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Saturday, July 25, 2026

07/24 Links Pt1: Two Israelis killed in Samaria terrorist attack; ICC removes Karim Khan as prosecutor; Mojtaba Khamenei more interested in nuclear weapons than predecessor

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: We deserve better: Three years after October 7, Israel still waits for an investigation
Nearly three years after the October 7 massacre, Israelis are still waiting for one of the most basic obligations the outgoing government owes its citizens: A full, independent investigation into the worst security failure in the country’s history.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government informed the High Court of Justice that it will not be able to complete legislation establishing its proposed political commission to investigate the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

In response to petitions challenging its failure to establish the probe, the government said the legislation would instead be completed after the October 27 elections. Further attacking the judiciary, it also argued that “it is not appropriate for the court to rule on the matter or intervene in it.”

The government’s explanation for the delay should be unacceptable to every Israeli.

Much has been argued – both in the Knesset and on Israel’s streets – over whether a political commission or a state commission of inquiry is the appropriate mechanism. The coalition has repeatedly opposed a state commission, standing firmly behind its objections to an independent inquiry.

Its first argument has been that it is impractical and inappropriate to investigate the events surrounding October 7 while Israel remains at war. The second is that Chief Justice Isaac Amit is not viewed as legitimate by many members of the coalition, raising concerns that any commission he appoints would lack public confidence among a significant segment of the public. 'Scheduling constraints' prevented Oct. 7 probe legislation finalization

Even if the government’s objections to a state commission are genuine, they still do not explain why it failed to follow through on its own proposal for a political probe – one specifically designed to address those concerns by replacing Supreme Court appointments to the committee with members selected through a Knesset-led process.

According to the government’s response to the High Court, the legislation could not be finalized because of “scheduling constraints.”

That justification is nothing short of insulting.

Members of this government have spent nearly three years hearing the pleas of bereaved families demanding a commission of inquiry. They have heard them inside the Knesset. They have heard them outside their homes and offices, where grieving relatives have stood for months demanding answers, accountability, and transparency.

Some of those Israelis lost sons, daughters, spouses, parents, and friends on October 7. Others fought for up to 505 days until their loved ones returned from Hamas captivity. All have carried an unimaginable burden while waiting for the state to confront its own failures.

Responding to those families by citing legislative scheduling conflicts is a slap in the face.

The explanation becomes even harder to accept when viewed alongside the coalition’s legislative blitz carried out during the Knesset’s final weeks before its dissolution.

In those weeks, the coalition found time to pass legislation it considered politically essential: A bill preventing the enforcement of draft orders against ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, legislation enshrining Torah study as a fundamental value in Israel’s Basic Law, a bill restructuring the powers of the attorney-general, and sweeping reforms to Israel’s broadcasting sector.

In passing said bills, the government demonstrated that when legislation is considered urgent by the prime minister, it can move with remarkable speed.
Trump admin’s $200 million to Red Cross offers chance to press it over Oct. 7 hostages, B’nai B’rith tells JNS
The Trump administration should use Thursday’s announcement that it is providing more than $200 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to demand that the ICRC “show accountability for its shameful performance during the Israeli hostage crisis,” Rabbi Eric Fusfield, director of legislative affairs at B’nai B’rith International, told JNS.

The U.S. State Department stated that the aid to the ICRC and IFRC will go toward disaster and humanitarian assistance. “Today’s contributions support organizations that respond quickly when disasters strike, provide unparalleled access to people in need in conflict settings, and leverage preexisting worldwide disaster and humanitarian response infrastructure,” it said.

Fusfield told JNS that “the ICRC failed every test with respect to Israelis held captive by Hamas terrorists.”

“They never met with the hostages, never assured them comfort or medical supplies, never demanded proof of life and never did anything to speed their release,” he said. “The ICRC has much to answer for, and the U.S. and the international community should demand those answers.”


Two Israelis killed in Samaria terrorist attack
Two Israelis were killed and six wounded in a terrorist shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria on Friday morning after a group of Israelis hiking in the area was attacked by Palestinians, according to Magen David Adom and the Israeli military.

