As Iran Gets Pummeled, Love of Country Trumps Hatred of Regime
NEED TO KNOW
As Iran Gets Pummeled, Love of Country Trumps Hatred of Regime
IRAN / ISRAEL
Since the Israeli strikes started 12 days ago, Iranian doctors and nurses have been volunteering to do extra shifts. Young mechanics have been roving highways, helping those who have broken down as they flee Tehran, for free. A baker refused to stop baking even though his brother had just died in an airstrike.
“This is my stronghold,” he said. “And people need bread.”
These days, many Iranians, even those who staunchly oppose the regime, are stepping up to help their compatriots as civilians take the brunt of the Israeli airstrikes. And they are defending their homeland against the increasingly frequent talk of regime change because they say they love their country – in spite of it all.
“I’ve loathed the dictatorship of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for as long as I can remember…you’d think I would be applauding (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu’s attack against the Iranian regime – and yet, I’m not sold,” wrote Iranian historian and author, Arash Azizi, a dissident who lives in exile in the US. “The idea that this conflict will lead to a popular uprising which will bring down the regime is pure fantasy.”
In Iran, hundreds of civilians have died in the bombardments – the government hasn’t given an exact number in almost a week, but an Iranian human rights group, HRANA, estimates that about 950 people in total have been killed and almost 3,500 injured.
When the first strikes hit Iran on June 13, Netanyahu spoke directly to Iranians after the attack, exhorting them “to unite around your flag and your historic legacy by standing up for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime.”
While the Europeans and Gulf countries would welcome regime change overall, many worry about the vacuum and chaos such a change propelled by external forces could unleash, or if what replaced the current theocrats would be any better. The US had ruled out such an intervention until President Donald Trump brought it up earlier this week.
Still, some Iranians wondered if this might be the beginning of the end of the regime, and welcomed the strikes as an opportunity.
For years, Iranians have struggled with a sinking economy and double-digit inflation, corruption, and fierce and often deadly repression by the government of any dissent.
But that sentiment has changed since June 13, mainly because Iranians are deeply distrustful of outside interference and are “fiercely nationalistic,” analysts say.
“…the war has triggered a nationalist surge and narrowed the gap between ruler and ruled… No one has responded to calls from Netanyahu, or Reza Pahlavi, the royalist pretender, for a popular uprising,” wrote the Economist. “Early admiration for Israel’s military prowess has turned to outrage… Those who once championed Israel are now handing over suspected Israeli agents to the police. Female political prisoners, the mothers of executed protesters, and exiled Iranian pop stars have all issued calls to rally to Iran’s defense. It’s backfired on (Netanyahu).”
Others say that while they hate the regime, they don’t want their country to become another Iraq, Libya or Syria, all of which have experienced civil wars in the past 25 years after revolutions or external interference. Now they worry about the future.
“(At the beginning, there was) a brief moment of excitement that this might be the beginning of a meaningful change, (while) in another (moment), the fear of complete chaos,” Peyman, 40, a computer engineer in Tehran, told the Washington Post. “We are all just very confused.”
Meanwhile, anger is erupting in the country with some of it directed at Israel – protests broke out over the past two weekends in which demonstrators chanted that Israel must be destroyed. Even those who don’t support the government say they understand the anger: “I hate the (Iranian regime), but my country is under attack,” said one Tehran resident in an interview with Fox News. Another Tehran resident mocked the idea that a revolution would ignite considering the circumstances: “When people are under fire, they don’t start a revolution – they take shelter or flee.”
Some residents are directing their anger at the government, complaining that there are no safety protocols or guidance being provided on how to stay safe during the bombardments. And because the Internet has been shut down by the government, they can’t always see Israeli warnings to evacuate.
“Tehran isn’t safe, clearly,” a Tehran resident told the BBC. “We get no alarms or warnings from officials about Israeli attacks. We just hear the blasts and hope our place isn’t hit. But where can we go? Nowhere feels safe.”
Some are returning to Tehran because they need to earn money. Others out of a patriotic defiance. Then there are those like one senior in Tehran in an evacuation zone who said she was staying put.
“We’ve lived under war conditions for 40 years,” the woman, 85, told her family in Australia, according to the Australian Financial Review. “I don’t know why I’m so calm. Whatever happens, happens. It can’t be worse than what we have currently.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
NATO Summit Opens With Pledge to Boost Defense Spending Amid Global Crises
NETHERLANDS
NATO leaders opened a two-day summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday, seeking to solidify a historic pledge to increase defense spending, a move seen as a major concession to US President Donald Trump, even as concerns about Ukraine’s future, widening Middle East conflicts, and transatlantic unity overshadowed the gathering, the Associated Pres reported.
