“I view Iran as the most destabilizing force in the Middle East. The United States’ position is that we will not allow a nuclear Iran. However, our concerns about Iran go beyond its nuclear capability,” says Maj. Gen. Michael Kurilla
Protests spring up in Iran's impoverished south over food price hikes government supporters have described as “necessary economic surgery." Internet outages reported across Iran as government appears to prepare for the worst.
Report by Israeli defense research group Alma Center says that although both Russia and Israel share an overall interest in limiting Iran's takeover plans for Syria, it has not prevented significant tensions between Moscow and Jerusalem or rule out a future potential tactical pinpoint military clash.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he will demand the International Criminal Court in The Hague "punish the criminals" who killed Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin. PA continues to refuse Israel's requests to hold a joint investigation into the matter.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price signals that the Biden administration would not call for an independent investigation into the killing: "The Israelis have the wherewithal and the capabilities to conduct a thorough, comprehensive investigation."
Defense minister says investigation over the death of Shireen Abu Akleh still ongoing, with initial findings suggesting she was not in the line of IDF fire.
"Israel has no sovereignty over the holy sites in Jerusalem," Ayman Safadi asserts, adding that "the way forward is to respect the status quo" on the volatile holy site.
EU special coordinator for the Vienna talks Enrique Mora heads to Tehran as the bloc makes a last-ditch effort to salvage the nuclear deal.
Reacting to a statement by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett saying Israel has no interest in a military conflict with any entity on its border, Hassan Nasrallah asserts that "the Israeli enemy cannot be trusted."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hosts the family of the longest-serving Palestinian terrorist in an Israeli jail, Karim Younis, at his compound in Ramallah.
