Hezbollah, World's 'Most Powerful' Terrorist Organization, Poised for Next War With Israel, Military Experts Conclude in New Report - by Ben Cohen -
Iran's proxy in Lebanon, the Shia terrorist movement Hezbollah, has become the "most powerful non-state armed force on the planet," a report by a group of former senior military officials and diplomats, many of them from NATO member states, concluded this week.
The report from the independent High-Level Military Group (HLMG) - whose members include Iraq war veteran Lt.-Gen. Michael D. Barbero of the US, Gen. Klaus Dieter Neumann, former commander of the German armed forces, Lord Richard Dannatt, former commander of the British armed forces, and Lt. Gen. Kamal Davar, the former head of India's Defense Intelligence Agency - asserted that Hezbollah now represents "a threat that few countries, much less sub-state organizations, on the globe can mount."
A renewed war with Israel was "inevitable," the report warned, that is certain to be "more violent and destructive" than previous conflicts. Hezbollah has reportedly been withdrawing its forces from Syria in recent weeks, transferring them toward Israel's borders on the Golan Heights.
Since the 2006 war with Israel, Hezbollah has undergone a major boost in terms of missile development and intelligence-gathering activities. "Israeli intelligence estimates put the number of projectiles in Hezbollah's possession today at well over 100,000," the report, titled "Hezbollah's Terror Army: How To Prevent A Third Lebanon War," said. "The majority of these are short-range rockets, but thousands have a much larger range, up to 150 miles and more."
The report noted that "not only has the sheer numeric scale of the threat increased exponentially, but the lethality is greatly increased on account of larger payloads, range and higher targeting accuracy."
Hezbollah also "mounts a greatly expanded intelligence effort," the report observed. "It has numerous intelligence-gathering units focused on Israel, generating an extensive bank of targets, including many vital and sensitive Israeli infrastructure facilities."
On the ground, Hezbollah fighters "are equipped with AK-47 assault rifles, night vision goggles, and advanced anti-tank weapons," the report said. "Its combatants are highly skilled in deploying explosives and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM)."
Hezbollah's participation in the defense of the Iranian-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad had improved the organization's "ability to maneuver and carry out relatively large-scale ground attacks at the scale of company or battalion level," the report pointed out.
Iran has played a decisive role in strengthening Hezbollah's capabilities, the report emphasized. "The upgrade in Hezbollah capabilities is one discernible result of Iran and Hezbollah's ongoing project to equip the latter with more accurate longer-range missiles, so as to be able to more effectively menace Israel," it said. The report continued, "Hezbollah embeds its military assets among the Lebanese civilians it claims to protect, holds Lebanese politics and questions of war and peace hostage to its Iranian-led regional military imperatives, and has infiltrated Lebanese state organs, including the army, to utilize them for its aims."
In the event of a renewed war between Hezbollah and Israel, competition for international public support will be no less fierce than during the 2006 hostilities, the report said. "This is likely to be exacerbated by Israel's doctrine requiring substantial and immediate damage to Hezbollah in the opening stages of any new war, with the television pictures and attendant battle over the narrative of the fighting likely to prove highly contentious," it stated.
Yet, the report stressed, "the international environment has changed since the previous war, and a defensive assault on Hezbollah, a terror organization now strongly associated with Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, will generate full support not only from the United States, but likely also from other Western countries, in addition to tacit but increasing support from the Sunni Arab world."
The report argued that while "Israel enjoys a range of immense economic, diplomatic, and military assets, it is at serious risk from a successful attack."
Israel would pursue a strategy based on the twin imperatives of a decisive and fast victory. "Hezbollah's strategic concept, coupled to the gains Iran has made regionally ... mean that Israeli decision makers are firm in the belief that they will have to respond with overwhelming force and at great speed to any escalation forced upon them," the report concluded.
Growing Turkey-Russia Alliance Portends Echoes of Ezekiel 38 -
Turkey, which had been a long-time US ally, continues its process of re-Islamification under President Erdogan at the same it forges closer ties with Russia. On September 28th, Putin visited Erdogan in Ankara to discuss the situation in Iraq and Syria as well as increasing trade between Russia and Turkey.
The two nations have come a long way since the diplomatic incident in 2015 caused by Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border.
The two countries have often found themselves at odds during the Syrian conflict, with Russia a stalwart supporter of the Assad regime while Turkey has given support to the regime's enemies. Now however, the two leaders are working to set up "de-escalation zones" within Syria to bring a measure to calm to the region.
