Ahead of the United Nations Security Council action to consider the Palestinian Authority’s application to become a full member of the international body, the United States is lobbying nations to reject such membership, hoping to avoid an overt “veto” by Washington. The lobbying effort, revealed in copies of unclassified State Department cables obtained by The Intercept, is at odds with the Biden administration’s pledge to fully support a two-state solution.

While clarifying that President Joe Biden has worked vigorously to support “Palestinian aspirations for statehood” within the context “of a comprehensive peace that would resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” a diplomatic cable dated April 12 details U.S. talking points against a U.N. vote for Palestinian statehood. The cable says that Security Council members must be persuaded to reject any proposal for Palestinian statehood — and thereby its recognition as a sovereign nation — before the council’s open debate on the Middle East, scheduled for April 18.

“We therefore urge you not to support any potential Security Council resolution recommending the admission of ‘Palestine’ as a U.N. member state, should such a resolution be presented to the Security Council for a decision in the coming days and weeks.”

John Helmer: "If Israel escalates by attacking Iran and striking at the country’s infrastructure, then Iran’s counter will be [...] Electric War."

Naked Capitalism commentary:
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/04/middle-east-escalation-financial-times-revealing-account-of-israel-risk-of-ukraine-style-air-defense-attrition-helmer-on-possible-electrical-grid-campaign.html

full article source:
https://johnhelmer.net/loose-lips-dont-sink-ships-or-israel/
LOOSE LIPS DON’T SINK SHIPS, OR ISRAEL

[...]
If Israel escalates by attacking Iran and striking at the country’s infrastructure, then Iran’s counter will be to take a page out of Russia’s book and commence the one line of attack which Israel, the US and their allies cannot withstand any better than Ukraine – that’s Electric War.
For the seven months which have elapsed since Hamas began its operation against Israel on October 7, and Israel commenced its genocide against the Palestinians, there has been no targeting by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, or the Syrian and Iraqi groups of Israel’s highly vulnerable maritime gas platforms, gas pipelines, coal and oil-fired electricity generating plants, the coal and oil storages nearby, solar and wind power units, or the electricity grids keeping the country alight.
The Arab inhibitions and calculations are understandable. Iran’s will disappear if Israel triggers a new round of attacks.
[...]

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]
#iran #israel #palestine #zionismisterrorism #imperialism #decolonization

https://archive.ph/sxg1S

As regional tensions run high, Iran has paraded drones, missiles and soldiers to show it is ready for a response from Israel after launching an unprecedented attack on its archenemy.

Iran carried out its first-ever direct attack on Israel at the weekend in response to an April 1 air strike on the consular building of Iran’s embassy in Syria. ⠀

Wednesday’s parade saw the Iranian armed forces showcase a range of military equipment, including drones and long-range ballistic missiles.

A mong them were multiple versions of the Ababil, Arash and Mohajer drones as well as the Dezful medium-range ballistic missile and S-300 air defence missile system.

Raisi reiterated warnings against “the slightest act of aggression” by Israel, saying it would lead to “a fierce and severe response”.

Israel has said it will respond to the weekend attack with military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari saying Iran will not get off “scot-free”.

The Israeli army said most of the projectiles fired by Iran were shot down with the help of the United States and other allies and the attack caused only minimal damage.

Iran hailed the attack as “successful” and said it “achieved all its objectives”, including inflicting damage to an airbase and intelligence centre that it said was used by Israel to carry out the strike in Damascus. ⠀

In his speech, Raisi also hit out at countries that had “sought to normalise relations” with Israel.

“These countries are now humiliated in front of their own people, which constitutes a strategic failure for the regime” of Israel, he said.

Archive link

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party is the most prolific user of social media platforms, particularly after the country’s traditional media began censoring news about the former cricket star and his party in the run-up to the polls. Khan has 20.6 million followers on X. ⠀

Pakistan blocked access to social media platform X around the time of elections in February, the interior ministry said, citing national security concerns.

Users had reported problems using the platform, formerly known as Twitter, since mid-February, when jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party called for protests against a government official’s admission of vote manipulation.

At the time, both the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the state regulatory body, refused to comment on the outages that were also widely reported by internet watchdog groups. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Interior mentioned the shutdown in a written court submission.

