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☆ U.S. Strikes Test Iran’s Will to Escalate
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( David E. Sanger | Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Iran and the United States assessed the damage done by American airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, the initiative suddenly shifted to Tehran and its pending decision whether to respond or take the hit and de-escalate. The expectation in Washington and among its allies is that the Iranians will choose the latter course, seeing no benefit in getting into a shooting war with a far larger power, with all the risks that implies. In response to a drone attack by an Iran-backed militia that killed three American soldiers on Jan. 28, the United States hit back against that group and several other Iran-backed militias on Friday night with 85 targeted strikes. In the aftermath, American officials insisted there was no back-channel discussion with Tehran, no quiet agreement that the U.S. would not strike directly at Iran. “There’s been no communications with Iran since the attack,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters in a call on Friday night after the retaliatory strikes were completed.

Persons: —, “ There’s, ” John Kirby Organizations: National Security Council Locations: Iran, United States, Syria, Iraq, Tehran, Washington, U.S

On Wednesday the White House said it believes an umbrella group of militants called Islamic Resistance in Iraq was behind the drone attack in Jordan. He stopped short of assigning exact blame on Kata’ib Hezbollah, the most powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq, saying it was not the only group responsible for previous attacks on US bases. On Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said his country will not initiate a war but will “respond strongly” to bullies. In a sign of a possible effort to quell the tensions, Kataib Hezbollah, announced on Tuesday the suspension of its military operations against US forces in the region. “We are announcing the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces (US troops) - in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government,” Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Lloyd Austin, ”, ” Austin, We’re, ” John Kirby, “, ” Kirby, Ebrahim Raisi, ” Kataib, Akram Al Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, National Security Council, White, Hezbollah, US, Free Hezbollah Brigades Locations: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Jordan, Israel, Gaza, Tehran, United States, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian Hormozgan province

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday he has made a decision about the US response to the drone strike that killed three US service members and injured dozens in Jordan. Asked by CNN’s Arlette Saenz whether he has decided how to respond, Biden said, “Yes,” but declined to provide further details. Along with the three US Army soldiers who were killed, more than 40 other service members were injured in the drone attack. Biden had warned in a statement shortly after the drone attack that the US will respond in a “time and manner of our choosing” as he weighs how to deter future attacks without escalating the conflict. Biden said he holds Iran responsible for the attack, which CNN has reported was carried out by suspected Iranian proxy forces.

Persons: Joe Biden, CNN’s Arlette Saenz, Biden, “, ” Biden, ” John Kirby, Biden “, ” Kirby, Kirby, Sen, Lindsey Graham, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, Administration, Dover Air Force Base, National Security Council, Air Force One, US Army, US, CNN, Navy Locations: Jordan, Gaza, Israel, Florida, American, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Tehran

The US has in recent months carried out several strikes targeting Iranian proxies’ weapons depots in Iraq and Syria. To date, none of those strikes have deterred the militants, whose 165 attacks have injured over 120 US service members across the region since October. ‘We don’t seek a war with Iran’Still, striking Iran is one of the least likely options at this point, officials said. We’re not looking for a wider conflict in the Middle East,” John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, told CNN on Monday. Tehran has watched as anti-US and anti-Israel protests swept across the Middle East after the Israel-Hamas war started.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Mark Hertling, “, Antony Blinken, Blinken, ”, Harakat, “ We’re, We’re, ” John Kirby, they’ve, ” Sabrina Singh, Jon Alterman, ” Alterman Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, National Security Council, Middle East, Center for Strategic, International Studies Locations: Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Iran’s, American, Lebanon, Yemen, Tehran, United States, “, Israel, Russia, China

CNN —Israeli forces launched a raid Wednesday on Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, after accusing Hamas of operating from tunnels beneath the vast complex – a claim denied by the militant group and hospital officials. A satellite image shows Al-Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza on November 7. Hagari at the time offered only one piece of evidence: a phone call purporting to be between two Gazans discussing the presence of Hamas’s headquarters at the Al-Shifa hospital. An aerial view shows the compound of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on November 7. Wounded Palestinians sit in Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, after arriving from Al-Ahli hospital following an explosion there on October 17.

