Stand for Israel

Putin in Iran's corner

Russian leader Vladimir Putin made clear today that Iran still has friends and admirers, in spite of a purported international consensus on preventing the Mullah-led regime from going nuclear:

"There is no need to frighten the Iranians," Putin told reporters in Beijing, and, according to this Reuters report, warned "against intimidating Iran" and called discussions of sanctions against Iran are "premature."

Putin's Beijing visit came on the heels of 2 days of meetings in Moscow with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sounds like they weren't the most productive of meetings.

A "new alliance" between Arab states and Israel?

The mainstream media is catching on to what Israeli diplomats have been saying for a long time. The New York Times quotes the editor of the pan-Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi, who wrote:

“The Arab regimes, and the gulf ones in particular, will find themselves part of a new alliance against Iran alongside Israel.” [emphasis ours]

Israelis probably aren’t expecting to be carrying out joint military exercises in Dubai or the United Arab Emirates any time soon, but it nice to think that the truth is finally coming to light: Israel is not the only one in the neighborhood that doesn't want Iran to become a nuclear power.

Iran, U.S. begin talks in Geneva

Much talked about high-level discussions between U.S. and Iranian officials have begun in Switzerland:

A senior US official met Iran's top atomic negotiator for face-to-face talks on Thursday - the first such encounter in years of big-power attempts to persuade Teheran to freeze a program that could create nuclear weapons.

While diplomats and officials disclosed no details of the meeting, they appeared to be concrete proof of President Barack Obama's commitment to engage Iran directly on nuclear and other issues, in a sharp break with the previous Bush administration.

A revelation from Iran

Iran has disclosed to officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant:

Iran notified the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency in a letter on Sept. 21 “that a new pilot fuel-enrichment plant is under construction,” Marc Vidricaire, an IAEA spokesman, said today in an e-mailed statement. The IAEA demanded access to the site “as soon as possible,” the spokesman said.

President Barack Obama, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will make a statement today in response to the revelation of the plant, France’s ministry said. The leaders are attending the opening of the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh.

Britain and France urged the UN to consider stepping up pressure on Iran as Obama presided over a unanimous Security Council vote yesterday for a measure resolving to rid the world of nuclear arms.

There couldn't be a better time to read The Rise of Nuclear Iran by Dore Gold, recommended by Rabbi Eckstein in his message this week.

U.N. General Assembly live

The Washington Post has a live video feed of the U.N. General Assembly.

Ahmadinejad slams Israel

Prior to his scheduled appearance at the U.N. next week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad breaks out the usual anti-Israel rhetoric:

Ahmadinejad addressed worshippers before Friday prayers at the Tehran University campus, reiterating his anti-Holocaust rhetoric that has drawn international condemnation since 2005, questioning whether the "Holocaust was a real event" and saying Israel was created on "false and mythical claims." ... Ahmadinejad also accused world powers of double standards in favor of Israel and of disregarding violations of Palestinian rights. He repeated his old predictions that Israel would soon cease to exist and urged people to stand up against Israel's "Zionist regime as a national and moral duty."

Iran's growing shadow in Latin America

A disturbing report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the increasing influence of Iran and its proxies in Central and South America:

In little more than two years, the number of Iranian diplomatic representatives in the region has increased from six to 11 and the number of diplomatic personnel has grown proportionately. This multiplication of Iran’s ties with Latin America has been the result of a strategic convergence.

Tehran sees its penetration in the region as essential to its efforts to weaken Washington international influence. The radical leftist governments of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua view Iran as a partner with whom they share common ground: hostility towards the U.S. The result is an anti-American alliance in the heart of the Western Hemisphere.

Crunch time for Israel on Iran

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton forsees an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities before the end of the year:

Iran’s progress with nuclear weapons and air defenses means Israel’s military option is declining over time. It will have to make a decision soon, and it will be no surprise if Israel strikes by year’s end. Israel’s choice could determine whether Iran obtains nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future.

Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic adds, " I sense a growing feeling among some Israeli analysts that a strike is almost inevitable."

Only time will tell. Stay tuned.

Iranians continue protests

The Iranian people continue to fight for their freedom, but the government just keeps cracking down harder:

The source elaborated: "At one point I could not see anything in front of me because the streets were filled with tear gas and smoke from burning garbage cans. Then I heard a loud scream coming from near where I was standing. The voice called out to us, 'Don't let them take our brothers and sisters.'

"As I ran over with my brother, we saw five or six plainclothes security men pushing four young men and women into an unmarked van. The four had their hands tied behind their backs with wire, and one of the girls was hunched over and seemed to be unconscious. We went after those b**tards and ended up beating them with their own batons. When the cowards ran off, we carried the girl to her cousin's car. The cousin had also been detained and rescued. One of the other protesters who helped us said his uncle was a doctor and would help her. The young girl's cousin broke down in tears and tried to kiss our hands."

IDF for the cyber world

Israel's efforts to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons extend to the cyber world:

In the late 1990s, a computer specialist from Israel's Shin Bet internal security service hacked into the mainframe of the Pi Glilot fuel depot north of Tel Aviv.

It was meant to be a routine test of safeguards at the strategic site. But it also tipped off the Israelis to the potential such hi-tech infiltrations offered for real sabotage.

"Once inside the Pi Glilot system, we suddenly realised that, aside from accessing secret data, we could also set off deliberate explosions, just by programming a re-route of the pipelines," said a veteran of the Shin Bet drill.

So began a cyberwarfare project which, a decade on, is seen by independent experts as the likely new vanguard of Israel's efforts to foil the nuclear ambitions of its arch-foe Iran.