Recycled road rage
Take a quick look at this photograph. I have emphasised the medic in Magen David Adom (Israel’s Red Cross) uniform and the Israeli license and star of David on the Israeli ambulance to make my point.
Which headline do you think best illustrates what you see?
A. Israeli settler runs over a Palestinian child north of Salfit
–OR–
B. Israeli and Palestinian ambulance crews cooperate at traffic accident
In a reverse image search for a better resolution image I discovered this same image had appeared three different times in 2017. The first that I located, and presumably the original was published in January of this year. Then it was reused for different stories in July and then again in November.
In January, the Palestinian Information Center†, named the victim of what they called a hit-and-run attack as Emad Souf, 55, from Salfit. He was described as seriously injured and transferred to an Israeli hospital.
Also in January, Iranian PRESSTV (citing Palestine al-Yawm news agency) reported injuries to an unidentified 40-year-old Palestinian man south of the city of Hebron (al-Khalil), itself south of Jerusalem. In this case the receiving hospital was Rabin Medical Center in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva.
In July, an Internet publication named Ramallah Mix reported that a young man was killed near the town of Khader, south of Bethlehem. He was identified as Omar Ahmed Abu Ghalioun, 37. Eyewitnesses identified a settler car (not clear how a settler car differs from a car on the politically correct side of the Green Line) and identified the hospital as Shari Tzdiq (Shaare Zedek ed.) in Jerusalem. Somewhat ironically, the Internet being what it is, an ad for Magen David Adom in Israel featured above the automatically translated text.
Morocco Denies Entry Visas to Israel’s National Judo Team
Morocco has refused entry visas to Israel’s national judo team ahead of the Nov. 11 World Championships Open in Marrakech.
The visa ban comes on the heels of similar problems that arose prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam judo tournament in October, when the host nation — the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — banned the Israeli flag and national anthem at the competition. Israeli judoka Tal Flicker, who won a gold medal at the tournament, sang the Israeli anthem, “Hatikvah,” to himself on the podium.
Additionally, UAE athlete Rashad Almashjari refused to shake hands with Israeli competitor Tohar Butbul’s after losing to him in the tournament’s first round.
The International Judo Federation sent a letter to the president of the UAE Judo Federation chastising the organization for its discriminatory treatment of Israeli athletes and demanding that “all delegations, including the Israeli delegation, be treated absolutely equally in all aspects, without any exception.”
Anti-Israel sentiment just forced a British government minister to resign
On Wednesday, British International Development Secretary Priti Patel resigned after being targeted by an anti-Israel witch hunt.Tom Gross speculates on hidden motives leading to Patel’s sacking as a British government minister
Ms. Patel came under fire after it emerged that she held a number of meetings with Israeli officials in August and September, without informing other U.K. government officials. Still, there is no indication of any particularly serious error of judgement, such as Israel espionage involvement. I think the real reason Patel resigned is that she recognized the forces arrayed against her wouldn't rest until she fell.
The first culprit is Patel's own Department for International Development. Officials at DFID leaked Patel's query to them earlier this summer over whether the British government could sponsor an Israeli aid project in the Golan Heights. One official told the BBC that even Patel's query was in and of itself "inappropriate."
Of course, it didn't matter that the aid project in question is specifically designed to save Syrian refugees, only that DFID officials hate the idea of supporting Israel in any way. Because the U.K. regards the Golan Heights as Israeli-occupied Syrian territory, DFID officials were especially furious at Patel's conduct.
The second challenge came from the Labour Party opposition. Their fury here was inherently unsurprising but had nothing to do with Patel's breach of the ministerial code. Rather, led by avowed Israel hater, Jeremy "collective" Corbyn (who describes Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah as "my friends"), Labour embraces any opportunity to distance Britain from Israel. Lamenting the Balfour declaration's 100th anniversary, Labour smelled blood in the water.
Nevertheless, Patel should not have resigned.
How the UK Media Recently Smeared Israel
What would you say if a senior member of your government — responsible for dispensing your country’s substantial international aid budget — went on a private vacation to a foreign country, and discussed the possibility of sending some of those funds to a foreign military?Prof. Eugene Kontorovich: U.S. Policy on Jerusalem Embassy Held Hostage by Threats and Outdated Arguments (pdf)
You’d probably be quite concerned.
