2021.08.02 國際新聞導讀-獨裁國家奧運選手不想返國、以色列為船隻被伊朗攻擊事尋求國際支持、哈瑪斯選出前領袖哈尼耶擔任新任總理、伊朗總統萊西上任後到底會不會回到伊朗核武協議要看大阿亞圖拉哈米尼的意思
奧運會:白俄羅斯短跑選手拒絕離開東京
這位短跑運動員說,在她公開抱怨東京奧運會的國家教練後,她違背自己的意願被帶到了機場。
通過路透
2021 年 8 月 1 日 23:55
2021 年 8 月 1 日,在日本東京羽田國際機場看到白俄羅斯運動員 Krystsina Tsimanouskaya
(圖片來源:路透社)
廣告
週日,一名白俄羅斯短跑運動員在抱怨奧運會國家教練組後被她的團隊違背她的意願帶到機場後,拒絕登上從東京起飛的航班。
週一凌晨,24 歲的 Krystsina Tsimanouskaya 仍在東京羽田機場。
國際奧委會表示已與齊馬努斯卡婭進行了交談,她在機場由一名 2020 年東京奧運會工作人員陪同。
“她告訴我們她感到安全,”國際奧委會在推特上說。
它補充說,國際奧委會和東京 2020 將繼續與齊馬努斯卡婭和當局進行對話,“以確定未來幾天的下一步行動”。
路透社首先報導了周日的事件,突顯了白俄羅斯的不和,白俄羅斯是一個由總統亞歷山大·盧卡申科 (Alexander Lukashenko) 嚴格控制的前蘇聯國家。自 1994 年掌權以來,他去年面臨一波抗議浪潮,一些運動員也加入了抗議浪潮。
齊馬努斯卡婭說,教練組週日來到她的房間,讓她收拾行李。她說她隨後被白俄羅斯奧運代表隊帶到羽田機場。
但她拒絕登機,轉而尋求日本警方的保護,並在 Telegram 上的一條消息中告訴路透社:“我不會回到白俄羅斯。”
白俄羅斯奧委會在一份聲明中表示,根據醫生對齊馬努斯卡婭“情緒和心理狀態”的建議,教練員決定讓她退出奧運會。
委員會沒有立即回應額外評論的請求。
早些時候,路透社的一名攝影師在機場看到這名運動員站在警察旁邊。“我認為我很安全,”齊馬努斯卡婭說。“我和警察在一起。”
在白俄羅斯體育團結基金會在 Telegram 上發布的一段視頻中,齊馬努斯卡婭要求國際奧委會介入她的案件。
該基金會的一位消息人士表示,齊馬努斯卡婭計劃週一在德國或奧地利申請庇護,該基金會支持因政治觀點而入獄或被邊緣化的運動員。
該基金會的負責人、前奧運游泳運動員 Aliaksandra Herasimenia 告訴路透社,齊馬努斯卡婭也可能會得到波蘭的援助。
“我們向許多國家尋求幫助,”三屆奧運會獎牌獲得者赫拉西梅尼亞說。“但第一個做出反應的是波蘭領事館。我們準備接受他們的幫助。”
盧卡申科的兒子維克多·盧卡申科是白俄羅斯奧委會主席。
教練的“疏忽”
Tsimanouskaya 週五參加了女子 100 米預賽,併計劃在周一參加 200 米預賽,以及週四的 4x400 米接力賽。
她說,由於“我在 Instagram 上談到了我們教練的疏忽”,她已被從球隊中除名。
Tsimanouskaya 曾在 Instagram 上抱怨說,在一些團隊成員被發現沒有資格參加奧運會後,她參加了 4x400 米接力賽,因為他們沒有接受足夠數量的興奮劑檢測。
“我們的一些女孩沒有飛到這裡參加 4x400 米接力賽,因為她們沒有進行足夠的興奮劑檢測,”齊馬努斯卡婭在機場告訴路透社。
“教練在我不知情的情況下將我加入了接力賽。我公開談論過這件事。主教練走過來對我說,上面有命令將我撤下。”
位於東京的白俄羅斯田徑隊隊長尤里·莫伊塞維奇告訴國家電視台STV,已經做出改變接力隊的決定,但他們沒有立即宣布,以免干擾運動員的準備工作。
莫伊塞維奇說:“我們打算告訴她一切,解釋一下,特別是因為她是一個替補。”
流亡的白俄羅斯反對派領導人斯維亞特蘭娜·齊哈努斯卡婭敦促國際奧委會處理這名運動員的案件。
“她有權獲得國際保護並繼續參加@Olympics,”齊哈努斯卡婭在推特上寫道。“調查白俄羅斯國家奧委會侵犯運動員權利的行為也至關重要。”
齊哈努斯卡婭後來將此事件比作5月份瑞安航空公司一架噴氣式飛機在明斯克強行降落以逮捕異見博主羅曼·普羅塔塞維奇及其女友,並提議將所有參與“企圖綁架”齊馬努斯卡婭的人列入歐盟和美國的製裁名單。
“離開白俄羅斯邊境的白俄羅斯人沒有一個是安全的,因為他們可能會被綁架,就像 Krystsina Tsimanouskaya 或 Roman Protasevich 一樣,”她在 Telegram 上寫道。
白俄羅斯議會議員維塔利·烏特金批評齊馬努斯卡婭的行為。
“這是對白俄羅斯人民和她的運動員同胞的背叛和背叛,”STV 援引烏特金的話說。
運動員被判入獄
盧卡申科總統去年因反對者所謂的操縱選舉而面臨大規模街頭示威,並下令對抗議者進行暴力鎮壓。總統否認有關操縱投票的指控。
在一個精英運動員經常依賴政府資助的國家,不同尋常的是,一些著名的白俄羅斯運動員加入了抗議活動。有幾人被判入獄,其中包括奧運籃球運動員葉蓮娜·盧查卡。
其他人失去了他們的國家工作或因支持反對派而被踢出國家隊。
冷戰期間,數十名體育界人士和文化界人士在海外比賽或巡迴演出中從蘇聯及其衛星國叛逃。但 1991 年蘇聯解體帶來的旅行自由讓這種戲劇性行為的需求減少了。
Olympics: Belarusian sprinter refuses to leave Tokyo
The sprinter said she was taken to the airport against her wishes after she publicly complained about national coaches at the Tokyo Olympics.
