Wednesday, November 02, 2022

11/02 Links Pt1: Netanyahu’s bloc appears primed for victory with nearly 86% of votes counted; Biden shouldn’t try to ‘save’ Israeli democracy from election victors

From Ian:

President Isaac Herzog: Honor the Election Results – Regardless of the Outcome
Election day for the 25th Knesset has arrived, and the fifth election campaign in less than four years is coming to an end. Although the election repetitiveness is likely to lead to despair among some Israelis, we must all remember: exercising our right to vote is most prominent expression of democracy in its simplest and most necessary sense – and we must not give up our right to be part of a process in which Israel's sovereignty is realized before our eyes.

I call on the entire Israeli public, from all communities, sectors, beliefs, and ways of life – to go out and vote and exercise your ability to influence our lives here.

Just as it is important that we all show up at the ballot boxes and choose the faction that reflects our views, it is important that we, the country's citizens, show up and stand behind the democratic process as well. Each and every one of us, from all walks of Israeli society, must assist - and not harm, God forbid – the optimal implementation of this process, in all its stages, and those who carry it out. Of course, it is no less important to honor the results of the election – whatever they will be. It is a fundamental obligation for us as a civilized society, the kind that not only creates common ground for us but also prevents chaos and anarchy.

Sadly, the months of the election campaign led to a disturbing increase in the extent of physical and verbal violence – in the field and on social media. Now is precisely the time to alter course, take a deep breath and adopt moderation, responsibility, and respect.

We must not forget, even for a moment: those who think differently from us are not enemies. Those who support a party that represents views and opinions we disagree with is not a traitor or fifth columnist. True, disagreements are and will always be an integral part of the democratic landscape. Still, we must ensure that they are conducted in a respectable manner and give room to others and their opinions.
Johnathan Tobin: Biden shouldn’t try to ‘save’ Israeli democracy from election victors
The votes in Israel’s latest Knesset election are still being counted, but the exit polls confirmed the worst fears of the Biden administration. While Israel isn’t getting the same kind of obsessive attention it has received at times in the past, there’s no question that President Joe Biden and his foreign-policy team have strong opinions about who should be running the Jewish state that are echoed by most Democrats and the liberal mainstream media.

They liked interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid and feared the possible return to power of Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu.

The prospect of not only a victory for Netanyahu and his Likud Party, but the formation of a government with a prominent role for the Religious Zionist Party and one of its controversial leaders, Itamar Ben Gvir, is enough to set the hair of Democrats and the foreign-policy establishment on fire.

Ben Gvir was a supporter of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane’s in his youth and has a well-earned reputation as a right-wing provocateur who often clashed with the police. The attorney/activist moderated his views somewhat however, as he became more politically viable. But he is still treated by both Israeli and American liberals as anathema and a mortal threat to democracy.

That sets up a situation where the temptation for Washington to try to influence the coalition negotiations that will follow the counting of the votes may prove irresistible.

It wouldn’t be the first time American administrations had tried to play that game. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama both sought to defeat Netanyahu and then aid his opponents in their quest to thwart his efforts to form governments. But this time, the motivation is slightly different.

In the past, those attempts to topple Netanyahu-led governments were primarily part of a campaign to promote the peace process with the Palestinians. Now, the main focus of American intervention—which may well be seconded by many leading American-Jewish groups—will be an effort to prevent the Religious Zionists and Ben Gvir from being part of a governing coalition.

The same group of Democratic foreign-policy hacks have largely staffed the Clinton, Obama and now Biden administrations. They all refuse to acknowledge the reality that Palestinian nationalism is inextricably tied to century-old Arab war on Zionism. That renders them incapable of accepting the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders might be drawn.
Israel Elections 2022: Netanyahu’s bloc appears primed for victory with nearly 86% of votes counted
With more than 4.1 million votes officially counted, or 87.6% of the total ballots cast in Israel’s elections on Tuesday, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-religious bloc appears primed for a victory.

According to Central Elections Committee (CEC) figures released on Wednesday, Netanyahu’s bloc will pick up 65 seats, though this number and the prospective electoral map could still change if the far-left Meretz and anti-Zionist Arab Balad parties enter the Knesset.

Both parties are currently sitting below the minimum 3.25% electoral threshold to enter the next parliament, although the CEC still needs to count some 500,000 “double envelope” ballots. These are essentially absentee ballots, cast primarily by diplomats, soldiers and prisoners outside of assigned polling stations, which are determined automatically in the voter registry based on one’s place of residence.

