WarSclerotic

Israeli silence on Syria is strategic | NDTV.com.

Reuters | Updated: February 01, 2013 18:19 IST

Jerusalem: Military secrets are not readily divulged anywhere. But in Israel the blanket silence that envelops officials after an event like Wednesday’s mysterious air strike on Syria reflects a deeper strategy involving both deterrence and outreach.

Beyond customary concern to safeguard spies and tactics for a government currently engaged in a graver confrontation with Iran, Israelis see such reticence as allowing their foes to save face and thus reduce the risk of reprisal and escalation.

Keeping silent, and so avoiding accusations of provocatively bragging of its exploits, also smoothes Israel’s discreet cooperation with Muslim neighbours – such as Turkey or Jordan – who might otherwise feel bound to distance themselves.

Israeli leaders see benefit at home from not trumpeting successes that might give their public, or indeed Western allies, an exaggerated faith in their forces’ capabilities.

And given international complaints that an unprovoked strike on a sovereign power breached international law, admitting the fact could only provide diplomatic complications.

So it was in 2007, when then prime minister Ehud Olmert muzzled his staff after the bombing of a suspected Syrian atomic reactor – a no-comment policy still in effect, though the United States has freely discussed that Israeli sortie and its target.

Olmert “wanted to avoid anything that might back Syria into a corner and force Assad to retaliate,” the U.S. president at the time, George W. Bush, would recall in his memoir.

A former Olmert aide confirmed that account, telling Reuters the premier also feared for close military ties with Turkey, whose territory the Israeli warplanes crossed en route to Syria.

Israelis were then – as now – poised for a threatened war against arch-enemy Iran. Olmert, skeptical about whether Israel had the clout to take on the distant and much larger adversary, did not want to mislead his public by playing up the successful but far smaller-scale sortie against Syria next door.

“We knew the message of what had taken place would be received by the Syrian and Iranian leaderships, and that was enough for us,” the ex-aide said on condition of anonymity.

So if Israel did attack a Syrian arms convoy headed to Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas, or a military complex near Damascus, around dawn on Wednesday, as described by various sources, a similar logic may now be keeping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his cabinet and defence chiefs quiet.

Tackling the Iranian nuclear programme is Israel’s top priority, making it hesistant to lurch into other conflicts – especially with Syria’s Assad government, an old enemy whose menace has faded, in Israeli eyes, with the two-year-old revolt.

Nor does Israel seek a flare-up with Hezbollah, which has mostly held fire since their 2006 war in southern Lebanon.

LINES AND ALLIES

Russia, Damascus’s long-time arms supplier, said any Israeli air strike would amount to unacceptable military interference.

A former Israeli national security adviser, Giora Eiland, agreed. If Israel indeed attacked Syria, he said, eluding legal scrutiny might be a secondary reason for its silence: “The U.N. will never jump to back a military operation – certainly not by Israel,” Eiland told Reuters.

Mindful, perhaps, of the self-imposed silence that would follow any raid, Israeli officials may have taken pains to offer justifications for any intervention in advance.

For months, they had been saying that if Iranian-backed Hezbollah, or Syria’s Islamist rebels, acquired Syrian chemical weapons or advanced Russian missiles as Assad’s grip faltered, that could pose a new order of threat to Israel – a “red line” the Netanyahu government said must not be crossed.

Such warnings came thick and fast early this week, then died out when news surfaced of Wednesday’s strike – albeit some hours after it took place, a lag itself attesting to Israeli stealth and, perhaps, Syrian and Lebanese reluctance to go public.

Israel’s military censors then quickly stepped in, barring media there from reporting anything on it from Israeli sources.

For Israeli media to have given even anonymous commentaries on an attack on Syria from Israeli officials, would only make it harder for the Israeli government to avoid provoking hostility from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others on whom it is counting for at least quiescence in its struggle with mutual foe Tehran.

