Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Ethiopia join BRICS, doubling membership

Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt are the latest countries to join BRICS, implying some very drastic dynamic shifts in the region. SETH J. FRANTZMAN JANUARY 3, 2024 16:26 Updated: JANUARY 3, 2024 16:32 China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, Russia’s Foreign Minister […]

Iranian President: Israel will pay a heavy price for Kerman explosion

Jan 3, 2024, 8:46 PM (GMT+2) Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi accused Israel of being responsible for the set of explosions that killed over 100 people near the gravesite of Qasem Soleimani in Kerman on Wednesday and said that Israel would “pay a heavy price for the crime, which will cause it to regret it.”

Iran, Hezbollah may not risk war with Israel over al-Arouri killing – former defense chief

Iran and Hezbollah, both Shiite movements, may not view the death of al-Arouri, who is Sunni, as worth the cost. YONAH JEREMY BOB JANUARY 3, 2024 21:56 It is not clear that Shiite Iran and Hezbollah will risk a big fight with Israel over the death of a Sunni official, Hamas Deputy Chief Saleh al-Arouri, […]

Report: Jordan under pressure to join anti-Israel lawsuit in Hague

Israel must exact political price from Jordan for all revelations of horrific incitement, activist says. Israel National News   Jan 3, 2024, 9:44 PM (GMT+2) JordanSwords of Iron Amman, JordaniStock The Muslim Brotherhood movement in Jordan has called on the Jordanian parliament to join the lawsuit against Israel in the Hague. Dima Tahbove, spokesperson for the […]

US ‘not seeing acts of genocide’ in Gaza, State Dept says

Israel has called the genocide case “baseless” and says Hamas is using Palestinians as human shields and stealing aid from them, accusations Hamas denies. REUTERS JANUARY 3, 2024 23:08 The US has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday, after South Africa launched genocide proceedings at […]

Israeli officials said in talks with Congo, others on taking in Gaza emigrants

Today, 8:12 am   7   The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister-site Zman Yisrael reports that Israeli officials have held clandestine talks with the African nation of Congo and several others for the potential acceptance of Gaza emigrants. “Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others,” a senior source in the […]

US intel assesses Hamas used Shifa Hospital as command center, held hostages there

American official says US obtained evidence that Gaza-ruling terror group largely evacuated hospital before Israeli op, destroyed documents and electronics while leaving By AGENCIES and TOI STAFFToday, 6:42 am   0 Hamas terrorists bring a hostage into Shifa Hospital as seen on surveillance footage from October 7, 2023. (IDF) US spy agencies assess that Islamist terror organization Hamas and another […]

Iran stations warship in Red Sea as US aircraft carrier leaves Middle East – analysis

The story about the US carrier leaving the region was covered in Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran, showing that pro-Iran figures in the region are watching. SETH J. FRANTZMAN JANUARY 1, 2024 13:58 Updated: JANUARY 1, 2024 15:20 Iran’s Alborz warship has passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and entered the Red Sea, the country’s […]

‘Steadfastness’ and retaliation: Iranian media respond to Arouri assassination

Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was born in 1966 and detained in the 1990s by Israel. He eventually left prison and moved to Turkey before migrating to Qatar and Lebanon. SETH J. FRANTZMAN JANUARY 3, 2024 01:26 Pro-Iranian media in the Middle East have reacted to the killing of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri. The […]

Turkey says it rounds up 33 suspected spies for Israel’s Mossad

Turkey has harshly criticized Israel for its bombardment of Gaza in its war with Hamas, with Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly exchanging barbs last week. JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 2, 2024 11:20 Updated: JANUARY 2, 2024 16:55 Turkish authorities have detained 34 people suspected of being linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service […]

US slams Israeli ministers’ statements on resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza

REUTERS JANUARY 2, 2024 22:45    The US State Department on Tuesday slammed recent statements from Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir that advocated for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza, calling the rhetoric “inflammatory and irresponsible.” Finance Minister Smotrich, one of the senior figures in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing […]

Senior Hamas military officials Samir Findi, Azzam Al-Aqraa identified among dead along with Arouri

Today, 9:20 pm     People inspecting body parts following a massive explosion in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) Senior Hamas military officials Samir Findi and Azzam Al-Aqraa have been identified among the five killed along with Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in an alleged Israeli airstrike […]

Netanyahu spokesman on Arouri killing: ‘Whoever did this, it’s not an attack on Lebanon or Hezbollah’

Today, 9:35 pm     Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign media spokesman Mark Regev is interviewed on MSNBC on January 2, 2024. (Screen capture/X) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign media spokesman Mark Regev is asked during an MSNBC interview about the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon. While stammering significantly in […]

Hamas’s Haniyeh: No hostage release without complete ceasefire

REUTERS JANUARY 2, 2024 17:07 Updated: JANUARY 2, 2024 17:11  Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the movement had delivered its position to Qatar and Egypt which is based on “a complete cessation of the aggression” against the Palestinians, helping them and responding to their demands. “Hostages will not be released except under the resistance’s conditions,” […]