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US President Joe Biden has said the world is facing the biggest threat of nuclear “Armageddon” since the days of President Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in New York, his ‘off camera’ comments were overheard by journalists from the White House pool.

It comes as Russian officials warned of the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering huge military setbacks in the invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow accuses Zelenskyy of calling for world war – latest updates

Describing Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Biden said he had “got to know the guy pretty well”.

“He’s not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is you might say significantly underperforming.”

And he made clear his concerns that if such weapons were deployed it would quickly escalate into world nuclear conflict.

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“First time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use nuclear weapon if in fact things continue down the path they are going,” he said.

During the 1962 crisis, the United States under President John Kennedy and the Soviet Union under Nikita Kruschev came close to using nuclear weapons over the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Mr Biden said he and US officials were searching for a diplomatic off-ramp.

“I’m trying to figure out what is Putin’s off-ramp?” he said. “Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis.”

He added: “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.

“I didn’t realise how much serious damage the previous administration did to our foreign policy.”

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What is a tactical nuclear weapon?

US officials have warned for the last few months about the prospect of Russia using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine after numerous strategic setbacks on the battlefield.

Mr Putin has repeatedly alluded to using his country’s vast nuclear arsenal.

Last month, when he announced plans to conscript Russian men to serve in Ukraine, he said: “I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction … and when the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, to protect Russia and our people, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal.”

With a lingering stare at the camera, he added: “It’s not a bluff.”

On Thursday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr Putin understood the “world will never forgive” a Russian nuclear strike.

“He understands that after the use of nuclear weapons he would be unable anymore to preserve, so to speak, his life, and I’m confident of that,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

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Two killed after suspect shot at firefighters in Idaho, authorities say

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Two killed after suspect shot at firefighters in Idaho, authorities say

Two people have been killed after a suspect shot at firefighters responding to a fire in the US state of Idaho, authorities have said.

Police were still “taking sniper fire” near the city of Coeur d’Alene on Sunday afternoon, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said.

Crews were responding to a fire at Canfield Mountain around 1.30pm and gunshots were reported around half an hour later, the force said.

Officers gather near the scene. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Sheriff Bob Norris said officials believe the two killed were firefighters, and he did not know if anyone else was shot.

“We don’t know how many suspects are up there, and we don’t know how many casualties there are,” he said. “We are actively taking fire sniper as we speak.”

Mr Norris said the sniper appeared to be hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle, adding he had instructed his deputies to fire back.

“I’m hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralise, because they’re not at this point in time showing any evidence of wanting to surrender,” the sheriff said.

Armoured police vehicles at the scene. Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Governor Brad Little said “multiple” firefighters were attacked.

“This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,” he said on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”

The president of the International Association of Firefighters said a third firefighter was in surgery.

In a statement on social media Edward Kelly said the firefighters “were ambushed in a heinous act of violence”. He added: “Two of our brothers were killed by a sniper, and a third brother remains in surgery.”

The sheriff’s office in neighbouring Shoshone County said authorities were “dealing with an active shooter situation where the shooter is still at large”.

Smoke billows into the air after several firefighters were attacked while responding to a fire. Pic: Reuters
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Smoke billows into the air after several firefighters were attacked while responding to a fire. Pic: Reuters

The fire was still raging, Mr Norris said.

“It’s going to keep burning,” he added. “Can’t put any resources on it right now.”

The FBI was sending technical teams and tactical support to the scene, its deputy director Dan Bongino said.

“It remains an active, and very dangerous scene,” he said on X.

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Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking spot on the outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, a city of around 55,000 people in northern Idaho.

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Donald Trump says ‘very wealthy group’ has agreed to buy TikTok in the US

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Donald Trump says 'very wealthy group' has agreed to buy TikTok in the US

Donald Trump has said the US government has found a buyer for TikTok that he will reveal “in about two weeks”.

The president told Fox News “it’s a group of very wealthy people”, adding: “I think I’ll probably need China approval, I think President Xi will probably do it.”

TikTok was ordered last year to find a new owner for its US operation – or face a ban – after politicians said they feared sensitive data about Americans could be passed to the Chinese government.

The video app’s owner, Bytedance, has repeatedly denied such claims.

