Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took his case against the Iran nuclear deal to visiting US Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday, telling him it poses a grave threat to Israel, the region and the world.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said it plainly just before landing in Israel, where officials are fuming over the Iran nuclear deal: “I’m not going to change anybody’s mind in Israel. That’s not the purpose of my trip.”
Almost half of Israelis would support a unilateral strike to prevent Iran obtaining the atomic bomb, an opinion poll carried out after Tuesday’s nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers found.
At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian President Rouhani, saying, “The ruler of Iran, Khamenei, was quoted as saying the U.S. must be fought, regardless of whether there is a [nuclear] agreement. The president of Iran, Rouhani, led a hate march in the streets of Tehran in which U.S. and Israeli flags were burned and many chanted ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.’
An agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program could create a bonanza for U.S. defense contractors who already are benefiting as the Obama administration tries to assuage Israeli and Gulf Arab concerns by cutting deals for more than $6 billion in military hardware.
France denied on Wednesday that it was backing away from plans to submit a UN Security Council resolution calling for a two-state solution based on the 1967 lines.
The American negotiating team at the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna has not updated Israel on developments in the talks in nearly two weeks, Israeli and American officials agreed Tuesday.
Jerusalem reacted furiously over reports Saturday that world powers were closing in on a long-sought pact that would see the lifting of sanctions in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program.
On Wednesday, Turkey said it was holding talks with Israel over a deal to reconcile the two former allies following a deadly Israeli commando raid on a Turkish aid vessel bound for Gaza.
Eight Islamist groups active near Israel’s border in southern Syria have united into one bloc as the country’s Druse come under increasing pressure.
President Barack Obama endorsed the Palestinian position on the 1967 lines in 2011 and by so doing altered more than 40 years of American policy without prior consultation with Israel, former ambassador to the US Michael Oren writes in a book to be published later this month.
The US Supreme Court has struck down a disputed law that would have allowed Americans born in Jerusalem to list their birthplace as Israel on their US passports. It’s an important ruling that underscores the president’s authority in foreign affairs.
Last November, a senior IDF officer warned of the implications of a Third Lebanon War. His name is Yair Golan, and he was at the time ending his stint as GOC Northern Command and transferring to Tel Aviv to serve as deputy chief of staff, Ynet reported.
Fallout from the Obama administration’s preliminary nuclear deal with Iran stretched from Capitol Hill to Jerusalem on Easter Sunday, with lawmakers vowing to push ahead with legislation that would give them, not the president, the final say on whether the agreement crosses the finish line.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday against the emerging nuclear deal with Iran, as Iranian and Western officials in Lausanne, Switzerland were rushing to reach a framework agreement by an end-of-month deadline, the Times of Israel reported.
As voting ended in Israel’s Knesset elections Tuesday night, TV exit polls showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu well placed to retain the premiership, with his Likud party neck and neck with rival Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union but better positioned to build a coalition. Netanyahu hailed a Likud victory, though Herzog refused to concede, the Times of Israel reported.
The Obama administration said Monday it was reviewing its annual $440 million aid package to the Palestinians because of their effort to join the International Criminal Court to pursue war-crimes charges against Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is concerned about the direction the world’s negotiations with Iran are going, and warned of the danger of the Islamic Republic becoming a nuclear threshold state.
Last week, Hamas Political Bureau member Mahmoud Al-Zahar said that Hamas wants to build an Islamic state in all of Palestine, meaning it would replace Israel.
Hezbollah may implement its plan to invade northern Israel if a third Lebanon war breaks out, according to an estimate by the IDF Northern Command. Sources in Israel have identified a change in the Shiite terror group’s policies, which Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has defined as “breaking the silence.”