Iran's Revolutionary Guard urged Americans in a message ahead of U.S. midterm elections to take to the streets and rally against Donald Trump, claiming the U.S. president's war in the Middle East has failed.
The Guard's spokesman said such street protests should denounce what he called the U.S. government’s war-mongering policies. He said Americans should "revise their decision” about their leaders.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, settlers rioted, throwing rocks, blocking roads and setting Palestinian property on fire to prevent a Palestinian man escorted by the Israeli military from returning to his home in the village of Jalud.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Tuesday. Full coverage is available here.
An Iranian spokesman advises Americans to reconsider their leaders
Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for the Revolutionary Guard, held a news conference in Tehran, Iran's capital, on Tuesday and read from what he said was a “letter to the American people.”
Reading from the prepared text, he said that the only way for the war to end is for Washington to admit defeat and leave. The message was apparently meant for the U.S. public just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections for the U.S. Senate and Congress — a vote in which Trump’s Republican Party faces fierce headwinds as it looks to maintain control of Congress.
Later, in remarks to The Associated Press, Mohebbi urged Americans to take to the streets and protest Trump's policies.
He accused the United States of using Iran’s nuclear program as a ruse to “plunder Iran’s wealth” and to turn the country “back into a colony.” The U.S. military action and economic sanctions would not get Tehran to submit.
Meanwhile, Iran’s currency fell to a new record low Tuesday, with traders in Tehran exchanging more than 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar, a sign of how the conflict has further eroded Iran's economy.
The decline came after the rial hit its previous record low of 2.2 million to the dollar on Sept. 2. The currency has repeatedly reached new lows since the war began in February.
Settlers block a Palestinian man from returning to his West Bank home
Over a hundred Israeli settlers scuffled with Israeli soldiers who were trying to escort a Palestinian man to his home in the West Bank village of Jalud.
The homeowner, Mahmoud Tubasi, told the AP that the soldiers initially brought him to his home but that rioting settlers forced him to leave with his family in a military vehicle. He said he still can't access the house, which settlers have besieged for two months.
Israel’s military acknowledged that the overnight mission to return the family “was not completed” and that three officers were injured by settlers who threw rocks, blocked roads and set Palestinian property on fire.
Israeli police said they arrested three settlers suspected of participating in the riot, which was condemned by Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gidon Saar and President Isaac Herzog.
The Israeli military has struggled to quell the latest wave of settler violence. Rights groups have accused the military of colluding with the settlers.
Israel says strike kills Hamas commander
An Israeli strike on an apartment west of Gaza City killed two people, including a Hamas commander who the Israeli military said was involved in plotting attacks and recruiting new members for the militant group.
Shifa Hospital officials said Tuesday the strike also wounded five others.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the overnight strike targeted Izz al-Din Bik, a commander in the Hamas militant group’s northern Gaza brigade. Hamas did not immediately confirm his death.
More than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which maintains detailed records that are generally seen as reliable. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of the fatalities.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
