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Jason Brodsky
@JasonMBrodsky
5m
Lots of saber-rattling today amid military exercises by #Iran’s army’s ground forces near the border with #Azerbaijan.
View: https://twitter.com/JasonMBrodsky/status/1443937781525499911?s=20
WAR Main Persian Gulf Trouble thread
- Thread starter northern watch
- Start date
Jason Brodsky
@JasonMBrodsky
5m
Lots of saber-rattling today amid military exercises by #Iran’s army’s ground forces near the border with #Azerbaijan.
View: https://twitter.com/JasonMBrodsky/status/1443937781525499911?s=20
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Iran holds military exercises near tense Azerbaijan border
Iran’s national army has begun exercises near its border with Azerbaijan, putting on a display of military capabilities near a neighbor it is increasingly skeptical of for its ties to the West and Israel
By The Associated Press
1 October 2021, 01:44
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran’s national army began exercises on Friday near its border with Azerbaijan, state TV reported, putting on a display of military capabilities near a neighbor it is increasingly skeptical of for its ties to the West and Israel.
Artillery, drones and helicopters will participate in the drills, the report said, without elaborating on how long they would last or where exactly they would be held. Iran occasionally holds such events, saying it wants to assesses combat readiness and demonstrate capabilities.
The exercises come amid escalating tensions along the border. Iran is wary of Azerbaijan in particular for its deep military cooperation with the Islamic Republic’s archrival, Israel, and on Thursday voiced its concerns to Azerbaijani ambassador in Tehran Ali Alizadeh.
“We do not tolerate the presence and activity against our national security of the Zionist regime, or Israel, next to our borders," Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said. "And we will carry out any necessary action in this regard.”
Amirabdollahian described relations between Iran and Azerbaijan as “important,” but insisted Iran had the “right” to hold the exercises.
Earlier this week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he was stunned by the planned exercises, in an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Azerbaijan and Israel have strengthened their military alliance in recent months, with Israeli-supplied high-tech drones helping Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region last year.
The tensions with Azerbaijan have also complicated a vital border passage that trucks use to ferry fuel and other goods from Iran to Armenia. Azerbaijani authorities have detained two Iranian truck drivers in recent weeks for trying to take the route, angering Iran.
Ground forces chief Gen. Kioumars Heidari described the presence of Israel in Azerbaijan as “disrupting security” in the region, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday. “Our sensitivity toward the border has increased and (Israel’s) activities here in under our surveillance completely,” he said at the exercises.
The military drills come after Azerbaijan hosted joint military exercises in September with Turkish and Pakistani special forces for the first time.
The region remains on edge over Iran’s escalating nuclear program. Talks in Vienna to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers have stalled since June, with no date set for their resumption.
Iran holds military exercises near tense Azerbaijan border - ABC News (go.com)
Iran’s national army has begun exercises near its border with Azerbaijan, putting on a display of military capabilities near a neighbor it is increasingly skeptical of for its ties to the West and Israel
By The Associated Press
1 October 2021, 01:44
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran’s national army began exercises on Friday near its border with Azerbaijan, state TV reported, putting on a display of military capabilities near a neighbor it is increasingly skeptical of for its ties to the West and Israel.
Artillery, drones and helicopters will participate in the drills, the report said, without elaborating on how long they would last or where exactly they would be held. Iran occasionally holds such events, saying it wants to assesses combat readiness and demonstrate capabilities.
The exercises come amid escalating tensions along the border. Iran is wary of Azerbaijan in particular for its deep military cooperation with the Islamic Republic’s archrival, Israel, and on Thursday voiced its concerns to Azerbaijani ambassador in Tehran Ali Alizadeh.
“We do not tolerate the presence and activity against our national security of the Zionist regime, or Israel, next to our borders," Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said. "And we will carry out any necessary action in this regard.”
Amirabdollahian described relations between Iran and Azerbaijan as “important,” but insisted Iran had the “right” to hold the exercises.
Earlier this week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he was stunned by the planned exercises, in an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Azerbaijan and Israel have strengthened their military alliance in recent months, with Israeli-supplied high-tech drones helping Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region last year.
The tensions with Azerbaijan have also complicated a vital border passage that trucks use to ferry fuel and other goods from Iran to Armenia. Azerbaijani authorities have detained two Iranian truck drivers in recent weeks for trying to take the route, angering Iran.
Ground forces chief Gen. Kioumars Heidari described the presence of Israel in Azerbaijan as “disrupting security” in the region, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday. “Our sensitivity toward the border has increased and (Israel’s) activities here in under our surveillance completely,” he said at the exercises.
The military drills come after Azerbaijan hosted joint military exercises in September with Turkish and Pakistani special forces for the first time.
The region remains on edge over Iran’s escalating nuclear program. Talks in Vienna to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers have stalled since June, with no date set for their resumption.
Iran holds military exercises near tense Azerbaijan border - ABC News (go.com)
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passin' thru
'War with Israel already started' says Iranian FM spokesman
A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry told Maariv that a solution must be found for regional issues according to UN resolutions.
By GIDEON KOUTS / MAARIV
OCTOBER 1, 2021 09:21
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
(photo credit: Maryam Kamyab/Mehr News Agency)
"The war with Israel has already started," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told Maariv. "Israel has carried out attacks that were intended to destroy our nuclear program for peaceful purposes. It murdered nuclear scientists and harmed the Iranian people. Iran is accused of terrorism, but there is no good or bad terrorist. The whole crisis in the region is Israel's fault."
Khatibzadeh later claimed that Israel had "done everything" to thwart the nuclear talks in Vienna and to cause conflict between Iran and the world powers. He accused the United States of "soft terrorism" by holding up medicine and starving the people of his country.
The Iranian spokesman said that Iran's strategic decision to return to the seventh round of nuclear talks in Vienna had already been made and that its country had already announced this two weeks ago to the EU representative responsible for the talks.
Asked if he thought a return to the nuclear deal would prevent a military operation by Israel, the spokesman replied: "Israel has severely damaged our research and civilian system. There is talk of an Iranian nuclear threat, but Israel has hundreds of bombs, and it has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
However, Khatibzadeh, who spoke at the World Peace Forum, said that "the region is tired of wars. We must find a new approach to solving the problems according to UN resolutions. All parties must show political will for an arrangement."
'War with Israel already started' says Iranian FM spokesman
A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry told Maariv that a solution must be found for regional issues according to UN resolutions.
www.jpost.com
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passin' thru
IDF Intelligence Chief: Iran Losing Syria War vs. Israel
October 1, 2021
Iran losing Syria battle vs. Israel (Archive: jcamilobernal/iStock)
The IDF intelligence chief offered new details about Israel’s battle against Iran in rare media interviews Friday. Speaking to N12 News and to Walla News, Maj. Gen. Tamir Hayman said that Israel is defeating the Iranian effort to seize control of Syria.
Iran’s military presence in Syria keeps declining after Israel developed highly effective methods to detect and attack Iranian missiles and other key assets, the intel chief said. He revealed that the IDF bombed numerous Iranian and Syrian facilities and bases and drove a wedge between the Iranian regime and Syria’s President Assad.
