Ongoing Israeli attacks ‘a bid to drag out conflict, delay elections’
Israel’s ongoing attacks in Gaza are in part a bid to prolong the conflict in order to delay elections and internal scrutiny of the failures that led to the war, says Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar.
He told Al Jazeera that the ongoing attacks, such as those today in southern Gaza, in part reflected the domestic concerns of Netanyahu’s government.
“It’s also a domestic issue since declaring an end of the war is also declaring elections in Israel, early elections,” he said, adding that the end of the war would also lead to a commission, demanded by the opposition and courts, “that will inquire [into] the blunders that made the October 7 [attacks] possible”.
Eldar said Hamas also had an incentive to be “dragging their feet” and delaying the next stage of the ceasefire agreement, which would require the group to be dismantled, as any additional time could allow them to recruit new members.
Iran will not negotiate with US unless it abandons support for Israel: Khamenei
Iran would only consider cooperation with the US if the latter changes its policy in the region, including supporting Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has said.
“If they completely abandon support for the Zionist regime, withdraw their military bases from here [the region], and refrain from interfering in this region, then it [cooperation] can be considered,” said Khamenei. “The arrogant nature of the US accepts nothing other than submission.”
The remarks came during a gathering with students in the capital marking the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy, following the Islamic revolution that toppled the Western-backed Shah.
“If the country becomes strong and the enemy realises that confronting this strong nation will not yield profit but will bring loss, the country will certainly gain immunity,” Khamenei added.
Iran has been reeling under years of international sanctions, especially after the US in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from a nuclear accord and reimposed them. In September, the UN reinstated sanctions under the so-called “snapback” mechanism after the UK, France and Germany triggered the process.
On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Tehran remained “ready to enter negotiations” with Washington, but only on its nuclear programme, ruling out any talks on its missile capabilities.
