Friday, December 04, 2020
David Singer: Trump will not let his peace plan be buried
The Trump-haters are circling Trump’s liferaft promising a comprehensive Middle East peace – but Trump can repel their determined efforts to sink it if he is not nominated as President when the Electoral College votes on 14 December.
United Nations Secretary-General Guterres is not remotely interested in pursuing Trump’s Peace to Prosperity Vision - which calls for Israeli sovereignty to be extended to about 30% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) - with an independent demilitarized Palestinian Arab State being established in the remaining 70% and Gaza (Peace Plan).
Guterres remains committed to supporting Palestinian Arabs and Israelis resolving the conflict:
"in line with relevant UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements in pursuit of the vision of two states."
Guterres will be exhorting international support for UNSC Resolution 2334 – which Obama and Biden shamefully failed to veto on 23 December 2016 – abstaining instead - as they were departing the White House.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) seemingly does not have any interest in Trump’s Peace Plan - a PLO official recently declaring:
“We have received many positive messages from the Biden team in the past few days. We are looking forward to opening a new page with the Biden administration after the damage caused by the Trump administration.”
The PLO refused to negotiate with Israel on Trump’s Peace Plan even before its details were published last January.
Biden also seems certain to trash Trump’s Peace Plan if elected America’s next President.
Caroline Glick: Biden and Israel's unsteady Right
In an interview with the New York Times Tuesday, presumptive President-elect Joe Biden reaffirmed his plan to return the US to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The US will rescind its economic sanctions on Iran if it complies with the nuclear deal's limitations on its nuclear activities. Once this happens, Biden said he will seek to negotiate a new, longer-term nuclear deal with Iran's ayatollahs. The current deal expires in five years.Hudson Institute: A Conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Biden insisted the goal of his policy is to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. But practically speaking, Biden's policy guarantees Iran will develop a nuclear arsenal and the missiles to deliver them. This is true both because the nuclear deal will expire, and Iran will be free to build nuclear bombs as it likes in 2025, and because the 2015 nuclear deal has no effective enforcement mechanism.
The UN inspectors tasked with ensuring Iranian compliance are only permitted to enter civilian nuclear sites. Since Iran has sole authority to determine if a site is civilian or military, it can and has rendered the deal's inspection regime a pathetic joke.
It goes without saying that Israel cannot accept this state of affairs. Just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was compelled to oppose Barack Obama's nuclear deal, so Israel has no choice but to strongly oppose Biden's plans.
Unfortunately, Israel is currently incapable of clearly opposing Biden's plan that will give the mullahs the means to carry out their plan to destroy the Jewish state. That is because currently, Israel doesn't have one government. It has two governments pretending to be a unity government. But in practice, they disagree on everything, including how to handle Biden's Iran policy and pursue contrary policies on all issues.
Netanyahu's Likud government recognizes the danger posed by Biden's Iran policy. Last week, Netanyahu loyalist Ambassador Ron Dermer said flat out that it would be "a mistake" for a Biden administration to return to the nuclear deal.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz's Blue and White government doesn't understand the danger.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down with Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran to discuss the dramatic improvement in Israel’s relationship with the Arab world, the sources of Israel’s rising power, and the major factors shaping the prime minister’s strategic vision.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Arabs: Why Is the EU Mourning This Iranian Scientist?
"There is no gloating about death, but the Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.... was not the scientist who discovered the anti-coronavirus vaccine, but the scientist called the father of the Iranian nuclear bomb..." — Tareq Al-Hameed, Saudi author, Okaz, November 30, 2020.The Tikvah Podcast: Richard Goldberg on the Future of Israeli-Saudi Relations
"[H]ow can they condemn the killing of a man who devoted his life to making a sinister bomb for an evil regime, but they do not condemn Iran's killing of innocent people in the region. Iran kills Syrians, Iraqis, and Lebanese, and destroys Yemen, and sponsors all terrorist groups..." — Al-Hameed, Saudi author Okaz, November 30, 2020.
