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Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities

Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
Projectiles are seen in the sky after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Tel Aviv on Oct. 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 03 October 2024
AFP
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Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities

Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
  • When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Biden said “we’re discussing that. I think that would be a little... anyway“
  • Biden said he did not expect any immediate action from Israel
Updated 03 October 2024
AFP
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WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden said he was discussing possible Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities, in comments that sent oil prices spiking Thursday just a month before the US presidential election.
Biden told reporters at the White House however that he was not expecting Israel to launch any retaliation for Tehran’s missile barrage on Israel before Thursday at least.
When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Biden said “we’re discussing that. I think that would be a little... anyway.”
Oil prices jumped five percent over concerns about the Middle East after Biden spoke.
A rise in oil prices could be hugely damaging for Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican former president Donald Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue.
Biden said he did not expect any immediate action from Israel — even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently paid little heed to calls for restraint as he targets the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
“First of all, we don’t ‘allow’ Israel, we advise Israel. And there is nothing going to happen today,” Biden told reporters when asked if he would allow Israel to retaliate against Iran.
Biden said on Wednesday that he would not back Israel attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran launched around 200 rockets in a direct missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, prompting Netanyahu to warn that Tehran would pay.
Iran said it was in retaliation for the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has been launching rockets at Israel since shortly after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Iran’s Palestinian ally Hamas, and Israel’s crushing retaliatory offensive in Gaza.

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon US President Joe Biden Israel Iran

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Influential US Republican urges Biden to speed Israel arms sales, letter says

Influential US Republican urges Biden to speed Israel arms sales, letter says
Updated 33 sec ago
Reuters
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Influential US Republican urges Biden to speed Israel arms sales, letter says

Influential US Republican urges Biden to speed Israel arms sales, letter says
  • Michael McCaul urged the speedy release of withheld weapons amid global fears that the Middle East will erupt into widespread war
  • Biden had shipment of the 2,000-pound bunker-busting bomb, citing concern over the impact they could have in densely populated areas
Updated 33 sec ago
Reuters

WASHINGTON: The chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to speed up weapons shipments to Israel, including 2000-pound (907 kg) bombs that have been held up for months over human rights concerns.
“I urge you to act today to ensure all weapons shipments to Israel, including 2,000-pound bombs, are expedited to support our ally,” Representative Michael McCaul said in a letter sent to Biden and seen by Reuters on Thursday.
McCaul, who reviews all major foreign US weapons sales in his position as committee chairman, said he was also aware of more than 10 other planned weapons sales to Israel that have been awaiting final approval for more than four months and urged that they proceed quickly.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McCaul sent the letter amid global fears that the Middle East will erupt into widespread war, which have fueled calls in Washington for the Biden administration to provide more assistance to Israel.
Israel, which has been fighting Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza for almost a year, has sent troops into southern Lebanon, where it is targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, after two weeks of intense airstrikes.
Iran barraged Israel with more than 180 ballistic missiles on Tuesday. Israel has sworn it will retaliate.
US Republicans have been urging Biden for months to reverse his decision earlier this year to pause one shipment of the 2,000-pound bombs, citing concern over the impact they could have in densely populated areas in Gaza.
One 2,000-pound bomb can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
“We all wish Israel did not need these larger bombs, but they are operationally necessary as Israel’s enemies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, are intentionally using deeply buried subterranean bunkers and tunnels. I call on you to allow these weapons, which are ready to ship, to be sent to Israel immediately,” McCaul wrote.

