عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Harris Says Israel Has 'Right to Defend Itself' against Hezbollah

Damaged vehicles are seen after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024 in this screen grab from a video. Reuters TV via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
Damaged vehicles are seen after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024 in this screen grab from a video. Reuters TV via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
TT
TT

Harris Says Israel Has 'Right to Defend Itself' against Hezbollah

Damaged vehicles are seen after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024 in this screen grab from a video. Reuters TV via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
Damaged vehicles are seen after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon July 30, 2024 in this screen grab from a video. Reuters TV via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights

US Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic election nominee, said Tuesday that Israel had a "right to defend itself" following a strike in Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut.

Harris -- who last week struck a tough tone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's war on Gaza -- also called for a diplomatic solution to reduce the risk of all-out conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border.

"I want to address what's happened over the last few hours in terms of the Middle East, and be very clear Israel has a right to defend itself," Harris told reporters as she headed to an election rally in Atlanta, Georgia.

Israel said the attack on Tuesday had targeted a Hezbollah commander responsible for rocket fire that killed 12 children in the occupied Golan Heights at the weekend.

"What we know in particular is it (Israel) has the right to defend itself against a terrorist organization, which is exactly what Hezbollah is," added Harris.

"But all of that being said, we still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks, and we will continue to do that work."

Harris is effectively locked in as the Democratic presidential nominee for November's US election after President Joe Biden's shock decision to drop out of the White House race just over a week ago.

With speculation swirling about whether she would moderate Biden's stalwart support for Israel's Gaza war, Harris said last week after meeting Netanyahu in Washington that she "will not be silent" about Palestinian casualties there.

Harris said on Thursday she expressed "serious concern about the scale of human suffering" to Netanyahu, who held separate meetings with her and Biden.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iran’s New President Sworn in, Pledges to Keep Trying to Remove Western Sanctions

Newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech after taking his oath in a ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, 30, 2024. (AP)
Newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech after taking his oath in a ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, 30, 2024. (AP)
TT
TT

Iran’s New President Sworn in, Pledges to Keep Trying to Remove Western Sanctions

Newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech after taking his oath in a ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, 30, 2024. (AP)
Newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech after taking his oath in a ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, 30, 2024. (AP)

Iran swore in the country's new president on Tuesday, with the reformist politician and heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian pledging that his administration will keep trying to remove economic sanctions imposed by the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

Pezeshkian delivered a speech after taking his oath in a ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, Iran's capital. He said he considers the normalization of economic relations with the world to be Iran’s inalienable right.

"I will not stop trying to remove the oppressive sanctions," he said. "I am optimistic about the future."

Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on Sunday officially endorsed Pezeshkian, urging him to prioritize neighbors, African and Asian nations as well as countries that have "supported and helped" Iran in Tehran’s foreign relations policies.

Pezeshkian, a longtime lawmaker, won the July presidential election after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a May helicopter crash that sparked the early election. He has two weeks to form his Cabinet for a vote of confidence in parliament.

The sanctions have hit Iran's vital oil exports, blocked transactions on international banking networks and spurred inflation, which is running at about 40%. The dollar is being traded for 584,000 Iranian rials, a dramatic plunge for the country's currency.

When the landmark nuclear deal was struck with world powers, the rial traded 32,000 to the dollar. Former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

Iran has held indirect talks with the Biden administration, though there’s been no clear progress on constraining Tehran’s nuclear program nor the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and geared towards generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients — not nuclear weapons.

"Pressure and sanctions will not work on the Iranian nation," Pezeshkian said.

Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony was attended by representatives from more than 70 countries, as well as Enrique Mora, the European Union coordinator of nuclear talks. Emomali Rahman, Tajikistan’s president, also attended as did Iran's allies from Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad's Ziyad al Nakhaleh.

Iran has been challenged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels with enough of a stockpile to produce several nuclear weapons if it chose.

In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in Gaza, while militia groups armed by Tehran — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi militias — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their attacks.

In his speech, Pezeshkian spoke in support of Palestinians, saying "Iran demands a word where no Palestinian child’s dreams are buried under the rubble of their home."

"We are seeking a world where the proud people of Palestine are freed from occupation, oppression and imprisonment and genocide," Pezeshkian said.