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America launches the economic side of the Middle East peace plan amid skepticism

Butifldrm

By Butifldrm,
in Iraq & Dinar Related News

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10 YEARS LATER Newbie

10 YEARS LATER

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Hmm 🤔. . . Tehran is the Israelis Crosshairs ? Gee what a swell idea 💡. I don’t bloody well think so.  One of these days there will be a Flashpoint and then, KA-FREAKING-BOOM  !!! The entire M.E. turns into a smoking hole in the ground. Every last country in the region a smoldering ruin.

The upside of them all killing each other off, and after a time: NOPE, probably won’t happen. For a moment there it looked like peace might break out after such a calamity. Naw, we ‘d just look in a different direction and spot a likely area of the planet to exploit its people and resources. 

Then ( after we’ve had lunch ) we could get back to killing each as much as we like and it would be “ Global Cluster F*^K Part Deux “ and all the usual Planet Players could Gin Up more hell, hysteria & hate. Maybe I’m wrong !  War is what we do best. We have such potential but we always take The Express Lane to War. 

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NEW YORK (AP) — The White House is planning to release its long-awaited Middle East peace plan in the next few months. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said Tuesday that it would be un

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Massive Fireballs Light Up Syrian Sky After Israeli Strike; "Dozens" Of Iranian Soldiers Reportedly Killed

Profile picture for user Tyler Durden
Sun, 04/29/2018 - 18:34

Update: initial reports of mass injuries and perhaps casualties following the Iranian strike appear accurate, and as reporters on the ground located at the Hama National Hospital show, "civilians are donating blood for the Soldiers & Civilians who were wounded by the Israeli Israel Air Strikes tonight."

View image on TwitterView image on Twitter
 

#Syria #Hama Photos from the Hama National Hospital As Civilians are donating blood for the Soldiers & Civilians who were wounded by the #Israeli #Israel Air Strikes tonight.

 
 

* * *

Syrian state news reports a possible foreign attack on military bases in Hama and Aleppo provinces, citing multiple reports and videos now circulating which show massive fireballs lighting up the night sky. 

Dozens of pro-government social media accounts are claiming an Israeli strike on Brigade 47 weapons depot in Hama Sunday night. Syrian sate media says rockets from an "unspecified enemy" hit military locations inside Syria, citing "a new aggression with hostile missiles" but stopped short of identifying the aggressor.    

Danny Makki — a well-known journalist reporting from on the ground in Syria — also reports an official military source as saying "A hostile Foreign attack took place at locations in Hama and Aleppo at 10:30 local time tonight."

 
X3l2FH_eP-jeSXnj?format=jpg&name=small
 

Wow! Video of a huge explosion just now in #Salhab in #Hama, reasons still unknown

 
 
 
1-cRJ2E_-byE64GF?format=jpg&name=small
 

Another video of the huge explosion at 46 Brigade arms depot in #Hama, rumours of Israeli Strikes, could be sabotage as well.

 
 

Makki further reports "the attacks this evening mainly targeted locations/positions with a strong presence of Iranian backed militias." This indicates that the likely attacker is Israel, though still not immediately confirmed. 

There are also widespread rumors of the recent landing of an Iranian transport plane at Hama Military Airport, possibly targeted in the attack, and reports that explosions were so big due to a direct hit on ammunition warehouses. 

 

#Syria #Hama A #Iran #Iranian Commander in Syria Says the Martyrs of 47th brigade Tonight are mostly from the Zainabiyoun Brigade in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps #IRGC - Damage is explosion of ammunition warehouses - ( Liwa Zainebiyoun are Shia Pakistanis )

 
 

Pro-rebel media also appears to be uploading footage of the strike — apparently so big it could be seen for miles — and these sources are also confirming a foreign military attack on government locations. Makki notes the airstrikes "caused an earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale."

 

The strikes on #Hama this evening caused an earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale

 
 

Iranian state media has also confirmed the strikes amidst rumors that Iranian military personnel were targeted in the attacks. 

 

The strikes on #Hama this evening caused an earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale

 
 
5v6PahZd_normal.jpg

In light of the suspected Israeli attack on locations in #Aleppo & #Hama this evening, this is a commentary i gave to the @express days ago on why #Israel will keep on hitting #Syria
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/952380/Syria-news-war-Iran-Israel-USA-UK-France-Donald-Trump-Danny-Makki …

 

" 'Syria war will NOT stop' – Middle East expert warns of MORE airstrikes to come "

“The Israelis will continue striking these different targets and there are between 20-25 targets to choose from so it will play out considerably."

 
 

According to Makki, citing Middle East experts, the Israelis might "continue striking these different targets and there are between 20-25 targets to choose from so it will play out considerably."

Should Israel be confirmed to have carried out the strikes, it would be the third such high level Israeli attack on Syria within a month. 

Meanwhile according to unconfirmed Twitter reports, "dozens upon dozens" of Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack.

och7Cmn5_normal.jpg

The HUGE strikes plus subsequent explosions even caused a small earthquake: 2.6 on the Richters scale.

Insane pic.twitter.com/KKEVzkGSyC

 

Unconfirmed, so no official Syrian and or Iranian statement yet: dozens upon dozens of (mostly) Iranian soldiers (of all factions) have been killed tonight.

A bloodbath

 
 

What is concering is that the attacks take place after Putin personally warned Netanyahu against further strikes in Syria.

och7Cmn5_normal.jpg

Unconfirmed, so no official Syrian and or Iranian statement yet: dozens upon dozens of (mostly) Iranian soldiers (of all factions) have been killed tonight.

A bloodbath

 
 

Developing story.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-29/massive-fireballs-light-syrian-sky-after-israeli-strike-iranian-soliders-reportedly

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markb57 Grand Master

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You know, I don't claim to know all that is going on in the middle east. All the different players, different countries, different political groups. You hear different stories from all these sources  and to me, I just don't know who to trust and who is telling the truth, who is right and who is wrong. Just seems to me that the entire middle east has become a powder keg ready to explode.

 

I think is time for the US at least to step back and re-evaluate what is going on and who are friends really are over there.

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js214 Newbie

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11 minutes ago, markb57 said:

You know, I don't claim to know all that is going on in the middle east. All the different players, different countries, different political groups. You hear different stories from all these sources  and to me, I just don't know who to trust and who is telling the truth, who is right and who is wrong. Just seems to me that the entire middle east has become a powder keg ready to explode.

 

I think is time for the US at least to step back and re-evaluate what is going on and who are friends really are over there.

1

Seems to me to be a well-played game of chess and poker.With the elections coming up, the monetary fix on the 2% holding up, and this situation.We could be looking at a perfect storm  to cover such an event.

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Butifldrm Apprentice

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Mossad stole Iran’s nuke archive and smuggled it back to Israel the same night

Senior Israeli official tells The New York Times the spy agency discovered the warehouse in 2016 and had it under surveillance; Trump briefed on raid by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen

By TOI STAFFToday, 4:33 am  0
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on Iran's nuclear program at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on April 30, 2018. ( AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on Iran's nuclear program at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on April 30, 2018. ( AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)

Spies from Israel’s Mossad agency discovered the top-secret location of a warehouse used to store Iran’s nuclear weapons files, broke into the building, took half a ton of documents and managed to smuggle them back to Israel that same night, The New York Times reported Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed the daring operation as he displayed the trove of documents in a presentation aimed at proving that Iran has lied about its atomic weapon’s program.

However, he gave few details on how or when the agents managed what he called one of the “greatest achievements” of Israeli intelligence.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top storiesFREE SIGN UP

A senior Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a secret mission, told the New York Times that the Mossad discovered the warehouse in February 2016, and had the building under surveillance since then.

The operatives broke into the building one night last January, removed the original documents and smuggled them back to Israel the same night, the official said, according to the paper.

F171002GPOHZ03-400x250.jpg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Head of the Mossad Yossi Cohen during a toast ceremony for the Jewish New Year on October 02, 2017. (Haim Zach/GPO)

US President Donald Trump was informed of the operation by the Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, on a visit to Washington in January, the official said.

The official said the delay in making the material public was due to the time it took to analyze the documents, the vast majority of which were in Persian.

Netanyahu described the archive as looking like a “dilapidated warehouse” in the Shorabad District in southern Tehran.

“This is where they kept the atomic archives. Right here. Few Iranians knew where it was, very few, and also a few Israelis,” Netanyahu said.

F180430MA100-e1525112153238-640x400.jpg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech on files obtained by Israel he says proves Iran lied about its nuclear program, at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, on April 30, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

“Now, from the outside, this was an innocent looking compound. It looks like a dilapidated warehouse. But from the inside, it contained Iran’s secret atomic archives locked in massive files,” he said.

He showed a picture, showing long rows of safes and said that the agents managed to bring back “half a ton of the material” consisting of fifty-five thousand pages and another 55,000 files on 183 CDs.

The cache, he said, contained “incriminating documents, incriminating charts, incriminating presentations, incriminating blueprints, incriminating photos, incriminating videos and more.

“We’ve shared this material with the United States, and the United States can vouch for its authenticity,” he said of the information.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/mossad-stole-irans-nuke-archive-and-smuggled-it-back-to-israel-the-same-night/?utm_source=mossad-stole-irans-nuke-archive-and-smuggled-it-back-to-israel-the-same-night&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications

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Butifldrm Apprentice

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Saudi Crown Prince Bombshell To Jewish Leaders: Palestinians Must "Accept Peace Or Shut Up"

Profile picture for user Tyler Durden
Mon, 04/30/2018 - 21:35

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) issued a stunning and unprecedented rebuke to Palestinian leadership while speaking to US Jewish groups in the midst of the prince's American tour last month.

MBS reportedly told the heads of Jewish organizations in a closed-door meeting in New York on March 27th that Palestinians should either accept peace proposals or "shut up," according to Axios.

Multiple diplomatic sources, including a leaked Israeli foreign ministry cable sent from the Israeli consulate in New York, confirm the statements which shocked the audience to the point that "people literally fell off their chairs."

MBS%20axios.jpg Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Image source: Egypt Today

The unexpected words came just as the Trump administration is reportedly finalizing its long-vaunted plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, drafted under the leadership of Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Jason Greenblatt, and after tensions were inflamed with Trump's official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December.

Axios reports the Saudi crown prince's words as follows:

"In the last several decades the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all the peace proposals it was given. It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining."

Since Saudi Arabia's founding in 1932 and subsequent diplomatic embroilment in Israeli-Palestinian matters, especially after the Jewish state's establishment in 1948, it has staunchly been on the Palestinian side (though often merely from a distance), accusing the Israelis of genocide and expansionist aggression against surrounding Arab nations. As a charter member of the Arab League it actively fought against the establishment of Israel, and also voted against the original U.N. Partition Plan for Palestine. The Saudis sent troops to fight on the allied Arab side in multiple conflicts with Israel, and the two have never had diplomatic relations. 

However, events in the region of the past few years such as the war in Syria, and related to this their common concern over Hezbollah and Iran's growing influence, has brought the two unlikely and strange bedfellows into a closer relationship, especially in the area of intelligence sharing and possible joint covert action in pursuit of regime change in Damascus. 

 

This is big news. Seems to vindicate notion that Iran has reshaped priorities in the region, brought Saudi and Israel closer. Unclear when Trump plan lands, though. https://twitter.com/barakravid/status/990670999829000194 …

 
 

Like Israel, MBS has lately made it clear that the kingdom's top priority is thwarting Iran, as Axios further reports of the crown prince's main points during the meeting with American Jewish leaders:

He made clear the Palestinian issue was not a top priority for the Saudi government or Saudi public opinion.MBS said Saudi Arabia "has much more urgent and important issues to deal with" like confronting Iran's influence in the region.

Regardless of all his criticism of the Palestinian leadership, MBS also made clear that in order for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to normalize relations with Israel there will have to be significant progress on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

But US-Palestinian relations are at their lowest point in many years, with the Palestinian Authority (PA) under Mahmoud Abbas currently boycotting the White House since the December 6th recognition of Jerusalem, and later plans to relocate the American Embassy there from Tel Aviv. Once the new White House peace plan is rolled out, if ever, it will most certainly be dead in the water from the moment it's publicized. 

At the same time ongoing protests in the Gaza Strip as part of the "Great March of Return" protests have resulted in immense Palestinian casualties — more than 40 dead and thousands wounded since March 30 according to Israeli media sources — with the vast majority killed and injured as a result of live ammunition used by Israeli security forces. 

So with Gaza currently inflamed, Palestinians will no doubt see the timing of Saudi crown prince bin Salman's words as the ultimate and final stab in the back — though the Saudis have already long been seen by Palestinians as compromised double-dealers, using their plight as a geopolitical chess piece only when convenient. 

Furthermore, the Saudis will now be perceived even more as a U.S. pawn (and thus Israeli pawn too) on the Palestine question — this as newly sworn in Secretary of State and former CIA Director Mike Pompeo flew to Saudi Arabia over the weekend in a hasty visit to cement the anti-Iran alliance while reinvigorating support for new sanctions against Iran. 

All of this will only serve to underscore Palestinians' perception that regional and world leaders will continue to merely pay lip service to any Israeli-Palestinian peace process as Iran has now fully taken front and center stage. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-30/saudi-crown-prince-bombshell-jewish-leaders-palestinians-must-accept-peace-or-shut

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10 YEARS LATER Newbie

10 YEARS LATER

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3 hours ago, Butifldrm said:

Mossad stole Iran’s nuke archive and smuggled it back to Israel the same night

Senior Israeli official tells The New York Times the spy agency discovered the warehouse in 2016 and had it under surveillance; Trump briefed on raid by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen

By TOI STAFFToday, 4:33 am  0
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on Iran's nuclear program at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on April 30, 2018. ( AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on Iran's nuclear program at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on April 30, 2018. ( AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)

Spies from Israel’s Mossad agency discovered the top-secret location of a warehouse used to store Iran’s nuclear weapons files, broke into the building, took half a ton of documents and managed to smuggle them back to Israel that same night, The New York Times reported Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed the daring operation as he displayed the trove of documents in a presentation aimed at proving that Iran has lied about its atomic weapon’s program.

However, he gave few details on how or when the agents managed what he called one of the “greatest achievements” of Israeli intelligence.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top storiesFREE SIGN UP

A senior Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a secret mission, told the New York Times that the Mossad discovered the warehouse in February 2016, and had the building under surveillance since then.

The operatives broke into the building one night last January, removed the original documents and smuggled them back to Israel the same night, the official said, according to the paper.

F171002GPOHZ03-400x250.jpg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Head of the Mossad Yossi Cohen during a toast ceremony for the Jewish New Year on October 02, 2017. (Haim Zach/GPO)

US President Donald Trump was informed of the operation by the Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, on a visit to Washington in January, the official said.

The official said the delay in making the material public was due to the time it took to analyze the documents, the vast majority of which were in Persian.

Netanyahu described the archive as looking like a “dilapidated warehouse” in the Shorabad District in southern Tehran.

“This is where they kept the atomic archives. Right here. Few Iranians knew where it was, very few, and also a few Israelis,” Netanyahu said.

F180430MA100-e1525112153238-640x400.jpg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech on files obtained by Israel he says proves Iran lied about its nuclear program, at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, on April 30, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

“Now, from the outside, this was an innocent looking compound. It looks like a dilapidated warehouse. But from the inside, it contained Iran’s secret atomic archives locked in massive files,” he said.

He showed a picture, showing long rows of safes and said that the agents managed to bring back “half a ton of the material” consisting of fifty-five thousand pages and another 55,000 files on 183 CDs.

The cache, he said, contained “incriminating documents, incriminating charts, incriminating presentations, incriminating blueprints, incriminating photos, incriminating videos and more.

“We’ve shared this material with the United States, and the United States can vouch for its authenticity,” he said of the information.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/mossad-stole-irans-nuke-archive-and-smuggled-it-back-to-israel-the-same-night/?utm_source=mossad-stole-irans-nuke-archive-and-smuggled-it-back-to-israel-the-same-night&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications

 

Gad Zooks ! The Mossad is one bunch of very daring and clever folks :twothumbs:

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Butifldrm Apprentice

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Iran and Iran respond to the "evidence" of Netanyahu

Iran retaliates with "evidence" of Netanyahu
 
 Twilight News    
 
 5 hours ago
 

 

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has denied the "false allegations" made Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Tehran that Israel has "irrefutable evidence" of a secret military nuclear program in Iran. 
"It is not by chance that the timing of these false allegations based on intelligence ... is a few days before May 12," Zarif said in a tweet on Twitter, referring to the deadline set by US President Donald Trump to announce his position on The historic agreement signed by the major powers with Iran in 2015 on its nuclear program. 
Netanyahu said Monday that his country had "irrefutable evidence" that Iran was developing a "secret" program to acquire a nuclear weapon.
"A few weeks ago, in an amazingly successful intelligence operation," Netanyahu told a news conference in Tel Aviv, broadcast live on Israeli television, describing what he called "exact copies" of tens of thousands of original Iranian documents. 
"These documents, whether paper or digital, constitute, according to the Israeli prime minister," conclusive evidence of the nuclear weapons program that Iran has been hiding for years in the eyes of the international community in its secret nuclear archives. " 
The documents show that, despite assurances from Iranian leaders that they never sought nuclear weapons, "Iran lied," Netanyahu said. 
Netanyahu's announcement comes as Trump's 12 May deadline comes to announce his decision on whether the United States will remain a party to or withdraw from the nuclear deal between Iran and the major powers in 2015.
Zarif warned about 10 days ago that Iran was ready to resume uranium enrichment as a "force" if the United States gave up the nuclear deal, adding that there were other "tough measures" being considered if that happened. 
US President Donald Trump on May 12 set a deadline for the Europeans to "correct" the agreement signed in 2015 that limits Iran's nuclear program in exchange for a relaxation of financial sanctions.

 
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Butifldrm Apprentice

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U.S.-Led Coalition Signals End of Major Combat Operations in Iraq

Focus of force has switched to training after victory over Islamic State

 

By 

Isabel Coles and

 

Ghassan Adnan

April 30, 2018 11:36 a.m. ET

4 COMMENTS

BAGHDAD—The U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State closed down the headquarters for its ground forces in Baghdad on Monday, signaling the end of major combat operations in Iraq ahead of next month’s election.

Iraq claimed victory over Islamic State in December after more than three years of war, but militants remain active in some parts of the country and have resorted to insurgent attacks elsewhere—exposing a persistent weakness of the local security forces.

The closure of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command reflects the changing role of the U.S.-led coalition, which helped Iraqi forces on the battlefield with airstrikes, advisors and intelligence gathering.

Now that Islamic State no longer controls any significant territory in Iraq, the U.S.-led coalition has switched its focus to training and building up the capabilities of local forces so they can prevent a resurgence of Islamic State or other extremist groups in future.

Brett McGurk, the U.S.’s special presidential envoy to the coalition, in a Tweet on Monday said the coalition would continue “supporting Iraqi forces to root out terrorist cells and protect Iraqi borders.”

The presence of foreign troops, however, has been a sensitive issue in Iraq. Rivals of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who supports the continued presence of foreign troops in a training capacity, have used the issue to put pressure on him in the run-up to the May 12 election, in which he is seeking a second term. In March, parliament called for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

Iraqi political analyst Wathiq al-Hashimi said the U.S.-led coalition’s move to close down its ground forces office would work in Mr. Abadi’s favor.

Iraqi and coalition officials decline to reveal current troops levels. U.S. officials said earlier this year however that a drawdown had already begun from a peak of around 5,000 U.S. troops at the height of the war against Islamic State.

The U.S. is seeking to avoid a repeat of Iraq’s recent history. In 2011, the U.S. withdrew its forces from Iraq eight years after invading the country, only to be pulled back onto the battlefield when Islamic State overran around one third of its territory in 2014 and Iraqi security forces partially collapsed.

Some Iraqi factions say foreign troops are no longer welcome, including powerful Shiite Muslim militias backed by Iran. Some of those militias fought U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion and have threatened to attack U.S. forces if they remain.

Write to Isabel Coles at isabel.coles@wsj.com

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-led-coalition-signals-end-of-major-combat-operations-in-iraq-1525102610

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bkeiller Veteran

bkeiller

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12 hours ago, Butifldrm said:

Mossad stole Iran’s nuke archive and smuggled it back to Israel the same night

Senior Israeli official tells The New York Times the spy agency discovered the warehouse in 2016 and had it under surveillance; Trump briefed on raid by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen

By TOI STAFFToday, 4:33 am  0
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on Iran's nuclear program at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on April 30, 2018. ( AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on Iran's nuclear program at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on April 30, 2018. ( AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)

Spies from Israel’s Mossad agency discovered the top-secret location of a warehouse used to store Iran’s nuclear weapons files, broke into the building, took half a ton of documents and managed to smuggle them back to Israel that same night, The New York Times reported Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed the daring operation as he displayed the trove of documents in a presentation aimed at proving that Iran has lied about its atomic weapon’s program.

However, he gave few details on how or when the agents managed what he called one of the “greatest achievements” of Israeli intelligence.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top storiesFREE SIGN UP

A senior Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a secret mission, told the New York Times that the Mossad discovered the warehouse in February 2016, and had the building under surveillance since then.

The operatives broke into the building one night last January, removed the original documents and smuggled them back to Israel the same night, the official said, according to the paper.

F171002GPOHZ03-400x250.jpg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Head of the Mossad Yossi Cohen during a toast ceremony for the Jewish New Year on October 02, 2017. (Haim Zach/GPO)

US President Donald Trump was informed of the operation by the Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, on a visit to Washington in January, the official said.

The official said the delay in making the material public was due to the time it took to analyze the documents, the vast majority of which were in Persian.

Netanyahu described the archive as looking like a “dilapidated warehouse” in the Shorabad District in southern Tehran.

