Iran Israel Updates Monday August 17

- Jared Kushner to Fox News: “We could see progress in Gaza within a month, hopefully we'll start removing some of the weapons, and hopefully we'll close some of the tunnels in the next three months"

- Trump: The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

- Trump on the upcoming elections in Israel: I think it's best for me not to get involved in it, but I might enforse someone.

- Trump said the Israelis should not be striking in Gaza because he says Hamas has agreed to lay down their weapons after that meeting yesterday in Egypt between senior Hamas leadership and Jared Kushner, along with the American mediators on the ground.

- Netanyahu: Gaza reconstruction  will not  begin until Hamas is disarmed. The Prime Minister’s Office says Israel and the Board of Peace agreed to establish a working group focused on the prompt disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza, to be completed before reconstruction begins. A second working group will address sanitation, clean water and other public-health issues affecting both Gaza and Israel.

- US-Iran MoU expires with no breakthroughs between Washington, Tehran. An Iranian official has claimed that no talks of an extension took place, that the United States violated the interim agreement just 48 hours after it was reached, and that it later withdrew from it.

- Trump: “There is a back channel with the IRGC. These are the hard-line officials inside of Iran, and the United States and officials in Washington are speaking directly with IRGC officials in Iran.” He said there is no timeline, so the 60-day window expiring today is largely irrelevant to the president's thinking on Iran. Again, he indicated the United States has a lot of mid-level weapons to use if they're needed in the future."

- Trump to Fox News: "Iran should raise a white flag and surrender. I have no timetable, I'm in no hurry." The president added that the midterm elections do not affect his decisions regarding Iran

- Iran reveals an “understanding” has been reached with Oman on a new Strait of Hormuz transit route.

-Senior Iranian official to Reuters: Tehran has decided to transition from a defensive policy to a full-fledged offensive policy. Iran has set a deadline of a few weeks to fully implement the memorandum of understanding with the United States.

- Israel officials are reporting that Netanyahu criticized Kushner for his meeting with Hamas leaders and emphasized that the security operations in Gaza will continue. After the meeting, Kushner and Mladenov met with President Herzog. According to the political source, the agreements reached stipulate: No reconstruction will be carried out in the Gaza Strip as a whole without the complete disarmament of Hamas; The first step towards disarming the Strip is that Hamas will hand over all its weapons for destruction under supervision; Maintaining the freedom of operation of the IDF and continuing the policy of preventative measures; Sanitation operations will be carried out in Gaza to prevent the spread of epidemics.

- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Ending 60-Day Ceasefire with the United States: “There is no clause in the text of the Memorandum of Understanding titled "60-Day Deadline." The Islamic Republic of Iran never formulates its policy under pressure, ultimatums, or time constraints. What was stipulated in the memorandum was a mere 60-day period for discussions on two issues: "Removal of Sanctions" and "The Nuclear Issue." With the possibility of extending this period. Due to the blatant and widespread violation of the June 18 Memorandum of Understanding by the United States, just a few weeks after its signing, the talks did not even begin. As a result, the issue of the 60-day deadline has completely lost its meaning."