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Iran turned off two surveillance cameras of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that monitored one of its atomic sites, Iranian state television reported Wednesday. The television report described the two International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cameras as monitoring “OLEM enrichment levels and flowmeters.”
The report did not identify the site, but Iran currently is enriching uranium at both its Fordo and Natanz underground nuclear sites.
The move appeared to be a new pressure technique by Tehran as Western nations seek to censure Iran at a meeting this week of the IAEA.
Iran has violated every limit imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal, and now enriches uranium up to 60 percent purity — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. According to the latest IAEA report, the Islamic Republic now has 43.1 kilograms (95 pounds) of 60-percent-enriched uranium.
Israel has said repeatedly that it will not allow Tehran to possess nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, a drone attack on the Iraqi northern city Erbil on Wednesday targeted a Mossad intelligence agency “hit squad”, Iran’s FARS news agency reported. The explosive drone injured three people and damaged several cars.
The attack on Erbil could be in response to reports of assassinations and mysterious deaths of senior Revolutionary Guard officials in Iran in recent weeks.
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Liberia will for the first time open an official office in Jerusalem, which will eventually become its embassy in Israel, local media reported on Wednesday.
The announcement was made by a delegation of Liberian ministers, led by Prime Minister Nathaniel McGill, during a meeting with President Isaac Herzog and Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll.
The West African country does not currently have an embassy in Israel. Liberia is an important ally on the international stage, having regularly sided with Israel, both at the United Nations and at the African Union in recent years.
In other normalization news, Tunisia and Israel reportedly have been exploring the possibility of establishing closer ties despite efforts to derail this thaw in relations.
According to a report in the Arab-language international paper Rai Al-Youm, Tunisian President Kais Saied seeks to move closer to Israel but “Algeria is blocking the country from falling into the normalization process.” The report further said that Tunisia fears that embracing Israel would adversely affect its various commercial and financial interests in Algeria.
Tunisia and Israel had partial diplomatic relations in the 1990s as a result of the Oslo Accords, but the Tunisian diplomatic mission in Israel was shut down in the early 2000s after the start of the Second Intifada.
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Two off-duty Israeli Border Police officers and an Israeli civilian were attacked Wednesday night as they drove past the Arab-majority Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, next to Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus.
The three were chased by a mob into the adjacent French Hill neighborhood, where they were attacked with rocks and pepper spray. At one point, one of the Border Police officers had his weapon stolen, although it was later recovered by police.
The assault came to a close when one of the off-duty officers fired his weapon in the air, dispersing the mob. In response to the attack, additional police forces were deployed in the area, seeking to locate and arrest those responsible.
Wednesday night’s attack is the latest violent occurrence to take place in Jerusalem, which has seen a rise in tensions in recent weeks.
In related news, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced that Israeli security forces had recently arrested 10 Palestinian suspects as well as confiscated illegal weapons during coordinated operations conducted earlier in the week.
These operations are part of an ongoing Israeli effort to crack down on Palestinian terrorism in the wake of a recent spate of terror attacks against citizens.
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Over 2,000 people throughout the United States got together recently to speak out against antisemitism and hate speech through a public art display dubbed “Chalk Over Hate.”
The cooperative exhibit, which was open to anyone who wanted to visually express their outrage at the rise of global antisemitism, was sponsored by Artists 4 Israel and included 34 organizations and 20 partners. One of the partnering organizations was Passages, a Christian organization that provides educational tours of Israel for Christian college and graduate students.
According to Cade Chudy, the associate director of media production at Passages, “This was a refreshingly simple and creative way to try and undo what is causing so much hurt. It was powerful using art as a form of a statement piece in a challenging reality.”
Over the last few years, the United States has seen a rise in antisemitic incidents, including violent attacks against identifiable Jewish targets, calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and the proliferation of classic anti-Jewish motifs.
Recommended Reading
- UN Commission Report Is a Declaration of War on the Jews (Anne Bayefsky, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Energy Is Changing Israel’s Foreign Policy – Opinion (Ariel Ben Solomon, Jerusalem Post)
- Iran’s Drone War Over Iraq Is Getting Dangerous – Analysis (Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post)
- Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor Fans the Flames of Religious War (Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik, Algemeiner)
- Author Isaac Bashevis Singer Wanted You to See These Unearthed Essays (Yaakov Schwartz, Times of Israel)
