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.



North Korea Blames South's Military for Drone Intrusion

FILE - North Korean balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
FILE - North Korean balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
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North Korea Blames South's Military for Drone Intrusion

FILE - North Korean balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
FILE - North Korean balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

North Korea's defense ministry blamed South Korea's military for sending drones into its territory for political purposes, calling it an infringement upon the country's sovereignty, state media KCNA said on Monday.
The ministry announced final results of its investigation after claiming that South Korean drones flew over Pyongyang at least three times this month to distribute anti-North leaflets. KCNA has also published photos of what it described as a crashed South Korean military drone, Reuters said.
During an analysis of the drone's flight control program, North Korean authorities said they uncovered more than 230 flight plans and flight logs since June 2023, including a plan to scatter "political motivational rubbish."
An Oct. 8 record showed that the drone had departed the South's border island of Baengnyeongdo late at night and released leaflets over the foreign and defense ministry buildings in Pyongyang a few hours later.
Seoul's defense ministry did not immediately have comment but has said Pyongyang's unilateral claims were "not worth verifying or a response."
A North Korean spokesperson warned that the country would respond with "merciless offensive" if such a case recurs, KCNA said.
Tensions between the Koreas have rekindled since the North began flying balloons carrying trash into the South in late May, prompting the South to restart loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts.
Seoul and Washington have said North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, which could mean a significant escalation in their conflict. Pyongyang said on Friday that any move to send its troops to support Russia would be in line with international law.