Soleimani Reveals Details of Role He Played in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War

 Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Soleimani Reveals Details of Role He Played in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War

 Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani(L) stands at the frontline in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The Iranian State TV broadcast on Tuesday an exclusive interview with Commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, who has given an insight on his role in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

This is the first interview of Soleimani, who is in charge of foreign operations especially in Syria and Iraq.

During the 90-minute interview, Soleimani gave details of his role in Lebanon in advising ‘Hezbollah’ during the 34-day war. He came to Lebanon accompanied by Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh who was later assassinated in 2008.

Mughniyeh was considered the engineer of the 2006 war, which killed 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis.

Soleimani spoke about the incident that triggered the war, represented in a group from Hezbollah managing to “attack a vehicle of the Zionists, inside the occupied lands and captured two wounded persons from inside the vehicle as hostages” on July 12.

After one week of his arrival to Lebanon, he traveled to Iran to brief Khamenei on the updates in Lebanon -- Soleimani returned on the same day with a message to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

The Major General remained in the country until the end of the war. He didn’t mention the presence of other Iranians and only narrated his personal experience during the interview.

He also recounted how, under Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, he and Mughniyeh moved out Nasrallah from his "operations room" where they were based, and then they returned to the command center.

The interview, which was carried out by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office, came days after it published a photo showing Nasrallah next to Khamenei and Soleimani, in an apparent recent meeting between the three in Tehran.



Thousands of Armenians Flee Nagorno-Karabakh as Erdogan is Set to Visit Azerbaijan

Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh arrive in Armenia's Goris, the town in Syunik region, Armenia, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh arrive in Armenia's Goris, the town in Syunik region, Armenia, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
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Thousands of Armenians Flee Nagorno-Karabakh as Erdogan is Set to Visit Azerbaijan

Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh arrive in Armenia's Goris, the town in Syunik region, Armenia, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)
Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh arrive in Armenia's Goris, the town in Syunik region, Armenia, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov)

Thousands of Armenians streamed out of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani military reclaimed full control of the breakaway region while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set to visit Azerbaijan Monday in a show of support.

The Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces in a 24-hour blitz last week, forcing the separatist authorities to agree to lay down weapons and start talks on Nagorno-Karabakh's “reintegration” into Azerbaijan after three decades of separatist rule.

While Azerbaijan pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region and restore supplies after a 10-month blockade, many local residents feared reprisals and said they were planning to leave for Armenia.

The Armenian government said that 4,850 Nagorno-Karabakh residents had fled to Armenia as of midday Monday.

Demonstrators demanding Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation continued blocking the capital's main avenues Monday, engaging in occasional clashes with police that sought to disperse the protests.

Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by the Armenian military, in separatist fighting that ended in 1994. During a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of Nagorno-Karabakh along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had claimed during the earlier conflict.

After a Russia-brokered armistice, a contingent of about 2,000 Russian peacekeepers was sent to the region to monitor it.

In December, Azerbaijan imposed a blockade of the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, alleging that the Armenian government was using the road for mineral extraction and illicit weapons shipments to the region’s separatist forces.

Armenia charged that the closure denied basic food and fuel supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh’s approximately 120,000 people. Azerbaijan rejected the accusation, arguing the region could receive supplies through the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam — a solution long resisted by Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, who called it a strategy for Azerbaijan to gain control of the region.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged support for Armenia and Armenians, saying that France will mobilize food and medical aid for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and keep working toward a ‘’sustainable peace’’ in the region.

"France is very vigilant about Armenia’s territorial integrity because that is what is at stake,” Macron said in an interview with France-2 and TF1 television, accusing Russia of complicity with Azerbaijan and charging that Türkiye threatens Armenia’s borders.
Erdogan's office said he will travel to Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave for talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss Türkiye-Azerbaijan ties and regional and global issues. Nakhchivan is cut off from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian territory but forms a slim border with Türkiye.

Meanwhile, senior Biden administration officials were to arrive in Armenia on Monday, a US official told Reuters.

The visit by US Agency for International Development chief Samantha Power and US State Department Acting Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim would be the first by senior US officials to Armenia since a ceasefire last week.

Power will meet with senior government officials and will "affirm US support for Armenia’s democracy, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and commitment to address humanitarian needs stemming from Nagorno-Karabakh," the official said.

Power will be the first USAID Administrator to go to Armenia, the official said, and will affirm the US partnership with the country and "express deep concern for the ethnic Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh and to discuss measures to address the humanitarian crisis there."

