Iran

Israel’s defence minister vows continued offensives in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, Yemen

Spread the love

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. [SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/AFP via Getty Images]

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed on Wednesday to continue military offensives in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Yemen despite regional and international efforts to de-escalate and restore regional stability, Anadolu reports.

Israel “will continue its operations in Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and Yemen,” Maariv daily quoted Katz as saying during a training course for Israeli Air Force pilots, attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

“In Lebanon, we will continue to apply maximum force against Hezbollah; in Syria, Israel will not withdraw from Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) and the security zone; and in the Gaza Strip, Israel remains committed to dismantling Hamas and disarming the territory,” he added.

“As for Yemen, Israel will continue its operations to prevent the Houthis from strengthening their capabilities,” he said.

READ: US report says Israel secretly armed Druze factions in southern Syria

Addressing its conflict with Tehran, Katz claimed that Israel had inflicted “significant damage on Iran’s nuclear and strategic capabilities.”

“I am following reports regarding Iran, which we struck strongly in cooperation with our American partners, and the security establishment is closely monitoring developments. Naturally, I cannot provide further details,” he added.

The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive in Gaza, killing more than 71,000 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 171,000 others since October 2023. The assault fueled regional tensions and sparked an exchange of attacks with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthis. The Israeli army also launched a 12-day war on Iran in June, which was halted under a US-sponsored ceasefire.

Tel Aviv also staged repeated cross-border raids into Syrian territory and launched airstrikes, killing civilians and destroying Syrian military sites, vehicles, weapons, and ammunition.

READ: Israeli Prime Minister threatens Iran with ‘very severe response’ in case of attack

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
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.
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 Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

Continue ReadingIsrael’s defence minister vows continued offensives in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, Yemen

Oxford Union votes that Israel poses ‘greater threat’ to regional stability than Iran

Spread the love

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Israeli army’s tanks and armored vehicles are seen moving along the Gaza border as attacks continue unabated in Gaza City, Gaza on September 16, 2025. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]

The Oxford Union, one of the world’s most renowned debating societies, has voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of a motion declaring Israel a greater threat to regional stability than Iran, following a heated debate featuring former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Geneva-based NGO UN Watch’s director Hillel Neuer, Anadolu reports.

The debate centered on the motion declaring that Israel is a greater threat to regional stability than Iran, as The Telegraph reported this weekend that the society members backed the proposition by a wide margin.

Speaking for the motion, Shtayyeh argued that Israel’s actions constitute the primary source of instability in the Middle East, describing it as “an expansionist colonial state established by colonial powers.”

He went on to call Israel a “pariah state” that “acts above the law,” alleging that it violates UN resolutions and enforces “a colonial regime based on apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

“Brutal occupation, crimes and genocide, … Israel is dragging the region into repeated conflicts,” he said, adding that some Israeli lawmakers believe the country’s borders should stretch “from the Nile to the Euphrates.”

READ: Iranian official: IAEA shared information about our nuclear programme with Israel

“We all should say that Israel is the biggest cause of destabilization in the region,” he concluded.

Opposing the motion, Neuer insisted that Israel is not the destabilizing force in the region and accused Iran of arming militant proxies across the Middle East.

“Regional stability is measured by who starts wars, not by who stops them,” he said. “Israel does not arm terror proxies in five Arab countries – the regime in Iran does that.”

He cited the Iranian attack on Israel earlier this year involving drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, arguing that the coordinated response by several Arab states showed their alignment with Israel against Iranian aggression.

“You don’t intercept missiles heading towards a threat to regional stability – you intercept missiles from one,” he said.

The Oxford Union, founded in 1823, has become increasingly scrutinised over its Israel-related debates.

Last year, it passed another motion accusing Israel of being “an apartheid state responsible for genocide,” by 278 votes to 59.

READ: Israeli- run group facilitates Gazan relocations via Ramon airport: Haaretz report

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.
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.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

Continue ReadingOxford Union votes that Israel poses ‘greater threat’ to regional stability than Iran

How much truth is there in Germany’s decision not to supply weapons to Israel?

Spread the love

Original article by Leon Wystrychowski republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Photo: X

Pressure on Germany is mounting from multiple fronts: the resilience of Gaza’s people and fighters, the global solidarity movement, and even Nicaragua’s lawsuit against the German government.

Exactly 22 months after the start of the genocide against the people of Gaza, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on August 8 that Germany would “no longer approve any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip” – at least for now.

But many left-wing, pro-Palestinian, and peace activists in Germany remain skeptical.

What weapons are we talking about?

It quickly became clear this was not a blanket halt to German arms shipments to Israel. Weapons intended for military operations in the illegally occupied West Bank, southern Lebanon, and Syria are unaffected. So are arms for aggression against neighboring Arab states, Yemen, and Iran.

