iran israel

‘Iran is Not Scared of Israeli Retaliation, Used Old Missiles Out of Restraint’: Iranian Academic

Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the Tehran University, said that Iran’s nuclear and oil and gas infrastructure is extremely well-protected because, for decades, it has had to protect these installations against any possible American attack

Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the Tehran University and former media advisor to the Iranian Nuclear Negotiation Team, has claimed that Iran used old missiles in the attack on Israel on October 1 as a deliberate act of restraint on Tehran’s part. Marandi, a prominent presence on Al Jazeera, also said that Iran is not worried or scared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threat to pay Iran back.

He says Iran’s nuclear and oil and gas infrastructure is extremely well-protected because, for decades, it has had to protect these installations against any possible American attack. An attack by Israel can, therefore, be easily handled. Marandi also denied that Ayatollah Khamenei had been taken to a safe house for protection after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah.

Speaking about Hezbollah, Marandi suggested that the Nsarallah’s killing and perhaps 10-12 top commanders, including possibly, Hashem Safieddine is because Beirut is a weak link for Hezbollah. He said in the rest of the country Hezbollah’s strength is unaffected. However, he couldn’t explain why the secretary general of Hezbollah and his presumed successor Safieddine were based in the weak link area of Beirut.

West Asia: Israel Says Iran Will ‘Pay’, India Reiterates Call for ‘Restraint by All Concerned’

‘It is important that the conflict doesn’t take a wider regional dimension and we urge that all issues be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy.’

New Delhi: As violence escalates in West Asia, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reiterated a call for restraint and protection of civilians, warning against the conflict taking on a wider regional dimension.

After Iran fired at Israel a day ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would “pay”. Israel is claiming that Iran fired almost 200 missiles on October 1. This attack came after Israel began strikes on Lebanon and Yemen, after a year-long onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza, in what has been called a “genocide“.

“We are deeply concerned at the escalation of security situation in West Asia and reiterate our call for restraint by all concerned and protection of civilians,” India has said.

“It is important that the conflict doesn’t take a wider regional dimension and we urge that all issues be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy,” the MEA noted in a statement.

The MEA has also issued an advisory against “all non-essential travel to Iran”, adding to request those Indians living in the country to “remain vigilant” and maintain contact with the embassy in Tehran.

Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that the missile launches were an act of “self-defence” as under Article 51 of the UN Charter, targeting solely military and security sites in charge of genocide in Gaza and Lebanon.

Iranian Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri warned that Tehran would target “all infrastructure” in Israel if its territory is attacked.

Al Jazeera has meanwhile reported Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, as having said that it attacked and repulsed Israeli troops who infiltrated near the town of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, and “inflicted losses and forced them to retreat”.

Israel has meanwhile attacked Lebanon afresh, also amping up attacks on Gaza – killing dozens and bombing an orphanage.

‘Iran Will Definitely Retaliate Against Israel,’: Iranian Academic Mohammad Marandi

Marandi, a former senior advisor to Iran’s Nuclear Negotiation Team, who has worked closely with the new foreign minister of the country, sayid “Iran will definitely retaliate/

In a 35-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Prof. Mohammad Marandi, who is also a Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran, answers questions at length about the nature and character of the response Iran could carry out as well as the costs to Tehran for doing so.

Marandi, a former senior advisor to Iran’s Nuclear Negotiation Team, who has worked closely with the new foreign minister of the country, sayid “Iran will definitely retaliate – it’s inevitable and necessary. The wrath of Iran is very much real”. He said without responding Iran won’t be safe. “The Israeli regime is a rogue regime, which the West supports regardless of this fact and regardless of what Israel has done to the Palestinian people,” he added.

The first big issue is does Tehran face a dilemma? On the one hand, President Pezeshkian has said Iran “will definitely receive a response for its crimes and insolence”. On the other hand, he has also said that Tehran does not wish to broaden the war and contribute to a bigger crisis. But is such a perfect response possible or is there a huge danger that the response will do precisely what the president is hoping it won’t i.e. broaden the war and create a bigger crisis?

Second, widening the war and escalating the crisis is exactly what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants. It will also goad Washington into joining Israel in an attack on Iran. On the other hand, not retaliating effectively would damage Iran’s credibility and affect the President’s internal standing vis-à-vis hardliners in the Iranian regime. How will he resolve this dilemma?