"The United States is deeply concerned about reports on the humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh and calls for unimpeded access for international humanitarian organizations and commercial traffic," the official said.


Trial Opens in France over Killing of Police Couple in Name of ISIS

FILE - French police officers work at the crime scene the day the attacker killed the couple in Magnanville, west of Paris, France, on June 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - French police officers work at the crime scene the day the attacker killed the couple in Magnanville, west of Paris, France, on June 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
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Trial Opens in France over Killing of Police Couple in Name of ISIS

FILE - French police officers work at the crime scene the day the attacker killed the couple in Magnanville, west of Paris, France, on June 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - French police officers work at the crime scene the day the attacker killed the couple in Magnanville, west of Paris, France, on June 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

It wasn’t the deadliest attack in Europe linked to ISIS, but it was among the most disturbing: One evening in 2016, an assailant killed two police officers in their family home, in front of their 3-year-old son.

On Monday, a trial opens in a French counterterrorism court over the attack in the Paris suburb of Magnanville.

The attacker, Larossi Abballa, was shot to death by police. According to court documents, he told police negotiators that he was responding to an ISIS leader’s call to "kill miscreants at home with their families."

A childhood friend of Abballa’s, Mohamed Aberouz, is going on trial for complicity to terrorism-related murder, complicity to kidnapping and terrorist conspiracy. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

The killings came amid a wave of attacks in France linked to ISIS and had a lasting effect on police officers around France. Some moved, changed services or resigned to protect their loved ones after the Magnanville killings.

According to court documents, Abballa broke into the home of police officers Jessica Schneider and Jean-Baptiste Salvaing before they returned from work. When Schneider came home, Abballa slit her throat in the living room, with the child present.

The father texted her from the office to say “I’m leaving,” the documents say. There was no response. He was stabbed upon arriving home.

Neighbors called police, and the attacker said he was holding the couple’s 3-year-old hostage, according to the documents. He told a negotiator from a special police unit that he acted because the French government was preventing the faithful from joining the “caliphate,” and stressed that he had not targeted civilians but representatives of the French state.

Police stormed the home and killed Abballa, and rescued the child, The Associated Press said. The boy has been raised by family members since.

After more than five years of investigation and multiple arrests, only Aberouz is facing trial. Charges were initially brought against two others but later dropped.

Aberouz, now 30, was arrested a year after the events, when his DNA was found on the victims’ computer.

Aberouz initially disputed connections to ISIS, before acknowledging that the group corresponded to his convictions but saying he deplored its extremist methods, according to the court documents.

Aberouz was already sentenced to prison in another terrorism case, for his role in a failed gas canister attack near Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

In the Magnanville attack, Aberouz maintains that he never went to the police couple's home or helped in preparing the attack. He said the DNA found in the victims’ home could have been the result of his shaking hands with Abballa or riding in his car in the days before the attack.

Aberouz’ lawyer Vincent Brengarth said he would plead for acquittal. “My client is determined to prove his innocence,” he told AP. “There is no message in which he talks about an attack.”

Police are hoping that the trial sheds light on the preparations for the attack.

A verdict is expected Oct. 10.


France to Withdraw Ambassador, Troops from Niger

French President Emmanuel Macron (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron (Reuters)
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France to Withdraw Ambassador, Troops from Niger

French President Emmanuel Macron (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced that the country’s Ambassador to Niger will return to Paris in the next hours, and that French troops will fully withdraw from the west African country “by the end of the year.”

Macron’s announcement came two months after confrontation with the Niger military junta that ousted the president.

In an interview on France 2 television on Sunday night, Macron said, “Our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France,” also affirming that Paris will end its military cooperation with Niger.

He added that French troops would withdraw in “the months and weeks to come” with a full pullout “by the end of the year.”

France keeps about 1,500 soldiers in Niger, where military rulers seized power by overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

Until Sunday, Macron had refused to heed calls by Niger’s new leaders to recall troops based in Niamey and his ambassador, insisting that Bazoum remains the country’s only legitimate authority.

On September 15, Macron announced that the Niger military junta is holding the French ambassador, Sylvain Itte. He said the diplomat and his staff were “literally being held hostage” in the mission, eating military rations with no food deliveries.

Also, Macron said the envoy “cannot go out, he is persona non grata and he is being refused food.”


