putin visits israel

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Israel-Hamas war

October 16, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

By Tara Subramaniam , Adam Renton, Lauren Said-Moorhouse , Christian Edwards, Dakin Andone , Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond , Maureen Chowdhury , Zoe Sottile, Amir Vera and Meg Wagner , CNN

Putin says Russia is ready to help end Israel-Hamas conflict by diplomatic means, Kremlin says

From CNN's Mariya Knight 

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the escalating Israel-Hamas conflict in calls with several leaders on Monday, the Kremlin said.

Putin spoke with leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Iran and Egypt.  

The Russian president told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Russia is ready to help end the conflict peacefully, by diplomatic means, according to a Kremlin readout of the call. 

"Fundamental readiness to continue carrying out purposeful work in the interests of ending the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation and achieving a peaceful settlement through political and diplomatic means was confirmed," it read.

During his conversation with the five leaders on Monday, Putin blamed the current escalation in the Middle East on “the long-term stagnation” in settling the conflict, Kremlin readout said. 

The Russian president emphasized during the calls “the severity of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to lift the blockade of the sector for the immediate delivery of medicine, food and other vital aid,” according to the Kremlin.  

Biden weighing high-stakes trip to Israel as tensions mount

From CNN's Kevin Liptak, MJ Lee and Kayla Tausche

President Joe Biden is deliberating whether to make a wartime visit to Israel, a potential trip fraught with risk that could also act as a dramatic show of support for a top US ally while sending a warning to other countries in the region against escalation.

Aides said the president has expressed a strong interest in making the journey after being invited over the weekend by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Biden has known for four decades. 

The risks of a presidential visit to Israel are not small. On Monday, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was meeting with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, air sirens blared , forcing the two men to shelter in place.

In weighing Netanyahu’s invitation with his team, Biden has factored in both the symbolism of a visit and its practicalities. Aside from a high-profile show of support for Israel, the trip would send a warning to other players in the region, namely Iran and its Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon, of becoming further engaged in the conflict.

But it would also link Biden more closely with the Israeli response in Gaza, including concerns over a mounting humanitarian crisis , and could act as a tacit endorsement of Netanyahu’s decisions. 

The pressure on Biden to encourage restraint was evident Monday in front of the White House, where a large protest led by progressive Jewish groups called on Biden to push for a ceasefire. Loud singing and chanting could be heard from inside the gates. 

Biden has originally planned to spend Monday in Colorado talking about wind energy. But that trip was scrapped at the last minute, and the president instead received briefings from his national security team and made phone calls to the leaders of Germany, Egypt and Iraq.

The unusual cancellation of Biden’s visit out west marked yet another example of how last weekend’s cross-border Hamas attack has forced an immediate reorienting of the president’s priorities and schedule as he confronts the realities of a new war.

The conflict is also forcing a new assessment of the administration’s immediate foreign policy priorities, with the reality setting in that renewed violence in the Middle East will now occupy the bulk of the president’s time, at least in the near-term.

Blinken's meeting with the war cabinet continues into overnight hours in Israel

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet for more than seven hours, going into the overnight hours in Tel Aviv.

It is unclear when the meeting, which was briefly interrupted by air raid sirens , will end. It comes at a critical point as Israel seems poised for a ground invasion of Gaza, the Rafah border crossing appears to remain closed and has been damaged by Israeli airstrikes, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, and hundreds of hostages remain in Hamas custody. 

Blinken’s stop in Israel is part of his whirlwind seven-nation tour of the Middle East. He is expected return to Amman, Jordan, from Tel Aviv.

This post has been updated with the latest information.

US Marine rapid response force headed to waters near Israel

From CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Oren Liebermann

A US Marine rapid response force is headed to the waters off the coast of Israel, according to a defense official familiar with the planning.

The force, consisting of 2,000 Marines and sailors, will join a growing number of US warships and forces converging on Israel as the US seeks to send a message of deterrence to Iran and prevent the war in Gaza from spilling over into a regional conflict . 

The move comes as the US military is bolstering its presence in Middle East, including deploying a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and sending Air Force fighter jets to the region. CNN reported earlier that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, according to multiple defense officials.

The order does not mean that the troops definitely will deploy, or that any will serve in a combat role if they do go to Israel, officials said. But Austin’s decision has shortened the time the identified troops will have to prepare for a deployment if they are ordered to go, according to officials. 

The US already has one carrier strike group in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and a second on the way. The official would not specify where the Marine unit would go, but it could remain in the Red Sea off Israel's southern coast, which would put US forces near the country’s two coastlines.

The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group. In recent days, it has been stationed near Kuwait as part of a scheduled exercise there, but it departed early “as a result of emerging events,” Capt. Angelica White, a spokeswoman for the unit, told the Marine Corps Times last week.

CNN  reported on Friday  that the unit was preparing for a possible move toward Israel.

The Marine unit specializes in tasks such as amphibious operations, crisis response, humanitarian assistance and certain special operations. The unit is on board the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship that is currently in the Gulf of Oman, officials said.

The USS Bataan and the 26th MEU have been operating in the Middle East since August as part of an effort to deter Iranian aggression in the critical waterways around of the region, including the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. 

Biden administration prioritizing preventing threats against communities in US impacted by conflict in Israel

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal

The Biden administration is prioritizing threats against communities in the United States impacted by the war between Israel and Hamas, President Joe Biden said in a statement released Monday on the latest FBI hate crime statistics. 

“To those Americans worried about violence at home, as a result of the evil acts of terror perpetrated by Hamas in Israel, we see you. We hear you,” Biden said.

He said he asked officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland, "to prioritize the prevention and disruption of any emerging threats that could harm Jewish, Muslim, Arab American, or any other communities during this time.”  

“My Administration will continue to fight Antisemitism and Islamophobia,” the statement said.

Biden noted that while overall hate crime levels remained steady, antisemitic hate crimes rose 25% from 2021 to 2022 and hate crimes against LGBTQI+ people rose 16%. The president also said Muslim and African Americans continued to be overrepresented among victims. 

CNN reported earlier Monday that overall crime statistics showed violent crime in the US decreased slightly last year, while the estimated volume of property crimes increased.

Pentagon orders troops to prepare for possible deployment to Israel for logistical and medical support

From CNN's Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered that roughly 2,000 troops prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, according to multiple defense officials.

The order does not mean that the troops definitely will deploy, or that any will serve in a combat role if they do go to Israel, officials said.

But Austin’s decision has shortened the time the identified troops will have to prepare for a deployment if they are ordered to go, officials said. 

The order to be ready for potential deployment comes as the US military is bolstering its presence in Middle East, including deploying a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea sending Air Force fighter jets to the region.

Austin issued the order on Sunday night and asked the services and combatant commands to report back how many troops they can provide and from where. 

No plans for direct involvement : US officials have made clear there are no plans for US troops to become directly involved in any Israeli military operations against Hamas.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report about the potential deployment of troops to Israel. Asked about the possible movement, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday: “I don’t have more to provide at this time. I might be able to give you more details later, but at this time I just don’t have anything more specific to add to.”

The Pentagon is trying to be careful about how it talks about the potential deployment of US troops to Israel, officials said, since it does not want to give the impression that American forces could become directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. 

Officials stressed that the US servicemembers would not take part in the war between Israel and Gaza, which Israeli officials have warned could be prolonged and difficult. But it does suggest the type of assistance the US could provide in an ongoing conflict, including managing logistics away from the front lines and offering medical support.

US military bolstering presence : The preparations come just days after Austin ordered that a second aircraft carrier be deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, as Israel fights a war against Hamas. The first carrier strike group, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived off the coast of Israel last week.

In addition, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid reaction force capable of conducting special operations, is making preparations in case it is ordered closer to Israel to bolster the US force posture there, multiple US officials told CNN. 

The unit, which is on board the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, is composed of more than 2,000 Marines and sailors and would be capable of supporting a large-scale evacuation. Among the mission essential tasks for a Marine Expeditionary Unit are evacuation operations and humanitarian assistance.

Some Palestinians who followed evacuation warnings were still killed by an Israeli airstrike the next day

From CNN's Yahya Abou-Ghazala

When Palestinians in north Gaza heeded the warnings issued in the Israeli military's phone calls, text messages, and fliers advising them to head south , they thought they were fleeing to potential safety.

The Israeli Defense Forces issued the guidance Friday, telling all civilians in north Gaza to evacuate to areas south of Wadi Gaza "for your own safety and the safety of your families" as the IDF continues "to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians." 

However, some Palestinians who followed the evacuation warnings and fled their homes in search of safety suffered the very fate they were running from: Israeli airstrikes killed them outside of the evacuation zone. 

The killings underscore the reality that evacuation zones and warning alerts from the Israeli military haven't guaranteed safety for civilians in the densely populated Gaza Strip, where Palestinians have no safe place to escape Israeli bombs. 

