On June 22, the US sent seven stealth bombers, backed by fighter jets and submarines firing cruise missiles, to target three Iranian nuclear facilities. The operation came off the back of a wave of Israeli strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Nine days on from the US air raid, the dust has not yet settled. If anything, the picture has grown much cloudier.
According to US President Donald Trump, the three targeted facilities were “totally obliterated”, setting Iran’s nuclear programme back years. Assessments from others – including Iran, the UN and even one of America’s own intelligence agencies – have said otherwise. Iran, for its part, insists the damage was minimal, its facilities are resilient and its programme – which it calls “peaceful” – is undeterred.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said on Saturday the damage was “not total”, and that Iran’s enrichment capacity could bounce back in a matter of months. This echoes the findings of a report from one of the US’s own intelligence agencies, albeit one issued with “low confidence”, leaked last week.
The confusion over the truth of Iran’s nuclear capabilities is not merely a frustrating detail in the ongoing saga of Iran’s confrontation with Israel and the West. It is, in fact, at the very heart of the matter. Iran’s nuclear ambitions, questions around their motivation and the anxieties that have arisen as a result have been the source of much bloodshed in the region for decades.
The US operation added, in an extremely dangerous way, to that cycle of violence. But had it provided a coda to the Iranian nuclear programme in the form of the “total obliteration” Mr Trump speaks of, it would be easier now to imagine a way forward. The crippling of the nuclear programme would place Tehran under unprecedented pressure to forge a new path in its relationships with the rest of the region and the world.
The confusion over the truth of Iran’s nuclear capabilities is not merely a frustrating detail
But if Iran’s enrichment capacity remains intact – despite the assassination of a number of top nuclear scientists and the bombardment of buildings, and particularly given the amount of technology and human capital in nuclear research the country has amassed – then concerns about Tehran’s ambitions would remain. And, if that is the case, the violence of the 12-day war did more to perpetuate the conflict than to resolve it.
There needs to be a return to the talks upon which the US and Iran had embarked but it must be with the intention of coming to an agreement – not to allow any time to be wasted. For diplomacy to succeed, there must be a shared baseline of facts. In the current climate, both sides seem more interested in bluster and posturing than they do in transparency and good-faith talks. In this context, any attempt to revive negotiations risks being built wasted.
Winning a lasting ceasefire between Iran and Israel and its ally the US will require not only military restraint, but a renewed commitment to clarity and honesty, and a desire to restore substance over spectacle. If that can be achieved in the narrow scope of this particular conflict, it could open the door to the resolution of many other related conflicts in the region, from Palestine to Yemen.
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
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Indika
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
