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In Lebanon, U.S. official calls Hezbollah ‘unacceptable’

January 15, 2019

Source: In Lebanon, U.S. official calls Hezbollah ‘unacceptable’ – Israel Hayom

After meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, U.S. undersecretary of state David Hale rejects Hezbollah as a “militia outside the control of the state” • Hale: U.S. will step up efforts to counter “dangerous” Iranian activities.

News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

The U.S. State Department criticized Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Monday for digging tunnels into Israel and stockpiling rockets, as Washington steps up efforts to isolate Tehran.

In recent weeks, Israeli forces uncovered tunnels dug by Hezbollah under its northern border, and Lebanon complained about Israel’s construction of a barrier on the Israeli side of the border fence.

Video: Reuters

The United States regards Hezbollah as a terrorist group and has pledged tougher steps to counteract Iranian influence in the region, but it has also reiterated its backing for the Lebanese government –  which includes Hezbollah representatives – and army.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week vowed to expel “every last Iranian boot” from Syria, where Iran has been fighting alongside Hezbollah, and where Israel has been carrying out strikes against both.

“While Lebanon has the right to defend itself, that is the right of the Lebanese state alone,” said David Hale, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, after meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

“It is unacceptable to have a militia outside the control of the state, and unanswerable to all people of Lebanon digging attack tunnels across the Blue Line to Israel or assembling an arsenal of over 100,000 missiles with which to threaten regional stability,” he added.

Hale said that the U.S. would step up efforts to counter Iran’s “dangerous activities” around the region, including the financing and activities of proxy organizations such as Hezbollah.

Israel, which regards Hezbollah as the biggest threat on its borders, on Sunday said it had completed efforts to find and destroy tunnels under the frontier that it said the group had dug to infiltrate fighters during a future war.

Hezbollah has not commented on the tunnels. Lebanon’s National Security Council last week said an Israeli border wall that crosses into territory claimed by Lebanon, constitutes an act of aggression.

However, both sides appear ready to contain matters for now. “Israel’s interest is to keep the [situation] quiet. I think for them [Hezbollah], that interest is even greater,” former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said last week.

Hale’s visit comes as Lebanese politicians continue to jostle over the formation of a new coalition government more than eight months after an election.

Hezbollah is part of Lebanon’s caretaker government and is expected to be included in any new coalition formed by Hariri.

Lebanon’s failure to form a new government was dragging down the economy and “endangering the country,” Hale said, and urged the caretaker government to move forward on the economy to maintain international confidence.

 

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What are the top five challenges facing Aviv Kochavi, the IDF’s new chief 

January 15, 2019

Source: What are the top five challenges facing Aviv Kochavi, the IDF’s new chief – Israel News – Jerusalem Post

From Iran to Gaza, haredim to Netanayhu, what will incoming IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi have to contend with during his tenure?

BY ANNA AHRONHEIM
 JANUARY 15, 2019 10:07
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gadi Eisenkot (L), and Aviv Kochavi (R), January 15th, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gadi Eisenkot (L), and Aviv Kochavi (R), January 15th, 2019. (photo credit: KOBI RICHTER/TPS)

 

Iran and Hezbollah

As chief of staff, Kochavi will have to continue his predecessor’s fight against the increased threats posed by Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East . With the presence of Iranian and Hezbollah forces, Israel’s northern front has become the IDF’s biggest priority. Working to prevent the entrenchment of Iranian forces and the transfer of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah, the Israel Air Force has admitted to carrying out hundreds of air strikes in Syria. While Russia has recently provided the S-300 advanced anti-aircraft missile batteries to the Syrian regime , Israel has said that it will continue to operate in the war-torn country as long as Iran remains. According to foreign reports, the military is also believed to have increased its covert operations in the area and increased ties with other states in the region that view Iran as a common threat. With the Syrian civil war winding down in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israel’s military will need to contend with a stronger, more battleworn, Hezbollah in the next war in the North.
(credit: THAIER AL-SUDANI/REUTERS)

As chief of staff, Kochavi will have to continue his predecessor’s fight against the increased threats posed by Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East. With the presence of Iranian and Hezbollah forces, Israel’s northern front has become the IDF’s biggest priority.

