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Muslim-Majority Albania to Open Economic Mission in Jerusalem
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog delivers a speech during a tribute ceremony at the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, southern France, on March 20, 2022. Photo: Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
JNS.org — Albania will open a commercial liaison office in Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish state, Prime Minister Edi Rama told Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting in Tirana on Thursday.
The move “marks a significant upgrade in the strong relationship between the two nations and represents a symbol of the deep friendship between the two peoples,” according to a statement by Herzog.
Herzog’s trip to the Albanian capital marked the first official visit of Israel’s head of state to the Muslim-majority Balkan nation. The president was accompanied by Idit Ohel, an Israeli of Serbian origin whose son Alon was taken hostage when Hamas attacked the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on Oct. 7, 2023.
“It is especially meaningful to be among friends at this painful time for Israel, as we near the one-year mark since Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel. One year since thousands of terrorists invaded our country, savagely murdered and wounded thousands, and kidnapped hundreds of Israelis and foreign nationals into Gaza,” Herzog told Rama.
“Your country has shown, again and again, that you stand with the people of Israel as we fight to defend our borders and our civilization,” he continued. “Unfortunately, we are fighting more than one terrorist enemy simultaneously. The trail of blood linking all of the agents of hate is Iran, and its cruel, antisemitic fixation with the destruction of the State of Israel.”
The Albanian premier presented his Israeli guests with a book of his paintings as a token of appreciation and stressed the importance of freeing the remaining 101 hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
“Thank you for having brought here with you the mother of hostage, of Alon, to whom I had the privilege to dedicate a book of my art. And I’ll pray for him to get back,” Rama said.
“I want to send a very brotherly message to all the parents of the hostages on one hand, expressing the most heartfelt condolences to all of them who lost their kids, who lost their loved ones in this horrendous moment in time, and on the other hand, to wish to all the others, to hug their kids and to hug their loved ones as soon as possible,” he said.
“These images of that day, that very dark day, not just for Israel, but for all the world, were images that no one should forget,” he added.
On Wednesday, Herzog traveled to Belgrade, Serbia, where he met with President Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, Foreign Minister Marko Đurić, Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić, and members of the Jewish community.
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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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