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US Asked Lebanon to Declare Unilateral Ceasefire With Israel, Sources Say

Smoke billows over Khiam, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

The US asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire with Israel to revive stalled talks to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, a senior Lebanese political source and a senior diplomat said — a claim denied by Lebanon‘s prime minister.

They said the effort was communicated by US envoy Amos Hochstein to Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati this week, as the US stepped up diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, which wields significant military and political influence in Lebanon.

Mikati’s office in a statement to Reuters denied the US had asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire. It said the government’s stance was clear on seeking a ceasefire from both sides, and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last round of conflict between the two foes in 2006.

The US embassy in Beirut did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The sources said the US sought to persuade Beirut to take back some initiative in the talks, particularly given the perception that Israel will likely continue military operations that have already killed most of Hezbollah’s leadership and damaged much of the country’s south, which borders the Jewish state.

Lebanon‘s armed forces are not involved in the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at northern Israeli communities and military sites a year ago in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas, another Iran-backed terrorist group, in Gaza.

Any effort to reach a ceasefire would need a green light from Hezbollah, which has ministers in Lebanon‘s cabinet and whose members and allies hold a significant number of seats in Lebanon‘s parliament.

Diplomats mediate with Hezbollah through the group’s ally, Lebanese speaker of parliament Nabih Berri. Hezbollah has said it backs efforts by Berri to reach a ceasefire but says it must meet certain parameters, without providing details.

But a unilateral declaration was seen as a non-starter in Lebanon, the sources said, where it would likely be equated with a surrender.

DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVE

Another diplomat told Reuters that Hochstein had made a similar proposal months ago to Mikati and Berri.

Hochstein told them that if Hezbollah unilaterally declared a ceasefire, he “could have something to present” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a diplomatic initiative.

“His exact words were, ‘help me, help you,’” the diplomat said, adding that then-Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah rejected the idea. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air attack on Sept. 27 on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Despite its losses, Hezbollah has maintained that the Iran-backed group’s chain of command is intact and its fighters have kept Israeli forces making ground incursions into Lebanon at bay.

The US has been pushing for a 60-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel as a prelude to a fuller implementation of 1701, sources told Reuters this week.

Hochstein was in Israel on Thursday with White House envoy Brett McGurk, but they did not continue on to Lebanon.

Speaking about Lebanon on Thursday, Netanyahu said that “agreements, documents, proposals … are not the main point.”

“The main point is our ability and determination to enforce security, thwart attacks against us, and act against the arming of our enemies, as necessary and despite any pressure and constraints. This is the main point,” he said.

About 70,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate their homes amid unrelenting attacks from Hezbollah since last October. The Israeli government has vowed to do whatever is necessary, including military action, to ensure the displaced citizens can return to their communities in northern Israel.

The post US Asked Lebanon to Declare Unilateral Ceasefire With Israel, Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israel for First Time Claims Responsibility for Killing of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran

Iranians attend the funeral procession of assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 1, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday acknowledged for the first time that Israel killed Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

“These days, when the Houthi terrorist organization is firing missiles at Israel, I want to convey a clear message to them at the beginning of my remarks: We have defeated Hamas, we have defeated Hezbollah, we have blinded Iran’s defense systems and damaged the production systems, we have toppled the Assad regime in Syria, we have dealt a severe blow to the axis of evil, and we will also deal a severe blow to the Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen, which remains the last to stand,” Katz said during an event honoring defense ministry personnel.

Israel will “damage their strategic infrastructure, and we will behead their leaders. Just as we did to Haniyeh, [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, and [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon [respectively] — we will do it in Hodeidah and Sana’a,” Katz continued. “Whoever raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off, and the long arm of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will strike them and settle the score.”

Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all internationally designated terrorist organizations backed by Iran. Katz’s comments came after the Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv over the weekend. The Houthis have also been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year, saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and will prevent all ships from heading to Israeli ports.

Haniyeh, the exiled political chief of Hamas, was killed in an explosion in Iran’s capital city on July 31. Iran had accused Israel of carrying out the assassination and vowed revenge; however, for months the Israeli government had neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s death.

Haniyeh was based in Qatar and had been the face of Hamas’s during the Israel-Hamas war, which the Palestinian terroris group launched with its invasion of and massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.

Following Haniyeh’s death, Sinwar was named the terrorist group’s overall leader after being its top official in Gaza. Sinwar, who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October.

The post Israel for First Time Claims Responsibility for Killing of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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‘Should Scare Every American’: Top Trump Adviser Mike Waltz Explains Dangers of Iran Getting Nuclear Weapons

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who was recently tapped to serve as the White House national security adviser for the incoming Trump administration, outlined in a new interview why Iran’s nuclear program could pose a major threat to the United States and must be stopped.

During an interview with Daily Wire co-founder and conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro, Waltz said that his constituents often do not understand how Iran’s nuclear ambitions impact American interests. The lawmaker explained that Iran obtaining nuclear weapons could kick-start an arms race and geopolitical firestorm in the Middle East, potentially forcing the US to become more involved in the region militarily.

“No. 1,  if Iran gets a nuke, the Saudis are going to want a nuke, the Turks are going to want a nuke, and the Middle East exploding, not literally but figuratively, in a nuclear arms race should scare every American,” Waltz said. 

Though Waltz conceded that nuclear proliferation in the Middle East would not necessarily result in “World War III,” he asserted that it would be “catastrophic for the world.”

The lawmaker added that a nuclear-armed Iran would endanger Israel, which he described as America’s “critical ally, morally and historically and geopolitically,” and that the US should take threats by Iranian leadership to eliminate Israel seriously. 

