French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Greenland with a “message of solidarity and friendship” from Europe and castigated United States President Donald Trump’s repeated threats that he intends to take control of the strategic autonomous Danish territory as not “something to be done between allies”.
Macron reiterated his condemnation on Sunday at the Arctic island’s Nuuk airport, where he was greeted by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
“It’s important to show that Denmark and Europe are committed to this territory, which has very high strategic stakes and whose territorial integrity must be respected,” Macron added.
“It means a lot to me … to convey a message of friendship and solidarity from France and the European Union to help this territory face the different challenges: economic development, education, as well as the consequences of climate change,” he continued.
‘Not for sale’
Since returning to the office in January, Trump has repeatedly said the US needs Greenland, a strategically located territory at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Arctic, for security reasons and has not ruled out taking the territory by force.
However, Denmark has vehemently stressed that Greenland “is not for sale”.
Macron, who is the first foreign head of state to visit Greenland since Trump’s threats, said in a speech last week at the United Nations Ocean Conference that Greenland and the deep seas were not “up for grabs”.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon had developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force, if necessary, last week.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that several high-ranking officials under the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had been ordered to investigate Greenland’s independence movement and US resource extraction in the territory.
But in Greenland, polls indicate that the vast majority of the country’s 57,000 inhabitants may want to become independent from Denmark, but they do not want to join the US.
While Greenland is not part of the EU, it is on the bloc’s list of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).
During Macron’s six-hour visit before he travels to Canada for a Group of Seven meeting that Trump is also expected to attend, he plans to discuss Arctic security and ways to include Greenland in “European action” to contribute to its development while “respecting its sovereignty”, his office said.
“We are in an existential war” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the Iranian missile strike that targeted a residential block in Bat Yam, Israel. Netanyahu called the attacks an existential threat and warned of a nuclear-armed Iran.
Representative Rohit Khanna says the US needs a ‘21st Century Marshall Plan’ to regain prosperity and unity.
United States President Donald Trump promised Americans that his crackdown on immigration would lead to a better life, but “now they’re seeing that isn’t working”, argues Democratic Congressman Rohit Khanna.
Khanna tells host Steve Clemons that the Democratic Party “needs to respect American voters”. Americans “want to have hope again in America … They’re tired of threatening to arrest each other.”
Tel Aviv’s decision to launch a new war against Iran on June 13 is a disaster in the making. No one will benefit, including the Israeli government, and many will suffer. The exchange of fire has already resulted in at least 80 people killed in Iran and 10 in Israel.
It is tragically clear that the lessons of past failed military adventurism in the region have been entirely ignored.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has branded the war as “pre-emptive”, aimed at preventing Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapon. In doing so, he has repeated the strategic blunder of the last two politicians to launch an alleged “pre-emptive” attack in the region, US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
As Israeli jets and missiles streaked across the Middle East’s skies and carried out their deadly strikes against Iranian military sites and military leaders, they immediately made the world a far more dangerous place. Just like the US-British invasion of Iraq, this unprovoked attack is set to bring more instability to an already volatile region.
Netanyahu claimed that the attacks were meant to devastate Iran’s nuclear capabilities. So far, the Israeli army has hit three nuclear facilities, Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, causing various levels of damage. However, it is unlikely that these strikes will actually put a stop to the Iranian nuclear programme, and the Israeli prime minister knows it.
The Iranian authorities have intentionally built the Natanz site deep underground so that it is impervious to all but the strongest bunker-busting bombs. Tel Aviv lacks the capability to permanently destroy it because it does not have the Massive Ordnance Penetrator or the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bombs that are produced by the United States.
Washington has long refused to provide these, even under the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has coddled Israeli officials and sought to shield them from sanctions over their war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Trump’s team has recently indicated again that it would not supply these arms to Tel Aviv.
From US official reactions after the attack, it is not entirely clear to what extent Washington was informed. The US State Department initially distanced the US from the initial attacks, labelling them a “unilateral” Israeli operation. Shortly after, Trump claimed that he was fully informed.