The former Olmert aide said Israel’s secrecy policy amounted to “recognising Middle East manliness” – not adding insult to injury for enemies and friends alike. Control of its own media by the censors reflected the fact that, “in this part of the world, many people see the messaging from a country’s media as synonymous with the messaging from that country’s government”.

So whether Israel wants to avoid provoking Syria, Hezbollah and Iran, or alienating Turkey and the Sunni Arabs, the former aide said, “silence is the best way forward”.

Sunni-Shi’ite battles spread like wildfire | JPost | Israel News.

US Prepares for Al Qaeda Revenge.

Ronen Solomon

2/8/2013

Yesterday the US State Department issued an unusual instruction to all of its offices throughout the Muslim world to close their gates on Sunday of August 4, due to a concrete but nonspecific terror threat.

The instruction was based on reliable intelligence that Al Qaeda is initiating a terrorist attack against a US target, with emphasis on diplomatic representations, in an unknown location but at a timing marking the end of the Ramadan fast and the birthday of US President Barack Obama.

What is the reason behind the current alert?

Unlike similar warnings from time to time, this alert does not include western targets, but a concrete threat towards US targets, or a settling of accounts with the US.

This warning is linked to an Al Qaeda effort to seek revenge over the death of Sheik Said al-Shihri, second in command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who was killed last month by a US drone operated by the CIA in Yemmen. Ah-Shihri, of Saudi Arabian origins, was arrested at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for several years and was released in 2006, joining Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula in 2007.

According to previous precedents, Al Qaeda has determined a ‘price tag’ for the assassination of its senior members, with US embassies and/or offices where US diplomats and intelligence teams are located being the organization’s preferred targets. This is what the organization did in 2012 in the wake of the death of  Abu Yahya Al-Libi, deputy of the Al Qaeda branch in Libya, who was also taken out by a CIA-operated drone.

Two days after the his death was announced, Al Qaeda operatives planted a bomb near the office of the US task force in Benghazi, Libya. On September 11, 2012, after a tape voiced by Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri was released, the US consulate in Benghazi was attacked by armed terrorists. The attack resulted in the deaths of US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of the consulate’s employees.

Several days after the death of Ah-Shihri was reported, a new tape by Al-Zawahiri was released, with a new warning to the US linked to Guantanamo Bay. On the tape, Al-Zawahiri vowed to do everything to bring about the release of Al Qaeda senior members being held in US prison, including Sheikh Khalid Mohammed, planner of the 9/11 terror attacks of 2001.

The reference to Guantanamo alongside al-Shihri’s biography may imply the desire to tie between his death and the new threat. It is possible that intelligence experts in the US intelligence arena identified additional code words on the tape that actually serve as activation messages for terrorist cells deployed by Al Qaeda around the world.

Officials: Chatter among al Qaeda operatives in Yemen led to warnings – CNN.com.

( While this could conceivably be disinfo, I find it much more credible that the “it’s about to happen” narrative that has been bandied about in the comments. – JW )

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) — Fresh intelligence led the United States to conclude that operatives of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were in the final stages of planning an attack against U.S. and Western targets, several U.S. officials told CNN.

The warning led the U.S. State Department to issue a global travel alert Friday, warning al Qaeda may launch attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond in coming weeks. The U.S. government also was preparing to close 22 embassies and consulates in the region Sunday as a precaution.

The chatter among al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives had gone on for weeks but increased in the last few days, the officials said.

Taken together with a warning from Yemeni officials, the United States took the extraordinary step of shutting down embassies and issuing travel warnings, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

While the specific target is uncertain, U.S. officials are deeply worried about a possible attack against the U.S. Embassy in Yemen occurring through Tuesday, the officials said.

The warnings also come as news has surfaced that al Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has appointed the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser al-Wahishi, as his overall general manager of the terror network, Seth Jones of the Rand Corporation said.

With al-Zawahiri, the man who succeeded Osama bin Laden, and al-Wahishi linked, the United States may be taking a cautious but necessary approach by closing the embassies, Jones said.

But as with so much in the intelligence world, there is disagreement over what may really be happening.