The victims were identified as Benayahu Melet, 32, a member of the community’s rapid-response security team and its agriculture director, and Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, from Herzliya, a commander in the 411th Battalion of the 282nd Artillery Brigade, who later succumbed to his wounds.

Melet rushed to assist the group of hikers after they came under attack from terrorists near the community, which is not far from the Palestinian village of Tell. He was shot and killed by several terrorists during the rescue effort. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, aged 12 and 13.

Magen David Adom said its paramedics evacuated six wounded Israelis from the site, one in serious condition, one in moderate condition and four others who sustained light wounds.

Informed sources told JNS that a group of experienced hikers was hiking in the area when several Palestinian terrorists attacked them, stole their weapons and opened fire. IDF troops, security forces and medical teams were dispatched to the scene.

The IDF said the primary terrorist who carried out the attack was killed by soldiers immediately after opening fire on the Israeli civilians, and troops recovered the weapon he had stolen during the assault. Three other Palestinians were killed and four wounded in an ensuing gunfight, it said.

The military said Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth led a joint situational assessment with representatives of the Judea and Samaria Division, the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan also arrived at the scene of the attack, where he conducted a situational assessment with security officials.

“Terror will not break us,” Dagan said. “The response must be offensive: We must relentlessly pursue the terrorists and strike terrorism with full force. At the same time, we must continue to build, develop and strengthen the communities in Samaria. Anyone who tries to harm us should know that the result will be a stronger and greater Samaria.”


Nablus hospital raid: Two terrorists involved in Havat Gilad shooting arrested
IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and the Shin Bet said Friday afternoon that two terrorists who participated in the morning shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria were arrested during an operation in the heart of Nablus. “The terrorists, who were wounded during the attack, were evacuated to a hospital in the city of Nablus where they were arrested by the forces and transferred for further questioning by security forces,” the joint statement said.

The statement added that “the identities of all the terrorists who took part in the attack are known and the forces are working to arrest them.” The hospital arrests were carried out by Duvdevan fighters under the command of the Samaria Brigade and with Shin Bet intelligence guidance.

In Friday morning’s shooting attack, Maj. Yuval Ezra, a battery commander, and Benayahu Mellet, 32, a member of Havat Gilad’s alert squad team, were killed. Ezra, 27, from Herzliya, commanded a battery in the 411th Battalion of the 282nd Fire Brigade in the Artillery Corps. Mellet, 32, a father of two daughters, was a member of the community security squad and responsible for agriculture at Havat Gilad.

Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth held a discussion with settlement leaders following the attack and said: “During the incident, four terrorists were eliminated at the scene, including the terrorist who carried out the shooting. The stolen weapon was also recovered by the IDF. We have more arrests to carry out. Following the recent events, particularly this morning’s incident, there is concern of escalation throughout Judea and Samaria, and we are carrying out offensive operations to prevent the area from igniting and using all means at our disposal.”

He added that the IDF is also preparing for possible copycat attacks. “IDF forces in the Judea and Samaria Division are preparing to carry out significant counterterrorism operations and are working to arrest all the terrorists involved in the attack,” he said. “For this purpose, we have also rushed additional units here. We have much work ahead of us. We are launching a broad operation in the Central Command area. We will act in every way to halt the escalation and restore calm here. The security of residents is our guiding principle. The forces are operating with determination, operational aggressiveness and composure to prevent additional incidents.”

Before the shooting attack, security forces and additional settlers were documented clashing with Palestinians in the area where a group of Israeli hikers had arrived. During the violent clashes, one Israeli, wearing civilian clothing, was seen kicking a Palestinian and shouting at him to move away. The Palestinian then grabbed the weapon from the Israeli and began shooting, striking Benayahu Mellet. In response, security forces and Israelis at the scene fired at him.

Hiking in the area requires prior coordination with the IDF, but security officials said the military was not aware of the trip and that this constituted a serious issue. According to the officials, the incident began with a hike in the area, and in the early morning hours a violent confrontation broke out between dozens of Palestinians and the group of hikers in the Palestinian village. The officials said IDF forces were then dispatched, and when the command team from the 411th Battalion arrived at the scene, a violent confrontation involving gunfire developed.

Security officials said the entire incident took place inside the village and that all weapons involved, including those located at the scene, are now in the possession of security forces. “The entire incident took place on the southern side of the village. Before the incident, settlers fired into the air, and the IDF is investigating everyone who fired, including members of the hiking group,” they added. “When the commanders arrive at the scene, they enter a chaotic event. The entire incident is in the southern part of the village. The fighters and forces then worked to remove all those involved, some of them children.”


Hundreds attend funeral of Benayahu Mellet, killed in West Bank terror attack
Hundreds accompanied Benayahu Mellet, a member of Havat Gilad’s emergency response team, to his final resting place Friday afternoon. Mellet was killed in a terror attack earlier that morning. Maj. Yuval Ezra, a battery commander in the Artillery Corps, was also killed in the attack. Mellet is survived by his wife and two daughters.

“Fourteen years together, which ended in a moment. You always jumped first to every place and came back last from every incident. This time, too, there was no question,” his wife Esther said in her eulogy. “It was clear to me that you were there. I was not worried when I saw all the helicopters because you always come back. Only this time you did not come back at all. If it is any consolation, you received military recognition — as a soldier who went out to defend those who needed it. You deserve this so much.”

Esther spoke about what occupied Benayahu’s thoughts moments before he rushed to the scene: “This land, this soil, this nation — they occupied you day and night. Just this morning you were working on establishing two new settlement outposts, and from there you were called to the incident. And this is truly your legacy. Khirbat Kafrur, Mivtar Six, and at the site of the murder there will be Jewish communities, flourishing and thriving. I was told they have already gone up there. You were privileged.”

Mellet was buried next to Rabbi Raziel Shevach, who was murdered in a 2018 terror attack near Havat Gilad. He is the second person buried in the cemetery there. Esther spoke of the chilling connection between them — their age when they were killed.

“You are being buried next to a holy man, Rabbi Raziel Shevach. This is exactly how you would have wanted it. He was just like you, 32 years old.”

The widow ended her eulogy with a message from their daughters: “Tair Eretz says you were the best and funniest father. And thank you for 12 years that you were with me. I love you more than anything and I already miss you. I, and the land of Israel, and Tair Eretz, will find the strength to cope. You can rest now.”

“Benayahu was a holy man. People here spoke about what he did for the Land of Israel, so I want to say there were other sides to Benayahu — everything he did in his life, he did with great seriousness,” his mother Segula said in her eulogy. “This was not the first time he was shot at. When he was in first grade, we were helping establish Adei Ad. Arabs shot at him there as well. All the bullets flew over his head. He came and said, ‘Arabs shot at me.’ From childhood, this child absorbed the battles of God.”

His father, Boaz Mellet, said Benayahu was “a beloved son, loving, a lover of the land, a lover of the City of the Patriarchs.” He said Benayahu knew the entire West Bank region. “Only good came from having you with us all these years. Your whole life was devoted and dedicated, with sacrifice, for the sake of the people of Israel. A loving person, a man of peace,” he added.

In his remarks at the funeral, Mellet’s father called on them to dismantle the Palestinian Authority. “All those who told us ‘a fully right-wing government’ — your term is still short. Your opportunity is now to seize the final moment and dismantle the terrorist organization that everyone knows is a terrorist organization — the Palestinian Authority. It is an organization whose entire purpose is the destruction of the State of Israel. We do not need to wait for the next October 7-style war,” he said.


Israeli civilian, IDF soldier wounded in two Palestinian stabbing attacks in Samaria
Two separate Palestinian stabbing attacks in Samaria on Thursday left an Israeli civilian seriously wounded and an IDF soldier lightly injured, while the attackers were killed by an armed civilian and Israeli troops, authorities said.

Two Palestinians stabbed a 51-year-old Israeli man on Thursday while he and other Israelis attempted to extinguish a fire near Derech Avraham Farm, southeast of Nablus in Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces said. An Israeli civilian at the scene witnessed the terrorist attack and killed the two terrorists, the military said.

