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☆ Netanyahu used his UN visit to 'trick' Hezbollah chief Nasrallah: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-29 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Netanyahu's trip to New York was designed to "trick" Hassan Nasrallah, an Israeli official has said. Nasrallah, who was the leader of Hezbollah, was killed following an Israeli strike on Beirut on Friday. The "diversionary plan" aimed to make Nasrallah think Israel would not carry out significant military action with Netanyahu away. The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday that Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah since 1992, had been killed in a strike on Beirut on Friday. During his UN address, Netanyahu said that Israel would "continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, —, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Israel, Netanyahu, Ali Karaki, Nabil Qaouk, Joe Biden, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Nasrallah's, Khameini Organizations: UN, Service, United Nations, Telegraph, Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah, Southern Front, United, Hamas, Reuters Locations: New York, Beirut, Gaza, Palestine, Lebanon, group's, United States, Iran, Tehran

☆ De-escalation in the Middle East is now up to Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-28 | by ( Peter Gelling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementIsrael's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah for over 30 years, is a major escalation in the Middle East conflict. A senior Iranian commander working with Nasrallah was also killed in the attack, Iranian state media confirmed on Saturday. AdvertisementIn the days after that attack, Iran telegraphed its response before launching hundreds of missiles and drones toward Israel in an unprecedented retaliation. AdvertisementIran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a statement released on Saturday, said Iran stands with Hezbollah but did not threaten any military response. Still, Israel, anticipating a response from Hezbollah and other proxies in the region, and possibly Iran as well, ordered its citizens to avoid large gatherings.

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, —, Israel, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Slim, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Jonathan Panikoff Organizations: Service, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Force, Middle East Institute, Saturday, Israel Defense Forces, Atlantic Council Locations: Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United States, Iranian, Damascus, Syria, Brig, Lebanon, Hamas, Gaza, Washington ,, Islamic Republic, Yemen, Tehran

☆ Iran weighs its next move as its closest ally takes a hit in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-28 | by ( Abbas Al Lawati | Mostafa Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

As Tehran watches its most prized non-state ally take a beating, questions are mounting about how it may respond. Israel then began an air assault that killed several Hezbollah commanders and led to the highest number of casualties in Lebanon in almost two decades. The Israeli military has claimed that Nasrallah has been killed, but Hezbollah is yet to comment on the matter. But it’s not an easy option as they will (become) targets, and they don’t understand Lebanon.”Under what circumstances would Iran intervene? This week however, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that his country would not remain “indifferent” if a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in Lebanon.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, “, ”, Hanin Ghaddar, Amal Saad, Saad, … it’s, it’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trita Parsi, Mohamed Azakir, Farzin, Nadimi, ” Saad, ” Parsi, Parsi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Javad Zarif, Donald Trump, Mike Segar, Pezeshkian, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Zarif, Ismail Haniyeh, Abbas Araghchi Organizations: CNN, Washington Institute, AFP, Cardiff University, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ”, Washington DC, Quincy Institute, American University of, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Islamic, United Nations, United Nations General Assembly, UN, Reuters, Israel, West, Assembly, UN Security Locations: Israel, Tehran, Gaza, Lebanon, Beirut, Wales, Tel Aviv, Lebanese, Iran, American University of Beirut, Damascus, United States, “, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Islamic Republic, New York

☆ Shervin Hajipour: Iran pardons Grammy Award winner whose song became an anthem to the 2022 protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Story Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

AP —An Iranian Grammy Award winner said on Monday he was pardoned from a three-year sentence for a song that became an anthem to the 2022 protests that rocked the country following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. US first lady Jill Biden accepts Hajipour's Grammy Award on his behalf in February 2023. The protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s clerical rulers. On Friday, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pardoned and commuted the sentences of 2,887 prisoners. He had already served some prison time but was out on bail in 2023 pending the court’s decision.

