Earth calamities and Rumors of war

[Bible2+]

Wayholka quoted from a news story in post #1319:

Iran not likely to renegotiate nuclear deal . . .

That's right.

For Iran is too proud to admit that it completely snookered the previous U.S. administration and Europe regarding its nuclear facilities and ambitions.

And if Trump reinstates sanctions after May 12, Iran will simply state that it is reinstating in full its Amad program for nuclear weapons, and the ballistic missiles to deliver them unto "the utter annihilation of Israel".

We must always remember that non-Christian Iran (Persia) is ultimately empowered by a very strong fallen-angelic prince of Satan, one so powerful that he was even allowed by YHWH God to hinder the angel of YHWH from reaching the prophet Daniel for three full weeks (Daniel 10:13-21, Ephesians 6:12).

But YHWH God and His angels are more powerful than Satan and his angels (Daniel 10:20-21, Revelation 12:7-9).

Also, while the present state of Israel could still be completely defeated and occupied in our future by the Baathists (Daniel 11:15-17; in verse 17 the original Hebrew word translated as "daughter" is "bath"), instead of ever being occupied by Iran, we must always remember that Iran, along with all other nations of the earth, will still be ultimately defeated and occupied by Jesus Christ at His future, Second Coming (Revelation 19:11 to 20:3).

Wayholka quoted from a news story in post #1319:

Iran not likely to renegotiate nuclear deal, Israel likely to act

Regarding "Israel likely to act", that's right. For Israel knows that its very existence is threatened by Iran and its nuclear program. Israel will stop at nothing to defend itself against them.

But this still might not be enough, in that Iran's nuclear-weapons facilities could be too far underground to be destroyed even by the best "bunker buster" bombs. And Russia could sell S-400 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran to protect its nuclear-weapons facilities from Israeli attacks.

Also, even when both Israel and the West will build up the Baathists as the means to completely overthrow Iran, the Baathists could decide not to attack Iran at all, but to turn and attack and defeat Israel instead (Daniel 11:15-17).

 

[jgr]

On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued an assessment in response to Netanyahu's speech firmly asserting that there are "no credible indications" supporting Netanyahu's claims of a continued Iranian nuclear weapons program after 2009.

According to the AP summary of the IAEA assessment:

The U.N. nuclear agency says it believes that Iran had a “coordinated” nuclear weapons program in place before 2003, but found “no credible indications” of such work after 2009...

The documents focused on Iranian activities before 2003 and did not provide any explicit evidence that Iran has violated its 2015 nuclear deal with the international community.

The IAEA statements followed on the heels of a number of international Iran analysts weighing in to say there appeared "nothing new" in terms of "evidence" which Netanyahu confidently presented as if it were an open-and-shut bombshell revelation of Iranian malfeasance.


Carl Bildt

✔@carlbildt
Nothing really new in @netanyahu Iran speech. Confirms that Iran closed down nuclear weapons program in 2003. Continued technology efforts. In principle all of this well known. No allegation that Iran cheats on 2015 nuclear deal.

One such specialist in an op-ed for the New York Times called the supposed Israeli Mossad intelligence haul a big "nuclear nothingburger" full of things already well-known to the world, with the further implication that the intelligence operation that netted the files itself appears hokey and untrustworthy.

Middle East analyst Steven Simon noted in the Times piece that:

The archive had been stored in what Mr. Netanyahu described as a derelict warehouse in Tehran. The photos he displayed indicated that there did not even appear to be a lock on the door. One wonders how important the Iranians thought these documents were, given the slapdash approach they took to storing them. In any case, the Mossad operation that netted this haul apparently took place in January and President Trump was briefed on it shortly afterward.

Meanwhile, former Israeli National Security Advisor Uzi Arad in response to Netanyahu's claim that Iran lied about its nuclear program, said that "at no point was there any indication that Iran violated the agreement."

Indeed, after Netanyahu's bizarre performance which in typical fashion made heavy use of stage props and simplistically styled visuals (who can forget the absurd bugs bunny cartoon bomb image he held up at the U.N. in 2012?), there's been little reporting focused on just how a team of Mossad agents waltzed into Iran to steal from "a dilapidated warehouse" over 100,000 of the country's most sensitive and damning documents.

To underscore this far-fetched scenario is literally the claim being made — that a large Mossad team walked into an Iranian warehouse to physically carry and secretly transport bulk print files and CDs out of the country — a senior Israeli intelligence official was widely quoted as saying of the covert operation, "We didn’t take everything because it was too heavy."

