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.



Zelenskiy Says Ukraine's Membership of NATO is 'Achievable'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine's Membership of NATO is 'Achievable'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

Ukraine's membership of NATO is "achievable", but Kyiv will have to fight to persuade allies to make it happen, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainian diplomats in a speech on Sunday.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged NATO to invite Kyiv to become a member. The Western military alliance has said Ukraine will join its ranks one day but has not set a date or issued an invitation.
Moscow has cited the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as one of the principal justifications for its 2022 invasion. Kyiv says membership in the Western alliance's mutual defense pact, or an equivalent form of security guarantee, would be crucial to any peace plan to ensure that Russia does not attack again.
"We all understand that Ukraine's invitation to NATO and membership in the alliance can only be a political decision," Zelenskiy told diplomats at a gathering in Kyiv. "Alliance for Ukraine is achievable, but it is achievable only if we fight for this decision at all the necessary levels."
Zelenskiy said allies needed to know what Ukraine can bring to NATO and how its membership in the alliance would stabilize global relations, Reuters reported.
Last week, Zelenskiy urged European countries to provide guarantees to protect Ukraine after the war with Russia ends and said Ukraine would ultimately need more protection through membership of the alliance.