After a week of being very careful regarding statements directed at Iran, the US gave Israel something to be satisfied about on Wednesday. US President Joe Biden said America’s commitment to Israel’s security, amid the threats from Iran and its proxies, is “ironclad.”
Biden’s statements are aimed directly at Iran, and it’s certainly possible that they’re the result of a worrying intelligence assessment Israel presented to the US.
(April 7, 2024)
In a statement titled „Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense,“ the military said the phase completed centred on logistics „for a broad mobilization of IDF (Israel Defence Forces) troops“.
„The commanders of the regular and reserve units are prepared to summon and equip all the required soldiers in just a few hours and transport them to the front line for defensive and offensive missions,“ the military said.
(April 7, 2024)
The Israeli army on Sunday said it had reached „another phase“ of preparation for war on its northern border with Lebanon, where it has spent months exchanging fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
(April 7, 2024)
The prime minister’s office declined to comment on the exchange. The White House declined to comment for this story.
(02.04.2024)
While Israel has used the F-15s it already owns to strike Gaza, its request for the planes appears to reflect longer-term concern about regional threats, including from Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Iran-backed militias in Syria, and Iran itself. The Israel Defense Forces would probably employ F-15s in any potential attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
Biden’s comments came during a discussion with his fellow presidents at a star-studded fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York intended to display Democratic party unity ahead of a general-election rematch with Republican Donald Trump. The presidents, though, were interrupted at least four times by pro-Palestinian protesters, highlighting the tensions within the party over Biden’s handling of Israel’s war with Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
(12.01.2024)
UANI’s board is a who’s who of high state, military and intelligence officials from around the Western world. Among its more notable members include:
– CEO Mark Wallace, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and deputy campaign manager for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection.
– Chairman Joe Lieberman, former senator and Democratic vice-presidential nominee for the 2000 election.
Tamir Pardo, Director of the Mossad, 2011-2016.
Dennis Ross, former State Department Director of Policy Planning and former Middle East Envoy under George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Field Marshall Lord Charles Guthrie, ex-Chief of Staff of the U.K. Armed Forces.
– Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida.
– August Hanning, President of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), 1998-2005; State Secretary at the Federal Interior Ministry, 2005-2009.
– Zohar Palti, former head of the Political-Military Bureau, Israeli Ministry of Defense; former Director of Intelligence of the Mossad.
– Frances Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush.
– John Bolton, former U.S. National Security Advisor and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
– Roger Noriega, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and Ambassador to the Organization of American States.
– Otto Reich, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and architect of the 2002 U.S. coup against Venezuela.
– Michael Singh, White House Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs, 2007-2008.
– Giulio Terzi di Sant-Agata, former Italian Foreign Minister.
– Robert Hill, former Minister of Defense of Australia.
– Jack David, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction, 2004-2006.
– Mark Kirk, U.S. Senator for Illinois, 2010-2017.
– Lt. Gen. Sir Graeme Lamb, ex-Director of U.K. Special Forces and Commander of the British Field Army.
– Norman Roule, former CIA Division Chief and National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the Director of National Intelligence.
– Irwin Cotler, Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General, 2003-2006.
– Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, U.K. Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism, 2010-2011.
(04.02.2024)
The former president and current presidential candidate also told Fox News the Iranian regime was in the final stretch of their controversial nuclear drive, with the connivance of Joe Biden, the sitting U.S. president and Trump‘s main political rival.
„Iran is going to have a nuclear weapon in 60 days, and Biden is allowing them to do it! Now they are a very rich country and they are taking over Iraq.“
(09.01.2024)
(3. August 2021)
24. Juni 2019: Der damalige U.S.-Außenminister Mike Pompeo fordert eine „globale Koalition“ gegen den Iran. passenderweise vorgetragen bei einem Blitzbesuch Pompeos in Saudi-Arabien.
4. August 2019: Ich lege mich fest und prognostiziere, dass „Bundeswehr-Marine .. noch vor Weihnachten unter Oberbefehl einer ausländischen Macht in den Persischen Golf entsandt“ wird.
(…)
20. Januar 2020: Monate vor der Ausrufung des bis heute andauernden Ausnahmezustands und bereits im Windschatten von SARS II („Coronavirus“), beschließen die Staatsführungen von Frankreich, Deutschland, Griechenland, Italien, der Niederlande, Belgien, Dänemark und Portugal in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung die „European-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of Hormuz“ (E.M.A.S.O.H.), von der Sie und 80 Millionen Andere bis heute nie gehört haben.