Russian Missile and Drone Attack on Odesa Injures One, Damages Port

A Ukrainian drone unit commander nicknamed Giocondo communicates with headquarters during an attack in the outskirts of Kremmina, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
A Ukrainian drone unit commander nicknamed Giocondo communicates with headquarters during an attack in the outskirts of Kremmina, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
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Russian Missile and Drone Attack on Odesa Injures One, Damages Port

A Ukrainian drone unit commander nicknamed Giocondo communicates with headquarters during an attack in the outskirts of Kremmina, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
A Ukrainian drone unit commander nicknamed Giocondo communicates with headquarters during an attack in the outskirts of Kremmina, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

One woman was injured and buildings and port infrastructure were severely damaged in Russia's overnight missile and drone attack on the port of Odesa in southern Ukraine, Ukraine's military said on Monday.

"The sea port in Odesa suffered significant damage, a fire broke out in the port's hotel, which has not been functioning for several years," the south command of Ukraine's armed forces said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Firefighters promptly eliminated it."

Ukraine's Air Force said that its air defense systems destroyed 19 Iranian-made Shahed drones, 11 cruise missiles and two hypersonic missiles that Russia launched on Ukraine overnight, vast majority directed at Odesa.

Three other drones were destroyed earlier on Sunday, it said.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Earlier, Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region, said that a woman was taken to a hospital after a shrapnel injury in result of the blast wave.

Ukraine's south military command posted on its Telegram messaging app several pictures showing a high-rise building with blown up windows and severe damage to its structure.

There was no immediate comment from Russia about the attack.

The situation in Odesa and its ports has been watched carefully by grain markets, after Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" for ships to sail into Black Sea ports and load grain for African and Asian markets, following Russia exiting a deal that ensured the safe exports of Ukraine's grain.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said one Russian drone had been shot down and falling debris caused a fire at an industrial enterprise, which had since been extinguished. He reported no casualties.

Russia's defense ministry said on Monday that its air defense systems destroyed four Ukraine-launched drones over the northwestern part of the Black Sea and over the Crimean Peninsula.
It was not immediately known whether there was any damage or injuries as a result of the reported attacks.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the Russian report. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Separately, the ministry said that four other drones were destroyed overnight over Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions.


Iran Downplays Netanyahu's Threats, Says Tehran Has 'Israel-Hitting' Missiles

Iran Downplays Netanyahu's Threats, Says Tehran Has 'Israel-Hitting' Missiles
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Iran Downplays Netanyahu's Threats, Says Tehran Has 'Israel-Hitting' Missiles

Iran Downplays Netanyahu's Threats, Says Tehran Has 'Israel-Hitting' Missiles

Iran possesses "Israel-hitting" missiles that are designed to target the "occupied territory", said Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman Reza Talaei

He explained that the system was built by local experts and included missiles named after General Qassem Soleimani, the mastermind behind the external operations of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad in 2020.

The spokesman further noted that the weapon system is designed proportionately according to the threats.

The government-affiliated ISNA agency reported to the spokesperson, "Iran is the region's prime power in defense."

"We were all by ourselves before the war, but today they say no equation in the region can be balanced without Iran; this is the defensive power that has been achieved."

Last August, the Defense Ministry announced the deployment of the Soleimani missile with a range of 1400 kilometers, three years after its development was announced in August 2020.

Tasnim agency reported last month that the Soleimani missile is the first tactical missile that operates with solid fuel and can easily reach Israel, pointing out the possibility of extending its range to 1700 - 1800 kilometers.

- Israeli Warning

Iran's Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements regarding Iran in his UN General Assembly address.

Netanyahu emphasized at the United Nations last Friday the importance of confronting Iran with a "credible nuclear threat."

Later, his office retracted the statement, saying that he had misspoken and that his prepared text said, "credible military threat" instead of "credible nuclear threat," according to AFP.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly used the UN stage to issue dark warnings about Tehran, briefly paused at the General Assembly when he appeared to threaten a nuclear attack if Tehran pursues its atomic bomb.

"Above all -- Iran must face a credible nuclear threat. As long as I'm prime minister of Israel, I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said.

In Tehran, official media reported that Abdollahian responded to the Israeli Prime Minister's statements by saying, "Nobody takes Netanyahu's threats seriously."

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York, he said the Zionist entity is now at its weakest. He noted that some international officials who attended the UN General Assembly session referred to Netanyahu's behavior as a "joke."

- Oman Initiative

Abdollahian commented shortly after meeting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York.