"[D]isrupting the Iranian regime's access to nuclear weapons is a long-term service to humanity." Iran... sees nuclear weapons as a tool "that enables it to occupy the rest of the world...." — Mohammed Al-Saaed, Saudi political analyst, Okaz, November 30, 2020.
"We are talking about a gang that hijacked Iran, and its defeated people became its captive. It seeks to hijack the entire region, fueled by intense hatred for the Arab. Is it acceptable to allow it to produce nuclear weapons and use them to kill millions of people?" — Mohammed Al-Saaed, Saudi political analyst, Okaz, November 30, 2020.
It has been widely reported that, in late November of 2020, the Israeli prime minister secretly flew to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with the kingdom’s crown prince. That these two leaders met at all is noteworthy; that they might have discussed the possibility of normalizing relations between the Jewish state and the wealthiest and most influential Arab country is momentous.Gulf States, Saudis, Crave Israel’s Iron Dome, Arab Media Reveal
It is easy to see what Israel stands to gain from peace with the Saudis. But what’s in it for Saudi Arabia? What would they gain, and what would they risk losing?
Richard Goldberg, a Middle East expert and a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tackles these question in his Mosaic piece, “What Saudi Arabia is Thinking.” In this podcast, he joins Mosaic Editor Jonathan Silver to discuss what brought the Middle East to this current moment, how the upcoming change at the White House is affecting Saudi thinking, and whether Israeli-Saudi normalization is truly on the horizon.
Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.
The Tactical Report intelligence website suggested a week ago that the UAE is eager to purchase Israel’s proven anti-missile system, Iron Dome. According to the website, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed is looking forward to purchasing the Israeli air defense system, and that he has been examining various models of this system since the signing of the normalization agreement with Israel in mid-September.Top women diplomats from Israel, UAE, Bahrain stress need for Middle East peace
Given the participation of the American defense company Raytheon in the production of the interceptor missiles used by Iron Dome, the UAE believes that the Pentagon would support its efforts to obtain the Israeli system.
Tactical Report cited one downside of the Rafael-made system – the fact that it uses fixed launchers. According to the website, this means that any sale of Iron Dome to the UAE will be preceded by inquiries about technical issues and capabilities, to ensure that the system meets the UAE’s needs for a variety of short-range air defense systems.
Bin Zayed also showed interest in the Falcon air defense system, which is jointly produced by the US-based Lockheed Martin, the German Dell, and the Swedish Saab companies. Falcon was first launched in 2019, and the UAE submitted an initial purchase order at the time, but it’s not yet clear whether it has already been delivered to the UAE.
Meanwhile, Al-Khaleej Al-Jadeed reported Thursday that when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by the head of Mossad Yossi Cohen, visited Saudi Crown Prince Ben Salman, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on hand, the crown prince inquired about purchasing various types of Israel-made air defense systems.
Top women diplomats from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain came together on Thursday for a first-of-its-kind session to discuss the role of women in diplomacy and the need for the active involvement of women in promoting peace and security in the Middle East and beyond.
Hosted by the "Women in Diplomacy Network," the online event was moderated by its founder Sarah Weiss Ma'udi, the legal adviser to Israel's UN Mission in New York. The event featured Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Meirav Eilon Shahar; Bahrain's UN Ambassador Houda Nonoo, and the United Arab Emirates' UN Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh.
Eilon Shahar, Nonoo, and Nusseibeh highlighted some of the challenging issues facing women diplomats in the Middle East. The panelists emphasized the important role women at the highest levels of decision-making play in their respective countries and discussed their vision for how gender must play a role in their newly forged ties.
"The UAE and Israel are champions of gender equality in our region, and we believe that the agreement between our two countries is already beginning to foster partnerships that will unlock enormous opportunities for women in the region," said Nusseibeh.
Also in attendance was Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan, who proposed holding the event in his first meeting with his Arab Gulf partners. Erdan stressed the importance of implementing Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for the active inclusion and participation of women in promoting peace and security.
