FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 9 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | JUNE 23, 2025 | PAGES 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY Sports Bumrah is extremely hard to face: Duckett P.10 PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Trump’s gamble risks backfiring P.6 TUT-TUT: INVESTORS AWAIT THE NEXT BIG ONE AMID RISKS Nation NITISH AHEAD IN TEMPLE POLITICS P.7 OP MIDNIGHT HAMMER | American stealth bombers strike three nuclear programme sites in Iran’s Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz US ENTERS ISRAEL-IRAN WAR AP TEL AVIV The US military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's effort to destroy Iran's nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound (13,600-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground. President Donald Trump announced the strikes. Iran's staterun IRNA news agency reported that attacks targeted the country's Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. The agency did not elaborate. Iran's foreign minister said Iran reserves the right to retaliate. Hegseth says US intervention in Israel's war with Iran is not open-ended In concluding his briefing, the US defence chief attempted to once again reiterate an unwillingness for America's intervention in Iran to turn into a protracted war and labelled the overnight fp Briefs JERUSALEM 160 Indians evacuated With Israeli airspace closed and commercial flights suspended, the Indian missions in Israel and Jordan, in a joint effort, evacuated 160 Indian nationals in the first batch under Operation Sindhu on Sunday, according to an embassy source. NEW DELHI Air India gets bomb threat Air India flight AI-114 from Birmingham to New Delhi received a bomb threat on Saturday, after which it was diverted to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely, Air India said on Sunday. A spokesperson said the plane was thoroughly inspected and all the checks have been completed. strikes as "intentionally limited." "I would just say, as the president has directed and made clear, this is most certainly not open-ended," Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding that it doesn't limit US ability to respond and it will do so if necessary. "The most powerful military in the world is postured and prepared to defend our people," Hegseth said. A Pentagon-provided map shows the path of B-2 bombers A Pentagon-provided map of the flight path taken by B-2 stealth bombers indicates that their approach to Iran took them over the Mediterranean and then over Israel, Jordan and Iraq. It is not immediately clear when those three countries were made aware of the flights. Israel has said the US strikes were carried out in coordination with its military. The US said the strikes did not involve Israeli jets. The Pentagon released the map to journalists as it gave details of the mission, which it described as causing "extremely severe damage and destruction" to three Iranian nuclear sites. US and Iranian officials say both countries are exchanging messages Hours after Iran's top diplomat disclosed that the line of communication between Washington and Tehran remains open, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed his remarks in a press conference. 4Continued on | P8 Iran vows to respond PTI TEHRAN Satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows vehicles at the Fordo enrichment facility in Iran on Friday AP/PTI Bunker-buster bombs unleashed In inserting itself into Israel's war against Iran, Washington unleashed on Iran's Fordo fuel enrichment plant its massive "bunker-buster" bombs, widely seen as the best chance of damaging or destroying the facility built deep into a mountain and untouched during Israel's week-long offensive. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said 14 of the bombs were used in Sunday's attack on Fordo and a second target. In all, the US hit three nuclear sites, and Caine told reporters Sunday that "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage". Iran is considering closing the key oil shipping route Strait of Hormuz after the US bombed three of its nuclear facilities, Iranian media reported. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows. It connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The narrow channel, approximately 33 km wide at the narrowest point, separates Iran (north) from the Arabian Peninsula (south). But shipping lanes in the waterway are even narrower - 3 km wide in each direction, making them vulnerable to attacks and threats of being shut down, which Iran has decided to do now. Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Two medical students from Bhopal, who were stuck in Iran after hostilities broke out between Iran and Israel, have safely returned home. Mohd Haris Khan and Areej Ehsan, both studying medi- cine at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, shared their ordeal with Free Press on Sunday. Haris landed in Delhi on Saturday night and reached Bhopal via Shatabdi Express on Sunday afternoon. Areej arrived in the city later that evening. “We are feeling very relieved and safe now,” both students said. Haris lauded the Indian Embassy in Iran for their swift and efficient handling of the situation. “Hats off Areej Ehsan with her father Dr Ehsan Azmi to them. They took every possible care of us. We will be eternally grateful to them,” he said. In a rare diplomatic gesture, Iran opened its airspace to fa- Pahalgam attack: 3 terrorists were Pakistanis linked to LeT IANS JAMMU In a significant disclosure, the two locals arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for harbouring Pahalgam terror attack perpetrators have confirmed that the three terrorists responsible for the attack were Pakistani nationals. NIA said on Sunday that two locals arrested during the investigation into the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 civilians were killed, told investigators that the three terrorists, who carried out the attack, belonged to the proscribed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and were Pakistani nationals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday conveyed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian India's "deep concern" over Iran's conflict with Israel and called for immediate de-escalation of the situation through "dialogue and diplomacy". The phone conversation initiated by Pezeshkian came hours after the US bombed three major nuclear sites -- Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan -- in Iran, bringing itself into the Israel-Iran conflict. In a social media post, Modi said he expressed "deep concern" at the recent escalations and that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward for the early restoration of regional peace. NIA arrested two men for harbouring the terrorists who had carried out April 22 Pahalgam terror attack The investigating agency in a major breakthrough arrested the two men for harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The two men have been identified as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar from Batkote, Pahalgam and Bashir Ahmad Jothar of Hill Park, Pahalgam, said the NIA on Sunday in a press release. They have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack, and have also confirmed that they were Pakistani nationals affiliated with LeT. Parvaiz and Bashir had knowingly harboured the three armed terrorists at a seasonal dhok (hut) at Hill Park before the attack, as per NIA investigations. “The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had, on the fateful afternoon, selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity, making it one of the most gruesome terrorist attacks ever," said the release. 