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Sanctions against Iran are a dead letter (Updated)
- May 19, 2010
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By fleet diplomatic footwork, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton submitted a sanctions package to the UN Security Council Tuesday, May 19, that Western diplomats admitted contained few new measures but gained the reluctant assent of Russia and China, as well as the UK, France and Germany.
To gain this endorsement, the original draft was heavily diluted out of a necessity to salvage the last vestige of the US administration's sanctions strategy from the assault mounted by a Brazilian-Iranian enriched uranium deal.
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US zigzags on Iran as Brazilian and Turkish leaders head for Tehran
- May 18, 2010
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Washington seems to be in two minds on key aspects of Iran's nuclear and missile programs, providing momentum for the Brazilian and Turkish leaders to promote their mediation bid in Tehran Sunday, May 16, debkafile reports from Washington and Tehran. Obama administration spokesmen offer contrasting views on the state of Iran's uranium enrichment process and ballistic missile capabilities amid the latest bid to bridge the gaps between the West and Iran.
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Brazil, Turkey bolster Iran's nuclear drive, disarm US sanctions threat
- May 17, 2010
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Iran is rid of harassment over its nuclear program thanks to the deal clinched in Tehran Monday, May 17 by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva "Lula" and Turkish prime minister Reccep Erdogan, whereby Iran will export some 1,200 kilograms of its lightly enriched uranium to Turkey for reprocessing to 19.5 percent grade.
debkafile's military sources: The deal, backed by Moscow, is a fraudulent piece of diplomatic trickery – firstly, Turkey has no enrichment facilities.
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Obama turns a new leaf on Israel
- May 16, 2010
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After more than a year, US president Barack Obama has suddenly stepped back from his icy treatment of Israel and its prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, debkafile's Washington sources report. In an effort to make amends, he sent his top advisers, including his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, with a public apology (of a kind) to leading American rabbis. George Mitchell has also been instructed not to twist Israel's arm in talks with the Palestinians.
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Syria, Hizballah are building a massive wall in eastern Lebanon
- May 15, 2010
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This massive fortification will run from Rashaya Al Wadi on the western slopes of Mt. Hermon in the south to the Lebanese Beqaa Valley town of Aita el-Foukhar, in the north, debkafile's military sources reveal. When finished, the 22-km long structure running parallel to the Lebanese-Syrian border will be one of the biggest fortified structures in the Middle East, designed to block off any Israeli tank thrust through Lebanon to Damascus, and strengthen Syria's grip on the country.