Shalom and good evening, this is TV7 Israel
News broadcasting to you from Jerusalem;
And in today's top stories;
The Islamic Republic of Iran vowed to defeat,
what its top defense official termed "the
American-Zionist front," as tensions between
Washington and Tehran continue to mount.
Washington has ordered all of its non-emergency
government workers to immediately leave Iran's
Western neighbor, Iraq – for fear of an
imminent escalation.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has offered
to serve as a mediator between the United
States and Iran – as Washington is apparently
seeking diplomatic-channels with Tehran that
will effectively diminish the prospects of
war.
The Islamic Republic of Iran vowed to defeat,
what its top defense official termed "the
American-Zionist front," as tensions between
Washington and Tehran continue to mount.
Multiple Iranian news agencies published remarks
that were made by Iranian Defense Minister
Amir Hatami, who sought to signal 'Tehran's
readiness' for any possible development by
underlining that "the Islamic Republic of
Iran stands at the peak of defense-military
preparedness to counter any threat or act
of aggression."
General Hatami further insisted that the Trump
Administration's pressure campaign against
the Ayatollah regime was nothing short from
a declaration of war.
He said that after numerous failed attempts
to subdue Tehran by means of "malicious plots"…
"the Americans embarked on waging a severe,
all-out war on (the Islamic Republic) by means
of economic tools."
The Iranian Defense Minister vowed that these
efforts will fail, and that eventually: 'the
Islamic Republic will defeat its enemies:
The United States, Israel and its allies.'
In related news;
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps held
a meeting of its top military commanders in
Tehran, during which IRGC commander warned
that Iran is "on the verge of a full-scale
(military) confrontation."
The recently appointed commander of the IRGC,
Major General Hossein Salami, cautioned his
subordinates that the current escalation has
presented "the most decisive moment for the
Islamic Revolution, because the enemies (of
Iran) have come to the battlefield with all
of their capabilities."
That said, Salami insisted that the Islamic
Republic will prevail.
Meanwhile;
Washington has ordered all non-emergency government
workers to immediately leave Iran's Western
neighbor, Iraq.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said,
"the withdrawal was based on a security assessment"
– which according to Pentagon sources 'intelligence
reports suggest that Iranian-backed militias
in Iraq (which follow the directives of the
IRGC's Quds Force) have deployed rockets near
bases housing U.S. forces.'
Fearing an imminent escalation, Iraqi officials
have urged the Iranian-backed militias, specifically
"the Popular Mobilization forces" - "al-Hashd
Ash-Sha'abi" in Arabic – to refrain from
taking any action that could provoke American
retaliation.
According to senior member of Iraq's National
Security Council Sayed al-Jayashi, over the
course of “The last two days there have
been continuous meetings with all the groups
to convey the Iraqi government’s message
that if anyone does something, it is their
responsibility, not Iraq’s.”
Al-Jayashi further underscored that "The Iraqi
government is responsible for protecting American
interests in Iraq," and as such "(Baghdad)
will become the enemy of anyone who does something
against (U.S) interest."
Meanwhile in Washington;
U.S. President Donald Trump held a meeting
with Swiss president Ueli Maurer, amid multiple
reports that the Swiss government may facilities
discussions between the United States and
the Islamic Republic of Iran over recent the
ongoing stand-off.
While awaiting the arrival of his Swiss counterpart,
President Trump was asked whether the United
States was going to war with Iran.
Reporter: "Mr. President, are we going to
war with Iran?"
President Trump: "I hope not."
Trump's apparent reluctance to discipline
Iran over its malign behavior by means of
a military confrontation has boosted the confidence
of the Mullah's in Tehran, including the country's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who
sought to reassure his followers – earlier
this week - that an 'all-out-war was off the
table'.
That said, the Iranian leadership is vocally
adamant on refusing "any form of negotiations
with the United States."
"There won't be any war, with the help of
God.
We don't seek a war, and they don't either.
They know it's not in their interests."
/ "A negotiation between us and America is
poison as far as America is what it is now."
Nevertheless, the United States apparently
making extensive efforts to alleviate the
situation in-order to avoid a military escalation.
According to a state Department statement,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the
leader of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, to
confer about the threat posed by the Islamic
Republic.
No additional details were available from
their phone conversation.
It is important to explain, however, that
the Sultanate of Oman has served as a long
intermediary between the West and the Islamic
Republic.
Among others, it served as the host state
of secret discussions in 2013, when the United
States – under the Obama administration
- was negotiating the 2015 nuclear agreement
with Iran.
Picking-up on Washington's efforts to seek
a diplomatic-channel for talks with Iran;
Russian president Vladimir Putin said that
Moscow is ready to assist both the United
States and Europe in mediating a desired agreement.
During a joint press conference with his Austrian
Counterpart Alexander Van Der Bellen, President
Putin stressed that Russia will seek to extinguish
the flames, if the United States and Europe
would be sincere about their intensions.
"We will look at how the situation develops.
Russia is not a fire brigade, we cannot save
just anything, which does not fully depend
on us.
We have played our role, we are ready to play
on this positive role.
But it does not only depend on us.
It depends on all the players, including the
United States, European countries and Iran."
President Putin also insisted that while the
United States instigated the tense situation
by withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear treaty,
Iran will ultimately be subject to bearing
responsibility if it abandon's the multilateral
agreement.
"The Americans quit the (nuclear) treaty,
the treaty is collapsing, European countries
are unable to do anything to save it, cannot
really work with Iran to compensate its economic
losses.
But as soon as Iran takes the first steps
in response, will declare that it quits something,
the very next day everyone will forget that
it were the United States who initiated the
destruction (of the treaty) and burden of
guilt will be laid upon Iran."
Iran has officially stopped some commitments
under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers
following an order from its national security
council – less than a week after the Islamic
Republic notified China, France, Germany,
Russia and the United Kingdom of its decision,
in response to Europe's failed attempts to
bypass U.S. sanctions that effectively crippled
Tehran's economy.
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