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Biden, Netanyahu speak, Israel vows lethal retaliation against Iran
Wednesday’s call was “a positive call, and we appreciate the support of the U.S.,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a call on Wednesday amid tensions with Iran, while Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promised an Israeli strike against Iran will be "lethal, precise and surprising."
The 30-minute call was the first known chat for Biden and Netanyahu since August and coincides with a sharp escalation of Israel's conflict with Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, but with no sign of an imminent ceasefire to end the conflict with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
The call was "direct and very productive," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, while acknowledging the two leaders have disagreements and are open about them.
The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's response to a missile attack last week that Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's military escalation in Lebanon. The Iranian attack ultimately killed no one in Israel.
After describing Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack as a failure, Gallant said in a video issued by his office after the Biden-Netanyahu call had ended: "Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results."
Netanyahu has promised that arch-foe Iran will pay for its missile attack, while Tehran has said any retaliation would be met with vast destruction, raising fears of a wider war in the oil-producing region which could draw in the United States.
The United States has said it supports Israel going after Iran-backed targets like Hezbollah and Hamas but has tried, unsuccessfully, to stem rising conflict, to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and to persuade Israel to curb rocket attacks on residential areas that have killed thousands of people.
Relations between Biden and Netanyahu have been tense, strained over the Israeli leader’s handling of the war in Gaza and the conflict with Hezbollah. Israel has said it will pursue its military operations until Israelis are safe.
In "War," a book out next week, journalist Bob Woodward reports that Biden regularly accused Netanyahu of having no strategy, and shouted "Bibi, what the fuck?" at him in July, after Israeli strikes near Beirut and in Iran.
Asked about the book, one U.S. official familiar with the two leaders' past interactions said Biden has used sharp, direct, unfiltered and colorful language both with and about Netanyahu while in office.
Wednesday's call was "a positive call, and we appreciate the support of the U.S.," Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.
"And as we stated earlier, Israel will retaliate for the attack ... We will choose the locations. It will be painful for the Iranian regime," Danon said.
Gallant canceled a Wednesday visit to the Pentagon, the Pentagon said. Gallant said in a statement he had postponed the visit at Netanyahu's request until after the prime minister spoke with Biden.
Tensions have increased in recent weeks as U.S. officials were repeatedly blindsided by Israeli actions, according to a person familiar with the matter. These included Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon that Israel has neither confirmed nor denied carrying out.
Israel has also been slow to share details of its planning for retaliation against Iran's ballistic missile attack, the person said.
Biden said last Friday he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel's shoes, adding he thought Israel had not concluded how to respond to Iran. Last week, he also said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites.
Biden has been hit by sharp criticism from international partners as well as members of his own Democratic Party over his inability to use leverage, including the U.S. role as Israel’s chief arms supplier, to curb Netanyahu's attacks.
By extension, Kamala Harris, Biden's vice president and the Democrats' presidential candidate in the Nov. 5 election, has been challenged to defend the administration's policy on the campaign trail. Harris joined the call with Biden and Netanyahu, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Some Arab American voters in Michigan are backing independent candidate Jill Stein, a move that could cost Harris the battleground state and perhaps the White House in a race with Republican former President Donald Trump that opinion polls show to be very tight.
Harris is trailing Trump in Michigan with 47% of voters to his 50%, new Quinnipiac University polling showed on Wednesday. In a Sept. 18 poll, Harris held 50% of the vote and Trump 45%.
Israel and Netanyahu in particular have faced widespread condemnation over the nearly 42,000 Palestinians killed in the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and the deaths of over 2,000 people in Lebanon.
Israel says it is defending itself after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and from attacks by other militants including Hezbollah who support Hamas.
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Iran executes 13 Afghans in October, 49 in total since January
Last month, Iran carried out at least 166 executions in October alone bringing the total in the first 10 months of 2024 to at least 651
Iran Human Rights reported this weekend that in the first 10 months of 2024, Iran has executed 49 Afghan nationals, 13 of whom were executed in October alone.
According to IHR, the number of executions of Afghan nationals has increased in the past three years.
In 2022, 16 Afghan nationals, including a juvenile offender and a woman, were executed.
In 2023, this number increased to 25.
This year, the trend has accelerated further.
IHR warned that Iran may take advantage of the rising conflict between Iran and Israel to escalate the number of executions in the coming months.
Last month, Iran carried out at least 166 executions in October alone bringing the total in the first 10 months of 2024 to at least 651.
This marks the highest number of executions recorded in a single month since Iran Human Rights began documenting executions in 2007.
Among those executed were the 13 Afghan nationals, six women, and an Iranian-German citizen.
The organization has called on the international community, media, and civil society to closely monitor and respond to what they say is an “alarming rise in executions”.
IHR also stated that since the presidential election and the recent escalation in Iran-Israel tensions, the number of executions has surged, with at least 353 people having been executed between August and October - since President Massoud Pezeshkian took office.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has not yet commented on the number of Afghan nationals executed.
The Iranian government does not disclose the number of Afghans it executes or the reasons behind most cases.
However, it is widely believed that a significant portion of these executions are related to drug charges.
Human rights organizations have criticized the Iranian government for conducting such executions, arguing that these actions violate international laws and the right to life.
Amnesty International says that the death penalty, without exception, constitutes a violation of the right to life as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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AWCC launches telecom and internet services in Manogai district of Kunar
Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) has launched telecom and internet services in Manogai district of Kunar province.
AWCC officials said with the activation of the new site in Manogai, resident’s problems will be solved.
"The site now offers 2G and 3G services and hundreds of families who were deprived of internet services are now very happy," said Ataullah Sahil, head of AWCC for the eastern zone.
AWCC has also set up a new customer service center in the region to address people's problems.
"The services we have in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province, have now been activated in Ninglam market," said Abrarullah Zuhair, head of sales at AWCC.
“People in Pech Dara, Chapa Dara and Want Waigal of Kunar can get SIM cards from this branch and visit here to solve other problems,” he added.
Meanwhile, officials of the provincial telecommunications and information technology department appreciated the services of AWCC, saying that many families will benefit from telecommunication and internet services with the activation of this site.
"About 15,000 families will be provided with 3G services," said Abdul Wali Marshal, Kunar’s director of telecommunications and information technology. “Voice call services are also available. There were a lot of problems in this area before.”
Residents of Manogai district are happy with the activation of the AWCC site in the district and want telecommunication services to be expanded in remote parts of the district.
“There were a lot of internet problems here,” said Abdul Shakoor, a resident of Kunar province. “There were also problems in Ninglam. We thank AWCC for setting up this tower.”
In the past three years, AWCC has launched telecommunication services in many areas of the eastern provinces.
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Kabul gas company fire claims two lives, injures over 100
Two people died and 107 were injured in a fire in a densely populated area of Kabul’s Paghman district on Saturday night, Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) confirmed Sunday.
ANDMA officials said of those injured, 81 sustained only minor injuries.
Officials said the blaze, which broke out in the Qala-e-Haidar Khan area, caused over $1.2 million in damages, impacting local businesses and traders.
The department noted that these figures are provisional and may change as an assessment is ongoing.
On Sunday, Mullah Noor Ud din Turabi, head of ANDMA, visited the area and extended his sympathies to those affected by the blaze.
He said investigation teams were on-site to determine the cause of the fire and to make necessary decisions.
The fire broke out at about 6pm at a gas company, resulting in massive explosions of tankers.
Firefighters were however quick to arrive at the scene.
Fragments from gas tankers that exploded were scattered up to two kilometers from the site.
ANDMA said it is taking proactive measures to address both the immediate needs of those affected and the longer-term impacts on the local community.
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