Netanyahu, Bolton Adamant in Stopping Iranian Support to ‘Hezbollah’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with visiting US national security adviser John Bolton during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on August 20, 2018. AFP PHOTO/Sebastian Scheiner
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with visiting US national security adviser John Bolton during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on August 20, 2018. AFP PHOTO/Sebastian Scheiner
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Netanyahu, Bolton Adamant in Stopping Iranian Support to ‘Hezbollah’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with visiting US national security adviser John Bolton during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on August 20, 2018. AFP PHOTO/Sebastian Scheiner
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with visiting US national security adviser John Bolton during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on August 20, 2018. AFP PHOTO/Sebastian Scheiner

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton met in Jerusalem on Monday, reiterating their demand for Iran to halt its support to Lebanon’s ‘Hezbollah’.

A reliable source in Tel Aviv said that Netanyahu and Bolton discussed extensively how Iranian forces and their affiliated militias should be evacuated from Syria and how ‘Hezbollah’ should be returned to Lebanon.

“By removing the sanctions (the nuclear deal) enabled Iran to bring in billions and billions of dollars to its coffers which only fueled Iran’s war machine in Syria, and to support terrorist groups,” said Netanyahu.

He expressed gratitude to the US president for his decision to pull out from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, and to impose sanctions on the country.

Netanyahu went on to describe Trump's decision to pull out of the “terrible” Iran deal and move the US Embassy to Jerusalem as "momentous."

Bolton noted his “privilege and honor to be here in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital.”

Netanyahu responded: “Israel believes it has no greater friend and ally than the United States. And I believe that the United States has no greater friend and ally than Israel.”

“It’s a question of the highest importance for the United States that Iran never gets a deliverable nuclear weapons capability. It’s why President Trump withdrew from the wretched Iran nuclear deal. It’s why we’ve worked with our friends in Europe to convince them of the need to take stronger steps against the Iranian nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program,” said Bolton.

He met on Monday a number of security officers and politicians.

Bolton will resume his meetings on Tuesday by holding talks with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the National Security Council Meir Ben Shabat, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and Chief of General Staff of the Israeli Army Gadi Eizenkot.



Islamabad Locked Down ahead of Protests Seeking ex-PM Imran Khan's Release

Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
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Islamabad Locked Down ahead of Protests Seeking ex-PM Imran Khan's Release

Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN

Pakistan's capital was put under a security lockdown on Sunday ahead of protests by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan calling for his release.
Highways leading to Islamabad through which supporters of Khan, led by members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, are expected to approach the city and gather near the parliament, have been blocked.
Most major roads of the city have also been blocked by the government with shipping containers and large contingents of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in riot gear, while mobile phone services have been suspended.
Gatherings of any sort have been banned under legal provisions, the Islamabad police said in a statement.
Global internet watchdog NetBlocks said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that live metrics showed WhatsApp messaging services had been restricted ahead of the protests.
A key Khan aid, Ali Amin Gandapur, who is the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and is expected to lead the largest convoy into Islamabad, called on people to gather near the entrance of the city's red zone, known as "D Chowk".
Islamabad's red zone houses the country's parliament building, important government installations, as well as embassies and foreign institutions' offices.
"Khan has called on us to remain there till all our demands are met," he said in a video message on Saturday.
The PTI's demands include the release of all its leaders, including Khan, as well as the resignation of the current government due to what it says was a rigged election this year.
Khan has been in jail since August last year and, since being voted out of power by parliament in 2022, faces a number of charges ranging from corruption to instigation of violence.
He and his party deny all the charges.
"These constant protests are destroying the economy and creating instability ... we want the political leadership to sit together and resolve these matters," Muhammad Asif, 35, a resident of Islamabad said in front of a closed market.
The last protest in Islamabad by PTI in early October turned violent with one policeman killed, dozens of security personnel injured and protesters arrested. Both sides accused the other of instigating the clashes.