LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #963, Wednesday, (06/18/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Jun 18, 2025

(See the 1st article below for the description and photo credits of this image. ~llaw)

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion

Today I have posted two articles (one from the “The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists”, and the other from “Al Jazeera” that point out the serious dangers and contradictions of the actions taken by the U.S./Israel attack on the once-peaceful nuclear program(s) of Iran. And also keep in mind that it is very doubtful that Israel took it upon themselves to attack Iran in this manner, the facts seeming to show that it would not have happened without the U.S. and the actions, or lack of them, taken by Trump.

What could have been, beginning on March 5th (more than 90 days ago) Trump made a peaceful proposal by invitation to Iran to negotiate an Iranian nuclear program agreement that would satisfy both the U.S./Iran and other nations around the world. Trump had canceled the previous pact, agreed to under the Obama administration during his first presidency, and the assumption was that a new agreement would be similar to the prior one. But due to Trump’s constant contradictions and confusing inconsistent demands for changes to the original concept, the brief ongoing talks only created dissention and confusion between the two countries, and even though Trump had multiple times publicly told Israel’s Netanyahu that the new pact was “close” to an agreement to prevent an attack on Iran, the facts were that the talks had fallen apart and Netanyahu, either unilaterally or perhaps even with Trump’s clandestine approval, finally attacked Iran regardless of who was ultimately responsible.

And now all hell has broken loose, and Israel is begging for U.S. military help to restrain Iran from countering with its own missile return engagements against Israel, killing innocent citizens in the few days that the counter-attacks have been waged against Israel.

So the question today is, “Who is ultimately responsible for these attacks by and on both nations?” Without doubt I believe it is Donald J. Trump, who has, by his own actions, silenced any future talks for an agreement that Iran was more than willing to participate in, having accepted Trump’s invitation, but the contradictory demands that Trump was making weekly — changing the rules on the fly — succeeded (if that is the right word) in derailing any chance of a post-Obama era agreement with Iran.

I have carefully followed this story on a daily basis and have posted pertinent articles with my accompanying opinions over the entire period, and, as of today, I can only blame, without reservations, on the erroneous actions of Trump that has turned a mutually planned and workable agreement in the beginning to a “war” that is likely to become larger and more destructive each and every day, including involving other countries that are suffering themselves as a result of Trump’s lack of leadership. ~llaw

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - Nuclear Weapons

The United States may destroy the Fordow enrichment plant. It won’t make the Iranian nuclear threat go away

By Richard Nephew | June 17, 2025

The United States may be preparing to join Israel’s ongoing operation against Iran to help targeting underground nuclear facilities, including the Fordow fuel enrichment plant using “bunker busters” like the GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) that only US B-2 bombers are certified to carry. (Photo by MikeMareen / depositphotos.com)

If the Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program, started on June 13, is to prove successful in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, then a necessary—but not sufficient—step will involve the elimination of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.

At the Fordow plant, located near the city of Qom, the Iranians have enough centrifuges (including IR-6s, their more advanced type) and uranium hexafluoride gas to produce several nuclear weapons. They could probably produce enough weapon-grade (90 percent) enriched uranium for one nuclear weapon within five to six days. Perhaps more important, Fordow itself is a hardened facility, built within a mountain and protected from many forms of attack. It could—in theory—continue to operate even after other nuclear facilities in the country have been destroyed, with its material then fueling nuclear weapons to be produced clandestinely.

If Israel decides to continue down the military path against Iran’s nuclear program, it has no choice but to ensure that the Fordow enrichment plant no longer poses a threat.

Diplomacy dismantled. When President Barack Obama revealed the existence of this facility publicly in September 2009, he said that “the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program.” This was a factual description but somewhat of an understatement, seeing as Fordow was constructed in secret, sized to house enough centrifuges of the then-current type to produce enough weapon-grade uranium to support nuclear weapons production within a year.

