Middle East Crisis Iran War

Trump and Putin have talked about Iran on the phone

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke to each other on the phone on Monday, the Kremlin says. The presidents discussed, among other things, the Iran war and the war in Ukraine.

This is the first time Trump and Putin have spoken to each other since the US and Israel attacked Iran.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin's advisor, tells Russian media that the leaders spoke for an hour. He claims that the Russian president made several suggestions on how the war in Iran can be ended. 

Netanyahu disagrees with Trump: “Not done yet”

Donald Trump’s view that the Iran war is “largely over” is not shared by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

– We are not done yet, he says, according to AFP.

He emphasizes that ultimately it is up to the Iranian people to “get rid of the tyranny” in the country.

On Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, repeated Trump’s statement that they are “well ahead of schedule” when it comes to achieving their war goals.

In an interview with the American PBS, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claims that the US attacks have failed and that the country is ready to fight “as long as necessary.”

New Israeli attack wave against Tehran – loud bangs

This afternoon, Israel launched a new attack wave against the Iranian capital Tehran, the IDF military said, according to AFP. Israel said it was attacking “targets of the Iranian terror regime” and the news agency’s reporters heard loud explosions in the city.

Iran has also continued its attacks on Israel and Gulf states such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar said its air defenses shot down a missile during the afternoon.

In the United Arab Emirates, a fire broke out in an industrial area due to a drone attack on the country.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have also accused Iran of new attacks on Tuesday.

Sources: US considering risky ground raid against Iran

A larger ground force would be required if the US wants to take control of Iran’s enriched uranium, US military sources told CNN.

According to information provided to Semafor, one of the options that Donald Trump is considering is to deploy special forces that can enter the Iranian nuclear energy facility in Isfahan and destroy the uranium stored there. However, such an operation would require dozens, if not hundreds, of American soldiers on site in Iran, in addition to the special forces themselves.

– The logistics and risks would be an obstacle, to say the least, a source with insight into the discussions told CNN.

 Hegseth: It's not 2003 – it's not even close

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was careful to point out that the war in Iran is completely different from the war in Iraq at a press conference this afternoon.

– This is not like 2003. It's not even close, he says, pointing his boots at former presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama.

Hegseth stressed that neither the US soldiers nor Donald Trump "will allow" the Iran war to drag on.

In his update on the war, he pointed out the US's three goals in Iran. These are to destroy Iran's missile capabilities, the country's navy and prevent the regime from developing nuclear weapons.

– We will do so at our own pace.