Iran denies Trump's claims it gave Hamas ‘orders' in Gaza
Trump, speaking to reporters on Monday during a visit to Scotland, said the Iranians had 'interjected themselves in this last negotiation' between Israel and Hamas, which ended last week with no breakthrough.
'I think they got involved in this negotiation, telling Hamas, giving Hamas signals and orders and that's not good,' Trump said without elaborating.
Iran, a close ally and backer of Hamas, dismissed Trump's remarks as 'absolutely baseless'.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the claim 'a form of projection and evasion of responsibility and accountability' on the US president's part.
According to Baqaei, Hamas negotiators 'do not need the intervention of third parties' as the group 'recognizes and pursues the interests of the oppressed people of Gaza in the most appropriate manner.'
The latest round of indirect negotiations, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, was held earlier this month in Doha but failed to secure a truce deal.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of failing to compromise on key issues to end the nearly 22-month war.
Last month, Israel launched a surprise offensive on its staunch rival Iran, targeting key nuclear and military sites but also hitting residential areas.
The United States briefly joined the conflict, striking Iranian nuclear facilities, while Tehran fought back with missile and drone attacks.
Trump said on Monday that since its 12-day war with Israel ended, Iran has been sending 'very bad signals,' without specifying in what regard.
He was possibly referring to nuclear negotiations with Washington that had been derailed by the conflict, or to Iran's support for militant groups in the region which the United States and its allies see as a threat.
Baqaei in turn urged the United States to 'stop sending deadly weapons to the occupying regime,' meaning Washington's close ally Israel, and force it to 'stop the genocide, allow humanitarian aid to enter' the Gaza Strip.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
A stain on the face of humanity
The US is finally admitting that Gazans are starving. In the space of less than 24 hours, President Donald Trump shifted positions, from saying that he was not sure people are starving in Gaza to stating that there is 'real starvation' in the Israeli-blockaded enclave. In a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday, Trump said that the US would set up 'food centers' in Gaza as he acknowledged Israel 'has a lot of responsibility' for limiting aid to the Strip. His admission puts him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday denied that people are starving in Gaza. In March, Israel pulled out of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, negotiated through the US, and imposed a full blockade on more than 2 million Gazans. It stopped all aid trucks from entering the Strip, thereby denying civilians access to essential supplies such as food, baby formula, medicine, fuel and water. Israel has used starvation as a weapon from Day 1 of its onslaught on Gaza. Its officials are on record admitting and supporting the blockade. Far-right Cabinet ministers have objected to any proposal that would reopen the border crossings to allow hundreds of aid trucks to enter the beleaguered enclave. On the few occasions that aid trucks have been admitted, Israel attacked and killed aid workers, including foreign nationals. It accused Hamas of stealing the aid, but the US Agency for International Development debunked that claim. Israel banned the leading UN agency, UNRWA, which is responsible for delivering food and medicine to the Palestinians. It bombed food warehouses in Gaza and created a human-made humanitarian catastrophe that — so far — has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of children and infants from acute malnutrition. And when pressure was put on Israel and the US to offer an alternative to the UN and other organizations, Netanyahu created the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-Israeli entity manned by armed contractors and protected by the Israeli army, which took responsibility for feeding more than 2 million souls. The outcome is tragic and, to say the least, criminal. So far, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been gunned down by Israel and the armed contractors as they huddled like animals to receive meals. But even then, Israel poured cement into water wells, denied hospitals access to fuel and medication, and continued to strike safe zones where hapless civilians were ordered to move by the Israeli army for their safety. The irony is that, even as Israel knowingly and deliberately pushed the Strip into starvation, Western governments, including the US, did nothing to stop it. It was only when the harrowing images of emaciated babies went viral on social media that real pressure was put on Israel. Netanyahu last week announced a humanitarian pause, allowing aid trucks into the Strip and facilitating airdrops. But while hundreds of trucks traveled from Egypt into an Israeli-controlled border point, only 100 were allowed in. Aid agencies estimate that between 500 and 700 trucks are needed daily to contain the humanitarian crisis. Netanyahu must be ordered to end the humanitarian crisis and stop weaponizing food and medicine. Osama Al-Sharif The so-called humanitarian pause is a lie. Israel continues to bomb Gaza, mainly killing civilians, while the few functioning hospitals lack fuel, food, water and medication. Now, Trump wants to establish food centers in Gaza. Israel will find ways to sabotage that effort. What Trump fails or refuses to say is that Israel must open the border crossings to let aid trucks in without conditions. Netanyahu must be ordered to end the humanitarian crisis and stop weaponizing food and medicine. Israel lost all sympathy for its war as it waged an open genocide on Gaza. The objective was never to defeat Hamas but to destroy Gaza and displace its people. US, Egyptian, Qatari and even Israeli negotiators know that Hamas was ready to deliver the hostages if Israel would commit to ending the war. However, Netanyahu and his far-right government partners have other ideas. They openly talk about reoccupying and colonizing Gaza. They have no sympathy for the high civilian toll and push for forcing Gazans to leave at any price. Israel's image in the West has been tarnished and no one believes it can ever be repaired. If and when the war stops and independent journalists and investigators enter the Strip, the complete picture of the horrors Israel has created there will become clear. Even Israeli reports now believe the final death toll in Gaza will be double or triple the current figures. Despite all the war crimes that Israel has committed in Gaza, the Palestinians are not leaving. Israel has had to abandon its grotesque proposal to set up a so-called humanitarian city on the remains of Rafah — a concentration camp no different to the ones the Nazis built for European Jews ahead of their 'final solution.' The images of starving Palestinian children are a stain on the face of humanity, but they will especially haunt Israelis and those who enabled this genocide. It could be brought to an end today. Trump must tell Israel to do so. Trump's admission that Gazans are starving and that the war must end requires bold action. Such action must be done in collaboration with Western countries that have leverage remaining over Israel. Ending the humanitarian crisis is a priority. This collective message must be sent to Netanyahu as soon as possible. Ending the blockade is the first step. This must be followed by a plan to end the war, retrieve the hostages and end Hamas' control of the Strip. Israel must pull out and allow an interim authority to take over, as was previously suggested. Gazans need protection and Israel needs assurances that Oct. 7 will never happen again. This is a moment where Hamas must put the safety and interests of the Palestinian people, who have paid a dear price over the past 22 months, ahead of its own. But even then, that is not enough. The Palestinian question must be addressed and a resolution to decades of war and death must be found. The core of instability in the region has always been linked to Israel's denial of Palestinian self-determination and rejection of the two-state solution. The need for international momentum to relaunch a genuine peace process has never been more urgent. Trump is in a position to change the current trajectory not only in Gaza, but in Israel and the West Bank as well. The Palestinian issue is, at its heart, not humanitarian but political and the time has come to address it.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
‘It won't stop our efforts': Palestinian official on US sanctions, Witkoff's Gaza visit
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Arab News
2 hours ago
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Is Israel the region's new police?