It originally had a deadline of 19 January to find a buyer – and many users were shocked when it “went dark” for a number of hours when that date came round, before later being restored.

However, President Trump has now extended the deadline several times.

The last extension was on 19 June, when the president signed another executive order pushing it back to 17 September.

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Mr Trump’s latest comments suggest multiple people coming together to take control of the app in the US.

Among those rumoured to be potential buyers include YouTube superstar Mr Beast, US search engine startup Perplexity AI, and Kevin O’Leary – an investor from Shark Tank (the US version of Dragons’ Den).

Bytedance said in April that it was still talking to the US government, but there were “differences on many key issues”.

It’s believed the Chinese government will have to approve any agreement.

The president said the identity of the buyer would be disclosed in about two weeks. Pic: Fox News
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The president said the identity of the buyer would be disclosed in about two weeks. Pic: Fox News

President Trump’s interview with Fox News also touched on the upcoming end of the pause in US tariffs on imported goods.

On April 9, he granted a 90-day reprieve for countries threatened with a tariff of more than 10% in order to give them time to negotiate.

Deals have already been struck with some countries, including the UK.

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Iran could begin enriching uranium again in months – UN
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The president said he didn’t think he would need to push back the 9 July deadline and that letters would be sent out imminently stating what tariff each country would face.

“We’ll look at the deficit we have – or whatever it is with the country; we’ll look at how the country treats us – are they good, are they not so good. Some countries, we don’t care – we’ll just send a high number out,” he said.

“But we’re going to be sending letters out starting pretty soon. We don’t have to meet, we have all the numbers.”

The president announced the tariffs in April, arguing they were correcting an unfair trade relationship and would return lost prosperity to US industries such as car-making.

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Iran could begin enriching uranium again in months, says UN nuclear watchdog chief

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Iran could begin enriching uranium again in months, says UN nuclear watchdog chief

Iran will have the capacity to begin enriching uranium again in “a matter of months”, the UN’s nuclear watchdog boss has said.

Rafael Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that US strikes on three sites a week ago had caused “severe damage” but it was not “total”.

Middle East: live updates

Mr Grossi told CBS News: “The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that.

“But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”

Iran still has “industrial and technological capabilities… so if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again”, he added.

A satellite overview shows excavators at tunnel entrances at the Fordow site in Iran. Pic: Maxar/Reuters
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A satellite overview shows excavators at tunnel entrances at the Fordow site in Iran. Pic: Maxar Technologies/Reuters

Iranian nuclear and military sites were attacked by Israel on 13 June, with the Israelis claiming Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US then carried out its own strikes on 22 June, hitting Iranian nuclear installations at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, under Operation Midnight Hammer.

Iran has insisted its nuclear research is for civilian energy production purposes.

US President Donald Trump said last weekend that the US deployment of 30,000lb “bunker-busting” bombs had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme.

But that claim appeared to be contradicted by an initial assessment from the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

A source said Iran’s enriched uranium stocks had not been eliminated, and the country’s nuclear programme, much of which is buried deep underground, may have been put back only a month or two.

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Did the US destroy Iran’s nuclear sites?

Mr Trump has rejected any suggestion that the damage to the sites was not as profound as he has said.

And he stated he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran was enriching uranium to worrying levels.

At a news conference on Thursday alongside US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Dan Caine, told reporters the GBU-57 bunker buster bombs had been designed in some secrecy with exactly this sort of target in mind.

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US: Iran nuclear sites ‘obliterated’

The head of the CIA has also said a “body of credible intelligence” indicates Iran’s nuclear programme was “severely damaged”.

Director John Ratcliffe revealed that information from a “historically reliable and accurate source” suggests several key sites were destroyed – and will take years to rebuild.

Read more from Sky News:
Glastonbury organiser says anti-IDF chants ‘crossed a line’
Murder investigation after pregnant woman found dead

Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country “slapped America in the face” by launching an attack on 23 June against a major US base in Qatar, adding the nation would never surrender.

The 12-day air conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a US-brokered ceasefire.

But the Iranian armed forces chief of staff, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, has said his country doubts Israel will maintain the truce.

A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said the US strikes had caused significant damage to Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

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