عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Israeli Military Carries Out Drills Simulating Iranian Terrains

An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
TT
20
TT

Israeli Military Carries Out Drills Simulating Iranian Terrains

An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)
An Israeli soldier walks past military vehicles in a gathering point near the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (File photo: AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz made a surprise visit to troops carrying out war exercises in northern Israel, which included a landing operation in a mountainous area similar to the topography of Iranian mountains.

Some 3,000 soldiers from the Golani Brigade, armored units, artillery, and reservist brigades participated in the drill.

"No matter what happens between Iran and the world powers — and we are certainly concerned about the fact that there is insufficient severity in dealing with Iranian violations — Israel will protect itself with its forces," Bennett said ahead of the resumption of the nuclear talks in Vienna.

“The world needs to act against Iran, and Israel is prepared to do what is needed on all of these fronts and the northern front in particular,” Gantz said after visiting the forces.

Later, Bennett's office issued a statement saying the Prime Minister assessed the situation with Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Aviv Kochavi.

US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley met with Israeli officials, including alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Malley aims to coordinate with Mideast allies before Washington resumes the indirect talks with Tehran to revive the nuclear deal in Vienna.

Sources close to Lapid said the FM told Malley that Iran has no intention of returning to the deal.

Lapid believes Tehran is simply trying to buy time through negotiations over its nuclear program until the issue of rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal is no longer relevant.

The sources confirmed that Lapid raised Israel's technical intelligence concerns about returning to the agreement and lifting sanctions.

An official from Bennett's office said Israeli officials fear that the different positions between the former and the current US administration will increase Iran's intransigence and perhaps manipulation until Tehran becomes a "nuclear threshold state."

Israeli leaders discussed with Malley the military option as a serious and essential alternative.

The former head of Israeli military intelligence research, Brigadier General Yossi Kuperwasser, said the US is sending messages that it is not interested in war and Israel is not behaving as if it wants war with Iran. He indicated Tehran might increase its provocations.

Kuperwasser believed Iran is a few weeks away from producing military-enriched uranium for the first explosive device and has started producing metallic uranium, which can be interpreted as having intentions to produce nuclear weapons.

Israel is not ready to act against Iran because it does not have US support or the operational capabilities, the official believes.

Most Viewed

 
World

Danish Leader Tells the US ‘You Cannot Annex Another Country’ as She Visits Greenland

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Danish Leader Tells the US ‘You Cannot Annex Another Country’ as She Visits Greenland

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Denmark's prime minister has told the US during a visit to Greenland that “you cannot annex another country,” even with the argument that international security is at stake.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said on Friday that Washington will respect Greenland's self-determination and Copenhagen “should focus on the fact that the Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of Denmark.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was wrapping up a three-day visit to the strategically critical Arctic island on Friday as US President Donald Trump seeks control of Greenland. He argues that Greenland, a semiautonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, is critical to US security.

A week ago, Vice President JD Vance visited a remote US military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory.

Frederiksen pushed back against the US criticism as she spoke on Thursday alongside Greenland's incoming and outgoing leaders on board a Danish naval ship. She argued that Denmark, a NATO ally, has been a reliable friend.

Speaking in English, she said that “if we let ourselves be divided as allies, then we do our foes a favor. And I will do everything that I can to prevent that from happening.”

“When you ask our businesses to invest in the US, they do. When you ask us to spend more on our defense, we do; and when you ask of us to strengthen security in the Arctic, we are on the same page,” she said.

“But when you demand to take over a part of the Kingdom of Denmark’s territory, when we are met by pressure and by threats from our closest ally, what are we to believe in about the country that we have admired for so many years?”

“This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over generations: you cannot annex another country, not even with an argument about international security,” Frederiksen said.

The Danish leader said that, if the US wants to strengthen security in the Arctic, “let us do so together.”

Political parties in Greenland, which has been leaning toward eventual independence from Denmark for years, last week agreed to form a broad-based new coalition government in the face of Trump's designs on the territory. Those have angered many in Greenland and Denmark.

In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Vance repeated the accusation that Denmark has “really underinvested in the infrastructure and security of Greenland.”

He said Trump's point is that “this matters to our security, this matters to our missile defense, and we're going to protect America's interests come hell or high water.”

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who was attending a meeting in Brussels with his NATO counterparts, wrote on social network X that he had an “honest and direct” meeting Thursday with Rubio.

“I made it crystal clear that claims and statements about annexing Greenland are not only unacceptable and disrespectful,” Løkke Rasmussen wrote. “They amount to a violation of international law.”

Rubio told reporters in Brussels Friday that “no one's annexed anything.” He added that Vance has made clear that “he's going to respect the self-determination of Greenlanders.”

“Denmark should focus on the fact that the Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of Denmark," Rubio said.

“We didn’t give them that idea. They’ve been talking about that for a long time,” he said. "Whenever they make that decision, they’ll make that decision.”

“If they make that decision, then the United States would stand ready, potentially, to step in and say, okay, we can create a partnership with you," Rubio said, adding that "we’re not at that stage.”