Tag Archives: Deal

Deal with Hamas reveals Israel’s difficulties

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Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

After insisting that it would not negotiate with Hamas, Israel finally announced that it agreed to participate in a prisoner swap and temporary interruption of fighting. The terms of the agreement were published by Qatari representatives, with Doha being the place of negotiations. The news exposes some of Israel’s weaknesses and shows how the Zionist state is having difficulties in carrying out the fight against the Palestinian guerrillas.

The agreement was announced on November 23, establishing a temporary four-day ceasefire starting at 7 am on the 27th. Israel agreed to release 150 Palestinian hostages, in exchange for 50 Israelis held prisoner by Hamas. Tel Aviv’s spokespeople even announced that the truce could be extended if Hamas agreed to release more Israeli citizens, but there is no update about this possibility so far.

Previously, some rumors about a possible agreement had already been spread on social media. Officials on both sides have said in recent days that a military pause could happen, but the terms were not yet clear. The deal currently in force was mediated by Qatari, Egyptian and American diplomats and appears to have finally succeeded in finding a mutually beneficial consensus for both sides in the conflict.

While the fighting is at a pause, humanitarian aid is arriving in Gaza, with several trucks entering the Palestinian enclave without being targeted by Israeli artillery and aviation. It is not yet known for certain whether the combat has really been completely stopped. It is possible that ground fighting is taking place in some regions, but local correspondents told the media that at the moment the situation is “calm”.

“We are witnessing a relative calm, that is gradually becoming more and more visible as there is a complete stop of fighter jets flying over the Gaza Strip,” an Al Jazeera journalist said.

The IDF issued a warning to Gaza residents not to return to their homes during the ceasefire, making it clear that the truce will soon end, and the violence of the fighting will continue. Avichay Adree, a Tel Aviv’s military spokesman, said: “the war is not over yet. The humanitarian pause is temporary. The northern Gaza Strip is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move north.”

Although both sides benefit from the agreement, it is undeniable that the move denotes a weakness on Israel’s part. Tel Aviv is being forced to change its rhetoric on the conflict. Previously, the Jewish State claimed that there was no possibility of negotiating with Hamas, as the group is considered “terrorist” by the Zionist authorities. Netanyahu’s promise was to take the war to its ultimate consequences, without any humanitarian concern, doing anything necessary to achieve the objective of completely annihilating Hamas.

But obviously things did not go as expected. The IDF used a poor strategy to fight in Gaza, opting to massively bomb the Strip, resulting in the destruction of civilian buildings and facilities. When they finally began their land incursion, the Israeli soldiers came across a hostile terrain, where the ruins of bombed buildings prevent the passage of tanks and military vehicles, in addition to serving as a shelter and barricade for the Palestinian guerrillas.

As a result, Israeli vehicles became an easy target for Hamas. Several videos circulate on social media showing Hamas soldiers destroying Israeli tanks at zero distance – and then hiding among the debris of buildings. Israel suffered casualties, with several of its soldiers being killed during the intense clashes. Clearly, the Zionist forces were not prepared to continue the fight without a strategic pause to replenish their troops and rethink the strategy to be used in the war.

Another evidence that Israel needed the break is the fact that it agreed to release 150 Palestinians in exchange for only 50 Israelis. The terms of the prisoner swap were not favorable to Israel, which will have to return three Palestinians for every Israeli released by Hamas. Clearly, the agreement favored the Palestinians more than Tel Aviv, with Israel agreeing to participate because it really needed a pause as soon as possible in order to resolve its military situation.

Furthermore, the agreement is a moral and psychological defeat for the Netanyahu government, which was forced to negotiate with a group that Israel calls “terrorists.” This will certainly strengthen Israel’s domestic opposition and increase criticism of the government, with Netanyahu once again being harmed by his own measures.

However, it is undeniable that, despite these facts, the agreement was a favorable point for everyone. Prisoners are being released, humanitarian aid is arriving in Gaza and the Palestinian population is having its suffering alleviated for a few days. For the IDF and the Al-Qassam Brigades, it is time to better prepare themselves for combat in the near future.