As things stand, Netanyahu’s Likud Party was projected to receive 32 seats, with his likely coalition partners the Religious Zionist Party, Shas and United Torah Judaism receiving 14, 11 and eight mandates, respectively.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid was predicted to garner 24 seats, followed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity at 12. Yisrael Beytenu, the Islamist Ra’am and the predominantly Arab Hadash-Ta’al were all sitting at five seats. The Labor Party would take four seats.


Netanyahu in his own memory
In the section on the Obama years, Netanyahu can barely hold back his contempt for the former president and for some members of his administration, such as Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emanuel. Though Netanyahu clashed nearly as often with President Bill Clinton, whom he describes as very misguided on Israel and the Palestinians, he doesn’t doubt that Clinton had good intentions and repeatedly notes his charm and frankness. The Obama crew, however, “forc[ed] us into a confrontation.” It was a case of “not merely bad policy; it was bad faith.”

When it comes to the presidents post-Obama, Netanyahu is very obviously holding back in case he becomes prime minister again while one of them is in the White House. President Joe Biden is described as the member of the Obama administration most dedicated to trying to keep the U.S.-Israel relationship from going off the rails.

President Donald Trump checked off many items on Netanyahu’s wish list, leaving the Iran deal, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and moving the U.S. Embassy, as well as ushering in peace between Israel and four Arab states. As such, he is described in overwhelmingly positive terms. His salty post-presidency comments (“f*** him,” to be exact about what Trump said of Bibi) go unmentioned.

So that’s the daily grind in Bibi. When Netanyahu is not settling scores and recounting the back-and-forth of domestic and international politics, his writing reminds the reader that he is an excellent teller of Israel’s story and the justice of the Zionist cause. Netanyahu was born in 1949, a year after the State of Israel, such that the chapters of his life often parallel milestones in the country’s history. Still, he starts decades before that, weaving together a story in which his grandfather, father, and Benjamin himself have a Forrest Gump-like tendency — though an intentional one, in their cases — toward proximity to major events leading up to and after the establishment of the Jewish state. That, of course, includes Netanyahu’s older brother, Yoni, the hero of the Entebbe raid whose death played a pivotal role in Netanyahu’s move from a comfortable life as a business consultant in Boston who occasionally engaged in pro-Israel activism to a life of public service.

Some of it, like his father Benzion's role in convincing the U.S. to support the soon-to-be state, is probably overstated, though he certainly made a valiant effort. Yet that overstatement is another key to understanding Netanyahu. The huge influence of the elder Netanyahu, a historian of Spanish Jewry and the Inquisition, on the younger Netanyahu’s thinking has been well documented and is even the topic of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen) that presents it as something almost sinister. Though Netanyahu mentions and debunks some of the cruel takes on his family presented in the media, he disregards the chatter about his father, taking pride in him and recounting situations in which, even as prime minister, he sought his advice.

In the book’s epilogue, the message Netanyahu seeks to impart is unmistakably Benzion-esque: “The arc of history may bend toward justice, but it is a brittle arc. It can break at any moment under the pounding of the darkest force. The founding of Israel did not stop attacks on the Jews. It merely gave the Jews the power to defend themselves against those attacks. … More [power] will surely come if we continue to nurture our might, our resolve and our belief in the justice of our cause. … Having restored our independence, we cannot, and we will not, let anyone bring an end to this miracle.”

There’s no denying that Netanyahu has brought that fighting spirit to his life and now to his autobiography.


‘The Most Right-Wing Government in Israel’s History’? Explaining Tuesday’s Election Results
The Israeli Right is enduring political trauma from being misled by Bennett, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, and their allies. Right-wing voters who had cast ballots for Bennett’s Yamina Party wanted to make sure that this time, Israel would not end up with a coalition that included an Arab party or the most left-wing Zionist party, Meretz.

Sephardi and Mizrahi voters are especially turned on by Ben-Gvir, whose parents are Iraqi and Kurdish and who included the late chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu’s grandson on his list of candidates. Netanyahu has also championed the cause of his political base of traditional Sephardi voters in the periphery.

In his victory speech at a Likud rally in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said his government would serve all the people and expand both external and internal peace.