Iran understood clearly what it was doing; its nuclear program was under investigation in 2009 for precisely this sort of clandestine work. It seemed then—and remains—intended to serve at a minimum as a hedge and secure place for Iran’s nuclear program to support weapons production.

Fordow is, therefore, a crucially important place if one attempts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Through the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—also known as the Iran nuclear deal—the United States and its partners hoped to remove the risk from Fordow by forcing its conversion into a facility that could not enrich uranium. Under the JCPOA, Iranians stopped enriching uranium at Fordow. But in November 2019, in response to the decision of the first Trump administration to withdraw from the JCPOA, Iran began preparations to restart production. Since that time, the Iranians moved not only to expand Fordow’s uranium enrichment operations, but also to install advanced IR-6 centrifuges and use them to produce 60-percent highly enriched uranium.

Military options. Though a diplomatic strategy has considerable benefits, the United States has long planned to deal with Fordow militarily if need be. For instance, the United States has made plans to destroy the site using the massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) weapon—a 30,000-pound (13,600-kilograms) earth-penetrating “bunker buster” bomb that only the US B-2 bomber can carry. It is assessed that the MOP could be successful at accessing Fordow’s underground centrifuge halls and destroying them. Other air-launched weapon systems—including those possessed by Israel—are less likely to be able to access the centrifuge halls.

However, there may be other military approaches to destroy Fordow. For example, some press reports suggested the idea of a commando-style raid. Moreover, above-ground parts of the facility could also be targeted, which would harm operations at and access to the facility, including ventilation shafts, access doorways, and power generation—as reportedly occurred at the Natanz enrichment plant. Still, the absence of any strikes so far against the facility, four days after the attack started since June 13, suggests that Israel believes the United States dropping a MOP “bunker buster” bomb is the most effective way to destroy Fordow.

It would be highly risky to conclude the current Israeli military campaign without destroying Fordow or securing an inviolable set of commitments by the Iranians to dismantle the facility. With this facility intact, Iran could quickly produce weapons-grade uranium, including potentially using material brought to the site from destroyed locations.

Risk of breakout. A deal could be constructed that would permit inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to the site, just as was the case until June 13. But Israel’s attack has most probably changed Iranian strategic calculus fundamentally. While Iran was until last week focused on building and maintaining a nuclear-weapon option, it is unlikely that Tehran will be willing to remain at the threshold going forward if the current government remains in charge.

Even if there were to be a deal in which Fordow remained in existence as a uranium enrichment site, the risk of an Iranian breakout scenario to produce nuclear weapons is probably greater today than it was a week ago: Iran has been shown that its conventional military cannot deter an Israeli attack, and therefore it is far likelier to have difficulty restocking its missile and other military forces (especially air defense) than Israel will.

But the United States and Israel must acknowledge that Fordow is not the only pathway for an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Iran may have other centrifuges available, including at secret sites, and probably already at work. On June 12, Iran said that it would retaliate for the IAEA Board of Governors’ adoption of a resolution finding Iran in noncompliance with its treaty obligations by unveiling another secret “invulnerable” enrichment facility. Iran could also have a stock of additional centrifuges that it could either rapidly install or use, with enriched uranium from other parts of the country serving as feedstock. Destroying or rendering Fordow inoperable would not preclude Iran from using these alternative sites to potentially produce one or several nuclear weapons.

Intrusive inspections could help—but having been attacked, it is questionable whether Iran would accept such inspections or faithfully adhere to their terms for the long run. In the early 1990s, after a military campaign destroyed Iraq’s nuclear program as part of the overall first Gulf War, the succeeding containment and inspection strategy eventually broke down despite punitive raids and airstrikes, threats of war, and diplomatic entreaties.

Ultimately, Israel chose a high-risk path to try to eliminate the threat from the Iranian nuclear program. Although there was a chance that Iran would try to break out to nuclear weapons possession soon, this was not certain. And a diplomatic approach might have been able to contain this threat too—as it did in 2015.