“This is where they kept the atomic archives. Right here. Few Iranians knew where it was, very few, and also a few Israelis,” Netanyahu said.

F180430MA100-e1525112153238-640x400.jpg
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech on files obtained by Israel he says proves Iran lied about its nuclear program, at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, on April 30, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

“Now, from the outside, this was an innocent looking compound. It looks like a dilapidated warehouse. But from the inside, it contained Iran’s secret atomic archives locked in massive files,” he said.

He showed a picture, showing long rows of safes and said that the agents managed to bring back “half a ton of the material” consisting of fifty-five thousand pages and another 55,000 files on 183 CDs.

The cache, he said, contained “incriminating documents, incriminating charts, incriminating presentations, incriminating blueprints, incriminating photos, incriminating videos and more.

“We’ve shared this material with the United States, and the United States can vouch for its authenticity,” he said of the information.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/mossad-stole-irans-nuke-archive-and-smuggled-it-back-to-israel-the-same-night/?utm_source=mossad-stole-irans-nuke-archive-and-smuggled-it-back-to-israel-the-same-night&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications

 

This has to be the most epic takedown of recent times. It will be interesting to see the results of this evidence and who will still stand with Iran--the usual suspects, no doubt. But, the Iranian nuclear deal will likely be a bust and the locals won't be too happy with their government either. I hope there is restraint to allow the Iranian people a chance to protest. As for oil prices, watch them rise as there will likely be trade sanctions similar to the ones imposed on North Korea.

 

Time for a small investment in energy stocks, meethinks.

 

 

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Butifldrm Apprentice

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Iranian official: We may redraw cooperation with the IAEA

 

Iranian official: We may redraw cooperation with the IAEA

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Hamid Baidi Nejad, Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom, that the withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the 5 + 1 countries means the end of the agreement, and the consequences of the return of Tehran to the previous situation.

"This (the end of the agreement) may mean a return to uranium enrichment," he said in a televised interview on Thursday. "It could mean redrawing cooperation with the IAEA, as well as other measures currently being addressed. . "

In response to the accusations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who referred to the existence of covert nuclear activities in Iran, the Iranian ambassador said, "There are some allegations about the existence of such activities in Iran, but there was no evidence presented to Iran and the IAEA closed this file permanently, On facts and facts on the ground. "

ak

http://aletejahtv.com/archives/226500

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Zarif: Iran will not renegotiate nuclear agreement

15:41 - 03/05/2018
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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that his country would not negotiate a nuclear deal reached in 2015 with major powers, calling on Washington to abide by its agreement.

"Iran will not renegotiate the nuclear agreement after it reached agreements with the major powers in 2015," Zarif said in remarks published by the Russian news agency Sputnik.

Zarif called on the United States to "fulfill its obligations under the previous nuclear agreement," noting that "Iran stands firm in the face of American bullying in terms of the nuclear agreement."

"Washington has consistently violated the nuclear agreement, especially by intimidating others to prevent companies from returning to Iran," he said

http://www.almaalomah.com/2018/05/03/306292/

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the Palestinian president to the Jews: I am sorry

Palestinian President to Jews: I am sorry
 
 Twilight News    
 
 58 minutes ago
 

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday apologized for his recent remarks about the Jews, saying in a statement that he did not intend to attack Jews, and that he respected Judaism.

In a statement issued by his office in Ramallah, Abbas condemned anti-Semitism and said the Holocaust was "the worst crime in history." The statement was issued after a meeting of the Palestinian National Council.

I would like to assure everyone that I did not mean that and reaffirm my full respect for the Jewish religion and all the heavenly religions, "the statement said.

In a speech on Monday, the Palestinian president said that "anti-Semitism in Europe was not created because of the Jewish religion."

I quote German thinker Karl Marx on "the social status of Jews in Europe, their work in the banking sector and the manipulation of the Jews, which led to anti-Semitism, which in turn led to massacres in Europe."

The Israelis, the Americans, the Europeans and the United Nations have condemned Abbas's statements, amid sharp tension in relations between the Palestinians and the US administration, since President Donald Trump decided in December to relocate the US embassy in Jerusalem.

 
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Green Berets Are Now On The Ground Assisting The Saudi War On Yemen In "A Marked Escalation"

Profile picture for user Tyler Durden
Fri, 05/04/2018 - 14:45

Once again a creeping, years' long shadow war is expanding from indirect proxy intervention to direct engagement, complete with US "boots on the ground" where no American ground forces were previously thought to exist.

And it's not Syria, or Libya, or central Africa where the now familiar pattern played out before, but in the Arabian peninsula where the Pentagon has long claimed to merely coordinate intelligence, refuel jets, and provide logistical support to the Saudis which have been bombing Yemen since March of 2015.

spec%20ops.jpg Spec Ops Magazine: Old photo (in 2017 or prior) of U.S. Special Forces posing for a picture at undisclosed location, which were likely previously engaged in anti-AQ operations in Yemen. Now the mission has shifted to focus on Houthi targets and pro-Iran forces in the region.

On Thursday The New York Times revealed for the first time that US special forces have been on the ground supporting Saudi coalition forces since late last year:

But late last year, a team of about a dozen Green Berets arrived on Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen, in a continuing escalation of America’s secret wars.

With virtually no public discussion or debate, the Army commandos are helping locate and destroy caches of ballistic missiles and launch sites that Houthi rebels in Yemen are using to attack Riyadh and other Saudi cities.

Details of the Green Beret operation, which has not been previously disclosed, were provided to The New York Times by United States officials and European diplomats.

According to the report, the elite Army operators were sent to assist the Saudis starting in December, weeks after ballistic missiles fired by Yemeni Houthi rebels came close to directly hitting Riyadh's international airport, though the Saudis claimed to have intercepted it - a claim which was subsequently cast into doubt by weapons experts.

At that point, a worried Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly renewed calls for the the United States to send ground troops in order to bolster Saudi-led operations aimed at rooting out the source of the sophisticated Yemeni missile attacks, which have occurred on multiple occasions over the past year of fighting.

Like all administrations going back to 2001, the White House is relying on the the 9/11-era Authorization For Use of Military Force (AUMF) to give legal justification for its actions in the Arabian peninsula. But this time the target is not primarily al-Qaeda, ISIS, or Sunni Islamist militants, but Iran — which the Trump administration has repeatedly accused of supplying Yemen's Shia Houthis with its ballistic missile arsenal.

To underscore the US perception that it is fundamentally in a struggle against Iranian influence in Yemen, the Times quotes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who stated during a visit to Riyadh on Sunday, “Iran destabilizes this entire region.” Pompeo further charged Iran with supporting “militias and terrorist groups" — specifically that it is “an arms dealer to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.”

However, even the usually national security state-friendly New York Times isn't fully buying the "it's necessary to counter Iran" narrative spun by the Pentagon, instead calling the Green Beret presence "a marked escalation of Western assistance to target Houthi fighters who are deep in Yemen."

The NYT further notes that, “There is no evidence that the Houthis directly threaten the United States; they are an unsophisticated militant group with no operations outside Yemen and have not been classified by the American government as a terrorist group.”

* * *

So if we are once again on the slow and creeping path of American "boots on the ground" in yet another Middle East proxy war, how did we get here?

To quickly review, Saudi airstrikes on already impoverished Yemen, which have killed and maimed tens of thousands of civilians (thousands among those are children according to the UN) and displaced hundreds of thousands, have been enabled by both US intelligence and military hardware. Cholera has recently exploded amidst the appalling war-time conditions, and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools have been bombed by the Saudis.

After Shia Houthi rebels overran Yemen’s north in 2014, embattled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi vowed to “extract Yemen from the claws of Iran” something which he's repeatedly affirmed, having been given international backing from allies in the West, and a major bombing campaign began on March 2015 under the name "Operation Decisive Storm" (in a cheap mirroring of prior US wars in Iraq, the first of which was "Desert Storm").

Saudi Arabia and its backers fear what they perceive as growing Iranian influence in the region, something considered by some analysts to be grossly exaggerated, and seek to defend at all costs Yemeni forces loyal to UN-recognized President Hadi - who since 2017 appears to be in some sort of house arrest situation in Riyadh. According to Al Jazeera Saudi Arabia's King Salman has denied Hadi's repeat requests to return to Yemen in order to rally forces loyal to him. 

The pro-Saudi coalition goes far beyond US involvement but also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Egypt, Sudan, and Britain; and the Saudi initiated war has also received behind the scenes political support from Israel, something recently confirmed by Israeli officials.

Concerning the supposed Iran threat in Yemen, an emergency session of the Arab League held in response to the November 4th Houthi missile attack on Riyadh doubled down on its shared commitment to wage war against Iranian interests after it blamed Tehran for the supplying and advising the attack, which Iran for its part denies playing a role in. 

The attack clearly rattled not just the Gulf allies, but the US itself (concerned chiefly over what it perceived as "Iran's reach"), which is apparently what led to the relatively quick deployment of the special forces to the Saudi border with Yemen. 

* * *

But for all the international powers involved in the anti-Houthi military alliance, the coalition may be dysfunctional and in shambles, at least according one major Middle East Eye investigation published in late 2017. 

The report predicted that the Saudi military campaign is likely to end in total failure as "more than two years into a disastrous war, the coalition of ground forces assembled by the Saudis is showing signs of crumbling" and as the Saudis have become increasingly reliant on foreign mercenaries for its ground forces, such as a huge contingent of Sudanese mercenaries and UAE officers. 

It is entirely possible and probable that should the coalition suffer continued setbacks, or should at any point Houthis gain in strength and territory, the US would bolster its role by ramping up its current special forces contingent. As recent history has born out — most especially in Syria for example — a tiny "footprint" easily slides into small forward operating bases, and then on to thousands of conventional forces, without so much as a peep from Congress.

On that note, however, the New York Times reports the following congressional exception:

Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia and a member of the Armed Services Committee, on Thursday called the Green Berets mission a “purposeful blurring of lines between train and equip missions and combat.” He cited the report in The Times and called for a new congressional vote on the authorization for the use of military force — a war powers legislation used by three successive presidents in conflict zones around the world.

And concerning just what the Green Berets have been and will be doing along the Yemeni-Saudi border, the Times continues:

A half-dozen officials — from the United States military, the Trump administration, and European and Arab nations — said the American commandos are training Saudi ground troops to secure their [Saudis] border. They also are working closely with American intelligence analysts in Najran, a city in southern Saudi Arabia that has been repeatedly attacked with rockets, to help locate Houthi missile sites within Yemen.

Along the porous border, the Americans are working with surveillance planes that can gather electronic signals to track the Houthi weapons and their launch sites, according to the officials, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the mission publicly.

In spite of the usual promises to the contrary, we expect to hear of direct US commando and pro-Iranian Houthi clashes any day now. 

And likely, the currently reported number of about "a dozen" US special forces on the ground is perhaps much higher, as Wednesday's NYT report itself suggests: On April 17, Robert S. Karem, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States had about 50 military personnel in Saudi Arabia, “largely helping on the ballistic missile threat.”

