Trump always blames others for his own mistakes, and issues threats that he will likely never be able to carry out (I recommend this article from “Al Jazeera” for a weekend read. The link is posted just below along with the Headline if that’s all you care to read . . .
In my Saturday Opinion:
The problems and never-ending lies are from Trump, not the USA itself. We are the ones who need a “regime change”.
And I also have a question for today: If Trump’s bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear operations truthfully “OBLITERATED” their nuclear facilities, as Trump has claimed, why would he need to threaten Iran as soon as today that he would bomb them again if they restarted their uranium enriching program? llolloll! ~llaw
US president says Iranian supreme leader’s alleged ‘anger, hatred, disgust’ led him to drop work on sanctions relief.
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Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
Israel deals blows to Tehran nuclear weapons threats … Israel’s 12-days of targeted airstrikes in Iran — a defensive war to prevent a new holocaust — …
This photo provided by the White House shows US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in the Situation Room at the White House on June 21. (See CNN article for photo credits) ~ llaw
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion:
To paraphrase Shakespeare, “Something is rotten in the Untied States’“. Why would we bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities and then decide to secretly restart negotiations with Iran, doing an about-face and after-the-fact continue with talks about the nuclear facilities agreement if, as Trump claims, their nuclear enrichment facilities were “obliterated”?
. . . and in so doing give Iran $30 billion to contract with an outside uranium refinery (enrichment) facility to produce low-grade nuclear power plant uranium fuel to “prove” for us all that the attack on Iran’s enrichment facilities was successful, which is definitely questionable — when the the Pentagon will only say publicly that the “attack” did what it was designed to do”, and say nothing about “obliteration”.
Oh, and Israel announced that they want to attack Iran again in the future just in case they and the U.S. missed anything during the previous bombings.
If all of this makes sense to anyone, you should avoid dealing with carpetbaggers and grifters. I, myself, believe it is CYA for the president’s fictional use of that nasty and overstated word, “obliterated”. ~llaw
Exclusive: Details emerge of secret diplomatic efforts to restart Iran talks
The Trump administration has discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, easing sanctions, and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds – all part of an intensifying attempt to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table, four sources familiar with the matter said.
Key players from the US and the Middle East have talked with the Iranians behind the scenes even amid the flurry of military strikes in Iran and Israel over the past two weeks, the sources said. Those discussions have continued this week after a ceasefire deal was struck, the sources said.
Trump administration officials emphasized that several proposals have been floated. They are preliminary and evolving with one consistent non-negotiable: zero Iranian enrichment of uranium, which Iran has consistently said it needs. But at least one preliminary draft proposal, described to CNN by two sources, includes several incentives for Iran.
Some details were hashed out in a secret, hours-long meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Gulf partners at the White House last Friday, the day before US military strikes against Iran, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Among the terms being discussed, which have not been previously reported, is an estimated $20-30 billion investment in a new Iranian non-enrichment nuclear program that would be used for civilian energy purposes, Trump administration officials and sources familiar with the proposal told CNN. One official insisted that money would not come directly from the US, which prefers its Arab partners foot the bill. Investment in Iran’s nuclear energy facilities has been discussed in previous rounds of nuclear talks in recent months.
“The US is willing to lead these talks” with Iran, the Trump administration official told CNN. “And someone is going to need to pay for the nuclear program to be built, but we will not make that commitment.”
This photo provided by the White House shows US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in the Situation Room at the White House on June 21.
Daniel Torok/The White House/Getty Images
Other incentives include potentially removing some sanctions on Iran and allowing Tehran to access the $6 billion currently sitting in foreign bank accounts that it is restricted from freely using, according to the draft described to CNN.
Another idea floated last week that is currently being considered is for US-backed allies in the Gulf to pay to replace the Fordow nuclear facility – which the US hit with bunker-buster bombs over the weekend – withthe non-enrichment program, two sources familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear if Iran would be able to use the site itself, nor was it clear how seriously that proposal was being considered.
“There are a lot of ideas being thrown around by different people and a lot of them are trying to be creative,” one of the sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
“I think it is entirely uncertain what will happen here,” said a separate source familiar with the first five rounds of talks between the US and Iran that occurred before the Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.
Witkoff told CNBC Wednesday that the US is seeking a “comprehensive peace agreement,” and a Trump administration official emphasized that all of the proposals are designed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The US has said that Iran may have a nuclear program for peaceful civilian purposes, but that it cannot enrich the uranium for that program. Instead, the US has suggested Iran could import the enriched uranium. Witkoff likened the potential program to that of the United Arab Emirates.
“Now the issue and the conversation with Iran is going to be, how do we rebuild a better civil nuclear program for you that is non-enrichable?” he told CNBC.
The administration may have an opportunity to present a term sheet to the Iranians. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US and Iran would be sitting down next week – though Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said he was not aware of talks next week, and people involved in the planning said that details were still being worked out.
Sources familiar with the discussions told CNN that no dates have been set yet.
Despite the fervent diplomacy led by Witkoff behind the scenes, Trump this week publicly downplayed the necessity of a nuclear agreement, saying on Wednesday that he believed such an agreement was “not necessary.”
“I don’t care if I have an agreement or not,” he said.
While the president seemed publicly indifferent to hashing out a new deal after clinching a ceasefire agreement, many of his advisers believe the pursuit of a longer-term deal will ensure the ceasefire has longevity.
The terms that were developed in Witkoff’s secret meeting have been the subject of continued discussion between the US and Iran through regional interlocutors – primarily the Qataris – in recent days. Qatar also played a key role in brokering the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran earlier this week, and will be working very closely with the US to ensure that fighting between them will not resume, one of the sources added.
In this frame-grab made from video, missiles and air-defense interceptors illuminate the night sky over Doha after Iran launched an attack at Al Udeid Air Base on June 23.
Getty Images
US hopes strikes will prompt deal
There is hope within the Trump administration that after the events of the past two weeks Iran is more likely to accede to the US conditions and halt efforts that could bring it closer to a developing a nuclear weapon.
But Iranian experts cite the possible scenario that the Iranian regime may now decide that it needs a nuclear weapon. Earlier in the week the Iranian parliament approved legislation to end cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, signaling a desire to further conceal their nuclear program.
Prior to Israel’s military operation against Iran roughly two weeks ago, the US and Iranians had held five rounds of negotiations to try to reach a framework for a new nuclear deal. The US had presented a proposal to Tehran, and Iran was expected to respond during a planned sixth round of negotiations in Oman. Those talks were scuttled by Israel’s attacks on Iran.
On Saturday, ahead of US strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, the Trump administration communicated with Iran through intermediaries. Their message was twofold: forthcoming US strikes would be contained, but also that the US terms for a diplomatic deal with Iran were clear and simple: no uranium enrichment, sources said.
This June 24 satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at Fordow enrichment facility after the US strikes on June 22.
Maxar Technologies/AP
Trump has been circumspect about the prospects of a deal, telling reporters after announcing talks with Iran next week: “We may sign an agreement, I don’t know.”
“I could get a statement that they’re not going to go nuclear, we’re probably going to ask for that,” Trump said at a NATO summit on Wednesday.
The president added that his administration would be asking for the same type of commitments they sought in negotiations with Iran prior to the most recent conflict between Israel and Iran.
“The only thing we’d be asking for is what we were asking for before,” Trump said, adding that he wants “no nuclear.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, said Wednesday that any such deal would depend on Iran’s willingness to negotiate directly with the US, not through intermediaries.
“We’d love to have peaceful relations with any country in the world. And so obviously that will depend on Iran’s willingness not just to engage in peace, but to negotiate directly with the United States, not through a third-country or fourth-country process,” Rubio said at a press conference alongside Trump in The Hague.
