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.



Activists Protest Escalating Middle East Crisis outside UK Base in Cyprus

A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)
A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)
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Activists Protest Escalating Middle East Crisis outside UK Base in Cyprus

A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)
A view of the security gate of RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, September 25, 2024.(Reuters)

Pro-Palestinian campaigners protested at the gates of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on Sunday, accusing Britain of offering tacit support to Israel's ongoing operations in Gaza and elsewhere.

Chanting "Out with the bases of death" a couple of hundred people holding Palestinian and Cypriot flags peacefully protested outside the locked gates of the facility, Britain's largest in the Middle East.

Britain last week sent additional troops to Cyprus to be in position to assist any potential evacuation of nationals trapped in Lebanon, which is reeling from a barrage of Israeli air strikes which culminated in the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday evening.

The UK has two military bases on Cyprus, a former British colony. RAF Akrotiri has been used in the past as a staging point for airstrikes against Houthi militias in Yemen in retaliation for attacks on Red Sea shipping that the Iran-backed group says is a response to the war in Gaza.

"This is an issue of independence and sovereignty for Cyprus," said Peter Iosif, a member of the Cyprus Peace Council, an organizer of Sunday's demonstration. "At this time it becomes even more obvious how the British bases are acting against the will of the Cyprus people," he said.

In response to the protests, a British bases spokesperson said: "No RAF flights have transported lethal cargo to the Israeli Defense Forces."

"In addition, it is standard practice for the UK Ministry of Defense to routinely authorize requests for (a) limited number of allies and partners to access the UK's air bases. Such activity must be in line with UK policy for evacuation and humanitarian purposes only."