Dramatic developments in the conflict with Iran as President Trump says a US Iran agreement to end the war is now largely negotiated and could be announced shortly. That announcement came only hours after Trump said the chances were 50/50 for a return to war. Reports suggest the US and Iran may be moving toward a temporary agreement that could extend the current ceasefire for at least another 60 days while delaying the most contentious nuclear issues for later negotiations.
TV’s Steve Lieitz is following developments.
“President Trump’s post about the deal being largely done with Iran leaves open major question marks about what the deal includes regarding the Iranian nuclear program and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump posted that the emerging memorandum of understanding would include the reopening of the strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which a large share of the world’s oil supply passes.”
US president did not mention Iran’s nuclear program, having repeatedly stressed during the war that Iran would not be allowed to attain nuclear weapons or the regime’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium, which he has insisted Iran must relinquish. Just hours after the Trump Post, Iran’s FARS news agency pushed back, saying the strait would remain under Iranian management and called Trump’s statements incomplete and inconsistent with reality.
At the same time, three senior Iranian officials claimed that Tehran has agreed in principle to a framework that would halt the fighting, reopen Hormuz, ease the US naval blockade, and release some $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets held overseas. Iranian officials said the nuclear issue has been pushed to a later phase of negotiations despite repeated demands by Trump that Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and abandon any path to a nuclear weapon.
They added that the agreement would halt fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon. The fast-moving diplomacy has reportedly alarmed Israeli officials who say the emerging deal could pose a very big problem for Israel if Iran receives economic benefits without immediate limits on its nuclear or missile programs.
Prime Minister Netanyahu held urgent consultations with security chiefs and coalition leaders while Trump said a phone call with Netanyahu went very well. Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly expressed concern about two specific areas of the emerging US Iran deal. The clause dealing with Lebanon and the postponement of dealing with the nuclear issue.
The US president also held talks with regional leaders and mediators, saying final details of the agreement are now being discussed. Intense fighting is ongoing in the north. The IDF says it eliminated multiple Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon while drone alerts continue to trigger sirens across northern Israel.
The army also announced the identity of another soldier killed in Lebanon fighting. ITV’s Devil Klein has the latest.
“Staff Sergeant Nam Hamburger, 23, from Atlit, was announced killed by the IDF when an explosive drone launched from Lebanon struck troops inside Israeli territory. Another soldier was seriously wounded and a non-commissioned officer was also lightly wounded in the incident.”
The army says troops operating in southern Lebanese port city of Ty killed five Hezbollah operatives after identifying them entering a command center belonging to the terror group north of the Israeli controlled security zone. The IDF said ground forces directed an air strike that destroyed the building and eliminated the operatives inside.
Overnight, Israeli surveillance forces also identified two armed suspects approaching the border near the Lebanese village of Yarin. The military said an air force jet struck the men and follow-up strikes were also carried out after movements were detected at the scene. The IDF said additional Hezbollah weapons depots, terror infrastructure, and operatives deemed threats were also targeted during operations in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, air raid sirens sounded repeatedly across northern Israel after drones were launched from the terror group toward Israeli territory. Several suspicious aerial targets were intercepted while other drones lost contact before crossing into Israeli airspace. Troops operating in the Mount Dov area in southern Lebanon located and destroyed a Hezbollah tunnel stretching roughly 100 meters containing four rooms used by Hezbollah operatives.
The Yahalom unit uncovered the tunnel during operations to dismantle infrastructure in the area. The escalation comes as the United States imposed sanctions over several Lebanese figures accused of ties to Hezbollah, including for the first time members of Lebanon security services. Washington says it will continue pressuring Hezbollah and its support networks as part of efforts to force the Iran-backed terror group to disarm.
“And joining us now for more is reserves Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. He’s the former IDF spokesperson to the international media, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy. Jonathan, thank you so much for joining us. Look, there’s a lot we don’t know about this agreement, even if there’s going to be one finally. But we do know a couple of things. One thing is it does push the nuclear issue down the road somewhat, at least perhaps 60 days, maybe beyond that, while moving ahead on uh for example uh easing some restrictions apparently on Iran. So give us first your immediate reaction to at least the reports that are out there about this deal.”