After the talks, Erdogan reported that the leaders had focused on stopping the fighting in Syria's northern province of Idlib, which sits near the Turkish border, and pledged his support for a political end to the conflict.
Putin, too, spoke in friendly terms of Erdogan, calling him "our friend, President Erdogan" and thanked him for helping to make peace possible and expressed his hope that Turkey would help stabilize the area enough for refugees to return home.
As part of the fast-growing military alliance between Russia and Turkey, the sale earlier this month of the S-400, Russia's most advanced air defense system, has helped to cement these ties. Turkey has publicly stated that it plans to purchase the next generation system as well, the S-500 defense system that is still in development.
On October 13th, Turkish media reported Erdogan as saying, "In our talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin we are not thinking of stopping with the S-400s. We have had talks on the S-500s too.
Apart from official diplomatic pronouncements, this adoption of Russian military technology speaks to Erdogan's intentions, since these systems are incompatible with Western military hardware. In short, Turkey is slowly turning away from NATO in favor of Russia.
In October, a new diplomatic incident took place between Turkey and the United States that prompted Erdogan to warn the US, "We don't need you" in response to Washington blocking non-immigrant visas.
The US had blocked the visas to send a message after US Istanbul Consulate official Metin Topuz was arrested, and now Turkey has blocked US tourism to Turkey as well. Topuz has been accused of helping Gulen supporters to escape arrest after the failed coup attempt.
Russia and Turkey are both ruled by authoritarian governments that have grown increasingly hostile to the West. Turkey signed a $17 billion-dollar oil deal with Russia to replace the black market oil that Erdogan had imported from ISIS-controlled fields.
An unholy alliance of Iran, Russia and Turkey grows stronger every day. Islam has tightened its grip over a once-secular Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran now snubs US demands while celebrating its ties with Russia.
To students of Biblical prophecy, this development should come as no shock.
Prophecy experts have long taught of the Gog/Magog War of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 that foretell how a coalition of nations led by Russia, Turkey and Iran (Persia) would come against Israel.
However, way back in the later days of the Cold War it was very hard to image how a staunchly secular Turkey could join a military alliance with one of its greatest enemies, the USSR (pre-1990 communist Russia), and a group of backward (in the minds of the Turks I worked with at that time) Muslim nations.
But here we are, and Ezekiel's 2,600-year-old prophecy is steadily coming to pass. Now Turkey's greatest enemy, the USSR, has long since collapsed, and Turkey is now governed by a radical Muslim dictator who is aligning with the Koranic Curtain countries of the Middle East.
The Lord God will set the hook... (Ezekiel 38.4)
Turkey is now positioned ideologically and politically to fulfill its end time prophetic role.
Though a palpable tension still exists between Turkey, and Russia and its Iranian partner, it is not hard to envision that any issues can be readily set aside to execute mutually shared goals against Israel.
As we read in the opening verses it is the Lord God's mighty hand which shall set the hook in the jaws and bring forth these nations.
Be in awe as the Lord God methodically maneuvers the peoples, tongues and nations in order to bring about His divine purposes, working on a time scale and in ways into which we can only catch a glimpse.
Keep watching the Middle East, as it will always remain the center of prophetic fulfillment.
At the same time, be listening for the Trumpet. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (I Thessalonians 4.16-18)
Iran Threatens Ballistic Missile Strikes on American Forces, Can Hit 'All U.S. Bases' - Adam Kredo -
Iran beefs up missile program as U.S. targets rocket research
A top Iranian military commander has threatened to launch ballistic missile attacks on U.S. forces in the region amid a public effort by the Islamic Republic to show off its advanced missile capabilities, according to U.S. officials and regional reports.
Iranian leaders disclosed that their advanced ballistic missile technology, which could be used as part of a nuclear weapons program, is sophisticated enough to strike U.S. forces up to nearly 1,300 miles, or 2,000 kilometers, away, which encompasses all U.S. bases in the region.
The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, announced on Tuesday that Iranian missiles can already "cover all U.S. bases in the region" and that Tehran has the capability to increase its missile power even further.
"Based on the policies specified by the Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei], the range of our missiles is limited to 2,000km, but we have the capability to increase the range," IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said following an announcement by the country's supreme leader that Iranian ballistic missile technology would be capped at this distance for the short term.
While pro-Iran activists cheered the announcement as a sign of moderation on Iran's part, U.S officials and experts told the Washington Free Beacon that the distance cap on these missiles is effectively meaningless since the country's current military technology is capable of striking U.S. forces, a position emphasized by Iranian military leaders.
"At present it [this distance] is sufficient because the Americans are in a 2,000 km radius from our country and their attacks will be responded," Jafari was quoted as saying in Iran's state-controlled press outlets.
U.S. military and administration officials told the Free Beacon the United States is cementing multiple plans to counter Iran's ballistic missile threat and will continue to pursue these efforts despite Iranian threats of military violence.
"We have consistently maintained that we will work with our allies to change Iran's malign and destabilizing activities," one senior military official told the Free Beacon.
This includes the development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology, as well as Iran's support for terrorism and Islamic extremism, according to Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a Defense Department spokesperson.
The U.S. defense apparatus also is working to counter Iran's support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, as well as the Islamic Republic's "unrelenting hostility to Israel," according to Rankine-Galloway.
U.S. defense officials remain concerned about Iran's harassment of U.S. naval vessels in the region, "especially in the strategically vital Arabian Gulf," according to the military official.
"In support of this strategy, DoD is reviewing the entire breadth of our security cooperation activities, force posture, and plans," Rankine-Galloway said. "We are identifying new areas where we will work with allies to put pressure on the Iranian regime, neutralize its destabilizing influences, and constrain its aggressive power projection, particularly its support for terrorist groups and militants."
A State Department official told the Free Beacon that Iran's continued pursuit of ballistic missile technology violates United Nations Resolution 2231, which codifies the nuclear agreement and includes bans on Tehran's development of such equipment.
"As we have said before, the Iranian regime's program to develop ballistic missiles continues to be in defiance of UNSCR 2231 and has a destabilizing impact in the region," the official said. "We call on the Iranian regime not to conduct any further ballistic missile launches and related activities."
Congressional critics of the Iran deal continue to maintain the Obama administration misled lawmakers about the nature of restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program, guaranteeing during negotiations over the landmark agreement that such activity would be fully halted.
"While we were told by Obama administration officials that the nuclear deal would lead to improved Iranian behavior, Iran's behavior since reaping the massive amount of front-loaded financial benefits has only seemed to get worse," Rep. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and chair of its National Security Subcommittee, told the Free Beacon.
"Recent threats about missile attacks demonstrate the need for Congress to proceed with additional secondary sanctions," DeSantis said. "The present course is untenable and Iran's threatening behavior is likely to increase in frequency."
Iranian leaders continue to maintain the United States is in violation of the nuclear accord and have emphasized repeatedly that the deal is not open to renegotiation on any front.
"Iran doesn't want, under any conditions, to negotiate with anyone on any paragraphs of the nuclear deal," Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
New congressional efforts to sanction Iran for a range of activities, including its ballistic missile buildup, have been met with threats.
IRGC Commander Jafari vowed last month that any new effort to sanction Tehran would be viewed as a "U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal."
"If the U.S. new sanctions act comes into action, the country [the U.S.] should transfer its regional bases to 2,000 km away, that is as far as the range of Iranian missiles," Jafari said, emphasizing the threat to strike U.S. assets.
In Tuesday remarks, Jafari warned that new sanctions "will increase the Iranian nation's determination to increase its defense and missile power and they [America] will see an increase in the range and precision-striking power of missiles."
Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iran expert and research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Free Beacon that those cheering Iran's announcement that it is capping the distance its missiles can travel are being disingenuous, given that Iran can still hit any U.S. base in the region.
"The IRGC commander says at this time the current range is enough," Ghasseminejad said. "He clarifies it by saying that there are enough Americans to target inside the 2000 km range that Iran does not need to go beyond it at this point."
Any edict by Iran's Supreme Leader "can easily change," Ghasseminejad noted.
"Iran is working on its satellite program which is a cover to develop its ICBM program," he added. "So at the same time that Iran is developing its intercontinental ballistic missile, the head of the terrorist organization, the IRGC, assures the world that Iran has no plan to go beyond 2000 km range even though it has the technical capability."
"How gullible should one be to buy such assurance?" Ghasseminejad asked, noting that the amplified rhetoric from Iran is a sign the threat of new sanctions is a concern for Tehran.
The Iran-Hamas Plan to Destroy Israel - by Khaled Abu Toameh - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11209/iran-hamas-destroy-israel
In a historic reawakening, Iran is once again meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians. This this does not bode well for the future of "reconciliation" between Hamas and Palestinian Authority's Fatah faction run by President Mahmoud Abbas. The re-emergence of Iran, as it pursues its efforts to increase its political and military presence in the region, does not bode well for the future of stability in the Middle East.
The Iranians are urging Hamas to hold on to its weapons in spite of the recent "reconciliation" agreement signed between Hamas and Fatah under the auspices of Egypt. Iran's goal in this move? For Hamas to maintain and enhance its preparation for war against Israel.
A high-level Hamas delegation headed by Saleh Arouri, deputy chairman of Hamas's "political bureau," traveled to Tehran last week to brief Iranian leaders on the "reconciliation" deal with Fatah. During the visit, Iranian leaders praised Hamas for resisting demands (by Fatah) to disarm and relinquish security control over the Gaza Strip.
"We congratulate you on your refusal to abandon your weapons, an issue that you consider as a red line," Ali Velayati, a senior Iranian politician and advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei, told the visiting Hamas officials. "The Palestinian cause is the most important cause of the Islamic world, and after all this time you remain committed to the principle of resistance against the Zionists despite all the pressure you are facing."
Arouri and his colleagues rushed to Tehran to seek the support of the Iranian regime in the wake of demands by Abbas that Hamas allow the Palestinian Authority to assume security control over the Gaza Strip. The "reconciliation" agreement stipulates nothing about the need for Hamas to disarm, and Hamas officials have stressed during the past two weeks that they have no intention of laying down their weapons or dismantling their security apparatus in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas views the demand to disarm as part of an Israeli-American "conspiracy" designed to eliminate the Palestinian "resistance" and thwart the "reconciliation" accord with Abbas's Fatah. Hamas's refusal to disarm is already threatening to spoil the "reconciliation."
Arouri was quoted during his visit to Tehran as saying that Hamas "will not backtrack on the option of defending the Palestinian people." He specified that the "reconciliation" agreement with Fatah would not affect the weapons of the Palestinian "resistance," including Hamas. Hamas, he added, will "confront the Israeli-American conspiracy through national unity and reconciliation and by continuing the resistance. The Palestinian resistance forces will always stick to their weapons and will not lay them down."
Hamas also sees the visit of its top officials to Tehran as a rejection of Israel's demand that it cut off its ties with Iran. Hamas officials say they continue to see their relations with Iran as "strategic and significant," especially in wake of Tehran's financial and military aid to their movement in the Gaza Strip.
By aligning itself with Iran, Hamas is also seeking to resist any demand that it abandon its ideology and charter, which call for the destruction of Israel and oppose any peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
Iranian officials apparently do not like Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority and are not keen on seeing them return to the Gaza Strip. Iran considers Abbas a "traitor" because his Palestinian Authority conducts security coordination with Israel in the West Bank and claims that it is committed to a "peace process" with Israel. This position goes against Iran's wish to destroy the "Zionist entity."
Abbas, for his part, has always considered Iran a threat to his regime as well as to stability in the region. In the past, he has criticized Iran for "meddling" in the internal affairs of the Palestinians by supporting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier this year, the Palestinian Authority strongly condemned Iran after a senior Iranian official accused Abbas of waging war in the Gaza Strip on behalf of Israel. The official's statement came in response to a series of punitive measures imposed by Abbas on the Gaza Strip.
Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, accused Iran of meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians and some Arab countries. He said that Iran's actions "encouraged divisions" among the Palestinians. "Iran must stop feeding civil wars in the Arab world," he said. "Iran must stop using rhetoric that only serves Israel and the enemies of the Arabs."
Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are now convinced that Iran is working towards foiling the "reconciliation" agreement with Hamas. They believe that Iran invited the Hamas leaders to Tehran to pressure them not to lay down its weapons.
Abbas and the Egyptians were probably na�ve to think that Hamas would disarm and allow Abbas loyalists to deploy in the Gaza Strip after the signing of the "reconciliation" agreement. It is possible that some of the Hamas leaders had lied to Abbas and the Egyptians by hinting that Hamas would give up security control of the Gaza Strip.
The Egyptians, who played a major role in brokering the Hamas-Fatah deal, are also believed to be worried about Iran's renewed meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians. Both the Palestinian Authority and Egypt see the visit of the Hamas delegation to Iran as a serious setback to the "reconciliation" agreement and as a sign that Hamas is not sincere about implementing the accord.
Some Palestinian Authority and Hamas officials have recently claimed that Israel was not happy with their "reconciliation" agreement and was doing its utmost to foil it. The truth, however, is that it is Iran and Hamas that are working to thwart the agreement by insisting on maintaining the status quo in the Gaza Strip. Iran's message to Hamas: If you want us to continue providing you with financial and military aid, you must continue to hold on to your weapons and reject demands to disarm.
What is in it for Iran? Iran wants Hamas to retain its security control over the Gaza Strip so that the Iranians can hold onto another power base in the Middle East.
Iran wants Hamas to continue playing the role of a proxy, precisely as Hezbollah functions in Lebanon.
The last thing Iran wants is for the Palestinian Authority security forces to return to the Gaza Strip: that would spoil Tehran's plans to advance its goal of destroying Israel.
Iran's continued support for Hamas stems not out of love for either Hamas or the Palestinians, but from its own interest in consolidating its presence in the Middle East.
Many Palestinians see the "successful" visit of the Hamas officials to Tehran as a major setback for efforts to end the 10-year-long Hamas-Fatah dispute. Similarly, the Egyptians are now wary of the sudden rapprochement between Iran and Hamas and are beginning to ask themselves whether they have been duped by Hamas. An Israeli delegation that visited Cairo on the eve of the signing of the Hamas-Fatah deal is said to have warned the Egyptians that the "reconciliation" would not work unless Hamas disarms and severs its ties with Iran. However, the Egyptians reportedly failed to listen to the Israeli warning.
As for Israel, the US and other Western parties, the lesson to be drawn from the renewal of ties between Hamas and Iran is that Hamas has not changed one iota.
Contrary to delusional hopes, discussed on the heels of the "reconciliation" agreement in Cairo and based on lies and thin air, Hamas is not headed toward moderation and pragmatism. By openly supporting Hamas, Iran is once again demonstrating that it aims to fan the fire in the Middle East and continue to sabotage any prospects for peace.
Wake-Up Call: The Russia-Iran Axis Is an Existential Threat to Israel's Security - by Yigal Carmon -
Iranian forces and Iran-supported militias are expanding in Syria, and are approaching the Israeli border. This is happening with the full support and facilitation of Russia, even though Russia knows very well that Iran's aim is to fight the State of Israel and eradicate it - and that its expansion in Syria will significantly advance that aim.
While Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov calls Israel's demand that the Iranians maintain a distance of 40 kilometers from its border "not realistic" - even though Iran has come 2,000 kilometers to reach this point - Russian Defense Minister Shoygu has the temerity to come to Israel and entreat it to refrain from defending itself.
The Russians believe that they can mislead Jerusalem. But so far, Israel has elected to act according to facts, rather than being taken in by Russian duplicity. Israel, therefore, is striking Syrian targets that endanger the Jewish state.
While Syria and Iran enjoy full Russian support, Israel lacks US backing against the Russia-Iran threat. The US does not even stand up for itself in Syria - just a few days ago, Russia, like a rogue state, violated the deconfliction zone agreement that it itself had signed with the US. Therefore, Iran's expansion into all of Syria up to the Israeli border will soon be completed, with the full support of Russia - and with an eventual withdrawal of all US forces from Syria.
Senior Iranian officials and military commanders have already clarified that after Syria, Israel is next.
Israel will have to fight its war against the Iran-Russia-Syria axis alone. It will need America's diplomatic backing, military equipment and economic assistance, but never American troops. Yet as matters stand, the actual US strategy vis-�-vis Iran's expansion in the region is contrary to its rhetoric, which opposes this expansion (the US agreed, both in the Astana talks and in the deconfliction zones agreement with Russia, to legitimize Iran's presence in Syria).
This means that American support for Israel against the Iran-Russia axis is not assured. The US' Russia policy also does not guarantee that the US will stand with Israel against the Iranian threat that is enabled by Russia.
Israel is well equipped to answer existential threats if it must - even if they are either directly or indirectly Russian. At the same time, Russia's military power may prove to be overestimated. Russia acts as if it is a world power, but its advanced weaponry may fail against Israeli-American technological superiority. This may be why Russia is in no hurry to launch its missiles when Israel strikes in Syria. President Obama even called Russia a regional power.
This is not to say that there is no existential threat to Israel. Clearly, the Iran-Russia-Syria-Hezbollah axis does pose such a threat, but Israel can overcome it - if we must. However, the Jewish state's ability to face the threat depends on early recognition that Russia is part of the enemy axis.
The inability of many in Israel and the West to perceive Russia as the enemy stems from the belief that Russia has no reason in the world to be Israel's enemy. Therefore, they ignore what they see happening in Syria, and instead provide complicated explanations about an inherent conflict of interests between Russia and Iran.
This is a psychological failing from which Israel suffered bitterly in its history, as have other nations.
So why would Russia align itself politically and strategically with Iran?
Russia views itself as a superpower that is fighting to reclaim its former status. Indeed, for Russia, the enemy is not Israel. Russia's true adversary is the US, and Israel is an historic ally of that adversary. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, an increasingly embittered Russia has escalated its attempts to regain its past glory. The Russian regime hates the US.
But Russia cannot fight the US directly. America is in the North Sea, and the best that Russia can do is dispatch planes to buzz the US Navy there. NATO is expanding eastwards, and Russia's forces are no match for it - as attested to by General Staff Col. (ret.) Mikhail Khoradenok on Russian television, to the dismay of his audience: "We have 200 warplanes, while NATO has 3,800. We have 1,600 armored vehicles and APCs, while NATO has more than 20,000... Thus, anyone who talks about our capability to wage a conventional war against NATO is clearly too hotheaded" (see MEMRI Russian Media Project Clip #5902, February 14, 2017). Russia's single antiquated smoke-belching aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is also no match for the US Navy, with its 10 advanced carriers.
Russia cannot take on America directly, and therefore, it is using Iran as its proxy to humiliate America, undermine its status and expel it from the region. At the same time, Russia can use Iran as a bargaining chip to obtain what it needs the most: a lifting of the sanctions that were imposed after Russia annexed Crimea and dismembered Ukraine. Russian regime-affiliated think tanks and media outlets explicitly stated in early 2017 that Russia's alliance with Iran could be a bargaining chip.
Unless and until Russia and the West strike a deal on lifting these sanctions in exchange for Russia's abandoning its alliance with Iran - which is completely unrealistic - Russia will cling to this alliance. This is because Iran reinforces Russia's superpower aspirations and pretensions, and shares, and serves, Russia's drive to humiliate and undermine the US.
Any harm done to Israel in the process does not figure in Russia's strategic considerations vis-�-vis the US. Worse, even if Russia were to change direction at any time in the future, Iran's Russia-enabled expansion in Syria - and its proximity to Israel - will remain, and will serve as the Islamic Republic's launching pad for its war against Israel.
Russia is also making it possible for Iran to evade inspection of its nuclear program, to which it is subject under the JCPOA. This adds a nuclear element to the existential threat posed by Russia to Israel, as follows:
A. Iran's inventory of 8.5 tons of enriched uranium, shipped out of Iran to Russia in December 2015 in accordance with the JCPOA, has gone missing in Russia. This was attested to by the Obama administration's State Department lead coordinator on Iran, Stephen Mull, at a February 11, 2016 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, where he said: "It has not yet been decided where exactly Russia will put this information [sic]." But under questioning, Mull acknowledged that Washington had not verified the Iranian shipment.
B. The most egregious example of Russia's facilitation of Tehran's development of nuclear weapons capability is its support of Iran's refusal to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections, in accordance with Section T of the JCPOA, which prohibits Iran from "designing, developing, fabricating, acquiring, or using multi-point explosive detonation systems suitable for a nuclear explosive device" and also from "designing, developing, fabricating, acquiring, or using explosive diagnostic systems (streak cameras, framing cameras and flash x-ray cameras)" - unless these activities are "approved by the Joint Commission for non-nuclear purposes" and "subject to monitoring."
Iran refuses to allow such monitoring, and Russia supports Iran in its refusal. Russia claims, in a preposterous argument, that the IAEA is not authorized to deal with this part of the JCPOA. Its stance was illustrated in October 20, 2017, remarks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference: "It is impossible to strengthen what does not exist. The IAEA has no mandate to verify Section T."
Thus, Russia's sabotage of the implementation of sections of the JCPOA, and its claim that Iran's 8.5-ton inventory of enriched uranium has gone missing, contribute directly to Iran's unhindered ability to develop a nuclear weapons capacity.
