October 04, 2024 12:59 GMT
SECURITY: Iran Calls For Simultaneous Gaza/Lebanon Ceasefire
SECURITY
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Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said in Beirut today that Iran would support a ceasefire in Lebanon if it were backed by Hezbollah and paired with a ceasefire in Gaza: "We support efforts for a ceasefire on the condition that it would be acceptable to the Lebanese people, acceptable to the resistance, and thirdly, it would be synchronized with a ceasefire in Gaza."
- The comments track closely with a G7 leaders' statement released yesterday calling for, "an immediate ceasefire in Gaza," and a "cessation of hostilities" in Lebanon "as soon as possible."
- Considering an uptick in Israel's operation against Hezbollah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hawkish comments on maintaining an IDF presence in Gaza, the chance of a ceasefire on either front in the short term appears remote.
- CNN reports that "Israel carried out airstrikes overnight on an underground bunker where senior Hezbollah leaders were believed to be meeting, including Hassan Nasrallah’s presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine," whose fate remains unknown.
- The BBC reports that an Israeli strike severely damaged a key road out of Lebanon near the border crossing into Syria, where the UN estimates 130,000 people have fled since Sept. 23
- The region also remains braced for an Israeli response to Iran's ballistic missile attack. US President Joe Biden's unguarded comments that spiked oil prices yesterday appeared to support an assumption that Israel is likely to target Iran's oil facilities.
- Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters yesterday that the US is discussing with Israel “what a response to Iran would look like,” adding that: “It’s more about trying to understand what their response might be.”
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