International
Iran’s drones and missiles pass through the Middle East, where they monitor the growing tension
Lebanese anti-aircraft defenses launched several missiles over the skies of Beirut, presumably to respond to Iranian projectiles passing through their airspace on their way to Israel, public television TeleLiban reported.
“Interceptor missiles explode on the Airport Highway in Beirut,” the channel said, reporting that explosions could also be heard in several parts of the country, from the east to the south, possibly motivated by more responses from the air defenses.
Several missiles sailed the skies of the Lebanese capital about three hours after Tehran announced the start of its attack, according to EFE.
All this coincides with the passage through the region of a large number of missiles and drones launched by Iran towards Israel, in response to the bombing that two weeks ago destroyed its consulate in Damascus and killed seven members of the Revolutionary Guard, including two generals.
More than a hundred Iranian drones intercepted outside Israeli airspace by the United States and the United Kingdom.
Drones and cruise missiles launched by Iran against Israel have passed through Iraq’s airspace, while explosions were heard in the sky of some regions of the north of the country, local media and a security source reported to EFE on Sunday.
A source from the Iraq Area Force said on condition of anonymity that the projectiles crossed several areas of the country, after the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced the closure of the airspace from 8:30 p.m. to 2:30 GMT on Sunday.
For their part, local media reported that several rounds of drones and missiles flew over the southern provinces of Maysan and Nasiriya, as well as that of Suleimaniya, in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, in northern Iraq.
Likewise, the Kurdish media Rudaw indicated that explosions were heard in the sky of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, without it being known so far whether they are projectiles intercepted by the regional authorities or by the international coalition led by the United States, which is established in that locality.
The media also indicated that the sirens of the US consulate in Erbil began to sound after the projectiles flew over the locality, while he pointed out that the air defense systems of the building itself could have intercepted the unmanned aircraft.
Several areas of Syria recorded explosions this Sunday amid attempts by Israeli forces to shoot down the large number of drones and missiles launched by Iran into its territory, two organizations reported.
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights confirmed in its X account that deflagrations could be heard not only in Damascus but also in areas of the country as disparate as the provinces of Homs (center), Hama (northwest) or Deraa (south).
The NGO, based in the United Kingdom and a wide network of collaborators on the ground, attributed the explosions to missiles launched by the Syrian anti-aircraft defenses against Israeli projectiles that, in turn, tried to shoot down those sent by Iran.
However, the Syrian authorities, allies of Tehran, have not yet confirmed that they have attacked Israeli targets on their territory.
The network of local activists from the south of the country ‘Horan Free Media’ also reported in X of the shooting down of several Iranian drones in the airspace of the province of Deraa and released a video in which you can see the moment when they were intercepted in the middle of the night.
Several drones launched from Iran intercepted in the sky of Amman, the capital of Jordan, according to state television Al Mamlaka in a live broadcast, during which the anti-aircraft sirens could be heard.
The Jordanian Armed Forces intercepted drones in the capital’s airspace, the television said.
The unmanned aircraft were also seen, and destroyed, in the sky of the Gerasa region, in northern Jordan, according to EFE.
International
Widespread regret and condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisí
The death in a helicopter accident of the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hosein Amir Abdolahian, has generated great regret in Arab countries and widespread condolences in the West.
The helicopter in which Raisí and other authorities were traveling disappeared for unexplained reasons this Sunday when it was returning from the city of Tabriz and the aircraft was found today in a mountainous area of the Varzeqan region, in Eastern Azerbaijan.
Among the Arab countries, the Lebanese government decreed on Monday three days of official mourning for the death of President Raisí.
Lebanon maintains good relations with Iran, one of the foreign powers that are considered most influential in the nation, due in large part to the close collaboration between Tehran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá.
The president of Syria, Bashar al-Asad, expressed his condolences and thanked Ebrahim Raisí for his work to strengthen the ties between the two countries, important allies at various levels.
The president of Iran had made a historic visit to Damascus a year ago, the first of an Iranian leader of his level since 2010, a year before the outst of the war in Syria.
Iran is a key route for supplying oil derivatives and other goods to Syria, subject to a series of international sanctions that limit its trade activities, and also maintains a strong armed presence in Syrian territory, where Iranian advisers and pro-Iranian militias are present.
For his part, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmud Abbas, on Monday offered his condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran after the fatal accident and that of Tunisia, Kais Said, also expressed “great sadness and pain.”
Meanwhile, the president of Turkey, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed his condolences for his “esteemed counterpart and brother” Raisí and highlighted the efforts of the deceased “for the peace of the Iranian people and our region during his term.”
One of the most heartfelt reactions was that of the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá, a close ally of Tehran.
“For us he was an older brother, a strong supporter and a firm defender of our cause, and of the cause of the nation, especially Jerusalem and Palestine. And a protector of the Resistance movements and its mujahideen in all the positions of responsibility he held,” Hizbulah said in a statement.
The Lebanese group is part of an informal anti-Israeli alliance led by Tehran known as the “Axis of Resistance”, several of whose members hold fronts of support for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the framework of the war that began seven months ago in Gaza.
Hizbulah, who leads one of those fronts against Israel from southern Lebanon, allegedly receives strong arms and logistical support from his Iranian allies.
And the de facto government of the Taliban in Afghanistan also expressed its condolences on the death of Ebrahim Raisí, who was part of a Cabinet determined to build good relations with the fundamentalists despite occasional incidents.