Iran & Terror Tunnels In A Time Of Palestinian Unity - Michael Friedson & Charles Bybelezer -
Questions emerge as to Iran's role in Gaza as Abbas set to take over security control of Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday destroyed a subterranean attack tunnel stretching east from the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, reaching within a mile of the Kibbutz Kissufim border community. According to military officials, construction of the tunnel, which was ongoing, began only after conclusion of the seven-week war against Hamas in 2014. The IDF did not reveal who dug the passageway but stressed that it ultimately holds Hamas "accountable and responsible" for all violent acts emanating from Gaza as its governing authority.
Seven terrorists were killed in the operation, including two high-ranking members of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Arafat Abu Murshad, its central Gaza commander; and his deputy Hassan Abu Hassanein. Two ranking Hamas members who also perished were believed to have died from asphyxiation after they entered the tunnel to save others who were inside when the Israelis collapsed the structure.
The Israeli security echelon is evaluating a number of perplexities stemming from the mission, including whether the presence of both high-ranking Hamas and senior Islamic Jihad loyalists indicates a new level of cooperation presumably tied to the Iranians, with whom Hamas is striving to build its relationship. Earlier this month a Hamas delegation visited Tehran seeking closer ties and more funding to support its military ambitions against the Jewish state. One distinct possibility is taking "good-cop; bad-cop" to the next level with Hamas camouflaging its involvement in terror in order not to destroy the reconciliation with Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, and thereby sacrificing its place in the Palestinian unified government. Islamic Jihad would be the ideal partner for such a scheme.
For Iran, all scenarios appear to be "win-win." As it extends its reach into Gaza it is consolidating its control over the Lebanese government via the Hezbollah terrorist organization which also provides inroads into southern Syria.
Pointedly, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned "the bloodthirsty Zionist regime" for destroying the tunnel, an act he described as precipitated by a desire to "guarantee [Israel's] security by killing Palestinian youths."
According to Yaakov Lappin, an Israeli military correspondent and analyst, "Islamic Jihad has had its own tunnel program since 2014 and this particular one appears to have been part of the network. Even so, it is very unlikely that Hamas did not know about it.
"The two groups have in recent years been cooperating," he explained to The Media Line, "as well as coordinating their responses to Israel based on the understanding that any independent action could pull both groups into an unwanted war."
Lappin raised the possibility that the Islamic Republic directed its underling to purposely dig into Israeli territory as a provocation. "The Iranians would very much like to turn Gaza into one of the bases that is used to target Israel, as well as to use the enclave as a point of entry into the West Bank, which they have been trying to access for years."
Speaking to The Media Line, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yosef Kuperwasser, head of the Regional Research Project at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, explained that, "The effort dates back to the Second Intifada [a period of intense terrorism characterized by Palestinian suicide bombings between 2000 and 2005]. Tehran has attempted to do this through Islamic Jihad, which it created and completely controls, and also by financing Hamas."
Dr. Eitan Shamir, former director of the National Security Doctrine Department in Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs, agrees that Islamic Jihad-and, by extension, Tehran-is asserting itself in the Gaza Strip. "It is clearly taking a more active role, whereas Hamas has recently tried to assume a relatively moderate posture. While both are committed to the 'resistance' [read anti-Israel violence], Hamas is more constrained [by political realities]."
Nevertheless, he told The Media Line that "the [destroyed] tunnel was likely known to Hamas, so it may either be ignoring these actions or perhaps trying to operate under the cover of Islamic Jihad. Overall, Hamas cannot put itself in a position to restrain Islamic Jihad as they are both being financed by the same patron."
The discovery of the attack tunnel-whether constructed with Hamas' tacit approval to achieve plausible deniability or at its explicit directive-creates additional problems when viewed against the backdrop of the unity deal signed with Abbas' Fatah faction.
On the diplomatic front, Jerusalem has repeatedly vowed not to engage in peace negotiations with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas and the latest tunnel incident will likely solidify this position, even as Israel continues to cooperate with Abbas on various levels in the West Bank.
It is, after all, in the interest of both parties to ensure that Hamas in particular is not able to expand the scope of its terror operations. Additionally, U.S. President Donald Trump's soon-to-be-unveiled peace initiative will likely provide a "loophole" to effectively sideline Hamas from any talks, thereby enabling Jerusalem to enter into a process with Abbas while saving face.
The situation, however, is more complex and potentially explosive from a security standpoint with Abbas set to assume total control over Gaza by December 1. There is widespread doubt he can prevent Hamas and Islamic Jihad from continuing to arm themselves to the teeth-with the assistance of Iran-while threatening Israel with attack tunnels.
