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A screen grab from a video shows Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem in Beirut, Lebanon on October 30, 2024. [Stringer – Anadolu Agency]
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the resistance had succeeded in “thwarting the Greater Israel project” and protecting what he described as Lebanon’s existence from plans of “extermination and displacement”.
In a recorded speech, Qassem said that the basis of any negotiations with Israel should be “mutual security”, reiterating the group’s firm rejection of any proposal to disarm Hezbollah. He described such proposals as an “Israeli prescription” that would not be accepted.
He called on the Lebanese authorities and political forces to engage in internal dialogue to organise national affairs away from external dictates or any direct negotiations, stressing Hezbollah’s readiness to cooperate on efforts to protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Discussing the conflict, Qassem said developments since 1948 reflected what he described as Israeli expansionist ambitions, which he said reached their peak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of what he called the “Greater Israel” project.
He added that the issue was not about future intentions but rather “an ongoing aggression and continuous crimes against civilians”, claiming that women and children were being targeted under international cover.
Qassem said the Israeli project aimed to eliminate Hezbollah militarily, culturally and socially, arguing that this would amount to “the destruction of a large segment of Lebanese society”. He added: “We are not fighting only for land, but in defence of our existence and our future.”
He also reviewed what he described as the resistance’s achievements against Israeli occupation, saying they had helped prevent Israel from achieving stability or expanding its influence in the region.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
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Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. [Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images]
A potential agreement between the US and Iran could be seen as a “betrayal” in Israel, a former Israeli prime minister told Irish public broadcaster RTE, Anadolu reports.
“I think that maybe from the point of view of the original position of Netanyahu, it may be interpreted as a betrayal,” Ehud Olmert said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He said Netanyahu would be unlikely to say so publicly because he is “entirely, completely dependent on the relations and support” of US President Donald Trump.
Though the details of the agreement were not yet fully known, Olmert argued that there appeared to be “a big margin” between the initial expectations of the US and Israel when military operations began and the current understanding between Washington and Tehran.
Olmert said he believed “the door is open” to an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, adding that Israel should withdraw from southern Lebanon as part of negotiations with the Lebanese government.
“We don’t need any territory in the south of Lebanon… we should pull out completely from the south of Lebanon and make all the necessary adjustments for territorial agreement, and we should try to make peace,” he added.
He said expectations that the Iranian regime would collapse were unrealistic, arguing that Tehran had endured significant challenges over decades and that such assumptions were “not serious.”
Both the US and Iran appeared to be seeking “a reasonable way to restore the situation to what it was before the war started,” he added.
“And the Iranians were very successful,” Olmert said.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on December 9, 2024 [MAYA ALLERUZZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]
Israeli analysts sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, describing him as a “failure” and a “liar,” while noting that US President Donald Trump “humiliated” him by excluding him from an agreement with Iran to end their military conflict, Anadolu reports.
On Monday evening, Netanyahu acknowledged that he was unaware of the details of the memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran to end the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28.
Netanyahu claimed he had saved Israelis from “nuclear annihilation” by launching the war against Iran and acknowledged differences of opinion with Trump, saying such disagreements “exist in the best of families.”
While Trump said Monday that the US and Iran had already signed the agreement and that the Strait of Hormuz “will be fully reopened by Friday,” Tehran has said only that the memorandum is scheduled to be signed in Swtizerland on June 19.
Observers say the prior electronic signing of the deal appears to have enabled an immediate temporary ceasefire and the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iran, while the Friday ceremony is expected to formalize the agreement and launch a 60-day period of technical negotiations.
‘Architect of failure’
Haaretz columnist Yossi Verter launched a scathing attack on Netanyahu in an article headlined: “Without shame, the architect of failure claimed he saved Israel from collective death. It was another lie among many.”
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands at the height of what any objective expert would define as a colossal strategic failure for the State of Israel and all he has to tell its citizens is: ‘Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, not as long as I am prime minister’,” he wrote.
Netanyahu “has been saying that for 30 years. Yet in the same breath, at his press conference on Monday, Netanyahu claimed Israel had been a hair’s breadth away from ‘mass death’ – a catastrophe he supposedly prevented,” he added.
Tel Aviv and Washington accuse Tehran of pursuing nuclear weapons that threaten Israel and US allies in the region. Iran, however, maintains that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, says it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons and insists it poses no threat to other states.
