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Originally posted by parabellum:
Still nothin'

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Putin said to ask Iran to avoid civilian casualties in expected strike on Israel

Message delivered by top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu during visit to Tehran, according to Iranian sources

By Reuters and ToI Staff

6 August 2024, 4:43 pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for a restrained response to Israel’s suspected killing of the leader of Hamas, advising against attacks on Israeli civilians, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters.

The message, according to the sources, was delivered on Monday by Sergei Shoigu, a senior ally of the Kremlin leader, in meetings with top Iranian officials as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to the assassination of Hamas terror group leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The assessment that Iran is likely to attack Israel in the coming days or weeks follows last week’s back-to-back assassinations of Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in Beirut and Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran has blamed Israel for Haniyeh’s death and has vowed to retaliate.

Tehran also pressed Moscow for the delivery of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, the two Iranian sources, privy to the meeting in Tehran, told Reuters.

In Moscow, the Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment. State-run RIA news agency reported on Tuesday that Shoigu said he discussed Haniyeh’s killing on his Tehran visit.

The two sources with knowledge of the matter did not provide further details on the talks with Shoigu, who was defense minister before becoming the secretary of Russia’s security council in May.

They said Shoigu’s visit was one of several avenues Moscow had used to relay to Iran the need for restraint while at the same time condemning Haniyeh’s killing as “a very dangerous assassination,” in a bid to prevent a Middle East war.

The Middle East, the sources said, was on the brink of a major war and those behind the assassination were clearly trying to trigger such a conflict.

Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran since the start of its war with Ukraine and has said it is preparing to sign a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with Tehran.

There was no immediate comment from Iran’s foreign ministry. On Monday it said Tehran did not seek to raise regional tensions but needed to punish Israel to prevent further instability.

[...]

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Russia said to be delivering advanced air defenses to Iran as Tehran touts ties

2 officials tell NY Times some systems provided following an Iranian request for weapons, as it threatens to attack Israel; Iran’s president hosts Russia’s security council chief

By ToI Staff

6 August 2024, 10:16 am

Iranian officials say Russia has begun delivering advanced air defense and radar equipment to Iran after Tehran asked the Kremlin for the arms, the New York Times reported Monday.

While local Iranian media reported that Tehran had requested the equipment, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and another official confirmed to the Times that not only had the request been made, but that deliveries had started.

The development came with the Middle East on edge at the expectation of a direct Iranian attack on Israel as revenge for Israel’s alleged assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

Iran says Israel must be “punished” for Haniyeh’s assassination and has vowed to take action, raising worries that its response could bring the restive Middle East closer to all-out war. Iranian proxy group Hezbollah has also threatened to hit Israel from Lebanon following the assassination of its military leader Fuad Shukr in an attack near Beirut last week claimed by Israel.

Israel has said it is ready to defend itself and will hit back at any aggression. According to a report by the Ynet outlet, at a Sunday meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with the country’s security chiefs the option of preemptively striking Iran to foil an imminent attack. On Monday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the country must be ready to quickly go on the offensive in the event of an Iranian assault.

The Times report did not say what equipment Iran had requested from Russia or what had been delivered. Iran already has some Russian-made S-300 air defense systems, though Moscow now has the more advanced S-400 system.

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Iran could rethink Israel attack amid strong diplomatic pressure from US – report

Show of US military strength could play role in Tehran lessening its threat, report claims, alongside Iran’s understanding that bomb that killed Hamas leader detonated remotely

By ToI Staff, Agencies and Jacob Magid

7 August 2024, 1:25 pm

White House officials believe that intensive diplomatic efforts to temper Iran’s retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week may be having an effect, the Washington Post said on Tuesday, while also reporting that the Biden administration was enraged by the timing of the assassination.

The Middle East has been bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following Haniyeh’s death, along with the killing of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in Beirut hours earlier. While Israel has not commented publicly on Haniyeh’s death, Tehran has blamed Jerusalem and vowed that it must be made to pay the price.

A blitz of diplomatic efforts in recent days has seen the US — along with its allies in the West and the Middle East — push both Iran and Israel to cool tensions and prevent the region from erupting into all-out war.

White House officials believe that intensive diplomatic efforts to temper Iran’s retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week may be having an effect, the Washington Post said on Tuesday, while also reporting that the Biden administration was enraged by the timing of the assassination.