As Reuters reported correctly, Netanyahu, who in 2020 forged formal diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, said a government under his leadership would act responsibly, avoid “unnecessary adventures” and “expand the circle of peace.”

Indeed, throughout his political career, Netanyahu’s track record has proven him more pragmatic when in power than when on the campaign trail.

Netanyahu’s victory came as a result of the 71.3% turnout in the election, the highest since 1999 and an impressive achievement for Israel’s democracy considering that it was the country’s fifth election in 3.5 years. The Arab turnout of some 54% was significantly higher than pollsters predicted throughout the election.

The family members of Kiryat Arba resident Ronen Hanania, who was brutally murdered by a Palestinian terrorist on Saturday night, even left their Shiva mourning period to come and vote.

One of the reasons Israelis voted for Netanyahu was the frequency of Israel’s recent elections. So-called “stability voters” made ending the political stalemate their top priority and voted for Netanyahu — even if they disliked him — because he had the best chance of forming a stable government.

The end of the political chaos in Israel and the potential formation of a government that could last more than a year takes away an argument for the critics of Israeli democracy, who used that point to mock the Jewish state even during its honeymoon with the media that is now over.
Lebanon says US guarantees prevent Netanyahu from rolling back border deal
Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati told Reuters by phone on Wednesday that US guarantees would protect a maritime border deal with Israel should Israel's conservative former premier Benjamin Netanyahu win a majority in elections. Netanyahu had threatened to "neutralize" the agreement, which came into force in October after years of indirect US-brokered talks and set out the sea boundary between the two enemy states.

Under the new deal, Israel agreed to hand over the disputed area, which includes some territorial waters but mainly economic waters. In exchange, it would get Lebanese "permanent" recognition of its existing border with the enemy state near the shore, as well as a share of the revenue from gas extraction in a field that lies in Lebanese waters if enough gas is found to have it extracted. The deal also includes a letter of guarantees the US has agreed to issue a letter from President Joe Biden in which he affirmed his administration's commitment to Israel's economic and security rights contained in the new agreement. According to some reports it also reiterates that the US will back Israel if it has to take action to enforce the deal.

Netanyahu appeared well placed to return to power as exit polls following Tuesday's election showed his right-wing bloc heading for a narrow majority lifted by a strong showing from his far-right allies. He has been one of the main opponents of the deal, which had been finalized during final stages of the campaign by Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Netanyahu said Lapid had no authority to do the deal because he was heading a transitional government.


Meretz could remain out of Knesset as counting nears end
On Wednesday morning, less than 12 hours after polls closed, over 80% of the vote had been counted, all but confirming that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would return to power due to the strong showing of his Likud party and its allies in the Knesset.

Meretz, the left-wing party that has been part and parcel of the Left since its founding in 1992, was on the verge of losing any representation, having apparently failed to meet the minimum threshold to enter the Knesset: 3.25% of the valid vote count.

Like Meretz, the Arab fringe party Balad also failed to get the required share of the vote and was all but guaranteed to stay out of the legislative chamber, having chosen to run on its own rather than on a joint list with other predominantly Arab parties like it did in the previous four elections.

On Tuesday night, only a meager 30 people arrived at party headquarters in Tel Aviv and tried to drive some energy to the party stalwarts watching the returns, shouting with joy after the initial reports showed it had secured enough votes to enter the Knesset. However, as it emerged that Right and its allies were projected to win 61 seats under initial estimates, the atmosphere quickly shifted to doom and gloom, and later on Wednesday, there was once again the threat of being left out of the Knesset.
Understanding the Brief Moment When the Soviet Bloc Sided with Israel, and the U.S. Government against It
Just as his anti-Semitism was reaching its post-World War II peak, Joseph Stalin decided to throw his weight behind the UN plan to create a Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine. Meanwhile, the entire American foreign-policy establishment was against the idea—and had to be dragged along against its will by a firmly committed Harry Truman. These events are the subject of Jeffrey Herf’s new book Israel’s Moment. Robert Satloff writes in his review:

Providing sharp contrast to the cold-bloodedness of State Department officials, Herf quotes the emotional speeches and interventions of eastern bloc diplomats at the fledgling UN—especially, though not solely, Poles—arguing passionately in support of Zionism. It was the Communists who lobbied the UN to allow the Jewish Agency to speak on behalf of the Jews of Palestine during the special session on partition, while U.S. diplomats opposed it. Similarly, it was the Communists who recalled the recent deaths of Hitler’s six million Jewish victims to lend added legitimacy to Zionist aspirations for a national safe haven, while U.S. diplomats refrained from ever mentioning the Holocaust.

