- Key Info Missing from UN Report on Iran's Nuclear Program - Russ Read
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, furnished its second report on Iran's nuclear program Friday. The Institute for Science and International Security found that "the IAEA report continues to lack technical details about critical implementation issues....Without this information, an independent determination of whether Iran is complying with the JCPOA is not possible."
The amount of low-enriched uranium (LEU) in Iran's possession is missing from the report, as well as how much has been sent out of Iran, diluted and produced. The report also provides no information as to how many centrifuges are operating in Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. (Daily Caller)
IAEA's Second JCPOA Report: Key Information Still Missing - David Albright, Serena Kelleher-Vergantini, and Andrea Stricker (Institute for Science and International Security)
Iran deal part of Obam's idiotic effort to "normalize relations" with hyenas. Meanwhile....
- Iran's Supreme Leader: Don't Trust, Don't Cooperate with America - Rick Gladstone
Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Friday that trusting or cooperating with the U.S. would be a big mistake, an assertion that seemed to rule out any greater collaboration despite the nuclear deal reached a year ago. "We have many small and big enemies," he said, noting that the worst are the U.S., Britain and Israel, which he described as "the damned and cancerous Zionist regime."
Khamenei appeared to dismiss any possibility of greater coordination with the Americans, exhorting Iranians not to be lulled into "the enemy's deceptive plots to entangle Iran." (New York Times)
- Why Iran's Post-Deal Terror Matters - Jonathan S. Tobin
In the months since the nuclear deal began to be implemented, we've seen more proof that Iran isn't changing. Tehran's decision to continue testing ballistic missiles and the strengthening of the most radical elements in key positions made it clear that it wasn't interested in a rapprochement with the West.
The latest piece of evidence was in the annual State Department report on terrorism covering the year 2015 and released last week. The report concludes: "Iran remained the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015, providing a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world - particularly Hizbullah. Iran continued to be deeply involved in the conflict in Syria...and also in Iraq....In addition, it was implicated for its support to violent Shia opposition group attacks in Bahrain."
We were assured that the U.S. would continue to work against Iran's terrorist activities while trying to make it less dangerous via diplomacy. But Iran doesn't want to get right with the world. Iran is using its terrorist proxies to advance its goal of regional hegemony in the Middle East. (Commentary)
Iran Is as Belligerent as Ever - Joseph I. Lieberman and Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata (Israel Hayom)
- On Friday, July 1, thousands of Iranians will gather in the streets for Quds Day, whose main purpose is to call for "Death to Israel." Israeli, and probably American, flags will be burned. There is no more revealing time for the world to understand the true nature of the Iranian regime than on Quds Day.
- While some want us to see peace, moderation, and even friendship with Iran, the objective truth continues to be Iranian extremism, hostility, and violence.
- The U.S. State Department recently declared again that Iran remains the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. Iran also commits gross human rights violations against its own people.
- Fortunately, nearly one year after the nuclear agreement was signed, there remains considerable wariness and aversion from countries, businesses and financial institutions to broker deals with Tehran because they are not blind to the authoritarian and extremist essence of the ayatollah and his regime. They cannot ignore his bellicose statements, and his regime's vociferous support for such appalling activities as the Holocaust cartoon contest.
- Younger Iranians may dream of reform, but the power remains in the hands of an extremist clerical establishment with hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East.
- Quds Day began in 1979. It is clear 37 years later that Iran has not changed. The global community would be wise to keep its distance from this radical government until such time that it does truly change.
Joseph I. Lieberman is a former U.S. senator and serves as chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran. Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, a former foreign minister of Italy, is a member of the group's advisory board.
- German Intelligence Report Charges Iran Seeking Illegal Nuke, Missile Tech - Benjamin Weinthal
Germany's equivalent of the FBI - the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution - said in its annual report last week that Iran has a "clandestine" effort to seek illicit nuclear technology and equipment from German companies "at what is, even by international standards, a quantitatively high level....It is safe to expect that Iran will continue its intensive procurement activities in Germany using clandestine methods to achieve its objectives."�
German Chancellor Angela Merkel underscored the findings in a statement to parliament, saying, "Iran continued unabated to develop its rocket program in conflict with the relevant provisions of the UN Security Council." (Fox News)
- Iran: Israel's Annihilation Is Imminent
Speaking in Tehran on July 1, Revolutionary Guards Deputy Commander Hossein Salami said: "Today, more than ever, there is fertile ground - with the grace of God - for the annihilation, the wiping out, and the collapse of the Zionist regime. In Lebanon alone, over 100,000 missiles are ready to be launched....These missiles will pierce through space, and will strike at the heart of the Zionist regime. They will prepare the ground for its great collapse in the new era."
"Tens of thousands of other high-precision, long-range missiles, with the necessary destructive capabilities, have been placed in various places throughout the Islamic world. They are just waiting for the command, so that when the trigger is pulled, the accursed black dot will be wiped off the geopolitical map of the world, once and for all."
