Latest news with #BinyaminNetanyahu
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Iran has increased stockpile of highly enriched uranium, watchdog reveals
Iran has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, a confidential report by the UN nuclear watchdog said. The report comes at a sensitive time as Tehran and Washington have been holding several rounds of talks over a possible nuclear deal that US president Donald Trump is trying to reach. The report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)– which was seen by the Associated Press – says that as of May 17th, Iran has amassed 408.6kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent. That is an increase of 133.8kg since the IAEA's last report in February. That material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. A report in February put the stockpile at 274.8kg. READ MORE IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi has stressed repeatedly that 'Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching to this level'. On Saturday Mr Grossi said he 'reiterates his urgent call upon Iran to co-operate fully and effectively' with the IAEA. On Thursday senior Iranian officials dismissed speculation about an imminent nuclear deal with the United States, emphasising that any agreement must fully lift sanctions and allow the country's nuclear programme to continue. The comments came a day after Mr Trump said he has told Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to hold off on striking Iran to give the US administration more time to push for a new nuclear deal with Tehran. Mr Trump said on Friday that he still thinks a deal could be completed in the 'not too distant future'. [ Iran will survive if nuclear deal not agreed with US, says president Opens in new window ] 'They don't want to be blown up. They would rather make a deal,' Mr Trump said of Iran. He said: 'That would be a great thing that we could have a deal without bombs being dropped all over the Middle East.' US intelligence agencies assess that Iran has yet to begin a weapons programme but has 'undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so'. Israel said Saturday's report was a clear warning sign that 'Iran is totally determined to complete its nuclear weapons programme', according to a statement from Mr Netanyahu's office. It said the IAEA's report 'strongly reinforces what Israel has been saying for years – the purpose of Iran's nuclear programme is not peaceful'. It also said Iran's level of enrichment 'has no civilian justification whatsoever' and appealed for the international community to 'act now to stop Iran'. The IAEA also circulated to member states on Saturday a second, 22-page confidential report, also seen by the AP, that Mr Grossi requested following a resolution passed by the 35-member IAEA board of governors last November. [ As Trump seeks Iran deal, Israel again raises possibility of strikes on nuclear sites Opens in new window ] In this so-called 'comprehensive report', the IAEA said Iran's co-operation with the agency has 'been less than satisfactory' when it comes to uranium traces discovered by IAEA inspectors at several locations in Iran that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. Western officials suspect that the uranium traces discovered by the IAEA could provide evidence that Iran had a secret military nuclear programme until 2003. One of the sites became known publicly in 2018 after Mr Netanyahu revealed it at the United Nations and called it a clandestine nuclear warehouse hidden at a rug-cleaning plant. Iran denied this but in 2019 IAEA inspectors detected the presence of man-made uranium particles there. – AP
Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Netanyahu's claim that Israel is fighting ‘barbarians' is a ploy to legitimise genocidal murder
'We're facing monsters, monsters who murdered children in front of their parents ... This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it's a battle of civilisation against barbarism.' So said Binyamin Netanyahu in a message to world Christians on December 24th, 2023. He uses this framing rhetoric to say Israel is fighting on behalf of the civilised West against its barbarian enemy Hamas. Such messages seek indispensable support from Europe and the US, where a reactionary western 'civilisationism' – the idea that humanity is divided into distinct civilisations and that relations among them are the central drivers of global politics – now animates far-right populist movements. The significance of this can be seen in how long it has taken governments and political parties there to criticise Israel's highly disproportionate actions in response to the Hamas atrocities, and to act accordingly. The Netanyahu quotation is used in the case submitted by South Africa to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, with which Ireland is associated. The submission relies heavily on speeches by Israeli political and military leaders to demonstrate genocidal intent. READ MORE The late poet Paul Durcan was inspired by George Orwell's 1946 definition of political language 'designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind'. That language game is being played out fully in the Gaza war. The US socialist senator Bernie Sanders describes Israel's actions as 'barbaric'. How do we judge between the two barbarities? [ Seeing Israel use hunger as a weapon of war is monstrous to me as someone with a Holocaust legacy Opens in new window ] The philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, who died this week, argued powerfully that such ethical questions required historical treatment. Barbarism, a classical Greek word, described often nomadic foreign neighbours who did not speak that language. In later classical times it came to mean unintelligible outsiders beyond civilised urban values, enemies of reason, feral