Israel will not stop its armed confrontation with Iran, Defense Minister Benny Gantz has said, following the bombing of western Syria’s Latakia port by suspected Israeli jets on Tuesday.

“I call upon the region’s countries to stop Iran from violating their sovereignty and people,” Gantz urged while at an Israeli airfield on the same day as the Latakia bombing.

“Israel will not allow Iran to funnel balance-breaching weapons to its proxies and threaten our citizens.”

The assault on the port city of Latakia came after military equipment bound for the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah was allegedly diverted from land to sea after repeated airstrikes on Iranian convoys and bases in eastern Syria by Israel.

Israel has accused Iran of smuggling weapons to its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah and other allied militias in the region via Syria and vowed to prevent Tehran establishing a foothold in the country, where Iranian forces are supporting the Assad regime.

War monitor Airwars said earlier this month that Israel’s strikes in Syria have caused up to 40 civilian deaths from 2013 onwards.

Israeli bombing in Syria typically targets locations it believes are linked with Iran, including those belonging to its ally Hezbollah.

The rivalry between Iran and Israel is near boiling point, with concerns in Tel Aviv that Hezbollah’s growing rocket arsenal could soon pose a significant threat to the country.

Meanwhile, Israel has suggested it could attack Iranian atomic sites should negotiations aimed at rescuing the Iran nuclear agreement not lead to a pact it feels places sufficient limits on Tehran.

This is despite Israel being the only Middle Eastern state currently known to have an undeclared nuclear weapons programme.

SOURCE: The New Arab

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of the Observatory.

Source: https://www.syriahr.com/en/232771/

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Gantz was careful to stress that Israel would tread carefully and allow the kingdom to handle the situation as they see fit.

International leaders, including Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz, released statements of support for Jordan’s King Abdullah II after the kingdom’s security services foiled what they called an attempted coup.

During a press conference on Sunday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that the “malicious plot” had been thwarted at the “zero hour.”

He said that 14 to 16 individuals, some with close ties to King Abdullah’s half-brother, former Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, had been conspiring to topple the kingdom’s longtime leader.

Prince Hamzah is currently under house arrest, and the Jordanian government is keeping mum about the extent of his alleged involvement.

“The plot is totally contained. Our security and stability are not shaken,” Safadi said.

World leaders expressed their support for King Abdullah. Jordan is a strategic partner for many countries, widely seen as an island of stability in the Middle East. The Hashemite family has been ruling the kingdom for a century.

“We are closely following the reports out of Jordan, and we have been in touch with Jordanian officials, said U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price. “King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States, and he has our full support.”

“The kingdom affirms its full support, with all its capabilities, to all decisions and measures taken by King Abdullah and His Highness Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, the Crown Prince, to maintain security and stability,” read a statement from the Saudi royal court.

Benny Gantz, Israel’s Defense Minister, told reporters in a phone conference Sunday evening that the Jewish State would offer full support to its neighbor.

“Jordan is a peaceful neighbor, with extraordinary strategic importance. We will do what is necessary to maintain that relationship, which has lasted some 30 years,” he said.

However, Gantz was careful to stress that Israel would tread carefully and allow the kingdom to handle the situation as they see fit.

“Regarding the internal developments there — that’s an internal issue,” he added.

In a video released to the BBC by his lawyer, Prince Hamzah proclaimed his innocence, saying he was being punished for speaking out against corruption in the kingdom.

“I’m not part of any conspiracy or nefarious organization or foreign-backed group, as is always the claim here for anyone who speaks out,” he said.

However, Gantz was careful to stress that Israel would tread carefully and allow the kingdom to handle the situation as they see fit.

“Regarding the internal developments there — that’s an internal issue,” he added.

In a video released to the BBC by his lawyer, Prince Hamzah proclaimed his innocence, saying he was being punished for speaking out against corruption in the kingdom.

“I’m not part of any conspiracy or nefarious organization or foreign-backed group, as is always the claim here for anyone who speaks out,” he said.

He bemoaned a ruling class “that puts its personal interests, puts its financial interests, puts its corruption is more important than the lives and dignity and futures of the 10 million people that live here.”

Hamza’s mother, Queen Noor, appeared to advocate on behalf of her son via her Twitter account.

