Iran announces suspension of cooperation with IAEA
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the president has signed off on legislation requiring the government to cut ties with the IAEA.
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Middle East Eye
11 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel has a Hamas 'hit-list.' Could it assassinate officials in Qatar?
Israel is stepping up its threats to target Hamas leaders abroad just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next week. The threats - and Netanyahu's visit - are sparking speculation that Israel could look to target senior Hamas officials in Gaza, Algeria, Lebanon, and potentially Qatar as the US presses for a new truce in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened last month to assassinate senior Hamas political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya, who is based in Doha, Qatar. He also said Israel would target the Gaza-based Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the commander of Hamas's military wing. The Israeli news site Maariv reported in June that Israel had a Hamas "hit list", which included Hayya, Osama Hamdan, a former Hamas spokesman in Lebanon, and Sami Abu Zahri, the group's representative in Algeria. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Hamas's military and political wings are structured as distinct entities. The group's political leadership has primarily been based in Doha as per a 2011 request from former US President Barack Obama. Hamas also had an office in Cairo, Egypt, although it is unclear whether that office is still functioning following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. Its political officials are also known to spend time in Turkey, but it is also unclear whether they have an official office there. On Thursday, the Times newspaper reported that Qatari officials had instructed Hamas officials, including Hayya, to hand over their personal weapons. Other senior officials ordered to turn over their weapons were Muhammad Ismail Darwish, the head of Hamas's Shura Council, and Hamas political bureau member Zaher Jabareen. Middle East Eye could not independently verify the reports. Qatar: A key US ally If Israel were to follow through with Katz's plan to kill Hayya in Qatar, it could present a major escalation in Israel's campaign against Hamas members. Until recently, Israel mainly targeted Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Iran, and Lebanon. Following the start of the war on Gaza, one of Israel's first strikes abroad was the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, a senior leader of Hamas and a founding commander of the al-Qassam Brigades' military wing in Beirut. However, attacking Hamas members in Qatar, a key US ally in the region, which is also home to al-Udeid, the regional headquarters for US Central Command, could also present major challenges. Al-Udeid was targeted by Iran late last month in response to the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israel's sneak attack on the Islamic Republic. US and Iranian officials indirectly coordinated before the strike, with Qatar acting as an intermediary, MEE revealed. The US moved aircraft and heavy equipment from Qatar's al-Udeid base to stations in Saudi Arabia. Over the course of the war, Qatar, along with Egypt, have emerged as key mediators for the US. Despite this, the Trump administration broke with decades of precedent earlier this year and negotiated directly with Hamas, proscribed as a terror group by Washington, to release a dual US-Israeli national. Hamas was based in Damascus, Syria, until 2012, when it fell out with the Syrian government over the country's civil war. Qatar agreed to host the exiled leadership at the request of the US to maintain an indirect line of communication with the group, Qatari officials say. The long arm of Israeli assassinations Netanyahu has a history of ordering strikes when he is in the United States, appearing to relish the powerful symbolism of Israel's long military arm. Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024, just after Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly. Netanyahu's office was quick to release a picture of him huddled with aides ordering the strike from a drab office in New York City. Former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran a week after Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress in July 2024. And since the war erupted, Israel has killed dozens of senior Hamas officials inside the Gaza Strip. Hamas's military commanders are high-value targets. Israel said it killed Muhammad Sinwar, Haddad's predecessor, in May. Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad's brother, was one of the most high-value Israeli targets following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023. Israel assassinated dozens of Yayha Sinwar's subordinates and searched for more than one year to locate Yahya. The US provided intelligence in a bid to track Yahya. In the end, he was killed in in October 2024 in a firefight in the southern Gaza City of Rafah when Israeli soldiers accidentally stumbled upon him and colleagues. 'Major hurdles' still remain If Israel does move to assassinate Hamas officials, it will come amid a new push for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Trump said this week that Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas is weighing whether to accept the proposal. However, Israel's Channel 14 reported on Wednesday that the proposal includes a "secret side letter" from the US giving Israel permission to restart the war. It's unclear whether Israel would need written approval, as a ceasefire was reached in January 2025 but imploded in March when Israel unilaterally resumed attacking Gaza. Meanwhile, speaking to The Times of Israel, two Arab diplomats said that "major hurdles" remain unresolved regarding the ceasefire, particularly around the recently established US-Israeli aid distribution system operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Hamas has demanded a return to the previous United Nations-run aid delivery mechanism. The controversial GHF, which began operations in late May after a three-month complete blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces, has been sharply criticised. More than 580 Palestinians have been killed and over 4,200 wounded by Israeli troops while attempting to access food and aid supplies. Hamas's concerns have been echoed by international organisations. On Tuesday, over 170 NGOs jointly called for an end to what they described as the 'deadly' US- and Israeli-backed GHF system, urging a return to United Nations-led aid coordination. Over 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
Middle East Eye
13 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Who is Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?
For 35 years, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has withstood internal dissent, economic turmoil, and war - but the joint strikes by Israel and the United States posed the most serious threat to his rule. So, who is Ali Khamenei, one of the most powerful and polarising figures in the Middle East? Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form . More about MEE can be found here .
The National
13 hours ago
- The National
UN nuclear inspectors leave Iran
The UN nuclear watchdog said its inspectors left I ran on Friday after Tehran suspended co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency following Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear sites last month. 'An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,' the agency said in a post on X. 'IAEA director general Rafael Grossi reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,' it added. Iran officially suspended its co-operation with the IAEA on Wednesday, when President Masoud Pezeshkian approved a law passed by parliament on June 25, the day after a ceasefire ended a 12-day aerial war with Israel. The law aims to 'ensure full support for the inherent rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran' under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, with a particular focus on uranium enrichment, according to Iranian media. Diplomats who spoke to Reuters said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the start of the war. Some also expressed concern about the inspectors' safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and media, the agency reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that Iran's future dealings with the IAEA would only be through its Supreme National Security Council, while also reiterating the country's commitment to remain a party to the non-proliferation treaty.
