News blog about the war in the Middle East
Iran’s regime threatens the USA with a counterattack
From dpa, Reuters, afp, t-online, lim, csi, te, lex, lec, cc, jcz, das, mam, fsa, cck
Updated on February 5, 2024 – 4:32 p.m. Reading time: 50 min.
Iranian soldiers during a military exercise (archive photo): Tehran threatens that any aggression against Iranian territory would have consequences. (Source: Anadolu/Getty Images)
The USA and England attack 36 Houthi positions. Israel claims to have killed dozens of Hamas members. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Hamas terrorists crossed the border into Israel on October 7 and carried out massacres. Since then, Israel has been attacking targets in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. This news blog informs you about the current developments:
Federal government for EU sanctions against radical Jewish settlers
4:08 p.m.: The German government supports EU sanctions against radical Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit answered the question of whether the government supported such sanctions if they were possible under European law. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has also taken a clear position, says a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office.
Both reject the accusation that the federal government in the EU is working against such sanctions. The aim is to examine which means from the Union’s toolbox can be used in the best possible way. A decision must also be legally binding.
Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has increased since the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli radical settlers in particular are confronted with accusations of taking brutal and sometimes deadly action against the Palestinian population in the West Bank. The US government froze the assets of four settlers last week.
Iran’s regime threatens the USA with a counterattack
1:15 p.m.: Iran will respond to any possible US attack on its territory, according to the Islamist regime’s foreign ministry in Tehran. “The Islamic Republic will not hesitate to use its capabilities to provide a response that will cause remorse among the aggressors,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. The White House had previously not ruled out the possibility of a direct attack against Iran.
Kanani further explains that others have “already seen this ability and strength” and would “think a hundred times before every bad act.” However, he emphasized that Iran is not trying to exacerbate tensions and crises in the region.
The US carried out a series of attacks on elite Iranian forces and pro-Iranian armed groups in Syria and Iraq on Friday, responding to the deaths of three US soldiers on January 28 in Jordan. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday that the US would continue its retaliatory measures. He did not want to rule out the possibility of a direct attack on targets in Iran.
Seven US-allied fighters killed in attack in Syria
11:39 a.m.: Seven Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters were killed and 18 others injured in an attack by pro-Iranian militias on a US military base in Syria, according to activists. This was reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack targeted the US base known as “Green Village”. US troops are stationed there at the Omar oil field in the eastern Syrian province of Dair as-Saur.
The drone attack early Monday morning was the first military response by the pro-Iranian militias after recent US attacks on dozens of targets in Syria and Iraq. Here you can read more about it. The militias have attacked US troops in both countries more than 160 times since the Gaza war began on October 7. In Syria alone, the observatory has counted more than 100 such attacks since mid-October.
The SDF, led by Kurdish militias, is a close ally of the US in the fight against Islamist terrorists in Syria. Turkey, in turn, is taking military action against the SDF.
USA: Four more Houthi anti-ship missiles destroyed
3:20 a.m.: The US says it has destroyed four more anti-ship missiles belonging to the Houthi militia in Yemen. According to US information, the projectiles were aimed at ships in the Red Sea.
Israel’s military: Hezbollah position in southern Lebanon attacked
2.10 a.m.: The Israeli military said it attacked a military facility belonging to the Shiite militia Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The army announced late Sunday evening that warplanes had attacked a Hezbollah command center and a military compound in the city of Yaron.
