Iran May Have Additional Nuclear Sites, Scrambling To Cover Up Recently Revealed Site

Iran scrambling to cover up newly revealed nuclear site, Israeli official says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s revelation at the UN on Thursday of a previously unknown Iranian nuclear site has caused “growing pressure inside Iran,” a senior Israeli official said over the weekend.

“They’re wondering how to deal with this facility, how to evacuate it, how to cover it up,” the official said. “There is no doubt it is a very important site for them; they’re seeking to conceal it and stall in any way possible.”

According to the official, the 15 kilograms of radioactive material that Netanyahu said was removed from the facility and dispersed around Tehran was taken away at the beginning of August.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, told Israeli reporters in a briefing Friday that it was past time for the IAEA to act, and that Iran had been exposed “as deceiving and cheating the international community.” He also said that Iran was aiming to break out to a nuclear arsenal when it deems the time ripe: “There’ll be a crisis somewhere or other, and they’ll [take advantage of the distraction] to break out to a nuclear arsenal,” he warned. “That’s the Iranian plan.”

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, revealing the “secret atomic warehouse,” Netanyahu said “[Global] intelligence services and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have known about this for six weeks” and failed to act. The warehouse allegedly contained nuclear materials that Iran is not allowed to hold without declaring them to the IAEA.

Netanyahu, in his speech, claimed the warehouse was used for “storing massive amounts of equipment and material from Iran’s secret weapons program,” which was quickly being moved to other parts of the city.

The site may contain as much as 300 tons of nuclear-related equipment and material in 15 shipping containers, he added.

Netanyahu was to reveal 'third site' in speech on Iran, but intel chiefs said no

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intended to reveal a third batch of intelligence material in his UN speech on Thursday, in which he exposed what he said was a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran and revealed details of Hezbollah missile factories in Beirut, a senior Israeli official said at the weekend.

Netanyahu ultimately elected not to include the third revelation in his address to the General Assembly because the security establishment recommended that he not do so, Israel’s Channel 10 news said Saturday night.

Beyond indicating that the intelligence material related to “a third site,” the official provided no further details of the information.

Netanyahu’s decision to specify the location and alleged content of the Tehran atomic warehouse, from which he said the Iranians recently removed 15 kilograms of radioactive material, was taken after consultations with the security establishment and with its approval, the prime minister has made clear.

Israel had provided details of the warehouse to the IAEA and to the US administration six weeks ago, but Netanyahu charged that the IAEA failed to act. It was decided after security consultations at the Prime Minister’s Office that Netanyahu would publicize the information at the UN, in the hope of galvanizing the IAEA into action.

'Close Encounter' Between Iran And U.S. Navy Ship Video Released, Iran Expects EU To Set Up Mechanism To Bypass U.S. Sanctions By November

Iran shows off footage of boats harassing US carrier

Iran’s state TV has broadcast footage purporting to show a close encounter between the Revolutionary Guard’s navy and the USS Theodore Roosevelt early this year.

Press TV’s website said the encounter occurred March 21 in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea.

The TV agency said the video was aired Saturday as part of a documentary.

The footage is likely meant as a show of strength amid new US sanctions on Iran and the Trump administration plans to bring Iranian oil exports down to zero.

In the video, Guard speedboats are seen closing in on the US carrier.

Iranian sailors then warn the Americans over radio communication to “keep well clear” of the Guard patrol boats and say they advise the Americans to “refrain from the threat or use of force in any manner.”

Newly released footage from #Iran's state media shows a previously unreported close encounter between #IRGC speedboats and the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Strait of Hormuz in March of this year. 

No comment from the @USNavy yet. pic.twitter.com/wXjMxhkNR8

— Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) September 29, 2018

There was no immediate comment from the US Navy.

Iranian harassment of US ships in the Gulf was a regular occurrence, but according to the US Navy, the practice declined sharply after the election of US President Donald Trump in 2016 and had totally stopped by 2018.

Iran says it expects EU to set up mechanism to bypass US sanctions by November

Iran on Saturday said it expected the European Union to establish a legal framework by November 4 to bypass American sanctions and to allow the continuation of trade between Tehran and EU member states.

The European Union said Monday its members would set up a payment system to allow oil companies and businesses to continue trading with Iran, in a bid to evade sanctions after the US withdrew from a historic nuclear agreement signed in 2015.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with the official IRNA news agency that “the mechanisms initiated by Europe should begin at the most by November 4,” according to Hadashot TV.

November 4 is the date on which US sanctions against its vital oil industry are set to begin.

After high-level talks at the United Nations among the remaining members of the nuclear accord, Iran and the European Union announced their defiance towards US President Donald Trump’s administration, saying in a statement that they were determined “to protect the freedom of their economic operators to pursue legitimate business with Iran.”

With the United States and the dollar dominating so much of global trade, the statement said the new mechanism would “facilitate payments related to Iran’s exports (including oil) and imports, which will assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran.”

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, speaking at the United Nations alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said the countries were still working out the technical details.

“In practical terms, this will mean that EU member states will set up a legal entity to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with European Union law and could be open to other partners in the world,” she told reporters.

Macron Vows Punishment For States Refusing Mass Migration

Macron Vows Punishment for States Refusing Mass Muslim Migration

And this is why France and most of Western Europe is doomed. You can deny reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of denying reality.

The hijrah (jihad by immigration) has roiled the continent and the refusal to address the root cause leaves France and inevitably Western Europe at the mercy (and there is none) of their invaders.