"Today, unlike in the past, the potential exists to destroy this regime and to make it collapse. The Zionist regime does not have strategic depth on the ground for defense purposes. In some places, the regime has a depth of only 14-24 kilometers. In a single ground attack, its back will be broken." (MEMRI)
Israel and Hamas Get Ready for the Next Round - Yaakov Lappin
On July 8 two years ago, one of Israel's longest wars erupted. In the summer of 2014, the IDF and Hamas in Gaza traded fire for 50 days; Israeli cities came under near daily Hamas rocket attacks, warning sirens rang out and Iron Dome interceptors flooded the skies; IDF ground units moved into the Strip to destroy 34 cross-border tunnels; and the Israel Air Force dropped thousands of bombs at Hamas targets, which had been hidden near residential buildings, hospitals and mosques.
Hamas' armed wing is gradually seizing power in Gaza at the expense of the political wing and it is prepared to engage in an endless series of wars against Israel. During the past two years, Hamas has worked to replenish its rocket stockpiles through its local arms production industry. At the same time, Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system has continued to evolve. The batteries can intercept at greater range, deal with larger salvos, and have additional, classified abilities.
To deal with the tunnel threat, advanced tunnel detection technologies are in place. The IDF Southern Command is also constructing a massive underground barrier on the Gazan border, which should be completed within a year and a half, and stymie the tunnel diggers. (Jerusalem Post)
The Gaza War 2014: The War Israel Did Not Want and the Disaster It Averted - Hirsh Goodman and Dore Gold, eds. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
On July 8 two years ago, one of Israel's longest wars erupted. In the summer of 2014, the IDF and Hamas in Gaza traded fire for 50 days; Israeli cities came under near daily Hamas rocket attacks, warning sirens rang out and Iron Dome interceptors flooded the skies; IDF ground units moved into the Strip to destroy 34 cross-border tunnels; and the Israel Air Force dropped thousands of bombs at Hamas targets, which had been hidden near residential buildings, hospitals and mosques.
Hamas' armed wing is gradually seizing power in Gaza at the expense of the political wing and it is prepared to engage in an endless series of wars against Israel. During the past two years, Hamas has worked to replenish its rocket stockpiles through its local arms production industry. At the same time, Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system has continued to evolve. The batteries can intercept at greater range, deal with larger salvos, and have additional, classified abilities.
To deal with the tunnel threat, advanced tunnel detection technologies are in place. The IDF Southern Command is also constructing a massive underground barrier on the Gazan border, which should be completed within a year and a half, and stymie the tunnel diggers. (Jerusalem Post)
The Gaza War 2014: The War Israel Did Not Want and the Disaster It Averted - Hirsh Goodman and Dore Gold, eds. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
Love and Jihad in Kindergarten - Micah Lakin Avni
Here is a picture from my daughter's nursery school graduation in Tel Aviv this week. In the background is a mural depicting children of various cultures. The Hebrew caption reads: "Children all around the world hold hands." My daughter and her friends are holding traditional Arab drums called Darbuka and demonstrating how they learned to count in Arabic. We are educating our children in the core values of diversity, pluralism, love, and mutual respect.
The second picture is from a kindergarten play in Gaza. Two boys point guns at the head of a third child who kneels on the ground, his hat adorned with a blue and white Star of David. Tragically, this is a typical Palestinian elementary school. They are teaching their children to hate and to kill. As long as radical Islamists continue to teach this to their children, terror will continue to spread throughout the Western world. The writer is the son of Richard Lakin, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Jerusalem in October 2015. (Times of Israel)
Here is a picture from my daughter's nursery school graduation in Tel Aviv this week. In the background is a mural depicting children of various cultures. The Hebrew caption reads: "Children all around the world hold hands." My daughter and her friends are holding traditional Arab drums called Darbuka and demonstrating how they learned to count in Arabic. We are educating our children in the core values of diversity, pluralism, love, and mutual respect.
The second picture is from a kindergarten play in Gaza. Two boys point guns at the head of a third child who kneels on the ground, his hat adorned with a blue and white Star of David. Tragically, this is a typical Palestinian elementary school. They are teaching their children to hate and to kill. As long as radical Islamists continue to teach this to their children, terror will continue to spread throughout the Western world. The writer is the son of Richard Lakin, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Jerusalem in October 2015. (Times of Israel)
Someone tagged this thread joo paranoia. Does anyone wonder who it was?
On Anniversary of Iran Deal, 14 Democratic Senators Call for Sanctions Extension (JTA)
On the anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal, more than a dozen Democratic senators called for an extension of the existing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Sens. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Charles Schumer of New York, along with 12 others, introduced legislation on Thursday to renew the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, which is set to expire at the end of this year.
On the anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal, more than a dozen Democratic senators called for an extension of the existing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Sens. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Charles Schumer of New York, along with 12 others, introduced legislation on Thursday to renew the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, which is set to expire at the end of this year.