animals to be defeated and eliminated if they resisted Roman imperial power. The term civilisation comes from the European Enlightenment, drawing on its classical inheritance of selective citizenship and urbanised community. A presumed progression in human society from primitive savagery through chaotic and brutal barbarism to civilisation animated subsequent European thinking. Coinciding with the great expansion of European colonies and empires, the ideology created a hierarchical standard of civilisation and international law that privileged Europeans over all others. [ I showed my friends in Israel this photo of a starving baby in Gaza and asked them if they knew Opens in new window ] Netanyahu's appeal to Christians is aimed particularly at the far-right populist and Trumpian project of making western civilisation great again by rooting it in a new ethnically demarcated and bordered part of the world. This is why he described recent German, French and Dutch criticisms so immediately and vehemently as 'anti-Semitic'. His 'revisionist Zionism' has its own essentialist, primordial roots in biblical texts that assume a direct continuity between the present-day state and an ancient 'land of Israel', plus an abiding belief that only force can make the Jewish state safe. ' Civilisationism ' has burgeoned in world politics since the end of the cold war as an alternative to domination from Europe and the US through the West's liberal rules-based international order. The process is readily visible in Chinese, Indian, southeast Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Russian and Hispanic American settings. It rose in parallel with the search for a more multipolar world in which power is more equally distributed. It is expressed in calls for reform of the United Nations and other international institutions. So civilisations are plural, as the international relations scholar Peter Katzenstein puts it. But he argues that they coexist within one worldwide civilisation of multiple modernities. That can provide the basis for a new set of universal values. Civilisations are internally pluralist, arising from their multiple traditions, cultures, vigorous debates, disagreements – and brutal interest-based conflicts. This makes them – like nations – difficult to interpret and dangerous to analyse as unitary actors. Christian armies from Europe clashed with Arab Islamic forces during eight crusades from the 11th to the 13th centuries, when both called each other barbarians. 'Barbarian' is a term occurring in most civilisations to describe less well organised neighbours and colonial adversaries. Civilisations are constellations of power and force too, often in imperial form, making them barbarian themselves. As Walter Benjamin put it, 'there is no document of civilisation that is not at the very same time a document of barbarism'. Netanyahu's statement exemplifies this paradox. It allows Bernie Sanders to say Israel's actions are barbarian – notwithstanding the frequent barbarity of US military force. A European Union looking for an effective ethical role should seek renewed universal values and fairer multilateral institutions through engagement between and within its other regional civilisations. That would better equip it to reject Netanyahu's appeal as a lie making genocidal murder respectable.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Branding those opposed to Netanyahu policies as anti-Semitic is ‘slander', says Michael D Higgins
Michael D Higgins said accusations that those who criticise the policies of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu are 'anti-Semitic' is a 'slander'. He said the 'slander' had been used against Ireland and individuals including himself. Speaking at the Bord Bia Bloom in Phoenix Park, Dublin, the President said there was an active campaign against Ireland in the United States . He said that it 'breaks my heart' that there were countries that were holding back on a ceasefire. READ MORE Mr Higgins said that more than 81 per cent of the people in Gaza had been displaced. 'They have been put into temporary accommodation that has been bombed. Their soil is being destroyed,' he said. 'Their hospitals have been bombed.' Mr Higgins, who last visited Gaza in 2006, was critical of the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, saying it was an 'entirely unaccountable body' whose executive director resigned. Jake Wood, the American heading the foundation, unexpectedly resigned, saying it had become clear that the foundation would not be allowed to operate independently. Mr Higgins said: 'One of the things you should look at is what is in the boxes they are distributing. Far from me to speak about any delay in anyone getting any relief, but they are branded products for the future private sector of retail. 'Look at the wrappings. Imagine giving a starving person something wrapped in your own brand so that you will have opportunities in the future.' He also said those who were seen to criticise Mr Netanyahu's policies were being described as anti-Semitic. 'That is a disgrace and a slander and has been a slander against Ireland, against individuals, including myself,' he said. 'People who have worked all their lives in relation to human rights activity. 'I think it has been given too much space. 'The idea that propaganda can pay against Ireland is now active in the United States, so that when we are seeking to have meetings with people who are investing in Ireland, they are being contacted in advance with a suggestion by saying, 'You must open why is Ireland so against the US position in Israel'.' He also repeated comments in which he urged the UN General Assembly to use its special powers to override the Security Council if it fails to act in Gaza. 'Now is the time, today is the day for food and medical aid and water to be made available,' he said.