“It is very pertinent to mention here that the failure of Twitter/X to adhere to the lawful directives of the government of Pakistan and address concerns regarding the misuse of its platform necessitated the imposition of a ban,” said the report, seen by the Reuters news agency, which confirmed the long-suspected shutdown. ⠀

Activists challenging the ban said it was designed to quash dissent after the February 8 general elections that were marred by widespread opposition claims of vote rigging and protests. ⠀

The decision to temporarily block X was taken after considering confidential reports from Pakistan’s intelligence and security agencies, the report said.

It claimed that “hostile elements operating on Twitter/X have nefarious intentions to create an environment of chaos and instability, with the ultimate goal of destabilising the country and plunging it into some form of anarchy”. ⠀

Access to X has been sporadic, occasionally available for short cycles based on the internet service provider, forcing users to use virtual private networks, said Alp Toker of NetBlocks.

Archive link

Multiple Facebook users have reported being banned, or having their posts censored, after sharing an investigation by The Grayzone’s Kit Klarenberg into CIA and MI6 involvement in the creation of ISIS. Readers who post links to the piece on the social network find themselves frozen out of their accounts, on the apparent grounds that Facebook has classified Klarenberg as a “dangerous individual.”

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said ‘we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself’
• Germany’s foreign minister said ‘escalation ‘would serve no one, not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas’ ⠀

Netanyahu met the German and British foreign ministers, who both travelled to Israel as part of a coordinated push to keep the confrontation between Israel and Iran from escalating into a regional conflict fuelled by the Gaza war.

Netanyahu’s office said he thanked David Cameron and Annalena Baerbock for their support, while telling them: “I want to make it clear – we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.” ⠀

The Iranian missiles and drones launched on Saturday were mostly shot down by Israel and its allies and caused no deaths. But Israel says it must retaliate to preserve the credibility of its deterrents. Iran says it considers the matter closed, but will retaliate again if Israel does. Washington says it is planning to impose new sanctions targeting Iran’s missile and drone programme in coming days, and expects its allies will follow suit. EU leaders are due to discuss sanctions at a summit in Brussels, and sanctions are also on the agenda at G7 talks in Italy. ⠀

Inside Gaza, Israel has launched a massive air and ground assault, with nearly 34,000 people confirmed killed, according to Palestinian doctors, and thousands of others feared dead, still lost among the ruins. ⠀

Israel says it will discuss a pause to free hostages but will not stop fighting until Hamas is wiped out; Hamas says it will not release hostages without a truce leading to an end to the war. The prime minister of Qatar, which has served as mediator, said negotiations were at a delicate phase. The Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, three of whose sons were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza this month, is set to visit Turkey in coming days for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan.

Archive link

"Iran received messages from mediators to let the regime do a symbolic strike to save face, asked Iran not to retaliate,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed to The Cradle

https://orinocotribune.com/us-makes-failed-bid-for-iran-to-allow-symbolic-strike-by-israel/

"Iran has received messages from mediators to let the regime do a symbolic strike to save face and asked Iran not to retaliate,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed to The Cradle.
He added that Tehran “outright rejected” the proposal, delivered by mediators, and reiterated warnings that any Israeli attack on Iranian soil would be met with a decisive and immediate response.
The reply was delivered directly to the Swiss envoy in Tehran by officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and not the foreign ministry. According to The Cradle’s source, the decision for the IRGC to reply directly was meant “to send a strong warning to the US.”
“Iran successfully embarrassed all of the integrated radar network and anti-missile systems of the US and the [Israeli] regime. The US even activated its parked satellites over the region to do maximum protection and failed miserably,” the Iranian military official added.
The revelations come as US defense officials have told western media that they expect a “limited response” from Israel against Iran, which will reportedly focus on targets outside of Iranian territory.
Nevertheless, US officials stressed that Tel Aviv had not briefed the Pentagon on a “final decision” as discussions within Israel’s fractured war cabinet continued.
“The US does not intend to take part in the military response,” they confirmed. However, they expect Israel to inform Washington about response plans in advance.
[...]
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani told state TV on Monday night that Tehran’s response to any Israeli retaliation would come in “a matter of seconds, as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond.”

#iran #palestine #zionismisterrorism #biden #israel
@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected]

EXCUSE ME SIR! THESE GENTLEMEN SEEM UPSET