Current Events
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Iran: U.N. Criticism Prompted New Nuclear Plans
Nov. 30, 2009 - Reacting to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency's condemnation of Iran's nuclear power program, Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi announced Iran's decision to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities.
- On Sunday, Cabinet ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to begin building new facilities at five sites that have already been studied and propose five other locations for future construction within two months.
- Source: Fox
Iran rebuked over nuclear 'cover-up' by UN watchdog
Nov. 27, 2009 - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution condemning Iran for developing a second uranium enrichment site in secret. The vote was 25 in favor to 3 opposed. Even Russia and China agreed.
- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the vote sent the clearest possible signal to Iran.
"I believe the next stage will have to be sanctions if Iran does not respond to what is a very clear vote," he said.
- Source: BBC
World powers urge Iran to stop 'stonewalling' IAEA probe
Nov. 24, 2009 - A resolution for Iran to be more honest about its nuclear programs will be presented Thursday at the year-end meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation governing board. Six nations, the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China, back the resolution that also asks Iran to confirm it has no more hidden atomic work.
- Russian and Chinese support could be significant since they have often blocked tougher action against Iran in the IAEA's governing body and the UN Security Council, including the pursuit of tough sanctions.
- Source: Haaretz
Ahmadinejad Says U.S., Israel Lack 'Courage' to Attack
Nov. 24, 2009 - Visiting Brazil, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that a military strike by the U.S. or Israel was no longer a possibility because "they don't have the courage" to attack Iran. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Iran's leader gave Ahmadinejad a welcoming bear hug and urged Western nations to drop threats of punishment over the Iranian nuclear program and instead negotiate a fair solution.
- Source: Fox
Obama Warns Iran of Punishment Over Nukes
Nov. 19, 2009 - Iran has rejected a compromise proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium to Russia to ensure that it would not be further enriched to make weapons. Reacting to this news, President Obama warned that the U.S. and its international partners would begin discussions about consequences of their actions.
- "Our expectation is, is that over the next several weeks we will be developing a package of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran."
- Source: Fox
U.N. Nuclear Chief in Secret Talks With Iran Over Deal to End Sanctions
Nov. 17, 2009 - Mohamed El Baradei, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is due to step down from his position at the end of this month. In an effort to improve his legacy, his staff have been secretly negotiating a deal with Iran to cooperate with U.N. inspectors. In return, world powers would lift sanctions and allow Iran to keep most of its nuclear program.
- The plan would require the U.N. Security Council to revoke the three existing sanctions and five resolutions ordering Iran to halt its uranium enrichment — an unthinkable development at a time when the West is focused on how to impose more, not fewer, sanctions on Iran.
- Source: Fox
Ahmadinejad: 'Obama must choose - Israel or Iran'
Nov. 11, 2009 - Speaking to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the U.S. President must choose between support of Israel or Iran.
- "The support of both Israel and Iran can't go hand in hand," he was quoted as saying by IRNA. "No change is made unless great choices are made."
- Source: Jerusalem Post
Israel threat to attack Iran is not a bluff, deputy FM says
Nov. 6, 2009 - The latest round of talks about shipping Iran's uranium abroad for enrichment is just another stalling tactic according to Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Ayalon says that Israel is not bluffing in its threats to take military action against Iran's contentious nuclear program.
- "The one who's bluffing is Iran, which is trying to play with cards they don't have," Ayalon told the British station [Sky News]. "All the bravado that we see and the testing and the very dangerous and harsh rhetoric is hiding a lot of weaknesses."
In a related story, the United Nations nuclear watchdog has asked Iran about new evidence that they have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design.
- Source: Haaretz
Russia 'simulates' nuclear attack on Poland
Nov. 1, 2009 - The Polish people are outraged by news of a simulated air and sea attack on the country in september. About 13,000 Russian and Belarusian troops were involved in an amphibious landing and simulated attack on a gas pipeline.
- The documents state the exercises, code-named "West", were officially classified as "defensive" but many of the operations appeared to have an offensive nature.