Persons: Mahsa, Shervin Hajipour, Jill Biden, Chris Pizzello, “, Iran’s, Amini, Ali Khamenei, Hajipour Organizations: Iran’s

Hezbollah was reeling Saturday from an Israeli airstrike that killed two of its senior figures and dozens of other people, intensifying fears of all-out war in the Middle East. At least 31 people were killed in total, including three children, and 68 injured, Lebanese health minister Firass Abiad told a news conference Saturday. The strike followed the coordinated detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members across Lebanon earlier in the week. Israel has not publicly claimed responsibility for that attack, but Hezbollah and officials across the world have said Israel was behind the explosions. And a senior officer in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said the region was on the brink of war.

Persons: Ibrahim Akil, Ahmed Wahbi, Firass Abiad, Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mohsen Rezaee Organizations: Radwan Force, Getty, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: East, Lebanese, Beirut, Beirut's, AFP, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Tehran, Islamic Republic, Iraq, Syria, Tasnim

☆ Women in Iran going without hijabs as 2nd anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death approaches
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The country’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to halt the harassment of women by morality police. In Iran, the hijab — and the all-encompassing black chador worn by some — has long been a political symbol as well. There have been scattered videos of women and young girls being roughed up by officers in the time since. Surveillance cameras search for women uncovered in vehicles to fine and impound their cars. The government has gone as far as use aerial drones to monitor the 2024 Tehran International Book Fair and Kish Island for uncovered women, the U.N. said.

Persons: Mahsa Amini, there’s, Masoud Pezeshkian, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ”, Amini, Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Pezeshkian, Hamid Zarrinjouei, “, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, Movahedi Azad, Ham Mihan, hadn’t, Simin Kazemi Organizations: United Nations, Tehran Sharif University, Metro, Pezeshkian, Iran’s, Iran’s Ministry of Culture Locations: it’s, Iran, Tehran, Tehran Sharif, Kish

Nearly two weeks have passed and no large-scale response has materialized, leaving Israel and the wider Middle East on edge. But Mr. Haniyeh’s killing was seen as the greater blow to Tehran because it took place on Iranian soil. “Israel has checkmated Iran in this situation because Iran is left with no good options,” said Mr. Vaez. What could an Iranian response look like? U.S. and Israeli diplomats and security officials had some advanced knowledge of its scope and intensity of Iran’s attack in April, which facilitated defensive preparations.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Masoud, Israel, Fuad Shukr, Haniyeh’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, analystsexperts, Nasser Kanaan, Sanam Vakil, Pezeshkian, Vakil, Ms, Ali Vaez, Vaez, “ Israel, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Keir Starmer, Nasser Kanani, Jordan, Mr, Haniyeh, Lloyd J, Austin III, Biden Organizations: Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Chatham House, Crisis, Diplomats, of Islamic Cooperation, United, Hamas Locations: Iran, Tehran, Israel, Masoud Pezeshkian, Beirut, Lebanon, Golan, East, London, Yemen, Western, Iranian, United States, Gaza, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia

☆ Glorious farewell to the Paris Olympics and the U.S. rushes firepower to the Middle East: Morning Rundown
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Elizabeth Both | Elizabeth Both Is An Associate Platforms Editor For Nbc News | Based In New York. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

A spectacular closing ceremony hands the Olympic Games over to Los Angeles. And a false JD Vance rumor sparks a misinformation row. A glorious farewell to Paris OlympicsGetty ImagesAu revoir to the Paris Games. Kamala Harris pledged to eliminate taxes on tipped wages for service workers, matching a proposal from former President Donald Trump. Politics in BriefTrump campaign: Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has said it was hacked by an Iranian group.

Persons: Vance, Katie Ledecky, Nick Mead, Tom Cruise, Ledecky, Simone Biles, Suni Lee, dazzled, ” Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, Guy ” Stephen Nedoroscik, Yusuf Dikeç, Read, JD, Vic e, tol, stu, ord, ami, Flo, bui, Ken Bak, roa Organizations: Olympic Games, Paris, Paris Games, Stade de France, Team USA, U.S, acc, Uni, NBC Locations: Los Angeles, The U.S, American, U.S, Turkish

The U.S. is sending a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and speeding the arrival of an aircraft carrier strike group, as Israel braces for retaliatory attacks from Iran and its proxies after the assassination of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah. He further ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is equipped with F-35C fighter jets, to accelerate its ongoing transit to the area. The guided-missile submarine USS Georgia at sea in 2020. Both Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for the killing, and while Israel has remained quiet on the matter it is widely believed to have carried out the assassination. Iranians hold portraits of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during his funeral procession, in Tehran, on August 1, 2024.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Abraham Lincoln, Austin, Washington's, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Ismail Haniyeh, Masoud Pezeshkian, Israel, Iran’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Yahya Sinwar, Fuad Shukr Organizations: Pentagon, Sunday, USS, Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike, U.S . Navy, country's Revolutionary Guard, AFP, Getty, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, NBC Locations: Israel, Iran, USS Georgia, Georgia, Tehran, Lebanese, Beirut, U.S, Gaza, Gaza City

Nearly two weeks have passed and no large-scale response has materialized, leaving Israel and the wider Middle East on edge. Iran, which backs Hamas, blamed Israel for the assassination, but Israeli leaders have not said their forces were responsible. What could an Iranian response look like? U.S. and Israeli diplomats and security officials had some advanced knowledge of its scope and intensity of Iran’s attack in April, which facilitated defensive preparations. The foreign minister of Jordan, an ally of the United States, has traveled to Tehran in recent days for meetings.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Masoud, Israel, Fuad Shukr, Haniyeh’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Nasser Kanaan, Sanam Vakil, Pezeshkian, Vakil, Ms, Ali Vaez, Vaez, “ Israel, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Jordan, Mr, Haniyeh, Lloyd J, Austin III, Biden Organizations: Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Chatham House, Crisis, Diplomats, of Islamic Cooperation, United, Hamas Locations: Iran, Tehran, Israel, Masoud Pezeshkian, Beirut, Lebanon, Golan, East, London, Yemen, Iranian, United States, Gaza, Saudi Arabia

☆ Israel and US brace for Iranian attack as diplomats push hard for Gaza ceasefire
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Israel and the United States are preparing for a potential Iranian attack on Israel as efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza intensify, with talks set to resume this week amid intense diplomacy to avert a wider regional war. A major Iranian attack reprisal against Israel could risk derailing the ceasefire talks that US officials have said were at an advanced stage prior to the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran blamed on Israel. But the country’s mission to the United Nations said on Saturday that Tehran’s retaliation to Israel’s suspected killing of Haniyeh is “totally unrelated to the Gaza ceasefire,” adding that it has a right to self-defense. Palestinians pray next to the bodies of those killed in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City on Saturday. Egyptian and Qatari mediators have told Israel that Sinwar wants a deal, an Israeli source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Persons: CNN —, –, Ismail Haniyeh, Israel hasn’t, Israel, hasn’t, Iran’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “, ”, Haniyeh, Lloyd Austin, Israel “, William Gore, Lebanon –, Fu’ad Shukr, Abed Sabah, Yahya Sinwar –, Israel –, Joe Biden, Sinwar, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bibi, Netanyahu Organizations: CNN, Qatari, Doha, United, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, United Nations, US, USS, Pentagon, Congress, UN, Spc, US Navy, Reuters, –, US National Security Council, Israel Defense Forces Locations: CNN — Israel, United States, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Cairo, Egypt, Qatar, Tehran, France, Germany, United Kingdom, USS Georgia, Manama, Bahrain, Lebanon, Beirut, Gaza City

☆ Why Is Iran Expected to Attack Israel? What to Know About the Crisis.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Less than a week after the killing of a top Hamas leader in Tehran and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut, the entire Middle East is on edge. Fears of a broader regional war have been mounting amid vows of revenge from Iranian leaders that have left Israel in a state of deep uncertainty. Israeli leaders would not confirm or deny whether their country was behind the breach of Iran’s defenses, but Iranian leaders and Hamas officials immediately blamed Israel and vowed retaliation. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, according to three Iranian officials briefed on the order. And Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaan, said on Monday that “Tehran is not interested in escalating the regional conflicts, but it is necessary to punish” Israel.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Israel, Iran’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Nasser Kanaan, ” Israel Locations: Tehran, Beirut, Israel, Iranian, Iran

