+++ Iran War +++: Trump: “We don’t need an agreement with Iran”

Luke Bay

Iran rejects talks on nuclear inspections

Iran has initially rejected talks about resuming nuclear inspections. According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Tehran told the organization that this was not possible in the current security situation.

Since the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Islamic Republic has almost stopped allowing IAEA inspections. The UN nuclear watchdog was only recently allowed to visit the nuclear power plant in Bushehr. However, the IAEA and Western countries are primarily calling for a review of the almost nuclear weapons-grade uranium that Iran has produced in recent years.

Miriam Braun

Media: Iran's Revolutionary Guard attacks US radar in Bahrain

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have attacked a US early warning radar in Bahrain, according to state media. This was in retaliation for an airstrike on a telecommunications tower in the southern Iranian city of Sirik, the reports said. There were initially no statements from the USA or Bahrain. It is the first such attack on US military facilities in a Gulf state since early September.

Miriam Braun

Saudi Arabia reports shooting down of three Houthi drones

The Saudi-led military coalition against the Houthi militia in Yemen says it intercepted and destroyed three drones over the kingdom. One drone was shot down over the capital Riyadh on Thursday and two more in the east of the country.

The Houthi militia said it had used a drone to attack facilities owned by the state oil company Aramco in Riyadh. The company did not initially respond to a request from the AP news agency for comment.

Miriam Braun

More than 50 states and organizations are calling for winter aid for Gaza

With winter approaching, more than 50 states and organizations have called on Israel to allow urgently needed aid supplies into the Gaza Strip. The group, led by Britain, Qatar and Jordan, called on Thursday for the immediate importation of emergency shelter materials as well as supplies to provide fuel, water, sanitation and medical aid.

Too many people in the Gaza Strip are at risk of hypothermia, respiratory infections, water-borne diseases and other preventable illnesses with the onset of winter, a joint statement said. UN emergency aid coordinator Tom Fletcher recently expressed similar criticism.

Anna Kipnis

Trump: “We don’t need a deal with Iran”

US President Donald Trump sees no need for an agreement with Iran. He wrote this in a post on his platform Truth Social. "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days are long gone," Trump said. The United States has “its money, hundreds of billions of dollars,” and “its straits.” He left it open which funds and which strait he meant.

Trump also said he had asked Vice President J.D. Vance to focus his “full and undivided attention” on “massive corruption and crime” in Democratic-run cities and states. He cited Minnesota, California and Illinois as examples, as well as “many others.” These states are “poorly governed, corrupt and disastrous”. Trump claimed that “billions of dollars are being stolen there every month.” The federal budget could be “quickly balanced” if this crime was combated on a large scale. He did not provide any evidence.

Marie Boms

Iran: Supertanker unable to maneuver after explosions in Hormuz

According to Iranian sources, two oil supertankers are unable to maneuver in the Strait of Hormuz after massive explosions. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy said the ships had used an unauthorized route despite warnings. According to Iranian state media, the explosions occurred when the tankers hit sea mines.

Patricia Hoffhaus

At least six dead in Israeli attack on Gaza clinic

At least six people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Nasser Hospital building in the southern Gaza Strip, according to civil defense officials. A surgeon was among the dead and 20 other people were injured, said Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal to the Reuters news agency. The airstrike hit the surgical department of the hospital in Khan Yunis and caused significant damage.

The Israeli military confirmed an airstrike on Thursday night. A “senior Hamas terrorist” and other extremists were hit, it said. No further details were initially given.

The general director of Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip, Ahmed al-Farra, has strongly condemned an Israeli airstrike on the clinic. There was no warning of the Israeli attack.

Miriam Braun

Saudi Arabia: Missile debris fell in Mecca region

Saudi Arabia's air defense intercepted two ballistic missiles. The rubble fell in two places, 25 and 31 kilometers from the Great Mosque in Mecca, one of Islam's two holiest cities. “This hostile attack on civilian objects represents a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous, hostile course of the Houthi militia,” Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense said. The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly denied Saudi allegations of targeting Mecca and Medina. Their military operations were directed against military and strategic targets in other parts of Saudi Arabia, they said.

Miriam Braun

Iran is threatening attacks on US bases in Europe

The Iranian leadership warns the USA of new attacks on the Islamic Republic. “If the US starts another war against Iran, every military base involved in the aggression – from West Asia to Europe – will be a legitimate target for Iran’s deadly attacks,” wrote the Secretary General of the Iranian Security Council, Mohsen Resai, on Platform X. There will then be no safe distance, no safe haven, no immunity, he threatened.

A few days ago, US President Donald Trump declared the military conflict with Iran “effectively over” and said: “We are maintaining the status quo, and we are doing so at the insistence of neighboring countries.”

Miriam Braun

Erdogan accuses Israel of ecocide in the Gaza Strip at the climate summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the Gaza war as ecocide. At the UN climate summit in Antalya, Erdogan said the environmental impact of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip must be acknowledged. He also appealed to the Israeli government to enable more aid deliveries to the Palestinian territory.

