Submitted by: M Mulukin
TEL AVIV —Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told judges in a Jerusalem court on Monday that he is innocent of corruption charges before abruptly standing, saying "thank you very much" and leaving with his motorcade.
Netanyahu quit the courtroom some 20 minutes after the start of Monday morning’s hearing, which continued on without him. The sessions kick-started the second phase of a precedent-setting legal procedure, which, for the first time, involves the indictment of an Israeli prime minister while still in office and campaigning for elections in the coming weeks — the fourth in two years.
Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the Jerusalem District Courtroom where the trial is taking place is a “humiliating” departure for Netanyahu’s usual setting “in front of the flag of Israel, and in a position of power.”
“But he came by himself, without family members or minister loyalists. He is trying to belittle the situation,” she said.
On Sunday, Netanyahu posted a video to his Facebook page instructing his supporters not to demonstrate outside the heavily guarded Jerusalem courtroom, saying that it was a health risk as coronavirus cases continue to soar and because “everyone already sees that the witch-hunt against me is crumbling, everyone understands that this is a transparent attempt to overthrow a strong prime minister from the Right.”
Only one pro-Netanyahu demonstrator arrived to express support on Monday morning, across from some 200 anti-Netanyahu protesters hoisting signs reading “Crime Minister” and calling on him to resign.
Since the trial formally began last May, Netanyahu has maintained his innocence and decried the case against him as part of a politically motivated conspiracy to oust him from power.
Iran’s supreme leader: ‘The post-US era has started’...Must Lift Sanctions- Biden says NO....
09 February 2021
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismisses US President Joe Biden’s statement that Washington will only remove sanctions once Tehran stops enriching uranium, tweeting: “The post-U.S. era has started.”
“If they want Iran to go back to its #JCPOA commitments, the U.S. must practically end all sanctions. We will verify if it has been done properly. If yes, we will go back to our JCPOA commitments,” he says in a follow-up tweet, reiterating a stance repeated multiple times in recent days.
Khamenei said Sunday that the United States must lift all sanctions before Tehran reverses any nuclear production steps.
The Trump administration reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after pulling the US out of the international accord aimed at curtailing Tehran’s nuclear program.
“The side with the right to set conditions to JCPOA is Iran since it abided by all its commitments, not US or 3 European countries who breached theirs,” Khamenei wrote on Twitter, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
“If they want Iran to return, US must lift all sanctions. We’ll verify and if it’s done properly, we’ll return to our commitments,” Khamenei wrote.
The top diplomats of Britain, France, Germany and the United States held talks on Friday for the first time in almost three years that included discussions on Iran.
Khamenei’s statement came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told an Iranian newspaper that recent parliament legislation forces the government to toughen its stance on the US if sanctions are not eased in two weeks, the Reuters news agency reported.
Biden told CBS Sunday that his administration will not agree to lift sanctions on Iran before it halts its uranium enrichment program, adding that the Islamic Republic will have to first resume compliance with the nuclear deal.
Asked during the interview, which will air in its entirety later on Sunday, whether he will heed Iran’s demand to first lift sanctions to facilitate talks, Biden told the network: “No.”
See following article.....
Biden won’t lift sanctions, only “ask” allies to ease pressure on Iran.
9 February 2021
In its initial Iran steps, the Biden administration is exploring ways to bring Iran to the table for renewed nuclear talks without lifting sanctions. President Joe Biden stated firmly on Sunday, February 7 that sanctions will not be lifted “until Iran stops enriching uranium” – even for getting Tehran back to the nuclear negotiating table.
He stated this position hours after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that the US must lift sanctions before Iran meets its commitments under the nuclear accords.
Biden and his aides have begun mapping out the new administration’s policies for the Middle East and the Iranian question. Reliable sources outline five: emerging contours
- Hard pressure to force Iran to place limits on its nuclear program and back off its regional destabilization drives.
