U.S. denies ‘punishing’ Israel by withholding information on Iran talks
(JNS.org) The United States denied a report by Israel’s Channel 2 on Sunday that suggested the Obama administration is “punishing” Israel by not updating the Jewish state about ongoing nuclear talks between world powers and Iran.
“Conversations continue with Israel on the Iran nuclear negotiations,” a State Department official said. “Undersecretary [Wendy] Sherman met with Israeli NSA [National Security Adviser Yossi] Cohen and Minister for Intelligence and Strategic Planning [Yuval] Steinitz in Munich and will see NSA Cohen again this week.”
Channel 2 commentator Amnon Abramovich claimed Sunday that Sherman, the chief U.S. nuclear negotiator with Iran, had stopped briefing her Israeli colleagues due to the “tendentious and manipulative use of information,” and that National Security Adviser Susan Rice had broken contact with her Israeli counterpart.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the report.
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Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sends Obama secret letter
(JNS.org) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has responded to overtures from U.S. President Barack Obama amid nuclear talks by sending him a secret letter, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Citing an Iranian diplomat, the newspaper said Khamenei had written to Obama in recent weeks in response to a letter sent by Obama last October. Obama’s letter reportedly suggested the possibility of American-Iranian cooperation in fighting the Islamic State terror group if a nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 powers was reached. Khamenei’s letter was “respectful” but noncommittal, the Wall Street Journal quoted the diplomat as saying.
Khamenei recently defended Iranian President Hassan Rouhani against hardline Iranian opponents of the nuclear talks with the West.
“No more than a few months have passed since the Rouhani government took office,” Khamenei said. “Authorities should be given the opportunity to push forward strongly.”
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Argentine prosecutor to continue investigation into president’s alleged Iran cover-up
(JNS.org) An Argentine prosecutor said the investigation into Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s alleged cover-up of Iran’s involvement in the 1994 Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish center bombing, a probe launched by late prosecutor Alberto Nisman, will continue.
“An investigation will be initiated with an eye toward substantiating… the accusations and whether those responsible can be held criminally responsible,” said a document published by state prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita, who will take on the case, Reuters reported.
A report by Nisman revealed that he had accused Kirchner of secretly negotiating with Iran to avoid punishments for those behind the 1994 bombing of the AMIA center in Buenos Aires. The bombing killed 85 people and injured 300. In 2013, Nisman, who was investigating the bombing after Iran and Argentina reached a widely criticized deal to establish a joint “truth commission” to investigate the attack, released an indictment blaming Iran and Hezbollah for the attack.
In January, just days before Nisman was scheduled to testify on his findings, he was discovered dead in his apartment’s bathroom with a handgun lying next to his body. Authorities continue to investigate whether this was suicide or murder.
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IDF preparing for possible jihadist attacks along Egyptian border
(JNS.org) Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers say it is only a “matter of time” before Islamic State-affiliated jihadist groups attack Israeli towns along the Egyptian border.
According to Lt. Col. Gilad Avralinzi, an engineering officer with the IDF’s 80th division, the IDF Engineering Corps has spent the past year preparing the Sinai Peninsula border fence in anticipation of hostile actions from jihadist groups in the region, Israel Radio reported.
Avralinzi said the IDF will bolster the border fence during the next year with sophisticated electronics and surveillance equipment, including cameras, optics, and radars.
The Sinai-based and Islamic State-affiliated terror group Wilayat Sinai, which was formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, was behind a recent series of attacks that killed 30 Egyptian security personnel. Last week, the group released a video showing the decapitation of 10 men whom it accused of spying for Israel and Egypt.
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CUFI action alert on Netanyahu speech surpasses 10,000 responses in 5 hours
(JNS.org) Christians United for Israel (CUFI), America’s largest pro-Israel organization, received more than 10,000 responses within five hours for an action alert that asked CUFI members to email their elected representatives about attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress.
“I can think of no issue more important for America, Israel, and the West than our response to Iran’s nuclear efforts. And I can think of no voice on this issue more important than the prime minister of our front-line ally, Israel,” stated the action alert, which was sent to CUFI’s base of more than 2 million members in order for them to convey the message to their House and Senate representatives.
Vice President Joe Biden and some Congressional Democrats are skipping Netanyahu’s speech, which the White House opposes because it contends that House Speaker John Boehner did not consult with Obama before inviting Netanyahu.
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