Israel

Israeli Intelligence Pulls Off a Coup and Reveals Iranian Nuke Program

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on Israeli television on Monday night and revealed to the country that the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad pulled off an incredible intelligence coup.

Netanyahu called it the greatest intelligence achievement in history. While that may be stretching it a bit, it is an extraordinary piece of intelligence gathering. What the Israelis did is amazing in the scope of the amount of actual weight and volume. Their agents somehow lifted from right under the Iranian’s noses, the entire archive of the Iranian nuclear program.

“Iran’s leaders repeatedly deny ever pursuing nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said Monday evening at Israel’s Defence Ministry. The Prime Minister was standing in front of blackout curtains which he’d soon pull back.

“Tonight I’m here to tell you one thing: Iran lied.”

“Iran lied about never having a nuclear weapons program,” he said. “One hundred thousand secret files prove it did. Second, even after the deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons knowledge for future use.”

After signing the nuclear deal with the Obama administration, the Iranians moved their entire archive to a non-descript looking warehouse in the Shorabad district of Tehran. But inside the facility which Netanyahu showed the television audience, were a series of massively reinforced safes which the Prime Minister claimed contained over half a ton of binders, written material, presentations and compact discs. Netanyahu claims that the binders contained 55,000 pages of material and the discs another 55,000 more.

Netanyahu then saved the bombshell, “a few weeks ago, Israel obtained half a ton of the material, inside this vault.”

Moving to the right side of the stage, Netanyahu dramatically revealed two black curtains, which he pulled back to reveal two bookcases containing 55,000 pages inside different binders and an additional 55,000 pages stored on 183 Compact Discs.

Netanyahu was speaking in English. His message wasn’t just to his countrymen, although he began and ended his presentation in Hebrew. This was a message to the people of Europe and especially to President Trump. He’s reiterating what has long been known thru intelligence circles but never admitted in the prior administration. If Iran is released from the accord in seven years, in 2025, as the agreement requires, then expect a nuclear Tehran shortly thereafter if not before.

From a breaking SOFREP article by “Eli” on Monday,

One of the documents appears a statement that the original program (Omad) was to be divided into two programs in which one will be conducted openly and transparently while the other under total concealment. In another document the Iranian project director is quoted that, “from now on the program will work under the cover of scientific research for medical reasons.” According to the Israeli Prime Minister, this project is still taking place at the Iranian SPND agency under the direct supervision of the Iranian defense ministry. This organization, previously exposed by the NCRI in 2011 consists of seven different subdivisions or sections, each responsible for specific parts and of Iran’s nuclear weapons research.
Additional information which was highlighted during the press release:

The original objective of Project Omad, which came to a halt in 2003 was to create 5 nuclear warheads
Among the sensitive information was simulations of nuclear weapon explosions.
Maps and additional information regarding possible test sites for nuclear experiments.
The famous Fordow facility already appears in the initial plans of Project Omad.
The manager of Project Omad, which was stopped in 2003 is today the director of the Iranian nuclear program.

With Secretary of State Rex Tillerson removed, the last remnant of opposition to tearing up the Iran deal is gone. President Trump now has National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who were both critical of the Iran deal.

Asked on Monday what his reaction was of the Netanyahu presser, Trump spared few words. “I think if anything what’s happening today and what’s happened over the last little while … has really shown that I’m 100% right” about the deal, Trump said.

The critics of Israel and Netanyahu have already decried this revelation as “no smoking gun” without having seen all of the evidence, which the Prime Minister says was already corroborated by American intelligence agents.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister criticized Netanyahu for his tweet on Monday, saying “BREAKING: The boy who can’t stop crying wolf is at it again. Undeterred by cartoon fiasco at UNGA.”

Zarif tweeted “You can only fool some of the people so many times.”

Mr. Netanyahu concluded his speech with what amounted to a direct address to Washington.

