'Risk of escalation' if US attacks Iran, deputy FM says, as tensions rise

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the Middle East concludes for today. Join us again tomorrow.
 

The European Union's top diplomats met Monday in Brussels with the director of the Board of Peace after a shaky and controversial embrace of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure and rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Nikolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. diplomat chosen by Trump to manage the Board of Peace, met the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and foreign ministers from across the 27-nation bloc. The EU diplomats were also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and fresh sanctions on Russia.

“We want to be part of the peace process in Gaza and also contribute with what we have,” Kallas said ahead of the meeting. Afterward, she said Mladenov updated diplomats on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the Board of Peace's activities and strategy, which included an EU presence in stabilization and humanitarian efforts.

“It was good to hear from Mladenov that it’s really right now trying to improve the situation, that he sees this in the same way, that actually they also need us there contributing," Kallas said.

One EU nation blocked new sanctions on Israeli settlers agreed by the rest of the bloc, she said, without naming the holdout. The EU's planned training of Palestinian police in Gaza is awaiting approval by Israel, Kallas said.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and former US ambassador David Friedman dedicated a performance of Elvis Presley’s hit 'Hound Dog' to right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson during an event at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem on Saturday, following Carlson’s contentious interview with Huckabee.

Friedman posted a clip of the performance on X, tagging Carlson, as they performed the lyrics: "You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog, cryin’ all the time. You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog and you ain’t no friend of mine."

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid addressed delegates at the AIPAC conference on Monday, delivering a firm warning to the Iranian leadership.

Lapid said Israel would not permit Iran to rebuild a missile threat against its citizens and vowed that Tehran’s proxy groups would face continued pressure.

He stressed that Iran would "never, ever" be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a limited security meeting on Monday with senior defence officials, including the defence minister and the military chief of staff, to discuss the situation with Iran and regional tensions.

Earlier on the same day, Netanyahu addressed the Knesset, commenting on the possibility of a US strike on Iran and the challenges facing Israel amid escalating pressures and ongoing diplomatic efforts.

US President Donald Trump on Monday rejected reports suggesting that one of his senior generals is reluctant about potential American military strikes against Iran, calling the claims “100 per cent incorrect”.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said that Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, like others in his administration, would prefer to avoid war but believed that, should military action against Iran be authorised, it would be “easily won”.

He added that he would rather reach an agreement with Tehran, but warned that if no deal is secured, it would be “a very bad day” for the country.

Trump said such an outcome would be regrettable for the Iranian people, whom he described as “great and wonderful”.

A police officer in his 50s was injured on Monday after a lorry collided with officers near the West Bank city of Nablus, according to Haaretz.

Israeli authorities said the officer remained fully conscious and was receiving medical treatment. The driver was arrested, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Muslim-majority countries and several European states condemned on Monday Israeli moves to further its control over the occupied West Bank, characterising them as attempts to annex the territory and undermine Palestinian statehood.

Israel's decision to reclassify Palestinian land as Israeli "state land" and to accelerate illegal settlements there "are part of a clear trajectory that aims to change the reality on the ground and to advance unacceptable de facto annexation", the countries said in a joint statement.

"Such actions are a deliberate and direct attack on the viability of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution."

The Gaza Ministry of Health announced that one person was killed and eight others were injured over the past 24 hours.

The ministry said the total number of Palestinians killed since the ceasefire has risen to 615, with 1,651 people wounded and 726 bodies recovered.

It added that since the start of the conflict on 7 October 2023, the overall death toll has reached 72,073, while the number of those injured has climbed to 171,749.

A Saudi aid convoy has arrived in the Gaza Strip as part of a public campaign to support the Palestinian people.

Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the convoy, carrying food baskets supplied by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, reached Gaza on Sunday.

According to SPA, the shipment forms part of Saudi Arabia’s wider relief campaign aimed at assisting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The convoy was received by the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage, the implementing partner of the King Salman Relief Centre in Gaza, in preparation for the immediate distribution of aid to affected families across the territory.