4Continued on | P8 cilitate India’s evacuation efforts. The students boarded a flight from Mashhad, located around 900 km from Tehran. Describing the tense situation in the Iranian capital, Haris said, “Our university is in north Tehran, where most of the top officials live. It was a prime target of Israeli missiles. Every minute, we could see and hear missiles being intercepted in the sky right above our heads.” 4Continued on | P8 DGCA orders special audits of airlines, airports IANS NEW DELHI The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a new set of Comprehensive Special Audits to enhance safety following the jolt to the country's civil aviation sector in the wake of the tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad. The audit framework will cover the entire range of aviation entities, including scheduled and non-scheduled airlines, maintenance, repair and overhaul organisations (MROs), flying training schools, air navigation service providers, airport operators and ground handling agencies. 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Navy to get BrahMos-armed frigate ‘Tamal’ IANS NEW DELHI The Indian Navy is all set to commission its latest stealth multi-role frigate on July 1 at Kaliningrad in Russia, the Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday. Christened “Tamal”, the warship is the eighth in the series of Krivak class frigates inducted from Russia over the past two decades. Tamal is the second ship of the Tushil Class, which are the upgraded versions of their predecessors, Talwar and Teg classes, which have three ships each. The ceremony will be presided over by Vice Admiral Sanjay J. Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, as the Chief Guest, in the presence of many high-ranking Indian and Russian government and defence officials, the official statement said. India, as part of the broader contract for Tushil class, is also building two similar frigates called the and criminal behaviour," he said. The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran reserves "all options" to defend its "sovereignty, interest, and people." Araghchi said he is travelling to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. On its part, Russia strongly condemned the "irresponsible" US strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, and said it "grossly" violated international law, UN Charter and UNSC resolutions. 4Continued on | P8 Iran plans to close India on side of Strait of Hormuz peace: PM ‘Feeling very relieved and safe now’ Bhopal students return from war-hit Iran Iran on Sunday vowed to avenge the US bombing of three of its major nuclear facilities saying the American strikes will have "everlasting consequences". The reaction by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came hours after the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan using "bunker buster" bombs which were dropped by B-2 bombers. Following the US strikes, President Donald Trump said the Iranian nuclear facilities were "completely and totally obliterated". The US has committed a "grave violation" of the UN Charter, international law and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations, Araghchi said. "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 Triput class at Goa Shipyard Limited with transfer of technology and design assistance from the Russian side. By the conclusion of this series of ships, the Indian Navy will be operating ten ships with similar capabilities and commonality in equipment, weapon and sensor fit over four different classes. Tamal's construction was closely overseen by an Indian team of specialists from the Warship Overseeing Team stationed at Kaliningrad, under the aegis of the Embassy of India, Moscow. At the Naval Headquarters, the project was steered by the Directorate of Ship Production under the Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition. 4Continued on | P8 Firefighters, rescue workers and military gather at the site of a direct missile strike launched from Iran in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday, RAJA MURDER CASE Two more accused arrested; in transit remand till June 28 Property dealer, security guard held for destroying evidence Our Staff Reporter INDORE In a significant development in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case, Shillong Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested two more individuals, including a local property dealer and a building security guard, for allegedly helping destroy crucial evidence after the crime. The two arrests bring the total number of people held in the case to seven. Additional DCP (Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya told Free Press that the SIT, which has been camping in Indore for several days, arrested Silom James, a property dealer, and Balveer Ahirwar, a security guard, for their roles in concealing and Meghalaya police took the accused to the crime scene where the evidence was destroyed later destroying a bag belonging to Sonam, the woman at the centre of the case. James and Ahirwar were produced before the court from where they were given transit remand till June 28.   The bag—reportedly containing jewellery, a pistol, and a laptop—was hidden in a rented flat in the Heera Bagh area of the city, where Sonam stayed for several days after re- Rain no relief for Naxals, warns Shah FP News Service RAIPUR Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Naxalites won't get rest during monsoon as operations against them will continue during rains, even as he ruled out talks and appealed to the ultras to lay down arms and join the journey of development. "Every time during monsoon, Naxalites used to get rest (as swollen rivers hamper anti-Naxal operations inside dense forest). But this time, we will not let them sleep during monsoon and we will move further to achieve the target of 31/3 (2026 to eliminate Naxalism)", Shah said. "No need for talks. Just give up armed struggle and join the mainstream. I wholeheartedly welcome all those who have laid down arms and joined the mainstream and assure them whatever promises the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre have made to them will be fulfilled. We will try to help you even more," he added. Speaking after laying the foundation stones for the National Forensic Science University (NFSU) campus and a Central Forensic Science Lab in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, he said the complete implementation of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will make India's criminal justice system the most modern, speedy and scientific justice system in the world. 4Continued on | P8 turning from Shillong. She surrendered to the police in Ghazipur on June 8. Silom James, who had rented the flat to murder coaccused Vishal Chauhan at Rs 17,000 per month, was arrested from Bhorasa toll gate in Dewas district on Saturday evening, allegedly while attempting to flee to Bhopal. 4Continued on | P8 India ramps up oil imports from Russia, US PTI NEW DELHI India has ramped up purchases of Russian oil in June, importing more than the combined volumes from Middle Eastern suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, amid market volatility triggered by Israel's dramatic attack on Iran. The US military struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, directly joining Israel which first struck Iranian nuclear sites on June 13. Indian refiners are likely to import 2-2.2 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil in June - the highest in the last two years and more than the total volumes bought from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, preliminary data by global trade analytics firm Kpler showed.