In a separate terrorist attack on Thursday afternoon, a Palestinian stabbed a Paratroopers Brigade soldier in the leg at a recently established IDF post near Ganim in northern Samaria. The soldier sustained light wounds, and fellow troops at the scene shot and killed the attacker.

The victim of the first attack was evacuated by helicopter by the Israeli Air Force’s Unit 669 combat search-and-rescue unit for further treatment at a hospital. He sustained serious wounds, the Magen David Adom national emergency service said.

IDF soldiers launched searches in the Beit Furik area and imposed a temporary cordon, the army added.

Defense Minister Israel Katz identified the victim as Itamar Cohen.

“I wish a speedy recovery to Itamar Cohen, one of the founders of the agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria, who was wounded in a terrorist attack near Alon Moreh. I strengthen him and his family members and pray for his complete healing,” Katz wrote on X.

He added that Palestinian terrorism has declined by more than 80% due to the government’s “aggressive policy,” but cautioned that “we must not be mistaken—the Palestinian terrorism still exists, and we continue to act against it at all times and in all places.”

Katz said that just as Israeli security forces dismantled terrorist infrastructure in Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, they would not hesitate to do the same in additional villages and camps.

“Terrorism will not deter us or achieve its goal. On the contrary—just as we established 104 new communities and legalized 160 farms—we will continue to strengthen the settlements … as part of the State of Israel’s security strategy, and to continue developing Judea and Samaria while maintaining uncompromising security for its residents and for the security of all Israeli citizens,” he said.


Stephen Pollard: The strange relationship between Qatar and the ICC
The allegations against Khan first emerged in October 2024. The most striking aspect of his defence is that Qatar appears to have effectively been his crisis PR manager. This has involved utilising media organisations funded by Qatar, such as al-Jazeera, and publications understood to be close to Qatar, such as Middle East Eye, to who Khan gave an interview in which he responded to the harassment allegations in detail. He was also interviewed by the former Al-Jazeera journalist, Mehdi Hasan, on his platform Zeteo.

Allies of Khan have said that the woman’s allegations against him are a smear by Israel in response to his 2024 decision to issue an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu and the former Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant. It has been reported that evidence has been sought linking the complainant to Israel, although none has been found; had any emerged, you can be sure it would have swiftly been made public.

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that one witness statement related to the case claimed that the Qatari government promised to ‘look after’ Khan if he moved against Netanyahu. According to the WSJ, the statement was then sent to the FBI. The statement also asserts that an intelligence operation in defence of Khan targeted two Americans: the senior ICC official who first reported the allegations, Tom Lynch; and the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who Khan said in an interview with Middle East Eye told him on a conference call in May 2024 that the ICC ‘is for Africa and thugs like Putin’, and not for Israel and the US. In addition, it has been reported that the Dutch counter-terror agency, the NCTV, has interviewed other ICC officials targeted by the operation.

A lawyer for Khan told the WSJ: ‘Our client was not offered or given (and would not have sought or accepted) any “promise” by any state (whether Qatar or any other) to “look after” him if he applied for the arrest warrants.’

But Qatar’s embrace of Khan is far from unique. It built strong ties with the ICC’s first chief prosecutor, the Argentine Luis Moreno Ocampo, who served from 2003-2012. Publicly available travel records, conference agendas and other meetings show a set of personal, financial and reputational links between Ocampo and key Qatari figures. Ocampo was in post during the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings which Qatar sponsored when it saw the regional advantage they could facilitate, and which it then used to position itself as a regional player.

Ocampo’s diary shows increasing engagements in Doha around this time. In May 2011, he travelled there for a conference funded by the Qatari authorities, overseen by Attorney General Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri and formally framed as part of a push to deepen engagement between the ICC and Arab states.

After Ocampo retired from the ICC, he became heavily linked to initiatives associated with the Qatar Foundation, the organisation chaired by members of the Al Thani family. His biography appeared on the website of the foundation’s education conferences and he was reported as participating in programs tied to Education Above All, the flagship project led by Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, the former emir’s wife, formalising his role in Qatar’s global soft power ecosystem.