Israel, which occupies Palestinian territory as well as land in Lebanon and Syria, is widely believed to be the only country in the Middle East with a nuclear arsenal, although it has never officially acknowledged possessing one and is not subject to safeguards by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Verter said previous boasts by Netanyahu about “historic achievements for generations” and claims that Iran’s nuclear project had been pushed back by decades “seemed to have dissolved into the sour fog that has descended on Israel.”
“Gone, too, are the lofty goals that accompanied every confrontation with Iran: toppling the regime, or at least creating the conditions for its downfall; eliminating the nuclear and ballistic threats; severing Tehran’s ties to its proxy organizations,” he added.
Netanyahu “has no idea what is contained in the memorandum of understanding the US and Iran digitally signed behind his back. The Iranians know. The Pakistanis know. Presumably the Qataris know. Netanyahu, it seems, does not,” the columnist said.
He added that Netanyahu “sought to minimize the crisis in his relationship with Trump, whom he notably refrained from showering with his usual praise,” saying “True. But in the best families, disagreements are not usually accompanied by the daily insults, humiliations and public snubs coming from an increasingly impatient American president.”
Verter further accused Netanyahu of making a mix of half-truths, exaggerations and manipulations that dominated the event like “we destroyed the Iranian navy.”
He also challenged Netanyahu’s assertion that Israel prevented Hezbollah’s Radwan Force from invading Israel, calling it “an utter lie.”
Verter said Netanyahu claimed that the Israeli and American air forces inflicted cumulative damage on Iran worth “hundreds of billions of dollars – some estimate a trillion.”
He concluded that Netanyahu’s press conference “projected defeat,” adding that even when he declared that he would “run and win” Israel’s next election, he sounded somewhat skeptical himself.
‘His show is over’
Maariv columnist Ben Caspit wrote an article titled: “Netanyahu’s show is over: Trump threw him under the bus.”
Caspit questioned Netanyahu’s repeated warnings that Israel had “escaped certain death”, asking who had placed the country in such a position in the first place.
He argued that invoking the threat of “annihilation” was intended to obscure responsibility for Israel’s failures regarding Iran.
“Once again, Israel was left outside the picture,” he added.
Netanyahu has been wanted by the International Criminal Court since 2024 over accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed more than 73,000 people and injured over 173,000 others since October 2023.
Caspit noted that Netanyahu did not mention Trump by name during his press conference, even during the question-and-answer session.
“He also admitted he knew nothing about the agreement that was signed electronically without his knowledge,” Caspit wrote. “It is reminiscent of another agreement signed in 2015.”
“Netanyahu always ends up in the same position,” he continued. “He is pushed aside, thrown under the bus, and left standing in the hallway like a scolded child waiting for a verdict that was delivered in his absence.”
Questioning Netanyahu’s claims of success, Caspit wrote: “Yesterday he boasted that ‘we inflicted severe damage on Iran’s economy.’ Fine—but so what? They could soon become an even greater economic power than before.”
He added that Iran could ultimately “impose fees on transit through the Strait of Hormuz,” while sanctions may be lifted and hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen assets released.
“So what value is the damage we inflicted if it can be repaired so quickly?” Caspit asked.
“Without shame, the architect of failure claimed he had saved Israel from annihilation. That was just another lie among many.”
In a separate analysis published by Walla news portal, commentator Barak Seri argued that Netanyahu’s sense of triumph “turned within a single day into his greatest concern and greatest humiliation.”
Seri noted that Netanyahu had not addressed the Israeli media since March despite the wars involving Iran and Hezbollah and missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage in Israel, choosing instead to speak almost exclusively to foreign outlets, particularly American media.
“But last night he decided to speak,” Seri wrote. “The reason was the dismal outcome of the agreement with Iran and the bitter sense of anxiety prevailing in Israel, including among his own supporters.”
He added that senior Israeli officials viewed the deal as “bad and dangerous for Israel,” describing it as “a real disaster” that was reached without Israel’s interests being taken into account.
Seri argued that “none of the war’s objectives were achieved” — not eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat, not removing the ballistic missile threat, not creating conditions for regime change, and not addressing Tehran’s continued support for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Mocking one of the outcomes touted by supporters of the US-Iran agreement, he wrote: “The Strait of Hormuz has been opened. What a great achievement — it was open before the war.”