According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Abdollahian informed Guterres that Tehran continues its correspondence with the US side, aiming to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

He indicated that Iran continues to exchange messages with the US, and the Sultan of Oman's plan is still on the table, adding that if other parties are ready, Tehran is serious about returning to the nuclear deal.

Abdollahian discussed several issues with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, including the situation in Syria, the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the nuclear deal, and the long-term strategic cooperation agreement between Iran and Russia.

At a press conference in New York on Saturday, Lavrov stated that Iran has consistently denied any intentions of pursuing nuclear weapons, with their Supreme Leader even issuing a fatwa on the matter. He condemned the E3 decision to extend sanctions on Iran.

He asserted there was no evidence of Iran sending drones to Russia for its military operations in Ukraine.

Lavrov emphasized that Iran's missile program has nothing to do with the nuclear program, wondering how the next US administration would deal with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).

- Nuclear Inspectors

Iran's recent move to revoke the licenses of some of the most experienced international inspectors monitoring its nuclear program has been met with global and regional calls for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran's decision followed criticisms from IAEA Director Rafael Grossi regarding the lack of progress in investigations into activities at two covert sites and the halting of surveillance cameras.

Tehran refused to hand over IAEA surveillance camera recordings and removed other cameras.

Iran has been enriching uranium at 60 percent since April 2021, the same month negotiations began in Vienna aiming to revive the nuclear deal.

However, the Vienna track faltered weeks after the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

The last attempts by the European Union to conclude the negotiations failed in September of the previous year.

Abdollahian told Guterres that things are on the right track if the IAEA operates within the technical framework. However, the situation deteriorates when others prioritize their political views over the agency's professional matters.

In February, Iran's former Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, warned that continuous Western pressure might force Tehran to act defensively and seek nuclear weapons.

Last Friday, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, told journalists that Iran's decision to prevent UN nuclear inspectors suggests it is not interested in being a responsible actor regarding its atomic program.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, arrived in Vienna on Sunday to participate in the IAEA General Assembly meeting.

Tasnim reported that Eslami will meet Grossi during this visit.


Jailed Italian Mafia Boss Dies

(FILES) This handout video grab taken and released by the Italian Carabinieri Press Office on January 16, 2023 shows the transfer of Italy's top wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro (C) from the Carabinieri police station of San Lorenzo in Palermo, to an undisclosed location, following his arrest in his native Sicily on January 16, 2023 after 30 years on the run. (Photo by Handout / ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
(FILES) This handout video grab taken and released by the Italian Carabinieri Press Office on January 16, 2023 shows the transfer of Italy's top wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro (C) from the Carabinieri police station of San Lorenzo in Palermo, to an undisclosed location, following his arrest in his native Sicily on January 16, 2023 after 30 years on the run. (Photo by Handout / ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
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Jailed Italian Mafia Boss Dies

(FILES) This handout video grab taken and released by the Italian Carabinieri Press Office on January 16, 2023 shows the transfer of Italy's top wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro (C) from the Carabinieri police station of San Lorenzo in Palermo, to an undisclosed location, following his arrest in his native Sicily on January 16, 2023 after 30 years on the run. (Photo by Handout / ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / AFP)
(FILES) This handout video grab taken and released by the Italian Carabinieri Press Office on January 16, 2023 shows the transfer of Italy's top wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro (C) from the Carabinieri police station of San Lorenzo in Palermo, to an undisclosed location, following his arrest in his native Sicily on January 16, 2023 after 30 years on the run. (Photo by Handout / ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE / AFP)

Italian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, who was arrested in January after spending 30 years on the run, has died, ANSA news agency reported on Monday.

Messina Denaro, 61, was suffering from cancer at the time of his arrest. As his condition worsened in recent weeks he was transferred to a hospital from the maximum-security prison in central Italy where he was initially held, Reuters reported.

Denaro had requested no aggressive medical treatment, ANSA reported, adding that medics had stopped feeding him after he was declared to be in irreversible coma.

He was convicted of numerous crimes, including for his role in planning the 1992 murders of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino - crimes that shocked Italy and sparked a crackdown on the Sicilian mob.

He was also held responsible for bombings in Rome, Florence and Milan in 1993 that killed 10 people, as well as helping organize the kidnapping of Giuseppe Di Matteo, 12, to try to dissuade the boy's father from giving evidence against the mafia. The boy was held for two years, then murdered.

Dubbed by the Italian press as "the last Godfather", Messina Denaro is not believed to have given any information to the police after he was seized outside a private health clinic in the Sicilian capital, Palermo, on Jan. 16.