"It is essential that women are included on every level of decision-making because a world with gender equality is a better world for all its inhabitants," said Erdan.
No, it's actually not misleading. USG recognizes the Golan Heights as Israel and it has been the reality on the ground for over 50 years. https://t.co/QwcZzeDlVx
— Boris Zilberman (@rolltidebmz) December 4, 2020
In first meeting of FMs in years, Jordan urges Israel to resume peace talks
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi at the Allenby Bridge border crossing Thursday, according to both the Israeli and Jordanian foreign ministries.JPost Editorial: Jordan is Israel's essential, and often neglected, partner
The meeting was the first between the two, and the first time in years that the top diplomats of the two countries have had an official sit-down.
A statement released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said Safadi and Ashkenazi discussed “a number of pending concerns, including water rights, lifting restrictions on Jordanian exports to the West Bank, Jordanian provision of additional electricity to the Palestinian Authority, and organizing movement through border crossings in light of their closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Jordan also said Safadi told Ashkenazi that “Israel must stop all of the moves that endanger the chance of peace with the Palestinians on the basis of a two-state solution,” and called upon Israel to halt what he called provocative actions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and to respect the historical status quo.
Safadi’s office also said he emphasized the need to restart bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in light of the PA’s recent decision to resume security coordination with Israel.
Ignoring Jordan’s concerns has appeared to work for Israel in the last years because the Abraham Accords were successful. But relations with the Gulf are not a stand-in for relations with Amman. Jordan is essential because of its role in Jerusalem, its close relationship with the Palestinians and also because, as a monarchy, it is close to the Gulf monarchies. Enemies such as Iran are always trying to increase their influence with the Palestinians. In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood, which is linked to Hamas and Turkey’s ruling AK party, have wanted to undermine the Palestinian leadership and Jordan.Jordan fears losing control over Muslim sites in Jerusalem
Israel and Jordan are on the same side on these issues, but clearly, Israel has not invested enough in the relationship.
This must change. As a new US administration takes office, Israel should be working with Jordan rather than have the kingdom be one more voice encouraging the US to be tough on it and seek to undermine the new peace agreements it forged in the Gulf. Netanyahu could do more by sending positive messages in Jordan’s direction and showing a greater readiness to listen to the king and his concerns. It doesn’t require appeasement of Amman to show strength and respect for the kingdom and that its views matter to Israel.
Jordan doesn’t want to provoke the region against Israel, it doesn’t want instability, but it wants to be heard. Israel can change that. It can begin by listening.
Jordan is growing increasingly worried about reports suggesting that Israel has offered Saudi Arabia control over the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, including Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount, Jordanian and Palestinian officials said on Thursday.Turkish lira slips as US moves closer to sanctions over S-400s
The recent secret meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has increased fears in Jordan that the kingdom may lose its status as custodian of the Jerusalem holy sites, the officials said.
The issue dates back to 1924, when the Supreme Muslim Council, the highest Muslim body in charge of Muslim community affairs in Mandatory Palestine, accepted Hussein bin Ali (Sharif of Mecca) as custodian of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan, Israel committed to “respect the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem.” Israel also pledged that when negotiations on the permanent status will take place, it will give high priority to the Jordanian historical role in these shrines.
The Wakf Department that oversees Muslim sites in Jerusalem is controlled by the Jordanian government.
Turkey's lira briefly slipped on Friday after US lawmakers included mandatory Turkish sanctions in a defense spending bill that moves Washington a step closer to punishing its NATO ally for buying Russian S-400 missile defenses last year.New poll predicts 67 seats for Right, enough to form gov't
The final version of the $740 billion annual US defense spending legislation would oblige the White House to select from a list of sanctions over the S-400s, which Washington says are incompatible with NATO operations.
US President Donald Trump, who is set to step down next month, has said he will veto the bill over separate provisions. But he may need some support in Congress and it would be the first such veto in nearly 60 years.