“What happened in the Gaza Strip is not only a genocide, but also an ecocide,” Erdogan said. He received applause from heads of state and government and other delegates for his statements. A United Nations-backed panel of independent experts concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel firmly rejects these allegations and has accused the body of anti-Semitism.

"Centuries-old olive trees have been felled. The soil and water in the Gaza Strip have been contaminated, and the cities there have been turned into huge piles of rubble," Erdogan said in his speech. The destroyed infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, exacerbated by torrential rain and flooding, has caused tens of thousands of tents and emergency shelters to be inundated.

Eva Glaser

Houthis: Attacked Saudi Arabian pumping station

The Houthi rebels in Yemen said they attacked a pumping station in the Saudi Arabian city of Yanbu on the Red Sea with a drone on Wednesday. At the same time, a military spokesman for the group, Jahja Sari, rejected the Saudi-led military coalition's accusation that a drone had been intercepted over the holy Islamic city of Mecca. The Houthi operations targeted Saudi Arabian oil facilities and military bases, it said in a statement.

Eva Glaser

Iran demands compensation for war damage to the environment at the climate summit

Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian called for compensation for environmental damage caused by attacks by the USA and Israel at the COP31 climate conference. “We expect the global community to establish a real and meaningful link between peacetime climate commitments and wartime responsibilities, document and assess the environmental damage caused by military aggression and develop compensation mechanisms,” he told the conference in Turkey.

The USA and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran at the end of February. The attacks on energy infrastructure resulted in significant environmental damage, including oil spills. To date, international climate agreements do not provide for compensation for the environmental impacts of military strikes.

Laura Thalmeyer

Netanyahu wants to gradually phase out US military aid

After US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement that he would end military aid to Israel at the end of the year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a gradual phase-out. Israel is economically strong enough to survive without American support in the future, his office said. However, the transition from financial aid to a partnership with the USA should take place gradually. Netanyahu did not give a specific timetable. So far, Israel has received around $3.8 billion (around €3.3 billion) in US military aid every year. Trump's announcement sparked concerns in Israel about possible consequences for security and government finances.

Netanyahu had already promised a complete renunciation of American military aid within the next ten years in an interview with the British magazine “The Economist” in January. The current ten-year agreement with the USA provides for annual aid of around $3.8 billion until the end of September 2028. The Israeli news portal “ynet” interpreted Netanyahu’s new statement as a contradiction to Trump’s announcement of a short-term stop.

Felicitas Dahmen

Iran reports explosion on oil tanker

Iran has again reported an explosion on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. In the early hours of the morning, a ship hit a sea mine in the east of the strait, Iranian state radio reported, citing the navy. The oil tanker violated Iranian regulations and entered a “restricted” zone.

Laura Thalmeyer

Israel's new parliament meets for the first time - opposition wants to replace parliament speaker

Two weeks after the election, the new Israeli Knesset met for its inaugural session. The 120 representatives of the 26th legislative period are to be sworn in. More than a third are entering parliament for the first time. With 33 women, the Knesset has the highest proportion of women since the founding of the state in 1948. The election on October 27th did not result in a clear majority. President Izchak Herzog therefore commissioned former Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot to form a government. The chairman of the center party Jaschar initially has 28 days to do this.

As a first step, the opposition camp wants to replace Parliament Speaker Amir Ohana from the Likud party. According to media reports, former minister Matan Kahana from Eisenkot's party is intended to be his successor. A vote is expected within a week. The opposition wants to gain more influence on parliamentary processes and reverse key parts of the controversial judicial reform. She also wants to promote a state commission of inquiry into the failure of the Israeli leadership and security forces before and during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The previous Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously spoken out against such an independent investigation.

Felicitas Dahmen

US media: US Treasury Secretary moves to base because of Iran threats

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved from his private residence to a military base because of suspected threats from Iran, according to media reports. This was reported by the New York Times and the US broadcaster Fox News, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the daily newspaper, it was unclear how serious the alleged threats against Bessent were. However, Fox News reported that it was “more than advanced.”

Anna Lena Stahl

Netanyahu calls for unity government against Iranian threat

Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his call for a unity government of Jewish-led parties. It is important to put all other considerations aside in order to work together to overthrow the Iranian government, he said in a Knesset speech on Tuesday after the new parliament was sworn in.

In his speech, he attacked representatives of the previous opposition who had shown themselves open to forming a government with the participation of Arab parties. “I ask you: are you prepared to be dependent on those whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state?”

Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who is in charge of forming the government, called the speech “divisive” and “hateful.” The Jashar chairman does not rule out cooperation with Arab parties. Among the conditions he has formulated is that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state and declare Hamas a terrorist group.

Anna Lena Stahl

Eisenkot wants to reverse Netanyahu's policies

Former Israeli Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot wants to reverse many of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political decisions. The chairman of the Yashar party, who was commissioned by President Izchak Herzog to form the government, announced this at the swearing-in of the new parliament on Tuesday.

Eisenkot said his goal was a government that all Israelis could trust. The goal is not to only represent certain groups. “We will act for all citizens of Israel, for those who voted for us and for those who did not, out of deep obligation,” Eisenkot said before the swearing-in ceremony in the Knesset.

Anna Lena Stahl

Four dead in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip