In a post on X, Barchart shared a Bank of America Global Research chart showing the U.S. had about 43 days of crude oil supply, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, compared with a long-term average of around 65 days.

Based on Bloomberg data, the chart showed the measure falling to its lowest level since the early 1980s.

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Source: https://seekingalpha.com/news/4615184-oil-cushion-thins-as-us-crude-supply-falls-to-45-year-low

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Kuwait is negotiating an expanded defence agreement with Pakistan in exchange for energy cooperation and investment with the South Asian country, according to a Reuters report.

A Pakistani official told Reuters that Kuwait wanted Islamabad to deploy “thousands of Pakistani troops on the ground, fighter jets, drones, an air defence system, and other defence-related facilities”.

The talks, while at an early stage, underscore how the regional security landscape is being upended by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The post Kuwait seeking expanded defence agreement with Pakistan: Report first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

(December 5, 2021 / JNS) As a Jew and an Israeli, current events are nothing short of bizarre. Iran, a terrorist state behind a global axis of evil, is once again getting the last laugh. It is hard to watch as the United States and Europe politely attempt to reach a deal with Tehran at the cost of an existential threat to Israel.

Murmurings in Europe, along with American ambiguity toward Israel on this issue, are a warning sign to Jerusalem. The lifting of sanctions will see billions of dollars pour into the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ coffers for the country’s transformation into a nuclear state. No less dangerous, it will boost their confidence ahead of military action against Israel on multiple fronts.

The next war on our northern front won’t be the Third Lebanon War, but the First Iran War. The Iranians are planning to strike Israel on six fronts: From Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, internally with the assistance of some Arab Israelis, and through the use of long-range missiles from Iran and Yemen. This will be a conventional war, but it will be far from straightforward.

To date, Iran has succeeded in establishing a regional axis of evil through the creation of a ring of armed divisions around the State of Israel. In practice, Tehran is working toward the kind of warfare it is comfortable with, meaning far from its borders. Hundreds of thousands of Iranian missiles are dispersed on Israel’s borders, and they are launched from time to time, in accordance with Tehran’s interests.
The Iranian working model is to build a “security network” in the form of Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations.

The time, therefore, has come to change the equation. For every missile launched from Lebanon, the return address should be Tehran. Iran’s days of immunity are over. They need to pay a price at home, in Tehran and every other place they hold dear.

That is why the talks in Vienna do not tell Iran’s story. The question is not whether or not Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons. This is a terrorist state aspiring to world domination through the decimation of Western culture. Unfortunately, the West is always the last to know.

As a public official and Israeli citizen, I am personally unable to look on from the sidelines. This is why I headed to the United States to try and wake Washington from its stupor. I will embark on a public diplomacy campaign within the framework of which I will meet with senior members of Congress, opinion leaders and journalists. Every one of us must do everything we can to influence the situation. The window of opportunity may soon be closed completely.

Likud Knesset member Nir Barkat is a former mayor of Jerusalem.

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

Source: https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-first-iran-war-is-just-around-the-corner/

The post The ‘First Iran War’ is just around the corner first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Israel’s goal is to persuade the United States to neither return to the original nuclear deal nor conclude a partial interim agreement, but instead to intensify sanctions on Iran and also present an explicit, credible military threat.

Diplomatic sources estimated that Iran’s hard line during the talks in Vienna has prepared the ground to influence Washington’s approach at the talks.

On Monday, Mossad director David Barnea will begin a round of meetings in Washington, including with CIA Director William Burns and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. On Thursday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz will arrive in Washington to meet senior American officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Gantz’s visit was arranged several weeks ago, long before obstacles in the nuclear talks arose. Last week, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Blinken and expressed his concern over a possible return to the deal.

The Israeli officials will urge Washington to withdraw from the upcoming nuclear pact and to draw an alternative plan to address the Iranian nuclear program.

Israel also expects that the U.S. will immediately step up both economic and military pressure on Iran so that Tehran will arrive at the next rounds of talks from a significantly weaker position.

–Israel’s reaction to Iran talks: too much bravado, too little sense

–‘Self-delusion’: Former PM Barak slams Bennett and Netanyahu over Iran

–What AIPAC is telling Congress on Biden’s Iran negotiations

Another demand Israel will make is to guarantee that any future deal with Iran will be conditioned upon the withdrawal of its forces from Syria and other countries in the region, to ensure Israel’s aerial superiority.

Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, presented last week a document with sweeping demands for the removal of American sanctions as a condition for any progress in the talks. It also requested a clear commitment from the U.S. and the other signatory countries not to reimpose sanctions in the future.

Israeli officials expect the U.S. administration to refuse to make such commitments and hope Iran’s uncompromising stance will help them persuade their American counterparts.

Israel views Sullivan as a powerful player who can influence U.S. decision makers and holds relatively hard line positions on the nuclear deal.

As opposed to him, Israel considers the head of the American negotiating team in Vienna, U.S. special representative to Iran Rob Malley, as an enthusiastic supporter of America’s return to the nuclear agreement. Due to Malley’s support for the deal, Bennett decided not to meet with him when he visited Israel prior to the resumption of the talks.

Israel’s assessment is that despite the hardened stance Iran has presented at the talks, it wouldn’t be quick to blow up the negotiations because its stifling economy desperately needs at least some sanctions removed.

Following the first week of talks, Israel is having trouble predicting whether the sides will ultimately reach an agreement. Contrary to the U.S. administration’s initial expectation, the talks didn’t end last weekend, and the parties are pursuing the negotiations this week.

Israel worries that if the talks will not terminate this week, they may drag on for months unless a deadline is set. It also fears that during that time, and with no international pressure, Iran will further advance its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Mossad’s Barnea is expected to try to convince American officials that Iran has no intention of putting an end to the development of its nuclear program. On Thursday, Barnea made an unusual public statement describing Israeli intelligence’s outlook.

“It’s clear that uranium enriched to 60 percent isn’t needed for civilian purposes, and there’s no need for three facilities with thousands of centrifuges spinning unless they intend to develop nuclear weapons,” he said in a speech at the President’s Residence.

Addressing a ministerial cabinet meeting, Bennett said Sunday that the window between rounds of nuclear talks should be exploited to push the U.S. to “use a different toolbox” with Iran, adding that “Iran must start paying the price for violations.”

President Isaac Herzog also addressed the talks today at the presentation of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides’ credentials, saying that “Israel will welcome a comprehensive diplomatic solution that can resolve the Iranian nuclear threat once and for all.” However, he further clarified that all options remain on the table, adding that if the international community does not take decisive action, Israel will.

Source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-iran-talks-israel-presses-u-s-for-more-sanctions-military-threat-1.10442155

The post Iran Talks: Israel Presses U.S. for More Sanctions, Military Threat first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.