To this we might reply it was so nice of the Iranians and their feared and paranoia-driven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to leave their most secretive and "hidden" files so unguarded and out in the open, and in an old unsecured building in which there "did not even appear to be a lock on the door" according to the NY Times.

Below is the official account currently circulating of the details of the Mossad operation inside Iran, sourced to high level Israeli officials and posted to Axios by Israeli national security reporter Barak Ravid:

• Israeli officials say the Mossad received intelligence that showed the Iranians were trying to hide all documents concerning the military dimensions of their nuclear program.
• The official said that in a highly secret operation known to a handful of Iranian officials, the Iranians transferred tens of thousands of documents and CD's from several different sites around the country to a civilian warehouse in Tehran. The Israeli official said the Iranians did all that because they were afraid IAEA inspectors would find the documents.
• The Mossad put the warehouse under surveillance and started preparing for a possible operation to seize the documents. According to Israeli officials, more than 100 Mossad spies worked on this operation and, in January 2018, it was implemented.
• A senior Israeli intelligence official said the Mossad managed to put its hands on most of the documents in the warehouse. "We didn’t take everything because it was too heavy", he said.

The trove of Persian language documents are still being reportedly translated and analyzed by separate teams of Mossad and CIA specialists.

Assuming any of the details of the claimed Mossad "secret files" heist are accurate, the likely correct version of events is that being offered by the IAEA, while the Iranians themselves remained unmoved by the strange presentation, slamming the Israeli PM's accusations, calling him "an infamous liar" who "can't stop crying wolf."

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

PESTILENCE

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Mandatory evacuations in Hawaii
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, prompting mandatory evacuations - CNN

 

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Emmanuel Macron’s coalition of the willing

https://www.politico.eu/article/emm...oalition-of-the-willing-military-cooperation/

PARIS — Impatient with German foot-dragging on defense, French President Emmanuel Macron will bring together a 10-nation coalition of the willing next month designed to prepare European armed forces to take action together in emergencies, and to bind Britain into military cooperation as it leaves the EU.

Defense ministers of France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark and Estonia will sign a letter of intent in Paris in June, officials told me, pledging to develop a common strategic culture, share analysis and foresight on trouble spots that may require intervention and work to coordinate their forces for future operations.

Macron outlined the idea in his keynote Sorbonne speech on European integration last September, calling for a common European intervention force, defense budget and doctrine for action in contingencies where the United States and NATO may not get involved. France wants to recruit allies that could help share its military burden especially in Africa, where it intervened alone in Mali in 2012 to prevent Islamist militants seizing control of a weak state.

Frustrated by the big-tent, low-ambition start to the European Union’s so-called Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defense agreed last year at Germany’s insistence, the French leader is pressing ahead with a small core of like-minded nations outside EU and NATO institutional structures.

British Prime Minister Theresa May quietly endorsed the initiative at a Franco-British summit at the Sandhurst Military Academy in January but did not publicize the step to avoid antagonizing hard-line Brexiteers in her Conservative Party, to whom any idea of an “EU army” is anathema. She did announce a practical move to help the French in the Sahel region, making available three heavy-lift Chinook helicopters to support operations in Mali.

“It’s really important to have the British on board, not just because they have the most capable, rapidly deployable armed forces along with our own, but also because we share the same strategic culture and history of projecting force outside Europe,” a senior French source said.

Alice Pannier, an expert on Franco-British defense cooperation at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, said the French idea was to bring together those European countries most experienced in military interventions and U.N. peacekeeping missions, some of which are not involved in PESCO for political reasons, such as Denmark and Britain.

Paris also approached non-NATO Sweden and Finland and non-EU Norway about the initiative but they chose to stay out at least initially, diplomats said. Under other circumstances, the French would have liked to include Poland, the most serious military player in former communist Central Europe, but that seems impossible as long as Jarosław Kaczyński’s ruling Law and Justice party stays on its authoritarian nationalist course.

By involving Estonia, they made sure they have an Eastern EU member country on the frontline with Russia engaged from the outset.

Berlin is uncomfortable with the initiative, not least because any talk of intervention upsets peace-loving Germans and raises prickly questions about legal mandates and parliamentary approval. Some officials in Berlin and Brussels regard the European Intervention Initiative — as Macron’s project is called — with suspicion as a rival to PESCO. Nevertheless, Berlin is attending the early-June launch to avoid a Franco-German rift and to keep an eye on what Paris and London are doing, a German source said.

French officials were irked that Germany publicly refused to join a U.S.-French-British airstrike on Syria last month over the use of chemical weapons (although Chancellor Angela Merkel did back the strikes after they were carried out). They are exasperated at the new German government’s failure to do more to boost the defense budget, given its big fiscal surplus and its commitment to move toward NATO’s goal of defense spending as 2 percent of gross domestic product. German spending is stalled at 1.2 percent.

Despite its reticence about using force, Germany has about 1,000 soldiers in Mali supporting the French counterterrorism campaign by serving in a U.N. peacekeeping force and participating in an EU military training mission.


Drawing Berlin deeper into defense cooperation remains a French priority. Only Germany has the money to make major next-generation armaments projects feasible, and only the Franco-German engine can drive the EU forward, even if it is sputtering on a range of issues at the moment.

Not all the news from Berlin is negative. The French and German defense ministers signed an agreement at the Berlin International Air Show on the high-level requirements for a next generation fighter to be developed jointly by historic rivals Dassault Aviation and Airbus to replace the French Rafale and pan-European Eurofighter/Typhoon warplanes. The French say they are open to Britain joining the plan at a later stage.

Big challenges remain ahead of the project, including agreeing a common timetable and detailed military specifications, and finding an interim solution to replace Germany’s aging nuclear-capable Tornado planes.

Another obstacle is reconciling arms export rules to meet France’s global export ambitions and Germany’s severe restrictions on the countries to which it may sell weapons. The previous German government infuriated Paris by blocking sales of jointly produced helicopters to Gulf states and Kazakhstan.

Although Berlin has come a long way on the role of the armed forces, it remains uncertain how far Germany will be willing to use the Bundeswehr in action outside Europe, except as U.N.-mandated peacekeepers after the French and British have done the dirty work of intervention.

Some 25 EU member countries signed up for the launch of PESCO, agreeing to a laundry list of mostly modest projects that will help plug capability gaps and reduce duplication among European militaries. Significantly, Italian companies have taken the lead in more projects than the French, who see the EU effort as being of limited value.

French officials say Macron’s initiative is not about creating new battlegroups but more about sharing analysis of potential crisis situations in Europe’s neighborhood and beyond that might require action. This might involve, for example, evacuating European nationals from civil strife in Venezuela or an African nation, or tackling a humanitarian refugee crisis in a country like Libya.

“It’s about scoping out and jointly analyzing the sort of problems that can arise and knowing how to manage them together as effectively as possible if they materialize,” a French defense source said. “It’s about feeling out our partners’ priorities and knowing in advance how and how much they could contribute if a specific crisis arises.”

French officials insist Macron’s initiative is complementary and compatible with PESCO and NATO and does not undercut efforts to build stronger defense capabilities among all willing EU countries. But the reality is that only small group coalitions are likely to be ready and willing to take robust military action outside Europe.

As the 2011 Libya war showed, that will almost always involve France and Britain, but probably not the reluctant Germans, or the procedure-bound EU as a whole. The next time a crisis strikes somewhere on Europe’s southern fringes, France and Britain are likely to be on the frontlines in uniform. Don’t expect the Germans to show up until the fighting is over.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

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[Handmaid for Jesus]

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Emmanuel Macron’s coalition of the willing

https://www.politico.eu/article/emm...oalition-of-the-willing-military-cooperation/

Ten nations eh?? Please discuss, opine, or debate at the link below
Coalition Of The Willing?

 

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[Handmaid for Jesus]

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

Trump to announce 'decision' on Iran deal on Tuesday

Trump announces countdown to Iran deal decision

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump will reveal his “decision” whether to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement on Tuesday.

The president tweeted the news on Monday, previewing a White House announcement scheduled for 2 pm local time.

The president had given European powers until May 12 to come up with “fixes” to the deal’s most controversial provisions. That’s the date by which he is required to inform Congress whether he will waive nuclear sanctions on Iran lifted by the landmark accord.

French, German and British leaders have visited Washington in recent weeks to plea for the US president to remain within the accord. But US officials say he is likely to withdraw, throwing the entire agreement in doubt.

Israeli officials are pushing for Trump to pull out, but advocates of the deal say that such a move will remove checks on Iran in its pursuit of material critical to nuclear weapons.

‘There could be war,’ France’s Emmanuel Macron warns if Trump withdraws from Iran deal

‘There could be war,’ France’s Emmanuel Macron warns if Trump withdraws from Iran deal

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that war could ensue if U.S. President Donald Trump withdraws from the 2015 deal in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

“We would open the Pandora’s box. There could be war,” Macron told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel. But he added: “I don’t think that Donald Trump wants war.”