Working to prevent the entrenchment of Iranian forces and the transfer of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah, the Israel Air Force has admitted to carrying out hundreds of air strikes in Syria. While Russia has recently provided the S-300 advanced anti-aircraft missile batteries to the Syrian regime, Israel has said that it will continue to operate in the war-torn country as long as Iran remains.

According to foreign reports, the military is also believed to have increased its covert operations in the area and increased ties with other states in the region that view Iran as a common threat. With the Syrian civil war winding down in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israel’s military will need to contend with a stronger, more battleworn, Hezbollah in the next war in the North.

Gaza
The threat on Israel’s border with Gaza is the second challenge for Kochavi. While Eisenkot did not oversee any wars during his tenure as chief of staff, terrorist groups in the blockaded coastal enclave have restored their military capabilities to their pre-2014 strength and have fired hundreds of rockets and mortars into southern Israel over the past four years. While the military’s Iron Dome missile interception system continues to successfully shoot down a large majority of projectiles, Hamas and Islamic Jihad were able to overwhelm the system during the last escalation by firing large missile and mortar barrages at once . The IDF expects that communities bordering the Strip will be incessantly pounded with rockets and mortar attacks in the next military confrontation and that the communities will need to be evacuated. During his tenure as chief of staff, Kochavi will also have to contend with the weekly border riots , which have seen the participation of thousands of Gazans who have launched incendiary and explosive aerial devices into southern Israel, burning hundreds of thousands of acres of territory . Kochavi will also oversee the completion of the IDF’s underground barrier , which expects to remove the threat posed by cross-border attack tunnels.
(credit: SAID KHATIB/AFP)

The threat on Israel’s border with Gaza is the second challenge for Kochavi.

While Eisenkot did not oversee any wars during his tenure as chief of staff, terrorist groups in the blockaded coastal enclave have restored their military capabilities to their pre-2014 strength and have fired hundreds of rockets and mortars into southern Israel over the past four years.

While the military’s Iron Dome missile interception system continues to successfully shoot down a large majority of projectiles, Hamas and Islamic Jihad were able to overwhelm the system during the last escalation by firing large missile and mortar barrages at once.

The IDF expects that communities bordering the Strip will be incessantly pounded with rockets and mortar attacks in the next military confrontation and that the communities will need to be evacuated.

During his tenure as chief of staff, Kochavi will also have to contend with the weekly border riots, which have seen the participation of thousands of Gazans who have launched incendiary and explosive aerial devices into southern Israel, burning hundreds of thousands of acres of territory.

Kochavi will also oversee the completion of the IDF’s underground barrier, which expects to remove the threat posed by cross-border attack tunnels.

IDF preparedness

Despite constant threat by its enemies along both the northern and southern borders, serious concerns have been raised about possible weaknesses in Israel’s military preparedness by IDF Ombudsman Maj.-Gen.(res.) Yitzhak Brick. According to Brick, who is set to resign after 10 years as IDF ombudsman, the military is in a dire state and is not fully prepared should another war break out. In June, he warned that there were “serious consequences” for the cutting of thousands of career soldiers under the army’s five-year-long Gideon Plan and was highly critical of the IDF’s training and the state of the weaponry used by the ground forces. Brick also warned about the imbalance between the manpower remaining after the cuts and the increase of tasks that not only places a “heavy burden” on the remaining personnel, but increased pressure that is “detrimental to the level of performance, discipline and motivation of the soldiers.” While the military rejected most of the allegations made by Brick, Kochavi will have to make sure that Israel continues the procurement of arms and increases the motivation of troops in order to keep the IDF one step ahead of all of its neighbors and enemies.
(credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

Despite constant threat by its enemies along both the northern and southern borders, serious concerns have been raised about possible weaknesses in Israel’s military preparedness by IDF Ombudsman Maj.-Gen.(res.) Yitzhak Brick.

According to Brick, who is set to resign after 10 years as IDF ombudsman, the military is in a dire state and is not fully prepared should another war break out.