Witkoff on Wednesday said there are “signs” that an agreement can be reached.
“We’re having conversations with the Iranians. There are multiple interlocutors reaching out to us,” he told CNBC. “I think that they’re ready.”
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There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
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Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
The Trump administration has revealed new details about U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM The World. 0:00. 0 …
The Capitol is viewed in Washington on Monday, as Congress returns to work following President Donald Trump’s bombardment of three sites in Iran.
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion:
Note that this coverage by CNN of the USA strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities is ongoing, and what you see here doesn’t include some of the updates that are posted every several minutes.
But what is clear is that there is a huge question mark about what Trump has reported to the American public as having “obliterated” Iran’s three major uranium enrichment facilities versus the full classified briefing, and that now there is an attempt to keep the full story of the attack out the hands of Congress even though the contradiction to Trump’s “obliteration” and his own DoD evaluation that the bombing was only “a two or three month setback” to Iran’s facilities.
The White House is trying to prove Trump correct about the devastation, and Congress wants a full report — which they have a right to — but has been told that they will not be allowed to review and evaluate the full military briefing.
One way or another, someone is covering up and trying to continue to deceive the actual results — and the American people — of the U.S. attack, and someone may have intentionally misrepresented the official intelligence briefing. I wonder who that could be . . . ~llaw
Expect more here tomorrow, because as for now, I am already well-behind the “knowledge” curve.
Senate receives classified briefing after Pentagon says Iran strikes went as planned
Gen. Caine shares info about US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities
00:55
What we’re covering
• New details on US strikes: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine offered new details about the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities but did not provide evidence that its nuclear program was “obliterated,” as President Donald Trump claimed. Caine revealed that Iran attempted to cover the main shafts of the facilities with concrete ahead of the attack. The US Senate is now receiving a classified briefing on Iran.
• Khamenei weighs in: In his first comments since the ceasefire, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared victory over Israel, despite its killing of senior Iranian military leaders and strikes on nuclear sites. He also claimed the US gained nothing from its attack.
• Key centrifuges disabled: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said the centrifuges at Fordow, one of Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities, are “no longer operational.” Separately, the nuclear watchdog said it has yet to receive a response from Tehran on resuming inspections.
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US and Israel have told Iran to hand over enriched uranium, Israeli defense minister says
From CNN’s Dana Karni and Catherine Nicholls
The United States and Israel have told Iran it must hand over its enriched uranium, the Israeli defense minister said.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13, Israel Katz discussed the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities that took place over the weekend.
“It was clear from the beginning that the strike would neutralize the surrounding infrastructure — it wouldn’t eliminate the (nuclear) material itself. Now there is a joint American-Israeli position saying to Iran, ‘You must hand over this material,’” Katz said in the interview, which aired Thursday.
The intention of Israel’s recent attacks on Iran was to “neutralize capabilities,” Katz said.
“Today, they have no way to produce a nuclear bomb, because we also destroyed the conversion facility that turns uranium into solid form,” he claimed.
1 hr 9 min ago
White House won’t say how it is limiting intelligence sharing with Congress
From CNN’s Simone Pathe
The White House declined to say Thursday how it will be limiting the classified information it shares with Congress, or how it will respond to lawmakers who insist their oversight duties necessitate access to the information.
The comments came shortly before a classified briefing on Iran by Trump administration officials for the Senate, which is now underway after being delayed by several days earlier this week.
“This administration wants to ensure that classified intelligence is not ending up in irresponsible hands, and that people who have the privilege of viewing this top-secret classified information are being responsible with it,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a briefing.
“And unfortunately, clearly, someone who had their hands on this — and it was a very few people, very few number of people in our government who saw this report. … That person was irresponsible with it,” Leavitt added, referring to the early Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that found US strikes on Iran did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months.
“We need to strengthen that process to protect our national security and protect the American public,” Leavitt said.
The Trump administration is planning to limit what it shares with Congress, a senior White House official told CNN on Wednesday, believing that the report came out after it was posted on Monday to CAPNET, a system used for sharing classified intelligence with Congress.
This post has been updated to reflect that the Senate briefing is underway.
59 min ago
White House brushes off Iranian supreme leader’s refusal to surrender: “You have to save face”
From CNN’s Kate Irby and Mostafa Salem
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday dismissed comments from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Tehran will “never surrender.”
“When you have a totalitarian regime, you have to save face. I think any common-sense, open-minded person knows the truth about the precision strikes on Saturday night — they were wildly successful, and it’s what led to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, which the president is very grateful for,” Leavitt told reporters at a briefing.
Some context: The 86-year-old Khamenei issued his pre-recorded statement from an undisclosed private location Thursday. Khamenei predictably declared victory over Israel and the United States in his address, despite the killing of key Iranian leaders and the strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites.
While Trump has voiced confidence that US strikes dealt a massive blow to Iran’s nuclear aspirations, US assessments are still ongoing about the extent of the damage.
1 hr 6 min ago
Trump “very open” to Netanyahu visit, White House says
From CNN’s Kate Irby
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “expressed interest in coming to the White House” and President Donald Trump is “very open” to it, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
“The president is obviously very open to that, but we don’t have a date. When we do, we’ll let you all know,” Leavitt told reporters at a briefing.
Israeli media reported Thursday that Netanyahu is planning to visit Washington as early as the second week of July.
Remember: Trump and Netanyahu are close allies. The US leader denounced an ongoing corruption trial against his Israeli counterpart as a “witch hunt” Wednesday night, and Netanyahu has previously called Trump the “greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”
1 hr 7 min ago
Trump pushing for more countries to join Abraham Accords, White House says
From CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo
President Donald Trump is pushing for more Gulf and Arab nations to join the Abraham Accords, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today.
Leavitt said Trump’s effort to expand upon the landmark series of agreements from his first term, which saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, illustrates his commitment to “durable peace” efforts in the Middle East.
“The president and his team, namely special envoy (Steve) Witkoff, continue to be in communication with the Iranians, and especially our Gulf and Arab partners in the region, to come to an agreement with Iran,” said Leavitt.
“And we see a new era in which perhaps some of these Gulf and Arab states can sign on to the Abraham Accords,” Leavitt added, saying Trump had already requested the new Syrian president sign on to the accords when the two met in May.
2 hr ago
There was no opportunity to assassinate Khamenei during conflict with Iran, Israeli defense minister says
From CNN’s Dana Karni and Catherine Nicholls
There was no opportunity for Israel to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the 12 days of conflict between the two countries, Israel’s defense minister has said.
“If (Khamenei) had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Israel Katz said in an interview with Channel 13 that aired today.
Though there was not an opportunity to kill the Iranian leader during Israel’s “Rising Lion” operation, Katz said his country would have “taken him out” if one had arisen.
2 hr 5 min ago
Democrats hope classified briefing will provide better idea of damage dealt to Iran
From CNN’s Alison Main, Lauren Fox and Nicky Robertson
Sen. Dick Durbin told CNN he wants the “best report on what damage was done,” but also, “more importantly, we’ve got to start a conversation about what follows.” This includes whether hindering Iran’s nuclear program will require Americans on the ground in the region, he said.
Asked if there is already a trust deficit between the briefers and lawmakers after the briefing was delayed several days, Durbin responded: “I understand now why they canceled the first briefing: There was no good news, there’s bad news. Obliteration turned out to be something much different.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that three Iranian nuclear sites were “obliterated,” while CNN reported that the US strikes did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intelligence assessment.
