There are several interesting stories in circulation today, this is just the first:
The United States will temporarily shut down its embassies and consulates around the world Sunday -- including those in Iraq, Afghanistan and Egypt -- as a precautionary measure over terror-related concerns, State Department officials said.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf did not say how long the international installations would stay closed -- only that the decision was taken “out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting.” Officials would not describe the nature of the threat.
“We have instructed all U.S. embassies and consulates that would have normally been open on Sunday to suspend operations, specifically on August 4,” a senior State Department official said Thursday night. “It is possible we may have additional days of closing as well.”
Other U.S. officials said the threat was specifically in the Muslim world.
Iranian President Hasan Rouhani “has revealed his true face sooner than expected,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, in response to the Iranian leader’s comments earlier thatIsrael was an “old wound” that should be removed.
Rouhani spoke in Tehran Friday — just two days ahead of his inauguration — after attending International Quds Day events in solidarity with the Palestinian people
Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Rouhani as saying: “The Zionist regime has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and the wound should be removed.”
“Even if others hasten to deny his remarks, this is what the man thinks and this is the plan of the Iranian regime,” said Netanyahu, adding, “his statements should shake the world from the reverie some have found themselves in since the [June 14 presidential] elections. There’s a new president, but the intentions of Iran remain the same — to obtain nuclear weapons that will threaten Israel, the Middle East and the peace and security of the entire world.
“A country that threatens another country with annihilation cannot be allowed to obtain weapons of mass destruction,” concluded the prime minister.
Rouhani won a landslide victory in Iran’s presidential election and has pledged to follow a “path of moderation,” promising greater openness over Iran’s nuclear program, which has placed it at odds with the West.
Netanyahu has consistently warned that the new Iranian president was merely putting on a “more hospitable face,” and that he has no power or intention to change the Iranian regime’s nuclear policy. Last month, he called Rouhani a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu charged that Iran was going ahead with its nuclear program: “A month has passed since the elections in Iran, and Iran is going full steam ahead on developing nuclear weapons. Now, more than ever, given Iran’s progress, it’s crucial to strengthen economic sanctions against Iran and to provide a credible military option."
US President Barack Obama called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday and praised both leaders for their roles in this week’s resumption of peace talks. He also urged them to “move fast” and make “speedy progress” toward a permanent accord, according to a White House source quoted by Army Radio.
In his conversation with the PA president, Obama pledged his support in achieving peace based on the two-state solution, according to the press release. The reference to two states was notably missing from the statement posted regarding his call with Netanyahu, however, in which the US president and the Israeli prime minister agreed to continue the close coordination between their two countries on regional issues.
Speaking to Channel 2 news on Wednesday, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who has been tasked with spearheading peace negotiations, said the sides would know within a far shorter period of time whether or not they’ll be able to reach an agreement.
“I believe the nine-month time frame is only a marginal issue,” Livni said. “If after one month we see that the talks aren’t headed anywhere we won’t pursue them, but on the other hand if we reach an agreement in a shorter period of time we will of course not dismiss that.”
The American leaks have raised concerns among some observers in Israel that Syrian President Bashar Assad would be unable to refrain from responding to the attacks due to the embarrassment he would incur.
“The mere fact that such leaks happen often indicates that the Pentagon leadership does not have Israel’s interests at heart,” Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post. “It is difficult to assess the motivation of such leaks.”
Inbar listed several possible motives, including the wish to prevent future Israeli action.
“What is clear is that they do not come from elements friendly to Israel, because Israel’s preferred modus operandi is low profile. [This is] intended to allow Assad to refrain from reacting,” he added.
“It could be many elements. US intelligence has played very dangerous games in the political field. I can’t rule out someone in US intelligence as a possibility,” he said. “There could be elements within American intelligence that are interested in damaging Israel or promoting a certain policy.
Scheuftan agreed with Inbar that the leak could be trying to harm Israel’s interests.
“If the source is really from the US, it could be someone who has access to this information and wants to damage Israel.”
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