Anti-war protests outside White House as US reportedly prepares for possible Iran strike

Anti-war protests outside White House amid reports of US preparing for possible Iran strike

Demonstrators have protester outside the White House in Washington and in New York against Israel’s attacks on Iran, as well as urging the US not to get involved in the conflict, Al Jazeera reports.

These demonstrators are “against the Israeli bombing of Iran [and] against the US involvement in the form of funding billions of dollars in military aid to Israel”, notes Al Jazeera’s John Hendren.

They carried placards reading “Hands off Iran now” and “Stop funding genocide”.

The protests came amid a report by Bloomberg News of senior US officials “preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in the coming days”.

The report, citing the people, noted that the situation is still evolving and could change. Some of the people, according to Bloomberg, pointed to potential plans for a weekend strike.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a deal to end the fighting between Israel and Iran was possible, and that Israel’s strikes on Iran had led to a “consolidation” of Iranian society around its leadership, AFP reports.

He added that he did “not even wish to discuss” the idea Israel might assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We see that today in Iran there is a consolidation of society around the country’s political leadership,” Putin told foreign journalists, including AFP, at a televised event.

“This is a delicate issue, and of course we need to be very careful here, but in my opinion, a solution can be found,” he added.

Putin said such an agreement could guarantee both Israel’s security and Iran’s desire for a civilian nuclear programme. “I believe it would be good for all of us together to look for ways to stop the fighting and seek ways for the participants in the conflict to find an agreement,” he said.

Putin said there were more than 200 Russian employees at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran which was built by Russia’s Rosatom. “We agreed with the leadership of Israel that their security would be ensured,” he said.

He said Russia could “continue” to work with Iran on its civilian nuclear programme and “ensure their interests in this sphere”.

Israeli military says striking Tehran, other parts of Iran

Israel’s military has said it was carrying out a “series of strikes” around Tehran and other areas of Iran in the morning, AFP reports.

There were no immediate details on the intended targets of the strikes, which came after Israel said it had intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” launched from Iran.

European countries have repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel as its conflict with Iran rages, AFP reports quoting the foreign ministries of multiple nations in Europe.

Germany was expected to transport some 200 people via a commercial flight chartered in Jordan, foreign ministry spokesman Christian Wagner said. “A second flight out of Amman was scheduled for Thursday,” he added.

In Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said flights had been made available to Italian nationals wishing to leave Israel.

Greece said it had repatriated 105 of its citizens, plus a number of foreign nationals.“The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes,” it said in a statement.

Along with Greek citizens and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.