Durbin also called reports that the White House plans to limit the classified information shared with Congress a “disappointment” and a “direct contradiction” to Congress’ constitutional war powers.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal emphasized, “we are still at a preliminary fact-finding stage.” He said remaining questions include what remains of Tehran’s nuclear program and the “mission still ahead, whether it is military or diplomatic.”
“Right now, there’s no strategy except for a confused and contradictory version of what actually happened, and that is a disservice so far as it exaggerates the degree of success. I think it was successful to a large extent, but by no means should we be saying, ‘Mission accomplished,’” he added.
2 hr 14 min ago
Israel’s “victory” against Iran “opens the door” to other peace agreements, Netanyahu says
From CNN’s Dana Karni, Catherine Nicholls and Hira Humayun
Israel’s “victory” against Iran provides opportunities for a “dramatic expansion of the peace agreements,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement today.
“We fought bravely against Iran and achieved a great victory. This victory opens the door to a dramatic expansion of the peace agreements,” Netanyahu said. “We are working on this vigorously.”
The prime minister said there is now a “window of opportunity” to defeat Hamas and ensure the release of hostages currently held by the terror group in the Gaza Strip.
“We must not waste even a single day,” Netanyahu said.
For his part, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also declared victory in the 12-day conflict, despite Israel’s killing of senior Iranian military leaders and strikes on nuclear sites.
More context: Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon had hinted on Tuesday that Israel was open to new relationships with Arab nations.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations in New York, Danon said now is the “time to build bridges and partnerships in the region.” Danon did not point to any particular country but cited Israel’s normalization of relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco via the Abraham Accords.
2 hr 19 min ago
White House says “no indication” enriched uranium was removed from sites in Iran
From CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo
There is no evidence that Iran moved any enriched uranium from its nuclear sites before US strikes last weekend, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
“There was no indication to the United States that any of that enriched uranium was moved prior to the strike from any of the sites,” Leavitt said when pressed about Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, the three facilities targeted in the attack.
President Donald Trump said earlier Thursday that “nothing was taken out of” Iran’s nuclear facilities ahead of the strikes.
“The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said this morning that in the days leading up to the attack, Iran attempted to cover the main shafts of the facilities with concrete.
2 hr 48 min ago
US Senate classified briefing on Iran set for this afternoon
From CNN’s Morgan Rimmer
The Capitol is viewed in Washington on Monday, as Congress returns to work following President Donald Trump’s bombardment of three sites in Iran.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The all-Senate classified briefing on the situation in Iran has been scheduled for 2 p.m. ET today, after being rescheduled from earlier in the week.
The Trump administration has faced criticism from top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, who have expressed frustration at the lack of communication about the US strikes in Iran. Some have warned the administration against manipulating facts ahead of the briefings.
The House is expected to be briefed on Friday.
2 hr 49 min ago
Iran’s president set to enact law suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
From CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, on June 12.
Iran’s Presidential website/West Asia News Agency/Reuters
Iran has moved closer to approving a bill that would suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian state media IRNA reported on Thursday.
The bill is now on its final step before becoming law, having been sent to the country’s president for his signature. This follows its approval by Iran’s 12-member Guardian Council, which holds the power to vet legislation and oversee elections.
The Council’s approval came just one day after the Iranian parliament’s national security committee passed the bill to halt cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
The IAEA said on Thursday that it is “aware of these reports.” In a short statement shared with CNN, it added: “As of now, the IAEA has not received an official communication from Iran on this matter.”
According to IRNA, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said cooperation with IAEA will be suspended until Iran’s nuclear facilities are guaranteed security.
3 hr 8 min ago
Watch: Joint Chiefs chairman shares test footage of “bunker buster” bomb used in Iran strikes
From CNN staff
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Daine shared video of a test of the “bunker buster” bomb used during US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
A CNN analysis of satellite imagery showed that the US strikes left at least six large craters at the Fordow nuclear site, pointing to the use of bunker-busting bombs.
Watch the moment Cain shows the test footage:
3 hr 29 min ago
Pentagon reveals new details about US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Here’s what we know
From CNN staff
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (L), accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine (R), speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon today in Arlington, Virginia. The Department of Defense top officials gave an update after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the US military last weekend and Iran countered by launching missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on the Trump administration’s claim that the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities “obliterated” the country’s nuclear program, during a Pentagon briefing this morning.
Meanwhile, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine offered new details on Operation Midnight Hammer.
Here’s what was revealed during the briefing:
Emphasis that operation went as planned: Caine said the strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities went as planned, and the 30,000 pound bombs dropped “functioned as designed, meaning they exploded.” He added, “We know this through other means intelligence means that we have that were visibly, we were visibly able to see them. And we know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function.”
Iranians attempted to cover shafts at Fordow facility: Caine said that in the days leading up to the US’ attack, Iran attempted to cover the main shafts of the facilities with concrete. “The planners had to account for this, they accounted for everything. The cap was forcibly removed by the first weapon, and the main shaft was uncovered.”
“Nothing was taken out” of Iran’s nuclear facilities: “The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Hegseth made a similar point during today’s briefing. “I’m not aware of any intelligence that I’ve reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be — moved or otherwise,” Hegseth said when asked about the enriched uranium stockpiles.
Defense of “obliteration” claims and assessment timeline: Hegseth indicated that the administration’s claim that the sites were “obliterated” was based on the capability of the weapons used.Meanwhile, Caine deflected when asked what had changed in the US’ ability to assess the damage of its strikes on Iranian nuclear sites — just days after the chairman said a final assessment would take time. Caine also said he has “never been pressured” by Trump or Hegseth to provide a different intelligence assessment on the US’ military operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
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Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
All Things Considered. Iowa Public Radio News. All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM The Daily. 0:00. 0:00. All Things Considered. Iowa Public Radio …
“Look, they just had a war. The war was fought. They fought it bravely. I’m not giving up,” Trump told reporters when asked whether allowing China to …
… nuclear weapons. 9 Mar 2025. US support to maintain UK’s nuclear arsenal is in doubt, experts say. 8 Mar 2025. UK says it voted against UN nuclear war …
A satellite overview shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility, along with damage from recent airstrikes, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, near Qom, Iran, June 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion:
From the Reuters’ article posted below: Trump said over the weekend that the U.S. deployment of 30,000-pound bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment by one of his administration’s intelligence agencies, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Is anyone other than me getting sick and tired of Trump’s continual lies and their possible consequences? It goes on and on, as it always has since his prior term as president (more than 30,000 documented lies) and every time he lies, he influences gullible people, the media, and dangerously creates misunderstandings around the globe, including the decisions of other world leaders. His lies have become excessively dangerous, especially when we are dealing with an issue as severely dangerous as nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.
I have to wonder why our our 15 federal departments, or at a minimum, our congress, our judiciary, our military, and his own administration allows Trump’s perpetual lying to go on and on unresolved despite their obvious knowledge that he is creating a divided country and a divided world. ~llaw
I saw meme making the rounds of the social world just this morning that the congressional republicans “had Trump’s back” and they would not allow him to be impeached.
Here is a credible meme of Trump lies that were about his dealings with other world leaders:
Trump is making the United Staes of America the laughing stock of the world!
US strikes failed to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites, intelligence report says
US strikes may only delay Iran nuclear program by months, sources say
Summary
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Israeli prime minister, Iran president both claim victory
US airstrikes only set back Iran’s nuclear program by months, initial US intelligence assessment finds
US tells UN Security Council that strikes ‘degraded’ nuclear program
WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV/ISTANBUL, June 24 (Reuters) – U.S. airstrikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months, according to a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment, as a shaky ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump took hold between Iran and Israel.