Trump is set to decide by May 12 whether to pull out of the Iran deal. Trump has all but decided to withdraw but exactly how he will do so remains unclear, two White House officials and a source familiar with the administration’s internal debate said on May 2.

Trump could still figure out a way to stay in the deal between the Islamic Republic and six world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

Macron urged Trump not to withdraw when he met the president in Washington late last month.

Britain, France and Germany remain committed to the accord but, in an effort to keep Washington in it, want to open talks on Iran’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 – when key provisions of the deal expire – and its role in Middle East crises such as Syria and Yemen.

Iran's Rouhani warns Trump of 'historic regret' over nuclear deal

Iran: US faces historic regret over deal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that the US will face "historic regret" if Donald Trump scraps the nuclear agreement with Tehran.

Mr Rouhani's comments come as the US president decides whether to pull out of the deal by a 12 May deadline.

Mr Trump has strongly criticised the agreement, calling it "insane".

The 2015 deal - between Iran, the US, China, Russia, Germany, France and the UK - lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

France, the UK and Germany have been trying persuade the US president that the current deal is the best way to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is travelling to Washington on Sunday to discuss the matter with White House officials.

The UN also warned Mr Trump not to walk away from the deal.

However, he has threatened that the US will "withdraw" from the deal on 12 May - the end of a 120-day review period - unless Congress and European powers fixed its "disastrous flaws".

In remarks carried live on Iranian state television on Sunday, President Rouhani said: "If America leaves the nuclear deal, this will entail historic regret for it."

He warned Iran had "a plan to counter any decision Trump may take and we will confront it".

Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and says it considers the deal non-renegotiable.

Last week, Israel revealed "secret nuclear files" which it said showed Iran had run a clandestine nuclear weapons programme before 2003, and had secretly retained the technological know-how, in breach of the agreement.

Iran branded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a liar and said the documents he produced were a rehash of old allegations already dealt with by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog.

But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the documents were authentic and showed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was "built on lies".

Mr Trump is already unhappy that the current deal only limits Iran's nuclear activities for a fixed period and does not stop the development of ballistic missiles.

He also said it had handed Iran a $100bn (£72bn) windfall that it used "as a slush fund for weapons, terror, and oppression" across the Middle East.

Economic assets frozen by sanctions were returned to Iran under the terms of the deal. Iran has consistently denied US claims that it sponsors militant groups.

During two days of talks in Washington, Mr Johnson will meet US Vice-President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton and foreign policy leaders in Congress.

Earlier this month, he said it was important to keep the deal "while building on it in order to take account of the legitimate concerns of the US".

On Sunday, Mr Netanyahu again spoke out against Iran, saying it was better to confront Tehran sooner rather than later.

Addressing a cabinet meeting, he accused Iran of supplying advanced weapons to the Syrian government that posed a danger to Israel.

He added: "We are determined to block Iran's aggression against us even if this means a struggle. Better now than later."

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

Iran planning to launch a barrage of missiles against Israel

Iran planning to launch a barrage of missiles against Israel

Israel is bracing for a barrage of missiles to be launched toward military positions along its northern front from Syria by Shi’ite militias trained and funded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran is reportedly very determined to carry out an attack. Intelligence reports have indicated such an attack is in the advanced planning stages and might soon be executed as Iran vowed to do in retaliation for an alleged Israeli air strike against the T4 airbase near Homs used by the IRGC two months ago.

Israel has allegedly uncovered involvement by Hezbollah commanders and senior operatives from Shi’ite militias in the planning of the retaliatory strike. It is believed these militias, along with experts from Hezbollah under the command of the IRGC’s Quds Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani, will launch precision-guided missiles or armed drones from a base in Syria.

“The idea is to use heavy Iranian missiles, including the Fateh-110 under the command and with the advisory work of Hezbollah but without an IRGC presence,” Channel 10 reported on Sunday night, adding that Hezbollah members from Lebanon have been brought to Syria to train Shi’ite militia members for the attack.

While military officials have briefed mayors across the country on the latest developments, the heads of local councils in northern Israel have told residents there have been no special instructions or precautions issued.

While Hezbollah and the IRGC are the only groups that have the weapons and know-how to launch such an attack, it is believed the missiles will be launched by one of the many Shi’ite militia groups deployed in Syria to give Tehran the ability to deny their role.