Economist
5 days ago
- Politics
- Economist
Israel fuels three emergencies as its furious allies bail out
YOU MIGHT think it would be impossible for the inferno in Israel and Gaza to burn hotter. Yet Binyamin Netanyahu is fuelling three simultaneous emergencies: a humanitarian one in Gaza; a torching of support among European allies; and a constitutional crisis over who controls the security services, army and courts. The pressure on Israel and its institutions is almost unbearable for the country. A culminating moment is probably imminent. Whether that comes in the form of a reinvasion of Gaza that finally ruptures Israel's alliances and fractures its armed forces and society, or through a U-turn or ceasefire that triggers the prime minister's political demise, remains dangerously unclear.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
As Trump seeks Iran deal, Israel again raises possibility of strikes on nuclear sites
As the Trump administration tries to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran , Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been threatening to upend the talks by striking Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities, according to officials briefed on the situation. The clash over how best to ensure that Iran cannot produce a nuclear weapon has led to at least one tense phone call between US president Donald Trump and Netanyahu and a flurry of meetings in recent days between top administration officials and senior Israeli officials. Trump said on Sunday that there could be 'something good' coming about his effort to limit Iran's nuclear programme in the 'next two days.' Others familiar with the negotiations said that at best there would be a declaration of some common principles. The details under discussion remain closely held and would likely only set the stage for further negotiations, starting with whether Iran could continue to enrich uranium at any level, and how it would dilute its stockpiles of near-bomb-grade fuel or ship them out of the country. READ MORE The New York Times reported in April that Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as this month but was waved off by Trump, who wanted to keep negotiating with Tehran. Netanyahu, however, has continued to press for military action without US assistance. Israel is not a participant in the negotiations between the United States and Iran. At the core of the tension between Netanyahu and Trump is their differing views of how best to exploit a moment of Iranian weakness. In October, Israel destroyed key elements of Iran's strategic air defence system, which helped to protect the country's nuclear facilities. That would enable Israeli aircraft to approach Iran's borders without fear of being targeted. And Israel has crippled Hizbullah and Hamas , which have been supported by Iranian money, arms and rockets. In dealing a blow to Hizbullah in particular, Israel removed the concern of the group threatening Israeli aircraft on their way to Iran and retaliating with missile attacks on Israel after any strike. Netanyahu has argued that Iran's vulnerability will not last long, and that the time is right for an attack. Trump has argued that Iran's weakness makes it a perfect moment to negotiate an end to Iran's enrichment programme, backed up by the threat of military action if talks fall apart. Israeli officials fear Trump is now so eager for a deal of his own – one he will try to sell as stronger than the one the Obama administration struck in 2015 – that he will allow Iran to keep its uranium enrichment facilities. Last month Netanyahu insisted that the only 'good deal' would be one that dismantled 'all of the infrastructure' of Iran's vast nuclear facilities, which are buried under the desert in Natanz, deep inside a mountain at a site called Fordo, and at facilities spread around the country. This account of the tensions between the two men is based on interviews with officials in the United States, Europe and Israel who have been involved in the diplomacy and the debate between the American and Israeli governments. They insisted on anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss delicate diplomacy. Ron Dermer, Israel's minister of strategic affairs, and David Barnea, the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, met in Rome on Friday with Trump's chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff. The two men then travelled to Washington for a meeting on Monday with John Ratcliffe, the CIA director. Dermer met with Witkoff again Tuesday, though the topic of that meeting was not immediately clear. Asked for comment, White House officials pointed to Trump's remarks this weekend, when he said he would 'love to see no bombs dropped'. Netanyahu's office commented after this article was published, sending a two-word statement to describe it: 'Fake news.' A copy of the Iranian daily newspaper Javan last week, carrying a picture of Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh The central divide in the negotiations between Witkoff and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, focuses on the Trump administration's position that Iran must halt all enrichment of nuclear material on its soil. Araghchi has repeatedly rejected that restriction, repeating in a social media post Tuesday that if the western powers insist on ''zero enrichment' in Iran' then 'there is nothing left