Seven years ago, I wrote about the 'regional rise of Israel.' Today, its presence is greater than ever, and it is behind dramatic geopolitical changes in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. After all this, how does Israel now view itself? Israel is unlikely to settle for its old role; it will seek political roles that reflect its military capabilities. Tel Aviv maintained a policy for over half a century based on protecting its existence, and its old and occupied borders. This included confronting Iran and manipulating opposing powers, including the regimes of Saddam Hussein and Bashar Assad. Today, Israel is launching a new phase after having dismantled the powers that surrounded it. For the first time in its modern history, there is no regional force declaring a threat against Israel and capable of acting on it. Even Iran, after the destruction of its offensive capabilities, cannot do so. This equation could change in the future if Iran manages to rebuild its internal and external strength, but for now, that seems unlikely or far off. With changing circumstances, Israel's strategy is also changing. It no longer wants to be just a border guard — it wants to be an offensive player in the region. The region itself is scattered, with no clear alliances, as if it is waiting for someone to resolve its instability, including the Tehran axis, which has significantly shrunk. There are two possibilities for what Israel could become. The first: It sees itself as a force to preserve the new status quo and 'stability,' engaging peacefully with its neighbors by expanding relations with the rest of the Arab world. This would mean the end of the era of war and boycott. With the fall or weakening of regimes that opposed it, Israel would bolster its interests by entrenching the geopolitical situation, cleaning up its surroundings, and sidelining what remains of movements hostile to it. The second possibility is that Israel, with its military superiority, wants to reshape the region based on its political vision and interests — and that could mean more confrontations. Regional states have longstanding fears in this regard. Expansionist regimes, such as Saddam's Iraq, and Iran, viewed Israel as an obstacle to their regional ambitions and adopted a confrontational stance, even if their rhetoric was always wrapped in the Palestinian cause. The attacks by Hamas pulled Israel out of its shell and placed it more squarely in the regional equation than ever before. So, is Israel seeking regional coexistence, or does it aim to appoint itself as the region's police? Israel is a small country and will likely remain so due to the nature of its system that insists on preserving its Jewish identity. Abdulrahman Al-Rashed Everything suggests that Israel wants to be a player in regional politics and conflicts. It could act as a military contractor, regional actor, or even the leader of an alliance. It has already quickly blocked Iraqi intervention in Syria and Turkish expansion as well. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government's appetite for conflict has revived fears of a 'Greater Israel' project and ambitions to expand across the region. But the truth is, most of these narratives are pushed by parties involved in the conflict, such as Iran, Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the left. Israel may be seeking a dominant role, but geographic expansion seems unlikely. For 50 years, it has remained inward-looking, using its financial, military, and legal capabilities to absorb the territories it occupied in the 1967 war. It is still struggling to hold onto them and has foiled many attempts to return them — either through a Palestinian state or by restoring them to Jordanian and Egyptian administration. Israel is a small country and will likely remain so due to the nature of its system that insists on preserving its Jewish identity. Today, 20 percent of its citizens are Palestinian. If it were to annex the occupied territories, Palestinians would make up half the population. That makes the real challenge absorbing, not expanding, the West Bank and Gaza. The fear is that Israeli extremists could try to exploit the current chaos for this purpose. That happened after the Oct. 7 attack, which was used as justification to expel part of the West Bank and Gaza population. This is a real possibility with dangerous consequences. However, there is exaggeration in the rhetoric pushed by ideologues warning of a so-called 'Greater Israel,' often citing images and articles calling for expansion beyond the Jordan River. These may exist within Talmudic or political narratives, just as some dream of 'Al-Andalus' in old Arab-Islamic history. Demographically, Israel is bound by its concept of a Jewish state and fears ethnic dilution, unlike most countries in the region, which were formed through and accepted ethnic and cultural diversity. Israel seeks dominance, but it fears the inevitable demographic integration that comes with occupation. Politically, the future strategy of the Jewish state — after its recent military victories — remains unclear and may still be taking shape. Regardless of what it wants — whether a peaceful state open to its Arab neighbors or a regional police entangled in constant battles — the region has its own dynamics. Competing and complex factors drive it, and no single power can dominate it.
