IDF will keep fighting Iran in Syria, chief of staff says
Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said Sunday that the army will continue to operate forcefully as needed against Iranian entrenchment in Syria.
Syria
War monitor claims Israeli strike killed at least 19 pro-Iran fighters in Syria
Airstrikes likely carried out by Israel killed at least 19 pro-Iran militia fighters in war-torn eastern Syria, a war monitor said Thursday.
Israeli military prepares for possibility Trump will strike Iran
The Israel Defense Forces have in recent weeks been instructed to prepare for the possibility that the U.S. will conduct a military strike against Iran before President Trump leaves office, senior Israeli officials tell me.
Iran vows to crush any Israeli attempt to hit its “advisory” role in Syria
Iran on Sunday vowed to defeat any Israeli attempt to harm its role in Syria, saying the era of “hit and run” attacks by Israel there was over, days after Israel carried out airstrikes on the Syrian army and Iranian paramilitary targets in the country.
In a rare move, IDF releases video of predawn strikes on Iranian, Syrian targets
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday night released footage of some of its predawn airstrikes against Iranian and Syrian military sites in southern Syria, which came in response to an attempted attack on Israeli troops that was thwarted the day before.
Saudi Arabia may acquire nuclear weapons if Iran does
Saudi Arabia has announced it will consider obtaining nuclear weapons if Iran acquires them, the Times of Israel reports. The Saudi Minister for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir made the announcement during a recent interview with the German news agency DPA.
Israel strikes targets in Syria to send a message to Iran
Israel carried out a round of airstrikes in Syria early Wednesday morning in what military officials said was a message to Iran to get out of the country, the Times of Israel reports. The strikes followed a thwarted Iran-backed attempt to set off anti-personnel mines against Israeli troops on the Golan Heights this week.
IDF launches airstrikes against Iranian Quds Force in Syria
The Israel Defense Forces attacked Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria early Wednesday morning in response to explosives troops uncovered on Israel’s border with Syria on Tuesday.
Archaeologists find 1,000 year-old coins in Jerusalem
Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a jar containing 1,000-year-old coins in the Old City of Jerusalem, CBN News reports. Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) inspector Yevgenia Kapil made the discovery during preliminary digging for a Western Wall elevator installation in October.
Lebanese society and Christian community endangered by Hezbollah and regional actors
The head of a leading Christian advocacy group has urgently called for political reform that would protect Lebanese society – and its Christian community – from power-hungry actors like the leaders of Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, Real Clear Religion (RCR) reports.
Iran, China set to question US over human rights record at UN
The United States is facing its first review in five years at the UN’s main human rights body, with the detentions of migrant children and the killings of unarmed Black people during the Trump administration’s tenure among issues high on minds.
German Police Raid Homes After Islamist Attack In Austria
German police have searched four men’s homes over suspected links with a militant Islamist gunman who shot dead four people in central Vienna. The raids follow revelations that Austria had been warned of a possible attack by neighboring Slovakia.
Islamic State Claims Austria Terror Attack Killing Four
Austrian police detained 14 people in several raids Tuesday after an Islamist gunman shot and killed four people in Vienna.
Top Iranian official says Israeli-Arab normalizing ties is a failed US-Israel plot against Iran
A senior official in Iran’s Islamist regime has described the recent normalization of ties between Israel and Arab states as a US-Israeli plot against Iran, which will ultimately fail, Jerusalem Online (JOL) reported. Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei made his comments Wednesday at an international conference in Tehran on the decline of America.
US imposes new sanctions on Iran’s oil sector
The Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Iran’s oil sector Monday, also making it more difficult for a subsequent administration to reverse the measures, the Times of Israel reports. Affecting the National Iranian Oil Company, Iran’s oil ministry, and the National Iranian Tanker Company, the new measures were taken under counterterrorism authority, such that a new administration would have to take legal action to change course.
American Airstrikes Take Down 12 al-Qaeda and Taliban Operators
American airstrikes have killed a dozen al-Qaeda and Taliban members in Syria and Afghanistan since Thursday.
US Condemns Iran For Flogging Christian Convert
The U.S. State Department has condemned Iran’s reported flogging of a former Muslim-turned-Christian for drinking Communion wine.
‘We will not allow Hezbollah or Iran to entrench themselves on Golan Heights’
Israel will not allow terrorist entities aligned with Hezbollah or Iran to entrench themselves on Israel’s Golan Heights border, and will do whatever is necessary to push them back, Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Israel Radio on Wednesday, following reports from Syria that IDF tanks had fired on targets near Quneitra in the Syrian Golan Heights overnight.
White House official attended meetings in Damascus to secure release of hostages
A representative from the White House went to Damascus for secret meetings with the Syrian government earlier this year, in an effort to secure the release of at least two US citizens believed to be held hostage there, Reuters reported Monday.
US drone strike kills 2 senior Al Qaeda operatives in Syria
The U.S. military carried out a drone strike Thursday, killing two senior Al Qaeda operatives in northwest Syria.