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Such escalation could also jeopardize efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages, despite recent progress in negotiations. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed comprehensive security strategies to protect Israel, according to a statement on Monday. Israel was considering its options to prepare for a regional attack over the weekend. The country braces for war in its own way and tends to pick up after itself.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, ”, Israel, Israel hasn’t, “, Yoav Gallant, Defense Lloyd Austin, Michael Kurilla, Kurilla, Ayman Safadi, Badr Abdelatti, Ali Bagheri Kani, ‘, Masoud Pezeshkian, Safadi, Nasser Kanaani, Fu’ad Shukr, Majdal Shams, Hassan Nasrallah, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” “, ” Netanyahu, Ali Bagheri, Netanyahu, Gallant, Daniel Hagari, Lebanon scrambledto, floaties, Samer Othman, Jalaa Marey, Othman, Liz Nicholas, David Adom, Be’er, Ivana Reiser, Zeev Jabotinsky, Naama, ” Be’er, ” Baer, Reiser, Roy Dror, Ron Heckmann, they’re, Dror, ” Heckmann, Uri Shacham, Shacham Organizations: Jerusalem CNN —, Iran’s, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saturday, US, Israeli, Defense, US Central Command, Jordanian, Egypt’s, Zionist, Israel, Iran, Sunday, Getty Images Israel, Hezbollah, CNN, Mount, Mount Herzl Military, Getty, MDA Locations: Beirut, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Gaza, United States, Syria, Majdal, Golan, ”, AFP, Cairo, Lebanese, Beirut’s, Mount Herzl, London, Nahariyah

Some American warships already in the Mediterranean will move closer to the coast of Israel, according to a senior Pentagon official. The killing of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion at a military-run guesthouse in Tehran on Wednesday, was a stunning breach of security in the Iranian capital. Iran arrested more than two dozen people, including senior intelligence officers, in response. The country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly for the killing, according to Iranian officials. “We will be bolstering our force protection in the region,” she said.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, Ismail Haniyeh, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Sabrina Singh, Austin, Yoav Gallant, Austin “, ”, “, Mr, Haniyeh Organizations: . Defense, American, Pentagon Locations: Israel, Iran, Tehran, Qatar, Gaza, United States, Yemen, Iraq

☆ Opinion | The Gaza Conflict Enters ‘Uncharted Territory’
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Serge Schmemann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

He was right; war is never inevitable until it breaks out. He was killed by an explosive device planted in an Iranian guesthouse weeks earlier, and both Iran and Hamas accused Israel of doing it. For Iran, the killing of a senior Hamas leader while he was attending the inauguration of the new Iranian president was a humiliation that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared it was “our duty” to avenge. Mr. Haniyeh, moreover, was a top Hamas negotiator in cease-fire talks, raising questions about whether those negotiations would be put on a long hold. Nonetheless, Mr. Austin, who was on a visit to the Philippines, went on to suggest that there was still room for diplomacy.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Israel, Fuad Shukr, Ismail Haniyeh, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ”, Haniyeh, Austin, Antony Blinken Organizations: ”, Mr Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Tehran, Israel, Iran, United States, Philippines, Asia

☆ The Killing of a Hamas Leader Is Part of a Larger War - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Matthew Duss | Nancy Okail | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Indeed, within hours, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared his intention to attack Israel. The almost certain escalation from the Haniyeh assassination signals a fundamental flaw in President Biden’s Gaza policy: the hope that the Gaza war could be contained to Gaza. But for months, the war has already been spreading — to Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and now, to Iran. Some in the U.S. foreign policy establishment argue that since neither the United States nor Iran desires full-scale war, cooler heads will prevail. The current precarious moment is the result of a series of false assumptions that U.S. policy was built on since well before the war began.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Israel —, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Israel, Biden’s Locations: Tehran, Gaza, Biden’s Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, U.S, United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia

☆ Buy gold and oil for protection as Middle East tensions escalate, UBS says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As tensions escalate in the Middle East , investors should consider adding gold and oil as a hedge. "A wider regional war could affect oil supplies, which would likely lead to quick price spikes. Gold, meanwhile, should serve its role as a more conservative asset," UBS analysts led by Tilmann Kolb told clients in a Wednesday note. Gold has risen since the Beirut strike, "underlining its risk hedge characteristics," the analysts said. High demand from banks and a likely uptick in demand when the Federal Reserve lowers rates should also push gold prices higher, they said.

