יום רביעי, כ׳ אלול תשפ״וWednesday, September 2, 2026
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Rouhani's campaign symbol was a giant golden key that symbolized his ability to open locked doors, but now he may find it difficult to deliver on his promise.
By Shalom Bear
The EU are coming to the realization that Israel is not without strong retaliatory measures in can take in response to the EU's latest anti-Israel directive.
When announcing their anti-Israeli directive, the EU thought they had Israel over the barrel, but Israel clearly has plenty of powerful ammunition it can fire back in return.
American sanctions on trade with Iran have enough exceptions that the Islamic Republic imported from the United States 4,000 tons of goods valued at $18.6 million in the last two months, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported Tuesday. Iran measures the two-month period from March 21, the beginning of its calendar year. The imports of approximately […]
Kerry still pushes for talk and talks on Iran, but the US delegate to the IAEA accuses Iran of “deception.” Kerry admits Iran is bringing a military strike closer to reality.”
By Daniel Pipes
The 25-minute show was the most hare-brained and loony of my 35 years going on television.
By J. E. Dyer
One of the key lessons from a career in Naval Intelligence is that if you can imagine it, someone is trying to do it.
Heralding the worsening of relations between Israel and Europe, the European Union is reportedly mulling the passing of sanctions on Israel, including the restriction of marketing Israeli goods and the boycott of goods made by Jews in Judea and Samaria – as punishment for Israel’s decision to develop additional housing in areas Palestinians say should be theirs.
The US Senate approved a massive $631 billion defense bill authorizing new funds for weapons, air and sea craft, and pay raises for military officials.
By JTA
The Obama administration made a last-minute effort to kill the amendment.
I am beginning to wonder in whose service is B'tselem.
When Bibi Netanyahu addressed the U.N. and challenged the world to take a tough stance on Iran, his call to draw a red line met with comments on his artistic ability and mixed reviews on his political insights. One can argue that the Europeans take the threat of Iran seriously. The European Union imposed its toughest sanctions on […]
President Obama on Friday renewed America's 33-year-old state of emergency against Iran.
After the Europeans pulled the plug on Iranian satellite transmissions because of the sanctions against Iran, Iranian stations are back on the air. The Iranians have reportedly transferred their transmissions over to a Russian satellite, once again bypassing the sanctions against them. The Wall Street Journal reports that up until October 15, IRIB (Iran's broadcast […]
There’s no question Iran’s corrupt and abusive regime is feeling the bite of tough new sanctions. These sanctions are our only hope short of armed conflict of stopping Iran – the world’s number one sponsor of terror and single greatest threat to the state of Israel – from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Stop the Bomb, a European coalition which works towards the enactment of economic and political sanctions against the Iranian Islamist regime, has criticized the lack of action by the Austrian authorities.
Netanyahu will meet with Hollande at 7 AM, NY time, and will focus mainly on the Iranian nuclear program, two weeks after the European Union imposed additional sanctions against Iran. Netanyahu will most likely find in Hollande a sympathetic ally, as France is one of the leading countries in demanding imposing further sanctions against Iran.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti stood behind Europe’s imposition of sanctions against Iran, saying they are “inflicting pain” against the country which has chosen to continue with its nuclear program rather than put an end to international critique and ostracism. Speaking during a visit to Jerusalem alongside Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Monti said "Israel's security […]
In my last blog, I called attention to a report that the US and Iran had made a secret agreement to end sanctions in return for a halt or pause in uranium enrichment. I suggested that this could be an “October Surprise:” the Obama campaign could claim that the President’s policy of partial sanctions and “tough diplomacy” had forced the Iranians to back down from their march toward nuclear weapons.
Can we expect an October Surprise this year? We may already have one brewing. A former CIA operative calling himself “Reza Khalili” and claiming to have been an agent inside the Iranian Revolutionary Guards organization, who has previously made skeptically-received claims that Iran had already produced 90% enriched uranium, is now saying that the Obama Administration has struck a deal with the Iranian regime that will shortly be announced:
By Tibbi Singer
She caught him "red-handed," and immediately filed a divorce case with the chief rabbinate, except he is refusing to divorce her.
Because of concern for scuttling a major telecommunications deal with Iran, Sweden will oppose any additional sanctions by the European Union against the country, according to a report in Haaretz.
By JTA
Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan clashed over Iran’s nuclear program during their televised debate. Ryan assailed President Obama’s approach to the issue in Thursday night's vice presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. The Wisconsin congressman accused administration officials of sending "mixed signals" to Iran about U.S. […]
By Elad Benari and Annie Lubin
Iran will not back down on its nuclear program despite the problems caused by Western sanctions, including a dramatic slide in the value of its currency, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday.
In an interview on “60 Minutes” this past Sunday, President Obama was asked about his very public spat with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the latter’s call for the U.S. to set “red lines” for Iran’s nuclear advance which, if crossed, would trigger an American military response coordinated with Israel and perhaps others.
By JTA
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly endorsed language that sets a red line for Iran "nuclear capability."
The U.S. reiterated its rejection of Israel's call for "clear red lines." Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, saying those "who refuse to put red lines in front of Iran, don't have a moral right to put a red light in front of Israel." Here is the Prime Minister in his own words - responding to a reporter's question about the State Department's position:
Haim Saban, a proud Jew, staunch supporter of Israel, and noted philanthropist, nevertheless parses President Obama’s record on Israel in The New York Times to deliver a sanitized rendition of a President whose relationship with the Jewish state is unreliable at best and troubling at worst, writes Congressional candidate Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
Iran is involved in hectic attempts to lower the insurance costs for its oil shipments, and, apparently these attempts are working. The U.S. and European countries are aware of the latest developments, and have begun to demand penalties for Asian countries attempting to avoid the sanctions. Many analysts predict, however, that the U.S. is not planning to enforce the sanctions with real, tough measures against countries like Japan or China.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi this afternoon, reiterating his call on the international community to “set a clear redline for Iran” as well as for economic sanctions “to be intensified.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Iran a “disgrace” to humanity, during a meeting with the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Germany, David McAllister.
Alan Dershowitz writes that President Obama must make it clear that he has rejected the view of those who are prepared to contain a nuclear Iran and that he will indeed employ military action if that is the only option other than a nuclear Iran.
On January 30, 1968, in the midst of the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese soldiers launched a coordinated attack on 100 cities across South Vietnam against the forces of the United States, South Vietnam and their allies.
“They do not think it’s possible. They do not think it’s in the cards. I think that is one of the reasons diplomacy has failed – and it has failed,” he said.
By JTA
Three U.S. lawmakers urged the Obama administration to take action against two ship registry companies that they claim have violated Iran sanctions. Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter Tuesday to President Obama asking him to designate the United Arab Emirates-based Tanzania Zanzibar International Register of Shipping and the Singapore-based Tuvalu […]
A reporter mentioned to White House Spokesman Jay Carney yesterday's scoop in Ha'aretz, which cited Western diplomats and high level Israeli officials about the special National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear program submitted recently to President Obama, which is almost a word for word copy of the Israeli intelligence assessment. But State Dept. Spokesman Patrick Ventrell confirmed that the U.S. is concerned with the possibility of Iran attacking its Gulf neighbors.
Every few months, when the Israelis sense that US resolve in the sanctions department is weakening, or the Iranians enrich uranium to new levels, they ratchet up the rhetoric without any proper coordination, and cause political problems for the US President. This trick works because it forces Obama to prove that he is strong by pushing harder for stronger sanctions or else face the ire of potential voters and donors.
By JTA
(New Jersey Jewish News) – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed into law new sanctions against Iran that prohibit public contracts with any company or person that invests in Iran’s energy and finance sectors. Christie shared the announcement of the new legislation in remarks at a gala in Whippany on Tuesdasy celebrating the merger that […]
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that if Iran does not negotiate acceptable limits on its nuclear program, it could face U.S. military action in tended to stop it from developing a nuclear bomb.
Under the final version of the enhanced sanctions bill, the president has considerable leeway to postpone sanctions on insurers in order to give them time to comply. Also omitted from the final version are sanctions that congressional hard-liners had sought on individuals associated with SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, as long as the body continues to deal with Iran's central bank.
Dan Senor, Mitt Romney's national security aide, spoke to reporters shortly before the Presidential hopeful was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Senor was quoted as saying: "If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision."
A few hours after a report by MK Plesner's committee on "equal share in burden" was made public Wednesday morning, coalition partner Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz convened members of his faction to say that he expects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the committee's recommendations within a few days days. "The decision before us is a crucial decision for Israel," he stressed.
With tougher sanctions by the European Union taking effect, Iran announced new missile tests and threatened to obliterate Israel. The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps launched missiles with ranges of 300, 500, 800, and 1,300 kilometers, the Mehr agency reported on Tuesday.
The most recent round of sanctions is part of the West's determined effort to halt Iran's contentious nuclear program without resorting to force. But Iran struck a belligerent tone, with Iran's central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani telling the semi-official Mehr News Agency that "we are implementing programs to counter sanctions and we will confront these malicious policies."
The Plesner Committee, tasked with crafting an alternative to the Tal Law for haredi service in Israel, is reportedly drafting a proposal which would defer the enlistment of haredi men till age 22, offer financial incentives to yeshivot that have younger enlistment rates, and begin to levy economic sanctions on haredim who don't enlist by age 23.
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States realize that “effective sanctions” is a contradiction-in-terms, since Russia and China, as well as India and Japan, and probably parts of Europe, do not cooperate with the US. Forty years of diplomacy and sanctions have paved the road to a nuclear North Korea and are paving the road to a nuclear Iran.
The world famous economist John Kenneth Galbraith said it best: “There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy but to one there is no exception. When an official reports that talks were useful, it can safely be concluded that nothing was accomplished.”
Western diplomats continue to accuse Iran of foot-dragging and obfuscation, noting that the five-point proposal presented by the Islamic Republic in Baghdad last month calls for discussions on matters that are tangential to the nuclear issue. Yet Western diplomats continue to hold out hope that Iran will finally "engage seriously" the proposal that the six-nation bloc made last month.
By Avi Jorisch
The United States and its allies have all the tools necessary to punish the banks, corporations and charities helping Iran achieve nuclearization. If we are truly going to stop Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, we must use as many of the bows in our quiver as possible.
US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence David Cohen, visiting Israel to coordinate sanctions policy with senior Israeli security, discussed plans to impose additional sanctions on Iran in the summer. In an interview with Haaretz, Cohen said: “If we don't get a breakthrough in Moscow there is no question we will continue to ratchet up the pressure."
If you were PM Netanyahu and were deciding whether you could entrust the West in general, and this US administration in particular, with the physical survival of your country, what would you do?
Iranian officials and media painted the six-nation bloc as the source of intransigence and focused its ire specifically at America. "We believe the reason they are not able to reach a result is America. The P5+1 came to Baghdad without a clear mandate so we think the atmosphere is difficult," an Iranian delegate told Reuters.
The current round of negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran will not enhance Israel’s security. Rather, they will do the opposite. They represent a strategy of appeasement rather than the use of power. What should happen is that the West should deliver a credible ultimatum to fully dismantle the program or face sharply increased sanctions — or, ultimately, military action.
The US Senate will consider a new sanctions package against Iran on Thursday, in which oil and economic embargos will be considered in order to force Iran to abandon its nuclear development program. In the meantime, the US and Israel prepare for the possibility of a military strike on Iran.
According to Reuters, a confidential report on Iran sanctions-busting says Syria continues to receive Iranian arms shipments that violate a U.N. Security Council ban on weapons exports by Iran. The new report, by a panel of experts on monitoring sanctions, submitted to the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee, also details Iranians' efforts to circumvent sanctions […]
By JTA
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton that Iran must agree to halt all uranium enrichment in upcoming talks. Ashton was in Jerusalem on Wednesday to brief Netanyahu in the run-up to the second round of nuclear talks with Iran scheduled for May 23 in Baghdad. Netanyahu also accused Iran […]
According to the contract signed in 2007, Russia committed to supplying Iran with at least five S-300 air-defense systems. But Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared in September 2010 that selling the missile systems to Iran would contravene UN Security Council Resolution 1929.
The likelihood of Iran complying with its commitments is minimal. But there would be hundreds if not thousands of hours, days and weeks of new negotiations over whether and how the agreement is holding up. Once a deal is struck, the Western powers will be loath to cancel it, even when they know Iran is cheating.
The general secretary of Switzerland’s Jewish community has reprimanded the Swiss government for failing to enact sanctions against Iran, despite full implementation by the EU and US.
By Ron Kampeas
The Republican primaries are effectively over, and gone with them is the sharp-edged rhetoric and departures from past U.S. policy on the Middle East.
A war between Israel and Iran is not something that may or may not occur in the future. It is in progress now.
RT.com reports that: Ayatollah Khamenei, the highest authority figure within the Islamic Republic of Iran, is publicly applauding US President Barack Obama over the American commander-in-chief’s insistence in postponing any military pressure overseas. Although Israel and America have both expressed concern over the possibility of a nuclear warhead procurement program in Iran, President Obama has […]
Reuters reports that French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe voiced skepticism on Wednesday that resumed talks between the six world powers and Iran would succeed. He said Tehran was not sincerely willing to negotiate about the future of its nuclear program. "I am a little skeptical ... I think Iran continues to be two-faced," Juppe said […]
The Senator's position is in stark contrast to the current policy of the Obama administration, which seeks to solve the year-old crisis through diplomatic isolation and a sanctions regime intended to prod Assad into stepping down.
For those who have claimed that Obama is anti-Israel and/or weak on Iran, his forceful statements in a recent interview should make them reconsider. I was not surprised by President Obama's strong words, because he said similar things to me in private conversation. And I, for one, am satisfied with the President's words. Now I want to hear them repeated by Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, by Joint Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and by others in the Obama Administration.
Refraining from preemption would gravely destabilize the Mid-East and beyond. The only effective way to prevent Iran’s nuclearization and its devastating cost is to preempt!
It seems like only yesterday that the Obama administration missed no opportunity to declare its solidarity with Israel regarding the threat of a nuclear Iran.
Iran announces halt in oil shipments to Britain and France....Iran is set to start operation at Fordo underground enrichment facility....US and British officials caution against Israeli strike....IDF will deploy Iron Dome battery in Tel Aviv area.
It's time for the realists to acknowledge that Israel not only has a moral and ideological claim to American support, but it also has a claim base on realpolitik.
Israel and Cyprus sign a 'search and rescue' agreement between the two countries, whereby Israeli aircraft will be authorized to enter Cyprus' airspace in the event of disaster, and vice versa.
Obama plays the delaying game while giving a false impression to his gullible supporters – especially liberal American Jews – that he is supposedly doing everything to stop Iran short of military attack.
Iran is one of Taiwan's top sources of crude oil, at 6.8% of total imports.
Move comes in response to Iranian attempts to "conceal transactions of sanctioned parties."
Demonstration at US mission to the UN and Israeli consulate led by a banner reading "No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations."
A discussion about the cost of a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities that reflects skepticism and acquiesces to a nuclear-armed Iran ignores precedents, plays into Iran's hands, and threatens Israel's existence.
Ban is on a two day trip to Israel, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza.
Gabi Ashkenazi says that Israel must 'keep a viable military option on the table.'
Iranian President: "Why should we run away from the negotiations?"
EU outlawing of Iranian oil imports is already hurting the Iranian economy. But will it have an effect beyond that?
King Abdullah reportedly hinted at such measures to get Abbas to talks in Amman.
Russia opposes sanctions and military intervention against Syrian regime.
Total ban on oil imports to begin July 1, 2012.
By Sam Ser
European foreign ministers declared their countries’ intent to embargo oil from the Islamic Republic, beginning as early as July, and freeze the assets of Iran’s central bank
Iran's OPEC governor: Embargo would push Europe "into a deeper crisis."
Republic congressman from Michigan lobbied for a terror sponsor.
Yaalon contrasted Obama's stance with that of France and Britain.
Comments come in wake of Saudi Arabia's assurance to boost oil output.
By JTA
The Obama administration added three companies to those sanctioned for dealing with Iran's energy sector, for the first time targeting a major Chinese Iran trader.
Turkey offers to host next nuclear talks.
By Ron Kampeas
Experts are divided as to the seriousness of the threat to cut off the strait and whether it will lead to war. A direct confrontation between the U.S. and Iran may be inevitable, and that the two countries are headed down that road in “slow motion.”
After months of threatening to impose harsh sanctions on Iran, US President Barack Obama signed into law tough embargos aimed at Iran’s central bank and financial sector.
August 28, 2026 
