WarSclerotic

The Security Cabinet will convene Sunday for the first time in two months, amid cryptic warnings by Israeli leadership in recent days of a growing security threat.

Members of the top forum will meet at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem in the afternoon.

In recent days Hebrew media has on several occasions quoted unnamed security officials as warning of the rising threat of an attack orchestrated by Iran.

On Friday, Channel 13 news was the latest to report concerns that Tehran, emboldened by military successes against the US and Saudi Arabia, will seek to attack the Jewish state.

Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin have mentioned crucial security needs in recent days as they called for the formation of a broad unity government.

The Blue and White party’s Gabi Ashkenazi, newly appointed head of the Knesset’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, also spoke Thursday of “many challenges in the security realm, some known to all and some that are only discussed behind closed doors.”

On Saturday evening Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman repeated his call for Netanyahu and Blue and White chief Benny Gantz to form a unity government, citing a “national emergency, economic challenges and security threats from south, north and further away.”

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman speaks to press while touring the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv on election day, September 17, 2019. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Liberman noted in a Facebook post that the country on Sunday will mark 46 years since the Yom Kippur War, the most traumatic conflict in the nation’s history and one in which the country was caught off guard by its enemies, and said it was imperative to remember its legacy “of leadership and love of country.”

“We are at a political crossroads,” Liberman wrote. “The election results can lead to only one conclusion — the people want unity… I once again call on Prime Minister Netanyahu and MK Benny Gantz: Show responsibility and leadership, set aside your egos and stops the games, spin and time-wasting.”

Netanyahu, during a speech Thursday at the swearing-in of the new Knesset, also called for a “broad national unity government,” saying the country’s security challenges demanded political stability.

“No one faces as many challenges as we face, no other country. And democracies that don’t grasp that you need to unite in a time of danger suffer a heavy price,” he said.

“This isn’t spin, it’s not a whim, this is not ‘Netanyahu trying to scare us,’” he said. “Anyone who knows the situation knows that Iran is getting stronger and is attacking around the world, saying clearly, ‘Israel will disappear.’ They believe it, they are working toward it, we need to take them seriously.”

Blue and White party leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid at a faction meeting at the opening of the 22nd Knesset, on October 03, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

But Blue and White MK Ofer Shelah rejected claims of an emergency, saying: “There is no greater cynic than Netanyahu in using matter of security for political ends. Don’t believe his fear-mongering. Everything is political with him.”

Netanyahu has sought to press Blue and White to join a coalition led by him and composed of right-wing and Haredi parties. Gantz has so far refused to sit in a coalition with Netanyahu as long as the Likud leader faces corruption indictments, and is also unwilling to join a government comprised of hard-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. Blue and White has said a unity government with Likud could be formed “within an hour” if Netanyahu steps down.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad terror group on Saturday marked 32 years since its establishment, holding a rally in the Gaza Strip in which it showed off what it said was a new type of rocket.

“Gaza’s resistance is ready to fight together against any action directed at the Strip,” said organization leader Ziyad Al Nahale.

On Friday night two projectiles fired at Israel from Gaza fell short of the border fence, landing inside the Hamas-held territory, the Israel Defense Forces said, which triggered incoming rocket sirens in the Gaza border community of Kissufim in southern Israel.

A young protester waves a Palestinian flag while demonstrating by the border fence with Israel east of Gaza City on October 4, 2019. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

The incident came hours after a Palestinian man was killed during riots along the Gaza-Israel border fence on Friday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, as thousands took part in weekly protests.

Channel 12 reported that the IDF was bolstering troop readiness in the south, the West Bank and the northern border due to the tense situation, as well as the standard heightened alert around the Jewish holiday period.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said that he supports a plan by European countries to bolster his country’s unraveling 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, but the proposal was scuppered by US President Donald Trump openly threatening to impose more sanctions.

Speaking during a weekly cabinet meeting in Tehran, Rouhani said: “We agree with the general framework” in which France, Britain and Germany urged Tehran to enter talks about a new arrangement on the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Rouhani said the plan included preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, securing its support for regional peace, lifting US sanctions and the immediate resumption of Iranian oil exports.

He said the plan could have been discussed during his visit in New York last week for the UN General Assembly, but that Trump sank the chances by vowing in his speech to the assembly that not only would sanctions remain in place but “they will be tightened.”

Rouhani accused Washington of sending mixed messages by privately being open to compromise but publicly calling for increased pressure on Iran.

He also thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his personal efforts to broker direct talks between himself and Trump.

“He did his best in those 48 hours, especially in the past 24 hours, and we were supportive,” Rouhani said, according to a report from the Iran Front Page news website.

