Iran and Afghanistan

Iran  has responded to Israeli attacks on Thursday night, firing missiles at targets in Israel, including in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Both side say that civilians got killed in the attacks. Clouds of war are now gathering across the Middle East  and there is fear that this conflict may expand to other players. The Iranian FARS News agency quoted the new commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as saying that Iran would would take Israel to the gates of hell over the latter’s deadly onslaught against Tehran which led to the death of senior military commanders, including the IRGC own commander, Major General Hossein Salami.

On Friday (13 June), a series of powerful explosions were heard and seen across Iran, following a large-scale Israeli air campaign targeting the country's military infrastructure. In a prerecorded video released early on Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that the strikes were aimed at nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile factories inside Iran. According to Netanyahu, the strikes were necessary to delay what he described as an imminent nuclear threat.

The United States and Iran are set to resume high-stakes talks on Saturday 19 April on Tehran's nuclear programme, a week after an initial round of discussions that both sides described as "constructive". Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will hold the Oman-mediated talks in Rome. They come one week after the two sides held what Iran called indirect talks in Muscat. Those were the first talks at such a high level between the foes since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear accord in 2018.

The history of Iran's nuclear program coincides with the period of the Shah’s regime, when relations with the United States were significantly stronger than they are today. In 1957, during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Tehran signed a "civil nuclear cooperation agreement" with its ally, the United States. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and in the context of the events that followed, including the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, relations between Iran and the U.S. sharply deteriorated. These events also had a negative impact on the steps taken within the nuclear program.

The US has launched what it called a decisive and powerful wave of air strikes on Houthi targets on Saturday as part of efforts to stop Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Yemen's Houthi rebels say there have been fresh US strikes against them, with the number of dead rising to 53, including five children. Targets in the Al Jaouf and Hudaydah areas were hit early on Monday, according to the rebel group, while the US Central Command said its forces had continued operations throughout the weekend. Washington says some key Houthi figures are among the dead, but the group has not confirmed this.