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Israel Radar
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Israeli defense sources: IDF ready to launch immediate operation in Gaza if government orders it (via @kann_news
WAR Regional conflict brewing in the Mediterranean
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Israel Radar
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Israeli defense sources: IDF ready to launch immediate operation in Gaza if government orders it (via @kann_news
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If I didn't know better, I'd think we might be in the midst o' some unprecedented global power rebalancing...coming out from behind the curtain n being dealt like crack on the street corners o' anywhere inner city USA 
First Squawk
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4h
ISRAEL ADDS CHINA'S YUAN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER TO ITS RESERVE HOLDINGS; CUTTING ITS EURO AND DOLLAR HOLDINGS BIGGEST RESHUFFLE IN A DECADE -BBG
First Squawk
@FirstSquawk
4h
ISRAEL ADDS CHINA'S YUAN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER TO ITS RESERVE HOLDINGS; CUTTING ITS EURO AND DOLLAR HOLDINGS BIGGEST RESHUFFLE IN A DECADE -BBG
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Analysis / Is Israel Secretly Helping Ukraine vs. Russia?
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Intelligence
Israelis fight in Ukraine (Archive: Pixabay)
As time passes, indications are growing that Israel is quietly helping the Ukrainian Army to fight Russian forces. In the latest signal, a group of Israelis fighting in Ukraine posted a video with messages in Hebrew.
Notably, one of the soldiers in the video thanked the Israeli government for providing help. While no details were given, the statement hints that Israel is supporting this combat effort without officially publicizing it.
Moreover, the forces in the video are equipped with some advanced weapons, defense researcher War Noir tweeted. The arms included 5.56x45mm FN SCAR-L assault rifles, and possibly a 7.62x51mm UKROP UAR-10 sniper rifle, the report said.
This further suggests that the Israeli forces enjoy an unusual supply of weapons, possibly via government connections.
The number of Israelis fighting in Ukraine is estimated in the hundreds by now, The Times of Israel reported. Notably, the Israeli government has not made any effort to stop this growing influx.
The Israeli military presence in Ukraine includes a special task force of IDF veterans, Yediot Aharonot daily reported recently. The highly skilled squad is mobilized to different fronts where experienced combat forces are most needed, the report said.
Earlier, it was reported that Israeli special ops veterans are providing intensive training in Ukraine, and that Israel’s intelligence agencies are also contributing in undisclosed ways.
There was no official comment from Israel, but a defense source told Yediot that the Israeli government is aware of ex-IDF fighters training the Ukrainians and is turning a blind eye. The report indicated that this training effort is well-organized and extensive.
Israel has adopted a cautious pro-Ukraine policy so far, condemning Russia and offering Kyiv humanitarian aid but avoiding direct military assistance. The Israeli government has been careful not to trigger a harsh response from Moscow, a key military player in Syria.
However, Israel does have a strong interest in a victory by Ukraine and its Western supporters that would weaken the Russia-China-Iran axis. Now, it increasingly appears that Jerusalem is playing a more active role in supporting Ukraine’s military effort behind the scenes.
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Intelligence
As time passes, indications are growing that Israel is quietly helping the Ukrainian Army to fight Russian forces. In the latest signal, a group of Israelis fighting in Ukraine posted a video with messages in Hebrew.
Notably, one of the soldiers in the video thanked the Israeli government for providing help. While no details were given, the statement hints that Israel is supporting this combat effort without officially publicizing it.
Moreover, the forces in the video are equipped with some advanced weapons, defense researcher War Noir tweeted. The arms included 5.56x45mm FN SCAR-L assault rifles, and possibly a 7.62x51mm UKROP UAR-10 sniper rifle, the report said.
This further suggests that the Israeli forces enjoy an unusual supply of weapons, possibly via government connections.
The number of Israelis fighting in Ukraine is estimated in the hundreds by now, The Times of Israel reported. Notably, the Israeli government has not made any effort to stop this growing influx.
The Israeli military presence in Ukraine includes a special task force of IDF veterans, Yediot Aharonot daily reported recently. The highly skilled squad is mobilized to different fronts where experienced combat forces are most needed, the report said.
Earlier, it was reported that Israeli special ops veterans are providing intensive training in Ukraine, and that Israel’s intelligence agencies are also contributing in undisclosed ways.
There was no official comment from Israel, but a defense source told Yediot that the Israeli government is aware of ex-IDF fighters training the Ukrainians and is turning a blind eye. The report indicated that this training effort is well-organized and extensive.
Israel has adopted a cautious pro-Ukraine policy so far, condemning Russia and offering Kyiv humanitarian aid but avoiding direct military assistance. The Israeli government has been careful not to trigger a harsh response from Moscow, a key military player in Syria.
However, Israel does have a strong interest in a victory by Ukraine and its Western supporters that would weaken the Russia-China-Iran axis. Now, it increasingly appears that Jerusalem is playing a more active role in supporting Ukraine’s military effort behind the scenes.
Analysis / Is Israel Secretly Helping Ukraine vs. Russia?
As time passes, indications are growing that Israel quietly helps the Ukrainian Army fight Russian forces...
israelradar.com
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April 25, 2022
IDF Warns Lebanon After Rocket Fired at Northern Israel
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Defense
Rocket fire from Lebanon (Archive: Pixabay)
Israel’s army spokesman warned that the IDF will fight in Lebanon if necessary, following a late-night rocket attack. Notably, the military has been preparing intensively for a future conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Artillery forces fired over 60 shells into Lebanese territory after a rocket from Lebanon exploded near a northern Israel community. No injuries were reported in Israel or Lebanon.
Palestinian factions in southern Lebanon likely fired the rocket, IDF spokesman Ran Kochav told 103 FM Radio. The attack was possibly carried out by the Lebanese branch of Hamas.
According to Lebanese sources, the attackers launched two rockets at Israel.
So far, the exchange of fire on both sides of the border targeted open areas. It appears that both sides are not interested in a major military clash, but this could change if more rockets are fired into Israel.
israelradar.com
IDF Warns Lebanon After Rocket Fired at Northern Israel
Home
Defense
Israel’s army spokesman warned that the IDF will fight in Lebanon if necessary, following a late-night rocket attack. Notably, the military has been preparing intensively for a future conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Artillery forces fired over 60 shells into Lebanese territory after a rocket from Lebanon exploded near a northern Israel community. No injuries were reported in Israel or Lebanon.
Palestinian factions in southern Lebanon likely fired the rocket, IDF spokesman Ran Kochav told 103 FM Radio. The attack was possibly carried out by the Lebanese branch of Hamas.
According to Lebanese sources, the attackers launched two rockets at Israel.
So far, the exchange of fire on both sides of the border targeted open areas. It appears that both sides are not interested in a major military clash, but this could change if more rockets are fired into Israel.
IDF Warns Lebanon After Rocket Fired at Northern Israel
Israel's army spokesman warned that the IDF will fight in Lebanon if necessary, following a late-night rocket attack...
israelradar.com
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How has the Ukraine war affected Russia's ties with Libya and Sudan?
April 25, 2022
Samuel Ramani
Official reactions in Africa to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have varied dramatically from country to country. While stopping short of implementing sanctions, most African countries condemned Russia’s invasion in a March 2 U.N. General Assembly vote. A sizeable minority, however, abstained or subtly displayed solidarity with Moscow. Such polarization can be seen in the differing postures of Libya and Sudan, two countries hosting an informal Russian military presence. Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush’s Feb. 24 condemnation of Russia was followed up six days later by a statement from Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha decrying Russia’s invasion as “a clear violation of international law and the sovereignty of a democratic Ukraine.” Libya also voted to suspend Russia’s membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on April 7. Sudan by contrast has pursued a more cautious policy, abstaining from the UNHRC membership vote and limiting itself to appeals for “Russia-Ukraine dialogue.”
Despite its rapidly deteriorating economic outlook and the military stalemate in Ukraine, Russia remains committed to preserving its influence in Libya and Sudan. As secondary sanctions restrict Russia’s ability to engage with civilian authorities, Moscow’s strategies in both countries are likely to hinge on relations with military strongmen, such as Libya National Army (LNA) chief Khalifa Hifter and Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Deputy Chairman Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. These opaque partnerships, backed by Wagner Group private military contractors (PMCs), and the impact of the Ukraine war on food insecurity will likely increase tensions between Russia and civilian authorities in both Libya and Sudan.
The impact of the Ukraine invasion on Russia’s influence in Libya
After Libya’s elections were postponed on Dec. 23, Russia curried favor with Bashagha to shore up its influence in Libya. In December 2021, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin praised Bashagha as the only western Libyan politician who could rein in militias around Tripoli and called him a “true patriot.” After Bashagha was selected as prime minister designate on Feb. 10, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that he would “be able to unify Libyan society” and steer Libya toward national elections. This statement was noteworthy, as Russia was the first major power to endorse Bashagha’s takeover.
In light of the Libyan prime minister’s March 2 declaration, Russia’s olive branch was clearly not enough to make Bashagha forget his long-standing friction with Moscow. In February 2020, Bashagha urged the U.S. to counter Russia by establishing a base in Libya and as interior minister, he accused the Wagner Group of using chemical weapons in the country. In turn, Russian media outlets accused Bashagha of “kidnapping” political operatives Maxim Shugaley and Samer Seifan, who were released in December 2020, and the Prigozhin-aligned Federal News Agency labelled Bashagha “the leader of the Libyan terrorists.”
Although Russia subsequently broke with the consensus of neutrality in the U.N. Security Council by backing Bashagha, the Ukraine war could reignite tensions between Moscow and Tripoli. In 2020, Libya was the tenth largest purchaser of Ukrainian wheat globally, and war-induced supply disruptions have forced Libya to consider more expensive wheat imports from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Argentina. While Bashagha was previously inclined to allow Russia to hold on to key military facilities, such as the Qardabiyah base near Sirte, Western pressure could encourage the Libyan prime minister to revert to his June 2020 vow that Qardabiyah would cease to be a Russian facility.
To hedge its bets, Russia is maintaining its long-standing partnership with the LNA. Ukrainian officials allege that Hifter agreed to covertly transfer LNA forces to Ukraine under the Wagner Group’s auspices. The LNA vigorously denied these allegations and, much like foreign fighters from Syria, Libyan forces have not entered the Ukraine war. Nevertheless, the Wagner Group remains entrenched in LNA-held areas, and Russia’s heavy casualties in Ukraine have not led to even a partial redeployment of these PMCs. As Turkey continues expanding its military training efforts in Libya, Russia’s parallel PMC presence is likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future.
What has the Ukraine war meant for Russia-Sudan relations?
Since the Ukraine war began, Russia has bolstered its partnership with Hemedti. On Feb. 23, Hemedti visited Moscow to strengthen economic cooperation between Russia and Sudan, especially in the fields of energy, agriculture, and mining. Hemedti also insisted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would not derail Sudan’s plans to host a Russian naval base on its 730-km Red Sea coast, and he visited Port Sudan, the likely site, on March 16. Hemedti’s trip abroad, which followed similar visits to the UAE, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, burnished his international profile and gave Russia access to a key Sudanese figure with whom it had not previously engaged in any meaningful way.
Although Sudan supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, comparing Moscow’s territorial claims to its own designs on Abyei, a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan, other Sudanese figures did not emulate Hemedti’s embrace of Moscow. Sovereignty Council chief Abdel Fattah el-Burhan’s refusal to acknowledge Hemedti’s meeting reflected tensions between the two men that have been rising since they both spearheaded the October 2021 coup. Rasha Awad, the editor of Sudanese media outlet Al Taghyeer, claimed that Hemedti visited Russia to position himself for his “own coup.” Meanwhile, Port Sudan residents, out of fear that a Russian military base would displace them, protested Hemedti’s visit to Sudan’s Red Sea coast by blocking streets and burning tires.
Economic factors could also restrict the scope of Russia-Sudan cooperation. Sudan imported over one-third of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, and the compound impact of the war, coup, and poor harvests could plunge 20 million Sudanese into food insecurity. Rising food prices could trigger protests against Burhan and Hemedti, much like they did against long-time President Omar al-Bashir in 2018, and anti-Russian sentiments might rise if Russia does not supply Sudan with additional wheat. Up to 250 Sudanese military-controlled companies that have dealings with Russia could face secondary sanctions. In response, Russia may rely more heavily on illicit economic practices, such as its smuggling of around 30 tons of gold per year from Sudan. The Wagner Group’s presence and Hemedti’s acquiescence could facilitate smuggling, but public exposure of Russia’s sanctions-busting operations has further eroded Moscow’s reputation in Sudan.
As the Ukraine war drags on, Russia is unlikely to abandon or downsize its ambitions in Libya and Sudan. Its long-term influence in both countries, however, depends on opportunistic aspiring autocrats. Thus, Moscow would lose out if either nation takes a definitive step toward democracy.
Samuel Ramani is a tutor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford, where he received his doctorate in March 2021, and an associate fellow at RUSI. His first book on Russia’s foreign policy towards Africa will be published by Oxford University Press and Hurst and Co. in 2022. Follow Samuel on Twitter @samramani2. The opinions expressed in this piece are his own.
Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images
www.mei.edu
April 25, 2022
Samuel Ramani
Official reactions in Africa to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have varied dramatically from country to country. While stopping short of implementing sanctions, most African countries condemned Russia’s invasion in a March 2 U.N. General Assembly vote. A sizeable minority, however, abstained or subtly displayed solidarity with Moscow. Such polarization can be seen in the differing postures of Libya and Sudan, two countries hosting an informal Russian military presence. Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush’s Feb. 24 condemnation of Russia was followed up six days later by a statement from Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha decrying Russia’s invasion as “a clear violation of international law and the sovereignty of a democratic Ukraine.” Libya also voted to suspend Russia’s membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on April 7. Sudan by contrast has pursued a more cautious policy, abstaining from the UNHRC membership vote and limiting itself to appeals for “Russia-Ukraine dialogue.”
Despite its rapidly deteriorating economic outlook and the military stalemate in Ukraine, Russia remains committed to preserving its influence in Libya and Sudan. As secondary sanctions restrict Russia’s ability to engage with civilian authorities, Moscow’s strategies in both countries are likely to hinge on relations with military strongmen, such as Libya National Army (LNA) chief Khalifa Hifter and Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Deputy Chairman Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. These opaque partnerships, backed by Wagner Group private military contractors (PMCs), and the impact of the Ukraine war on food insecurity will likely increase tensions between Russia and civilian authorities in both Libya and Sudan.
The impact of the Ukraine invasion on Russia’s influence in Libya
After Libya’s elections were postponed on Dec. 23, Russia curried favor with Bashagha to shore up its influence in Libya. In December 2021, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin praised Bashagha as the only western Libyan politician who could rein in militias around Tripoli and called him a “true patriot.” After Bashagha was selected as prime minister designate on Feb. 10, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that he would “be able to unify Libyan society” and steer Libya toward national elections. This statement was noteworthy, as Russia was the first major power to endorse Bashagha’s takeover.
In light of the Libyan prime minister’s March 2 declaration, Russia’s olive branch was clearly not enough to make Bashagha forget his long-standing friction with Moscow. In February 2020, Bashagha urged the U.S. to counter Russia by establishing a base in Libya and as interior minister, he accused the Wagner Group of using chemical weapons in the country. In turn, Russian media outlets accused Bashagha of “kidnapping” political operatives Maxim Shugaley and Samer Seifan, who were released in December 2020, and the Prigozhin-aligned Federal News Agency labelled Bashagha “the leader of the Libyan terrorists.”
Although Russia subsequently broke with the consensus of neutrality in the U.N. Security Council by backing Bashagha, the Ukraine war could reignite tensions between Moscow and Tripoli. In 2020, Libya was the tenth largest purchaser of Ukrainian wheat globally, and war-induced supply disruptions have forced Libya to consider more expensive wheat imports from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Argentina. While Bashagha was previously inclined to allow Russia to hold on to key military facilities, such as the Qardabiyah base near Sirte, Western pressure could encourage the Libyan prime minister to revert to his June 2020 vow that Qardabiyah would cease to be a Russian facility.
To hedge its bets, Russia is maintaining its long-standing partnership with the LNA. Ukrainian officials allege that Hifter agreed to covertly transfer LNA forces to Ukraine under the Wagner Group’s auspices. The LNA vigorously denied these allegations and, much like foreign fighters from Syria, Libyan forces have not entered the Ukraine war. Nevertheless, the Wagner Group remains entrenched in LNA-held areas, and Russia’s heavy casualties in Ukraine have not led to even a partial redeployment of these PMCs. As Turkey continues expanding its military training efforts in Libya, Russia’s parallel PMC presence is likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future.
What has the Ukraine war meant for Russia-Sudan relations?
Since the Ukraine war began, Russia has bolstered its partnership with Hemedti. On Feb. 23, Hemedti visited Moscow to strengthen economic cooperation between Russia and Sudan, especially in the fields of energy, agriculture, and mining. Hemedti also insisted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would not derail Sudan’s plans to host a Russian naval base on its 730-km Red Sea coast, and he visited Port Sudan, the likely site, on March 16. Hemedti’s trip abroad, which followed similar visits to the UAE, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, burnished his international profile and gave Russia access to a key Sudanese figure with whom it had not previously engaged in any meaningful way.
Although Sudan supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, comparing Moscow’s territorial claims to its own designs on Abyei, a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan, other Sudanese figures did not emulate Hemedti’s embrace of Moscow. Sovereignty Council chief Abdel Fattah el-Burhan’s refusal to acknowledge Hemedti’s meeting reflected tensions between the two men that have been rising since they both spearheaded the October 2021 coup. Rasha Awad, the editor of Sudanese media outlet Al Taghyeer, claimed that Hemedti visited Russia to position himself for his “own coup.” Meanwhile, Port Sudan residents, out of fear that a Russian military base would displace them, protested Hemedti’s visit to Sudan’s Red Sea coast by blocking streets and burning tires.
Economic factors could also restrict the scope of Russia-Sudan cooperation. Sudan imported over one-third of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, and the compound impact of the war, coup, and poor harvests could plunge 20 million Sudanese into food insecurity. Rising food prices could trigger protests against Burhan and Hemedti, much like they did against long-time President Omar al-Bashir in 2018, and anti-Russian sentiments might rise if Russia does not supply Sudan with additional wheat. Up to 250 Sudanese military-controlled companies that have dealings with Russia could face secondary sanctions. In response, Russia may rely more heavily on illicit economic practices, such as its smuggling of around 30 tons of gold per year from Sudan. The Wagner Group’s presence and Hemedti’s acquiescence could facilitate smuggling, but public exposure of Russia’s sanctions-busting operations has further eroded Moscow’s reputation in Sudan.
As the Ukraine war drags on, Russia is unlikely to abandon or downsize its ambitions in Libya and Sudan. Its long-term influence in both countries, however, depends on opportunistic aspiring autocrats. Thus, Moscow would lose out if either nation takes a definitive step toward democracy.
Samuel Ramani is a tutor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford, where he received his doctorate in March 2021, and an associate fellow at RUSI. His first book on Russia’s foreign policy towards Africa will be published by Oxford University Press and Hurst and Co. in 2022. Follow Samuel on Twitter @samramani2. The opinions expressed in this piece are his own.
Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images
How has the Ukraine war affected Russia's ties with Libya and Sudan?
Official reactions in Africa to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have varied dramatically from country to country. While stopping short of implementing sanctions, most African countries condemned Russia’s invasion in a March 2 U.N. General Assembly vote. A sizeable minority, however, abstained or...
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Amid shutdowns of oil production, Tripoli faces risk of post-Ramadan confrontation
Jonathan M. Winer
Non-Resident Scholar
With global oil prices nearing historic highs, it would seem to be a no-brainer for Libya to keep its pipes open to generate the maximum revenues to take care of its population.
Instead, local forces in Libya’s west damaged oil infrastructure in Zawiya on April 22, after forces associated with warlord Khalifa Hifter had already shut down about half of the country’s total production over the course of the week in Libya’s oil crescent and south.
The reasons illustrate the continued self-destructiveness of Libya’s political competition. Hifter appears to be seeking to force Fathi Bashagha, the prime minister of Libya’s Government of National Stability (GNS), appointed by the House of Representatives on March 3, to enter Tripoli and secure control of the country’s governmental offices from the U.N.-facilitated head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who has been using oil revenues to facilitate his patronage networks and stay in power. Bashagha’s effort to secure Tripoli has been stalled due to opposition from local militias seeking to protect their existing revenue and autonomy. The oil shutdowns are intended both to put pressure on Dbeibah’s access to discretionary funds from oil, and to signal growing impatience with Bashagha.
Ordinary Libyans may now face shortages of electricity and fuel due to the shutoffs. But Russia benefits from global oil supply shortages and high prices, leading one analyst to call the Libyan shutdown “a convenient coincidence,” given Hifter’s past backing from Russia and the Kremlin-controlled Wagner Group in Libya.
The oil hostage-taking sets the stage for a potential confrontation in Tripoli between Bashagha and Dbeibah’s supporters at the end of Ramadan in early May. The risks are heightened by the potential April 30 end of the mandate for the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Russia has kept UNSMIL on a tight leash, vetoing efforts by Secretary-General António Guterres to appoint a new special envoy and undermining the work of former U.S. diplomat and Acting U.N. Special Representative Stephanie Williams to counter conflict over oil and governance. UNSMIL (and potentially, Williams) may ultimately be allowed to continue their efforts to build a pathway to elections that would enable the Libyan people to choose their leaders. But in the near term, Libya’s politicians must find compromises enabling Libya to at least pump the oil essential to keeping the country functioning.
Follow on Twitter: @JonathanMaWiner
www.mei.edu
Jonathan M. Winer
Non-Resident Scholar
With global oil prices nearing historic highs, it would seem to be a no-brainer for Libya to keep its pipes open to generate the maximum revenues to take care of its population.
Instead, local forces in Libya’s west damaged oil infrastructure in Zawiya on April 22, after forces associated with warlord Khalifa Hifter had already shut down about half of the country’s total production over the course of the week in Libya’s oil crescent and south.
The reasons illustrate the continued self-destructiveness of Libya’s political competition. Hifter appears to be seeking to force Fathi Bashagha, the prime minister of Libya’s Government of National Stability (GNS), appointed by the House of Representatives on March 3, to enter Tripoli and secure control of the country’s governmental offices from the U.N.-facilitated head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who has been using oil revenues to facilitate his patronage networks and stay in power. Bashagha’s effort to secure Tripoli has been stalled due to opposition from local militias seeking to protect their existing revenue and autonomy. The oil shutdowns are intended both to put pressure on Dbeibah’s access to discretionary funds from oil, and to signal growing impatience with Bashagha.
Ordinary Libyans may now face shortages of electricity and fuel due to the shutoffs. But Russia benefits from global oil supply shortages and high prices, leading one analyst to call the Libyan shutdown “a convenient coincidence,” given Hifter’s past backing from Russia and the Kremlin-controlled Wagner Group in Libya.
The oil hostage-taking sets the stage for a potential confrontation in Tripoli between Bashagha and Dbeibah’s supporters at the end of Ramadan in early May. The risks are heightened by the potential April 30 end of the mandate for the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Russia has kept UNSMIL on a tight leash, vetoing efforts by Secretary-General António Guterres to appoint a new special envoy and undermining the work of former U.S. diplomat and Acting U.N. Special Representative Stephanie Williams to counter conflict over oil and governance. UNSMIL (and potentially, Williams) may ultimately be allowed to continue their efforts to build a pathway to elections that would enable the Libyan people to choose their leaders. But in the near term, Libya’s politicians must find compromises enabling Libya to at least pump the oil essential to keeping the country functioning.
Follow on Twitter: @JonathanMaWiner
Monday Briefing: Amid repression and a lack of political alternatives, renewed Palestinian anger and resistance
Read MEI's weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
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Palestine News 24/7
@PaliNewsBot
The moment a missile hit a target in Jabal Qasioun, #Syria, a while ago
View: https://twitter.com/EndGameWW3/status/1519082701382430720?s=20&t=9sKa6xfRle-c_FOcIpgSSA
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Israel Radar
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Israeli general warns: Lebanon to pay heavy price if it allows terror against Israel; IDF northern command chief says Hezbollah leader Nasrallah still hiding in bunker and scared to leave (via@MaarivOnline )
von Koehler
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Yes, I seem to remember Turkey was preventing them from being removed.
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hmm..
US close to admitting failure of Iran nuclear talks, Israeli officials claim
As Israeli, US national security advisers meet in Washington amid stalled Vienna negotiations, Tehran calls for return to talks and blames US
By TOI staff and AFP 26 April 2022, 9:28 am
International Atomic Energy Organization director general Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, speaks with with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, left, during their meeting in Tehran, on March 5, 2022. (AP)
With Israel’s national security adviser in Washington to meet his counterpart, Israeli officials have reportedly said the chances of world powers signing a new nuclear deal with Iran are greatly diminished.
According to reports in the Israel Hayom newspaper and the Kan public broadcaster on Tuesday, US administration officials are closer than ever to admitting defeat on US President Joe Biden’s stated goal to return to the 2015 deal.
Talks in Vienna between Iran and world powers have been stalled for six weeks, reportedly over Iran’s demand that Washington delist its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from a US terror list.
“The possibility that the parties will sign an agreement in the foreseeable future is dwindling at an exponential rate,” an official told Israel Hayom. A source cited by Kan suggested that the White House “is much more willing these days, then it was in the past” to admit the talks are likely to fail.
According to an Axios report on Monday, the Biden administration “has recently started discussing a scenario” in which the deal won’t be revived.
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Last week, a senior Israeli diplomatic official claimed that Biden administration officials notified their European counterparts that Washington does not plan on delisting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
National Security Council chairman Eyal Hulata (L) and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in front of the White House, on October 5, 2021. (Jake Sullivan/Twitter)
National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata met with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan on Monday in Washington, a day after Biden told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that he would visit Israel in the coming months.
According to the US readout of the meeting, Sullivan told Hulata that “the United States is attuned to Israel’s concerns about threats to its security, including first and foremost from Iran and Iranian-backed proxies.”
During his conversation with Biden on Sunday, Bennett said that “I am sure that President Biden, who is a true friend of Israel and cares about its security, will not remove the Revolutionary Guards from the [State Department’s] list of [Foreign] Terrorist Organizations,” per the Israeli readout.
On Monday, Iran called for a new meeting “as soon as possible” in the Vienna negotiations it has been holding with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly, and the United States indirectly.
“It is appropriate that a face-to-face meeting is held as soon as possible,” Iran foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told his weekly press conference. “It is not yet decided where and when to have this meeting and at what level it should be held, but it is on the agenda.”
