Sunday 22, June ,2025 {HMC}  President Donald Trump has announced that United States forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a “very successful attack”, adding that the heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility is “gone”.

Trump’s decision on Saturday to join Israel’s military campaign against Iran represents a major escalation of the conflict.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the military planes were now on their way home.

“NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” he added.

Later, in a televised Oval Office address that lasted just more than three minutes, Trump said that Iran’s future held “either peace or tragedy”, and that there were many other targets that could be hit by the US military.

“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the attacks, accusing Washington of breaching international law.

“The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” Araghchi said in a social media post.

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior.”

He added that Iran “reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people”.

The strikes came as Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat, with deaths and injuries in both countries.

Israel launched the attacks on Iran, saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

‘Will not stop’
Iran’s nuclear agency on Sunday said that radiation system data and field surveys do not show signs of contamination or danger to residents near the sites.

“Following the illegal US attack on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, field surveys and radiation systems data showed: No contamination recorded,” the organisation said in a social media post.

“There is no danger to residents around these sites. Safety is in a stable state.”

Shortly after the attacks, the agency insisted that its work would not be stopped.

“The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped,” it said in a statement.

CBS News reported that the US reached out to Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes were all it planned and that the US did not intend on regime change efforts.

The raid on the Iran nuclear sites was carried out by B-2 stealth bombers that dropped so-called “bunker buster bombs,” along with submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, US media reported.

‘Awesome and righteous US might’

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said that Trump was advised that the bombings would allow for the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Donald Trump has been advised that, as commander-in-chief, this will not lead to escalation,” Halkett reported from Washington, DC. “But he knows there is a chance that there could be an escalation as a result of his action.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s decision to attack Iran.

“Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli military officials said earlier on Saturday that they had completed another series of strikes on dozens of military targets in southwestern Iran.

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying that Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Iran does not plan to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the “dangerous escalation” of the US strikes.

“There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,” he said in a statement.

At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the Ministry of Health.

In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst direct conflict between the longtime enemies. More than 450 Iranian missiles have been fired towards Israel, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Israeli officials said that 1,272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Sunday 22, June ,2025 {HMC} Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdisalam Abdi Ali participated Saturday in the opening of the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The two-day summit, held from June 21 to 22 in Istanbul, brings together top diplomats from OIC member states to address urgent regional and global issues. High on the agenda is the rising tension between Israel and Iran, with delegates expected to issue a joint declaration urging an immediate cease-fire and de-escalation to prevent further instability in the Middle East.

Minister Abdisalam is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from several member states. The discussions are aimed at enhancing Somalia’s diplomatic relations and promoting deeper cooperation within the Islamic world.
The summit coincides with heightened geopolitical uncertainty, following an announcement by former U.S. President Donald Trump claiming that U.S. forces had carried out a “very successful attack” on three Iranian nuclear sites. Trump stated that the Fordow nuclear facility—one of Iran’s most secure sites—was “gone.”

The OIC is expected to respond to the development amid calls for calm and a unified diplomatic approach to the crisis.

Source Hiiraan online

Sunday 22, June ,2025 {HMC} U.S. forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites, President Donald Trump said late on Saturday, and he warned Tehran it would face more devastating attacks if it does not agree to peace.

After days of deliberation and long before his self-imposed two-week deadline, Trump’s decision to join Israel’s military campaign against its major rival Iran is a major escalation of the conflict and risks opening a new era of instability in the Middle East.

“The strikes were a spectacular military success,” Trump said in a televised address. “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”
In a speech that lasted just over three minutes, Trump said Iran’s future held “either peace or tragedy,” and there were many other targets that could be hit by the U.S. military.

“If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.”

The U.S. reached out to Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes are all the U.S. plans and it does not aim for regime change, CBS News reported.

Trump said U.S. forces struck Iran’s three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity show that six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Fordow, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites.

U.S. B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Fordow is gone.”

Reuters had reported earlier on Saturday the movement of the B-2 bombers, which can be equipped to carry massive bombs that experts say would be needed to strike Fordow, which is buried beneath a mountain south of Tehran. Given its fortification, it will likely be days, if not longer, before the impact of the strikes is known.

An Iranian official, cited by Tasnim news agency, confirmed part of the Fordow site was attacked by “enemy airstrikes.”
However, Mohammad Manan Raisi, a lawmaker for Qom, near Fordow, told the semi-official Fars news agency the facility had not been seriously damaged.

Iranian media quoted Iran’s nuclear body as saying there were no signs of contamination after the attacks, and no danger to residents living nearby.

