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Report: Khamenei Agrees to Postpone Attack on Israel; US Opens Hotline
Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian attends a Muharram mourning ceremony in Tehran, Iran July 12, 2024. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly convinced Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to postpone the expected attack on Israel, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida on Sunday.
In addition, the US has reportedly opened a hotline with Iran, demanding Tehran delay its retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by at least two weeks. Iran allegedly agreed, a result of the hotline opening over the weekend.
The US also proposed mechanisms to close security loopholes following the killing, Al-Jarida said, in exchange for the Tehran refraining from retaliating against Israel.
Israel has remained quiet on the targeted killing of the Hamas leader, even though it is widely blamed for his elimination.
Pezeshkian was successful in his pleas to delay the response by at least two weeks, as Khamenei reportedly is waiting for the new government to be approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Iran’s parliament. While the new government is scheduled to appear before the body on Tuesday, the representatives have two weeks to approve the ministers.
Citing an unnamed senior Iranian official, Al-Jarida claimed that Pezeshkian seeks to postpone Iran’s response while the US redoubles efforts to advance ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel. According to Iran and its proxies, they would also halt hostilities if Hamas agrees to a ceasefire.
The source added that Khamenei is against striking at Mossad elements in countries neighboring Iran, and clarified that the response must be within Israel. However, the source emphasized that no one in Iran, including Pezeshkian, can foresee what the Supreme Leader’s decision will be.
Iran also recently received a new message from the US, which was addressed to Khamenei, according to the same source. The US used the phrase “couple of weeks,” in a message clarifying that the US does not seek war with Iran. The intention of reinforced US military presence in the region is not to start a campaign, but to prevent one.
US President Joe Biden’s aims are said to focus on two main issues in the Middle East before the end of his term, first of all ending the war in the Gaza Strip, with the administration applying serious pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire. Any military escalation in the region would be detrimental for the negotiations. The sources added that the second issue remains Iran’s nuclear development, calling on Tehran to immediately return to negotiations in Oman and continue discussing ways to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
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French Police Arrest Man Suspected of Attempted Arson Against Synagogue
French police stand guard after cars were set on fire in front of the city’s synagogue, in La Grande-Motte, France, August 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Manon Cruz
French police have arrested a man suspected of trying to set a synagogue ablaze in the southern French city of la Grande-Motte on Saturday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
About 200 police officers had been hunting for the suspect, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said earlier, adding that the attacker had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars nearby.
BFM TV said the suspect was a 33-year-old Algerian. Local police declined to give details.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, which was put in charge of the investigation, said early on Sunday that a suspect had been arrested in Nîmes on Saturday evening.
“Before the police could intervene, (the suspect) opened fire on the (police), which returned fire. The man was wounded in the face,” the office said in a statement, adding that two other people were taken into custody.
A policeman was slightly injured when a gas bottle exploded as police secured the site of the attack on Saturday morning, Attal said.
“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
After visiting the synagogue, Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been narrowly averted after firefighters and police arrived quickly at the scene.
Local media reported earlier that the suspect had set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, in the synagogue’s parking area at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).
Police protection of synagogues, and Jewish schools and shops would be stepped up across France, the government said.
France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory action in Gaza.
Le Parisien, franceinfo and other media said the suspect had been seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied round his waist.
“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups, said on X.
La Grande-Motte is a port and resort city on the French Mediterranean coast.
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‘First Phase’ of Attack Against Israel is ‘Over,’ Hezbollah Declares, Amid Fears of Regional War
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a rally commemorating the annual Hezbollah Martyrs’ Day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photo: Reuters/Aziz Taher
i24 News – A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the jihadist group does not wish that its rocket and drone attack against Israel early in the morning should trigger a regional war and, as far as it is concerned, the “first phase” of the attack is over.
The official said the group took time to retaliate for the assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr last month due to “political considerations,” chiefly the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist did not elaborate as to why the group decided to launch its attack despite the still-ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The official stressed the Shiite militia had “worked” to make sure its response to the July 30 assassination would not trigger a full-scale war.
Hezbollah launched over 320 rockets & drones at Israel, responding to the killing of terrorist Fuad Shukr
But before the strike, the IDF preemptively hit thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon
Here is everything you need to know, including the latest safety instructions: pic.twitter.com/FyHik3aeIz
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 25, 2024
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Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad speaks to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, Syria August 25, 2024. Photo: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that efforts to mend ties with Turkey had so far brought no tangible results.
“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.
Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels seeking to oust Assad. Assad views the rebels as terrorists.
“The solution is openness,” Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”
The Syrian president made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.
A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.
Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.
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