World War III

Israel and Hezbollah set to announce ceasefire agreement

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Israeli media reported Monday that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah is likely to be announced within two days. According to public broadcaster KAN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a US-backed ceasefire deal with Lebanon, giving US envoy Amos Hochstein the greenlight to move forward with negotiations. Sources indicated that the terms of the deal have been finalized, and Netanyahu is now focused on how to present the agreement to the public. The ongoing talks are centered on ensuring Israel’s freedom to operate along its borders with Lebanon and Syria after the ceasefire is in place. KAN also reported that the US has provided assurances to Israel, allowing military action if Hezbollah violates the ceasefire terms. However, there has been no official comment from Hezbollah or Lebanese authorities. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said last week that the group had submitted its feedback on the US proposal and emphasized that the outcome now depends on Netanyahu’s commitment to reaching an agreement. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified in recent months, with Israeli airstrikes targeting alleged Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Since the escalation began in October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 3,600 people in Lebanon, injured more than 15,300, and displaced over a million. The situation further escalated in October 2024 when Israel launched a ground assault into southern Lebanon. non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

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Serbia: Putin would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons

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Russian President Vladimir Putin would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if his country’s security and military are threatened and if he has no other option, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned Tuesday. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike deeper into Russia, reports said Monday, citing US officials. Earlier Tuesday, Putin signed a decree approving Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine, nearly two months after he announced changes in his address at the Russian Federation Security Council standing conference on nuclear deterrence on Sept. 25. According to Vucic, the world is one step away from a disaster and the next step could lead to a nuclear conflict. ”When you have 10 steps to complete disaster, we have crossed the ninth. I will tell you openly what I think. I think that no one will hesitate to use all the weapons they have…In the West, they will say that Putin is playing games and threatening with this, but he is actually afraid, and I will tell you that few people know President Putin like I do,” he said in an address to the public. ”If the security of Moscow and its forces are threatened…he will not hesitate for a moment,” he stressed. Vucic said Serbia is not ready for a possible escalation of the conflict. “We are completely unprepared. We have room for 257,000 people in shelters, and we will have to…start rebuilding the infrastructure again, at least to reach the number of a million, a million and a half that we can accommodate in shelters. “We will work on this diligently. I apologize to the citizens that we did not start this work on time, but we will deal with it,” he added. As the Ukraine conflict surpasses its 1,000-day mark, its complexities deepen, shaped by external crises and escalating military developments, underscoring the dire need for renewed diplomatic efforts to avert further escalation.

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US approves potential $100M sale of military equipment to Ukraine

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 The US State Department on Tuesday authorized a potential $100 million sale of military equipment and services to Ukraine. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement. The package includes vehicle refurbishment, technical assistance, training, publications and logistics and support, said the agency. The announcement came amid reports that the Biden administration authorized Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to target deep within Russia. Administration officials have neither confirmed nor denied the reports. The development follows reports of North Korea sending troops to support Moscow’s war effort. A senior US official said the move also aims to deter further North Korean involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine, which was launched in February 2022. On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it intercepted six US-supplied ATACMS missiles over the Bryansk region. If confirmed, it would mark Ukraine’s first use of the long-range missiles since the war began.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not confirm or deny Kyiv’s involvement in the missile strikes. Russian President Vladimir Putin updated Moscow’s nuclear doctrine Tuesday, allowing for potential nuclear weapon use in response to conventional missile attacks backed by a nuclear power. Reports have also indicated that the Biden administration is working to distribute a remaining $6 billion in security aid to Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, anticipating that the flow of weapons will cease when Trump assumes office.

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IAEA chief holds talks in Iran on its nuclear program

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 The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday as part of his visit to Iran for talks on the country’s nuclear program. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the talks between the two sides as “very important.” The Iranian nuclear program “has always been peaceful,” the spokesman said, stressing Iran’s willingness to “genuinely” work with the UN nuclear watchdog to resolve any misunderstanding regarding its nuclear program. Grossi arrived in Tehran Wednesday evening for a two-day visit during which he is expected to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The visit comes amid a dispute between Iran and the West regarding its nuclear program. In 2018, former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. Trump was reelected as US president earlier this month.

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US strikes Iranian-backed groups in Syria: CENTCOM

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 The US carried out airstrikes in Syria on Tuesday in response to recent attacks on American forces by Iranian-backed groups, said the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). “These strikes were in response to a rocket attack on US personnel at Patrol Base Shaddadi. There was no damage to US facilities and no injuries to US or partner forces during the attack,” CENTCOM said in a statement. It added that the strikes are meant to “degrade the Iranian-backed groups’ ability to plan and launch future attacks.” CENTCOM did not specify which armed groups were targeted in the strikes or whether there were any casualties. The US has nearly 1,000 troops stationed in eastern Syria and 2,500 in neighboring Iraq as part of the mission to defeat Daesh/ISIS.