The 2015 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs meant to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied wanting to do.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to the media during a press conference in Tehran, on April 25, 2022. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
The United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-US president Donald Trump and reimposed biting economic sanctions, prompting Iran to begin rolling back its own commitments.
Iran and the US, adversaries for decades, have been exchanging views through the European coordinator of the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora.
Khatibzadeh said Iran and the European Union agreed that “prolonging the pause in the negotiations is not in anyone’s interest.” He added that the talks “have not stopped and are continuing through the coordinator of the Vienna negotiations.”
The Vienna talks, which started a year ago, aim to return the US to the nuclear deal, including through the lifting of sanctions on Iran, and to ensure Tehran’s full compliance with its commitments.
“It is clear that if the US had given the right answers to the remaining issues… everyone would have been in Vienna by now,” said Khatibzadeh.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said last week that “if Iran wants sanctions-lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they’ll need to address concerns of ours that go beyond the JCPOA.”
www.timesofisrael.com
US close to admitting failure of Iran nuclear talks, Israeli officials claim
As Israeli, US national security advisers meet in Washington amid stalled Vienna negotiations, Tehran calls for return to talks and blames US
By TOI staff and AFP 26 April 2022, 9:28 am
International Atomic Energy Organization director general Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, speaks with with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, left, during their meeting in Tehran, on March 5, 2022. (AP)
With Israel’s national security adviser in Washington to meet his counterpart, Israeli officials have reportedly said the chances of world powers signing a new nuclear deal with Iran are greatly diminished.
According to reports in the Israel Hayom newspaper and the Kan public broadcaster on Tuesday, US administration officials are closer than ever to admitting defeat on US President Joe Biden’s stated goal to return to the 2015 deal.
Talks in Vienna between Iran and world powers have been stalled for six weeks, reportedly over Iran’s demand that Washington delist its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from a US terror list.
“The possibility that the parties will sign an agreement in the foreseeable future is dwindling at an exponential rate,” an official told Israel Hayom. A source cited by Kan suggested that the White House “is much more willing these days, then it was in the past” to admit the talks are likely to fail.
According to an Axios report on Monday, the Biden administration “has recently started discussing a scenario” in which the deal won’t be revived.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Newsletter email address
By signing up, you agree to the terms
Last week, a senior Israeli diplomatic official claimed that Biden administration officials notified their European counterparts that Washington does not plan on delisting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
National Security Council chairman Eyal Hulata (L) and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in front of the White House, on October 5, 2021. (Jake Sullivan/Twitter)
National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata met with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan on Monday in Washington, a day after Biden told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that he would visit Israel in the coming months.
According to the US readout of the meeting, Sullivan told Hulata that “the United States is attuned to Israel’s concerns about threats to its security, including first and foremost from Iran and Iranian-backed proxies.”
During his conversation with Biden on Sunday, Bennett said that “I am sure that President Biden, who is a true friend of Israel and cares about its security, will not remove the Revolutionary Guards from the [State Department’s] list of [Foreign] Terrorist Organizations,” per the Israeli readout.
On Monday, Iran called for a new meeting “as soon as possible” in the Vienna negotiations it has been holding with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly, and the United States indirectly.
“It is appropriate that a face-to-face meeting is held as soon as possible,” Iran foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told his weekly press conference. “It is not yet decided where and when to have this meeting and at what level it should be held, but it is on the agenda.”
The 2015 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs meant to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied wanting to do.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to the media during a press conference in Tehran, on April 25, 2022. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
The United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-US president Donald Trump and reimposed biting economic sanctions, prompting Iran to begin rolling back its own commitments.
Iran and the US, adversaries for decades, have been exchanging views through the European coordinator of the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora.
Khatibzadeh said Iran and the European Union agreed that “prolonging the pause in the negotiations is not in anyone’s interest.” He added that the talks “have not stopped and are continuing through the coordinator of the Vienna negotiations.”
The Vienna talks, which started a year ago, aim to return the US to the nuclear deal, including through the lifting of sanctions on Iran, and to ensure Tehran’s full compliance with its commitments.
“It is clear that if the US had given the right answers to the remaining issues… everyone would have been in Vienna by now,” said Khatibzadeh.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said last week that “if Iran wants sanctions-lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they’ll need to address concerns of ours that go beyond the JCPOA.”
US close to admitting failure of Iran nuclear talks, Israeli officials claim
As Israeli, US national security advisers meet in Washington amid stalled Vienna negotiations, Tehran calls for return to talks and blames US
www.timesofisrael.com
Tristan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
If I didn't know better, I'd think we might be in the midst o' some unprecedented global power rebalancing...coming out from behind the curtain n being dealt like crack on the street corners o' anywhere inner city USA
First Squawk
@FirstSquawk
4h
ISRAEL ADDS CHINA'S YUAN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER TO ITS RESERVE HOLDINGS; CUTTING ITS EURO AND DOLLAR HOLDINGS BIGGEST RESHUFFLE IN A DECADE -BBG
Nations don't have Friends, they have Interests.
jward
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Khamenei urges Iranians to prepare for 'new world order'
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told university students that there is a new multipolar world order emerging.
April 27, 2022
During a speech to Iranian university students Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke about a number of global developments.
Khamenei said, “Today, the world is on the threshold of a new world order.” He said that the era of a bipolar or mono-polar world is coming to an end and that under this new order, “the US is becoming weaker day by day.”
Khamenei said that the war in Ukraine must be viewed from this perspective, though he didn’t offer details. He did warn that the Islamic Republic of Iran should be prepared for this world order with soft and hard power to guarantee the interests of the country. Khamenei encouraged the university students to play an active role in these endeavors.
According to Khamenei, many university students in the West, meaning the US and Europe, are opposed to the colonial policies of their countries. He encouraged Iranian university students to develop “healthy relationships” among these anti-imperial activists and “introduce the Islamic Republic” to them. Khamenei did add that Iran should put a stronger focus on neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
Khamenei’s view that the US is on the decline, a view he has previously shared, is not good news for the fate of the nuclear talks. Iran and the US are currently at a stalemate over reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the US exited in 2018. Iran wants the US to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its list of foreign terrorist organizations. The Biden administration wants non-nuclear promises for making the move, which Iran refuses to do, arguing that all Trump era sanctions must be removed.
Despite the lack of progress on the nuclear negotiations, which would lift sanctions on Iranian oil and banking, Iranian officials have publicly claimed their economy is moving ahead. Ali Salehabadi, the head of Iran’s Central Bank, said today, “In the sale of oil we have reached good numbers and we have collected all of the money from the sale of oil.” He continued, “Therefore, even if there is no JCPOA, securing currency in the country will be done properly and we will not have any problems with the exchange market.”
The Guardian has reported that Iran has not received its money from the UK after the release of dual nationals Nazanin Ratcliff and Anoosheh Ashoori. However, Salehabadi said, “Our requests from the UK have been collected and we have also used that money.” When Iran released the dual nationals, the UK had agreed to release Iran’s blocked money of 400 million pounds. However, the UK had stipulated that Iran only be able to make humanitarian purchases through an intermediary.
Related Topics
www.al-monitor.com
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told university students that there is a new multipolar world order emerging.
April 27, 2022
During a speech to Iranian university students Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke about a number of global developments.
Khamenei said, “Today, the world is on the threshold of a new world order.” He said that the era of a bipolar or mono-polar world is coming to an end and that under this new order, “the US is becoming weaker day by day.”
Khamenei said that the war in Ukraine must be viewed from this perspective, though he didn’t offer details. He did warn that the Islamic Republic of Iran should be prepared for this world order with soft and hard power to guarantee the interests of the country. Khamenei encouraged the university students to play an active role in these endeavors.
According to Khamenei, many university students in the West, meaning the US and Europe, are opposed to the colonial policies of their countries. He encouraged Iranian university students to develop “healthy relationships” among these anti-imperial activists and “introduce the Islamic Republic” to them. Khamenei did add that Iran should put a stronger focus on neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
Khamenei’s view that the US is on the decline, a view he has previously shared, is not good news for the fate of the nuclear talks. Iran and the US are currently at a stalemate over reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the US exited in 2018. Iran wants the US to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its list of foreign terrorist organizations. The Biden administration wants non-nuclear promises for making the move, which Iran refuses to do, arguing that all Trump era sanctions must be removed.
Despite the lack of progress on the nuclear negotiations, which would lift sanctions on Iranian oil and banking, Iranian officials have publicly claimed their economy is moving ahead. Ali Salehabadi, the head of Iran’s Central Bank, said today, “In the sale of oil we have reached good numbers and we have collected all of the money from the sale of oil.” He continued, “Therefore, even if there is no JCPOA, securing currency in the country will be done properly and we will not have any problems with the exchange market.”
The Guardian has reported that Iran has not received its money from the UK after the release of dual nationals Nazanin Ratcliff and Anoosheh Ashoori. However, Salehabadi said, “Our requests from the UK have been collected and we have also used that money.” When Iran released the dual nationals, the UK had agreed to release Iran’s blocked money of 400 million pounds. However, the UK had stipulated that Iran only be able to make humanitarian purchases through an intermediary.
Related Topics
Khamenei urges Iranians to prepare for 'new world order'
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told university students that there is a new multipolar world order emerging.
www.al-monitor.com
jward
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Newsmax
@newsmax
5m
The State Department is spending more than $2 million a month on round-the-clock security for Pompeo and former Iran envoy Brian Hook, due to the "serious and credible" threats made by Iranian leaders
View: https://twitter.com/newsmax/status/1519874282075017216?s=20&t=EXIwheiTICmavVVfjPyoYg
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Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
Hamas chief Sinwar threatens Jews worldwide: Israeli police entering Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque will trigger invasion of thousands of Jewish synagogues worldwide, spark religious war (via
@N12News
)
10:03 AM · Apr 30, 2022·Twitter Web App
@IsraelRadar_com
Hamas chief Sinwar threatens Jews worldwide: Israeli police entering Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque will trigger invasion of thousands of Jewish synagogues worldwide, spark religious war (via
@N12News
)
10:03 AM · Apr 30, 2022·Twitter Web App
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Mike
@Doranimated
22m
Many Turks believe that the CIA supported the attempted coup that the Gulen movement launched in 2016. For the CIA director to have himself photographed with the most prominent Gulenist in America is, to put it mildly, unwise.
View: https://twitter.com/Doranimated/status/1520524416450547722?s=20&t=UY9dFUpJXacWM9K8lwk6mw
jward
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Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
8h
#Israel carries out secret operations across Middle East every 10 days on average (via@WallaNews); some ops vs. Iran not publicized, says senior officer (via @IsraelHayomHeb)
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Israel Steps Up Intel Collection on Targets Inside Iran
Israel tracks Iranian targets (Archive: Zenobillis/iStock)
Israel has more than doubled the number and quality of targets for attack inside Iran, a senior IDF officer revealed. The army is currently setting up a branch focused on operational plans against the Iranians, says Brig. Gen. Amit Saar, the IDF’s intelligence research chief.
The military intelligence directorate is investing extensive efforts to prepare for a direct conflict with Iran, Saar told Walla News.
The army uses diverse means to collect high-value intel on Iran, including a specialized Navy unit deployed in remote locations, Walla said earlier. Unit 663 operates near hostile shores via warships and submarines, employs Farsi experts, and works with Mossad, the report said.
The IDF also monitors Iranian activities from a secret military base in Israel.
Iran’s nuclear status
The Iranians can quickly shift to weapons-grade uranium enrichment to 90%, Brig. Gen. Amit said in a separate interview with Israel Hayom daily. Tehran has fully mastered the enrichment process and a nuclear breakout is only a matter of decision, he warned.
While Iran is only weeks away from producing enough nuclear material for a bomb, building it and fitting it on a missile would take another two years, he said.
Saar’s remarks come as Israel quietly advances its plans and preparations for a military strike on Iran.
An assault on Iranian nuclear sites will consist of more than just airstrikes, a high-ranking officer recently told Ynet. The report hinted that the IDF will also engage in cyber operations.
Share this post
israelradar.com
Israel has more than doubled the number and quality of targets for attack inside Iran, a senior IDF officer revealed. The army is currently setting up a branch focused on operational plans against the Iranians, says Brig. Gen. Amit Saar, the IDF’s intelligence research chief.
The military intelligence directorate is investing extensive efforts to prepare for a direct conflict with Iran, Saar told Walla News.
The army uses diverse means to collect high-value intel on Iran, including a specialized Navy unit deployed in remote locations, Walla said earlier. Unit 663 operates near hostile shores via warships and submarines, employs Farsi experts, and works with Mossad, the report said.
The IDF also monitors Iranian activities from a secret military base in Israel.
Iran’s nuclear status
The Iranians can quickly shift to weapons-grade uranium enrichment to 90%, Brig. Gen. Amit said in a separate interview with Israel Hayom daily. Tehran has fully mastered the enrichment process and a nuclear breakout is only a matter of decision, he warned.
While Iran is only weeks away from producing enough nuclear material for a bomb, building it and fitting it on a missile would take another two years, he said.
Saar’s remarks come as Israel quietly advances its plans and preparations for a military strike on Iran.
An assault on Iranian nuclear sites will consist of more than just airstrikes, a high-ranking officer recently told Ynet. The report hinted that the IDF will also engage in cyber operations.
Share this post
Israel Steps Up Intel Collection on Targets Inside Iran
Israel has more than doubled the number and quality of targets for attack inside Iran, a senior IDF officer revealed...
israelradar.com
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EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
Update: The US State Department: We are preparing with our allies for the scenario of no agreement with Iran and we will have to resort to other tactics.
