عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Vance Says Some in Israeli Government Sought to Sway US on Iran Deal

US Vice President JD Vance speaks at This is the Turning Point Tour at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, US, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File Photo
US Vice President JD Vance speaks at This is the Turning Point Tour at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, US, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File Photo
TT
TT

Vance Says Some in Israeli Government Sought to Sway US on Iran Deal

US Vice President JD Vance speaks at This is the Turning Point Tour at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, US, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File Photo
US Vice President JD Vance speaks at This is the Turning Point Tour at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, US, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File Photo

US Vice President JD Vance said some members of the Israeli government had tried to influence US public opinion to oppose a deal by the US to end the war with Iran, in a podcast episode with host Joe Rogan posted on Wednesday.

The comments echoed earlier criticism of Israeli government policy by Vance, whom many view as a potential future presidential candidate, in a widening public rift between the two countries, Reuters reported.

Vance defended a deal reached last month to end the war with Iran, which critics in the US and Israel have slammed for failing to curb Iran's missile program and providing no clear path to dismantling its nuclear facilities, while constraining Israel in its war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, Reuters reported.

"I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to, like, actually shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military campaign," Vance said.

The vice president said that, while he has "good relationships" with some members of the Israeli government, "there are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely".

Vance said that many countries, allies and adversaries try to influence American policy and that "it doesn't bother me that Israel tries to do this, it frankly doesn't even bother me that Russia or some of these other countries do it". He said it was "just the nature of being a political leader in 2026".

"What does bother me is when those operations, those influence campaigns, actually affect American political judgment," said the vice president.

Vance lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran deal in June, saying President Donald Trump is Israel's only ally, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in US defense aid the country receives.

Israeli senior officials, speaking anonymously, have said the deal's terms were bad for Israel because they failed to address concerns over Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, a view they say is shared across Israel's leadership.

When asked if he thought the US would have engaged in the most recent war with Iran were it not for Israeli influence, Vance said, "yes, yes I do."

"I think the president, separate from any influence from Israel, believes very strongly, and again I agree with this, that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon," Vance said.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Italy Court Finds 32 People Guilty Over Deadly Genoa Bridge Collapse

(FILES) This general view taken on August 15, 2018, shows abandoned vehicles on the Morandi motorway bridge the day after a section collapsed in the north-western Italian city of Genoa. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)
(FILES) This general view taken on August 15, 2018, shows abandoned vehicles on the Morandi motorway bridge the day after a section collapsed in the north-western Italian city of Genoa. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)
TT
TT

Italy Court Finds 32 People Guilty Over Deadly Genoa Bridge Collapse

(FILES) This general view taken on August 15, 2018, shows abandoned vehicles on the Morandi motorway bridge the day after a section collapsed in the north-western Italian city of Genoa. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)
(FILES) This general view taken on August 15, 2018, shows abandoned vehicles on the Morandi motorway bridge the day after a section collapsed in the north-western Italian city of Genoa. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

An Italian court sentenced 32 defendants on Thursday, including the former head of motorway operator Autostrade, for their role in a deadly bridge disaster eight years ago that killed 43 people.

Autostrade's former chief executive, Giovanni Castellucci, was found guilty of vehicular homicide and negligence related to the collapse of the bridge in Genoa -- one of the country's worst infrastructure disasters.

The crowded courtroom was packed with relatives of those who plunged to their deaths when the Morandi Bridge -- part of a key highway connecting France and Italy -- gave way in torrential rain on August 14, 2018.

Castellucci, who was accused of postponing key maintenance work, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.

The former executive is already serving time for his responsibility in a 2013 accident in which a bus crashed through the barriers of a viaduct, killing 40 people.

"Today we can say there are those guilty of the murder of our relatives," said Michele Matti Altadonna, whose brother was one of the victims.

"We are here for our loved ones, in their memory," he told AFP.

Legal teams for some of the defendants, including Castellucci, said they would appeal the ruling.

But Altadonna said "for the four children my brother left behind... we will not give up, we will not give up until the Supreme Court".

Under Italian law, judges will have to publish the reasoning for their decision within six months.

The findings of the investigation were damning: "Between the inauguration in 1967 and the collapse, i.e. 51 years later, not even minimal maintenance work was carried out to reinforce the stays of pillar number nine".

Work had been carried out on two other pillars, numbers 10 and 11, and was planned for number nine, which came crashing down in morning traffic.

