Nuclear Iran

[Jimbuna]

Israel arrests second group of alleged Iran spies

Seven people have been arrested in occupied East Jerusalem on suspicion of planning attacks for Iran, the Israeli security services say, the second such case in as many days.

The Shin Bet domestic security agency and police said in a joint statement that the suspects had planned, "under Iranian direction," to assassinate a senior Israeli scientist and a city mayor.

They were also tasked with bombing a police car and throwing a grenade at a house, for a payment of some 200,000 shekels (£40,700; $53,000), authorities said.

News of the detentions comes a day after Israeli security services announced that seven Israelis had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran.

Iran is Israel's arch-foe and tensions between the two countries are at their highest for years. Israel has pledged to retaliate against an Iranian missile attack on Israel on 1 October.

The statement said the group was led by a 23-year-old man, who had allegedly been recruited as an Iranian operative. The leader is said to have recruited the six other suspects.

Local media said the man had confessed to carrying out "terrorist activity" for nationalistic reasons.

The Shin Bet and police statement said: "Scientists, mayors, security officials, and other prominent Israelis are targets for Iranian agents.

"This investigation underscores Iran’s efforts to recruit Israeli citizens for terrorism.

"Israeli security agencies will continue collaborating to detect Iranian activities and prosecute those involved."

News of the arrests came hours after authorities said seven Israeli Jewish citizens had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran.

The seven - who had immigrated from Azerbaijan - were detained in the Haifa area.

They are suspected of carrying out about 600 espionage missions, including passing on intelligence about military sites and energy infrastructure. Last week, four Israeli soldiers were killed in a drone attack by Iran's ally Hezbollah on an army base near Binyamina in northern Israel. The base was among the sites which the group had spied on, security services say.

While Iranian attempts to recruit local operatives is not unusual, the alleged recruitment of Israeli Jews is very rare.

A statement from the Shin Bet and police said those arrested were “well aware” that the intelligence they provided compromised national security and could potentially aid enemy missile attacks.

They were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the information said police, who also described it as one of the most serious cases yet uncovered.

The latest arrests come amid stepped up overt and covert activity between Israel and Iran, including intelligence and sabotage operations in each other's countries.

Israel is believed to have penetrated Iranian security services, resulting in attacks and assassinations. Iran occasionally announces arrests of alleged Israeli intelligence agents and the breaking up of alleged Israeli spy cells, though without providing substantial evidence.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vkvekpkzeo

[Jimbuna]

Iran strike will show your force, Israel's defence chief tells pilots

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told Air Force crews on Wednesday that after striking in Iran, the world will understand Israel's might and its enemies will learn a lesson, according to a video and an X post published by his office.

Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on Oct. 1, Tehran's second direct attack on Israel in six months.

"After we attack in Iran, they will understand in Israel and elsewhere what your preparations have included," Gallant told the crews in the video, which his office said was filmed at Hatzerim Air Base.

On X, Gallant added: "In my conversation with them I emphasized - after we attack Iran, everyone will understand your might, the process of preparation and training - any enemy that tries to harm the State of Israel will pay a heavy price."

The Middle East has been on edge in anticipation of the Israeli retaliation for Iran's attack in which around 200 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel.

In the past few weeks Israel has intensified its offensive against Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza and its Iran-backed ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war was triggered a year ago by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

Washington is seeking to head off further widening of the conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Israel's retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-stri...1JGd5s_ktP4ZSY

[Jimbuna]

Gaza cease-fire talks set to resume; Iran braces for Israeli retaliation

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and other Middle East leaders in London on Friday, as U.S. and Israeli negotiators prepared to revive long-suspended talks to reach a cease-fire and hostage deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We have a sense of real urgency in getting to a diplomatic resolution” to end the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, Blinken said Friday. He called for “the full implementation” of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. The two discussed U.S. concern over civilian deaths and support for Lebanon’s armed forces, government institutions and U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

American and Israeli diplomats are set to convene for talks in Qatar in the coming days. Mossad Director David Barnea will depart Sunday to meet with CIA Director William J. Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement.