By REUTERS
AUGUST 1, 2021 23:55
Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is seen at Haneda international airport in Tokyo, Japan August 1, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Advertisement
A Belarusian sprinter refused to get on a flight from Tokyo on Sunday after being taken to the airport against her wishes by her team following her complaints about national coaching staff at the Olympic Games.
Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, was still at Tokyo's Haneda airport in the early hours of Monday.
The International Olympic Committee said it had spoken to Tsimanouskaya and that she was being accompanied by a Tokyo 2020 staff member at the airport.
"She has told us she feels safe," the IOC said in a Twitter post.
It added the IOC and Tokyo 2020 would continue their conversations with Tsimanouskaya and the authorities "to determine the next steps in the upcoming days."
The incident on Sunday, first reported by Reuters, highlighted discord in Belarus, a former Soviet state that is run with a tight grip by President Alexander Lukashenko. In power since 1994, he faced a wave of protests last year, which some athletes joined.
Tsimanouskaya said coaching staff had come to her room on Sunday and told her to pack. She said she was then taken to Haneda airport by representatives of the Belarusian Olympic team.
But she refused to board the flight and sought protection from the Japanese police instead, telling Reuters in a message over Telegram: "I will not return to Belarus."
The Belarusian Olympic Committee said in a statement that coaches had decided to withdraw Tsimanouskaya from the Games on doctors' advice about her "emotional, psychological state."
The committee did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Earlier, a Reuters photographer saw the athlete standing next to police at the airport. "I think I am safe," Tsimanouskaya said. "I am with the police."
In a video published on Telegram by the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, Tsimanouskaya asked the IOC to get involved in her case.
A source at the foundation, which supports athletes jailed or sidelined for their political views, said Tsimanouskaya planned to request asylum in Germany or Austria on Monday.
The foundation's head, former Olympic swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia, told Reuters that Tsimanouskaya could also be receiving assistance from Poland.
"We appealed to a number of countries for help," said Herasimenia, a three-time Olympic medallist. "But the first that reacted was the Polish consulate. We are ready to accept their help."
Lukashenko's son, Viktor Lukashenko, is president of the Belarus Olympic Committee.
COACHES' 'NEGLIGENCE'
Tsimanouskaya ran in the women's 100 meters heats on Friday and was scheduled to run in the 200 meters heats on Monday, along with the 4x400 meters relay on Thursday.
She said she had been removed from the team due "to the fact that I spoke on my Instagram about the negligence of our coaches."
Tsimanouskaya had complained on Instagram that she was entered in the 4x400 m relay after some team members were found to be ineligible to compete at the Olympics because they had not undergone a sufficient amount of doping tests.
"Some of our girls did not fly here to compete in the 4x400 m relay because they didn't have enough doping tests," Tsimanouskaya told Reuters from the airport.
"And the coach added me to the relay without my knowledge. I spoke about this publicly. The head coach came over to me and said there had been an order from above to remove me."
The head of the Belarus athletics team in Tokyo, Yuri Moisevich, told state-owned broadcaster STV that the decision had been taken to make changes to the relay team, but they did not announce it immediately so as not to disrupt the athletes' preparation.
"We intended to tell her everything, to explain it, especially as she was a reserve," Moisevich said.
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged the IOC to take up the athlete's case.
"She has a right to international protection & to continue participation in the @Olympics," Tsikhanouskaya wrote on Twitter. "It is also crucial to investigate Belarus' NOC violations of athletes' rights."
Tsikhanouskaya later compared the incident to the forced landing of a Ryanair jet in Minsk in May to arrest dissident blogger Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, and proposed that all those involved in the "attempted kidnapping" of Tsimanouskaya be added to EU and US sanctions lists.
"No Belarusian who has left Belarus' borders is safe because they can be kidnapped, just like Krystsina Tsimanouskaya or Roman Protasevich," she wrote on Telegram.
Vitaliy Utkin, a member of the Belarusian parliament, criticized Tsimanouskaya's behavior.
"It is betrayal and treachery, which was directed towards the Belarusian people and her fellow athletes," STV cited Utkin as saying.
ATHLETES JAILED
President Lukashenko was faced with mass street demonstrations last year over what his opponents called rigged elections, and ordered a violent crackdown on protesters. The president denies the allegations of vote-rigging.
Unusually in a country where elite athletes often rely on government funding, some prominent Belarusian athletes joined the protests. Several were jailed, including Olympic basketball player Yelena Leuchanka.
Others lost their state employment or were kicked off national teams for supporting the opposition.
During the Cold War, scores of sports people and cultural figures defected from the Soviet Union and its satellite states during overseas competitions or tours. But the freedom of travel that came with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 saw the need for such dramatic acts dwindle.
IAI 簽約 2 億歐元。向德國軍隊提供雷達系統的交易
該系統用於探測彈道導彈以及太空任務和衛星監測。
作者:哈達斯·拉布里施
2021 年 8 月 1 日 15:02
德國陸軍的 HADR ELTA 雷達系統(插圖)
以色列航空航天工業公司與總部位於德國的歐洲國防工業領先公司 Hensoldt 聯手,為德國軍隊提供用於“休斯防空雷達 Nachfolgesystem”(HADR NF)計劃的新型雷達系統。
該計劃旨在取代自 1980 年代中期以來一直在運行的原始 HARD 系統,以實現空域監視的現代化並支持德國武裝部隊對抗遠程導彈。
有問題的雷達用於探測遠程導彈和改進彈道導彈防禦(BMD),以及用於太空任務和衛星監測。
IAI 子公司 ELTA Systems Ltd. 與德國簽署了一項協議,這家以色列公司將提供其在遠程雷達方面的專業知識,提供部分硬件並提供長期支持和集成協助。Hensoldt 將提供雷達的附加組件。
據Globes雜誌報導,這筆交易金額為2億歐元。
“IAI 為德國軍隊的選擇感到自豪,並將與 Hensoldt 的合作視為利用我們多年積累的技術知識和經驗促進我們在歐洲,尤其是德國的商業活動的重要一步,”Eyal Shapira 說, ELTA 的 AD 和海軍雷達系統部門。“我們目睹了全世界對現代雷達的需求不斷增長,這些雷達可以針對導彈和空襲提供精確、實時的情報。”
IAI signs €200m. deal to provide German army with radar systems
The system is used to detect ballistic missiles as well as for space missions and satellite monitoring.
