WarSclerotic

Iran will begin uranium enrichment at its Fordo plant and will install new nuclear equipment at its Natanz facility if it withdraws from the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in an interview published Wednesday.

The fate of the deal is unclear after the United States withdrew from it on May 8. The other signatory nations – Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France – are trying to salvage the accord, which imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Iran has two vast enrichment sites, at Natanz and Fordo, both in central Iran between Tehran and Isfahan. Much of Natanz is deep underground and Fordo is buried inside a mountain, factors widely believed to protect them from aerial bombardment.

In the interview with the Young Journalists’ Club, AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said new work would begin on the nuclear program on the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He did not specify what kind of new equipment might be installed at Natanz.

“Currently the supreme leader has ordered that the programs be carried out within the parameters of the nuclear deal,” Kamalvandi said.

“And when he gives the order we will announce the programs for operating outside of the nuclear deal for reviving Fordo.”

The agency’s head, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced last week that Iran had begun work on a facility to construct advanced centrifuges at Natanz.

The announcement appeared at least in part to be an effort to pressure the remaining signatories to preserve the 2015 deal.

Kamalvandi accused the United States and other Western countries of applying double standards by opposing Iran’s nuclear program, which he said was purely peaceful, while accepting the nuclear arms program of Iran’s archfoe Israel.

“The West doesn’t criticize the Zionist regime and has even helped them,” Kamalvandi said. “Without the help of the West and America, this regime could never have obtained nuclear weapons.”

Iran’s presence in Syria and its relations with Damascus are not negotiable,  Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Iran’s Al Alam TV broadcast Wednesday.

Assad also repeated the assertion that Iran has no fixed bases in Syria, and said it is still possible to reach a settlement in the southwestern region, where Iranian-backed forces are near the border with Israel.

Israel has repeatedly warned against any permanent Iranian military presence in Syria.

Assad said contacts are “ongoing” between Russia, the United States and Israel.

But he said the relationship between Syria and Iran “will not be part of any settlement” and is “not in the international bazaar.”

There has been speculation that Iran may pull its forces back from near the Israeli border on the Golan Heights in some kind of settlement.

After regime forces captured Ghouta from rebels in April, “it was suggested that we should move south. We were faced with two options … reconciliation or liberation by force. At this point, the Russians suggested the possibility of giving reconciliation an opportunity,” Assad said.

“Up to now, there are no concrete results for a simple reason, which is Israeli and American interference; for they put pressure on the terrorists in that area in order to prevent reaching any compromise or peaceful resolution.”

Israel Aerospace Industries recently performed ‎a ‎successful demonstration of its newest kamikaze ‎drone, dubbed “Rotem,” which is designed to carry out “suicide ‎missions” to ‎destroy enemy targets.

According to the company’s website, Rotem is a ‎lightweight, multi-rotor, lethal assault ‎drone with ‎vertical takeoff and ‎‎landing capabilities, making it ‎suitable for ‎‎intelligence, reconnaissance and ‎surveillance ‎‎missions, as well as for tactical ‎missions.‎

The drone has a range of up to 10 ‎kilometers (6.2 miles) and can hover for 30 to 45 ‎minutes before diving down at a speed of up ‎‎to 50 knots. It carries a ‎1-kilogram warhead‎, has a 1-meter ‎strike precision, and can be deployed ‎with one minute by a single soldier‎, making it ideal ‎against low-signature enemy systems in urban and ‎complex environments.‎

The drone folds into 38x7x5 ‎inches and ‎offers several automated modes to ensure accurate ‎execution of the mission as well as operational safety, the company said.

It said the test covered the drone’s “end-‎to-end capabilities,” including a rapid, precision ‎strike on a miniature target.

“The demonstration was ‎held under tough field and weather conditions, ‎highlighting the system’s ability to respond quickly ‎and effectively to a low-signature enemy in a ‎threatened space,” it said.‎

‎IAI Executive Vice President and General Manager Boaz ‎Levy said, ‎”The pilot in which we have proved the complete ‎capability range of the Rotem constitutes a quantum ‎leap.