@EndGameWW3
Update: The US State Department: We are preparing with our allies for the scenario of no agreement with Iran and we will have to resort to other tactics.
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Facing domestic woes, Erdoğan looks to mend ties with Riyadh
Gönül Tol
Director of Turkey Program and Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently ordered his courts to sentence an innocent man, rights activist Osman Kavala, to life in prison on invented charges while asking a Turkish prosecutor to stop the trial for the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whom Erdoğan called a friend. A few days later, Erdoğan stood in front of the cameras and hugged Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man who U.S. intelligence concluded ordered the gruesome killing of the journalist on Turkish soil in 2018. The reason for the shift is because elections are coming up. Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in 2023 and Erdoğan is facing an economic meltdown that is worsening by the day, growing backlash against the millions of Syrian refugees living in the country, and declining popularity. His solution to all of that is to double down on repression of critics at home and embrace one-time regional foes abroad. Khashoggi’s murder had caused a years-long spat between the president and the crown prince, but Erdoğan’s pledge that he would not let those responsible for Khashoggi’s killing avoid justice has gradually given way to realpolitik.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated Turkey’s economic woes. Soaring global energy and commodity prices are increasing the country’s trade deficit. Rising inflation only makes matters worse. Erdoğan desperately needs inflows of foreign capital. He is hoping that mending ties with Riyadh will attract Saudi investment, ease the de facto ban on Turkish goods Riyadh imposed in response to Erdoğan’s stance on Khashoggi’s killing, and rekindle bilateral trade. Indeed, there are signs that the Gulf state had already started easing the restrictions on trade between the two countries, with Saudi Arabia's imports from Turkey rising by 2.8% in the first two months of 2022. But it is far from certain whether mending ties with the kingdom will prove to be the quick fix Erdoğan is looking for ahead of next year’s elections. Despite Erdoğan’s decision to suspend the Khashoggi trial and his warm embrace of the crown prince, Saudi officials seem to be in no hurry to save the man who released a stream of evidence that undermined Riyadh’s early denial of involvement in the 2018 killing.
Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia signals an easing of tension
Thomas W. Lippman
Non-Resident Scholar
It was easy to understand the big grin on the face of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he shook hands with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey in Jeddah on April 28. After years of political and religious rivalry between the two countries, Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia, complete with a banquet hosted by King Salman, appears to put an end to more than a decade of tension as the two countries competed for leadership throughout the region.
Erdoğan was not smiling. His vision of a new Middle East aligned around Turkish leadership has faded after he backed losing factions in Egypt and Syria and Turkey’s economy fell into a tailspin, propelled in part by an unofficial Saudi boycott of Turkish goods.
After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire a century ago, Turkey all but disappeared as a force in the Arab world, but Erdoğan, abandoning his country’s Kemalist secularism, sought to reassert it. Just a few years ago, Erdoğan was proclaiming that “Turkey is the only country that can lead the Muslim world” and officials of his party were criticizing Saudi Arabia’s management of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Erdoğan was the most vociferous critic of Saudi Arabia after the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. “We know the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government,” Erdoğan wrote in The Washington Post, for which Khashoggi had been a contributing columnist.
At the time, the Saudis were demanding the removal of Turkish troops from Qatar, where Erdoğan had sent them to fend off a possible invasion by Saudi Arabia, then the leader of a multi-national Arab coalition boycotting Qatar because of its perceived ties to Islamist groups and its economic relations with Iran.
Now, in need of economic succor, Erdoğan has put aside his fury over the Khashoggi killing. Three weeks ago Turkey abandoned the trial in absentia that it was conducting of Saudi officials suspected of the murder. Erdoğan had always refrained from blaming King Salman in that case, but he had left no doubt that he held Prince Mohammed responsible.
In its reports on Erdoğan’s visit, the official Saudi news agency gave no details about what he and the crown prince discussed. Whether Erdoğan’s pilgrimage results in any specific outcomes other than burying the Khashoggi case remains to be seen. But the elaborate royal welcome the Saudis gave the Turkish president is a clear sign that a major source of regional tension has been eased.
Monday Briefing: Facing domestic woes, Erdoğan looks to mend ties with Riyadh
Gönül Tol
Director of Turkey Program and Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently ordered his courts to sentence an innocent man, rights activist Osman Kavala, to life in prison on invented charges while asking a Turkish prosecutor to stop the trial for the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whom Erdoğan called a friend. A few days later, Erdoğan stood in front of the cameras and hugged Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man who U.S. intelligence concluded ordered the gruesome killing of the journalist on Turkish soil in 2018. The reason for the shift is because elections are coming up. Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in 2023 and Erdoğan is facing an economic meltdown that is worsening by the day, growing backlash against the millions of Syrian refugees living in the country, and declining popularity. His solution to all of that is to double down on repression of critics at home and embrace one-time regional foes abroad. Khashoggi’s murder had caused a years-long spat between the president and the crown prince, but Erdoğan’s pledge that he would not let those responsible for Khashoggi’s killing avoid justice has gradually given way to realpolitik.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated Turkey’s economic woes. Soaring global energy and commodity prices are increasing the country’s trade deficit. Rising inflation only makes matters worse. Erdoğan desperately needs inflows of foreign capital. He is hoping that mending ties with Riyadh will attract Saudi investment, ease the de facto ban on Turkish goods Riyadh imposed in response to Erdoğan’s stance on Khashoggi’s killing, and rekindle bilateral trade. Indeed, there are signs that the Gulf state had already started easing the restrictions on trade between the two countries, with Saudi Arabia's imports from Turkey rising by 2.8% in the first two months of 2022. But it is far from certain whether mending ties with the kingdom will prove to be the quick fix Erdoğan is looking for ahead of next year’s elections. Despite Erdoğan’s decision to suspend the Khashoggi trial and his warm embrace of the crown prince, Saudi officials seem to be in no hurry to save the man who released a stream of evidence that undermined Riyadh’s early denial of involvement in the 2018 killing.
Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia signals an easing of tension
Thomas W. Lippman
Non-Resident Scholar
It was easy to understand the big grin on the face of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as he shook hands with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey in Jeddah on April 28. After years of political and religious rivalry between the two countries, Erdoğan’s visit to Saudi Arabia, complete with a banquet hosted by King Salman, appears to put an end to more than a decade of tension as the two countries competed for leadership throughout the region.
Erdoğan was not smiling. His vision of a new Middle East aligned around Turkish leadership has faded after he backed losing factions in Egypt and Syria and Turkey’s economy fell into a tailspin, propelled in part by an unofficial Saudi boycott of Turkish goods.
After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire a century ago, Turkey all but disappeared as a force in the Arab world, but Erdoğan, abandoning his country’s Kemalist secularism, sought to reassert it. Just a few years ago, Erdoğan was proclaiming that “Turkey is the only country that can lead the Muslim world” and officials of his party were criticizing Saudi Arabia’s management of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Erdoğan was the most vociferous critic of Saudi Arabia after the dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. “We know the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government,” Erdoğan wrote in The Washington Post, for which Khashoggi had been a contributing columnist.
At the time, the Saudis were demanding the removal of Turkish troops from Qatar, where Erdoğan had sent them to fend off a possible invasion by Saudi Arabia, then the leader of a multi-national Arab coalition boycotting Qatar because of its perceived ties to Islamist groups and its economic relations with Iran.
Now, in need of economic succor, Erdoğan has put aside his fury over the Khashoggi killing. Three weeks ago Turkey abandoned the trial in absentia that it was conducting of Saudi officials suspected of the murder. Erdoğan had always refrained from blaming King Salman in that case, but he had left no doubt that he held Prince Mohammed responsible.
In its reports on Erdoğan’s visit, the official Saudi news agency gave no details about what he and the crown prince discussed. Whether Erdoğan’s pilgrimage results in any specific outcomes other than burying the Khashoggi case remains to be seen. But the elaborate royal welcome the Saudis gave the Turkish president is a clear sign that a major source of regional tension has been eased.
Monday Briefing: Facing domestic woes, Erdoğan looks to mend ties with Riyadh
jward
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Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
6h
Israeli defense chiefs meet to discuss response to deadly terror attack; Hamas praises murder of Israelis; sooner or later IDF will have to strike hard in Gaza, possibly targeting terror leaders.
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
Israeli officials: 3 dead in terror attack east of Tel Aviv, 2 seriously hurt (via @GLZRadio); manhunt for attackers ongoing; celebrations underway in Gaza, risk of Israel-Hamas escalation is growing.
@IsraelRadar_com
6h
Israeli defense chiefs meet to discuss response to deadly terror attack; Hamas praises murder of Israelis; sooner or later IDF will have to strike hard in Gaza, possibly targeting terror leaders.
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
Israeli officials: 3 dead in terror attack east of Tel Aviv, 2 seriously hurt (via @GLZRadio); manhunt for attackers ongoing; celebrations underway in Gaza, risk of Israel-Hamas escalation is growing.
jward
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Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
7h
#Israeli media calls for hitting Hamas hard, killing terror chief Sinwar to counter wave of attacks; policy of not punishing Hamas in Gaza for encouraging & praising murders has failed, leading journalists say.
@IsraelRadar_com
7h
#Israeli media calls for hitting Hamas hard, killing terror chief Sinwar to counter wave of attacks; policy of not punishing Hamas in Gaza for encouraging & praising murders has failed, leading journalists say.
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Terror groups threaten missile strikes if Israel resumes assassinations
There have been growing talks in Israeli media that Israel may assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar following the Elad terror attack.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Published: MAY 7, 2022 16:40
Updated: MAY 7, 2022 19:39
YAHYA SINWAR, leader of Hamas in Gaza, gestures on stage during a rally in Gaza City on May 24
(photo credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)
Palestinian terror groups have threatened to launch terrorist attacks inside Israeli cities if the government resumes the policy of targeted killings, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV station reported on Saturday.
According to the report, the terror groups “informed the mediators that the return of the assassination policy means the return of bombings inside the occupied cities.”
The threat came amid growing talk in the Israeli media that Israel may assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in response to Thursday’s terror attack in the city of Elad, which resulted in the murder of three Israeli men.
Al-Mayadeen quoted unnamed sources as saying that Hamas relayed to the Egyptians a message to the effect that the terror group was not worried about Israel’s threats to assassinate its leaders.
“The price for such foolishness is known to the enemy,” the sources said. “The resistance will burn the cities of the center [of Israel] and will direct massive missile strikes on Gush Dan if it carries out its threats.”
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar speaks to the media following a meeting with U.N. mediators, in Gaza City June 21, 2021. (credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)
Egyptian sources were quoted over the weekend as saying that Cairo rules out the possibility that Israel would resume the policy of targeted assassinations.
The sources told the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed online news website that Egyptian mediators had previously warned Israel that harming Sinwar or any other leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad would mean that the Jewish state “has taken a decision to launch an all-out military confrontation.”
The sources added that the Egyptians were recently contacted by the US administration with the goal of preventing an escalation.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, said in a statement shortly after the Elad terror attack that Israel’s threats to assassinate Sinwar and other terror leaders “will not deter us from defending our land, our holy sites, our right to return and the liberation of our prisoners.”
Haniyeh added that the “resistance” against Israel “will continue until we achieve our full goals.”
Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Risheq, said on Friday that the Israeli “threats and incitement to assassinate Yahya Sinwar or any of the movement’s leaders don’t frighten us.”
Risheq said that the threats were part of a “failed Israeli attempt to reassure the terrified settlers.”
The threats, he added, would only increase Hamas’s “determination to defend Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque.”
www.jpost.com
There have been growing talks in Israeli media that Israel may assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar following the Elad terror attack.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Published: MAY 7, 2022 16:40
Updated: MAY 7, 2022 19:39
YAHYA SINWAR, leader of Hamas in Gaza, gestures on stage during a rally in Gaza City on May 24
(photo credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)
Palestinian terror groups have threatened to launch terrorist attacks inside Israeli cities if the government resumes the policy of targeted killings, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV station reported on Saturday.
According to the report, the terror groups “informed the mediators that the return of the assassination policy means the return of bombings inside the occupied cities.”
The threat came amid growing talk in the Israeli media that Israel may assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in response to Thursday’s terror attack in the city of Elad, which resulted in the murder of three Israeli men.
Al-Mayadeen quoted unnamed sources as saying that Hamas relayed to the Egyptians a message to the effect that the terror group was not worried about Israel’s threats to assassinate its leaders.
“The price for such foolishness is known to the enemy,” the sources said. “The resistance will burn the cities of the center [of Israel] and will direct massive missile strikes on Gush Dan if it carries out its threats.”
Egyptian sources were quoted over the weekend as saying that Cairo rules out the possibility that Israel would resume the policy of targeted assassinations.
The sources told the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed online news website that Egyptian mediators had previously warned Israel that harming Sinwar or any other leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad would mean that the Jewish state “has taken a decision to launch an all-out military confrontation.”
The sources added that the Egyptians were recently contacted by the US administration with the goal of preventing an escalation.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, said in a statement shortly after the Elad terror attack that Israel’s threats to assassinate Sinwar and other terror leaders “will not deter us from defending our land, our holy sites, our right to return and the liberation of our prisoners.”
Haniyeh added that the “resistance” against Israel “will continue until we achieve our full goals.”
Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Risheq, said on Friday that the Israeli “threats and incitement to assassinate Yahya Sinwar or any of the movement’s leaders don’t frighten us.”
Risheq said that the threats were part of a “failed Israeli attempt to reassure the terrified settlers.”
The threats, he added, would only increase Hamas’s “determination to defend Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque.”
Terror orgs threaten rocket strikes if Israel resumes targeted killings
There have been growing talks in Israeli media that Israel may assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar following the Elad terror attack.
www.jpost.com
jward
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Samuel Ramani
@SamRamani2
Russia is reportedly transferring units from Syria to Ukraine These Russian units will cede bases to Iran and Hezbollah. Israel will be on high alert.
Bashar al-Assad's surprise visit to Tehran makes sense given this development Russia's past disdain for Iranian bases in southern Syria has faded in recent years, but competition between Russia and Iran in the reconstruction and security sector reform areas remain
Why Russia risks losing Syria to Iran
In the event of intensified fighting in Syria, Assad will likely turn to Iran rather than Russia for support.
Saturday 07/05/2022
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (R) receives Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Damascus, March 23, 2022. (AFP)
Russia’s military debacle in Ukraine will have serious consequences for Moscow’s geopolitical position. Unable to defeat one of the poorest countries in Europe, the Kremlin will now have a hard time preserving its traditional allies in the Russian sphere of influence.
This is especially true in Syria, which has been under Moscow’s strategic umbrella since the Soviet era. For instance, Turkey’s recent decision to close its airspace to Russian aircraft transiting to Syria,viewed as applying pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine, will affect Russian military capabilities in Syria, where more than 63,000 Russian troops have deployed.
Turkey’s own military adventures in Syria will further complicate Russia’s role there. Ankara recently launched a spate of strikes on Kurdish-run parts of the country’s northeast and although they do not pose an immediate threat to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the attacks could alter Russia’s support for the Syrian leader. As Russia expert Alexey Malashenko explains, if Syria’s civil war reignites, Moscow would have no choice but to withdraw Russian troops from the Middle Eastern country, as the Kremlin cannot wage two large-scale conflicts at the same time.
The Kremlin’s weak reaction to Turkey’s decision to close its airspace to Russian planes is another sign that Russian policymakers are aware that when it comes to Syria, Ankara has the upper hand. Perhaps this explains why Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the paramilitary Wagner Group who is closely linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently praised Turkish actions against the Kurds in Iraq and Syria by saying that Ankara, engaged in its own “holy war,” has “every moral right to fight Kurdish militants.”
Such rhetoric will not help the Kremlin appease Ankara, but Putin may recognise the futility of trying. Even though Turkey has not formally joined anti-Russian sanctions over Ukraine, it continues to supply weapons to the Ukrainian government and its recent actions suggest that Ankara could soon launch a large-scale military campaign of its own in Syria.
Russian officials are aware of such a possibility. Semyon Bagdasarov, a Middle East expert and a member of the Russian parliament, said on April 24 that Turkey’s ban on Russian flights to Syria could be part of Ankara’s efforts to resolve the situation in northern Syria in its favour, at Russia’s expense. “We should never forget that Turkey is a member of NATO,” said Bagdasarov, explaining why Turkish leaders had yet again stabbed Russia in the back (a sentiment that dates back years).
Hypothetically, Russia could respond to Ankara’s actions in Syria by banning the imports of Turkish tomatoes, or by temporarily closing the TurkStream pipeline for “maintenance.” But given Moscow’s weak geopolitical position and the fact that its economy already suffers from Western sanctions, it is unlikely that the Kremlin will do anything further to jeopardise relations with Ankara.
For Russia, the flight ban means that it will have difficulty supplying troops in Khmeimim and Tartus. It is entirely possible that Turkey, pressured by the United States, made such a decision to prevent Russia from relocating parts of its air force from Khmeimim to Ukraine. Previously, on February 28, Ankara restricted passage of Russian warships through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits unless they were returning to their bases in the Black Sea. In other words, unless Turkish-backed rebels launch a large-scale offensive in Syria, Russia’s assistance to Assad’s Syrian Arab Army will be limited. Even then, the Ukraine war has significantly diminished Russia’s response capacity.
That is why, in the event of intensified fighting in Syria, Assad will likely turn to Iran rather than Russia for support. According to some reports, Iranian forces have already deployed to parts of Syria previously controlled by Russian troops.
Iran is also stepping up to address fuel shortages in Syria, which are impacting basic services and leading to an increase in food prices. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow was actively supplying petrol to Syria. But Putin’s Ukrainian adventure has disrupted supply chains and now, according to Russian sources, Iran has become the main supplier of petrol and other fuels to the Assad regime.
None of this has changed Syria’s political allegiance and for now at least, Damascus remains loyal to Moscow. As Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad put it recently: Syria “supports the Russian Federation in its opposition to the West’s policy based on lies and double standards.” Syria also praised Russia’s decision to recognise the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic in Ukraine’s Donbas region (although Damascus has not officially recognised the self-proclaimed entities).
Assad seems to be pursuing a foreign policy that has been used for years by another Russian ally, Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko. But while Lukashenko has been balancing between Russia and the West, Assad will, for the foreseeable future, balance Syria’s ties between Moscow and Tehran. Yet in the long-term, the war in Ukraine will diminish Russia’s influence in Syria and in the process, open the door for Iran to replace Russia as Assad’s main backer.
Written By Nikola Mikovic
Nikola Mikovic is a political analyst in Serbia. His work focuses mostly on the foreign policies of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with special attention on energy and “pipeline politics.”
thearabweekly.com
@SamRamani2
Russia is reportedly transferring units from Syria to Ukraine These Russian units will cede bases to Iran and Hezbollah. Israel will be on high alert.
Bashar al-Assad's surprise visit to Tehran makes sense given this development Russia's past disdain for Iranian bases in southern Syria has faded in recent years, but competition between Russia and Iran in the reconstruction and security sector reform areas remain
Why Russia risks losing Syria to Iran
In the event of intensified fighting in Syria, Assad will likely turn to Iran rather than Russia for support.
Saturday 07/05/2022
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (R) receives Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Damascus, March 23, 2022. (AFP)
Russia’s military debacle in Ukraine will have serious consequences for Moscow’s geopolitical position. Unable to defeat one of the poorest countries in Europe, the Kremlin will now have a hard time preserving its traditional allies in the Russian sphere of influence.
This is especially true in Syria, which has been under Moscow’s strategic umbrella since the Soviet era. For instance, Turkey’s recent decision to close its airspace to Russian aircraft transiting to Syria,viewed as applying pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine, will affect Russian military capabilities in Syria, where more than 63,000 Russian troops have deployed.
Turkey’s own military adventures in Syria will further complicate Russia’s role there. Ankara recently launched a spate of strikes on Kurdish-run parts of the country’s northeast and although they do not pose an immediate threat to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the attacks could alter Russia’s support for the Syrian leader. As Russia expert Alexey Malashenko explains, if Syria’s civil war reignites, Moscow would have no choice but to withdraw Russian troops from the Middle Eastern country, as the Kremlin cannot wage two large-scale conflicts at the same time.
The Kremlin’s weak reaction to Turkey’s decision to close its airspace to Russian planes is another sign that Russian policymakers are aware that when it comes to Syria, Ankara has the upper hand. Perhaps this explains why Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the paramilitary Wagner Group who is closely linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently praised Turkish actions against the Kurds in Iraq and Syria by saying that Ankara, engaged in its own “holy war,” has “every moral right to fight Kurdish militants.”
Such rhetoric will not help the Kremlin appease Ankara, but Putin may recognise the futility of trying. Even though Turkey has not formally joined anti-Russian sanctions over Ukraine, it continues to supply weapons to the Ukrainian government and its recent actions suggest that Ankara could soon launch a large-scale military campaign of its own in Syria.
Russian officials are aware of such a possibility. Semyon Bagdasarov, a Middle East expert and a member of the Russian parliament, said on April 24 that Turkey’s ban on Russian flights to Syria could be part of Ankara’s efforts to resolve the situation in northern Syria in its favour, at Russia’s expense. “We should never forget that Turkey is a member of NATO,” said Bagdasarov, explaining why Turkish leaders had yet again stabbed Russia in the back (a sentiment that dates back years).
Hypothetically, Russia could respond to Ankara’s actions in Syria by banning the imports of Turkish tomatoes, or by temporarily closing the TurkStream pipeline for “maintenance.” But given Moscow’s weak geopolitical position and the fact that its economy already suffers from Western sanctions, it is unlikely that the Kremlin will do anything further to jeopardise relations with Ankara.
For Russia, the flight ban means that it will have difficulty supplying troops in Khmeimim and Tartus. It is entirely possible that Turkey, pressured by the United States, made such a decision to prevent Russia from relocating parts of its air force from Khmeimim to Ukraine. Previously, on February 28, Ankara restricted passage of Russian warships through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits unless they were returning to their bases in the Black Sea. In other words, unless Turkish-backed rebels launch a large-scale offensive in Syria, Russia’s assistance to Assad’s Syrian Arab Army will be limited. Even then, the Ukraine war has significantly diminished Russia’s response capacity.
That is why, in the event of intensified fighting in Syria, Assad will likely turn to Iran rather than Russia for support. According to some reports, Iranian forces have already deployed to parts of Syria previously controlled by Russian troops.
Iran is also stepping up to address fuel shortages in Syria, which are impacting basic services and leading to an increase in food prices. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow was actively supplying petrol to Syria. But Putin’s Ukrainian adventure has disrupted supply chains and now, according to Russian sources, Iran has become the main supplier of petrol and other fuels to the Assad regime.
None of this has changed Syria’s political allegiance and for now at least, Damascus remains loyal to Moscow. As Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad put it recently: Syria “supports the Russian Federation in its opposition to the West’s policy based on lies and double standards.” Syria also praised Russia’s decision to recognise the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic in Ukraine’s Donbas region (although Damascus has not officially recognised the self-proclaimed entities).
Assad seems to be pursuing a foreign policy that has been used for years by another Russian ally, Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko. But while Lukashenko has been balancing between Russia and the West, Assad will, for the foreseeable future, balance Syria’s ties between Moscow and Tehran. Yet in the long-term, the war in Ukraine will diminish Russia’s influence in Syria and in the process, open the door for Iran to replace Russia as Assad’s main backer.
Written By Nikola Mikovic
Nikola Mikovic is a political analyst in Serbia. His work focuses mostly on the foreign policies of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with special attention on energy and “pipeline politics.”
Why Russia risks losing Syria to Iran | Nikola Mikovic | AW
Iran is stepping up to address fuel shortages in Syria, which are impacting basic services and leading to an increase in food prices.
jward
passin' thru
Israel considering military op in Jenin or Gaza in response to terror wave – reports
Bennett, Gantz, top security officials huddle; PM said to favor targeting Gaza Strip, while Gantz, backed by army and Shin Bet, wants broad arrest sweep in West Bank
8 May 2022, 11:48 pm
Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers in the village of Al-Sila Al-Harithi, near the West Bank city of Jenin, May 7, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
Israel is considering responding to the ongoing wave of deadly terror attacks by launching a military operation in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, with a focus on the city of Jenin, according to Hebrew media reports Sunday.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz were said to be divided over which of the two options to pursue, during a meeting with top security officials about the terror onslaught.
Jenin was highlighted because most of the Palestinians who carried out recent terror attacks came from the city or its surroundings, including two men arrested earlier in the day after perpetrating an axe attack last Thursday in the Israeli town of Elad that killed three people and seriously injured several others.
A broad military operation in Jenin would aim to arrest suspects and prevent further attacks. It would also include additional arrest operations in other towns and cities as well as a show of force across the West Bank, according to reports.
Alternatively, an operation in Gaza would target the Hamas terror group, the ruler of the Palestinian enclave, which is seen as inciting Palestinians to stage attacks.
The unsourced reports did not specify what a potential Gaza operation would entail.
Gantz, backed by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service, favored a Jenin operation, while Bennett pushed for taking on Gaza, Channel 13 news reported.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, right, with Minister of Defense Benny Gantz during a plenum session at the Knesset, on February 28, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Following the meeting, the military liaison unit to the Palestinians, known as COGAT, announced that the closure of West Bank crossings that has been in place since last Tuesday would end Sunday night.
However, Palestinians from Rummanah, near Jenin, where the Elad terrorists came from will not be allowed to enter Israel, COGAT said. The Gaza Strip’s Erez Crossing into Israel will remain closed until further notice, though it will be open for humanitarian, medical, and other special needs
In another move aimed at curbing the wave of terror, Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Channel 12 that he ordered his office to look into whether authorities can demolish the homes of terrorists even if they are citizens of Israel.
A number of the recent attacks were carried out by Israeli Arab citizens, and Sa’ar said demolishing their homes may help deter future attackers.
“We need to find new methods of deterrence,” Sa’ar said.
Until now, Israel has only implemented the controversial policy against Palestinians in the West Bank, and there may be legal barriers preventing its implementation within the Green Line.
Israel’s last major conflict with the Gaza Strip was the 11-day clash in May 2021 dubbed Operation Guardian of the Walls by the IDF. As Hamas-led terror groups fired thousands of rockets at Israeli cities, Israel responded with intensive airstrikes on terror targets in Gaza.
Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a meeting in Gaza City, on April 30, 2022. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)
On Saturday, Hamas threatened to go back to carrying out suicide bombings and to “burn” Israeli cities if Jerusalem resumes its policy of targeted killings of senior terror figures.
The group’s military wing also issued a threat for an “unprecedented response” and a “regional earthquake,” should Israel attempt to harm any of its top leadership, especially Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.
Some Israeli legislators and pundits have advocated killing Sinwar in response to the current terror wave, which he has urged on from the coastal enclave.