By HADAS LABRISCH
AUGUST 1, 2021 15:02
HADR ELTA Radar System for German Army (Illustration)
(photo credit: IAI)
Advertisement
Israel Aerospace Industries joined forces with German-based Hensoldt, a leading company in Europe’s defense industry, to provide the German army with new radar systems for the "Hughes Air Defence Radar Nachfolgesystem" (HADR NF) program.
The program intends to replace the original HARD systems that have been in operation since the mid-1980s, in order to modernize airspace surveillance and support the German Armed Forces in countering long-range missiles.
The radars in question are used to detect long-range missiles and improve ballistic missile defense (BMD), as well as for space missions and satellite monitoring.
IAI subsidiary ELTA Systems Ltd. signed a deal with Germany wherein the Israeli company will offer its expertise in long-range radar, supply part of the hardware and provide long-term support and integration assistance. Hensoldt will provide additional components of the radars.
According to a report by Globes magazine, the deal amounts to €200 million.
“The IAI is proud of the German army’s choice and sees the collaboration with Hensoldt as a significant step in promoting our business activity in Europe and particularly Germany, utilizing technological knowledge and experience we have accumulated over many years,” said Eyal Shapira, head of ELTA's AD and Naval Radar System Division. “We are witnessing a rising demand across the world for modern radars that can provide precise, real-time intelligence against missiles and airstrikes."
數以千計的古代考古碎片從美國返回伊拉克
伊拉克文化部長哈桑·納齊姆認為,計劃歸還 17,000 件作品“史無前例”。
作者:哈達斯·拉布里施
2021 年 8 月 1 日 14:01
伊拉克總理穆斯塔法·卡迪米於 2020 年 5 月 7 日在伊拉克巴格達議會總部就新政府投票期間發表講話
(圖片來源:伊拉克議會媒體辦公室/通過路透社的講義)
廣告
週二, 當伊拉克總理穆斯塔法·卡迪米與美國總統喬·拜登達成一項協議,結束美國在伊拉克的作戰任務時,伊拉克代表團帶著另一項重大成就回國。
據德國之聲報導,美國周三宣布將向這個西亞國家返還 17,000 件文物。
據推測,這些文物是在 2003 年美國入侵期間被盜的,它們通過非法古董交易離開伊拉克,並穿越西方世界,在美國和英國等國家重新出現。
“這些文物中的大部分是從巴格達伊拉克博物館掠奪的材料的一部分,”紐約石溪大學考古學家伊麗莎白·斯通說,她曾多次前往伊拉克進行探險。“每個人都清楚這些是從博物館偷來的,因為上面有目錄編號,所以不可能來自非法挖掘。”
目前計劃返還 17,000 件被伊拉克文化部長哈桑納齊姆認為是“史無前例的”。此類交易過去曾發生過,但規模要小得多。
“這是伊拉克最大的文物歸還伊拉克,”納齊姆說,“這是伊拉克當局與其駐華盛頓大使館共同努力數月的結果。”
近 4,000 年前的文物包括《吉爾伽美甚史詩》,這是一塊古老的石碑,描繪了阿卡德語劇本中的一首詩,被認為是最古老的文學作品之一。該平板電腦由總部位於俄克拉荷馬城的工藝品零售商Hobby Lobby購買,該公司從不同的拍賣會上採購了 5,500 多件此類走私文物。他們最終被美國司法部扣押。
伊拉克歷史學家阿卜杜拉·霍希德·卡德爾(Abdullah Khorsheed Qader)在接受德國之聲採訪時說:“伊拉克與美國方面的接觸表明,走私文物在美國國土安全部的安全手中。” 他補充說,多年來,官員們一直在共同努力,以在追回丟失的文物方面邁出這一重要一步,並表示希望更多國家做出同樣的努力,將古董歸還給伊拉克。
Thousands of ancient archaeological pieces return to Iraq from US
The planned return of 17,000 pieces was deemed by Iraqi culture minister Hassan Nazim as “unprecedented”.
By HADAS LABRISCH
AUGUST 1, 2021 14:01
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi delivers a speech during the vote on the new government at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, May 7, 2020
(photo credit: IRAQI PARLIAMENT MEDIA OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Advertisement
When Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi sealed an agreement with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday to end America's combat mission in Iraq, the Iraqi delegation returned home with another significant accomplishment.
The US announced on Wednesday that it would be returning 17,000 artifacts to the West Asian country, according to a report by Deutsche Welle.
The artifacts, presumed stolen during the US invasion in 2003, had left Iraq through illegal antiquity trades and made their way across the Western world, resurfacing in the US and Britain, among other countries.
"Most of these artifacts were part of the materials that were looted from the Iraq Museum in Baghdad," stated Elizabeth Stone, an archaeologist from Stony Brook University in New York who had been on various expeditions to Iraq. "It was clear to everyone that these had been stolen from the museum since they had catalog numbers on them and so could not have come from illegal excavations."
The current planned return of 17,000 pieces was deemed by Iraqi culture minister Hassan Nazim as being “unprecedented.” Such transactions had occurred in the past, but on far smaller scales.
"This is the largest return of antiquities to Iraq,” said Nazim, “the result of months of efforts by the Iraqi authorities in conjunction with their embassy in Washington."
The nearly 4,000-year-old artifacts include the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient tablet depicting a poem in the Akkadian script, considered to be one of the oldest known works of literature. The tablet was purchased by Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts retailer, which procured over 5,500 such smuggled artifacts from different auctions. They were eventually seized by the US Justice Department.
"Iraqi contacts with the American side made it clear that the smuggled antiquities are in the safe hands of the American Homeland Security," said Iraqi historian Abdullah Khorsheed Qader in an interview to DW. He added that officials had been working together for many years to reach this significant step in recovering the lost artifacts, expressing hopes that additional countries will make the same efforts to return antiques to Iraq.