“Trump’s harsh and humiliating reversal against Netanyahu and Israel, accompanied by reports of difficult conversations, insults and threats, quickly leaked to the media,” Seri said. “Trump subjected Netanyahu to a genuine public humiliation.”
The US is a main ally to Israel and generally provides Tel Aviv with military, financial and political support.
Israel has occupied Palestinian territory and areas in Lebanon and Syria for decades and rejects withdrawal from those territories as well as the establishment of an independent Palestinian state envisioned in relevant UN resolutions.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
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Former Israeli Prime Minister and leader of Israel Democratic party, Ehud Barak speaks at the Party’s Election campaign event in Tel Aviv on July 17, 2019. [Gili Yaari/NurPhoto via Getty Images]
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be removed “with sticks and stones” if he attempts to undermine the upcoming general election, Anadolu reports.
Barak, who served as Israel’s prime minister from 1999 to 2001, made the remarks in an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
“I fear Netanyahu may try to sabotage the elections, and he can do it very easily,” Barak said. “If he tries, we will have no choice but to remove him with sticks and stones.”
Netanyahu, 76, has led the current government since late December 2022. His coalition has been widely described as the most right-wing since Israel was established on Palestinian territories in 1948.
The Knesset’s current term expires in October 2026, with elections expected to be held in September or October.
Barak argued that Netanyahu “could sabotage the elections by launching operations in Lebanon that would provoke retaliation from Hezbollah and Iran.
“Netanyahu wants an endless war because he understands that ending it would accelerate his trial,” Barak said. “Just as he obstructed some prisoner-exchange deals (with Hamas), he also blocked the possibility of progress in Lebanon.”
Netanyahu is currently standing trial in Israel on corruption charges and is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2024 on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Barak also criticized the emerging agreement between the US and Iran. “In one word: bad. In two words: very bad,” he said.
He warned that “Israel is paying the price for Netanyahu’s arrogance and lack of foresight,” adding that the arrangement under discussion was “not an agreement, but a memorandum of understanding that failed to address either missiles or Iran’s regional allies.”
Barak argued that “none of the objectives of the war against Iran have been achieved.”
The remarks drew immediate criticism from Netanyahu’s allies.
Boaz Bismuth, a Likud lawmaker and chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, called for a criminal investigation into Barak for what he described as legitimizing violence against the prime minister.
“He should be sent to a psychiatrist, and if he is found mentally fit, a criminal investigation should be opened against him immediately,” Bismuth said in a post on US social media company X.
While US President Donald Trump said an agreement with Iran that would open the Strait of Hormuz would be signed on Sunday, Tehran has disputed the timeline and says the signing could happen in the coming days.
Since the April 8 ceasefire mediated by Pakistan, efforts aimed at ending the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28 have continued.
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U.S. President Donald Trump (R) welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, United States on December 29, 2025. [Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)/Handout – Anadolu Agency]
Israel agreed to halt airstrikes on Iran upon a request from US President Donald Trump, but will continue its offensive in Lebanon “at full force,” a senior Israeli official said Monday, Anadolu reports.
“At Trump’s request, we are halting strikes on Iran,” the official said in statements carried by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
“We are continuing in Lebanon at full force according to the equation that if they fire toward the settlements – we will strike in Dahieh” in Beirut.
The official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conversion with Trump over the phone “was overall good.”
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, citing an unnamed Israeli official, also said the army “will cease fire in Iran, but not in southern Lebanon.”
Iran’s military said early Monday it was halting attacks on Israel, warning of a “crushing” response if Israeli attacks against Lebanon continued.
Tensions escalated on Sunday, when Israel bombed the Lebanese capital Beirut, despite an ongoing ceasefire, prompting Iran to launch missiles at northern Israel in retaliation, with Israel launching several waves of airstrikes against Iran.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 3,600 people, injured over 11,000 others and displaced more than 1.6 million since March 2, according to Lebanese officials.
In a post on his Truth Social platform early Monday, Trump called on Israel and Iran to stop fighting “immediately” in the wake of their tit-for-tat airstrikes.
The region has been on edge since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in late February, triggering Iranian retaliation on Israel and other regional countries hosting US assets.
A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but negotiations later stalled amid disputes over its implementation and subsequent regional developments.
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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