In June, he warned that there were “serious consequences” for the cutting of thousands of career soldiers under the army’s five-year-long Gideon Plan and was highly critical of the IDF’s training and the state of the weaponry used by the ground forces.

Brick also warned about the imbalance between the manpower remaining after the cuts and the increase of tasks that not only places a “heavy burden” on the remaining personnel, but increased pressure that is “detrimental to the level of performance, discipline and motivation of the soldiers.”

While the military rejected most of the allegations made by Brick, Kochavi will have to make sure that Israel continues the procurement of arms and increases the motivation of troops in order to keep the IDF one step ahead of all of its neighbors and enemies.

Haredi enlistment bill
The bill in question, which Kochavi will have to deal with, sets targets that rise every year over the next decade for the enlistment in the IDF or national civilian service of men from the haredi community . The bill, which will sanction yeshivas if the targets are not met, has been in the works for several years and has raised concerns across the religious spectrum in the Jewish state.Reforms passed in the Knesset in 2014, which aimed at gradually increasing ultra-Orthodox recruitment, has been met with stiff opposition from many in that community. Nonetheless, according to data released by the army last year, there are some 5,000 ultra-Orthodox men in the IDF. If the bill passes, the age of exemption for haredi men will rise until the age of 28, giving haredi men time to get married before joining the army and significantly increasing the number of haredim drafted.With more haredim in the army, not only will there be a need to create more tracks and open up more combat companies for the soldiers, but the already apparent religious tensions in the army may increase. Kochavi will have to walk a tightrope between the need to have a powerful army and one which respects the wishes of the haredi community and non-religious communities alike.
(credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

The bill in question, which Kochavi will have to deal with, sets targets that rise every year over the next decade for the enlistment in the IDF or national civilian service of men from the haredi community.

The bill, which will sanction yeshivas if the targets are not met, has been in the works for several years and has raised concerns across the religious spectrum in the Jewish state.

Reforms passed in the Knesset in 2014, which aimed at gradually increasing ultra-Orthodox recruitment, has been met with stiff opposition from many in that community. Nonetheless, according to data released by the army last year, there are some 5,000 ultra-Orthodox men in the IDF.

If the bill passes, the age of exemption for haredi men will rise until the age of 28, giving haredi men time to get married before joining the army and significantly increasing the number of haredim drafted.

With more haredim in the army, not only will there be a need to create more tracks and open up more combat companies for the soldiers, but the already apparent religious tensions in the army may increase. Kochavi will have to walk a tightrope between the need to have a powerful army and one which respects the wishes of the haredi community and non-religious communities alike.

Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benjamin Netanyahu
Despite being appointed Sunday as IDF chief of staff, Kochavi was not the first pick of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently acting defense minister . Rumor has it that Netanyahu preferred Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir for the top position and scolded then-defense minister Avigdor Liberman when he was told that Kochavi would be recommended for the role. While Netanyahu threatened that he would not bring Kochavi’s recommendation to the cabinet, the Prime Minister’s Office congratulated Kochavi a few hours after Liberman made the announcement.
(credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Despite being appointed Sunday as IDF chief of staff, Kochavi was not the first pick of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently acting defense minister. Rumor has it that Netanyahu preferred Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir for the top position and scolded then-defense minister Avigdor Liberman when he was told that Kochavi would be recommended for the role.

While Netanyahu threatened that he would not bring Kochavi’s recommendation to the cabinet, the Prime Minister’s Office congratulated Kochavi a few hours after Liberman made the announcement.

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Trump asked Mattis for plan to blow up Iranian ‘fast boats,’ report says

January 15, 2019

Source: Trump asked Mattis for plan to blow up Iranian ‘fast boats,’ report says – U.S. News – Haaretz.com

‘Why don’t we sink them?’ U.S. president told his national security team, sources tell Axios, in ‘disproportionate’ proposal they say could have quickly led to war

File photo: Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol boats shadow the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, December 21, 2018.
Jon Gambrell/AP

U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly asked his national security team during his first year in office to draw up a plan to blow up Iranian “fast boats,” Axios reported on Monday. Trump reportedly asked then Defense Secretary James Mattis, referring to Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf, “Why don’t we sink them?”