There are also costs to any Iranian retaliation. First, will it scupper the possibility of détente with the West and the president’s hopes of securing sanctions relief? Secondly, will it scupper prospects of a Hamas-Israel peace and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, something the Palestinian people, who Iran supports, are aching for?

There is also another question: can the retaliation actually deter any response or further future action by Israel? The April response by Iran, when Israel killed Iranian Generals in the Iranian Consulate in Syria, neither prevented an immediate Israeli response nor the killing of Haniyeh. What are the chances a response now will be any different?

Watch the interview to know his answers to these key questions.

‘Remain Vigilant’: MEA Relaxes ‘Don’t Travel’ Advisory on Israel, Iran

‘We continue to closely monitor the situation in the region. We have also noted that Iran and Israel have opened their airspace for several days now.’

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on May 3 relaxed the tone of its April 12 advisory asking Indian citizens not to travel to Israel and Iran.

In response to a media query, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the new advice was for citizens to remain vigilant while the government monitors the situation closely.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation in the region. We have also noted that Iran and Israel have opened their airspace for several days now. We advise Indian nationals to remain vigilant while traveling to these countries and be in touch with the Indian Embassy.”

On April 12, the MEA asked Indian citizens not to travel to Israel and Iran “till further notice” in the aftermath of Israel’s airstrikes on an Iranian diplomatic building in Syria on April 1.

It is noteworthy that the first batch of Indian construction workers dispatched under a bilateral government accord left the day after the Israeli strike in Syria. The MEA announcement had come in the way of criticism over India’s alleged lack of attention to the workers’ safety.

Iran responded to the Israel attack with a drone and missile barrage on April 14. India had then asked for an “immediate de-escalation,” and “exercise of restraint.”

Then on April 19, Tel Aviv launched attacks on Iranian soil, with Iranian officials claiming that only three drones have been destroyed over its third largest city, Isfahan.

Jaishankar Talks of ‘Avoiding Escalation’ With Iran Counterpart, Shares ‘Concern’ With Israel

While Jaishankar posted on X that he spoke about exercising restraint and avoiding escalation with the Iran foreign minister, there was no such explicit mention in his post outlining talks with the Israeli foreign minister.

New Delhi: A day after Iranian drones and missiles were launched into Israel, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday, April 14, talked of “avoiding escalation” with the Iranian foreign minister and shared India’s “concern” on the April 13 attacks in a separate conversation with his Israeli counterpart.

The Iranian foreign minister also confirmed that the 17 Indian crew members of the seized vessel would be allowed to meet with Indian diplomats “soon”.

On April 13, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles into Israel in retaliation for an airstrike by Israeli planes on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two Iranian generals.

Iran stated that this action, the first direct military assault on Israel by Tehran, effectively concluded the issue – unless Israel retaliated further.

In his first public response to the Iranian attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday, “We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win.”

The United States has reportedly told Israel that the interception of the vast majority of missiles was a big victory, and that further retaliation is not required. However, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has said that confrontation with Iran “is not over yet.”

After a late-night phone call with Iranian foreign minister, Jaishankar posted on X that he spoke with Hossein Amirabdollahian to underline the “importance of avoiding escalation, exercising restraint and returning to diplomacy”.

He also posted that the release of the 17 Indian crew members of cargo ship MSC Aries seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was taken up with the Iranian foreign minister.

Earlier on Saturday, Iranian forces took over the container ship, which is supposedly linked to an Israeli tycoon.

Later, Amirabdollahian posted that he had phone calls with ten counterparts, including Jaishankar. He wrote that Iran’s action was defensive under the ambit of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

A more expansive readout issued by the Iranian foreign ministry on Monday said that Amiraabdollahian also asked India to “maintain its active role through international bodies, including the United Nations Security Council, to halt the war in Gaza, which lies at the core of the current crisis in the region”.

He also highlighted the need to end Israel’s “aggression and crimes”.

The Iranian readout quoted Jaishankar as saying that the “most crucial priority is de-escalating tensions”.

Jaishankar also told the Iranians that India “calls upon all parties to assume responsibility” and work towards a “peaceful resolution to ease current tensions”.

While the Indian external affairs minister sought “release” of the 17 Indian crew members, the Iranian press release only described his remarks as “seeking assistance” in the matter.

The Iranian press release stated that Amirabdollahian assured that “arrangements will soon be made for representatives of the Indian government to meet with the crew members of the vessel in question”.

While Jaishankar wrote that he spoke about exercising restraint and avoiding escalation with Iran foreign minister, there was no such explicit mention in his post outlining talks with Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz.

