Israel lobby tries to block sale of Albanese’s new book
Did Trump and Starmer break international law with tanker seizure?
https://www.declassifieduk.org/did-trump-and-starmer-break-international-law-with-tanker-seizure/
The UK justified its support for North Atlantic operation, saying sanction-dodging ship was stateless. Legal experts say that’s debatable
The US seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker, with British military support, in the North Atlantic may have violated international law, legal experts tell Declassified.
“Overall, there would appear to be no credible basis in law for this interdiction,” Douglas Guilfoyle, professor of international law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney said.
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Just before 2pm on Wednesday, US European Command announced the ship’s seizure, with Britain’s Ministry of Defence confirming soon after that it had provided the US with “enabling support in full compliance with international law”.
The support included Royal Air Force surveillance and the provision of the RFA Tideforce, a Royal Navy auxiliary ship “designed to provide key underway replenishment at sea”.
Defence secretary John Healey justified the UK’s involvement, citing the ship’s “nefarious history” of Russian-Iranian axis sanctions evasion “fuelling terrorism, conflict and misery from the Middle East to Ukraine”.
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Donald Rothwell, a professor of international law at the Australian National University, said a vessel could only be stopped, searched and seized on the high seas under four conditions.
These are if it is a pirate ship, engaged in unauthorised broadcasting, is stateless/not-flying a flag or acting in violation of US Security Council resolutions.
“None of those conditions appear to apply in this instance as I understand the tanker was Russian flagged (and that is not in dispute), and the only sanctions it was subject to were US sanctions imposed under US,” he said.
“So, on the facts, this would appear to be extraterritorial US national law enforcement taking place on the high seas/international waters, or even within the UK’s 200 [nautical mile] exclusive economic zone.”
The UK support, he added, was “not exceptional, especially as the tanker was off the coast of Scotland and would have in the normal course of events been under watch by the UK”.
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https://www.declassifieduk.org/did-trump-and-starmer-break-international-law-with-tanker-seizure/
Iran warns it may launch pre-emptive strike against Israel
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Iran has warned that it may carry out a pre-emptive strike against its adversaries, signalling a potential escalation in regional tensions, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the newly formed Iranian Defence Council.
In the statement, the council said any interference in Iran’s internal affairs or attempts to destabilise the country would be met with a decisive response. It stressed that Tehran would not restrict its actions to responding only after an attack, but would also take into account what it described as “tangible indicators of threats” as part of its security calculations.
The warning comes two days after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps conducted military exercises involving air defence systems and missile units, aimed at testing readiness levels.
The statement was issued amid heightened internal pressures, as Iranian security forces seek to contain widespread protests driven by inflation and the sharp depreciation of the national currency.
The Iranian Defence Council, which was established following the June 2015 war between Iran and Israel, said that Iran’s security, independence and territorial integrity constitute “a red line that cannot be crossed”.
“Any aggression or continued hostile behaviour will be met with a suitable, decisive and harsh response,” the statement said, adding: “Whoever attacks you must be attacked in kind,” without explicitly naming any specific adversary.
Iran’s state-run English-language newspaper, Tehran Times, also referred to the possibility of what it described as “pre-emptive self-defence”, reinforcing the message conveyed by the council.
The remarks are likely to heighten concerns over further escalation between Iran and Israel, amid an already volatile regional security environment.
READ: Netanyahu reportedly asks Putin to assure Iran of no Israeli attack plans
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Israel defence minister orders plans to occupy West Bank refugee camps, expand permanent military presence
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Israel’s defence minister Yisrael Katz has ordered the army to prepare plans to occupy refugee camps in the occupied West Bank and establish a permanent military presence there, Israeli media reported.
According to the Israeli intelligence website Walla, Katz has instructed the army’s Central Command to draw up operational plans aimed at occupying refugee camps and dismantling what Israel describes as “armed infrastructure”.
The report said the planned operations would mirror the ongoing campaign in the Jenin refugee camp, where Israeli forces entered the camp, displaced residents and demolished large sections of housing. Israeli officials have described the Jenin operation as a success that restored the army’s “freedom of action” in an area it characterised as a security stronghold.
During 2025, the army’s Central Command launched a broad military operation across the West Bank. Following Katz’s instructions, Israeli forces occupied and severely damaged three refugee camps in the Jenin and Tulkarm areas, displacing more than 50,000 residents from the Nur Shams refugee camp and the Tulkarm refugee camp. Military outposts were subsequently established inside those camps.
Israeli authorities claim that armed groups operating in northern West Bank camps fled to surrounding villages as a result of the operations. According to Israeli assessments cited by Walla, maintaining a continuous military presence is intended to dismantle infrastructure, expand the army’s operational freedom and prevent armed groups from rebuilding or reaching a level where they could carry out attacks.
Military officials told the website that operations are carried out immediately when intelligence allows. “Where there is no such opportunity, we act extensively to prevent future growth, systematically dismantling capabilities and infrastructure,” one official was quoted as saying.
Palestinian officials and human rights organisations have warned that such operations amount to collective punishment and risk entrenching long-term military control over densely populated civilian areas in the occupied West Bank.
Reports: Hezbollah deploys forces, rockets amid fears of war with Israel
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Press association condemns Israel for maintaining ban on media access to Gaza
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The US-based non-profit Foreign Press Association on Tuesday expressed “profound disappointment” with the Israeli government for continuing to bar unrestricted international media access to the Gaza Strip, despite a ceasefire being in place, Anadolu reports.
“Instead of presenting a plan for allowing journalists into Gaza independently and letting us work alongside our brave Palestinian colleagues, the government has decided once again to lock us out,” the association of US-based foreign correspondents said in a statement. “This comes even when a ceasefire is now in place.”
Israeli authorities have restricted independent access for international journalists to Gaza since the war began in 2023, allowing only a limited number of reporters to enter under military escort on a case-by-case basis.
According to Israeli media, the government told the Supreme Court on Sunday that the ban should remain in effect due to what it described as “security risks.”
READ: 11 Palestinians injured as Israeli forces raid Birzeit University in occupied West Bank
The FPA said it plans to submit a “robust response” to the court in the coming days.
“The FPA is confident that the court will provide justice in light of the continuous infringement of the fundamental principles of freedom of speech, the public’s right to know and free press,” said the statement.
In early December 2025, Gaza’s government media office said 257 Palestinian journalists had been killed during the Israeli genocide on Gaza that began on Oct. 8, 2023, and lasted for two years until a ceasefire agreement took effect in October 2025.
Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, the Israeli army has committed hundreds of violations, killing 420 Palestinians and wounding 1,184 others, according to the Health Ministry.
The ceasefire halted Israel’s two-year war that killed nearly 71,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, injured more than 171,200 others, and left the enclave in ruins.
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