Earlier on Tuesday, both Iran and Israel signaled that the air war between the two nations had ended, at least for now, after Trump publicly scolded them for violating a ceasefire he announced at 0500 GMT.
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As the two countries lifted civilian restrictions after 12 days of war – which the U.S. joined with an attack on Iran’s uranium-enrichment facilities – each sought to claim victory.
Trump said over the weekend that the U.S. deployment of 30,000-pound bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment by one of his administration’s intelligence agencies, according to three people familiar with the matter.
One of the sources said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear program, much of which is buried deep underground, may have been set back only a month or two. Iran says its nuclear research is for civilian energy production.
The White House said the intelligence assessment was “flat out wrong.” According to the report, which was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the strikes sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities, but did not collapse underground buildings, said one of the people familiar with its findings.
Some centrifuges still remained intact after the attacks, the Washington Post said, citing an unnamed person familiar with the report.
Trump’s administration told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that its weekend strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had “degraded” Iran’s nuclear program, short of Trump’s earlier assertion that the facilities had been “obliterated.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the attack on Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its weapons program.
“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us: the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” Netanyahu said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had successfully ended the war in what he called a “great victory,” according to Iranian media. Pezeshkian also told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Tehran was ready to resolve differences with the U.S., according to official news agency IRNA.
Israel launched the surprise air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities.
‘GREAT VICTORY’
Israel’s military lifted restrictions on activity across the country at 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), and officials said Ben Gurion Airport, the country’s main airport near Tel Aviv, had reopened. Iran’s airspace likewise will be reopened, state-affiliated Nournews reported.
A White House official said Trump brokered the ceasefire deal with Netanyahu, and other administration officials were in touch with the Iranian government.
A satellite overview shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility, along with damage from recent airstrikes, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, near Qom, Iran, June 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
The truce appeared fragile: Both Israel and Iran took hours to acknowledge they had accepted the ceasefire and accused each other of violating it.
Trump scolded both sides but aimed especially stinging criticism at Israel, telling the close U.S. ally to “calm down now.” He later said Israel called off further attacks at his command.
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said he told his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, that his country would respect the ceasefire unless Iran violated it. Pezeshkian likewise said Iran would honor the ceasefire as long as Israel did, according to Iranian media.
Whether the Israel-Iran truce can hold is a major question given the deep mistrust between the two foes. But Trump’s ability to broker a ceasefire showed Washington retains some leverage in the volatile region.
Israeli armed forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir said a “significant chapter” of the conflict had concluded but the campaign against Iran was not over. He said the military would refocus on its war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza.
Iran’s military command also warned Israel and the U.S. to learn from the “crushing blows” it delivered during the conflict.
Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed in their country by Israeli strikes and 4,746 injured. Iran’s retaliatory bombardment killed 28 people in Israel, the first time its air defenses were penetrated by large numbers of Iranian missiles.
Oil prices plunged and stock markets rallied worldwide in a sign of confidence inspired by the ceasefire, which allayed fears of disruption to critical oil supplies from the Gulf.
CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS?
Earlier in the day, Trump admonished Israel with an obscenity in an extraordinary outburst at an ally whose air war he had joined two days before by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites.
Before departing the White House en route to a NATO summit in Europe, Trump told reporters he was unhappy with both sides for the ceasefire breach but particularly frustrated with Israel, which he said had “unloaded” shortly after agreeing to the deal.
“I’ve got to get Israel to calm down now,” Trump said. Iran and Israel had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”
Netanyahu’s office acknowledged Israel bombed a radar site near Tehran in what it said was retaliation for Iranian missiles fired three-and-a-half hours after the ceasefire was due to begin.
It did not explicitly say whether the strike on the radar site took place before or after they spoke.
The Islamic Republic denied launching any missiles and said Israel’s attacks had continued for an hour-and-a-half beyond the time the truce was meant to start.
“Who mediated or how it happened doesn’t matter,” said Reza Sharifi, 38, heading back to Tehran from Rasht on the Caspian Sea, where he had fled with his family. “The war is over. It never should have started in the first place.”
Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay and Reuters bureaus; writing by Andy Sullivan, Mark Heinrich, Peter Graff and Jonathan Allen; editing by Timothy Heritage, Ross Colvin, Joe Bavier, Cynthia Osterman and Stephen Coates
Gram Slattery is a White House correspondent in Washington, focusing on national security, intelligence and foreign affairs. He was previously a national political correspondent, covering the 2024 presidential campaign. From 2015 to 2022, he held postings in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile, and he has reported extensively throughout Latin America.
Alexander has over a decade of international reporting experience. He is currently a senior correspondent in Jerusalem covering Israel & the Palestinian Territories and was formerly in Dubai where he covered the Arabian Peninsula, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, often writing about foreign policy, security and economic-related issues.Subscribed
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… war with Iran, had removed “the threat of nuclear annihilation”. He … “We have removed two immediate existential threats to us: the threat of nuclear …
… attack show large craters visible at the Fordo nuclear site in Iran. The US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not destroy the country’s nuclear …
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion:
I am seeing a lot of articles about whether or not Trump’s bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities was successful or not! In this case we don’t even know — nor should we care — about what is meant by “successful” because either way it was not a success for humanity’s sake. This irritates and infuriates the living hell out of me! Why, you ask? Let me count the ways . . .
And I don’t need an article to support what I have to say . . .
It doesn’t matter in the least about Trump’s entirely uncalled for and extremely irresponsible and stupid decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. What matters is that it happened and it will lead to consequences that we will be very fortunate to come away from without it turning into WWIII! The sides appear to be chosen already, and essentially it’s the USA against the rest of the world. I suspect that even some, if not all, of our closest former allies will never side with us.
Iran agreed in March of this year to meet with the U.S. at Trump’s invitation to draw up a new agreement about allowable conditions and restrictions concerning Iran’s nuclear facilities and operations. Trump failed to come anywhere near reaching an agreement, which would have replaced President Obama’s USA/Iran agreement between the nations, which Trump tore up when he became president the 1st time. Without any agreement or restrictions at all — because of Trump’s ignorance — Iran was free to do whatever they desired with their nuclear program, including, but not limited to, refining (enriching) their uranium fuel not only for their nuclear power plants, but rather to any grade they wanted to, including 100%, or nuclear weapons grade.
Trump removed, without replacing, Obama’s Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, on May 8, 2018, even though he was advised against that action by other allied countries who had endorsed Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement. So, with Trump’s foolish decision and lack of attention, Iran had free sailing to build nuclear bombs if they so desired for more than seven years, yet during nearly a decade Iran most likely never built a nuclear bomb, and even if they had, they obviously never used it. So why are we so suddenly worried half-to-death about it now — all of a sudden. Israel’s Netanyahu has been crying about the “sky falling” for decades, and yet Trump sided with him about Iran, and I have to wonder why he did so., even though I have a couple of good ideas.
That is the brief history of this story, and now we must look at what was just done by Trump, apparently without consultation nor required congressional approval. Trump had indicated he was going to wait a couple of weeks before deciding what to do, but all of this smacks us in the face after we wake up on Sunday morning to the news of the USA bombing of three Iranian nuclear enriching facilities on Saturday night, June 21st, just 3 days ago. This could be the biggest human mistake ever made in the history of the world, including most all life extinctions! All other extinctions were caused by so-called “Acts of God”.
Trump has lied to the American public and to the entire world about this episode of uncalled for war and other abhorrible intentions, yesterday blaming Israel’s Netanyahu and Iranian supreme leader Khamenei for Trump’s own mistakes and recently responding to a reporter’s interview by unequivocally flaming both leaders by saying for the whole world to hear, “They don’t know what the fuck they are doing.”