Persons: Tilmann Kolb, Ismail Haniyeh, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Fuad Shukr Organizations: UBS, New York Times, Federal Locations: East, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Golan Heights, Beirut

☆ Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran by bomb planted months before blast, source says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Iranian state media and Hamas previously indicated that Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired from outside the building in which he was staying. An image published by the New York Times shows the building where Haniyeh is believed to have been assassinated. He had a full schedule of public appearances and meetings before he was assassinated, according to Iranian state media press reports. Haniyeh was first pictured on Tuesday, before the inauguration, meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Afterwards, Iranian state media published images of Haniyeh meeting with Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Israel, Haniyeh’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Masoud Pezeshkian, IRNA, Iran’s, “, Muhammad ibn Abd al, Umm, Abed, ”, Fu’ad Shukr, Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Shukr, Mustafa Badreddine, Israel’s, Daniel Hagari, ” Hagari, Magen David Adom, –, Mohammed Deif, Deif, Khan Younis, CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Tamara Qiblawi, Kareem Khadder, Tamar Michaelis, Tim Lister, Eyad Kourdi, Paul P, Murphy Organizations: Israel CNN, CNN, The New York Times, Hamas, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, New York Times, Iranian, Islamic, Assembly, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, MDA, Kibbutz, Thursday Locations: Haifa, Israel, Tehran, Doha, Iran, Qatari, Wahhab, Lusail city, Beirut, Lebanon, Golan, Yemen, Syria, Haniyeh, Kibbutz Afek, Al, Gaza, Qatar’s

☆ U.S. crude oil breaks $78 per barrel as fears of war between Iran and Israel grow
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. crude oil futures broke above $78 per barrel Thursday on fears that Israel and Iran are heading to a direct conflict after the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran. Iran Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, three Iranian officials told the New York Times. Khamenei ordered the direct strike at an emergency meeting of Iran's national security council Wednesday morning after Haniyeh was killed, the officials told The Times. Iran and Israel traded direct strikes in April, pushing oil prices to the highest point of the year, but they enemies ultimately pulled back from a full-scale war. The rising tensions come as an OPEC+ committee is meeting Thursday to review members' production quotas.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Khamenei, Yemen's, Helima Croft, Croft Organizations: New York Times . West Texas, Times, Reuters, RBC Capital Markets Locations: Israel, Iran, Tehran, Iraq, Gaza

☆ Brent tops $80 per barrel as oil analyst flags ‘phase of deterioration’ in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Brent futures topped the $80-per-barrel-threshold on Wednesday, as Iran's claim that Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated reignited tensions in the Middle East. The Ice Brent contract with September expiry were trading at $80.32 per barrel at 09:45 a.m. London time, up by 2.15% from the Tuesday close price. Oil gained ground amid exacerbated hostilities in the oil-rich Middle East region, where Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas since the latter's terror attack in October. The Jewish state's decision to carry out a retaliatory campaign in the Gaza Strip has since broadened the conflict, with Israel trading fire with other Iran-supported factions, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi. "But now we're moving into a phase of deterioration into the Middle East that we believe is going to capture oil traders' attention and get them to return some material risk premium into the price of Brent.

Persons: Brent, Ismail Haniyeh, Ice Brent, Yemen's, Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Clay Seigle, Emily Tan Organizations: Ice, Hamas, Revolutionary Guard, Republic News Agency, CNBC, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister's Office, Rapidan Energy Group Locations: London, Israel, Iran, Gaza, Tehran, Iran's, Ukraine, Brent

☆ Iran has no good options after two deadly strikes on senior allies
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

