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Iran Says Expansion of Gaza War 'Inevitable'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Reuters)
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Iran Says Expansion of Gaza War 'Inevitable'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (Reuters)

Iran warned the scale of civilian suffering caused by Israel's war on Hamas would inevitably lead to an expansion of the conflict.

The comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian could ramp up concerns over whether Washington's diplomatic efforts and deployment of US naval forces to the eastern Mediterranean will be able to keep the conflict from further destabilizing the Middle East.

"Due to the expansion of the intensity of the war against Gaza's civilian residents, expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable," Reuters quoted Amir-Abdollahian telling his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Thursday night.

Iran's state-run Press TV reported the comments, made during a telephone conversation, on Friday.

Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza over the past month has created a humanitarian catastrophe with thousands seeking medical treatment and shelter in the few hospitals still open, with those in the combat zone operating in grave danger.

Israel says 1,400 people were killed and about 240 taken hostage by Hamas in the Oct.7 raid that triggered the Israeli assault. Israel says it has lost 35 soldiers in Gaza.

Palestinian officials said 10,812 Gaza residents had been killed as of Thursday, about 40% of them children, in air and artillery strikes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Japan Protests Chinese Naval Intrusion into Territorial Waters

This handout taken on August 31, 2024 and released on September 1 by Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff Office and received via Jiji Press, shows a Chinese naval survey vessel entering Japanese territorial waters off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout taken on August 31, 2024 and released on September 1 by Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff Office and received via Jiji Press, shows a Chinese naval survey vessel entering Japanese territorial waters off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
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Japan Protests Chinese Naval Intrusion into Territorial Waters

This handout taken on August 31, 2024 and released on September 1 by Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff Office and received via Jiji Press, shows a Chinese naval survey vessel entering Japanese territorial waters off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This handout taken on August 31, 2024 and released on September 1 by Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff Office and received via Jiji Press, shows a Chinese naval survey vessel entering Japanese territorial waters off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)

Japan voiced "strong concern and protest" Saturday after a Chinese naval ship entered its territorial waters, days after Tokyo accused Beijing of sending a military aircraft into Japanese airspace.

A Chinese naval vessel was spotted entering Japanese territorial waters near the southern Kuchinoerabu island at around 6:00 am Saturday (2100 GMT Friday) and exiting southwest of Yakushima island nearly two hours later, the defense ministry said.

Following the incident, the foreign ministry "issued Japan's strong concern and protest" to China's embassy in Tokyo.

The ministry took "into account the past activities of Chinese naval vessels and others in the waters around Japan, and the recent intrusion into Japan´s territorial airspace by a Chinese military plane," it said late Saturday.

Japan on Monday scrambled fighter jets after a two-minute incursion by Chinese Y-9 surveillance aircraft off the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea, which Tokyo slammed as a "serious violation" of its sovereignty.

China's growing economic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and its assertiveness in territorial disputes -- most recently with the Philippines -- has rattled the United States and its allies.

Last week, Japan's defense ministry sought 8.5 trillion yen ($59 billion) for the next fiscal year, its largest ever initial budget request, as part of the country's five-year, 43 trillion yen defense buildup plan through March 2028.

The request includes funding for so-called standoff capabilities to strike distant targets with missiles and unmanned vehicles.

It is higher than the ministry's 7.7 trillion yen initial request last year, but smaller than the actual budget of 9.4 trillion yen approved for the current fiscal year.