Under the command of Raisi, who came to power in 2021 and was one of the favorites to succeed the supreme Iranian leader, Ali Khamenei, Tehran became one of the few countries interested in improving bilateral relations with the Taliban when they took power in Afghanistan that same year.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, and the Shiite Houthi rebels of Yemen expressed their “sincere condolences” to Iran on Monday in two messages.
Qatar is one of the closest Arab countries to Iran and has mediated on several occasions between the Government of Tehran and other countries, in particular the United States, to bring views on issues such as the nuclear program or that of Iranian ballistic missiles.
The Houthis of Yemen are an Iran-backed Shiite political and religious movement that took up arms in 2014 against the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and since then they control large areas of the north and center of that country in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.
In recent months, Houthis have managed to attract international attention for their attacks with ballistic missiles and drones, allegedly Iranian, against Israeli merchant ships or ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea, in retaliation for that country’s war in Gaza.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today expressed his condolences for the “enormous tragedy” of Raisi’s death, whom he described as a “friend.”
“As a true friend of Russia, he made a valuable personal contribution to the development of good-neighbourly relations between our countries and made great efforts to bring them to the level of strategic partnership,” the Russian president added.
Russia and Iran have strengthened their relations in recent years, especially since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, since Tehran supplies Moscow with the Shahed drones with which it bombs the territory of the neighboring country.
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured that his people “have lost a good friend.”
Xi highlighted the “important contributions of the Iranian president to the security and stability” of his country, as well as to “its development and prosperity,” according to a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. In this line, the Chinese leader recognized Raisí’s efforts to “strengthen and develop the integral strategic relationship” between China and Iran, ties that he believes will “continue to be strengthened.”
In 2021, China and Iran sealed a 25-year economic cooperation agreement that broadly provides for Chinese investments in the Iranian energy and infrastructure sectors.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed condolences for the death of Raisí, Minister Abdolahian and his entourage. “Our thoughts are with the families,” he wrote in a message on his social network account X.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, joined with a statement in which he also conveyed his condolences to the rest of the deceased authorities, their relatives and “the affected Iranian citizens.”
Meanwhile, the NATO spokeswoman, in a message on social network X wrote: “Our condolences to the people of Iran for the death of President Raisí, Foreign Minister Amir Abdolahian and other people who died in the helicopter accident.”
Japan also sent its condolences to Iran. “There is nothing sadder than the news of a sudden death like this. We convey our condolences to the Government of Iran and its people, as well as to the families of the victims,” said Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi.
International
Trump says that Joe Biden is “mentally incapacitated” to be president of the United States
The former president and virtual candidate for the next U.S. elections, Donald Trump, said on Monday that his Democratic rival and current president, Joe Biden, is “mentally incapacitated” to govern the United States.
In the corridors of a court in New York, where Trump is tried for alleged irregular payments to the porn actress Stormy Daniels, the former president emphasized that the trial is “an attack led by someone who is mentally incapacitated to be the president of the country.”
And he added, in addition, that the judicial process involves an attack by Biden “on his political opponent.”
The former president took the opportunity to criticize the police presence outside the court and mention the recent pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, which spread like wildfire to other American universities and resulted in the arrest of more than a hundred students.
“There are more policemen than I’ve seen anywhere. But in Columbia we could set up a tent and burn the doors at the main entrance,” he said about it.
In addition, he complained that the trial is hindering his electoral campaign, assuring that he is not allowed to “have anything to do with politics” because, for four weeks, he has been sitting “in a very cold and dark room.”
Trump’s criminal trial continues today with the interrogation of the main witness, Michael Cohen, who was his lawyer and right-hander.
Last week, Cohen testified that Trump ordered him to pay $130,000 to silence Stormy Daniels, a porn star who claims to have had relations with Trump in 2006 during the campaign.
International
The US considers the request for an ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu shameful
The United States called it “intolerable” and “shameful” on Monday that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested that an arrest warrant be issued by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, along with the leaders of Hamas for war crimes.
“The ICC prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is scandalous,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
The president stressed that regardless of what the prosecutor says “there is no possible comparison between Israel and Hamas” and promised that the United States will always support the Jewish State in the face of “threats to its security.”
The ICC Attorney General, Karim Khan, on Monday requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and his political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The United States has not ratified the Rome Statute with which the ICC was constituted and has traditionally opposed several investigations by this body.
“We reject the equivalence that the prosecutor makes between Israel and Hamas. It’s embarrassing,” said U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in another statement.
The head of American diplomacy claimed that “Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization” that on October 7 “carried out the worst massacre since the Holocaust and that still holds dozens of people hostage.”
Likewise, Blinken opined that the ICC “has no jurisdiction over this matter” and denounced that there are “deeply worrying procedural issues” in the investigation.
According to the Secretary of State, the Israeli Government “was willing to cooperate” despite the fact that Israel is not part of the court and even a visit by the ICC Attorney General to the Jewish State was planned next week.
However, Blinken continued, a team of the prosecutor canceled by surprise a trip to Israel scheduled for Monday to prepare for the prosecutor’s visit at the same time that Khan appeared on television to announce the charges.
“These and other circumstances cast doubt on the legitimacy and credibility of this investigation,” he said.
In addition, for the head of US diplomacy, the decision of the ICC prosecutor “could endanger” the negotiations of an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the kidnapped.
The Israeli authorities, as well as the leaders of the Palestinian Islamist group, were outraged on Monday by Karim Khan’s request.
Widespread regret and condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisí
Trump says that Joe Biden is “mentally incapacitated” to be president of the United States
The US considers the request for an ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu shameful
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