Lappin reinforced the notion that Hamas will remain the dominant military presence in Gaza for the foreseeable future. "Abbas will not be able to send a sizeable security force into the enclave, but rather the idea is that Hamas' armed wing will pledge allegiance to the unity government. But [the Palestinian leader] is not deluded-he recognizes the limitations."
According to Kuperwasser, "the lesson for Israel is that it should not be tempted to believe in the illusion that the [Fatah-Hamas] agreement will lead to less terrorism from Gaza." He further stressed that Jerusalem "should hold up the [tunnel] example to the international community as evidence of what Hamas is and will continue to be."
Kuperwasser concluded by highlighting the perils of an evolving dynamic in Gaza: "What would have happened if the Palestinian Authority had already assumed responsibility in the Strip and then Islamic Jihad responded to the destroyed tunnel by firing rockets into Israel? And what if there was a further escalation after Israel retaliated?
"Abbas would have been caught in the middle. What would he do in such an impossible situation?"
Bible Prophecy: North Korea And Iran Could Destroy U.S. In Nuclear War, Pastor Greg Laurie Issues Chilling Warning - JohnThomas Didymus -
Greg Laurie, the pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, has issued a chilling warning that biblical prophecy suggests North Korea could wipe out the U.S. in a nuclear attack before the apocalyptic battle of Armageddon begins.
According to Pastor Laurie, God revealed the hidden secrets of the tragic end of the U.S. to him while he was reading prophetic bible passages. While he was meditating on the significance of the prophecies, he suddenly realized that none of the passages talked about a superpower nation existing in the time leading to the apocalyptic end of the world when the final battle of Armageddon will occur. Yet, today we have the U.S. as the sole superpower nation in the world.
Laurie concluded that the silence of the prophetic passages about a superpower nation that can be identified as the U.S. indicates that the country could have been wiped out from the face of the Earth before the end time prophecies begin to be fulfilled.
"Here is what concerns me. We do not find the reigning superpower on the face of the Earth anywhere in the Last Days scenario," Laurie says in a video uploaded to YouTube. "So where is America?"
WATCH VIDEO: https://youtu.be/duhRHr273cI
"I pray we are not out of the picture, because we have been in some kind of nuclear conflict."
However, Laurie notes in the video that the biblical end-time prophecies also do not mention North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-Un. He points out that instead of North Korea, the Bible talks about Iran.
Laurie's conclusion, based on the alleged evidence of biblical prophecy, is that North Korea is not mentioned specifically in the end time prophecies because the country will be allied with Iran in the "Last Days."
According to Laurie, wherever the Bible mentions Iran in its end time prophecies, it could be referring to a coalition of countries led by Iran, and North Korea is one of the countries in the "axis of evil" coalition led by Iran.
"In the Last Days there is no mention of any nation that would resemble North Korea. However, the Bible does speak of Iran in the End Times scenario," Laurie says in the video.
"You might be surprised to know there is an alignment of sorts between North Korea and Iran."
To buttress his argument that the U.S. could soon be wiped out by a coalition of countries that include Iran and North Korea, Laurie refers to a recent comment by John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. According to Laurie, Bolton warned that the U.S. must do everything in its power to prevent the North Koreans from acquiring nuclear weapons, and the missile technology to deliver them, because once they acquire full nuclear capability, Iran will purchase the nuclear devices and missiles from North Korea.
Some believers will probably consider Laurie's warning to be very relevant at a time that tensions have escalated further between the U.S. and North Korea after a senior North Korean official warned the West to take the country's threat to conduct hydrogen bomb tests over the Pacific Ocean "literally."
North Korea also further escalated tensions when it warned that the country is taking Trump's recently announced plan to visit South Korea as a grave security threat, saying it could spark war in the Korean peninsula.
PLEASE VISIT MY WIFE'S WEBSITE. SHE RUNS "YOUNG LIVING" WHICH PROVIDES ALL NATURAL OILS THAT CAN BE USED INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY INCLUDING A DIFFUSER WHICH PUTS AN AMAZING ODOR IN THE AIR. THIS PRODUCT IS SO AMAZING AND KNOW THAT YOU WILL GET YEARS OF ENJOYMENT FROM IT. GO TO HTTP://WWW.YOUNGLIVING.ORG/CDROSES
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.