International
Iran, allies ready Israel response as funerals held for militant leaders
Iran, allies ready Israel response as funerals held for militant leaders
TEHRAN: Iran and its regional allies vowed retaliation on Thursday for the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, raising regional tensions as mourners filled Tehran’s city center calling for revenge.
A public funeral was held for Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital where he was killed early Wednesday in an attack which Israel has not commented on.
Haniyeh’s body was then flown to Qatar, where he had resided and where he is to be laid to rest on Friday, when his group called for a “day of furious rage” in the Palestinian territories and across the region.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, addressing the funeral of the Lebanese group’s top military commander, said Israel and “those who are behind it must await our inevitable response” to Fuad Shukr’s and Haniyeh’s killings within hours of each other.
“You do not know what red lines you crossed,” Nasrallah said, addressing Israel, a day after Shukr was killed in a strike in south Beirut.
Israel, which said Shukr’s assassination was a response to deadly rocket fire last week on the annexed Golan Heights, warned its adversaries on Thursday they would “pay a very high price” for any “aggression.”
“Israel is at a very high level of preparation for any scenario, both defensive and offensive,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
“Those who attack us, we will attack in return.”
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that Iranian officials met in Tehran on Wednesday with representatives of the so-called “axis of resistance,” a loose alliance of Tehran-backed groups hostile to Israel, to discuss their next steps.
“Two scenarios were discussed: a simultaneous response from Iran and its allies or a staggered response from each party,” said the source who had been briefed on the meeting, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The leader of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels vowed a “military response” to Israel’s “major escalation.”
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Analysts told AFP that the retaliation would be measured to avoid a wider conflagration.
Iran and the groups it backs “will more than likely try to avert a war, while also strongly deterring Israel from continuing with this new policy, this targeted shock and awe,” said Amal Saad, a Hezbollah researcher and lecturer at Britain’s Cardiff University.
In Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for Haniyeh having earlier threatened “harsh punishment” for his killing.
Crowds, including women shrouded in black, carried posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags in a procession and ceremony that began at Tehran University, an AFP correspondent reported.
Senior Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami, attended the ceremony, state television images showed.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced the day before that Haniyeh and a bodyguard were killed in a pre-dawn strike Wednesday on their accommodation in Tehran.
The New York Times however reported, citing anonymous sources including two Iranian officials, that the blast was caused by an explosive device planted several months ago.
When asked about the report, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters “there was no other Israeli aerial attack… in all the Middle East” on the night of Shukr’s killing.
Qatar-based Haniyeh had been visiting Tehran for Pezeshkian’s swearing-in on Tuesday.
Pezeshkian said Iran “will continue to support with firmer determination the axis of resistance,” the official IRNA news agency said.
Qatar-based network Al Jazeera reported that the plane carrying Haniyeh’s body had landed in Doha, where the Palestinian leader is to be buried following prayers at the Qatari capital’s largest mosque.
Hamas called in a statement for a day of protests on Friday.
“Let roaring anger marches start from every mosque,” it said.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Haniyeh a “martyr” and announced a national day of mourning on Friday “in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.” Pakistan too announced a national day of mourning.
The international community has called for calm and a focus on securing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip — which Haniyeh had accused Israel of obstructing.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said the strikes in Tehran and Beirut represented a “dangerous escalation.”
In a phone call, the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt blamed Israel for rising tensions and called for “de-escalation,” Jordan’s official Petra news agency reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated appeals for an end to fighting and said achieving peace “starts with a ceasefire.”
But the prime minister of key ceasefire broker Qatar said Haniyeh’s killing had thrown the whole Gaza war mediation process into doubt.
“How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on social media site X.
US President Joe Biden will speak to Netanyahu later on Thursday, the White House said.
The killings are the latest of several major incidents that have inflamed regional tensions during the Gaza war which has drawn in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
Beyond Gaza, clashes continued on Thursday with Lebanese authorities reporting four Syrians killed in an Israeli strike, followed by Hezbollah announcing a barrage of “dozens” of rockets at Israel.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its October 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Concern over the fate of those still held has grown among Israelis, who demonstrated demanding a deal to free them in Tel Aviv on Thursday, marking the war’s 300th day.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,480 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
Iran, allies ready Israel response as funerals held for militant leaders
ARAB NEWS
International
Ceasefire negotiations: Trump ‘very angry’ with Putin
Ceasefire negotiations: Trump ‘very angry’ with Putin
Donald Trump has said he is “very angry” and “pissed off” with Russian President Vladimir Putin after weeks of attempting to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In an NBC News interview, the US president criticised Putin for attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s credibility, and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on countries buying Russian oil if he did not agree to a ceasefire.
Last week, Putin suggested the possibility of a UN-run government in Ukraine to organise new elections and then begin peace talks.
Trump’s comments mark a change in tone towards Putin. Over the past six weeks, Trump has publicly harangued Zelensky and demanded numerous concessions from Ukraine’s president.
In turn, he has flattered Putin and largely given in to the Russian president’s demands.
European leaders had worried that Trump was cosying up to Putin.
But Trump’s comments on Sunday appeared to be a departure from that dynamic. It is the first time the US has seriously threatened Russia with consequences for dragging its feet in ceasefire negotiations, which would seem to put the diplomatic ball back in Moscow’s court.
NBC News reported that, in a 10-minute phone interview, Trump said he was very angry and “pissed off” when Putin criticised the credibility of Zelensky’s leadership, although the president has himself called Ukraine’s leader a dictator and demanded that he hold elections.
“You could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when… Putin started getting into Zelensky’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right location,” Trump said.
“New leadership means you’re not gonna have a deal for a long time,” he added.