The extent of US involvement – and approval – for the attack remains a major question, but it immediately ended any hopes that its intense diplomacy with Tehran over its nuclear programme in recent weeks would result in a new deal, which is a short-term win for Netanyahu.
But further action against Iran appears dependent on bringing the US into the conflict. That is a huge gamble for Tel Aviv given the number of critics of US interventionism among the top ranks of Trump’s advisers. The US president himself has attempted to make reversing US interventionism a key part of his legacy.
Israel’s actions are already harming Trump’s other interests by pushing global oil prices up and complicating his relations with the Gulf states that have much to lose if the conflict disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
If Israel looks like it is winning, Trump will undoubtedly claim it as his own victory. But if Netanyahu’s strategy increasingly depends on trying to drag Washington into another Middle Eastern war, he may well lash out against him.
As things stand now, unless Israel decides to breach international norms and use a nuclear weapon, making any further strategic achievements in Iran would indeed depend on the US.
Netanyahu’s second declared goal – overthrowing the Iranian regime – also seems out of reach.
A number of senior military commanders have been killed in targeted attacks, while Tel Aviv has openly called on the Iranian people to rise up against their government. But Israel’s unilateral aggression is likely to bring far more anger towards Tel Aviv among Iranians than it will against their own government, regardless of how undemocratic it may be.
In fact, Iranian regime assertions that a nuclear bomb is a needed deterrent against Israeli aggression now will appear more logical to those who doubted it domestically. And in other regional countries where Tehran’s interests had been retreating, Netanyahu’s actions risk breathing new life into these alliances.
But even if Israel succeeds in destabilising Tehran, it will not bring about regional peace. This is the lesson that should have been learned from the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The collapse of the Iraqi state in the aftermath led to a major rise in extremism and ultimately to the establishment of ISIL (ISIS) that terrorised so much of the region in the 2010s.
Israel has no chance of instituting a smooth transfer of power to a more pliant regime in Tehran. Occupying Iran to try to do so is out of the question given that the two countries do not share a border. US support for such an effort is also hard to imagine under the Trump administration because doing so would be sure to increase the risk of attacks against the US.
In other words, Netanyahu’s attacks may bring short-term tactical gains for Israel in delaying Iran’s nuclear ambitions and thwarting talks with the US, but they promise a long-term strategic disaster.
A massive military parade in Washington DC to mark 250 years since the founding of the US Army coincided with Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. At the same time, protesters in thousands of cities rallied with the message that Americans want ‘No Kings’.
Israel and Iran are locked in an escalating exchange of missiles, targeting each other’s security and economic infrastructure while also striking population centres.
The current escalation began after Israel launched strikes on Friday morning involving 200 fighter jets that hit dozens of nuclear, military and infrastructure targets across Iran, including the country’s main nuclear facility in Natanz.
The strikes came amid ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States, Israel’s key ally, over Tehran’s nuclear programme, which Iran says is solely for civilian purposes.
Israel’s first wave of attacks killed at least four senior commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as well as several nuclear scientists. Israel claims these attacks are aimed at crippling Iran’s ability to build a nuclear bomb — and to militarily respond through the sword arm of its security forces, the IRGC.
But who exactly has Israel targeted, and what is the IRGC?
Who has been killed?
The attacks on Friday killed several senior military leaders, including:
Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces
Gholamali Rashid, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Forces
(Al Jazeera)
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Abdolrahim Mousavi to replace Bagheri as chief of staff of the armed forces, Ahmad Vahidi to take Salami’s position as boss of the IRGC, and Majid Mousavi to replace Hajizadeh as head of the IRGC air force.
Separately, state-run news outlet Nour News said Khamenei’s senior adviser Ali Shamkhani was “critically injured”. Shamkhani was leading Iran’s diplomatic efforts with the US.
Six prominent Iranian nuclear scientists were also killed.
What is the IRGC?
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a branch of Iran’s military, established after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Operating alongside the regular army, it answers directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plays a central role in Iran’s defence, foreign operations, and regional influence.