Persons: Khaled Abu Samra, “, ”, Khader Al Za’anoun, Peter Lerner, Dawood Nemer, Israel, Daniel Hagari, Hagari, Al Rantisi children’s, Bashar Taleb, Israel’s, Wednesday’s, Medhat Abbas, Mai Al, Kaila, Abed Khaled, ” John Kirby, Joe Biden, Kirby, Biden, Shin, Avi Dichter Organizations: CNN, UN, Hamas, Maxar Technologies, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel Defense Forces, Wednesday, Getty, IDF, Al, Palestinian Authority Health, Israel, United Nations, US National Security Council, Internal Security, Amnesty Locations: Al, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Ramallah, ”, Gaza City, AFP, Hagari, “, Ahli, United States

☆ Reoccupying Gaza ‘Not the Right Thing to Do,’ White House Tells Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Lisa Friedman | More About Lisa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The White House cautioned Israel on Tuesday against reoccupying Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that his country could hold a security role there “for an indefinite period” once the war is over. “We’re having active discussions with our Israeli counterparts about what post-conflict Gaza looks like,” John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, told reporters. Mr. Netanyahu, in an interview with ABC News, did not say who should govern the enclave after Hamas, which now controls it, is gone. President Biden previously said that it would be “a big mistake” for Israel to reoccupy Gaza, from which it withdrew in 2005. A post-conflict Gaza, Mr. Biden has said, “can’t be Hamas,” an organization whose founding covenant embraces “killing the Jews” and wiping out Israel.

Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “ We’re, ” John Kirby, Netanyahu, Mr, “, Biden, “ can’t, ” Organizations: White, reoccupying Gaza, White House, Mr, ABC News, United, European Union Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States

☆ A new wave of antisemitism threatens to rock an already unstable world
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Jennifer Smith | Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Outbursts of antisemitism have often been harbingers of societies in deep trouble and omens that extremism and violence are imminent. Biden on Monday unveiled new measures to tackle antisemitism on college campuses and senior officials underscored the need to combat anti-Jewish hate. A widening problem in the United StatesIn recent years, antisemitism has often been driven in the United States by far-right groups. But reaction to the deepening crisis in Israel and Gaza has shown that antisemitism is also boiling on the far-left. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday tried to pinpoint the moment at which opposition to Israeli policies crosses into antisemitism.

Persons: –, Israel, Kathy Hochul, Cornell, Molly Goldstein, ”, “, United States —, Joe Biden, Biden, ” John Kirby, Christopher Wray, ” Wray, Donald Trump, Israel’s, Chuck Schumer, Monday, “ I’m, ” Jonathan Greenblatt, Kasie Hunt, CNN Max, ’ Organizations: CNN, Cornell University, Ivy League, Cornell, Police, New York Gov, Democrat, Cornell Center for Jewish, Beverly Hills, National Security, Jewish American, Israel Defense Forces, Defamation, ADL, Department of Justice, West Bank, New York Democrat, Defamation League Locations: Gaza, United States, New York, Israel, Beverly, Europe, America, Russia’s, Dagestan, Ukraine, al Qaeda, United States of America, Charlottesville , Virginia, Palestinian, Chicago, “ State, Russia

☆ No Decision on U.S. Military Action to Help Hostages, White House Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The White House said no decision has been made on whether to send U.S. forces into Gaza to rescue or help secure the release of hostages being held by Hamas militants. “We just don’t also have enough information … to be able to make decisions like that,” John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesman told reporters on Wednesday. The U.S. said while it suspected Americans were among those being held hostage since Hamas’ onslaught Saturday, they have no estimate of how many.

Persons: ” John Kirby Organizations: Hamas, National Security Locations: Gaza, U.S

☆ Putin’s ruthless power play may not preclude a revival of Ukraine grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Guterres said that he’d sent Russia proposals to keep the grain deal alive but that he was “deeply disappointed” that his efforts went unheeded. The UN chief’s comments reinforced a view that, for now, Russia sees a point of leverage in refusing to renew the Black Sea grain deal. Erdogan won prestige and the gratitude of his fellow NATO leaders and developing nations for brokering the original grain deal. So it may risk damaging its own priorities by triggering widespread food shortages, especially since much of Ukraine’s grain is used in World Food Programs to alleviate famine in Africa. While the end of the grain deal would cause significant global hardship, its worst effects may be weeks away – so there could be time for diplomacy to work.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky’s, Antony Blinken, it’s, ”, There’s, Dmitry Peskov, General António Guterres, Guterres, he’d, “, autocrats — Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, cannily, He’d, Michael Kimmage, ” Kimmage, Kimmage, “ That’s, ” John Kirby, Nicolay Gorbachov, Isa Soares Organizations: CNN, United Nations, NATO, Kremlin, UN, Putin, State Department, Catholic University of America, National Security Council, Ukrainian Grain Association, CNN International Locations: Ukraine, Africa, United States, Crimean, Russian, Turkey, Russia, West, Eurasia, Moscow, Turkish, Europe, Washington

