Israeli Defense Minister Says Direct Iranian Attack Would Require Appropriate Response

 An Israeli tank maneuvers next to the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel, April 10, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli tank maneuvers next to the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel, April 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Defense Minister Says Direct Iranian Attack Would Require Appropriate Response

 An Israeli tank maneuvers next to the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel, April 10, 2024. (Reuters)
An Israeli tank maneuvers next to the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from Israel, April 10, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that Israel would respond directly to any attack by Iran.

“A direct Iranian attack will require an appropriate Israeli response against Iran," Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, according to remarks issued by his office.

The Pentagon said the two discussed the United States' "iron-clad" commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxies.

"Echoing President Biden's unequivocal message to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Secretary Austin assured Minister Gallant that Israel could count on full US support to defend Israel against Iranian attacks, which Tehran has publicly threatened," the Pentagon said.

It added that a visit by the top US general for the Middle East, Army General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, to Israel had been moved up so he could meet with Israeli military leadership and discuss "current security threats." Kurilla has been travelling to Israel regularly in recent months.



Ukraine Allows Multiple Citizenship as War Drags on

A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Allows Multiple Citizenship as War Drags on

A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A service member of the 110th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine's parliament passed a law on Wednesday to allow Ukrainians to have multiple citizenship in an attempt to ease a demographic crisis worsened by Russia's war and to enhance ties with the country's diaspora.

The bill was passed by 243 deputies, lawmakers said.

"This decision is an important step to maintain and restore ties with millions of Ukrainians around the world," Oleksiy Chernyshov, minister for unity, said in a social media post on Facebook after the vote.

Government officials have estimated the Ukrainian diaspora at about 25 million people. Government and analysts estimate the population in the country at about 32 million people now.

Previously, Ukrainian law did not recognize dual or multiple citizenship, meaning that ethnic Ukrainians around the world holding other passports needed to renounce their other citizenship if they wanted a Ukrainian passport.

The issue of multiple citizenship has become even more pressing since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

The war is exacerbating a demographic decline that had started years before.

In 1991, when Ukraine became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the population was 52 million.

But Ukraine saw several large labor migrations in the early 1990s. With the start of the invasion, millions of Ukrainians fled the fighting. Data show that more than 5 million Ukrainians live in Europe as the war is in its fourth year.

Lawmakers said that the new law would simplify procedures for children born to Ukrainian parents abroad and also for Ukrainians who obtain other citizenship by marriage.

It will also make it easier to obtain Ukrainian citizenship for foreigners fighting for Ukraine on the frontlines.

In line with the new law, the government would draw up a list of countries from which dual citizenship was allowed.

The text of the bill does not directly ban Russian citizens from obtaining Ukrainian passports. But it mentions that the government would be able to implement restrictions related to the armed aggression against Ukraine.

Foreigners would have to pass a test to prove their knowledge of the Ukrainian language, history and constitution.