Mid-East News

Report: Iran launches its new submarine class

Iran has launched it’s largest submarine in its fleet, a new class of 500 tonne submarine, boosting its naval presence in int’l waters on major oil shipping routes in Strait of Hormuz & the Gulf of Oman.

By Israel Hayom Staff

Iran has apparently launched the largest submarine in its naval fleet, satellite imagery from IHS Jane’s revealed on Wednesday, in what the defense analysis firm called “a major milestone for Iran’s naval industry.”

An Iranian submarine in the Strait of Hormuz – Photo: Reuters

The “approximately 48 meter [131 foot] long and 6 meter [20 foot] wide” Fateh submarine was located by the imagery in the water at the Bostanu shipyard on the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route to and from some of the world’s most important oil economies. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran, submarine

Half the Palestinians think peace process with Israel a mistake

In a poll taken, 66% of Palestinians believe US-brokered negotiations will fail to result in any settlement.

By Haaretz

Roughly half of Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip believe the Palestinian Authority erred in resuming peace negotiations with Israel, a public opinion poll revealed.

Palestinian protesters hold placards showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a demonstration against renewed peace talks with Israel, October 2013.

According to the poll, which was conducted by the East Jerusalem-based Jerusalem Media and Communication Center this month and published on Wednesday, 50.5 percent of respondents think the PA should not have agreed to the renewal of talks. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Gaza, hamas, Palestinian Authority, Palestinians, Peace Process, peace talks, West Bank

Israeli experts: Iran Could Have a Nuclear Device in 5 Weeks

Israeli experts: P5+1 deal leaves Iran capable of producing nuclear weapon within 36 days.

US also allows Tehran to keep building the Arak heavy water & nuclear plant.

By Tova Dvorin

Iran could be armed with a nuclear weapon within just over a month, Maariv reports Thursday. The report was forwarded to diplomats and international experts this week.

Mark 7 nuclear bomb: Photo: National Museum of the United States Air Force

Israeli experts have estimated that Tehran’s schedule for nuclear enrichment has only been delayed for up to two weeks, according to the report, less than one week after a deal has been reached between Western powers and the Iranian government regarding the nuclear program. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran Nuclear Program, Iran Nuclear threat, nuclear bomb, P5+1

Iran’s Sunni neighbors seeking assurances P5+1 nuclear deal not danger to them

Bahrain’s Interior Minister Sheikh al-Khalifa says Iran’s Arab neighbors are still very concerned about Islamic republic’s nuclear program and want assurance that the West’s nuclear deal will indeed enhance regional security in the Gulf.

By Reuters

Iran’s Arab neighbors, deeply worried about Iran’s nuclear program, want assurances that Tehran’s deal with world powers will indeed enhance regional security, Bahrain’s interior minister said on Thursday.

Bahrain’s Interior Minister al-Khalifa – Photo: AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH

US-allied Gulf Arab states, led by top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, have cautiously welcomed the November 24 interim accord as a step towards curbing what they fear is a secret Iranian program to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Gulf states, Iran Nuclear Program, Iran Nuclear threat, P5+1

israelandstuffcom | November 28, 2013

Fascist Nazi-Style Rallies at Arab University is Not New

Memri TV Video reveals that Nazi salutes at Islamic Jihad rally at university campus are part of a wider, historical trend of Nazi glorification.

By Ari Soffer

Just over a week since an American university severed ties with the Hamas-linked Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, after pictures emerged showing a Nazi-style on-campus rally by Islamic Jihad in November, further evidence of fascist-style events at the flagship Palestinian Arab institution has emerged.

Video footage, posted by MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute), shows clips from two separate rallies at Al-Quds University, in which Islamic Jihad members, cheered on by other students, take part in a live performance at which they brandish imitation assault rifles and black Islamist flags, and give Nazi salutes. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Al-Quds University, anti-Israel Propaganda, anti-Semitism, Nazis

israelandstuffcom | November 27, 2013

Thousands bury al-Qaeda terrorists killed by Special Forces

Radical Islamists terrorists killed by Israeli forces in Hebron buried in West Bank.

Both Israel & the PA are concerned by rise of jihadi Salafis in territories.

By the Associated Press

Thousands of mourners attended the funerals Wednesday of suspected Palestinian terrorists who were killed in an IDF raid in the West Bank Tuesday.

Yamam, urban special forces – MAGAV training film screenshot

The three were jihadi Salafis, or followers of a violent stream of puritanical Islam, and had planned attacks on Israelis and on the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian self-rule government in the West Bank, said Lt. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: IDF, MAGAV, Palestinian terrorists, Salafis

israelandstuffcom | November 27, 2013

Teheran Reports its Construction Will Continue at Arak Nuclear Site

Referring to loophole in deal with West, Iran’s FM Zarif says “no new nuclear fuel will be produced,” and no new components will be installed, but Islamic Republic will continue building the heavy-water reactor.

By REUTERS

DUBAI – Iran will press on with construction at a nuclear reactor site at Arak, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said on Wednesday, despite an agreement with Western powers to halt activity.

A general view of the Arak heavy-water project, 190 km (120 miles) southwest of Tehran – Photo: REUTERS

The uncompleted heavy-water research reactor emerged as one of several crucial issues in negotiations in Geneva last week, when Iran agreed with six world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program for six months in return for limited sanctions relief. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran Nuclear Program

israelandstuffcom | November 27, 2013

White House Tells Congress New Sanctions May Kill Diplomatic Talks with Iran

Secretary of State John Kerry warns congressmen that passing additional sanctions on Iran may jeopardize White House negotiations on Iranian nuclear program.