Tehran now keeps only hundreds of Iranian officers in Syria plus 20,000 Shiite militia fighters, Hayman estimated. Iran’s military deployment in Syrian territory is consistently shrinking and a full Iranian takeover is now impossible, he said.
Hayman also disclosed that the US killed Qasem Soleimani after Israel exposed an extensive plan to target US forces in the Gulf, saving many American lives. He confirmed that Israeli intelligence helped the US to eliminate the Quds Force commander and praised the American operation.
While Israel is alarmed by Iran’s uranium enrichment, the IDF is not detecting any progress on other nuclear fronts or signs of weaponization, the IDF general said. Tehran is not breaking out towards a nuclear bomb and remains about two years away from producing atomic weapons, he said.
Hayman also predicted that the Iranian regime will ultimately fall, and said that Israel is taking steps to accelerate the process. He declined to answer questions about operational preparations to strike Iran’s nuclear project.
israelradar.com
October 1, 2021
The IDF intelligence chief offered new details about Israel’s battle against Iran in rare media interviews Friday. Speaking to N12 News and to Walla News, Maj. Gen. Tamir Hayman said that Israel is defeating the Iranian effort to seize control of Syria.
Iran’s military presence in Syria keeps declining after Israel developed highly effective methods to detect and attack Iranian missiles and other key assets, the intel chief said. He revealed that the IDF bombed numerous Iranian and Syrian facilities and bases and drove a wedge between the Iranian regime and Syria’s President Assad.
Tehran now keeps only hundreds of Iranian officers in Syria plus 20,000 Shiite militia fighters, Hayman estimated. Iran’s military deployment in Syrian territory is consistently shrinking and a full Iranian takeover is now impossible, he said.
Hayman also disclosed that the US killed Qasem Soleimani after Israel exposed an extensive plan to target US forces in the Gulf, saving many American lives. He confirmed that Israeli intelligence helped the US to eliminate the Quds Force commander and praised the American operation.
While Israel is alarmed by Iran’s uranium enrichment, the IDF is not detecting any progress on other nuclear fronts or signs of weaponization, the IDF general said. Tehran is not breaking out towards a nuclear bomb and remains about two years away from producing atomic weapons, he said.
Hayman also predicted that the Iranian regime will ultimately fall, and said that Israel is taking steps to accelerate the process. He declined to answer questions about operational preparations to strike Iran’s nuclear project.
IDF Intelligence Chief: Iran Losing Syria War vs. Israel
IDF intelligence chief offered new details about Israel's battle against Iran in rare interviews. He said that Israel is defeating...
israelradar.com
jward
passin' thru
EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
17m
Shit is going to hit the fan soon… Azerbaijanis protest in front of Tehran's embassy in Baku, Iran says its embassy was attacked
jward
passin' thru
foreignpolicy.com
A Pro-Israel Summit in Erbil Breaks New Ground
Dennis Ross
9-11 minutes
On Sept. 24, a remarkable event took place in Iraq. In the northern city of Erbil, 312 Iraqis gathered—predominantly Sunnis but also Shiites, from cities and towns across the country—to issue a demand for their country to enter into relations with Israel and its people via the Abraham Accords, and they did this while risking the wrath of Iran and its military proxies.
The participants were religious leaders, youth protesters, and college professors. One of the leaders of the conference was Sunni Sheikh Wisam al-Hardan. His Sahwa (Awakening) movement is made up of Sunni tribesmen who, with the backing of U.S. forces, faced down the Islamic States and al Qaeda on the battlefield. It was this history to which the sheikh referred when he said at the conference, “We have demonstrated over the years of blood and tears that we oppose extremists of all varieties, whether Sunni ‘jihadists’ or Iran-backed Shiite militias.”
“We have also demonstrated our patriotism,” Hardan continued. “We sacrificed lives for the sake of a unified Iraq and our shared aspiration to realize a federal system of government as stipulated in our nation’s constitution.” He now seeks to promote an Iraq that builds coexistence domestically and regionally. For those at the conference, that requires reaching out to Israelis whose families originally came from Iraq.
On Sept. 24, a remarkable event took place in Iraq. In the northern city of Erbil, 312 Iraqis gathered—predominantly Sunnis but also Shiites, from cities and towns across the country—to issue a demand for their country to enter into relations with Israel and its people via the Abraham Accords, and they did this while risking the wrath of Iran and its military proxies.
The participants were religious leaders, youth protesters, and college professors. One of the leaders of the conference was Sunni Sheikh Wisam al-Hardan. His Sahwa (Awakening) movement is made up of Sunni tribesmen who, with the backing of U.S. forces, faced down the Islamic States and al Qaeda on the battlefield. It was this history to which the sheikh referred when he said at the conference, “We have demonstrated over the years of blood and tears that we oppose extremists of all varieties, whether Sunni ‘jihadists’ or Iran-backed Shiite militias.”
“We have also demonstrated our patriotism,” Hardan continued. “We sacrificed lives for the sake of a unified Iraq and our shared aspiration to realize a federal system of government as stipulated in our nation’s constitution.” He now seeks to promote an Iraq that builds coexistence domestically and regionally. For those at the conference, that requires reaching out to Israelis whose families originally came from Iraq.
On the eve of World War II, Jews made up about one-third of Baghdad’s population and were leaders in science, finance, and culture. In reconnecting with the Jews who were forced to leave Iraq at the time of Israel’s founding, Hardan, Maj. Gen. Amer al-Juburi (a prominent member of the Shiite wing of the Juburi clan), the culture official Sahar Karim al-Tai, and the other participants proclaimed their hope, as Tai said in her speech, of “laying the cornerstone for the future of a new Iraq—one where people of all sects, faiths, and creeds will enjoy the blessings of justice and equality.” They see peace and the Abraham Accords—the declared policy of the Biden administration in the United States—as creating a pathway for the future they want to build.
Conference participants are now being subjected to blowback, ranging from suspension of Hardan from the Awakening movement to more direct threats from Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Those militias are calling for harsh actions against “Zionist-American dens” and the “treasonous” participants in Erbil. Politicians not wanting to be on the wrong side of the Iranians are supporting arrests. The Iranians and their proxies are producing coerced retractions in which some of the participants are forced to admit their supposed mistakes.
As important as it was for the conferencegoers to make a statement about peace with Israel, they were also pushing forward the cause of freedom of expression for all Iraqis. They accept that others may disagree with them, but if Iraq is to progress, diverse opinions must be allowed to be expressed. The calls for arresting the participants are a chilling reminder of the limits of expression in Iraq—again, a sign of the leverage Iran continues to exert, but also an indication that Iran fears the message of the Erbil conference. Nothing could be more threatening to everything that Iran seeks in Iraq and the region than the expansion of peace, especially if it is coming from the ground-up.
The conferencegoers are now seeking to create follow-on working groups with civil society groups of Israelis, starting with the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, as well as journalists and academics. I have worked for decades to promote Arab-Israeli peace, including as a U.S. Middle East envoy, and know that while governments can help end conflicts and legitimize peacemaking, it is people who make peace. Leaders can call for reconciliation, but its realization can only come from the ground up and not the top down.
So how did this unprecedented civil society-driven event come to take place? The organizer of the event on the ground is a small American nongovernmental organization, the Center for Peace Communications, led by its founder and president, Joseph Braude, with a mission of fostering people-to-people ties between Arabs and Israelis. (Full disclosure: I serve as the chair of the board of this small nonprofit.) Braude’s family originally came from Iraq, and his great-great grandfather was the chief rabbi of Baghdad. Like so many of the Jewish community in Baghdad, in 1950 his grandparents lost all of their property and assets, had their Iraqi citizenship revoked and had their documents stamped: “Forbidden to come back to Iraq.” They made their way to Israel, where some members of the family stayed and others, including their grandson Joseph, moved to the United States.
The Center for Peace Communications’ focus is on promoting connections between peoples and cultures in the Middle East, not governments. The Erbil conference grew out of what Braude likes to call “expeditionary diplomacy.” The Center for Peace Communications’ representative in Iraq facilitated a broad campaign of public outreach, including with members of the Awakening movement and the Juburi clan, on behalf of the effort. Braude, Hardan, and tribal elders talked through general principles and the idea of holding a gathering to act on those principles. They worked together to produce a document to be issued at the conference. Hardan and his counterparts in a total of six governorates—Baghdad, Ninevah, Babil, Salahuddin, and Diyala, in addition to his governorate of Anbar—joined in developing and participating in the conference, and conceptualizing follow-on meetings with Israelis. (Multiple tribes among them, notably the Juburis, have both Sunni and Shiite wings.) This tribal base was in turn joined by movers of the urban youth protest movements of 2019-2021 (the so-called October Revolution) and intellectuals.
All those who participated in the conference clearly have a vision for the future. It very much reflects what they heard at the conference from the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres’s son Chemi Peres, the chair of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. By video, he addressed the gathering and spoke about the joint projects they could launch to make life better for everyone in the Middle East. The conference participants know there are now two different pathways for the region. One is embodied in the Abraham Accords and offers development; digitally based economies; scientific advancement; food, water and health security; and a future where lives are bettered and people live securely in peace. Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates are examples of this path. The other pathway offers continued conflict. It is wedded not to progress but to “resistance,” ensuring failed and failing states where, as in Lebanon, Libya, and Yemen, the fundamental needs of people are sacrificed for the sake of those who hold power and use a rejectionist ideology to preserve it. This is a pathway that perpetuates the past and ensures a future only of conflict, despair, and hopelessness.
The participants of the Erbil conference have chosen the first path. Yes, they will face threats from Iran and the Shiite militias. They don’t expect others to fight for them, but they count on America’s support, and they are surely deserving of it.
If America’s interventions in the Middle East teach anything, it is that Americans cannot impose their values, remake societies, or produce peace from the outside. But the United States does have a responsibility to support practically and materially those who will fight for themselves and embody the very values Americans believe in.
In marking the anniversary of the Abraham Accords earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared: “We want to widen the circle of peaceful diplomacy, because it’s in the interests of countries across the region … for Israel to be treated like any other country.” The Erbil conferencegoers are acting on the secretary’s words, and the United States has a stake in their survival and success.
foreignpolicy.com
A Pro-Israel Summit in Erbil Breaks New Ground
Dennis Ross
9-11 minutes
On Sept. 24, a remarkable event took place in Iraq. In the northern city of Erbil, 312 Iraqis gathered—predominantly Sunnis but also Shiites, from cities and towns across the country—to issue a demand for their country to enter into relations with Israel and its people via the Abraham Accords, and they did this while risking the wrath of Iran and its military proxies.
The participants were religious leaders, youth protesters, and college professors. One of the leaders of the conference was Sunni Sheikh Wisam al-Hardan. His Sahwa (Awakening) movement is made up of Sunni tribesmen who, with the backing of U.S. forces, faced down the Islamic States and al Qaeda on the battlefield. It was this history to which the sheikh referred when he said at the conference, “We have demonstrated over the years of blood and tears that we oppose extremists of all varieties, whether Sunni ‘jihadists’ or Iran-backed Shiite militias.”
“We have also demonstrated our patriotism,” Hardan continued. “We sacrificed lives for the sake of a unified Iraq and our shared aspiration to realize a federal system of government as stipulated in our nation’s constitution.” He now seeks to promote an Iraq that builds coexistence domestically and regionally. For those at the conference, that requires reaching out to Israelis whose families originally came from Iraq.
On Sept. 24, a remarkable event took place in Iraq. In the northern city of Erbil, 312 Iraqis gathered—predominantly Sunnis but also Shiites, from cities and towns across the country—to issue a demand for their country to enter into relations with Israel and its people via the Abraham Accords, and they did this while risking the wrath of Iran and its military proxies.
The participants were religious leaders, youth protesters, and college professors. One of the leaders of the conference was Sunni Sheikh Wisam al-Hardan. His Sahwa (Awakening) movement is made up of Sunni tribesmen who, with the backing of U.S. forces, faced down the Islamic States and al Qaeda on the battlefield. It was this history to which the sheikh referred when he said at the conference, “We have demonstrated over the years of blood and tears that we oppose extremists of all varieties, whether Sunni ‘jihadists’ or Iran-backed Shiite militias.”
“We have also demonstrated our patriotism,” Hardan continued. “We sacrificed lives for the sake of a unified Iraq and our shared aspiration to realize a federal system of government as stipulated in our nation’s constitution.” He now seeks to promote an Iraq that builds coexistence domestically and regionally. For those at the conference, that requires reaching out to Israelis whose families originally came from Iraq.
On the eve of World War II, Jews made up about one-third of Baghdad’s population and were leaders in science, finance, and culture. In reconnecting with the Jews who were forced to leave Iraq at the time of Israel’s founding, Hardan, Maj. Gen. Amer al-Juburi (a prominent member of the Shiite wing of the Juburi clan), the culture official Sahar Karim al-Tai, and the other participants proclaimed their hope, as Tai said in her speech, of “laying the cornerstone for the future of a new Iraq—one where people of all sects, faiths, and creeds will enjoy the blessings of justice and equality.” They see peace and the Abraham Accords—the declared policy of the Biden administration in the United States—as creating a pathway for the future they want to build.
Conference participants are now being subjected to blowback, ranging from suspension of Hardan from the Awakening movement to more direct threats from Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Those militias are calling for harsh actions against “Zionist-American dens” and the “treasonous” participants in Erbil. Politicians not wanting to be on the wrong side of the Iranians are supporting arrests. The Iranians and their proxies are producing coerced retractions in which some of the participants are forced to admit their supposed mistakes.