Axios quoted two sources who say they directly heard Trump‘s requests and three other former senior officials reportedly briefed on them. “So these boats, they get in, they come in really fast, they come in really close… and they might have explosives on them and we don’t even know,” Trump reportedly told staff. “Can you believe this? And we don’t do anything?”

However, the sources told Axios such “disproportionate” response at a time when Iranian vessels were harassing the U.S. Navy less than previous years could have quickly led to war. Mattis, who later resigned in protest of Trump’s Syria policy, reportedly never provided such a plan.

The report adds that when trump asked then National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster about it during a daily brief, the latter replied: “Mr. President, this has happened in the past, but DOD (Department of Defense) is telling us it hasn’t happened lately… so they’re not that concerned about it.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in early January they plan to upgrade their speed boats in the Gulf with radar-evading stealth technology and new missile launchers, as tensions rise between Tehran and Washington in the vital oil shipping route.

Ending a long absence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the region, the USS John C. Stennis entered the Gulf in late December, and was shadowed by the Revolutionary Guards’ speed boats.

File photo: U.S. President Donald Trump with Defense Secretary James Mattis in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, October 23, 2018.
Leah Millis/Reuters

There have been periodic confrontations between the Revolutionary Guards vessels and U.S. military in the Gulf, although the number of incidents has dropped in recent months.

The Revolutionary Guards launched in late December war games in the Gulf, where third of the world’s sea-borne oil passes through, and warned that its forces were ready to respond to any hostile U.S. action.

In an indirect threat to Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies in the region, the head of the Iranian armed forces warned that any Iranian confrontation with U.S. forces might also target Gulf nations that he said had invited them into the region.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that National Security Adviser John Bolton requested the Pentagon to provide Washington with military options to strike Iran, after three mortars launched by Iran-affiliated militants fell near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

The incident occurred in early September. No one was wounded, as the shells fell in an open lot, but the event apparently spurred Washington to discuss the possibility of a military response.

It is unclear whether President Trump knew of Bolton’s request or if concrete plans were drawn out for a strike, but according to the official, the Pentagon agreed to develop a set of options to attack Iran.

A U.S.-Iranian war of words has escalated since Trump took Washington out of a world powers’ nuclear deal with Iran in May, and reimposed sanctions on its banking and energy sectors.

Iran has warned that if it cannot sell its oil due to U.S. pressure, then no other regional country will be allowed to do so either, threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

The Guards’ naval arm lacks a strong conventional fleet. However, it has many speed boats and portable anti-ship missile launchers, and can lay mines.

 

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Netanyahu says failed Iranian satellite launch an attempt to develop intercontinental missile

January 15, 2019

Source: Netanyahu says failed Iranian satellite launch an attempt to develop intercontinental missile – Iran – Haaretz.com

Iran claims rocket failed to reach ‘necessary speed’ in the third stage of launch ■ Israeli premier says Tehran is lying about nature of its tests

 and

 

Iran's failed attempt to put a satellite into orbit, January 15, 2019.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Iranian satellite launch, which Tehran said has failed, was actually part of the country’s attempt to develop intercontinental ballistic missile.

Iran says it has conducted a satellite launch criticized by the U.S., but the satellite has failed to reach orbit.

State TV on Tuesday quoted the country’s minister of telecommunications as saying the country failed to put Payam satellite into the orbit.

Netanyahu blasted Iran for lying regarding its failed attempt, claiming in an address delivered on Tuesday morning that Tehran was not saying the truth and that the satellite launch was the first stage in its effort to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Netanyahu said, “Iran is launching an innocent satellite, but is actually interested in reaching the first stage of an intercontinental ballistic missile, violating agreements.”

Netanyahu spoke at Israeli army headquarters in Tel Aviv in a ceremony welcoming the new Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi.

Addressing the issue of Iran’s presence in Syria, Netanyahu also called on Tehran to withdraw forces from the war-torn country, warning Iran of Israeli actions against forces there. “I advise them to leave [Syria] quickly, because we will continue with our assertive policy, as promised, without fear and without a break.”