The upcoming talks represent the latest effort by the United States to forge a cease-fire after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whom U.S. officials have described as a key obstacle in the process.

The diplomatic efforts come as Iran is bracing for an Israeli military strike in retaliation for a ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the Biden administration that he is willing to strike military rather than oil or nuclear facilities in Iran.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...hamas-lebanon/

[Dargo]

Islamic Republic of Iran state media confirmed reports that explosions in and around Tehran have been heard and reporting the Air Force is now in the skies. The Israeli attack on Iran has begun. In addition to Israeli airstrikes in Iran, reports of strikes in Iraq and Syria too. https://iran.liveuamap.com/

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Dargo

Islamic Republic of Iran state media confirmed reports that explosions in and around Tehran have been heard and reporting the Air Force is now in the skies. The Israeli attack on Iran has begun. In addition to Israeli airstrikes in Iran, reports of strikes in Iraq and Syria too. https://iran.liveuamap.com/

Not a word in our news here in Denmark-Had to use BBC to get more info on this attack.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn4v67j88e0t

Now I wonder-Will Iran revenge this ? Meaning they see this a declaration of war from Israel.

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Israel has launched air strikes on Iran, with blasts heard in the capital Tehran

Israel's military says the strikes were on Iranian military targets and all its planes have returned safely

Military bases in the west and south west of the Iranian capital were targeted, according to an Iranian news agency close to the country's Revolutionary Guards - Iranian state media says two soldiers were killed

The Israel Defense Forces say the strikes are in response to "months of continuous attacks" from Iran and after a barrage of Iranian missiles hit Israel on 1 October

The US was briefed on the strikes beforehand, but did not have any involvement in the operation, according to the Pentagon

The question now is whether Iran will respond, says the BBC's Jeremy Bowen

[Jimbuna]

[Dargo]

The Israeli army has accomplished its mission, and Iran too seems to want to avoid further escalation. Constantly, the world watched tensely in recent months. Would the sabre-rattling between Iran and Israel turn into a real regional war, in which the US would then inevitably get involved? And every time the conclusion was it could have been worse, apparently neither side is out for war. That can be observed again now. The problem remains that neither side is willing to swallow major loss of face, or doubt the credibility of their deterrence. That could still set off a chain reaction, the logic of war.

Yet it looks like that will not happen this time either. Israel is embroiled in a war on two fronts, Gaza and Lebanon, and cannot use a third front to it at the moment. Besides, there are plenty of successes to boast of: the deaths of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and of a series of Hezbollah leaders, including top leader Hassan Nasrallah himself, and the ongoing destruction of Hezbollah's infrastructure and weapons stockpiles. The latter is at the same time one of the reasons why Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is not out for a confrontation with Israel and the US. Hezbollah's military arsenal, menacingly situated near the Israeli border, was always the Iranian trump card in the stand-off with Israel. That card has now been played out for a while. Moreover, Iran's air force and air defences are too weak for war, and the regime knows it. Not for nothing were Israeli fighter planes able to return to their bases unharmed on Saturday. It is highly doubtful that Khamenei is out for retaliation. His priority is the economy and maintaining Iran's nuclear programme. There is a good chance that, at least for the moment, a line can be drawn under the stand-off that just will not become a real duel if Khamenei will not listen to voices in Iran that want escalation.

https://www.demorgen.be/aanval-op-is...heen~b0e5a042/

[mapuc]

An interesting read in BBC news section

Hours before the Israeli strikes, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqai said: "Any aggression by the Israeli regime against Iran will be met with full force." It was, he said, "highly misleading and baseless" to suggest that Iran would not respond to a limited Israeli attack.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2742rynqgo

Markus

[Dargo]

Satellite imagery now released showing heavy damage to five buildings across Iran’s Parchin and Khojir missile production facilities following last nights Israeli strikes. According to @dex_eve this is specifically the mixing buildings and is likely where, according to reports by @BarakRavid citing three Israeli officials, 12 planetary mixers used for solid fuel production for ballistic missiles were housed https://x.com/ELINTNews/status/1850296198416183606