Turkey's foreign ministry was not immediately available to comment.
Russia delivered the ground-to-air S-400s last year and Turkey tested them as recently as October. Ankara says they would not be integrated into NATO systems and pose no threat, and has called for a joint working group.
The threat of Western sanctions has weighed on the lira currency, which hit a series of record lows this year and weakened nearly 1% before recovering to 7.76 versus the dollar at 1019 GMT.
Sanctions could harm a Turkish economy already struggling with a coronavirus-induced slowdown, double-digit inflation and badly depleted foreign reserves.
Were the next elections to be held at this time, the right-wing bloc would win 67 Knesset seats, enough to form a government on its own. The center-left, without Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beytenu party, would receive 46 seats, according to a new poll published by Channel 12 News on Thursday.Israel signs with Moderna to triple upcoming vaccine supply
The poll projected Likud would win 30 seats, to Yamina's 21, while Blue and White would drop to just 10 seats.
Both Yesh Atid and the Joint Arab List would secure 17 seats each, followed by ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties with eight seats each, and Yisrael Beytenu and Meretz with seven seats each.
Here, too, the Labor, Gesher, Habayit Hayehudi, Derech Eretz ahd far-Right Otzma Yehudit parties cross the prerequisite four-Knesset-seat electoral threshold.
A reunited Yesh Atid-Telem and Blue and White faction, with Blue and White leader Gantz serving as No.2 to Yesh Atid's Yair Lapid, would secure 25 seats, two fewer than both parties would receive if they were to run separately in the election. The move would see the Likud gain one seat for a total of 31.
Asked how a possible bid by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai as Yesh Atid-Telem's No.2 would impact the election, respondents gave the faction 21 seats, the same as Yamina. Likud would garner 30 seats, while Blue and White would be knocked down to seven seats.
Israel signed an agreement with Moderna Friday to triple the number of coronavirus vaccines the American pharmaceutical company will supply.No lockdown in Israel in place during Hanukkah Holiday
The original agreement for two million doses was expanded to six million — enough for three million Israelis.
“This gives us hope, we see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
It was the government’s responsibility to make vaccines available, he said, and the public’s responsibility to follow the coronavirus guidelines. “Together we will beat COVID-19.”
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein hailed the extra vaccine purchase as “wonderful news for the citizens of Israel and for the Israeli economy.”
“There will not be a citizen that wants to get vaccinated that we cannot supply with a vaccine,” he said.
Echoing Netanyahu, Edelstein stressed that the general public needed to maintain social-distancing guidelines and avoid letting its guard down, as Israel sees a rise in new COVID cases.
Noteworthy to mention the IDF has used this tactic w/ Palestinian militants. Even though the IDF has killed SAA members in airstrikes, warnings sent to the phones of SAA officers especially the First Corps indicates how serious Israel is about Hezbollah activity on the #Golan. https://t.co/VsDB7mRIeJ
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) December 4, 2020
Terrorist associated with attack of Rabbi Meir Chai arrested in Nablus
Security forces arrested a terrorist on Friday suspected of aiding the attack responsible for the death of Rabbi Meir Chai in December 2009.
Muayad al-Alfi, 46, was arrested in Nablus by the Israeli counter-terrorist unit Yamam, a division of the Border Police.
Rabbi Meir Chai was killed in a drive-by shooting attack near the northern Samaria settlement of Shavei Shomron.
Al-Alfi was a commander of the Fatah's armed wing, Aqsa Martrys Brigades, and has been wanted by Israeli forces for ten years.
At the time if his death, Rabbi Chai was the fourth victim to be killed in the West Bank by terrorists that year.
Chai, a father of seven, was driving his minivan when a Palestinian car overtook him and someone from inside the vehicle opened fire. Chai was hit in the end, and he drove off the road. By the time rescue services arrived to the scene, they were forced to pronounce him dead.