Officials have told CNN that some analysts believe the threat is solely in Yemen, while others are convinced plots are under way in several countries.

Even so, security has been greatly tightened across Yemen as a result of local intelligence that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was planning attacks in major cities, such as the capital, Sanaa, or Aden, a senior Yemeni national security official told CNN Friday.

Yemeni intelligence agencies alerted authorities of the threat two days ago, when the Yemeni president was in Washington, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Britain, France and Germany said their embassies in Sanaa would also be closed on Sunday and Monday over security concerns.

The UK Foreign Office warned its citizens Friday against all travel to Yemen, and it strongly urged British nationals to leave now. “If you don’t leave the country now while commercial carriers are still flying it is extremely unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate you or provide consular assistance,” according to the Foreign Office warning.

The steps showed heightened security concerns about intelligence that indicates a potential attack in Yemen.

According to three sources, the United States has information al Qaeda in Yemen was in the final stages of planning for an unspecified attack.

“The threat appears much worse than it has in a long time,” the Yemeni official said.

Yemen has tightened security across the country, deploying security forces at all major government institutions, foreign embassies, foreign residential compounds and international organizations, the official said.

According to the Yemeni official, recent U.S. drone attacks may generate reprisals.

“We take these threats seriously, especially since al Qaeda has been dealt many blows over the last few days,” the official said.

In 2011, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives filmed buildings linked to U.S. personnel in Sanaa, according to a source who has seen the video.

While the incident is not related to this week’s terror warnings, it shows al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s capabilities, CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives filmed video of the building, which is near the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, and the U.S. personnel who were in it, the source told Cruickshank.

CNN’s Barbara Starr reported from Washington and journalist Hakim Almasmari reported from Sanaa; Chelsea J. Carter wrote this report from Atlanta. CNN’s Mohammed Jamjoon, Bharati Naik, Karen Smith, Saskya Vandoorne and Chris Lawrence contributed to this report.

Rare interview with Egyptian Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi – The Washington Post.

By Lally Weymouth, Saturday, August 3, 6:00 PM

CAIRO — In his first interview since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi last month, Egypt’s commanding general sharply criticized the U.S. response, accusing the Obama administration of disregarding the Egyptian popular will and of providing insufficient support amid threats of a civil war.

“You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won’t forget that,” said an indignant Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, speaking of the U.S. government. “Now you want to continue turning your backs on Egyptians?”

Sissi is widely considered the most powerful man in Egypt, wielding more control than anyone over the country’s direction after a tumultuous two and a half years in which the military has shoved aside two presidents following popular uprisings. He denied interest in running for president himself but did not rule it out.

Although Sissi gives occasional speeches, he rarely sits down for interviews. But over the course of two hours in an ornate reception room in Cairo’s Defense Ministry on Thursday, he provided his most detailed explanation yet of why he decided to oust Morsi, the nation’s first democratically elected president. Sissi also expressed deep disappointment that the United States has not been more eager to embrace his rationale.

Sissi’s comments are a measure of just how thoroughly the Obama administration has alienated both sides in a profoundly polarized and unsettled Egypt, all while trying to remain neutral. Morsi’s supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood regularly accuse the United States of acquiescing to a military coup.

Sissi spoke on the same day that Secretary of State John F. Kerry made the administration’s most supportive comments to date, saying that Egypt’s army was “restoring democracy.”

“The military was asked to intervene by millions and millions of people,” Kerry said during a visit to Pakistan. “The military did not take over to the best of our judgment — so far.”

The U.S. government is required by law to halt non-humanitarian assistance when a democratically elected government is forced from office in a military coup. But the Obama administration appears determined to avoid using that term, and to prevent a cutoff kicking in of the $1.3 billion that the U.S. government sends to Egypt annually. Much of that aid goes to the military.

Since Morsi’s July 3 ouster, U.S. officials have cautioned Sissi and other generals to show restraint in their dealings with protesters, at least 140 of whom have been killed in clashes with security forces. The Obama administration has also encouraged the military to reconcile with the Muslim Brotherhood.