The Middle East has been bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following Haniyeh’s death, along with the killing of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in Beirut hours earlier. While Israel has not commented publicly on Haniyeh’s death, Tehran has blamed Jerusalem and vowed that it must be made to pay the price.

A blitz of diplomatic efforts in recent days has seen the US — along with its allies in the West and the Middle East — push both Iran and Israel to cool tensions and prevent the region from erupting into all-out war.

Commenting on the efforts, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Washington had communicated to both Israel and Iran that conflict must not escalate.

“It’s urgent that everyone in the region take stock of the situation, understand the risk of miscalculation, and make decisions that will calm tensions, not exacerbate them,” the top diplomat said at the end of a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles. “We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We’ve communicated that message directly to Israel.”

While the risk of an Iranian attack is still high, White House officials told The Washington Post that the American efforts may be starting to pay off and that there was a possibility that Iran would reconsider its position.

According to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Tehran has privately concluded that Haniyeh was killed not by a precision missile but by a bomb that had been previously smuggled into the room he was staying in and detonated remotely, as reports have suggested.

This understanding could lead Tehran to step down from its threat to attack Israel, the officials said, adding that Iran itself has carried out similar attacks in foreign countries in the past.

Washington’s willingness to flex its military muscles in the region may also be causing Iran to think twice, according to one senior Biden administration official, who told the Post that Iran “understands clearly that the United States is unwavering in its defense of our interests, our partners and our people.”

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Report: Iran’s new president fighting with IRGC to prevent strike on Israeli cities

Recently elected Masoud Pezeshkian suggests attacking Mossad spy bases in countries bordering Iran, Telegraph reports, to prevent all-out war following killing of Hamas leader

By ToI Staff

9 August 2024, 9:26 pm

New Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is fighting hardliners in the Islamic Republic to tone down the scale of Tehran’s promised strike against Israel over its alleged killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran last week, Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reported Friday.

According to the report, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is pushing for a missile attack on Tel Aviv and other cities — though with a focus on hitting military facilities to avoid civilian casualties.

But Pezeshkian, fearing all-out war with Israel, is pushing for Iran to instead hit alleged Mossad spy bases hidden around the region.

“Pezeshkian fears that any direct attack on Israel would have serious consequences,” a close aide to the Iranian president told The Telegraph.

“He mentioned that we were lucky that Iran did not go to an all-out war with Israel last time and maybe not this time,” the aide added, referring to the Iranian missile attack on Israel in April that was largely intercepted by a coalition of several countries.

“He has suggested targeting somewhere related to Israel in the Republic of Azerbaijan or [Iraqi] Kurdistan and let these countries know before that and get done with the whole drama,” an aide told the paper.

Israel has warned it will retaliate strongly to any major attack.

Iran has previously attacked such “spy bases” in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to the report.

An IRGC official told The Telegraph that nobody in the organization, which is loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is paying much attention to Pezeshkian.

“The number one consideration is still striking Tel Aviv with Hezbollah and others at the same time,” the official said. “There has been discussion within the forces on how to block Mr. Pezeshkian’s efforts. Almost everyone believes what he is insisting on is not in the revolution’s reputation.”

The official added that during a recent meeting, Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC’s overseas Quds force, said: “If we do not respond today, they will become even ruder next time.”

Pezeshkian’s aide argued the IRGC’s opposition to the president’s stance was “more about undermining his week-long presidency rather than covering the humiliation they have suffered.”

Another aide to Pezeshkian said the president “does not feel humiliated as [the assassination] happened hours after he was sworn in.”

Others close to Pezeshkian alleged to The Telegraph that security around Haniyeh had been intentionally negligent so that Pezeshkian could be dragged into a war.

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Originally posted by parabellum:
Still nothin'

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Netanyahu: 'Put pressure on Hamas, not on Israeli government'

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Originally posted by braillediver:
All this posturing and press releases from the Biden Administration and Hamas didn't even send a representative to the current talks in Doha.

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Netanyahu: 'Put pressure on Hamas, not on Israeli government'

"Hamas has been completely obstinate. It did not even send a representative to the talks in Doha."

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/394802

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Originally posted by nhtagmember:
The last competent democrat on this planet was Harry Truman

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So many regional/tribal/family egos in play here. The Israeli stance of "We don't need to negotiate with any of them, when they can't even get along amongst themselves" makes complete sense.

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Originally posted by downtownv:
Why weren't all of the tunnels imploded?