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Biden Again Warns Iran Against Attacking Israel: ‘Don’t’
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. March 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
JNS.org – Joe Biden delivered another “don’t” when asked by reporters what his message to Iran was as the US president was walking out of a church and entering his vehicle in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on Saturday.
Tehran has vowed to retaliate against the Jewish state for the targeted killing of Hamas terror leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital on July 31. Jerusalem has not taken responsibility for the assassination, but the Islamic Republic and Hamas have attributed it to Israel.
Biden previously said “don’t” to deter Israel’s enemies in the days after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre in the northwestern Negev. The president also used the word to warn Iran against an attack against Israel in mid-April.
Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah has carried out near daily cross-border attacks since Oct. 8, and Tehran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel the day after Biden’s previous warning.
Meanwhile, Iran appears intent on going ahead with its second-ever direct attack on Israel, with the timing and nature of the retaliation still uncertain.
Hezbollah has also vowed to attack Israel, in retaliation for the July 30th targeted killing of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, for which Jerusalem took responsibility. The assassination was in retaliation for a Hezbollah rocket strike on a soccer pitch that killed 12 children in the Golan Druze town of Majdal Shams.
Ahmed Bahsheesh Ardestani, a member of the National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament, said overnight Saturday that “the air operations of the Islamic Republic against Israel may last for three to four days,” according to the London-based Iran International news agency.
Ardestani added that Tehran “is ready to accept the consequences of such an attack and will be ready for any further developments.”
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander, Ali Fadavi, was quoted by Iranian media on Friday as saying that Israel will receive a “harsh punishment” for the Haniyeh assassination.
“The supreme leader’s orders regarding the harsh punishment of Israel and revenge for the blood of martyr Ismail Haniyeh are clear and explicit … and they will be implemented in the best possible way,” he said.
Asked by reporters to respond to Fadavi’s remarks, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States was ready to defend Israel.
“When we hear rhetoric like that we’ve got to take it seriously, and we do,” Kirby said.
Should an Iranian attack take place, Jordan will allow Israel to use its airspace to fend off any aerial threats, a Jordanian official told Channel 12 on Saturday.
“We will allow Israel to repel the Iranian attack in our airspace,” the official said, adding that “it stems from a security interest and this is the policy, just as in April Jordan helped Israel stop the Iranian attack. It is ultimately an ally of the United States.”
The inter-Arab news site, Arab Post, also reported from Jordanian security sources that “the authorities in Jordan have informed Israel that they will allow its air force to intercept the expected Iranian attack in the kingdom’s airspace.”
The sources added: “There is security, military and intelligence coordination between Jordan and Israel regarding the expected Iranian response, which ensures that the Israeli Air Force is authorized to participate in intercepting potential Iranian attacks that may pass through the kingdom’s skies.”
The reports contradict Jordan’s public declarations in the media that it won’t allow its airspace to be used by any party.
On April 13, the Royal Jordanian Air Force participated in a coalition that helped shoot down most of the 300 missiles and drones fired towards Israel as part of Iran’s first-ever direct attack on the Jewish state.
Amman, a frequent and harsh critic of Israel’s war against Hamas, intercepted dozens of drones hurtling through its airspace towards Israel.
Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported on Saturday that Arab states, including Qatar, have sent messages to Iran and Hezbollah to delay or cancel the planned attacks at least until after Gaza ceasefire and hostage release negotiations take place in either Doha or Cairo on Aug. 15.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on Friday that the response to Israel is “a matter totally unrelated” to the attempts to broker a ceasefire in the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“However, we hope that our response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire,” the mission said when asked if Tehran would delay the attack until after the ceasefire talks.
“Our priority is to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza; any agreement accepted by Hamas will also be recognized by us,” said Iran’s UN mission in New York.
US, Egyptian and Qatari leaders released a statement on Aug. 8 calling jointly for an immediate conclusion to talks between Israel and Hamas about a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
“It is time to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families,” the three stated. “The time has come to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal.”
The statement, signed by Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, called on both sides to resume urgent talks on Aug. 15 in either Doha or Cairo.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated almost immediately that it would send a negotiating delegation next Thursday. “Pursuant to the proposal by the US and the mediators, Israel will—on Aug. 15—send the negotiations team to a place to be determined in order to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” it said.