The U.S. embassy in the Lebanese capital said on Monday that it ordered the departure of non-emergency government personnel and family members due to the "security situation in Beirut".

The embassy post on X did not elaborate further on the situation and confirmed an earlier comment by a U.S. state department official.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with an Iranian delegation on Thursday in Geneva, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Monday, amid a large U.S. military buildup in the region aimed at forcing concessions from Tehran over its nuclear program.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel was facing "complex and challenging days" as tensions escalate between the United States and Iran following President Donald Trump's threat of strikes should Tehran refuse to accept a new nuclear agreement.

"We are in very complex and challenging days," Netanyahu told lawmakers in a brief address to parliament. "We are keeping our eyes open and are prepared for any scenario."

He also reiterated a warning to Iran's leadership: "I have conveyed to the ayatollah regime that if they make the gravest mistake in their history and attack the State of Israel, we will respond with a force they cannot even imagine."

The United States will resume nuclear talks with Iran on Thursday, a US official confirmed to AFP, as Washington continues its huge military build-up to put pressure on Tehran.

The US official, speaking on Monday, did not give further details. Iran said on Sunday that the talks were expected to happen on Thursday in Geneva, as did regional mediator Oman.

Four Syrian security personnel were killed in an Islamic State (IS) group attack in the northern city of Raqqa, which was recently taken by Damascus from Kurdish forces, state media reported on Monday.

The attack, the second against security forces in as many days per Syria's interior ministry, comes after IS called on its fighters to confront Syrian authorities.

The official SANA news agency quoted a security source as saying that "four members of the internal security forces" were killed in an attack attributed to IS.

Syria's interior ministry said the "terrorist attack" had targeted a checkpoint and that one of the assailants was killed.

The ministry made no mention of casualties in the previous incident on Sunday, but said it too had resulted in the killing of one attacker.

Iranian students defied authorities with protests for a third day on Monday, weeks after security forces crushed mass unrest with thousands killed and as the United States weighs possible air strikes against the Islamic Republic.

State media outlets reported students chanting anti-government slogans at Tehran University, burning flags at the all-women al-Zahra University, and scuffles at Amir Kabir University, all located in the capital.

Reuters also verified video showing students at al-Zahra University chanting slogans including "we'll reclaim Iran", but was not able to confirm when it was recorded.

A London-based Persian language channel on Monday said it had been forced to suspend live broadcasts after UK counter-terror police alerted its landlord to a potential threat from Tehran.

Manoto TV, which launched in 2010 and is an opposition channel popular with the Iranian diaspora, said the temporary suspension came as Iran faced one of the "most sensitive moments" in its history.

In recent months, Iran has seen mass anti-government protests in one of the largest challenges to the Islamic republic's clerical leadership in years.

"At a time when ... domestic and regional developments are unfolding at an unprecedented pace, the Islamic Republic's threats against freedom of speech -- aimed at suppressing independent reporting -- have intensified," Manoto TV said in a statement.

"Our landlord has informed us of their intention to terminate our tenancy following notification from the UK's Counter Terrorism Policing regarding a potential threat against us from the Islamic Republic of Iran Regime," the private broadcaster added.

Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned of the risk of a wider escalation if his country was attacked, after US President Donald Trump raising the threat of strikes.

"We call upon all nations committed to peace and justice to take meaningful steps to prevent further escalation. The consequences of any renewed aggression wouldn't remain confined to one country and responsibility would rest with those who initiate or support such actions," Gharibabadi said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

The Bank of Israel held short-term interest rates steady on Monday after two successive cuts, amid fears of a US strike on Iran that overshadowed easing inflation pressures and a strong shekel.

After cuts in November and January, the central bank opted to leave its benchmark rate at 4 percent despite an October US-brokered ceaesefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas took hold and helped to relieve supply constraints that had pushed up prices during the two-year Gaza war.

The annual inflation rate eased to a 4-1/2-year low of 1.8 percent in January - well within an official target range of 1-3% - from 2.6 percent in December.