As we've pointed out the obvious many times before, whether it's the Middle East, Africa, or Eastern Europe, the familiar pattern of American military expansion goes something like this...

First we are promised that US troops are merely in a country for limited "training" missions with "partner" forces; next we are told of "counter-terror" operations which require an increased "footprint"; after which we are assured once again that there are "no boots on the ground" but a "minimal" increase of train and assist missions; finally, US soldiers begin to come home in body bags at which point the 9/11 era AUMF is cynically invoked and Congress passively looks the other way. 

And now it appears the cycle will repeat itself in already war-torn Yemen. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-04/green-berets-are-now-ground-assisting-saudi-war-yemen-marked-escalation

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Trump Cuts Off Funding For Syria's "White Helmets"

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Fri, 05/04/2018 - 12:21

The Trump State Department has frozen funding to the controversial Syrian aid group known as the White Hemlets, a non-governmental organization (NGO) which provided the sole evidence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly used chemical weapons on his own people in an April 7 attack on the city of Douma, according to CBS News.

Having not received U.S. funding in recent weeks, White Helmets are questioning what this means for the future. They have received no formal declaration from the U.S. government that the monetary assistance has come to a full halt, but the group's people on the ground in Syria report that their funds have been cut off. -CBS News

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The evidence provided by the White Helmets of the alleged chemical attack was used by the West to justify several airstrikes on Syrian scientific and military facilities throughout April - the first one conducted on Syria's T4 airbase by Israel 48 hours after the White Helmets' report. Many Douma residents, meanwhile - including Hospital personnel, say the chemical attack never happened.

The White Helmets are a 3,000 member NGO formally known as the Syrian Civil Defense. Established in "late 2012 - early 2013" after a group of 20 Syrians were trained and organized by former British army officer James Le Mesurier. The group then received funding from Le Mesurier's Netherlands-based non-profit group, Mayday Rescue - which is in turn funded by grants from the Dutch, British, Danish and German governments. 

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The US has provided at least $32 million to the group - around 1/3 of their total funding - through a USAID scheme orchestrated by the Obama State Department and funneled to the White Helmets using a Washington D.C. contractor participating in USAID's Syria regional program, Chemonics. 

According to their website, the White Helmets have been directly funded by Mayday Rescue, and a company called Chemonics, since 2014.

Yet there’s evidence that both of those organizations started supporting the White Helmets back in early 2013, right around the time the White Helmets claim to have formed as self-organized groups.

Mayday Rescue, as we said, is funded by the Dutch, British, Danish and German governments. And Chemonics?

They are a Washington, D.C. based contractor that was awarded $128.5 million in January 2013 to support “a peaceful transition to a democratic and stable Syria” as part of USAID’s Syria regional program. At least $32 million has been given directly to the White Helmets as of February 2018. -TruthInMedia

So the US, Dutch, British, Danish and German governments have been funding the White Helmets, a non-governmental organization,through proxies for around five years.

Shut It Down

Perhaps fueled by troubling reports that the White Helmets have been accused of staging incidents, the Trump administration has now frozen funding to the group, and has placed support under "active review." 

Now they are not getting any U.S funding as the State Department says the support is "under active review." The U.S had accounted for about a third of the group's overall funding.

An internal State Department document said that its Near East Bureau needed confirmation from the administration to green light funding for the White Helmets in Syria by April 15th or the department would initiate "shut-down procedures on a rolling basis." -CBS News

"This is a very worrisome development," an official with the White Helmets told CBS. "Ultimately, this will negatively impact the humanitarian workers ability to save lives."

Or not, depending on how one feels about the White Helmets... 

Questions over authenticity

Last week, Russian officials brought fifteen people to The Hague from the city of Douma, Syria said to have been present during the alleged April 7 chemical attack, including 11-year-old Hassan Diab who was seen in a widely-distributed White Helmets video receiving "emergency treatment" in a local hospital after the alleged incident. 

“We were at the basement and we heard people shouting that we needed to go to a hospital. We went through a tunnel. At the hospital they started pouring cold water on me,” said Diab, who was featured in the video which Russia's ambassador to the Netherlands says was staged.

The boy and his family have spoken to various media outlets, who say there was no attack. 

 

 

The 11yo Syrian boy Hassan Diab, filmed by the #WhiteHelmets in their staged #DoumaProvocation video, together with 17 other witnesses is in the Hague, participated in today's joint Russia-Syria briefing at the #OPCW

 
 
 

Others present during the filming of Diab's hospital "cleanup" by the White Helmets include hospital administrator Ahmad Kashoi, who runs the emergency ward. 

“There were people unknown to us who were filming the emergency care, they were filming the chaos taking place inside, and were filming people being doused with water. The instruments they used to douse them with water were originally used to clean the floors actually,” Ahmad Kashoi, an administrator of the emergency ward, recalled. “That happened for about an hour, we provided help to them and sent them home. No one has died. No one suffered from chemical exposure.” -RT

Also speaking at The Hague was Halil al-Jaish, an emergency worker who treated people at the Douma hospital the day of the attack - who said that while some patients did come in for respiratory problems, they were attributed to heavy dust, present in the air after recent airstrikes, but that nobody showed signs of chemical warfare poisoning.

The White Helmets have previously come under fire for allegations of fabricating evidence and staging bodies. Several of their members have been pictured with, or bear an uncanny resemblance to fighters from the various anti-Assad terrorist groups operating in the region.

