Babaei said she was praying “for peace, for us to remain safe in our homes”.