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When speaking about Putin, Trump said that the Kremlin knew of his anger, but noted that he had “a very good relationship” with the Russian leader and “the anger dissipates quickly… if he does the right thing”.
If Russia does not follow through with a ceasefire, Trump threatened to target its economy further if he thought it was Putin’s fault.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault – which it might not be… I am going to put secondary tariffs… on all oil coming out of Russia,” he said.
“There will be a 25% tariff on oil and other products sold in the United States, secondary tariffs,” Trump said, noting that the tariffs on Russia would come in a month without a ceasefire deal.
Secondary tariffs are sanctions on countries that do business with another country. They could constitute up to 50% on goods entering the US from countries still buying oil from Russia. The biggest such buyers by a long margin are China and India.
Zelensky wrote on social media following the interview that “Russia continues looking for excuses to drag this war out even further”.
He said that “Putin is playing the same game he has since 2014”, when Russia unilaterally annexed the Crimean peninsula.
“This is dangerous for everyone – and there should be an appropriate response from the United States, Europe, and all our global partners who seek peace.”
Trump said he would speak to Putin later in the week.
Moscow says the current Ukrainian authorities are illegitimate as President Zelensky has stayed in power beyond the end of his term and is therefore not a valid negotiating partner.
But Zelensky has stayed because elections have been put on hold, legally by martial law and practically by the chaos of war.
It would be almost impossible to hold a valid election with more than five million Ukrainian citizens displaced overseas and many hundreds of thousands away from home fighting on the front line.
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Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine, in February 2022. It currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
More than 100,000 people fighting for Russia’s military have now died as the war in Ukraine enters the fourth year, according to data analysed by BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers who have been counting deaths since the war began.
Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be an under-estimate.
Also in the NBC interview on Sunday, Trump said he was “not joking” when he said he would not rule out seeking a third term in the White House, despite it being prohibited by the US Constitution.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go.”
During the call with NBC, he also again threatened to bomb Iran if it did not agree to a nuclear deal. Trump earlier this month sent a letter to the regime demanding negotiations.
“It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” he said, noting he would also impose secondary tariffs.
On Sunday, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said the country would not enter into direct negotiations with Washington concerning their nuclear programme, but indirect talks were possible.
“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” he said. “They must prove that they can build trust.”
Ceasefire negotiations: Trump ‘very angry’ with Putin
BBC
International
In pictures: Eid celebrations around the world
In pictures: Eid celebrations around the world
Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, one of the biggest celebrations in the Islamic calendar.
Eid al-Fitr – which means “festival of the breaking of the fast” – is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting for many adults, as well as spiritual reflection and prayer.
Here in Moscow, worshippers are seen preparing for prayer.
Hundreds took part in prayers at Tononoka grounds, in Mombasa, Kenya
Prayers were also observed at a stadium in Port Sudan in the east of the country
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Little children joined adults at the Moskee Essalam in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Gifts are handed out to Muslim children in Lviv, Ukraine, as Russia’s war on the country continues
Palestinians in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip pray amidst the rubble of a mosque destroyed in the current war between Israel and Hamas
Families gather at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem – the third holiest site in Islam
A boy yawns during prayers at a stadium in Qatar
Muslims greet each-other at Martim Moniz Square in Lisbon, Portugal
Women worshippers gather in Burgess Park, London, for an outdoor prayer
There were also worshippers gathered outside Plebiscito Square in Naples, Italy
Some women took pictures after attending prayers at the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
Afghan refugees pray at a mosque on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan
In pictures: Eid celebrations around the world
BBC
International
Search for survivors continue as death toll in Myanmar earthquake exceeds 1,600
Search for survivors continue as death toll in Myanmar earthquake exceeds 1,600
The death toll in Myanmar earthquake hit 1,644, the military government said on Saturday, according to BBC, CNN, Reuters and other reports.
In neighbouring Thailand, where the quake rattled buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, at least nine people were killed.
Survivors in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, dug with their bare hands on Friday in desperate attempts to save those still trapped, lacking heavy machinery and with authorities absent.
In Bangkok on Saturday, rescue operations continued at the site of the 33-storey tower’s collapse, where 47 people were missing or trapped under the rubble – including workers from Myanmar.
The US Geological Service’s predictive modelling estimated Myanmar’s death toll could exceed 10,000 and losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.
A day after making a rare call for international assistance, Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, travelled to hard-hit Mandalay near the epicentre of the quake, which brought down buildings and triggered fires in some areas.
Chairman of the State Administration Council instructed authorities to expedite search and rescue efforts and address any urgent needs,” the junta said in a statement on state media, referring to Min Aung Hlaing.
Airports closed
An initial assessment by Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government said at least 2,900 buildings, 30 roads and seven bridges had been damaged by the quake.
“Due to significant damage, Naypyitaw and Mandalay international airports are temporarily closed,” said the NUG, which includes remnants of the elected civilian government ousted by the military in a 2021 coup that triggered the civil war.
The control tower at the airport in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital city, collapsed, rendering it inoperable, a person with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
Hospitals in central and northwestern Myanmar were struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, warning that damage to roads was hindering access.
Seventeen cargo trucks of shelter and medical supplies were due to arrive on Sunday to address shortages of medicines, including blood bags and anaesthetics, the agency added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with the junta chief, China’s embassy in Myanmar said on Saturday, and said Beijing would provide $13.77 million worth of aid, including tents, blankets and emergency medical kits.
The United States, which has a testy relationship with the Myanmar military and has sanctioned its officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, has said it would provide some assistance.
Relief supplies from India on a military aircraft also landed in Yangon, according to Myanmar state media, and India’s government said it was also dispatching ships with 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid.
Russia, Malaysia and Singapore were also sending planeloads of relief supplies and personnel.
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