Earlier Tuesday, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said the satellite carrier rocket failed to reach “necessary speed” in the third stage, though it could successfully pass the first and second stages of the launch.

Earlier in January, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran’s plans for sending satellites into orbit demonstrate the country’s defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

On January 1, Iran said it plans to send Payam, a 200-pound (90-kilogram) non-military satellite into a 310-mile (500-kilometer) orbit using an Iranian Simorgh satellite-carrier rocket.

Iran insists the launches do not violate the resolution.

Pompeo said Iran has launched ballistic missiles numerous times since the UN resolution was adopted. He said it test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads on December 1, 2018.

“The United States has continuously cautioned that ballistic missile and SLV launches by the Iranian regime have a destabilizing effect on the region and beyond,” Pompeo said. “France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and many nations from around the world have also expressed deep concern.”

In July 2017, Iran launched a rocket it said could deliver a satellite into space, an act the U.S. State Department called provocative. Earlier that month, the United States slapped new economic sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program.

Iran says its space program is peaceful, but Western experts suspect it may be a cover for developing military missile technologies.

 

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Off Topic:  Rashida Tlaib poses with Hezbollah-backing anti-Israel activist 

January 15, 2019

Source: Rashida Tlaib poses with Hezbollah-backing anti-Israel activist | The Times of Israel

Abbas Hamideh, who heads a Palestinian ‘right of return’ group, posts photo of the two after reception and private dinner; Tlaib’s office doesn’t respond to request for comment

By ERIC CORTELLESSA Today, 5:11 am
Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib poses with the pro-Hezbollah "right of return" activist Abbas Hamideh on Saturday, January 12, 2019. (Twitter)

Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib poses with the pro-Hezbollah “right of return” activist Abbas Hamideh on Saturday, January 12, 2019. (Twitter)

WASHINGTON — An anti-Israel extremist who heads a “right of return” advocacy group — and has equated Zionism to Nazism and called Israel a “terrorist entity” — attended a Detroit swearing-in reception and dinner party for freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib, where he posed with her for a photograph that he tweeted on Saturday.

Tlaib, a Palestinian-American member of Congress, is a Democrat from Michigan. She was inducted into the House of Representatives two weeks ago but had a separate event for her constituents over the weekend.

“I was honored to be at Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib swearing in ceremony in Detroit and private dinner afterward with the entire family, friends and activists across the country, said Abbas Hamideh, the co-founder and executive director of Al Awda, which means “right of return.”

In the picture, Hamideh is holding a painting of Tlaib in front of the US Capitol while wearing a thobe, a traditional Palestinian gown that she wore during her swearing-in on Capitol Hill.

It’s not clear how Hamideh ended up at Tlaib’s reception, whether she invited him or whether she knew about his background. Tlaib’s office did respond to a request for comment.

Tlaib, for her part, is one of the first members of Congress to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. She has also backed a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has called for cutting US aid to the country.

Abbas Hamideh@Resistance48

The “right of return” is one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians claim that five million people — tens of thousands of original refugees from what is today’s Israel, and their millions of descendants — have a “right of return.” Israel rejects the demand, saying that it represents a bid by the Palestinians to destroy Israel by weight of numbers. Israel’s population is almost nine million, some three-quarters of whom are Jewish. If millions of Palestinians were to return to Israel, it would no longer be a Jewish-majority state.

Hamideh’s social media presence is noteworthy for its virulent attacks on the Jewish state.

“Criminal Zionism will eventually die just like Nazism. No racist and supremacist political ideology should maintain itself,” he once tweeted. “Israel does not have a right to exist. The terrorist entity is illegal and has no basis to exist other than a delusional ISIS like ideology,” he wrote.

Moreover, he’s an ardent supporter of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanon-based terrorist organization bent on Israel’s destruction.

In August 2016, Hamideh tweeted: “Happy Birthday to the most honorable Arab-Muslim leader of our lifetime.” He was referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Abbas Hamideh@Resistance48

According to his organization’s website, Hamideh’s family came from Deir Yassin. He was educated in the United States and graduated from the City University of New York.

