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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian reportedly said that Tehran will only reengage in nuclear negotiations if the United States first releases huge amounts of funds currently inaccessible due to sanctions.
Iran previously claimed that tens of billions of dollars of its assets are being held in foreign banks as a result of financial penalties imposed over its nuclear activities.
“The Americans tried to contact us through different channels [at the United Nations General Assembly] in New York, and I told the mediators if America’s intentions are serious then a serious indication was needed… by releasing at least $10 billion of blocked money,” Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying.
The development comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week reiterated that the window for Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal was closing fast.
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Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz made clear his backing for the creation of an independent Palestinian state in a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Hebrew media reported.
“I believe in the two-state solution and believe it is the appropriate solution,” Gantz was quoted as telling Abbas during a meeting that took place in late-August.
Gantz noted, however, that the likelihood of any major peace proposal being agreed to at this juncture was slim.
Gantz allegedly told Abbas that he “want[s] to be the new [Yitzhak] Rabin but in this government there are limits.” Gantz was referencing the late former Israeli prime minister responsible for signing the Oslo Accords with the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1993.
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The president of the United Nation Human Rights Council shut off a video produced by UN Watch because it included quotes of antisemitic social media posts by UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) teachers.
Nazhat Shameem Khan switched off a video displayed during a UNHRC session on Friday, describing the citations as unacceptable “personal attacks” against the UNRWA teachers.
In a tweet, UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer said that he had been stopped from “calling out UNRWA teachers who glorify Hitler & incite antisemitism.” He noted that the Khan accused him of ‘derogatory, insulting & inflammatory remarks’—by quoting their own Facebook posts.”
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The first-ever official EgyptAir flight from Cairo to Tel Aviv touched down at Ben Gurion Airport at approximately 11:08 am local time.
Water jets were set off in celebration as the Airbus A220-300 plane hit the tarmac.
The state-owned Egyptian carrier is slated to operate the route four times per week, taking over from the Air Sinai, a subsidiary of EgyptAir specially created after Israel and Egypt forged peace in 1979.
The Air Sinai flights were unmarked without the Egyptian flag.
Recommended Reading
- Kamala Harris’ Office Does Damage Control After She Praises ‘Ethnic Genocide’ Remark (Yaron Steinbuch, New York Post)
- Opinion: Johns Hopkins Must Live up to Its Ideals (Kenneth L. Marcus, The Washington Post)
- Iraq Persecutes Its Heretics (Ben Cohen, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Why Israel Is Stepping up Its Planning, and Its Rhetoric, for a Strike on Iran (David Horovitz, Times of Israel)