As important as it was for the conferencegoers to make a statement about peace with Israel, they were also pushing forward the cause of freedom of expression for all Iraqis. They accept that others may disagree with them, but if Iraq is to progress, diverse opinions must be allowed to be expressed. The calls for arresting the participants are a chilling reminder of the limits of expression in Iraq—again, a sign of the leverage Iran continues to exert, but also an indication that Iran fears the message of the Erbil conference. Nothing could be more threatening to everything that Iran seeks in Iraq and the region than the expansion of peace, especially if it is coming from the ground-up.
The conferencegoers are now seeking to create follow-on working groups with civil society groups of Israelis, starting with the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, as well as journalists and academics. I have worked for decades to promote Arab-Israeli peace, including as a U.S. Middle East envoy, and know that while governments can help end conflicts and legitimize peacemaking, it is people who make peace. Leaders can call for reconciliation, but its realization can only come from the ground up and not the top down.
So how did this unprecedented civil society-driven event come to take place? The organizer of the event on the ground is a small American nongovernmental organization, the Center for Peace Communications, led by its founder and president, Joseph Braude, with a mission of fostering people-to-people ties between Arabs and Israelis. (Full disclosure: I serve as the chair of the board of this small nonprofit.) Braude’s family originally came from Iraq, and his great-great grandfather was the chief rabbi of Baghdad. Like so many of the Jewish community in Baghdad, in 1950 his grandparents lost all of their property and assets, had their Iraqi citizenship revoked and had their documents stamped: “Forbidden to come back to Iraq.” They made their way to Israel, where some members of the family stayed and others, including their grandson Joseph, moved to the United States.
The Center for Peace Communications’ focus is on promoting connections between peoples and cultures in the Middle East, not governments. The Erbil conference grew out of what Braude likes to call “expeditionary diplomacy.” The Center for Peace Communications’ representative in Iraq facilitated a broad campaign of public outreach, including with members of the Awakening movement and the Juburi clan, on behalf of the effort. Braude, Hardan, and tribal elders talked through general principles and the idea of holding a gathering to act on those principles. They worked together to produce a document to be issued at the conference. Hardan and his counterparts in a total of six governorates—Baghdad, Ninevah, Babil, Salahuddin, and Diyala, in addition to his governorate of Anbar—joined in developing and participating in the conference, and conceptualizing follow-on meetings with Israelis. (Multiple tribes among them, notably the Juburis, have both Sunni and Shiite wings.) This tribal base was in turn joined by movers of the urban youth protest movements of 2019-2021 (the so-called October Revolution) and intellectuals.
All those who participated in the conference clearly have a vision for the future. It very much reflects what they heard at the conference from the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres’s son Chemi Peres, the chair of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. By video, he addressed the gathering and spoke about the joint projects they could launch to make life better for everyone in the Middle East. The conference participants know there are now two different pathways for the region. One is embodied in the Abraham Accords and offers development; digitally based economies; scientific advancement; food, water and health security; and a future where lives are bettered and people live securely in peace. Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates are examples of this path. The other pathway offers continued conflict. It is wedded not to progress but to “resistance,” ensuring failed and failing states where, as in Lebanon, Libya, and Yemen, the fundamental needs of people are sacrificed for the sake of those who hold power and use a rejectionist ideology to preserve it. This is a pathway that perpetuates the past and ensures a future only of conflict, despair, and hopelessness.
The participants of the Erbil conference have chosen the first path. Yes, they will face threats from Iran and the Shiite militias. They don’t expect others to fight for them, but they count on America’s support, and they are surely deserving of it.
If America’s interventions in the Middle East teach anything, it is that Americans cannot impose their values, remake societies, or produce peace from the outside. But the United States does have a responsibility to support practically and materially those who will fight for themselves and embody the very values Americans believe in.
In marking the anniversary of the Abraham Accords earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared: “We want to widen the circle of peaceful diplomacy, because it’s in the interests of countries across the region … for Israel to be treated like any other country.” The Erbil conferencegoers are acting on the secretary’s words, and the United States has a stake in their survival and success.
A Pro-Israel Summit in Erbil Breaks New Ground
At great personal risk, Iraqi civil society leaders gather to demand entry into the Abraham Accords.
foreignpolicy.com
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passin' thru
Iran says Israeli attacks on nuclear sites must stop
Al-Monitor Staff
Iran says Israeli attacks on nuclear sites must stop
In the ongoing battle with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency that it will allow access to its nuclear facilities once attacks targeting them stop.
According to Tasnim News Agency, Khazem Garibadadi, Iran’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, said, “If the agency wants to conduct inspections, it has to act on its own responsibilities and clearly condemn terrorists attacks against Iran’s technological centers.” He added, “If America and its Western allies want the continuation of the agency’s inspections, they have to stop the Zionist regime’s terrorist attacks.”
Ghariabadi continued, “When a fake regime that is not a signatory to any nuclear pacts commits terroristic sabotage, why do we have to pay the price?”
Gharibabadi’s comments referred to sabotage at the Karaj nuclear facility widely believed to have been carried out by Israel. The June attack reportedly damaged cameras belonging to the IAEA that were storing data to be inspected at a later date under an agreement between Iran and the IAEA.
Whether Gharibabadi’s threat is sincere or just a warning, Iran appears to have chosen a different approach in the negotiation process with Western countries which expected to resume in Vienna soon. Fereydoon Abbasi, the former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and a current member of the parliament’s energy commission, talked to Fars News about some of the differences between the Rouhani administration and the Raisi administration on the nuclear talks.
Abbasi said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was “imposed” on Iran by the Rouhani administration, which he said had “stubbornly tied the economy” to the deal. He added that Rouhani had been willing to include Iran's regional presence and missile program in the nuclear negotiations as the United States and other Western countries had wanted.
Abbasi went on to claim that because the United States and European Union were not able to include Iran's regional policies and missile programs in the negotiations, they did not fulfill their promises of sanctions relief.
According to Abbasi, with Raisi as president, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as speaker and Gholam Hussein Mohseni-Ejei as judiciary head, all three branches in Iran are aligned and the country is a “global emerging power,” a status that will have an impact on its international relations.
On the latest battle with the IAEA, Abbasi said that the IAEA was not yet supposed to have access to cameras. He said according to the latest agreement, the IAEA was to replace the memory cards but that the data would be stored in Iran. Abbasi added that once Iran’s demands are met, the IAEA would gain access to the data.
Abbasi said that Iran’s nuclear activities will continue to be monitored by the IAEA, but warned that the IAEA must be careful to not allow the data and video to be accessed by other countries such as Israel.
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passin' thru
Iran says Israeli attacks on nuclear sites must stop
Al-Monitor Staff
In the ongoing battle with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency that it will allow access to its nuclear facilities once attacks targeting them stop.
According to Tasnim News Agency, Khazem Garibadadi, Iran’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, said, “If the agency wants to conduct inspections, it has to act on its own responsibilities and clearly condemn terrorists attacks against Iran’s technological centers.” He added, “If America and its Western allies want the continuation of the agency’s inspections, they have to stop the Zionist regime’s terrorist attacks.”