‎”I believe that a drone that combines reconnaissance ‎and surveillance, terrain dominance, and a combination of ‎various sensors and assault capabilities adds ‎significant value to fighting forces, with an ‎emphasis on complex warfare situations that require ‎fast, accurate, and available response to ‎battlefield threats. The Rotem, with its multiple ‎capabilities, constitutes a unique platform for ‎enhancing land warfare.”‎

With the 2018 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament kicking off on Thursday, host nation Russia has made it clear that it expects Israel and other Middle Eastern states to avoid an escalation in the Syrian civil war during the month-long championship, Israel Hayom has learned.

The fighting in Syria has subsided somewhat recently, following the retaking by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime of almost all of the rebel-held enclaves, particularly in the Damascus area.

However, the situation remains fragile as anti-regime forces are still holding out in a number of locations. Moreover, Iran’s increased involvement in the civil war in support of the regime has put Syria in Israel’s crosshairs, with Israel repeatedly saying it will not permit Iran to establish permanent bases or advanced weapons facilities in Syria.

Several weeks ago, Israeli forces obliterated dozens of Iranian targets in response to a rocket attack on Israeli territory. According to foreign media sources, Israel has also executed a number of strikes aimed at thwarting arms shipments to Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy in Lebanon.

The combustible situation has Russian authorities worried that a conflagration in Syria may overshadow the World Cup, which takes place every four years and this year is being held in Russia for the first time. Russian President Vladimir Putin considers the event a personal project and a source of patriotic pride for his country.

Though the requests conveyed to Israel and other countries do not specifically make the connection between the soccer tournament and the ongoing civil war, the underlying message is clear.

However, it is unclear to what degree Iran will heed the Russian request.  If Iran continues to bolster its presence in Syria, this will almost certainly compel Israel to act.

Israel has maintained a deconfliction channel with the Russian military, keeping Moscow updated on its actions in Syria. Presumably, Israel will be even more diligent in coordinating with Russia the coming weeks.

The Russian request also places constraints on Assad, who is dependent on Russia in his fight against the rebels. Assad has been preparing for a massive onslaught against rebel enclaves in southern Syria, near the border with Israel. Israel has said it would agree to Assad returning there as long as Iranian militias remain away from the border. Jordan has said it would welcome Assad’s return to maintain stability in the area.

In the wake of Russia’s request, Assad will have to decide whether to go ahead with his offensive. Whatever he decides, he is likely to coordinate any actions with Moscow, as he has done since Russia joined the fighting in 2015.

Russia’s massive contribution, particularly with airstrikes against the rebels, has been critical to Assad’s success and his ability to regain areas lost early in the war.

Israel has attacked Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militias in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, casting such actions as potentially helping to stem a Syrian Sunni Muslim refugee exodus to Europe.

Israeli officials have previously disclosed scores of airstrikes in Syria to prevent suspected arms transfers to Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah fighters or to Iranian military deployments, who have been helping the Syrian  regime beat back the seven-year-long rebellion.

But Israel has rarely provided official details on the operations, or described non-Lebanese militiamen as having been targeted.

Speaking at the International Homeland Security Forum in Jerusalem on Thursday, Netanyahu accused Iran of bringing in 80,000 Shiite fighters from countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan to mount attacks against Israel and “convert” Syria’s Sunni majority.

This is “a recipe for a re-inflammation of another civil war – I should say a theological war, a religious war – and the sparks of that could be millions more that go into Europe and so on,” Netanyahu said.

“And that would cause endless upheaval and terrorism in many, many countries. Obviously, we are not going to let them do it. We’ll fight them.

“By preventing that – and we have bombed the bases of these Shiite militias – by preventing that, we are also offering, helping the security of your countries, the security of the world.”