In 2016, the Panama Papers exposed Ocampo’s use of offshore financial structures, indicating that during and after his tenure at the ICC he controlled companies registered in jurisdictions known for their secrecy and received substantial payments through overseas accounts. Ocampo has said that he ‘did not do anything wrong’.

Qatar has not had only an arms’ length involvement. It has had a direct involvement in the International Court of Justice as a party to one of its most notorious cases. After getting independence in 1972, Qatar was in dispute with its neighbour Bahrain over maritime and territorial borders. The case eventually went to the ICJ in 1991. The case has become iconic not only because it dragged on for a decade but because Qatar submitted 82 forged documents to the ICJ, including fake maps, stamps, and falsified archives. It is a damning comment on the ICJ’s jurisprudence that not only did the ICJ not condemn Qatar, but some arguments for the final decision even relied on the forgeries.

Qatar’s dealings with the ICC, the ICJ and their personnel should prompt searching questions about where diplomacy and international law ends and where covert influence and state power begins – and specifically about who ultimately controls the levers of supposedly ‘independent’ international law.
ICC removes Karim Khan as prosecutor amid sexual misconduct allegations
Member states of the International Criminal Court voted on Friday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan following a roughly 18-month-long investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, Reuters reported.

In a secret ballot held at United Nations headquarters in New York City, 82 of the ICC’s 125 member states voted to dismiss Khan, according to diplomatic sources cited by the outlet. A minimum of 63 votes was required for his removal.

The allegations against Khan first surfaced in 2024. He has denied wrongdoing, saying the accusations are unfounded and criticizing the disciplinary process as unlawful and lacking evidence.

Khan had been on voluntary leave since May and was suspended as prosecutor in June after the ICC’s governing bureau determined that he had committed serious misconduct. His deputies carried out his duties during his absence. The U.K.’s Bar Standards Board also suspended Khan from practicing as a barrister in England and Wales while it considers the allegations.

In a July 16 interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Khan’s accuser, identified at her request as “Sarah,” described what she said was a pattern of escalating misconduct in the workplace. She alleged that Khan gradually crossed personal and professional boundaries, including through unwanted physical contact.

“[There was] the pawing, the physical nature of it, but it didn’t start that way,” she said. “Because it was kind of like encroachments on the boundaries slowly, not just physically but emotionally as well.”

Sarah, a Malaysian lawyer and mother of one, began working at the ICC as an intern in 2017 and later became one of Khan’s assistants, according to CNN.

The decision comes after Khan drew international scrutiny in 2024 when he sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes related to Israel’s war against Hamas following the terrorist group’s attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, stated that Khan “believed that by launching a political witch hunt against Israel and issuing a politically motivated arrest warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu, the world would ignore the grave sexual misconduct allegations against him. He was wrong.”

He added that Khan “sought to scapegoat Israel in an attempt to divert attention from his own misconduct. The international community rejected that cynical attempt today.”

“Those who attempt to prosecute Israel will not escape accountability—they will also lose the trust of the international community,” Danon said. “The attacks against Israel, which were intended to distract from his disgraceful conduct, did not save Karim Khan, and they will not help Zohran Mamdani either.”


UN human rights chief wins unprecedented 2nd term despite opposition from US, Israel
The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Friday to extend the term of UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk for four more years, in spite of opposition from Israel, the United States and Russia.

Turk has been a harsh critic of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

UN member nations rejected a US proposal to delay the vote until the end of next week as well as a Russian proposal to extend Türk’s term just until the end of the year. The vote in the 193-member General Assembly to reappoint Türk was 144-10, with 13 abstentions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has worked closely with Turk in the past and steps down in December, proposed the second four-year term for Turk when his existing term expires in October.

No other human rights chief has served two full terms.

The Foreign Ministry had called Guterres’s re-proposal of Turk a “moral failure” and said the choice should be left to the secretary-general’s successor.

Turk has condemned what he calls Israel’s “mass killing” in Gaza, while some, including his own staff, have expressed regret that he did not call the killings a genocide — an allegation Israel vehemently denies.

While Turk got strong support, the votes and speeches also reflected concern that Guterres quietly nominated the Austrian lawyer this month after private consultations, with no public discussion.