“Yeah. Shalom Khiv. I have to say that, you know, I have to constantly remind myself to be patient and not to despair based on the reports that are coming out because if the deal is close to what’s being reported in the New York Times, CNN, Al Jazeera, and other agencies, it is not a good one. Not for the Iranian people, not for Israel, not for this American president, not for the Gulf States. It is going to be pretty good for the Iranian regime and I would hate for that to happen.”
“Why so?”
“Because we’re looking at a deal that allegedly reportedly will have Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz whereby there’s no definitive end to enrichment on Iranian soil where there’s a question mark regarding the future of the enriched material, no clarity there and where unfortunately there’s the linkage between war between the US Israel and Iran and the war between Israel and Hezbollah, so there are many things not to like from my perspective but I remind myself that the Iranians are spin masters they’re really good at negotiations but that I’ll have to see the actual document and the actual details before forming an opinion And you know Kobi maybe if I want to be optimistic I’ll say that I still have faith in two things. One the American president this American president who has shown to be different than his predecessors. And two in Iranian arrogance and in their unwillingness to yield and to take a deal that would be very good for them by thinking that they can get away with more. So hopefully that is what they will do and then we’ll be in a different situation. But the way it’s looking now, not a pretty picture for the region, the Iranian people, Israel or the US.”
“Look, the there are some reports and again we have to be as you say cautious about him saying Israeli officials are saying uh the president has assured Prime Minister Netanyahu he won’t accept an agreement uh that doesn’t include the ending the nuclear program, removal of the enriched materials. But some are suggesting one of the options may be that that the president uh may instead of renewing American military activity would give a green light to Israel to carry on the war. How feasible is that for Israel to continue on uh against Iran at least targeting its nuclear facility without direct US military uh involvement?”
“Yeah, that’s definitely possible. Israel has the intel capability, the operational capability, and almost all the logistic capability that it needs in order to conduct these operations. Refueling will be an issue, but other than that, Israel has the capacity to do so. And um I wouldn’t be surprised because we have seen President Trump use Israel in a kind of good cop bad cop scenario where Israel is the bad cop and is used as the um portrayed as the aggressor and as the the the side or the party that wants more kinetic action. So I wouldn’t be all too surprised if that really were to happen. It’ll be regrettable, I think, because this is first and foremost an American war that was launched by an American president and that I think should be won by the US and uh to have Israel finish up and do the heavy lifting at the end of it, I think would be really exposing American weakness and not a good sign for the region. Wouldn’t tell a good story about US stamina and steadfastness as an ally. And I think it would send all the wrong messages to Russia and China and other challengers of US hegemony in in in the world. So while it is possible and feasible and I think Israel would eventually go ahead and do it anyhow, I don’t think it’s the right move for the US to do.”
“And finally, whatever the uh however the nuclear issue is resolved, it’s clear at this stage that the agreement will leave the Iranian regime in place, will leave its proxies in place. So, how does it impact on Israel? Maybe now it’s long-term thinking, its long-term strategy moving ahead.”
“Yeah, it’s that’s a very negative outcome. Definitely one that Israelis were not looking for. And of course the Iranian people is being shortchanged on a historic scale here. Let’s remind everybody that the Iranian regime has imposed an internet blackout which is still in power more than two months of internet blackout. We don’t know the what the regime is doing in Iran. We don’t know the level of atrocities and their cruelty and oppression. What we do know is that the Iranian regime is desperate and if they’re given this deal and most importantly unfreezing or or or releasing frozen funds as part of uh some kind of bonus of the deal that is wrong thing that means that the Iranian regime will continue to be able to send weapons and to support instability in the region. It means that they’ll continue to try to oppress the Iranian people up until a stage where the Iranian people may hopefully rise up against them. But I’ll have to agree this is uh not a sign not a good sign. And uh if the Iranian regime gets this deal, I would feel very sorry for the Iranian people.”
“All right, Jonathan Conricus, thank you for joining us again on ILTV.”
“Thank you, Kobi.”
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Israel is rejecting allegations of abuse made by activists detained after last week’s interception of the Global Sumud flotilla attempting to breach the naval blockade of Gaza. The claims including allegations of sexual assault are prompting investigations and calls for sanctions in Europe. But Spanish activists returning to the city of Bilbao were given a bumpy welcome. More on this report.
