US seeks de-escalation as Israel moots Lebanon ground invasion

“In this battle, the (Israeli) enemy is equipped with the most advanced resources, and the United States stands behind it,” Khamenei said Wednesday, in his first substantive reaction since Israel began days of crushing attacks against Hezbollah that have killed hundreds and injured thousands.

“The US claim that it’s unaware of Israel's actions and not involved in the matter is untrue.”

The US government has sought to distance itself from several unclaimed attacks against Iran and its allied armed groups in recent months which were almost certainly Israeli operations.

It did so after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on 31 July, and when Hezbollah’s pagers and other communication devices exploded last week, maiming and blinding hundreds of Hezbollah members and many civilians.

Khamenei’s accusation against the Joe Biden administration comes as Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian ends his three-day US trip following his debut address to the UN General Assembly, in which he tried to strike a less hostile tone towards the West.

On Wednesday, Pezeshkian said in an interview with Al Jazeera that his administration is open to talks with those involved in the 2015 nuclear deal, but added that the US was not showing sufficient good will to restart talks.

“We have no issue with dialogue with the United States, but it has not fulfilled its commitments," Al Jazeera quoted Pezeshkian saying Wednesday.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon accused Iran’s new president of deceiving the world with his UN speech. “(Pezeshkian) is lying and unfortunately some people are buying it," he told Iran International on Wednesday.

Under Iran's theocratic system, Khamenei has the final say over matters of foreign policy, especially over relations with the United States. The Supreme Leader, who has ruled over Iran for 35 years, has championed confronting the American “Great Satan” and has led Iran toward ever-closer ties with Russia.

In his speech Wednesday, Khamenei dismissed critics inside the country who claim Iran under his leadership has become isolated from the world, emphasizing its connections with countries representing half of the global population.

“Some from within say that the Islamic Republic is at odds with the world, that it’s not on speaking terms with the world. This is untrue. Today, we are in contact and interact with countries where half of the world's population lives,” Khamenei said, in what appears to be a reference to Iran’s good relations with China and Russia.

But in a sign of persistent Western objections to Iranian policy, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday condemned the recent transfer of Iranian-made ballistic missiles to Russia, calling it a substantial escalation following the provision of Iranian drones used in Ukraine.

"If I were president, I'd inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we're going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens, and there'd be no more threats," Trump told supporters at a rally in in North Carolina.

"But right now we don't have that leadership or necessary leaders," the former president added.

Trump earlier said that the Islamic Republic was seeking to kill him and that his security detail had been increased as his campaign said it was briefed on the threats by US security officials.

“Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again," the former President said on X.

"I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before," he added. "An attack on a former President is a Death Wish for the attacker!"

A spokesperson from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence acknowledged the briefing on Tuesday but declined to address any specifics.

Authorities in Iran did not immediately comment on the situation.

Trump's campaign said the Iranian threats were part of an effort to undermine the United States, Iran's main antagonist since its Islamic Revolution in 1979.

"President Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States," it said in a statement.

The campaign said intelligence officials conveyed that Iranian threats have "heightened in the past few months", without elaborating.

Iran has issued repeated threats of retribution against those who were involved in the 2020 targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani, Iran's top military and intelligence operative in the Middle East.

Earlier this month, a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged plot to assassinate an unnamed American politician in retaliation for Soleimani's killing.

The defendant named Trump as a potential target but had not conceived the scheme as a plan to assassinate the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Federal authorities are separately investigating an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course in mid-September and a July 13 shooting of the Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania. There has been no indication of Iranian involvement in either of the alleged attempts.

US government agencies said last week Iranian hackers sent emails containing stolen material from the Republican former president's campaign to people involved in Democratic President Joe Biden's then re-election campaign, as part of an alleged broader effort by Tehran to influence the US election.

Biden stepped aside as a candidate in late July and was replaced by Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who faces Trump in a tight race for the Nov. 5 US elections.

In August, the United States accused Iran of launching cyber operations against the campaigns of both US presidential candidates. Iran denied the allegations.

Ambassador Danny Danon told Iran International that Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian talks like's a moderate, speaks "nice in New York" but then sends "billions" to proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

On Monday, Pezeshkian told reporters during a visit to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting that Iran does not seek a wider war in the Middle East.

“We don’t want war. ... We want to live in peace,” Pezeshkian told reporters.

During his first address to the UNGA the following day, Iran's new president took aim at Israel, blaming the Jewish state for instability in the Mideast. He called for an immediate ceasefire and blamed Israel for assassinating "scientists, diplomats and guests" on Iranian soil.

Pezeshkian did not name Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was killed in Tehran on July 31. Haniyeh was in Iran at the time for the inauguration of Pezeshkian.

Danon called Pezeshkian "a dangerous man."

"I think that he knows how to play the game. And he played the game with the media, with the diplomats here. But when you look at the actions of the regime, the human rights abuses in Iran, the proxies that attack Israel and other forces of instability, you realize it's a dangerous regime. He's a dangerous man," said Danon.

Israel's UN Ambassador blamed the Islamic Republic of Iran for the conflict in Lebanon.

Danon said there are no territorial, economic or geopolitical disputes between Israel and Lebanon and that Iran-backed Hezbollah is the only force that has led to fighting between the two neighbors.

Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles into Israel early Wednesday, including a missile aimed at Tel Aviv that was the militant group's deepest strike yet. That marked a further escalation after Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed hundreds of people.

"The Lebanese people are suffering because the regime of Teheran that are using Lebanon as a launching pad against Israel."

