WarSclerotic

The Trump administration is urging Europe to impose tough new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program.

The call comes as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was preparing to meet with European officials in Brussels this week and after the U.S. and others condemned an Iranian missile launch over the weekend.

Iran was also discussed in a meeting Monday between Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Brussels.

Pompeo plans to talk about Iran when he meets his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday while he is in Belgium for a meeting of NATO counterparts.

U.S. special envoy for Iran Brian Hook rejected Iran’s insistence that its missile program is defensive.

He told reporters traveling with Pompeo that Iran’s continued missile development and testing is a threat to the region and beyond and in defiance of U.N. Security Council demands.

Hook said U.S. discussions with the Europeans about missile sanctions are gaining traction. Those talks center on slapping penalties on companies and people involved in Iran’s program.

“It is a grave and escalating threat, and nations around the world, not just Europe, need to do everything they can to be targeting Iran’s missile program,” Hook said.

Hook’s comments on Monday were the latest salvo in an escalating U.S. campaign against Iran since President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May.

“Iran is on the wrong track, and our campaign of maximum economic pressure is designed to starve the regime of revenue it needs,” he said.

On Thursday, Hook accused Iran of violating a U.N. ban on Iranian arms exports by sending weapons to its proxies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

On Saturday, Pompeo denounced Iran for test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads that could reach parts of Europe.

“We are accumulating risk of escalation in the region if we fail to restore deterrence,” Pompeo said.

Also on Monday, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that the Islamic republic’s oil industry was on the frontline of the fight against “the enemy,” adding that Tehran would do its utmost to counter U.S.-led efforts to put economic pressure on the country.

Zanganeh, in comments reported by SHANA, the oil ministry’s news agency, did not specify who he saw as the enemy but Iran is locked in confrontation with the United States, which has applied sanctions and has said that its goal is to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.

“The oil, gas and petrochemical sectors are the front line in the battle against the enemy,” Zanganeh said.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in May and reimposed sanctions on Iran’s oil industry last month.

The Iranian government’s most important role is to reduce the economic difficulties of ordinary Iranians brought about by American pressure, Zanganeh said.

“The goal of America and its regional allies is, through exerting pressure and economic shortages, to say we have hit a dead end on the threshold of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution,” Zanganeh said.

“We have a legal and religious duty to reduce the income pressure on the people. This is the most important thing that we must do and the government is putting forth all its efforts on this issue.”

The Trump administration is urging Europe to impose tough new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program.

The call comes as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was preparing to meet with European officials in Brussels this week and after the U.S. and others condemned an Iranian missile launch over the weekend.

Iran was also discussed in a meeting Monday between Pompeo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Brussels.

Pompeo plans to talk about Iran when he meets his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday while he is in Belgium for a meeting of NATO counterparts.

U.S. special envoy for Iran Brian Hook rejected Iran’s insistence that its missile program is defensive.

He told reporters traveling with Pompeo that Iran’s continued missile development and testing is a threat to the region and beyond and in defiance of U.N. Security Council demands.

Hook said U.S. discussions with the Europeans about missile sanctions are gaining traction. Those talks center on slapping penalties on companies and people involved in Iran’s program.

“It is a grave and escalating threat, and nations around the world, not just Europe, need to do everything they can to be targeting Iran’s missile program,” Hook said.

Hook’s comments on Monday were the latest salvo in an escalating U.S. campaign against Iran since President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May.

“Iran is on the wrong track, and our campaign of maximum economic pressure is designed to starve the regime of revenue it needs,” he said.

On Thursday, Hook accused Iran of violating a U.N. ban on Iranian arms exports by sending weapons to its proxies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

On Saturday, Pompeo denounced Iran for test-firing a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads that could reach parts of Europe.

“We are accumulating risk of escalation in the region if we fail to restore deterrence,” Pompeo said.

Also on Monday, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that the Islamic republic’s oil industry was on the frontline of the fight against “the enemy,” adding that Tehran would do its utmost to counter U.S.-led efforts to put economic pressure on the country.

Zanganeh, in comments reported by SHANA, the oil ministry’s news agency, did not specify who he saw as the enemy but Iran is locked in confrontation with the United States, which has applied sanctions and has said that its goal is to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.

“The oil, gas and petrochemical sectors are the front line in the battle against the enemy,” Zanganeh said.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in May and reimposed sanctions on Iran’s oil industry last month.

The Iranian government’s most important role is to reduce the economic difficulties of ordinary Iranians brought about by American pressure, Zanganeh said.

