Israel won’t rule out strikes against Iranian nuclear capabilities
Iran launched missiles against Israel this week, and the world is waiting anxiously to see how Israel will respond. On the BBC this morning, Laura Kuenssberg asked Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely if Israel would rule out a strike against Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which President Biden opposes. Hotovely said Israel had no interest in being attacked by Iranian missiles, and they would ‘dismantle the threat’. Hotovely implied that Israel were considering going against the US president’s wishes, telling Kuenssberg that the world needed to prevent ‘this regime of terror’ in Iran from having nuclear abilities.
Masoumeh Ebtekar: Israel is ‘undermining every single international norm’
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, former Iranian vice president Masoumeh Ebtekar suggested Hamas and Hezbollah were not terrorists but ‘resistance groups’, and accused the West of double standards in ignoring Israel’s breaching of international regulations. Kuenssberg asked if Ebtekar was suggesting the 7 October attacks were legitimate. Ebtekar said that ‘nobody justifies civilian deaths’ but argued that the conflict started long before 7 October and that nations in the region were ‘legitimately defending themselves’ against Israel.
Andrew Mitchell: ‘the right approach is not a ceasefire’ with Israel and Lebanon
Defending Israel’s military action in Lebanon, shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell argued that ‘no government would allow an internationally proscribed terrorist organisation to sit there lobbing rockets over the border’. Mitchell claimed that a ceasefire was not the right approach, and that Hezbollah should abide by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and retreat behind the Litani River. Kuenssberg asked Mitchell if the UK should help Israel in any retaliatory strikes against Iran. Mitchell said that a ‘very strong position’ should be taken over the defence of Israel against incoming attacks, but that there had to be a movement towards peace.
Peter Kyle: Chagos Islands deal is a ‘win win’
A deal to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has ended Britain’s last African colony. The Conservative leadership candidates all criticised the deal, despite most of the negotiations taking place under the Tory government with James Cleverly as foreign secretary. Tom Tugendhat claimed the deal could lead to China establishing a military base there, but Science Secretary Peter Kyle said the deal protects Britain’s right to a military base on the island of Diego Garcia. Kyle said those who had been unfairly pushed out from the islands would have ‘the justice that they deserve’ and the right to return.
Boris Johnson: ousting him was a ‘terrible mistake’
Promoting his new book on GB News this morning, Boris Johnson was keen to list his achievements as prime minister, suggesting it was an ‘outbreak of irrationality’ in the Conservative party that led to him being pushed out. When Camilla Tominey suggested that if Johnson had been a better prime minister he might still be in power, Johnson claimed that Rishi Sunak had been badly advised in playing a role in his downfall, saying: ‘he was a close colleague and friend who turned on me at a particularly critical time’. The former prime minister then suggested that the Tories would have had a ‘very good shot’ at winning the last general election if he had remained in charge.
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