Israel’s security establishment will reportedly put back on the table — and further develop — plans for a possible military operation to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure; this, in the wake of Friday’s landslide presidential election victory in the Islamic Republic of “hardliner” Ebrahim Raisi.
“There will be no choice but to go back and prepare attack plans for Iran’s nuclear program,” an unnamed senior Israeli source was quoted by local television as saying.
“This will require budgets and the reallocation of resources,” the official added.
According to the report, Israeli leaders assess that the United States is likely to reenter the 2015 nuclear deal in or around August, when Raisi takes office, but that in the interim Tehran will continue to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted on Saturday evening that “Iran’s new president, known as the Butcher of Tehran, is an extremist responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranians. He is committed to the regime’s nuclear ambitions and to its campaign of global terror.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat also posted to social media that Raisi will be the “most extremist president to date.”
“An extremist figure, committed to Iran’s rapidly advancing military nuclear program, his election makes clear Iran’s true malign intentions, and should prompt grave concern among the international community, ”Haiat argued.
Rights groups have called for Raisa to be investigated for his alleged role in the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. He is currently on the US sanctions list.
Former US president Donald Trump in May 2018 withdrew Washington from what is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and re-imposed economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic that had been lifted as part of the agreement with other world powers.
The Palestinian Authority has canceled a deal that called for Israel over the next few months to provide Ramallah with up to 1.4 million coronavirus vaccines. Jerusalem would, in turn, receive a reciprocal amount of product from Pfizer in September and October when the pharmaceutical company is slated to begin shipping to the West Bank some 4 million jabs.
The decision came amid intense criticism of the deal by Palestinians, and after Israel had already delivered a first shipment of about 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines to the PA – whose health minister claimed “[fell] short of meeting the technical criteria.” Israel had reportedly made clear to the Palestinian Authority that the vaccines were set to expire within the next two weeks, ample time to administer them based on comments emanating from Ramallah.
Indeed, Israel’s Health Ministry released a statement insisting that the jabs are “perfectly sound” and “identical in every way to the vaccines currently being given to citizens of Israel.”
For his part, Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said when announcing the deal: “Coronavirus does not recognize borders or differentiate between nations. This important move is in the interest of all sides. I hope and believe,” he continued, “this move will promote cooperation between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in other areas, as well.”
By contrast, some Palestinians criticized the agreement as a “political, health and moral scandal” and accused the PA of pursuing “normalization with the Israeli occupation.”
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi is in the United States for meetings with top US officials. On the agenda are the issues of Gaza-based terrorists, the existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, as well as Hezbollah – the Tehran-backed Lebanese Shiite terrorist group.
It is the first visit from a senior Israeli official to the United States since the establishment of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s new government.
Kochavi will present the actions taken by the IDF in last month’s Guardian of the Walls, with a focus on the adjustments made during the operation in the Gaza Strip as related to intelligence gathering, targeted military strikes and digital interoperability.
The trip was initially supposed to take place in May, but was ultimately rescheduled due to the conflict between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups led by Hamas.
Additionally, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is set to visit US President Joe Biden next week. According to White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, “President Rivlin’s visit will highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Israel and the deep ties between our governments and our people.”
Rivlin’s trip comes just before the end of his seven-year term and serves to highlight his dedication to upholding strong relations between the Jewish state and the United States.
Fashion retailer Zara released a statement condemning one of its Jewish designers following a social media skirmish with a Palestinian model.
Vanessa Perilman, the head designer for the women’s department, initiated the conversation after Qahar Harhash called Israel “evil” and falsely stated that the Jewish state prevents Arabs in Jerusalem from obtaining clean drinking water.
In a private message to Harhash, Perilman wrote that “Israelis don’t teach children to hate nor throw stones at soldiers as your people do.”
After Harhash went public with the exchange, Zara received significant criticism for what Perilman wrote.
Says Zara: “We condemn these comments that do not reflect our core values of respect for one another, and we regret the offense that they have caused.”
Perilman has since apologized to Harhash, stating that she spoke out of “anger” over the backlash Israel received after last month’s conflict with Hamas.
HonestReporting is pleased to inform you that it is organizing a remarkable mission to the Jewish state from October 5-12, 2021.
The behind-the-scenes trip includes:
- 5-star accommodations at the Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
- Exclusive briefings by political, defense and academic leaders
- Tour of the Lebanon border with an anti-terrorism expert
- Insider’s look into the complexities of the disputed West Bank
- Examination of Israel’s vibrant democracy at the Supreme Court
- Meetings with influential journalists… and much more!
For more information, please contact us.
Recommended Reading
- Concessions to Hamas Lead to Violence. Holding Firm Leads to Calm (Prof. Hillel Frisch, Begin-Sadat Institute for Strategic Studies)
- Iran’s Election Farce Raises ‘Regime Change’ Debate Once More (Ben Cohen, Jewish News Syndicate)
- We Must Intensify Our War Against Antisemitism (Danny Danon, Times of Israel)
- Tom Friedman’s Latest Stratagem Is Having US Taxpayers Subsidize Syria’s Assad (Ira Stoll, Algemeiner)
- Israel-Haters Claim Cristiano Ronaldo’s Coca Cola Snub Shows He Hates Israel (Israellycool)