Nablus: IDF arrests Muayad al-Alfi, 46, commander of Fatah's armed wing, Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, who was wanted by Israel for 10 years. pic.twitter.com/oeX5msBSIZ
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) December 4, 2020
PA slams Czech Republic’s decision to open diplomatic office in Jerusalem
The Palestinian Authority on Thursday summoned the Czech Republic’s top representative in Ramallah, Petr Stary, to inquire about his country’s decision to open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem and condemned it as a “dangerous step.”Palestinians: Bahrain denies settlement products' ‘Made in Israel’ label
The announcement on Wednesday of the decision to open a new Jerusalem branch office of the Czech Embassy in Tel Aviv followed a phone conversation between Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek and his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi.
The office will be established in the first half of next year and will be staffed by a diplomat, a statement by the Czech Foreign Ministry in Prague said.
“This is an important step that is indicative of the friendship between the two people and the recognition of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the State of Israel and the Jewish people,” Ashkenazi said.
The Czech Republic is the second EU member state, after Hungary, to open an official diplomatic mission in Jerusalem.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani on Friday "denied" that his country has decided to label settlement products as Israeli.MEMRI: Former Hamas Official In Homophobic And Antisemitic Article: Jews Spread Homosexuality In The World; We Must Not Let Israelis, Who Allow Homosexuality To Run Rampant In Their Country, To Control Our Fate
The denial came during a phone call between Al Zayani and Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, according to a statement released by the PA.
The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not report about the phone call.
On Thursday, Bahraini Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed Al Zayani, was quoted as saying that Bahrain “will treat Israeli products as Israeli products; we have no issue with labelling or origin.” He was speaking to reporters during a visit to Israel.
But the PA said that the Bahraini foreign minister assured Malki that there was no change in Bahrain’s position toward the Palestinians and settlements.
“Al Zayani stressed that this claim attributed to the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism completely contradicts his country's position of supporting the Palestinian cause and rejecting settlements and annexation,” the PA statement said.
In a scathingly homophobic and antisemitic article, Palestinian writer and researcher Dr. Mustafa Yousuf Al-Lidawi, a former representative of Hamas in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, writes that homosexuals were always denounced as loathsome and deranged sodomizers and perverts that corrupt human societies. However, Jews spread homosexuality in the world and encouraged it by means of films that present it as natural behavior that must be respected and defended. He states further that, in Israel, homosexuals have gained considerable clout in society and in politics, which allows them to display their inclinations in public and compels the decision-makers to recognize them as a legitimate social sector, grant them rights and meet their demands. This, he adds, makes Israel one of the countries friendliest to homosexuals and Tel Aviv their regional capital.Hezbollah sues for defamation after being linked to Beirut port blast
Al-Lidawi expresses hope that the homosexuality prevalent in Israeli society will ultimately cause it to disintegrate and collapse, but laments the fact that, in the meantime, homosexuality-ridden Israel occupies the Palestinians' land, desecrates their sanctities and sows destruction and corruption. Finally, he warns the Arabs who have made an alliance with Israel that they will incur Allah's wrath.
It should be noted that Al-Lidawi has published many antisemitic articles. In the past he wrote two articles claiming that Jews used to kill Christian children to make Purim pastries and Passover matzas.[1]
The following are translated excerpts from his recent article.[2] "Writers in East and West Europe, [including] the prominent writers of the former Russian Empire and other authors of internationally famous novels, early and modern, describe [homosexuals] as follows: people who engage in unnatural sodomy; reeking and loathsome perverts; deranged lunatics; people who go against human nature and are controlled by their instincts; wreckers and corrupters of families, and corrupters of human society who destroy lively homes. Such was their evil reputation in Russia and Eastern Europe, in America and elsewhere. When peoples encountered them and learned the truth about them they feared for their sons [and therefore] banished the homosexuals, distanced them [but] kept an eye on them lest they take control of their children, exploit their innocence and corrupt their God-given natures.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said Friday it is suing a former Christian lawmaker and a website affiliated with a Christian political party for defamation, after they accused the Shiite terror group of being responsible for the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port this summer.Jonathan Tobin: How will Biden respond to Iran's 'no' to new deal?