Instead, Jaishankar wrote that he shared “our concern at the developments yesterday” with Katz.

India had issued an statement on Sunday morning that it was “seriously concerned” after the Iranian military action. “We call for immediate de-escalation, exercise of restraint, stepping back from violence and return to the path of diplomacy,” said the Ministry of External Affair’s statement.

Previously, India had “noted with concern” the airstrike on the Iranian consulate building and had urged “all parties to avoid actions that go against commonly accepted principles and norms of International Law”.

India in Touch with Iran to Secure Release of 17 Nationals Onboard Tehran Seized Israeli-Linked Ship

The vessel was identified as the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries. It reportedly departed from a port in the United Arab Emirates en route to India, AP reported.

New Delhi: India has reached out to Iran about the seizure of an Israel-linked container ship by Iranian armed forces near the Strait of Hormuz, seeking the early release of 17 Indian crew members.

According to AP, the vessel was identified as the Portugal-flagged MSC Aries. It reportedly departed from a port in the United Arab Emirates en route to India.

It is associated with the London-based Zodiac Maritime, a part of the Zodiac Group run by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer and his family. Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.

As per Indian official sources, India was aware there were around 17 Indian nationals on board the cargo ship ‘MSC Aries’ taken over by Iran.

“We are in touch with the Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and in Delhi, to ensure security, welfare and early release of Indian nationals,” said sources.

Earlier, a Middle East defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, shared a video of the attack with the news agency. In it, the commandos are seen rappelling down onto a stack of containers sitting on the deck of the vessel.

A crew member on the ship can be heard saying: “Don’t come out.” He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship’s bridge as more commandos come down on the deck. One commando can be seen kneeling above the others to provide them potential cover fire.

The video corresponded with known details of the MSC Aries. The helicopter used also appeared to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which both the Guard and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen have used in the past to conduct commando raids on ships, the report said.

Sources said the Nhava Sheva (JNPA) bound Portugal flagged container vessel has 25 crews, including 17 from India (including one lady deck cadet). The vessel had loaded and sailed from Khalifa, UAE on Friday and was bound for JNPA.

In late November, another Israeli-linked container ship was attacked and damaged by a drone in the Indian Ocean, which the United States blamed on Iran.

US Imposes Sanctions on Iran Space Agencies

The organisations were being used to advance Tehran’s ballistic missile programme, the US said.

Washington: The US imposed sanctions on Iran’s civilian space agency and two research organisations on Tuesday, saying they were being used to advance Tehran’s ballistic missile programme.

The US Treasury sanctions targeted the Iran Space Agency, Iran Space Research Centre and the Astronautics Research Institute, according to a statement on its website. “The United States will not allow Iran to sue its space launch programme as cover to advance its ballistic missile programmes,” Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, said in the statement. He also said Iran’s attempt on August 29 to test a space launch vehicle underscored “the urgency of the threat.”

An Iranian rocket exploded on its launch pad at Imam Khomeini Space Centre in northern Iran before its scheduled launch last Thursday. The explosion followed Iran’s failed attempt to launch a satellite in January.

The sanctions, part of a years-long US pressure campaign to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons, are the first imposed on Iran’s space agencies, according to the state department. The US fears long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads.

Also read: Iran Toughens Opposition to Bilateral Talks With the US

The state department also said that the Iran Space Agency develops satellites and launch vehicle technology, and works with the Iran Space Research Centre on day-to-day tasks as well as research and development. The two have also worked with a sanctioned liquid propellant ballistic missile organisation, Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, they added. The Astronautics Research Institute has managed the space vehicle launch project, according to the department.

Tehran denies its space activity is a cover for developing weapon launches.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump posted on Twitter a photo of what appeared to be the site of the failed Iranian satellite launch.

“These designations should serve as a warning to the international scientific community that collaborating with Iran’s space programme could contribute to Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon delivery system,” Pompeo said. Trump withdrew from a 2015 multi-national nuclear deal with Iran, saying it did not go far enough.

(Reuters)

Israel Jets ‘Hit Targets’ in Syria to Prevent Iranian Drone Attack

The announcement came unusually quickly on the heels of the airstrikes.

Israel’s military said in the early hours of Sunday morning that its fighter jets had attacked targets in Syria on Saturday in order to prevent what it described as a “very imminent” drone attack launched by Iran.

While Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria over the past years, Saturday’s appeared to be one of the most intense.

