KOENIG

(photo: AP)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday called on Iran to grant its inspectors immediate access to its nuclear material inventories, particularly its reserves of highly enriched uranium.

In a confidential report obtained by AFP, the UN watchdog described this verification as “crucial” to address ongoing concerns about the transparency of Tehran’s nuclear activities.

According to the report, the IAEA has “lost continuity of knowledge” over Iran’s previously declared nuclear materials since the outbreak of the twelve-day conflict that began on June 13, following an Israeli strike against Iranian targets.

Israeli troops took up several positions in southwestern Syria following the fall of the Bashar Assad regime last year, in what Jerusalem has said is a temporary security measure.

US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been striving to find a solution to the standoff over the 100-200 Hamas terrorists holed up in Rafah tunnels on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line, but remain at an impasse.

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Tuesday evening that “there is no agreed-upon solution regarding the terrorists in Rafah.”

According to a Channel 12 news report on Tuesday, Israel put forth a plan under which it would agree to let the Hamas members emerge, provided they surrender their weapons and pledge not to return to terrorism.

Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, told ABC News on Monday that once the remaining hostages’ bodies are returned, the second phase of the ceasefire deal could begin, which requires the “disarming of Hamas and demilitarization of Gaza.”

“We can’t live with jihadis on our border anymore. That’s the lesson of Oct. 7,” said Leiter, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The return of Lt. Hadar Goldin for burial, an Israel Defense Forces soldier whose body had been held by Hamas for 11 years, was a positive development, he said. However, he noted that the terror group still holds the bodies of four hostages, including a Thai worker murdered on Oct. 7.

A year after Israel halted its invasion of Lebanon with a highly favorable ceasefire, another IDF operation against Hezbollah looks increasingly inevitable.

Under the year-old deal, brokered by the US and France, the Iran-backed terror group was to be relieved of its arms and prevented from rebuilding its fighting forces.

Instead, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in public comments during last week’s cabinet meeting, Hezbollah has continued trying to rearm. Israel would do whatever is necessary to prevent that from happening, he threatened.

US President Donald Trump hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, marking the first visit by a Syrian head of state to Washington, Reuters reported.

The meeting came as the United States announced it would extend a partial suspension of its sanctions on Syria for another 180 days.

According to the US Treasury Department, the renewed waiver under the Caesar Sanctions Act “indicates our commitment to continued sanctions relief for Syria.” However, the department said restrictions would remain in place on “transactions involving the governments of Russia and Iran” and on the transfer of goods or services of Russian or Iranian origin.

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump and adviser in his first administration, held a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon.

A picture distributed by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office showed that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer joined for the Israeli side, while Kushner was accompanied by Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to Trump’s special Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Kushner touched down in Tel Aviv on Sunday night for unannounced meeting to discuss the implementation of Trump’s 20-point peace agreement for the Gaza Strip, according to a Reuters report.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz denounced Turkey's issuing of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other members of Israel’s senior political and military leadership on charges of “genocide,” stating that the charges would be better applied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a Sunday post on X/Twitter.

"Take those ridiculous arrest warrants and get the hell out of here," Katz wrote, in both Turkish and Hebrew-language posts.

The warrants are "more fitting for the massacres you've committed against the Kurds," Katz accused in the message, which he addressed to Erdogan.

India is in advanced talks to manufacture LORA (LOng Range Artillery) tactical ballistic missiles on license from Israel Aerospace Industries and Ice Breaker cruise missiles on license from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems as part of its “Make in India” program, Globes reported on Sunday.

The negotiations follow a memorandum of understanding signed on Nov. 4 by Israeli Ministry of Defense Director General Amir Baram and Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh to boost cooperation.

A delegation from India’s Ministry of Defense recently visited Israel to discuss deals to procure and locally produce both missile systems, according to Globes, citing the India Defence Research Wing website. 

Israel is playing a secondary role to the US at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, where the Gaza ceasefire is being monitored by at least a dozen nations, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Friday.

The compound in southern Israel is intended as a hub for the International Stabilization Force (ISF) set to take the reins of Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive ceasefire plan, which the US is seeking to enshrine into international law via a UN Security Council vote.

According to the official who spoke with The Times of Israel, the US has been the prime decision-maker at the CMCC, including on issues pertaining to the delivery of aid to Gaza, where Israel has accused Hamas of looting aid convoys and placed restrictions on the shipments.

As Iran is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades, President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that the capital of Tehran might have to be evacuated if there were no rains in the next two months. 

“If it doesn’t rain, we will have to start restricting water supplies in Tehran next month. If the drought continues, we will run out of water and be forced to evacuate the city,” the leader was quoted as saying.

