Gaddafi: "United States would be "destroyed from inside by the Zionist lobby"

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He locked the door of the room and put the key in his pocket. Then the interview began.

On 3 August 1986, the Pittsburgh Press ran an interview with Muammar Gaddafi conducted at midnight inside his Tripoli compound, four months after US jets bombed Libya. The reporter was Marie Colvin. Gaddafi locked the door behind him and pocketed the key.

He arrived in a red silk shirt and a gold cape. He called Ronald Reagan mad, said he was no terrorist crouching in a trench with a grenade, and claimed most Americans could not find Africa on a map. He also predicted the United States would be "destroyed from inside by the Zionist lobby" — a version of a long-standing antisemitic conspiracy theory, and one still shared online today. Colvin became one of her generation's best-known war reporters. She was killed in Syria in 2012.

Sources: UPI Archives, The Pittsburgh Press, BBC, Committee to Protect Journalists

 

Israel carries out blasts across south Lebanon despite ‘ceasefire’ deal

Israeli attacks come amid ongoing talks with Lebanese officials to implement framework for peace between two countries.

By Al Jazeera Staff

Published On 24 Jul 202624 Jul 2026

The Israeli army has attacked the southern Lebanese town of al-Mansouri and carried out blasts in the nearby village of Majdal Zoun, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports, despite the “ceasefie” and ongoing talks between the two countries.

The explosion in Majdal Zoun on Friday was heard as far away as city of Tyre, over 15 kilometres (nine miles) away, according to local reports.

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The attack and demolitions have become a routine feature of life in southern Lebanon, despite a United States-brokered framework that is supposed to end the fighting and lead to “peace”.

On Thursday, an Israeli strike on an ambulance in Nabatieh al-Fawqa injured two medics. The Lebanese Health Ministry called the attack a “flagrant violation of international and humanitarian laws and norms”.

Israel has been systematically levelling entire villages near the border, with Israeli officials openly declaring the objective of erasing Lebanese towns out of existence to create a “security zone”.

Israel occupies nearly fifth of Lebanese territory and has killed more than 4,000 people since fighting erupted on March 2, maintaining that its operations are aimed at stopping Lebanese armed group Hezbollah from launching assaults into northern Israel.

However, the demolitions bear close resemblance to Israel’s tactics in Gaza, where a “ceasefire” has not halted the Israeli military’s campaign to destroy the territory. Rights advocates say Israel’s policies aim to make the strip uninhabitable.

US President Donald Trump promised to “help” Lebanon during a White House meeting with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun earlier this week.

Asked whether there will be a timeline for Israel’s withdrawal from the country, Trump said: “They’re in the process of doing that. They’re in the process of redeploying [to] other sections.”

Under the framework agreement signed in Washington on June 26, the Lebanese army is to take over Israel-occupied territories in the south, provided that Hezbollah is disarmed.

Lebanese and Israeli officials have been meeting regularly to discuss the implementation of the deal with the next round of talks scheduled for August 4 in Italy.

Hezbollah has rejected the agreement outright, with its leader Naim Qassem calling the deal “null and void” and calling for armed resistance to push Israel out of Lebanon.

The deal sets no timeline for withdrawal. Instead, it outlines two “pilot zones” where the Lebanese military “will gradually assume full and effective security responsibility”.

The Lebanese army deployed to the first pilot-zone villages this week. But residents returning to Froun and Ghandouriyeh say their villages were never occupied by Israeli forces, arguing that Israel has not given back any territory.

Iranian drones target Erbil, as 4 dead in US strike on Ahvaz

 

Iran war live: Iranian drones target Erbil, as 4 dead in US strike on Ahvaz

By Heba Habib and Mariamne Everett

Published On 24 Jul 202624 Jul 2026

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• Erbil airport reopens after a drone crashed near the facility following a drone attack on the city. Iran’s army says it has attacked Al-Azraq US Airbase in Jordan. Sirens sound in Bahrain and Kuwait reports it has intercepted Iranian missiles.
• The US Central Command says it has concluded air strikes against Iran for the 13th consecutive night, with Iranian media reporting blasts in several cities, including Khorramabad, Jask, Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, as well as Qeshm Island.
• A US missile strike near Ahvaz left four people dead and five injured, while additional strikes on Khorramabad and the port city of Bandar Abbas resulted in two injuries at each site, according to Iranian media.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that “mindless aggression” will only see Trump pay a “heavier price” for a deal to end the war.
• Four Palestinians and one Israeli settler have been killed in a shootout near the illegal settlement of Havat Gilad, in the occupied West Bank.

2m ago

(11:02 GMT)

Israeli army investigation says settlers entered off-limits West Bank area without coordination ahead of deadly shootout

A preliminary Israeli military investigation has found that a shooting near the village of Tal in which an Israeli and a number of Palestinians were killed, was not planned in advance, Israeli Army Radio says.

A group of Israelis were touring Areas A and B near a hill on Friday outside the village without coordinating with the military beforehand, the broadcaster said, citing the investigation. It said the army considers such uncoordinated movement dangerous.