Killer drones stopped

In a briefing to reporters, military Spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said that Iran had been planning to send explosive-laden attack drones into Israel.

He added that the country had been monitoring the plot for several months and on Thursday had prevented Iran from an even earlier launch.

“The threat was significant and these killer drones were capable of striking targets with significant capacity,” Conricus said. He described it as an attack planned from the top down rather than a low level attack.

Conricus said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Al Quds force, as well as allied Shiite militias, were behind the attempted attack.

He added that the Israeli strikes were aimed at “a number of terror targets and military facilities belonging to the Quds force as well as Shiite militias” in the area southeast of Damascus.

Iran supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Israel wants to prevent Iran from establishing a permanent foothold in Syria, where its Shiite proxy Hezbollah increasingly operates in support of Assad’s government forces.

Conricus said that Israel’s chief of staff was meeting with senior officers and that military forces were on high alert near the border with Syria.

Major airstrike, fast response

In the past Israel has not been quick to announce its airstrikes. However, the military announced Saturday’s strikes very shortly after they took place.

Immediately after the military’s announcement, President Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted a statement on the operation. He described the Israeli airstrikes as a “major operational effort” and warned that Iran would not be immune from Israeli strikes, regardless of location.

“Iran has no immunity anywhere,” he added in his Tweet. “If someone rises up to kill you, kill him first.”

The airstrikes triggered Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Syrian state TV reported that air defenses had responded to “hostile” targets over Damascus and shot down incoming missiles but did not provide further details.

This article was originally published in DW.

Putin Walks Tightrope Between Israel and Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin builds influence in the Middle East, juggling diverse interests of nations like Syria, Turkey, Iran and Israel.

London: During the recent Israeli general election campaign, Donald Trump brazenly tipped the scales in favor of incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu against challenger Benny Gantz. On the eve of the Israeli prime minister’s March 25 visit to Washington, the US president endorsed Israel’s annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights in violation of United Nations resolutions. Netanyahu hailed this as “a miracle.” Then, Trump topped this dramatic move by declaring the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp of Iran, a sworn enemy of Israel, a terrorist organisation a day before the April 9 polling date.

In between, Russian President Vladimir Putin provided Netanyahu with an electoral gift that captured the public’s imagination. Following his April 4 meeting with Putin in Moscow, Netanyahu announced that the remains of Sergeant Zachary Baumel, missing in action in Syria since 1982, had been returned to Israel. In a country where conscription applies to all Jewish citizens with a few minor exemptions, the news had personal resonance for nearly 80% of the population.

Trump’s announcement on the IRGC caused concern in the Kremlin. Since September 2015, the Russian military in Syria has coordinated activities with its Syrian counterpart, which has become increasingly dependent on the logistical, technical and training support of the IRGC.

Putin has managed to maintain cordial relations with arch-enemies Iran and Israel simultaneously by depending on different sets of pillars. As for Israel, the treatment of Jews in contemporary and historical Russia is a major element. Equally significant are Putin’s personal views on Judaism and friendly relations with leading Jewish business people and officials.

In the case of Iran, geopolitical and economic interests are primary factors. As littoral states of the inland Caspian Sea, Russia and Iran share fluvial borders. Endowed with huge oil and natural gas deposits, they have a common interest in assuring robust prices for these commodities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani during a meeting in Tehran, Iran November 1, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin

Valuing friendship with Iran

In his drive to regain the influence that the Soviet Union had in the Middle East during the Cold War, Putin has come to value friendship with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which broke away from the American orbit more than 40 years ago.

The Kremlin’s friendship with this regime, which maintained a strategic alliance with Syria since its inception, acquired greater prominence after Russia lost its naval facilities at the Libyan port of Benghazi in the wake of Muammar Gaddafi’s downfall in 2011. That reduced its naval access to Syria’s Latakia port in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The outbreak of civil war in Syria that threatened the regime of President Bashar al-Assad brought Russia and Iran together as his strong supporters.

Also Read: 40 Years After the Revolution, All Eyes Are on Iran Again

Moscow’s friendly relations with Tehran began in 1995 when Russian President Boris Yeltsin agreed to build a civilian nuclear power plant at Bushehr under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Only in 2010 did the Russians make this plant operational.