"Ask yourself why we have a conflict now between Hezbollah and Israel. What is the reasoning of the conflict? We have no dispute over territory, no dispute over resources. It's only because the Iranian regime wanted to support Hamas and they ordered Hezbollah to support Hamas. And the people of Lebanon and Israel are suffering because of that," said Danon.

Tuesday morning at the UNGA, US President Joe Biden urged for calm. He said full-scale war is not in anyone's interest. He added that if even the situation escalates a diplomatic solution is still possible.

During Danon's interview with Iran International, he thanked the US for their support but said they need to do more to help Israel and urged nations to do more when diplomacy fails. In his view, Iran is not capable of engaging in a diplomatic solution.

When asked what the next steps are in Lebanon, he said Israel will continue to push back until Hezbollah is farther away from the border and residents can move back to their homes in North of Israel. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced on both sides of the border.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron met on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly summit. Macron urged Pezeshkian to use his influence with Hezbollah to deescalate tensions.

The UN Security Council said it would meet on Wednesday evening to discuss the conflict.

“Hezbollah’s organizational and human strength far surpasses these notions. Their power, capabilities, and resilience are vastly superior to being significantly undermined by these martyrdoms,” Khamenei said on Wednesday.

“Undoubtedly, the loss of an individual, particularly a commander with a distinguished record of jihad in the path of God, is a significant blow. There is no question about that. Yet, despite these losses, they have prevailed thus far,” he added.

The Iranian leader's speech comes amid escalating regional tensions, as Tehran's key proxy group faces an intensifying Israeli offensive. Since Monday, Israeli military operations in Lebanon have resulted in 569 fatalities and over 1,800 injuries, including the assassination of multiple top commanders over the weekend.

In another part of his remarks, Khamenei likened the operations of Lebanese and Palestinian forces against Israel to Iran’s own struggle during the eight-year war with Iraq. He reaffirmed the “religious and undeniable duty” to return Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque to their rightful owners.

Khamenei further asserted, "The Palestinian and Lebanese resistance will ultimately prevail," accusing Israel of targeting civilians out of frustration with its inability to defeat its adversaries.

Since Hezbollah’s founding in 1982, Iran has remained its steadfast ally. Khamenei attributed the recent escalation in Lebanon to US involvement following Israeli strikes that destroyed communication equipment provided to Hezbollah.

Despite Washington’s claims of ignorance regarding Israel’s plans, Khamenei insisted, "The US is both aware and complicit," adding that President Biden’s administration "requires a victory for the Zionist regime" ahead of the upcoming November presidential election.

“This is a great vacation for them, believe me. They love this—they can get out of Iran, relax, have a great meal, and see things they couldn't see in Iran. So, this is an excuse to get out,” Barry Rosen, senior advisor at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Iran International.

Staying at the Millennium Hilton, the visit is costing over $1,000 per night for each member of Masoud Pezeshkian's 40-person delegation, including his family, Rosen remarked that "the larger the delegation, the better time they have."

He further suggested that the group seems detached from the ongoing crises in Iran, where "the economy's in shambles, there's a water crisis, an electricity crisis, every possible crisis, and most of all, a human rights crisis."

Criticizing the issuance of visas for Pezeshkian and his delegation, Rosen recalled a previous instance when he had successfully opposed the appointment of a UN ambassador, saying, "Years ago, I complained against the attempt to bring in a UN ambassador by the name of Aboutalebi, and he was stopped."

However, Rosen acknowledged that diplomatic protocol is difficult to challenge, stating that while the delegation is technically present "legally," he personally does not view them as such.

In 2014, the White House refused to issue a US visa to Iran's nominee for UN ambassador, Hamid Aboutalebi, due to his involvement in the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran, during which Barry Rosen and dozens of others were taken hostage.

The decision effectively barred Aboutalebi from assuming his position at the United Nations in New York, the official linked to the student group that orchestrated the embassy takeover.

On November 4, 1979, a group of radical students loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, seizing American hostages for 444 days. Taking place in the chaotic aftermath of Iran's Islamic Revolution and the collapse of the Pahlavi monarchy, the crisis deeply strained US-Iranian relations, leaving a lasting impact for years to come.

Recalling the day of the hostage crisis, Rosen said, "We were taken hostage around 10 o'clock in the morning. It was raining, and before I knew it, several hundred people had scaled the walls and burst into my office. They told me, 'You're a member of the nest of spies.'"

To this day, the Islamic Republic refers to the former US embassy in Iran, now defunct, as the "nest of spies." He went on to describe the ordeal: "They put me in handcuffs, threw me into the kitchen of the ambassador's residence, and from that point, I was interrogated, beaten, and tied up.

"As I lay on the floor, I heard Imam Khomeini say that taking Americans as hostages was the right thing to do. At that moment, I realized I was in serious trouble for a long time."

Explaining that his initial trip to Iran was as part of the Peace Corps, a US government program that trains and deploys volunteers for international development assistance, Rosen recounted how he later became a press attaché, working alongside American Ambassador William H. Sullivan. His role was to inform both Iranian journalists and the international press about the events unfolding during the Iranian Revolution.

Reflecting on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, which sparked months of protests across Iran in 2022, Rosen emphasized the resilience of Iranian women, calling them "the valiant heroes of Iran." He remarked on the severe punishment that women have endured over the past two years.

"There are so many people still going through the jails, being punished, with death penalties being carried out and hangings happening all over the place," Rosen added. "This regime has a lot to answer for."