ET) in Tehran, will dictate what comes next, as Iran looks to present a narrative that justifies and fashions its response. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen with Haniyeh -- hours before his assassination. There is no shortage of furious rherotic the day after the strikes, but there is no easy route for Iran. Iran has also tried an unprecedented direct all-out attack on Israel before, in April, after senior IRGC commanders were killed in an Israeli strike on Damascus. In short, the 300 drone and missiles fired - straight from Iran at Israel - just didn’t get through.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Qasem Suleinami, rherotic, Ahmad Al, Ali Khamenei’s, “, Masoud Pezeshkian, group’s, Fuad Shukr Organizations: CNN, Revolutionary Guards, Iran's Locations: Iran, Tehran, Israel, Beirut, Lebanon, Golan, Quds, Damascus

Read previewTop Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Iran, according to a statement from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps early Wednesday. Haniyeh, 62, was the leader of Hamas' political wing. He had traveled to Tehran to attend the inauguration of Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's new president, according to multiple reports. Khan collectively accused Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza, and Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas' military wing, of war crimes and crimes of humanity on October 7. When contacted for comment on Iranian state media reports, the Israeli military told CNN they "don't respond to reports in the foreign media."

Persons: —, Ismail Haniyeh, Israel, Haniyeh, Masoud, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's, Karim Khan, Khan, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Haniyeh's Organizations: Service, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Tasnim, Wednesday, New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, Business, Hamas, The Times, Criminal, Pentagon, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Iran, Tehran, Qatar, Israel, Gaza, Beirut, Golan

☆ Iran’s Leader Orders Attack on Israel for Haniyeh Killing, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing in Tehran of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, according to three Iranian officials briefed on the order. Mr. Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced that Mr. Haniyeh had been killed, said the three Iranian officials, including two members of the Revolutionary Guards. Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of the assassination; Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has neither acknowledged nor denied killing Mr. Haniyeh, who was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran’s new president. Israel has a long history of killing enemies abroad, including Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders. But even that show of force was telegraphed well in advance, nearly all the weapons were shot down by Israel and its allies, and little damage was done.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, Khamenei, Haniyeh, Israel Organizations: Iran’s, National Security, Revolutionary Guards, Hamas Locations: Iran, Israel, Tehran, Gaza, Damascus, Syria

☆ Iran’s Options for Retaliation Risk Escalating Middle East Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( David E. Sanger | Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Most new Iranian presidents have months to settle into the decades-old cadence of gradual nuclear escalation, attacks against adversaries and, episodically, secret talks with the West to relieve sanctions. Mr. Haniyeh had not only attended the swearing-in, but had also been embraced by the new president and met that day with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, making the assassination a particularly brazen act. Now Mr. Pezeshkian — along with Ayatollah Khamenei and top military generals — will be immersed in critical choices that may determine whether war breaks out between two of the Mideast’s most potent militaries. He spent his first day in office in national security meetings. The final decision on how to retaliate rests with Mr. Khamenei and on Wednesday he where ordered Iranian forces to strike Israel directly for what appeared to be its role in killing Mr. Haniyeh.

Persons: Masoud Pezeshkian, Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Pezeshkian, Ayatollah Khamenei, —, Mr, Khamenei Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Tehran, Israel

Washington CNN —The White House on Wednesday said reports of the assassination of a Hamas political leader in Iran “don’t help with the temperature going down,” while repeating calls for a ceasefire deal that would see the release of hostages held by Hamas. “These reports over the last 24-48 hours certainly don’t help with the temperature going down. I’m not going to be Pollyannaish about it; we’re obviously concerned about escalation,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters during the White House press briefing. In both conversations, according to the State Department, the officials emphasized the need for a ceasefire in Gaza. “It’s too soon to know what impact any of this is going to have on the ceasefire deal,” Kirby said at the briefing.

Persons: I’m, we’re, John Kirby, Kirby, Biden, Antony Blinken, Aaron David Miller, Haniyeh, “ Blinken, ” Miller, ”, “, Blinken, Israel, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Thani, “ It’s, ” Kirby, Hezbollah’s, Fu’ad Shukr, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Netanyahu’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, John Kirby’s, CNN’s Abeer Salman, Jennifer Handler, Niamh Kennedy Organizations: Washington CNN, House, White House, senior State Department, CNN, State Department, Qatari, Haniyeh, Hezbollah, Hamas, United, Zionist Locations: Iran, Tehran, Singapore, Israel, Qatar, Jordan, Gaza, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, Egypt, United States, Golan, Beirut, Washington

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