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Iran FM Reveals Mutual Messages with Washington on Gaza, Lebanon

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Hezbollah media)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Hezbollah media)
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Iran FM Reveals Mutual Messages with Washington on Gaza, Lebanon

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Hezbollah media)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a meeting with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Hezbollah media)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has revealed that Iran and the United States have been exchanging messages lately, including about the Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Washington had asked Tehran to urge Hezbollah to avoid getting deeply involved in the war against Israel.

The top Iranian diplomat stressed that Iran prefers a political solution in Gaza and warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that attacking Lebanon would be disastrous for him.

Amir-Abdollahian made these statements after a two-day visit to Beirut, where he met with Lebanese officials and started by meeting Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

From Beirut, Amir-Abdollahian said that progress is being made towards a political solution in Gaza, emphasizing that neither Iran nor Lebanon wants to escalate the conflict.

During a press conference alongside his Lebanese counterpart, Abdallah Bou Habib, Amir-Abdollahian affirmed that neither Iran nor Lebanon sought to expand the war in the region, reiterating that war is not the solution.

Bou Habib outlined a Lebanese perspective for a sustainable solution to restore calm to the South within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006.

The Lebanese Foreign Minister emphasized the need for the comprehensive implementation of the resolution, cessation of Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, withdrawal from occupied territories, and the bolstering of the Lebanese Army.

Regarding meetings with Lebanese officials, Amir-Abdollahian described them as positive.

After holding talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, he simply stated that the meeting was good.

Following his discussion with the acting Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, Amir-Abdollahian remarked that developments in Gaza are leaning towards a political solution, contrasting with Netanyahu’s belief in war as a means of self-preservation.

Amir-Abdollahian emphasized Iran’s strong support for Lebanon’s stability and security.

Hezbollah stated that Amir-Abdollahian met with Nasrallah to discuss regional developments, especially in Gaza and southern Lebanon, and the future situation in Lebanon and the region.

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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.