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John Fetterman Meets With Israeli President in First-Ever Visit to Jewish State
US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Israel, June 25, 2024. Photo: Ma’ayan Toaf (GPO)
US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday while on his first-ever trip to Israel.
Herzog thanked Fetterman for his steadfast support for the Jewish state in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter across southern Israel and throughout the ensuing war in Gaza. The Israeli president praised Fetterman as a “beacon of moral clarity” for his unrelenting defense of Israel.
“Welcome to Israel my friend. I know that you come out of passion and love for this country,” Herzog said. “And I want to say thank you, on behalf of our nation and behalf of Israel. Those who stand with us showing moral clarity, we shall never forget them. And we want to thank you; you’re a true leader.”
Fetterman showed Herzog a bracelet gifted to him by family members of the victims of the Oct. 7 Nova Music Festival massacre. The senator told Herzog that he will not remove the bracelet until all the remaining hostages are released from Hamas’ captivity in Gaza and reunited with their families.
“I was moved to see you wearing a bracelet from the Nova festival. We deeply appreciate your vocal support for the hostages brutally held by Hamas and your clear demand for their immediate release,” Herzog said.
“I’m honored by those words, but I don’t really believe I should be thanked for just doing my job,” Fetterman responded. “It’s been a very easy and clear choice throughout all of this, through everything your nation has been through after Oct. 7. I’ve always wanted to be a very consistent voice throughout all this.”
Though the Pennsylvania senator campaigned as a progressive, he has surprisingly emerged as a staunch ally of Israel in the months following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Fetterman has repeatedly condemned the anti-Israel voices within his own party in Congress.
The Democratic senator has even slammed US President Joe Biden for withholding weapons meant for Israel, arguing that there should be “no conditions” on arms transfers to the Jewish state.
“If there should be any kind of conditions, it should be on Hamas and its enablers and its benefactors,” Fetterman said on Fox News.
Fetterman’s decision to align himself with the pro-Israel cause has rankled some of his closest allies. Last year, 16 former campaign staffers penned a letter urging the senator to “join the right side of history” by supporting a “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. Several of his top communications staffers have fled to join anti-Israel operations such as the Working Families Party or the office of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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