Having embarked on a military path, Israel either now needs to prevent Iran from breaking out using military means or to coerce Iran into accepting the sorts of intrusive inspections and dismantlement activities it previously refused. This may be theoretically possible; Iran is now under considerable attack and stress, with even calls by President Trump for its “unconditional surrender.” But the odds of a future Iranian breakout—either using Fordow or another site—are not going to go away even with the decimation of Iran’s existing nuclear sites.

Iran warns US intervention in conflict with Israel risks ‘all out war’

Esmaeil Baghaei tells Al Jazeera that ‘any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.’

Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, June 18, 2025. — Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted over Ashkelon, Israel [Amir Cohen/Reuters]

Published On 18 Jun 202518 Jun 2025

Updated:

7 hours ago

Iran has warned that any United States intervention in the conflict with Israel would risk an “all-out war” as the two sides traded attacks for a sixth straight day.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned: “Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #962, Tuesday, (06/17/2025)

End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Jun 17, 2025

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion

I will elaborate at a later date but this is all on Trump, and it never needed to happen had he followed his own invitation to negotiate an agreement with Iran on March 5th of this year, and then reneged on his proposal.

It is plain and simple to see and understand what he has done — nor does it matter whether it was intentional or whether his contradictions creating impossible agreement terms for Iran and his requests (lies) to Israel’s Netanyahu to delay any attacks on Iran were unintentional and caused by his retarded mental condition including the fact that he is a pathological liar. ~llaw

Trump is just saying: ‘I don’t care what the facts are. “‘We’re just doing this anyway because I say so’.”

NOTE: Not all of the ongoing “Live” Al Jazeera ongoing posts so it may be that you will want to tap into a recent article so that you can follow this ongoing extremely dangerous situation . . . )

Live updatesLive updates,

LIVE: Israel, Iran trade attacks; Trump claims ‘control of skies over Iran’

Smoke billows in the distance from an oil refinery following an Israeli strike on the Iranian capital Tehran on June 17, 2025

03:08

Can Israel really destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities?

By Ali Harb and Caolán Magee

Published On 17 Jun 202517 Jun 2025

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Explosions rock Iran and missiles hit Israel as attacks continue for a fifth-straight day with a Mossad office targeted in Tel Aviv and an alleged high-level assassination in Tehran.
US President Donald Trump says “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran” after his vice president, JD Vance, says Trump may take “further action to end Iranian enrichment”.

186 UpdatesAuto-updates

4m ago(21:10 GMT)

Ahmadinejad’s office dismisses death reports

The office of Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies reports spreading online that he has been assassinated by Israel.

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14m ago(21:00 GMT)

At least Bush had ‘the dignity to lie’, says advocate

- Ali Harb
Reporting from Washington, DCJamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a think-tank that promotes diplomacy, says Trump’s rejection of the US intelligence community’s assessment that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon shows that the war is his choice.“Is Netanyahu now calling the shots and giving the president intelligence that he values over the United States’s intelligence? That’s why that that remark is so shocking,” Abdi told Al Jazeera.“I mean, at least when George W Bush started his endless war, he had the dignity to lie to us about WMDs. Trump is just saying, “I don’t care what the facts are; we are just doing this because I say so.”Bush authorised the invasion of Iraq in 2013 based on false accusations that the country had weapons of mass destruction.Click here to share on social media
24m ago(20:50 GMT)

Iraq faces threat of spillover conflict amid US-Iran-Israel dynamics

With Iraq an ally of Iran and a strategic partner of the United States, Baghdad may struggle to avoid the fighting spreading to its territory, an analyst warns.“There is a sizeable risk of a spillover escalation in Iraq,” said political analyst Sajad Jiyad. “Iraqis have a right to be worried.”Jiyad said if the US supports Israel’s attacks, it “may lead to pro-Iran elements inside Iraq targeting US troops” or other American interests such as the embassy in Baghdad or the consulate in Erbil.This could lead to the US and Israel taking retaliatory actions within Iraq, he added. Israel’s use of Iraq’s airspace to attack Iran has angered pro-Tehran groups, who accused US forces of allowing it.Click here to share on social media
29m ago(20:45 GMT)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say strikes targeting Israeli air bases