That prospect appears distant, with authorities promising a fresh crackdown on Islamist protests and Morsi continuing to be detained in an undisclosed location, unable to communicate with even his family.

Still, the furthest Washington has been willing to go in penalizing the military is to postpone the sale of four F-16 fighters. Most analysts say the delay is purely symbolic.

Sissi bristled at the move. “This is not the way to deal with a patriotic military,” he said.

Like many pro-military Egyptians, Sissi appeared angry that the United States has not fully endorsed what he described as “a free people who rebelled against an unjust political rule.” Supporters of Morsi’s removal compare it to longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak’s 2011 ouster, which was applauded in Washington. But unlike Mubarak, Morsi had been elected in a vote widely seen as free and fair.

The Egyptian military has long received critical support from the United States, and in return has upheld Egypt’s decades-old peace treaty with Israel while serving as a key regional ally.

The ties between Cairo and Washington remain close, although Egypt has recently begun receiving far more aid from regional backers — including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates — and American influence in Egypt appears to be waning.

Sissi said that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel calls him “almost every day” but that President Obama has not called since Morsi’s ouster.

Egypt’s commanding general suggested that if the United States wants to avoid further bloodshed in Egypt, it should persuade the Brotherhood to back down from the Cairo sit-ins it has maintained since July 3.

“The U.S. administration has a lot of leverage and influence with the Muslim Brotherhood, and I’d really like the U.S. administration to use this leverage with them to resolve the conflict,” Sissi said.

Morsi came to power last year amid Egypt’s first wave of voting after the toppling of Mubarak. The newly elected president received much of his support from his own Muslim Brotherhood but also won the backing of non-Islamist Egyptians who favored the group because of its reputation for honesty and good works.

Sissi said he had recognized problems with Morsi from the day he was inaugurated. The president, Sissi said, was “not a president for all Egyptians, but a president representing his followers and supporters.”

One of Morsi’s first major acts in office was to sweep away an older generation of military leaders and appoint Sissi to command the country’s armed forces. At the time, many observers speculated that Morsi had selected Sissi because he was more sympathetic than other commanders to the Muslim Brotherhood, which had been oppressed by generations of military-backed leaders.

But in the interview, the 58-year-old Sissi was unsparing in his critique of the group, saying that Brotherhood members are more devoted to their Islamist beliefs than they are to Egypt. “The idea that gathers them together is not nationalism, it’s not patriotism, it is not a sense of a country,” he said.

Still, Sissi portrayed himself as reluctant to move against Morsi, and said he had done all he could during the president’s year in office to help him succeed. Morsi, he said, had repeatedly failed to heed the general’s advice.

Meanwhile, the economy was badly deteriorating, and law and order had begun to break down. Millions of Egyptians took to the streets on June 30, the anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration, to demand the end of his rule.

Ultimately, Sissi said, he had no choice.

“I expected if we didn’t intervene, it would have turned into a civil war,” he said.

Morsi’s backers in the Brotherhood say it is the military that is trying to foment a civil war, by whipping up anti-Islamist sentiment in the media and ordering security forces to crack down on peaceful demonstrations. In response to Kerry’s Thursday comments, which appeared to back the military, Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said that the Obama administration is “supporting tyranny and dictatorship.”

Although the military has dominated this country for six decades — with Morsi’s year in office marking the only exception — Sissi said the generals have no intention of continuing to rule.

Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour, a judge who was appointed by Sissi, has announced an ambitious timetable for returning to democracy. The road map includes a referendum on a revised constitution, followed by new parliamentary elections by early 2014 and then a presidential vote.

Analysts have cast doubt on the likelihood that political forces in Egypt will be allowed to develop independent of the military’s control, particularly on such a tight schedule. But Sissi said the elections will go ahead as planned and that international monitors will be welcome to observe.

Asked if he intends to run for president, as previous military leaders have done, Sissi suggested he will not, saying he doesn’t “aspire for authority.”

But when pressed, he stopped short of ruling out the possibility.

