KOENIG

No, Mr. President, Gaza’s genocidal terrorists don’t wink at their hostages or show any ‘sign of love,’ and Iran’s nuclear ambitions can’t be ‘easily’ solved in talks led by an overextended non-expert

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Iran’s uranium enrichment as part of its nuclear program was “non-negotiable,” after US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said the processing program must be dismantled as part of any deal between the sides.

“Iran’s enrichment is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable,” Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Witkoff’s comments Tuesday were themselves a reversal of those he made a day earlier, contrary to Israel’s position, that Washington would be satisfied with a cap on Iranian nuclear enrichment and would not require the dismantling of its nuclear facilities.

The Trump administration has informed Israel that it will begin a phased withdrawal of US troops from Syria within two months, the Ynet news outlet reports.

A senior Israeli official tells the outlet that Jerusalem believes the move will result only in a partial withdrawal but is still working with American counterparts to convince them to keep troops in Syria.

Israel predicts that a US withdrawal will increase Turkey’s “appetite” to control Syria, and as such tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara would increase if America leaves, says the official.

Asked about US talks with Iran on its nuclear program, US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he expects a decision to be made soon, ahead of a second round of talks set to take place this Saturday in Rome.

“We’ll be making a decision on Iran very quickly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way from Florida back to the White House.

His comments came a day after talks in Oman, which included a conversation between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the highest-level Iran-US negotiations since the collapse of the 2015 nuclear accord.

The renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran will concentrate on capping uranium enrichment and enforcing stringent verification measures to block Tehran’s path to nuclear weapons, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on Monday.

On Tuesday, Witkoff appeared to present a tougher stance, insisting Iran halt and “eliminate” its enrichment of uranium under any deal.

“The president’s message of peace through strength … resonates throughout the world,” Witkoff told Fox News. “They [the Iranians] cannot have a bomb. … The conversation with the Iranians will be much about two critical points: enrichment, … and ultimately verification on weaponization.”

Hamas has rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal, a senior Palestinian official confirmed Tuesday, citing the plan’s failure to meet core demands, including a permanent end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The Israeli proposal, reportedly calling for a six-week ceasefire, included a demand for Hamas to disarm in exchange for the phased release of hostages.

Israel has the right to defend itself, but its current actions go beyond proportionate self-defense, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, tells reporters.

Earlier today, Kallas said Europe was stepping up its support for the Palestinians, with a plan to provide €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) until 2027 to “help stabilize the West Bank and Gaza.”

“The EU will invest in essential infrastructure while delivering humanitarian aid and support for refugees, she said on X.

Washington and Tehran have resumed indirect discussions aimed at reviving nuclear diplomacy.

Saturday’s renewed engagement, facilitated by the Sultanate of Oman in Muscat, was the first such exchange since Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency. Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed that U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi briefly met in person—marking the first direct interaction between American and Iranian officials at this level since the Obama era.

Both parties described the talks as “productive,” with a follow-up meeting already set for April 19 in Rome.

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday attacked a Hamas command-and-control center in the area of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, where numerous terrorists were planning to carry out attacks, according to the military.

Steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance.

Hours earlier, the IDF attacked a Hamas command center in Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. The compound was used to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, said the army. Ahead of the operation, the IDF issued warnings in the area to prevent collateral damage.

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session on Thursday to address Israeli airstrikes in Syria, with Jerusalem’s deputy envoy insisting that the attacks targeting jihadi infrastructure are meant to avert the next Oct. 7, 2023-type massacre.

“These groups in southern Syria are working to establish military infrastructure in areas just kilometers from Israeli communities,” Jonathan Miller told the council. “That infrastructure includes rocket launches, explosives and underground facilities all designed to threaten the lives of innocent civilians.”

“Israel cannot and will not allow this to happen. We have been clear and consistent. This is our policy,” the Israeli diplomat said. “We will do whatever is necessary for however long it takes to prevent another Oct. 7,” referring to the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel that left 1,200 dead and 251 others taken hostage into Gaza.

Passover is celebrated by Jews every year, commemorating the anniversary of our miraculous Exodus from Egyptian slavery, as told in the Bible.

On the first two nights of Passover (just the first night in Israel), we hold a Seder. After candles have been lit, we enjoy a ritual-rich 15-step feast, which centers around telling the story of the Exodus. Some highlights include: Drinking four cups of wine, dipping veggies into saltwater, children kicking off the storytelling by asking the Four Questions (Mah Nishtanah), eating matzah (a cracker-like food, which reminds us that when our ancestors left Egypt they had no time to allow their bread to rise) and bitter herbs, and singing late into the night.

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met briefly with Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shortly after their two countries held their first round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program in Oman and agreed to hold a second round next week.

The first known meeting between US and Iranian officials in years appeared to be a way for both sides to save face after US President Donald Trump announced at the beginning of the week that the talks would be direct, while Araghchi insisted that they would be indirect.