With around 190,000 active personnel (and over 600,000 including reserves), the IRGC oversees Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes and supports proxy groups across the Middle East.
It was designated a foreign “terrorist” organisation by the US in 2019 – marking the first time the US had used the designation against a part of another government.
Beyond its military role, the IRGC is deeply embedded in Iran’s political and economic structures.
The now-deceased head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace division, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh (left), stands next to the late head of the IRGC, Hossein Salami, attending the unveiling of Iranian-made ‘Fattah’ hypersonic missile in Tehran, Iran, on June 6, 2023 [Handout photo from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official website, Sepha News]
What locations did Israel attack?
Israeli strikes on Friday targeted the following confirmed locations:
The capital, Tehran, and military sites in the surrounding area.
The city of Natanz, where explosions were reported at the main uranium enrichment facility.
The city of Tabriz, where explosions have been reported near a nuclear research centre and two military bases.
The city of Isfahan, south of Tehran.
The city of Arak, southwest of Tehran.
The city of Kermanshah, west of Tehran, where an underground facility storing ballistic missiles was hit near the Iraqi border.
Iran says Israel’s initial strikes killed at least 80 people, and wounded more than 320 others. Since Saturday, at least 480 more have been injured. Those killed include 20 children.
A firefighter calls out to his colleagues at the scene of an explosion in a residential compound in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025 [Vahid Salemi/AP]
Natanz nuclear facility damaged
One of Israel’s main targets was the Natanz nuclear facility – the largest uranium enrichment site in Iran, located in Isfahan province.
The above-ground section of a pilot fuel enrichment plant, where uranium was enriched up to 60 percent, was destroyed, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Key electricity infrastructure, such as the substation, main power building, emergency supply, and backup generators, was also destroyed. There was no direct hit on the underground cascade hall, but the power loss may have damaged centrifuges used for uranium enrichment.
Radiation levels outside the facility remain normal, though there is radiological and chemical contamination inside, which are manageable with proper protection.
“At present, the Iranian authorities are informing us of attacks on two other facilities, namely the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan,” the IAEA’s chief, Rafael Grossi, told the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
Israeli attacks on Iran’s oil and gas
On Saturday, Iran partially suspended gas production at its largest field, South Pars, following an Israeli strike that triggered a fire.
The fire, now extinguished, broke out in one of four units in phase 14 of the gasfield, halting 12 million cubic metres of gas production. Located in Bushehr province, South Pars is key to Iran’s output and is shared with Qatar, which calls it the North Field.
Iran has also confirmed an Israeli attack on the Fajr Jam gas plant about 65 km (40 miles) northwest of South Pars.
(Al Jazeera)
Iran fires missiles at Israel
In response to Israel’s strikes, Iran has launched drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, with some hitting targets on the ground.
The death toll from Iran’s attacks on Israel has risen to 10, with more than 200 wounded, according to Israeli authorities. Several people remain missing as a barrage of dozens of Iranian missiles lit up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv overnight.
Iran has developed a range of ballistic and cruise missiles over the past three decades. The graphic below shows some of Iran’s most prominent missiles and their ranges.
Israel has intercepted many of the Iranian missiles fired towards its territory, but not all of them, with some causing major damage and casualties across the country.
The Israeli air defence relies largely on what is known as the Iron Dome system, which is equipped with a radar that detects an incoming projectile, as well as its speed and direction.
Other systems intercept medium and long-range missiles. The David’s Sling intercepts missiles ranging between 40km (25 miles) and 300km (186 miles). The Arrow System intercepts missiles with a range of up to 2,400km (1,491 miles).
(Al Jazeera)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei said Israel “must expect severe punishment” for killing several top-level military commanders and scientists.
In a message on state TV, he said Israel “should not think that it is over because they attacked and it is finished”.
“No. They started this and initiated the war. We won’t allow them to escape unscathed from this great crime they have committed,” Khamenei said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025 [Reuters]