Ghariabadi continued, “When a fake regime that is not a signatory to any nuclear pacts commits terroristic sabotage, why do we have to pay the price?”
Gharibabadi’s comments referred to sabotage at the Karaj nuclear facility widely believed to have been carried out by Israel. The June attack reportedly damaged cameras belonging to the IAEA that were storing data to be inspected at a later date under an agreement between Iran and the IAEA.
Whether Gharibabadi’s threat is sincere or just a warning, Iran appears to have chosen a different approach in the negotiation process with Western countries which expected to resume in Vienna soon. Fereydoon Abbasi, the former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and a current member of the parliament’s energy commission, talked to Fars News about some of the differences between the Rouhani administration and the Raisi administration on the nuclear talks.
Abbasi said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was “imposed” on Iran by the Rouhani administration, which he said had “stubbornly tied the economy” to the deal. He added that Rouhani had been willing to include Iran's regional presence and missile program in the nuclear negotiations as the United States and other Western countries had wanted.
Abbasi went on to claim that because the United States and European Union were not able to include Iran's regional policies and missile programs in the negotiations, they did not fulfill their promises of sanctions relief.
According to Abbasi, with Raisi as president, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as speaker and Gholam Hussein Mohseni-Ejei as judiciary head, all three branches in Iran are aligned and the country is a “global emerging power,” a status that will have an impact on its international relations.
On the latest battle with the IAEA, Abbasi said that the IAEA was not yet supposed to have access to cameras. He said according to the latest agreement, the IAEA was to replace the memory cards but that the data would be stored in Iran. Abbasi added that once Iran’s demands are met, the IAEA would gain access to the data.
Abbasi said that Iran’s nuclear activities will continue to be monitored by the IAEA, but warned that the IAEA must be careful to not allow the data and video to be accessed by other countries such as Israel.
Iran says Israeli attacks on nuclear sites must stop
Iran has suggested that the International Atomic Energy Agency's access to its nuclear facilities will resume once Israel's attacks on them stop.
www.al-monitor.com
jward
passin' thru
Newsmax
@newsmax
Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday that U.S. officials tried to discuss restarting nuclear talks last month, but he insisted Washington must first release $10 billion of Tehran's frozen funds as a sign of good will.
View: https://twitter.com/newsmax/status/1444625945399156737?s=20
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
1m
Israeli think tank warns: #Israel must strongly object to US return to #Iran nuclear deal; accepting American position will cause strategic damage, hurt legitimacy for IDF strike on nuke project
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1444766187896848385?s=20
@IsraelRadar_com
1m
Israeli think tank warns: #Israel must strongly object to US return to #Iran nuclear deal; accepting American position will cause strategic damage, hurt legitimacy for IDF strike on nuke project
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1444766187896848385?s=20
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Ragnarok
On and On, South of Heaven
Newsmax
@newsmax
Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday that U.S. officials tried to discuss restarting nuclear talks last month, but he insisted Washington must first release $10 billion of Tehran's frozen funds as a sign of good will.
View: https://twitter.com/newsmax/status/1444625945399156737?s=20
Hey Iran!
Piss off!
jward
passin' thru
Iran International English
@IranIntl_En
5m
#BREAKING: The spokesman of #Israel's Prime Minister @NaftaliBennett today announces that the assassination attempt against Israeli businessmen in #Cyprus was a plot by #Iran to strike Israel. 1/2
The spokesman said that Teddy Sagi, the businessman who was initially thought to have been attacked for business-related reasons, was not the target of the attack but that #Iran had tried to attack a number of Israeli businessmen who operate in Cyprus. 2/2
@IranIntl_En
5m
#BREAKING: The spokesman of #Israel's Prime Minister @NaftaliBennett today announces that the assassination attempt against Israeli businessmen in #Cyprus was a plot by #Iran to strike Israel. 1/2
The spokesman said that Teddy Sagi, the businessman who was initially thought to have been attacked for business-related reasons, was not the target of the attack but that #Iran had tried to attack a number of Israeli businessmen who operate in Cyprus. 2/2
jward
passin' thru
Hmm. . .
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
Israel sends security delegation of advisers to #Azerbaijan as tensions on #Iran border skyrocket, unnamed source tells @Elaph; unconfirmed report: Israel will soon supply advanced Arrow-3 air defenses (via @Saida_Zahidova); no official comment from Israel.
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
Israel sends security delegation of advisers to #Azerbaijan as tensions on #Iran border skyrocket, unnamed source tells @Elaph; unconfirmed report: Israel will soon supply advanced Arrow-3 air defenses (via @Saida_Zahidova); no official comment from Israel.
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
Israeli angle of #Iran vs. #Azerbaijan crisis: Israel wants to stay away from this mess, but Azerbaijan is strategic ally & Iran a mortal enemy; any Israeli moves at this point (sending advisers, weapons?) are hard to confirm due to high sensitivity
#Israel has little desire to engage militarily in remote arena that favors Iran logistically; but, deploying air defenses or weapons could be super-valuable real-life test of Israeli hardware vs. Iranian capabilities. Dilemma.
Israel likely prefers that other actors (Turkey? US?) deter Iranian action; for Iran, Azerbaijan issue is mostly about economics, with major geopolitics in background. For now, this is just a (very tense) standoff. Stay tuned.
@IsraelRadar_com
Israeli angle of #Iran vs. #Azerbaijan crisis: Israel wants to stay away from this mess, but Azerbaijan is strategic ally & Iran a mortal enemy; any Israeli moves at this point (sending advisers, weapons?) are hard to confirm due to high sensitivity
#Israel has little desire to engage militarily in remote arena that favors Iran logistically; but, deploying air defenses or weapons could be super-valuable real-life test of Israeli hardware vs. Iranian capabilities. Dilemma.
Israel likely prefers that other actors (Turkey? US?) deter Iranian action; for Iran, Azerbaijan issue is mostly about economics, with major geopolitics in background. For now, this is just a (very tense) standoff. Stay tuned.
jward
passin' thru
EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
11m
Germany rejects Iran's calls for partial unfreeze of assets to restart nuclear talks
View: https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1445093197588443140?s=20
@EndGameWW3
11m
Germany rejects Iran's calls for partial unfreeze of assets to restart nuclear talks
View: https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1445093197588443140?s=20
jward
passin' thru
EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
Update: Foreign Ministers of Russia and Iran will discuss the situation on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border.
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Israeli military chief hints of covert action against Iran
Israel’s military chief is vowing to step up actions, including covert operations, against Iran and its nuclear program
By The Associated Press
5 October 2021, 12:56
JERUSALEM -- Israel's military chief on Tuesday vowed to step up actions, including covert operations, against Iran and its nuclear program.
Speaking at a ceremony, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said Israel and its intelligence community “is working against Iranian regional entrenchment throughout the Middle East.”
“Operations to destroy Iranian capabilities will continue — in various arenas and at any time,” he told the ceremony, in which the army appointed Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva as its new intelligence chief.
“The operational plans against Iran’s nuclear program will continue to evolve and improve," he added. Whatever developments there may be, “it is our duty to provide an effective and timely military response.”
