Hoping to Avert Nuclear Crisis, U.S. Seeks Informal Agreement With IranEnceladus skrev: ↑söndag 11 juni 2023 23:21 Biden’s Iran Gamble: A Risky New Strategy to Keep Tehran From Going Nuclear
Biden hoppas kunna skjuta det iranska problemet framför sig. Varken ett förnyat avtal eller en militär operation lockar. Vänta tills världen slutar köpa olja?Foreign Affairs skrev:If the Biden administration has given up on Plan A—reviving the JCPOA—it has also shied away from pivoting to the Plan B proposed by many analysts as well as Israeli officials: heaping economic, political, and military pressure on Tehran. Instead, it has opted for Plan C, an attempt to prevent the worst outcomes of the nuclear standoff with Iran while retaining the possibility of resolving it in the future. Washington seeks to prevent an Iranian bomb, avoid the risky escalation that could come with heightened pressure, and kick the can on a diplomatic solution in the hopes that conditions for a new deal to replace the JCPOA become more favorable over time.
[...]
Iran will probably also feel the wind at its back in October, when UN restrictions on its ballistic missile program and related sanctions are scheduled to expire. These include a provision, which Iran currently violates, banning it from shipping drones to Russia. If Western governments allow these provisions to expire without a plan to replace them, they will risk sending Iranian leaders the message that their approach is working.
Det verkar inte bli några iranska missiler för Ryssland. I utbyte lättas vissa sanktioner mot Iran, vilket den iranska mördarregimen desperat behöver.The New York Times skrev:Iran would agree under a new pact — which two Israeli officials called “imminent” — not to enrich uranium beyond its current production level of 60 percent purity. That is close to but short of the 90 percent purity needed to fashion a nuclear weapon, a level that the United States has warned would force a severe response.
Iran would also halt lethal attacks on American contractors in Syria and Iraq by its proxies in the region, expand its cooperation with international nuclear inspectors, and refrain from selling ballistic missiles to Russia, Iranian officials said.
In return, Iran would expect the United States to avoid tightening sanctions already choking its economy; to not seize oil-bearing foreign tankers, as it most recently did in April; and to not seek new punitive resolutions at the United Nations or the International Atomic Energy Agency against Iran for its nuclear activity.
Rafael unveils ‘Sky Sonic’ hypersonic missile interceptor
Israel förbereder sig dock för ett scenario där Iran blir nästa Nordkorea. Även Europa har ett intresse då Ryssland uppvisar liknande tendenser.Breaking Defense skrev:The timing of the unveiling is notable. Just a week ago, Iran announced that it has developed a hypersonic missile called Fattah, that is a two-stage missile which exits the atmosphere and separates from a re-entry vehicle that then maneuvers toward a target. While there is some skepticism about whether Iran has that capability, it’s yet another sign of how hypersonic threats have proliferated over the last few years: Russia has used air-launched hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine, while both China and North Korea claim to have developed hypersonic missiles.
[...]
Rafael officials described the hypersonic threat in a presentation and also showed a video of the Sky Sonic. Rafael officials stressed that “hypersonic” threats describe missiles that are not merely travelling fast (ballistic missiles travel past Mach 5) but also involve missiles that glide or maneuver. This means they bring together the threat of speed and also the kind of difficulties involved in intercepting low-flying cruise missiles that may maneuver to fly up valleys or change direction.
Germany starts funding Israeli Arrow-3 missile defense system procurement
Det militära samarbetet mellan Israel och Europa fördjupas, möjligen som en reaktion mot samarbetet mellan Ryssland och Iran.Breaking Defense skrev:“The decision represents a significant upgrade in the strategic relationship between Israel and Germany. Germany and Europe as a whole will benefit from this step, as will the Israeli economy,” Israel’s ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor wrote on social media.
The Arrow-3 deal has been in the works since at least September, when initial reports about the discussions became public in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The overall deal is estimated to be around €4 billion ($4.3 billion) in total cost, with today’s budget decision being characterize as an advance payment.
Japan in Talks to Provide Artillery Shells to U.S. to Boost Stocks for Ukraine
Vill Biden-administrationen köpa ännu mer tid beträffande klusterammunition? Enligt Kofman har Ukraina numera ett artilleriövertag i söder!WSJ skrev:Japan is in talks to provide artillery shells to the U.S. to bolster stocks for Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia—a pivot for a country that has long curbed exports of lethal weapons.
A global hunt for artillery shells for Ukraine has intensified as Kyiv presses to regain territory in its southeast from Russian forces. The U.S. has sent more than two million 155mm artillery rounds to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, and Washington has been pressing its allies to contribute supplies.
[...]
Replenishing artillery-shell supplies could be one of the most effective ways for Japan to help Ukraine, said military analysts, and surplus howitzers would help, too.