And what if that foreign military was one that was consistently portrayed in the media as a brutal occupier of someone else’s land, and responsible for the deaths of thousands of men, women and children?
Wouldn’t you be outraged?
That’s the reaction that too many British media outlets stoked when reporting on a developing political controversy involving Priti Patel, the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development.
This was The Guardian’s headline:
“UK international development secretary wanted to send aid money to Israeli army, No 10 confirms”
Writing in The Independent, columnist Matthew Norman summed up those feelings:
“…she suddenly advocated giving foreign aid to — wait for it, wait for it; it’s worth the wait — the Israeli army.
Nowhere did Norman bother to mention what the foreign aid to Israel was actually for; and it was only in the sixth paragraph that Guardian readers learned that any proposed aid money would have gone to the IDF’s incredible field hospital on the Golan Heights, which is treating thousands of injured Syrians.
Jerusalem is the only world capital whose status is denied recognition by the United States. The U.S. embassy's location outside of Jerusalem undermines U.S. foreign policy and helps isolate Israel. Moreover, delaying the embassy's move to Jerusalem rewards threats of violence and allows U.S. policy to be held hostage by terrorists and aspiring terrorists.'The Time Is Now': Jim Jordan Says U.S. Embassy Must Be Moved to Jerusalem
The U.S. embassy was never established in Jerusalem because the U.S., upon Israel's creation, refused to recognize any part of the city as under Israeli sovereignty. This was originally due to the UN General Assembly's 1947 proposal, in Resolution 181, to have the greater Jerusalem area become an internationalized city under no sovereignty. The General Assembly's proposal had no legal force and was unworkable, and was in any case completely rejected by the Arab states, who opposed a Jewish state within any borders.
The borders of the proposed international city included significant parts of Bethlehem, so as to incorporate Christian holy sites. Yet the U.S. treats Bethlehem as part of the territory administered by the Palestinian Authority, instead of treating it as a unique entity. The insistence on maintaining the policy legacy of a hypothetical international city when it comes to Israel but not the Palestinians locks in a deeply anti-Israel bias in America's regional diplomacy.
The central argument against moving the embassy is that it would lead to violence, and in particular to attacks against American targets. Invoking hypothetical threats as a reason for distorting U.S. foreign policy towards a key ally is deeply inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy. U.S. embassies in the Middle East routinely face concrete and specific threats. Indeed, in 1998, Islamic terrorists blew up the U.S. embassies in Dar El Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks were said to be a response to various aspects of U.S. foreign policy. But America did not respond by rethinking those policies, or by withdrawing its embassies from those cities.
In April of this year, Russia announced that it recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Experts would have predicted that such a unilateral recognition would provoke anger and violence from at least the Palestinians. Note what happened next: No explosions of anger in the Arab world. No end to Russia's diplomatic role in the Middle East. No terror attacks against Russian targets.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said now is the time to move the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Wednesday during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.Israel to embark on diplomatic offense against Hezbollah and Iran at UN
The hearing featured testimony from former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, former Israel Ambassador Dore Gold, President of the Zionist Organization of America Morton Klein, professor of international law at Northwestern University Eugene Kontorovich, and the Israel Policy Forum’s policy director Michael J. Koplow.
“This is the right time to do this thing,” Jordan told the panel. “And that’s why the president recognized the campaign on it and one of the reasons the American people elected him. So let’s just get it done. Let’s just get it done,” Jordan said to applause. “I’m entirely persuaded,” Bolton said in response.
“It is the right thing to do,” Jordan said.
Earlier in his commentary, Jordan noted that America was the first country to recognize Israel’s independence under President Harry Truman and blasted the fact that the United States has embassies in the capital, or seat in the government, of every country it recognizes in the world, except for Israel.
Bolton concurred and noted: “I looked this up but to be sure for many years our embassy in Belize was in Belize City, even though the capitol was in Belmopan, but I see 10 years ago we finally moved our embassy. So we may be down to Israel alone.”
