DUBAI: Iran said on Monday that Israel had lost its power to deter and that the strategic balance in the region had shifted against it, following attacks by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday, as Israel’s military said it had struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a larger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.
“Despite the comprehensive support of states like the United States, Israel could not predict the time and place of a limited and managed response by the resistance. Israel has lost its deterrence power,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani wrote on X.
Kanaani added that Israel “now has to defend itself within its occupied territories” and that “strategic balances have undergone fundamental changes” to the detriment of Israel.
Any major spillover in the fighting, which began in parallel with the war in Gaza, risks morphing into a regional conflagration drawing in Iran, Hezbollah’s backer, and the United States, Israel’s main ally.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the group’s barrage, a reprisal for the assassination of senior commander Fuad Shukr last month, had been completed “as planned.”
With three deaths confirmed in Lebanon and one in Israel after Sunday’s exchanges, both sides indicated they were happy to avoid further escalation for now, but warned that there could be more strikes to come.
Iran says Hezbollah’s attack shows Israel losing its deterrent power
https://arab.news/b3d4h
Iran says Hezbollah’s attack shows Israel losing its deterrent power
- Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday
- Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the group’s barrage had been completed ‘as planned’
Putin thanks UAE’s president for Ukraine mediation efforts
- Russian president meets Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in Moscow for talks spanning international affairs and bilateral trade
- Another round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine is due to take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday
LONDON: Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked his counterpart from the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, on Thursday for his mediation efforts on the war in Ukraine.
As Russian and Ukrainian negotiators prepare for another round of peace talks, due to take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, the Emirati president met the Russian leader at the Kremlin during an official visit to Moscow.
Putin “expressed his appreciation to the UAE for hosting the trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States,” the Emirates News Agency reported.
Sheikh Mohammed said he was proud to have helped mediate prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, and the UAE was ready to “assist all constructive efforts” regarding important humanitarian matters.
The leaders also discussed the latest developments in the Middle East. Regarding the conflict between Israel and Palestine, they said there was an “urgent need to intensify efforts to achieve a clear path towards a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.”
Other topics included ways in which bilateral cooperation might be strengthened in areas such as trade, investment, technology, space and energy.
Russia and the UAE have moved to deepen ties in recent years. They signed two key trade and economic partnership agreements last summer.