“In a few days President Trump will make a decision on the Iran nuclear deal,” he said. “I am sure he will do the right thing for the United States, the right thing for Israel and the right thing for the world.”

Photos: Wikipedia, AP

Missile Strikes on pro-Assad Forces in Syria Kill Dozens

Many Syrian troops loyal to President Assad and Iranian troops assisting them were killed in a missile strike that targeted several locations.

The Syrian military said facilities in Hama and Aleppo provinces were struck.
It did not say if there were any casualties. But a UK-based monitoring group said four Syrians and 22 foreigners, mostly Iranians, died.
It is not known who was behind the attacks. But Western nations and Israel have previously hit sites in Syria.
Earlier this month, the US, UK and France bombed three facilities they said were associated with the Syrian government’s alleged chemical weapons programme.
Israel is meanwhile alleged to have hit an airbase reportedly serving as an Iranian drone command centre and containing an advanced Iranian air defence system.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will issue a statement on Monday evening on a “significant development” regarding the nuclear deal between Western powers and Iran.
A Syrian military source cited by the official Sana news agency did not identify any specific locations, saying only that the military sites were “exposed… to a new aggression” at 22:30 (19:30 GMT).
The source added that the strikes came after “terrorist organisations” had suffered defeats in the countryside around the capital, Damascus, an apparent reference to the recent recapture of the Eastern Ghouta region from rebel groups.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said one strike appeared to have targeted a depot for surface-to-surface missiles at the 47th Brigade military base, south of the city of Hama.
The pro-opposition Orient News website also reported that large explosions were seen coming from what were believed to be ammunition caches at the base.
Opposition media activist Mohammed Rasheed told the Associated Press that debris from the explosion at the depot struck parts of Hama and that residents of areas near the base fled their homes.
Missiles are also reported to have hit locations in the Salhab area, west of Hama city, and the area surrounding Nairab military airport, which is close to the city of Aleppo and its international airport.

The SOHR reported that 26 soldiers were killed, the majority of them Iranians. Over 60 were injured, several of them seriously and many were still missing. Iranian state-run news services stated that “reports of killed Iranian troops were baseless.”

It is believed but has not been confirmed that the missiles were fired by the Israelis.

To read the entire article from BBC, click here:

Photo courtesy Video Screenshot

Iranian Base in Syria Hit by “Enemy” Missile Attack

A missile attack has hit a series of military bases housing Iranian military forces. One of the bases is said to be the recruitment center for Iranian-based Shiite militias.

“Syria is being exposed to a new aggression with some military bases in rural Hama and Aleppo hit with enemy rockets,” an army source was quoted as saying without elaborating.
Reports from the Syrian opposition said 38 regime soldiers were killed and 57 were injured in the attack, citing media outlets with connections to the regime.
An opposition source said one of the locations hit was an army base known as Brigade 47 near Hama city, widely known as a recruitment center for Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias who fight alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces.
State television did not give a location for the explosions but two residents contacted in eastern Hama countryside said the blasts came from a military base reported to be used by Iranian-backed forces.
“If someone thinks that it is possible to launch missiles to Israeli cities or our aircraft, no doubt we will respond and we will respond very forcefully,” he said at The Jerusalem Post conference in New York when asked by Yaakov Katz, Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post.
“We will keep our freedom of operation in all of Syria. We have no intention to attack Russia or to interfere in domestic Syrian issues. But if somebody thinks that it is possible to launch missiles or to attack Israel or even our aircraft, no doubt we will respond and we will respond very forcefully.”
A clip from Israeli television shows damage to the base where the Iranian forces are recruiting.
Liberman along with other senior Israeli officials have been warning of Iranian entrenchment on the Golan Heights, an area of key strategic importance for the Jewish State, stressing that it is a red line for Jerusalem.
Over the course of Syria’s eight-year long civil war Israel has publicly admitted to having struck over 100 Hezbollah convoys and other Iranian targets in Syria, while keeping mum on hundreds of other strikes attributed to it.