 

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Amid split over Kurds, Erdogan and Trump weigh Syria ‘security zone’ 

January 15, 2019

Source: Amid split over Kurds, Erdogan and Trump weigh Syria ‘security zone’ | The Times of Israel

US president had threatened he would ‘devastate Turkey economically’ if Turkey attacked Kurdish fighters after American troops withdraw

By LUANA SARMINI-BUONACCORSI and RAZIYE AKKOCToday, 10:24 am
  This file photo taken on September 21, 2017 shows US President Donald Trump reaching to shake Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hand before a meeting at the Palace Hotel during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York City. (AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski)
This file photo taken on September 21, 2017 shows US President Donald Trump reaching to shake Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hand before a meeting at the Palace Hotel during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York City. (AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski)

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US counterpart Donald Trump mooted Monday the creation of a “security zone” in northern Syria as tensions rose over the fate of Kurdish fighters in the war-torn country.

In a telephone conversation, the leaders “discussed the idea of creating a security zone cleared of terrorism in the north of the country,” the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Trump confirmed this in a tweet later, but referred to the proposed area as a “safe zone.”

This came after Turkey vowed it “will not be intimidated” by Trump’s threats of economic devastation if Ankara attacked Kurdish forces as US troops withdraw from Syria.

This photo released by the press office of the Kurdish militia, People’s Protection Units or YPG, shows protesters waving giant flags of the YPG and other parties and militias, during a demonstration against Turkish threats, in Afrin, Aleppo province, north Syria on Thursday, Jan 18, 2018. (YPG Press Office via AP)

Trump on Sunday warned the US would “devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds.”

Ankara has repeatedly threatened to carry out a cross-border operation against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which have been working closely with the United States in the war on Islamic State (IS) jihadists.

US support for the YPG has been a major source of friction between the NATO allies.

The White House said in a statement that Trump had warned Erdogan against harming Kurdish military units.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

“The president expressed the desire to work together to address Turkey’s security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian democratic forces with whom we have fought to defeat ISIS,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

‘Security zone’

But in his subsequent tweet, Trump put a more positive spin, noting that he and Erdogan “also spoke about economic development between the U.S. & Turkey — great potential to substantially expand!”

The strained relationship between Ankara and Washington initially seemed to improve after Trump announced last month that 2,000 US troops would withdraw from Syria.

Ankara welcomed the decision and Erdogan told Trump that Turkey could finish off the last remnants of IS.

Trump has been pushing for the creation of a 30-kilometer (20-mile) “safe zone” in Syria.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday talks were under way on Washington’s proposal to establish the zone in flashpoint border areas of northeast Syria.

“We want to make sure that the folks who fought with us to down the (Islamic State group) have security… and also that terrorists acting out of Syria aren’t able to attack Turkey,” Pompeo said on a visit to Riyadh.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier that Turkey was “not against” a “security zone” in Syria.

And in their conversation Monday, Erdogan assured Trump that Turkey was ready to provide “any kind of support” to the United States in its withdrawal from Syria.

Turkey views the YPG as a “terrorist offshoot” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

The PKK is blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States, and the European Union.

‘Radical solution’

Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Ankara would “continue to fight against them all,” referring to IS and the YPG.

There has been growing tension between Turkey and the US over the fate of the YPG, especially after Pompeo this month said Washington would ensure Turkey does not “slaughter” Kurds.

US forces, accompanied by Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters, drive their armored vehicles near the northern Syrian village of Darbasiyah, on the border with Turkey, April 28, 2017. (Delil Souleiman/AFP)

And before a visit to Ankara last week, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said the US retreat was conditional on the safety of Kurdish fighters, provoking angry retorts from Turkish officials.

Turkey previously launched military offensives in northern Syria in 2016 and 2018 respectively against IS and the YPG. In early 2018, Syrian rebels backed by Turkish military forces captured the YPG’s northwestern enclave of Afrin.

Ankara, which supports Syrian opposition fighters, is also involved in the last rebel bastion of Idlib, where Turkey has agreed a buffer zone deal with Damascus ally Russia.