Israel plans to ask the United Nations to strictly enforce the 2006 ceasefire agreement that ended the Second Lebanon war as part of its diplomatic offensive against Iran and its proxy group Hezbollah.Israel must strike Hezbollah
"In recent years, the organization [Hezbollah] has expanded its activity in Lebanese territory in a systematic violation of UN resolutions,” Intelligence Minister Israel Katz (Likud) said in an interview he gave to the Associated Press. His office then distributed those comments to the Israeli press on Friday morning.
Katz spoke in advance of a trip to the United States he plans to take in a few weeks, where he will meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
He plans to discuss with him UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. It calls for the disarmament of armed groups in Lebanon such as Hezbollah and for the Lebanese government to control its country. It also demands that the UN Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) be the only armed force south of Lebanon’s Litani River.
But in the past 11 years, Hezbollah has strengthened its control over the country and, according to Israel, has placed weapons along its border.
A new war with Iran's proxy army, Hezbollah, now seems to be just a matter of time, and not much time at that.Nasrallah says Saudi Arabia asked Israel to attack Lebanon
How did we get here? The root of this now necessary conflict can be traced back to actions by former U.S. President Barack Obama. When Obama backed down from the red line he drew himself and failed to aggressively respond to Syrian President Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons, he set things into motion.
Obama's blunder, for which the Republican Congress shares significant blame, was bad enough. But to make matters worse, the Obama administration then appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to fix the problem. This shifted the balance of power in Syria and Lebanon decisively in favor of the Shiite-Alawite axis, controlled by Iran and supported by Russia.
The signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – also known as the Iran nuclear deal – was the icing on the cake.
If the Israeli government does conclude that it now has no choice but to engage in war to keep Iran and its allies from reaching our borders, it can take comfort in the knowledge that none of Israel’s Arab neighbors pose an existential threat to its existence. In fact, most of Israel's Sunni Arab neighbors now see the Jewish state as an ally and are willing to work together to stop Iran. The Sunni Arab nations know that it is Israel that is stopping the Shiite fanatics in Iran from attacking, conquering and colonizing the heart of the Arab world.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday accused Saudi Arabia of asking his archenemy Israel to launch strikes on Lebanon amid ongoing tension between Riyadh and Tehran.Iran incites terror with a UN mic
“The most dangerous thing is inciting Israel to strike Lebanon,” the head of Lebanese Shiite terror group said in a televised address. “I’m talking about information that Saudi Arabia has asked Israel to strike Lebanon.”
But Nasrallah said that war with Israel was unlikely. He said that Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy which seeks to destroy Israel, was watching carefully for any Israeli attempts to use the crisis, that began with the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri last week, to initiate hostilities against Lebanon.
Israel has stressed that it does not seek war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, but has acted repeatedly to prevent advanced weapons reaching the Iran-inspired group, which has become the most powerful military force in Lebanon.
Nasrallah’s comments were aimed at calming an apparently jittery population following Saudi Arabia’s escalation against Hezbollah’s patron Iran. The resignation of Hariri was seen as a move by Riyadh to engage in another proxy war with Iran, this time in Lebanon.
Hariri was in Saudi Arabia when he delivered his resignation address.
Genocidal Syria compares Israel to ISIS
Watch Syrian Arabs pretend to care about Palestinian Arabs
Why the Saudi "Purge" Is Not What It Seems to Be
The "purge" by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) of numerous members of the royal family, as well as current and former ministers and prominent businessmen, on charges of corruption is not about removing political rivals who threatened his position, but rather about sending a message to political and economic elites that their entitlement to extreme wealth and privilege, and their impunity, is coming to an end. With the exception of Minister of the National Guard Prince Mutaib bin Abdallah, the detainee list is made up entirely of individuals who had no capacity to challenge MBS' succession. Nor did Prince Mutaib, despite leading the national guard, pose a political threat to the Crown Prince.It’s Time to Kick Turkey Out of NATO
Given the relatively young age of the new Crown Prince, his appointment last June naturally alienated many of MBS' older cousins, and even some uncles, who suddenly found themselves politically marginalized. But alienation does not mean that these princes possess the power to threaten the throne or to determine the succession. No royal maintains an independent constituency among the population at large that they can galvanize against the monarchy.
