Nigeria has secured the third position among African nations with the most formidable military forces in the 2025 Global Firepower Military Strength Index, according to Global Firepower’s annual report cited by The PUNCH on Monday.

The index evaluates 145 countries based on over 60 metrics, including troop numbers, equipment capabilities, financial resources, logistical efficiency, and geographical advantages to assess military strength.

In the 2025 rankings, Egypt maintains its lead as Africa’s top military power, followed by Algeria in second place and South Africa in fourth. Nigeria’s rise to third underscores its growing military capabilities, driven by investments in personnel, equipment, and counter-terrorism efforts.

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Here is a list of African countries ranked in the 2025 Global Firepower Index.

1. Egypt (19)

2. Algeria (26)

3. Nigeria (31)

4. South Africa (40)

5. Ethiopia (52)

6. Angola (56)

7. Morocco (59)

8. Democratic Republic of the Congo (66)

9. Sudan (73)

10. Libya (76)

11. Kenya (83)

12. Chad (84)

13. Mozambique (89)

14. Tunisia (90)

15. Tanzania (92)

16. Cameroon (93)

17. Ivory Coast (102)

18. Mali (104)

19. Zambia (109)

20. Ghana (110)

21. Zimbabwe (111)

22. South Sudan (113)

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23. Uganda (114)

24. Namibia (116)

25. Niger (119)

26. Eritrea (120)

27. Republic of the Congo (121)

28. Botswana (122)

29. Mauritania (123)

30. Senegal (125)

31. Burkina Faso (129)

32. Madagascar (130)

33. Gabon (133)

34. Liberia (138)

35. Sierra Leone (140)

36. Somalia (142)

37. Central African Republic (143)

38. Benin (144)

The foreign ministers of EU member states on Monday were set to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East at their June meeting in Brussels.

The talks come amid growing international alarm after the United States joined Israel in launching strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

A key question for the ministers will be whether Europe can help steer the crisis back towards diplomacy.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Sunday urged all sides “to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” in a statement posted on X.

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Another item on the agenda is an internal EU review concluding that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip are not in line with the principles established for its close cooperation with the European Union.

The report, requested by EU foreign ministers in May, questioned whether Israel was still adhering to the basic principles of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

These include that relations between the parties to the agreement are based on respect for human rights.

The finding relates, in particular, to Israel’s blockade of aid supplies into the Gaza Strip, where some 2 million Palestinians live.

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Israel had blocked aid from reaching the devastated coastal territory for almost three months, saying that the Palestinian extremist organisation Hamas was benefiting from the supplies.

The governments of the EU member states and the EU now face the question of whether and how to respond to the analysis, options range from suspending the current partnership agreement to imposing economic sanctions.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who is expected to attend the talks in Brussels, was among those who opposed initiating the review.

The German government argues that maintaining open channels of communication with Israel is essential.

(NAN)

Unprecedented US strikes have wrecked Iran’s nuclear program, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday as Washington sought to assess what remained of the three targeted sites.

The surprise strikes threaten to deepen conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, with Tehran vowing to retaliate against US involvement.

But the United States said President Donald Trump wanted peace and urged Iran to end the conflict after strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

Trump “seeks peace, and Iran should take that path”, Hegseth said. “This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change.”

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Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that “it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there.”

“Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” he told reporters.

– Protests in Tehran –

People gathered in the center of Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans, state TV showed.

Trump claimed total success for the operation in an address to the nation hours after the attack, and Vice President JD Vance followed up on Sunday morning.

“We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night, whether it’s years or beyond,” he told ABC.

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“We’re not at war with Iran — we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” he added. “The president took decisive action to destroy that program last night.”

In Tehran, AFP journalists said the roar of aircraft flying over the city was heard repeatedly for the first time since Israel’s initial attacks.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at the nuclear sites and Tehran said Sunday there were no signs of contamination.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Istanbul the United States and Israel had “crossed a very big red line,” asserting Iran would continue to defend itself “by all means necessary.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US strikes, saying Trump’s decision to “target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history.”

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The Israeli military was also checking the results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was “too soon” to know if Iran had removed enriched uranium from the site.

The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings, Caine said.

– Global concern –

In response to the US attack, Iran’s armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, the country’s main international gateway near Tel Aviv.

Israeli rescuers said at least 23 people were wounded.

In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software engineer, said he hoped the US intervention would hasten an end to the Iran-Israel war.

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“Israel by itself would not stop… and it would take longer,” he said.

Israel said it had launched fresh strikes on western Iran and in Qom, south of Tehran. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported four Revolutionary Guard members were killed in strikes on a military base in the city’s north.

The Israeli military said it had “struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralized the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory.”

Iran’s Shargh newspaper reported that a “massive explosion was heard” Sunday in Bushehr province, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.

Iranian news agencies also reported strikes in Yazd province.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US move and urged de-escalation.

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The European Union called on all sides “to step back,” while stressing Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

The Iranian foreign minister said he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Following his address, Trump warned Iran against retaliation. Iran and its proxies have previously attacked US military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their threat to resume attacks in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, saying they were ready to target US ships and warships.

The US president had stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck the country on June 13, repeating his insistence it could never have nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb. On Saturday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s right to pursue a civilian nuclear program “cannot be taken away… by threats or war.”