News

Israel’s Syria operations against Iran and Hizballah goes into next stage

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05/28/2018 Israel is broadening the scope of its war on Iran and Hizballah in Syria to additional regions and even possibly outside its boundaries. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spelled this out at Israel’s weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, May 27: “We are working to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons…against Iran’s consolidated military presence against us… and operating against the transfer of deadly weapons from Syria to Lebanon or their manufacture in Lebanon. All of these weapons are for use against the State of Israel and it is our right – based on the right of self-defense – to prevent …

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WHY THE MONTH OF MAY DID NOT SEE AN ALL-OUT MIDDLE EAST EXPLOSION

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Undoubtedly the ingredients were in place this month that could have led to an explosion. 05/27/2018 On paper, the month of May swept in some of the most combustible elements at one time the region has seen in years. Iran was entrenching itself in Syria and threatening revenge for alleged Israeli attacks on Iranian assets in Syria; US President Donald Trump was going to decide on the future of the Iran nuclear deal; the “Great Return March” was continuing in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinians were to mark Nakba Day, the “Day of Catastrophe,” marking Israel’s independence; the US was …

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REPORT: ISRAEL, IRAN ENGAGE IN INDIRECT NEGOTIATIONS OVER SYRIA FIGHTING

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The report said a Jordanian mediator carried messages between the sides. BY YASSER OKBI/MAARIV, YAMI ROTH / MAARIV MAY 28, 2018 srael and Iran engaged over the weekend in indirect negotiations in Jordan regarding fighting in southwestern Syria, according to a Saudi-owned website. According to the Elaph website, the Iranians pledged not to participate in expected battles in southwestern Syria between President Bashar Assad’s forces and rebel groups, and Israel has made it clear that it will not intervene in the battles in the tri-border area, as long as Hezbollah and the Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias are not involved. The unconfirmed report said the …

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Netanyahu heads to Berlin, Paris next week for talks expected to focus on Iran

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PM will meet with Merkel and Macron for first time since US withdrawal from nuclear deal, a move opposed by Germany and France By TOI STAFF /05/27/2018 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Paris and Berlin next week, his office said Sunday, with talks expected to focus on Iran. The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu will fly to Germany on June 4 to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, before traveling later that day to France for talks with President Emmanuel Macron. He will return to Israel on June 6. The meetings will be Netanyahu’s first with Merkel and Macron since US President …

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HOW IRAQ’S NEW PM COULD UPEND 15 YEARS OF U.S. IRAQ POLICY

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Whether Iraq gets Sadr’s brand of nationalism or Amiri’s brand of Tehran hegemony, Iraq has beguiled US policymakers again. BY SETH J. FRANTZMAN  MAY 27, 2018 Iraqi democracy has gone beyond anything Washington might have imagined when the US planned the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militia once targeted US troops, came in first in the elections in mid-May. He now holds the key to power alongside another Shi’ite strongman and Iranian ally, Hadi al-Amiri. Whether Iraq gets Sadr’s brand of nationalism or Amiri’s brand of Tehran hegemony, Iraq has beguiled US policy-makers again. In April 2004, Coalition Provisional …

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Iran says security forces to clamp-down on protests

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05/27/2018 DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian security forces will “resolutely confront” unrest that could be exploited by the United States and other enemies, a judiciary spokesman said on Sunday, after a wave of protests across the country mainly about economic issues. The likely return of U.S. economic sanctions after Washington withdrew from an Iranian nuclear deal with world powers has triggered labour unrest and protests in Iran in the past few weeks by various groups, including teachers and truckers. Earlier in May, at least two people were killed in the southern city of Kazeroon when protesters set fire to a police …

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Liberman: UN Human Rights Council has become a cheerleader for terrorists

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Defense minister slams investigation ordered by UN’s top human rights body following weeks of violence along Gaza fence 05/19/2018 Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Saturday accused the UN Human Rights Council of becoming a “cheerleader for terrorists,” after the UN’s top human rights body ordered an investigation into the deadly violence along the Gaza border fence this week. Rejecting the probe, Liberman tweeted in Hebrew that “the only investigation that needs to be set up is into how the Human Rights Council became a cheerleader for terrorists.” Israel said Friday that it will not cooperate with the investigation after …

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Iran’s Khamenei: Negotiating With Israel Would Be Big Mistake

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04/04/2018 Any move to negotiate with Israel would be an “unforgivable mistake,” Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, after Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Israelis were entitled to live peacefully on their own land. Saudi Arabia — birthplace of Islam and site of its holiest shrines — does not officially recognize Israel, but Mohammed bin Salman’s comments, quoted in the US magazine The Atlantic, are a further sign of an apparent thawing in bilateral ties. They come as mainly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia faces off against Shi’ite Iran in a regional power struggle. Tehran and Riyadh back opposing sides in …

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Report: Trump backtracks on decision to pull US troops out of Syria

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After consulting with his advisers, US President Donald Trump has reportedly agreed to keep US troops in Syria, backtracking on his announcement last week that the US will be withdrawing from Syria soon. 04/04/2018 US President Donald Trump has reluctantly agreed to keep US troops on Syrian soil after consulting with his advisers, MSNBC reported on Wednesday. The White House issued a statement saying ISIS is “almost completely destroyed,” but added that “the United States and our partners remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that our forces have no already eradicated.” Last week, while speaking in …

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IDF: At least 10 of the 16 killed at Gaza border were members of terror groups

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Army publishes list of names, positions of men shot dead during violence at the security fence; Hamas acknowledges that five of them were gunmen from its military wing By JUDAH ARI GROSS, AGENCIES and TOI STAFF/03/31/2018 The Israeli military on Saturday night identified 10 of the 16 people reported killed during violent protests along the Gaza security fence as members of Palestinian terrorist groups, and published a list of their names and positions in the organizations. On Friday, some 30,000 Palestinians took part in demonstrations along the Gaza border, during which rioters threw rocks and firebombs at Israeli troops on the other side of …

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