“Praying that truth and justice will prevail for all the innocent victims of this wicked slander,” she wrote. “God bless and keep them safe.”

Source: https://worldisraelnews.com/full-support-israeli-us-saudi-leaders-back-jordanian-king/

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Israel has agreed to transfer 5,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine to the Palestinians to immunize frontline medical workers, Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz’s office said.

It is the first time that Israel has confirmed the transfer of vaccines to the Palestinians, who lag far behind Israel’s aggressive vaccination campaign and have not yet received any vaccines.

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It looks as though a “nuclear war” of sorts has started in the Middle East. Iran’s centrifuge assembly plant at its main enrichment site of Natanz was destroyed last week, possibly with a bomb, according to some reports. What exactly occurred is the subject of much speculation. Iranian officials have said they know what happened but will announce it “later.”

Don’t expect the truth. The first Iranian report of the incident included a photograph that suggested just one corner of the building was damaged, and a few doors blown open. A satellite image of the facility was published Sunday indicating it was largely destroyed. The original photograph had been taken from the one angle that cast doubt on such an interpretation.

Many people believe that Israel is responsible for whatever happened, as well as a series of recent other unexplained happenings in Iran — an explosion at a Tehran clinic, a blast at a missile research facility, and a fire at a power plant. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz commented Sunday that Israel wasn’t “necessarily” behind every mysterious incident in Iran. Intended or not, in Washington parlance, that is a non-denial denial.

Although the Natanz enrichment plant itself was an obvious target, the fact that it is buried deep under a concrete and enmeshed steel roof makes it impenetrable to most bombs other than American bunker busters, or a nuclear bomb itself. Israel’s probable fear is that Iran is restarting production of its IR-2m centrifuges.

Currently, Iran relies on IR-1 types, which for design reasons cannot enrich uranium to the level needed for an atomic bomb. Iran’s existing stockpile of the more capable IR-2m centrifuges, some of which it was allowed to retain after the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have been poorly stored and are probably unusable.

The assumption is that Iran has restarted large-scale production of the IR-2m centrifuges — or at least it had until last week. A centrifuge can be likened to a top-loading washing-machine, except it is taller (several feet) and has a smaller diameter (perhaps a foot or less). A single centrifuge is made up of a basic spinning vertical cylinder — the rotor — plus perhaps 200 smaller bits. A top-loading washing machine makes awful noises if the laundry is badly loaded. An enrichment centrifuge rotor, spinning at 60,000 rpm, can be unbalanced by a fingerprint.

The heavily damaged centrifuge assembly plant at Natanz no longer can be used for assembly of the IR-2ms. Whether it happened because of internal sabotage or a well-aimed drone attack will emerge sooner or later. But it is doubtful that Iran has an alternative facility. Therefore, production of IR-2ms has stopped, and, from Israel’s point of view, the likelihood of Iran obtaining enough highly-enriched uranium for its first nuclear weapon has been delayed by months, perhaps even years.

The story does not end there, however. How will Iran respond to this setback? And, if Israel was involved, how will the Islamic regime cope with the probable sense of public humiliation?

According to the commentators who emerge immediately in these circumstances, if Israel took action it may have been in retaliation to an Iranian cyberattack on an Israeli desalination plant a few months ago. The danger is that Tehran will think in terms of a “nuclear” response — an attack targeting an Israeli nuclear facility such as the Dimona research reactor in southern Israel.

Phlegmatically (I am, after all, originally from Britain), I could point out that Saudi Arabia preferred to directly avoid blaming Iran for its attacks on oil installations last September, and President Trump evaded the need to respond to Iranian missile attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq after the U.S. assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January, even though the attacks thoroughly shook up the brains of multiple U.S. personnel.

Will Tehran be as restrained in its response? We are about to find out.

Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He is the co-author of the Institute’s 2015 report, “Nuclear Iran: A Glossary.” Follow him on Twitter @shendersongulf.