“The most important achievement in my life is to overcome this circumstance, [to ensure] that we live peacefully, to go on with our road map and to be able to conduct the coming elections without shedding one drop of Egyptian blood,” he said, before adding, “When the people love you, this is the most important thing for me.”

© The Washington Post Company

Rouhani takes office as Iran’s president, promises ‘constructive interaction with world’ | JPost | Israel News.

Putin visit to Cairo impending. El-Sisi moves to outlaw Brotherhood. US in blocking mode.

Saudi spy chief calls on Russian president in Moscow

President Vladimir Putin is  set to visit to Cairo – possibly next Wednesday Aug. 7 – on the advice of Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, debkafile reports exclusively. The prince landed in Moscow Wednesday, July 31 without warning. He told Putin that Saudi King Abdullah was in favor of the Russian president going to Cairo as soon as possible and did not rule out the visit occasioning the signing of a large Russian arms sale to Egypt, bankrolled by the oil kingdom.
Putin will find Egypt’s strongman, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, in full cry with his next steps against the Muslim Brotherhood, after unseating its president in a coup on July 3.

El-Sisi is holding urgent discussions with the heads of the judiciary to have the movement outlawed. The unwritten pact between the generals and judicial system is the most potent political force in Egypt today, which the Brotherhood will find hard to beat.

The army’s first action will be to break up the round-the-clock protests which tens of thousands of supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi have been staging in Cairo for the past month for his release and reinstatement.

Wednesday, July 31, their sit-in was ruled a threat to national security. For the next step, soldiers of the Republican Guard division, whose normal duties are guarding the president, have been issued with police uniforms for a more acceptable appearance when they clear protesters off the streets of the capital any day now.

The prospect of a Russian presidential visit has fired Gen. El-Sisi with redoubled energy and impetus for his crackdown on the Brotherhood.

For Putin, this will be his second trip to Cairo; his first took place in 2005 when Hosni Mubarak was president. He will play it to the hilt as a platform to show the world, and especially Arab Muslims, that he alone of the world’s five leading powers is openly committed to fighting radical Islam and ready to assist any Arab leader sharing this commitment.

He will also try and use his Cairo visit for much needed image repairs over his backing for Bashar Assad and Hizballah terrorist fighters in their savage war against a rebellion led by the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda affiliates. Putin hopes to come away from Cairo as champion of the war on radical Islam in two important Arab countries and the most reliable ally of forces for moderation.

His next stop around mid-August is Tehran. This will be hard to explain away as a gesture of support of a moderate regime, but with some fast footwork, the Russian leader will use the double exposure to underscore Moscow’s solid presence at the power centers of the Middle East – in striking contrast to Washington.
The Obama administration is already seething over the Kremlin’s decision to grant the fugitive former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden temporary asylum in Russia for escaping trial in the States on a charge of espionage.
Even more painful knocks are in store for Barack Obama’s Middle East policy and prestige when Egypt’s military strongman proceeds to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood movement in defiance of his wishes and Putin turns up in Cairo with more provocations.

Secretary of State John Kerry, aware of the shoals ahead for Washington, sent  European Union foreign policy executive Catherine Ashton to Cairo earlier this week, followed by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerweller Friday, Aug 2, to try and hold El-Sisi’s hand.

When they got nowhere, Kerry assigned US Undersecretary of State for the Middle East William Burns with paying a second visit to Cairo since the coup. He has an appointment to meet interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy Saturday, Aug. 3, and is waiting for one with the defense minister.

Burns came away from his first trip to Cairo empty-handed.

Nasrallah: No one can relinquish one clod of Palestinian land – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Hezbollah’s leader makes rare public appearance for al-Quds Day, slams Israel in speech: ‘Palestine stretches from sea to river. Israel is a tumor which must be uprooted’

Roi Kais

Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah made a rare personal appearance away from his hideout in light of al-Quds Day, the Iranian-introduced holiday marking solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

In an event held in the Sid-a-Shuhadaa complex in the Hezbollah-controlled Dahiyeh quarter of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, Nasrallah declared that “Palestine must return to its rightful owners.”