Israel considers Iran its greatest threat, citing its military presence in neighboring Syria, its support for hostile militant groups and its development of long-range missiles capable of striking Israel.
Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear bomb — a charge Iran denies — and has vowed to prevent that from happening.
Israel has been suspected in a string of attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists and facilities over the past decade, but does not confirm or deny involvement.
Kohavi spoke as Israel's national security adviser, Eyal Hulata, was in Washington for discussions with his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan.
Israel has opposed U.S. efforts to renew an international nuclear pact with Iran that unraveled after then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
According to a U.S. statement, Sullivan said the U.S. believes diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, but is prepared to turn to other options if that fails.
Israeli military chief hints of covert action against Iran - ABC News (go.com)
Israel’s military chief is vowing to step up actions, including covert operations, against Iran and its nuclear program
By The Associated Press
5 October 2021, 12:56
JERUSALEM -- Israel's military chief on Tuesday vowed to step up actions, including covert operations, against Iran and its nuclear program.
Speaking at a ceremony, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said Israel and its intelligence community “is working against Iranian regional entrenchment throughout the Middle East.”
“Operations to destroy Iranian capabilities will continue — in various arenas and at any time,” he told the ceremony, in which the army appointed Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva as its new intelligence chief.
“The operational plans against Iran’s nuclear program will continue to evolve and improve," he added. Whatever developments there may be, “it is our duty to provide an effective and timely military response.”
Israel considers Iran its greatest threat, citing its military presence in neighboring Syria, its support for hostile militant groups and its development of long-range missiles capable of striking Israel.
Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear bomb — a charge Iran denies — and has vowed to prevent that from happening.
Israel has been suspected in a string of attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists and facilities over the past decade, but does not confirm or deny involvement.
Kohavi spoke as Israel's national security adviser, Eyal Hulata, was in Washington for discussions with his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan.
Israel has opposed U.S. efforts to renew an international nuclear pact with Iran that unraveled after then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
According to a U.S. statement, Sullivan said the U.S. believes diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, but is prepared to turn to other options if that fails.
Israeli military chief hints of covert action against Iran - ABC News (go.com)
northern watch
TB Fanatic
From my email inbox
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
41m
New into on IDF military tech (via @IsraelHayomHeb): 15 battalions to get strike drones for short-range detect-n'-kill missions; army already deploys thousands of intel collection drones; paratroopers set up high-tech unit with specialized military gear ds of intel collection drones; paratroopers set up high-tech unit with specialized military gear
#Israel develops miniature intelligence collection devices, thousands will be dropped in enemy territory during war to detect hostile activity; engineers also work on tiny drones that will plant sensors at high-risk zones to spot enemy forces.
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1446084501906542596?s=20
@IsraelRadar_com
41m
New into on IDF military tech (via @IsraelHayomHeb): 15 battalions to get strike drones for short-range detect-n'-kill missions; army already deploys thousands of intel collection drones; paratroopers set up high-tech unit with specialized military gear ds of intel collection drones; paratroopers set up high-tech unit with specialized military gear
#Israel develops miniature intelligence collection devices, thousands will be dropped in enemy territory during war to detect hostile activity; engineers also work on tiny drones that will plant sensors at high-risk zones to spot enemy forces.
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1446084501906542596?s=20
jward
passin' thru
Babak Taghvaee - Μπάπακ Τακβαίε - بابک تقوایی
@BabakTaghvaee
1h
#BREAKING: Today, several fast boats of #IRGC Navy harassed Riverine Command Boats of #USNavy in #Hormuz Strait. #US Navy has six Swedish CB90-class fast assault craft known as Riverine Command Boats. They are in use for patrolling in #PersianGulf.
View: https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1446079264244252672?s=20
@BabakTaghvaee
1h
#BREAKING: Today, several fast boats of #IRGC Navy harassed Riverine Command Boats of #USNavy in #Hormuz Strait. #US Navy has six Swedish CB90-class fast assault craft known as Riverine Command Boats. They are in use for patrolling in #PersianGulf.
View: https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1446079264244252672?s=20
jward
passin' thru
Jason Brodsky
@JasonMBrodsky
5m
#BREAKING: #Iran’s state TV reported Thursday that speedboats belonging to the IRGC's Navy have intercepted a U.S. vessel in the Persian Gulf. But a U.S. Navy spokesman said he was not aware of any such encounter at sea over the past days. #OOTT 1/2
Some footage circulating in Iranian media is below. 2/2
View: https://twitter.com/JasonMBrodsky/status/1446101152509071366?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/JasonMBrodsky/status/1446101180585742340?s=20
jward
passin' thru
State TV says Iranian speedboats intercepted US Navy vessel
2-3 minutes
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state TV reported Thursday that speedboats belonging to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have intercepted a U.S. vessel in the Persian Gulf. A U.S. Navy spokesman said he was not aware of any such encounter at sea over the past days.
The region remains on edge over Iran’s escalating nuclear program. Talks in Vienna to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers have stalled since June, with no date set for their resumption.
Thursday’s Iranian report aired footage that the TV said was filmed from one of the Guard speedboats. It shows a vessel with the U.S. flag and several personnel on board as the speedboat appears to be chasing it.
A voice is heard in Farsi, saying: “Keep chasing them.” The report did not say when the encounter took place.
Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said he wasn’t aware of any sort of unsafe interaction with Iran in the last two days.
The report is the first such report in recent months.
In May, the Guard rejected the U.S. Navy’s claim that fast-approaching Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz sparked a tense encounter a day after the U.S. said the Revolutionary Guard sent 13 armed speedboats too close to U.S. Navy vessels in the Strait.
The United States at the time said a Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots when two of the Iranian boats came dangerously close.
The 2015 nuclear deal saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents.
With the talks in Vienna now stalled, Iran has breached limits set by the accord and is enriching small amounts of uranium to its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity as its stockpile continues to grow. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
apnews.com
2-3 minutes
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state TV reported Thursday that speedboats belonging to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have intercepted a U.S. vessel in the Persian Gulf. A U.S. Navy spokesman said he was not aware of any such encounter at sea over the past days.
The region remains on edge over Iran’s escalating nuclear program. Talks in Vienna to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers have stalled since June, with no date set for their resumption.
Thursday’s Iranian report aired footage that the TV said was filmed from one of the Guard speedboats. It shows a vessel with the U.S. flag and several personnel on board as the speedboat appears to be chasing it.
A voice is heard in Farsi, saying: “Keep chasing them.” The report did not say when the encounter took place.
Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said he wasn’t aware of any sort of unsafe interaction with Iran in the last two days.
The report is the first such report in recent months.
In May, the Guard rejected the U.S. Navy’s claim that fast-approaching Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz sparked a tense encounter a day after the U.S. said the Revolutionary Guard sent 13 armed speedboats too close to U.S. Navy vessels in the Strait.
The United States at the time said a Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots when two of the Iranian boats came dangerously close.
The 2015 nuclear deal saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents.