The Russian air force practised using weapons from its nuclear arsenal.
- Source: Telegraph UK
Israeli military strike more likely after Iran misses nuclear deadline
Oct. 24, 2009 - Last week America's John Bolton said that that an Israeli nuclear strike is not off the table. Talk of a deal to remove most of Iran's low-grade uranium from the country might slow down the process, but experts do not expect Iran to agree to the deal.
- Source: Telegraph - UK
Iran says Israeli threats 'irresponsible,' appeals to UN
Oct. 10, 2009 -Israel's former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh recently said that Israel will attack Iran if new sanctions are not in place by Christmas.
- Israel is growing impatient with Washington and has been publicly discussing its military options for months. For its part, Iran has threatened to retaliate against the heart of Israel should any military option materialize.
Iran has protested to the United Nations about Israel's aggressive tone. Iran's ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaee, said Israel's military overtures are "irresponsible."
- Source: Digital Journal
- 'Iran will blow up the heart of Israel' if attacked - Jerusalem Post
Disappearance of Iranian scientist creates mystery
Oct. 8, 2009 - While on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June, Shahram Amiri, who reportedly worked at a Iranian university linked to the elite Revolutionary Guard, disappeared. Iran's foreign minister has accused the United States of involvement in his possible defection.
- Amiri vanished several months before the September revelation of a uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom, which the United States and its allies accuse Iran of building secretly.
It is possible that Amiri may have given nuclear plans to Western officials.
- Source: Yahoo -AP
Iran and the U.S. Face-to-Face: Was Anything Accomplished?
Oct. 2, 2009 - Greta Van Susteren, Fox News Host, asked former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger his opinion on the face-to-face meeting between Iran and the United States and five other nations in Switzerland. She asked "Can anything stop Iran from building nuclear weapons?" And, "Was anything really accomplished?" Eagleburger said:
- I think it was OK. I just don't think anything's going to come of it because I don't think Iran intends any sort of a compromise.
He also said he thinks there may be some sanctions imposed on Iran for a while, but not by enough countries to make a difference. In the end, he thinks Iran will just join the list of nuclear powers.
- Source: Fox
- There Are Only Two Choices Left on Iran - An Israeli or U.S. military strike now, or a nuclear Tehran soon. - Wall Street Journal
- Israel Tones Down Warnings of Strike on Iran as Diplomatic Efforts Intensify - Voice of America
- Possibility of a Nuclear-Armed Iran Alarms Arabs - New York Times
Netanyahu to U.S.: Time is now for action on Iran nukes
Sept. 28, 2009 - Following his powerful speech at the UN last week and news that Iran has a additional nuclear facility at a military base, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made phone calls to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Senators and Congress members. He urged them to act now to stop the Iranian nuclear threat.
- "If not now, then when?" Netanyahu reportedly asked in the conversations with American officials.
- Source: Haaretz
- Watch or read Netanyahu's full speech to the UN - Capital J
- Iran's missiles are ‘ready to destroy Israel’ - Times Online
- Apocalyptic Storm Forming in the Middle East - Joel Rosenberg - WorldViewTimes
Israel's Final Warning to the World?
Sept. 26, 2009 - At the recent UN meeting Israeli Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu accused the UN of inaction toward the Iranian nuclear threat.
- “I believe...peace can be achieved,” said Netanyahu. “But only if we roll back the forces of terror, led by Iran, that seek to destroy peace, eliminate Israel and overthrow the world order. The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront those forces or accommodate them.”
Lee Hockstader, who was The Washington Post’s correspondent in Israel 10 years ago, remembers Israel's urgent concern about this issue at that time. He wonders if Netanyahu latest speech will be their final warning to the world.
- Source: Washington Post
'Ahmadinejad is antithesis of moral'
Sept. 24, 2009 - Following Iranian President Ahmadinejad's anti-Israeli tirade at the United Nations, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the walkout by Western delegates during his speech showed that Israel's diplomatic efforts were working. Today Israel's President Shimon Perez also spoke out against Ahmadinejad.