But the deal has not stopped an assault by jihadists in Syria.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an alliance led by jihadists from Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate, last week extended its administrative control over the whole of the Idlib region.

Syria’s National Coalition, the leading opposition body, on Sunday called for a “radical solution” to put “an end to its (HTS) presence” in Idlib.

Cavusoglu however said the Idlib deal was being “successfully applied” and that statements that HTS took 50 percent of Idlib are “not true.”

 

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Defying US, Iran launches satellite, but it fails to reach orbit

January 15, 2019

Source: Defying US, Iran launches satellite, but it fails to reach orbit | The Times of Israel

Iranian telecommunications minister admits third stage of rocket malfunctioned, preventing Payam spacecraft from achieving necessary speed; second planned launch unclear

By APToday, 7:45 am
Illustrative: This picture released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, July 27, 2017, claims to show the Simorgh satellite-carrying rocket, center, before being launched into space from Imam Khomeini National Space Center in an undisclosed location, Iran. (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP)

Illustrative: This picture released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, July 27, 2017, claims to show the Simorgh satellite-carrying rocket, center, before being launched into space from Imam Khomeini National Space Center in an undisclosed location, Iran. (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP)

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Tuesday conducted one of at least two satellite launches it plans despite criticism from the United States, but the satellite failed to reach orbit, an official said.

The rocket carrying the Payam satellite failed to reach the “necessary speed” in the third stage of its launch, Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi told Iranian state television.

Jahromi said the rocket had successfully passed its first and second stages before developing problems in the third.

He did not elaborate on what caused the rocket failure, but promised that Iranian scientists would continue their work.

Embedded video

Iran has said it plans to send two satellites, Payam and Doosti, into the orbit. Payam means “message” in Persian, while Doosti means “friendship.”

It’s unclear how the failure of the Payam will affect the launch timing for the Doosti. Jahromi wrote on Twitter that “Doosti is waiting for orbit,” without elaborating.

Iran usually displays space achievements in February during the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Satellite photos, released by Israeli firm ImageSat International on January 14, 2019, show apparent preparations by Iran to launch a satellite into space from its Imam Khomenei Spaceport in northern Iran. (ImageSat International)

This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the revolution amid Iran facing increasing pressure from the US under the administration of President Donald Trump.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Iran’s plans for sending satellites into orbit demonstrate the country’s defiance of a UN Security Council resolution that calls on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Iranian scientists surround a monkey ahead of a space launch. Iran said it had successfully sent the monkey into space on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight. (photo credit: AP/AP Video)

Iranian scientists surround a monkey before launching him into space, Jan. 28, 2013 (photo credit: AP Video)

Iran insists the launches do not violate the resolution.

Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013 launched a monkey into space. The US and its allies worry the same satellite-launching technology could be used to develop long-range missiles capable that could carry nuclear weapons.

Iran denies wanting nuclear weapons. A 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers limited its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

However, Trump pulled America out of the deal in May. While United Nations inspectors say Iran has honored the deal up to this point, it has threatened to resume higher enrichment.

 

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Threatening more attacks, Netanyahu tells Iran to ‘get out’ of Syria

January 15, 2019

Source: Threatening more attacks, Netanyahu tells Iran to ‘get out’ of Syria | The Times of Israel

Prime minister accuses Tehran of lying about advisers and lying about satellite launch, which he says is part of ICBM program

By TOI STAFFToday, 12:02 pm  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a handover ceremony for the new IDF chief of staff on January 15, 2019 at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a handover ceremony for the new IDF chief of staff on January 15, 2019 at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned Israel would press ahead with its campaign against Iranian entrenchment in Syria, days after a rare acknowledgement of a bombing raid in Damascus.

Speaking at a ceremony at army headquarters in Tel Aviv to install new IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Netanyahu mocked claims from Tehran that it did not have a military presence in Syria but only advisers.

“So I advise them to get out of there quickly because we will continue our offensive policy as we promised and as we do without fear and without pause,” the premier said.

