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Iran's foreign minister vows retaliation against Israel over Haniyeh's death | World News

The Iranian Foreign Minister has once again pointed out his country's planned retaliatory measures. Photo: Unsplash

3 minutes reading time Last updated: 26 August 2024 | 10:44 am IS

The Iranian Foreign Minister has again pointed to his country's planned retaliatory measures for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Abbas Araghchi said he made the remark in a telephone conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani late Sunday.

“Iran's response to the Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is clear and will be proportionate and calculated,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. “We do not fear escalation, but unlike Israel, we do not seek it either.”

Tajani said in a statement that he called for restraint and a constructive approach to break the vicious cycle of military action in the region, which only risks causing more suffering.

It is important for Iran to exercise restraint towards Hezbollah to avoid an escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Italian soldiers from the UNIFIL contingent operate, and towards the Houthis to avoid an escalation of tensions in the Red Sea region, where Italy plays a leading role in the (European Union's) Aspides mission, the statement said.

Their call came after a fierce exchange of fire early Sunday between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, long backed by Iran, but they stopped short of triggering the widely feared all-out war.

Meanwhile, a round of high-level talks in Cairo aimed at forging a ceasefire and hostage deal to at least temporarily end the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip ended on Sunday without a final agreement, a U.S. official said. But talks will continue at lower levels in the coming days to fill remaining gaps.

The official, who spoke about the talks on condition of anonymity, said lower-level working groups would remain in Cairo to meet with mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt to resolve remaining differences.

CIA Director William Burns and David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, took part in the talks. A Hamas delegation was briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but did not participate directly in the negotiations.

Here is the latest information:

Israel announces delivery of additional polio vaccines to Gaza

Polio vaccines have been delivered to Gaza for more than a million people, the Israeli military said on Sunday, after the first case of the disease in a quarter of a century was confirmed in the territory.

It was not immediately clear how and how quickly the more than 25,000 vials of vaccine would be distributed in Gaza, where ongoing fighting and unrest during the more than 10-month war have complicated humanitarian efforts.

After the virus was detected in sewage at six different locations in July, further polio cases are suspected in the heavily devastated area.

Aid groups aim to vaccinate more than 600,000 children under the age of 10 and are calling for an urgent pause in the war to increase vaccinations. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund have said at least a seven-day pause is needed.

The UN is planning to bring 1.6 million doses of polio vaccine to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crammed into tent camps without clean water or proper sanitation and garbage disposal. Families sometimes use wastewater for drinking or washing dishes.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First published: 26 August 2024 | 10:44 am IS

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