This kind of public response to an innocent reporter’s question is not very presidential, even in his White House office, but to say it outdoors to a reporter, excessively loudly with a pretense of anger, is beyond the dignity of a U.S. president, plus what he said was untrue, as usual . . .
This is a long story made short, but of course the media is all over it on both sides of the issue — when there should be just one — and in my own humble opinion Trump should be arrested, impeached, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment. ~llaw
Take your pick of the flood of media stories below — there are more than enough!
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ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA
There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War Threats
Nuclear War
Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
… Yellowstone National Park / Rebecca Latson. As you head toward Norris Basin, you’ll be ascending, then driving parallel to the Yellowstone Caldera rim …
Traces of missiles are seen in the sky after Iran’s armed forces say they targeted the Al-Udeid base in a missile attack, as seen from Doha, Qatar, on June 23. Stringer/Reuters
Number of missiles fired at base in Qatar matches number of bombs US dropped on nuclear sites, Iran says
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion
It is amazing how the USA has twisted Israel’s and our own attacks on Iran so that we American citizens will believe that Iran is the bad actor, and that the attack on the U.S. air base in Qatar was an attack on the Qatar country itself. Trump has lied, from the March beginning of this episode, to the American public about our actions as well as his own from the neutral beginning of the apparent well-planned war on Iran since March 7th when Trump invited Iran to the negotiations table to make a Trump-led “deal” on limiting Iran’s nuclear operations and uranium enrichment program for their county’s nuclear power plants. Those talks fell apart beginning with the very 1st meeting due to Trump’s confusing and contradictory rules changes after each conference until the talks became impossible to be successful and were abandoned.
I have followed this entire affair from day one and it seems to me that the entire scheme was a U.S. ruse made to fail intentionally so Trump/Netanyahu would have an excuse for both Israel and the U.S. to attack Iran militarily and attempt to destroy their nuclear facilities.
So it is that now we are have become a global outcast with the rest of the world including the following pointed out below by the Secretary of Homeland Security, not to mention NATO and other former allies, including Canada, Greenland, Denmark, and Panama:
“We have incredible threats to this country from many nations that are enemies to the United States of America. You know, it’s not just Iran. It’s North Korea, Russia, China,” she said. “My job is to do all I can to protect our country before something bad does happen.” ~ Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
Videos show missiles above Qatar as Iran attacks US-run military base
00:36
What we’re covering
• Iran’s operation against US base: Iran has launched a “powerful” attack on a US air base in Qatar, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said. Al Udeid Air Base was attacked “by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran,” a US defense official said.
• Attack intercepted: Qatar’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses “successfully” intercepted the missile attack targeting the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. No deaths or injuries have been reported.
• Response after US strikes: American officials have been preparing for the likelihood that Iran may target US facilities ever since the US struck Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend. The US military had moved some planes from the Al Udeid base amid the conflict between Israel and Iran, two defense officials told CNN last week.
87 Posts
1 New Update
22 min ago
Iran launched missiles toward a US base in Qatar. Here’s what we know
From CNN staff
Iran launched multiple missiles toward US bases in Qatar Monday after the US struck Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend.
Qatar’s air defenses intercepted the missile attack, and there have been no reports of injuries. Still, Qatar condemned Iran’s attack on the Al Udeid Air Base, calling it “a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace.”
If you’re just reading in now, here’s what else we know about the attack:
Missiles intercepted: Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was attacked “by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran,” a US defense official said, and Qatar’s defense ministry confirmed that its air defenses successfully intercepted the missiles. Iranian officials gave Qatar advance notice of an attack before launching missiles toward a US military base in the country, according to a source familiar with the matter. The coordination was intended to minimize casualties and preserve an off-ramp, the source said.
What Iran said: Following the attack, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iran “will never leave any aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered.” Iran also said that it is still committed to maintaining warm relations with Qatar and noted that the strikes were “far away from urban installations and residential areas,” the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said.
US anticipated retaliation: The Trump administration was anticipating Tehran would retaliate after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend. Non-sheltered American planes were moved out of the Al Udeid Air Base last week, according to a satellite image that was taken on June 19 that shows nearly empty tarmacs.
Commercial flights diverted: At least 26 commercial flights headed to either Dubai in the United Arab Emirates or Doha in Qatar were diverted due to airspace closures in the Middle East on Monday.
27 min ago
Regional countries condemn Iranian attack on US air base in Qatar
From CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq, Abeer Salman and Michael Rios
Multiple countries in the Middle East and North Africa have condemned the Iranian attack on a US base in Qatar.
Egypt called the attack “a violation of (Qatar’s) sovereignty, a threat to its territorial integrity, and a breach of international law and the United Nations Charter,” according to a statement from the government Monday.
The country said it “expresses its deep concern over the rapidly accelerating and dangerous escalation in the region, affirms its complete rejection of all forms of military escalation or infringement on the sovereignty of states, and calls for the necessity of de-escalation and a ceasefire to preserve regional peace and security.”
Saudi Arabia said the attack was a violation of the “principles of good neighborliness, and an entirely unacceptable act that cannot be justified under any circumstances.”
Jordan condemned what it called “aggression launched by Iran against the sisterly state of Qatar.”
Bahrain said it affirms its full support and solidarity with Qatar, “reflecting the close bonds of brotherhood and kinship between them.”
A spokesperson for Oman’s foreign ministry condemned the regional escalation, which they said was triggered by Israel and includes the recent Iranian attack.
The office of the Palestinian AuthorityPresident also called the attack a “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly state of Qatar.”
34 min ago
Oil plunges 7% on relief over Iranian response so far
From CNN’s Matt Egan
An oil refinery and terminal in Saudi Arabia in 2018.
Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters/File
Oil prices plunged Monday after Iran’s response to US military strikes appeared to be intercepted.
The steep sell-off wipes out an initial spike Sunday night driven by concerns that Iran could lash out by targeting energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
Oil prices began tumbling Monday after Iranian missiles lobbed toward a US base in Qatar were intercepted. No injuries or deaths were reported and a source familiar with the matter told CNN that Iran gave Qatar advance notice an attack was coming.
US oil futures plunged 7.2%, to settle at $68.51 a barrel. The drop represents the biggest one-day decline since early April and one of the worst days over the past three years.
Crude finished the day roughly $10 below the Sunday night peak of $78.40.
The energy sell-off lifted US stocks, easing concerns about an oil shock that would worsen inflation.
41 min ago
At least 26 commercial flights diverted due to Middle East airspace closures
From CNN’s Devon M. Sayers and Ross Levitt
At least 26 commercial flights headed to either Dubai, United Arab Emirates, or Doha, Qatar, were diverted due to airspace closures in the Middle East on Monday.
Twenty-two of the flights were headed to Doha, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, with the rest bound for Dubai. Some of the flights diverted to other airports along their route, while others returned to their departing airport.
Twelve of the Doha flights diverted were operated by Qatar Airways, Cirium said.
Another 39 flights from North America and 210 flights from Europe are scheduled to depart later today toward the Middle East, Cirium said. Those flights are at risk of being canceled if the airspace doesn’t reopen.
44 min ago
EgyptAir suspends all flights from Cairo to Gulf countries due to security in the region
From CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq
An EgyptAir Boeing 737-800 aircraft is pictured on the tarmac at Cairo International Airport in Cairo on June 3.
Amir Makar/AFP/Getty Images/File
EgyptAir on Monday announced the cancellation of all flights from Cairo to Gulf countries “until the situation in the region stabilizes.”