During those 15 years, there were two developments – one was defence cooperation between Iran and Russia; the other was demographic change in Israel. In 2007, the Kremlin signed a $800 million contract to supply Tehran with advanced anti-aircraft S-300 missiles. That was two years after Putin became the first Russian president to visit Israel. By then, the influx of Soviet Jews into Israel had made Russian the third most widely spoken first language after Hebrew and Arabic. On the national security front, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert feared Iran would deploy the missiles to safeguard its nuclear facilities, thus depriving his country of the option of bombing these sites.

It was left to Netanyahu, who became prime minister in 2009, to make a secret dash by private jet to Moscow to pressure President Dmitry Medvedev to cancel the missile deal. In September 2010, the Kremlin put its defensive missile contract on hold, citing the UN Security Council resolution passed in June, imposing an arms embargo on Tehran. Delivery of an improved version of S-300 missiles ensued only after the Security Council endorsed Iran’s denuclearisation deal with its five permanent members and Germany in July 2015.

Meanwhile, during his second visit to Israel in 2012, Putin inaugurated the Victory Monument in Netanya, commemorating the sacrifices of the Soviet military on behalf of Jews during World War II. “The Jewish Holocaust was the most shameful and dark event in human history, and the Soviet Army was the one who crushed the head of the Nazi monster,” he said. “This amazing monument strengthens the respect I feel towards to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”

Warming relations with Israel

Since then, personal relations between Putin and Netanyahu have warmed. Tellingly, Israel abstained in a UN General Assembly resolution in March 2014 condemning Russia for its annexation of Crimea. Soon after, Israel agreed to installation of an encrypted communications line between the offices of Netanyahu and Putin. On the popular level, Russians and Israelis have increased person-to-person contacts since 2008, when visa-free travel was introduced. There are about 60 flights a week between Tel Aviv and Moscow.

In the Syrian civil war, Damascus gave the Russian Navy indefinite use of its Hmeimim Airport near Latakia free of charge, according to the 2015 Russian-Syrian treaty. Soon after, Netanyahu flew to Moscow to confer with Putin. But nothing changed. Putin reaffirmed his staunch backing for Assad by sending Russian warplanes to its Syrian base and bolstering Syria’s depleted weapons arsenal.

To avoid accidental air clashes between Israeli and Russian warplanes, the governments established a de-confliction hotline between the Kirya command center in Tel Aviv and the Russian military base at Hmeimim. Netanyahu pressed Putin to end or at least reduce Iran’s involvement in Syria. Putin was in no position to oblige, however.

Iran and Syria had signed a mutual defence pact in 2006. “Iran considers Syria’s security its own security, and we consider our defence capabilities to be those of Syria,” declared Iran’s defence minister General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar. No details were disclosed.

A three-way summit on Wednesday between the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey has produced decisive steps toward ending the bloodshed in Syria. Credit: Reuters

Diplomatic nimbleness

A striking example of Putin’s acrobatic diplomatic nimbleness came on the eve of the Putin-Trump summit in Helsinki in 2018. Netanyahu flew to Moscow on July 11 to urge Putin on removal of Iranian forces from post-war Syria. Reports suggest Putin gave him a patient hearing. Putin’s Sphinx-like expression during one-on-one meetings left his interlocutor wondering. The next day, however, Putin met with Ali Akbar Velayati, chief foreign policy adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While handing letters of Khamenei and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to Putin, Velayati hailed Tehran’s links with Moscow as “strategic.”

The next month, during the Iranian defence minister’s visit to Damascus, Iran and Syria signed an agreement to enhance military and defense cooperation, according to the Tasnim News Agency, which is close to the IRGC. Again, details were missing.

That had not been the case during four rounds of talks Putin held with Rouhani and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, presidents of Iran and Turkey, since 2017 in Sochi. Their declared aim: finding a political solution to end Syria’s long-running civil war.

At the most recent gathering in February, Putin urged Rouhani and Erdoğan, pursuing different agendas, to cooperate on bringing the conflict to an end. A glimmer of hope came on April 8 when after meeting Erdoğan, Putin said that their countries – in coordination with the Syrian government, the opposition and the UN – were ready for a committee, 150 members strong, to draft a new constitution for Syria.

Putin may have switched his skills from tightrope walking to jugglery by keeping four balls in the air – Israel, Syria, Iran and Turkey.

Dilip Hiro’s latest and 37th book is Cold War in the Islamic World: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Struggle for Supremacy, published by Oxford University Press, New York; Hurst & Co., London; and HarperCollins India, Noida.

This article has been republished from Yale Global Online. Read the original here.