It only remains to be seen whether the terms will actually be fulfilled over the course of four days.

You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram.

Source: InfoBrics

Iran installs 2nd batch of advanced centrifuges at Natanz

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Photo by Markus Distelrath on Pexels.com

Source: Times of Israel

Iran has continued to ramp up its nuclear program in violation of its 2015 agreement with world powers by further enriching uranium and installing new centrifuges, the United Nations’ nuclear agency said.

The fresh breaches of the nuclear deal came as tensions continued to climb in the Middle East, and US and Israeli officials issued warnings about Iran’s nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency — in a confidential report obtained by Reuters and published Tuesday — said Iran has begun enriching uranium in its underground Natanz plant with a second cascade, or cluster, of centrifuges,.

Iran recently installed a second cascade of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at Natanz to enrich uranium and will soon add a third. Iran was only allowed to use a less advanced type of centrifuge under the terms of the nuclear deal.

The first cascade it installed recently was composed of 174 IR-2m machines, according to Reuters.

Iran’s envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed on Tuesday the installation of the second batch of advanced centrifuges at Natanz.

“Thanks to our diligent nuclear scientists, two cascades of 348 IR2m centrifuges with almost 4 times the capacity of IR1 are now running… successfully in Natanz,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on Twitter. “Installation of 2 cascades of IR6 centrifuges has also been started in Fordo. There’s more to come soon.”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1356579388263968768&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fun-iran-breaching-deal-installs-2nd-batch-of-advanced-centrifuges-at-natanz%2F&siteScreenName=timesofisrael&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Natanz is Iran’s main nuclear enrichment plant. An explosion at the site last year, which foreign media reports have attributed to Israel or the US, damaged an advanced centrifuge development and assembly plant.

Iran said last month it planned to install 1,000 new centrifuges at Natanz within three months and that its scientists had exceeded previous goals for uranium enrichment.

Also last month, Tehran announced it was beginning to enrich uranium up to 20 percent — far beyond the 3.5% permitted under the nuclear deal, and a relatively small technical step away from the 90% needed for a nuclear weapon. Iran also said it was beginning research into uranium metal, a material that technically has civilian uses but is seen as another likely step toward a nuclear bomb.

Iran said last week it would also move to restrict short-notice inspections of suspect nuclear facilities from late February.

Iran insists it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a position repeated last week by its Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Tuesday’s report came amid a flurry of activity surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and as Iran and the US maneuvered ahead of expected negotiations.

US President Joe Biden has said he intends to return to the nuclear deal if Iran first returns to compliance. Iran says the US must first remove all of the sanctions it placed on the country after it withdrew from the treaty.Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of the capital Tehran, on April, 9, 2007. (Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP)

Zarif on Monday asked the European Union to coordinate a synchronized return of both Washington and Tehran into a nuclear deal.

The US and Iran have exchanged barbs, both before and after Biden took control of the White House, including by issuing threats and carrying out military maneuvers.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Iran was currently months away from being able to produce enough material to build a nuclear weapon. And, he said, that timeframe could be reduced to “a matter of weeks” if Tehran further violates restrictions it agreed to under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran and the Trump administration exchanged a steady stream of threats before Trump’s term ended on January 20, with Iran also carrying out fresh breaches of the nuclear agreement. Iran’s aggressive moves were believed to be partially aimed at increasing its leverage ahead of negotiations with Biden.

Iran Announces it Will Increase Uranium Enrichment By 4 Times Current Levels

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Iran has announced that it will start taking the caps off of it’s Uranium enrichment program. Under the nuclear deal reached with Iran in 2015, the current level allowed is 3.67 percent. Prior to the nuclear deal Iran was enriching Uranium up to 20%.

Please keep in mind that for Iran to get weapons grade material they would have to enrich up to 90%. THAT is what mainstream media and even a lot of alternative media either doesn’t know or if they do they won’t tell YOU. Why? Because there are a lot of vested interests (especially Israel) who want and need this war to happen. You can grab more details in the video below.