According to Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, a research fellow at the Middle East Forum, there are several key candidates who might launch the missile barrage for Iran.

“The Syrian civil war has led to the expansion of the IRGC’s network of regional clients,” Tamimi told The Jerusalem Post. “[There are] a variety of groups that could possibly strike Israel on its behalf, such as one of the many new ‘Syrian Hezbollah’ groups integrated into the registers of the Syrian armed forces, or one of the Iraqi groups that emerged during the war, like Harakat al-Nujaba and its ‘Golan Liberation Brigade.’”

Another possible group, Tamimi said, was a Palestinian organization linked to Hezbollah and the IRGC, such as the “Force of Return,” which is currently fighting for the regime of Bashar Assad in the Yarmouk camp outside Damascus.

“But it still remains the case that Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which maintains some bases in Syria, is the most likely and capable of carrying out an attack,” Tamimi said.

According to Michael Horowitz, senior regional analyst at Le Beck, a Middle East-based geopolitical consultancy group, having Hezbollah carry out the attack would go against the plans by Tehran, which is said to be trying to avoid full-fledged war with Israel.

“This would defeat the purpose of using Shi’ite militias, which in my opinion was meant to enable Iran to respond without actually provoking an escalation,” Horowitz told the Post.

In recent months, Israel has have identified and released pictures of several air bases throughout Syria it said are being used by Iranian forces. The pictures have been released to the media in an effort to deter Iran from carrying out their strike, as those bases would likely be targeted by Israel in response.

According to Horowitz, “Israel chose to publish such threats to send the message that it will see any attack coming from an Iranian-backed group as one actually coming from Iran, and thus will respond in kind.”

Tensions have risen dramatically between the two arch-enemies recently. In late April, Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the UN Security Council that there were “over 80,000 extremists from all over the Middle East who are members of Shia militias in Syria under Iranian control.”

Israeli officials have been warning of Iranian entrenchment on the Golan Heights, an area of key strategic importance for the Jewish state. They have stressed that such activity is a red line for Jerusalem. Officials have also said the northern border is no longer considered two separate entities, but one continuous front.

In February, OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Amit Fisher warned not only of the Iranian entrenchment across the border, but also of the return of Syrian troops to an area which was relatively quiet for close to six years while under the control of rebels.

“We must prepare ourselves operationally and in terms of intelligence for the growing threat: the return of the Syrian Army and Iranian forces, Hezbollah and others,” he said.

'We may have to eliminate Assad'

'We may have to eliminate Assad'

Israel may assassinate Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, a senior Israeli official warned Monday, citing the Syrian leader’s relationship with Iran and approval for Iranian use of Syria as a base of operations against Israel.

Speaking with Yediot Ahronot on Monday, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) warned that Israel might “eliminate” the Syrian dictator if he continues to allow Iran to use Syria as a launching point for operations against Israel.

“If Syrian President Bashar Assad continues allowing the Iranians to operate out of Syria, Israel will eliminate him and topple his regime,” Steinitz said.

Israel is widely suspected of being responsible for the April 9th airstrike against the T-4 airbase outside of Homs, Syria. The facility, used by Iranian forces in Syria, was used in the past for Iranian operations against Israel, including a February drone attack over northern Israel.

Israeli aircraft shot down the drone, which Israeli officials later said was carrying explosives and had likely been en route to an attack against Israeli targets.

On Sunday, it was reported that Israeli security officials believe Iran is preparing for attacks against Israel to “avenge” the April 9th airstrike.

The reprisals would likely be launched from Iranian-controlled sites inside of Syria, and could include missile attacks on Israel.

In response, Steinitz warned Monday that continued approval by the Assad government of Iranian operations from Syria against Israel would “spell [Assad’s] end”.

If Assad allows Iran to turn Syria into a forward operating base against us,” said Steinitz, “he should know that will spell his end.”

Steinitz said the Syrian dictator would be held responsible for any attacks on Israel conducted from Syrian territory, either by Iran or the Hezbollah terror group.

"Assad can permit them to attack Israel from Syria soil, or not. He can permit them to bring in missiles, antiaircraft systems and drones into Syria, or not, and if he does—he should know there is a price tag," Steinitz continued.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

IDF on high alert in north, fears Iran reprisal may include infiltration attack

IDF on high alert in north, fears Iran reprisal may include infiltration attack

The Israeli military was in a state of high alert in the country’s north Monday, in readiness for possible retaliation by Iran over alleged Israeli strikes on its sites in Syria. Security forces are preparing for the possibility of attempted infiltrations of military bases and communities in the north, Hadashot TV news reported.