Of the 13 economists polled by Reuters, seven had expected a rate cut while six projected no move due to worries over a possible US attack on Iran, which would likely prompt Iranian retaliation on Israel. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may push back a trip to Israel in which he is expected to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about potential strikes on Iran, a US official said Monday.

"Secretary Rubio is still planning to travel to Israel but the schedule remains subject to change," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Rubio had earlier been expected to meet Netanyahu on Saturday, but Israeli media reports said he was now expected in the country on Monday.

One person was killed and eight others were wounded in the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, the enclave's Ministry of Health said on Monday, as Israel continues to violate the ceasefire in the territory over the months.

Israeli forces stormed the village of Jalbun, east of Jenin, on Monday, searching and ransacking multiple homes, local media reported.

Soldiers also set up a military checkpoint, obstructing the movement of Palestinian residents.

Forces also reportedly fired tear gas canisters towards local residents during the raid.

The US embassy in Lebanon has reportedly evacuated dozens of staff members on Monday through Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport, as a "precautionary measure" amid regional tensions, the Lebanese outlet LBCI said.

This comes amid threats that the US could attack in Iran if an agreement on a nuclear deal isn't reached, as well as developments in Gaza and Israel.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the Palestinian group Hamas will be "given an ultimatum to disarm" within the coming days, and if the group refuses, then Israel will be given "international legitimacy and US backing" to act on the matter.

Smotrich told the Israeli Kan Reshet Bet radio station that the Israeli army is "already preparing for this and is drawing up plans".

Three Palestinians were injured Monday morning after Israeli forces opened fire, near the Shujaiya intersection east of Gaza City, medical sources say.

India's foreign ministry urged its citizens Monday to leave Iran, against a backdrop of fears of a possible US strike on Tehran.

"In view of the evolving situation in Iran, Indian nationals who are currently in Iran... are advised to leave Iran by available means of transport, including commercial flights," the Indian Embassy in Tehran said in a post on social media.

India's foreign ministry estimates there are usually around 10,000 citizens in Iran.

The United States began withdrawing on Monday from a major base in Syria still under the control of Kurdish forces, a Kurdish official who requested anonymity told AFP.

An AFP team saw a convoy of dozens of trucks, loaded with armoured vehicles and prefabricated structures, on a road linking the Qasrak base in Hasakeh province to the border with Iraq.

American forces have already withdrawn from two other bases in the past two weeks, Al-Tanf in the southeast and Shadadi in the northeast.

Iran said Monday that any US attack, including limited strikes, would be an "act of aggression" that would precipitate a response, after President Donald Trump said he was considering a limited strike on Iran.

"And with respect to your first question concerning the limited strike, I think there is no limited strike," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a briefing in Tehran attended by an AFP journalist.

"An act of aggression would be regarded as an act of aggression. Period. And any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right of self-defence ferociously so that's what we would do."

The Israeli army arrested at least nine Palestinians on Monday during raids across the occupied West Bank, including house searches, local media reported.

Two teenagers were arrested in the town of Deir Abu Mash'al. Meanwhile, In the Nablus Governorate, Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian man after raiding his home in the town of Huwara, and another in the town of Asira al-Shamaliya.

In the Hebron Governorate, the Israeli army arrested a Palestinian man from the city and another from the al-Fawwar refugee camp, after raiding and searching their homes.

In the Bethlehem Governorate, Israeli soldiers arrested three young Palestinian men after raiding the town of Tuqu', southeast of the city.

Israeli settlers set fire to parts of the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Tell, north of the occupied West Bank, early on Monday, Palestinian media reported.

Settlers reportedly raided the town which is located west of Nablus, and set fire to parts of the mosque, burning its entrance and damaging its facade with smoke.

Settlers also wrote slogans in Hebrew on the mosque's exterior wall.

No injuries were reported.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged a "diplomatic solution" on Iran on Monday ahead of expected talks between Tehran and Washington, as US President Donald Trump threatens strikes on the country.

"We don't need another war in this region. We already have a lot," Kallas said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"It is true that Iran is at its weakest point that they have been. We should be really using this time to find a diplomatic solution."