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have just issued a statement saying that its latest missile and drone attacks are specifically targeting Israeli air bases which were used to launch strikes on Iranian territory.“Our attacks against Israel will continue in a constant, complex, multi-layered and gradual manner… We targeted the airbases from which the Zionist entity launched attacks against Iranian territory,” it said in a statement.Earlier, IRNA reported Iran launched its tenth wave attacks on targets in Israel.Thee missiles and drones were fired towards Israel in different regions across Iran on Tuesday afternoon, it said.Click here to share on social media
34m ago(20:40 GMT)

‘Contradictory messaging’ from Trump administration on Iran’s nuclear programme

- Kimberly Halkett
Reporting from the White House, USThe White House put out 40 different examples of where the US president on the campaign trail said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, as well as 15 different times that he has said it since coming into office.But what can also be noted is that in recent weeks, Trump also suggested that Iran may be able to have a nuclear programme for civilian purposes – and when the two sides were very close to sort of inking that deal, then the goal posts moved and the president went back to his refrain that they cannot have a nuclear weapon.So there has been contradictory messaging.This has also been evident in the form of the US president essentially ignoring the director of his national intelligence who has testified in the US Senate that in fact, Iran was not close to weaponising its enrichment programme.Click here to share on social media
44m ago(20:30 GMT)

US senator calls for ending ‘terrible chapter’ of Iranian government

Republican lawmaker Lindsey Graham, a foreign policy hawk and Trump ally, suggests the US should push to overthrow the governing system in Iran.“It is now time to end this terrible chapter in the Middle East and start a new chapter. One of freedom for the Iranian people, economic integration for the region, working in peace and harmony, allowing all boats to rise,” Graham wrote in a social media post.Click here to share on social media
54m ago(20:20 GMT)

Russia condemns Israeli attacks on Iran as illegal

Russia has condemned ongoing Israeli strikes on Iran, calling them illegal and urging a diplomatic resolution to concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme.In a statement posted on Telegram, Russia’s Foreign Ministry highlighted Iran’s “clear statements” affirming its commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and its stated readiness to engage in dialogue with the US.Moscow said it is awaiting an “unvarnished analysis” from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on whether Israeli strikes have damaged Iran’s nuclear facilities.Iran remains a signatory to the NPT and has allowed IAEA inspections of its nuclear sites, while Israel has never signed the treaty and is widely believed to possess a nuclear arsenal.Click here to share on social media
57m ago(20:17 GMT)

Houthi official says Yemeni group will intervene in support of Iran

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti says the Houthis will come to the aid of any Arab or Muslim nation under attack.“We will intervene to support Tehran against Zionist aggressions as we supported our brothers in Gaza,” al-Bukhaiti said.The Houthis have been carrying out drone and missile attacks against Israel in a campaign that they say aims to pressure the country to end its war on Gaza.Over the past days, Houthi missiles have coincided with Iranian launches against Israel.
US suggests it will respond to attacks on Israeli civilians

Echoing an earlier statement by Trump, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said: “The president has made it clear that if Americans are hurt, or, in this case, a missile [is] shot at civilians or American soldiers, that there would be a repercussion.”Israel has targeted several residential buildings across Iran, killing dozens of civilians, since the start of the attacks.Click here to share on social media
1h ago(20:00 GMT)

‘Netanyahu seeks to draw Trump into war’

PM Netanyahu is actively trying to bring President Trump into the war with Iran, according to Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.“Netanyahu’s strategy has become how to manipulate Trump, how to convince Trump, how to bring Trump into the war,” Bishara said. “They are looking into the possibility of joint American-Israeli attacks.Bishara described Trump as lacking a clear vision of his own, saying: “Trump does not have a particular ideological or strategic endgame in mind.”The remarks come as Trump attends a national security meeting in the White House Situation Room.Earlier today, the US President claimed on Truth Social that the US knows “exactly” where Iran’s supreme leader is hiding” as speculation grows over whether Washington will be drawn directly into the conflict.Click here to share on social media
1h ago(19:55 GMT)