Photographic and video evidence gathered over social media and elsewhere depicting White Helmets who appear to be affiliated with terrorist groups can be found here.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-04/trump-cuts-funding-syrias-white-helmets

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France: Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal will lead to war on Iran

May 05 2018 10:27 p
President Trump
President Trump

Wael Al - Jubouri

 

 

French President Emmanuel Macaron said the withdrawal of US President Donald Trump from the nuclear deal with Iran could lead to a real war against the latter.

 

McCron pointed out in his remarks that the adoption of this resolution would mean the outbreak of war and did not believe that the US president wanted war. 

The French president called for the start of negotiations on a new agreement with Iran imposing restrictions on its missile tests and interference in the affairs of the Middle East. 

The agreement between Iran and the six major powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - was among the most prominent foreign policies of former US  President Barack Obama, but Trump called it "one of the worst agreements ever seen."

http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/ar/story/100912/فرنسا-انسحاب-ترامب-من-الاتفاق-النووي-سيؤدي-إلى-الحرب-على-إيران

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10 YEARS LATER Newbie

10 YEARS LATER

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6 hours ago, Butifldrm said:

The agreement between Iran and the six major powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - was among the most prominent foreign policies of former US  President Barack Obama, but Trump called it "one of the worst agreements ever seen."

 

That's quite an assortment of villains and appeasers - then there's the USA; and as CF so aptly phrased it  " Someone is left cleaning up your mess." 

 

2 hours ago, ChuckFinley said:

That is what happens when you give a Terrorist State nuclear capability and leave town. Someone is left cleaning up your mess. 

 

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Iraq succeeds in driving Israel away from membership of the UN Security Council

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The political scene  Saturday, May 05, 2018 at 13:21 pm (Views 1337)

 

Iraq succeeds in driving Israel away from membership of the UN Security Council

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Baghdad / Sky Press

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday (May 5th) that the efforts of Foreign Minister Dr. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, head of the committee to challenge Israel's candidacy for a seat on the Security Council for non-permanent members, emanating from the Arab League, have been successful.

"The Foreign Minister has addressed letters to his Arab and foreign counterparts at the regional and international levels, urging them to counter the candidacy of the occupying power to occupy an important seat in an international institution dedicated to the maintenance of international peace and security," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Credibility because of the practices and serious violations committed by the Israeli entity against the Palestinian people and the religious sanctities of Muslims 

"After consultations with our partners, including our friends, the State of Israel decided to withdraw its candidature for the seat on the UN Security Council," a statement from the Israeli mission to the UN said.

Israel was competing with Germany and Belgium in the race for two seats on the 15-member UN Security Council, including five permanent members.

The United Nations General Assembly votes on 5 new non-permanent members next month, June, to obtain seats in the Security Council for two years from 1 January 2019.

Keywords:

http://www.skypressiq.net/2018/5/5/العراق-ينجح-في-ابعاد-اسرائيل-عن-عضوية-مجلس-الامن

 

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Iraqi expert: America's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement will reflect negatively on the region

13:11 - 07/05/2018
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Information / Baghdad ..

The head of the Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies, Wathiq al-Hashemi, said on Monday that Iraq does not want the US to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement, pointing out that the American move will contribute to the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East.

"Iraq is not obliged to condemn or denounce the US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement, but it will certainly issue a statement expressing its regret for the withdrawal of Washington in the event of the latter to implement its threats to withdraw from the agreement," Hashemi said in a statement.

Hashemi added that "Iraq will adopt a policy of self-restraint on any US step of the nuclear agreement," adding that "any position will be given to reflect on the fortunes of the blocs that aspire to obtain the prime minister."

Al-Hashemi warned that "the US move to withdraw from the nuclear agreement will contribute to the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East," stressing at the same time that "the withdrawal of Washington does not cancel the nuclear agreement because it needs a resolution of the UN Security Council." Ending / 25

http://www.almaalomah.com/2018/05/07/307294/

 

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spirituality invokes the Iraq war in the escalation of my words against Trump

Rohani recalls the Iraq war in escalating my words against Trump
 
 Twilight News    
 
 15 hours ago
 

 

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani said Sunday that Iran had prepared plans to counter any decision by US President Donald Trump to end the nuclear deal with Tehran, adding that Washington would regret such a decision. 
Trump says he will refuse to extend the easing of US sanctions on Tehran if European allies by May 12 do not correct the "appalling flaws" in Tehran's deal with six major powers. 
"We have plans to face any Trump decision on the nuclear deal," Rouhani said in a televised speech on state television. 
"The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization has been ordered ... and the economic sector to confront the American plans against our country." 
"America will make a mistake if it withdraws from the nuclear agreement. If America withdraws from the nuclear agreement, it will lead to its historical regret."
Britain, France and Germany remain committed to the nuclear deal, but in an effort to keep Washington in the deal, they want to talk about Iran's ballistic missile program and its nuclear activities after 2025 - when key items of the agreement expire - and its role in Middle East crises like Syria and Yemen. 
"We will not negotiate with anyone about our weapons and defenses and we will manufacture and stockpile whatever weapons, facilities and rockets we need," Rohani said, reiterating Iranian leaders' refusal to talk about the missile program, which Tehran says is defensive. 
"You have to know that you can not threaten this great nation because our people have held up eight years of ... defense (in the war with Iraq)," he said in a speech during a visit to the Khurasan region of Radwan.
"We want to preserve peaceful nuclear technology to benefit from it in various fields, including electricity, medicine, agriculture and health," he said. "We do not seek to threaten the world or the region." 
A senior Israeli intelligence official said on Sunday Trump had not informed Israel whether he would change or cancel the deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the deal and says it only serves to temporarily halt Iran's nuclear capabilities.

 
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