So while Iranian militias were attacking US-backed SDF forces in the north, it appears the Israelis were hitting their bases hard in other locations, including their recruitment centers.

To read the entire article from Jerusalem Post, click here:

Photo courtesy video screenshot

Latest Airstrike Against Syria Appears to be the Israelis

The Syrians were evidently hit with another airstrike early Tuesday morning as Syrian state-run television was airing reports of an Israeli missile attack.

Syrian media and locals reported air strikes and Syrian air defense rockets being launched in response in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to initial reports, the strikes may have targeted Al-Sayrat airbase and rural Homs, as well as areas around Damascus.

Days after US-led airstrikes hit Homs and Damascus on April 14, Syrian Twitter accounts blamed Israel for alleged strikes on Tuesday morning. The first reports emerged around 1:30am. Al Sura Media claimed fighter jets had targeted Syria’s T4 airbase, where Iranian troops are alleged to be present.
Syrian state television showed pictures of a missile that was shot in the air above the base.
State television did not mention three missiles that were fired at Dumair military airport, northeast of Damascus, that pro-Iranian Hezbollah’s media service reported were intercepted by Syrian air defenses.
Opposition sources say Dumair airport is a major air base used in a large-scale military campaign waged by the Syrian army with Russian firepower that regained eastern Ghouta, a rebel enclave on the outskirts of Damascus.
On Monday Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem warned that Iran and Israel are nearing open war as tensions are very high in Syria.
Syria’s Sana Ajel news claimed anti-aircraft units responded to an attack in Shayrat airbase near Homs. That was the same airbase the US struck in 2017 in response to a chemical weapons attack at Khan Sheikhoun.
Reports of strikes at Shayrat airbase and areas south of Damascus were dismissed as rumors by some commentators online. Syria’s regime is gearing up for a battle with ISIS in Yarmouk in southern Damascus, and some said that the sounds of missiles might be related to that conflict.
However, Al-Mayadeen and other pro-regime channels showed video of a strange light, which they claimed was part of the airstrikes, hovering in the sky.

The Pentagon has declared there is “no US military activity near Homs at this time”.

It added: “We do not have additional details to provide.”

To read the entire article from the Jerusalem Post, click here:

Photo : Syrian television screen shot

Israel Prepares For Weeks of Tension After Gaza Incident

The Israeli government is rejecting the charges that it acted with disproportionate violence to the events that took place in Gaza over the weekend.

Israel is bracing for several weeks of military and diplomatic confrontation that began with Friday’s march in the Gaza Strip. The march left 17 Palestinians dead and hundreds more injured, and its protests are expected to continue until May 15, which the Palestinians mark as Nakba Day, the “Day of Catastrophe,” marking Israel’s founding as a modern nation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night congratulated the IDF for defending the borders and making it possible for the country’s citizens to celebrate the Passover Seder quietly.
“Israel acts with firmness and determination to defend its sovereignty and the security of its citizens,” he said in a statement.
An estimated 30,000 Palestinians took part in the Hamas-organized protests, with the IDF saying that those who were shot were either attempting to cross over, plant bombs at or physically harm the fence.
Israeli sources said that except for one “problematic” incident, there are photos and videos to back up the IDF’s claims. This material, the sources said, will be shown to those in the international community who condemned Israel for Friday’s incidents, and accused it of using disproportionate force.
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip “separates a sovereign state from a terrorist organization.”
This fence, the statement said, “separates a state that protects its citizens from murderers who send their people into danger. The fence separates an army that uses force in self-defense and in a focused and proportionate manner, from Hamas, which has for years – including yesterday – been trying to harm millions of Israelis, and which sanctifies murder and death.

While the international community is roundly condemning the Israelis for the actions of its troops, the U.S. has stood behind them. In a statement, the U.S. stated that “Hamas should focus on desperately needed improvements to the lives of Palestinians in Gaza instead of inciting violence against Israel that only increases hardship & undermines chances for peace.”

