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world news Diabierna 6 augustus 2021

Israeli defense minister threatens Iran with military action

(AP) — Israel’s defense against Iran,” Gantz said. an ongoing shadow war be-
minister warned Thurs- “The world needs to take ac- ing waged in Mideast water-
day that his country is tion against Iran now.” ways since 2019 that has seen
prepared to strike Iran, both Iranian and Western-
issuing the threat against From Tehran, Iran’s for- linked ships attacked.
the Islamic Republic after eign ministry spokesman
a fatal drone strike on a oil Saeed Khatibzadeh described The latest provocation oc-
tanker at sea that his na- Gantz’s threat as “another curred earlier this week,
tion blamed on Tehran. brazen violation of Int’l law” when hijackers stormed an
and “malign behavior” that asphalt tanker off the coast
The comments by Benny allegedly stems from Israel’s of the United Arab Emirates
Gantz come as Israel lob- blind support for the West. in the Gulf of Oman, briefly
bies countries for action at seizing the vessel before de-
the United Nations over last He tweeted: “We state this parting on Wednesday. No
week’s attack on the oil tanker clearly: ANY foolish act one claimed responsibility
Mercer Street that killed two against Iran will be met with for the incident, although re-
people. The tanker, struck off a DECISIVE response. Don’t corded radio communication
Oman in the Arabian Sea, is test us.” from the ship shared with nians were doing at this time, 2020 before becoming a team
managed by a firm owned by The Associated Press re- or why they would impede leader.
an Israeli billionaire. On Wednesday, in a letter to vealed one of the crew mem- the transit of this legitimate
the U.N. Security Council, bers saying that armed Irani- commercial vessel.” “We continue to be in contact
The U.S. and the United Iran’s deputy ambassador ans had boarded the Asphalt with Adrian’s family to offer
Kingdom also blamed Iran to the United Nations de- Princess. Iran has denied involvement support at this sad and diffi-
for the attack, but no coun- scribed Israel as “the main in the incident, calling all the cult time,” said John Thomp-
try has offered evidence or source of instability and inse- In response to a request for recent maritime escalations son, Ambrey’s management
intelligence to support the curity in the Middle East and comment, the United States in the region as “completely director.
claim. Iran, which along with beyond for more than seven Central Command, known suspicious.”
its regional militia allies has decades.” as CENTCOM, put the The attacks began a year af-
launched similar drone at- blame squarely on Iran on Last week’s attack on the ter then-President Donald
tacks, has denied being in- “This regime has a long dark Thursday. Mercer Street killed the ves- Trump unilaterally withdrew
volved. record in attacking commer- sel’s Romanian captain as from Iran’s nuclear deal with
cial navigation and civilian “We are troubled by the tem- well as a British crew mem- world powers, which saw
Speaking to the news web- ships,” Zahra Ershadi wrote. porary forcible seizure of the ber who worked for Ambrey, Iran limit its enrichment of
site Ynet, Gantz responded to “In less than two years, this M/V Asphalt Princess by Ira- a maritime security firm. In uranium in exchange for the
whether Israel was prepared regime has attacked over 10 nian gunmen,” said U.S. Air a statement Thursday, Am- lifting of economic sanctions.
to attack Iran with a blunt commercial vessels carrying Force Maj Nicole Ferrara, brey identified the victim as President Joe Biden has said
“yes.” oil and humanitarian goods a CENTCOM spokesman. Adrian Underwood, a former he’s willing to rejoin the ac-
destined to Syria.” “We are looking into the inci- soldier in the British Army cord, but talks over salvaging
“We are at a point where we dent, but do not have an un- who started at the firm as a the deal have stalled in Vi-
need to take military action Ershadi’s comments refer to derstanding of what the Ira- maritime security officer in enna.

Fire rages anew near Athens, evacuations in southern Greece

(AP) — Wildfires rekindled outside Athens A heat wave baking southeast Europe for a second the armed forces would expand their role in fire
and forced more evacuations around south- week has also triggered deadly fires in Turkey and prevention, with ground patrols, drones, and air-
ern Greece Thursday as weather conditions Albania and blazes across the region. craft over areas vulnerable to wildfires.
worsened and firefighters in a round-the-
clock battle stopped the flames just outside North Macedonia’s government on Thursday de- Outside Athens, a forest fire that broke out Tues-
the birthplace of the ancient Olympics. clared the country in a state of crisis for the next 30 day and damaged or destroyed scores of homes
days due to wildfires. rekindled, triggering fresh evacuations in the area
As additional support arrived from Greece’s mili- and sending thick smoke over the capital.
tary and European Union countries, water-drop- The EU Commissioner for the environment,
ping planes and helicopters swooped over blazes Virginijus Sinkevicius, said the fires and extreme The EU Atmosphere Monitoring Service said
near the capital, on the island of Evia and near An- weather globally over the summer were a clear sig- smoke plumes from the region’s wildfires were
cient Olympia to the south. nal for the need to address climate change. clearly visible in satellite images, adding that the
estimated intensity of the wildfires in Turkey was
“The country is facing an unprecedented envi- “We are fighting some of the worst wildfires we’ve at the highest level since records started in 2003.
ronmental crisis, with multiple large fires,” Prime seen in decades. But this summer’s floods, heat-
Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after visiting the waves and forest fires can become our new nor- On the island of Evia, a major fire that broke out
site where the Olympics were held in antiquity ev- mality,” he wrote in a tweet. Tuesday was ravaging forests, leading to the evacu-
ery four years from 776 B.C. for more than a mil- ation of villages. More than 160 firefighters, three
lennium. More than a dozen villages were evacu- “We must ask ourselves: Is this the world we want planes and three helicopters, as well as five ground
ated in the area. to live in? We need immediate actions for nature teams and 57 vehicles, were deployed.
before it’s too late.”
The fires have not caused any deaths or serious in-
The EU bolstered assistance to fire-stricken coun- juries. But Greek scientists said the total destruc-
tries, sending 40 French firefighters and eight tons tion in just three days this month in Greece exceed-
of material to help Greece. ed 50% of the average area burned in the country in
previous years. An Athens Observatory report said
Greece’s Civil Protection Agency said the risk of an estimated 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) went up
fires across southern Greece would increase fur- in smoke between Sunday and Wednesday, com-
ther Friday, despite an expected slight dip in tem- pared to 10,400 hectares in the whole of last year.
peratures that reached 45 C (113 F) earlier this
week. The heat wave was described as Greece’s The causes of the Greek wildfires were unclear, but
worst since 1987. authorities say human error and carelessness are
most frequently to blame.
Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said