Source: https://thehill.com/opinion/international/505975-will-iran-go-nuclear-over-its-latest-nuke-site-setback

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Did the world stop turning?  Is the impeachment sham the only thing on earth we need to know about?  If you caught the network radio breaks, the TV network panels, or the flagship headlines you might well come to such a conclusion.  Not that the outcome is unimportant.  Obviously it’s the most important thing going to those running the charade.  Not only is this the most important thing, the witnesses apparently think they are the best informed, most educated, experienced and thoughtful individuals ever to grace us with their brilliance.  The little twerp in his dress uniform with all the ribbons and medallions came off as an idiot, in addition to his expressions and mannerisms.  He was apparently the source who contacted the “whistle-blower,” and lit this five-alarm dumpster fire.  He, Sondland, Fiona Hill, Taylor, and Kent were all dismantled and destroyed on cross-examination, and that’s the only entertainment or enlightenment yielded by the entire affair.

But the mainstream networks and their expert panels of eight apparently missed that part.  They actually ran banners on the screen that were being refuted by Sondland’s under-oath testimony, in real-time!  But they didn’t notice that either.  The media continues pretending (paraphrasing) Trump demanded an investigation of his 2020 opponent in exchange for the release of military aid to Ukraine.  They trotted out all these “experienced diplomats,” only to find that it was all based on assumption and second-hand scuttlebutt.   Trump is “jubilant,” and says he can’t wait until this thing goes to trial in the Senate.  Last night on CNN, Manderson Snooper asked his panel of eight for their expert views on what such a trial would look like.  One after another, they talked and talked, but no one answered that question.  They want to attach the word “impeachment” to President Trump’s name so badly, they don’t care whose ox gets gored in a Senate trial.  That’s strictly one guy’s opinion, but it stands to reason.

Meanwhile, the world has not stopped turning.  Iran saw the biggest riots since the Obama era.  People flowed into the streets in 75 cities simultaneously.  Demonstrators set fires to buildings and police vans and should have known that retribution would be brutal. Reports have helicopter gunships firing live rounds into the crowds.  Some 1000 are reported to have been arrested, and based on known recent history, are probably being tortured and abused in the most squalid of circumstances. Approximately 100 people are reported to have been killed in the streets by the Iranian government.  Apparently gas prices went up about 50% all at once, nationwide.  The riots have died down.

Every time we hear more about the Hong Kong protests, they’re getting worse.  Protesters have become more violent and police have responded, in some cases with live fire.  China has as many as one million troops on standby, but so far have allowed the situation to continue.  The United States has no leverage except for the fact that President Trump has yet to complete a trade agreement with China, and that may be the reason this thing hasn’t turned into another Tiananmen Square.

It appears that Benjamin Netanyahu is in a similar situation to President Trump.  Israel has its liberal media that hates Netanyahu and wants him deposed permanently.  Election results have been inconclusive, with neither Netanyahu nor his rival Benny Gantz able to form the required coalition.  So the thing remains in limbo, with Netanyahu apparently still carrying out the duties of Prime Minister.  Meanwhile, he’s under criminal indictment.  Something about cigars and champagne from a visiting potentate, years ago.  They’ve accused PM Netanyahu of “bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.”  That sounds mighty familiar, doesn’t it?  May he do to his accusers what Trump does to his.  They are close friends by all accounts, and it seems that they have much in common.  Either way, Israel looks to be facing another national election in three months. And you thought we have troubles!

Brexit remains undone.  Britain’s Parliament hasn’t allowed the exit to become law, and another general election will determine whether Boris Johnson remains Prime Minister or whether the left-wing ninny Jeremy Corbin takes the helm.

This won’t be anywhere near mainstream media reporting, but Italy is experiencing another onslaught of “boat people” from northern Africa and the Middle East. They’ve landed in such swarms as to overwhelm nearly every aspect of society.  We’ve got an article for the next issue of 21^st Century WATCH telling of Muslims pulling their kids out of school because there are so many languages, dialects, and cultures involved that nobody can learn anything.  There is also word that the indigenous population is beginning to flee certain areas because the national culture has been subsumed.

This is the last Update prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.  A couple of paragraphs are dedicated to the subject in the letter you’ll be receiving shortly.  As we’ve noted before, this (along with one or two others) is one of the few national holidays that does have a wonderful history.  If any of these anti-God socialists ever get a position of rulership, they’ll probably outlaw it, or change it to some sort of “save the planet” ceremony.  But we’ll still give thanks to the Creator God, knowing that He is the author of our lives, our blessings, and every good thing.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

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