Biden Says Gaza Ceasefire Could Prevent Iran Attack On Israel

Palestinians attend the funeral of members of the Najjar family in Khan Yunis on August 12 © Bashar TALEB / AFP
Palestinians attend the funeral of members of the Najjar family in Khan Yunis on August 12 © Bashar TALEB / AFP
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Biden Says Gaza Ceasefire Could Prevent Iran Attack On Israel

Palestinians attend the funeral of members of the Najjar family in Khan Yunis on August 12 © Bashar TALEB / AFP
Palestinians attend the funeral of members of the Najjar family in Khan Yunis on August 12 © Bashar TALEB / AFP

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that a ceasefire deal in Gaza could deter Iran from attacking Israel in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader that sent regional tensions soaring.

His remarks came after Iran rejected Western calls to "stand down" its threat of reprisals, AFP reported.

Tehran and its allies have blamed Israel for Ismail Haniyeh's killing on July 31 during a visit to Tehran for the swearing-in of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not commented.

Iran has vowed to avenge the death, which came hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed a senior commander of Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.

Asked if a truce between Israel and Hamas could stave off an Iranian assault, Biden said: "That's my expectation".

He told reporters in New Orleans that while negotiations were "getting hard" he was "not giving up".

Western diplomats have scrambled to prevent a major conflagration in the Middle East, where tensions were already high due to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

"Ten months since the start of the war, the threat of further regional escalation is more palpable, and chilling, than ever," said Rosemary DiCarlo, United Nations undersecretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs.

She called on all parties to "end all escalatory rhetoric and actions".

In a statement on Monday, the United States and its European allies urged Iran to de-escalate.

The White House warned that a "significant set of attacks" by Iran and its allies was possible this week, saying Israel shared the same assessment.

The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a guided missile submarine to the region in support of Israel.

On Tuesday, Washington approved weapons sales of more than $20 billion to Israel including F-15 fighter-jets and nearly 33,000 tank cartridges.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani criticised the Western call for restraint.

"The declaration by France, Germany and Britain, which raised no objection to the international crimes of the Zionist regime, brazenly asks Iran to take no deterrent action against a regime which has violated its sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said in a statement.

Far-right minister opposes talks

The United States and its European allies also called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with truce talks to resume on Thursday.

Militants also seized 251 people, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 39,929 people.

Far-right parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition strongly oppose any ceasefire in Gaza, a point rammed home by firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on a visit to Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The visit was swiftly condemned by Al-Aqsa's custodian Jordan, as well as world powers including the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

Defying longstanding rules that allow Jews and other non-Muslims to visit the compound but not to pray there, Ben Gvir led thousands of Israelis in singing Jewish hymns and performing Talmudic rituals.

In a video filmed inside the compound, Ben Gvir renewed his opposition to any let-up in the Gaza war.

"We must win and not go to the talks in Doha or Cairo," the minister said, referring to the truce talks planned for Thursday.

US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel nonetheless said Washington remained hopeful that talks would move forward.



Russia Teams up with China at Start of Big Naval Drills 

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, Russian and Chinese warships sail in the Peter the Great Gulf during Ocean-2024 strategic command and staff exercises in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, Russian and Chinese warships sail in the Peter the Great Gulf during Ocean-2024 strategic command and staff exercises in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Russia Teams up with China at Start of Big Naval Drills 

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, Russian and Chinese warships sail in the Peter the Great Gulf during Ocean-2024 strategic command and staff exercises in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry press service on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, Russian and Chinese warships sail in the Peter the Great Gulf during Ocean-2024 strategic command and staff exercises in Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russian and Chinese warships began exercises on Tuesday as part of what Moscow said was a major set of naval drills stretching from the Mediterranean to the Pacific.

Russia's Defense Ministry said four Chinese warships and a supply vessel teamed up with Russian ships in Peter the Great Bay, south of Vladivostok, for exercises "to defend sea communications and areas of maritime economic activity".

It said those drills were part of much larger maneuvers involving more than 400 Russian warships, submarines and support vessels that would run until Sept. 16 in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Baltic and Caspian seas.

China's official Xinhua news agency said on Monday that the aim of the exercise with Russia was to deepen "the level of strategic coordination between the Chinese and Russian militaries and enhance their ability to jointly respond to security threats".

Russia's armed forces have been heavily stretched on land and sea for the past two and a half years by its war in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces, despite being vastly outgunned in naval firepower, have managed to inflict damaging blows on Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.

Russia has nevertheless continued to stage large-scale military exercises - including thousands of miles away in its far east - in order to project power and build defense ties with partners, especially China.