Hezbollah’s legal representative Ibrahim Mussawi said the accusations, leveled by Fares Souaid and the website of the right-wing Lebanese Forces party, were misleading.
Mussawi, also a Hezbollah lawmaker, told a press conference outside the courthouse that blaming the group threatens to disrupt social peace in Lebanon, at a time when the United States is exerting maximum pressure on his party and its allies. Washington, like Israel and a growing number of other nations, considers Hezbollah a terrorist group and has been escalating sanctions against it and its political allies in Lebanon.
“The accusations directed at Hezbollah over the port blast are false and constitute a real injustice,” Mussawi said.
“We have assigned a group of lawyers to file lawsuits with the judiciary to pursue all those who have practiced deception, falsification, slander and false accusations,” he said.
The Iranians had their way with Obama and Kerry because they sensed their desperation. Every time Iran said "no" to their demands, the United States responded by agreeing to drop the issue.Biden addresses Fakhrizadeh's assassination, Iran nuclear program
Now they're hoping to repeat that pattern with Biden – a president who will likely have other priorities once in office. Moreover, with a foreign-policy team composed entirely of Obama alumni who have spent the last four years claiming that everything they did was right despite all evidence to the contrary, coupled with a left-wing Democratic Party activist base that will regard a tough stand on Iran as unacceptable, Biden will have a lot of reasons to accept the Iranians' rebuff and move on to other issues.
The question here is not one about Biden's sympathy for Israel or even whether he has a sufficient grasp of the threat that Iran poses. Even if he has no desire to endanger Israel – or its Arab allies, who are equally incensed at the idea of Biden reversing Trump's stands on Iran – and genuinely wants to reduce the danger Tehran poses, it's impossible to view this first exchange between the next president and the Islamist regime with anything but dismay.
If Biden really wants to reduce the danger to the world from Iran, then he has to wake up and realize that the situation has changed since Obama and Kerry were squandering their leverage with Iran back in 2013.
The idea that unless the nuclear deal is restored, Iran will quickly acquire a bomb is false. The danger is not that it will tempt fate and the possibility of uniting the West (including reluctant European nations that would rather profit from trade with Tehran than to stop it from attacking its neighbors) by building a weapon now. The problem is what happens if the West does nothing and sticks to the false belief that Obama's deal protected anyone.
As a new president, Biden still has the opportunity to begin negotiating in a manner that has a chance of advancing American interests. But if he sticks to what he told Friedman, it's likely that the Iranians will think he is as easy a mark as Obama and Kerry turned out to be. That would be disastrous for the United States and those who still look to it for leadership.
President-elect Joe Biden addressed for the first time on Thursday night US time the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, known as Iran's chief nuclear scientist, in an interview given to CNN.Iran tells IAEA it will accelerate underground uranium enrichment
He said that it was "hard to tell how much" the recent assassination of the scientist would complicate his dealings with Tehran.
Recall, Fakhrizadeh was killed last Friday. He had been a target for Israelis for a long time.
He slammed US President Donald Trump's dealings with Iran and his decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal, reaffirming his desire to rejoin if Tehran complies.
"He has pulled out to get something tougher, and what have they done? They've increased the ability for them to have nuclear material. They're moving closer to the ability to be able to have enough material for a nuclear weapon. And there's the missile issues," the president-elect said. "The bottom line is that we can't allow Iran to get nuclear weapons."
Iran plans to install hundreds more advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges at an underground plant in breach of its deal with major powers, a U.N. nuclear watchdog report showed on Friday, a move that will raise pressure on U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.BESA: The Response to the Fakhrizadeh Killing Shows the Regime’s Isolation from Its People
The confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by Reuters said Iran plans to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in the underground plant at Natanz, which was apparently built to withstand aerial bombardment.