Pro-Palestinian activists released from Israeli custody claimed they were beaten, tasered, and sexually abused after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters earlier this week. More than 400 activists from dozens of countries were detained and then deported after Israel stopped the convoy of some 50 vessels heading toward Gaza. Israel’s prison service strongly denied the allegations of mistreatment, saying all detainees were treated in accordance with the law and received necessary medical care. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims. Germany and Italy say they are reviewing complaints made by their citizens while some European Union members are reportedly discussing possible sanctions against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir following international criticism over video from a detention facility.
France’s foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced that national security minister Ben-Gvir is immediately banned from all French territory in response to his reprehensible actions toward detained activists from the Gaza flotilla. Meanwhile, Spanish police have clashed with supporters of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla at Bilbao airport after the arrival of the activists deported from Israel. Video from the scene showed police using batons, forcibly restraining people and detaining several supporters who had gathered to welcome six Spanish activists back home. The confrontation began after a relative of one of the activists tried to approach the group in the arrivals hall. Basque police said four people were arrested on charges, including resisting arrest and assaulting officers. Authorities have also opened an internal investigation into the conduct of the police. Israel’s foreign ministry posted video of the incident online demanding an explanation from the Spanish government over what it called the treatment of flotilla anarchists.
An Israeli air strike in northern Gaza has killed at least five Hamas police officers as clashes continue with the IDF confronting armed terrorists on a daily basis amid the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. The strike targeted a Hamas police station in the Al-Tawam area of northern Gaza. Hospital officials said several others were wounded.
Meanwhile, Nikolai Mladenov, the lead envoy for President Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace, told the UN Security Council that Gaza risks becoming permanently divided if the ceasefire collapses. Mladenov warned that more than 2 million Gazans could end up confined to less than half of the territory while Hamas retains military and administrative control. He said Hamas’s refusal to disarm remains the main obstacle towards implementing the ceasefire and cautioned that without a political solution, another generation of Gazans could be left living in tents with no path to reconstruction, security, or a future Palestinian state. Hamas rejected the report, accusing the Board of Peace of justifying Israeli military actions and the continued blockade of Gaza.
Israel says it is pursuing every participant in the October 7th, 2023 Hamas-led attacks with a new report claiming the country has compiled a detailed target list of all those involved in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. ILTV’s Devil Klein reports.
Israeli intelligence has created a list of every Palestinian identified as taking part in the October 7th attacks, including Hamas leaders, operatives, and even civilians who crossed into Israel during the massacre. This according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which says Israel used videos filmed by Hamas operatives themselves, social media footage, intercepted phone calls to identify the thousands of Palestinians involved. Officials told the paper that individuals are only added to the list when there are at least two pieces of evidence linking them to the attacks, which left about 1,200 Israelis murdered and 251 taken hostage. The IDF campaign reportedly began immediately after October 7th and has continued throughout the war, including during the current ceasefire. The Wall Street Journal says hundreds of names have already been crossed off the list through targeted strikes and operations. The report also describes cases where individuals with no formal terror affiliation were targeted after being identified in footage from the attack. Israel has long insisted that those targeted continued to pose an imminent threat to IDF forces or to Israeli civilians. Legal experts quoted in the report said international law allows the targeting of active belligerents, though questions remain over how far such operations can go long after the initial attack. Israeli officials have compared this campaign to the Mossad hunt for those responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre when members of the Palestinian terror group Black September murdered 11 Israeli athletes. Following the attack, Israel launched a secret Mossad operation known as Wrath of God, tracking down those responsible across Europe and the Middle East over a period of years. Suspected planners, operatives, and supporters were targeted in a series of covert assassinations and commando raids in Paris, Rome, Cyprus, and Beirut.
And moving on, global markets are changing and many investors are now looking for more stability and smarter opportunities. And today, we’re joined by Evan Lieberman, the founder and CEO of Wise Money Israel, who helps international clients navigate the Israeli financial landscape. Evan, it’s great to have you back on the show.
“Thanks for having me.”
“Well, listen, this is a time of extreme turbulence in the region, the world, in global markets, but the Israeli markets always show surprising resilience even in in past times when there have been wars and conflicts. What is it about the Israeli markets that make them so resilient?”
