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France Foiled Three Terror Attack Plots During Paris Olympics, Including Against Israelis
Soldiers patrol on a street in front of the Eiffel Tower ahead of the Olympics on July 21, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth
French authorities thwarted three terrorist plots to attack the 2024 Olympic Games that took place in Paris and surrounding cities, French chief anti-terror prosecutor Olivier Christen revealed on Wednesday.
Christen told the French broadcaster France Info that the plots included plans to attack “Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel” in Paris during the Olympics, which took place from July 26-Aug. 11. He added that “the Israeli team itself was not specifically targeted.”
Another foiled terror plot targeted Olympic soccer events scheduled to take place in the southern city of Saint-Étienne, in “bar-type establishments, around the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium,” said Christen. An 18-year-old man of Chechen origin was indicted and placed in pre-trial detention in May in relation to the terror plot. The national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said in a statement at the time that the suspect was accused of planning “a violent action” on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Christen said a separate thwarted terror plot involved two people from Gironde in France and that “all those who planned these attacks were arrested.” Five people, including a minor, were indicted for their involvement in the foiled plots. The suspects are facing various terrorism-related charges while they remain in pre-trial detention, he added.
The prosecutor further explained that preventative measures ahead of the Olympic Games included increased house searches and house arrests. He said police and security officials carried out 936 house searches in France so far this year, compared to the 153 that took place in 2023.
Before the start of the Olympic Games, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said increased security measures would be taken to ensure the safety of Israel’s Olympic delegation, which included 88 athletes. The Israeli delegation was given 24-hour security, provided by French police, and Darmanin said the decision was made in light of the terrorist attack targeting Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics, as well as heightened threats against Israelis since the start of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Israel took home a record-breaking seven medals from the 2024 Paris Olympics, marking its best performance in the Olympic Games in the history of the country. On Sunday, Israel concluded its performance in the 2024 Paris Paralympics with 10 medals — including four gold — which was its most successful showing in the Paralympic Games in 20 years.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
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