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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)
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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.

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World

France's Macron: Unity between Europe and US on Ukraine is ‘Essential'

French President Emmanuel Macron. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron. (AFP file)
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France's Macron: Unity between Europe and US on Ukraine is ‘Essential'

French President Emmanuel Macron. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron. (AFP file)

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that unity between Europe and the United States was key in the support of Ukraine, adding there is "no mistrust" and denying a report he had said there was a risk Washington could betray Ukraine.

"Unity between Americans and Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is essential. And I say it again and again, we need to work together," Macron told reporters during a visit to China.

"We welcome and support the peace efforts being made by the United States of America. The United States of America needs Europeans to lead these peace efforts," he added.

German magazine Spiegel on Thursday cited a transcript of a confidential call showing the French President and German Chancellor have voiced severe skepticism about efforts by the US government and its envoys to negotiate a peace between Ukraine and Russia.

"I deny everything," Macron said, when asked about the Spiegel report. "We need the United States for peace. The United States need us for this peace to be lasting and robust."

"So there's no scenario where a lasting peace in Ukraine is done without joint efforts between the Europeans, the Americans, the Canadians, the Australians and the Japanese," he said.

World

Greek Parliament Approves Purchase of Rocket Systems from Israel

A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights
A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights
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Greek Parliament Approves Purchase of Rocket Systems from Israel

A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights
A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights

Greek lawmakers approved late on Thursday the purchase of 36 PULS rocket artillery systems from Israel for about 650 million euros ($757.84 million), two officials with knowledge of the issue told Reuters.

Greece has said it will spend about 28 billion euros ($32.66 billion) by 2036 to modernize its armed forces as it emerges from a 2009-2018 debt crisis and tries to keep pace with its historic rival Türkiye.

"In a closed session, the parliament's defense committee approved the purchase of PULS," a senior official with knowledge of the issue told Reuters. A second official confirmed the parliament's approval, adding that the cost would be around 650 to 700 million euros. Reuters reported in November that Greece was in talks with Israel for the systems.

Greece and Israel have strong economic and diplomatic ties, have conducted several joint exercises in recent years, and operate an air training center in southern Greece.

Greece is also in talks with Israel to develop a 3 billion euro anti-aircraft and missile defense dome.

The PULS system, made by Israel's Elbit, has a range of up to 300 km (190 miles) and will help protect Greece's northeastern border with Türkiye and Greek islands in the Aegean, officials have said. The deal also includes the construction of components in Greece.

Greece and Türkiye, NATO allies, have long been at odds over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, flights over the Aegean, and the ethnically partitioned island of Cyprus.

World

Flooding Kills Two as Vietnam Hit by Dozens of Landslides

Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP
Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP
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Flooding Kills Two as Vietnam Hit by Dozens of Landslides

Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP
Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP

Heavy rain in Vietnam triggered flooding that killed at least two people and caused more than a dozen landslides, state media said Friday, adding to what authorities called the "most unusual" year of natural disasters in the country's history.

South-central Vietnam has been lashed by weeks of heavy rain, submerging hundreds of thousands of homes in coastal tourism hotspots and causing deadly landslides in mountainous regions.

Downpours inundated thousands more homes in Lam Dong province on Thursday and killed at least two people, the Voice of Vietnam news outlet reported.

It added that 16 landslides struck the province, damaging roads and bridges and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes.

Floodwaters up to two meters deep were still sloshing through Ham Thang commune in Lam Dong on Friday, resident Pham Thi Ngoc Yen told AFP, adding authorities were delivering food and water by boat.

"Our province has always been very safe from floods or typhoons. This year was so weird," she said.

"I hope that the water will recede a lot in the next two days so that our life can get back to normal."

Record year

"2025 has been the year with the most unusual natural disasters in history," Hoang Duc Cuong, deputy director of the environment ministry's meteorology and hydrology department, said in a statement Friday.

A total of 21 storms, including 15 typhoons and 6 tropical depressions, have affected Vietnam this year, the highest number since records began in 1961, according to the environment ministry's statement.

Vietnam is in one of the most active tropical cyclone regions on Earth, but in a typical year it is affected by around 10 typhoons or storms.

The country has also experienced extreme rainfall and widespread flooding this year, with rivers setting new high-water marks from the northern regions through central and down to the lower Mekong Delta.

"Never before have such exceptionally large and historical floods occurred simultaneously in one year on 20 rivers," the environment ministry said.

One area of central Vietnam recorded up to 1,739 millimeters (5.7 feet) of rain in just 24 hours.

Elsewhere in Asia, devastating floods in recent days have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced hundreds of thousands across four countries, including Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

In Vietnam, natural disasters have left more than 400 people dead or missing this year and caused more than $3.6 billion in damage, according to the ministry.

The Southeast Asian nation is prone to heavy rain between June and September, but scientists have identified a pattern of human-driven climate change making extreme weather more frequent and destructive.