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Israel Launches New Spy Satellite 

Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)
Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)
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Israel Launches New Spy Satellite 

Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)
Israel launches new spy satellite. (Reuters)

SpaceX successfully launched an Israeli spy satellite into space.  

The EROS C-3 satellite mission was the 61st and final launch of the year for US-based spacecraft engineering corporation headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.  

The advanced observation satellite from Israel-based remote sensing company ImageSat International (ISI) would be used for military intelligence and security purposes and is considered another significant step forward for Israel's place in the global space industry.  

According to foreign sources, the company published images of Iranian nuclear facilities or traces of destruction in Syrian sites, which Western reports attribute to Israeli strikes or follows the movements of aircraft carrying out secret missions.  

The company explained that the "very advanced" satellite was produced by the Israeli aerospace industry for surveillance, adding that it has amazing imaging capabilities and provides high-resolution images.  

The sources asserted that Israel uses satellites for 80 percent of its intelligence, and only 20 percent comes from traditional intelligence.  

The EROS C-3 is part of a group of spy satellites that Israel promoted to sell privately, especially after the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East increased demand for satellite services.  

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Israeli imaging satellite.  

According to security sources in Tel Aviv, Israel officially entered the space field in 1988 by launching its first satellite, Ofek 1, from an Israeli mobile launch platform.  

Israel does not release information about its space activities, and any discussion about them is subject to strict security restrictions.  

However, some sources believe Israel entered the space and satellite programs in the late fifties and early sixties, parallel with its nuclear program's launch.  

Israel started the idea of launching a satellite when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space in 1954.  

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion established in 1960 the National Committee for Space Research, and four years later, Tel Aviv asked the United States and France to help set up a satellite monitoring station.  

In 1966, it established the Space Research Institute, affiliated with the Israeli Space Agency in 1983, and signed an agreement with the US to participate in the Strategic Defense Initiative. 

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World

Macron Says France ‘Never Envisaged’ Sending Warships into Strait of Hormuz

This US Navy handout photo released on May 8, 2026 by US Central Command Public Affairs, shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) implementing a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Herby while the latter was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, on April 24, 2026. (US Navy / AFP)
This US Navy handout photo released on May 8, 2026 by US Central Command Public Affairs, shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) implementing a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Herby while the latter was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, on April 24, 2026. (US Navy / AFP)
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Macron Says France ‘Never Envisaged’ Sending Warships into Strait of Hormuz

This US Navy handout photo released on May 8, 2026 by US Central Command Public Affairs, shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) implementing a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Herby while the latter was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, on April 24, 2026. (US Navy / AFP)
This US Navy handout photo released on May 8, 2026 by US Central Command Public Affairs, shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) implementing a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Herby while the latter was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, on April 24, 2026. (US Navy / AFP)

President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said that France had "never envisaged" a naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz but rather a security mission that would be "coordinated with Iran".

At a news conference in Nairobi, Macron said he was sticking to his position opposing a blockade from either side, and to "reject any toll" to ensure ships are able to pass through the strategic waterway.

Iran on Sunday warned of a "decisive and immediate response" to any French or British deployments in the strait, after both announced they would send military vessels to the region.

"There was never any question of a deployment but we are ready," said Macron.

"We have put together an ad hoc mission, co-led with the British, which has brought together 50 countries and international organisations to enable, in a coordinated way with Iran and by deconflicting the situation with all the countries of the region and the United States, the resumption of maritime traffic as soon as conditions allow," he added.

Macron, in Africa for a summit in Nairobi, said the whole continent was "victim of the blockade" of the strait, through which normally passes most of the oil exported from the Middle East.

France last week announced that its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, had passed through the Suez Canal in preparation for such a mission.

World

Israeli Attorney General Opposes Appointment of Next Mossad Chief

Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate in Tel Aviv's HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government on May 9, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate in Tel Aviv's HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government on May 9, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Attorney General Opposes Appointment of Next Mossad Chief

Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate in Tel Aviv's HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government on May 9, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate in Tel Aviv's HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government on May 9, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's attorney general on Sunday opposed the appointment of the next head of the Mossad spy agency, due to take office in June, in a letter to the Supreme Court shared with the Israeli media.

The court is due to hear multiple petitions against the appointment of Major General Roman Gofman in the coming days.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara's opposition centers on a case dating back to 2022, in which she says Gofman did nothing to exonerate a teenager arrested for espionage who had in fact been secretly recruited by the military at Gofman's request.

Gofman was a military commander on Israel's northern border at the time.

According to the attorney general's letter, army officers acting "at Gofman's request" recruited 17-year-old Uri Elmakiyes outside any legal framework to conduct "information gathering and influence" operations online with citizens of enemy countries, mainly Syria.

Unaware that the teenager was acting on behalf of the military, the Shin Bet internal security agency arrested and detained him in isolation for nearly two months before moving him to house arrest for over a year.

Prosecutors eventually dropped all charges against Elmakiyes, following an investigation. He is among those petitioning the Supreme Court against the appointment.

Baharav-Miara accused Gofman of doing nothing to exonerate the young man after his arrest. Gofman initially denied any knowledge of the affair.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu selected Gofman, who currently serves as his military secretary, for the post of Mossad director in December 2025.

An advisory committee for senior appointments was tasked with issuing an opinion on the appointment.

The committee's chairman, a former Supreme Court judge, opposed the nomination, saying Gofman had lied about the affair during his hearing, raising concerns about his "moral integrity".

But he was outvoted by the committee's three other members, who are all known to be supporters of the prime minister.

Netanyahu wrote to the court requesting that the petitions be dismissed, arguing that "responsibility for the security of the state and its citizens rests with the prime minister, and with him alone".

Netanyahu has refused to assume responsibility for the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the two-year war in Gaza, placing the blame on the security establishment.

World

Iran War ‘Not Over,’ Uranium Must Be Removed, Says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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Iran War ‘Not Over,’ Uranium Must Be Removed, Says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Reuters)

Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium must be "taken out" before the US-Israeli war against Iran can be considered over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview Sunday.

"It's not over, because there's still nuclear material -- enriched uranium -- that has to be taken out of Iran. There's still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled," Netanyahu said in an excerpt of an interview due to air later Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes" program.

"You go in and you take it out," the Israeli leader said when asked how the uranium could be removed.

Netanyahu said that US President Donald Trump had a similar position.

"I'm not going to talk about military means, but the president, what President Trump has said to me -- 'I want to go in there.'"

However, Netanyahu's statement was in contrast to Trump's public position.

The 79-year-old Republican is under increasing domestic pressure to end the Iran war and he insists that Tehran's nuclear program has been contained.

In an interview aired Sunday but apparently recorded earlier, Trump said Iran was "militarily defeated" and he insisted that the uranium could be removed "whenever we want."

"We'll get that at some point, whenever we want. We'll have it surveilled," he told independent television journalist Sharyl Attkisson.

"We have that very well surveilled. If anybody got near the place we will know about it and we'll blow them up."

Asked by CBS how the uranium stockpiles could be taken out from Iran, Netanyahu said he would prefer an agreement.

"I think it can be done physically. That's not the problem. If you have an agreement and you go in and you take it out, why not? That's the best way."

Pressed on whether there are military options to seize the hidden uranium, Netanyahu said, "I'm not going to talk about our military possibilities, plans, or anything of the kind."

"I'm not going to give a timetable to it, but I am going to say that's a terrifically important mission."

In addition to the unresolved uranium stockpile issue, Netanyahu said there were several other war aims that had yet to be accomplished.

"There's still proxies that Iran supports, their ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we've degraded a lot of it, but all that is still there and there's work to be done."

Netanyahu's interview with "60 Minutes" was due to air at 7:00 pm (2300 GMT).