伊朗在與以色列的海上影子戰爭中具有優勢-分析
如果以色列想要避免對其船隻的攻擊增加,它需要一個新的海軍學說來擴大其保護範圍。
作者:尤娜傑瑞米鮑勃
2021 年 8 月 1 日 15:52
2020 年 12 月 1 日,在以色列海軍舉行的歡迎儀式後,一艘被稱為“盾牌”的軍艦 Saar-6 護衛艦在海法海岸附近的地中海航行,在利維坦天然氣田的生產平台附近巡航。
(圖片來源:RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
廣告
伊朗是對的,它在與以色列進行海上影子戰爭方面具有優勢。但是,如果以色列海軍不斷改進,這又如何呢?
就在伊朗 上週四使用無人機組合攻擊一艘與以色列有關的船隻的同一天, 以色列海軍最先進的 Sa'ar 6 護衛艦導彈艦INS Magen準備在交付後於 2022 年初全面投入使用據《耶路撒冷郵報》報導,2020 年 12 月前往以色列。
事實上,購買“紅軍”只是以色列國防軍為擴大保衛以色列領海,尤其是其海上天然氣設施而採取的一系列舉措之一,並將用於與哈馬斯或其他國家的任何戰爭。真主黨。
與過去相比,以色列新海軍與其他 IDF 部隊的聯繫也更加緊密,因為它能夠跟踪和傳遞實時情報以支持 IAF 和其他部隊。
人們會認為,所有這些新的以色列國防軍海軍能力都會恐嚇伊斯蘭共和國選擇專門針對以色列的海域。但這一切都沒有抓住重點。
是的,IDF 已經取得了長足的進步。2002年,當以色列國防軍捕獲的卡林納一個大型武器船,它需要 幫助 從美國中央情報局和美國的海軍情報找到船,記錄在本子上紅海襲擊。
直到最後一秒,由於燃料和射程的限制,以色列突擊隊員似乎無法從直升機上跳下船。
由於可以在海上花費盡可能多時間的大型船舶較少,由於天氣條件,該行動幾乎在最後一刻被取消。儘管它比原計劃深入紅海,但以色列海軍指揮官冒險而勇敢地呼籲捕獲這艘船,贏得了勝利。
相比之下,以色列國防軍現在對美國衛星監視的依賴減少了,儘管仍在與它合作,並且已經發展了更多自己的能力並取得了上述海軍進步。它可以走得更遠以投射一些力量和監視。
但以色列國防軍在以色列、加沙和黎巴嫩海岸線附近的主要作戰區域之外,在伊朗占主導地位或可以輕鬆派遣快艇的地區,其海軍能力仍然接近於零。它容易受到伊朗無人機、水雷、火箭和其他對與以色列相連的民用航運的襲擊。
德黑蘭還可以襲擊以色列大使館和其他海外目標,就像它在 2012 年通過保加利亞布爾加斯的真主黨所做的那樣,不久前還試圖在印度這樣做。
但是,無論是對伊朗本身還是對其代理人,這些陸基襲擊中的每一次都會帶來更惡劣的外交後果。
一名英國公民在伊朗最近的襲擊中喪生。但由於襲擊發生在海上,與這艘船有關的國家混合在一起,並且除了以色列之外的所有人都認為情況不明,外交影響將大大減少。
與此同時,伊朗在過去幾年對與以色列相連的船隻進行了多次襲擊。耶路撒冷沒有答案,它似乎也沒有致力於尋找一個明確的答案。
迄今為止,唯一的答案是對伊朗航運或其他資產進行報復以實現威懾。
但伊朗當選總統易卜拉欣·賴西想證明他有多強硬,因此以色列國防軍過去的行動是不夠的。
如果以色列想要避免在海上對其船隻進行更多攻擊,則海軍需要製定新的原則來擴大其保護範圍,或者進行新的報復以讓 Raisi 撤退。
Iran has advantage in its shadow war with Israel at sea - analysis
If Israel wants to avoid an increase in attacks on its ships, it will need a new doctrine for the navy to extend its protection.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB
AUGUST 1, 2021 15:52
The Saar-6 corvette, a warship dubbed "Shield", cruises near the production platform of Leviathan natural gas field after a welcoming ceremony by the Israeli navy marking its arrival, in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Haifa on December 1, 2020.
(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
Advertisement
Iran is right that it has an advantage in pursuing its shadow war with Israel at sea. But how is this true if the Israel Navy keeps improving?
The same day that Iran used a combination of drones to attack an Israel-linked ship last Thursday, the INS Magen, the Israel Navy’s most advanced Sa’ar 6 corvette missile ship, was getting ready to become fully operational in early 2022 after being delivered to Israel in December 2020, The Jerusalem Post reported.
In fact, acquisition of the Magen is only one of a series of moves the IDF has made to give it greater range in defending Israel’s territorial waters, especially its sea-based natural-gas installations, and will be utilized in any war with Hamas or Hezbollah.
Israel’s new navy is also far more connected to other IDF units than in the past, as it is able to track and relay real-time intelligence to support the IAF and other units.
One would think that all of these new IDF naval capabilities would intimidate the Islamic Republic from choosing the sea specifically to target Israel. But all of this misses the point.
Yes, the IDF has come a long way. In 2002, when the IDF captured the Karine A mega-weapons ship, it needed help from the CIA and US naval intelligence to find the boat, as recorded in the book A Raid on the Red Sea.
Until the last second, it seemed that Israeli commandos might not be able to jump the ship from helicopters due to limits in fuel and range.
With fewer large ships that could spend as much time at sea, the operation was almost called off at the last minute due to weather conditions. Only a risky and brave call by Israeli naval commanders to capture the ship, despite it being deeper into the Red Sea than originally planned, won the day.
In contrast, the IDF is now less reliant on the US’s satellite surveillance, though still cooperating with it, and has developed more of its own capabilities and made the above-mentioned naval advances. It can travel farther out to project some power and surveillance.
But the IDF still has close to zero naval capabilities outside of its main operating areas near the Israeli, Gazan and Lebanese coastlines in areas where Iran is dominant or where it can easily send fast boats. It is susceptible to Iranian drones, sea mines, rockets and other attacks on Israel-connected civilian shipping.
Tehran can also hit Israeli embassies and other targets overseas, as it did through Hezbollah in Burgas, Bulgaria, in 2012 and attempted to do not long ago in India.
But every one of these land-based attacks carries much more nasty diplomatic consequences either for Iran itself or for its proxies.
A British citizen was killed in Iran’s recent attack. But since the attack was at sea, with a mix of countries connected to the ship and the circumstances framed as unclear by everyone besides Israel, the diplomatic fallout will be significantly reduced.