“So, it’s a great question. Uh, Israel is actually built on a very strong innovation-based economy. Um and so if we’re talking about leadership in various technologies such as uh cyber security, AI, uh semiconductors, medical technologies, defense, uh uh even quantum computing and water technologies. So it’s built this uh ecosystem that really works well to to solve the world’s problems. The world needs our innovation. The world needs to be uh having issues solved technologically and we’re there. Uh we’re not called the startup nation for nothing. Obviously, we have the most startups, but one in every eight persons in Israel, in fact, works in the high-tech industry. 20% of our GDP comes in from technology and even 60% of our exports. Um, so it’s very much of an ecosystem that has been built over time. Um, and more R&D spend happens here to plow into that innovation year-over-year, more uh than any other nation. 7% of our GDP, our gross domestic product actually is in uh research and development, United States, 3% Europe, too. Um and that creates that extra uh income for the country. Uh the country itself has a very high GDP of course and that’s helping us to continue to be resilient even during uh this this current war. Uh as it wears on actually our GDP has recovered already from October 7th by far. The United States is stagnating at about 2% growth year-over-year. We’ve had about a decade of about 3 and a half% expected to be about 5 and a half% next year. And so the innovation continues on. Uh Israelis are also uh just a very resilient people and even though we go through wars, we come out, we adapt.”
“This time is this time is very special. It’s almost unique given the terms. So what what specifically now or maybe opportunities now are open.”
“So so there are opportunities of course all the time you’re going to have an opportunity to get diversified internationally uh with a different market with a different currency. Uh right now our currency is actually one of the strongest in the world. Um despite what’s happening here, the world investors are giving uh a lot of credence to our the way we’ve navigated this war, navigated this economy. Uh the shekel has gained 21% just against the dollar in the last 12 months.”
“Right.”
“But obviously, sorry to interrupt there. Actually, there is followon that’s likely going to happen in this next few uh quarters to few years with the Abraham Accord follow-ons as a peace dividend. Hopefully with the region making peace with us, we’ll be able to have a lot more trade deals providing them technologies in the Middle East like desalination, uh uh military technology, missile defense, things that are needed in the Middle East. So, while there’s headlines, people are hesitant sometimes to invest in the Middle East here in Israel. But actually for the the balanced and uh investor who who’s looking for what do I look ahead to? What what’s the next opportunity? Actually, Israel is quite a good place now.”
“So, talking practically, someone who’s ready to get started, what is the first step look like and how quickly can a new client realistically begin a strategy a new with your team?”
“So, the first thing is become educated. And so, that’s why we have wisemoneyisrael.com. They go on, they download a free ebook about why invest in Israel, what’s good about the economy here, why would I want to be diversified, what are the companies that are listed here, what’s unique about Israel, what’s unique about our our our ecosystem. Um, after that they’d set up a free consultation with us uh with one of our experts and we’ll walk people through how does Israel fit into your globally diversified portfolio? Are you looking for an aggressive stock portfolio and innovation? Are you looking for diversified across many stocks perhaps even some bonds, some fixed income? Uh what’s your time frame for investing your risk tolerance? So we’ll tailor a portfolio for an individual. Then we’ll have them open an investment account in their name uh with the brokerages that we work with around the world. We have about 34 different nations and so we work with the brokerages in their country. They’re able to finance their uh account through a local transaction in their local currency and then we’ll manage it with our expertise here.”
“All right. It sounds like some great opportunities and a chance for people to really uh take advantage, make some lemonade out of some of the lemons of what we’re dealing with in the region. Evan Lieberman, Wise Money Israel. Thank you so much for joining us on ILTV.”
And a great result for Israeli sailing with two Israeli athletes finishing on the podium at the European wind surfing championships in Portugal. Tamar Steinberg captured the gold medal in the women’s foil class after a dramatic photo finish in the final medal race. Fellow Israeli Shahar Tibi took silver, giving Israel a historic double podium finish at the European Championships. The two Israelis fought off strong competition, including Olympic champion Pilar La Madrid of Spain in a tense race that came down to the final seconds. The gold marked Steinberg’s first ever European championship title following her silver medal at last year’s World Championships. Congratulations.
And let’s take a look now at the weather forecast. Clear skies are expected around most of the country tonight with temperatures reaching lows of 16° C or 62° F. Then tomorrow, we’ll see clear skies alongside steady temperatures seeing highs of 26° C or 80° F.
That’s a wrap of today’s news. Stay informed with the latest news straight from Israel. I’m Kobi. Be well. Thank you so much for watching.
Disclaimer : This content may be created by AI for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.