According to medical records leaked to the Italian media, he underwent surgery for colon cancer in 2020 and 2022 under a false name. A doctor at the Palermo clinic told La Repubblica newspaper that Messina Denaro's health had worsened significantly in the months leading up to his capture.


Biden Administration Poised to Allow Israelis to Travel to US Without Visa

FILE PHOTO: A United Airlines Airbus A319-100 jet takes off from Washington National Airport in Washington, US, August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A United Airlines Airbus A319-100 jet takes off from Washington National Airport in Washington, US, August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
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Biden Administration Poised to Allow Israelis to Travel to US Without Visa

FILE PHOTO: A United Airlines Airbus A319-100 jet takes off from Washington National Airport in Washington, US, August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A United Airlines Airbus A319-100 jet takes off from Washington National Airport in Washington, US, August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

The Biden administration is poised to admit Israel this week into an exclusive club that will allow its citizens to travel to the United States without a US visa despite Washington's ongoing concerns about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinian Americans.

According to The Associated Press, US officials say an announcement of Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program is planned for late in the week, just before the end of the federal budget year on Saturday, which is the deadline for Israel’s admission without having to requalify for eligibility next year.

The Department of Homeland Security administers the program, which currently allows citizens of 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the US for three months without visas.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to make the announcement Thursday, shortly after receiving a recommendation from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel be admitted, according to five officials familiar with the matter who spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been publicly announced.

Blinken’s recommendation is expected to be delivered no later than Tuesday, the officials said, and the final announcement will come just eight days after President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The State Department had no immediate comment about the visa waiver program. The White House referred questions to the Homeland Security Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Somalia: Death Toll from a Truck Bomb Rises to 21

Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)
Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)
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Somalia: Death Toll from a Truck Bomb Rises to 21

Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)
Security patrol the streets during fighting between al-Shabab extremists and soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP)

The death toll from a bombing attack at a government checkpoint in central Somalia has reached 21, authorities said Sunday.

The number of wounded in Saturday's truck bombing in Beledweyne stood at 52, said Abdifatah Mohamed Yusuf, director general of the Hirshabelle ministry of humanitarian and disaster management.

He told The Associated Press that 17 of those critically wounded were airlifted to the capital, Mogadishu, for treatment.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility. East Africa’s al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab often carries out such attacks in Somalia.

Beledweyne has been the staging point for the Somali government’s ongoing military offensive against the extremists, who control parts of central and southern Somalia.


Iran Says it Defused 30 Bombs, Detained 28 ‘Linked to ISIS’

Members of Iran's security forces parade in Tehran on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
Members of Iran's security forces parade in Tehran on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
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Iran Says it Defused 30 Bombs, Detained 28 ‘Linked to ISIS’

Members of Iran's security forces parade in Tehran on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
Members of Iran's security forces parade in Tehran on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP)

Authorities in Iran have neutralized 30 bombs meant to go off simultaneously in Tehran and detained 28 terrorists linked to ISIS, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, citing the intelligence ministry.

"Some of the members are of ISIS and the perpetrators have a history of being affiliated with Takfiri groups in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Kurdistan region of Iraq," Iran's intelligence ministry added in a statement.

The militant group has claimed several attacks in Iran, including deadly twin bombings in 2017 that targeted Iran's parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.


Biden: Republicans Should Live up to Budget Deal

US President Joe Biden attends the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, US, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
US President Joe Biden attends the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, US, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
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Biden: Republicans Should Live up to Budget Deal

US President Joe Biden attends the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, US, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
US President Joe Biden attends the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, US, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

US President Joe Biden on Saturday rebuked what he called "extreme Republicans", saying the party's lawmakers needed to take immediate steps to prevent a government shutdown ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.

The deal reached between congressional Republican leadership and his administration in May would have funded essential domestic and national security priorities and still cut the budget deficit by $1 trillion over the next 10 years, Biden said at a congressional awards dinner on Saturday.

"Now a small group of extreme Republicans don't want to live up to the deal," he said, Reuters reported.

A shutdown would harm food safety, cancer research and children's programs, Biden said, adding that ensuring that the government is funded is one of the core functions of congress.

" t’s time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do. Let's get this done," he said.

Biden also cast his 2024 campaign against likely Republican challenger former President Donald Trump as a battle against political extremism.

"I wish I could say our threat to democracy ended with our victory in 2020 but it didn't," Biden said. "Our democracy is still at stake, don't kid yourself."