To read the entire article from Jerusalem Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Satellite Images Show Iran Building Military Base in Syria

The Iranian army is constructing another base in Syria. Recently released satellite images show the base, being constructed by Quds forces, part of the Revolutionary Guards from Iran. The base is located at Jabal Ash Sharqi outside of Damascus.

Two large hangars are visible which the Israelis claim are being used to store missiles that can hit anywhere within Israel. A similar hangar was built in another Iranian base that stored missiles which the Israelis attacked earlier.

Last week, the New York Times reported the locations of dozens of bases in Syria operated by Iranian forces, including a map showing the location of a T4 airbase near Tadmor. Also in the map was the airport of Damascus, which Israel has reportedly attacked on multiple occasions.
Iranian officials openly claim that they are working to build an axis of resistance to Israel and the U.S. in the region. Iranian strategy is based on building ties with local forces who share the same goals.
At the Munich Security Conference last week, Netanyahu warned that Israel would act against Iran if needed. “We will act if necessary not just against Iran’s proxies but against Iran itself,” he said, holding up a piece of an Iranian drone Israel shot down after it infiltrated its territory.
“Iran continues to try to cross those red lines,” said the prime minister. “Last week its brazenness reached new heights, literally new heights. Israel will not allow the Iranian regime to put a noose of terror around our neck.” Netanyahu asked Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was sitting in the crowd: “Do you recognize it? You should, it’s yours. Don’t test us.”

Two weeks ago, the Iranians launched a drone into Israeli airspace that was shot down. It was followed by an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian base where the attack originated from. One Israeli F-16 was shot down as they hit the base with at least six missiles.

To read the entire article from Haaretz, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Palestinian Killed After Attacking IDF Soldiers in Jericho

Israeli Security forces killed a Palestinian man on Thursday in the West Bank after he attacked them, an IDF spokeswoman said. The dead man was identified as Yassin al-Saradih, 33, who attacked Jewish soldiers with an iron bar during a demonstration in Jericho, officials stated.

Saradih was shot and arrested as surveillance video shows IDF soldiers kicking him as he was being led away.

Saradih also tried to seize a soldier’s weapon, according to the army spokeswoman.
The security camera footage does not clearly show an attempt to snatch a weapon.
The soldiers also later found a knife in Saradih’s possession, the spokeswoman added.
The soldiers entered Jericho on Thursday morning to arrest Palestinians wanted by the security services, according to the IDF’s Twitter account.
Ismail al-Masri, Saradih’s brother-in-law, told the official Palestinian Authority news site Wafa that “the soldiers beat Yassin in every part of his body, especially his stomach and back.”
PLO Prisoners Commission chairman Essa Qaraqaa slammed the security forces for killing Saradih.
“This is a crime, an execution and a premeditated murder,” he said in comments published on Wafa. “What happened reflects the brutality and terrorism of those soldiers.”

The Israeli military’s statement said that their troops acted responsibly. “In response to the immediate threat, the troops fired toward the assailant and confronted him from close range and were able to stop him,” the military said.

“A knife was also found in his possession. Troops evacuated him to a hospital to receive medical treatment. His death was later announced. The incident is being reviewed.”

To read the entire article from Jerusalem Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Russian Proxies Upping the Ante in Syria, A Dangerous Precedent

Over the weekend, U.S. airstrikes decimated an attack by a battalion-sized force of fighters loyal to President Bashar Assad supported by tanks and rocket launchers. The pro-Assad forces attacked a coalition U.S. Special Operations, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) base with about 500 pro-Assad troops in eastern Syria.

While the numbers are still unclear, several of the dead were Russian military contractors. Reports are varying from just a handful to as many as 200. The Russian Ministry of Defense doesn’t report contractor deaths and it is a way to keep their “official” casualties down. Especially with President Putin running for re-election soon.

What began as just a series of protests against Assad in 2011, has turned into an international conflict and is now an international quagmire. The Iranians and Russians are supporting Assad as they both try to increase their influence and possibly reap the spoils of the oil fields.

