Tag Archive for Iran

| October 1, 2013
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Past Israel Amb to U.N. calls it “The Citadel of Hypocrisy”

 

Gillerman says UN has three standards:
1) For democracy
2) For totalitarian states
3) For Israel

By GREER FAY CASHMAN

 

 
Dan Gillerman, a former Israel ambassador to the United Nations refers to that institution as “The Citadel of Hypocrisy.”  Gillerman used the expression twice on Monday night in the course of an address in Herzliya Pituah to ESRA (The English Speaking Residents Association) at a fund raising dinner to benefit ESRA projects on behalf of the Ethiopian community in Netanya.
Dan Gillerman, former Israel ambassador to the United Nations Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

Dan Gillerman, former Israel ambassador to the United Nations Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

Gillerman, who was only the second Israeli after Abba Eban to serve as vice president of the UN General Assembly,  said the UN has three standards – one for democracy, one for totalitarian states and another for Israel.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| September 30, 2013
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Top Israeli official gave instruction to lift gag order on Iranian spy

 

The timing of news about the spy appears to coincide with Netanyahu’s trip to the US where he will attempt to combat Obama’s recent softening & the Western world’s stance on Iran.

By JTA

 

JERUSALEM – The instruction to lift a gag order on the arrest of a spy for Iran came from top Israeli government officials and could be an attempt to combat a softening on Iran.

Ali Mansouri

Ali Mansouri, 58, arrested at Ben Gurion Airport on suspicion of espionage, sits in between guards at the Petah Tikva court – Photo: AFP

The Petah Tikvah Magistrates’ Court on Monday agreed to extend the remand of Iranian-born Ali Mansouri, who traveled throughout Israel as Belgian businessman Alex Mans, for another eight days.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| September 30, 2013
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Peres: ‘All options open on Iran’ just hrs before Netanyahu-Obama meeting

At his visit to the ICJ in The Hague, Israel’s President Peres reported that economic sanctions may have impact but threat of force could be necessary.

By , and

 

 

Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Monday “all options” are being kept open in forcing Iran to give up its nuclear program.

Peres in The Hague

Israel’s President Peres delivers a statement at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday Sept. 30, 2013. – Photo: AP

Speaking at The Hague, Peres said the economic sanctions against Iran now have not dissuaded the country from enriching uranium or building long-range missiles, although it may have affected Tehran’s public statements. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| September 29, 2013
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Iran shows off new attack drone called Shahed-129

The Shahed-129, is Iran’s newest UAV with a range of 1,700 km (1,060 miles), 24-hr non-stop flight capability with the ability to carry up to 8 missiles or bombs.

Tehran is also developing a kamikaze drone.

By The Associated Press & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Iran unveiled two new locally produced unmanned aerial drones over the weekend, one of which it described as its most sophisticated drone to date that can reach much of the Middle East, including Israel.

Shahed-129 – RT Screenshot

On Friday Iranian Revolutionary Guard chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari showcased the Shahed-129, or Witness-129, an unmanned drone with a range of 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles), 24-hour non-stop flight capability and can carry up to eight bombs or missiles.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| September 29, 2013
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Belgian citizen arrested by Shin Bet for spying for Iran

Arrested Belgian suspect reveals to his interrogators that he was promised by Iran some $1 million to spy on Israel.

By Gili Cohen

 

Israel has arrested a Belgian citizen of Iranian extraction on suspicion that he was sent by the Iranian intelligence agency to spy for the Islamic Republic.

Ali Mansouri

Alex Mans, formerly Ali Mansouri, in Tel Aviv. – Photo by Courtesy

The suspect, Alex Mans, was arrested by the Shin Bet security service and Israel Police at Ben-Gurion International Airport on his way out of Israel. The arrest took place two weeks ago but the information was not made public until Sunday. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| September 28, 2013
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1st time since 1979: Obama, Rohani talk on phone, says deal possible

US President Obama says there is a unique opportunity to make progress with the new Iranian gov’t.

By Reuters

 

U.S. President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rohani spoke by phone on Friday, the highest-level contact between the two countries since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and a sign that both sides are serious about reaching a pact on Iran’s nuclear program.

Rohani (Photo by Reuters), and Obama (Photo by AFP).

Rohani (Photo by Reuters), and Obama (Photo by AFP).

Obama had hoped to meet with Rohani earlier this week while both men were in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, but Iran decided a meeting would be too complicated. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| September 25, 2013
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Israel’s PM: Iranian President Trying to Buy Time

Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declares, Iranian President’s speech at the UN was “cynical & full of hypocrisy,” 

By Elad Benari

 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly was “cynical and full of hypocrisy,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday night.

In a statement he released shortly after Rouhani’s speech, Netanyahu said that the speech reflects the Iranian plan, namely to “talk and buy time in order to promote the ability of Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.”

“Rouhani spoke about human rights while Iranian forces are taking part in the massacre of innocent civilians in Syria, he condemned terrorism while the Iranian regime carries out terrorism in dozens of countries around the world,” said Netanyahu, who added that although Rouhani said that nuclear weapons “contradict Iranian morality” a report by the UN’s atomic agency indicates otherwise. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| September 19, 2013
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Iranian President: Teheran seeks peace, but Israel to blame for Mideast instability

Iranian president says Teheran desires ‘peace & friendship,’ but slams Israel as ‘occupier’ that “has brought instability to the region with its war-mongering policies.”