Strange as it may sound today, when anti-Israelism is central to the politics of so many progressives, Freda Kirchwey, editor of the Nation, “made Zionist aspirations one of the defining aspects of both her own writing and that of authors she invited to appear in the magazine.” Kirchwey herself traveled to Palestine in the summer of 1946 and sent home dispatches full of sympathy for the Jewish cause, underscoring the simple yet powerful link that connected survivors from the hell of Europe with those in the Yishuv who spent the war years preparing the ground for independence—they were all Jews. . . . When she returned, the Nation advocated for the partition of Palestine and the creation of a Jewish state.

Herf is especially deft at exposing the heartlessness of the architect of America’s containment strategy against the Soviet Union, George F. Kennan. From his perch as the inaugural director of State Department Policy Planning, Kennan wrote memo after memo giving the wild rants of Foggy Bottom Arabists like William Eddy—Saudi Aramco’s man at the State Department and perhaps “the first Western diplomat to equate Zionism with racism”—the patina of cold-war legitimacy. Kennan’s critique of Truman’s decision to recognize Israel was well-nigh apocalyptic.


IDF officer wounded in suspected terror attack, assailant neutralized
An Israel Defense Forces officer in his 20s was seriously wounded in a suspected terror attack at the Maccabim Checkpoint near Modi’in on Wednesday morning, according to the Israeli military.

The assailant rammed his vehicle into the soldier before getting out and attempting to stab him with an axe, according to Israeli media reports.

The perpetrator was “neutralized,” and an investigation into the incident had been launched, the IDF said in a statement.

The victim was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where he has since regained consciousness and his condition has stabilized, according to a statement from the hospital released Wednesday afternoon.

The incident comes after five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a terror attack on Sunday at two locations in the Jordan Valley, south of Jericho.


MEMRI: Former Jordanian Minister About Palestinian Terrorist 'Uday Al-Tamimi: He Is A Fearless Hero Who Brought Joy To Millions
In an article published in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour and in the Qatari daily Al-Watan, Muhammad Daoudia, a former Jordanian minister and current chairman of the Al-Dustour's editorial board, praised Palestinian terrorist 'Uday Al-Tamimi, the perpetrator of two recent attacks against Israelis. Al-Tamimi carried out an October 9, 2022 shooting at a checkpoint in Shu'afat in East Jerusalem, in which an Israeli female soldier, Noa Lazar, was killed, and another shooting ten days later at the entrance to the Israeli town of Ma'ale Adumim, in the course of which he himself was shot to death by Israeli security officers. Describing Al-Tamimi as a hero who sacrificed himself willingly and consciously and whose actions brought joy to millions, Daoudia added that Al-Tamimi is a role model for other Palestinians who "emulate the [previous] martyrs when their hearts and minds are suddenly filled with courage."

The following are translated excerpts from Daoudia's article:[1]
"At the age of 20, in the first bloom of youth, most young people are concerned with studying, developing their selfhood and thinking about the future… falling in love, and promising [their beloved] to build a quiet nest for her and the children, who will fill the house with fun, life and noise. Yet the 20-year-old 'Uday Al-Tamimi… absorbed the spirit of self-sacrifice, the generosity and the steadfastness of his Arab Palestinian people, which is a great nation of heroes. The lovely young Palestinian 'Uday Al-Tamimi calmly gave his life and brought joy to millions. He fed the enemies gall and filled their faces and hearts with fear and terror, and frustrated their plotters. With his submachinegun, the Samurai Al-Tamimi spelled out his scathing and singular message, which reverberated throughout the world and repeated the lines of the poem, 'Oh Beirut, we did not raise a white flag or leave with our heads hanging.'[2] 'Uday Al-Tamimi knew what he wanted and knew he would join the procession of self-sacrificing martyrs. He is a new source of inspiration and a fearless hero. He represented the unrestrained and desperate national eruption and was a model of pure courage. His glorious action and his last will and testament will become a shining [example] for other Palestinian youths who welcome shahada [martyrdom for the sake of Allah] and emulate the [previous] martyrs when their hearts and minds are suddenly filled with courage."