In the meantime, Iran has carried out many attacks against Israel-connected ships over the last couple of years. Jerusalem has no answer, and it does not appear to be engaged in finding a clear one.
The only answer to date has been retaliation against Iranian shipping or other assets to achieve deterrence.
But Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi wants to demonstrate how tough he is, so past actions by the IDF will not be enough.
If Israel wants to avoid more attacks on its ships at sea, it will need a new doctrine for the navy to extend its protective footprint or a new level of retaliation to get Raisi to back off.
以色列敦促聯合國安理會譴責伊朗海上恐怖主義
據報導,為了回應對以色列管理的船隻“默瑟街”號的襲擊,以色列推動聯合國討論伊朗的海上暴力。
作者:托瓦·拉扎羅夫
2021 年 8 月 1 日 14:44
2021 年 3 月 12 日,參加以色列、法國、塞浦路斯和希臘之間的 Noble Dina 軍事演習的海軍艦艇。
(圖片來源:以色列國防軍發言人單位)
廣告
以色列正在推動聯合國安理會譴責德黑蘭週五襲擊阿曼海岸附近一艘以色列管理的石油產品油輪,以色列認為這是由伊朗無人機進行的。
羅馬尼亞船長和默瑟街的一名英國船員 在襲擊中喪生。他們是伊朗和以色列之間持續海上暴力的首要原因。
據一位外交消息人士稱,以色列“正在與其他國家,特別是英國和美國合作,進一步推動安理會對伊朗這一嚴重恐怖主義行為的討論,伊朗加入了其他令人質疑和危及所有海上活動的行動”。安全和自由貿易。”
以色列駐美國大使和聯合國吉拉德埃爾丹打算向聯合國安理會發出正式投訴信,要求召開會議並發布譴責。
外交部長拉皮德已指示駐倫敦、華盛頓和紐約大使館與英美政府有關方面以及聯合國討論外交回應的必要性。
以色列強調伊朗對世界和平構成威脅,這次襲擊侵犯了航行自由並對國際貿易構成威脅的信息。
拉皮德與他的英國、羅馬尼亞和美國同行進行了交談,但這些國家都沒有明確指出伊斯蘭共和國。
在周六與美國國務卿安東尼·布林肯交談後,拉皮德在推特上寫道:“我們正在共同努力,通過制定真正有效的國際應對措施,打擊對我們所有人構成威脅的伊朗恐怖主義。”
“伊朗一再低估以色列捍衛自己及其利益的決心,”拉皮德寫道。
“外交部官員正在所有相關領域努力促進國際譴責和回應。”
美國國務院發言人內德·普萊斯表示,布林肯和拉皮德“同意與英國、羅馬尼亞和其他國際夥伴合作,調查事實、提供支持並考慮適當的後續步驟。”
熟悉情報報告的美國和歐洲消息人士周五表示,伊朗是他們在這起事件中的主要嫌疑人。
襲擊發生在伊朗新任強硬總統易卜拉欣·賴西宣誓就職前幾天,表明“面具正在脫落,沒有人可以假裝他們不了解伊朗政權的性質,”據一份報告稱。以色列高級官員。
“伊朗不僅僅是以色列的問題,它還是一個全球問題——它的行為危及全球自由航運和貿易。我們反對他們的運動將繼續進行。
“這是一起伊朗恐怖襲擊,造成兩名無辜男子死亡,損害了國際航運,”這位官員繼續說道,並補充說,“伊朗正在該地區的每個角落散播暴力和破壞。出於對襲擊以色列目標的渴望,他們捲入了殺害外國公民的行列,並自稱有罪。”
國防部長本尼·甘茨和以色列國防軍參謀長中將。Aviv Kohavi 在罷工後通過電話發表講話,這次罷工被視為嚴重的恐怖襲擊。
Mercer Street 是一艘懸掛利比里亞國旗的日本船隻,由以色列所有的 Zodiac Maritime 管理。美國中央司令部在一份聲明中說,該公司週五表示,這艘船在其船員的控制下航行,並以自己的力量駛向一個由羅納德里根號航空母艦護航的安全地點。
負責監督美國在中東和中亞軍事行動的中央司令部說:“美國海軍爆炸物專家在船上確保船員沒有額外的危險,並準備支持對襲擊事件的調查。”
“最初的跡象清楚地指向了 UAV 式的 [無人機] 攻擊。”
伊朗政府的阿拉伯語電視網絡 IAl Alam TV 援引未具名消息人士的話說,對這艘船的襲擊是為了回應以色列對敘利亞 Dabaa 機場的可疑襲擊。
近幾個月來,伊朗和以色列一直指責對方攻擊對方的船隻。
自從美國在 2018 年重新對伊朗實施制裁後,海灣地區的緊張局勢升級,此前美國總統唐納德特朗普讓華盛頓退出德黑蘭 2015 年與大國達成的核協議。
提供海事安全信息的英國海事貿易組織 (UKMTO) 表示,這艘船在阿曼杜庫姆港東北約 152 海裡(280 公里)處遭到襲擊。
根據Refinitiv船舶追踪,這艘中型油輪從坦桑尼亞的達累斯薩拉姆駛往阿拉伯聯合酋長國的富查伊拉。
Israel pushes for UNSC condemnation of Iranian maritime terrorism
In response to the attack on the Israeli-managed ship "Mercer Street," Israel has reportedly pushed for UN discussions of Iran's maritime violence.
By TOVAH LAZAROFF
AUGUST 1, 2021 14:44
Naval vessels participating in the Noble Dina military drill between Israel, France, Cyprus and Greece, March 12, 2021.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Advertisement
Israel is pushing for a United Nations Security Council condemnation against Tehran for Friday's attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker off the coast of Oman, which it believes was carried out by Iranian drones.
The Romanian captain and a British crew member of the Mercer Street were killed in the attack. They are the first causalities in the ongoing maritime violence between Iran and Israel.
According to a diplomatic source, Israel is "working with other countries, especially Britain and the United States, and more to advance the Security Council's discussion on this serious terrorist act by Iran, which joins its other actions that call into question and endanger all maritime security and free trade."
Israel's Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Gilad Erdan intends to send an official letter of complaint to the UNSC to request a meeting and the issuance of a condemnation.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has instructed the embassies in London, Washington and New York to discuss the need for a diplomatic response with the relevant parties in the British and American governments, as well as at the UN.