King Salman and MBS have chosen to go the populist route by appealing to the Saudi public, and specifically to the youth, rather than seeking to placate the many "losers" by lavishing them with money (a tactic widely used in the past that was highly unpopular with the Saudi public and that has become increasingly unaffordable). Now there will be no paying-off of discontented princes in exchange for their loyalty and acquiescence.
The egregious violation of freedom of the press in Turkey has reached a mammoth proportion that places Turkey among the most oppressive nations for journalists. It is sadder that the US and the EU, who champion a free press as one of the main pillars of democracy, have largely left Turkey’s President Erdogan free to crush not only the press, but also freedom of speech and peaceful demonstrations.Bodies facing economic sanctions under anti-BDS law revealed
The irony here is that Turkey, as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has violated every provision of NATO’s founding treaty regarding human rights. Indeed, each member state is required to fully adhere to “…safeguard[ing] the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.” To be sure, Erdogan has given himself license to mock these principles without any noteworthy rebuke from other NATO members.
It is time to consider kicking Turkey out of NATO, regardless of how difficult and complicated this far-reaching measure may be.
Turkey has long since forsaken Western values while becoming an increasingly zealous Islamic state. Indeed, contrary to Erdogan’s manipulative narrative about Turkey’s presumed democracy, the country under his watch is governed by an authoritarian regime that has no place among Western democracies.
The violation of a free press and the systematic undermining of human rights demands that the West re-evaluate its relationship with Turkey and stop searching for excuses to justify its self-conceit about Erdogan’s outrageous behavior. Here is a dossier of Erdogan’s gross violations of freedom of the press and his suppression of democratic values:
Senior legal officials have revealed to Israel Hayom the names of some of the organizations Israel is likely to sue for damages once an anti-boycott law goes into effect.BDS seeks to take down Galilee olive oil business with Facebook campaign
The anti-boycott law, officially known as the Prevention of Damage to the State of Israel through Boycott Law, allows the finance minister to impose civil sanctions on entities that promote or take part in an economic, cultural or academic boycott against an institution or person under Israeli control because of their "affiliation with Israel." The minister may deny certain tax benefits from such an organization regardless of whether it takes an active role or simply pledges to take part in such activity.
Without proof of damages, a person or organization that encourages the boycott of Israel could be sued for 100,000 shekels (around $28,000) and if proven to have caused tangible damage, 500,000 shekels (around $142,000).
The law will only affect organizations that actively encourage the boycott of Israel or its institutions and will not be applied retroactively, so organizations that cease to act against Israel once the law has gone into effect will not be affected.
According to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, the law allows Israel to "act more effectively against boycott organizations and activists. The BDS organizations will learn that the rules have changed, and there is a price to pay for harming Israel and its citizens. … We are already witness to a shift in global trends, with many leaders around the world rejecting the calls to boycott Israel and advancing legislation and resolutions in their countries against boycott activities or the delegitimization of Israel."
A small olive oil business based in northern Israel has become one of the latest targets of anti-Israel activists and has spent the past week battling efforts to discredit its produce.French ex-culture minister confirmed as new UNESCO head
The campaign against the Yavne’el-based Galilee Green began on November 2, the centenary of the Balfour Declaration that paved the way for the establishment of the State of Israel.
The timing of the launch of the campaign by supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement was no coincidence – several online posts mentioned the milestone as a launchpad for their efforts to demonize the business.
Dozens of Facebook users have bombarded the Galilee Green Facebook page urging people not to buy their products, based on their claims that the products come from “stolen land” and “stolen olives” as well as far more virulent accusations.
“Ironically, we work with Kibbutz Deganya Alef,” Galilee Green president and CEO Rabbi Shmuel Veffer told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
“The land the trees are on was purchased from the Ottoman Turks before WWI and the Balfour Declaration. Our offices are in Yavne’el on land purchased by Baron Rothschild from the Turks and Yavne’el was founded in 1901. The land here and at Deganya was rocky and barren of trees.”