By Elad Benari

The U.S. administration on Tuesday stepped up its battle to thwart moves by lawmakers to tighten sanctions on Iran, AFP reports.

The administration warned that passing new sanctions on Iran would jeopardize tough negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Secretary of State John Kerry videotaped a message to members of Congress warning against any new sanctions during the six-month period of talks foreseen by a deal struck last weekend in Geneva.

“He certainly understands that this will be a vigorous debate, though he believes that everything doesn’t have to be a showdown,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki was quoted as having told reporters. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran, Iran deal, sanction, US Congress, US Iran

israelandstuffcom | November 26, 2013

Palestinian “Resignations” and their exploitation of the Peace Process

Erekat & other PLO officials who kept quitting (Mahmoud Abbas) were hoping that the Americans & Europeans would “freak out” at the thought of losing Palestinian “peace partners”, prompting them to exert pressure on Israel to make concessions.

By Khaled Abu Toameh

Since the signing of the Oslo Accords 20 years ago, PLO leaders and officials have threatened to resign each time they wanted something from the international community or Israel.

Saeb Erekat, the PLO’s chief negotiator, addresses the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, 2013. – Image source: World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell

Saeb Erekat, the chief PLO negotiator, who is currently heading the PLO negotiating team with Israel, tendered his last “resignation” earlier this month in protest against “continued settlement construction.”

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Peace Process, PLO

israelandstuffcom | November 26, 2013

Hezbollah applauds nuclear deal as ‘major victory’ for Teheran

Hezbollah announcement reports interim deal that Western leaders struck with Iran in Geneva is a ‘defeat for the enemies’ of the region.

By Reuters

Lebanon‘s Hezbollah on Monday hailed a nuclear deal between its patron Iran and world powers as “a major victory” for Tehran.

Feb. 25, 2010 file photo of Hezbollah leader sheik Hassan Nasrallah speaking with Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Iran’s then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. – Photo: AP

The agreement, struck over the weekend, will see some sanctions that were imposed on Iran over its nuclear program eased in exchange for Tehran halting some of its most sensitive atomic work. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Hezbollah, Iran, Iran Nuclear Program, Lebanon

israelandstuffcom | November 25, 2013

Despite Nazi similarities, Bard College decides to stay with Al-Quds

Bard College in New York, says it will maintain affiliation with Al-Quds despite Nazi style rally held by Islamic Jihad.

By HENRY ROME

The US university with the closest ties to Al-Quds University, Bard College in New York, has announced it will continue its partnership, despite two other American colleges severing ties with the Palestinian school.

Ward Manor Bard College – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

The decision by Bard – announced late on Friday in a statement to The Jerusalem Post – came only days after Brandeis University and Syracuse University formally ended their ties with Al- Quds, after a rally held by Islamic Jihad on the Al-Quds campus, which its president, Sari Nusseibeh, did not initially condemn. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Al-Quds University, anti-Israel Propaganda, anti-Semitism, Brandeis University, Nazis

Report: Behind the scene ‘Secret US-Iran Talks’ that made the deal

Le Figaro reports the U.S. had a secret channel of talks with Iran held in Oman, that began in September.

It was after Obama informed him of the talks, Netanyahu gave his scathing U.N. speech.

By Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom Staff & The Associated Press

The United States and Iran secretly engaged in a series of high-level, face-to-face talks over the past year, in a high-stakes diplomatic gamble by the Obama administration that paved the way for the historic deal sealed early Sunday in Geneva aimed at slowing Tehran’s nuclear program, The Associated Press has learned.

U.S. diplomat William Burns – Photo: AP

The discussions were kept hidden even from America’s closest friends, including its negotiating partners and Israel, until two months ago, and that may explain how the nuclear accord appeared to come together so quickly after years of stalemate and fierce hostility between Iran and the West.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran, Iran Nuclear Program, Iran Nuclear threat, P5+1

Finnish police charge captain of ship to Gaza on safety violations

The activists were arrested, then deported to their countries of origin & the ship confiscated by Israeli authorities. Now, the captain is being dealt with.

By JTA

Finnish police are investigating whether a captain overloaded a boat that sought to breach Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

‘Estelle’ en route to Gaza – Photo: Ship to Gaza

The captain, Mika Jamian, is suspected of exceeding the maximum number of passengers allowed, according to a report Thursday by the Turun Sonomat daily. It said the ship, the Estelle, carried 30 people when it sailed to Gaza last year although its maximum allowed capacity was 17.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Gaza blockade, Gaza flotilla

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White House releases details of nuclear deal with Iran

Complete document: ‘1st Step Understandings Regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Nuclear Program.’

By Haaretz

Shortly after the announcement of the deal, the White House released a ‘fact sheet’ explaining the agreement and the rationals that directed the U.S. in its negotiating efforts. Included is the full text:

US President Barack Obama speaks in the State Dining Room at the White House Saturday November 23, 2013, in Washington about the nuclear deal between six world powers and Iran (photo credit: AP/Susan Walsh)

US President Barack Obama speaks in the State Dining Room at the White House Saturday November 23, 2013, about the nuclear deal between six world powers and Iran – Photo: AP/Susan Walsh

Fact Sheet: First Step Understandings Regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Nuclear Program

The P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China, facilitated by the European Union) has been engaged in serious and substantive negotiations with Iran with the goal of reaching a verifiable diplomatic resolution that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: IAEA, Iran, Iran Nuclear Program, Iran sanctions, P5+1