- Underpinning Israel’s security, while promoting a peace accord with the Palestinians and the Arab world as a whole.
- Terminating the Yemen and Libyan wars. Plans to revoke the Yemen Houthis’ designation as terrorists.
- Actively advancing human rights in the region.[!]
- Some officials in Washington are reportedly discussing indirect financial aid to Tehran in the form of IMF backing for coronavirus relief on humanitarian grounds.
The Biden administration’s initial moves point to the goal of ending the Yemen conflict on terms designed to open a pathway to positive nuclear negotiations with Iran. While not budging on sanctions, the administration appears to be using key US allies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for meeting the ayatollah’s demand to take the first step towards re-engagement.
This step consisted of three manoeuvres:
- Withdrawing US support from the Saudi and Emirati forces fighting the Iran-backed Houthi insurgency in Yemen. This support consisted mainly of intelligence for directing their bombers to target.
- Suspending the huge arms transactions with Saudi Arabia pending a review of their destinations and use
- Pausing the deal with the UAE for the delivery of 50 F-35 stealth bombers - also for a review of their intended use.
Tehran lost no time in rejecting these steps as openings for formal talks. On Saturday, FM Mohammed Javad Zarif said that time was running out for America to rejoin the nuclear accord. “The longer they delay [in abandoning the Trump policy] the more they stand to lose,” he said and pointed to two deadlines: The February 21 date set by the parliament in Tehran for the US to lift sanctions, and Iran’s June election. The supreme leader weighed in unequivocally on Sunday to strengthen Zarif’s ultimatum.
The Islamic regime has made it crystal clear that it rejects US steps with regard to its allies as beside the point, and will not give way on the bald, unshakable demand for the US to lift the crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
Some middle ground will almost certainly be found at some point for formal nuclear talks to resume. Meanwhile, Israel is keeping a wary eye on the Biden administration’s first steps towards a Middle East strategy and its initial goodwill gestures for getting Tehran to the table. Officials in Jerusalem are trying to calculate how this may affect this country’s security interests. The first conclusion to be drawn is that the new US president has no intention of being drawn into direct confrontation with Tehran and has chosen to ease up on Iran’s allies to demonstrate good intentions.
For the Saudis, there is a sacrifice. The withdrawal of US aid aims at compelling the kingdom to break off its war against the pro-Iranian Houthis, even though those same Houthis continue to shoot missiles at will from northern Yemen into Saudi towns and military centres. In this way, Biden is telling the Saudi royals that they are not at liberty to retaliate militarily against Tehran’s ally, but had better start thinking about folding their tents in Yemen and withdrawing from that conflict.
Might the US president’s advisers decide to replicate the Yemen formula in the Syrian arena, where Israel is battling relentlessly against Iran and its proxies, including Hizballah, establishing a foothold on its borders?
This question is likely hovering over the thinking of Israel’s strategists, even taking into account the differences between the two arenas and cases. Although President Biden has reiterated America’s abiding commitment to Israel’s security, this commitment may not extend to a free hand for striking Iranian and proxy targets in Syria and Iraq, as and when its military strategists see fit. Some sources are not ruling out the possibility of a “request” from Washington to Jerusalem to ease up on those strikes, for the sake of procuring more let-up from Iran on a re-negotiated nuclear deal.
The old Obama two foot shuffle looks to be back on again?
Biden opens major push for LGBTIQ rights abroad.
09 February 2021
President Joe Biden has quickly launched a campaign to support LGBTIQ people abroad, putting their rights higher on the US foreign policy agenda than ever before.
Elevating a 2011 initiative launched by his former boss Barack Obama -- and reversing a turnaround under Donald Trump -- Biden is expanding the scope of US efforts on LGBTIQ rights while also adjusting based on lessons learned over the past decade.
In his first foreign policy speech, Biden announced Thursday he was ordering all US government agencies active abroad to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people and to come up with plans within 180 days.
"All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love," Biden said in the presidential memorandum.