Israel’s missile system ‘overwhelmed’

The Washington Post reports, citing an unnamed source, that Israel may maintain its missile defence for 10 to 20 days only without new supplies of interceptors from the US.“They will need to select what they want to intercept,” the source said. “The system is already overwhelmed.”Click here to share on social media
1h ago(19:50 GMT)

Iran’s military chief calls for Haifa, Tel Aviv residents to leave immediately

Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi urged residents of the major Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv to evacuate, warning of imminent “punitive” attacks.Referring to Israel, Mousavi said that “residents of the occupied territories, especially Tel Aviv and Haifa, are strongly urged to leave these areas for the sake of their lives”.Click here to share on social media
1h ago(19:45 GMT)

‘Search underway’ for Israeli pilot in Iran after plane downed

Iran’s Mehr news agency is reporting that a search is underway for an Israeli pilot after his plane was targeted.The report said that “an Israeli enemy aircraft was targeted in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in southwestern Iran, and a search is underway for its pilot”.Click here to share on social media
1h ago(19:40 GMT)

‘Unacceptable’: UN calls for justice after hundreds killed at food sites in Gaza

The UN chief has called for accountability after the latest incidents of Israeli forces killing Palestinians at a food distribution point in Gaza.His deputy spokesman, in comments made at the UN headquarters in New York, said: “The Secretary-General condemns the loss of lives and injuries of civilians in Gaza, where once again being shot at while seeking food.“It is unacceptable,” added Farhan Haq. “As of yesterday, 338 people have been killed and more than 2,800 injured while trying to access food, food near distribution sites.”Click here to share on social media
1h ago(19:30 GMT)

Israel claims it struck ‘12 missile launch and storage sites’ in Iran

The Israeli army says it has completed a new wave of air strikes targeting what it claimed were military sites inside Iran.In a statement, the Israelis said its air force struck “12 missile launch and storage sites” today.Earlier, Israel claimed one of its recent attacks in Tehran killed a top Iranian commander Major General Ali Shadmani.Click here to share on social media
1h ago(19:20 GMT)

War will not end without damaging Iran’s Fordow facility: Israeli official

Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi tells Channel 12 that the military operation against Iran will not end before damaging the country’s main uranium enrichment site Fordow.Experts say that Israel will require US help – with massive bombers and munition – to penetrate Fordow’s defences.The facility, near the city of Qom, is built deep inside a mountain.Click here to share on social media
2h ago(19:10 GMT)

Trump meeting with national security team

US President Trump is meeting his national security team in the White House Situation Room this afternoon, according to a US media report.The meeting comes as Trump weighs whether the US should deepen its involvement in the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.He returned to Washington yesterday, cutting short his appearance at the G7 summit in Canada by a day.Earlier today, Trump made a series of statements on his Truth Social platform, including a pointed message directed at Iran’s leadership, claiming the US knows “exactly” where Iran’s supreme leader is “hiding”.Click here to share on social media
2h ago(19:00 GMT)

If you’re just joining us

It is 10:30pm in Iran, 10pm in Palestine and Israel (19:00 GMT). Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- President Trump says “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran”.
- Iran’s new military chief Abdolrahim Mousavi says Tehran has only launched attacks to deter Israel, and “punitive operation will be executed soon”.
- Iran launches more retaliatory attacks against Israel, with Iranian state media saying eight missiles were fired in the latest volley.
- Iranian news outlets report strong explosions in Tehran as Israel continues its bombardment of the country.
- Qatar’s Foreign Ministry slams the “reckless targeting of energy and nuclear facilities in the region”.
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2h ago(18:56 GMT)

Israel says more Iranian missiles fired

The Israeli army says sirens have sounded in several areas after missile launches were detected from Iran.Click here to share on social media
2h ago(18:50 GMT)