UNESCO member states on Friday overwhelmingly approved the nomination of France’s former culture minister Audrey Azoulay to head the embattled cultural agency.Knesset sets up task force to keep EU funds away from terrorists
They confirmed the nomination by the agency’s board last month of Azoulay, 45, who becomes UNESCO’s second woman director-general.
“The unity you have shown in this vote is a good omen for the coming period, in which we need to stand shoulder to shoulder,” Azoulay told the members after garnering 131 votes with only 19 opposed.
The campaign was also overshadowed by Washington’s announcement that it planned to withdraw from the Paris-based body after years of tensions, citing its “continuing anti-Israel bias.”
Following the US announcement, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said UNESCO had become a forum for Israel-bashing and had forgotten its original purpose. It was now “paying the price” for the “shameful” decisions it has adopted against Israel, he said, citing “a new era” dawning at the UN in which “anti-Israel discrimination” had consequences.
Israel is also considering pulling out.
The Knesset is in the process of setting up a special task force designed to ensure that money the European Union donates to the Palestinian Authority for welfare purposes will not be funneled to terrorist elements and used against Israel, or to the families of terrorists with blood on their hands.Written agreement for NIS 800 million to West Bank security ends hunger strike
The project is the brainchild of Zionist Union MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, a member of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, who received the blessing of Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. Nahmias-Verbin brought six other MKs from various factions on board: Likud MK Amir Ohana, Yesh Atid MK Haim Jelin, Kulanu MK Merav Ben-Ari; Habayit Hayehudi MK Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli, Shas MK Yaakov Margi; and Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer.
Nahmias-Verbin told Israel Hayom that "Figures we have collected show that every month, some 4.5 million euros in EU funds are divided among those who carried out terrorist attacks against Israel and the families of terrorists. It's hard to convince Israelis – on the Right or the Left – that the Palestinians want to promote the peace process as long as donations from countries throughout the world, especially Europe, is transferred to murderers rather than benefiting the Palestinian population."
The hunger strike protesting the government's lack of financial commitment to improving the security situation in the West Bank ended Friday when Coalition member David Bitan brought a signed agreement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu guaranteeing a major security investment to the protest tent across from the Prime Minister's Residence.Thousands celebrate Arafat's terror legacy across PA, Gaza
The protest was started by Israelis living in the West bank who have lost family members to Palestinian violence and blame poor infrastructure and a lack of security around settlements. The protest escalated to a hunger strike on Sunday
Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council; Avi Naim, Mayor of Beit Aryeh; and Malachi Levinger, mayor of Kiryat Arba joined the hunger strike on Sunday as well.
The new agreement guarantees NIS 800 million for infrastructure improvement in the West Bank. According to the the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Yoav Horowitz, NIS 200 million will be used specifically to assist the settlements of Beit Aryeh and Qalandiya with basic infrastructure for security. The remaining NIS 600 million will be used to generally improve roads and by-passes throughout the West Bank.
A press release from the hunger strike council leaders stated their satisfaction with the agreement.
Thousands of Arabs in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza turned out Thursday to mark the 13th anniversary of arch-terrorist and Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat.The Gaza gamble
Arafat, who for nearly half a century represented the face of anti-Israel terror, was lauded in mass events across the Gaza Strip, marking an end to 10-year standoff between the Hamas terror group and the Fatah movement Arafat founded and which now rules the Palestinian Authority.
This year’s anniversary of Arafat’s death is the first since last month’s much-publicized rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah, with the reconciliation between the PLO and Hamas a prominent theme at many of Thursday’s events.
"We really wanted to come this year because this is the year for reconciliation between here and Gaza," one participant, Sanaa Al-Rifai told AFP at a memorial rally.
"We hope this reconciliation will be a good start and the soul of the martyr (Arafat) will be more at peace when he sees the Palestinian people more united."
An Egyptian-born civil engineer who joined paramilitary units formed by the Muslim Brotherhood to destroy the nascent state of Israel in 1948, Arafat founded the Fatah movement in 1959, organizing terror attacks on Jewish civilians and Israeli security forces prior to the 1967 Six Day War.
The heightened security alert the military had called in the southern sector following the detection and destruction of an Islamic Jihad terror tunnel under the Israel-Gaza Strip border last Monday was somewhat relaxed this week. A week following the operation, the IDF resumed work on the protective wall being built near the border and on Tuesday, farmers in the border-adjacent communities were allowed to partially resumed their work, suspended as a precaution.Hamas blasts security coordination with 'Zionist enemy'
Still, the IDF's operational premise remains unchanged: The terrorist group will retaliate – it is only a matter of time. Islamic Jihad suffered a massive blow, both operationally and to its image, losing a tunnel that had been dug for months as well as nine operatives, including two senior commanders. As one senior defense official put it this week, the immediate blow, together with the fact that Israel refuses to return the bodies of five terrorists who were killed when the tunnel collapsed, is a "one-two punch between the eyes."
The Israeli government decided in advance to control the force of this punch. The IDF has detailed images of the tunnel and of the bodies of the operatives killed in it. This could have fueled multiple news cycles but the government decided against it. Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett may disapprove, but the political echelon's directive to the IDF, from which the military yields its operational plans, is to prevent a security escalation vis-à-vis Gaza, and everyone understood that releasing those images to the media would be highly inflammatory.
Hamas on Thursday blasted the Palestinian Authority (PA) for resuming security coordination with Israel.First pineapple farm opens in Gaza
On Wednesday, the head of the PA police, Hazem Atallah, confirmed that security coordination had resumed with Israel, after being partially suspended in July.
"Everyone is coordinating now. That means things returned to what they were before July 14," Atallah said. "Things are normal now."
In response, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that the group is “surprised by the PA in the West Bank’s resumption of security coordination and cooperation with the Zionist enemy, which is the equivalent of the greatest danger to the Palestinian people, its unity and its legitimate rights including the right to resist the occupation.”
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas froze the security coordination with Israel in July, in protest over security measures at the Temple Mount.
Pineapples are being harvested in the Gaza Strip for the first time as part of efforts to help the impoverished territory work towards food self-sufficiency.Ex-CIA director Woolsey explains why Iran needs to be taken down a notch
The fruit, for domestic sale, is grown in a 1,000 square meter greenhouse in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis as part of a project sponsored by the Dutch government.
Mussa al-Jadba, an agricultural engineer who supervised the project, told AFP they had cultivated pineapples "for the first time in the temperate Gaza Strip after we have created the environment and climate for their growth."
Two hundred and fifty plants have so far reached maturity with up to 4,000 expected to bear fruit throughout this harvest.
The goal is to develop new crops to help Gazan farmers achieve self sufficiency, Jadba added.
The US should destroy virtually all of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps infrastructure as well as Iran’s nuclear facilities to reduce its terrorist and nuclear threats, former CIA director James Woolsey told The Jerusalem Post in an interview.EXCLUSIVE – EXPERT: Iran Already Has Nuclear Weapons, Obama’s Iran Deal A Total ‘Joke’
“The next time the IRGC looks cross-eyed at us... we should turn loose six to 12 MOAB [GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast] bombs on their facilities,” said Woolsey, who was CIA director from 1993 to 1995 during the Clinton administration. He spoke to the Post in the famous Rotunda Room of the Pierre Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
MOAB bombs, with 18,000 pounds of TNT, are the second-largest conventional weapon in the US arsenal, and the largest ever used, after one was dropped on a suspected Islamic State target in Afghanistan in April.
“Given what a source of terrorism the IRGC is... instead of talking and proportionality – the hell with proportionality. We should destroy virtually everything we can that has to do with the IRGC,” he said.
A former high-ranking government official who is an intelligence expert regarding nuclear weapons told The Daily Wire in an exclusive interview that former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal is a complete failure as Iran most likely has had nuclear weapons for over a decade.MEMRI: Anti-Iranian Articles In The Saudi Press: The Diplomatic Paths Have Failed; Now The Drums Of War Are Beating Loudly
Dr. Peter Vincent Pry is the executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, and director of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum, both Congressional advisory boards, and served as the chief of staff on the Congressional EMP Commission, the Congressional Strategic Posture Commission, the House Armed Services Committee, and the CIA.