“The goal of America and its regional allies is, through exerting pressure and economic shortages, to say we have hit a dead end on the threshold of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution,” Zanganeh said.

“We have a legal and religious duty to reduce the income pressure on the people. This is the most important thing that we must do and the government is putting forth all its efforts on this issue.”

The United States-led coalition targeted a senior member of the Islamic State group involved in the 2014 killing of American aid worker Peter Kassig, a U.S. military spokesman said Monday.

Col. Sean Ryan, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS, said coalition forces conducted precision strikes that killed Abu al-Umarayn and “several other ISIS members.” He said the strikes, which took place on Sunday, occurred in a desert area in southeastern Syria.

The area is close to where Syria’s state news agency said the U.S.-led coalition fired several missiles at Syrian army positions in the country’s east, causing material damage. The SANA report said positions targeted on Sunday night are in the Ghorab Mountains, south of the eastern town of Sukhna.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said U.S. troops in the Tanf base near the Jordanian and Iraqi border fired 15 rockets at a Syrian military convoy that lost its way in the area. It gave no further details.

However, Mozahem al-Salloum, from the activist-run Hammurabi Justice News network that tracks developments in eastern Syria, denied reports that U.S. troops targeted Syrian army positions. The targets were only ISIS elements, al-Salloum added.

Attacks by the U.S.-led coalition against Syrian troops have been rare. In 2016, warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition bombed Syrian army positions in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and killed dozens of soldiers.

Ryan, the military spokesman, said Abu al-Umarayn had given indications of “posing an imminent threat” to coalition forces and that he was involved in Kassig’s beheading. He also said Abu al-Umarayn was linked to and directly involved in the killings of several other prisoners of ISIS.

Kassig was captured Oct. 1, 2013, while delivering aid in Syria through a relief organization he founded. He converted to Islam during captivity and changed his first name to Abdul-Rahman.

His parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, had issued numerous appeals for his release after his life was threatened in an October 2014 ISIS video that showed the beheading of a fellow aid worker, Britain’s Alan Henning.

In mid-November 2014, ISIS released a video showing that Kassig, 26, was beheaded. The White House confirmed Kassig’s death two days later.

The U.S.-led coalition is supporting a group of Kurdish and Arab militias assaulting the last Islamic State territory in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border.

The Syrian army last month said it had completed its own operation against an ISIS pocket in southern Syria.

Meanwhile, a senior Hezbollah source said on Monday that neither the group nor Iranian positions in Syria had been struck last week during an alleged Israeli airstrike south of Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israel carried out a missile attack in the area last Thursday evening. Israel has not said whether it conducted the attack and Syrian state media did not identify who carried it out.

Syrian state media said the country’s air defenses had thwarted an attack last Thursday by “hostile targets” in the Kiswah area, without identifying them.

“Iranian and Hezbollah positions in Kiswah, southern Syria, were not exposed to any bombardment,” the senior Hezbollah source told Reuters.

A Syrian army defector said at the time of the reported attack that the targets struck included two Syrian army brigades where Hezbollah is embedded.

According to two senior regional intelligence sources, the area where the incident is said to have occurred is where Hezbollah has its communications and logistics hub for southern Syria near the Israeli border.

A Syrian opposition figure familiar with the area said at the time of last week’s reported attack that Israel had targeted the area because Syrian army barracks there had become a recruitment hub for Iran-backed forces.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Monday that ‎any Israeli attack on Lebanese soil would meet ‎‎”inevitable retaliation” by the Shiite terrorist ‎group.‎

The statement was made prior to the IDF’s ‎announcement Tuesday that it has launched an ‎operation seeking to thwart Hezbollah tunnels ‎running under the Israel-Lebanon border.‎

On Monday, the Hezbollah-affiliated al-‎Akhbar newspaper published‏ ‏an editorial stating, ‎‎”Nasrallah has spoken. The only option against ‎Israeli aggression is inevitable retaliation‎.”‎

Last Thursday, Hezbollah released a video warning ‎Israel against striking Lebanon, featuring aerial ‎footage ‎of strategic targets in Israel, including ‎the IDF’s ‎headquarters in Tel Aviv. The footage was captioned “If ‎you strike, ‎you will regret it.” ‎

Hezbollah is believed to be in ‎possession of 150,000 ‎missiles, which ‎Nasrallah has repeatedly boasted can ‎hit ‎virtually anywhere in Israel. ‎

Recent days have seen Lebanese’s media speculate ‎that Israel was preparing to targets Hezbollah ‎infrastructure as well as Iranian assets in the ‎country, given intelligence indicating that Iran has ‎been delivering advanced weapons and equipment directly to ‎Hezbollah in Lebanon.