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Terrorist Responsible for Death of 21 Soldiers Eliminated
An Israeli F-35I “Adir” fighter jet. Photo: IDF
i24 News – Khalil Abd al-Nasser Mohammed Khatib, the terrorist who commanded the terrorist cell that killed 21 soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip on January 22, 2024, was killed by an Israeli airstrike, the IDF said on Sunday.
In a joint operation between the military and the Shin Bet security agency, the terrorist was spotted in a reconnaissance mission. The troops called up an aircraft to target him, and he was eliminated.
Khatib planned and took part in many other terrorist plots against Israeli soldiers.
i24NEWS’ Hebrew channel interviewed Dor Almog, the sole survivor of the mass casualty disaster, who was informed on live TV about the death of the commander responsible for the killing his brothers-in-arms.
“I was sure this day would come – I was a soldier and I know what happens at the end,” said Almog. “The IDF will do everything to bring back the abductees and to topple Hamas, to the last one man.”
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Stanley Fischer, Former Fed Vice Chair and Bank of Israel Chief, Dies at 81
FILE PHOTO: Vice Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve System Stanley Fischer arrives to hear Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney delivering the Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
Stanley Fischer, who helped shape modern economic theory during a career that included heading the Bank of Israel and serving as vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, has died at the age of 81.
The Bank of Israel said he died on Saturday night but did not give a cause of death. Fischer was born in Zambia and had dual US-Israeli citizenship.
As an academic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fischer trained many of the people who went on to be top central bankers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank president.
Fischer served as chief economist at the World Bank, and first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund during the Asian financial crisis and was then vice chairman at Citigroup from 2002 to 2005.
During an eight-year stint as Israel’s central bank chief from 2005-2013, Fischer helped the country weather the 2008 global financial crisis with minimal economic damage, elevating Israel’s economy on the global stage, while creating a monetary policy committee to decide on interest rates like in other advanced economies.
He was vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017 and served as a director at Bank Hapoalim in 2020 and 2021.
Current Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron praised Fischer’s contribution to the Bank of Israel and to advancing Israel’s economy as “truly significant.”
The soft-spoken Fischer – who played a role in Israel’s economic stabilization plan in 1985 during a period of hyperinflation – was chosen by then Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as central bank chief.
Netanyahu, now prime minister, called Fischer a “great Zionist” for leaving the United States and moving to Israel to take on the top job at Israel’s central bank.
“He was an outstanding economist. In the framework of his role as governor, he greatly contributed to the Israeli economy, especially to the return of stability during the global economic crisis,” Netanyahu said, adding that Stanley – as he was known in Israel – proudly represented Israel and its economy worldwide.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also paid tribute.
“He played a huge role in strengthening Israel’s economy, its remarkable resilience, and its strong reputation around the world,” Herzog said. “He was a world-class professional, a man of integrity, with a heart of gold. A true lover of peace.”
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Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Says Israel Blocking Ramallah Meeting Proof of ‘Extremism’
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud attends a news conference at the Arab Gulf Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 9, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said the Israeli government’s refusal to allow a delegation of Arab ministers to the West Bank showed its “extremism and rejection of peace.”
His statement came during a joint press conference in Amman with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain, after they met as part of an Arab contact group that was going to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
“Israel’s refusal of the committee’s visit to the West Bank embodies and confirms its extremism and refusal of any serious attempts for (a) peaceful pathway… It strengthens our will to double our diplomatic efforts within the international community to face this arrogance,” the Saudi minister said.
On Saturday, Israel said it would not allow a planned meeting on Sunday that would have included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Palestinian Authority officials said.
Bin Farhan’s visit to the West Bank would have marked the first such visit by a top Saudi official in recent memory.
An Israeli official said the ministers intended to take part in a “provocative meeting” to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said blocking the trip was another example of how Israel was “killing any chance of a just and comprehensive” Arab-Israeli settlement.
An international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is due to be held in New York on June 17-20 to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the conference would cover security arrangements after a ceasefire in Gaza and reconstruction plans to ensure Palestinians would remain on their land and foil any Israeli plans to evict them.
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