“Macron Vows Punishment for States Refusing Third World Migration,” by Virginia Hale, Breitbart, September 21, 2018:

Emmanuel Macron has said funding should be withdrawn from pro-sovereignty nations reluctant to hand more power over to Brussels, and that countries which refuse to welcome third world migrants must be thrown out of the Schengen area.

“Europe is not a menu à la carte, it’s a political project,” the French president declared, speaking at the end of an EU mini-summit on migration in Salzburg Thursday evening.

At a press conference following the meeting of European leaders, Macron acknowledged there was “a crisis and tensions” over the topic but, crying out, “Who generates them?” the former investment banker launched a broadside at nations which reject asylum seekers and those which “refuse to let boats dock on its ports”.

Taking aim at the ex-communist Visegrad states, which are reluctant to follow the West down the road of globalist multiculturalism, he lashed out at “the leaders who tell me… ‘[I] love Europe when it gives me money, when it makes my people prosperous, when it allows my workers to make better a living in neighbouring countries,’ but at home, will not take a single migrant, not a single refugee.”

“Countries that do not want more Frontex or solidarity [in housing and feeding third world migrants] will leave Schengen. Countries that don’t want more Europe will no longer [get access to] structural funds,” he told journalists.

Turning the topic to EU Parliament elections, the banking protegé said next year’s vote would be “an historic fight [and] an election like no other”, as it would determine whether “the political project led by the founding fathers [of the union] … will prevail”….

Bombs, Grenades Hurled At Israeli Troops Friday During Gaza Riots

IDF: Over 100 bombs, grenades hurled at troops during Friday's Gaza riots

Over 100 improvised bombs and grenades were hurled at Israeli troops during Friday’s riots at the Gaza border, the military said Saturday.

The army released footage of the violent demonstrations, which it said were the worst in two months, depicting attempts to breach and sabotage the security fence.

It also said IDF forces were still engaged in the controlled detonation of unexploded bombs and grenades.

Meanwhile in Gaza Saturday funerals were held for the seven Palestinians killed in the previous day’s violence, including two teen boys.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians protested along the Gaza border fence, throwing hand grenades, bombs, rocks, and burning tires in clashes with IDF troops, who responded with tear gas, live fire, and air strikes.

The protest was one of the largest and most violent in recent weeks and comes following the break down of indirect talks with Israel over a cease-fire and warnings that the terror group Hamas, which rules Gaza, was gearing up for another conflict.

Seven people were killed, including a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old, and at least 210 Palestinians were wounded, including an 11-year-old boy, who was in a serious condition, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. It said 90 of the wounded were hit by live fire.

The ministry identified three of the dead as Nasser Mosabih, 12, Mohammed al-Houm, 14, and Iyad Al-Shaar, 18, and said they were shot. The other four were in their twenties.

The IDF said about 20,000 Palestinians took part in violent protests, spread out among a few locations along the Gaza security fence.

In two cases IAF aircraft carried out strikes against grenade throwers, the army said, noting there were no injuries to IDF forces.

One of the strikes was on a Hamas post, the army said.

IDF troops also responded with tear gas and other less-lethal riot dispersal means as well as live fire “in accordance with the rules of engagement,” the army said.

Also, Palestinians launched several fire balloons into Israel, causing at least 16 blazes near Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the Israeli Fire and Rescue Services said. Firefighters were working to extinguish them.

The UN called Saturday for Israel and Hamas to rein in the violence. “I am deeply saddened by reports that seven Palestinians, including two children, were killed, and hundreds of others injured, by Israeli forces during demonstrations in the Gaza Strip yesterday (Friday),” the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, Jamie McGoldrick, said in a statement. “I call on Israel, Hamas and all other actors with the ability to influence the situation, to take action now to prevent further deterioration and loss of life.”

Russia Begins Delivery Of S-300 Missile System To Syria, Warns West

Russia begins missile system delivery to Syria, warns West on peace talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday Moscow had started delivering the S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Syria and warned Western powers of trying to undermine U.N.-led efforts to end the seven-year conflict.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had said on Monday the system would be delivered to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in two weeks despite strong Israeli and United States objections. A week previously, Moscow had accused Israel of indirectly causing the downing of a Russian military jet in Syria.

"The delivery started already and as President (Vladimir)Putin said, after that incident ... the measures that we will take will be devoted to ensuring 100 percent safety and security of our men," Lavrov told a news conference at the United Nations.

Russia, along with Iran, has helped Assad recover huge amounts of lost territory in Syria without persuading him to agree to any political reforms. It has also pushed its own talks with Iran and Turkey, known as the Astana process, as U.N-led peace negotiations have stalled.

Some diplomats have said the Israeli incident and a Turkish Russian deal to suspend an offensive on the last rebel-held stronghold of Idlib could provide a window to push for the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 2254 that covers ending conflict in Syria.

The U.N. Security Council, which includes Russia and the United States, has mandated U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura to get a deal on a new constitution, new elections and a reform of Syria's governance.

De Mistura's first task is the formation of a constitutional committee to decide whom to pick. He has said he will select about 50 people, including supporters of the government, the opposition and independents to participate, but so far the Syrian government has rejected the idea.

Meeting in New York on Thursday, foreign ministers from the United States, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Britain and Saudi Arabia called on de Mistura to convene the constitutional committee and report back on progress by the end of October.

Lavrov accused the group of trying to undermine the Astana efforts and putting pressure on de Mistura so that they could impose their own resolution of the conflict, describing it as "a grave mistake."

"This is aimed at undermining all that was done at Astana process and not the fact the Syrians decide what country they are going to live in but the architecture agreed on by foreign powers," Lavrov said.