Iran Minister Says Israel No longer As Invincible As It Claims To Be

Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida issued a statement announcing the release, the first since Hamas gunmen burst into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and taking around 200 hostages. Some of the kidnapped Israelis are babies and small children whose exact fate remains unknown.

Ubaida said that the move was also intended to “send a message” to US President Joe Biden, who has staunchly supported Israel in the conflict. He stated that “the hostages were released in response to Qatari mediation efforts, "for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless".

Israel's Channel 13 News said Israel had confirmed the release of two hostages. An Israeli army statement earlier in the day said most of the hostages were alive.

The Hamas moves comes as Israel is ready to execute a ground offensive into Gaza with the stated aim of wiping out Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister’s adviser Mark Regev said, "So our working assumption has to be that they are waiting for us. That they are prepared for an Israeli assault. And our challenge will be to surprise them tactically on the ground, to catch them unaware."

As Israel has carried out nearly two weeks of a harsh bombing campaign before its ground operation, at least 4,137 Palestinians have been killed, including hundreds of children, and 13,000 wounded in Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said.

At a press conference on Friday at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Rushdie spoke about the war in the Middle East and his fears that the conflict may escalate.

“I am filled with horror about the attack by Hamas. I’m filled with foreboding about what Netanyahu might do in return. I just hope that there can be a cessation in hostilities at the earliest point,” Rushdie said.

Rushdie is at the book fair to talk about his upcoming book “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder” that will be published April 2024.

The memoir tells the story of his struggle with overcoming his traumatic experience of being attacked while on stage in the United States. In 2022, Rushdie was stabbed multiple times by a 24-year-old Hadi Matar with Islamist ties.

Iran has a historical involvement in threats against Rushdie due to Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa against what he asserted were sacrilegious sections regarding Islam in Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses.

Experts suggest that Matar was possibly influenced by Hezbollah during his time in Lebanon and that this may have played a role in his attack. Iran has denied direct involvement but expressed support for the attack since it took place.

Rushdie lost sight in one eye after the attack and has been wearing a black lens over his right eye.

"It's obviously been a difficult year."

"But I'm happy to be back in reasonable health," added Rushdie, who is to receive the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book Trade this week.

The Beverly Hills mayor, Dr. Julian Gold, and city council, including an Iranian-American lawmaker, Tuesday blasted the Islamist terrorist movement Hamas and its allies—the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Qatari government— for their role in the mass murder of at least 1,400 people, including around 30 Americans, on October 7 in southern Israel.

Iran International obtained a copy of the resolution, which notes that “The City of Beverly Hills unequivocally condemns those who have supported Hamas, harbored Hamas, and who have after the fact celebrated the death of the Jews and praised the Hamas terrorism attacks in state sponsored media, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar.”

Iran openly takes credit for supporting Hamas, while Qatar allows the militant group to maintain an office on its soil and provides safe haven to its leaders.

John Mirisch, the former mayor of Beverly Hills and currently a city councilman, told Iran International “I repeated my call for the Qatari consulate to be expelled from Beverly Hills, along with the call for an investigation into the financial interests of state sponsors of terrorism (i.e. Qatar and Iran) in Beverly Hills.”

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Mirisch has spearheaded the move to confront the role of the alleged state-sponsors of terrorism, Iran and Qatar, in the massacre.

In August, Iran International reported on Mirisch’s call for the city council to investigate the pro-Iranian regime former Qatari prime minister Hamad Bin Jassim (HBJ) for his antisemitic comment. HBJ operates the Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The British paper Manchester Evening News reported Monday on Iran International’s report covering HBJ and the role the Iran International article ostensibly played in forcing HBJ and his son to withdraw their bid to buy the English Premier League football club Manchester United.

The Iranian-American Beverly Hills city councilwoman, Sharona R. Nazarian, told Iran International “Hamas is not only a threat to the Middle East, but a threat to Western civilization and our way of life as we know it. This conflict is not about territory. It is about terrorism. “

She added, “We are strong and stand united regardless of religion, nation of origin or political affiliation against such acts of terror and violence, sending a resounding message that these actions will not be tolerated. We are committed to justice, peace, and the undeniable right of Israel to protect itself from those who seek to destroy it. The difference between right and wrong; good and evil is now. “

The resolution stated, “These terrorists committed unimaginable acts of savagery including mass rape and the systematic massacre of whole families and the brutalization and slaughter of babies and small children; and there were joyful celebrations of the massacre of Jews in Gaza by Hamas and their supporters.”

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) on Tuesday published a report titled “Presenters, Reporters From Qatar's Al-Jazeera Praise Hamas Attack, Celebrate Israel's Disaster.”

The United States has classified Iran's regime as the worst international state-sponsor of terrorism. The American government designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization. Qatar has faced accusations from US congressional representatives and European politicians that it finances terrorism.

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) said in a report on Thursday that at least ten men have been put to death in Karaj, a city near the capital Tehran. The men appear to have been sentenced on drug related charges and were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in one day, according to the rights group.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Director of the NGO, said that these are preliminary information, and the number of executions may be higher than ten. Amiri-Moghaddam mentioned that authorities in Iran are carrying out more executions and acts of violence while all international eyes are on the Hamas-Israel war.

“The Islamic Republic is taking advantage of media attention on Gaza to execute more people.”

“For the Islamic Republic, any war is a blessing,” Amiri-Moghaddam said in a post.

Earlier in October, on the occasion of World Against Death Penalty Day, IHR NGO released a report on the condition of drug related executions in Iran. Since 2010, the government has killed 3,990 people in the name of “war on drugs” according to the recent report.

Strongly condemning the group executions in Iran, IHRNGO has called on the international not to turn a blind eye on the matter.

“The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which collaborates with the Islamic Republic on combating drug trafficking, has an obligation to take action against arbitrary drug executions.”

The UN’s silence on these executions is a green light of approval,” said Amiry-Moghadam.

Saudi state news agency SPA showed footage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, receiving UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Riyadh's airport.

Persian Gulf states worry Iran could be drawn into a conflict that would affect their national security and have been pressing Western allies and Israel to de-escalate tensions in Gaza and lift a siege on the strip. It appears more likely that Israel may soon launch a ground offensive in Gaza, as rhetoric from Iran remains high.

Public meetings between the crown prince and Sheikh Mohammed have been rare in recent years as the close allies competed for investment and regional influence.

Sheikh Mohammed attended a summit between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Riyadh on Friday, Saudi and UAE state media said.

GCC and ASEAN countries called for a durable ceasefire, the immediate release of civilian hostages and detainees, and a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a joint statement, published after the summit, said.

Last year, Prince Mohammed and Sheikh Mohammed met when Prince Mohammed visited Abu Dhabi to offer his condolences on the death of Sheikh Khalifa, the UAE's previous president. Sheikh Mohammed also visited Jeddah last year, and the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November.