Regardless, both the over two-hour-long session mediated by Oman — with the US and Iran delegations in separate rooms — and the subsequent minutes-long conversation between Witkoff and Araghchi represented a potentially major tipping point in ties between the US and Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has granted Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "full authority" to conduct the negotiations - an unusual move signaling the gravity of the moment. On the American side, the talks will be led by Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. "The duration of the talks will depend on the seriousness and sincerity of the American intentions," a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

The divide between the two sides remains deep: Trump is demanding a direct face-to-face meeting, while Iran prefers indirect channels. Tehran has also set clear boundaries, insisting the negotiations focus solely on the nuclear issue and flatly rejecting any discussion of its missile program or defense capabilities.

Western experts warn that Iran's nuclear program has made significant strides since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran is now enriching uranium to a 60% purity level, a critical threshold dangerously close to weapons-grade, despite Tehran's repeated claims that its nuclear ambitions are purely civilian.

In a rare intervention, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was urged by his top officials to allow negotiations with the United States on the regime’s nuclear program or risk the fall of the Islamic Republic, The New York Times reported Friday.

The US and Iran are set to meet in Oman on Saturday for talks over Tehran’s rogue nuclear program.

According to The New York Times report, which cited two senior Iranian officials who are familiar with the details, Khamenei held a meeting last month attended by heads of the judiciary and parliament. Those officials, in what the sources described as an unusual, coordinated effort, pressured Khamenei into accepting talks with Washington, even direct ones.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad chief David Barnea at the premier’s office in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office announced. 

No readout of the meeting was provided by Jerusalem or the CIA.

Ratcliffe’s first official visit to the Jewish state since taking office came amid U.S. attempts to revive negotiations on a nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, as well as with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said progress was being made regarding the return of the hostages being held in Gaza and that he was dealing with both Israel and Hamas, but he gave no other details about the talks.

“We’re getting close to getting them back,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting,

“A lot came back. A lot of people are very grateful. Some came back in pretty bad shape. They’re okay. I think they’re going to be scarred mentally for a long time because if you sit down and talk to them, as I have, what they went through is incredible,” he said

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Israel would take a leading role in a potential military strike on Iran along with the US if upcoming nuclear talks don’t succeed.

The remark came two days after Trump appeared to blindside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by announcing alongside him at the White House that direct US-Iran talks on curbing Tehran’s nuclear program would take place this coming Saturday, a timing that Netanyahu’s cabinet secretary said Wednesday had taken Jerusalem by surprise.

Asked by reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether he would use military means against Iran if the latter doesn’t agree to a nuclear deal, Trump responded: “If it requires military, we’re going to have military.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty confirmed Thursday morning that Cairo has recently submitted a proposal for a hostage deal and ceasefire agreement, which is currently under consultation.

"We hope all relevant parties will accept this proposal so we can return to calm, stop the war on Gaza, and enable aid access for Gaza residents," Abdelatty said in an interview broadcast Wednesday night on the Egyptian channel Al-Ghad. Meanwhile, Egyptian officials say they are waiting for a ceasefire to set a date for a conference on the rehabilitation plan.

The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, to be U.S. ambassador to Israel by a vote of 53-46.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the lone Democrat to back Huckabee, who has mounted two presidential campaigns since leaving office, and has been a TV and radio host since 2008. Every Republican voted to confirm Huckabee except for Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who did not vote.

Ahead of the vote, Republicans said that Huckabee would be a more pro-Israel diplomat than his predecessors in the Biden administration.

IDF soldiers are seen in the Morag Corridor area of the southern Gaza Strip, between Rafah and Khan Younis, April 9, 2025. (photo: Emanuel Fabian, Times of Israel)

Little to no fighting has taken place in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli military resumed its offensive on the Hamas terror group several weeks ago.

The Israel Defense Forces has advanced in the Strip’s south, capturing the so-called Morag Corridor, located between the Palestinian cities of Rafah and Khan Younis; vastly expanded its buffer zone along the Gaza border; carried out over 1,000 airstrikes on Hamas targets, eliminating more than 40 senior officials and mid-level commanders; and located several new tunnels.

The current offensive is aimed at “increasing the pressure on Hamas for the sake of releasing the hostages” and preparing the ground for Israel’s plan to “defeat Hamas,” Defense Minister Israel Katz told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to the Morag Corridor, an area where the IDF has previously not operated.

Three days before the scheduled start of talks between the Iranian regime and representatives of US President Donald Trump in Oman, the gaps between the two sides regarding both the format of the talks and the subjects to be discussed appear especially wide. The primary point of contention is how the talks will be conducted. According to a senior American official quoted by The Washington Post, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff insists that the talks must be held directly or not at all. The report adds that Witkoff is even prepared to travel to Tehran to conduct the negotiations if invited.

Iran has sent long-range missiles to its proxies in Iraq for the first time, constituting a major escalation against the US and Israel, according to the British paper The Times. This comes as US President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure by threatening military action against the Islamic Republic, all the while advocating for negotiations to find a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear program. ... the missiles were transferred last week.