(25.Juni 2019)
Als vor dreieinhalb Jahren Pazifisten, Sozialdemokraten und politische Linke in Deutschland der Entsendung der staatlichen Luftwaffe in die Kriege im Irak und Syrien tatenlos zusahen, warnten wir bereits vor deren moralisch-politischem Zusammenbruch und Kapitulation. Die genau zu diesem Zweck exekutierte psychologische Kriegführung gegen die Bevölkerung setzt sich bis heute praktisch ohne Widerstand politisch links stehender Kräfte fort. Die Logik des Terrorkrieges (Behauptungen von Behörden / Autoritäten darf nicht widersprochen und muss alles abgekauft werden) wird von den Betreffenden weiter willig geschluckt.
Weder hinsichtlich der Tanker-Explosionen im Golf von Oman, nach der bereits das U.S.-Imperium einen “globalen Konsens” gegen den Iran beanspruchte, noch nach dem Abschuss einer U.S.-Spionage-Drohne an der Straße von Hormuz, welcher offensichtlich nach einer absichtlichen Luftraumverletzung des Iran und mehrfachen direkten Vorwarnungen durch das iranische Militär erfolgte und in dem das U.S.-Zentralkommando – nach glaubwürdigen Angaben des iranischen Militärs, mit Details zum Flugzeugtyp (eine Boeing P8 Poseidon) und sogar zur Anzahl der Insassen – auch das Leben von 35 Militärangehörigen an Bord eines begleitenden Kampfflugzeuges gezielt und bewusst als Bauernopfer für die angestrebte Eskalation anbot, erfolgte irgendeine nennenswerte Reaktion in Deutschland; nicht aus dem angeblich oder tatsächlich pazifistischen, sozialdemokratischen oder linken Spektrum, noch aus irgendeinem zuständigen parlamentarischen Gremium.
The day after Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken went on television to reiterate the Biden team’s claim that a grand bargain with the Saudi government “would really change the prospects for the entire region far into the future.”
In reality, a U.S.-Saudi mutual defense pact was a terrible idea before the Gaza war began, and it would be disastrous now.
All Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have issued many statements condemning Israel‘s assault on Gaza, but they did not take any further action. Saudi Arabia and the Arab League waited for more than a month of onslaught in Gaza to hold a summit in Riyadh to discuss the issue.
The summit decided to break the siege and blockade, but Arab countries never turned this resolution into action. Instead, Egypt obeyed Israeli commands and refused to give access to move injured civilians for treatment outside of Gaza unless Israel approved their names.
(January 5, 2024)
In 1988, the Central Intelligence Agency did discover that Riyadh bought SS-2 medium-range missiles from China but only after the deal was sealed. In 2003, when China exported DF-21 ballistic missiles to the Kingdom, the CIA again found out and was even allowed to verify the missiles were not nuclear-capable, but only after the missiles were delivered.
Several years later, when intelligence finally leaked out that China secretly built missile factories for the Saudis, the Trump administration was mum on whether there was an intelligence failure and allowed speculation that it had blessed the transaction. Then, in 2020, when US intelligence confirmed China was helping the Kingdom mill uranium domestically, it did so, again only after the mining and milling were well underway.
This track record of studied inadvertence, then, brings us to the next worry: MBS wants Washington to green-light the Kingdom enriching uranium…
(8. Mai 2013)
Israel, Saudi-Arabien, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, Jordanien und die Türkei wollen einen Militärpakt gründen. Die U.S.A. befördern die Angelegenheit, so israelische „Offizielle“.
(19 October 2023)
The United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have for over a decade negotiated without success the terms of an agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation. These negotiations have intensified recently in the context of US efforts to broker a normalisation agreement between the KSA and Israel, which have included discussions about how the US could solidify its own support for Saudi Arabia. On the 7th of October 2023, Hamas terrorists appeared to drive a stake through the heart of the US effort to broker Israel-KSA normalisation. This has sent shockwaves through the region, and the full implications remain uncertain. However, it seems likely that in the longer run, rationales for normalisation and for US nuclear engagement with Riyadh will remain, reflecting the fact that the Hamas attacks underscored that a future nuclear-armed Iran would be a yet more formidable adversary for both Israel and the KSA.
(08.01.2023)
The change was signaled by Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a trip to Israel on Sunday.
Prince Khalid bin Bandar, the Saudi ambassador in London, told the BBC on Tuesday that a normalisation deal was „close“ but the kingdom paused US-brokered talks after the attack on Israel on 7 October by Hamas-led fighters.
„For us, the final end point definitely included nothing less than an independent state of Palestine,“ he said.
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:
Secretary Antony J. Blinken will travel to Istanbul, Türkiye; Crete, Greece; Amman, Jordan; Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates; Al ‘Ula, Saudi Arabia; Tel Aviv, Israel; the West Bank; and Cairo, Egypt from January 4-11, 2024.
Beyond material progress and architectural marvels that rival ancient wonders, a truly progressive state is marked by its commitment to accountability and justice – a domain where some established democracies have faltered.
After enduring a harrowing 85 days of bombardment resulting in nearly 22,000 killed, including more than 8,000 children and 6,000 women, 1.9 million displaced and the collapse of the health infrastructure, South Africa, a signatory of the Genocide Convention has finally called upon the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to examine the crisis.
This long-awaited step reflects a crucial recognition of the international community‘s role in conflict resolution and human rights protection.
On Tuesday, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told the Israeli Parliament’s Defense Committee that the country is fighting on seven fronts and has responded to attacks in six of them thus far. In addition to the Gaza Strip, where nearly 21,000 people have already died, and the West Bank — which Gallant referred to as “Judea and Samaria” and where incursions occur almost daily — the minister said that hostilities have spread to Iran, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. “I’m saying it here explicitly,” Gallant warned during his speech. “Anyone who acts against us as a potential target will not be immune.”
(3. August 2021)
24. Juni 2019: Der damalige U.S.-Außenminister Mike Pompeo fordert eine „globale Koalition“ gegen den Iran. passenderweise vorgetragen bei einem Blitzbesuch Pompeos in Saudi-Arabien.
4. August 2019: Ich lege mich fest und prognostiziere, dass „Bundeswehr-Marine .. noch vor Weihnachten unter Oberbefehl einer ausländischen Macht in den Persischen Golf entsandt“ wird.
(…)
20. Januar 2020: Monate vor der Ausrufung des bis heute andauernden Ausnahmezustands und bereits im Windschatten von SARS II („Coronavirus“), beschließen die Staatsführungen von Frankreich, Deutschland, Griechenland, Italien, der Niederlande, Belgien, Dänemark und Portugal in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung die „European-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of Hormuz“ (E.M.A.S.O.H.), von der Sie und 80 Millionen Andere bis heute nie gehört haben.
The US has said it still plans to try and broker a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia after the war, but US and Arab officials have told The Times of Israel that the Palestinian component of such a deal will now likely be much more significan
Gallant and Sullivan discuss operational developments in Gaza, as well as tensions in the north with Hezbollah and regional threats posed by Iran’s actions and its backing of proxies in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.
Gallant further expresses his gratitude for US support for Israel in the war and efforts by the Biden administration to secure the release of hostages taken by terrorists on October 7.
The 11 Arab countries that proposed and endorsed the plan are: Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Libya and Yemen.
However, the organisation has refrained from explicitly disclosing the identities of those who voted against or chose to abstain.
The rejection by four member states underscores the challenges in achieving a unified stance on critical issues.
(November 2023)
In talks with the United States, Saudi Arabia is pushing for the right to produce nuclear fuel, a move that poses a greater proliferation risk given Riyadh’s threats to develop nuclear weapons.
(June 17, 2023 Updated June 20, 2023)
For Mr. Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia’s recognition of Israel would be a significant political victory for the embattled leader, whose hard-right coalition government faces fierce domestic opposition.
For his part, Prince Mohammed is seeking a strengthened security relationship with the United States, access to more American weapons and U.S. consent for the kingdom to enrich uranium as part of a civilian nuclear program — something that Washington has long resisted.
In Riyadh, Nelson co-chaired a meeting of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center.
In Doha, Nelson met with Qatar Central Bank governor Bandar al Thani, Attorney General Issa bin Saad al Nuaimi and leaders of the National Counterterrorism Committee.
(18.02.2023)
The talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which are backed by the U.S., were held before the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council Working Group gathering in Riyadh, which was focused on defense and security, Bloomberg reported several anonymous sources involved in the meetings as saying.
More meetings between the two countries are expected to occur this weekend in Prague, during the Munich Security Conference, according to several of the sources.
Delaware Democrat Chris Coons also said that the Abraham Accords and progress toward normalization were among Hamas’s reasons to attack now.
Graham added that 10 percent of the US Senate is currently in Israel “because we care… I come here because I love Israel. I do not hate Palestinians. I hate Hamas.”
Graham also had stark words of warning for Tehran: “We’re here today to tell Iran, we’re watching you. If this war grows, it’s coming to your backyard. There won’t be two fronts, there will be three.”
(via @gilicohen10 & @kann_news)
(today)
The Pentagon moves to step up its military readiness in the Middle East, ordering the activation of air defense systems “throughout” the region and alerting additional US forces that they may be deployed soon.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says in a statement that the moves are in response to “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East.”
(August 16, 2023)
In a significant move that sent worrying ripples across West Asia, the US military has discreetly dispatched over 6,000 troops to the region, igniting tensions and triggering debates on regional stability. While the surge of forces into the Red Sea to counter Iran’s actions in the Persian Gulf has garnered attention, the deployment of a substantial US military presence into Iraq and Syria has largely gone under the radar.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for pressure on Hamas during a meeting Sunday with the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, which seen its ties with the Jewish state warming but has put normalization on hold after the Palestinian terror group sparked war by launching an abrupt, devastating attack on Israel.
The top US diplomat met for nearly an hour in the early morning with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the royal’s farm residence in the Riyadh area, a US official said.
It is hard to imagine the Saudi-Israeli peace talks making much progress as Israel reels from the worst surprise attack it has suffered since the 1973 Yom Kippur War — and as it mobilizes for what is likely to be its largest ground assault into the Gaza Strip since Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009. Indeed, while we don’t know for sure why Hamas chose to strike exactly now, this could well be part of a larger attempt by Iran and its proxies — including Hamas — to prevent a historic reconciliation between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
(05.10.2023)
The Biden administration hopes Israeli opposition parties will consider joining the coalition in place of its far-right members in case the latter opposes any concessions towards the Palestinians as part of a potential Saudi agreement
Saudi Arabia would be willing to boost oil production next year in a move aimed at earning goodwill with Congress toward a normalization agreement with Israel that would include a key mutual defense pact and weapons deal with Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
According to the report, which cited Saudi and US officials, Riyadh has told the White House it would be willing to increase oil production if crude prices are high to help secure the deal.
(June 7, 2017)
The established pattern of constraints on Iran’s nuclear program could be held as the gold standard for the rest of the international community. This option is readily available to the United States and the partners with which it negotiated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The international community should draw on that agreement and turn its standards into general, global ones, applying them to all countries seeking to enrich uranium or attempting to use plutonium for any purpose.
(Oct 5, 2023)
For many years, the United States, Israel, Middle East analysts and nuclear experts have all warned that the region could be on the brink of a nuclear domino effect.
(October 5, 2023)
Fitzpatrick notes Saudi Arabia acquired more advanced DF-21 missiles from China in 2007, although Riyadh has never acknowledged the purchase. He also says that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) approved Saudi Arabia’s acquisition because they were modified not to carry nuclear warheads.
However, the inaccuracy of those missiles means that they are only suitable for large targets such as cities and would be ineffective with anything less than a nuclear warhead.
(March 27, 2019)
Many U.S. lawmakers are concerned that sharing nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia could eventually lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. (…)
Last month, Democratic House members alleged in a report that top White House aides ignored warnings they could be breaking the law as they worked with former U.S. officials in a group called IP3 International to advance a multibillion-dollar plan to build nuclear reactors in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
(Oct 04, 2023)
Amid reports that Saudi Arabia is seeking United States support for its nuclear energy program—whose capacities critics fear could be utilized to develop nuclear weapons—a group of 20 U.S. senators on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to „seriously consider“ whether such a move is in the national interest as the administration brokers a possible normalization deal between the kingdom and Israel.
Plus on a personal level, it appears humiliating and degrading for anyone to be forced to „kneel“ and serve as Bibi‘s powerless slave ministers. Gantz wants to be PM, not spend what remains of his political career pouring Miss Piggy‘s pink champagne for her.