“Due to the ongoing events in the region and the closure of airspace in several Gulf countries, EgyptAir flights from Cairo Airport to and from Gulf cities and vice versa have been cancelled until the situation in the region stabilizes,” EgyptAir said in a statement.
55 min ago
Trump’s Mideast envoy has remained in contact with Iranians since US strikes, sources say
From CNN’s Alayna Treene and Kevin Liptak
The US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, delivers remarks at the White House on May 28.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/File
President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has remained in contact with Iranian officials since US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, two sources familiar the matter said, as the administration continues to seek out a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
But his efforts are facing significant challenge from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been exceedingly difficult for Iranian officials to reach after he retreated to a hidden location amid escalating tensions, the sources said.
The understanding among US officials is that the 86-year-old Khamenei will need to sign off on any major diplomatic decisions. But getting information to and from him has become more difficult.
That has left communications between the US and the Iranians — either directly or through intermediaries — somewhat halting, officials said.
Khamenei has not delivered any recorded messages since the US strikes. And US officials believe he is in hiding amid the ongoing conflict to avoid assassination.
Nonetheless, Trump said he hopes that after the weekend strikes, Iran will return to negotiations that had been largely deadlocked before Israel began its attacks this month.
The US and Iran have maintained back-channel communications throughout the current crisis. Before the weekend strikes, the US conveyed a message that the actions would be contained and that Trump was still seeking to resolve the matter diplomatically, officials said.
42 min ago
Qatar says security situation remains stable
From CNN’s Michael Rios
People film projectiles over Doha in Qatar on June 23.
AFP/Getty Images
Qatar’s interior ministry said the security situation in the country “remains stable” and there’s no cause for concern following Iran’s attack on the Al Udeid Air Base.
56 min ago
Iran says it is still committed to warm relations with Qatar “and its noble people”
From CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen
Iran is still committed to maintaining warm relations with Qatar after striking the Al Udeid Air Base in that country, the Secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.
“The base which was targeted by the powerful Iranian forces is far away from urban installations and residential areas in Qatar. This action has no dangerous aspect to our friendly and brotherly country of Qatar and its noble people,” the statement said.
39 min ago
Kuwait Airways suspends flights
From CNN’s Hira Humayun
People walk past a billboard for Kuwait Airways in Kuwait City in 2020.
Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP/Getty Images/File
Kuwait Airways is the latest airline to suspend flights, citing regional developments.
The announcement, posted to the airline’s X account, follows the closure of airspace by Qatar and Bahrain, Reuters reported.
1 hr 34 min ago
Trump administration was anticipating retaliation from Iran, White House official says
From CNN’s Alayna Treene
The Trump administration was anticipating Tehran would retaliate after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, and the president does not want more military engagement in the region, a senior White House official told CNN today.
“We knew they’d retaliate. They had a similar response after Soleimani,” the official said, referring to Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian commander killed in a US airstrike in 2020.
The official said initial assessments were that the missiles fired by the Iranians on Monday didn’t hit their intended targets. Qatar’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted an Iranian missile attack on the US air base in the country.
President Donald Trump is willing to escalate US military involvement if necessary, the official said. Trump was due to talk to national security officials Monday afternoon, and it is possible his posture could change.
39 min ago
Iran attacked US air base with short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, US official says
From CNN’s Haley Brtizky
A missile is intercepted after Iran’s armed forces say they targeted the Al-Udeid base in a missile attack, as seen from Qatar on June 23.
Stringer/Reuters
Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was attacked “by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran,” a US defense official said Monday.
“At this time, there are no reports of US casualties,” the official said. “We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available.”
There is no reported damage to the air base following Iran’s missile launch toward the US installation, the official said.
This post has been updated with additional information.
1 hr 45 min ago
Some US military planes were moved out of Al Udeid Air Base last week, satellite image shows
From CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen and Thomas Bordeaux
A satellite image shows nearly empty tarmacs at the US military’s Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar after unsheltered aircraft were moved to other locations.
Planet Labs PBC
Non-sheltered American planes were moved out of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar last week, according to a satellite image that was taken on June 19 that shows nearly empty tarmacs.
This means the planes were moved before Iran launched a missile attack on Al Udeid Monday in response to the US striking its nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Two defense officials told CNN last week the planes were taken to other locations as part of the US military’s effort to protect its assets and equipment in the Middle East amid the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Additionally, all of the US Navy ships that had been forward-deployed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain — the US Navy’s base in the island country — left port last week. It’s not clear where the planes and ships went.
1 hr 20 min ago
Iran gave Qatar advance notice of pending attack on US bases
From Zachary Cohen and Haley Britzky
Iranian officials gave Qatar advance notice of an attack before launching missiles toward a US military base in the country, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The coordination was intended to minimize casualties and preserve an off-ramp, the source said.
A US official told CNN they are not aware of any US injuries or deaths in the reported attack on Al Udeid Air Base. Qatar’s Defense Ministry said Monday that its air defenses intercepted an Iranian missile attack on the air base.
1 hr 24 min ago
Tehran fired missiles toward US military base in Iraq, Iranian state media reports
From CNN’s Kara Fox
Iran said it had fired missiles toward a US military base in Iraq, Iranian state media Tasnim reported.
Iran’s missile operation against American bases in Qatar and Iraq have started, state media reported, citing the operation name, “Besharat al-Fath,” meaning “Blessings of victory.”
Correction: An earlier version of this post gave the wrong name for the operation.
2 hr 2 min ago
Qatar condemns Iranian attack on air base and says it reserves right to respond
From CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq
Qatar has condemned Iran for attacking the US’ Al Udeid Air Base, calling it “a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace.”
“We affirm that the state of Qatar reserves the right to respond directly, proportionate to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression and in accordance with international law,” Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said in a statement Monday.
“We are assured that Qatari air defenses thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles. A statement clarifying the circumstances of the attack will be issued later by the Ministry of Defense,” Al-Ansari said.
1 hr 54 min ago
Number of missiles fired at base in Qatar matches number of bombs US dropped on nuclear sites, Iran says
From CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen
Traces of missiles are seen in the sky after Iran’s armed forces say they targeted the Al-Udeid base in a missile attack, as seen from Doha, Qatar, on June 23.
Stringer/Reuters
The number of missiles Iran used to attack the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was the same as the number of bombs the US used to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said.
2 hr 1 min ago
DHS Secretary Noem says US has not seen new threats from Iran as country retaliates over Trump-ordered strikes
From CNN’s Devan Cole
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that the US has not seen any new threats from Iran as the country fires rockets toward American military bases in the Middle East in retaliation to President Donald Trump’s decision to strike its nuclear sites over the weekend.
“We have not seen any currently,” Noem told reporters during an event in West Virginia.
Asked more generally about potential so-called sleeper cells being in the US, the secretary said there have been consistent concerns over the issue since she took over at the department but nothing concrete.
“We have incredible threats to this country from many nations that are enemies to the United States of America. You know, it’s not just Iran. It’s North Korea, Russia, China,” she said. “My job is to do all I can to protect our country before something bad does happen.”
“We have to watch for all of it, and to be diligent on all of it and we’ll continue to do so,” Noem added.
2 hr 3 min ago
Oil plunges 4% as Iran fires missiles toward US bases
From CNN’s Matt Egan
The selloff in the oil market accelerated Monday after Iran fired missiles toward US bases in Qatar and Iraq that appeared to be intercepted. Traders are betting that Iran doesn’t have the willingness or capability to retaliate against US forces.
As of 1:23 p.m. ET, US crude tumbled 4.1% to $70.78 a barrel.
That marks a dramatic turnaround from the Sunday evening spike of 6% to as high as $78.50 a barrel.