US deputy ambassador Jeff Bartos warned before the vote that reappointing Turk would prove that the General Assembly “is dysfunctional” and that the vote “was quietly shoved onto the agenda at the last minute to bypass meaningful review.

“Make no mistake, if this assembly tolerates procedural overreach, backroom deals and the misuse of UN posts, there will be consequences,” he warned. “The United States will immediately reassess our engagement, participation and funding.”
UNESCO designates Samaria’s Sebastia, Lebanese castles as World Heritage sites over Israeli objections
A committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization voted on Friday to designate Sebastia, an archaeological site in Samaria, and five medieval castles in southern Lebanon on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, despite Israeli objections that the decisions were politically motivated.

Sebastia, a hilltop northwest of Shechem, is widely identified by scholars as the site of ancient Samaria, the capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel established by King Omri. The site is also traditionally believed by Christians and Muslims to contain the tomb of John the Baptist.

Sebastia is in the West Bank village of the same name, which lies under Palestinian Authority administration. The archaeological park itself is in Area C, where Israel retains full civil and security control under the Oslo Accords, while parts of the surrounding village are in Area B, under Palestinian civil administration and Israeli security control.

The Palestinian delegation first nominated Sebastia for World Heritage status in 2012, arguing that the site has suffered from inadequate preservation and development.

“Any discussion of Sebastia must recognize, explicitly, the ancient Jewish presence and connection to this land. Yet the Palestinian submission deliberately ignores this historic fact,” said Nina Ben-Ami, Israel’s deputy director general for the U.N. and international organizations, during Friday’s session in Busan, South Korea. “In doing so, it seeks to erase the people of Israel’s connection to the Land of Israel. It is a travesty.”

Ben-Ami said illegal Palestinian road construction and antiquities looting, not Israeli administration, pose the greatest threats to the site.

“The site requires stable stewardship and management, consistent conservation standards and unrestricted archaeological research. Maintaining Israel’s administrative responsibility is the best means to safeguard Sebastia’s integrity,” she told the World Heritage Committee. “If UNESCO allows Sebastia to be listed in this manner, it is evidence of the extent that politicization has permeated the organization, and it is a mockery of history.”

Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019, accusing the agency of persistent anti-Israel bias and of minimizing Jewish historical ties to the region.


US assesses Mojtaba Khamenei more interested in nuclear weapons than predecessor
US intelligence agencies believe Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is even more interested in acquiring a nuclear weapon than his father and predecessor was, according to a Friday New York Times report citing officials briefed on the information.

The intelligence agencies believe that the killing of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the opening days of the US and Israel’s military operations against Iran in February intensified Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Officials noted that much of the information regarding Khamenei’s views came from before the start of the war, as the new supreme leader has been in hiding since he was injured in the strike that killed his father.

The officials, according to the NYT report, also stated that his communication with other Iranian officials has been limited as he avoids public appearances for fear of being targeted in further airstrikes.

While intelligence agencies assessed that Iran has not made moves to restart nuclear enrichment and weapons development, steps have been taken to preserve nuclear assets damaged by US and Israeli strikes.

If Iran had moved to repair the damage and restart enrichment immediately after the strikes, their nuclear progress may only have been set back by six months, according to the assessments.

Part of the effort to preserve remaining nuclear assets included moving centrifuges to the heavily fortified underground complex of Pickaxe Mountain, US officials said, potentially allowing Iran to maintain access to equipment needed to enrich uranium and build a nuclear weapon. New supreme leader drops predecessor's facade of hesitation

While the former supreme leader publicly denied that he was pursuing a nuclear weapon, Iranian efforts to build its nuclear capabilities did continue.

US Intelligence officials, citing public statements and conversations intercepted before the war, asserted that Khamenei did not put forth the same facade of hesitancy and was interested in furthering enrichment and weapons programs.

According to the NYT, US officials at the end of the Biden administration believed Iran was looking into developing a crude form of nuclear weapons.
Iran said to threaten Israel, reject US ceasefire proposal passed along by Iraqi PM
Iran on Thursday rejected a ceasefire proposal passed along from the United States by Iraqi mediators, The New York Times reported, citing Iranian and Iraqi officials, as the US staged its 13th straight night of strikes against the Islamic Republic.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had traveled to Iran that day, with a proposal formulated shortly after he met with US President Donald Trump in the White House earlier this month.

