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Netanyahu Urges US Congressmen to Prevent Iran from Obtaining Nuclear Weapons

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with a US Democratic Congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (Israeli prime minister’s office)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with a US Democratic Congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (Israeli prime minister’s office)
    Tel Aviv, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Netanyahu Urges US Congressmen to Prevent Iran from Obtaining Nuclear Weapons

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with a US Democratic Congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (Israeli prime minister’s office)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with a US Democratic Congressional delegation led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (Israeli prime minister’s office)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with a Democratic US Congressional delegation on Monday the need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The delegation was led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The meeting was the first between the Israeli PM and US officials after reports said last month that Tel Aviv informed the American administration and several European countries that it would resort to military action if diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program fail.

Last week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi threatened Iran's enemies, particularly Israel, warning that the “smallest mistake against the security of Iran will result in the destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv.”

On Saturday, General Ramezan Sharif, the spokesman for the Iranian Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), warned Israel against any military action against Iran.

On Sunday, the Israeli military said it was bracing for possible security instability in the Red Sea area given the Iranian naval presence there, reported Israel’s iNews24 website.

Citing intelligence assessments, the report spoke of direct and indirect threats to Israel from Iran’s proxies in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Gaza.

“One danger is civilian-Iranian ships that have been converted for military function, operating in the Red Sea, outfitted with surface-to-sea missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and UAVs,” the website wrote.

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Public Mourns 35 Killed in Attack at Sports Complex in Southern Chinese City

A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Public Mourns 35 Killed in Attack at Sports Complex in Southern Chinese City

A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)
A man offers flowers outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza" where a man rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP)

Members of the public paid their respects Wednesday to people killed by a driver who rammed into people exercising a sports complex in southern China, as the country mourned, but little information was available about the suspect or the victims in the attack.

The crash Monday night in Zhuhai killed 35 people and severely injured 43 others, and the driver was detained as he was trying to escape. Authorities said the 62-year-old man with the surname Fan was upset over his divorce settlement.

Members of the public had started bringing flowers in honor of the victims Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday.

There was a light police presence in the morning at the Zhuhai sports complex, which was closed until further notice, but the number of officers increased as the morning passed.

While police allowed people to leave bouquets of flowers in memory of the dead just outside the entrance of the sports complex, volunteers then quickly moved the flowers inside to the sports center.

“May there be no thugs in heaven,” said the message on one bouquet. “Good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished.”

The attack occurred on the eve of the Zhuhai Airshow, an aviation exhibition sponsored by the People's Liberation Army that is held every two years.

China authorities often make extra efforts to tightly control information around major or sensitive events like the airshow. Censors also take extra care around major catastrophes or violence, often censoring eyewitness accounts. Clear information on the death and injury toll was not available for almost 24 hours after the attack.

Videos were quickly censored inside China, though they circulated outside the Great Firewall. They were posted by Teacher Li, an artist turned dissident who runs a X account with 1.7 million followers that posts crowdsourced videos about news in China.

Articles from Chinese media featuring interviews with survivors were quickly taken down Monday and Tuesday. The news that trended about the attack was largely based on official statements from authorities.

Police said their preliminary investigation found Fan was dissatisfied with the split of financial assets in his divorce. Beyond that description, further information was not available on his divorce or alleged motive.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the “strict” punishment of the perpetrator according to law, in a statement Tuesday evening.

He also called on all local governments “to strengthen prevention and control of risks at the source, strictly prevent extreme cases from occurring, and to resolve conflicts and disputes in a timely manner,” according to the official Xinhua news agency.