2 hr 11 min ago
Loud explosions rocked Qatari capital of Doha, resident says
From CNN’s Kara Fox
Traces are seen in the sky after Iran’s armed forces say they targeted The Al-Udeid base in a missile attack in Qatar on June 23.
Stringer/Reuters
A Doha resident and father of two told CNN that loud explosions rocked the city, but Qatari authorities did not give any warning to citizens to take shelter.
“Our kids were totally taken by surprise and didn’t know what to do when we scrambled them to shelter. There was no warning from Qatar authorities to take shelter. There appear to be a lot of outgoing fire and intercepts,” he said.
2 hr 15 min ago
Qatar defense ministry says it intercepted Iranian missile attack, no casualties reported
From CNN’s Michael Rios
Qatar’s defense ministry said its air defenses “successfully” intercepted a missile attack targeting the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, adding that the attack did not results in any deaths or injuries.
2 hr 17 min ago
Iran launched “powerful and destructive” attack on air base in Qatar, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says
From CNN’s Michael Rios
Iran has launched a “powerful and destructive missile attack” on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in response to the US striking its nuclear facilities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on Almighty God and the faithful, proud people of Iran, will never leave any aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered,” the statement read.
1 hr 57 min ago
Footage appears to show missile interceptions over Doha near US embassy
From CNN staff
Iran launched multiple missiles toward US bases in Qatar and Iraq today.
Video captured missiles being intercepted in Doha, Qatar, near the US embassy.
Iranian missiles intercepted in Doha
00:47
2 hr 22 min ago
US personnel at embassies in Qatar and Bahrain are in “duck and cover” positions
From CNN’s Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler
US personnel at the embassies in Qatar and Bahrain are in “duck and cover” positions as Iran launches retaliatory missiles toward Qatar and Iraq, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The protective measure is taken when there is notification of imminent danger, sources said.
2 hr 35 min ago
Missiles fired from Iran toward US bases in Qatar and Iraq
From CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene, Kristen Holmes, Kaitlan Collins and Jeff Zeleny
The US is tracking multiple missiles fired from Iran toward US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine are in the Situation Room, according to a White House official.
A senior official said earlier that White House and Defense Department officials were monitoring potential attacks threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. President Donald Trump toured the base last month, the first commander in chief to visit since 2003. It is the largest US military installation in the Middle East.
“No visit in the Gulf would be complete without stopping to salute the people who keep America safe, strong and free,” Trump told the troops at the base on May 17.
2 hr 35 min ago
Iran says it has begun an operation against US base in Qatar, Iran state TV reports
From CNN’s Kara Fox and Becky Anderson
Iran has begun an operation against a US base in Qatar, Iran state TV has reported.
An official briefed on the matter also said missiles have been launched by Iran on the US-run Al Udeid Air Base.
American officials have been preparing for the likelihood that Iran could target US facilities in the wake of this weekend’s strikes.
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There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
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A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
New York plans to construct a nuclear–power facility, the first major new U.S. plant in over 15 years. · Gov. Hochul wants the New York Power Authority …
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran confirmed attacks on the Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities, as well as the Isfahan nuclear site. Iran and …
Recommended reading for Sunday’s Posts: Nuclear Power Emergencies: CNN’s article link can be found in the Nuclear War section in the Sunday nuclear news below . . .
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting in New York on June 22, one day after US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest” RELATED MEDIA”:
There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
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Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
Switzerland, who assists US citizens in Iran, has closed its protecting power office until further notice. “The Department has opened a crisis intake …
Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it was hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on June 15, 2025. AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
Saturday’s recommended article: Russia Issues New Nuclear Warning on Iran-Israel Conflict—’Alarm Bells’ (Newsweek link below in “Nuclear Power” Category)
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Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons in tandem with its nuclear … In nearly all things, military matters included, Trump is hardly a model of discernment …
Rafael Grossi, chief of the United Nations’s atomic watchdog, has warned that an Israeli strike on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could trigger a …
In a nuclear power plant, the reactor core and the spent nuclear fuel are the most radioactive components. Some of it remains dangerous for thousands …
… attack on Iran nuclear-related facilities, says Ehud Barak. 3 Oct 2024. Trump reposts 2018 all-caps anti-Iran threat in response to Israel strike. 14 …
Satellite image shows buildings at Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center in Isfahan, Iran May 17, 2025. Planet Labs PBC via REUTERS/File Photo
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion
This article from “Reuters” is a primer concerning the present nuclear and other dangers to the lives of humanity and other life relative to the Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. It is definitely worth the reading for understanding the situation as it exists presently, but should the USA join the fray, all hell could break loose.
But still the missile exchanges between the two two warring countries, Israel and Iran, are taking their tolls on innocent civilians in both countries, which, in my opinion, should never have happened. Don’t forget that Israel, not Iran, started this war, and Israel is begging the US to help them out, but Trump has so far failed to respond in either way whether to also attack Iran.
The other thing to remember is that Trump is obviously the ultimate bad-guy in this entire fiasco, and it was his actions, or lack of them, that apparently caused Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear buildings and facilities when Trump’s invitation to Iran — in early May — to jointly reach a negotiated agreement relative to the ongoing nuclear facility’s operations and uses that would satisfy both countries, but also supposedly including Israel.
However, Trump’s constant interference with the terms and conditions of the talks and demanding contradictory and impossible alternatives for Iran’s ability to allow them to operate their existing nuclear power plants stymied the talks and the meetings were left stranded in a vacuum with no hope for a mutual agreement created by Trump’s demands.
During the breakdowns in these talks, Trump had advised Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu at least twice to hold off on any attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities because the talks were “close” to reaching a mutually acceptable “deal”. It appears that eventually Netanyahu lost his patience with the delays in the negotiations and attacked Iran without consulting Trump and the US.
So that brings us to where we are today, and world fears and rumors are flying everywhere, but the one deplorable fact is that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent civilians of both countries are being killed over a nuclear facilities use agreement that was never properly negotiated and therefore never agreed to, and one man caused it to fail. ~llaw
What are the nuclear contamination risks from Israel’s attacks on Iran?
Russia built Bushehr, Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant, and hundreds of Russian specialists work there.
What nuclear contamination risks from Israel’s attacks on Iran?
LONDON/DUBAI, June 19 (Reuters) – Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations so far pose only limited risks of contamination, experts say. But they warn that any attack on the country’s nuclear power station at Bushehr could cause a nuclear disaster.
Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities in its military campaign, but that it also wants to avoid any nuclear disaster in a region that is home to tens of millions of people and produces much of the world’s oil.
Fears of catastrophe rippled through the Gulf on Thursday when the Israeli military said it had struck a site in Bushehr on the Gulf coast – home to Iran’s only nuclear power station – only to say later that the announcement was a mistake.
WHAT HAS ISRAEL HIT SO FAR?
Israel has announced attacks on nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, Arak and Tehran itself. Israel says it aims to stop Iran building an atom bomb. Iran denies ever seeking one.
The international nuclear watchdog IAEA has reported damage to the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, to the nuclear complex at Isfahan, including the Uranium Conversion Facility, and to centrifuge production facilities in Karaj and Tehran.
The IAEA said Israeli military strikes hit the Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, which was under construction and had not begun operating, and damaged the nearby plant that makes heavy water. The IAEA said that it was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so there were no radiological effects.
In an update of its assessment on Friday, the IAEA said key buildings at the site were damaged. Heavy-water reactors can be used to produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make an atom bomb.
WHAT RISKS DO THESE STRIKES POSE?
Peter Bryant, a professor at the University of Liverpool in England who specialises in radiation protection science and nuclear energy policy, said he is not too concerned about fallout risks from the strikes so far.
