Iran Website Warns US, Threatens Israel As Biden Visits Region
Iran might resort to new methods to “punish” Israel, a website close to its security establishment said on Thursday, as President Joe Biden visits the region.
Nour News close to Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the supreme national security council also said that “Any steps to disrupt the current security order in West Asia can impact other spheres, such as transportation and transit of energy and add to the existing global food and energy crisis.”
The reference to transportation of energy could be a threat to shipping in the Persian Gulf. Iran in recent and distant past has repeatedly made such threats and in the summer of 2019, attacks took place against many tankers, which were generally blamed on Iran.
The note published by the “international desk” of Nour News also dangled the prospect of continued nuclear talks, as President Joe Biden on Wednesday told an Israeli television that he is willing to use force against Iran “as a last resort.”
The article went on to argue that Israel has always opposed the 2015 nuclear agreement known as JCPOA and is determined to block its revival. In a candid admission of mysterious incidents, Nour News said that Israel has intensified attacks inside Iran in the past year, “to perhaps create chaos and fish in muddy waters…”
Talks since April 2021to revive the JCPOA are now stalled, with Iran speeding up its uranium enrichment, which is seen as a serious step to approach a nuclear weapons threshold.
The United States “has adopted silence toward Israel’s destructive acts,” the article stressed, and has shown its inclination to use these acts to get leverage in nuclear talks. But Washington should know that “Israel’s mischiefs can, under some circumstances, cause loss of control over the situation and lead to the use of different options for punishing the usurping Zionist regime.”
Nour News then picked up the issue of a proposed joint air defense network between Israel and Arab states, ridiculing Israel’s capabilities. It said the current Israeli air defense weapons were for stopping small, short-range rockets and were ineffective against ballistic and cruise missiles, a reference to Iran’s long-range capabilities that have created concern among regional countries.
Nour News had issued a warning on July 10 about US, Israeli and Arab plans to set up a regional air defense system. It said that “the creation of a joint defense pact in the region by the US with participation and hidden management of Zionists is a threatening act.”
The plan to set up coordination between air defenses of Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and other allies goes back months. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that a secret meeting took place between top military officers of the countries involved in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in March.
Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, his recent tougher stance toward Iran, as wells as talk of steps to establish cooperation between Riyadh and Tel-Aviv have apparently rattled Tehran officials.
President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday also warned about a regional alliance aimed at Iran. "if American visits to the regional countries are aimed at strengthening the position of the Zionist regime and normalizing its relations with certain countries, their efforts will not in any way bring about security for the Zionists."
