Israel-Lebanon conflict LIVE: Iran’s Khamenei to give first Friday sermon in 5 years to condemn Israel’s attack

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he did not believe there is going to be an “all-out war” in the Middle East.

Asked how confident he was that such a war can be averted, he paused and told reporters: “How confident are you it’s not going to rain? Look, I don’t believe there is going to be an all-out war. I think we can avoid it.”

He added: “But there is a lot to do yet, a lot to do yet.”

When asked if he would send American troops to help Israel, he responded: “We have already helped Israel. We are going to protect Israel.”

-Reuters

U.N. peacekeepers are staying in their positions on Lebanon’s southern border despite Israel’s request to vacate some areas before it launched its ground operation against Hezbollah militants, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said Thursday. 

Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the commander and liaison officers from the U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, also are in constant contact with their counterparts in the Israeli and Lebanese militaries. He called that key to protecting the U.N.’s more than 10,000 peacekeepers.

-AP

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set to lead Friday prayers and deliver a public sermon that could shed light on the Islamic republic’s plans after a massive missile attack on enemy Israel.

Khamenei’s rare Friday sermon — a first in almost five years — comes three days before the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, triggered by the Iran-backed Palestinian group’s October 7 attack.

The supreme leader, who wields the highest authority in Iran, will lead Muslims in prayer at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran, his official website said.

The prayer will follow “a commemoration ceremony” at 10:30 am (0700 GMT) for Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of Tehran-backed Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah.

-AFP

FIFA stopped short of suspending the Israeli football federation on Thursday, but asked for a disciplinary investigation of possible discrimination alleged by Palestinian football officials.

A senior FIFA panel overseeing governance will separately investigate “the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine,” the governing body said after a meeting of its ruling Council.

The Palestinian football federation has consistently asked FIFA for more than a decade to take action against the Israeli football body for incorporating teams from West Bank settlements in its leagues.

-AP

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday expressed its full support for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after Israel’s foreign minister said he was barring him from entering the country.

The 15-member council said in a statement that “any decision not to engage with the U.N. Secretary-General or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East.”

-Reuters

U.S.-arranged flights have brought about 250 Americans and their relatives out of Lebanon this week during escalated fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, while thousands of others still there face airstrikes and diminishing commercial flights. 

In Washington, senior State Department and White House officials met Thursday with two top Arab American officials to discuss U.S. efforts to help American citizens leave Lebanon. The two leaders also separately met with officials from the Department of Homeland Security.

-AP

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he will not negotiate in public when asked if he had urged Israel not to attack Iran’s oil facilities.

Mr. Biden earlier in the day contributed to a surge in global oil prices when he said Washington was discussing strikes on Iran’s oil facilities. A U.S. official later said Washington does not believe Israel has decided yet how to respond to Iran.

Mr. Biden on Wednesday said the U.S. did not support any Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

-Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday (October 3, 2024) to discuss the outbreak of fresh hostilities in West Asia, sources said.

The sources said the West Asia conflict and its impact on trade and supply of petroleum products was discussed in the meeting.

Oil prices inched up in early Asian trading hours on Friday, holding on to their strong weekly gains, as investors weighed the West Asia conflict and the potential disruption in crude flows against an amply-supplied global market.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday the U.S. was discussing strikes on Iran’s oil facilities as retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack on Israel. The comments contributed to a 5% rally in oil prices.

-Reuters

The Israeli military on Thursday warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a U.N.-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.

Israel told people to leave Nabatieh, a provincial capital, and other communities north of the Litani river, which formed the northern edge of the border zone established by the UN Security Council after the two sides fought a war in 2006. 

-AP