“We should believe [Iran’s so-called ‘supreme leader,’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] who intends to wipe Israel off the face of the earth if they have nukes,” Waltz said.

Waltz also praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “exposing Iran’s air defenses so that they literally are naked right now and on their back foot.” He appeared to be referring to Israel’s precision airstrikes on Iranian military and air defense sites in October which devastated the regime’s air-defense system and ballistic missile program. The strikes were in response to Iran’s ballistic missile barrage against Israel weeks earlier.

Waltz went on to say that the incoming Trump administration plans on “hitting” Iran’s finances throughout the Middle East and stopping the flow of money “out of Tehran into Beirut and into [Iran’s] proxies in Syria.”

Iran has supported several terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — both of which have been devastated by Israeli military operations in recent months. The Iranian regime also backed the recently ousted Assad regime in Syria, where Israel launched limited operations to ensure security at its northeastern amid uncertainty about Syria’s future.

“I hope that all of this has Hamas so isolated. They really thought the cavalry was coming from the north with Hezbollah. Now, that has been shown not to be true; Hamas has every exit blocked except one, and that is to release our hostages if you want to live,” Waltz said. 

Harsh US sanctions levied on Iran under the Trump administration from 2017-2021 crippled the Iranian economy and led its foreign exchange reserves to plummet. US President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican supporters in the US Congress have criticized the Biden administration for renewing billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency.

US intelligence agencies have for years labeled Iran as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, noting it devotes significant sums of money and weapons each year to supporting proxies across the Middle East such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

The post ‘Should Scare Every American’: Top Trump Adviser Mike Waltz Explains Dangers of Iran Getting Nuclear Weapons first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US Far-Left Lawmakers Call for End of Probe Into Spain for Barring Ships Bringing Arms to Israel

US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis

A cohort of American progressive lawmakers has called for the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to drop its investigation into Spain for reportedly denying port entry to cargo vessels transporting US weapons to Israel.

Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (MI), Cori Bush (MO) and Summer Lee (PA) on Friday sent a letter to the FMC, expressing “deep concern” over its recently announced investigation into Spain’s decision to “deny port entry to ships carrying weapons bound for the Israeli government.” The three congresswomen lauded Spain for enacting an arms embargo against Israel, citing what they called the “ongoing genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas since the terrorist group invaded the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023.

“This investigation is a reckless insult to our allies in Spain, which has only sought to enforce in good faith its sovereign national policies and uphold international law, including its treaty obligations to prevent genocide,” the congresswomen wrote. 

The lawmakers then lambasted the US for “violating these same obligations and its own domestic laws” by continuing to support Israeli “human rights abuses, war crimes, and credible evidence of genocide. Tlaib, Bush, and Lee did not mention Israel’s efforts to avoid civilian casualties or Hamas’s strategy of using civilian sites for terrorist operations. However, they nonetheless argued that Washington should join Madrid in punishing Jerusalem for its military campaign in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

The FMC, an independent agency of the US government, said it opened its probe into Spain earlier this month after receiving information that the NATO ally had refused to allow at least three cargo vessels — two of which were US-flagged — into its ports.

“The commission is concerned that this apparent policy of denying entry to certain vessels will create conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade,” the FMC said in a notice published in the Federal Register, official journal of the US federal government, on Dec. 5.

Two of the three incidents noted by the commission involved vessels run by the Danish shipping giant Maersk in November. The other occurred in May, when Spanish officials said they refused permission for the Danish Marianne Danica ship because it was “carrying weapons to Israel” and added they will not allow ships carrying arms for Israel to stop at its ports moving forward.

“Reports that the Government of Spain has denied access to certain US-flagged vessels raise serious concerns. Section 19 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920, 46 U.S.C. § 42101, authorizes the commission to identify and offset unfavorable shipping conditions in U.S. foreign trade that result from the laws or regulations of a foreign government,” FMC commissioner Louis Sola said in a statement last Thursday. “If confirmed, Spain’s actions could constitute a violation of the law, and could result in substantial offsetting fines on Spanish-flag vessels, limitations on cargo carried between Spain and the United States, and other remedial actions within the commission’s discretion.”

Spain could be fined up to $2.3 million per voyage if the country is found to have interfered with commerce in such a way.

“Disruptions to international trade systems not only threaten global shipping networks, but also compromise the consumer markets they support,” Sola added. “Spain’s uniliteral restrictions on US-flagged vessels could raise questions about the core principles of non-discriminatory practices.”

Spain has been one of Europe’s fiercest critics of Israel following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.

In October, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged other members of the European Union to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel over its military campaigns against Hamas in Gaza and the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Sanchez’s demand came three days after the Spanish premier urged other countries to stop supplying weapons to the Jewish state.

Spain stopped its own defense companies from shipping arms to Israel in October 2023.

In May, Spain officially recognized a Palestinian state, claiming the move was accelerated by the Israel-Hamas war and would help foster a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli officials described the decision as a “reward for terrorism.”

Spain, like many other countries around the world, experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents targeting the Jewish community following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.

Meanwhile, US lawmakers Tlaib, Bush, and Lee have been among the most outspoken opponents of Israel in the US Congress, falsely accusing the Jewish state of “genocide” and pushing Jerusalem to accept a ceasefire just weeks after the Hamas atrocities of last Oct. 7.

The post US Far-Left Lawmakers Call for End of Probe Into Spain for Barring Ships Bringing Arms to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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