With the talks in Vienna now stalled, Iran has breached limits set by the accord and is enriching small amounts of uranium to its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity as its stockpile continues to grow. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
State TV says Iranian speedboats intercepted US Navy vessel
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state TV reported Thursday that speedboats belonging to the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have intercepted U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf.
apnews.com
northern watch
TB Fanatic
Our Pakistan policy needs a fundamental rethink
by Michael Rubin
Washington Examiner
October 07, 2021 06:00 AM
Testifying before Congress last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would "reassess" its relationship with Pakistan.
Meeting protests from Pakistani officials, Blinken immediately backtracked and then praised Pakistan after meeting with his Pakistani counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. As Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman begins a two-day visit to Islamabad, her comments suggest business as usual. "We seek a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism," she said. "Both of our countries have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism, and we look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate all regional and global terrorist threats."
Top line: The Biden administration will continue to pay the arsonist to be the firefighter.
The U.S. has paid dearly for this delusional strategy. Between 2002 and 2018, the U.S. gave Pakistan more than $33 billion . That equates to more than $100 for every American man, woman, and child. Whether that aid was civilian or military, neither Washington nor Pakistan have anything to show for it. Pakistan's economy remains in tatters despite $11 billion given to restructure it. While Pakistan’s violation of its commitments continues, Biden has requested nearly $100 million for Pakistan in his 2022 budget request.
That the U.S. would provide such funds to Islamabad is all the more outrageous given recent Pandora Papers revelations. These showed that 700 Pakistani citizens, including two current Cabinet ministers, donors to Prime Minister Imran Khan, family members of Khan’s political allies, and top military officials had used the service to divert and stow away tens of millions of dollars. In effect, rather than pay for counterterrorism, U.S. aid has enabled the lavish lifestyles of the top brass who now celebrate the Taliban’s return.
Against this backdrop, Biden and Blinken should not assuage Pakistani feelings or continue to treat our finance of Pakistan as an entitlement. For the State Department to offer Pakistan one more chance in the hope that Islamabad will moderate the Taliban or assist counterterror is the diplomatic equivalent of Charlie Brown trusting Lucy to hold the football steady. Biden entered office as a foreign policy president, but his record to date is one of malaise and incompetence .
It need not be.
The president might salvage his legacy and help Pakistan in the long term with some tough love: Suspend aid until Khan fires those named in the Pandora Papers and recovers the funds from those no longer actively serving. The Biden administration should also insist that the Financial Action Task Force, the international body formed to counter international money laundering and terror finance that meets next week to consider Pakistan’s record , place the country on its blacklist. For its persistent and unresolved violations, Pakistan belongs on that blacklist alongside Iran and North Korea.
That Pakistan has provided demonstrably false information to the task force regarding the status of terrorists such as Sajid Mir, who is complicit in the deaths of Americans and dozens of others during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, should immediately disqualify Islamabad from receiving any benefit of the doubt. Frankly, Pakistan’s failure to come clean about its sheltering of Osama bin Laden and his successor Ayman al Zawahiri, as well as numerous Pakistani terrorists captured while fighting alongside the Taliban, should have landed Pakistan on the state sponsor of terror list a decade ago.
Blinken treats Congress with disdain when he makes empty promises he has no intention to keep. Sherman undercuts U.S. effectiveness with pleading sycophancy. Apologia for Pakistan should not be hardwired into our foreign policy.
It is time for both Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives to say enough is enough. It is time to move the fundamental rethink of U.S. Pakistan policy from rhetorical to reality. Strip Pakistan of major non-NATO ally status. Designate Pakistan a terror sponsor. Put it on the Financial Action Task Force blacklist where it belongs.
Michael Rubin (@Mrubin1971 ) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Our Pakistan policy needs a fundamental rethink | Washington Examiner
by Michael Rubin
Washington Examiner
October 07, 2021 06:00 AM
Testifying before Congress last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States would "reassess" its relationship with Pakistan.
Meeting protests from Pakistani officials, Blinken immediately backtracked and then praised Pakistan after meeting with his Pakistani counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. As Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman begins a two-day visit to Islamabad, her comments suggest business as usual. "We seek a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism," she said. "Both of our countries have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism, and we look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate all regional and global terrorist threats."
Top line: The Biden administration will continue to pay the arsonist to be the firefighter.
The U.S. has paid dearly for this delusional strategy. Between 2002 and 2018, the U.S. gave Pakistan more than $33 billion . That equates to more than $100 for every American man, woman, and child. Whether that aid was civilian or military, neither Washington nor Pakistan have anything to show for it. Pakistan's economy remains in tatters despite $11 billion given to restructure it. While Pakistan’s violation of its commitments continues, Biden has requested nearly $100 million for Pakistan in his 2022 budget request.
That the U.S. would provide such funds to Islamabad is all the more outrageous given recent Pandora Papers revelations. These showed that 700 Pakistani citizens, including two current Cabinet ministers, donors to Prime Minister Imran Khan, family members of Khan’s political allies, and top military officials had used the service to divert and stow away tens of millions of dollars. In effect, rather than pay for counterterrorism, U.S. aid has enabled the lavish lifestyles of the top brass who now celebrate the Taliban’s return.
Against this backdrop, Biden and Blinken should not assuage Pakistani feelings or continue to treat our finance of Pakistan as an entitlement. For the State Department to offer Pakistan one more chance in the hope that Islamabad will moderate the Taliban or assist counterterror is the diplomatic equivalent of Charlie Brown trusting Lucy to hold the football steady. Biden entered office as a foreign policy president, but his record to date is one of malaise and incompetence .
It need not be.
The president might salvage his legacy and help Pakistan in the long term with some tough love: Suspend aid until Khan fires those named in the Pandora Papers and recovers the funds from those no longer actively serving. The Biden administration should also insist that the Financial Action Task Force, the international body formed to counter international money laundering and terror finance that meets next week to consider Pakistan’s record , place the country on its blacklist. For its persistent and unresolved violations, Pakistan belongs on that blacklist alongside Iran and North Korea.
That Pakistan has provided demonstrably false information to the task force regarding the status of terrorists such as Sajid Mir, who is complicit in the deaths of Americans and dozens of others during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, should immediately disqualify Islamabad from receiving any benefit of the doubt. Frankly, Pakistan’s failure to come clean about its sheltering of Osama bin Laden and his successor Ayman al Zawahiri, as well as numerous Pakistani terrorists captured while fighting alongside the Taliban, should have landed Pakistan on the state sponsor of terror list a decade ago.
Blinken treats Congress with disdain when he makes empty promises he has no intention to keep. Sherman undercuts U.S. effectiveness with pleading sycophancy. Apologia for Pakistan should not be hardwired into our foreign policy.
It is time for both Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives to say enough is enough. It is time to move the fundamental rethink of U.S. Pakistan policy from rhetorical to reality. Strip Pakistan of major non-NATO ally status. Designate Pakistan a terror sponsor. Put it on the Financial Action Task Force blacklist where it belongs.