Pry called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — aka the Iran nuclear deal — a complete “joke.”
“I think Iran has already got the bomb,” Pry told The Daily Wire. “I think Iran has already got nuclear weapons mounted on missiles and has the potential to do an EMP attack against the United States right now.”
Pry explained that the U.S. has no credible verification system setup with Iran, and hostile nations have fooled the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) multiple times.
In recent days, the tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran has escalated further, as expressed by significant developments in Lebanon and Yemen, which constitute local areas of friction in the conflict between the two countries.
On November 4, 2017, Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'd Al-Hariri announced his resignation from Riyadh. At a press conference he accused Iran of seeking to destroy the Arab world and assume control of the region, and also criticized Hezbollah for causing tension between Lebanon and the other Arab states and imposing its will in Lebanon by force of arms.
Later the same day, the Houthis in Yemen launched a missile at a Riyadh airfield, an incident that Saudi Arabia – which is repeatedly targeted by missiles launched by the Houthis, Iran's allies in Yemen – described as the crossing of a red line. Saudi officials accused Iran of arming the Houthis with missiles, and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman called the firing of the missile "an act of direct military aggression on the part of the Iranian regime, tantamount to a belligerent action against Saudi Arabia." Saudi Foreign Minister 'Adel Al-Jubeir said in an interview with CNN that "the missile [fired at Riyadh] was Iranian and was launched by Hizbullah from territory occupied by the Houthis in Yemen." He warned that Saudi Arabia reserved "the right to respond in the appropriate manner and at the appropriate time."
The Saudi statements against Iran and the Houthis in Yemen were accompanied by practical measures: On November 5, 2017, the Arab coalition operating in Yemen under Saudi leadership announced a temporary closure on all Yemeni land, sea and air crossings. The announcement described the missile launch on Riyadh as an act of aggression, adding that Saudi Arabia had the right to use force in self-defense, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, and that Iran's supplying of missiles to the Houthis was an act of war. Signaling a possible escalation of the fighting in Yemen, on the following day the coalition warned diplomatic missions in Yemen to remove themselves from areas not controlled by the government of Yemeni president Hadi, and also called on humanitarian missions to exit the conflict zones. On November 5, Saudi Arabia offered a prize of $440 million for information leading to the capture of 40 senior Houthi officials.
MEMRI: Iranian-Saudi Conflict Ramps Up: November 6 'Kayhan' Front Page Threatens War On Saudi Arabia, UAE
The day after the November 5, 2017 firing of a long-range ballistic missile from Yemen at Riyadh, the Saudi capital, the Iranian daily Kayhan, the mouthpiece of the country's ideological camp, published a front-page article containing threats that more missiles would be aimed at Saudi Arabia and the UAE by the pro-Iran Houthi militias in Yemen.[1]US Air Force official: Missile targeting Saudis was Iranian
Additionally, Hossein Dalirian, military correspondent of the Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), tweeted in jest about the possibility of dozens of missiles being fired from Yemen at Riyadh, and of Iranian missiles being fired directly at Saudi Arabia in the event of a war between the two countries – eradicating Riyadh.
Kayhan's November 6, 2017 front page. Headline reads: "Ansar Allah [Houthi] Missile Fired At Riyadh; Next Target: Dubai"
The following is the translation of Kayhan's November 6, 2017 front-page article, and of the tweets by Tasnim military correspondent Dalirian about massive missile attacks on Riyadh by Yemen and Iran:
Iran manufactured the ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Shiite rebels toward the Saudi capital and remnants of it bore “Iranian markings,” the top US Air Force official in the Mideast said Friday, backing the kingdom’s earlier allegations.
The comments by Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, who oversees the Air Force’s Central Command in Qatar, further internationalizes the yearslong conflict in Yemen — the Arab world’s poorest country.
Saudi Arabia long has accused Iran of supplying weapons to the Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies, though Tehran has just as long denied supplying them.
“There have been Iranian markings on those missiles,” Harrigian told journalists at a news conference in Dubai ahead of the Dubai Air Show. “To me, that connects the dots to Iran.”
There was no immediate reaction from Tehran.