for us to discuss on the nuclear issue.' In an effort to keep negotiations from collapsing, Witkoff and Oman, which is acting as a mediator, are discussing creative options. Among them is a possible regional joint venture to produce fuel for nuclear power reactors with Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Arab powers, as well as some US involvement. But where the actual enrichment would take place is undetermined. Witkoff, participants say, has also dropped his early objections to an interim understanding that lays out principles for a final deal. But that may not satisfy Israel, or Congress' hawks on Iran. That is reminiscent of what the Obama administration did in 2013, though it took two more years to complete a final arrangement. Trump campaigned against that agreement when he ran for president in 2016, calling it a 'disaster' because it allowed Iran to continue enriching at low levels and expired completely in 2030. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran. Over the past four years, the Iranians have not only revived and improved their nuclear facilities, they have also produced uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity, just below what is considered 'bomb grade'. It would take a few weeks to turn that into 90 per cent enriched fuel for a bomb, and somewhere between a few months to a year to produce an actual nuclear weapon, US intelligence officials have estimated. Ratcliffe travelled to Israel last month to discuss possible covert actions against Iran with Netanyahu and Israeli intelligence officials. The two countries have co-operated in the past on covert efforts to cripple Iran's ability to enrich uranium, including an effort during the Bush and Obama administrations to attack the facilities with a sophisticated cyber weapon. The nuclear enrichment plant in Natanz, central Iran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/ EPA Throughout his decades in government, Netanyahu has long been sceptical of diplomatic overtures to Tehran. He opposed, and sought to derail, the 2015 agreement, even addressing a joint session of Congress to argue for killing it. This time, Israeli officials have dusted off an old playbook: threatening to strike Iran, even without US help. They insist they are not bluffing, even though they have made such threats and backed away several times over nearly two decades. Israeli officials signalled to the Trump administration shortly before Trump's first formal foreign trip, to the Middle East this month, that they were preparing to attack Iran's nuclear sites, according to two people briefed on the discussions. US intelligence also detected Israel's preparations for a strike. That led Trump to speak with Netanyahu, who did not deny that he had ordered his military and intelligence agencies to prepare for a strike and argued that he had a limited window for one. But US military officials are sceptical about how effective an Israeli strike conducted without US support would be. In the call, Trump acknowledged Iran's weakness but said that gave the US leverage to make a deal to end the nuclear programme peacefully, officials recounted. The Israelis are particularly suspicious of any interim deal that might keep Iran's facilities in place for months or years while a final agreement is reached. And, initially at least, the Trump administration was also sceptical. Witkoff told his Iranian counterpart that Trump wanted a final deal in a matter of two months or so. But that deadline is about to expire, and there is still a major gap over the issue of whether Iran will be permitted to continue to enrich uranium, which Tehran says is its right as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Now, the Trump administration seems more open to some kind of interim declaration of common principles, because it could help hold off an Israeli strike. To satisfy the Israelis and the Iran hawks in Congress, experts say, any interim deal would almost certainly have to require that Iran ship its near-bomb-grade fuel out of the country or 'down blend' it to a far lower level. That would enable Trump to claim he had eliminated, at least temporarily, the threat that Iran could speed its way to a weapon. One concern for American officials is that Israel could decide to strike Iran with little warning. US intelligence has estimated that Israel could prepare to mount an attack on Iran in as little as seven hours, leaving little time to pressure Netanyahu into calling it off. But that same US military assessment raised questions about how effective a unilateral Israeli strike would be without US support. And some Israeli officials close to Netanyahu believe the US would have no choice but to assist Israel militarily if Iran counter-attacked. Israeli officials have told their American counterparts that Netanyahu could order a strike on Iran even if a successful diplomatic agreement is reached. After his White House meeting with Trump in April, Netanyahu ordered Israeli national security officials to continue planning for a strike on Iran, including a smaller operation that would not require US assistance, according to multiple people briefed on the matter. Israel already has many different plans on the shelf, ranging from the surgical to days and days of bombing Iranian facilities, including some in crowded cities. - This article originally appeared in The New York Times .