Biden, who plans a dramatic rise in US admissions of refugees, promised greater attention to LGBTIQ asylum seekers, including by ensuring action on urgent cases even when vulnerable people first flee to countries that are less welcoming.
The outrageous insanity continues and grows. You’d think this man would have more to worry about wouldn’t you? No, he appears totally obsessed with the plight of LGTBIQ population – it is SO bizarre?
Biden’s drive to war in the Middle East.
08 February 2021
[Excerpted]
President Joe Biden’s Iran policy was conceived and is being implemented by the same people who negotiated the JCPOA under Obama, who argued in favour of empowering Iran.
On Monday, Iran tested the Zuljanah, a 25-metre (82-foot), three-stage rocket with a solid fuel engine for its first two stages and a liquid fuel rocket for its third stage. It can carry a 225 kg (496 pound) payload.
The Zuljanah’s thrust is 75 kilotons, far more than required to launch a satellite into orbit. The high thrust makes the Zuljanah more comparable to an intercontinental ballistic missile than a space launch vehicle. The United States’ LGM-30G Minuteman-III land-based ICBM, for instance, has 90 kiloton thrust. The Zuljanah can rise to a height of 500 kilometres (311 miles) for low-earth orbit. If launched as a missile, its range is 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles)—far enough to reach Britain from Iran.
Israeli missile experts estimate that Iran has paid $250 million to develop the Zuljanah project. Monday’s rocket launch itself likely cost tens of millions of dollars.
Iran is in deep economic distress today. Between the COVID-19 global recession, Iran’s endemic corruption and mismanagement and U.S. economic sanctions, 35 percent of Iranians live in abject poverty today. Iran’s rial has lost 80 percent of its value over the past four years. Official data place the unemployment rate at 25 percent but the number is thought to be much higher. Inflation last year stood at 44 percent overall. Food prices have risen 59 percent.
When viewed in the context of Iran’s impoverishment, the government’s investment in a thinly disguised ICBM program is all the more revealing. With 35 percent of the population living in utter destitution and food prices rising steeply, the regime has chosen ICBMs over feeding its people.
Most of the media coverage of the Zuljanah launch failed to register the significance of the project, both what it says about Iran’s capabilities and about the regime’s intentions. Instead, the coverage focused on the timing of the test. The Iranians conducted the test as they flamboyantly breach the limitations on their nuclear activities which they accepted when they agreed to the 2015 nuclear deal.
The Iranians are now enriching uranium to 20 percent purity—well beyond the 3.67 percent permitted under the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, (JCPOA). They are using prohibited advanced centrifuges for enrichment in cascades at their Natanz nuclear installation. They are beginning uranium cascades with sixth-generation centrifuges at their underground Fordo nuclear reactor in total defiance of the JCPOA. They are stockpiling uranium yellowcake far beyond the quantities permitted in the deal. They are producing uranium metal in breach of the deal. And they are test-firing rockets that can easily be converted to nuclear-capable ICBMs.
Reportage of Iran’s aggressive nuclear program has presented it in the context of the new Biden administration in Washington. It is argued that Iran is taking these aggressive steps to pressure the Biden administration to keep its word to return the United States to the JCPOA and abrogate economic sanctions on Iran. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump renounced the JCPOA and reimposed the economic sanctions that were abrogated in 2015 with the deal’s implementation. Iran’s idea is that out of fear of its rapid nuclear strides, the Biden team will move urgently to appease it.
Notably, the Zuljanah test exposed the strategic insanity at the heart of the deal, which was conceived, advanced and concluded by then-President Barack Obama and his senior advisers.
The main strategic assumption that guided Obama and his advisers was that Iran was a status-quo, responsible power and should be viewed as part of the solution—or “the solution” rather than the problem in the Middle East. Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism, its proxy wars and its nuclear program were unfortunate consequences of a regional power balance that put too much power in the hands of U.S. allies—first and foremost Israel and Saudi Arabia—and too little power in Iran’s hands. To stabilize the Middle East, Obama argued, Iran needed to be empowered and U.S. allies needed to be weakened. As then-Vice President Biden put it in 2013, “Our biggest problem was our allies.”
