Israel launches new attack on Tehran and Fordo nuclear facility

The new Israeli attack comes after the United States attacked three of Iran's nuclear facilities. The US attack came ahead of President Trump’s supposed two week deadline, with Trump claiming that the US strikes had completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities and would force Tehran to make peace.

Israel has launched a new wave of attacks on Iran and announced plans to continue the attacks in the coming days. This comes after President Donald Trump floated the idea of a regime change in Iran on Sunday. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt: "The president's posture and our military posture has not changed. The president was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking. If the Iranian regime refuses to give up their nuclear program, or engage in talks - we just took out their nuclear program on Saturday night as you all know, but if they refuse to engage in diplomacy moving forward, why shouldn't the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime?"

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Moscow on Monday. Putin said that the involvement of extra-regional powers in the Middle East conflict has put the entire world in a very dangerous situation: "This is an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran that has no basis or justification. For our part, we are making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people. As you know, I spoke on the phone with the President of the United States and the Israeli Prime Minister, the President of the United Arab Emirates and the President of Iran."

For its part the European Union has called on Iran to not block the Strait of Hormuz, which facilitates the flow of twenty percent of global oil consumption. The EU's Foreign Affairs Council addressed the situation in the Middle East at its meeting in Brussels on Monday, with High Representative Kaja Kallas presenting the council with indications that Israel has violated its human rights obligations under the association agreement with the European Union. As a result Spain immediately called for the suspension of the agreement.

"Everyday babies, women, men are being killed. This is the time for action. And if the association agreement is based on human rights, it's the most normal thing that we suspend immediately, today, that association agreement and that we move forward. That's why I will ask for the suspension of the association agreement, an embargo of selling weapons to Israel, and enlarging of the list of people that are being sanctioned to everyone that wants to be a spoiler of the two state solution," said the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares.

However, this view was not accepted by the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani: "Our position is different from that of Spain. We believe that it is important to talk with Israel, and thanks to those talks we have managed to bring almost one thousand people from Gaza to Italy."

For his part Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Gordan Grlić Radman sided with the Italian view: "Our position is dialogue. Only through dialogue can we resolve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This requires dialogue and a partner. We can resolve all existing problems through dialogue and diplomacy."

Source: HRT