Middle East conflict: Pentagon says US strikes set back Iran nuclear program two years
US defence intel assessments have given a clearer picture of the damage US strikes made to three Iran nuclear sites.
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US intelligence assessments indicate that strikes on Iranian nuclear sites set the country’s atomic program back by up to two years, the Pentagon said.
“We have degraded their program by one to two years at least – intel assessments inside the (Defence) Department assess that,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told journalists, later adding: “We’re thinking probably closer to two years.”
American B-2 bombers hit two Iranian nuclear sites with massive GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs last month, while a guided missile submarine struck a third site with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign targeting Iranian nuclear sites, scientists and top military brass on June 13 in a bid to end the country’s nuclear program, which Tehran says is for civilian purposes but Washington and other powers insist is aimed at acquiring atomic weapons.
Meanwhile, Iran officially suspended its co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, a move the United States described as “unacceptable”.
The spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres said the decision was “obviously concerning”.
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HAMAS TO RESPOND TO TRUCE PLAN ‘IN 24 HOURS’
Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday (local time) it was “conducting national consultations to discuss” a 60-day ceasefire proposal sent by mediators, while Israeli media reported the group was set to give its response in the next 24 hours.
Hamas said it aimed “to reach an agreement that guarantees ending the aggression, achieving the withdrawal (of Israeli forces from Gaza) and urgently aiding our people in the Gaza Strip”.
Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) urged the Islamic movement to accept the Gaza truce, saying that Israel had agreed to finalise the terms of such a deal.
“Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize (sic) the 60 Day CEASEFIRE,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that representatives of Qatar and Egypt “will deliver this final proposal” to Hamas.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better – IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he added.
It comes as Israel’s military said that it had expanded its operations in Gaza ahead of a planned trip to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slated for next week.
TRIBUTES FOR VICTIMS OF AIR STRIKE ON CAFE
Once a bustling seafront spot where young people could hope for a rare respite from war, Gaza City’s al-Baqa cafe lay in ruins after an Israeli strike killed 24 people including a journalist and an artist.
Blood stains dotted the debris-strewn floor in the aftermath of the strike on Monday, footage showed.
Upturned plastic chairs lay alongside wooden planks blown apart in the blast, as tattered fabric gently blew in the sea breeze.
The strike triggered a fresh outpouring of grief in the Palestinian territory already devastated by more than 20 months of war, with social media flooded with posts paying tribute to the dead.
“Gaza lost a rare talent. The world lost beauty and hope,” wrote two friends of the artist Amina al-Salmi, nicknamed Frans, in an Instagram post after the young woman’s death in the cafe.
“The occupation killed her, but it will never erase her voice,” they added.
One of the friends, journalist Noor Harazeen, drew parallels between one of Salmi’s last drawings and a photo of the attack showing her face covered in blood.
Images of the bombed cafe showing several lifeless bodies flooded social media. Journalist and rights activist Bayan Abusultan was also seen in photos posted online, half covered in blood in the aftermath of the blast.
“We survived to curse the occupation for one more day,” she wrote on Facebook.
The Israeli military told AFP it had “struck several Hamas terrorists” and that “steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians”, adding that the incident was under review.
The cafe was known before the war for welcoming young professionals and the few foreigners who were able to visit the Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade.
ISRAEL EXPANDS OPERATIONS IN GAZA
Israel’s campaign to destroy the Palestinian militant group Hamas has continued unabated, however, with Gaza’s civil defence agency reporting Israeli forces killed 17 people on Tuesday.
In response to reports of deadly strikes in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army told AFP it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities”.
Separately, it said Tuesday morning that in recent days it had “expanded its operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists, and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above and below ground”.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, in the latest in a long-running spate of deadly attacks on those seeking food.
One person was killed and 50 wounded when tanks and drones opened fire as crowds were waiting to collect aid near the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the middle of the territory, Bassal said.
The civil defence said another six people were killed nearby while trying to reach the same aid centre.
Asked for comment, the Israeli military told AFP its forces “fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops”, adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incident.
At least one more person was killed near another aid centre in Rafah, the civil defence said.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.
NETANYAHU TO VISIT WHITE HOUSE
Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week for talks with Donald Trump, a US official said, as Washington ramps up the pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The July 7 visit — Mr Netanyahu’s third since Mr Trump returned to power in January — comes after the US President said that he hoped for a truce in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory within a week.
A Trump administration official confirmed the visit to AFP on condition of anonymity.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier that Netanyahu had “expressed interest” in a meeting with Mr Trump and that both sides were “working on a date.
“This has been a priority for the president since he took office, to end this brutal war in Gaza,” Ms Leavitt told reporters in a briefing.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end.”
A senior Israeli official, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, is due to visit the White House this week for talks to lay the ground for Netanyahu’s visit, Ms Leavitt said.
Mr Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to visit Mr Trump in his second term in February, when the US president surprised him by suddenly announcing a plan for the United States to “take over” Gaza.
The Israeli leader visited again in April.
ISRAEL EYES PEACE DEAL WITH SYRIA, LEBANON
Israel said it is “interested” in striking peace agreements with neighbouring Lebanon and Syria, a potentially historic shift in the region after decades of war and animosity.
With Syria under new leadership after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement weakened, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told journalists his government wanted more normalisation agreements with Arab countries.
“Israel is interested in expanding the Abraham Accords circle of peace and normalisation,” Mr Saar said of the US-brokered deals that Israel signed with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020, during Donald Trump’s first term.
A senior US diplomat called for peace agreements by Israel with Syria and Lebanon in the wake of the Iran-Israel ceasefire and expected there would be discussions about it.
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who is also a special envoy to Syria, said Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa “has indicated that he doesn’t hate Israel and that he wants peace on that border,” Mr Barrack told Turkish news agency Anadolu.
“I think that will also happen with Lebanon. It’s a necessity to have an agreement with Israel,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s recent “victory” in a 12-day war against Iran “opens the path to dramatically enlarge the peace accords”.
Control of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has long been a source of tension between Israel and Syria, which are technically still at war.
Mr Saar insisted that the strategic plateau, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognised by the United Nations, “will remain part of the State of Israel” under any future peace agreement.
There was no immediate response from Lebanese or Syrian officials to Mr Saar’s remarks.
– with AFP
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Originally published as Middle East conflict: Pentagon says US strikes set back Iran nuclear program two years
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