The United States was there at first, simply to rid the country of Islamic State terrorists, but their ties to the Kurds, and deciding to remain in place to counter Iranian influence, and keep Syrian neighbor’s borders secure is a long-term commitment, with a very indistinct end-game plan that sets up US troops for attack. This incident on Saturday may have been the first case of US troops coming under attack, but it most assuredly won’t be the last. The Syrians, Iranians, and Russians all want the U.S. out.

Now Turkey is involved. The U.S. staunch ally for years is attacking Kurdish troops working with U.S. SOF troops in Afrin. The Turkish military launched an offensive against the Kurds who they consider terrorists and now, they too will come in close proximity to U.S. forces.

And if things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Israel, the wildcard in any Middle East conversation is involved. The Iranians launched a drone against Israel and the Israelis responded in true form. After they shot down the drone, they launched a massive attack at a Syrian complex as they are worried, legitimately so about their security.

Make no mistake about any of this. Last week’s attack was a test. And our Special Operators passed. Now we’re going to need our politicians in Washington to pass theirs. Because this is just the first round. Also, don’t be under illusions about these “Russian contractors” possibly going off half-cocked. A “rogue operation?” Please.

These Russian contractors conducted that mission with full knowledge of the Russian MOD and no doubt with President Putin himself. Why? Because unlike the American group that they’re most compared to, Blackwater, headed by Erik Prince, These Russian work for the shadowy Wagner Group which is in essence, just a very thin, deniable extension of the Russian MOD. These Wagner Group contractors have already fought in the Crimea as well as Ukraine.

The Wagner group was founded by retired Lt. Col. Dmitry Utkin, who came into U.S. radar in June after the government watchdogs said the company had recruited former soldiers to join the separatists fighting in Ukraine. Utkin is a close friend of and was photographed a year ago at a Kremlin banquet thrown by Putin to honor military veterans.

So the idea of the Wagner Group leading a force of Syrian with up to 200 former members of the Russian military on a rogue operation? It is ludicrous to even contemplate. A mistake in their navigation perhaps? Nyet again. These troops had to cross a river to get in contact with the SDF and the U.S. operators. As per the agreed upon procedures earlier, the U.S. called the Russians and told them about the incursion. The Russian knew their troops were there and didn’t care. Once they got within about 5 miles of the U.S. coalition base as they advanced on oil fields in the eastern Deir el-Zour province, U.S. aircraft struck them hard.

U.S. commanders on the hotline called the Russians to report that they were hitting the attackers. The Russians continued to play dumb because to actively respond would be to admit their guilt in this farce.

The Russians insisted they would not respond to the attack on the hotline and assured the U.S. that no Russian troops were involved. Putin and the Russian MOD gambled with the lives of their contractors as pawns and left them out in the wind. Officially they claimed that just 25 Syrians were wounded in the attack.

Not so coincidentally, the Iranians launched a drone towards Israel. After the Israelis shot it down, they launched a huge raid at a military complex where the Syrians were stockpiling chemical weapons as well as a command and control unit that Iran was manning.

We don’t know what the end game was for the Syrians and Russians, other than to maybe give the Americans a bloody nose big enough for the in-fighting Congress to call for all of our troops to withdraw while seizing the oil fields in the Deir el-Zour area. Truth be told, the Russians probably didn’t care about the Iranians being hit as they are an unnecessary third party that Putin and Moscow don’t want muddying up their plans for Syria in the first place.

Neither the Americans or Russians were commenting on anything to do with Russians being killed in the attack on the American base. Russian media watchdogs are the ones claiming the higher casualty rates but the Russians were caught red-faced and red-handed on this one and paid the price. The worst they can do right now is to play politics. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that “Americans have taken dangerous unilateral steps.” He never mentioned the U.S. airstrikes but Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, wouldn’t comment on the reports either, saying they needed to be verified.