“The one who prevented us from achieving a result was the White House,” he added, according to the report. “Neither Paris nor Tokyo and other countries are to blame. All parties, along with Iran, tried hard.”

US President Donald Trump speaks during the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, September 24, 2019. (Don Emmert / AFP)

On Tuesday Politico reported that Trump and Rouhani agreed to a four-point plan drafted by Macron that would have seen the two leaders meet and declare a resumption of negotiations. However, the diplomatic effort fell through when Rouhani backed out, over what other reports characterized as his deep mistrust of the US administration.

Tuesday’s report followed a New Yorker report on Sunday that said Macron was close to brokering a phone call between Trump and Rouhani during the UN gathering, but the French president’s secretive effort fell apart because of the Iranian leader’s lack of trust in the US president.

Speculation was abuzz last month that the leaders could meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

But Rouhani said he would only hold talks with the US if Trump lifted economic sanctions on Tehran.

Macron used his 48 hours in New York to see Trump three times and Rouhani twice, urging them to engage directly.

Tensions have been escalating between Iran and the United States since May last year when Trump pulled out of the nuclear accord and began reimposing sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, right, shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, September 24, 2019. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Britain, France and Germany have repeatedly said they are committed to saving the deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, but their efforts have so far borne little fruit.

Tensions flared again this May when Iran began reducing its own commitments under the deal and the US deployed military assets to the region.

Since then, ships have been attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized. Last month, twin attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, which knocked out half the kingdom’s production, drew accusations of blame on Iran from Washington and Europe.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the attacks which were claimed by Iran-backed rebels fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Iran has since warned that any military retaliation would prompt a severe response that would lead to a wide conflict in the region.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday threatened that Iran would further breach the international accord that set limits on its nuclear program until it obtains the “desired results.”

Since May, Iran has taken a number of steps in violation of the 2015 agreement, including stockpiling uranium above the permitted limit and installing advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

Iran says the moves ae in protest over a lack of economic relief from the deal’s European signatories since US President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord last year and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

“Regarding the nuclear issue, we will seriously pursue reduction of our commitments. The Government should precisely, thoroughly pursue that until we reach the desired results—and we will certainly by the Grace of God achieve the desired outcomes,” Khamenei wrote on his Twitter account.

He did not specify what additional steps Iran may take in breach of the pact.

The Iranian leader also declared that the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaigned, aimed at forcing Iran to negotiate a more stringent agreement curbing its nuclear program, had failed.

“Recently and through their European friends, they also begged to force our president to meet (Trump) to make a symbolic status for making Iran surrender,” state TV quoted Khamenei as saying during a meeting with elite Revolutionary Guard members. “They eventually did not succeed and the policy will definitely fail until the end.”

Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, has repeatedly expressed pessimism about Europe’s intentions for saving the nuclear deal, which aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons in return for lifting sanctions. Iran has routinely denied seeking a nuclear weapon.

Earlier Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran supports a plan by European countries to bolster the nuclear deal.

Rouhani said the plan included preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, securing its support for regional peace, lifting US sanctions and the immediate resumption of Iranian oil exports.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speak after a meeting at the United Nations headquarters on September 23, 2019, in New York. (Ludovic Marin/AFP)

Speaking during a weekly cabinet meeting, Rouhani said: “We agree with the general framework by the Europeans.” France, Britain and Germany had urged Tehran to enter talks about a new arrangement on the nuclear deal.

Rouhani’s comments come amid heightened tension between Tehran and Washington following Trump’s decision to unilaterally pull out of the nuclear deal. The US has imposed sanctions that have kept Iran from selling its oil abroad and have crippled its economy.

Rouhani said the plan could have been discussed during his New York visit last week to attend the UN General Assembly but that Trump scuppered chances by openly threatening to impose more sanctions.

He said Trump in a private message had told the Europeans he was ready but later told media outlets he wanted to intensify sanctions. Rouhani expressed gratitude for efforts by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the plan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told state TV later Wednesday that even though Macron’s four-point plan did not include Iran’s views, “it is necessary that negotiations continue in an accurate way. We will continue the communications.”

On Tuesday, Politico reported that Trump and Rouhani agreed to a four-point plan drafted by Macron that would have seen the two leaders meet and declare a resumption of negotiations. However, the diplomatic effort fell through when Rouhani backed out, over what other reports characterized as his deep mistrust of the US administration.

US President Donald Trump speaks during the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, September 24, 2019. (Johannes Eisele/AFP)

Tuesday’s report followed a New Yorker report on Sunday that said Macron was close to brokering a phone call between Trump and Rouhani during the UN gathering, but the French president’s secretive effort fell apart because of the Iranian leader’s lack of trust in the US president.