Iranian officials told the newspaper, however, that they were not interested in a “temporary deal” that would not address the final status of the Strait of Hormuz, a key sticking point in negotiations.

Al-Zaidi’s office said he visited Tehran to call for peace and dialogue, and promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran.

Trump, meanwhile, warned that the United States would use Iranian money under Washington’s possession or control to pay for “any and all damages” done to ships and cargo by strikes in and around the Gulf.

“Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded: “Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent.”

“Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once governments normalize confiscation, no one’s assets are safe,” Araghchi wrote on social media. “Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful.”
US ‘Locked and loaded’ for ‘higher level’ attacks on Iran, Trump says
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was ready to launch a “higher level” of attacks against Iran on Friday, as the two countries continue negotiations.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that U.S. forces were “locked and loaded” for those strikes.

The president said that he had two options available for an exit strategy from the conflict.

“There’s a military exit, where we just keep going just the way we are, and we can even make it a heavier dose, and it’s knocking out everything they have,” Trump said. “Or there’s a smarter strategy that you make a deal, and they want to make a deal. I just don’t think they’re ready yet.”In an interview with Axios on Thursday, Trump said he was “close” to a decision on carrying out a “massive attack” against Iran, as the stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz continues.

A reporter asked Trump on Friday what the tipping point for that decision would be.

“Maybe there won’t be a tipping point and maybe there will,” he said. “We’re locked and loaded. We’re ready to go, but we’re talking.”

Earlier in July, Trump said that he believed that the Memorandum of Understanding that he and Iran had signed was “over” and that Iranian leaders were “scum,” after the Islamic Republic continued to carry out attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf. He informed Congress on July 10 that the ceasefire with Iran ended three days prior. Since then, the United States has carried out nearly two weeks of nightly air strikes, as Iran continues to carry out missile and drone attacks across the region. Four U.S. soldiers died in Iraq and Jordan last week as a result of those attacks, bringing the American death toll in the conflict to 18.

With Iran continuing to choke off shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump wrote on Wednesday that he would bomb an Iranian bridge or power plant for every ship that Iran attacked.

On Friday, he declined to answer a question about whether such strikes would constitute war crimes.

Iranian leaders have continued to use defiant rhetoric about the war, even as Trump speculated during the press conference that they might “cry uncle” or “go into a cave and hide.”

“Iran says it will kill one U.S. service member for every Iranian killed,” Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, stated on Friday.

Trump noted that the United States had killed previous Iranian leaders, who failed to give him the negotiating responses that he sought.
Bahrain, Kuwait reportedly carried out secret Iran air strikes
Bahrain and Kuwait secretly attacked military targets inside Iran earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The Persian Gulf monarchies carried out air strikes on Iranian drone- and missile-storage depots, along with other targets, after sustaining months of Iranian missile and drone attacks since the war began in late February.

The strikes mark the first time that the two countries conducted offensive operations inside the Islamic Republic and follow a similar round of unacknowledged strikes carried out by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates earlier in the war.

The UAE reportedly provided Bahrain and Kuwait with targeting intelligence and provided defensive air cover for the strikes.

Arab countries allied to the United States have been the targets of the vast majority of Iran’s missile and drone attacks since the start of the war.

Iran claims frequently that it is targeting U.S. military bases in those countries, but its attacks have also struck civilian infrastructure, including a state-owned oil refinery in Bahrain and Kuwaiti power and desalination plants.


Pakistan army chief leveraged private oil venture with IRGC head to shield Saudi Arabia
Pakistani military chief Asim Munir leveraged a joint oil transport venture with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Ahmad Vahidi to secure an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia under which Tehran agreed to halt attacks against the Gulf kingdom, three officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel this week.

The agreement mediated by Munir was struck in late March, while the US-Israeli war against Iran was still in its early weeks, a Middle East diplomat, a Middle Eastern intelligence official and a third official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity.