Police officers at the scene of a stabbing attack at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, on May 8, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Since March 22, when the terror began to spike, 19 Israelis have been killed in attacks. There were two further attacks by Palestinians on Sunday, a stabbing at the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem that moderately injured a policeman, and the infiltration in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Tekoa by a man carrying a knife.
Both Palestinians were shot by security personnel.
www.timesofisrael.com
Bennett, Gantz, top security officials huddle; PM said to favor targeting Gaza Strip, while Gantz, backed by army and Shin Bet, wants broad arrest sweep in West Bank
8 May 2022, 11:48 pm
Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers in the village of Al-Sila Al-Harithi, near the West Bank city of Jenin, May 7, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
Israel is considering responding to the ongoing wave of deadly terror attacks by launching a military operation in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, with a focus on the city of Jenin, according to Hebrew media reports Sunday.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz were said to be divided over which of the two options to pursue, during a meeting with top security officials about the terror onslaught.
Jenin was highlighted because most of the Palestinians who carried out recent terror attacks came from the city or its surroundings, including two men arrested earlier in the day after perpetrating an axe attack last Thursday in the Israeli town of Elad that killed three people and seriously injured several others.
A broad military operation in Jenin would aim to arrest suspects and prevent further attacks. It would also include additional arrest operations in other towns and cities as well as a show of force across the West Bank, according to reports.
Alternatively, an operation in Gaza would target the Hamas terror group, the ruler of the Palestinian enclave, which is seen as inciting Palestinians to stage attacks.
The unsourced reports did not specify what a potential Gaza operation would entail.
Gantz, backed by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service, favored a Jenin operation, while Bennett pushed for taking on Gaza, Channel 13 news reported.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, right, with Minister of Defense Benny Gantz during a plenum session at the Knesset, on February 28, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Following the meeting, the military liaison unit to the Palestinians, known as COGAT, announced that the closure of West Bank crossings that has been in place since last Tuesday would end Sunday night.
However, Palestinians from Rummanah, near Jenin, where the Elad terrorists came from will not be allowed to enter Israel, COGAT said. The Gaza Strip’s Erez Crossing into Israel will remain closed until further notice, though it will be open for humanitarian, medical, and other special needs
In another move aimed at curbing the wave of terror, Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Channel 12 that he ordered his office to look into whether authorities can demolish the homes of terrorists even if they are citizens of Israel.
A number of the recent attacks were carried out by Israeli Arab citizens, and Sa’ar said demolishing their homes may help deter future attackers.
“We need to find new methods of deterrence,” Sa’ar said.
Until now, Israel has only implemented the controversial policy against Palestinians in the West Bank, and there may be legal barriers preventing its implementation within the Green Line.
Israel’s last major conflict with the Gaza Strip was the 11-day clash in May 2021 dubbed Operation Guardian of the Walls by the IDF. As Hamas-led terror groups fired thousands of rockets at Israeli cities, Israel responded with intensive airstrikes on terror targets in Gaza.
Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a meeting in Gaza City, on April 30, 2022. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)
On Saturday, Hamas threatened to go back to carrying out suicide bombings and to “burn” Israeli cities if Jerusalem resumes its policy of targeted killings of senior terror figures.
The group’s military wing also issued a threat for an “unprecedented response” and a “regional earthquake,” should Israel attempt to harm any of its top leadership, especially Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.
Some Israeli legislators and pundits have advocated killing Sinwar in response to the current terror wave, which he has urged on from the coastal enclave.
Police officers at the scene of a stabbing attack at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, on May 8, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Since March 22, when the terror began to spike, 19 Israelis have been killed in attacks. There were two further attacks by Palestinians on Sunday, a stabbing at the Damascus Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem that moderately injured a policeman, and the infiltration in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Tekoa by a man carrying a knife.
Both Palestinians were shot by security personnel.
Israel considering military op in Jenin or Gaza in response to terror wave – reports
Bennett, Gantz, top security officials huddle; PM said to favor targeting Gaza Strip, while Gantz, backed by army and Shin Bet, wants broad arrest sweep in West Bank
www.timesofisrael.com
jward
passin' thru
אינטלי טיימס - Intelli Times
@IntelliTimes
אם צה"ל יצליח לקשור באמצעות "ניתוח גיאוגרפי" בין קצה הסימטה שממנה תועד ירי פלסטיני למורד הרחוב שבו נפגעה העיתונאית אז יש לו כתב הגנה.
Translated from Hebrew by
If the IDF manages to link the end of the alley from which a Palestinian shooting was recorded down the street where the journalist was injured by means of a "geographical analysis", then he has a letter of defense.
View: https://twitter.com/IntelliTimes/status/1524298298831605762?s=20&t=D3zqsFRNKMBEB87aF5A4CQ
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian
@manniefabian
1h
IDF publishes a video of troops operating in Jenin earlier this morning, under heavy gunfire. The IDF says it is continuing to investigate the death of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh.
View: https://twitter.com/manniefabian/status/1524367523931693057?s=20&t=D3zqsFRNKMBEB87aF5A4CQ
jward
passin' thru
Israel Conflict News
@IsraelGazaICN
Large armed march in Jenin condemning and calling for revenge against Israel following the death of Daoud Al-Zubaidi, who is a brother of a former commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades who died after being shot by Israeli soldiers in Jenin a couple of days ago
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelGazaICN/status/1525906308154609664?s=20&t=AHjoDEH82cHFfrSowmG5Jg
@IsraelGazaICN
Large armed march in Jenin condemning and calling for revenge against Israel following the death of Daoud Al-Zubaidi, who is a brother of a former commander in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades who died after being shot by Israeli soldiers in Jenin a couple of days ago
View: https://twitter.com/IsraelGazaICN/status/1525906308154609664?s=20&t=AHjoDEH82cHFfrSowmG5Jg
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
Israel's security cabinet meets at IDF headquarters, briefed on major military exercise this month & preparations for war on multiple fronts.
12:52 AM · May 16, 2022·Twitter Web App
jward
passin' thru
Joe Truzman
@JoeTruzman
1m
Israeli news reporting an S-300 missile was fired at Israeli warplanes in Syria. No details as to when it happened, may have been in recent days.
@alonbd
jward
passin' thru
In first, Russian military said to fire S-300 missiles at Israeli jets over Syria
TV says incident came as IAF fighters departed area after alleged strike last week and they were not in danger; move could signal a significant shift in Moscow’s ties with Israel
By TOI staff Today, 1:36 am
Russian S-300 air defense missile systems drive during the Victory Day military parade marking 71 years after the victory in WWII in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Russian forces opened fire on Israeli jets with advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles as they allegedly attacked targets in northwestern Syria last week, Channel 13 news reported Monday, in what could signal a significant shift in Moscow’s attitude to Israel.
According to the unsourced report, the incident occurred on Friday as the Israeli air force bombed several targets near the city of Masyaf in northwestern Syria.
On Friday night at least five people were killed and seven others were hurt in the alleged airstrike, Syria’s state news agency said. Other media in the country said six were killed, all crew members of a Pantsir air defense system who attempted to take down the Israeli missiles.
The report said the Syrian military fired off dozens of anti-aircraft missiles which have been largely ineffective at halting the hundreds of Israeli strikes on Syria in recent years.
However, this time the S-300 batteries also opened fire as the jets were departing the area and ultimately did not present a real threat to the IAF fighters, the report said, noting that Syria’s S-300 batteries are operated by the Russian military and cannot fire without their approval.
The report also said that the S-300 radar did not manage to lock onto the Israeli jets.
Illustrative photo of a Russian S-300 air defense missile. (photo credit: AP/File)
If confirmed, this would mark the first time such an incident has taken place and a concerning development for Israel which has carried out hundreds of airstrikes inside Syria in the course of the country’s civil war, targeting what it says are arms shipments bound for Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group
Israel rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations and there was no confirmation of the raid or the S-300 launch from the IDF.
The Masyaf area is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks attributed to Israel. Sattelite imagery taken after the strike showed that an underground facility had been completely destroyed.
This photo released by ImageSat International on May 15, 2022, shows sites allegedly struck by Israel in the Masyaf region of Syria. (ImageSat International)
The report comes amid a deterioration in ties between Israel and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. Israel has tried to walk a fine line between Moscow and Kyiv but has recently become more critical of Russia as evidence emerged of Russian atrocities and growing antisemitic rhetoric from Russian leaders.
Russia, a close ally of Syria’s Bashar Assad, has forces based and operating in Syria.
Beyond providing Syria with its air defenses, Moscow also maintains state-of-the-art S-400 air defense systems to protect its own assets in Syria, but has never turned them on Israeli planes.
Without specifically mentioning the incident, Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday said Israel would not be deterred and vowed to prevent Iran from transferring “advanced capabilities” to other entities in Syria.
“The State of Israel will continue to act against any enemy that threatens it, and prevent the transfer of advanced capabilities from Iran that endanger the citizens of Israel and harm the stability of the entire region,” Gantz said during a visit to the military’s Northern Command.
Israel has long accused Iran of transferring advanced munitions to the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group, via Syria.
A convoy of tanker trucks carrying Iranian diesel across the border from Syria into Lebanon arrives at the eastern town of al-Ain, Lebanon, on September 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
In recent years Israel and Russia established a so-called deconfliction hotline to keep the sides from getting tangled up and accidentally clashing over Syria.
While meeting in Sochi last year, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that the two nations would continue to implement the mechanism.
Bennett said at the time that Israel’s relationship with Russia is “strategic” in nature and noted the importance of the “intimate discourse” with the Russian military.
Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Putin on multiple occasions to discuss the issue and claimed that their personal relationship was the main factor in keeping the mechanism in place.
The Channel 13 report said it was not immediately clear if the S-300 missile fire was a one-time event or if it was a Russian signal to Israel that they were changing their policy.
In 2018, Russia provided the advanced S-300 air defense system to Syria’s military free of charge, transferring three battalions with eight launchers each to the Assad regime despite strenuous objections from Israel and the US.
Screen capture from video showing the delivery of Russian S-300 air defense missiles to Syria. (YouTube)
Russia’s delivery of the S-300 system to Syria follows the downing of a Russian spy aircraft by Syrian forces that were responding to an Israeli strike over Syrian airspace. Russia has blamed Israel for the incident, which killed 15 Russian crew members.
Israel and its allies for years have lobbied Russia not to give Syria and other regional players the S-300 system, arguing that it would limit Israel’s ability to neutralize threats, including by Hezbollah.
www.timesofisrael.com
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
16m
Russia's advanced S-300 air defenses activated vs. Israeli Air Force for 1st time in latest Syria strike (via @alonbd); IDF jets targeted vehicle near battery, killing Syrian crew (via@WorldNewsIL )
TV says incident came as IAF fighters departed area after alleged strike last week and they were not in danger; move could signal a significant shift in Moscow’s ties with Israel
By TOI staff Today, 1:36 am
Russian S-300 air defense missile systems drive during the Victory Day military parade marking 71 years after the victory in WWII in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Russian forces opened fire on Israeli jets with advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles as they allegedly attacked targets in northwestern Syria last week, Channel 13 news reported Monday, in what could signal a significant shift in Moscow’s attitude to Israel.
According to the unsourced report, the incident occurred on Friday as the Israeli air force bombed several targets near the city of Masyaf in northwestern Syria.
On Friday night at least five people were killed and seven others were hurt in the alleged airstrike, Syria’s state news agency said. Other media in the country said six were killed, all crew members of a Pantsir air defense system who attempted to take down the Israeli missiles.
The report said the Syrian military fired off dozens of anti-aircraft missiles which have been largely ineffective at halting the hundreds of Israeli strikes on Syria in recent years.
However, this time the S-300 batteries also opened fire as the jets were departing the area and ultimately did not present a real threat to the IAF fighters, the report said, noting that Syria’s S-300 batteries are operated by the Russian military and cannot fire without their approval.
The report also said that the S-300 radar did not manage to lock onto the Israeli jets.
Illustrative photo of a Russian S-300 air defense missile. (photo credit: AP/File)
If confirmed, this would mark the first time such an incident has taken place and a concerning development for Israel which has carried out hundreds of airstrikes inside Syria in the course of the country’s civil war, targeting what it says are arms shipments bound for Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group
Israel rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations and there was no confirmation of the raid or the S-300 launch from the IDF.
The Masyaf area is thought to be used as a base for Iranian forces and pro-Iranian militias and has been repeatedly targeted in recent years in attacks attributed to Israel. Sattelite imagery taken after the strike showed that an underground facility had been completely destroyed.
This photo released by ImageSat International on May 15, 2022, shows sites allegedly struck by Israel in the Masyaf region of Syria. (ImageSat International)
The report comes amid a deterioration in ties between Israel and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. Israel has tried to walk a fine line between Moscow and Kyiv but has recently become more critical of Russia as evidence emerged of Russian atrocities and growing antisemitic rhetoric from Russian leaders.
Russia, a close ally of Syria’s Bashar Assad, has forces based and operating in Syria.
Beyond providing Syria with its air defenses, Moscow also maintains state-of-the-art S-400 air defense systems to protect its own assets in Syria, but has never turned them on Israeli planes.
Without specifically mentioning the incident, Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday said Israel would not be deterred and vowed to prevent Iran from transferring “advanced capabilities” to other entities in Syria.
“The State of Israel will continue to act against any enemy that threatens it, and prevent the transfer of advanced capabilities from Iran that endanger the citizens of Israel and harm the stability of the entire region,” Gantz said during a visit to the military’s Northern Command.