Israel is underscoring the message that Iran poses a danger to world peace, and that this attack violates navigational freedom and is a threat to international trade.
Lapid has spoken with his British, Romanian and US counterparts, but none of those countries have clearly fingered the Islamic Republic.
After his conversation Saturday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lapid tweeted the following: "We are working together against Iranian terrorism, which poses a threat to all of us, by formulating a real and effective international response."
"Iran has time and again underestimated Israel's determination to defend itself and its interests," Lapid wrote.
"Foreign Ministry officials are working in all the relevant arenas to promote international condemnation and response."
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken and Lapid had "agreed to work with the UK, Romania and other international partners to investigate the facts, provide support and consider the appropriate next steps."
US and European sources familiar with intelligence reporting said on Friday that Iran was their leading suspect in the incident.
THE ATTACK – which took place just days before the swearing-in of Iran’s new hardline president Ebrahim Raisi – shows that “the masks are coming off and no one can pretend they don’t know the character of the Iranian regime," according to a senior Israeli official.
“Iran isn’t just Israel’s problem, it is a global problem – and its behavior endangers free global shipping and trade. Our campaign against them will continue.
“This is an Iranian terror attack that killed two innocent men, harming international shipping,” the official continued, adding that “Iran is sowing violence and destruction in every corner of the region. Out of their eagerness to attack an Israeli target, they embroiled themselves and incriminated themselves in the killing of foreign citizens.”
Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi spoke on the phone following the strike, which is being treated as a severe terror attack.
Mercer Street is a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime. The company said on Friday that the vessel was sailing under the control of its crew and own power to a safe location escorted by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, US Central Command said in a statement.
"US Navy explosives experts are aboard to ensure there is no additional danger to the crew, and are prepared to support an investigation into the attack," said Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.
"Initial indications clearly point to a UAV-style [drone] attack."
IAl Alam TV, the Iranian government's Arabic-language television network, cited unnamed sources as saying the attack on the ship came in response to a suspected, unspecified Israeli attack on Dabaa airport in Syria.
Iran and Israel have traded accusations of attacking each other's vessels in recent months.
Tensions have risen in the Gulf region since the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which provides maritime security information, said the vessel was about 152 nautical miles (280 km.) northeast of the Omani port of Duqm when it was attacked.
According to Refinitiv ship tracking, the medium-size tanker was headed from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Anna Ahronheim and Reuters contributed to this report.
哈尼耶再次當選領導哈馬斯參加內部選舉 - 報告
通過路透社,耶路撒冷郵報STAFF
2021 年 8 月 1 日 13:50
2019 年 6 月 20 日,哈馬斯酋長伊斯梅爾·哈尼耶 (Ismail Haniyeh) 在加沙城的辦公室與國際媒體成員會面
(圖片來源:穆罕默德·塞勒姆/路透社)
廣告
兩名巴勒斯坦官員周日告訴路透社,伊斯梅爾·哈尼耶 (Ismail Haniyeh) 已當選第二個任期,擔任控制加沙地帶的巴勒斯坦伊斯蘭組織哈馬斯 (Hamas) 的負責人。
“伊斯梅爾·哈尼耶兄弟第二次再次當選為該運動政治辦公室的負責人,”一位官員告訴路透社。他的任期將持續四年。
自 2017 年以來,該組織的領導人哈尼耶在與以色列的幾次武裝對抗中控制了其政治活動——包括 5 月的一場為期 11 天的衝突,導致加沙有 250 多人死亡,以色列有 13 人死亡。這是哈尼耶的第二個任期,將持續到 2025 年。
在這位坐在輪椅上的神職人員於 2004 年被暗殺之前,他是加沙哈馬斯創始人謝赫·艾哈邁德·亞辛的得力助手。
2006 年,58 歲的哈尼耶帶領哈馬斯進入政界,當時他們在巴勒斯坦議會選舉中出人意料地獲勝,擊敗了由總統馬哈茂德·阿巴斯領導的分裂的法塔赫政黨。
哈尼耶在 2006 年 1 月獲勝後不久就任總理,但被美國、以色列和歐盟視為恐怖組織的哈馬斯卻遭到國際社會的迴避。
在短暫的內戰之後,哈馬斯於 2007 年從法塔赫控制的巴勒斯坦權力機構手中奪取了加沙,該權力機構在以色列佔領的西岸限制了自治。此後,以色列以哈馬斯的威脅為由領導了對加沙的封鎖。
哈馬斯選舉包括其他領導職位。據 Ynet 稱,哈立德·馬沙爾當選為國外哈馬斯的領導人,薩利赫·阿魯里當選為西岸領導人,薩拉梅·卡塔維當選為以色列監獄的領導人。
Haniyeh reelected to lead Hamas in internal elections - report
By REUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
AUGUST 1, 2021 13:50
Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh attends a meeting with members of international media at his office in Gaza City, June 20, 2019
(photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/ REUTERS)
Advertisement
Ismail Haniyeh has been elected to a second term as head of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, two Palestinian officials told Reuters on Sunday.
"Brother Ismail Haniyeh was re-elected as the head of the movement's political office for a second time," one official told Reuters. His term will last four years.
Haniyeh, the group's leader since 2017, has controlled its political activities throughout several armed confrontations with Israel - including an 11-day conflict in May that left over 250 in Gaza and 13 in Israel dead. This is Haniyeh's second term and it will last until 2025.
He was the right-hand man to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, before the wheelchair-bound cleric was assassinated in 2004.
Haniyeh, 58, led Hamas' entry into politics in 2006, when they were surprise victors in Palestinian parliamentary elections, defeating a divided Fatah party led by President Mahmoud Abbas.
Haniyeh became prime minister shortly after the January 2006 victory, but Hamas - which is deemed a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and the European Union - was shunned by the international community.
Following a brief civil war, Hamas seized Gaza from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in 2007. Israel has led a blockade of Gaza since then, citing threats from Hamas.
The Hamas election included other leadership positions. Khaled Mashal was elected as the leader of Hamas abroad, Saleh al-Arouri, as leader in the West Bank, and Salameh Katawi as leader in Israeli prisons, according to Ynet.