Palestinians approached the group after they entered Tal, leading to an altercation between the two sides, according to the account. The Israelis then called soldiers to the scene, and an exchange of fire followed after a Palestinian seized a weapon. Some of the Palestinians who were killed had tried to take the weapon according to the report.

The shooting occurred during the gathering that led to the fight and was not premeditated, the army concluded.

Areas A and B are West Bank zones under full or partial Palestinian Authority administration under the Oslo Accords. Israeli civilians are generally barred from entering Area A without military coordination.

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• 17m ago

  (10:45 GMT)

  Iran says war developments on agenda for talks with Russia, China

  Iran will discuss recent regional developments in West Asia during upcoming talks with China and Russia at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, the foreign ministry’s spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, says.

  “The current situation is a clear military aggression by the United States, a continuation of the aggression they started last year,” Baghaei told reporters on Friday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

  Baghaei said the actions run counter to all international rules and standards, and that it was natural for countries to raise such issues at any opportunity. “The developments in the West Asia region will definitely be discussed in the talks we will have with China and Russia,” he added.

  

  Russian Foreign FM Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi during talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan [Russian Foreign Ministry/Reuters]
• 32m ago

  (10:30 GMT)

  UN urges evacuation of 6,000 sailors stranded in Hormuz Strait

  UN rights chief Volker Turk has urged countries involved in the US-Israel war on Iran to help evacuate and repatriate some 6,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.

  “Parties to the conflict should urgently work to facilitate safe passage for stranded seafarers to safely evacuate and disembark, as well as ensure the delivery of critical supplies,” his spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told reporters in Geneva.

  

  Turk speaks to the media during a news conference in Seoul, South Korea on May 13, 2026 [File: Lee Jin-man/AP]
• 47m ago

  (10:15 GMT)

  

  Palestinian stabbed in settler attack northwest of Jericho

  A Palestinian has been injured in an Israeli settler attack after his vehicle broke down while travelling on the Ma’arajat road, northwest of Jericho.

  The group of settlers attacked the Palestinian man “by beating and stabbing him in the back,” reported the Palestinian Wafa news agency, quoting local sources.

  Wafa added that the wounded individual “was able to reach the town of Al-Auja, where he received assistance”.

US attacks Iran as Houthis allow Chinese ships to pass

 

US attacks Iran as Houthis allow Chinese ships to pass: What’s the latest?

The number of tanker crossings in the Strait of Hormuz dropped to the lowest levels in more than two months on Thursday.

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How the Houthi Red Sea blockade will impact the world

By Sarah Shamim

Published On 24 Jul 202624 Jul 2026

The United States has continued to attack Iran for a 13th consecutive night on Thursday and explosions were reported in multiple Iranian cities on Friday morning.

In addition to the ongoing attacks, shipping disruptions continue to intensify. Ship tracking data revealed that just one tanker successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, marking the lowest level since May 7.

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However, shipping data from London Stock Exchange Group shows that two Chinese supertankers carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia successfully exited the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Friday. This is despite the naval blockade Yemen’s Houthis announced against Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Here is a recap of what happened on Thursday night and Friday.

Where did the US attack Iran?

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that at 01:00 GMT on Friday, it concluded its latest round of strikes against Iran.

CENTCOM said it targeted Iranian military command centres, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities.

On Friday, Iranian media reported explosions or attacks across multiple Iranian cities. State broadcaster IRIB reported that explosions were reported in Khondab, Khorramabad, Konarak and Jask. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that two people have been injured following an early morning drone attack on Khorramabad, citing the deputy governor of the western Lorestan province.

Iran’s Mehr news agency reported on Friday that US missile strikes hit the cities of Andimeshk and Omidiyeh in the Khuzestan province. There were no casualties or injuries.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assidi reported from the Iranian capital, Tehran, that explosions were heard on Qeshm island, located in the Strait of Hormuz, on Friday.

Attacks on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas have injured two people, Iranian media reported on Friday.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Friday that four people were killed and five others were injured in a US missile attack near the southwestern city of Ahvaz.

Where did Iran strike in the Gulf?

Bahrain: In a statement carried by Iran’s Mehr news agency, the Iranian army said it used drones to target fuel storage tanks, equipment warehouses and troop living quarters at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

Jordan: The military added that aircraft hangars, maintenance facilities and accommodation sites at the Muwaffaq Salti/Al-Azraq base in Jordan were also hit, warning that any actions against Iran’s interests would undermine regional security and economic stability.

What have leaders on either side said?

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against Tehran. He told the US news website Axios that he may launch the largest strikes on Iran yet, after Tehran carried out another wave of retaliatory attacks on US allies in the Gulf, including hitting a telecommunications tower in Kuwait.

Trump said he was “considering a massive attack” that would be “bigger than ever before”.

“I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump said.

Separately, Trump threatened, on his Truth Social platform, that if Iran attacked ships, the US would use Tehran’s frozen assets to pay for repairs.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Friday that using frozen state assets to pay for future claims sets a dangerous global precedent.

“Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent,” Araghchi wrote on X.

He cautioned that “those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalise confiscation, no one’s assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful”.