@planet 3m imagery taken this morning of Khojir and Parchin missile production facilities show precise strikes on warehouses and mixing buildings associated with the production of solid-fueled ballistic missiles. Industrial mixers of the sort used in the production of solid rocket motor propellant are large, complicated, and export controlled. Iran imported mixers from Europe in violation of sanctions, and such items will be very difficult to replace. It is likely that these strikes will impede Iran's ability to produce advanced ballistic missiles like the ones used in the strikes on Israel on October 1st. How heavily it impedes Iran depends on how easily Iran can replace the mixers destroyed. https://x.com/dex_eve/status/1850292583974740184



Iran confirms: Some air defence sites damaged in Israeli strike. The attack destroyed a vital solid fuel plant for ballistic missiles, an unnamed source tells Saudi website Elaph; damage to equipment at the site, estimated at $40M at least, will take at most2 years to restore.

[Gorpet]

Originally Posted by Dargo

Satellite imagery now released showing heavy damage to five buildings across IranÂ’s Parchin and Khojir missile production facilities following last nights Israeli strikes. According to @dex_eve this is specifically the mixing buildings and is likely where, according to reports by @BarakRavid citing three Israeli officials, 12 planetary mixers used for solid fuel production for ballistic missiles were housed https://x.com/ELINTNews/status/1850296198416183606

@planet 3m imagery taken this morning of Khojir and Parchin missile production facilities show precise strikes on warehouses and mixing buildings associated with the production of solid-fueled ballistic missiles. Industrial mixers of the sort used in the production of solid rocket motor propellant are large, complicated, and export controlled. Iran imported mixers from Europe in violation of sanctions, and such items will be very difficult to replace. It is likely that these strikes will impede Iran's ability to produce advanced ballistic missiles like the ones used in the strikes on Israel on October 1st. How heavily it impedes Iran depends on how easily Iran can replace the mixers destroyed. https://x.com/dex_eve/status/1850292583974740184



Iran confirms: Some air defence sites damaged in Israeli strike. The attack destroyed a vital solid fuel plant for ballistic missiles, an unnamed source tells Saudi website Elaph; damage to equipment at the site, estimated at $40M at least, will take at most2 years to restore.

Thanks for those satellite picks.That should shake Nancy and Gavin's paintes right to their ankles.Just think,What Russia,North Korea and China could bring to California at 3:00am in the morning.
Oh baby, It would be the end of the West coast Dynasty.They believe the Rocky Mountain range would keep them safe from all those barbaric people who live on the other side and to the East of those mountains.
You know the uneducated, and unwashed all the way to New York city.

[Jimbuna]

WW3 fears explode as Iran feared to 'shift' on nuclear weapons amid direct war with Israel

Iran's top strategists are reportedly escalating efforts to acquire and test nuclear weapons following the death of Hamas leader and Tehran ally, Yahya Sinwar.

The Iranian leadership suffered a significant blow when Israeli forces assassinated Sinwar in Rafah on October 16 as part of their ongoing offensive in Gaza.

Sinwar was the brains behind the October 7 attack on Israel that led to approximately 1,200 fatalities - predominantly civilians - and the abduction of hundreds of people.

This massacre triggered Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, resulting in tens of thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths alongside Hamas militants and millions being displaced from their homes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently extended the war beyond Gaza to target the terrorist group Hezbollah, which had a stronghold in the southern regions of neighbouring Lebanon.

In line with Netanyahu's threats, Israel bombarded Iran with a series of airstrikes on Saturday following earlier missile attacks as tensions in the Middle East near breaking point.

Instead of supporting Israel's enemies - known as the Axis of Resistance - Iran may now aggressively seek to acquire and even test nuclear weapons.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...fcccd941&ei=69

[mapuc]

Markus

[Otto Harkaman]

[Jimbuna]