UN leader advocates 2-state solution
Calls on Israel to protect Palestinian population
The Middle East is on the “precipice” of a broader war that can be averted with a two-state solution allowing Israel and Palestine to exist side-by-side with Jerusalem as a shared capital, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Thursday.
Guterres’ comments came as Tehran warned it has the ability to strike Israeli nuclear sites if Israel targets Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Guterres said a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is the basis of U.N. resolutions, international law and previous agreements. The current Israeli government, however, has shown little interest in relinquishing control of the occupied territories.
“One miscalculation, one miscommunication, one mistake, could lead to the unthinkable – a full-scale regional conflict that would be devastating for all involved and for the rest of the world,” he said.
Guterres called on Israel as the “occupying power” to protect the Palestinian population in the West Bank against violence and intimidation and allow safe passage for humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“Let me be clear − the risks are spiraling on many fronts,” he said. “We have a shared responsibility to address those risks and pull the region back from the precipice.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is considering retaliating against Tehran for its weekend missile and drone attack.
Meanwhile, a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday that Iran could alter its peaceful “nuclear doctrine,” and if Israel targets Iranian nuclear sites “we will surely and categorically reciprocate with advanced missiles against their own nuclear sites.”
Tehran has repeatedly claimed its nuclear program was for civilian purposes. Israel has accused Iran of attempting to obtain nuclear strike capability and has long pledged not to allow that to happen.
“The threats of the Zionist regime (Israel) against Iran’s nuclear facilities make it possible to review our nuclear doctrine and deviate from our previous considerations,” Ahmad Haghtalab, the IRGC commander in charge of nuclear security, told Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Tehran’s retaliatory attack came less than two weeks after an airstrike linked to Israel destroyed Iran’s consulate in Damascus, killing several high-ranking Iranian military officers.
New sanctions on Iran
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions Thursday for 16 people and multiple companies linked to Iran’s production of drones used in Iran’s “unprecedented” attack. The sanctions target the Iranian drone program and steel and auto industries accused of working on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The department’s statement notes that Iran’s metals sector generates several billion dollars in revenue annually, mostly from steel exports. The sancwere tions were coordinated with Britain and in consultation with “partners and allies,” the statement said.
“We’re using Treasury’s economic tools to degrade and disrupt key aspects of Iran’s malign activity, including its UAV program and the revenue the regime generates to support its terrorism,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
The European Council also said new sanctions would be imposed on Iran’s drone and missile programs as punishment for the attack on Israel.
US dismisses Iran’s claims
Tehran, before launching its retaliatory strikes at Israeli targets, notified U.S. officials that American military bases and interests in the region would not be targeted unless Washington aided in Israeli attacks on Iranian interests, a top Iranian official said Thursday. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has said the United States did exchange messages with Iran but has dismissed as “ridiculous” claims that U.S. officials were informed of Iran’s time frame or targets.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told the Islamic Republican News Agency the messages exchanged through the Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, in order to prevent the escalation of tensions. Iran had exercised restraint “considering the regional conditions” but repeatedly asked the U.N. secretarygeneral and Security Council to fulfill their duties and confront Israel’s actions. Tehran then decided to initiate the strikes on Israeli targets.
Israel said 99% of the approximately 350 “suicide drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and rockets” launched from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, and Hezbollah in Lebanon were intercepted.
Qatar reevaluates mediator role
Two-thirds of Gaza residences have been destroyed or damaged since the war began, UNICEF reported.
The war was triggered when Hamas attacked southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages into the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has retaliated by pounding Gaza in an air and ground offensive that has killed almost 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
A special State Department panel recommended months ago that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations of serious human rights abuses, ProPublica reported. Blinken has thus far not acted on the recommendations.
The U.S. and Israel were scheduled to hold a virtual meeting on Thursday about Israel’s planned military operation in Rafah, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official it did not name. The U.S. and most of the world has been urging Israel to drop plans for an invasion of the southern Gaza city that has been overwhelmed by Palestinians fleeing fighting elsewhere in the enclave.
Qatar, meanwhile, is reevaluating its role as mediator in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, citing concerns that its efforts are being undermined by politicians seeking to score points, its prime minister said Wednesday.
Contributing: Reuters