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North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile, says Japan

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North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile early Thursday, said the Japanese government, marking the 12th such launch by Pyongyang this year. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missile, launched eastward from North Korea’s interior at 7.11 a.m. local time (2211GMT Wednesday), flew for one hour and 26 minutes before landing outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), west of Okushiri Island, NHK News reported. The missile was reportedly launched on a lofted trajectory, meaning it was fired at a steep, near-vertical angle, a tactic often used by North Korea to test missiles without overflying neighboring countries. The missile reached an estimated altitude of over 7,000 kilometers (4,349 miles) and traveled a distance of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), identifying it as an “ICBM class,” the government said, according to Kyodo News. There was no damage to planes and ships reported from the missile, it added. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced plans to convene an emergency meeting of the National Security Council. Japan’s Coast Guard confirmed that no immediate reports of damage had been received related to the launch. The latest launch marks North Korea’s first missile test since it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Sept. 18. South Korean military authorities also detected the launch and said the missile was likely launched from an area near the capital Pyongyang. On Wednesday, they had suggested North Korea might conduct an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test amid heightened tensions. The missile launch follows recent reports of North Korean troops being deployed to Russia, a move condemned by South Korea, the US and NATO, further intensifying regional security concerns. -US strongly condemns ICBM test The US strongly condemned the ICBM test, saying “this launch is a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.” The launch did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory or to its allies, but “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement.  “We urge all countries to condemn these violations and call on the DPRK to cease its destabilizing actions and engage in serious dialogue,” said Savett, using the initials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

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Russia launches major nuclear exercise amid west tensions

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Amid rising tensions with the West over the Ukraine war, Russia on Tuesday conducted a major exercise involving its nuclear forces, simulating a response to an enemy’s first strike. President Vladimir Putin emphasized the need for modern strategic forces, stating, “We will maintain nuclear forces at the necessary level of sufficiency” without entering a new arms race. The drills included test-firing a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk, and ICBMs launched from the Novomoskovsk and Knyaz Oleg submarines in the Barents Sea and Sea of Okhotsk. Nuclear-capable Tu-95 bombers also conducted practice launches of long-range cruise missiles, all reaching their intended targets. This exercise follows warnings from Moscow about potential responses to Western support for Ukraine’s missile capabilities. Putin announced a new nuclear doctrine indicating that a conventional attack by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power would be viewed as a joint attack, serving as a warning to the U.S. and its allies. The revised doctrine also includes provisions for the possible use of nuclear weapons in response to a significant air attack.

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UK urges de-escalation in Middle East, warns against regional war

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 UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned Sunday that an expanded regional war in the Middle East “would be catastrophic and is in no one’s interests.”  In a statement posted on X, Lammy stressed the UK’s dedication to urging a reduction in tensions and a resolution to the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon. “The UK continues to press for de-escalation and an end to the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza,” said Lammy following discussions with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire. Nearly 43,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,000 others injured, according to local health authorities. The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

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Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon surpasses 2,300

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The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since last October rose to 2,306, with 10,698 others injured, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Sunday. In a statement, the ministry said 51 people were killed and 174 others injured over the last 24 hours. Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,488 people, injuring over 4,297 others, and displacing more than 1.34 million people. The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed over 42,200 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year. Despite international warnings that the Mideast was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, it expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon.

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G7: Heightened tensions in Middle East risk broader regional conflict

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 Heightened tensions in the Middle East risk a broader regional conflict, foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations warned Sunday.  “We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union express our deep concern at the heightened level of tension in the Middle East, which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region,” their joint statement said. Urging all involved parties to refrain from “perpetuating the current destructive cycle of retaliatory violence, to lower tensions and engage constructively toward de-escalation,” they said that “no country or nation stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.” Commenting on the video conference by the G7 ministers, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who presided over it, said on X that “we called for a de-escalation and to end all violence.” Tajani said the countries also reaffirmed their commitment to an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and to humanitarian assistance to the besieged Palestinian enclave, adding “our priority is to restore peace in the Middle East.” Tensions have escalated between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel since Tel Aviv assassinated the group’s senior military commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on a suburb of Beirut on July 30. Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran the following day in an attack blamed on Israel, although Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied its responsibility. Hamas and Iran have vowed to retaliate for Haniyeh’s assassination, while Hezbollah has pledged to respond to Shukr’s killing. Fears have grown over a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire. The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught on Gaza which has killed nearly 39,600 people since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

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