Ammunition and air-defense technology are also exempt. While officially labeled “defensive”, these systems are used to intercept rockets and drones from the resistance in Gaza, Iran, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, and, until late last year, Hezbollah in Lebanon. So in fact they serve not just defense but also to sustain Israel’s broader policy of aggression and genocide.

The ban likely doesn’t apply to equipment for Israel’s navy either – despite its central role in enforcing the illegal blockade of Gaza’s coast. According to a 2024 study by the research group Forensis, German-built ships have also shelled Gaza from the sea. In a move that appeared to underscore this, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems announced on August 8, that it had just secured an export license for more warships and another submarine for Israel. Between 1999 and 2016, Germany delivered five nuclear-capable submarines to the Israeli government.

Arms supplier under pressure

Despite the justified criticism and inconsistency in Germany’s announcement, this partial suspension marks a significant political shift. Immediately after the Gaza genocide began, Germany quickly became Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, behind only the United States. Recently, one-third of Israel’s weapons imports came from Germany – earning the German arms sector hundreds of billions of euros in less than two years.

Merz, a staunch pro-Zionist known for hardline conservative views, open racism, and unabashed neoliberalism, previously sat on the supervisory board of BlackRock and represents the right wing of Germany’s main conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). His decision drew angry reactions not only from the Netanyahu government, Zionist lobby organizations, and the right-wing press in Germany, but also from high-ranking politicians in his own party.

All that shows the mounting pressure Merz and the German government face. That pressure comes from multiple fronts: the resilience of Gaza’s people and fighters, the global solidarity movement – including in Germany – and international actions such as Nicaragua’s lawsuit against the German government.

Leon Wystrychowski is a former member of the Palästina Solidarität Duisburg (Palestine Solidarity Duisburg, PSDU).

Original article by Leon Wystrychowski republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
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.
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.
Continue ReadingHow much truth is there in Germany’s decision not to supply weapons to Israel?

Iran bars UN nuclear agency chief from entering country, refuses surveillance at nuclear sites

Spread the love

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi gives a speech in Vienna, Austria on June 23, 2025. [Aşkın Kıyağan – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s foreign minister announced Saturday that the country will prohibit Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), from entering its territory and will also not allow the agency to install surveillance cameras at nuclear facilities, Anadolu reports.

“We will not allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to install cameras at our nuclear sites, and the agency’s chief will be banned from entering the country,” Abbas Araghchi said in a statement reported by the Iranian national news agency IRNA.

The announcement follows growing tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog over monitoring access and transparency in the wake of recent military confrontations with Israel and the US.

READ: IAEA confirms no rise in off-site radiation levels after strikes on Iran nuclear sites

This move follows Iran’s parliament passing legislation on Wednesday to suspend cooperation with the IAEA.

A 12‑day conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and civilian sites, killing at least 606 people and injuring 5,332, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.

Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 3,400, according to figures released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.

READ: Top Iran diplomat urges Trump to drop ‘disrespectful’ tone to Khamenei

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Continue ReadingIran bars UN nuclear agency chief from entering country, refuses surveillance at nuclear sites

The Guardian view on annihilation in Gaza: the deaths mount, but the pressure has ebbed

Spread the love

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/27/the-guardian-view-on-annihilation-in-gaza-the-deaths-mount-but-the-pressure-has-ebbed

Israel’s attack on Iran overshadowed the ongoing carnage. Its allies are complicit in the horror; they must instead help to build a future for Palestinians

‘Each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza.’ Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

“We cannot be asking civilians to go into a combat zone so that then they can be killed with the justification that they are in a combat zone.” It defies belief that the Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, should have needed to spell that out this week. And yet each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza, forced to make a lethal choice between risking being shot and letting their families slowly starve. More than 500 have died around the centres since the system was introduced – yet, with attention fixed on Israel’s attacks on Iran, there has been little to spare for recent deaths.

The Israeli military has given shifting accounts of events. But soldiers told the newspaper Haaretz that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds that posed no threat. The Israeli prime minister and defence minister attacked the allegations as “blood libels”. Médecins Sans Frontières has accurately described the system as “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid”. Meanwhile, Israel has closed crossings into the north.

Overall, Gaza’s health ministry says that 56,331 people have died in Israeli attacks since war began. Researchers who assess war casualties suggested this week that, far from being exaggerated, this undercounts the toll. They estimated that violent deaths had reached 75,000 by this January, with another 8,500 excess deaths due to the war. The toll of hunger has yet to be reckoned.

…

While the arms and trade still flow, Israel’s allies are complicit in the destruction of lives in Gaza. They must instead make themselves central to building a future for Palestinians in a state of their own.

Original article at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/27/the-guardian-view-on-annihilation-in-gaza-the-deaths-mount-but-the-pressure-has-ebbed

Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Continue ReadingThe Guardian view on annihilation in Gaza: the deaths mount, but the pressure has ebbed