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Iranian FM from Beirut: War Not the Solution in Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is pictured upon his arrival in Beirut on Friday. (Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is pictured upon his arrival in Beirut on Friday. (Reuters)
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Iranian FM from Beirut: War Not the Solution in Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is pictured upon his arrival in Beirut on Friday. (Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is pictured upon his arrival in Beirut on Friday. (Reuters)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday that Lebanon's security is integral to Iran and the region, stressing that Tehran “will continue its strong support for the resistance and Lebanon.”

Speaking upon his arrival in Beirut, he said Israel has not achieved any of its declared goals months after its attack on Gaza and the West Bank.

He added that the “achievements that have been made so far are credited to the resistance in Lebanon, Palestine and the region.”

Palestinian and Lebanese resistance political and military leaders have carried out their work with all insight and knowledge, he went on to say.

Moreover, he said: “The victory of the resistance in Palestine has put on the table a political project that includes Hamas. We have frankly told the US that it should not support the genocide committed by the Zionists against Gaza and the crimes they are committing in the West Bank.”

“We have loudly declared since the beginning of this crisis that war is not the solution,” Amirabdollahian said. “The US’ continued support to the Zionist entity and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will only lead to their failure, which is unfolding right now.”

Moreover, he said Israel is seeking to “drag America into the quagmire of war in the Middle East.”

Amirabdollahian stressed that the US must cease its support for Israel, adding that “Hezbollah and the resistance in Lebanon have fulfilled their deterrent and influential role with all courage and wisdom.”

The FM met with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Friday and caretaker Prime Minster Najib Mikati on Saturday. He is set to meet with Speaker Nabih Berri and his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bouhabib later in the day.

Lebanon is witnessing intense diplomatic activity aimed at preventing the spillover of Israel’s war on Gaza. Hezbollah and Israel have waged clashes on the southern border since the eruption of the conflict in October.

Israel has threatened to wage a largescale war on Lebanon if the diplomatic efforts fail in convincing Hezbollah to move its fighters north of the Litani River.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.