Bragging about war crimes in advance now
Israeli envoy says to expect ‘surprises’ in offensive against Iran
In an interview with Merit TV on Monday, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, referenced last year’s pager attack against Hezbollah while hinting at upcoming military operations against Iran.
“We’ve pulled off a number of surprises – when the dust settles – your going to see some surprises on Thursday night and Friday, that will make the beeper operation almost seem simple,” Leiter said.
Leiter did not elaborate on what “surprises” he was referring to.
Three killed in Israel strike on Iran state TV
Israel’s air strikes on the headquarters of Iran’s state television in Tehran killed three people, the broadcaster says, a day after the bombing.
“Three of the TV station’s employees were killed and others were wounded in the Israeli attack” on Monday, the channel said.
Live on air, TV anchor Sahar Emami denounced “aggression against the homeland” as a blast went off and smoke and debris filled the screen. The footage then showed her fleeing the studio.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei accused Israel of committing a “wicked act” that constitutes a war crime and being the number one “killer of journalists and media people”.
Israel unable to destroy Iran nuclear sites without US involvement: Analyst
Barbara Slavin, distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera earlier that Israel requires US military involvement to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme as it does not have the capability to do so alone.
“The Israelis have not succeeded in achieving what was their announced goal, which was to destroy the Iranian nuclear programme, and they, frankly, cannot do that without United States assistance,” Slavin said.
“So, what we are seeing now is a kind of a push and pull by the Israelis trying to get the United States to step in. Meantime, there are reports that the Iranians are urging an urgent return to diplomacy,” she said.
“I don’t think the president wants the United States to get involved but the Israelis seem quite determined to continue their strikes on Iran, and Iran is retaliating, and I don’t see anyone at this point putting a stop to this,” she added.
“Trump doesn’t seem inclined to stop the Israelis at this point.”
Smoke rises after explosion in Iran’s Tabriz: Report
Iran’s Mehr news agency says thick smoke has been observed in the northwestern city of Tabriz following an explosion at about 8:45am local time (05:15 GMT).
It published footage of the smoke in a post on the Telegram app.
Three killed in Israeli attack on Iran’s Isfahan
The Iranian Mehr news agency is reporting that an Israeli projectile hit a checkpoint in the city of Kashan in the central province of Isfahan this morning, killing at least three people and wounding four others. The agency quoted Akbar Salehi, deputy security officer to the governor of Isfahan.
The Tasnim and ISNA news agencies also reported on the deaths, but gave no further details.
As we’ve been reporting, more than 220 people have been killed in Israel’s attacks on Iran, including at least 70 women and children.
