Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a deal with NATO exempting it from the alliance's five-percent of GDP target for defence spending as demanded by US President Donald Trump.

Multiple diplomats at NATO said the agreement had gone through with the approval of all 32 nations and that there was no exemption for Madrid. Spain has been one of the lowest-spending NATO countries on defence in relative terms. The country is only set to hit the alliance's current target of two percent this year after a 10-billion-euro injection.

mitv 

The US defense chief said Sunday that strikes ordered by President Donald Trump overnight had "devastated" Iran's nuclear program and urged Iranian leaders to seek peace to avoid further attacks, adding that the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.

The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defense of troops and ally Israel, he added.

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US media outlets say multiple US Air Force B-2 stealth bombers have taken off from a US base in Missouri, and were heading westward. The B-2 bomber can carry special bombs known as "bunker busters." President Donald Trump is reportedly considering using them to destroy nuclear facilities in Iran.

The outlets cited US officials as telling them that the US is moving the bombers to the Pacific island of Guam. The reports added that it remains unclear whether the move is related to Middle East tensions. The reports say this could be a show of force by the US military against the Iranian forces, and could also be an attempt to increase strategic options for the US.

mitv

The United States said its allies in Asia should spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, which is the level its European allies are discussing as a global standard.

NATO nations are currently discussing raising their defense spending, following repeated criticism from US President Donald Trump. He has argued that it is unfair that his European allies depend on the US for defense. Chief spokesperson of the US Defense Department Sean Parnell explained to the media on Friday the department's view on US allies in Asia.

mitv

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said Sunday that the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were "outrageous" and "will have everlasting consequences.  "Tehran "reserves all options" to retaliate, said the minister. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said it has detected the launch of missiles from Iran after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Israeli army added that an air raid alert has been declared in some regions of Israel and ordered residents to take shelter in protected areas. The Israel Airports Authority said in a statement earlier that Israel has closed its airspace after the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear sites, although land crossings with Egypt and Jordan are operating normally.

mitv

GAZA: Israeli tank shellfire killed at least 51 Palestinians on Tuesday (Jun 17) as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory's health ministry said, adding that dozens of others were wounded.

Medics said residents said Israeli tanks fired shells at crowds of desperate Palestinians awaiting aid trucks along the main eastern road in Khan Younis. They said at least 51 people were killed and 200 wounded, with at least 20 of them in critical condition.

There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military on the incident.

Ref : CNA

Photo: DD News

US President Donald Trump rejected a plan by Israel to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, three US officials have told BBC's US partner CBS News.

Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that assassinating Khamenei was "not a good idea", according to one official. The president has not commented publicly on the report. The conversation is said to have happened since Israel launched its attack on Iran on Friday.

During an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu did not directly confirm or deny a report from Reuters that Trump had vetoed a plan to kill the ayatollah.

"There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened and I'm not going to get into that," the Israeli prime minister said.  "But I can tell you I think we do what we need to do. We will do what we need to do and I think the United States knows what is good for the United States and I'm just not going to get into it."

An Israeli official told CBS News that "in principle" Israel does not "kill political leaders, we are focused on nuclear and military. I don't think anyone making decisions about those programs should be living free and easy".

Israel first launched an attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure and other targets on Friday. The two countries have continued to launch massive strikes at each other since, with attacks entering a third day on Sunday.

In his latest post on Truth Social about the escalating situation in the Middle East, Trump said "Iran and Israel should make a deal", adding that he would get the two to cease hostilities "just like I got India and Pakistan" - referring to the recent confrontation between the countries.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for the G7 summit in Canada, Trump said the US would continue to support Israel and declined to say if he had asked the country to stop its strikes on Iran.   The next round of US-Iran nuclear talks were initially scheduled to take place on Sunday, but mediator, Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi, announced a day earlier that they had been cancelled.

Iran told Qatar and Oman that it was not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it was still under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

Trump said on Saturday that the US "had nothing to do with the attack on Iran".  "If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before," he warned.

Ref :  BBC

Japanese shipping companies are mapping out possible responses to Israel's attacks on Iran on Friday. The companies may need to adjust to any escalation of military action in the Middle East, which Japan relies on for over 90 percent of its crude oil imports.

Tokyo-based NYK Line operates about 20 oil tankers and automobile carriers in the region. It says its vessels travel through the Persian Gulf dozens of times a month.

The company says it is gathering information to ensure the safety of operations in the Gulf. Depending on conditions, the company may need to consider suspending operations or changing routes.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, also known as "K" Line, will alert ships traveling through waters around the Gulf. They will also consider how to ensure the safety of crews and cargoes.

Japan's transport ministry says vessels operated by major Japanese shipping companies navigated through the Gulf about 3,500 times in 2024.

Oil tankers traveled most often, 890 times, followed by automobile carriers' 738 times and LNG carriers' 421 times. Energy-related carriers accounted for more than 40 percent of all the trips.

The ministry says it will provide shipping companies with the latest information on the ground and urge them to take safety measures.

Ref : NHK

Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was struck by a rubber bullet while covering immigration riots in Los Angeles, Tomasi and her employer have said. 

The incident occurred on Sunday as Tomasi, a correspondent for 9News Australia, was wrap ping up a live report near the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where riot police were facing off with demonstrators. 

A police officer standing behind Tomasi suddenly fired a projectile, which hit her in the leg. “I’m a bit sore, but I’m okay,” Tomasi wrote on X after the incident. 

“This is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents. It has been a really volatile day on the streets of Los Angeles,” she told 9News. 

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that “journalists should be able to do their work safely.”

 The protests and riots began on Friday after immigration officials detained several day laborers in the parking lot of a Home Depot store in Los Angeles’ Westlake District. President Donald Trump ord ered the deployment of the National Guard in response, a move California Governor Gavin Newsom rejected as unlawful. 

RT

Photo - USA Today

At least ten people have been killed in a shooting at a school in the Austrian city of Graz, according to local authorities. The incident occurred around 10 am local time at BORG Drei erschutzengasse, a secondary school in the Lend District. 

Police confirmed that shots were fired inside the building, prompting a major response involving multiple units, including Cobra special forces and police helicopters. 

Graz Mayor Elke Kahr later confirmed ten people have been killed in the attack: one adult and nine students, including the suspected gunman. Media reports state that about 30 more people, both students and teachers, were injured in the shooting and taken to hospitals in Graz, with at least two in critical condition. 

According to police, the shooter was a 21-year-old Austrian citizen from the Graz-Umge bung District. His name has not been released. He used two legally owned firearms in the attack before shooting him self in a restroom. Authorities said he had no prior police record. 

While the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, media reports suggest the gunman is a former student who may have been a victim of bullying. The State Criminal Police Office has launched an investigation. In a post on X, police said they had successfully evacuated all students and teachers from the building.

”The situation is secure. No further danger is expected,” read the message.

Graz is the capital of the Austrian federal state of Styria and the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. The shooting coin cided with the Matura exams, Austria’s equivalent of final sec ondary school examinations.

 RT