Israeli Military Invades Gaza

Israeli tanks rolled into northern Gaza on Thursday night and naval gunboats pounded targets in the south as Israel began a ground invasion of Gaza. Israel said its actions were taken after Hamas militants continued showering Israeli cities with rockets. Hamas said the rocket attacks were in retaliation of Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which has left more than 230 Gazans dead, including many women and children.

Israel said the incursion was a limited one focused on tunnels into Israeli territory, and was not intended to topple the Hamas government in Gaza.

Photo credit: Israli tank in Gaza, 17 July 2014. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters/NYTimes)

Iranian FM Denies Secret Talks with Americans

Hits Back at Israel over Geneva Agreement

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has told Al Jazeera's Talk To Al Jazeera that there were no secret talks with the United States that led to the Geneva agreement.



“There were no secret back channels, we had discussions with the Americans on the sidelines of P5+1, extensive discussions, and these discussions produced this deal, in addition to the very serious discussions we had within P5+1. Oman has played a significant role in the past with regards to clarifying positions of the US on Iran. His Majesty Sultan Qabus paid a visit to Iran, and used the opportunity of his meeting with the Supreme Leader in order to clarify the US position on the issue,” Zarif said. (Al Jazeera, 3 December)

Zarif also accused Israel of using their opposition to the Geneva agreements between Iran and P5+1 talks as a “smoke screen” to divert attention from Palestine.

“If this deal is to ensure Iran never produces nuclear weapons which is the aim of this deal and it’s an aim that we share, why should they (Israelis) be worried, other than the fact that they have been trying to use the smoke screen in order to evade and divert international attention from their atrocities against the Palestinians, their daily violations of most basic tenets of international law and the fact that they remain the single most important security threat to this region and to the world,” Zarif said. (Al Jazeera, 3 December)



File photo: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (IRNA)

Iran Opposes U.S.-Sponsored Israel-Palestine Peace Talks

Iran on Sunday voiced opposition to a US-mediated resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Tehran along with Palestinian groups expresses its opposition to the proposed plan and it's certain that the occupying Zionist regime will utterly not agree to withdraw from the occupied lands,” said foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi.

“Past experience shows that the occupying Zionist regime is basically not ready to pay the price for peace since war mongering and occupation lie at its very core,” Araqchi added. (IRNA/AFP, 21 July)

US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to meet to prepare a resumption of direct peace talks.

File photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) shakes hands with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas during talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, on September 14, 2010. (AFP)

Iran's Security Borders Stretched to Eastern Mediterranean – IRGC Commander

IRGC Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said today Iran’s security borders “stretches to Eastern Mediterranean.” Salami added that the U.S. has failed to contain Iran’s growing power in the region.

“Enemies want to deprive us of the nuclear capability, but we have today stretched our security borders to the Eastern Mediterranean,” Gen. Salami said. 
”The wheels of our economy have now gone past the enemies' plots and their tricks failed to stop our movement,” he added. (Fars News Agency, 4 May)

Gen. Salami’s comments are the most explicit expressions by a senior military officer of Iran’s power projection that goes beyond Iraq and encompasses the Levant; Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

Photo credit: IRGC Deputy Commander Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami (Fars)