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon Michael McCaul Israel Hezbollah

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Libya to resume oil production after central bank dispute ends

Libya to resume oil production after central bank dispute ends
Updated 35 min 41 sec ago
AP
Reuters
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Libya to resume oil production after central bank dispute ends

Libya to resume oil production after central bank dispute ends
  • Libya produces more than 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, and Sharara is the country’s largest field, producing up to 300,000 barrels per day
  • Authorities in Benghazi closed the oilfields on Aug. 26 after the Tripoli-based Presidential Council replace the veteran central bank chief
Updated 35 min 41 sec ago
AP Reuters

CAIRO: Libya’s state-run oil company said Thursday it was restarting full oil production, almost two months after shutting down operations in two of its major fields amid a political crisis.
The National Oil Corporation said in a statement that it would resume production at the Sharara and El-Feel oil fields, and export shipments from Es Sider, the country’s largest port. In August, the company declared “force majeure,” a legal maneuver that lets a company get out of its contracts because of extraordinary circumstances.
As part of the review of the force majeure situation, NOC confirmed in its statement that it “can resume the operations of crude oil production and exporting operations to its customers.”
The National Oil Corporation previously blamed the shutdown on the Fezzan Movement, a local protest group. It came as the country’s rival authorities were locked in a dispute over the governance of its Central Bank, which distributes the country’s oil revenues.
In August, the UN warned that the country was poised to face even greater instability due to the dispute. But that was resolved in recent days, when the country’s parliament appointed a new governor to the bank.
Libya produces more than 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, and Sharara is the country’s largest field, producing up to 300,000 barrels per day.  It was exporting most of it. In September, exports averaged 460,000 bpd according to oil analytics firm Kpler.

The oil-rich country has been in political turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. Since then, Libya has been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by militias and foreign governments.

The latest dispute
NOC declared force majeure on Aug. 7 at Sharara oilfield — one of Libya’s largest production areas with a capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day — and on Elfeel oilfield on Sept.2.
Sharara is located in southwestern Libya and operated by a joint venture of NOC with Spain’s Repsol, France’s TotalEnergies, Austria’s OMV, and Norway’s Equinor.
Elfeel has a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day and is operated by Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint venture between NOC and Italy’s Eni.
Two engineers at the field told Reuters the oilfield resumed production but not with full capacity due to maintenance work.
Earlier, three engineers said there were some “technical problems” at Elfeel.
The government in Benghazi in the east said oil production and exports would resume normal operations, after the rival authorities agreed last month to appoint Issa as new central bank governor.
Authorities in the second-largest city had closed oilfields and halted most of crude exports on Aug. 26 in protest against a move by the Presidential Council, which sits in Tripoli in the west, to replace veteran central bank chief Sadiq Al-Kabir.
The head of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Menfi, met with Issa on Wednesday and stressed “the need for the central bank governor to commit to the technical role of the bank, stay away from politics, and not surpass the legal jurisdictions of the board of directors.”
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya UNSMIL welcomed in a statement NOC announcing the lifting of force majeure on oil production.
The mission emphasized that “it is essential that revenues from this vital resource be channeled through the appropriate institutional framework, and ultimately to the Central Bank of Libya.”

Topics: Libya Sharara oil field El-Feel oil field National Oil Corporation

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Security Council backs UN secretary-general after Israel bans him from entering country

Security Council backs UN secretary-general after Israel bans him from entering country
Updated 04 October 2024
Arab News
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Security Council backs UN secretary-general after Israel bans him from entering country

Security Council backs UN secretary-general after Israel bans him from entering country
  • Foreign Minister Israel Katz described Antonio Guterres as an “anti-Israel secretary-general who lends support to terrorists” and declared him persona non grata
  • Council members say all nations need to have a ‘productive and effective relationship with the secretary-general’ and must not undermine his work or office
Updated 04 October 2024
Arab News

NEW YORK CITY: The Security Council on Thursday affirmed its “full support” for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and said any decision not to engage with him or his office was counterproductive. 

Israel on Wednesday banned Guterres from entering the country. Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared him to be persona non grata and an “anti-Israel secretary-general who lends support to terrorists,” citing as a reason what he described as the UN chief’s failure to condemn the Iranian missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.

“Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel, as nearly all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israeli soil,” he said.

“Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without Antonio Guterres.”

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for Guterres, described Katz’s comments as political and “just one more attack on UN staff that we’ve seen from the government of Israel.” The concept of “persona non grata” does not apply to UN staff, he added.