He added that the country was ready to fight and win a “multi-front war,” in apparent reference to concerns over twin tensions on the southern and northern borders.

Netanyahu also accused Iran of using its nascent space program as cover for ballistic missile development, as suspected by many in the West. Hours before Netanyahu’s remarks Iran said it had launched a satellite that had failed to reach orbit.

Screen capture from video of an Iranian satellite launch, January 15, 2019. (Twitter)

He alleged the “innocent satellite” was actually “the first stage of an intercontinental missile” Iran is developing in violation of international agreements.

On Sunday, Netanyahu openly admitted that Israel bombed Iranian targets in Damascus over the weekend. The strike destroyed a number of weapons caches in the Damascus airport, Netanyahu said.

Israel typically refrains from commenting on individual airstrikes in Syria, but does generally acknowledge that it carries out raids against Iranian- and Hezbollah-linked targets in the country.

Over the weekend, outgoing chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said for the first time that Israel had dropped thousands of bombs on Iranian targets in Syria, breaking the silence on the breadth of the campaign.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi (YouTube screenshot)

Some analysts see the shift in policy as a sign of growing Israeli boldness, with Iran and Syria generally refraining from responding to the airstrikes. Israel is also concerned over perceptions that it may curb its campaign under pressure from Russia as the US pulls troops out of Syria.

Responding to Netanyahu’s statement on the Damascus airport bombing, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said Monday Iran did not have any military bases or military presence in Syria, and was only in the country “at the request of the Syrian government for advisory mission and fighting the terrorists,” according to a report by Iran’s official news agency, IRNA.

Israel has accused Iran of seeking to establish a military presence in Syria that could threaten Israeli security and attempting to transfer advanced weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

 

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Pompeo cuts short Mid East tour. No headway in selling Trump’s post-Syria drive against Iran – DEBKAfile

January 15, 2019

Source: Pompeo cuts short Mid East tour. No headway in selling Trump’s post-Syria drive against Iran – DEBKAfile

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In the face of Arab rulers’ skepticism, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo broke off his tour of region on Monday, Jan. 14. None of his hosts bought his assurance that the Trump campaign against Iran would persist with the same resolve after the US troop withdrawal from Syria.

The State Department explained his abrupt return to Washington by a family funeral that required his attendance. This was seen by official sources in Gulf capitals as a convenient diplomatic excuse for him to give up on a quest that was running out of steam as the US pullout from Syria began on Saturday. Pompeo’s pledge in Cairo “to expel every last Iranian boot from Syria,” was of no avail.

Neither did the Arab presidents and rulers he visited buy President Donald Trump Twitter of early Monday with the high points of his plans: “Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions. Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20-mile safe zone.”

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the “existing nearby base” was a reference to the K-1 Kaiwan Air Base which the Americans have begun building in the northern Iraqi oil town of Kirkuk. From there, air strikes can be mounted over the northern and central sections of the Iraqi-Syrian border. In addition, US National Security Adviser John Bolton, when he visited Israel earlier this month, mentioned two more US bases in Iraq from which, if called for, air strikes could be launched into Syria. They are the Tallil Air Base in the south near Nasiriya and the Ayn al-Asad airbase in the western province of Anbar.

Pompeo’s assurance that the three air bases supported the American undertaking to preserve a US air presence over Syrian skies did not convince the Arab rulers. They countered that, only two weeks ago, Baghdad won carte blanche from Syrian President Bashar Assad to send the Iraqi air force against ISIS targets in Syria without asking for permission. They noted that at any moment, Baghdad could decide to respect Syrian or Iranian demands to ban the use of American bases on its soil for hitting targets in Syria – or even demand their evacuation.

Their response was equally cool to the US Secretary’s proposal to call an international conference in Warsaw on Feb. 13-14 to discuss Middle East stability in the light of malign Iranian activity. Arab sources commented that the last thing needed for an effective challenge to Iran was another international conference. As one high-ranking source in Riyadh put it: “The time for talking is over; now we need action.”

 

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Israel destroys Iranian weapons cache in Syria airport – TV7 Israel News 14.01.19 

January 15, 2019

 

 

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