Iran Accuses Biden of Giving Tacit Support to an Israeli Attack

Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)
Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)
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Iran Accuses Biden of Giving Tacit Support to an Israeli Attack

Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)
Iranians walk past an anti-Israeli billboard at the Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, 21 October 2024. (EPA)

Iran accused on Monday US President Joe Biden of contradicting repeated American claims to support de-escalation in the Middle East by giving tacit approval and support to an Israeli attack against the country.

Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani called Biden’s statement that he knows when and how Israel may respond to Tehran’s missile barrage on the country in early October “profoundly alarming and provocative.”

Biden was asked in Berlin last Friday whether he had an understanding of when and how Israel may respond, “Yes and yes,” he responded, refusing to offer any details.

Iravani said in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council on Monday that Biden’s knowledge, coupled with the US provision of technical expertise and advanced weapons including sophisticated air defense systems to Israel, “would make the US government `complicit’ in any Israeli aggression against Iran and its consequences.”

The Iranian ambassador claimed in the letter obtained by The Associated Press that any Israeli action would violate international law and the UN Charter and have “catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security.”

The UN Charter says all member nations -- now 193 -- shall refrain from threatening or using force against another country, but if attacked a country can take action in self-defense.

Iran called on the Security Council “to unequivocally condemn this reckless provocation,” and also demand that the US “leverage its substantial influence to compel Israel” to immediate end the war in Gaza and attacks in Lebanon.



Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Sunday she was not concerned about talks between former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reiterated her positions on the conflict in the Middle East.

Democratic presidential candidate Harris faces Republican Trump in a tight race for the Nov. 5 US elections.

"No," Harris said when asked if talks between Trump and Netanyahu could undermine what the current US government is trying to achieve.

Trump and Netanyahu have spoken on a few occasions in recent weeks. They had close ties when Trump was president as the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which delighted Israelis and infuriated Palestinians.

"I do believe that it is critically important that we as the United States of America be an active participant in encouraging one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the 'day after' (in Gaza)," Harris told reporters on Sunday.

President Joe Biden has supported Israel during its wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Palestinian group Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Harris and Trump have pledged to maintain US support for its ally.

In the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, about 1,200 were killed and nearly 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed around 43,000, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has displaced nearly everyone in Gaza, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Israel's separate campaign in Lebanon has killed over 2,500 and displaced over a million. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, who have been engaged in cross-border fire with Israel for the past year.