Israel has long accused Iran of transferring advanced munitions to the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group, via Syria.
A convoy of tanker trucks carrying Iranian diesel across the border from Syria into Lebanon arrives at the eastern town of al-Ain, Lebanon, on September 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
In recent years Israel and Russia established a so-called deconfliction hotline to keep the sides from getting tangled up and accidentally clashing over Syria.
While meeting in Sochi last year, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that the two nations would continue to implement the mechanism.
Bennett said at the time that Israel’s relationship with Russia is “strategic” in nature and noted the importance of the “intimate discourse” with the Russian military.
Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Putin on multiple occasions to discuss the issue and claimed that their personal relationship was the main factor in keeping the mechanism in place.
The Channel 13 report said it was not immediately clear if the S-300 missile fire was a one-time event or if it was a Russian signal to Israel that they were changing their policy.
In 2018, Russia provided the advanced S-300 air defense system to Syria’s military free of charge, transferring three battalions with eight launchers each to the Assad regime despite strenuous objections from Israel and the US.
Screen capture from video showing the delivery of Russian S-300 air defense missiles to Syria. (YouTube)
Russia’s delivery of the S-300 system to Syria follows the downing of a Russian spy aircraft by Syrian forces that were responding to an Israeli strike over Syrian airspace. Russia has blamed Israel for the incident, which killed 15 Russian crew members.
Israel and its allies for years have lobbied Russia not to give Syria and other regional players the S-300 system, arguing that it would limit Israel’s ability to neutralize threats, including by Hezbollah.
In first, Russian military said to fire S-300 missiles at Israeli jets over Syria
TV says incident came last week as IAF fighters departed area after alleged strike and they were not in danger; move could signal a significant shift in Moscow's ties with Israel
www.timesofisrael.com
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
16m
Russia's advanced S-300 air defenses activated vs. Israeli Air Force for 1st time in latest Syria strike (via @alonbd); IDF jets targeted vehicle near battery, killing Syrian crew (via@WorldNewsIL )
Last edited:
jward
passin' thru
OSINTdefender
@sentdefender
18h
Turkish President Erdoğan has officially stated that Tukey will vote against both Sweden and Finland joining the NATO Alliance due to "Claims" that these Countries support Anti-Turkish Terror Groups in Syria, this will most likely cause a splintering of certain NATO Countries.
View: https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1526254422166216712?s=20&t=de06W_xn2BYx3UHs50uaNA
@sentdefender
18h
Turkish President Erdoğan has officially stated that Tukey will vote against both Sweden and Finland joining the NATO Alliance due to "Claims" that these Countries support Anti-Turkish Terror Groups in Syria, this will most likely cause a splintering of certain NATO Countries.
View: https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1526254422166216712?s=20&t=de06W_xn2BYx3UHs50uaNA
jward
passin' thru
Signs Signs Everywhere you look Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
US Air Force to take part in Israeli simulation of Iran strike in 2 weeks; American tankers to refuel Israeli fighter jets during drill (via@newsisrael13 )
12:50 PM · May 17, 2022·Twitter Web App
jward
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Gantz: Iran ‘weeks from enough fissile material for bomb,’ adding 1,000 centrifuges
Defense minister warns cost of dealing with Iran will be higher in a year; warns Tehran against transfer of advanced weapons to proxies; says Israel’s position on Ukraine ‘ethical’
By Emanuel Fabian 17 May 2022, 11:06 am
Defense Minister Benny Gantz speaks during a conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University, May 17, 2022. (Gilad Kvalarchik/Gilad Kvalarchik)
Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned on Tuesday that Iran is just a “few weeks” from accumulating sufficient fissile material for a bomb. It is also working to finish the production and installation of 1,000 advanced centrifuges enriching uranium, including at a new underground site at the Natanz nuclear facility, he said.
“Iran continues to accumulate irreversible knowledge and experience in the development, research, production, and operation of advanced centrifuges,” Gantz said during a conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University.
“It stands just a few weeks away from accumulating fissile material that will be sufficient for a first bomb, holds 60 kg of enriched material at 60%, produces metallic uranium at the enrichment level of 20%, and prevents the IAEA from accessing its facilities,” he added.
“During these very days, Iran is making an effort to complete the production and installation of 1,000 advanced IR6 centrifuges at its nuclear facilities, including a new facility being built at an underground site near Natanz,” he said.
Last month the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency confirmed that Iran had set up a new centrifuge parts workshop at its Natanz nuclear facility.
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International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said the machines were moved from Karaj, near Tehran, to the new location, which he said was some three floors belowground, possibly to protect it from airstrikes.
The workshop had been set up in one of the halls of Natanz’s fuel enrichment plant, where Iran has thousands of centrifuges, Grossi said.
Natanz, in Iran’s central Isfahan province, hosts the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. (AP)
Iran’s centrifuge facility in Karaj was targeted in what Iran described as a sabotage attack in June. Natanz itself has twice been targeted in sabotage attacks, assaults that Iran has blamed on Israel.
Talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled. There is concern that Iran could be closer to being able to construct an atomic weapon if it chose to pursue one.
In this frame grab from Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting, IRIB, state-run TV, three versions of domestically-built centrifuges are shown in a live TV program from Natanz, an Iranian uranium enrichment plant, in Iran, June 6, 2018. (IRIB via AP)
The nuclear deal collapsed four years ago when former US president Donald Trump withdrew the United States and imposed crushing sanctions on Iran. In the meantime, Iran has vastly expanded its nuclear work, while insisting that it is for peaceful purposes.
“The price for tackling the Iranian challenge on a global or regional level is higher than it was a year ago and lower than it will be in a year,” Gantz said.
The defense minister also said two Iranian drones downed over Iraq in February were intended to reach terror groups in the Gaza Strip or West Bank.
“The [Islamic] Revolutionary Guard [Corps] launched a pair of drones from Iran itself, towards Israel. Among other things, based on the fact that the UAVs had parachutes attached, we estimate that the purpose of the launch was to parachute them into the Gaza Strip or Judea and Samaria and for them to be collected by terrorist organizations,” he said.
An Iranian Shahed-136 drone is launched during a military exercise in Iran, December 2021. (Screenshot: Twitter)
The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed it intercepted at least four other Iranian drones heading for Israel or the West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent years.
The defense minister warned that Iran’s attempts to transfer “accurate munitions” to its proxies, including via Syria, were continuing. “Israel will continue to halt these efforts and prevent the threat to its citizens and the region,” he said, days after an airstrike in the northwestern Masyaf area of Syria was attributed to Israel.
“The quantity of this strategic weapon in the hands of Iranian emissaries has increased significantly in the past year,” Gantz said. “In Iraq, there are hundreds of [munitions]; many dozens have been added this year. In Yemen, the number of [munitions] has increased in the past year, and the Houthis hold dozens of them.”
Speaking on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Gantz said Israel was in the right place “ethically and strategically,” adding that he supports transferring additional defensive equipment to Ukraine.
Israel has avoided aligning too closely with either side since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. It is one of the few countries that maintains relatively warm relations with both Ukraine, a fellow Western democracy, and Russia. However, the rhetoric coming from Jerusalem shifted in the wake of the reports of widespread civilian killings by the Russians and comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claiming that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood.”
While Jerusalem has increasingly shifted its tone to align more with Western powers, it has so far steadfastly declined to contribute to the Ukrainian military effort, instead sending humanitarian aid and defensive equipment to be used by emergency services.
Gantz said supporting Ukraine must not come at the cost of Israel’s “broad operational considerations, which are also an anchor for regional stability.”
Israeli strikes have continued in Syrian airspace, which is largely controlled by Russia, even as ties with Moscow have deteriorated in recent weeks. Israel has found itself at odds with Russia as it has increasingly supported Ukraine, while seeking to maintain freedom of movement in Syria’s skies.
Agencies contributed to this report.
www.timesofisrael.com
Defense minister warns cost of dealing with Iran will be higher in a year; warns Tehran against transfer of advanced weapons to proxies; says Israel’s position on Ukraine ‘ethical’
By Emanuel Fabian 17 May 2022, 11:06 am
Defense Minister Benny Gantz speaks during a conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University, May 17, 2022. (Gilad Kvalarchik/Gilad Kvalarchik)
Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned on Tuesday that Iran is just a “few weeks” from accumulating sufficient fissile material for a bomb. It is also working to finish the production and installation of 1,000 advanced centrifuges enriching uranium, including at a new underground site at the Natanz nuclear facility, he said.
“Iran continues to accumulate irreversible knowledge and experience in the development, research, production, and operation of advanced centrifuges,” Gantz said during a conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University.
“It stands just a few weeks away from accumulating fissile material that will be sufficient for a first bomb, holds 60 kg of enriched material at 60%, produces metallic uranium at the enrichment level of 20%, and prevents the IAEA from accessing its facilities,” he added.
“During these very days, Iran is making an effort to complete the production and installation of 1,000 advanced IR6 centrifuges at its nuclear facilities, including a new facility being built at an underground site near Natanz,” he said.
Last month the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency confirmed that Iran had set up a new centrifuge parts workshop at its Natanz nuclear facility.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Newsletter email address
By signing up, you agree to the terms
International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said the machines were moved from Karaj, near Tehran, to the new location, which he said was some three floors belowground, possibly to protect it from airstrikes.
The workshop had been set up in one of the halls of Natanz’s fuel enrichment plant, where Iran has thousands of centrifuges, Grossi said.
Natanz, in Iran’s central Isfahan province, hosts the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. (AP)
Iran’s centrifuge facility in Karaj was targeted in what Iran described as a sabotage attack in June. Natanz itself has twice been targeted in sabotage attacks, assaults that Iran has blamed on Israel.
Talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled. There is concern that Iran could be closer to being able to construct an atomic weapon if it chose to pursue one.
In this frame grab from Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting, IRIB, state-run TV, three versions of domestically-built centrifuges are shown in a live TV program from Natanz, an Iranian uranium enrichment plant, in Iran, June 6, 2018. (IRIB via AP)
The nuclear deal collapsed four years ago when former US president Donald Trump withdrew the United States and imposed crushing sanctions on Iran. In the meantime, Iran has vastly expanded its nuclear work, while insisting that it is for peaceful purposes.
“The price for tackling the Iranian challenge on a global or regional level is higher than it was a year ago and lower than it will be in a year,” Gantz said.
The defense minister also said two Iranian drones downed over Iraq in February were intended to reach terror groups in the Gaza Strip or West Bank.
“The [Islamic] Revolutionary Guard [Corps] launched a pair of drones from Iran itself, towards Israel. Among other things, based on the fact that the UAVs had parachutes attached, we estimate that the purpose of the launch was to parachute them into the Gaza Strip or Judea and Samaria and for them to be collected by terrorist organizations,” he said.
An Iranian Shahed-136 drone is launched during a military exercise in Iran, December 2021. (Screenshot: Twitter)
The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed it intercepted at least four other Iranian drones heading for Israel or the West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent years.
The defense minister warned that Iran’s attempts to transfer “accurate munitions” to its proxies, including via Syria, were continuing. “Israel will continue to halt these efforts and prevent the threat to its citizens and the region,” he said, days after an airstrike in the northwestern Masyaf area of Syria was attributed to Israel.
“The quantity of this strategic weapon in the hands of Iranian emissaries has increased significantly in the past year,” Gantz said. “In Iraq, there are hundreds of [munitions]; many dozens have been added this year. In Yemen, the number of [munitions] has increased in the past year, and the Houthis hold dozens of them.”
Speaking on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Gantz said Israel was in the right place “ethically and strategically,” adding that he supports transferring additional defensive equipment to Ukraine.
Israel has avoided aligning too closely with either side since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. It is one of the few countries that maintains relatively warm relations with both Ukraine, a fellow Western democracy, and Russia. However, the rhetoric coming from Jerusalem shifted in the wake of the reports of widespread civilian killings by the Russians and comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claiming that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood.”
While Jerusalem has increasingly shifted its tone to align more with Western powers, it has so far steadfastly declined to contribute to the Ukrainian military effort, instead sending humanitarian aid and defensive equipment to be used by emergency services.
Gantz said supporting Ukraine must not come at the cost of Israel’s “broad operational considerations, which are also an anchor for regional stability.”
Israeli strikes have continued in Syrian airspace, which is largely controlled by Russia, even as ties with Moscow have deteriorated in recent weeks. Israel has found itself at odds with Russia as it has increasingly supported Ukraine, while seeking to maintain freedom of movement in Syria’s skies.
Agencies contributed to this report.
Gantz: Iran ‘weeks from enough fissile material for bomb,’ adding 1,000 centrifuges
Defense minister warns cost of dealing with Iran will be higher in a year; warns Tehran against transfer of advanced weapons to proxies; says Israel's position on Ukraine 'ethical'
www.timesofisrael.com
danielboon
TB Fanatic
ELINT News Retweeted
Jon Gambrell | جون
@jongambrellAP
URGENT: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (
@AP
) _ A British military group monitoring the waterways in the Middle East says a ship has come under attack off the coast of #Yemen in the Red Sea.
5:19 AM · May 19, 2022·
Jon Gambrell | جون
@jongambrellAP
URGENT: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (
@AP
) _ A British military group monitoring the waterways in the Middle East says a ship has come under attack off the coast of #Yemen in the Red Sea.