☆ US has closely monitored power struggle between Prigozhin and Russian government for months
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stalled earlier this year, top American officials said they saw indications of tensions between the Kremlin and the Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Russia’s domestic intelligence service opened a criminal case against Prigozhin after he appeared to cross a red line with the Kremlin on Friday. Prigozhin, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, vowed to retaliate against the country’s military leadership after accusing Russian forces of striking a Wagner military camp and killing a “huge amount” of his mercenaries. In January, a top White House official said Wagner was becoming a “rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian militaries.” Officials suggested at the time that Prigozhin was working to advance his own interests in Ukraine instead of the broader Russian objectives. At the time, US intelligence officials deemed the Prigozhin meeting as significant enough to include in one of Biden’s daily briefings, sources said.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Gen, Valery Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin’s, Joe Biden, Adam Hodge, ” John Kirby, Putin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Wagner Group, Officials, House, Pentagon, Russian, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, National Security, White, ”, Wagner, West Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Prigozhin

☆ China to Build Station That Could Spy on U.S. from Cuba, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Wall Street Journal first reported on plans to build a facility in Cuba. President Biden’s National Security Council pushed back against reports of the planned facility. “This report is not accurate,” John Kirby, the council spokesman, said in a statement, declining to go into further detail. Bilateral relations had a further setback earlier this year when a Chinese spy balloon was caught traversing the United States, hovering near sensitive military sites. It is unclear if the latest revelations about the planned facility in Cuba could affect the visit once again.

Persons: Biden, ” John Kirby, Mr, Kirby, Nancy Pelosi’s, Antony J, Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi Organizations: Street Journal, Biden’s National Security Council, Mr Locations: —, Beijing, Cuba, Taiwan, United States

WASHINGTON—The U.S. military downed a “high-altitude object” spotted in the sky over Alaska, the White House said Friday, the second time in less than a week that an Air Force jet fired on a craft that had intruded into U.S. airspace. The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat to the safety of civilians,” John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told reporters at the White House.

☆ U.S. Shoots Down High-Altitude Object Over Alaska
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Andrew Restuccia | Nancy A. Youssef | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The U.S. military downed a “high-altitude object” spotted in Alaska’s airspace, the White House said Friday, marking at least the second time in less than a week the Biden administration had to take action to protect the skies over the U.S. The U.S. couldn’t say who owned the object, but a White House official said it didn’t appear to have a sophisticated capacity to maneuver and appeared to be unmanned. The U.S. planned to recover the debris, which landed on frozen water in northeastern Alaska. That location could “make it easier for us to try to recover some of the debris,” John Kirby , a White House National Security Council spokesman, told reporters.

☆ ‘I want to talk’: Brittney Griner opened up during her long trip home
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner didn’t want any alone time as soon as she boarded a U.S. government plane that would bring her home. I want to talk,” Griner said, according to Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who helped secure the basketball star’s release and bring her back to the U.S. last week. “It was really amazing.”Ultimately, Griner spent about 12 hours of an 18-hour flight talking with others on the plane, Carstens said. The U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected. But the U.S. was unable to secure the freedom of Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia for nearly four years.

☆ Russian-installed authorities order evacuation of Kherson in face of Ukrainian counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Russian-installed authorities in the occupied city of Kherson on Saturday urged residents to leave immediately in the face of a looming counteroffensive by Ukraine’s armed forces that aimed to recapture the southern city. Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions and targeted supply routes across the province on Friday, inching closer to a full assault on the only provincial capital that has remained in Russian hands throughout the war. The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine. Infrastructure in the southern city of Odesa had also been hit, he said. Iran sent trainers and technical support to enable Russian forces to use Iranian-made drones “with better lethality,” John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesperson, told reporters.

☆ Iran sent troops to Ukraine to help Russia use Iranian-made drones, Biden admin officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. has evidence that Iran sent troops to Ukraine to help Russia launch drone attacks on targets across the country, Biden administration officials said Thursday. “We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” Kirby said. The U.S. has “credible information that Russian officials prior to the presence of Iranian trainers in Crimea have received training in Iran,” Price said. The New York Times first reported that Iranian personnel had been sent to Ukraine to guide Russian forces in the use of newly acquired Iranian-made drones. The Biden administration earlier this year accused Iran of preparing to send drones to Russia.

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