According to the report, security forces are taking steps to mitigate the damage from any such potential attack, fearing that a harsh Iranian strike could force Israel’s hand and lead to an unwanted escalation with Tehran.

Israeli officials believe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are leading efforts to retaliate against Israel, using its proxies in Syria — Hezbollah forces and Shiite militias — to attack the Jewish state, Hadashot reported.

Local authorities in the north of Israel sought to calm residents Monday after defense officials warned of the looming possibility of attack, including missile strikes on military targets.

Tehran vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid on April 9, killing at least seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strike was widely attributed to Israel, though Jerusalem refused to comment on it. T-4 was the base from which Israel said Iran launched an attack drone into Israel in February. Late last month, a second strike, allegedly conducted by Israel, against an Iranian-controlled base in northern Syria was said to have killed more than two dozen Iranian soldiers.

The Israeli military was in a state of high alert in the country’s north Monday, in readiness for possible retaliation by Iran over alleged Israeli strikes on its sites in Syria. Security forces are preparing for the possibility of attempted infiltrations of military bases and communities in the north, Hadashot TV news reported.

According to the report, security forces are taking steps to mitigate the damage from any such potential attack, fearing that a harsh Iranian strike could force Israel’s hand and lead to an unwanted escalation with Tehran.

Israeli officials believe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are leading efforts to retaliate against Israel, using its proxies in Syria — Hezbollah forces and Shiite militias — to attack the Jewish state, Hadashot reported.

Local authorities in the north of Israel sought to calm residents Monday after defense officials warned of the looming possibility of attack, including missile strikes on military targets.

Tehran vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid on April 9, killing at least seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strike was widely attributed to Israel, though Jerusalem refused to comment on it. T-4 was the base from which Israel said Iran launched an attack drone into Israel in February. Late last month, a second strike, allegedly conducted by Israel, against an Iranian-controlled base in northern Syria was said to have killed more than two dozen Iranian soldiers.

Iran’s army chief of staff warned Monday that the regime would respond to any Israeli aggression “at an appropriate time,” as the countries continued to trade threats amid spiraling tensions.

“If the enemy casts a covetous eye on our interests or conducts [even] a slight act of aggression, the Islamic Republic will give an appropriate response at an appropriate time,” Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said according to regime-affiliated Press TV.

Iran has access to a variety of surface-to-surface missiles, from short-range Fajr-5 rockets to medium-range Fateh 110 missiles, which have a range of approximately 300 kilometers (190 miles), to long-range Shahab ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets over 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) away.

“We have very advanced anti-missile systems: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, the Arrow,” Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a former head of Military Intelligence and one-time national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told reporters, referring to Israel’s air defense batteries, which are designed to shoot down short-, medium- and long-range missiles, respectively.

“I hope that most of the missiles would be intercepted by our defense systems, and military targets are supposed to absorb such attacks from time to time,” he said.

If these active air defense batteries fail, however, there are concerns that Israel’s passive protection against missiles — bomb shelters — will not provide an adequate solution.

“The working assumption is that they are planning to strike military targets, but it can escalate at any moment, and we will find ourselves in an entirely different kind of situation,” Kiryat Bialik Mayor Eli Dukorsky told Walla news. “This requires Israel to urgently fill in gaps in defense, but also requires each of us to understand that preparation should be on a personal level, as well as on a community level.”

No special safety instructions were given to residents of northern Israel, despite the threat, but the heads of local governments said they were always ready for any eventuality.

Kiryat Shmona Municipal CEO Eshkol Shukrun urged residents to remain calm, Channel 10 reported.

“The army has asked us to send a message of calm,” he said, saying that any steps they took would be closely coordinated with the army.

“Our residents are curious, and they listen to media reports, and some of them also call and ask why we have not opened the bomb shelters or made plans to evacuate them,” he added. “We give responsible answers, mainly to calm them down. We tell them that municipal officials are in direct contact with the army.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said there was no need for panic.

“There are challenges and many threats, but we know how to deal with all the threats and to cope with all the challenges,” he said from the Knesset on Monday. “There is no room for euphoria or pride, but we are ready for any scenario.”

He also stressed that Israel is not interested in escalating the situation.

On Monday, Rambam Medical Center in Haifa inaugurated a reinforced command center to serve the hospital management in the event of a missile attack on the city. They were also prepared to transfer patients to a 2,000-bed fortified underground emergency hospital if necessary.