Addressing an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday, Guterres said he had condemned a similar attack against Israel by Iran in April and added: “As should have been obvious yesterday, in the context of the condemnation I expressed, I again strongly condemn yesterday’s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel.

“These attacks, paradoxically, do not seem to support the cause of the Palestinian people or reduce their suffering.”

Guterres also criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza, describing them as “the most deadly and destructive military campaign in my years as secretary-general.”

Switzerland holds the presidency of the Security Council this month. The country’s permanent representative to the UN, Pascale Baeriswyl, said on Thursday that members of the council stressed the need for all nations to “have a productive and effective relationship with the secretary-general and to refrain from any actions that undermine his work and that of his office.”

She added: “The members of the Security Council further underscored that any decision not to engage with the UN secretary-general or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East.”

Topics: UN UN Security Council UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Israel

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37 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in past 24 hours, health ministry says

37 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in past 24 hours, health ministry says
Updated 04 October 2024
Reuters
AP
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37 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in past 24 hours, health ministry says

37 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in past 24 hours, health ministry says
  • Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel and Hezbollah started swapping fire as the Gaza war worsened
Updated 04 October 2024
Reuters AP

BEIRUT: Thirty seven people were killed and 151 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the past 24 hours, the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement early on Friday

Among the dead were nine residents of an apartment in the Lebanese capital, according to ministry.

Israel has been pounding areas of the country where the Hezbollah militant group has a strong presence since late September, but has rarely struck in the heart of Beirut.

There was no warning before the strike late Wednesday, which hit the building close to the United Nations headquarters, the prime minister’s office and parliament. Hezbollah’s civil defense unit said seven of its members were killed.
Israel is also conducting a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah, while also conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children. The Israeli military said nine soldiers have died in the conflict in southern Lebanon.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since the day after Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage.

Israel declared war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip in response. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

 

 

 

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon Lebanon

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UN peacekeepers in Lebanon stay put, despite Israel asking them to move

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon stay put, despite Israel asking them to move
Updated 04 October 2024
Reuters
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UN peacekeepers in Lebanon stay put, despite Israel asking them to move

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon stay put, despite Israel asking them to move
  • UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix: “The parties have an obligation to respect the safety of and security of peacekeepers, and I want to insist on that”
  • UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, operates between the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line in the south
Updated 04 October 2024
Reuters

UNITED NATIONS: United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon remain in place — despite Israel asking them to move — and provide the only communications link between the countries’ militaries, the UN peacekeeping chief said on Thursday.
“Peacekeepers continue to do their best to implement their Security Council mandate in obviously very difficult conditions,” UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told reporters, adding that contingency plans were ready for both good and bad outcomes.
The mission, known as UNIFIL, is mandated by the Security Council to help the Lebanese army keep the area free of weapons and armed personnel other than those of the Lebanese state. That has sparked friction with Iran-backed Hezbollah, which effectively controls southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military asked UN peacekeepers earlier this week to prepare to relocate more than 5 km (3 miles) from the border between Israel and Lebanon — known as the Blue Line — “as soon as possible, in order to maintain your safety,” according to an excerpt from the message, seen by Reuters.
“The peacekeepers are currently staying in their position, all of them,” Lacroix told reporters. “The parties have an obligation to respect the safety of and security of peacekeepers, and I want to insist on that.”

Lacroix said UNIFIL was continuing to liaise with both countries, describing the mission as “the only channel of communication” between them. The mission was working to protect civilians and support the safe movement of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid.
The UN peacekeepers operate between the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line in the south. The mission has more than 10,000 troops from 50 countries and about 800 civilian staff, according to its website.
Israel’s military told residents of more than 20 towns in south Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately on Thursday as it pressed on with its cross-border incursion and struck Hezbollah targets in a suburb of Beirut.

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon UNIFIL UN peacekeepers Hezbollah Lebanon Jean-Pierre Lacroix

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