Michael Rubin (@Mrubin1971 ) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Our Pakistan policy needs a fundamental rethink | Washington Examiner
jward
passin' thru
Scott Wheeler- Investigative Reporter @OANN
@NewsCapGroup
At a briefing in Washington Wed. @A_Jafarzadeh presented evidence of Iran's expanding UAV program creating instability in the region. Here is my report:
https://twitter.com/NewsCapGroup/status/1446282839079718912?s=20
@NewsCapGroup
At a briefing in Washington Wed. @A_Jafarzadeh presented evidence of Iran's expanding UAV program creating instability in the region. Here is my report:
https://twitter.com/NewsCapGroup/status/1446282839079718912?s=20
jward
passin' thru
Apex
@Apex_WW
6m
U.S. lifts sanctions against Iranian missile producers
View: https://twitter.com/Apex_WW/status/1446577863969419266?s=20
@Apex_WW
6m
U.S. lifts sanctions against Iranian missile producers
View: https://twitter.com/Apex_WW/status/1446577863969419266?s=20
Merde........
Well it's going to be a busy night I guess.....
danielboon
TB Fanatic
There is this Israel exchange fire with LEBANON and Israel bombed Syria it is shaping up to be a busy weekend
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
1h
#Israel upgrades F-35s with secret tech & weapons systems to prepare jets for #Iran strike, @WallaNews reports; Israeli modifications turn F-35 into "strike and intelligence collection monster," defense official familiar with its classified capabilities says.
Replying to
@IsraelRadar_com and @WallaNews
it doesn't matter what type of weapon israel have lets say israel succesfully eliminate iran nuclear facility then what ?? what will happen next?? israel will be safe then dimona will be safe ?? thousand of missiles would be raining over israel
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
More details on alleged Israeli bombing of military sites in #Syria last night.
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1446744080990580736?s=20
@IsraelRadar_com
More details on alleged Israeli bombing of military sites in #Syria last night.
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1446744080990580736?s=20
jward
passin' thru
Paddy Wagon
@paddy_wagon
5h
Replying to @IsraelRadar_com
Is it fair to say that Iarael and Iran are already at war?
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
5h
It's fair to say that Israel and Iran are already fighting a low-intensity & mostly covert war. A larger all-out war will likely come later.
jward
passin' thru
Jason Brodsky
@JasonMBrodsky
26m
The head of #Iran's AEOI Mohammad Eslami said today that "we have passed 120 kilograms" of uranium enriched up to 20%. "We have more than that figure," he added. Would note last IAEA quarterly report from September put it at 84.3 kilograms.
View: https://twitter.com/JasonMBrodsky/status/1446984687629611010?s=20
Paddy Wagon
@paddy_wagon
5h
Replying to @IsraelRadar_com
Is it fair to say that Iarael and Iran are already at war?
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
5h
It's fair to say that Israel and Iran are already fighting a low-intensity & mostly covert war. A larger all-out war will likely come later.
Yup.
And how much did Pyongyang ship them over the years?
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
26m
Commander of US 5th Fleet was in #Israel for meetings with defense minister and army chief to discuss "mutual maritime threats," @Jerusalem_Post reports; Israeli Navy chief says visit "very significant"; trip seen as message to Iran, report says.
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
1h
Prime Minister Bennett: #Israel will ensure via actions, not speeches, that #Iran never gets nuclear weapons. Lots of moves and heightened tensions behind the scenes for now. Here's the latest on the Iran front:
Israel Upgrades F-35s With Secret Tech for Iran Strike
Israel is upgrading its F-35 jets with top secret technology and weapons systems to prepare for a strike in Iran. This includes advanced...
Israeli Defense Officials Face Elevated Iranian Threat
Israeli officials linked to defense establishment face significant risk of Iranian attack. Threat level rises sharply after...
Analysis / Israel-Iran Conflict Moves to Azerbaijan Arena
As the Iran-Azerbaijan crisis escalates, Israel faces conflicting interests. Israeli defense officials likely want to...
Army Chief Says Israel Preparing Surprises for Iran
IDF preparing upgraded and "surprising" operational plans against Iran, army chief says. Israeli attacks to destroy Iranian...
Mossad Veteran: More Terror Ahead As Iran Radicalizes
Iran expected to target Israelis abroad with more sophisticated methods, warns ex-Mossad research chief. The Iranians have...
Iranian Bomb to Boost Islamists vs. West, Expert Warns
Failing to stop Iran's nuclear drive will be seen as grave blow to West in battle with Islamism, Israeli expert warns. Atomic bomb will...
IDF Intelligence Chief: Iran Losing Syria War vs. Israel
IDF intelligence chief offered new details about Israel's battle against Iran in rare interviews. He said that Israel is defeating...
Report: Israel to Step Up Military Assault on Iran Axis
Israel is expected to boost military and covert campaign against Iran in coming months. Intensified assault will likely include...
israelradar.com
@IsraelRadar_com
1h
Prime Minister Bennett: #Israel will ensure via actions, not speeches, that #Iran never gets nuclear weapons. Lots of moves and heightened tensions behind the scenes for now. Here's the latest on the Iran front:
Israel Upgrades F-35s With Secret Tech for Iran Strike
Israel is upgrading its F-35 jets with top secret technology and weapons systems to prepare for a strike in Iran. This includes advanced...
Israeli Defense Officials Face Elevated Iranian Threat
Israeli officials linked to defense establishment face significant risk of Iranian attack. Threat level rises sharply after...
Analysis / Israel-Iran Conflict Moves to Azerbaijan Arena
As the Iran-Azerbaijan crisis escalates, Israel faces conflicting interests. Israeli defense officials likely want to...
Army Chief Says Israel Preparing Surprises for Iran
IDF preparing upgraded and "surprising" operational plans against Iran, army chief says. Israeli attacks to destroy Iranian...
Mossad Veteran: More Terror Ahead As Iran Radicalizes
Iran expected to target Israelis abroad with more sophisticated methods, warns ex-Mossad research chief. The Iranians have...
Iranian Bomb to Boost Islamists vs. West, Expert Warns
Failing to stop Iran's nuclear drive will be seen as grave blow to West in battle with Islamism, Israeli expert warns. Atomic bomb will...
IDF Intelligence Chief: Iran Losing Syria War vs. Israel
IDF intelligence chief offered new details about Israel's battle against Iran in rare interviews. He said that Israel is defeating...
Report: Israel to Step Up Military Assault on Iran Axis
Israel is expected to boost military and covert campaign against Iran in coming months. Intensified assault will likely include...
Iran Archives - ISRAEL RADAR
israelradar.com
jward
passin' thru
OSINTtechnical
@Osinttechnical
Iran is not going to be happy with the outcome of the Iraqi elections.
It’s not a worst-case scenario for them but boy it certainly reflects the massive public backlash against their involvement in Iraq.
@Osinttechnical
Iran is not going to be happy with the outcome of the Iraqi elections.
It’s not a worst-case scenario for them but boy it certainly reflects the massive public backlash against their involvement in Iraq.