“The Palestine which we mean is a Palestine which stretches from the sea to the river,” the Shiite group leader stressed.

“No king, president, sheikh, state or country has the right to give up even one clod of Palestinian land, one drop of water or oil from Palestine.”

Nasrallah continued and said that Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini’s definition of Israel as a “cancerous growth” was accurate: “As you know, tumors spreads, and the only solution for this tumor is to uproot it.”

Nasrallah added; “Israel poses a critical threat not only to Palestine, but to all the world.” According to him, Israel threatens Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, and they hope for its disappearance.

“Those who stand against the Zionist project defend Palestine and his children and grandchildren’s future,” he added.

You fight Iran, forgot about Palestinians

Nasrallah said in his speech that the Israeli-Arab conflict and the struggle against the “Zionist enemy” must be the top priority, and that “if it was so from the start, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Nasrallah criticized some of the region’s governments for involvement themselves in other wars: “Why did you leave Palestine and go to fight in Afghanistan?” he asked rhetorically.

“A new enemy was created named ‘the Iranian growth’ and a war has been run against Iran in the course of which hundreds of billions of dollars where squandered,” Nasrallah continued.

“Money has been spent, and armies trained to fight Iran, not Israel, and every warship comes with a guarantee to the US not to use it against Israel. If one fifth of that effort was invested in Palestine, it would have been freed.”

“We in the Hezbollah will stand by Palestine and the Palestinian people and we’re working on good, strong ties with all the Palestinian factions even if we differ on matters related to Palestine and Syria.”

According to him, “Jerusalem must unite us.”

Nasrallah fired up the crowds and said: “They want Shiites out of the equation of the Arab-Israeli conflict, meaning taking Iran out of the equation. Therefore, we say to the US, to Israel, the English, their accomplices and every enemy and friend – today on Al-Quds Day, the last Friday of Ramadan, we will not abandon Palestine and its holy sites.”

‘Old wound’

Earlier on Friday, on the Israel-Lebanese border dozens of protestors gathered, hoisting Hezbollah flags. On Thursday, Nasrallah’s men hitched a sign near the border ahead of Friday’s events with the Hebrew and Arabic inscription: “We’re coming.”

Hezbollah marks al-Quds Day nar border

Next to the inscription in the sign – hoisted in a hill overlooking the events – an image of the Al-Aqsa Mosque appeared. Later today, the demonstrators are expected to attend a prayer on Fatima Gate, an old border crossing to Israel.

Meanwhile, according to the Iranian Press TV website, millions of Iranians took to the streets, “in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian nation, voicing their anger at the policies of the Israeli regime and its allies and calling for the liberation of Palestine.”

Protesters are carrying Palestinian flags and anti-Israel signs and are chanting slogans against the United States and Israel.

Similar al-Quds Day marches were held in dozens of other countries, and in Thailand dozens protested outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok.

Iran has been marking al-Quds Day since 1979 after Ayatollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as International al-Quds Day, calling on Muslims across the world to mark the annual occasion by holding street rallies.

According to the SANA news agency, Iran’s president Hassan Rohani attended the events in Iran and said that “The Zionist regime has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and the wound should be removed.”

Later, Iranian state TV said Rohani’s statements were “misrepresented.”

Nimdor Semel contributed to this report

U.S. unlikely to sanction another Israeli strike on Syria – Diplomacy & Defense – Israel News | Haaretz.

The New York Times says a July 5 attack on Yakhont missiles did not finish the job and that further strikes by Israel can be expected; in the past, the U.S. ignored the details and expressed understanding for Israel’s need to defend itself, but that may now change.

Google map image showing area of the reported blasts.

Israeli defense sources have declined to comment on The New York Times’ report on an alleged Israeli strike in Latakia, Syria; Israel didn’t comment either when the explosions took place on July 5. After three earlier air strikes attributed to Israel – one in January and two in the beginning of May – Israeli officials dropped hints but refused to admit that Israel was responsible.