He noted that the Arak site was not operational while the Natanz facility was underground and no release of radiation was reported. “The issue is controlling what has happened inside that facility, but nuclear facilities are designed for that,” he said. “Uranium is only dangerous if it gets physically inhaled or ingested or gets into the body at low enrichments,” he said.
Darya Dolzikova, a senior research fellow at London think tank RUSI, said attacks on facilities at the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle – the stages where uranium is prepared for use in a reactor – pose primarily chemical, not radiological risks.
At enrichment facilities, UF6, or uranium hexafluoride, is the concern. “When UF6 interacts with water vapour in the air, it produces harmful chemicals,” she said.
The extent to which any material is dispersed would depend on factors including the weather, she added. “In low winds, much of the material can be expected to settle in the vicinity of the facility; in high winds, the material will travel farther, but is also likely to disperse more widely.”
The risk of dispersal is lower for underground facilities.
Simon Bennett, who leads the civil safety and security unit at the University of Leicester in the UK, said risks to the environment were minimal if Israel hits subterranean facilities because you are “burying nuclear material in possibly thousands of tonnes of concrete, earth and rock”.
Item 1 of 2 Satellite image shows buildings at Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center in Isfahan, Iran May 17, 2025. Planet Labs PBC via REUTERS/File Photo
[1/2]Satellite image shows buildings at Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center in Isfahan, Iran May 17, 2025. Planet Labs PBC via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
WHAT ABOUT NUCLEAR REACTORS?
The major concern would be a strike on Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr.
Richard Wakeford, Honorary Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Manchester, said that while contamination from attacks on enrichment facilities would be “mainly a chemical problem” for the surrounding areas, extensive damage to large power reactors “is a different story”.
Radioactive elements would be released either through a plume of volatile materials or into the sea, he added.
James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said an attack on Bushehr “could cause an absolute radiological catastrophe”, but that attacks on enrichment facilities were “unlikely to cause significant off-site consequences”.
Before uranium goes into a nuclear reactor it is barely radioactive, he said. “The chemical form uranium hexafluoride is toxic … but it actually doesn’t tend to travel large distances and it’s barely radioactive. So far the radiological consequences of Israel’s attacks have been virtually nil,” he added, while stating his opposition to Israel’s campaign.
Bennett of the University of Leicester said it would be “foolhardy for the Israelis to attack” Bushehr because they could pierce the reactor, which would mean releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere.
WHY ARE GULF STATES ESPECIALLY WORRIED?
For Gulf states, the impact of any strike on Bushehr would be worsened by the potential contamination of Gulf waters, jeopardizing a critical source of desalinated potable water.
In the UAE, desalinated water accounts for more than 80% of drinking water, while Bahrain became fully reliant on desalinated water in 2016, with 100% of groundwater reserved for contingency plans, according to authorities.
Qatar is 100% dependent on desalinated water.
In Saudi Arabia, a much larger nation with a greater reserve of natural groundwater, about 50% of the water supply came from desalinated water as of 2023, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
While some Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have access to more than one sea to draw water from, countries like Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait are crowded along the shoreline of the Gulf with no other coastline.
“If a natural disaster, oil spill, or even a targeted attack were to disrupt a desalination plant, hundreds of thousands could lose access to freshwater almost instantly,” said Nidal Hilal, Professor of Engineering and Director of New York University Abu Dhabi’s Water Research Center.
“Coastal desalination plants are especially vulnerable to regional hazards like oil spills and potential nuclear contamination,” he said.
Some of the main desalination plants in the Gulf
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There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
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Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
… reactor had no uranium fuel and saw no nuclear release from the strike. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear …
Iran has spent decades building its nuclear program. It has enriched uranium — to generate energy, it said — but not yet enough to make bombs. Still, .
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In an urgent address to the United Nations on Friday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano …
The new German government will not undertake a “renaissance of nuclear energy,” Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Thursday. On the sidelines of …
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In an urgent address to the United Nations on Friday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano …
A destroyed drone, which the Iranian Army says belongs to Israel, is seen in Isfahan, Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 18, 2025. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion
Trump said in a brief White House interview that, “Nobody knows what I’m gonna do.” I must assume that includes himself.
Innocent people are being killed, there is considerable danger of a “Chernobyl” style nuclear radiation disaster caused by Israeli bombing, Israel nor the U.S. is unlikely to be able to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, most of which are underground, and the world is alarmed and waiting for a solution.
So Trump, who allowed and was mainly responsible for this world-threatening situation to happen, is the sole source of humanity that has the power to cease and desist and stop this potential beginning of WWIII? Has all of humanity lost their minds?
So far, it appears to be so . . . ~llaw
Trump keeps world guessing about US military action against Iran
President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to say whether the United States would join Israel’s bombing campaign in Iran,
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Trump keeps world guessing about US military action against Iran
Summary
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‘I may do it. I may not do it,’ Trump says on joining attacks
Netanyahu says Israel ‘progressing step by step’ towards eliminating Iranian nuclear, missile threats
Putin: Don’t want to discuss possibility of Iran leader killing
Iran to impose temporary restrictions on internet access
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM, June 18 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel’s bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel’s campaign. “I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said.
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Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that “we may do that.” But he added, “It’s a little late” for such talks.
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva aimed at persuading Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.
But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes.
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The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program.
Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall as a result of the Israeli campaign, Trump said: “Sure, anything could happen.”
Referring to the destruction or dismantling of Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment center, Trump said: “We’re the only ones that have the capability to do it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it – at all.”
Military analysts believe that Israel might need U.S. military help to destroy Fordow, dug beneath a mountain near the city of Qom.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday.
The Americans “should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,” he said. “The Iranian nation will not surrender.”
In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran’s police headquarters.
Israel’s military said sirens sounded in northern Israel just before 2 a.m. local time on Thursday (23:00 GMT on Wednesday) and that it had intercepted a drone launched from Iran. It said several minutes later that another drone was intercepted in the Jordan Valley area.
The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was “progressing step by step” towards eliminating threats posed by Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal.
“We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime,” Netanyahu said.
Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Netanyahu also thanked Trump, “a great friend of the state of Israel”, for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact.
Item 1 of 21 A destroyed drone, which the Iranian Army says belongs to Israel, is seen in Isfahan, Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 18, 2025. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it.
In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran’s Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: “I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to.”
A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X, describing him as “a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.”
Israel’s military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.
FLEEING TEHRAN
Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan.
“My friend’s house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians,” she said. “Why are we paying the price for the regime’s decision to pursue a nuclear programme?”
In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. A motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said. The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed.
At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about.
“I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces,” said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter.
Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
LEVERAGE
Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important shipping artery for oil.
Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed.
The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on internet access would be imposed to help prevent “the enemy from threatening citizens’ lives and property”.
Iran’s ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran’s regional allies – Hamas and Hezbollah – in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023.
Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alistair Bell and Costas Pitas; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Deepa Babington and Diane Craft
Alexander has over a decade of international reporting experience. He is currently a senior correspondent in Jerusalem covering Israel & the Palestinian Territories and was formerly in Dubai where he covered the Arabian Peninsula, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, often writing about foreign policy, security and economic-related issues.Subscribed
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA
There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War Threats
Nuclear War
Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
Netanyahu says Israel ‘progressing step by step’ towards eliminating Iranian nuclear, missile threats … war to suggesting the United States might join …
… nuclear Iran and its continued threats to eradicate the state of Israel. … Traditionally, if the United States was to attack another country, it would …
Seismic reflection data showing the top of the magma reservoir beneath Yellowstone Caldera along a cross section that runs from Canyon Village in the …
