JERUSALEM: Israel is not nearing an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser said, as talks between Tehran and Washington have sought to cool tensions.
Tzachi Hanegbi said it was still unclear what will come of talks Israel’s main ally the US has held with Iran in recent weeks in an effort to outline steps that could limit Tehran’s nuclear program and de-escalate tensions.
Nonetheless, no agreement would obligate Israel, which views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat, Hanegbi told Channel 13 television.

BEIRUT: Hezbollah is refusing Israeli demands that it dismantle an outpost set up in the disputed hills of Kfarshouba on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Amid a tense standoff between the militant group and Israel over the issue, Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace at low altitude over the border towns of Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun on Saturday.

RIYADH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation will hold an emergency open-ended meeting on Sunday to discuss the repercussions of burning a copy of the Qur’an in Sweden on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

The meeting, which will be held at the OIC’s headquarters in Jeddah, was called following an invitation from Saudi Arabia — the chairman of the Islamic Summit in its current session and the OIC’s Executive Committee.

LONDON: Britain, Australia and Canada have called on Israel’s government to reverse a decision to approve new settlement units in the West Bank, saying they are “deeply concerned” by an ongoing cycle of violence.

This week, Israel approved over 5,700 new settlement units in the West Bank and earlier this month instituted changes to the settlement approval process which facilitate swifter approval of construction.

JERUSALEM: Iran’s state-run Nour News said on Friday Israel’s report that it had foiled an attack in Cyprus by capturing an Iranian agent was an effort to cover up its own domestic crisis.
Israel said on Thursday its Mossad intelligence service carried out an operation in Iran to capture the suspected leader of an Iranian plot to attack Israeli businesspeople in Cyprus.