In the early hours on Friday, Aaed Al-Ajrami and his nephew, Raji, received a phone call from an Israeli military official, warning him to get everyone he knows and head southwards immediately, the nephew told CNN. Despite following the instructions and successfully fleeing south of the evacuation zone, Aaed's family was killed by an Israeli airstrike the next day.

An audio recording of the phone call obtained by CNN reveals the details of the brief conversation — which included the IDF's instructions to flee south of the evacuation zone and no guidance on how to get there. Raji said once they realized who was calling, they recorded the conversation so they could share it with other family members.

Aaed wanted to know which road would be safe to take and what time they should leave. 

"It doesn't matter which road," the officer replied. "Do it as fast as you can. There is no time left."

Aaed heeded the warning. By sunrise on Friday, he headed south with his family and relatives to stay with friends in Deir Al Balah, a city roughly eight miles south of Wadi Gaza and outside the evacuation zone. 

The next day, an Israeli airstrike in the area destroyed parts of the building where Aaed's family sought refuge — killing him and 12 other members of his family, including seven children. 

His nephew Raji, 32, was staying in a different building nearby when he heard the explosion and feared the worst. He rushed to the scene after receiving a call telling him that his uncle's family members were amongst the victims. 

"The destruction was massive," Raji said. "We started digging people out who were hit by the explosion, some of them were still alive ... the gunpowder smell was very strong, the dust was everywhere." 

CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment about the airstrike outside of the evacuation zone, including Deir Al Balah.

Read more of the report .

Hamas says it holds between at least 200-250 hostages and claims 22 were killed in Israeli airstrikes

From CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury and Kareem Khadder

Hamas is holding between at least 200 and 250 hostages captured in the October 7 attacks , according to Abu Odaida, the spokesperson of Hamas' militant wing, Al-Qassam Brigades. 

Abu Obaida said in a video statement Monday that the Al-Qassam Brigades has about 200 hostages, while the rest are being held by other "militant formations" in Gaza.

He added that they cannot determine the exact number of hostages in the strip due to constant Israeli bombardment . 

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said at least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza. 

Abu Obaida also claimed 22 of the hostages in Gaza were killed in Israeli airstrikes, including an Israeli artist who he said died on Saturday. 

CNN cannot independently verify those claims. 

He added that Al-Qassam Brigades will be releasing hostages holding foreign citizenship when “the opportunity arises on the ground,” and said Al-Qassam is “committed” to protecting them. 

He also warned that any foreign national serving with the Israeli military will be considered a "direct enemy."

Meanwhile, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal claims Hamas has "enough hostages," including high ranking officers from the Gaza division of the Israeli Defense Forces, to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Meshaal told Alaraby TV in a live interview on Monday. 

“One of this battle’s goals was to take Israeli soldiers and officers hostage to clear Zionist prisons from our own people,” Meshaal said, adding that Hamas will be dealing with civilians and foreign nationals differently. 

“Military hostages have their own calculations, civilians and foreign nationals have others,” Meshaal said. “Hamas leadership will deal with hostages in accordance with international and humanitarian law.” 

CNN cannot verify Meshaal’s claims about how hostages are being treated.

CNN’s Kareem El Damanhoury contributed reporting to this post.

Schumer calls for Senate to quickly pass an aid package and confirm a new US ambassador to Israel

From CNN's Morgan Rimmer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has just returned from Tel Aviv, urged the Senate to pass an aid package for Israel quickly, as well as confirm the administration’s nominee for Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew as soon as possible.  

“As the first Jewish majority leader, as the highest ranking Jewish elected official ever in America, I wanted to be there,” he said of his trip to Israel. “And I felt an obligation to be there. It was a trip I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

He noted that he has been speaking to the administration about the need for an aid package for Israel.

“In the coming days. I will be working with the administration on putting together an emergency supplemental that will give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself. That means military assistance, intelligence assistance, diplomatic assistance, and humanitarian assistance to care for innocent civilians,” said Schumer. 

“We want to move this package quickly. The Senate must go first. I know that the House is in disarray, but we cannot wait for them,” he added, referencing the House Republicans’ struggle to nominate a speaker candidate that can prevail on the floor.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Schumer’s sentiments in his Monday floor remarks, saying that the US needs to “reaffirm our commitment” to Israel.

“This is not merely a terrorist war against Israel, it’s is part of a clear and present danger to the United States and the entire civilized world,” he said. “This, Madam President, is a time for choosing as Israel works to eliminate the terrorists who threaten its existence. The United States must reaffirm our commitment to Israel security, and we must continue to demonstrate by our leadership that no country should offer safe haven to those who aid and abet terror.”

“The surest way to stop violence against Israelis and oppression of Palestinians is to wipe terrorists like Hamas from the face of the earth,” McConnell said. “As Israel's closest ally, the United States must lead by our example, in supporting its efforts to defend itself, for as long as it takes.”

Schumer, meanwhile, also called for the Senate to confirm Jack Lew as the new Ambassador to Israel "as soon as possible, without any costly partisan delays, so we can bring him to the floor and confirm him with all due haste,” Schumer said. “Mr. Lew has proven himself a strong public servant, a ferocious ally of Israel. So delaying him would be egregious at a time like this, we must move him quickly.”

He added that he will bring up a resolution this week to highlight US support for Israel.

“I urge every single member of the Senate — Democrat and Republican, Independent — to unanimously support the resolution championed by Chairman (Sen. Ben) Cardin, Ranking Member (Sen. Jim ) Risch, Leader McConnell and myself, condemning Hamas and affirming that we stand with Israel and their right to defend themselves,” Schumer said.

On a more personal note, Schumer spoke about how speaking with the families of hostages taken by Hamas affected him as the descendant of Holocaust survivors.

“Nothing prepared us for the overwhelming grief we felt talking to the families of the hostages and sharing their deep pain,” he said. “In 1941, they told my grandmother to gather her family, her greater family on her porch. She did, about 35 people according to what my grandmother told me. Her daughter, who had come to America told me there were about 35 people from ages 88 to three months. The Nazis said ‘You're coming with us,’ she said, ‘We’re not moving.’ They machine-gunned every one of them down. History is repeating itself and an evil and awful way.”

Schumer highlighted the importance of destroying Hamas and defended Israel’s right to take military action in order to defend itself from the terrorist group.

“I believe our trip went a significant way in pushing back against the dangerous false equivalency between what Hamas is doing and the response against them,” he said. “Let us be clear, Hamas is an evil organization that wants to see Israel wiped off the face of the map. They don't believe in a two state solution. They want no Israel and no Jews living between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. Eliminating Israel is part of their charter. So is the killing of Jews.”

However, he also echoed the administration’s urging that Israel do what it can to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

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World Brief: Putin Makes a Rare Middle East Trip

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Putin Makes a Rare Middle East Trip

The russian president visited the united arab emirates and saudi arabia to talk energy, trade, and the israel-hamas war..

• Foreign & Public Diplomacy

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia , Israel ’s advance into southern Gaza , and the end of Africa’s G5 Sahel alliance.

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Putin visits the middle east.

Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted a rare foreign trip to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, marking his first visit to the region since before the COVID-19 pandemic began and highlighting the two countries’ importance to Russia as trading partners and fellow major oil producers.

For his first stop on Wednesday, Putin attended a meeting with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, during which the two leaders were expected to discuss economic and trade relations as well as the Israel-Hamas war. Despite Abu Dhabi being a key U.S. partner, the country maintains close ties with Russia, as does Saudi Arabia. The two leaders also planned to discuss greater energy cooperation opportunities amid the backdrop of the UAE hosting this year’s U.N. climate change summit (or COP28) in Dubai. As members of the Saudi-led OPEC+ oil cartel, both countries agreed last week to extend oil production cuts to boost market prices.

After Putin’s quick stop in the UAE, the Russian president flew to Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At the top of the meeting agenda was Saudi Arabia’s effort to promote better strategic coordination among OPEC+ members. They were also expected to discuss regional conflicts, including those in Yemen and Syria as well as the Israel-Hamas war. Putin advocated for Russia to help lead peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The Kremlin supports Riyadh’s policy of establishing an immediate cease-fire and the eventual creation of an independent Palestinian state. On Thursday, Putin hosts Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the Kremlin. Tehran has a history of backing Hamas financially and operationally.

Putin’s last trip to the UAE and Saudi Arabia was in 2019. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has only traveled to former Soviet states, Iran, and China. An International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Putin for alleged war crimes has hindered the Russian leader from attending major diplomatic gatherings, including the so-called BRICS summit in South Africa in August. However, neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE have ratified the ICC statute, which means they are not legally obligated to enforce the ICC warrant by arresting Putin.

Today’s Most Read

• Was Henry Kissinger Really a Realist? by Stephen M. Walt
• The 7 Reasons Iran Won’t Fight for Hamas by Arash Reisinezhad
• America’s Indo-Pacific Alliances Are Astonishingly Strong by Derek Grossman

What We’re Following

Siege of Khan Younis. Israeli forces continued their bombardment of southern Gaza’s city of Khan Younis on Wednesday in one of the heaviest phases of fighting since the war began. Hospital staff warned of overrun facilities as casualty numbers mount, and thousands of Palestinians fled strikes in areas previously deemed safe zones by Israeli officials. U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said on Wednesday that his colleagues have described the war zone as “ apocalyptic ,” with heightened risks of “atrocity crimes.”

Turk’s warning follows a new report by Amnesty International on Tuesday that details evidence of the Israeli military using U.S.-made weapons in strikes that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, including the deaths of two families. Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Washington has supplied Israel with additional air defense systems, munitions, ammunition, and other military equipment on top of its $3.8 billion yearly commitment.

The end of G5 Sahel. Mauritania and Chad announced their intention to dissolve the G5 Sahel alliance on Wednesday after the bloc’s three other members withdrew from the group. Burkina Faso and Niger signaled their desire to leave the regional bloc on Saturday, following Mali’s example in 2022 after a foiled coup attempt. Both Burkina Faso and Niger faced their own coup attempts this year, with Niger’s military junta succeeding in taking control of the West African nation.

The G5 Sahel alliance was first established in 2014 to fight Islamist extremism and other challenges to the region. A joint military force established in 2017 to fight militants, though, has been heavily criticized as having little effectiveness, with international actors pointing to continued armed violence displacing millions of people.

An alleged conspiracy. A Venezuelan government official on Wednesday ordered the mass arrests of opposition figures for allegedly working with ExxonMobil to undermine the nation’s authority over Guyana’s Esequiba region, which Caracas views as part of Venezuela. That same day, President Nicolás Maduro appointed Maj. Gen. Alexis Rodríguez Cabello to oversee the newly established Guayana Esequiba state.

This dramatic move is Maduro’s latest effort to assert Venezuelan control over the disputed territory. Under international law, the mineral-rich area falls under Guyana’s jurisdiction. However, ExxonMobil’s discovery of oil there in 2015, along with Maduro’s efforts to bolster party support ahead of next year’s presidential election, prompted the Venezuelan leader to hold a referendum on Sunday to decide Esequiba’s status. The highly contested vote showed overwhelming support for Esequiba becoming part of Venezuela, though international actors have criticized the referendum’s legitimacy.

Odds and Ends

Even pigeons deserve protection under Japanese wildlife laws. Authorities in Tokyo arrested a taxi driver on Sunday for deliberately driving into a flock of pigeons, killing one of the birds. A veterinarian determined that the animal’s cause of death was traumatic shock. The 50-year-old man’s behavior was “highly malicious” for a professional driver, police said, and violated Japan’s animal rights laws.

Alexandra Sharp is the World Brief writer at Foreign Policy. Twitter:  @AlexandraSSharp

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Why are ties between Russia and Israel ‘at lowest point since fall of the Soviet Union’?

Russia’s pro-Palestinian stance has inflamed tensions and underscored shift in relations since invasion of Ukraine

When Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone this month to Benjamin Netanyahu , their first conversation in weeks, the two leaders found themselves in an unusual dynamic, engaging not as partners but against the backdrop of historic tensions.

Once touting their friendly relationship – Netanyahu has used billboards showing himself next to Putin during election campaigning in Israel , even last year – the events of 7 October and Russia’s pro-Palestinian stance in the aftermath have brought a decisive schism in their ties.

“The two countries’ ties are absolutely at the lowest point since the fall of the Soviet Union,” said Nikolay Kozhanov, a former Russian diplomat in Tehran and now an associate professor at Qatar University.

The contrasting accounts released by Israel and Russia after the call on 10 December gave insight on the strained relationship, said Dr Vera Michlin-Shapir, of King’s College London and a former official at Israel’s national security council, who specialises in Russian foreign policy.

Netanyahu said in a statement he had spoken to Putin and voiced displeasure with “anti-Israel positions” taken by Moscow’s envoys at the UN, while voicing “robust disapproval” of Russia’s “dangerous” cooperation with its ally Iran .

The Kremlin, meanwhile, highlighted “the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip”, with Putin saying Israel’s military response to the Hamas terror onslaught should not lead “to such dire consequences for the civilian population”.

“This was not a dialogue. This time around the two leaders just put forward their positions,” said Michlin-Shapir.

A day before their conversation, Moscow backed a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and said the US was “complicit in Israel’s brutal massacre”, a not-so-subtle reference to the 21,000 people who Gaza health authorities say have been killed since the war began.

The ending of the complex entente between Russia and Israel underscored a larger global shift that had been under way in the Kremlin’s position on the Middle East since Putin launched his war in Ukraine , said Kozhanov. “Russia quickly realised that the ties with the west have been damaged for a long time,” he said.

After the start of the war, Kozhanov argued, Moscow started looking into ways to strengthen its economic and military ties with Arab states while also growing closer to Iran, which has been providing artillery shells, drones and missiles for Russia’s war efforts.

In a rare, one-day trip that underlined his warming relationship with key players in the Middle East, Putin earlier in December visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia , where he received a grand welcome, despite his status in the west as a wanted man sought by the international criminal court for war crimes.

“Putin’s visit to the Middle East confirmed the empty noise in the words about the isolation of the Russian Federation,” Izvestia, a pro-Kremlin daily, triumphantly wrote after Putin’s trip.

Kozhanov said the Israel-Hamas war also provided Moscow with a rare opportunity to court the broader global south, which has accused the west’s rules-based order of hypocrisy over Palestinian deaths. In the process, the Kremlin was eager to claim the moral high ground, despite its own devastating record of human rights abuses during wars in Chechnya, Syria and, most recently, Ukraine.

“Putin’s Russia is very pragmatic,” said Kozhanov. “Moscow sensed that the events in Gaza are driving the global south away from the west and could make its attitudes more sympathetic to Moscow.”

For two decades under Putin, Russia and Israel pursued a delicate balance.

While the two countries often found themselves on opposite sides of the geopolitical spectrum, Israel sought contact with Russia in Syria and was careful not to antagonise Moscow, given its ties to Israel’s arch-rival, Iran.

Putin also courted the large Jewish population in Moscow and saw in Israel an ally in keeping the memory of the second world war alive, the monumental historical event around which the Russian leader has sought to build his presidency .

“It was never an alliance, but there was always a strategic understanding. Both countries needed each other,” said Michlin-Shapir.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which made Putin a pariah in much of the west, placed Israel in a bind.

Many in Israel were left deeply uncomfortable with Russia’s framing of its invasion, with Moscow falsely comparing Ukraine’s government to Nazi Germany to justify its war, said Pinchas Goldschmidt, the former chief rabbi in Moscow.

In spring 2022, these tensions first spilled over into the public when Russian officials accused Israel of supporting the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv. The spat was ignited after Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, recycled an antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming that Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” – comments that Israel described as “unforgivable and outrageous”.

“On 7 October, Israel woke up and found Russia on the opposite side of the war. But the foundations for the split were already laid when Putin invaded Ukraine,” said Michlin-Shapir.

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Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said it was only logical that Moscow opted to support the Iran-sponsored Hamas, as it was the option most beneficial for its war efforts in Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has become “the raison d’être for the entire machinery of Putinism”, Gabuev wrote in a recent op-ed , pointing to Iran’s indispensable military support.

“This is why the Kremlin’s muted reaction to the 7 October terrorist attacks by Hamas and ensuing full-throated criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza would once have been unimaginable but is hardly surprising in 2023,” he said.

As the Hamas attack unfolded, Russian officials and state-controlled media quickly took up a pro-Palestinian position, cheering Israeli military and intelligence blunders, which were presented as a testament to western weakness.

The state rhetoric, which often had nods toward antisemitism, has partly been attributed to the anti-Jewish storming of an airport in the Russian region of Dagestan, during which a violent mob looked for Jewish passengers arriving from Israel.

The Israel-Hamas war has already proved to be a win for Putin by helping take the west’s focus off the war in Ukraine, with the US and the EU struggling to push through two critical aid packages that are deemed vital for Kyiv’s long-term survival.

“Russia now has an interest in prolonging this conflict in the Middle East,” said a senior European diplomat in Moscow, speaking on conditions of anonymity. He said he feared an all-out Israel-Hezbollah war would further derail any help for Ukraine.

The hard pro-Israeli position of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy , on the Gaza conflict, in which he sought to compare Hamas to Russia, has in the meantime alienated some of the countries in the global south. This, insiders say, could undo months of diplomatic efforts by the west and Ukraine to paint Moscow as a global pariah in the global south for breaching international law.

“It seemed a bit too easy and too fast for Zelenskiy to go full pro-Israel,” said a senior European official in Kyiv in November. Pointing to countries such as South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey, the official said it could now be harder for Ukraine to make inroads after sustained diplomatic progress.

In an interview in Kyiv, Zelenskiy’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak admitted there would be a “chill in relations” with non-western countries, but said once Ukraine would “be able to explain why this is happening and the role of Russia in it … we will be able to revive all our dialogues”.

For now, Ukraine appears to have little to show in return for supporting Israel. Before 7 October, Netanyahu had announced a nonaligned approach to the war in Ukraine, refusing to provide lethal weapons or much-desired air defence systems to Kyiv, an approach that is unlikely to change with the fighting in Gaza. Netanyahu has also reportedly rejected repeated requests by Zelenskiy to make a solidarity visit to Israel after the Hamas attack.

In contrast, Michlin-Shapir said the Hamas-Israeli war provided Putin with a new opportunity to impose himself on the global order.

The former Israeli official compared the current diplomatic efforts to Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2015, which brought Moscow back to the international table after it annexed Crimea a year before. “They managed to get out of isolation then. The Middle East always provides new opportunities for Russia,” she said.

Shaun Walker contributed from Kyiv

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Putin begins visit in China underscoring ties amid Ukraine war and Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk during their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Sergey Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, rear center, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, center, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese honor guards march to welcome Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on his arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, ahead of the Third Belt and Road Forum Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

The Russian flag is flown near Tiananmen Square ahead of the Third Belt and Road Forum held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet this week with Chinese leaders in Beijing on a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese honor guards prepare for the arrival of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ahead of the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

The airplane carrying Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the third Belt and Road Forum, at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong, center right, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Performers dance to welcome Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong at Beijing Capital International Airport, ahead the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong, center, waves as he arrives at Beijing’s airport ahead of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Jade Gao/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese honor guards stand at attention during the arrival of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Chinese honor guards stand at attention after welcoming Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on his arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Parker Song/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Sergey Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre, and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Sergey Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Participants of the Belt and Road Forum pose for a photo in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Sergey Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo during their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Sergey Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine as well as Russian backing for China’s bid to expand its economic and diplomatic influence abroad.

The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations that is now complicated by the Israel-Hamas war. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel against its relations with Iran and Syria, two countries that are strongly backed by Russia and with which China has forged ties for economic reasons as well as to challenge Washington’s influence in the Middle East.

Putin’s plane was met by an honor guard as the Russian leader began his visit that is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s signature “Belt and Road” initiative to build infrastructure and expand China’s overseas influence.

In an interview to Chinese state media, Putin praised the massive but loosely linked BRI projects.

“Yes, we see that some people consider it an attempt by the People’s Republic of China to put someone under its thumb, but we see otherwise. We just see a desire for cooperation,” he told state broadcaster CCTV, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin on Monday.

Putin will be among the highest-profile guests at a gathering marking the 10th anniversary of Xi’s announcement of the BRI project, which has laden countries such as Zambia and Sri Lanka with heavy debt from contracts with Chinese companies to build roads, airports and other public works they could not otherwise afford. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has praised the Chinese policy as bringing development to neglected areas.

The gathering has also given Putin an opportunity to meet with other global leaders who have criticized the Western approach to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Speaking at a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country is a member of the European Union as well as NATO, Putin said the countries have maintained good ties despite recent tensions.

“It causes satisfaction that we have managed to preserve and develop relations with many European countries, including Hungary,” Putin said at the start of the talks with Orban.

Orban, who has repeatedly criticized Western sanctions against Russia, noted that his country has remained eager to maintain ties with Russia.

“Hungary never wanted to confront Russia. Hungary always has been eager to expand contacts,” Orban told Putin. Hungary has continued to pursue contacts with Russia in the nuclear power and gas energy fields despite EU sanctions.

Asked by reporters Friday about his visit, Putin said it would encompass talks on Belt and Road-related projects, which he said Moscow wants to link with efforts by an economic alliance of former Soviet Union nations mostly located in Central Asia to “achieve common development goals.”

He also downplayed the impact of China’s economic influence in a region that Russia has long considered its backyard and where it has worked to maintain political and military clout.

“We don’t have any contradictions here, on the contrary, there is a certain synergy,” Putin said.

Putin said he and Xi would also discuss growing economic ties between Moscow and Beijing in energy, high-tech and financial industries. China has also grown in importance as an export destination for Russia.

Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said that from China’s view, “Russia is a safe neighbor that is friendly, that is a source of cheap raw materials, that’s a support for Chinese initiatives on the global stage and that’s also a source of military technologies, some of those that China doesn’t have.”

“For Russia, China is its lifeline, economic lifeline in its brutal repression against Ukraine,” Gabuev told The Associated Press.

“It’s the major market for Russian commodities, it’s a country that provides its currency and payment system to settle Russia’s trade with the outside world — with China itself, but also with many other countries, and is also the major source of sophisticated technological imports, including dual-use goods that go into the Russian military machine.”

Gabuev said that while Moscow and Beijing will be unlikely to forge a full-fledged military alliance, their defense cooperation will grow.

“Both countries are self-sufficient in terms of security and they benefit from partnering, but neither really requires a security guarantee from the other. And they preach strategic autonomy,” he said.

“There will be no military alliance, but there will be closer military cooperation, more interoperability, more cooperation on projecting force together, including in places like the Arctic and more joint effort to develop a missile defense that makes the U.S. nuclear planning and planning of the U.S. and its allies in Asia and in Europe more complicated,” he added.

The Chinese and Soviets were Cold War rivals for influence among left-leaning states, but China and Russia have since partnered in the economic, military and diplomatic spheres.

Just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, Putin met with Xi in Beijing and the sides signed an agreement pledging a “no-limits” relationship. Beijing’s attempts to present itself as a neutral peace broker in Russia’s war on Ukraine have been widely dismissed by the international community.

Xi visited Moscow in March as part of a flurry of exchanges between the countries. China has condemned international sanctions imposed on Russia, but hasn’t directly addressed an arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court on charges of alleged involvement in the abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine.

Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

Putin to Visit Saudi Arabia, UAE for Israel-Hamas War Talks. Here’s What to Know

R ussian President Vladimir Putin will be making a one-day trip to Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Wednesday to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, the Kremlin said. Later in the week, Putin will host his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, in Moscow.

Putin has sought to increase Russia’s influence in the Middle East, and experts say he is emboldened by growing international criticism of Israel amid its bombardment of Gaza, which has left at least 15,500 people dead.

"Russia does not have the same loyalties as the U.S. does with Israel, which allows it to express sympathy for both Israel and Palestine in ways many Western countries, not least America, struggle to,” wrote James Nixey and Nikolay Kozhanov for Chatham House . 

In the past, Russia has tried to maintain positive relations with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. But Putin has taken a different approach in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack , which killed 1,200 people in Israel. He waited three days before commenting on the attack, then blamed Washington. "I think that many will agree with me that this is a clear example of the failed policy in the Middle East of the United States, which tried to monopolize the settlement process," Putin told Iraq's Prime Minister.

Putin subsequently invited a Hamas delegation —the militant group is backed by Russian ally Tehran—to Moscow on Oct. 26, which prompted anger from Israeli officials.

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“Israel's main ally is the United States, Russia's main enemy right now. And Hamas' ally is Iran, an ally of Russia," Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, wrote in his blog, according to Reuters. 

The meetings are also expected to discuss oil prices. Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are all members of OPEC+, a group of oil producing countries. Last week, members of OPEC+ voluntarily agreed to cut their output , to help drive up prices. 

Putin will first land in the UAE before stopping in Saudi Arabia for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader. "I hope that these will be very useful negotiations, which we consider extremely important," Putin aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian media.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin has rarely traveled abroad. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest in March 2023 over the forced deportation of Ukranian children to Russia. His last trip outside the borders of the former Soviet Union was to China in October.

Putin declined to attend a BRICS summit in South Africa in August because the country would be obliged to arrest him in light of the ICC arrest warrant.

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Russian weapons help Iran harden defenses against Israeli airstrike

Intelligence officials say tehran’s growing partnership with moscow is strengthening the capabilities of both countries.

Last March, a Russian arms maker invited a delegation of Iranians to a VIP shopping tour of its weapons factories. The 17 visitors were treated to lunches and cultural shows and, on the final day, toured a plant that makes products long coveted by Tehran: advanced Russian air defense systems for shooting down enemy planes.

The factory, NPP Start, in the city of Yekaterinburg, is under U.S. sanctions for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. Among its wares are mobile launchers and other components for antiaircraft batteries — including Russia’s S-400, which military analysts assess to be capable of detecting and destroying stealth fighter jets flown by Israel and the United States.

A leaked Russian document, part of stolen Iranian emails posted online in February by a hacker group, described the tour as a showcase for “scientific and technical potential and production capabilities” that Russia could offer Iran.

Whether the visit led directly to a purchase is unknown. But the trip is emblematic of what intelligence officials describe as a deepening strategic partnership between Moscow and Tehran in the two years since Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine — an alliance that could emerge as a significant factor as Israeli leaders weigh possible military strikes in retaliation for the hundreds of drones and missiles launched against Israel over the weekend.

Iran opened a dangerous new chapter in its relations with Russia by agreeing in 2022 to supply thousands of battlefield drones and missiles to aid Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The expanded ties have now helped cement agreements between Moscow and Tehran, including a pledge by Russia to provide its ally with advanced fighter jets and air defense technology, assets that could help Tehran harden its defenses against any future airstrike by Israel or the United States, according to U.S., European and Middle Eastern intelligence officials and weapons experts. The officials, like several others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It is not known how many of the systems have been provided and deployed, but Russian technology could turn Iran into a far more formidable adversary, with an enhanced ability to shoot down planes and missiles, the officials and experts said.

The weapons deals, some details of which have not been reported previously, are part of a broader collaboration that includes co-production of military drones inside Russia, the sharing of anti-jamming technology, and real-time battlefield assessments of weapons deployed against NATO-equipped forces in Ukraine, the intelligence officials and weapons experts said. The cooperation is reaping substantial benefits for both countries, while elevating Iran’s status from junior ally to strategic partner, they said.

“It’s no longer the patron-client dynamic, where Russia holds all the leverage,” said Hanna Notte, director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “The Iranians are accruing benefits from this change. The nature of their relationship has gone beyond just getting things. There’s knowledge transfer, there’s intangible gains.”

Intelligence officials described Russia as “advancing” agreements negotiated in secret to supply Iran with Su-35s, one of Russia’s most capable fighter-bombers and a potentially dramatic upgrade for an Iranian air force that consists mainly of rebuilt U.S. and Soviet aircraft dating from before 1979. Russia also pledged to provide technical help with Iranian spy satellites as well as assistance in building rockets to put more satellites into space, the officials said.

There is no public evidence that Su-35s have been delivered; the holdup may be a delay by Iran in paying for the planes, according to a U.S. and a Middle Eastern intelligence official with detailed knowledge of the deal.

On the defensive side of the ledger, Iran has long sought Russia’s top-of-the-line antiaircraft missile batteries to protect its nuclear and military facilities against a possible U.S. or Israeli strike. In 2007, Tehran cut a deal to purchase Russia’s S-300 antiaircraft system, but Moscow delayed supplying the weapons amid pressure from the United States and European powers. The self-imposed ban ended in 2016, and Iranian S-300s became operational in 2019.

Iran has since sought to purchase Russia’s more capable S-400 system, although whether Moscow has moved to provide S-400 batteries is not publicly known.

Some variants of the S-400 are equipped with radars that can defeat stealth technology used by modern warplanes. Russia has deployed the S-400 to protect its military bases in Syria, and the batteries constitute a potentially lethal threat to U.S. and Israeli military aircraft that occasionally operate in Syrian airspace.

An Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1 killed two Iranian generals and led directly to Iran’s decision to launch drones and missiles against Israel over the weekend.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, said Monday that Iran’s attack “will be met with a response.”

If delivered, the new Russian antiaircraft missiles and anti-stealth systems, deployed to protect underground bases carved in rocky mountains , would assuredly make Iranian airspace “a more dangerous place,” said Can Kasapoglu, a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank.

“This is important at a time when the regime is fast and unchecked moving toward a bomb,” Kasapoglu said. In addition, he said, “any engagement [with Israel] will take place in the Iranian airspace, where Tehran will hold the advantage of playing at home.”

Moscow also is reaping benefits from the collaboration, intelligence officials said. In addition to thousands of drones procured from Iran, Russia agreed late last year to purchase about $2 billion worth of additional military goods, including anti-drone defensive systems that have become a top priority for Russian generals in Ukraine, according to two intelligence officials with detailed knowledge of the deal.

Iran has separately agreed to sell Russia surface-to-surface missiles for use in Ukraine and, according to a new intelligence assessment, is expected to begin transfer of the weapons imminently. Spy agencies have seen no evidence so far that the missiles have been delivered, the officials said.

The production of battlefield drones, meanwhile, has evolved into a joint venture between the two countries, intelligence officials said. Initially, Iran’s provision of drones to Russia was an attempt by Tehran to help its ally plug a hole in its military campaign against Ukraine. Russia, which possessed few battlefield drones at the start of the war, began using two types of Iranian-made Shahed drones in the fall of 2022: the long-range, sweptwing Shahed-131 and the Shahed-136.

By midsummer 2023, Russia was beginning to manufacture Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drones indigenously, at factory in Alabuga, a town in Russia’s Tatarstan region, about 500 miles east of Moscow. Russian documents obtained by The Washington Post last year described plans to manufacture 6,000 drones by summer 2025 to use in its campaign of strikes against Ukrainian forces as well as electricity plants and other vital infrastructure.

Concerned about Russia’s domestic production, the Ukrainian military launched a drone attack of its own against the Alabuga complex on April 2.

More recently, Moscow and Tehran have begun working cooperatively on new kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, according to intelligence officials and leaked documents. The trove of Russian and Iranian emails and records released by the hacking group Prana Network were purportedly stolen from an Iranian server linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier this year.

Among the documents were details of visits by Iranian and Russian delegations to tour weapons facilities in both countries. The Iranians’ trip to the NPP Start factory was described in a Russian “program” for the visit that listed tours of defense facilities in five cities. The document was signed by officials of Technodinamika JSC, which operates NPP Start, as well as the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Post could not independently verify the documents, but two Biden administration officials acknowledged that U.S. intelligence agencies have closely studied the leaked materials and do not dispute their authenticity. Neither Russia nor Iran has publicly responded to the leak.

Several documents describe an April 2023 trip to Iran by a delegation of Russian engineers to watch a demonstration of a new jet-powered drone as well as a line of hunter-killer UAVs designed to destroy enemy drones. Both appeared to impress the visitors.

Variants of the jet-powered drone, dubbed the MS-237, Shahed-238 and Shahed-236, were described as having a maximum speed of about 400 mph — about three times faster than previous iterations of Iranian drones. Tehran revealed the existence of the new drone at an air show in November.

In the demonstration, the jet drone — code-named “motorboat” in the Russians’ internal communications — “successfully took off, accomplished the tasks … and successfully landed by parachute,” a leaked Russian report said. “Given its high speed, the boat is essentially a cruise missile.”

The test apparently helped cement an agreement to acquire more than 600 of the Iranian-designed jet drones, with most of them built on Russian soil with Iranian parts and help, according to the leaked emails. The documents also describe protracted negotiations over how Russia would pay for the drones. At least two installments were to come in the form of gold bullion valued at about $140 million, the documents show.

In January, photos of the remains of a jet-powered drone that appears identical to the MS-237 were posted by Ukraine bloggers after the aircraft reportedly was shot down somewhere over central Ukraine. It is not yet known whether any of the jet drones were launched against Israel in the recent Iranian attack.

“It’s faster, which means it is more difficult to intercept,” said Fabian Hinz, a defense analyst and expert on UAVs and missile systems with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank. But, he said, the jet drones are “probably also substantially more expensive, because these types of jet engines are tricky to build.”

Producing the drones as a joint production offers substantial benefits for Iran, including the ability to evaluate their performance on Ukrainian battlefields. David Albright, an expert on Iran’s weapon systems and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington nonprofit, noted that the leaked documents show evidence of Russian engineers incorporating design improvements on Iranian drones.

“Mistakes and flaws in the designs were identified and fixed,” he said, “and Iran would benefit from that.”

Even if Russian systems such as the S-400 have not already been sold to Iran and deployed there, Albright said the sharing of design information and technological expertise could quietly bolster Iran’s capabilities without triggering alarms in the West.

“You might not see anything,” he said.

Israel-Gaza war

The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for six months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding region .

The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel that included the taking of civilian hostages at a music festival . (See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded ). Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948 .

Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars , killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “ famine-like conditions. ” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave .

U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians , including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons , funds aid packages , and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.

History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 . Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip .

• Israel’s military chief warns Iran will ‘face consequences’ for attack April 16, 2024 Israel’s military chief warns Iran will ‘face consequences’ for attack April 16, 2024
• What to know about Shahed-136 drones, which Iran used to attack Israel April 16, 2024 What to know about Shahed-136 drones, which Iran used to attack Israel April 16, 2024
• Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response. April 15, 2024 Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response. April 15, 2024

Russia’s Putin urges restraint in call with Iran’s Raisi as tensions soar

Russian president makes comments as Israel weighs its response to Iranian missile and drone attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for restraint as Israel weighs its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend drone and missile attack.

Putin made the remarks in a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday. The leaders discussed what the Kremlin called “retaliatory measures taken by Iran” after an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on April 1.

Keep reading

The take: how iran’s attack on israel unfolded, israeli ‘diplomatic offensive’ urges sanctions against iran, will israel respond to iran’s first-ever direct attack, israel’s military chief pledges response to iran attack.

Putin urged all sides to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation that would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the Israeli strike in Damascus, which killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals.

Putin, in his first publicly aired comments on Iran’s attack, said the root cause of the current instability in the Middle East was the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict .

“Vladimir Putin expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin said.

“Ebrahim Raisi noted that Iran’s actions were forced and limited in nature,” the Kremlin said. “At the same time, he stressed Tehran’s disinterest in further escalation of tensions.”

Raisi thanks Putin

Raisi thanked Russia for its position towards Iran’s response to Israel and said the inaction of the international community and the destructive role of some Western countries forced Iran to carry out the recent operation, according to Iran’s presidency.

Raisi reiterated that any action against Iran’s interests will demand a larger-scale response, the presidency said.

Russia, which has forged close ties with both Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and several Arab leaders, has repeatedly scolded the West for ignoring the need for an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders.

“Both sides stated that the root cause of the current events in the Middle East is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” the Kremlin said of the call with Raisi.

“In this regard, the principled approaches of Russia and Iran in favour of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, easing the difficult humanitarian situation, and creating conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis were confirmed.”

Putin, who in 2022 visited Khamenei, congratulated Raisi and all Muslims on the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Iran has provided Russia with a large number of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and drones that Moscow has used to attack Ukraine .

Putin Warns Ally Iran Against Escalating ‘Disastrous’ Conflict After Attack On Israel

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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned about the “disastrous” risk of escalated conflict in a phone call with his counterpart in Russian-allied Iran, the Kremlin said Tuesday, days after Iran attempted to strike Israel following an airstrike on its embassy in Syria.

The Russian president called for “reasonable restraint” in the region.

In the call, Putin “expressed hope that all parties” would show “reasonable restraint” that would prevent a “new round of confrontation, fraught with disastrous consequences for the entire region,” according to the Kremlin.

The Kremlin says Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told Putin Iran’s attacks on Israel were “forced and limited,” adding Iran has no interest in “further escalation of tensions.

Russia said both it and Iran are “in favor of an immediate ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas, which both leaders said was the “root cause” of conflict in the Middle East.

Key Background

Iran launched a long-anticipated attack on Israel on Saturday in response to an apparent Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy in Syria—killing a top Iranian commander and six others—earlier this month. Israel has not publicly taken responsibility for the airstrike, though the Iranian government blamed Israel and vowed revenge. Iran said its attacks on Israel had “concluded,” warning of further escalation that would be “considerably more severe.” Tensions between Iran and Israel have been amplified since Hamas—which is aligned with Iran—carried out an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, leading Israel to invade the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

What To Watch For

Israel is expected to respond to the Iranian missile attacks, Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, reportedly said Monday. The announcement followed calls from several international leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, urging Israel to show restraint to avoid further escalation in the Middle East.

Further Reading

Israel Says It Will Retaliate Against Iran Airstrikes ( Forbes )

U.S. Privately Warns Israel About Retaliating Against Iran—But Won’t Publicly ( Forbes )

Top Iranian Commanded Killed In Syrian Airstrike—Iran Blames Israel ( Forbes )

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Biden says he expects Iran to attack Israel soon, warns: 'Don't'

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Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Andrea Shalal and Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Disha Mishra; Editing by Jasper Ward, Cynthia Osterman and Sonali Paul

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Middle East Crisis U.S. Plans New Sanctions on Iran After Attack on Israel

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• Destruction in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday. EPA, via Shutterstock
• Mourning relatives in Maghazi, central Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Israeli soldiers near the border with Gaza. Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Israeli protesters blocked Jordanian trucks carrying humanitarian aid at a border crossing with Gaza. Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• A mural of the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top left, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, top right, in Tehran. Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989. Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA, via Shutterstock
• A banner in Tel Aviv calling attention to the hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack. Hannah Mckay/Reuters
• Israeli army vehicles along the border with Gaza. Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Follow live news updates on the crisis in the Middle East .

The U.S. plans new sanctions on Iran, officials say.

The United States plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in the coming days to punish it for the attacks on Israel over the weekend, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, said in a statement that the sanctions would target Iran’s “missile and drone program” and entities that support the country’s military groups.

“These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors,” Mr. Sullivan said.

Mr. Sullivan did not specify how the sanctions might undermine Iranian weapons programs, but a Treasury official, who declined to be named in order to discuss private deliberations, said the United States was looking at ways to cut off Iran’s access to military components that it uses to build weapons such as the drones that it used against Israel.

On Saturday night, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed several senior Iranian military officials in Syria earlier in the month. Most of the missiles and drones were intercepted and shot down by Israel and its allies, including the United States and Britain.

The United States has imposed extensive sanctions on Iran over the years as part of a broad effort to put pressure on its economy and prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

At a news conference on Tuesday ahead of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, Janet L. Yellen, the secretary of the Treasury, suggested that the Biden administration was considering ways to further restrict Iranian oil exports.

Ms. Yellen noted that the Biden administration had already targeted more than 500 Iranian individuals and entities associated with terrorist financing over the last three years.

“I fully expect that we will take additional sanctions action against Iran in the coming days,” Ms. Yellen said.

Ms. Yellen said that the United States does not generally reveal the details of sanctions before imposing them but she signaled that the Biden administration is focusing on Iranian oil, which is a major source of its government revenue.

“We have been working to diminish Iran’s ability to export oil,” Ms. Yellen said. “Clearly Iran is continuing to export some oil — there may be more that we could do.”

The United States will also be discussing Iran with finance ministers from the Group of 7 nations, who are in Washington this week. Those talks will be centered on how to coordinate sanctions to cut off Iran’s supply of military components for weapons like the Shahed drones that it deployed against Israel, according to the Treasury official.

The United States will also be talking with other countries, including China, about the need to stop supplying Iran with weapons or technology that it has been using to destabilize the Middle East.

Ms. Yellen noted that since the attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7 of last year, the United States has targeted Iran with more than 100 sanctions intended to debilitate its procurement networks for ballistic missiles and the terrorist groups that it finances.

Peter Baker contributed reporting from Washington.

— Alan Rappeport Reporting from Washington

E.U. ministers discuss expanding sanctions against Iran’s weapons program.

The European Union is considering expanding economic sanctions against Iran’s weapons program to punish it for last weekend’s attack on Israel and try to prevent any escalation of violence across the Middle East, the bloc’s top diplomat said on Tuesday.

“I’m not trying to exaggerate when I say that, in the Middle East, we are at the edge of a very deep precipice,” Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said after European diplomats were hastily called to discuss the crisis.

Member states agreed to mobilize all diplomatic efforts to avoid a violent spillover that would be “leading us into a regional war,” Mr. Borrell said. “That is what we’re trying to avoid.”

The European Union has already penalized Iran for equipping Russia with drones in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. On Tuesday, Mr. Borrell said those sanctions could be broadened to include Iran’s missile program, as well as the delivery of those weapons systems to its proxy militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

He also said the European Union could expand sanctions against entities that provide Iran with the necessary components to build drones, but that, by and large, such penalties were already in place.

It is far from clear how the proposed restrictions would curb Iran, which has spent decades finding ways to skirt Western sanctions, including illicit shipments of oil and, notably, its armaments to Russia.

But even as he voiced the bloc’s support for Israel, Mr. Borrell said “let’s not forget Gaza,” where an Israeli siege has created a hunger crisis that the United Nations says borders on famine .

“Yes, we have to pay a lot of attention to the Iranian attack on Israel,” Mr. Borrell said. “But we don’t have to forget about what’s happening in Gaza. Because there will be no regional stability — there will not be a possibility to build enduring peace in the region if the Gaza war continues.”

He also noted the awkward disparity between the West’s resistance to being pulled directly into the conflict in Ukraine and the interception of Iranian drones by the United States and several allies last weekend to protect Israel.

The conflicts are vastly different, Mr. Borrell said, in part because Iran’s drones put allied air bases in the Middle East at risk by flying over them to get to Israel.

But, he said, if he were President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, “I would certainly wish to highlight that Ukraine is being bombed as well.” Mr. Borrell predicted that European defense ministers could commit to sending more air defense to Ukraine at a meeting on Monday.

— Lara Jakes Reporting from Brussels

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Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon kill two Hezbollah commanders.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had killed two Hezbollah commanders in separate strikes in southern Lebanon, the latest indication that clashes with Iran’s most powerful regional proxy showed no signs of abating amid growing fears of a regional war with Tehran.

The Israeli military said that aircraft had eliminated Ismail Yusaf Baz, who it claimed was a commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector, and Muhammad Hussein Mustafa Shechory, who it said was a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit . Mr. Baz “served as a senior and veteran official in several positions of Hezbollah’s military wing,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

Hezbollah acknowledged the two fighters’ deaths in statements but gave no details of their ranks within the organization.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hezbollah claimed to have used suicide drones to strike parts of Beit Hillel, a border town in northern Israel. Hezbollah said the attack, which targeted Iron Dome platforms, had killed some Israelis. Israel’s Iron Dome system is one of the country’s primary defense weapons and proved instrumental in shielding it from the bulk of Iran’s drone-and-missile attack over the weekend.

The Israeli military said in a statement that Hezbollah’s attack was “under review” but did not confirm whether the group had inflicted casualties.

Israel appeared to respond swiftly with the strikes on the two Hezbollah commanders, triggering a series of tit-for-tat attacks on Tuesday that included rocket and missile strikes by Hezbollah on a series of Israeli military bases and barracks.

For over six months, Hezbollah and Israel have been locked in an escalating cross-border conflict set off by the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that was led by Hamas, another of Iran’s allies . The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border, and in recent months Israeli strikes inside Lebanon have begun to creep deeper into the country’s interior .

Speaking to Israeli soldiers stationed along the northern border on Tuesday, Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, struck a defiant tone.

“The Middle East’s skies are open,” he said. “Each enemy that fights us, we will know how to strike it wherever it is.”

Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.

— Euan Ward

As Israel weighs its options against Iran, diplomats push to ease tensions.

Diplomats on Tuesday were pushing to temper any Israeli retaliation against Iran, seeking to head off an escalation and broader confrontation following Tehran’s weekend attack.

Israel’s war cabinet, some of whose members met again on Tuesday, has been weighing how to respond to Iran’s large-scale missile and drone assault. Several options — ranging from diplomacy to an imminent strike — are being considered, according to an Israeli official briefed on the cabinet discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security matters.

Amid concerns over what actions Israel might take, the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss ways to calm the tensions. Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, who met with her Jordanian counterpart in Berlin, said she would fly to Israel later on Tuesday and would discuss with officials there “how to prevent further escalation with more and more violence.”

Ms. Baerbock told a news conference that it was critical that “we all work together to contribute to de-escalation for the entire region.”

As U.S. and European leaders try to find ways to punish Iran for the attack without fueling a wider Middle East war, Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, said on Tuesday that he was “leading a diplomatic offensive” and had written to dozens of governments calling for more sanctions against Tehran. But he said that such penalties should come “alongside the military response,” without specifying what that could mean.

The United States is one of several of Israel’s allies that has strongly urged restraint, underscoring the pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces to avoid a more direct confrontation with Iran. On Monday, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III told Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, that the United States’ support for Israel’s defense remained “steadfast” and he “reaffirmed the strategic goal of regional stability,” according to the Pentagon .

Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant met with key members of the war cabinet for security consultations on Tuesday afternoon without many of the observers who normally attend, according to an Israeli official briefed on the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive deliberations.

Since Iran’s attack, Mr. Netanyahu has not commented publicly on the discussions around a response. But on Tuesday he described the war against Hamas, the Iranian-backed group Israel is fighting in Gaza, as part of “a greater campaign” that includes battling Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militia.

“Iran stands behind Hamas, behind Hezbollah and behind others,” he told military recruits. “But we are determined to win there, and to defend ourselves in all sectors.”

Iranian officials — who have said the weekend assault was retaliation for a deadly April 1 strike on an Iranian Embassy building in Syria — have warned that Iran will forcefully respond to any Israeli attack. The rhetoric from Tehran, which in the immediate aftermath of its attack called the matter with Israel closed, has intensified as Israel weighs its options.

Iranian state news media on Tuesday was peppered with strong language from officials, vowing “painful” and “crushing” responses to any Israeli retaliation.

There also have been calls for Iran to avoid any escalation. Japan’s foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, spoke to her Iranian counterpart on Tuesday to urge Tehran to “exercise restraint,” according to a Japanese government statement .

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia did the same when he spoke on Tuesday with President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran, according to the Russian state news agency Tass . Mr. Raisi assured Mr. Putin that Tehran was not “seeking to escalate tensions further,” Tass reported.

And China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, spoke on the phone with Iran’s foreign minister on Monday, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Mr. Wang relayed that “Iran can handle the situation well and spare the region further turmoil while safeguarding its own sovereignty and dignity,” Xinhua reported .

Christopher F. Schuetze and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

— Cassandra Vinograd reporting from Jerusalem

Israeli forces carry out raids and arrests in northern Gaza, residents say.

The Israeli military carried out assaults in several towns in northern Gaza on Monday night, according to accounts from residents and Palestinian news media, which described heavy bombardment and ground fighting that drove many families to evacuate the area.

Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, reported on Tuesday that Israeli forces were continuing for a second straight day to demand that all families leave the northern town of Beit Hanoun, and had made several arrests in the area.

The news agency said on Monday night that Israeli military vehicles had surrounded a school housing displaced families in Beit Hanoun and opened fire, and that several Palestinians had been killed or wounded after an airstrike on a mosque in the nearby Jabaliya area. In central Gaza City, Israeli bombardment early Tuesday left several people killed or injured, the agency said.

The reports could not be independently verified. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions about the fighting.

The objective of Israel’s attacks in northern Gaza — from which its forces had withdrawn earlier this year before returning in recent weeks — was not immediately clear.

The United Nations human rights office also said on Tuesday that there had been intense attacks in northern and central Gaza in recent days, pointing to reports that Israeli troops had opened fire on Gazans attempting to return to the north over the weekend, killing at least one Palestinian and injuring at least 11 others.

Emad Zaqout, a freelance journalist who lives in Jabaliya, said that Israeli ground forces and tanks were in Beit Hanoun and parts of Jabaliya, where heavy strikes were heard Monday night and early Tuesday as Israeli forces clashed with gunmen.

“It was a very heated night until the early hours of the morning,” Mr. Zaquot said in a phone call on Tuesday.

Mr. Zaqout said that before entering the area, the Israeli military had used recorded voice messages to order residents to move south, but he said that some had refused and had moved to other parts of northern Gaza instead.

The bombardment seemed to subside by Tuesday morning but Israeli tanks were still in the area and more residents were leaving, he said.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its forces were pressing on with an operation in central Gaza for a sixth day, reporting that it had killed several people it described as “terrorists” and had struck at “terrorist infrastructure.”

Nick Cumming-Bruce contributed reporting from Geneva.

— Hiba Yazbek and Iyad Abuheweila reporting from Jerusalem and Istanbul

A U.N. panel says Israel is obstructing its investigation of the Oct. 7 attack.

Members of a United Nations commission said on Tuesday that Israel was obstructing their efforts to investigate possible human rights violations on Oct. 7 and in the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas. But they said the commission had still shared large amounts of evidence with the International Criminal Court.

“We have faced not merely a lack of cooperation but active obstruction of our efforts to receive evidence from Israeli witnesses and victims” related to the Oct. 7 attack, Chris Sidoti, one of three members of the commission, told a briefing for diplomats in Geneva. The commission was formed in 2021 to investigate human rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Israel has accused the commission of bias, and has said it would not cooperate with what it described as “an anti-Israeli, antisemitic body.”

It has not allowed the commission to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, and in January it instructed Israeli medical personnel who treated released hostages and victims of the Oct. 7 attack not to cooperate with the panel, which is led by Navi Pillay, the former United Nations human rights chief.

Ms. Pillay said the commission had investigated crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, as well as by Israeli forces in Gaza. She said that in line with the commission’s mandate from the U.N. Human Rights Council to seek accountability for such crimes, it had shared over 5,000 documents, including video and other material, with the I.C.C., which tries individuals on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The I.C.C. opened an investigation into potential crimes in Gaza and the West Bank in March 2021, but it has faced criticism from some lawyers for its lack of visible progress toward prosecutions. The court is not part of the U.N. system.

“We look forward to, and expect to see, progress on the I.C.C. investigations this year,” Ms. Pillay said.

The commission is set to report its findings on the Gaza conflict to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in June and to the U.N. General Assembly in October.

— Nick Cumming-Bruce reporting from Geneva

The U.N.’s atomic watchdog expresses worry that Israel could strike at Iran’s nuclear sites.

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has said he is worried that Israel could strike one of Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the large aerial attack by Iran over the weekend.

“We are always concerned about this possibility,” Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters on Monday evening after briefing the U.N. Security Council in New York.

The agency’s inspectors who operate in Iran had been told by the Iranian authorities that the nuclear facilities would be closed to them on Sunday because of “security considerations,” Mr. Grossi said. He decided that the inspectors should not return to the nuclear sites on Monday “until we see that the situation is completely calm,” but expected that they would return to work on Tuesday, he said.

Iran’s missile and drone attack, which was largely thwarted, was believed to be the first time Tehran had fired directly at Israel, and Israel’s war cabinet is weighing a range of possible retaliatory measures . World leaders including President Biden have urged Israel to avoid taking action that could escalate the situation, though some hard-line Israelis are urging military strikes to degrade Iran’s nuclear program.

Experts say Iran is not racing to develop nuclear weapons , but Mr. Grossi said the fact that Tehran is able to enrich uranium to a point that is “very, very close technically, identical almost, to weapon-grade level,” raised concerns within the international community .

He urged Tehran to cooperate fully with the U.N. nuclear inspectors and said he hoped to visit Iran in the next few weeks.

Iran has more uranium that is close to bomb grade than it has in years, after a 2015 nuclear agreement forced it to give up 97 percent of its stockpile. President Donald J. Trump withdrew from that accord in 2018. In addition, Iran has begun to build some key nuclear facilities deep underground, making them harder to target in an airstrike.

— Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Israeli settlers kill two Palestinians in the West Bank, officials say.

Israeli settlers fatally shot two Palestinians in the West Bank on Monday, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials, as tensions continued to spike in the Israeli-occupied territory.

The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry identified the two men as Abdelrahman Bani Fadel, 30, and Mohammad Bani Jama, 21. The circumstances of their deaths near the town of Aqraba remained unclear.

The Israeli military said the two men had been killed during a “violent exchange” between Israeli settlers and Palestinians that followed a report of a Palestinian attacking an Israeli shepherd. An initial investigation indicated that the gunfire “did not originate” from Israeli soldiers, the military said.

The two Palestinians appeared to have been shot by Israeli settlers on the scene, said an Israeli security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was still underway.

The killings fed fears that the West Bank could become another front for a country already in its seventh month of war in the Gaza Strip.

About 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank live alongside roughly 2.7 million Palestinians under Israeli military occupation. Since the war began on Oct. 7, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces there and in East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations.

Over the past few days, a renewed wave of violence has swept through the West Bank.

On Friday, a 14-year-old Israeli teenager went missing, prompting Israeli settlers to riot inside a Palestinian village, Al Mughayir. Jihad Abu Aliya, a 25-year-old resident, was fatally shot during a mob attack, according to the village mayor, Amin Abu Aliya (the two were distant relatives).

The teenager, Binyamin Achimair, was found dead on Saturday after an intensive search; Israeli officials said he had been murdered in an act of terrorism and vowed to track down the perpetrators. In response, Israeli settlers, some of them armed, conducted a series of mob assaults in Palestinian towns, torching homes and cars, according to Palestinian witnesses.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Israelis to allow security forces to search for Mr. Achimair’s killers, but he did not denounce the mob attacks against Palestinians. Human rights groups have long charged that Israel turns a blind eye to settler violence and rarely brings perpetrators to justice.

In footage distributed on Sunday by Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group that tracks Jewish extremist violence in the West Bank, hooded figures can be seen setting a car ablaze while Israeli soldiers watch nearby without intervening.

The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday that Israeli security forces “must immediately end their active participation in and support for settler attacks on Palestinians.”

“Israeli authorities must instead prevent further attacks including by bringing those responsible to account,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the office. “Those reasonably suspected of criminal acts, including murder or other unlawful killings, must be brought to justice,” she added.

Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, condemned Mr. Achimair’s killing in a statement on Monday. But he also said Washington was “increasingly concerned by the violence against Palestinian civilians and their property that ensued in the West Bank after Achimair’s disappearance.”

“We strongly condemn these murders, and our thoughts are with their loved ones,” Mr. Miller said. “ The violence must stop. Civilians are never legitimate targets.”

Nick Cumming-Bruce contributed reporting.

— Aaron Boxerman

House Republicans release aid bills for Israel and Ukraine, eyeing weekend House votes

WASHINGTON — Facing a divided party and pressure to act, House Speaker Mike Johnson rolled out three bills Wednesday to provide assistance to Israel , Ukraine and Taiwan , with the hope of holding final votes on Saturday.

The bills represent a major test of Johnson’s ability to navigate a thicket of political and global challenges with a wafer-thin majority. And it comes as Johnson, R-La., faces a serious threat to his gavel from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene , R-Ga., and Thomas Massie , R-Ky.

Johnson's biggest challenge is Ukraine funding , an issue that has bitterly divided the GOP. He has been squeezed by conservative security hawks who want to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s aggression and by an empowered isolationist wing that is feeding off former President Donald Trump’s criticism of NATO and prior Ukraine aid measures.

Multiple Republicans say they oppose any funding for Ukraine, meaning that a significant share of Democrats will be required to carry that measure over the finish line. Many of the provisions in the bills resemble the package passed by the Senate in one bundle, which Johnson rejected and refused to put to a House vote.

In a message to members before releasing the legislation, Johnson said there would be "three bills that will fund America’s national security interests and allies in Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine, including a loan structure for aid , and enhanced strategy and accountability."

He said Republican leadership will come forward with an amendment process "alongside a fourth bill that includes the REPO Act ," which is aimed at seizing Russian assets to benefit Ukraine; the House-passed bill to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it divests from its China-based owner; as well as "sanctions and other measures to confront Russia, China, and Iran."

“We expect the vote on final passage on these bills to be on Saturday evening,” Johnson said in a text message obtained by NBC News.

He said there will also be a "border security bill that includes the core components of H.R.2" — a conservative, House-passed immigration bill — moving under a separate process. That measure serves as a sweetener for reticent conservatives who are unhappy that the aid bills don't include domestic immigration provisions.

Swift conservative pushback

Multiple House conservatives pushed back immediately on social media Wednesday after Johnson's message went out, complaining that the border measures weren't directly tied to Ukraine funding.

"The Republican Speaker of the House is seeking a rule to pass almost $100 billion in foreign aid — while unquestionably, dangerous criminals, terrorists, & fentanyl pour across our border. The border 'vote' in this package is a watered-down dangerous cover vote. I will oppose," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X .

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the most recent chair of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, said: "Anything less than tying Ukraine aid to real border security fails to live up to @SpeakerJohnson's own words just several weeks ago. Our constituents demand — and deserve — more from us."

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, earlier called aid to Ukraine unnecessary, saying: “I’m not giving them a nickel today, tomorrow or next week."

“Putin is not going into Poland. I don’t care what you say. Besides, anyway, it doesn’t really matter because ... when Donald Trump wins, Putin’s leavin’. Putin’s leavin’ Ukraine,” Nehls said ahead of the bill’s release, without explaining his logic.

House Democrats have repeatedly called on Johnson to bring up a Senate-passed foreign aid package instead, calling it the best — if not only — path to getting a bill on Biden's desk. They have posted a "discharge petition" with 195 signatories to end-run Johnson and force a vote on that bill. It needs 218 votes to come up, meaning it will need the backing of some Republicans in addition to Democrats.

At a Wednesday meeting with Democrats, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., told members that they need to use their “personal relationships” with Republicans to garner support for the discharge petition, according to two people familiar with her comments.

Treasury Secretary Yellen dials up pressure

At a bilateral meeting later Wednesday with Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to dial up the pressure on House Republicans to act.

“The failure of House Republicans to act to support Ukraine in this pivotal moment of the war for so long has been inexcusable—and detrimental to our national security,” Yellen will say, according to a Treasury source. “Every moment of delay by House Republicans strengthens Putin and emboldens America’s adversaries around the world who are closely watching to see if we, the United States, maintains its resolve to support a democratic Ukraine as it fends off an autocratic Russia.”

Meanwhile, Greene has not said when she might force a vote on her "motion to vacate" the speaker's chair, which would take a simple majority to remove Johnson from his job. Her effort gained a cosponsor in Massie on Tuesday, who predicted Johnson would be voted out.

It's not clear the votes are there to oust Johnson. Many conservatives, including some who voted to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have not joined the effort to oust Johnson. Some Democrats have also said they'll vote to protect Johnson from a motion to depose him.

But Massie said that would only hurt his standing with the GOP in the long term.

“Then he goes further in the hole with Republicans. He becomes toxic to the conference. For every Democrat who comes to his aid he’ll lose 2 to 3 more Republicans,” Massie said. “He doesn’t have much shelf life after that.”

Johnson struck a defiant tone Tuesday when asked about the threat to his gavel, calling it “absurd” while saying he’s “not concerned” about the motion and will continue to do his job.

Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

Rebecca is a producer and off-air reporter covering Congress for NBC News, managing coverage of the House.