Middle East diplomacy - Page 6

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said Iran had “crossed a red line” with its missile barrage directed at Israel on Wednesday night, and that the IDF “reacted accordingly” by striking over 50 Iranian targets in Syria in response.

TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he made it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel would operate freely in the region in order to protect itself, an a veiled reference to alleged Israeli airstrikes in Syria.

TEHRAN – A senior Iranian official on Tuesday hailed the “victory” of Hezbollah in Lebanese elections as a success in the “fight against Israel” and the United States, the state broadcaster reported.

President Hassan Rouhani says Iran would be willing not to abandon the nuclear deal even if the United States pulls out, providing the European Union offers guarantees that Iran would keep benefiting from the accord.

Iran’s president is warning President Donald Trump that pulling America out of the nuclear deal with world powers would be a “historic regret.”

Defense and political sources told Russia and the United States, following Iran’s threats to react against attacks on their assets in Syria overnight, that if Iran attacks Israel from Syria, either itself or through its proxy Hezbollah, Jerusalem will not hold back and will respond forcefully, targeting Iranian soil.

The German parliament has been condemned by the Hamas terrorist organization for its recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and legitimate homeland.

PRAGUE — The Czech Republic’s president suggested Wednesday that his country was considering joining the U.S. in moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

TEL AVIV — Russian plans to possibly supply Bashar Assad’s regime with new air defense systems can only be viewed as defiance of the West and an expression of Moscow’s willingness to aid Iran in solidifying its military infrastructure in Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reiterated Israel’s position that it will never allow archenemy Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, as US President Donald Trump’s deadline for further Iranian concessions edged closer.

Israel has asked Moscow not to supply the Syrian military with advanced S-300 missile systems, according to a Russian diplomat. An Israeli government spokesman declined comment on the claim that was made by the Russian diplomat on condition on anonymity.

Iran’s military head said Saturday that forces are preparing to “annihilate” Israel’s Zionist regime within 25 years after recent threats between the foes.

The Palestinians will not allow US President Donald Trump or anyone else to say that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a fiery address at a torch-lighting ceremony marking Israel’s 70th Independence Day, declared that the Jewish state is becoming a “world power” and said its light will overcome its enemies’ “darkness.”

U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his fellow Israelis on the country’s 70th anniversary, saying the United States has “no better friends anywhere” than Israel.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Sunday slammed Iran’s “blatant interference” in the region and lashed out at the US over Jerusalem as Arab leaders met in the kingdom for their annual summit.

DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman opened a summit of Arab leaders on Sunday by condemning an old foe, Iran, without making any reference to missile strikes by Western powers on Syrian government targets over a suspected gas attack a week ago.

TEL AVIV – Israel was informed of the U.S.-led military strikes in Syria ahead of time, Israeli and American officials confirmed on Saturday morning.

Lebanese president Michel Aoun said Israeli jets operating in Lebanese airspace amounts to an attack on his country’s sovereignty.

TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday that the United States would regret withdrawing from the nuclear deal, and that Iran would respond in “less than a week” if that happened.

RIYADH –  Saudi King Salman reaffirmed support for Palestinians to US President Donald Trump, state media said Tuesday, after his son and heir apparent said Israel has a “right” to a homeland.

TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “butcher” in response to the Turkish president’s branding the Israeli leader as a “terrorist” and Israel a “terrorist state” over the IDF’s actions in Gaza.  

The Palestinian Authority reacted with fury on Thursday to Ambassador David Friedman’s remarks that if President Mahmoud Abbas does not negotiate with the US or Israel, then Washington and Jerusalem will find someone else to work with.

RICHFIELD, Ohio — US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that US forces would pull out of Syria “very soon” and lamented what he said was Washington’s waste of $7 trillion in Middle East wars.

Top Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk has said in an interview to London’s Al-Hiwar television station that Hamas-Iran relations were the closest they had been since the Syrian civil war blew up in 2011.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will discuss the possibility of US President Donald Trump attending the May opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem when he meets Trump on Monday.

The State Department is considering an offer from billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson to help pay a new embassy in Jerusalem after moving from Tel Aviv.

MOSCOW — Russia has tested over 200 new types of arms in Syria during its campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad, a senior lawmaker said Thursday, as Moscow was accused of taking part in airstrikes against rebel-held Eastern Ghouta.

Qatar is helping Israel avoid another Gaza war by funneling relief money to impoverished Palestinians with Washington’s blessing, a Qatari diplomat said on Thursday, describing the cooperation as evidence of Doha’s distance from Islamist Hamas.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was taken to a Baltimore hospital Thursday for a routine checkup, Palestinians said.

Any attacks carried out against Iran will result in the destruction of Tel Aviv, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, warned Israel on Monday, according to the Fars News Agency.

MUNICH — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says an international agreement with Iran has emboldened the regime in Tehran to become increasingly aggressive in the region.

Israel views Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime as the weak link in the Iranian-Shi’a axis, and Assad should keep that in mind when weighing whether or not to let Iran set up military bases in his country or transfer precision missiles to Hezbollah, National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Monday.

Jerusalem – Israel issued stark warnings on Sunday over Iran’s presence in neighbouring Syria after a confrontation threatened to open a new and unpredictable period in the country’s seven-year civil war.

In yet another sign of rapprochement with the Persian Gulf states, a group of prominent US Jewish organizational leaders led by Malcolm Hoenlein will travel in the coming days to the United Arab Emirates.

The emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Thursday phoned Hamas terror group leader Ismail Hanieyh and promised urgent aid to the Gaza Strip.