5:19 AM · May 19, 2022·
danielboon
TB Fanatic
Jon Gambrell | جون
@jongambrellAP
·
3h
The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet said it was aware of the attack, but declined to immediately comment further. -
@AP
@jongambrellAP
·
3h
The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet said it was aware of the attack, but declined to immediately comment further. -
@AP
danielboon
TB Fanatic
ELINT News Retweeted
Jon Gambrell | جون
@jongambrellAP
·
3h
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations group said the attack happened off Hodeida, a contested port city amid that country’s yearslong civil war. It said an investigation was ongoing into the incident, without elaborating. -
@AP
Jon Gambrell | جون
@jongambrellAP
·
3h
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations group said the attack happened off Hodeida, a contested port city amid that country’s yearslong civil war. It said an investigation was ongoing into the incident, without elaborating. -
@AP
jward
passin' thru
Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
7h
#Syria strike tonight focused on Damascus airport as Israel boosts assault on Iranian arms transfers; this was 6th attack in past month (@Doron_Kadosh); intensified action raises risk of broader Israel-Iran axis conflict.
3 Syrian air defense soldiers reportedly killed in Israeli airstrike tonight
Reminder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IDF War Scenario: Deadly Strike on Iran Axis in Syria
Israel is preparing for a military conflict that may erupt after a deadly attack on Iran axis forces in Syria. The IDF is currently holding a month-long exercise to simulate a war on multiple fronts with a focus on the northern border.
The mega-drill was launched with a scenario simulating a strike in Syria that targets Iranians, Hezbollah operatives and Syrian fighters, Walla News reports. The army expects several days of fighting to follow, the report says.
As part of the exercise, the IDF will also simulate a full plan of attack in Iran, Walla said. The drill will include a large aerial maneuver in Cyprus by an unspecified number of fighter jets.
The IDF attacked targets in Syria several times in recent days, including a major strike on a military research site in Masyaf. Structures bombed in the assault were completely wiped out, satellite images showed.
The recent wave of attacks is part of an expected escalation of Israeli military operations in Syria in 2022. The current war exercise suggests that more intensive strikes may be in store.
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IDF War Scenario: Deadly Strike on Iran Axis in Syria
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Israel joins 6 other countries in Cyprus to drill evacuations from conflict zones
Cyprus has billed the event as one of the most important civilian evacuation exercises in the world
By AP Today, 5:06 am
File: A picture taken from Cyprus' warship 'Ioannides' shows a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter taking part in the "Multinational CIMIC Exercise, ARGONAUT 2019, Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations, a rescue drill in which the militaries of Cyprus, Greece, France, Britain, Israel, Germany and the US participated on May 30, 2019. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/AFP)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Seven countries including the US, France, Italy, Israel and Greece have taken part in a series of drills in and around Cyprus designed to ease civilian evacuations from conflict zones and to conduct offshore rescue operations, amid a renewed sense of urgency due to the war in Ukraine.
For the first time, Egypt took part in the Friday leg of the annual drill with its own military forces, while Saudi Arabia sent a delegation of observers to “Argonaut 2022,” which Cyprus has billed as one of the most important civilian evacuation drills in the world.
Cypriot Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides told foreign officials that participating nations took part in the planning of the mass evacuation of civilians fleeing a crisis in a neighboring country.
“Cyprus is located in an area of perpetual turmoil and instability and there is always the possibility of a conflict or a crisis,” Petrides said.
“Hence we have to remain vigilant, able and ready to facilitate our friends and allies for dealing with crisis situations and provide safe haven for those affected.”
An additional 15 countries sent delegations to observe coordination efforts by Cypriot authorities and foreign embassies to facilitate the potential arrival of foreign nationals at Cyprus’ main port of Limassol.
The exercise culminated in a search and rescue operation with vessels and aircraft simulating what Cypriot officials described as a “serious maritime accident” off the East Mediterranean island nation’s southern coast.
First held 15 years ago, the exercise took place this year after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19 restrictions.
www.timesofisrael.com
Cyprus has billed the event as one of the most important civilian evacuation exercises in the world
By AP Today, 5:06 am
File: A picture taken from Cyprus' warship 'Ioannides' shows a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter taking part in the "Multinational CIMIC Exercise, ARGONAUT 2019, Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations, a rescue drill in which the militaries of Cyprus, Greece, France, Britain, Israel, Germany and the US participated on May 30, 2019. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/AFP)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Seven countries including the US, France, Italy, Israel and Greece have taken part in a series of drills in and around Cyprus designed to ease civilian evacuations from conflict zones and to conduct offshore rescue operations, amid a renewed sense of urgency due to the war in Ukraine.
For the first time, Egypt took part in the Friday leg of the annual drill with its own military forces, while Saudi Arabia sent a delegation of observers to “Argonaut 2022,” which Cyprus has billed as one of the most important civilian evacuation drills in the world.
Cypriot Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides told foreign officials that participating nations took part in the planning of the mass evacuation of civilians fleeing a crisis in a neighboring country.
“Cyprus is located in an area of perpetual turmoil and instability and there is always the possibility of a conflict or a crisis,” Petrides said.
“Hence we have to remain vigilant, able and ready to facilitate our friends and allies for dealing with crisis situations and provide safe haven for those affected.”
An additional 15 countries sent delegations to observe coordination efforts by Cypriot authorities and foreign embassies to facilitate the potential arrival of foreign nationals at Cyprus’ main port of Limassol.
The exercise culminated in a search and rescue operation with vessels and aircraft simulating what Cypriot officials described as a “serious maritime accident” off the East Mediterranean island nation’s southern coast.
First held 15 years ago, the exercise took place this year after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Israel joins 6 other countries in Cyprus to drill evacuations from conflict zones
Cyprus has billed the event as one of the most important civilian evacuation exercises in the world
www.timesofisrael.com
jward
passin' thru
Iran IRGC Quds Force officer assassinated in Tehran: State media
Al Jazeera
5-6 minutes
Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says one of its officers has been assassinated in the capital Tehran by gunmen riding on two motorcycles, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said that the IRGC issued a statement on Sunday saying Hassan Sayyad Khodayari was assassinated by enemies of the revolution. He said that Khodayari was a member of the Quds Force (which is responsible for the IRGC’s foreign operations) and that he served in Syria in past years.
The IRGC, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, identified Khodayari as a colonel.
Khodayari was killed by five bullets as he returned home near Mojahedin-e-Islam Street at about 4pm (11:30 GMT), according to the IRNA.
The agency published pictures showing a man slumped over in the driver’s seat of a car, with blood around the collar of his blue shirt and on his upper right arm.
The state agency described him as a “defender of the sanctuary” – a term used to describe anyone who works on behalf of Iran in Syria or Iraq.
‘The enemies of the revolution’
Iran has been a key military backer of the Syrian regime. It has sent thousands of fighters to Syria and Iraq to fight against the ISIL (ISIS) group under the Quds Force that oversees foreign operations.
Al Jazeera’s Hashem, speaking from Doha, said that this assassination is being seen in a different context.
“Most of the previous assassinations that took place in Tehran over the past decade were related to the nuclear file,” the Al Jazeera correspondent said referring to the previous assassinations that targeted the country’s nuclear scientists.
“This is probably for the first time, an assassination is related to Iran’s regional policies if that’s the right word to say.
The latest news from around the world.Timely. Accurate. Fair.
“It seems very clear that the Iranians were keeping a distance in all the statements that were issued in Tehran from pointing fingers to a direct side. They did not say Israel. They kept a distance from naming who is behind the assassination.”
Instead, they blamed ‘the enemies of the revolution’ for the killing, the Al Jazeera correspondent said.
Speaking from Tehran, Abas Aslani, a Senior Research Fellow, at the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies, said “the removal of an influential IRGC figure is aimed at creating psychological operation in the country.”
“I think the timing is also very important, the government is making economic reforms that can be a potential for some protests in the country,” Aslani told Al Jazeera.
‘Terrorist act’
In a statement posted on their website, the IRGC also denounced a “terrorist act” they claimed was carried out by “elements linked to global arrogance”.
The IRGC said they launched an investigation to identify the “aggressor or aggressors”.
The motorcycle attack was a reminder of the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020.
At least six Iranian scientists and academics have been killed or attacked since 2010, several of them by assailants riding motorcycles, in incidents believed to have targeted Iran’s nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at producing a bomb.
Iran denies this, saying its nuclear programme has peaceful purposes, and has denounced the killings of its scientists as acts of “terrorism” carried out by Western intelligence agencies and the Israeli Mossad. Israel has declined comment on such accusations.
“This is not the first time that assassination has taken place in Tehran. There have been examples in the past. And most of the time the Israelis and Americans have been at fault,” Aslani from the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies, said.
In a separate development, Iran’s state TV earlier announced that members of an Israeli intelligence network had been found and arrested by the IRGC.
“Under the guidance of the Zionist regime’s intelligence service, the network attempted to steal and destroy personal and public property, kidnapping and obtaining fabricated confessions through a network of thugs,” the IRGC public relations service said in a statement.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which oversees the national intelligence agency Mossad, declined comment on the events in Tehran.
In April, Iran’s intelligence ministry said it had arrested three Mossad spies, according to a statement published by the semi-official Fars news agency.
In January 2020, General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force and architect of its regional security apparatus, was killed following a United States air raid at Baghdad’s international airport.
The White House and the Pentagon confirmed the killing of Soleimani in Iraq, saying the attack was carried out at the direction of then US President Donald Trump and was aimed at deterring future attacks allegedly being planned by Iran.
www.aljazeera.com
Al Jazeera
5-6 minutes
Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says one of its officers has been assassinated in the capital Tehran by gunmen riding on two motorcycles, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said that the IRGC issued a statement on Sunday saying Hassan Sayyad Khodayari was assassinated by enemies of the revolution. He said that Khodayari was a member of the Quds Force (which is responsible for the IRGC’s foreign operations) and that he served in Syria in past years.
The IRGC, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, identified Khodayari as a colonel.
Khodayari was killed by five bullets as he returned home near Mojahedin-e-Islam Street at about 4pm (11:30 GMT), according to the IRNA.
The agency published pictures showing a man slumped over in the driver’s seat of a car, with blood around the collar of his blue shirt and on his upper right arm.
The state agency described him as a “defender of the sanctuary” – a term used to describe anyone who works on behalf of Iran in Syria or Iraq.
‘The enemies of the revolution’
Iran has been a key military backer of the Syrian regime. It has sent thousands of fighters to Syria and Iraq to fight against the ISIL (ISIS) group under the Quds Force that oversees foreign operations.
Al Jazeera’s Hashem, speaking from Doha, said that this assassination is being seen in a different context.
“Most of the previous assassinations that took place in Tehran over the past decade were related to the nuclear file,” the Al Jazeera correspondent said referring to the previous assassinations that targeted the country’s nuclear scientists.
“This is probably for the first time, an assassination is related to Iran’s regional policies if that’s the right word to say.
The latest news from around the world.Timely. Accurate. Fair.
“It seems very clear that the Iranians were keeping a distance in all the statements that were issued in Tehran from pointing fingers to a direct side. They did not say Israel. They kept a distance from naming who is behind the assassination.”
Instead, they blamed ‘the enemies of the revolution’ for the killing, the Al Jazeera correspondent said.
Speaking from Tehran, Abas Aslani, a Senior Research Fellow, at the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies, said “the removal of an influential IRGC figure is aimed at creating psychological operation in the country.”
“I think the timing is also very important, the government is making economic reforms that can be a potential for some protests in the country,” Aslani told Al Jazeera.
‘Terrorist act’
In a statement posted on their website, the IRGC also denounced a “terrorist act” they claimed was carried out by “elements linked to global arrogance”.
The IRGC said they launched an investigation to identify the “aggressor or aggressors”.
The motorcycle attack was a reminder of the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020.
At least six Iranian scientists and academics have been killed or attacked since 2010, several of them by assailants riding motorcycles, in incidents believed to have targeted Iran’s nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at producing a bomb.
Iran denies this, saying its nuclear programme has peaceful purposes, and has denounced the killings of its scientists as acts of “terrorism” carried out by Western intelligence agencies and the Israeli Mossad. Israel has declined comment on such accusations.
“This is not the first time that assassination has taken place in Tehran. There have been examples in the past. And most of the time the Israelis and Americans have been at fault,” Aslani from the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies, said.
In a separate development, Iran’s state TV earlier announced that members of an Israeli intelligence network had been found and arrested by the IRGC.
“Under the guidance of the Zionist regime’s intelligence service, the network attempted to steal and destroy personal and public property, kidnapping and obtaining fabricated confessions through a network of thugs,” the IRGC public relations service said in a statement.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which oversees the national intelligence agency Mossad, declined comment on the events in Tehran.
In April, Iran’s intelligence ministry said it had arrested three Mossad spies, according to a statement published by the semi-official Fars news agency.
In January 2020, General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force and architect of its regional security apparatus, was killed following a United States air raid at Baghdad’s international airport.
The White House and the Pentagon confirmed the killing of Soleimani in Iraq, saying the attack was carried out at the direction of then US President Donald Trump and was aimed at deterring future attacks allegedly being planned by Iran.
Iran: Revolutionary Guard officer assassinated in Tehran
Slain IRGC colonel was in the Quds Force, with accusations leveled at Israeli and American operatives.
jward
passin' thru
Ragıp Soylu
@ragipsoylu
55m
Erdogan says a new Turkish military operation will soon begin to establish a safe zone 30km deep in Northern Syria where Turkey has no control. He means remaining YPG / SDF controlled areas
View: https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1528790458197020673?s=20&t=Zjlv971J93kLPj91B2momA