Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Iran: Israel Will Be Eradicated (Live Updates)


Reuters: Netanyahu heading to Cairo as ceasefire, hostage deal expected in days
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday





Iran’s supreme leader says Israel is wrong to believe that it can eradicate Hezbollah in Lebanon and that an “axis of resistance” of Tehran’s proxies in the region is finished.

State TV quotes Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying during a recent meeting on the occasion of Women’s Day that “the Zionist regime, in its delusion, believes it is preparing itself through Syria to encircle and eradicate Hezbollah forces, but the one that will be eradicated is Israel.”

Khamenei also adds that Israel and the United States “thought the issue of resistance was over. They are gravely mistaken.”

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei meanwhile says Iran will use every opportunity to mobilize the regional and international community to stop what he calls Israeli aggression against neighboring countries like Syria, Yemen and others.

He also says that the Syrian people are the only ones who can decide on their country’s future after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, a Tehran ally. “Naturally, the regional countries should assist in this process without any destructive interference or any form of pressure and threats against the political actors in Syria.”

Baghaei urges regional countries to put pressure on the UN Security Council to stop Israel’s presence in a border buffer zone with Syria and says: “Ultimately, the entire occupied Golan Heights of Syria must be liberated.”

Israel says its presence in the buffer zone is temporary and defensive, with the goal of preventing hostile elements from taking advantage of the current vacuum of power in Syria to threaten Israel.

With deal seemingly imminent, Egypt said urgently summoning Palestinian Authority head

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly heading to Cairo, Egypt has summoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “for an urgent visit,” says the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese Al Mayadeen channel.

The outlet says Abbas is traveling from the Vatican to Cairo, as a breakthrough on a hostage deal with Hamas looks increasingly likely.

Netanyahu said heading to Cairo for Gaza ceasefire, hostage talks; deal expected in days

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Cairo for talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Gaza Strip, the Reuters news agency reports, citing unnamed sources briefed on the meeting.

The sources say a deal is expected to be signed in the coming days.

This appears to be the reason why a hearing today featuring Netanyahu’s testimony in his corruption trial was called off.

Netanyahu spokesman says PM not in Cairo; doesn’t deny he’s on his way

After the Reuters news agency reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to Cairo for hostage talks, the premier’s spokesperson says Netanyahu is not currently in the Egyptian capital but doesn’t deny that he’s en route.

“Contrary to the wave of rumors — Prime Minister Netanyahu isn’t in Cairo, and there is nothing new regarding Eli Cohen,” Omer Dostri tweets.

This is also the first time the country’s leadership has denied a wave of social media rumors that the remains of former spy Eli Cohen have been repatriated from Syria.


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