He might be acting in the dark, away from the public eye, but Yossi Cohen, the Jewish state's number one spy, has attracted the public's attention, and when his tenure is over, in June 2021, he might become the top contender to lead the country, Israeli media speculates.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group shelled settlements in the Syrian provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, and Latakia, head of the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation Alexander Shcherbitsky said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The UN Security Council did not support a Russian-drafted resolution that would have authorized the delivery of humanitarian aid into northwest Syria through one checkpoint in Turkey for half a year, a diplomatic source at the United Nations told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as Al-Nusra Front*) plan staging provocations in Syria's Idlib, with an aim to accuse Damascus again of using chemical weapons, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's Centre for Syria Reconciliation said on Wednesday.

Israel has reportedly asked the US Department of Defense to speed up delivery of two KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft, even though the deal is not yet complete. The request comes as rumors swirl that Jerusalem, which has boasted of its air force’s long strike range, was behind a recent explosion in Iran.

Previously, the Hezbollah chief called on the Lebanese political and militant movement to join forces with Hamas in Gaza to “confront” Israel’s “aggression against the Palestinian people” amid Tel Aviv’s plans to swallow up much of the West Bank.

CAIRO (Sputnik) – The Shia Houthi rebels have suffered significant losses in an airstrike launched by the Saudi-led coalition on Yemen’s Houthi-held central province of Sanaa, the press service of the Yemeni Armed Forces said.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Russia will introduce a UN Security Council resolution to extend the cross-border aid deliveries mechanism in Syria for six months through one checkpoint at Bab al-Hawa, the Russian Mission said in a statement.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - The Israeli Health Ministry's director for public health services Siegal Sadetzki announced on Tuesday she would step down over criticism of the government's way of handling the coronavirus outbreak amid a sharp increase in new cases.

The Israeli government is trying to stop commercial satellite photography companies from disseminating high-resolution images of the country over fears Hezbollah or Hamas could use them to more accurately plot attacks.

The US beefed up its presence in oil and gas-rich northeastern Syria in October 2019, after Turkey launched an abortive invasion of the Arab Republic’s Kurdish-controlled northern territories. After that, the US moved troops away from the border toward the region’s oil infrastructure to prevent the Damascus government from restoring control.

The report comes amid media speculation that Israel may have been involved in the 2 July blast at Iran's Natanz nuclear power plant. Defence Minister Benny Gantz appeared to deny the claims on Sunday, saying “not every event that happens in Iran is connected to us”.

The explosion follows a string of similar incidents across the country in recent days, including a gas explosion at a Tehran clinic on 30 June which killed at least 19 people, an explosion at a nuclear enrichment facility in central Iran on 2 July, and a fire at a power station in southwestern Iran on 4 July.

CAIRO (Sputnik) – The Saudi-led coalition has carried out over 60 intensive airstrikes on the positions of the Shia rebel Houthi movement in four western Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hours, the Houthi-controlled Al Masirah broadcaster reported.

He handled one of Israel's most high-profile Palestinian informants during a time when suicide bombings had become an integral aspect of the country's reality. Now, twenty years down the line, Gonen Ben Itzhak, an Israeli handler of secret agents, speaks about the mission, the dangers and the friend he obtained during that difficult period.

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - The United States should compensate Iran for damage caused by sanctions, no matter who becomes the next US president, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* terrorist group shelled settlements in the Syrian provinces of Idlib and Latakia, the head of the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation said during a press briefing on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill on Monday called on Ankara to keep the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as the "neutral status" will contribute to the further development of interfaith peace and harmony, amid the Turkish authorities' plans to turn the complex into a mosque.

On Sunday, Iran's president accused the country’s foreign enemies of mounting a “complicated psychological operation” targeting Iran’s currency, the rial, saying that the action was aimed at undermining the Islamic Republic’s move toward an economy that’s free of dependence on oil exports.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - If the United States continues arms embargo against Iran, it will mean the death of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said Monday.