Hassan Abedini, deputy political head of Iran’s state broadcaster, said Iran had evacuated the three sites some time ago.
“The enriched uranium reserves had been transferred from the nuclear centres and there are no materials left there that, if targeted, would cause radiation and be harmful to our compatriots,” he told the channel.

DIPLOMACY UNSUCCESSFUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on his “bold decision”.

“History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime, the world’s most dangerous weapons,” Netanyahu said.

The strikes came as Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat that has resulted in deaths and injuries in both countries.

Israel launched the attacks on Iran saying it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Diplomatic efforts by Western nations to stop the hostilities have so far failed. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Saturday’s strikes a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.”

Both sides’ attacks on energy infrastructure, including by Israel on Iran’s South Pars gas field and the risk of a complete shutdown of the OPEC member’s oil production, as well as Iran targeting shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, have fueled fears of a spike in oil prices and impacts on economies worldwide.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was due to hold a news conference at the Pentagon early on Sunday.

In recent days, Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have argued that Trump must receive permission from the U.S. Congress before committing the U.S. military to any combat against Iran.

Republican Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi applauded the operation but cautioned that the U.S. now faced “very serious choices ahead.”

One Republican lawmaker, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, simply said, “This is not constitutional.” Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it was “absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”

Many in Trump’s MAGA movement oppose U.S. entanglement in foreign military operations. Trump ally Steve Bannon said on his War Room podcast that the president’s address was probably not what a lot of MAGA supporters wanted to hear, and he called on Trump to offer a “deeper explanation” for why U.S. involvement was necessary.

Trump-aligned commentator Charlie Kirk posted on X: “America stands with President Trump.”

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.

In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed and 1,272 people injured, according to local authorities.

Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Rick Cowan and Jasper Ward; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Marguerita Choy

Source

Sunday 22, June ,2025 {HMC} A group of Muslims from across the country are crying foul after allegedly being defrauded by an Imam identified as Ustadh Omar Athman in a failed plan to facilitate their pilgrimage to Mecca for Hajj and Umrah.

The victims, from different parts of Kenya, say they handed over hundreds of thousands of shillings to the Imam Omar who then disappeared days before their departure.

It was a promise of a lifetime – an opportunity to visit the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah – when Imam Omar Athman allegedly called Mariam Juma with an offer too good to ignore; Umrah Visas for just Ksh.200,000. An Umrah Visa is a special permit that allows Muslims to make a pilgrimage.

“Tumekaa, Ramadhani tumefunga wiki ya pili ndiyo tunaingia wiki ya tatu, ahh! Tunaondoka lini, hatuna habari, hatujui tunatakiwa nini, mambo yamebadilika Makkah, hatujui ni sindano gani tunatakiwa, mbona hatujibu simu, hachukui,” laments Juma.

Juma was not alone. Mariam Mohamed Ahmed claims she sent Imam Omar Ksh.360,000. Her friend, Barke Atieno Abdalla, who introduced her to the Imam, also fell victim, sending him a total of Ksh.640,000 via bank transfer through her daughter.

Determined, Mariam Juma tracked Imam Omar’s sister to Malindi where the Imam is known to preach at Al-Ihsan Mosque in the town

“Nawaambia mimi nimekuja na amani, jamani nirudishieni pesa zangu, akaniambia kwani uliambiwa hutarudishiwa? Mbona unazungumza mambo mengi hivi…sijazungumza mambo mengi, nimekuja kwenu mimi, nataka pesa zangu, niko katikati ya nyumba yenu, sitaki vita, niko peke yangu sina chochote,” said Juma.

She, alongside seven other victims of the Imam’s fraud, have since recorded statements at the Lang’ata Police Station and obtained an OB number.

Hussein Hassan Ali Omar, from Nakuru, is another victim. He says Omar lured him into investing with him back in 2020 in facilitating an Umrah trip for Muslims. Hussein invested Ksh.300,000, while his colleague invested Ksh.200,000.

“I started getting calls from other people who have been paying him to go Umrah, yet he has not been facilitating. Older women who have been struggling to save selling viazi and sewing then this gentleman…I won’t call him gentleman, he is a conman…he promises to take them but never shows up,” narrates Hussein.

What triggered the victims even more was seeing a new Umrah trip ad on Omar’s WhatsApp status, raising fears that more unsuspecting Kenyans may fall victim.

For now, Omar’s phone remains off. His victims, left with mounting financial losses and doubts about a man who ideally, would have been beyond question in their eyes. They want swift action against him and towards the return of their monies.

Source CitizenDigital