- Speaking to 1,000 students at the Kfar Hayarok school in central Israel, Peres said, "If there's anyone who is the antithesis of moral and of the Jewish people it's the Iranian leader Ahmadinejad."
- Source: Jerusalem Post
New Yorkers Snub Ahmadinejad, Gaddafi on Visit to U.N.
Sept. 22, 2009 - Moammar Gaddafi of Libya and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran have not found a decent place to stay during their visit to New York for the annual plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly. President Obama won't meet with them and New Yorkers don't like the idea that they are in town. They have been "kicked out of hotels, denied apartment rentals, [and] abandoned by their dinner guests."
- Many of the Englewood residents were particularly incensed by the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan imprisoned in Scotland for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, who was warmly welcomed home in Libya by Gaddafi last month.
Ahmadinejad recently restated his denial that the holocaust - the killing of six million Jews during WWII - ever happened, and then gloated that his remarks were upsetting to us.
- Source: ABC
Brzezinski: US should down IAF jets
Sept 21, 2009 -
- Former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski has urged US President Barack Obama to make it clear that if the IAF [Israeli Air Force] tries to launch an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities via Iraqi airspace, the US Air Force will shoot down the Israeli jets.
- Source: Jerusalem Post
Israel will not attack Iran, says Kremlin
Sept. 20. 2009 - According to Russian President Medvedev, Israel promised it will not launch an attack on Iran.
- Shimon Peres, his Israeli counterpart, gave such an assurance during a meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi last month.
- Source: Times Online
Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb tells just how easy it is
Sept. 20, 2009 - In a recent interview, Dr. Abdul Khader Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. He stole the centrifuge blueprints from Holland in the 1990's and smuggled them into Pakistan. Once Pakistan had the bomb he turned his attention to the rest of the Islamic world. His offer to help Algeria, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia were declined.
- Iran and Libya, however, accepted his offer and paid him millions of dollars. He established a smuggling network that provided equipment and technology to Iran and Libya, and apparently to North Korea as well.
- Source: HaAretz
'IAEA: Iran can now build nuclear bomb'
September 18, 2009 - Even though the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency's chief has not been willing to admit it, other senior officials there have drafted a secret document that claims that Iran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and is on the way to developing a missile system able to carry an atomic warhead.
- Source: Jerusalem Post
US to shelve Europe missile plan
Sept. 17, 2009 - President Obama has announced that US Plans to build a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic have been scrapped. The reason given for the decision is that Iran's long-range missile plans are not as advanced as previously thought.
- Russia, which saw the missile plan as a threat, welcomed the news.
However, the change has already been heavily criticised in conservative circles in the US.
- Source: BBC
ANALYSIS / Clock is ticking for Iran as Israel appears ready for strike
Sept. 12, 2009 - A recent Wall Street Journal article warned the president that the United States must act quickly to gain a nuclear agreement with Iran. If the U.S. fails, Israel will bomb the Iranian facilities.
- Most Western intelligence services share the assessment that over the course of 2010, Iran will accumulate sufficient fissionable material to produce two or three nuclear bombs.
- Source: HaAretz
U.S. Says Iran Could Expedite Nuclear Bomb
Sept. 10, 2009 -
- The American ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency declared on Wednesday that Iran now had what he called a “possible breakout capacity” if it decided to enrich its stockpile of uranium, converting it to bomb-grade material.
In making this statement, ambassador, Glyn Davies, was urging American allies to adopt more severe sanctions against Iran including a cutoff of gasoline to the country if Iran does not accept President Obama’s invitation for serious negotiations.
However, the warning could have the effect of hastening plans by Israel for a military strike against Iran’s facilities.
- Source: - William J. Broad, Mark Mazzetti and David E. Sanger - N.Y. Times
Report: Russia has MiG contract with Syria
Sept. 3, 2009 - Alexei Fyodorov, the head of Russia's state-run United Aircraft Corporation, reportedly said that a 2007 contract to sell MiG-31E interceptor fighters to Syria has not yet entered into effect, but is in the process of being implemented.
