Israeli Minister Expects War With Iran If Biden Wins US Elections

 Israeli soldiers take part in military exercises near the northern Elyakim area on Oct. 14, 2020, during a simulation to protect the country's northern border. Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP
Israeli soldiers take part in military exercises near the northern Elyakim area on Oct. 14, 2020, during a simulation to protect the country's northern border. Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP
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Israeli Minister Expects War With Iran If Biden Wins US Elections

 Israeli soldiers take part in military exercises near the northern Elyakim area on Oct. 14, 2020, during a simulation to protect the country's northern border. Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP
Israeli soldiers take part in military exercises near the northern Elyakim area on Oct. 14, 2020, during a simulation to protect the country's northern border. Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP

Israeli Settlements Minister Tzachi Hanegbi expressed fears that an election win for US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden could lead to war between Tel Aviv and Tehran.

In an interview with the Israeli Channel 13, he warned that Biden's stance on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) could reignite tensions between the two rivals.

"Trump's policy towards Iran has succeeded, if it changes and the nuclear agreement returns - we will eventually reach an Israeli confrontation with Iran,” said Hanegbi, who is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He noted that Biden has said openly for a long time that he will go back to the nuclear agreement. “I see that as something that will lead to a confrontation between Israel and Iran.”

US presidential candidate Joe Biden had announced that his administration would attempt to renegotiate the JCPOA if he wins the elections.

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed Tuesday the idea of any new negotiations on the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal during the tenure of the next US president.

Also this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that for Tehran, the next US administration's policies are important and not who wins the US elections.

On Thursday, Netanyahu instructed his ministers not to comment on the US elections. However, Mikael Oren, who is close to the Israeli PM and a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, wrote this week that the US presidential election is replete with what may be fateful repercussions for the State of Israel.

“Former Vice President Joe Biden, whom I knew well, is clearly a pro-Israel man committed to the strategic alliance between Jerusalem and Washington. Likewise, California Senator Kamala Harris, with whom l have also worked in the past, is also pro-Israel. She and Biden were among the lone Democratic candidates to oppose efforts to pressure Israel by withholding aid,” he noted.

However, Oren noted that a Biden administration would challenge Israel on two core issues: The first is a diplomatic process that would see the government shirk Trump's "deal of the century" and return to the framework adopted by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, meaning a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem.

“We Israelis will need to do more to stand on our own two feet and defend our vital interests. As a strong and sovereign state, as we can,” Oren explained.



Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Visits Sumy Region Bordering Russia’s Kursk Province

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Visits Sumy Region Bordering Russia’s Kursk Province

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 3, 2024. (Reuters)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday he had visited the northern Sumy region, from where Ukraine launched a major incursion into the neighboring Russian Kursk region in August.

Almost two months into the surprise incursion, Kyiv's troops control swathes of Russian border territory, though the pace of the advance has slowed and Moscow's forces have begun to counterattack.

"It is crucial to understand that the Kursk operation is a really strategic thing, something that adds motivation to our partners, motivation to be with Ukraine, be more decisive and put pressure on Russia," Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

Shown alongside his top army commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visiting the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, the president thanked the military for defending Ukraine's territorial integrity.

He said the incursion, which Ukraine says is bringing war back to Russia, "has greatly helped" Kyiv to secure the latest military support packages from the West.

"We need to motivate the whole world and convince them that Ukrainians can be stronger than the enemy," he told the servicemen.

Zelenskiy added that he had held a meeting with his military command, which had discussed the front lines and the energy situation in the Sumy region. Russia has been pummeling regional electricity infrastructure, leading to power cuts.