Poll: Majority of Israelis distrust Iran deal
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Delek Group says it may have found natural gas off Israel’s coast
Israeli energy company Delek Group said Tuesday it found signs of a natural gas discovery in an exploration well off the country’s coast. Delek Group said there were “strong signs of natural gas” encountered while drilling an exploration well in the South West Tamar prospect. “It is clarified that appraisal drilling work has not yet taken place and signs of natural gas do not necessarily indicate an existence of a discovery,” the company cautioned in a statement. In a September assessment, Delek said it estimated the undiscovered resource potential in the South Tamar prospect to be around 684 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Delek discovered the broader Tamar prospect about 60 miles off the northern Israeli coast in 2009. The company said it, along with the region’s Leviathan gas field, are among the largest natural gas discoveries ever made in deep […]
Delek Group says it may have found natural gas off Israel's coast
Israeli energy company Delek Group said Tuesday it found signs of a natural gas discovery in an exploration well off the country’s coast. Delek Group said there were “strong signs of natural gas” encountered while drilling an exploration well in the South West Tamar prospect. “It is clarified that appraisal drilling work has not yet taken place and signs of natural gas do not necessarily indicate an existence of a discovery,” the company cautioned in a statement. In a September assessment, Delek said it estimated the undiscovered resource potential in the South Tamar prospect to be around 684 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Delek discovered the broader Tamar prospect about 60 miles off the northern Israeli coast in 2009. The company said it, along with the region’s Leviathan gas field, are among the largest natural gas discoveries ever made in deep […]
Israel, Gulf states and many U.S. lawmakers share deep unease about Iran nuclear deal
The signing of a short-term nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers on Sunday left ardent critics of the Islamic republic — most vocally the Israeli government and many U.S. lawmakers — deeply worried that the Obama administration and its partners were making a historic mistake. “Today the world has become a much more dangerous place, because the most dangerous regime in the world has taken a significant step toward attaining the most dangerous weapon in the world,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. He vowed to spend the six months covered by the interim agreement pushing the White House and other allies for a long-term deal that not only curbs Iran’s current nuclear program but also dismantles the infrastructure that could allow it to make a nuclear device. In Congress, many Republicans and some influential Democrats echoed Israeli concerns that the deal freezes Iran’s uranium […]
Israelis Embrace French President for Iran Position
JERUSALEM — President François Hollande’s trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, like all state visits, was planned months ago. But coming days before France and other world powers prepared to resume the nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva, the three-day visit that started on Sunday could not have come at a more opportune time for Israel — or for France, according to some Israeli officials. The warm greetings exchanged by the French and Israeli leaders gave an international boost to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who has been conducting a campaign against a deal he calls “dangerous” even before the final details have been negotiated. At the same time, a senior Israeli official said, the country’s praise for Mr. Hollande’s tough stance at the nuclear talks “will provide a boost to France and even more motivation for it to stay the course.” For years, France has been […]
Split on Accord on Iran Strains U.S.-Israel Ties
WASHINGTON — To the Israeli government, the preliminary deal with Iran that the Obama administration is trying to seal this week is a giveaway to a government that has spent two decades building a vast nuclear program. It enshrines the status quo — at a time when the Iranians are within reach of the technical capability to build a bomb — and rewards some unproven leaders with cash and sanctions relief. President Obama and his top aides see the same draft deal in sharply different terms. To them, it is a first effort to freeze the Iranian program, to buy some time to negotiate a more ambitious deal, and to stop two separate methods of developing a bomb, one involving uranium, the other plutonium. In return, the Iranians get modest relief from sanctions, but not what they desperately desire, the ability to again sell oil around the world. That […]
Strains With Israel Over Iran Snarl U.S. Goals in Mideast
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration’s overtures to Iran are straining the U.S. alliance with Israel in ways not seen in decades, compounding concerns about the White House’s ability to manage the Middle East’s proliferating security crises, said current and former American diplomats. In a sign of Israel’s growing disaffection with Washington, French President François Hollande was given a hero’s welcome when he arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday for a three-day visit that would showcase Paris’s hard line against Iran’s nuclear program ahead of international talks in Geneva this week. Mr. Netanyahu reiterated his criticism that the U.S.-backed compromise was a “very bad deal” while hailing Mr. Hollande for his opposition to the agreement at a joint news conference Sunday evening in Jerusalem. “Your support and your friendship is real. It’s sincere. You were one out of six,” he said, referring to the six world powers participating in talks with Iran. […]
Israel steps up rhetoric ahead of Iran talks
President Shimon Peres (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R), welcome French President Francois Hollande (C) and his companion Valerie Trierweiler upon their arrival at Ben Gurion ©Getty President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcome French President Francois Hollande at Ben Gurion Israel escalated its rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear programme at the weekend, with a senior official warning it was prepared to launch a unilateral military strike against Iran. Although Israel has talked many times about its willingness to take military action on its own, this warning comes ahead of diplomatic talks with Iran on Wednesday that US officials say are “close” to success. At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, took to the American airwaves again on Sunday to blast the Obama administration over the prospect of a deal with Iran and to lobby public opinion against any agreement. François Hollande, French […]
French Leader Assures Israel He Will Keep Pressure on Iran
JERUSALEM — As France and other world powers prepared to resume talks with Iran this week on its disputed nuclear program, the French president, François Hollande, arrived in Israel on Sunday for a three-day visit and was warmly embraced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been conducting a lonely campaign against a deal he calls “bad” and “dangerous.” At a red-carpet welcoming ceremony at Ben-Gurion International Airport, Mr. Netanyahu thanked Mr. Hollande for his “resolute stance” on both Syria and Iran, and Mr. Hollande assured Israel that France “will not tolerate nuclear proliferation.” He pledged to keep up the pressure on Iran until it was clear that Iran had given up its quest for nuclear weapons, and declared in Hebrew, “I will always remain a friend of Israel.” Talks in Geneva on Nov. 9 between Iran and six world powers — France, the United States, Germany, Britain, Russia […]
Israel Working With Saudi Arabia On Iran “Contingency” Attack
Israel Working With Saudi Arabia On Iran “Contingency” Attack Page added on November 17, 2013 When last week’s Iran nuclear talks were blocked by France , it provided a useful glimpse into just who it was that would benefit politically from a continuation of the regional confrontation. But while the French sabotage was an amusing distraction, it revealed a curious shift in middle-east alliances, namely old “enemies” Israel and Saudi Arabia, both feeling shunned by Big Brother, suddenly becoming the best of buddies. It was only a matter of time before this novel alliance moved beyond just paper and tested how far it could go in real life. Said test may come far sooner than expected: according to the Sunday Times, Israel’s Mossad and Saudi Arabia are planning an attack against Iran if negotiations and talks don’t come to an agreement , and that Saudia Arabia will permit Israel […]