- The speedy MiG-31E can fire simultaneously at several targets up to 180 kilometers away. Deliveries to Syria might compromise Israel safety.
- Source: Jerusalem Post
- Report: Russia to supply Syria with powerful MiG fighter jets - HaAretz
Wall Street Journal: Israel may attack Iran
Aug. 31, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal, the most important conservative newspaper in America, has warned the United States that it must deal quickly to stop Iran's nuclear program or an Israeli military strike will be inevitable.
- In its editorial, the newspaper accused the Obama Administration of investing more diplomatic efforts during its first seven months diplomatic warning Israel not to strike than it has rallying the world to stop Iran.
- Source: YNet News
Was Russia's 'Arctic Sea' Carrying Missiles to Iran?
Aug. 31, 2009 - The Arctic Sea, a Russian cargo ship disappeared in July on its way from Finland to Algeria. Russia eventually found the ship and claims that the ship had been hijacked and then rescued by its navy without a shot being fired.
- But there are baffling details left unexplained, leading some experts to claim that the truth is much more sinister: the they say, was intercepted by Israel as it carried a secret cargo of weapons to the Middle East.
The European Union's rapporteur on piracy and a former commander of the Estonian armed forces, Admiral Tarmo Kouts, says that only a shipment of missiles could account for Russia's bizarre behavior during the event.
- Source: TIME
Libya to Flaunt Lockerbie Bomber at Celebration
Sept. 1, 2009 - Today, in Tripoli’s Green Square, Libya will celebrate Colonel Muammar Qaddafi's 40 years in power. In a spectacular two-hour show, Qaddafi will be honored for reviving his country and restoring Arab pride. The The Times of London reports that dress rehearsal for the program included a disturbing element. On the giant screen behind the stage a video will be shown of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the "Lockerbie Bomber," stepping off the plane after his release from a Scottish prison.
- His arms are raised aloft by Colonel Qaddafi’s son, Saif, as he acknowledges the joyful reception from the crowd below.
Unless it is cut out at the last minute, the clip’s inclusion seems almost calculated to provoke the West.
- Source: FOX
- Tony Blair Sealed Lockerbie Oil Deal with Gaddafi - Rapture Ready
- Historical notes and commentary about Libya
- In Overture to Iran, Qaddafi Declares North Africa Shi'ite and Calls for Establishment of New Fatimid State - 2007 - Jihad Watch
- Magog Revisited - 2006 - Chuck Missler
- When Reagan Called Libya's Muammar el Qaddafi the "Mad Dog of the Middle East" - 1986 - About.com
Israel weighs Iranian threat
Aug. 21, 2009 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. However, there are differing opinions about when Iran will have the bomb. Some believe that it is years away, but others think it could be very soon. Some think Iran will not use the bomb against Israel.
- But even if Israel's conviction is correct that Iran wants a nuclear weapon and it is close to achieving that desire, does that mean it would use it against Israel?
One thing is clear. Israel will not take the military option of a preemptive strike off the table.
- Source:CNN
- Israel may hastily bring forward air attack on Iran if doubts grow - APA
Ayatollah sees global Islamic 'Mahdi' army
Aug. 19, 2009 - Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei has called for Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan to join Iran militarily to prepare for the coming of the Madhi, their messiah. His spokesman, Ali Saeedi, said:
- "We have to train honest forces that can stop the obstacles that may hinder the coming of the Mahdi like the United States and Israel."
- Source: WorldNetDaily
- Israel says UN covering up Iran's nuclear arms drive - Breitbart
Iran's regime and opposition on course for deadly showdown
Aug. 17, 2009 - Following the recent presidential elections in Iran, thousands of protesters complained that the elections were rigged. Many of the protesters were arrested. Two sets of trials have already been conducted, and a third began on Aug. 13.
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his hard-line supporters are calling for opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to be tried for sedition after he announced Saturday, Aug. 15, the formation of The Green Path of Hope movement to restore the people's stolen rights.