The summit, held in The Hague, centers on a proposal to raise defense spending to five percent of each member state’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035. The proposal has been billed as a way to strengthen NATO’s ability to deter threats ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine to tensions in the Middle East.
While key members such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands have endorsed the goal, others have voiced reservations. Spain has called the target “unreasonable,” and received an exception, while Slovakia said it reserves the right to decide how to reach the aim.
The United States, which spent about 3.4 percent of its GDP on defense in 2023, supports the pledge in principle but Trump has said the US should not be bound by the same target, citing America’s outsized role in NATO funding.
Despite these divisions, the alliance’s formal communique is expected to include the five percent commitment.
“It’s a historic moment,” said US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, calling it “one of the most consequential moments in this alliance’s history” and a sign of a “renaissance” in allied defense investment.
Trump is expected to meet several world leaders on the sidelines, possibly including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Observers noted that NATO has scaled down Zelenskyy’s profile this year to avoid friction with Trump, who has publicly criticized the Ukrainian leader and frozen military aid, CBS News wrote.
Zelenskyy met with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who announced a new military aid package including 100 drone-detection radar systems and plans to co-produce drones using Ukrainian specifications.
Still, Ukraine’s long-term position remains tenuous: At the 2023 summit, NATO promised an “irreversible” path to membership, but Ukraine’s accession bid is now off the agenda.
Meanwhile, European officials are attempting to broker a deal allowing Ukraine or European states to finance future US arms deliveries to Kyiv, according to the Washington Post.
However, officials noted that Trump’s aides are reluctant to approve any action that could derail his broader diplomatic aims, including potential negotiations with Russia.
Russia’s military has intensified its bombing campaign in recent weeks, taking advantage of Ukraine’s thinning air defenses. NATO officials believe Ukraine could hold defensive lines for another year.
Observers noted that the summit was also overshadowed by the conflict between Israel and Iran that erupted on June 13, which has sparked concerns of a broader war in the Middle East.
Late Monday, Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire following weeks of escalating attacks between the two, as well as US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites and a limited Iranian response on a US airbase in Qatar. Trump said Israel would halt further strikes and that the ceasefire was “in effect.”
Even so, on Tuesday, the ceasefire appeared to be in trouble as both sides traded accusations of attacks shortly after it took effect. Trump said that both Israel and Iran had violated the agreement, adding that he wasn’t sure they did so intentionally, and warned Israel specifically to stop striking Iran.
These developments diverted some summit attention from Ukraine, though NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte insisted the alliance could manage multiple conflicts simultaneously.
At the same time, the summit took place amid a series of transport disruptions in the Netherlands that Dutch officials said could be due to sabotage, Politico noted.
On Tuesday, a cable system damaged by fire caused widespread train disruptions near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said authorities are investigating the incident.
Tuesday’s incident followed cyberattacks on several Dutch municipalities by pro-Russian hacktivist group NoName057(16), which has targeted NATO states in recent months.
Vietnam Starts Corruption Trial Against 41 People
VIETNAM
A $45 million corruption trial against 41 people, including state officials, began in Vietnam on Tuesday as part of the communist state’s continued crackdown on graft, Agence France-Presse reported.
The so-called “burning furnace” campaign targeting corruption has implicated dozens of senior government figures, including two presidents and three deputy prime ministers, and even top business figures.
In this latest case, a court in Hanoi began holding hearings involving 30 former officials of northern Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, and central Quang Ngai provinces. The 11 others implicated in acts of corruption are businesspeople and company employees.
The defendants are charged with various crimes, including bribery, abuse of power, and violating contracting and accounting laws. According to prosecutors, they have cost the state more than $44.6 million.
Prosecutors say that between 2010 and 2024, the chairman of the Phuc Son Group, Nguyen Van Hau, spent more than $5 million bribing officials to secure contracts in 14 multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects in the three provinces. He allegedly brought suitcases of cash to the offices or homes of the officials to bribe them.
Former party chief of Vinh Phuc province, Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, received the biggest bribe, totaling almost $2 million and delivered in a suitcase weighing over 130 pounds.
In April, former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong was sentenced to six years in prison over “power abuse” in a solar energy development plan.
Vuong confessed to accepting a $57,000 bribe in exchange for granting preferential treatment to solar power projects in the southern Ninh Thuan province. His family repaid the full amount before the court sentenced him.
Friendlier Skies: European Union Considers Nixing Carry-On Baggage Fees
EUROPEAN UNION
European Union lawmakers from the transport committee passed an amendment on air passenger rights Tuesday that grants travelers the right to bring a carry-on bag weighing up to 15 pounds on board without being charged, Politico reported.
If this rule is approved in negotiations with EU governments, it would allow passengers to bring a 15-pound bag on the plane for free in addition to one smaller, under-the-seat item.
The move is being fiercely fought by the airlines, who are warning that it would force companies to increase ticket prices, even for people flying without the 15-pound bag.
“What’s next? Mandatory popcorn and drinks as part of your cinema ticket?” Ourania Georgoutsakou, managing director of the Airlines for Europe (A4E) lobby group, said in a statement ahead of Tuesday’s vote. “The European Parliament should let travelers decide what services they want, what services they pay for and, importantly, what services they don’t.”
EU lawmakers have increasingly been at odds with industry groups over the explosion of fees over the past decade for various services considered essential, analysts say. For example, after EU officials grew increasingly worried over huge roaming bills on cell phones, they passed a law banning them across the European Economic Area.
Concerns about airline fees have been mounting for the past five years.
The lawmakers behind the amendment say that the new right is based on a 2014 Court of Justice ruling that said a carry-on bag is to be considered a “necessary aspect of the carriage of passenger” and it can’t “be made subject to a price supplement” if it meets the “reasonable requirements in terms of its weight and dimensions.”
Airlines and analysts have been discussing the meaning of “reasonable requirements” for years. Now, EU lawmakers are setting the standard at 15 pounds as a weight limit and a size limit of about 40 inches (the sum of length, width, and height).
Low-cost airlines will likely be the most impacted by the change, as they usually allow only an under-the-seat bag for free and charge passengers for carry-ons, even if they fit in the overhead bin. Still, over the past decade, even the larger airline companies such as Air France or Germany’s Lufthansa now charge extra for carry-ons.
Airlines say that bringing a 15-pound carry-on on the plane will create problems during the boarding phase and lead to extra delays if there are too many bags compared to cabin space. A4E noted that, typically, aircraft cabins have 180 seats but only have space for 90 carry-ons in the overhead bins.
However, the amendment would force the airlines to store the bags in the cabin or in the hold for free.
DISCOVERIES
Short-sighted Cetaceans
Humpback whales have big, grapefruit-sized eyes. It would make sense to think that they have excellent eyesight, except that these smart animals keep getting entangled in fishing gear.
In a new study, scientists dissected the left eye of a juvenile of this species (Megaptera novaeangliae) and found that humpback whales’ vision is much weaker than previously thought.
“This work helps fill a major gap in our understanding of the sensory ecology of large whales, how humpbacks experience their world,” study author Lorian Schweikert said in a statement.
When the researchers cut into a stranded whale’s eyeball, they noticed the white (sclera) of the whale’s eye to be particularly thick at the back, explained Smithsonian Magazine.
This means that the whale’s focal length – meaning the distance between the eye’s lens, near the center of the eye, and the retina, near the back – was shorter than expected.
Large eyes have longer focal lengths, which usually correspond to better vision. The white of the whale’s eye being so thick near the back of the eye shortened the focal length, providing backing for the idea that humpbacks might not see very well.
Another clue for the scientists was the count of retinal ganglion cells. These neurons are found in the back of the eye, and their role is to transmit information to the brain. They function like pixels on a camera: The more retinal ganglion cells, the higher the resolution.
In the eyeball analyzed, researchers found a low density of these neurons, a maximum of 180 cells per square millimeter. In comparison, humans have between 12,000 and 38,000.
Humpback whales’ vision was measured at just 3.95 cycles per degree (CPD), meaning that they can detect large, simple shapes from a distance but need to be within three or four body lengths to see details.
With anatomical and perceptual models, the study simulated how the animals perceive their surroundings.
“(A low CPD) is bad for a human, but not bad for a whale at all,” Thomas Cronin, a visual ecologist not involved in the study, told bioGraphic, adding that whales don’t really need sharp vision to hunt, so if it weren’t for humans’ boats and nets, they wouldn’t have any problems getting by.