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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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Israel’s Yuval Raphael Advances to Grand Final of 2025 Eurovision Song Contest
Yuval Raphael from Israel with the title “New Day Will Rise” on stage at the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in the Arena St. Jakobshalle. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect
Israel’s Yuval Raphael advanced to the grand final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest after a stunning performance of her song “New Day Will Rise” in the second semi-finals on Thursday night in Basel, Switzerland.
The 24-year-old, who is a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, Nova music festival massacre, performed an emotional ballad in English, French, and Hebrew that was written by singer and songwriter Keren Peles. The results of the semi-finals are based solely on public vote.
Ten acts from the second semi-final advanced to the grand final, including performers from Armenia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Malta. Raphael will compete in Saturday’s grand final against those acts and the qualifiers from Tuesday’s semi-final. They include performers from Albania, Iceland, Estonia, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, Norway, San Marino, and the Netherlands. Also competing in the grand final is the Eurovision “Big Five” — Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Italy – and Switzerland, which was last year’s winner.
Unlike in the semi-finals, the results of the grand final are based on a combination of the televote and the jury vote, in which professional juries from all 37 participating countries vote for their favorites. Last year, a Eurovision jury member from Norway admitted that he refused to give points to Israel’s representative, Eden Golan, because of his personal resentment toward Israel’s military actions in the Gaza war.
There have been a number of public calls, including from national broadcasters and former Eurovision contestants, to have Israel banned from this year’s competition because of the country’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip targeting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
During a dress rehearsal for the semi-final on Thursday afternoon, audience members booed at Raphael, whistled, and waved oversized Palestinian flags. Under rules of the competition, all flags are allowed but there are limitations on the size. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, which is organizing this year’s Eurovision events, said in a released statement that the audience members with the oversized flags were escorted out of the St Jakobshalle arena by security personnel.
The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest grand final will take place on Saturday night in Basel’s St Jackobshalle arena. The detailed results of the second semi-final will be revealed after the grand final.
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Iran, Europeans Hold Nuclear Talks, Agree to More, Diplomats Say
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Diplomats from Iran and the three European parties remaining in a moribund 2015 nuclear deal met in Istanbul on Friday, Iranian and British officials said, their first round of talks since the US began nuclear talks with Tehran in April.
The talks between senior diplomats from Iran and Britain, France, and Germany – known as the E3 – took place as US President Donald Trump pushes for a deal to limit Iran‘s nuclear program. On Friday he called on Iran to move quickly after he said his administration had put forward a proposal to Iran.
An Iranian source close to the negotiating team said Tehran has yet to receive the US proposal, “but Oman has got it and will hand it over to Tehran soon.”
The European powers are not part of current negotiations between Iran and the United States, the fourth round of which ended in Oman on Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
However, they have held repeated talks with the Iranians most recently in March where they discussed how they saw the parameters of a deal to replace the 2015 accord.
The three powers have sought to coordinate with Washington notably on whether and when they should reimpose UN sanctions against Tehran – known in diplomatic circles as the “snapback mechanism” – if no agreement is reached.
That coordination has not been easy with European diplomats bemoaning a lack of clarity in US policy on its negotiations with Tehran.
Iran and the Europeans agreed to hold further talks if needed, Iran‘s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X on Friday.
“Iran and the three European countries are determined to maintain and make optimal use of diplomacy,” Gharibabadi said. “We will meet again to continue the discussions if necessary.”
British diplomat Christian Turner said on X that Iran and the E3 shared a commitment to dialogue and that they agreed to meet again, without giving a timeframe.
Under the terms of a UN resolution ratifying the 2015 nuclear pact, the three European powers have until October 18 to trigger the snapback mechanism before the resolution expires.
According to diplomats and a document seen by Reuters, the E3 countries may do this by August if no substantial deal can be found by then.
Relations between the E3 and Iran have worsened over the last year despite sporadic meetings, against a backdrop of new sanctions imposed on Tehran over its ballistic missile program, its detention of foreign citizens and support for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met the equivalent of national security advisers of the E3 powers also in Istanbul on Friday to discuss Iran and Ukraine, a US official said.
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Israel Strikes Yemeni Ports, Warns That Houthi Leader Is a Target
Illustrative: Smoke rises in the sky following US-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Adel Al Khader
Israel struck Yemen’s Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Salif on Friday, continuing its campaign to degrade Houthi military capabilities and warning that the Iran-backed terrorist group’s top leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, could be targeted if attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthis have continued to fire missiles at Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, although they have agreed to halt attacks on US ships.
Israel has carried out retaliatory strikes in response, including one on May 6 that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people.
On Friday, the Israeli military said the ports of Hodeidah and Salif were being used to transfer weapons, reiterating its warnings to residents of those areas to evacuate.
Residents in Hodeidah said they heard four loud booms and saw smoke rising from the port following the Israeli strikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement they would hunt down the Houthis’ top leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
“If the Houthis continue to fire missiles at the State of Israel, they will be severely harmed, and we will also hurt the leaders,” they said, adding that al-Houthi could join the list of terrorist figures killed by Israel, such as Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah.
The Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” against Israeli and US interests in the Middle East, alongside Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. About 60 percent of the Yemeni population lives under their control.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, the Houthis have launched dozens of missile and drone attacks toward Israel, most of which have been intercepted or landed short.
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