隨著以色列試圖團結世界反對伊朗,Raisi 上任
新總統是 JCPOA 的反對者,他可能會在推進核計劃的同時對該協議造成致命打擊。
通過LAHAV哈爾科夫
2021 年 8 月 1 日 21:03
2021 年 6 月 19 日,易卜拉欣·賴西 (Ebrahim Raisi) 的支持者在慶祝他在伊朗德黑蘭舉行的總統選舉勝利時燃放煙花。
(圖片來源:MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA(西亞新聞社)通過路透社)
廣告
伊朗總統的更迭對以色列應該沒有太大影響。無論是自 2013 年以來一直擔任總統的哈桑·魯哈尼 (Hassan Rouhani),還是將於週四上任的易卜拉欣·賴西 (Ebrahim Raisi),他們並沒有真正做出對以色列重要的決定。
談到對以色列來說重要的事情——伊朗的核計劃、其他先進武器的發展、它在中東的代理人等等——發號施令的人是最高領袖阿亞圖拉·阿里·哈梅內伊。“強硬派”或“改革者”,正如許多評論家所說的哈梅內伊所允許的狹隘政治領域的不同方面,在最高領袖呼籲對以色列進行種族滅絕和走向炸彈的呼籲中,沒有哪位總統真正擁有發言權。
然而,隨著 伊朗 週五在阿曼附近襲擊了一艘以色列管理的船隻,殺死了該船的羅馬尼亞船長和一名英國船員,Raisi 上任 - 字面意思 - 以色列正在充分利用其外交力量,等等,作為回應。
此外,哈梅內伊正在利用賴西的總統任期作為推遲甚至可能完全退出與美國重新加入 2015 年核協議的談判的理由。
被稱為“德黑蘭屠夫”的賴西是伊朗前首席大法官,負責1988年數千人處決和2009年暴力鎮壓示威活動。 結果,美國在2019年以侵犯人權為由對其進行製裁,並瑞典正在對他進行戰爭罪審判。Raisi 在一次投票中當選總統,哈梅內伊對候選人進行了修剪和批准,投票率低於 50%。
一名以色列高級官員在無人機轟炸默瑟街後立即指責 Raisi:“伊朗襲擊發生在新總統 Raisi 宣誓就職前幾天,他是伊朗最高領袖的心腹,他負責對持不同政見者的大規模處決。面具正在脫落,沒有人可以假裝他們不了解伊朗政權的性質。”
總理納夫塔利·貝內特和外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德公開表示伊朗是這次襲擊的幕後黑手,貝內特表示以色列有情報可以證明這一點。
貝內特說,他希望世界停止伊朗的侵略,但以色列知道“如何以我們自己的方式向伊朗發出信息”,暗示以色列會對伊朗採取秘密行動。
以色列認為伊朗在襲擊中殺害英國和歐洲國民是該政權的一個代價高昂的錯誤,它可能會讓其他國家站在以色列一邊,至少在應對這一特定事件時是這樣。
拉皮德一直在全力以赴,告訴他在美國、英國和羅馬尼亞的同行,以色列認為這次襲擊來自伊朗。駐倫敦、華盛頓和紐約的大使已經開始向各國首都和聯合國的相關領導人轉達,伊朗屢次襲擊船隻,正在威脅國際貿易。
以色列也開始推動聯合國安理會譴責伊朗的襲擊。與聯合國其他機構一樣,聯合國安理會對以色列來說並不是一個非常友好的論壇,雖然這樣的決議有可能發生,但機會不大。儘管如此,Raisi 可能會以海龜灣的戲劇性開始他的任期,要求伊朗駐聯合國大使 Majid Takht-Ravanchi 試圖抵禦國際壓力。
甚至在本週末之前,賴西即將上任的總統職位就已經對核談判產生了影響。
長期以來,他一直對《聯合綜合行動計劃》持懷疑態度,即美國於 2018 年退出並現在尋求重返的伊朗與世界大國之間的 2015 年核協議。Raisi 是哈梅內伊最喜歡的候選人,這已經告訴我們一些關於最高領導人如何看待協議的事情。
即將上任的伊朗總統在選舉前緩和了他以前對 JCPOA 的完全反對,但呼籲美國做出更大的讓步,包括保證未來的美國政府不會退出該協議。這是美國不能合法地向伊朗提供的東西。
7月,在賴西當選總統近一個月後,以及美伊關於重返伊核協議的第六輪間接談判結束一個月後,他對伊核協議的保留從伊朗轉變為行動。德黑蘭首席核談判代表兼外交部副部長賽義德·阿巴斯·阿拉格奇宣布,為期一個月的談判暫停將持續到賴西上任。Abbas Araghchi 憤世嫉俗地表示,中斷將允許“民主的權力轉移”。
最近幾週,以色列向其在 JCPOA 進程中的盟友——美國、英國、法國和德國——表示震驚,稱伊朗正在利用遠離談判桌的時間推進其核計劃,危險地接近於生產武器級鈾。
外交消息人士稱,伊朗可以利用“不確定狀態”將武器的突破時間從大約七個月減少到兩三個月,而國際原子能機構則處於“不舒服的境地”,正如總幹事拉斐爾·格羅西所說稱之為,無法正確檢查情況。
我們所知道的並不令人放心:伊朗在 7 月告訴國際原子能機構,它已採取措施生產濃縮至 20% 的鈾金屬,用作反應堆燃料,使其比任何沒有核武器的國家都更先進。
美國國務卿安東尼·布林肯表示,JCPOA 談判“不能無限期地進行”,如果伊朗的核進展繼續下去,就不可能恢復該協議。但以色列敦促美國在何時願意重返談判問題上劃清界限。
與此同時,伊朗似乎傾向於讓美國的耐心耗盡。上週,哈梅內伊公開建議賴西向魯哈尼學習,在魯哈尼任職期間,“很明顯,相信西方沒有幫助……政府應該完全避免將他們與西方談判的計劃捆綁在一起,因為他們肯定會失敗。” 這位最高領袖補充說,美國人在最近的會談中採取了“頑固的立場”。
以色列繼續反對伊核協議,就像本傑明內塔尼亞胡擔任總理時所做的那樣,指出伊朗核計劃的限制——它目前正在違反——將於 2030 年到期,並且該協議沒有解決伊朗的惡意行為,例如代理戰爭和資助整個地區的恐怖組織或其彈道導彈計劃。
與內塔尼亞胡不同的是,“變革政府”選擇與美國合作,以減輕該協議的損害,只要華盛頓堅持試圖恢復它。
然而,如果哈梅內伊和賴西如願以償並徹底扼殺伊核協議,美以關於伊朗的談判將不得不從如何使伊朗協議“更長久、更強大”轉向更戲劇性的方式來阻止伊朗的核計劃。程序。
Raisi enters office with bang as Israel tries rallying world against Iran
New president is a JCPOA opponent who may deal a death blow to the deal while advancing nuclear program.
