Netanyahu defends planned Gaza offensive as backlash grows
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-Diplomacy or defiance: Iran's rulers face existential choice after US-Israeli strikes
By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI (Reuters) -Weakened by war and diplomatic deadlock, Iran's clerical elite stands at a crossroads: defy pressure to halt its nuclear activity and risk further Israeli and U.S. attack, or concede and risk a leadership fracture. For now, the Islamic Republic establishment is focusing on immediate survival over longer-term political strategy. A fragile ceasefire ended a 12-day war in June that began with Israeli air strikes, followed by U.S. bunker-busting bombings of three underground Iranian nuclear sites. Both sides declared victory but the war exposed the military vulnerabilities and punctured the image of deterrence maintained by a major Middle East power and Israel's arch regional foe. Three Iranian insiders told Reuters the political establishment now views negotiations with the U.S. - aimed at resolving a decades-long dispute over its nuclear ambitions - as the only way to avoid further escalation and existential peril. The strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets, which included killings of top Revolutionary Guard commanders and nuclear scientists, shocked Tehran, kicking off just a day before a planned sixth round of talks with Washington. While Tehran accused Washington of "betraying diplomacy", some hardline lawmakers and military commanders blamed officials who advocated diplomacy with Washington, arguing the dialogue proved a "strategic trap" that distracted the armed forces. However, one political insider, who like others requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said the leadership now leaned towards talks as "they've seen the cost of military confrontation". President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that resuming talks with the United States "does not mean we intend to surrender", addressing hardliners opposing further nuclear diplomacy after the war. He added: "You don't want to talk? What do you want to do? ... Do you want to go (back) to war?" His remarks were criticised by hardliners including Revolutionary Guards commander Aziz Ghazanfari, who warned that foreign policy demands discretion and that careless statements could have serious consequences. Ultimately, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei holds the final say. Insiders said he and the clerical power structure had reached a consensus to resume nuclear negotiations, viewing them as vital to the Islamic Republic's survival. Iran's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. DYNAMICS AND EXTERNAL PRESSURE U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned they will not hesitate to hit Iran again if it resumes enrichment of uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear weapons. Last week, Trump warned that if Iran restarted enrichment despite the June strikes on its key production plants, "we'll be back'. Tehran responded with a vow of forceful retaliation. Still, Tehran fears future strikes could cripple political and military coordination, and so has formed a defence council to ensure command continuity even if the 87-year-old Khamenei must relocate to a remote hideaway to avoid assassination. Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C., said that if Iran seeks to rapidly rebuild its nuclear capacity without securing diplomatic or security guarantees, "a U.S.–Israeli strike won't just be possible - it will be all but inevitable". "Re-entering talks could buy Tehran valuable breathing room and economic relief, but without swift U.S. reciprocity it risks a hardline backlash, deepening elite divisions, and fresh accusations of surrender," Vatanka said. Tehran insists on its right to uranium enrichment as part of what it maintains is a peaceful nuclear energy programme, while the Trump administration demands a total halt - a core sticking point in the diplomatic standoff. Renewed United Nations sanctions under the so-called "snapback" mechanism, pushed by three European powers, loom as a further threat if Tehran refuses to return to negotiations or if no verifiable deal to curb its nuclear activity results. Tehran has threatened to quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But insiders say this is a pressure tactic, not a realistic plan - as exiting the NPT would telegraph an Iranian race for nuclear bombs and invite U.S. and Israeli intervention. A senior Western diplomat said Iran's rulers were vulnerable as never before, and any defiance was a gamble liable to backfire at a time of rising domestic unrest, impaired deterrence power and Israel's disabling of Iran's militia proxies in wars around the Middle East since 2023. MOUNTING ANXIETY Among ordinary Iranians, weariness over war and international isolation runs deep, compounded by a growing sense of failed governance. The oil-based economy, already hobbled by sanctions and state mismanagement, is under worsening strain. Daily blackouts afflict cities around the country of 87 million people, forcing many businesses to cut back. Reservoirs have receded to record lows, prompting warnings from the government of a looming 'national water emergency.' Many Iranians - even those opposed to the Shi'ite theocracy - rallied behind the country during the June war, but now face lost incomes and intensified