The United States has replaced Israel in overseeing humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to a Washington Post report.

The Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), set up in Kiryat Gat by the US, is taking charge of aid importation and forcing Israel to take a secondary role in deciding what enters Gaza, the source cited several officials familiar with the transition as saying.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has also stepped up monitoring aid distribution and the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization, the report added.

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the Central Asian, Muslim-majority country of Kazakhstan will be the first country to join the Abraham Accords in his second term.

Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post that he said was published just after he wrapped up a phone call on the matter with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“This is a major step forward in building bridges across the World. Today, more nations are lining up to embrace peace and prosperity through my Abraham Accords,” Trump said.

Mexico thwarted an Iran-directed terror attack aimed at harming the Israeli ambassador to the country, the Foreign Ministry shared on Friday.

The announcement by the ministry came hours after N12 published that American and Israeli officials confirmed the IRGC planned an attack against Ambassador Einat Kranz-Neiger as part of a wider attack on Israeli and American interests in the region.

"We are in the line of fire at this time, diplomats are literally standing at the forefront as they represent the State of Israel in a climate that is not always simple. We are well aware of the history of Iran and its attacks in Latin America, and this is a good opportunity to thank the authorities and security services here in Mexico for their assistance in thwarting it," said Kranz-Neiger to Walla.

Istanbul’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials on charges of "genocide" in the Gaza Strip. The indictment lists 37 other Israeli officials.

(photo: AP)

The Trump administration will announce tonight that an additional country will join the Abraham Accords, US special envoy Steve Witkoff reveals.

“Tonight, we will announce the joining of an additional country to the Abraham Accords and normalization with Israel,” Witkoff says during an on-stage interview at the America Business Forum in Miami.

Witkoff doesn’t reveal which country will be joining the Arab and Muslim countries that have normalized relations with Israel in the accords first brokered by US President Donald Trump at the end of his first term in 2020.

The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday afternoon carried out a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization across Southern Lebanon.

The announcement of the attacks came shortly after the IDF ordered the evacuation of Lebanese noncombatants from buildings in three southern towns: Ayta al-Jabal, Taybeh and Tayr Debba.

“The IDF will attack military infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization throughout Southern Lebanon, in response to its prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area,” said Col. Avichay Adraee, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson.

(photo: AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized strategic caution amid ongoing nuclear tensions, reaffirming Moscow’s right to respond in the event of perceived U.S. provocation. Speaking at a Security Council meeting, Putin reiterated Russia’s commitment to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) while signaling that preparatory measures could be considered if other countries violate the pact.

“Russia has always scrupulously respected its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and we have no intention of deviating from these obligations,” Putin said.

At the same time, he reminded officials of a 2023 pledge that Russia would take retaliatory measures if the United States or other treaty parties conducted nuclear tests. In line with this, Putin instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, intelligence agencies, and relevant civilian bodies to gather information, analyze potential scenarios, and prepare coordinated proposals for possible nuclear testing.

Virginia state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi on Tuesday became the first Muslim American woman elected to statewide office in the U.S. with her victory in the lieutenant governor's race...

(photo: AFP)

Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday was elected mayor of New York City, capping a stunning rise for the far-left anti-Israel activist and state assemblymember who, at 34, will be the city’s youngest mayor in over a century.

Mamdani’s win marks a sea change for Jews in New York City, home to the Diaspora’s largest Jewish community, which has enjoyed the support of City Hall for generations. It was long taken for granted that mayoral candidates needed to be pro-Israel to win office, but no longer.

His energetic, optimistic, media-savvy campaign galvanized young progressives, including Jews, while his vitriol toward Israel sparked fear in mainstream Jewish communities, who worry his anti-Israel platform will feed into hostility against Jews.

Democrats swept a trio of races on Tuesday in the first major elections since Donald Trump regained the presidency, elevating a new generation of leaders and giving the beleaguered party a shot of momentum ahead of next year's congressional elections.

In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, won the mayoral race, capping a meteoric and unlikely rise from an anonymous state lawmaker to one of the country's most visible Democratic figures. And in Virginia and New Jersey, moderate Democrats Abigail Spanberger, 46, and Mikie Sherrill, 53, won their elections for governor with commanding leads, respectively.

(photo: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic)

The United States has proposed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would lift sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. 

The draft resolution, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, would also lift sanctions on Syria's Interior Minister Anas Khattab. It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the US, France or Britain to be adopted.

On June 2025, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to do away with longstanding sanctions imposed on Syrian government architecture, while leaving in place those affecting the regime of deposed president Bashar al-Assad and other destabilizing actors.