"The martyrdom of the hero 'Uday Zuhair Bahaya Al-Tamimi, son of the Khansa[3] of Palestine Jamila Al-Ja'bari, reveals that the leaders of the Zionist entity are fools, because they fail to understand that violating the rights of the Arab Palestinian people for three quarters of a century [only] resulted in providing them… with 'Uday Al-Tamimi.

Congratulations to the Palestinian people and their Arab nation… for [the fact that] the martyr 'Uday Al-Tamimi bears their sweet and pure name."


Abbas’ advisor: Israel’s existence contradicts international law

PA TV child host claims Israeli town of Acre is “in northern Palestine”

Daughter sings to imprisoned father: “Daddy gave me a present, a machine gun and a rifle”

Palestinian children's song daddy's present is a machine gun and a rifle, sings to victory over israel

Fatah: Mother of 5 imprisoned terrorists is “impressive and strong, must be honored”



Michael Doran: Overmatch
By any objective measure, the military power of the United States continues to dwarf that of the Islamic Republic. The protests on the streets of Iran’s cities prove that the regime in Tehran is a decayed husk, deeply unpopular and beset by myriad vulnerabilities that a deft American policy could exploit. The United States has the military capabilities to prevent Iran from advancing toward a nuclear bomb and to deter it from threatening its neighbors—and it can do so without sparking a major war. It has more than enough might to reassure allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that they can rest comfortably under the American power umbrella. What is more, the allies want to remain inside the American system. The erosion of the American order is therefore more the result of confusion in Washington than of objective shifts in global power. But how and when will that confusion cease, so that a more mutually beneficial relationship might flower?

When President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July, he sensed the existing distrust and tried to dispel it. “We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” he said. But promises like this fail to reassure the allies, who are looking not for sweet words but resolute action that deters Iran. We have seen this kind of mistake in the past. In his famous speech to the National Press Club on Jan. 12, 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson defined America’s “defensive perimeter” in Asia in a way that omitted South Korea. A week later, Congress voted down a major assistance bill for South Korea. Six months later, the North Koreans stormed southward with the support of China and the Soviet Union, who likely concluded that the United States was unwilling to protect its ally.

In the Middle East today, the United States has once again drawn its defensive perimeter in a highly ambiguous fashion. The ambiguity has emboldened China, Russia, and Iran, and sown mistrust in the hearts of allies. The Biden administration has failed to recognize the problem and, therefore, has not begun to address it. Like marriages gone sour and houses in Malibu, international orders erode gradually at first and then all at once. News of the demise of the American order in the Middle East is certainly premature, but the ground beneath it is shifting in very unsettling ways that American policymakers appear determined to ignore.
Saudi Arabia shares intel with US on ‘imminent’ Iranian attack
Saudi Arabia has shared intelligence with the United States indicating that Iran is planning an “imminent” attack on the kingdom, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

The U.S. National Security Council said in a statement on Tuesday that the United States was “concerned about the threat picture” and was in “constant contact” with the Saudis via military and intelligence channels.

“We will not hesitate to act in the defense of our interests and partners in the region,” the statement added.

According to the report, which cited three U.S. officials, the heightened concern in Washington comes as the Biden administration is stepping up its criticism of Tehran over its ongoing deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, and for supplying arms, in particular kamikaze drones, to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.

Iran is reportedly preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and attack UAVs, to Moscow.


Biden must act on Iran’s drone and missile transfers
The drone transfers also would have violated a past arms embargo on Iran contained in resolution 2231. The embargo, which expired in October 2020, had similar language regarding permission for states to import from or export to Iran weapons categorized under the UN Register of Conventional Arms. Category IV of the register includes combat aircraft and unmanned combat aerial vehicles, whereas Category VII includes missiles and missiles launchers “capable of delivering a warhead or weapon of destruction to a range of at least 25 kilometres.”

Iran’s expanding arms proliferation radius reflects the lack of constraint the Islamic Republic feels from the Biden administration’s overall Iran policy. Iranian drones are not just a Middle Eastern battlefield phenomenon as they can be found as far away as Venezuela, Ethiopia, and now among Russia’s forces in Ukraine.

To date, team Biden has only twice sanctioned elements of Tehran’s drone program. In October 2021, it designated key persons and entities leading and supporting the program, and acted again in September 2022 after Iran’s transfer of these systems to Russia. Washington should increase the pace, scale, and scope of these designations to expose and penalize the supply chains and financial entities that feed it.

America should also coordinate designations with European partners to multi-lateralize this blacklisting and expand the “no-go” zone for Iranian technology procurement agents and foreign suppliers. This offers policymakers an opportunity to share best practices on sanctions implementation and enforcement, as well as enhanced Iran and Russia export and financial controls.

Washington and the E3 can move this cooperation further by enacting the snapback mechanism in resolution 2231 to restore all prior UN penalties on the Islamic Republic, including permanent arms transfer and ballistic missile testing prohibitions.

With protests raging across Iran and Tehran’s support for Putin’s imperial war in Ukraine deepening, the Biden administration should seize the opportunity to reset the chessboard against the Islamic Republic. Step one requires recognizing that Iranian weapons proliferation will increase so long as Washington sits on the sidelines.
Axis of Evil: Chinese Tech Powering Iranian Drones in Russia-Ukraine War
The Iranian-made drones Russia is using to kill Ukrainians are being powered by Chinese technology, showing that the Communist regime is playing a larger role in the conflict than previously known, according to a watchdog group.

Chinese Communist technology is "enabling Iran to manufacture and supply drones to Russian forces," according to the Institute for Science and International Security, a think tank that closely monitors Iran’s military infrastructure. "It appears that Chinese companies are supplying Iran with copies of Western commodities to produce UAV combat drones." Components used to power these drones also appear to originate from companies based in the United States and Europe.

The findings could spell trouble for the Western companies involved in this drone technology, as trade of this nature is heavily sanctioned by the United States and European governments. While it is more than likely Iran is procuring this technology on the black market with China’s help, watchdogs including the Institute for Science and International Security are calling on the Biden administration to more aggressively police these networks. This includes stopping negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear accord until Iran ends its military trade with Moscow.

"A priority is to understand how foreign parts are ending up in Iranian drones," the institute says in its latest report. "Discovering Iranian procurement networks can start with the Western suppliers, who would be expected to cooperate with authorities. From there, authorities need to systematically expose Iran’s procurement network, identifying trading companies, distributors, shipping companies, agents friendly to Iran, and ultimately those in Iran organizing these purchases."
Iranian team to meet UN watchdog in Vienna in bid to solve nuclear dispute
An Iranian delegation will travel to Vienna for talks with UN nuclear watchdog officials, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday, as negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal remain stalled.

Iran will send the delegation “in the coming days in order to begin talks and strengthen cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters in Tehran.

He did not provide details on the delegation’s composition or the precise date of the discussions.

The UN watchdog has been pressing Iran to give answers on the presence of nuclear material at three undeclared sites, a key sticking point that led to a resolution criticizing Iran being passed at a June meeting of the IAEA’s board of governors.

Amir-Abdollahian expressed hope that the IAEA would be able to resolve “accusations” brought against Iran, and that “we will be able to pass through this stage through technical cooperation.”

Iran has repeatedly said it wants the IAEA to drop its interest in the three sites — a position that the nuclear watchdog says lacks credibility.


9 hours at an Iranian airport: IDF soldier faces unnerving flight diversion
An Israeli soldier aboard a plane from Uzbekistan landed in Iran last week and spent nine hours on the ground before safely departing, the military cleared for publication Thursday.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the 19-year-old Russian-speaking soldier, who serves in a non-sensitive position in the IDF’s Northern Command, had been on vacation visiting family in Uzbekistan.

The civilian flight from the Uzbek capital Tashkent to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates last Thursday was diverted due to a medical condition of one of the passengers. It landed at Shiraz International Airport.

The plane spent around nine hours in Iran before taking off again without incident, the IDF said.

Hebrew-language media reports said passengers disembarked and were sent to wait in the terminal. While on the ground the soldier called her parents, who then notified her commanders. The details were eventually passed on to senior defense officials, who notified Prime Minister Yair Lapid, as the Israeli cabinet was holding a meeting on signing a maritime border agreement with Lebanon.

The Mossad spy agency then sprung into action and made contact with the soldier, instructing her to conceal her Israeli identity and not speak Hebrew, the reports said.
Emergency landing: Israeli soldier landed in Iran for hours Emergency landings and Mossad extraction plans

i24NEWS host Natasha Kirtchuk shares how an Israeli soldier unwillingly landed in #Iran due to her flight's emergency landing





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