By Reuters

 

 

Iranian President Hassan Rohani, in a television interview, said his country is not seeking war but harshly criticized Israel for bringing “instability” to the Middle East and for questioning his government’s intentions toward nuclear arms.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani speaks to NBC's Ann Curry in Tehran, September 18, 2013.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani speaks to NBC’s Ann Curry in Tehran, September 18, 2013. – Photo: Reuters

The comments from the new Iranian president came during the second part of an interview with NBC News that aired on Thursday, just days before he travels to New York for an appearance at the United Nations. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| September 16, 2013
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Der Spiegel: Rohani ready to close Iran nuclear plant if U.S. halt sanctions

 

Iran’s new atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi, says Tehran is optimistic about the outcome of negotiations with U.S. & Europe.

By and Reuters

 

Iranian president Hassan Rohani is reportedly prepared to shutter the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, as part of a possible deal with the United States and Europe.

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi. – Photo: AP

In exchange, Rohani would seek the removal the harsh economic sanctions facing the Islamic Republic, according to Der Spiegel, the German weekly news magazine.

According to the Der Spiegel report, Rohani plans to announce his offer before the United Nations General Assembly, scheduled for the end of September. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| September 16, 2013
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Israeli NGO threatens to sue Facebook for providing new Iranian ministers’ pages

Shurat Hadin Chief: There is no person or organization in the US who is not bound by the American sanctions against Iran; letter sent to Facebook CEO Zuckerberg.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

 

Shurat Hadin – Legal Action Center on Monday threatened to sue Facebook if it does not immediately and permanently take down a social media site recently provided to “15 Ministers of Iran.”
Facebook screenshot: IsraelandStuff/PP

Facebook screenshot: IsraelandStuff/PP

A letter from Shurat Hadin to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and General Counsel Colin Stretch noted that the State and Government of Iran is under “numerous sanctions by the United States government.”

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Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| September 8, 2013
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Lebanese Report: Syria, Iran & Hezbollah planning regional response to any attack on Syria

Syria, Iran, Hezbollah & other pro-Syrian groups plan to strike targets in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan & Israel should Syria come under attack.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

 

 

Iran, Syria and Hezbollah have set up a military room to coordinate activities in the case the US and other countries attack Syria, according to sources quoted on Friday in the Lebanese Daily Star. The sources confirmed an earlier report by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar that Hezbollah is mobilizing its forces in anticipation of an attack, specifically stating that “tens of thousands” of fighters and reservists have been called up.

Hezbollah members rally in Beirut

Hezbollah members rally in Beirut – Photo: Reuters

“Iran, Syria and Hezbollah don’t have a clear picture about what Americans have planned,” said one diplomat.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| September 8, 2013
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Israel’s PM unimpressed by Iranian greetings for Jewish New Year

Netanyahu said in a statement that the Iranian regime ‘will be judged only by its actions & not by its greetings’

Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday dismissed the significance of reports that the new Iranian president and his foreign minister had both issued greetings to mark the Jewish New Year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Photo: GPO

Twitter messages that appeared to have been issued by newly-elected Hassan Rohani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, wishing Jews a good Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year, which was celebrated this week – made headlines in Israel.

They were a change in tone from Rohani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who left office last month and regularly use to rile Israel by calling for the destruction of the “Zionist entity”. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| September 4, 2013
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Russian President Vladimir Putin warns Obama: Do not attack Syria without UN approval

After comparing recent evidence of Syrian chemical weapons use, to faulty U.S. intel on Iraq in 2003, the Russian president threatens to supply advanced air-defense systems to Assad and elsewhere if America strikes without accepted int’l approval.

By

 

 

President Vladimir Putin warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria but also said Russia “doesn’t exclude” supporting a UN resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people.

Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin – Photo: AP

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press and Russia’s state Channel 1 television, Putin said Moscow has provided some components of the S-300 air defense missile system to Syria but has frozen further shipments. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| August 30, 2013
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Washington Post exposes U.S. counterintelligence operations against Israel

Washington Post revealed top secret files leaked by Snowden that show U.S. spy agencies devoted considerable funds & attention not just on America’s foes, but also to one of its closest allies.

By

 

The United States conducted counterintelligence operations against Iran, China and Cuba, but also against Israel, classified documents obtained by the Washington Post reveled on Thursday.

NSA headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland.

NSA headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland. – Photo: Reuters

 

The top secret 178-page summary for the U.S. government’s National Intelligence Program, which was leaked by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, maps a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| August 22, 2013
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Thai court convicts 2 Iranian terrorists for bomb plot near Israeli embassy

The 2 Iranians were arrested after bomb destroyed their Bangkok apartment less than a km from the Israeli embassy.

By

 

 

Two Iranian men were convicted Thursday of taking part in a botched bomb plot that was exposed last year when an accidental explosion blew apart the Bangkok villa where they were staying.

Bangkok apt - Reuters - Feb 2012

The Bangkok apartment where the bomb exploded. Feb 2012 – Photo: Reuters

Israeli and Thai officials have said the plot was aimed at Israeli diplomats in Bangkok, the capital, though Iran denied the allegations and neither defendant was charged with terrorism or attempting to kill Israelis. Continue Reading »

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