These speculations were further fueled by reports of ‎an urgent meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin ‎Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in ‎Brussels Monday, where the two discussed “regional ‎developments.”‎

Israel media reported that Netanyahu was poised to ‎‎ask Pompeo ‎for the United States’ support in the ‎event of an Israeli strike on Hezbollah ‎infrastructure in Lebanon.‎

The Lebanese army has begun mobilizing troops to the ‎country’s border with Israel, Arabic-language media reported ‎Tuesday, saying the decision was made in wake of an ‎Israeli military operation on its side of the ‎border. ‎

The IDF announced Tuesday that it had launched an ‎‎operation to expose and neutralize cross-border ‎‎terror tunnels dug by Hezbollah under the Israel-‎‎Lebanon border. The military did not disclose how ‎‎many tunnels snake ‎‎into Israeli territory from ‎‎Lebanon nor how long the ‎‎operation, code-named ‎‎”Northern Shield,” would last.‎

The Israeli military issued a statement on its ‎Arabic-language social media channels, warning ‎Lebanese soldiers and Hezbollah operatives against ‎approaching the security fence or the tunnel grid. ‎

Reuters

A statement by the Lebanese army said that the troops sent to ‎the frontier were tasked with monitoring Israeli ‎activity and ensuring it does not compromise ‎Lebanese sovereignty.‎

Some media reports said that Hezbollah leader Hassan ‎Nasrallah would give a special televised address on ‎Tuesday evening, but the Shiite terrorist group has ‎made no official announcement to that effect. ‎

Nasrallah warned Monday that ‎any Israeli attack on ‎Lebanese soil would meet ‎‎”inevitable retaliation” by ‎his organization.‎

Still, Israeli and Lebanese experts similarly surmised ‎Tuesday that Hezbollah would likely opt to contain ‎Israeli activities on the border, as long as they did ‎not infringe on Lebanese sovereignty, to avoid a ‎rapid security escalation. ‎

Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in ‎Lebanon Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col told the ‎Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen TV network that he was ‎‎”getting updates on the operation from the Israelis,” adding that “like the Lebanese army, we are monitoring this ‎activity.” ‎

In comments made several months ago, Lebanese Armed ‎Forces Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun‎ said his ‎troops “will use every available means to confront ‎any potential Israeli aggression, no matter the ‎cost.”‎

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday launched an ‎operation to expose and neutralize cross-border ‎terror tunnels dug by Hezbollah under the Israel-‎Lebanon security fence. The military did not disclose how ‎many tunnels snake ‎‎into Israeli territory from ‎Lebanon or how long the ‎‎operation would last.‎ ‎

In a statement, the military stressed that the ‎operation, code-named “Northern Shield,” was underway ‎on the Israeli side of the border. The military added that with ‎the exception of a few hundred feet near the ‎security fence, which were declared a restricted ‎military zone, the residents of the Israeli ‎communities near the border could maintain their ‎usual daily routine. ‎

The operation comes against the backdrop of an urgent ‎‎meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‎‎and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in ‎Brussels ‎‎Monday, where the two discussed “regional ‎‎‎developments.”‎

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu was poised to ‎‎‎‎ask Pompeo ‎for the United States’ support in the ‎‎‎event of an Israeli strike on Hezbollah ‎‎‎infrastructure in Lebanon.‎

The Prime Minister’s Office said the two discussed ‎‎ways to “work together to curb Iranian aggression in ‎‎the region – Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere,” as ‎‎well as the joint effort “to achieve peace and ‎‎security for all.”‎

Later on Tuesday, Netanyahu issued a statement saying, “This morning, ‎the IDF launched Operation Northern Shield with aim ‎of exposing and neutralizing cross-border terror ‎tunnels from Lebanon. We are proud of IDF officers ‎and soldiers who carry out these complex missions ‎and for the operational success noted so far.”

‎”Those who try to harm the State of Israel will be ‎made to pay a heavy price,” the statement continued. “We are operating with ‎determination in all sectors and we will continue to ‎launch overt and covert operations to ensure ‎Israel’s security.”

A senior political source told Israel Hayom that ‎members of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet were ‎barred from commenting on the operation in the ‎media.‎

According to defense officials privy to the issue, ‎Operation Northern Shield was launched after lengthy ‎overnight consultations between IDF Chief of Staff ‎Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and senior defense officials.

Reuters

Israel views the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its ‎vast arsenal of some 150,000 projectiles as a major ‎threat.‎

Bracing for a potential border flare-up, the ‎military has bolstered deployment along the northern ‎frontier, including air defense systems as well as ‎regular and special forces. ‎

‘A blatant violation of U.N. resolutions’   ‎

In a press briefing, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. ‎Ronen Manelis offered more details on the operation.‎

‎”The IDF first identified Hezbollah efforts to dig ‎tunnels near the border in 2006. ‎These efforts increased after the [Second Lebanon] ‎War [in 2006], and in 2012, we learned of a plan that [Hezbollah ‎leader Hassan] Nasrallah refers to as the ‘plan to ‎conquer the Galilee,’ which led us to believe that ‎the offensive tunnels were the surprise element in ‎this scheme. ‎

‎”In 2013, the IDF examined several indicators for ‎the existence of tunnels near the northern border ‎and ruled it out given their [Hezbollah’s] ‎technological capabilities,” he said. ‎

‎”In October 2014, after Operation Protective Edge ‎‎[in Gaza], a special technological-intelligence team ‎was set up in the Northern Command and tasked with ‎exposing Hezbollah’s tunnel enterprise. The team ‎worked for four years, compiling the intelligence that culminated with today’s operation.”‎

According to Manelis, “Over the years, various ‎operational technologies from other sectors were ‎deployed along the Blue Line [the border demarcation ‎between Lebanon and Israel set by the U.N.] and ‎allowed Military Intelligence to provide the Combat ‎Engineering Corps with better information on which ‎to base and launch the operation and neutralize the tunnels. ‎Then, when the operational conditions presented ‎themselves, the IDF launched Operation Northern ‎Shield.”‎

Eyal Margolin / JINI

Hezbollah’s cross-border tunnels “are a blatant ‎violation of Israeli sovereignty and of U.N. ‎Resolution 1701,” he continued. “The tunnels are ‎built on Lebanese soil and pose a threat to both the ‎Lebanese population and Lebanon itself. The IDF ‎holds the Lebanese government responsible for ‎everything that happens on its side of the Blue ‎Line. ‎

‎”The fact that Hezbollah is building tunnels under ‎Israeli surveillance proves that the Lebanese army ‎has no control on the ground and that Hezbollah ‎dominates south Lebanon and uses Iranian money and ‎knowledge to do so.”‎

He further said that IDF deployment in the northern ‎sector has been increased and that “we are ready for ‎any development. Nevertheless, there are no special ‎instructions for the area’s residents. Local mayors ‎have and are being kept abreast of the necessary ‎developments,” he said.‎

Manelis noted that the IDF was operating under the ‎assumption that Hezbollah was monitoring its ‎progress. ‎

‎”We are on high alert and if needed – we know what ‎to do. The operation was launched at this time ‎because the operational conditions are right and we ‎have the technological abilities at our disposal.”‎

He stressed that “the tunnels pose no threat to the ‎Israeli public – we’re dealing with them before they ‎can become a threat. We are determined to make sure ‎this doesn’t pose a threat to the border-adjacent ‎communities.”‎

Commenting on the operation, Foreign Ministry ‎spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon tweeted, “Hezbollah attack tunnels crossing from Lebanon ‎into Israel is a blatant violation of U.N. Security ‎Council Resolution 1701, it is an act of aggression. ‎Israel will do its utmost to protect its ‎citizens and its territory against such aggression.”‎

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, a senior ‎researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public ‎Affairs and former head of the Military ‎Intelligence’s Research Division noted that ‎Operation Northern Shield may prompt a security ‎escalation on the border.‎

The IDF, he said, has humiliated Hezbollah, and ‎while the Shiite terrorist group has not reacted ‎thus far, the IDF must remain alert. ‎

According to Kuperwasser, while the operation is ‎being carried out in Israeli territory, it concerns ‎infrastructure that Hezbollah has spent years ‎developing, thus exposing its intelligence ‎vulnerabilities and increasing the potential for ‎retaliation that could result in a border flare-up.‎

Sivan Yechieli, head of the Forum of Frontline ‎Communities in the North, told Israel Hayom that the ‎residents were not surprised by the tunnels’ ‎discovery.‎

‎”Residents in the area have been very concerned ‎about this issue for years, and they remain ‎concerned,” he said. ‎‎

“We were always told that the IDF had no knowledge ‎of existing terror tunnels in the area, and it’s ‎clear to me that once the IDF had the intelligence ‎and the technological ability to identify ‎tunnels, the operation was launched.‎”

‎”Israel cannot tolerate a violation of its ‎sovereignty in the north,” he added. “Clearly, a threat of this ‎nature requires a response. We have every faith in ‎the military.”