repression. Alireza, 43, a furniture merchant in Tehran, said he is considering downsizing his business and relocating his family outside the capital amid fears of further air attack. "This is the result of 40 years of failed policies," he said, alluding to Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Western-backed monarchy. "We are a resource-rich country and yet people don't have water and electricity. My customers have no money. My business is collapsing." At least 20 people across Iran interviewed by phone echoed Alireza's sentiment - that while most Iranians do not want another war, they are also losing faith in the establishment's capacity to govern wisely. Despite broad discontent, large-scale protests have not broken out. Instead, authorities have tightened security, ramped up pressure on pro-democracy activists, accelerated executions and cracked down on alleged Israeli-linked spy networks - fuelling fears of widening surveillance and repression. However, sidelined moderates have resurfaced in state media after years of exclusion. Some analysts see this as a move to ally public anxiety and signal the possibility of reform from within - without "regime change" that would shift core policies. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Mark Heinrich) Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
South Sudan denies talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza
The Associated Press, citing six sources, reported Israel was holding discussions with South Sudan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza. NAIROBI − South Sudan is not in talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, South Sudan's foreign ministry said on August 13. The Associated Press, citing six people with knowledge of the matter, reported that Israel was holding discussions with South Sudan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in the East African nation. "These claims are baseless and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan," South Sudan's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. More: Hamas hostage videos silenced Israeli media's talk of Gaza aid crisis Israel's military has pounded Gaza City in recent days prior to its planned takeover of the shattered enclave which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on aUGUST 13 reiterated a view − also enthusiastically floated by President Donald Trump − that Palestinians should simply leave Gaza. Many world leaders are horrified at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe), when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. In March, Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland also denied receiving any proposal from the United States or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move. South Sudan's Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba visited Israel last month and met with Netanyahu, according to the foreign ministry in Juba. More: Israel approves plan to take control of Gaza City Last month South Sudan's government confirmed that eight migrants deported to the African nation by the Trump administration were currently in the care of the authorities in Juba after they lost a legal battle to halt their transfer. Since achieving independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has spent nearly half its life at war and is currently in the grip of a political crisis, after President Salva Kiir's government ordered the arrest of Vice President Riek Machar in March.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: The road to peace will begin when Israel ends its occupation
To the editor: It's ironic that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he now wants to take over Gaza by expanding the war and turning over the strip to friendly Arab forces ('Netanyahu says Israel plans to take over all of Gaza in bid to destroy Hamas,' Aug. 7). Netanyahu and his radical religious parties have always wanted the expulsion of Palestinians from the strip. The world is watching an ongoing genocide in real time. Israel is wiping out cities, schools and universities along with the historical culture of the Gaza people, as it did in the Palestinian villages in 1948. Eliminating Hamas is justification to the West for his barbaric war. Starvation as a weapon of war is just a continuation of Netanyahu's war of expulsion and annexing the territories. The U.S. — especially the past and current presidents — has enabled this spoiled child to do as he pleases. The solution for peace for Israel and the Palestinians has always and will always be for an end to the occupation and freedom for the Palestinians who have endured occupation for 60 years. Is it not enough that Israel has affected the mental and physical future of a generation of children and caused the loss of future doctors, academics and other professionals? George J. Mouro, Rancho Mirage ... To the editor: The Times continues to show the tragic pictures of the children starving in Gaza. My heart goes out to them. My question to The Times is this: Why aren't you showing the body of a dead Jew who was slaughtered on Oct. 7, 2023, next to the picture of a starving child of Gaza? It is time for the Arab world to send in an Islamic multi-country army to destroy Hamas. Then the Arabic countries could use their oil wealth to feed the children, allow Israel to withdraw from Gaza and build a peaceful country where there will be no more starving children. Mark Walker, Yorba Linda
