Netanyahu Says Iran's Entire Nuclear Program Must Go

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO
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Netanyahu Says Iran's Entire Nuclear Program Must Go

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated calls for Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled, as Washington and Tehran engage in talks for a nuclear accord.

The United States and Iran have so far held three rounds of indirect talks, mediated by Oman, aimed at sealing a deal that would block Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but also lift crippling economic sanctions imposed by Washington.
After talks in Rome earlier this month, Oman said that the US and Iran were pursuing an accord that would see Tehran "completely free" of nuclear weapons and sanctions but "maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy."
Netanyahu said the only "good deal" would be one that removed "all of the infrastructure" akin to the 2003 agreement that Libya made with the West that saw it give up its nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs.
Israeli officials have long vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, an assertion Netanyahu repeated.
Israel has not ruled out attacking Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Netanyahu that the US was for now unwilling to support such an operation, Reuters reported on April 19, citing an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter.
Netanyahu, speaking late on Sunday in Jerusalem, said that he had told Trump that any nuclear agreement reached with Iran should also prevent Tehran from developing ballistic missile.
An Iranian official told Reuters this month that Tehran saw its missile program as the main sticking point in US talks.
Iran in April 2024 and again in October 2024 attacked Israel with drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles after Israel had killed Iranian generals and officials from Iranian proxies.
"We are in close contact with the United States. But I said, one way or the other, Iran will not have nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said at a conference organized by the Jewish News Syndicate, referring to a conversation he had with Trump.



Macron Says it is Unrealistic to Open Hormuz Strait by Force

FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Macron Says it is Unrealistic to Open Hormuz Strait by Force

FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it would be unrealistic to launch a military operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump challenged US allies to work towards reopening it.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since February 28, when the US and Israel struck Iran, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, US bases and the Gulf states, and Tehran effectively closing the waterway that carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

"Some people defend the idea of freeing the Strait of Hormuz by force via a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States, although it has varied," Macron told reporters during a trip to South Korea.

"This was never the option we have supported because it is unrealistic," he said. "It would take forever, and would expose all those who go through the Strait to risks from the guardians of the revolution but also ballistic missiles," he said.

Macron, who has worked with European and other allies to build a coalition to guarantee free passage through Hormuz once hostilities have stopped, said this could only be done by talking to Iran.

"What we say from the beginning is that this strait must be reopened because it is strategic for energy flows, fertilisers and international trade, but that it can only be done in consultation with Iran," he said.

Asked about Trump's criticism of NATO allies and threats to pull the US out of the alliance, Macron said: "I don't want to provide a running commentary of an operation the Americans have decided on their own with Israel. They can deplore the fact they're not being helped, but that's not our operation. We want peace as soon as possible."

Macron also said that Trump's comments mocking him and his wife Brigitte were "neither elegant, nor commensurate" with the moment.


Strike Hits Bridge Near Tehran Again

Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
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Strike Hits Bridge Near Tehran Again

Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)

US-Israeli strikes hit a bridge near Tehran on Thursday, which had already been hit around an hour earlier, Iranian state TV reported.

"A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj," a city west of Tehran, state TV said, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties, AFP reported.

It said the later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike.


Argentina Expels Iran's Charge D'affaires

Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
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Argentina Expels Iran's Charge D'affaires

Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas

Argentina's government declared Iran's charge d'affaires, Mohsen Tehrani, "persona non grata" and expelled him from the country, Argentina's Foreign Minister said in a statement on Thursday.

The measure orders Tehrani to leave the country within 48 hours.

The decision comes in response to a statement released on Wednesday by Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which accused Argentina's president Javier Milei, an ally of US president Donald Trump, and his foreign minister Pablo Quirno, of being complicit in military attacks on its territory, Reuters reported.

Argentina's Foreign Minister said Iran's claims "contain false, offensive, and unfounded accusations against the Argentine Republic and its highest authorities."

Earlier this week, the Milei government had designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization.