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Elder of Ziyon
Caroline Glick: Navigating Israel's ship of state through the Biden storm
In a media briefing Friday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki refused to say whether the Biden views Israel as an ally.
Psaki's behavior was easy to understand. Although Israel is America's strongest and most reliable ally in the Middle East, Israel cannot follow where the Biden administration is now leading. President Joe Biden's policy steps and foreign policy appointments since taking office have made it abundantly clear that his first priority is to return the US to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which was negotiated by Biden's top advisors when they served with him in the Obama administration is not a non-proliferation agreement. It is a blueprint for Iran to achieve independent military nuclear capability and regional hegemony.
Neither Israel nor the US's Arab allies in the Persian Gulf can partner with Biden and his team in advancing this policy. It puts them all in danger. This is the simple explanation for Biden's refusal to date to speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to other regional leaders. Quite simply, given his commitment to a policy that places their countries in jeopardy, Biden would prefer not to hear what they have to say.
Netanyahu adopted a three-pronged foreign policy when he was faced with a similar situation with Washington during the Obama presidency. After a four-year hiatus, the time has come to reinstate the policy.
The first component of that policy is a recognition that the US is irreplaceable. No other ally can provide Israel with the partnership that the US provides. That doesn't mean that Israel's government must bow and scrape before Biden and his advisors as they rush to empower Iran at Israel's expense. On the contrary. Facing a hostile administration, Israel must unapologetically stand up for itself and defend its interests and rights.
Think about this. Young US Jews are systematically harassed, attacked and ostracized on campuses by BDS goons. And @DanielBShapiro says it's RACIST for Jews to oppose Biden's placement of these BDS thugs in posts where they can turn their hatred into official US policy!
— Caroline Glick (@CarolineGlick) February 15, 2021
My Telephone’s Not Ringing
There is genuine concern in Israel about several of Biden’s top advisers, in particular U.S. envoy to Iran Rob Malley, widely seen to be soft on Iran and less than sympathetic to Israel’s security concerns. There are also, though, significant yings to Malley’s yang, key among them the widely respected Secretary Antony Blinken, and others.
Which leads us to the second tweet. Jumping into the “phone call” fray two days after Danon, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, tweeted a sensible thread stating the obvious; that Biden assumed leadership of the free world at a particularly tempestuous time and was personally taking on only the most pressing and urgent domestic and global matters, reflected in the order of his days and his calls (well, with that Canada exception, eh?)
On Saturday night, the phone call question was put to Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Gilad Erdan, on the most-watched post-Shabbat political talk show in Israel. His response, was, well, exactly what one might expect. A seasoned political operative, Erdan, with a bemused countenance, told the interviewer that the conversation is not so important.
“Until there isn’t one,” she ricocheted.
As he must do, Erdan focused on the many sidebar conversations that have taken place at the highest levels between the most senior Israeli and Biden administration officials in State, Defense, and the NSA. The well-oiled relationship between the US and Israel is humming along nicely, Erdan reassured. No need for any concern.
Biden is also sensitive to the fact that Israel is in perpetual election mode and would not want to appear to be boosting a particular candidate. But, that seems to be a chronic feature of the Israeli condition, making it almost irrelevant.
Truth is, for the last four years Israel had become accustomed to being treated as a constant priority in the Oval Office, with the formidable and combined muscle of Ambassadors Friedman and Dermer, Jared Kushner brought to bear, combined with Trump’s reported lack of discipline in his approach to, well, everything.
If there is a message in the non-phone call phone call, it is likely far less dramatic than some may be thinking, and more like: “You’re important, Israel, but perhaps not always the most important.
Let’s hope so.
JN INVESTIGATION: How UK gives annual nod to hate-filled Palestinian education
British taxpayers are continuing to pay for a Palestinian education system in which school pupils are routinely taught incitement, hatred of Israel and glorification of terrorism. Many of the textbooks are written by vetted officials, whose salaries are paid by the UK.
Despite numerous assurances from the Palestinian education minister, detailed reports from the Israel-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) show that as recently as September last year, Palestinian school students were still learning maths by adding up the number of ‘martyrs’, including those who have led suicide bombings on buses and shopping centres. The curriculum is taught in Palestinian Authority and UNRWA schools in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem.
Not only does Britain continue to pay – in the past five years it has spent an estimated £105 million on Palestinian education professionals, including on the salaries of teachers who write the textbooks – but it appears to have a blind spot when it comes to challenging the Palestinians on the content of those books.
The UK and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have a Memorandum of Understanding, or MoU, which supposedly commits the Palestinians not only to “uphold the principle of non-violence”, but to take action against “incitement to violence, including addressing allegations of incitement in the educational curriculum”.
Money paid by Britain to the Palestinian partner is supposedly contingent on the PA’s performance on “curriculum reform”.
How Biden Can Build on the Abraham Accords
These are reasonable steps to shrink the conflict. To carry them out and to realize gradualism’s full promise, however, Makovsky’s approach must address three issues that his monograph overlooks.US Embassy in Jerusalem construction plans approved - report
First, the Biden administration must be persuaded that the Abraham Accords have transformed the dynamics of Middle East politics. Largely staffed with former Democratic Party officials who cling to the old catechism, the new administration has yet to emancipate itself from the disproven conventional wisdom that the only policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict worth pursuing is one of near-term comprehensive peace.
Second, the private sector must be encouraged to invest in the West Bank. Instead of spearheading government-led development projects, the United States should help create conditions favorable to private investment in the territories many Israelis call by their biblical names, Judea and Samaria. Rather than government officials and national bureaucracies, it should be entrepreneurs, financiers, and philanthropists -- from the Gulf states, Israel, the United States, and, of no small importance, the areas under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction -- who should be given room to identify and pursue profitable and useful ventures that create opportunities and improve the Palestinians’ condition.
Third, Israel’s broader security perspective must be taken into account in fashioning reasonable concessions and compromises. Makovsky mentions the grave threat posed by Iran. One must add that Hezbollah has positioned more than 120,000 rockets and missiles -- all of which are meant for Israel -- in Lebanese civilian areas and structures while constantly increasing and upgrading its armaments through a supply chain originating in Tehran and passing through Syria. Hezbollah’s massive and increasingly sophisticated aerial arsenal gives it the capacity to strike most of the Jewish state’s population and accurately hit vital military installations. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas’s supply of rockets and missiles is less formidable but of concern, particularly in the event of war with Iran.
To complete the break from the failed past -- and improve the long-term prospects for peace for all parties -- it will be necessary to implement genuinely incremental measures that, without prejudging the most difficult issues, improve Palestinian lives while preserving Israeli security.
The construction plans for the US Embassy in Jerusalem's complexes have been approved, Army Radio reported. One of the approved plans is an expansion of the current location on the slopes of the Arnona neighborhood into a five-floor building, and the other is the construction of a 10-floor building as part of a larger compound in northern Arnona (or Talpiot) on the corners of Hebron Road. The city envisions the future US Embassy as an "anchor," which would change the entire urban space around it into a diplomatic sector for the capital of Israel. Roughly 700 construction workers are expected to begin working soon and the project is meant to be built by 2026. However, not all residents near the embassy welcome the change. Among them is Miryam Shomrat, who was the Israeli ambassador to Finland from 2000 to 2003 and to Norway from 2005 to 2008.
U.S. Congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar: Biden Restores Normalcy to Terror List by Removing Houthis; U.S. Should Hold Chinse Gov Accountable for Uyghur Genocide, Like It Did Regarding Bosnia, Rwanda, and the Holocaust @IlhanMN @Ilhan #Uyghurs #China pic.twitter.com/ozuNck5ExE
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 15, 2021
U.S. Congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar: Biden Administration Should Support Referral of Israeli Officials to the ICC; the U.S. Must Not Delegitimize the ICC @IlhanMN @Ilhan #Israel #ICC pic.twitter.com/4bcU29EVnK
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 15, 2021
U.S. Congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar: Biden Administration Should Support Referral of Israeli Officials to the ICC; With Regard to U.S. Embassy Transfer to Jerusalem, “It Doesn’t Seem Like a Lot Will Be Changed” @IlhanMN @Ilhan pic.twitter.com/Wlpc0zQ6Ek
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 15, 2021
Jews in six Gulf countries unite to create joint 'Beth Din of Arabia'
As Jewish life has become more public in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Jews from across the Gulf countries are forming the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities. The new organization, the first of its kind, will include Jews and Jewish communities from the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, it said Sunday in a statement.UAE Swears In Its First Ambassador to Israel
“During the pandemic, many of us started attending the Jewish Council of the Emirates’ pre-Shabbat Zooms, where we met each other,” said Houda Nonoo, the first female Bahraini ambassador to the United States (2008-2013) and the first Jewish ambassador from an Arab country. “That ultimately became the genesis for the creation of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, because as we got to know one another on the call, we realized that there were certain resources we could share.”
“Today, the Jewish communities of Bahrain and the Emirates are the largest in the region, and we can assist the Jews in the other GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries in getting matzah for Pessah, yahrzeit candles, siddurim and chumashim, etc.,” she said. “Our hope is that this people-to-people network will create more opportunities for Jewish life in the region.”
“For us in Bahrain, this marks an important milestone, as we will now have access to a rabbi who can come to Bahrain to officiate Jewish lifecycle events,” Nonoo said. “I have known Rabbi Dr. Abadie for more than a decade, as I had the honor of spending some High Holy Days with his synagogue during my time as Bahrain’s ambassador to the United States, and am very excited about this opportunity for our local community.”
The AGJC is intended to be a network of communities that will enable people-to-people contacts across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. “While each community is independent, they share a common goal and vision: for Jewish life in the GCC to flourish for the benefit of both residents and visitors,” it said in the statement. “Under the spiritual leadership of Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie, based in Dubai, and President Ebrahim Dawood Nonoo, based in Bahrain, the group is partnering on different communal programs and services so that their resources will enhance each other. The association’s board consists of members from all six Gulf countries, who together will forge the path forward for growing Jewish life in the Gulf.”
The United Arab Emirates on Sunday swore in the country’s first-ever ambassador to Israel.
Ambassador Mohammad Mahmoud Al Khajah was installed in an official ceremony in Abu Dhabi in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, said the Dubai Media Office, which tweeted about the event.
Al Maktoum wished Al Khajah much success and urged him to work to achieve friendly and cooperative relations with Israel. Al Khajah pledged to carry out his job with integrity and sincerity, reported Gulf News.
A number of ministers, senior sheikhs and other officials attended the event.
Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and the closure of Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, it is unknown when Al Khajah will be able to assume his post.
On Sept. 15, 2020, Israel and the UAE signed the Abraham Accords, a historic normalization agreement brokered by the Trump administration. Bahrain signed the accords at the same time. Before former President Trump left office, normalization agreements were also signed between Israel, Sudan and Morocco.
UAE Ambassador to Israel, sworn-in before @HHShkMohd. pic.twitter.com/cNsZPUA6XN
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 14, 2021
Israelis arrested for alleged terror against Palestinians, security forces
Police said Monday that they had arrested several Israelis in the West Bank who are suspected of terror activity directed at Palestinians and security forces.IDF launches surprise air exercise, as it reportedly strikes sites in Syria
The suspects were taken in for interrogation, but their identities and other details of the investigation were placed under gag order, a police statement said.
However, the Kan public broadcaster reported that the suspects included at least three Israeli Jews, aged 18 and 19. They are suspected of involvement in rock-throwing incidents that injured Palestinians, of illegally possessing weapons, and of membership in a terror organization — a serious charge seldom brought against Israelis.
Settler violence directed toward Palestinians has spiked in recent months following the death of 16-year-old Ahuvia Sandak when his car crashed during a police chase after he allegedly hurled stones at Palestinians.
The Israeli military launched a surprise air force exercise simulating war in the north late Sunday night, as Israeli jets reportedly struck Iran-linked sites in Syria.Joint Military Exercise With US Simulates Barrage of Missile Fire on Israel for Next War
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the exercise — called “Galilee Rose” — will include a variety of scenarios that would be involved in fighting a war against the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group and its allies in Syria.
That includes defending Israeli airspace from incursions, offensive strikes, intelligence collection and ensuring aerial superiority by neutralizing enemy air defenses.
“During the exercise, there will be thorough tests of planning, command and execution processes, as well as logistical and technological capabilities, with an emphasis on preserving aerial freedom of operation and maintaining full operational continuity,” the IDF said, using a term referring to the military’s ability to function continually.
All of the Air Force’s aircraft and other systems will be used during the exercise. Beginning Monday afternoon, residents of northern Israel can expect to see a larger than normal amount of planes, helicopters and drones flying overhead “and explosions will be heard in the area,” the military said.
The drill was scheduled to end on Wednesday.
The exercise was announced hours after Syrian state media reported that the Israeli Air Force had launched a series of airstrikes on sites around Damascus, killing at least nine pro-regime militia fighters, according to the Britain-based pro-opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory has regularly been accused by Syrian war analysts of inflating casualty numbers, as well as inventing them wholesale.
The ongoing Israel-US military exercise known as Juniper Falcon is seeing the two countries simulate and train for a number of scenarios in which Israel faces unprecedented missile attacks from Gaza, Lebanon, and even Syria and Iran.Israel won’t participate in UAE arms fair, grounded by COVID travel restrictions
Israeli news site N12 reported Sunday that, alongside the concerns about short- and long-range rockets from Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Lebanon, the exercise is also preparing for the use of cruise missiles and suicide drones from western Iraq and Yemen — where Iran could use its proxies to retaliate against Israeli actions.
Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav, head of the Israeli Air Force’s air defense program, said that US-Israel cooperation is “an operational and professional asset for the air defense of Israeli citizens and the country’s home front. We insisted on holding the exercise in Israel, in Europe, and in the United States.”
Thus far, Kochav said, the participants have met the exercise’s goals and now “the operational test is in front of us.”
In recent years, Israel’s air defense system has seen rapid change, N12 reported. With the realization that thousands of missiles will likely be fired at Israel in the next conflict, the IDF has rethought its strategy.
Iron Dome batteries and other missile defense systems will be permanently deployed across the country, rather than moved from front to front. This will provide blanket protection for civilian areas and vital infrastructure. In addition, a new detection grid on land, sea, and air will also allow aerial attacks to be identified as quickly as possible.
Israel has decided not to send a delegation of defense companies to a prestigious arms fair in the United Arab Emirates next week due to coronavirus restrictions that have forced the closure of Israel’s international airport, the Defense Ministry announced Monday.Qatar Confirms Gas Pipeline Projects in Gaza Strip
Dozens of Israeli companies, including state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, had planned on sending delegations to the IDEX arms fair. It was to mark the first time Israel has participated in the gathering, a result of last year’s US-brokered agreement establishing ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
The Defense Ministry, which oversees weapons exports, said it sought permission to allow the delegation to travel, but a governmental committee that grants exemptions allowing people to fly denied the request.
Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport is closed to nearly all incoming and outgoing flights until February 21, the day the Emirati arms fair is to open. With infection rates in Israel still at high levels, the government may extend the airport closure.
The biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference, or IDEX, long has been the largest defense showcase in the Middle East.
Qatari envoy to the Gaza Strip Mohammed al-Emadi revealed new details on Sunday about a plan to lay a natural gas pipeline in Gaza.PMW: PA Min. of Justice compares ICC prosecution of Israelis with Nuremberg prosecution of Nazi leaders
In an interview with the Gaza-based Sawa news agency, al-Emadi said that Qatar’s Gaza Reconstruction Committee recently held several “productive” meetings to advance the matter with representatives of the Chevron Corporation, as well as with officials from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.
The committee also held meetings with diplomats from France, the Netherlands and the Palestinian Authority.
The Qatari envoy said that there already exist two contracts regarding the pipeline—one between the PA and a gas company for the purchase of natural gas, and a second for the installation of the pipelines.
“An agreement has been reached with Europe to allocate $5 million for the assembly of gas pipelines from the border to the power station, while Qatar will install pipes on the Israeli side,” al-Emadi said, also revealing the plan to set up a team of officials from the reconstruction committee and the PA to monitor the implementation of both contracts within the next six months.
Earlier this month, the pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision granting the ICC jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Israelis for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The decision came despite the fact that Israel is not a member of the ICC, and there is no “State of Palestine.” Nevertheless, the PA has been a member of the ICC - a right otherwise reserved for states - since 2015. The ICC’s decision also opens the possibility of prosecution of Palestinians who have committed such crimes against Israelis. The following are some of the responses from top PA officials.PA PM Shtayyeh whitewashes terror; against ICC trying Hamas for its crimes
Praising the ICC’s decision, PA Minister of Justice Muhammad Al-Shalaldeh compared the ICC’s prosecution of Israelis with the Nuremberg prosecution of Nazi leaders:
PA Minister of Justice Muhammad Al-Shalaldeh: “The International [Criminal] Court (ICC) has full authority for judging and extradition. The Israeli settlers, or the Israeli war criminals… There will be a list of names that may begin- We can investigate the [Israeli] prime minister… The ICC will act according to a legal plan, according to the legal measures for extradition and prosecution, and there were experiences with this after World War II: the court in Nuremberg and in Tokyo for prosecuting and punishing the Nazis.”
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Feb. 7, 2021]
PA PM Muhammad Shtayyeh also welcomed the ICC’s decision, and its “ruling” that “Palestine is a state.” Shtayyeh furthermore exploited the opportunity to whitewash all Palestinian terror against Israel as mere “defense.” Asked if he would welcome an ICC probe into the crimes of Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Shtayyeh said: “Of course not,” claiming that “Palestinians have never been on the attack,” but “always on the defense”:
PA compares ICC prosecution of Israelis with Nuremberg prosecution of Nazi leaders
Palestinian women call on President Mahmoud Abbas to lift the sanctions he imposed on the Gaza Strip, including the suspension of financial aid and salaries. pic.twitter.com/rbVoEyDsKy
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) February 14, 2021
Israel seizes money, goods it says Hamas was sending from Turkey to West Bank
Israel seized over $120,000 and goods worth hundreds of thousands of shekels last month in what it says was an effort by the Palestinian terror group Hamas to transfer funds from Turkey to its operatives in the West Bank, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
The confiscations were the result of a joint investigation by the Defense Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing, the Shin Bet security service and the Customs Authority.
The money, totaling $121,402, was confiscated from the bank accounts of four individuals and two companies. In addition, several shipping containers and their contents that had been sent from Turkey to the Ashdod Port were seized, the ministry said.
The Defense Ministry added that this route for Hamas to move money to its operatives was now blocked.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed the seizure orders for the money and goods on January 26, but the operation was not announced to the public until Monday. A spokesperson for the minister refused to comment on the timing.
According to the Defense Ministry, the money and goods were being transferred by Hamas through two Turkish companies, Sense Sanitary Company and Tikkno Plus Ic Ve Dis.
“These were owned jointly by Hamas operatives Abdallah Fuqaha, who lives in Turkey, and Ayman al-Massri, from the Nablus area,” the ministry said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, in a letter to President Recep Erdogan, requests that Turkey send observers to monitor the upcoming Palestinian elections. pic.twitter.com/ljyY6CSA9A
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) February 14, 2021
Germany charges five with setting up Islamic State cell for attacks
Five Tajik nationals arrested in Germany have been charged with membership in Islamic State and preparing acts of terrorist violence by raising funds and recruiting people for attacks, the federal prosecutor's office said on Monday.
One of the charged, identified as Azizjon B., is suspected of having close contact with two high-ranking IS leaders in Afghanistan and operating a Russian- and Tajik-language online network to spread IS propaganda, it said in a statement.
The five suspects, who were arrested last year, were suspected of belonging to an IS cell in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia whose members received instructions and material to build bombs and plotted attacks in Germany.
The statement said they trained with paint ball games to improve their military skills and tactics. Some of the sessions' participants were believed to have had contact with the Islamist gunman who killed four people in a rampage in Vienna last year.
The prosecutors' statement said the network raised funds for Islamic State operations and recruited would-be militants.
Iraqi Politician and Militia Leader Muqtada Al-Sadr: We Will Not Allow Normalization with Israel, “Even If We Have to Die for It;” Biden Administration Must Remove American Occupation from Iraq #Iraq #normalization #muqtada #Biden_administration pic.twitter.com/eskzn8Cczd
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 15, 2021
Iran Seeks to Launch Attacks on Israeli, UAE Targets in African States: Report
Iran is looking to attack non-military Israeli and United Arab Emirates targets in African states, the New York Times reported on Monday.Iranian Intelligence Minister: Israel Did Not Kill Fakhrizadeh
The report zoomed in on the foiled attack on the UAE embassy in Ethiopia, which was reported in early February.
At the time, the Ethiopian authorities said they arrested 15 individuals, with the alleged mastermind behind the attack also arrested in Sweden.
The Times cited sources in Western and Israeli intelligence agencies as saying that the attack had been initiated by Iran, which activated its sleeper cell last autumn.
At the same time, the newspaper cited Israeli officials as saying that only three of the 15 people arrested for the plot were suspected of being Iranian agents.
The report, denied by Iran, adds that the attack was only part of a larger campaign aimed at soft targets in Africa as Iran seeks to avenge the killings of its Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and nuclear mastermind Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Sunday that despite multiple claims to the contrary by the regime, top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was not assassinated by Israel, but rather by a former member of the Iranian intelligence service.A Return to the 2015 Iran Deal Is Impossible
Alavi told the state-run Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) that Israel had planned to carry out “many operations” aimed at undermining the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, all of which had been prevented by “Iranian security.” Among these planned operations, he said, were assassinations of officials in the nuclear program. These killings, he said, were to have followed the assassination in November of Fakhrizadeh.
“After Fakhrizadeh was killed, the Zionists attempted to carry out additional acts of terrorism and evil in the country, including more assassinations. These attempts were recognized and foiled by Iranian intelligence,” said Alavi.
Fakhrizadeh himself, he said, had in fact not been killed by Israel.
“The man responsible for the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was fired from the intelligence service and left the country shortly before it [the hit] actually took place. He is now wanted by Iranian authorities,” said the minister.
He did not elaborate as to whether Iranian authorities believe the suspect was working with Israel.
The Iranian regime's nuclear advancements since the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal, coupled with Tehran's refusal to fully account for its previous nuclear activity, mean a return to the deal is mission impossible. In the end, the deal failed and cannot accomplish what its original architects intended.Iran Says It Will End Snap IAEA Inspections If Nuclear Deal Terms Not Met
Iran is quickly moving toward industrial-scale production of second-generation (IR-2m and IR-4) and third-generation (IR-6, IR-8 and IR-9) centrifuges. These centrifuges are installed in Iran's Natanz underground facility, allowing the Iranians to dramatically accelerate enrichment. Regime scientists have learned to operate cascade configurations and, with this technology, can now enrich uranium three times faster and to all levels of enrichment.
According to Iranian reports, the regime is installing IR-6s and perhaps other, more advanced, models at Iran's underground Fordow facility, which can enrich uranium 6 to 10 times faster. That know-how is there, no matter what's written in any nuclear accord. Long gone are the days when "breakout" would take Iran as much as a year. Moreover, the time it took Iran to reestablish enrichment facilities was much faster than calculated by the deal's negotiators.
In the meantime, new revelations from the secret nuclear archive that Israel's Mossad spirited out of Iran in 2018 have made clear that the International Atomic Energy Agency's 2015 decision to close its investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program was a big mistake. The archive demonstrated that the Iranians are much closer to weaponization than previously assessed.
Indeed, the IAEA's failures underscore how the nuclear deal is untenable in its current form. The agency's strict inspections were touted as the deal's most effective tool. Yet the agency proved reluctant to address violations and was unable to secure site visits in a timely manner.
Iran said on Monday it will block snap inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog from next week if other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal do not fulfill their obligations, a challenge to US President Joe Biden’s hope of reviving the accord.
“If others do not fulfill their obligations by Feb. 21, the government is obliged to suspend the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.
“It does not mean ending all inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog … All these steps are reversible if the other party changes its path and honors its obligations,” he said, alluding to the United States.
The Biden administration aims to return the United States to the nuclear deal, which his predecessor Donald Trump abandoned in 2018. Under the deal, Iran agreed to curbs on its uranium enrichment program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
After Trump quit and reimposed sanctions, Iran began violating some limits in the deal. Washington and Tehran now disagree over how best to restore the accord, with both sides demanding the other side act first to return to compliance.
Despite Iran‘s public hard line that Washington must take the first step, several Iranian officials told Reuters last week that the mounting economic pain of US sanctions may push Tehran to be flexible on terms for restoring the nuclear deal.
Hezbollah decided we’re the perfect ones... to terrorize.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 14, 2021
If you need a last-minute Valentine’s Day card, here’s a groundbreaking greeting on behalf of Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah: pic.twitter.com/olU0ZBpuBA
Ayatollah Khamenei has used Twitter to repeatedly call for Israel’s destruction. Lawmakers at a hearing in Israel’s parliament had one question: Why does Twitter allow him promote genocide? pic.twitter.com/XcZNknfWvM
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 14, 2021
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