Raffaele Caruso, a lawyer for the victims, said the Morandi bridge had not collapsed "by chance."

"This collapse, as we have always said and as the prosecutor's office, above all, has always said, could have been avoided."

Most of the defendants were executives and technicians from Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI), which runs almost half of the country's motorway network, and engineering company Spea, in charge of maintenance.

Besides Castellucci, they included the former head of Spea, Antonino Galata, as well as officials from the infrastructure ministry.

ASPI's executive in charge of maintenance, Michele Mitelli, was sentenced to 11 years, while the group's number two, Paolo Berti, received five years and six months.

Italy's deputy transport secretary, Edoardo Rixi, wrote that Thursday's ruling marked an "important step on the path of truth and justice".

"The collapse was not a stroke of fate, but the result of serious errors and omissions by those who had a duty to ensure safety. It is right that responsibility has finally been established," wrote Rixi on social media.

The defence's main argument was that the bridge had a hidden construction defect, namely corrosion of its cables, and it was this that caused its collapse, not a lack of maintenance.

Lawyers for Castellucci wrote in a note following the verdict that the court had erroneously relied on a theory that "equates liability with hierarchical position", noting that the ex-CEO had taken "every initiative deemed necessary for the safety of the infrastructure".

"Today it is considered appropriate to assign personal criminal liability to the CEO of a company who did nothing other than rely on the best engineering specialists in the field," they wrote.

Autostrade and Spea reached an out-of-court settlement with the public prosecutor's office, which provides for a payment of 29 million euros ($30 million) to the state.

At the time of the tragedy, Autostrade belonged to the Atlantia group, controlled by the wealthy Benetton family, but faced with popular indignation the family subsequently gave up its stake to the state.

World

Ukraine Says Received 501 Bodies from Russia

Russian soldiers in Crimea (Reuters - file photo)
Russian soldiers in Crimea (Reuters - file photo)
TT
TT

Ukraine Says Received 501 Bodies from Russia

Russian soldiers in Crimea (Reuters - file photo)
Russian soldiers in Crimea (Reuters - file photo)

Ukraine has received 501 bodies from Russia believed to be those of fallen soldiers, authorities Thursday, in one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring neighbours.

"As a result of repatriation efforts, 501 bodies of the deceased have been returned to Ukraine, which, according to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen," Kyiv's prisoners of war centre said, AFP reported.

The Red Cross helped facilitate the exchange, it added.

Investigators and forensic experts will now identify the repatriated remains, the Ukrainian body said.

Russia received the bodies of 31 soldiers, Russian lawmaker Shamsail Saraliyev told the RBC news outlet.

Since Russia's 2022 invasion, exchanges of prisoners and the remains of fallen fighters have been one of the few areas of contact between Moscow and Kyiv.

World

UK Unveils Sanctions against Sudan Gold Networks

The Britain's national flag flies next to the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, in London, Britain, March 23, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
The Britain's national flag flies next to the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, in London, Britain, March 23, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
TT
TT

UK Unveils Sanctions against Sudan Gold Networks

The Britain's national flag flies next to the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, in London, Britain, March 23, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo
The Britain's national flag flies next to the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, in London, Britain, March 23, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/ File Photo

Britain on Thursday announced sanctions targeting what it said are "illicit gold and finance networks" propping up rival factions in Sudan's devastating civil war.

The foreign ministry said the war-torn country's gold trade worth billions of dollars was helping finance "weapons procurement, military operations and the activities of armed groups".

The sanctions are aimed at 11 individuals and businesses suspected of being linked to the networks financing and supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the regular army, AFP reported.

The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, that erupted in April 2023, has killed 200,000 people by some estimates and displaced upwards of 11 million.

"The people of Sudan continue to pay the price for a war fuelled not only by guns and fighters, but by illicit flows of gold and finance to fill the war chests on both sides," Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

Africa's third-largest country is one of the continent's top gold producers, and the state Sudanese Mineral Resources Company reported a "five-year high" in production of 70 tonnes in 2025.

The United Nations on Wednesday said the rival factions were profiting from control over the country's resources and that a "war economy" was sustaining the conflict.

The UK has previously sanctioned senior commanders of the RSF, who have also been targeted by the European Union.

On Tuesday, the European Council had said it was also boosting sanctions.

In measures designed to "curb sources of financing for the conflict," the Council said it would ban "the purchase, import or transfer if gold originating in Sudan."