Trump may step into war on Iran ‘at another time’

Liqaa Maki, a political analyst at Al Jazeera Arabic, says Trump appears to be engaging in a campaign of deception.“I think this indecisiveness and confusion are deliberate,” he said. “I think he is planning to intervene in this war at another time.“He will intervene when he is informed by his military leadership that Iran is in a position of military weakness and cannot respond against US bases and interests. And then maybe he will participate in the war … to get credit for the victory.”Click here to share on social media
2h ago(18:40 GMT)

Trump ally in Congress renews opposition to ‘another foreign war’

Right-wing US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says Americans say the United States government should focus on issues at home, including safety, education and housing.“Considering Americans pay for the entire government and government salaries with their hard earned tax dollars, this is where our focus should be,” she wrote in a social media post. “Not going into another foreign war.”

WATCH: Will Russia, Turkiye and China provide support to Iran in its conflict?Moscow, Ankara and Beijing have condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran.It is a conflict that has the potential to ignite the entire Middle East. Israel has been attacking Iran, saying Tehran’s nuclear programme poses an existential threat. Iran has responded with a barrage of retaliatory attacks.But now, what role can the global community play?China, Russia and Turkiye have condemned Israel’s actions.Beijing and Moscow maintain economic and political ties with both Iran and Israel. So, what, if anything, can these powers do to end the conflict? And is there a shift in dynamics in the region?Watch the discussion on Inside Story below:

27:07

Will Russia, Turkiye and China provide support to Iran?

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4h ago(17:15 GMT)

Iran’s top general says ‘punitive’ attacks will be launched against Israel

According to Iran’s Press TV, Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said: “The operations carried out so far have been a warning for deterrence – the punitive operation will be executed soon.”Click here to share on social media
4h ago(17:10 GMT)

Iran accuses EU of acting as Israel’s ‘apologist’

The spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry has accused the European Union of acting as an “apologist” for Israel after the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas raised concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme.In a post on X, Esmaeil Baghaei directly addressed Kallas, urging her to “please stop acting as the aggressor’s apologist”.He also said: “How can you express concern over Iran’s peaceful program that is under the most robust IAEA inspections and ignore the fact that the Israeli regime has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons?!”Baghaei reaffirmed Iran’s position that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.While Iran is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Israel is not a signatory, and is widely believed to possess nuclear arms – although it has never publicly admitted it.“Iran has never sought nuclear weapons,” Baghaei added, “unlike the aggressor that is the only barrier to a Middle East free from nuclear weapons – a goal Iran has advocated since 1974.”Click here to share on social media
4h ago(17:00 GMT)

‘People torn to pieces’: Hundreds of casualties in Israeli attack on south Gaza

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has issued a statement about the growing number of Palestinian casualties in Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.The organisation said the bodies of 59 killed Palestinians and more than 200 wounded were brought to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.It added that after many injured Palestinians, including aid seekers, arrived at the facility, the MSF team had to evacuate the maternity ward and turn delivery rooms into emergency operating theatres.“Every day, Palestinians are met with carnage as they try to receive the limited aid trickling into Gaza,” MSF said.Wafaa Abu Nemer, an MSF pediatrician, said “she saw people torn to pieces”.“It’s a disaster,” she added. “Seeking food should not be a death sentence.”Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, the organisation’s emergency coordinator, said the medical complex was “over capacity and running on limited supplies … dangerously close to breaking point”.Click here to share on social media
4h ago(16:50 GMT)

What is Trump’s endgame?

- Ali Harb
The US president has been issuing seemingly contradictory statements. He would call for ending the war and hint at peace coming “soon”, then suggest that the US may join Israel in bombing Iran.Last night, he called for the evacuation of Tehran, a city of about 10 million people. And this morning, he shared a text message that he said was from his envoy to Israel that suggested that he is facing some sort of major decision.Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said Trump may be building leverage with threats to strong-arm Iran into accepting his demands of dismantling its nuclear programme.“I think he’s trying to present himself as this madman who is unpredictable, and in so doing, he can then insist on this very hard line that Iran has refused to accept for decades of full dismantlement of its enrichment programme,” Abdi told Al Jazeera.Another possible explanation of Trump’s latest statements, Abdi added, is that he is “being taken for a ride by Bibi Netanyahu to commit the United States to a full-on war with Iran”.He warned that destabilising Iran may potentially lead to “long-term US military commitments to dealing with the blowback of this failed state”.

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4h ago(16:45 GMT)

US lawmaker introduces bill to limit Trump’s power to strike Iran

Congressman Thomas Massie, a member of Trump’s Republican Party, has introduced a measure that would require the US president to seek the approval of Congress before attacking Iran.The bill orders Trump to “terminate” any attacks on Iran that are not authorised by lawmakers.On Monday, a similar measure was introduced in the Senate.While the proposed legislation would likely face a presidential veto if Congress approves it, advocates said the effort could add to the pressure Trump is facing from opponents of war with Iran.Read more about the Senate bill here.Click here to share on social media
4h ago(16:40 GMT)

Gaza healthcare at ‘breaking point’ as fuel runs out: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its few functioning hospitals running.“For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza, and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territory.“Combined with critical supply shortages, this is pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse. Without fuel, all levels of care will cease, leading to more preventable deaths and suffering.”Peeperkorn said 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional. They have a total of about 1,500 beds – about 45 percent fewer than before Israel’s war on Gaza began.Israel continues to restrict most goods entering the besieged territory.

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Israel strikes Iran: Is the world close to a nuclear radiation incident? – Al Jazeera

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How Israel’s Iran strikes might supercharge the global nuclear arms race – NBC News

NBC News

… nuclear-aspirant nations that nuclear weapons are essential in shielding them against attack. Countries such as North Korea already pointed to …

June 16, 2025

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #961, Monday, (06/16/2025)

End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Jun 16, 2025

A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 16, 2025.

Moshe Mizrahi/Reuter

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion

This attack on Iran by Israel and Iran’s counter-attack on Israel was and is entirely unnecessary. And it never would have happened had Trump not failed to act in-good-faith while diligently pursuing the invitation that he originally proposed to Iran on March 5th of this year. He has done nothing but interfere with the agreement talks.

Rather than negotiate he demanded unreasonable, if not impossible, demands on Iran by contradicting, altering, and changing the opening concepts and ground rules from the first meeting day of the very first attempt at an agreement and apparently intentionally demanded even more strict rules before every future meeting until the entire proposal fell apart while all the while telling Israel’s Netanyahu to delay any military attacks on Iran because a so-called Trump “deal” was close to an actual agreement. In fact, he lied to Israel as well as the USA.

So, eventually Netanyahu must have lost faith in Trump’s ability to ever reach an agreement with Iran and attacked their nuclear facilities without any further consultation with Trump or his administration. So it is that innocent Israeli citizens have been killed during the Iranian retaliatory bombing of apartment houses and other buildings, compared to the relatively small damage that has been done to Iran’s nuclear facilities, much of which is underground.

Trump’s lies and/or his incompetency are costing unnecessary human lives, and I believe he needs to be removed from office, not only for this predictable particular judgement error, but also for so many others — both economic and political — that he has made during his short — but far too long — term in office. For the safety of our country, other countries, and the world we must impeach, convict, and imprison this man to ensure a secure future here and elsewhere. ~llaw

With no clear exit strategy in Iran, Israel risks another war with no end

Analysis by Matthew Chance, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent

4 minute read

Updated 6:51 AM EDT, Mon June 16, 2025

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The Middle EastSee your latest updates

A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 16, 2025.

Moshe Mizrahi/Reuters

CNN —

Despite stunning early successes in Israel’s unprecedented strikes on Iran, a weekend of intensive bombardment and retaliation is raising questions about Israel’s exit strategy – how it can end this conflict with its ambitious goals achieved.