The Americans are playing it close to the vest as well. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said they had no verification of any Russian casualties, nor Russian involvement.

Putin has to keep this entire fiasco low key for the time being. He is facing a re-election bid on March 18. But this won’t be the last time U.S. troops are in harm’s way in Syria. The Russians, Syrians, Iranians, and/or Turks all want the United States out. This civil war has turned into a powder keg and the politicians need to get it diffused before it blows up in everyone’s faces.

Photo: DOD

Israel Strikes at Syrian Military Complex in Damascus

Israeli air force planes have conducted air strikes at Syrian targets in Damascus, firing missiles at military complexes including one that houses and produces chemical weapons. However, Syrian state-run media reports that military officials said that Syrian air defense systems blocked most of the missiles fired.

.A monitor said ammunition depots in Jamraya were hit. It is the location of a scientific facility where the West suspects chemical weapons are produced.

Israel, which has acknowledged carrying out at least 100 clandestine strikes in Syria since 2011, declined to comment.
Many of the Israeli strikes are believed to been aimed at preventing transfers of advanced weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
The Iran-backed group fought a war with Israel in 2006 and has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
The Syrian military statement said Israeli warplanes had fired several missiles from inside Lebanese airspace at a military position in the Damascus countryside at 03:42 (01:42 GMT) on Wednesday.
“The general command of the armed forces holds Israel fully responsible for the dangerous consequences of its repeated, aggressive and uncalculated adventures,” it added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said some of the missiles struck ammunition depots in Jamraya.
The area – also known as Dummar – is home to several military facilities but also a branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC).
A Western intelligence agency told the BBC last year that three branches of the SSRC, including the one at Jamraya, were being used to produce chemical munitions in violation of a deal that saw Mr Assad agree to destroy his chemical arsenal after a deadly Sarin attack in Damascus in 2013.
The SSRC is promoted by the Syrian government as a civilian research institute but the US accuses the agency of focusing on the development of non-conventional weapons and the means to deliver them.
Wednesday’s missile strike came after medics and Western powers accused Syrian government forces of dropping bombs filled with chlorine on rebel-held areas six times over the past month.

Syrian regime officials deny that they are producing or using chemical weapons, calling the accusations “lies”, but UN war crimes investigators are looking into the allegations.

To read the entire article from the BBC, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Netanyahu Sidesteps Talk of Possible US Aid Cut to Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin chose his words carefully on Sunday as he discussed a proposed funding halt for Palestinian refugees by U.S. President Donald Trump although he once again called for the U.N. agency that is supposed to help Palestinian refugees to be dismantled.

Netanyahu’s comments were guarded because although he wants to support Trump and the U.S., his closest ally, he also knows that cutting off of funds will further drive the Palestinian people into hardship which would no doubt push the militants into more conflict with Israel

With Palestinians seething over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition last month of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he threatened on Tuesday to withhold aid money, accusing them of being “no longer willing to talk peace”.
On Friday, in a report denied by a State Department official, the Axios news site said Washington had frozen $125 million in funding for UNRWA. The U.N. agency, founded in 1949 to aid Palestinian refugees, is a main provider of educational and health services in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said UNRWA was “an organization that perpetuates the Palestinian problem.”
“It also enshrines the narrative of the so-called ‘right of return’. Therefore, UNRWA should pass from the world,” he told a weekly cabinet meeting.
Praising Trump’s “critical approach” on the aid issue, Netanyahu steered clear of advocating a suspension of funding for the Palestinians. He said U.N. money for them should be transferred gradually to its global refugee agency UNHCR “with clear criteria for supporting genuine refugees and not fictitious ones, as is happening today under UNRWA.”

Despite Arab and Palestinian protests over where the U.S. chooses for its embassy, the United States is the U.N.’s largest donor to UNRWA, pledging more than $370 million dollars as of 2016. UNRWA called this latest development a “failure of the parties to deal with the issue…”

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia