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Pesident Donald Trump brushed aside Iran’s declaration that it no longer considers itself bound by its memorandum of understanding with the United States, responding bluntly when asked about the move by NewsNation: “I couldn’t care less.”

Speaking during the interview, Trump also addressed the deaths of two American service members in Jordan, calling the loss “a very sad thing.”

He honored the fallen troops, saying they died “in service of our country,” while emphasizing that the United States remains committed to one overriding goal: “never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump’s remarks came after Iranian state television aired comments attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who announced that Tehran would no longer comply with the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding. Khamenei also dismissed the agreement by declaring that Trump’s signature is “worthless and invalid.”

Iran’s announcement followed a seventh consecutive night of U.S. military strikes against Iranian targets. The attacks come as Iran continues violating the ceasefire agreement with the United States while carrying out assaults on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite the ongoing military campaign, Trump has continued to express confidence that Iran ultimately wants to negotiate with his administration. At the same time, he has warned that American strikes will intensify and expand to additional critical infrastructure if Tehran refuses to enter meaningful negotiations.

Meanwhile, Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a fresh warning on Friday, threatening a dramatic escalation if U.S. operations continue.

In an interview with Iran’s state-run IRIB television, Rezaei said that if American attacks persist for another two or three days, Iran will move into an “offensive and destructive” phase.

Rezaei also declared that Iran has abandoned its previous strategy of “both war and negotiation.”

He further warned that continued U.S. military action would prompt Iran to expand its response beyond limited retaliation, threatening that American military bases and personnel would no longer be secure anywhere within established political borders.

{Matzav.com}

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun left Beirut yesterday for Washington, where he is expected to hold key meetings with President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials in an effort to bolster the ceasefire with Israel and advance negotiations over Israel’s military presence in southern Lebanon.

The visit follows a fresh round of diplomatic discussions involving Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Italy and marks the first trip by a Lebanese president to the White House since Michel Sleiman met with then-President Barack Obama in 2009.

Officials from Lebanon’s presidency said Aoun’s meetings in Washington will focus on talks “with several American officials on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire,” while also seeking “the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies”.

After arriving in the United States, the Lebanese presidency announced that Aoun is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday before sitting down with Trump on Tuesday.

The diplomatic effort comes as the United States continues to broker indirect negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, which do not maintain formal diplomatic relations. The talks, launched in April, are aimed at reaching a lasting resolution to the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization.

On June 26, negotiators meeting in Washington reached a preliminary framework that calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon, after which the Lebanese military would deploy in the area, beginning with two designated pilot zones.

Implementation of the agreement, however, remains dependent on the disarmament of Hezbollah. The terrorist group has flatly rejected both the proposed framework and the negotiations surrounding it.

A U.S. official said that during follow-up meetings held this week in Rome, Israeli and Lebanese negotiators “agreed on the structure and guidelines” needed to move forward with establishing the pilot zones.

Meanwhile, a Lebanese military official told AFP that the Lebanese army has already begun increasing troop deployments and patrols in villages near areas where Israeli forces are still operating, including the village of Froun in the Bint Jbeil district, in preparation for a possible transition.

At the same time, Hezbollah organized a public rally yesterday in the coastal city of Tyre to demonstrate its continued opposition to the diplomatic process.

Although Aoun has agreed to pursue indirect negotiations with Israel, he has repeatedly rejected the possibility of a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, an idea that has been floated by Trump.

The Lebanese president has insisted that ending the fighting must take precedence over any direct political engagement between the two countries.

Earlier this month, Aoun again dismissed the possibility of meeting Netanyahu, declaring, “If we were to find ourselves in the same room, I would immediately leave.”

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the sudden petirah of Rav Eliyahu Yisroel Abba Shaul zt”l, a 59-year-old resident of Bnei Brak, who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest while on a family outing in Ramat Gan.

Rav Abba Shaul was spending time with members of his family at a park late last night when he suddenly became separated from the group shortly before midnight. After relatives were unable to locate him, a missing-person report was filed, prompting an extensive search.

Volunteers from the ZAKA Tel Aviv Missing Persons Unit were immediately dispatched and established a command center after receiving indications that he had last been seen in the Ramat Gan area.

A short time later, search teams located Rav Abba Shaul unconscious in Wadi Kofar Park (Gan Yedidya) on Hatfutzot Street in Ramat Gan. ZAKA volunteers, many of whom also serve as emergency medical responders, examined him together with arriving medical personnel. Sadly, they were forced to pronounce him dead at the scene. Authorities said he had apparently suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed.

Following the declaration of death, members of ZAKA Tel Aviv’s Chesed Shel Emes unit responded to care for the deceased with dignity while assisting Israel Police and forensic investigators. His body was transferred to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for further examination, in accordance with standard procedure.

Nati Czyszynski and Shmuel Ra’ani, overnight coordinators and volunteers with the ZAKA Tel Aviv Missing Persons Unit, described the search effort.

“Immediately upon receiving the report, we headed to the scene together with additional volunteers,” they said. “We understood that this was a sensitive situation in which every minute could be be critical. Sadly, during the search we located the avreich without signs of life.”

ZAKA volunteers Yossi Teitelbaum and Yossi Karkukli, who handled the scene, added, “As soon as death was confirmed, we worked with the utmost sensitivity and respect for the deceased. Together with the police and forensic teams, we carefully attended to every detail to ensure that the niftar would be brought to burial with dignity.”

Rav Abba Shaul was a son of Rav Mordechai Abba Shaul of Yerushalauyim, who served for many years as the librarian of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva in the Geulah neighborhood of Yerushalayim. He was a nephew of Chacham Ben Zion Abba Shaul zt”l, the renowned Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef and author of Or L’Tzion.

Rav Abba Shaul learned in the Beis Shlomo kollel headed by Rav Shemesh in Tel Aviv.

He is survived by nine children.

Tehei nishmaso tzerurah b’tzror hachaim.

{Matzav.com}

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