While Israeli war planes pummel Iranian military and nuclear sites virtually unopposed, dozens of Israelis have been killed and injured in retaliatory Iranian attacks.

Meanwhile, the United States – though helping Israel defend against Iranian missile strikes – is for the moment refusing to take part in attacking Iran, forcing Israel to reassess what its military operations can achieve.

“The end will be diplomatic, not military,” one Israeli source told CNN, adding the Israeli hope is now that its ongoing military action “weakens Iran’s negotiating hand” in any future nuclear talks.

This same theory, that Israeli military action will pressure an adversary to make concessions, has failed to force Hamas in Gaza to cave. Still, the mere mention of Iranian negotiations as a possible outcome suggests a shifting view.

From the start of the unprecedented strikes on Iran last week, Israel made its aims perfectly clear.

The intention, one Israeli military official spelled out to CNN, was to permanently remove the Islamic Republic’s “existential” nuclear and ballistic missile threats.

And no time limit would be set, the official insisted, to fulfil that military objective.

But that ambition, always highly dependent on the United States joining Israel militarily, has now run up against the reality of US reluctance to get drawn into yet another Mideast war.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men inspect the damage at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, on June 16, 2025. Iran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities early on June 16, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)

Sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that Israel has spoken with the US about increasing its level of involvement.

But President Donald Trump remains – at least publicly – reluctant to plunge the US into another Mideast war and has continued to distance himself from the violence.

One US official told CNN that Trump rejected an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the US president is himself insisting that, far from entering the conflict, he is determined to broker an end to it.

“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to make,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, referring to his intervention last month in a brief confrontation between the two South Asian nuclear neighbors over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

But unlike both India and Pakistan, Israel needs America’s firepower, not its diplomatic intervention.

Despite Israel’s success in killing key nuclear scientists, as well as striking enrichment facilities, inflicting lasting damage on Iran’s nuclear program is still beyond its capabilities.

A satellite image shows significant damage to buildings and tunnel entrances at Iran’s Kermanshah Missile Facility after repeated Israeli strikes on the site.

Maxar Technologies

Some of the most important locations are buried deep underground, such as the Fordow enrichment facility in northern Iran, which is built inside a mountain.

Without US military involvement, including logistics support and bunker busting firepower, Iran’s capabilities could survive even a prolonged Israeli pounding.

There’s another flaw with the Israeli strategy too.

Even if every facility were destroyed, they could eventually be rebuilt by a regime that has institutional nuclear know-how. Moreover, if the Iranian regime survives the current onslaught it may understandably calculate that a nuclear deterrent, not a new nuclear deal, is its best defense against future attack.

Mindful of this, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly called on Iranian citizens “to act, to rise up” and topple their government.

President Donald Trump arrives at the White House from Camp David on June 9.

But intensive bombing campaigns have a way of rallying people around even the most unpopular regimes. Interviews conducted by CNN inside Iran suggest that even long-oppressed Iranians are now even more furious with Israel than they are with their own unpopular leaders.

Of course, it is less than a week into the escalating conflict and much could still change.

Iranians could rise up; nuclear negotiations could resume; President Trump could even change his mind.

But not for the first time, Israel is engulfed in a conflict with no clear exit strategy.

Its ongoing war in Gaza, launched in 2023 after the October 7 attacks, was aimed at destroying Hamas and securing the release of all the hostages being held, but there is still no clear plan for what will follow.

Now, Israelis face yet another grinding, dangerous war of attrition, with no time limits and no clear end.

Up next

A weakened Iran has few options for striking back after Israel’s devastating blows

4 minute read

‘We fight or we die’: How days of frantic diplomacy and dire warnings culminated with Israel’s attack on Iran

10 minute read

Israel hits Iran’s nuclear program and military leadership in unprecedented strikes

7 minute read

Israel hit Iran’s nuclear program – and Iran hit back. Here’s what we know

7 minute read

Iran launches barrage of missiles at Israel following attack

3 minute read

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