DEBKAfile's sources indicate that President Ahmadinejad wants to cause a takeover of the regime by the Revolutionary Guards.
- Source: DEBKAfile
Iranian Reformists Challenge Supreme Leader
Aug. 15, 2009 - Iranian reformists have sent a letter one of Iran's highest clerical bodies requesting them to consider whether or not Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is capable of fulfilling his "constitutional duties."
- Under Iran's constitution, the Assembly of Experts has the power to appoint the supreme leader or remove him from power, although until now challenging the supreme leader's authority has been a political taboo.
- Source: Voice of America
Report: Israel planned to strike Iran during riots
Aug. 8, 2009 - According to a report in the al-Jarida newspaper in Kuwait a US diplomat in Jerusalem claims
that Israel wanted to attack Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities during the Iranian election protests last month.
Israel supposedly asked for US permission for the attack.
- The source added that the Obama administration ignored the Israeli request, that was sent by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with President Shimon Peres's signature as well.
The operation was called off when the US failed to respond.
- Source:
A Weakened Ahmadinejad Sworn in for a Second Term
Aug. 5, 2009 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been installed for a second term with the backing of
Ayatullah Ali Khamenei.
- The Islamic Republic remains in the grip of an unprecedented political crisis over the legitimacy of both
men — a crisis that shows no sign of abating, either on the streets or inside the corridors of power.
Political opponents and brave protesters oppose the power of both men, especially because of the socioeconomic crisis
and concern about the country's nuclear program and the resulting international tensions it causes.
- Source: TIME
Pentagon to speed giant "bunker buster"
production amid Iranian, North Korean nuclear concerns
Aug. 4, 2009 - For the first time, The Obama administration has indicated that if diplomatic engagement with Iran about their nuclear weapons program
is not successful, military action would be considered.
- Northrop Grumman
Corp's radar-evading "stealth" B-2 bomber would be capable of carrying the non-nuclear, 30,000-pound Massive
Ordnance Penetrator, MOP, which is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers, by July 2010.
Meanwhile, the Air force and Department of Defense are exploring ways to make the bombers ready sooner.
- Source: DEBKAfile
'Times': Iran could have nuke in a year
Aug. 3, 2009 - According to The Times (UK), Iran could complete the manufacture of an atomic bomb within a year. The British newspaper claimed that Iran had put a stop to its nuclear arms research program in 2003 because it had already developed the means to detonate a nuclear warhead. The country is now just waiting for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to give the go-ahead.
- Once Khamenei gives the word, the sources said, six months would be needed to "enrich low-enriched uranium to highly-enriched uranium at the Natanz plant," and a further six months to put together the warhead itself.
- Source: Jerusalem Post
US to Israel: Leave the military option against Iran to us
Aug. 1, 2009 - In marathon talks in Israel, US defense secretary Robert Gates and national security adviser James Jones met with prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, defense minister Ehud Barak, and other top Israeli defense officials. The US proposed a three-stage plan to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program that would leave the military option to the US. The problem for Israel is that the US will wait longer than Israel would to try to accomplish diplomatic success before using military force.
- Source: DEBKAfile
'Russia, Iran to hold naval maneuver'
July 30, 2009 - Russia and Iran plans to conduct a first-ever maneuver with 30 Russian and Iranian ships plus helicopters in the Caspian Sea.
- A senior official in the Iranian ports authority was quoted by the report as saying that the maneuver would increase the coordination between the two countries,
Russia and Iran are close trading partners. Russia is building Iran's first nuclear power plant in Bushehr, and opposes imposing further sanctions on Iran over its uranium enrichment program.
- Source: Jerusalem Post
Iran Threatens Strike on Israel's Nuclear Facilities if Attacked
July 25, 2009 - Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander-in-chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, warned Saturday that Iran would target Israel's nuclear facilities if Israel attacks their country. He said that Israel was entirely within the reach of Iran's missiles.
