News

Shukr was a founding member of Hezbollah’s armed wing. Israel and the US have accused him of leading major attacks.

The senior Hamas leader was assassinated early Wednesday. Al Jazeera breaks down what happened — and what could follow.

Iraq has strongly condemned a US airstrike that targeted the country on Tuesday and killed several members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of mostly Shia militias that was formed in 2014 to fight ISIS and are part of Iraq’s security forces.

The US attack came as Washington and Baghdad have been discussing the future of the US military presence in Iraq. US strikes against the PMF in 2023 and at the beginning of this year prompted Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to call for an end to the US-led anti-ISIS coalition in Iraq.

“Despite extensive efforts through political and diplomatic channels … in the efforts [to end] the presence and operations of the Global Coalition against Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and transitioning to a bilateral security relationship based on mutual respect and safeguarding Iraq’s sovereignty and security, the coalition forces have committed a heinous crime and blatant aggression,” said Iraqi Maj. Gen. Yehia Rasool, a spokesman for al-Sudani.

“Such serious and uncalculated transgressions can significantly undermine all efforts, mechanisms, and frameworks of joint security work to combat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. They also risk dragging Iraq and the entire region into dangerous conflicts and wars. Therefore, we hold the coalition forces fully responsible for these consequences following this flagrant aggression,” Rasool added.

The PMF announced on Tuesday that at least four of its fighters were killed in the US attack. The US bombing came a few days after rocket attacks targeted US bases in Iraq and Syria for the first time in a few months, likely a response to the lack of a clear plan for a US withdrawal from Iraq.

The US bombing in Iraq came just hours after Israel launched an airstrike on Beirut targeting a senior Hezbollah commander. If Hezbollah and the Iraqi Shia militias coordinate a response to the Israeli escalation, it could involve attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria since the US has pledged it will intervene to defend Israel.

From October 2023 until February, US bases in Iraq and Syria came under hundreds of rocket and drone attacks. Iraqi Shia militias began the attacks in response to US support for the Israeli onslaught in Gaza.

After three US troops were killed in an attack on Tower 22, a secretive base in Jordan on the Syrian border, Iran and the Iraqi government pressured the militias to stop, and there have only been a handful of attacks since February.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said three people, including two children, were killed and 74 wounded in the attack.

On today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:

While President Biden continues to be out of the picture, his Administration just pledged full support to Israel after its shocking attack on both Tehran and Beirut in the past 24 hours. Will the feckless Administration allow the US to be dragged into war in the region? Also today, acting Secret Service head who denied additional resources to Trump now tells Congress he’s ready to “reform” the Secret Service.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW to the RPI 2024 DC Conference.

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that the US would defend Israel if it faces attacks in response to its airstrike in Beirut that targeted a Hezbollah commander and the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’s political bureau who was killed in Tehran.

Israel has not formally taken credit for killing Haniyeh, but Israeli intelligence has a long history of carrying out covert attacks inside Iran, including assassinations. Both Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for the killing and are vowing revenge.

“Following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X.

Austin, who is visiting the Philippines, was asked what assistance the US would provide if a wider regional war broke out. “We certainly will help defend Israel. You saw us do that April. You can expect to see us do that again,” he said

Austin was referring to the US and some of its allies intercepting Iranian missiles and drones that were fired at Israel in response to the April 1 Israeli bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. The consulate bombing, which killed a senior Iranian general, provoked the first-ever Iranian attack on Israeli territory.

US officials claim they’re working to ease tensions in the Middle East, but providing unconditional military aid to Israel and vowing to defend it from any consequences only emboldens the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which appears determined to get the US involved in a major war.

If Iran, Hezbollah, and other Shia allies in the region decide to coordinate a major attack, it could involve targeting US bases in Iraq and Syria, which are vulnerable to Iranian missiles. Rocket attacks on those bases restarted last week, and the US bombed the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces on Tuesday, only a few hours after Israel bombed Beirut.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says he will not attend talks with RSF in Switzerland after attack on military graduation.

The Jamaican sprinter believes she will run a better 200m race, where she is the world champion, at the Paris Olympics.

Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Refee were killed in a strike in Gaza City.