Iran's nuclear deal with major powers says Tehran can only use first-generation IR-1 centrifuges, which are less efficient, at the underground plant and that those are the only machines with which Iran may accumulate enriched uranium.
Iran recently moved one cascade of 174 IR-2m machines underground at Natanz and is enriching with it. It already planned to install two more cascades of other advanced models there, in addition to the 5,060 IR-1 machines that have been enriching for years in the plant built for more than 50,000.
"In a letter dated 2 December 2020, Iran informed the Agency that the operator of the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz 'intends to start installation of three cascades of IR-2m centrifuge machines' at FEP," the IAEA's report to its member states said.
The paltry number of demonstrators who took to the streets of Iran in response to the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, as well as other forms of evidence, reveal that the Iranian regime is dangerously isolated from the country’s citizens. The disconnection between the regime and the people is reminiscent of the Soviet regime in its last years in power.Congress Considers First-Ever Sanctions on Top Iranian Terror Group
The dramatic, perfectly executed killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, revealed—even more than did the killing of Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani in January—just how porous and exposed is the Iranian security establishment. Dozens if not hundreds of well-placed and informed Iranians appear, whether for pecuniary or political reasons, to be willing to work with the US and Israeli security services. The regime’s control over and surveillance of the state is clearly lax, despite its many security forces. The regime not only failed to thwart the killing but has been unable so far to apprehend the culprits.
The killing of Fakhrizadeh put on display the greatest danger threatening the Iranian regime: its isolation from its own citizenry. It is reminiscent of the kind of isolation that drove Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to attempt to reform the system out of fear that he and his colleagues at the top would face fatal retribution from a populace that had long ago lost faith in the regime.
Thirty years ago, a move as striking as the killing of a key security figure inside Iran would have brought tens if not hundreds of thousands of citizens into the streets to chant “Marg bar Israeel” (Death to Israel) or “Death to the Little Satan and the Great Satan [the United States].” Flags of both countries would have been trodden upon and set aflame.
New legislation in Congress would sanction one of Iran's top terror proxy groups operating in Iraq and responsible for deadly attacks that targeted American personnel stationed in Baghdad, according to a copy of the bill exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.Israel warns ex-nuclear scientists they could be targets of Iran revenge attack
Rep. Joe Wilson (R., S.C.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is spearheading the new sanctions, which would designate for the first time the Iran-funded Badr Organization, a militant group operating in Iraq and tied to Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Badr group was commanded by former Iranian terror leader Qassem Soleimani, who President Donald Trump assassinated with a drone strike in January.
The Badr Organization is responsible for lethal strikes on American embassy officials stationed in Baghdad, including an attack last year that prompted the Trump administration to target Soleimani. The Badr group remains part of Iraq's government and security services, generating concerns that U.S. taxpayer aid to Iraq could be funding the terror organization.
The legislation is likely to garner widespread support from Republicans and Democratic hawks who continue to view Iran's activity in Iraq as a direct threat to America and its diplomacy in the region. The sanctions could complicate the landscape for the incoming Biden administration, which is angling to renew discussions with Iran about its nuclear program. Iranian leaders have said they will not sit down with the incoming administration until American sanctions are rolled back and Tehran is granted cash relief for its ailing economy.
"Badr works directly with Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah, [Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq], and many other designated terrorist organizations to push forward its campaign of terror," Wilson told the Free Beacon in a statement. "Unfortunately, Badr has still not been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It is absolutely necessary if we are to truly have maximum pressure on Iran that Badr is designated as a terrorist organization."
Israel has warned nuclear scientists who used to work at its Dimona reactor to take increased security measures amid fears they could be targeted, as Iran looks to avenge the killing of the father of its atomic program, the Kan broadcaster reported Friday.Is Europe Ignoring Its Own History on Iran?
Iranian officials have publicly blamed Israel for the assassination of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh over the weekend and vowed revenge. Israeli officials have refused to comment on the killing.
Nevertheless, Israel is taking precautions. Israeli scientists have been told to step up their vigilance, Kan reported. At least one former Dimona scientist was told to change his daily routine, not take walks along set paths, and to be vigilant about suspicious packages.
According to Kan, security officials also told him that the Iranians were likely monitoring his social media and internet activities.
Brig. Gen. (Res) Nitzan Nuriel, a former director of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau in the Prime Minister’s Office, told Kan that precautions were necessary, even though the chances of Iran carrying out such an operation were low.
Not dissimilar to its lethargy in the face of Germany’s gross violations of the Versailles rearmament restrictions, Europe appears now to be more motivated by the prospect of lucrative deals with Iran than concern about the machinations and intentions of this rogue nation. Europe turns a blind eye to the obviously malicious intentions of Iran that not only is determined to obtain a nuclear bomb, but is also aggressively involved with terrorism in various parts of the world, including Europe.Belgian court hearings end on Iran diplomat accused of bomb plot
While von Braun joined the Nazi Party in 1937 at age 25, seven months after Germany bombed Guernica, and became an SS officer three years later, Iran’s foremost nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at 21. Fakhrizadeh was closely associated with overseeing the development of a nuclear device and was invited to observe the North Korean nuclear bomb test in 2013. He was a military man advancing nuclear physics for evil intent only.
And yet his recent assassination elicited misplaced hypocritical outrage from the European Union’s foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell, who apparently forgot that Fakhrizadeh was primarily an IRGC Brig. General and not merely an “Iranian government official.” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the assassination by stating “we stick to the rule of humanitarian international law which is very clear against targeting civilians.” Brig. General Fakhridazeh’s goal was the destruction of Israel and to threaten Europe, the Middle East, and South America with the IRGC’s terror network. He was not a civilian.
Borrell and Raab’s misguided outrage appeared more vociferous than reactions to Iran’s deceit and openly provocative breaches of the JCPOA terms, let alone its terrorist proxies around the world. Raab is a Brexiteer and argued that there was too much corruption in the EU. Nevertheless, by referring to Brig. General Fakhrizadeh as a civilian, Raab indicates he is part of Europe’s problem.
Borrell and Raab would do well to read up on their own national and European history, and draw some obvious conclusions.
A Belgian court will deliver its verdict on January 22 in the trial of an Iranian diplomat accused of plotting to bomb an exiled opposition group’s rally, his lawyer told AFP.Iran's official coronavirus tally tops 1 million cases
Assadollah Assadi, a 48-year-old diplomat formerly based in Vienna, faces 20 years in prison if convicted of plotting to target the rally in Villepinte, outside Paris, on June 30, 2018.
The rally included the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (MEK), which Tehran considers a “terrorist group” and has banned since 1981.
Assadi denies any involvement in the plot, which was foiled by security services, and has refused to appear at Antwerp Criminal Court, where he is on trial with three alleged accomplices.
On Thursday, the second and last day of the hearing, the three maintained their innocence.
Lawyers for Nasimeh Naami and Amir Saadouni — a Belgian-Iranian couple arrested in possession of a bomb in their car on their way to France — claimed the explosive was not powerful enough to kill.
Iran said its novel coronavirus infections surpassed 1 million cases on Thursday, as the authorities consider easing restrictions in many parts of the Middle East's hardest-hit country.
According to French news agency AFP, the Islamic republic has recorded 1,003,494 COVID-19 infections since announcing its first cases in February, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on state television.
The virus has killed 49,348 people in Iran over the same period of time, according to official figures, contested by both international observers and certain Iranian officials, including Health Minister Saeed Namaki, who say the real toll is likely much higher.
In the past 24 hours the virus caused 358 new deaths in the country with a population of more than 80 million, and 13,922 new cases of infection, Lari said.
The number of fatalities, however, appears to have slightly eased in past days after soaring to a daily average of more than 400 for much of November.