- Source: Fox
Middle East atomic conflict would kill tens of millions: report
July 24, 2009 - Analysts from Washington's Center for Strategic & International Studies warn that a nuclear exchange between Iran and Israel would devastate both countries and contaminate much of the Middle East.
- It could "wipe Israel off the map in a matter of seconds," Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said recently. The Iranians could "accomplish ... what they denied Hitler did, and kill six million Jews, literally."
Retaliation from Israel would kill between 16 million and 28 million Iranians.
- Source: National Post
- U.S. missile defense test 'a failure' - WorldNetDaily
Israel Agitated by Hillary's Comments on Iran
July 23, 2009 - On Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's said that the United States would extend a "defense umbrella" over its Mideast allies to combat the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Dan Meridor, Israel's minister for secret services, said "This is a mistake." It might mean that the United States would be willing to accept a nuclear-armed Iran.
- Source: Newsmax
Israeli Warships in Suez Canal a Signal to Iran?
July 16, 2009 - An Israeli submarine capable of launching nuclear missiles, and two Israeli warships have entered the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. Israel has strengthened ties with some Arab nations that are fearful about Iran's growing nuclear weapons program.
- "This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These maneuvers are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats," the Times of London quoted an Israeli defense official as saying.
- Source: Fox
- Netanyahu tight-lipped about imminent Iran attack - WorldNetDaily
2 IDF warships cross Suez to Red Sea
June 14, 2009 - Two Sa'ar 5-class Israeli warships have crossed the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The two ships, the INS Hanit and the INS Eilat are described as large missile ships. An Israeli Dolphin-class submarine has also used the canal for the first time to reach the Red Sea. Dolphin-class submarines can fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.
- The significance of the move is debatable, but could be interpreted as a message to Iran and a demonstration of a strengthening of ties between Egypt and Israel. Iran has recently deployed several of its navy ships in the Gulf of Aden and near Eritrea.
- Source: Jerusalem Post
Israel orders 1st stealth F-35 squadron
July 10, 2009 - Israel has submitted an official Letter of Request to the Pentagon to purchase its first squadron of twenty-five F-35 stealth fighter jets.
- The F-35 will be one of the most-advanced fighter jets in the world and will enable Israel to phase out some of its older F-15 and F-16 models.
The next step will be the signing of a contract in the beginning of 2010. The first aircraft are scheduled to arrive in Israel in 2014.
- Source: Jerusalem Post
- Netanyahu adviser raises "MAD" nuclear scenario - Alertnet
U.S. military chief says clock ticking on Iran nuke
July 9, 2009 -
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that time is running out for dialogue with Tehran to avoid either a nuclear-armed Iran or a possible military strike against the Islamic Republic. Iran may only be a year away from developing a nuclear bomb, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the map. Diplomatic efforts must succeed soon, or time will run out.
- "There's a great deal that certainly depends on the dialogue and the engagement," he said. "I'm hopeful that that dialogue is productive. I worry about it a great deal if it's not."
- Source:
Obama: 'Absolutlely' no US green light for attacking Iran
July 8, 2009 - Reacting to Vice President Joe Biden's comments that the U.S. can not dictate what Israel can do, President Obama said the U.S. has "absolutely not" given Israel a green light for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Biden had said,
- "Israel can determine for itself - it's a sovereign nation - what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else."
- Source: Jerusalem Post
- Israel: 'Makes No Sense' to Ask Obama for Help With Iran Strike - Newsmax
Israel denies Saudis gave IDF airspace clearance for Iran strike
July 6, 2009 - Britain's Sunday Times claimed that Mossad chief Meir Dagan held secret meetings with Saudi officials, and they gave approval to Israel's use of their airspace if Israel decides to launch a military assault against Iran's nuclear facilities.
- The Prime Minister's office issued a statement in response Sunday morning, saying that "the Sunday Times report is fundamentally false and completely baseless."
- Source: Haaretz
- Saudis give nod to Israeli raid on Iran - TimesOnline
- Biden Gives Green Light for Israeli Iran Attack While Administration Backtracks - NewsMax
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