Iran’s President Denounces Israeli Attacks on Tehran’s Regional Allies

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iran’s President Denounces Israeli Attacks on Tehran’s Regional Allies

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel should not be allowed to attack countries in the Iran-aligned "Axis of Resistance" one after the other, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday.

Israel said it had bombed Houthi targets in Yemen on Sunday, expanding its confrontation with Iran's allies in the region after killing the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday in an escalating conflict in Lebanon.

Pezeshkian, in comments carried by state media, said Lebanon should be supported.

"Lebanese fighters should not be left alone in this battle so that the Zionist regime (Israel) does not attack Axis of Resistance countries one after the other," he said.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards deputy commander, Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in the attack that killed the Hezbollah leader in Beirut.

"We cannot accept such actions and they will not be left unanswered. A decisive reaction is necessary," Pezeshkian said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the Israeli strikes in Yemen, saying in a statement that they had targeted "civilian infrastructure" such as a power plant and fuel tanks.

"Iran once again warns about the consequences of the Zionist regime's (Israel) warmongering on regional and international peace and security," spokesperson Nasser Kanaani added.

In another Israeli attack on Yemen in July, fighter jets bombed "dual-use sites such as energy infrastructure" in Hodeidah, with Israel's military spokesperson saying the port was used by the Houthis to receive Iranian weapons shipments.



Opposition Lawmaker Saar to Join Israeli Government, Netanyahu Says

Israeli Minister of Justice Gideon Saar arrives for the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, Sunday, June 20, 2021. (Emmanuel Dunand/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Israeli Minister of Justice Gideon Saar arrives for the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, Sunday, June 20, 2021. (Emmanuel Dunand/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Opposition Lawmaker Saar to Join Israeli Government, Netanyahu Says

Israeli Minister of Justice Gideon Saar arrives for the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, Sunday, June 20, 2021. (Emmanuel Dunand/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Israeli Minister of Justice Gideon Saar arrives for the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, Sunday, June 20, 2021. (Emmanuel Dunand/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Israeli opposition lawmaker Gideon Saar is joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, Netanyahu announced on Sunday, in a move likely to strengthen the premier politically.

The hawkish Saar, who has been one of Netanyahu's most vocal critics in the past few years, was due to serve as a minister without a portfolio and take a seat at the prime minister's security cabinet, Israeli television station N12 said.

Expanding the government will likely strengthen Netanyahu by making him less reliant on other members of his coalition government.

Saar had hoped to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, another rival of Netanyahu’s. But a deal to become defense minister fell through several weeks ago after fighting intensified with Hezbollah.