Haifa mayor Yona Yahav said the northern coastal city was preparing for a wartime scenario.

“We are prepared 365 days a year for a crazy person to do something irresponsible like launch missiles at Haifa,” said Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, according to the Walla news site.

He urged city residents to carry on with their normal routines, offering assurances that city officials were monitoring the situation and all municipal bomb shelters were well maintained.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

Had to do some editing to include more consistent news articles for each post. Be sure to check my posts again after reading this.

 

[alsughasoughaiuyfygh]

Trump has just announced that the US will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Today is wing night at my favorite bar. I'm pigging out tonight.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Here is an update on conditions in Hawaii .

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen fire missiles at Saudi capital

World News
May 9, 2018 / 4:39 AM / Updated an hour ago
Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen fire missiles at Saudi capital
Sarah Dadouch, Noah Browning
3 Min Read

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RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen’s Houthis fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia’s capital on Wednesday - an attack Saudi authorities said they intercepted in the skies over Riyadh.

The assault took place a day after Saudi Arabia’s top Western ally the United States pulled out of a deal with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme and could signal an uptick in tensions between Riyadh and regional rival Tehran.

 

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IDF: Iranian forces fire 20 rockets at Israel; Iron Dome intercepts some

IDF: Iranian forces fire 20 rockets at Israel; Iron Dome intercepts some

Some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces in southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, with some of the incoming missiles being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the army said, amid sky high tensions on the northern border.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties in the attack. An army spokesperson said damage was caused to Israeli military bases, but that it was “limited.”

The Israeli army said the missile barrage was carried out by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Forces. This appeared to be the first time that Israel attributed an attack directly to Iran, which generally operates through proxies. The late night rocket barrage was also the largest attack, in terms of the number of rockets fired, in the seven years of the Syrian civil war.

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Tehran has repeatedly vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid — widely attributed to Israel — on April 9, killing at least seven members of the IRGC, including a senior officer responsible for the group’s drone program.

Immediately following the Iranian attack at 12:10 a.m., Syrian state media reported that Israeli artillery fire targeted a military post near the city of Baath in the Quneitra border region, where Syrian regime forces were stationed.

Approximately an hour and a half later, the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar news outlet reported that Syrian army air defenses were responding to an Israeli air strike against a target southwest of Damascus.

Syria’s state news agency said early Thursday that Syrian air defenses had intercepted “hostile Israeli missiles,” and Syrian media later said the missiles were fired over southwestern Damascus.

The pro-Syrian government Al-Mayadeen TV said more than 50 missiles had been fired from Syria toward Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.

The Israel Defense Forces spokesperson confirmed that the army had retaliated to the alleged Iranian attack, but would not comment on the specific details.

“The IDF sees this Iranian attack on Israel with severity,” said IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus.

“This event is not over,” he said.

Sirens blared across the Golan Heights throughout the exchange, sending residents into bomb shelters. The IDF Home Front Command called on residents to listen to security instructions as needed.

The spokesperson said the army was still sorting out many of the specific details related to the attack, such as which army bases were targeted, what types of projectiles were used, how many rockets were fired, from where they were launched, and how many were intercepted.

It was unclear if the Quds Forces’ rocket barrage would be the extent of Iran’s reprisal. Israeli intelligence assessments ahead of the attack indicated that Tehran was not looking to escalate the situation into all-out war and was looking instead for a contained way to retaliate, which may also be why the bombardment targeted military and not civilian sites.

A video shared on social media shortly after midnight on Thursday appeared to show the barrage of missiles apparently being fired by a multiple launch rocket systems, or MLRS, from Syria toward Israel.

Residents of both the Israeli and Syrian Golan Heights reported hearing loud, repeated explosions.

The attack came a day after the military called on local governments on the Golan Heights to open bomb shelters, in light of “abnormal” activities by Iranian forces in Syria. The barrage also followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday night that he was pulling the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions on Tehran.

On Tuesday, eight Iranians were among 15 foreign pro-regime fighters killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Syria on a weapons depot of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, a monitor said. The raid struck the area of Kisweh south of Damascus late Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Wednesday.

Syria’s official news agency SANA said on Tuesday the army had intercepted two Israeli missiles fired toward Kisweh, with state television broadcasting images of fires in the nearby area.

Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has repeatedly targeted positions of the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group backing it inside the country.

On April 29, missile strikes — “probably Israeli” — fired on regime military positions near the cities of Hama and Aleppo in northern Syria killed at least 26 mostly Iranian fighters, according to the Observatory.