By LAHAV HARKOV
AUGUST 1, 2021 21:03
Supporters of Ebrahim Raisi light fireworks as they celebrate his presidential election victory in Tehran, Iran June 19, 2021.
(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)
Advertisement
The changing of presidents in Iran shouldn’t make much of a difference for Israel. Whether it’s Hassan Rouhani, who has been president since 2013, or Ebrahim Raisi, who will enter office on Thursday, they’re not really making the decisions that matter to Israel.
When it comes to the things that matter to Israel – Iran’s nuclear program, its development of other advanced weaponry, its proxies around the Middle East and more – the person calling the shots is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Hardliner” or “reformer,” as many commentators call the different sides of the narrow political field Khamenei permits, no president truly has a say in the Supreme Leader’s calls for genocide against Israel and steps toward the bomb.
However, with the Iranian attack on an Israeli-managed ship near Oman on Friday, killing the vessel’s Romanian captain and a British crew member, Raisi is entering office with a bang – literally – and Israel is using its full diplomatic weight, and more, in response.
Plus, Khamenei is using Raisi’s presidency as a reason to delay, and perhaps even withdraw entirely from, negotiations with the US to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal.
Raisi, known as the “Butcher of Tehran,” is Iran’s former chief justice responsible for thousands of executions in 1988 and the violent suppression of demonstrations in 2009. As a result, the US put him under sanctions for human rights violations in 2019, and Sweden has a pending war crimes trial against him. Raisi was elected president in a vote in which Khamenei pruned and approved the candidates, and in which turnout was under 50%.
Latest articles from Jpost
Skip in 1s
A top Israeli official pointed fingers at Raisi in the immediate aftermath of the Mercer Street bombing by a UAV: “The Iranian attack took place days before the swearing-in of the new president Raisi, a confidant of Iran’s Supreme Leader, who was responsible for the mass executions of dissidents. The masks are coming off, and no one can pretend that they don’t know the nature of the Iranian regime.”
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid publicly said Iran is behind the attack, and Bennett said Israel has the intelligence to prove it.
Bennett said he expects the world to put a stop to Iran’s aggression, but that Israel knows “how to send a message to Iran in our own way,” hinting at covert Israeli action against the Islamic Republic.
Israel views Iran killing British and European nationals in the attack as a costly mistake by the regime that could bring other countries to Israel’s side, at least when it comes to responding to this specific incident.
Lapid has been pulling out all the stops, telling his counterparts in the US, UK and Romania that Israel has assessed the attack to be from Iran. Ambassadors in London, Washington and New York have already begun relaying to relevant leaders in the capitals and the UN that Iran is threatening international trade with its repeated attacks on ships.
Israel has also begun to push for a UN Security Council condemnation of Iran’s attack. The UNSC, like the rest of the UN, is not a very friendly forum for Israel, and while it is possible that such a resolution could happen, its chances are not great. Still, Raisi could begin his time in office with drama in Turtle Bay, requiring Iranian Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi to try to fend off international pressure.
Even before this weekend, Raisi’s impending presidency already had an impact on nuclear talks.
He has long been a skeptic about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that the US left in 2018 and to which it now seeks to return. Raisi was Khamenei’s favored candidate, which already told us something about how the supreme leader sees the agreement.
The incoming Iranian president tempered his former total opposition to the JCPOA ahead of the election, but called for far greater concessions from the US, including a guarantee that future US administrations will not leave the deal. This is something the US cannot legally offer Iran.
In July, nearly a month after Raisi was elected president and a month after the end of the sixth round of indirect negotiations between the US and Iran to return to the JCPOA, his reservations about the deal were turned into action from Iran. Tehran’s chief nuclear negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced that the month-long pause in the talks would continue until Raisi entered office. Abbas Araghchi cynically said the break would allow for a “democratic transfer of power.”
In recent weeks, Israel has expressed alarm to its allies in the JCPOA process – the US, UK, France and Germany – that Iran was using its time away from the negotiating table to advance its nuclear program dangerously close to producing weapon-grade uranium.
Diplomatic sources have said Iran could use the “state of limbo” to reduce its breakout time for a weapon from about seven to two or three months, while the International Atomic Energy Agency is in an “uncomfortable position,” as Director-General Rafael Grossi called it, of being unable to properly inspect the situation.
And what we do know is not reassuring: Iran told the IAEA in July that it has taken steps to produce uranium metal enriched to 20% for use as reactor fuel, bringing it to a more advanced state than any country without nuclear weapons.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the JCPOA negotiations “cannot go on indefinitely,” and a return to the deal will be impossible if Iran’s nuclear advances continue. But Israel is urging the US to draw a firm line on the matter of when it will be willing to go back to talks.
Meanwhile, it looks like Iran is leaning toward letting US patience run out. Last week Khamenei publicly advised Raisi to learn from Rouhani, during whose tenure “it became clear that trusting the West is not helpful… Administrations should utterly avoid tying their plans for negotiations with the West, for they’ll certainly fail.” The Americans have taken an “obstinate stance” in recent talks, the Supreme Leader added.
Israel continues to oppose the JCPOA, as it did when Benjamin Netanyahu was prime minister, pointing out that the constraints on Iran’s nuclear program – which it is currently violating – expire in 2030, and that the deal does not address Iranian malign behavior, like proxy warfare and sponsoring terrorist groups across the region, or its ballistic missile program.
Unlike Netanyahu, the “change government” has chosen to work with the US to mitigate the deal’s damage as long as Washington insists on trying to return to it.
However, if Khamenei and Raisi get their way and kill the JCPOA for good, US-Israel talks on Iran will have to shift from how to make the Iran deal “longer and stronger” to more dramatic ways to try to stop the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
--
Hosting provided by SoundOn