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Wait for Iran’s Retaliation against Israel ‘Could Be Long’, Revolutionary Guards Spokesperson Says

A veiled Iranian woman walks past a wall painting of a peace bird in a street in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. (EPA)
A veiled Iranian woman walks past a wall painting of a peace bird in a street in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. (EPA)
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Wait for Iran’s Retaliation against Israel ‘Could Be Long’, Revolutionary Guards Spokesperson Says

A veiled Iranian woman walks past a wall painting of a peace bird in a street in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. (EPA)
A veiled Iranian woman walks past a wall painting of a peace bird in a street in Tehran, Iran, 19 August 2024. (EPA)

There could be a long wait for Iranian retaliation against Israel, Iran's Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Alimohammad Naini said on Tuesday.

The Middle East has been bracing for Iran's avowed retaliation over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it was behind the killing.

"Time is in our favor and the waiting period for this response could be long," Naini said, referring to potential retaliation against Israel.

He said "the enemy" should wait for a calculated and accurate response.

Iranian leaders were weighing the circumstances and Tehran's response might not be a repeat of previous operations, he added, according to Iranian state media.

Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran's new president Masoud Pezeshkian.

The United States has asked allies that have ties with Iran to persuade it to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the region to push for progress towards a Gaza ceasefire.

Naini said that Tehran supported any move that led to an end to the war in Gaza and helped its people, but added: "We do not consider the US actions sincere. We consider the US to be a party to the (Gaza) war."

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North Korean Defects to South, Says Seoul Military 

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
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North Korean Defects to South, Says Seoul Military 

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)

A North Korean defected to the South by walking across the heavily fortified border that separates the peninsula, Seoul's military said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, but the majority cross the land border into China first.

Seoul's military said it picked up "one suspected North Korean individual on the eastern front and handed them over to the relevant authorities".

The defector was a staff sergeant, Yonhap news agency reported, who was given some guidance from the South's military during the defection.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had not detected any unusual movement by the North Korean military around the time of the defection.

"Relevant authorities are currently investigating and therefore cannot confirm the detailed process of the defection," or the individual's exact motivations and goals, the military said.

Local media reported that the defector walked along the road by the waterfront in eastern Gangwon province, and was wearing their North Korean military uniform when they were picked up by authorities.

It is the second defection across the border between the Koreas in just two weeks, after another North Korean made it across the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea on August 8.

The defections come as relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North ramping up weapons testing and bombarding the South with trash-carrying balloons.

The number of successful defections dropped significantly from 2020 after the North sealed its borders -- purportedly with shoot-on-sight orders along the land frontier with China -- to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

But after border controls eased in 2023, the number of defectors making it to the South almost tripled last year to 196, Seoul said in January, with more elite diplomats and students seeking to escape, up from 67 in 2022.

Last week, North Korean tour operations unexpectedly announced that the country would reopen to foreign tourists this winter.