According to President Biden, a ceasefire could prevent Iran from attacking. His foreign minister is said to have postponed a trip to the Middle East. All developments in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
2.12 am: According to US President Joe Biden, Iran could refrain from its threatened retaliatory strike against Israel in the event of a breakthrough in negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. In response to a question from reporters, Biden replied: “That is my expectation, but we will see.”
This Thursday, at the urging of the USA, Qatar and Egypt, which are mediating in the war between Israel and Hamas, a potentially decisive round of talks on an agreement is planned, probably in Qatar’s capital Doha. Unlike Israel, Hamas has so far refused to take part. They will “not negotiate under fire,” a source told dpa.
0.30 am: According to insiders, a suspected rocket attack on a US air base in the Syrian province of Deir al-Sor missed its target. The missiles landed near the base without hitting it, two government officials told the Reuters news agency. There were no injuries. The US-led coalition responded to the attack with artillery fire.
Lebanese pro-Iranian television station Al-Mayadeen reported that US warplanes took off over the rural area following the attack. The incident came just days after a drone strike on another US base in Syria that injured eight US soldiers.
10:26 p.m.: According to insiders, an Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel following the death of a Hamas leader can only be averted by an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Three high-ranking Iranian government officials told the Reuters news agency that negotiations were planned for this week.
It is not known how much time the government in Tehran would allow for the talks. There is no official statement from Iran. At the end of July, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any involvement.
10.18 pm: According to a media report, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is postponing his planned trip to the Middle East. The reason for this is the “uncertain situation,” reports Axios, citing two unnamed insiders.
Blinken was supposed to leave on Tuesday. There is currently no statement from the US government. On Monday it was announced that the peace talks planned for Thursday would be allowed to take place.
19:07: Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed sympathy for the suffering of the Palestinians at a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. Unfortunately, Russia must currently defend its own interests with weapons, according to an official Russian statement after the meeting in Moscow, alluding to the war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, Russia is aware of what is currently happening in the Middle East. “We are observing with great pain and great concern the humanitarian catastrophe that has developed in Palestine.”
Putin declared his support for an independent Palestinian state and promised further humanitarian aid. A new Russian initiative to end the Gaza war was not mentioned in the official Russian transcript of the conversation. Abbas declared that Russia was one of the closest friends of the Palestinian people. “We believe in you, we trust you, and we feel your support,” the 88-year-old was quoted as saying. The United Nations Security Council must intervene to stop Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Russia has a right of veto in the council.
The government in Moscow has long maintained relations with both Israel and the Palestinians. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, however, Putin has emphasized the fate of the Palestinians, much to the displeasure of the government in Jerusalem. On one occasion he declared that “the suffering of their children brings tears to one’s eyes.” The government in Moscow also received a delegation from the radical Islamic Hamas militia, against which Israel is fighting in the Gaza Strip. Before the war, Hamas controlled the coastal strip. Abbas, on the other hand, has de facto authority only in the West Bank. His moderate Fatah movement, a traditional rival of Hamas, is in power there.
