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Israeli Defense Chief Tells US Counterpart Time Running Out to Avert War With Hezbollah
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with IDF commanders, including members of the elite Shayetet 13 marine commando unit, in Atlit, Israel, Jan. 17, 2023. Photo: Ariel Hermoni (Israel’s Ministry of Defense)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his US counterpart on Monday that time was running out for reaching a diplomatic solution to ongoing clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
“The possibility of a settlement in the north is passing,” Gallant told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a phone call, according to a statement from his office. “Hezbollah continues to tie itself to Hamas — the direction is clear.”
The Defense Ministry’s statement on the call did not include quotes by Austin, and the US Department of Defense did not immediately provide a readout of the conversation.
Hezbollah has pummeled northern Israeli communities almost daily with barrages of drones, rockets, and missiles from southern Lebanon, where it wields significant political and military influence, since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas — another Iran-backed terrorist group — in October.
About 80,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate Israel’s north during that time due to the unrelenting attacks. Most of them have spent the past 11 months living displaced in hotels in other areas of the country.
Israeli leaders have said they seek a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon but are prepared to use large-scale military force if needed to ensure all displaced citizens can safely return to their homes.
The head of the Israeli army’s northern command has recommended a rapid border operation to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli media reports.
Earlier this month, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said the Jewish state is “very focused” on waging combat with Hezbollah and preparing for offensive actions against the powerful Iran-backed group in neighboring Lebanon.
Gallant’s latest remarks came as White House Special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel to discuss the crisis on the northern border.
“We are trying to prevent the opening of a second front in northern Israel,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said ahead of the visit.
Hochstein is reportedly expected to propose a slight redrawing of the map along the Israel-Lebanon border. His visit followed Hezbollah firing dozens of rockets into Israel on Sunday and more rockets on Monday. Israel responded to both barrages by striking terrorist targets in southern Lebanon.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said earlier this month that August was the most intense month in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah so far, with more than 1,300 attacks on the Jewish state recorded.
One of the biggest clashes occurred about three weeks ago, when Israeli fighter jets destroyed thousands of drones and rocket launchers belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, after detecting an imminent attack on the Jewish state.
Hezbollah, which is Iran’s chief proxy force in the Middle East, subsequently fired some 300 projectiles into Israel.
Several reports have confirmed Israeli claims that Hezbollah was preparing to target Israel with a major barrage. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stated that the terrorist group carried out its strikes in retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon late last month. Israel claimed responsibility for Shukr’s death.
Israel has been increasingly directing its military focus northward to Hezbollah in Lebanon as it has decimated the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s operational capabilities from Gaza to the south. Like Hezbollah, Hamas also receives significant military and financial support from Iran.
Gallant’s call with Austin came amid reports in Israel suggesting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be set to replace Gallant over disagreements on Lebanon.
The post Israeli Defense Chief Tells US Counterpart Time Running Out to Avert War With Hezbollah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.