The details on the Latakia strike have come out gradually. Only two weeks after the attack could the international press paint a clearer picture: It was an air strike targeting a warehouse where Russian-made Yakhont antiship cruise missiles were stored. The fear was that they would be transferred from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The New York Times website reported Wednesday that the strike did not destroy all the missiles. All the paper’s reports on Israeli and U.S. military activity in the area are based on reliable sources in the U.S. administration. The reports have yet to be denied.

After the May and July strikes, the Israeli press reported that Israeli officials had criticized the U.S. administration, the Pentagon in particular. The Israelis said the reports on the strikes had increased the tension between Israel and Syria and could push Syrian President Bashar Assad to order a military response. This time The Times went one step further: The U.S. sources say further Israeli strikes are likely. In effect, they warned the Syrians, letting them prepare in advance.

After the first three attacks the administration issued evasive formal statements. It ignored the details and expressed understanding for Israel’s need to defend itself. The U.S. approach implied that the decision to strike had been approved by the administration in advance, even if the Americans weren’t aware of the details. The new report seems to indicate that the United States would not sanction another strike.

Apart from Syria’s obvious military inferiority, Assad’s failure to react seems to be linked to U.S.-Russian relations and their positions on the Syrian civil war. One could assume that Russia would urge Syrian restraint to prevent a military escalation with Israel. Still, the Russians might change their stance, especially since they intend to supply S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, according to reports in the foreign media, and probably Russian experts to boot. Israel has already warned against sending these missiles to Syria and has implied that they may be attacked.

Senior Israeli officials – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and his predecessor Ehud Barak – have often said the transfer of Yakhonts to Hezbollah would constitute a red line prompting Israeli action. Israel fears the Russian missile’s high precision, which might damage warships and strategic targets on Israel’s coast, even if the missiles were launched from far away in Lebanon or Syria.

Rohani: Israel is an ‘old wound’ that should be removed – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Iran’s new president lashes out at Israel as millions across Islamic Republic mark al-Quds Day by taking to streets in solidarity with Palestinian people; wave anti-Israel posters, chant slogans against US, Israel. Outgoing President Ahmadinejad addresses nation

Ynet

Iran’s new president has called Israel an “old wound” that should be removed in comments published just two days ahead of his inauguration and as millions of Iranians took to the streets to mark al-Quds Day.

Hassan Rohani’s remarks about Israel – his country’s archenemy – echo those of other Iranian leaders.

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency says Rohani spoke after taking part in an annual pro-Palestine rally in Tehran on Friday.

The report quoted Rohani as saying: “The Zionist regime has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and the wound should be removed.”

Mass rallies are being held across Iran on International al-Quds Day in support of the Palestinian people.

Protesters are carrying Palestinian flags and anti-Israel signs. They are chanting slogans against the United States and Israel.

“Millions of Iranians from all walks of life took to the streets nationwide in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian nation, voicing their anger at the policies of the Israeli regime and its allies and calling for the liberation of Palestine,” Iran’s Press TV website reported.

On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry called on Iranian people as well as Muslim nations to take part in International al-Quds Day rallies to show their opposition to the Israeli regime.

Hezbollah marks al-Quds Day nar border

In a statement, the ministry said that the clear message conveyed by the Palestinian resistance and the Islamic Awakening in the Middle East is that the only way to save the Palestinian nation is for the Palestinian people and leaders to remain united and stand up to the occupying Israeli regime, Press TV reported.

Protest in Sydney, Australia (Photo: AFP)

Al-Quds Day in Iran (Photo: EPA

In Bangkok (Photo: Ilon Weissman)

Similar al-Quds marches are set to take place in dozens of other Muslim states. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will give a speech from his hideout in Beirut later on Friday.

Iran has been marking al-Quds Day since 1979 after Ayatollah Khomeini declared the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as International al-Quds Day, calling on Muslims across the world to mark the annual occasion by holding street rallies.