After coming under repeated Iranian fire during the first month of the war, along with other countries in the region, Saudi Arabia went largely unscathed after the deal was inked, according to the three officials.

To mediate the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Munir dangled the continued operation of a joint venture with Vahidi that has been quietly transporting oil from Iran to Pakistan since late last year.

The company tied to both military generals has paid massive dividends for the pair, particularly during the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports.

After over three months of no Iran-attributed attacks on Saudi Arabia, Tehran fired a missile at the Gulf kingdom over the weekend.

Following the attack, Munir sent a warning to Vahidi that such conduct risked the continued operation of their joint venture, the Middle Eastern diplomat said. No missiles have been fired at Saudi Arabia since.

Explaining Munir’s motivation in brokering the deal, the Middle Eastern intelligence official said Pakistan is interested in boosting its ties with Saudi Arabia, particularly if done in a manner where Riyadh becomes more reliant on Islamabad.
Iran International: Are US strikes laying the groundwork for a wider Iran war? | Eye for Iran | EP 113 |
What is the United States really trying to achieve with its expanding military campaign inside Iran?

As US strikes move deeper into Iran, targeting military sites, logistics networks and critical infrastructure, many are asking: What is Washington's endgame? At the same time, executions inside Iran are accelerating as the world's attention remains fixed on the war, while Gulf states brace for what could come next.

In Episode 113 of Eye for Iran, we examine what the US strikes on Iran really add up to, why executions are increasing during the conflict and how the war is reshaping security across the Persian Gulf.

John Spencer — Executive Director of the Urban Warfare Institute, retired US Army officer and renowned war scholar — explains what the United States is trying to achieve inside Iran, why Bandar Abbas has become a strategic focus and whether Washington is preparing for a broader phase of the campaign.

Azadeh Afsahi, founder of Iran House, Shahin Milani, Executive Director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, and Brandon Silver, Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, examine the surge in executions inside Iran and explain why they believe the Islamic Republic fears its own people as much as it fears foreign militaries. Why the Islamic Republic is using the war to ramp up executions as the worlds attention focus on the bombs and not the hangings.

Saad Bin Tefla Al-Ajmi, former Minister of Information of Kuwait, explains how Gulf states are responding as the conflict moves closer to their borders, why Kuwait has become increasingly vulnerable and why he believes Iran faces its own "chalice of poison" moment.




Auchincloss: Voting against aid to Israel was a vote against the Iran war
Of the 103 House Democrats who voted to cut off the $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel last week, few came as more of a surprise than Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), a Jewish Democrat who has generally been a reliable pro-Israel vote in the House.

Auchincloss, in an interview with Jewish Insider this week, said that he approached the vote as a protest of the war with Iran, and argued that the vote wasn’t anti-Israel.

“This president, in conjunction with Prime Minister Netanyahu, has launched an illegal, catastrophic war that nine out of 10 Israelis think has led to Iranian gains, and that even fewer of my constituents support,” Auchincloss said. “And foreign military financing is a form of appropriations for a war I believe to be illegal and unwise.”

He also pointed to comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for the U.S. to phase out aid to Israel over the next 10 years, arguing that Democrats can’t be expected to take a position on aid “to the right of Netanyahu” — though the Israeli prime minister hasn’t called for an immediate halt to aid.

“That grant of foreign military financing is a privilege that Congress grants annually to both our head of government and to counterparty heads of government,” Auchincloss said. “Every year, Congress has the right — Congress has the responsibility — to determine whether that privilege is warranted. Given Trump and Netanyahu’s decision-making about this debacle with Iran, I do not think it is warranted.”

He said he would evaluate his position on future FMF to Israel on a year-by-year basis depending on whether he believes such aid is deserved. “That’s not only my right as a member of Congress, that’s my responsibility — particularly when 18 Americans have died overseas.”

But he said that he continues to support the U.S-Israel relationship and said the U.S. should continue to work to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME), and suggested he would not, at this point, support a cutoff of support for Israeli missile-defense systems or an embargo on Israel buying U.S. systems with its own funds.

He said he also believes in continued U.S. support for the Abraham Accords and other efforts to bring Israel and the region closer together, including through the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC).





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