Iran: We Will Not Leave Israel's Criminal Acts Unanswered

Iranians walk next to a poster of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed with late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah following an Israeli air strike, in Tehran, Iran, 29 September 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk next to a poster of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed with late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah following an Israeli air strike, in Tehran, Iran, 29 September 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Iran: We Will Not Leave Israel's Criminal Acts Unanswered

Iranians walk next to a poster of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed with late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah following an Israeli air strike, in Tehran, Iran, 29 September 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk next to a poster of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed with late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah following an Israeli air strike, in Tehran, Iran, 29 September 2024. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran will not leave any of "the criminal acts" of Israel unanswered, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday, referring to the killing of Hezbollah's chief and an Iranian Guard deputy commander in Lebanon.
Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan was killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut on Friday, in which Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also died, Reuters reported.
Israel's intensified attacks against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and the Houthi militia in Yemen have prompted fears that Middle East fighting could spin out of control and draw in Iran and the United States, Israel's main ally.
"We stand strongly and we will act in a way that is regretful [for the enemy]" Kanaani told a weekly news conference, adding that Iran does not seek war but is not afraid of it.
Kanaani said that Iran is closely following up on matters with the Lebanese authorities, referring to the strikes that killed Nasrallah and Nilforoushan.



Harris Reiterates Support for Gaza Ceasefire as Conflict Escalates

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
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Harris Reiterates Support for Gaza Ceasefire as Conflict Escalates

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)
Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs after speaking at the Tribal Nations Summit in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP)

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Washington will continue to pressure Israel and other players in the Middle East to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza even as advocates say that the United States has not thus far used its leverage over its ally.

In an interview with CBS news show "60 Minutes," Harris said that diplomatic work with Israel is "an ongoing pursuit," according to a clip released on Sunday.

Harris sidestepped a question in the interview on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a "real close ally."

"I think with all due respect the better question is do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people and the answer to that question is yes," Harris said, Reuters reported.

Harris reiterated Washington's position to support Israel's right to self defense against Iran and Iran-backed militant groups like Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah.

"Now the work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles," Harris said.

"We're not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region including Arab leaders," Harris said.

Washington's occasional condemnation of Israel over the war's civilian death toll has mostly been verbal with no substantive change in policy.

Advocates say Washington has not put pressure on its ally by refusing to put an arms embargo that anti-war protesters around the United States and the world have demanded for months. Protests were also held over the weekend.

President Joe Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan for Gaza on May 31 but a deal between Israel and Hamas has not been reached due to gaps in exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and Israel's demand that it maintain presence in a corridor on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has also been separately carrying out a military campaign in Lebanon which in recent days has killed hundreds, wounded thousands and displaced over a million.