Speculation was abuzz last month that the leaders could meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

But Rouhani said he would only hold talks with the US if Trump lifted economic sanctions on Tehran.

A top general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday claimed the country had “defeated” the US military before the world, the Tasnim news agency reported.

Qassem Soleimani, head of the IRGC’s Quds Force, may have been referring to Tehran’s downing of an American drone in June, an event for which US President Donald Trump approved a retaliatory strike, before calling it off at the last minute.

Soleimani, speaking at conference of IRGC commanders, also said the Guards had “paved the way” to defeat the nation’s enemies in the region.

Tensions have risen in the Persian Gulf since May last year when Trump unilaterally abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Iran and began reimposing crippling sanctions in a campaign of “maximum pressure.” Iran has responded in recent months by reducing its own commitments under the deal and the US deployed military assets to the region.

Things escalated further after last month’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities that halved the kingdom’s oil output.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the strikes but the US says it has concluded the attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted to “an act of war.”

Saudi Arabia, which has been bogged down in a five-year war across its southern border in Yemen, has said Iran “unquestionably sponsored” the attacks.

Smoke billows from an Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq about 60km (37 miles) southwest of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province on September 14, 2019. (AFP)

Iran has denied responsibility for the September 14 drone and cruise missile attack.

IRGC commander Major General Hossein Salami has said any country that attacks Iran will become the “main battlefield” in the ensuing conflict.

On Sunday the New Yorker reported that French President Emmanuel Macron was close to brokering a phone call between Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines on the UN General assembly last week, but the effort fell apart because of the Iranian leader’s lack of trust in the US president.

However, the diplomatic effort by the French president failed when Rouhani backed out, over what other reports characterized as his deep mistrust of the US administration.

French officials told the website that Macron convinced Trump and Rouhani to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week under the framework of his document. This called for the US to roll back all re-imposed sanctions, while Tehran was obligated to adhere to the nuclear agreement, refrain from “any aggression” in the region and agree to resume long-term talks about its nuclear programs.

Politico said the meeting did not go ahead because Rouhani insisted that Trump first publicly declare an end to the sanctions he re-imposed after withdrawing the US last year from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Rouhani “agreed on the principles of the document and he thanked the [French] president because there is the explicit mention of the sanctions [but] he wanted Trump to say before entering the meeting that he was lifting the sanctions,” an unnamed French official told Politico.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks to the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Tuesday’s report followed a New Yorker report on Sunday that Macron was close to brokering a phone call between Trump and Rouhani last week, but the French president’s secretive effort fell apart because of the Iranian leader’s lack of trust in the US president.

Trump was waiting on the line, but Rouhani left him hanging, The New York Times elaborated Monday. “President Trump waited on the other end.” All Rouhani had to do “was come out of his hotel suite and walk into a secure room where Mr. Trump’s voice would be piped in via speaker. But he refused to do so, and therefore “Mr. Macron left empty-handed and Mr. Trump was left hanging.”

Officials said Macron had arranged for technicians to install a secure line in Rouhani’s New York hotel suite for a three-way conference call Tuesday evening, but when the French president arrived at the suite and proposed the call, Rouhani refused to participate.

The Times said Rouhani and his aides were “blindsided by the offer” to talk to Trump, which was presented to them by Macron during on an unannounced visit to their rooms at the Millennium Hilton Hotel. “It was a mission lifted out of a Hollywood thriller,” the paper said.

“We set up the gear with the approval of the Iranians, evidently, because it was happening at their quarters,” a French official told the New Yorker. “The technicians arrived, the Iranians let them set up, they assisted them, there was no problem.”

An oil tanker on fire in the Gulf of Oman, June 13, 2019 near the strategic Strait of Hormuz where two ships were reportedly attacked. (AP Photo/ISNA)

Tensions have risen in the Persian Gulf since May last year when Trump unilaterally abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Iran and began reimposing crippling sanctions in a campaign of “maximum pressure.”

Britain, France and Germany have repeatedly said they are committed to saving the deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, but their efforts have so far borne little fruit.

Tensions flared again this May when Iran began reducing its own commitments under the deal and the US deployed military assets to the region.

Since then, ships have been attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized. This month, twin attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, which knocked out half the kingdom’s production, drew accusations of blame on Iran from Washington and Europe.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the attacks which were claimed by Iran-backed rebels fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

On Sunday, the Iranian oil minister ordered his country’s energy sector to be on high alert to the threat of “physical and cyber” attacks, saying precautions were needed due to American sanctions and the “full-scale economic war” that the Islamic Republic accuses the United States of waging against it.