A new balance of power, Obama argued, would respect Iran’s “equities” in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. As for the nuclear program, which was illegal under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Iran signed, it was totally understandable. Given that Pakistan, India and allegedly Israel have nuclear arsenals, Obama’s advisers said, Iran’s desire for one was reasonable.
With this outlook informing its negotiators, the JCPOA’s legitimization of Iran’s nuclear program makes sense. The purpose of the deal wasn’t to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. It was to “balance” Israel by delegitimizing any Israeli action to block Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
While Israel and America’s other allies would be massively harmed by this new balance of power, Obama and his European partners assessed that they would be more secure. As a secure regional hegemon, Iran wouldn’t attack them.
The deal reflected this view. A non-binding clause in the JCPOA calls for Iran to limit the range of its ballistic missiles to 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles)—taking the United States and most of Europe out of range.
Many commentators view the Biden administration as nothing more than Obama’s third term. And from the perspective of its Iran policies, this is certainly the case. President Biden’s Iran policy was conceived and is being implemented by the same people who negotiated the JCPOA under Obama.
The Zuljanah test on Monday demonstrated that Iran doesn’t share this view of its position. It didn’t spend $250 million on a rocket/missile that can hit Europe because it is scared of Israel and Saudi Arabia. It developed the Zuljanah because it wants the capacity to attack Europe. And it wants to attack Europe because it is a revolutionary, rather than a status-quo regime, that seeks global domination, not regional stability.
As for the timing, the Zuljanah was tested in February 2021 rather than October 2020 because Iran was deterred by Trump and his maximum-pressure strategy, and is empowered by Biden and his maximum appeasement strategy. The prospect of war decreased under Trump. Now it increases with every pronouncement made by the likes of U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
In recent days, both senior officials have warned that Iran is moving dangerously close to independent military nuclear capabilities. And both have made clear that to deal with the problem, the administration intends to go back to the JCPOA.
This policy is irrational even when assessed from within the closed cognitive circle of the Biden/Obama team. They intend to make an irrevocable concession to Iran—billions of dollars of revenue which will flow into its coffers once the sanctions are removed. And in exchange they are asking Iran to make a revocable gesture. Iran reinstated its nuclear enrichment at Fordo and raised its enrichment level to 20 percent at the drop of a hat. If it turns the switches off to get the sanctions relief, it can turn them right back on after the money starts to flow.
This will almost certainly happen in June at the latest. On June 18, Iran will hold presidential elections. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will both leave office. All of the current viable candidates hail from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and they can all be guaranteed to abandon the JCPOA. So at best, the JCPOA’s remaining shelf life is four months.
Biden, Blinken, Sullivan, Malley and their colleagues all must be aware that this is the case. The fact that they are moving ahead with their failed strategy all the same indicates that they are ideologically committed to their plan and will stay with it even as it drives the region to war.
This brings us to Israel. During the Trump years, Israel and the United States were fully coordinated in their joint and separate actions to undermine Iran’s nuclear program and its operations in Syria and Iraq. As a senior official in Trump’s National Security Council explained recently, “Working together the intelligence agencies of both countries were able to accomplish more than they could on their own.”
Obviously, those days are over now. And as Biden’s team makes its presence felt fully, Israel’s options for blocking Iran from becoming a nuclear power are diminishing.
In the face of the Biden team’s strategic fanaticism and Iran’s race to the nuclear finishing line, it’s likely that Israel’s recent public warnings intended audience was neither the Iranians nor the Americans. Instead, they may well have been telling the Israeli public to be prepared for what is coming.
And they may also have been telling Israel’s regional partners that the time for joint action is now.
BREAKING NEWS – with Tim Thompson – 08 February 2021
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