Israel's US ambassador says beeper operation will 'seem simple' compared to what is planned for Iran

Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said there will be some surprises amid the Jewish State's conflict with Iran that will make Israel's explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies used by members of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria last year look "simple."

"We've pulled off a number of surprises," Leiter said during a Tuesday appearance on the TV network Merit Street.

"When the dust settles, you're going to see some surprises on Thursday night and Friday that will make the beeper operation almost seem simple," he continued.

Leiter was referring to near-simultaneous detonations of pagers used by members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group that killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded nearly 3,000 on Sept. 17 in Lebanon and Syria. The following day, at least 25 people were killed and more than 600 were wounded when walkie-talkies were detonated in the region.

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Israel was subsequently found to be behind the attacks, in which small amounts of explosives hidden in the devices were detonated. A U.S. official told The Associated Press at the time that Israel briefed the U.S. government after the attacks.

But then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. "did not know about, nor was it involved in, these incidents."

Leiter on Tuesday also posted a video message on X that was recorded outside the Situation Room in the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he explained that Israel was "not in the business of regime change."

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"Today we continue to peel back the surface-to-surface missile systems that are spread throughout Iran. We've reached the point where between a third and a half have been demolished," he said. "We hit today the broadcast center in the middle of Tehran after we informed the people living in the vicinity to leave. Hundreds of thousands of Tehranis have escaped Tehran to be out of the line of danger. And we took out the broadcast system. This is very important because this serves the mullahs and their information campaign, the propaganda campaign throughout."

"Iran, to incite the public and to warn the public against any kind of demonstrations against the government," the ambassador continued. "A lot of questions have been asked today about regime change. In many of the interviews that I gave, that was the key question. We're not in the business of regime change. We're interested in neutralizing the threat to our existence through a nuclear weaponization program in Iran and a ballistic missile program."

Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, and U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon.

"If the Iranian people rise up and change their regime, that's their choice," Leiter said. "And if we play a role in facilitating that eventuality, then history will judge us favorably, I believe. It's important also to emphasize that our economy remains strong and resilient despite the war, and the stock market in Israel once again, for the second day in a row, continued to rise."

"We are working very hard to assist those stranded both in Israel wanting to leave and those wanting to get back to Israel, to their families, to their positions in society and the army," he added. "And we're hoping to find solutions through our neighbors in the next couple of days. We continue to press on. We continue to press forward. And we thank you for your support and prayers."

Fox News' Greg Norman and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

Karen Read’s verdict could come fast—or not: Here’s what other cases show

A former Massachusetts financial analyst accused of killing her Boston cop boyfriend in a drunken hit-and-run is awaiting her fate after a second lengthy trial in a small courthouse in Dedham.

Karen Read, 45, faces murder and other charges in the death of 46-year-old John O'Keefe, who had taken in his orphaned niece and nephew and appeared to want to end the relationship.

Jurors spent just under two hours deliberating Friday and returned Monday for their first full day.

"People are out there wondering why we don’t have a verdict yet," said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial attorney who is closely following the case. "I think the jury is working hard to understand the requirements of each count and working through them."

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Read's first trial ended in a hung jury last year after jurors went more than 25 hours over four days without reaching an agreement.

Deliberations in other high-profile murder charges range from just hours to several days.

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OJ Simpson's 1990s double murder trial in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman took nine months to play out.

The two were brutally stabbed to death outside Brown Simpson's luxe condo in Los Angeles.

The former NFL star's legal "Dream Team" prevailed – and jurors found him not guilty in less than four hours.

Simpson was found civilly liable and went to prison for an unrelated robbery more than a decade later. He died last year after a battle with cancer.

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A Florida mom accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, Casey Anthony was tried on charges of murder, manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in 2011.

Caylee was missing for a month before her grandparents reported her missing.

Jurors spent about 11 hours deliberating over two days before reaching an agreement on the charges. They found Anthony not guilty of killing or abusing her daughter, but they found her guilty of lying to police.

To this day no one has been convicted of the child's death.

In 2004, jurors convicted Scott Peterson of killing his pregnant wife Laci and dumping her in the San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve two years earlier.

Their deliberations went on for seven days after a trial that took more than five months.

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Jurors initially handed him the death sentence for first-degree murder for Laci's death and second-degree murder for their unborn son, Conner.

Peterson continues to maintain his innocence and is currently appealing his case for the third time. He had his death sentence overturned in 2020 and is serving life without parole.

Formerly a prominent South Carolina attorney and family man, Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of gunning down his wife and younger son, Maggie and Paul.

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After a six-week trial – twice as long as initial estimates – jurors deliberated for less than three hours and found him guilty of both murders plus weapons charges.

Murdaugh is currently serving consecutive life sentences. He is asking for a new trial after the court clerk on his case was charged with multiple felonies, including allegedly lying to a judge about Murdaugh's case.

Although those trials have a wide range of both time and results, New York City defense attorney Louis Gelormino told Fox News Digital that the longer jurors deliberate in Dedham, the better things look for Read.

"My first homicide trial was the longest deliberation in NYC, modern history, 9 days," he told Fox News Digital. "Hung Jury. Three months later, they tried him again, and we got an acquittal." 

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