On April 9, missiles targeted the T-4 air base in the central province of Homs, killing up to 14 fighters, including seven Iranians, two days after an alleged chemical attack carried out by the Syrian regime.

Russia, Iran and Syria accused Israel of carrying out the strike.

In light of both the general tension and specific intelligence, the IDF went on high alert this week, deploying additional missile defense batteries in northern Israel. “There is high preparedness of IDF troops for an attack,” the army said on Tuesday.

A number of army reservists were called upon Tuesday night, the army said. An IDF spokesperson would not elaborate on which units they came from, but media reports indicated they served in air defense, intelligence and Home Front Command units.

Earlier on Tuesday, the US embassy in Israel also prohibited American government employees from visiting the Golan Heights without approval in light of the security situation on the border.

“The IDF is ready and prepared for a variety of scenarios and warns that any action against Israel will be answered with a fierce retaliation,” the army said.

On Sunday night, Israeli defense officials warned that Iran was planning to retaliate for recent deadly airstrikes in Syria, which have been attributed to the Jewish state, by having its proxies fire missiles at military targets in northern Israel sometime in the near future.

Security forces were also preparing for the possibility of attempted infiltrations of military bases and communities in the north, Hadashot TV news reported on Monday.

 

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Israeli Army Attacks Iranian Targets in Syria in Retaliation for Strike on Golan Heights

Israeli army attacks Iranian targets in Syria in retaliation for strike on Golan Heights

The Israeli military said early Thursday morning that Israel is carrying out an attack on Iranian targets in Syria. The army's spokesperson for Arabic media said that "the Israeli air force is currently attacking Iranian targets in Syria. Any Syrian attempt to respond will be met with a tough Israeli reaction."

This attack comes after Syrian reports claimed earlier overnight that Israeli missiles were launched at Syria. The reports, which were not confirmed by Israel, alleged that Syria has intercepted some of the missiles.

Moments earlier, a barrage of 20 rockets was fired from Syria towards Israeli military outposts in the Golan Heights. No injuries were reported. Several rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

The Israeli army is attributing the attack to members of the Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The rocket fire struck near the border with Syria.

The military said intelligence assessments earlier in the week anticipated that after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear accord, Israel was likely to be targeted by rocket fire and Iran would try to retaliate.

Nonetheless, the army has predicted that such an attack would not lead to a full-fledged war. Tehran has issued several threats over the past month, saying that it would hurt Israel in response to a slew of attacks that were ascribed to the Israeli air force. The latest attack, carried out on May 9, claimed the lives of seven Iranians in the Syrian air force base T4.

Over the past month tensions have been high along the Israeli border with Syria and the army has increased security measures in the area, deploying more Iron Dome batteries across the northern region.

After rocket fire was reported Wednesday night, IDF Spokesperson Ronen Manelis told reporters that the attack was carried out by members of the Iranian Quds force and that Israel views the incident gravely. The army is currently assessing the situation and considering whether to hand out more instructions to Israeli residents of the area to fend off should the situation escalate further.

This is the first time Israel directly accuses Iran of firing towards Israeli territory. During the Syrian Civil War errant fire struck the Golan several times; usually local organizations in southern Syria that are affiliated with Iran, Hezbollah and the Assad regime were behind those attacks. This Iran-led strike on Israeli territory, however, is the most extensive of its kind to date.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Wednesday that Israel has attacked targets of the Syrian military on the outskirts of Quneitra in the Golan Heights.

Shortly thereafter siren alerts sounded in communities in the north and center of the Golan Heights in northern Israel. The Home Front Command released a reminder on safety regulations to residents of the area; some reported hearing explosions.

The Golan Regional Council released a statement saying that several towns in the Golan were targeted by rocket fire and that residents of those towns are requested to stay in shelters until notified otherwise.

A U.S. State Department official responded to the escalation on Wednesday, telling Haaretz that the State Department wishes to reiterate Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement from last week in which he stressed the U.S.'s support of Israel against the Iranian threat.
"We stand with Israel in the fight against Iran’s malign activities and we strongly support Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself. If true [evidence provided by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Iran's nuclear activity in recent years], this only bolsters our decision to terminate the JCPOA. Iran will have showed the world it's true intentions. Let there be no doubt."

This attack comes on the heels of a Syrian report Tuesday accusing Israel of carrying out an attack on a military base south of Damascus, which was used by Iranian forces. According to reports, Israeli fighter jets entered Syrian airspace and struck Iranian missiles aimed at Israel.

 

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