عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Spain Scraps Contested Israeli Arms Deal after Uproar

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's military operations in Gaza. JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's military operations in Gaza. JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
TT
TT

Spain Scraps Contested Israeli Arms Deal after Uproar

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's military operations in Gaza. JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's military operations in Gaza. JAVIER SORIANO / AFP

Spain on Thursday cancelled a contract to buy bullets from an Israeli company following pressure from the Socialist-led government's far-left coalition partner -- a move swiftly condemned by Israel.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's military operations in Gaza, halted weapons transactions with Israel after the outbreak of the war following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The interior ministry sought to terminate the 6.8-million-euro ($7.8 million) contract with Israeli firm IMI Systems, which was to supply bullets to the Spanish Civil Guard police force, AFP said.

But on Wednesday the ministry said it had abandoned its attempt to cancel the deal after state legal services advised against it "due to the advanced stage of the processing of the contract" and because it would have had to pay without receiving the bullets.

The far-left Sumar party, the junior partner in Sanchez's ruling coalition, reacted angrily, calling the reversal "a blatant violation" of the government's pledge not to trade weapons with Israel.

On Thursday government sources said the contract would be "unilaterally" terminated.

"The investment board for dual-use material will deny this company permission to import this equipment to our country for reasons of general interest and, immediately afterwards, the interior ministry will terminate the contract," the sources added.

Sumar's Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz said she had personally "negotiated" with the interior minister and the prime minister to pull the plug on the contract.

Spain "cannot buy arms from a government that massacres the Palestinian people", she told reporters.

Israel's military offensive has devastated Gaza and killed more than 50,000 people in the tiny coastal territory, according to the health ministry there.

Israel said it "strongly condemns" the decision to cancel the contract, and accused the Spanish government of "sacrificing security considerations for political purposes".

Spain "continues to stand on the wrong side of history -- against the Jewish state that is defending itself from terrorist attacks", Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement to AFP.

The row over the contract came as Sumar was still reeling from Sanchez's announcement on Tuesday that Madrid will boost defense spending to two percent of annual economic output this year -- the benchmark agreed by NATO allies.

The government had previously aimed to meet this target in 2029 but brought it forward under pressure from Washington.

Sanchez's minority government has struggled to pass legislation since he secured a new term in 2023 by cobbling together an alliance of left-wing and regional separatist parties traditionally hostile to NATO and alignment with US foreign policy.

Conservative criticism

Spain's main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) criticized the government's decision to cancel the contract.

"When a state concludes a contract with another state, it must be respected," PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo told reporters.

"What is the price of cancelling this contract? Who is going to pay it?" he asked.

The Hamas attack in Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages in their attack and 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's military response in Gaza has caused a humanitarian crisis and killed at least 51,355 people, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Trump Issues Ultimatum for Iran to Accept Deal or Face More Bombing

US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

Trump Issues Ultimatum for Iran to Accept Deal or Face More Bombing

US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump speaks before signing a proclamation inside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 05 May 2026. (EPA)

President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum Wednesday for Iran to accept a deal to end the war or face intense renewed US bombing, the latest in a series of abrupt policy shifts.

"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform," using the US name for its military campaign against Iran.

"If they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before."

He later said in an interview with PBS he was optimistic about reaching an agreement with Iran before his scheduled trip to China next week.

"I think it's got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn't end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them," Trump told the broadcaster.

He was also asked about reports that under a proposed deal, Tehran would "export" its highly enriched uranium, possibly to the United States.

"No, not perhaps. It goes to the United States," Trump said without explaining how this key point of contention would be resolved.

Iran has steadfastly refused to give up its enriched uranium, which it insists is not for making a nuclear bomb.

Trump's social media post came after US news outlet Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were close to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.

A short time later, however, the president told the New York Post it was "too far" and "too much" to think about face-to-face talks with Iran in Pakistan, which has been mediating a peace deal between the two sides.

It remained difficult to discern Trump's stance on how to end the war.

The 79-year-old Republican has repeatedly asserted he has "all the time in the world" for the high-stakes conflict, but also recently signaled to Congress that the war, launched on February 28, was already over.

Trump and his administration are seeking an exit from the conflict, which is deeply unpopular with the American public and has driven up the price of gasoline, among other costs.

Trump late Tuesday announced a pause in a US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz -- after only a day -- citing a chance to seal a deal to end the war.

The US leader said Washington's blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place as Tehran kept up its own closure of the vital trade route, which has rocked markets and spiked fuel prices.

Trump wrote on social media that the surprise decision to halt his so-called "Project Freedom" came after requests from "mediator Pakistan and other countries", saying "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.

"We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote late Tuesday.

World

French Aircraft Carrier Pre-Positions for Possible Hormuz Mission

This photograph taken on April 27, 2026, shows an aerial view of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle at the end of the NATO military exercise Neptune Strike 26-2, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete. (AFP)
This photograph taken on April 27, 2026, shows an aerial view of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle at the end of the NATO military exercise Neptune Strike 26-2, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete. (AFP)
TT
TT

French Aircraft Carrier Pre-Positions for Possible Hormuz Mission

This photograph taken on April 27, 2026, shows an aerial view of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle at the end of the NATO military exercise Neptune Strike 26-2, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete. (AFP)
This photograph taken on April 27, 2026, shows an aerial view of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle at the end of the NATO military exercise Neptune Strike 26-2, off the coast of the Greek island of Crete. (AFP)

France's aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle was on Wednesday heading towards the southern Red Sea to pre-position for a possible mission to restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the presidency and defense ministry said.

President Emmanuel Macron's office said the move was intended to send "a signal that not only are we ready to secure the Strait of Hormuz but that we are also capable of doing so".

The flagship of the French Navy and its escorts was transiting the Suez Canal en route to the southern Red Sea, the defense ministry said.

The decision was intended "to reduce the time needed to implement this initiative as soon as circumstances allow," the ministry said.

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are leading a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasizing the force would be entirely defensive and only deployed once lasting peace in the region was agreed.

More than 40 countries have begun military planning in London.

"The movement of the carrier strike group is separate from the military operations initiated in the region and complements the security posture," the defense ministry said.

Its presence near the Gulf will allow "an early assessment of the regional operational environment ahead of the possible launch of the initiative" and "offer additional crisis-exit options to strengthen the security of the region," the ministry added.

The aircraft carrier around twenty Rafale fighter jets and is escorted by several frigates.

It set sail from the southeastern French port city of Toulon in January for a deployment to the North Atlantic.

But in early March, it was redirected to the eastern Mediterranean to defend French interests and allied countries struck by Iran's retaliation for Israeli-American attacks.

World

Family Fears for Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate’s Life if She’s Not Moved to a Tehran Hospital

A handout photo provided by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation on October 2, 2023 shows an undated, unlocated photo of Iranian rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi. (Narges Mohammadi Foundation/AFP)
A handout photo provided by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation on October 2, 2023 shows an undated, unlocated photo of Iranian rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi. (Narges Mohammadi Foundation/AFP)
TT
TT

Family Fears for Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate’s Life if She’s Not Moved to a Tehran Hospital

A handout photo provided by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation on October 2, 2023 shows an undated, unlocated photo of Iranian rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi. (Narges Mohammadi Foundation/AFP)
A handout photo provided by the Narges Mohammadi Foundation on October 2, 2023 shows an undated, unlocated photo of Iranian rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi. (Narges Mohammadi Foundation/AFP)

Imprisoned Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was being examined by Iranian government-appointed medical experts Wednesday for the second time since she was hospitalized last week, a move her brother said he hopes would lead to her transfer to a hospital in Tehran.

Mohammadi was rushed on Friday from prison to a local hospital in the northwest Iranian town of Zanjan after she fell unconscious. She remains in critical condition, and her family says security officials have so far prevented her transfer to the capital where she could get better treatment.

Her brother Hamidreza Mohammadi, who is based in Oslo, said the medical examiners had previously recommended her transfer, but the decision was blocked.

“The problem is that somewhere in the system, the intelligence agency has the upper hand and they are the ones who are controlling everything,” he told The Associated Press. He said he hopes the second examination will prompt her transfer, “but if it doesn’t happen, it means they are really intent on killing Narges.”

The 53-year-old rights activist and champion of women’s rights was awarded the Nobel in 2023 while in prison and has been jailed repeatedly throughout her career. Her current imprisonment began in December, when she was arrested in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Mohammadi's family says her health has been deteriorating in prison, in part because she was heavily beaten during her arrest. She suffered a heart attack in March, and has a blood clot in her lung since before her imprisonment that needs blood thinners and monitoring to manage it. The family and her lawyers say security authorities have been denying her proper care.

Since being taken to the Zanjan hospital’s cardiac care unit, Mohammadi's blood pressure has been swinging between extremely low and extremely high, and she is receiving oxygen to breathe and can't talk, according to her brother.

Because of communication and internet restrictions imposed in Iran since the war began, he said he can’t talk with his family there and has to wait for them to get a connection to send text messages.

Doctors fear the clot could move into Mohammadi's veins. A brain surgeon in the hospital said the fluctuating pressure could affect not only her heart but also her brain, her brother said.

“It is a really bad condition for Narges now,” he said. He said the Zanjan hospital can’t treat her underlying conditions.

Mohammadi's children in Paris wait for news

While the world is consumed with the US-Israel war with the Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian authorities “focus on eliminating the opposition,” Hamidreza Mohammadi said.

Chirinne Ardakani, Mohammadi’s France-based lawyer, warned on Tuesday that Iranian authorities were aiming to “slowly kill her.” The regime’s “relentless pursuit against Narges” is meant as “a signal of terror to the entire civilian population,” Ardakani said.

The Nobel committee on Saturday called on Iranian authorities to “immediately transfer (Mohammadi) to her dedicated medical team in Tehran. Without such treatment, her life remains at risk.”

Mohammadi was taken by ambulance from the Zanjan hospital on Wednesday to the judiciary’s medical examiners, accompanied by family members.

He said trying to follow news of her condition has been nerve-wracking for him, his sister’s husband and their children, who live in Paris.

Mohammadi’s 19-year-old twins, Kiana and Ali, have not seen their mother for over 10 years.

“They are devastated. They have experienced a lot of hard times. This time they are just afraid they would not hear their mother’s voice again,” Hamidreza Mohammadi said.

Meanwhile, he waits for any news from Iran.

“My body and brain say no, but I know it might be the last chance I have.”