NEWS FROM ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
‘400 seconds’ to Tel Aviv: Iranian media publishes Hebrew hypersonic missile threat
November 14, 2022 — The Jerusalem Post reports: “The IRGC-affiliated Sobh-e-Sadegh newspaper published a threat in Hebrew on its front page on Monday, warning that a new hypersonic missile reportedly developed by Iran could reach Israel in 400 seconds.
‘400 seconds: General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Aerospace Force, said that Iran has obtained technology for hypersonic missiles,’ wrote the newspaper.
An article written by Hamza Pariyab, described as a ‘defense expert,’ called the new missile a ‘game changer,’ as it can avoid most modern-day missile defense systems.
Pariyab added that the missile could be used to take out a country’s defense systems and open the way for a mass launch of drones and missiles…” (They may threaten Israel, but Psalm 121 states: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. See the next three reports.)
Iran claims to have built a hypersonic ballistic missile
November 10, 2022 — The Jerusalem Post reports: “Iran has built a hypersonic ballistic missile, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace commander as saying, in remarks likely to heighten concerns about Iranian missile capabilities.
‘This missile has a high speed and can maneuver in and out of the atmosphere. It will target the enemy’s advanced anti-missile systems and is a big generational leap in the field of missiles,’ commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying.
Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and on a complex trajectory, which makes them difficult to intercept.
However, there have been no reports of such a missile being tested by Iran and, while the Islamic Republic has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes, Western military analysts say Iran sometimes exaggerates its weapons capabilities…”
Iran publishes list of ‘sensitive’ sites in Israel to strike in future war
November 28, 2022 — The Jerusalem Post reports: “Under the guise of reporting on what Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen recently discussed, media close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps appeared to publish a list of ‘sensitive’ sites that it believes could be targeted in a future war. The report lists a variety of buildings and sites in Israel in a clearly intended threat to the Jewish state.
Tasnim news wrote on Monday that, ‘in this regard, Al-Mayadeen network has published a report on the analysis of Israel’s target bank and the sensitive positions of this regime that can be targeted in any war. At the beginning of this report, the general situation of the Zionist regime at the military level and its equipment has been examined.’
The article then includes a list of sites in Israel. This includes the Knesset, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Defense Ministry, and a series of other sites. This includes what Tasnim News characterizes as ‘nuclear sites and facilities.’ In the list of ‘warehouses’ and facilities, the report includes a Rafael Advanced Defense Systems site in Haifa and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot as well as the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa…”
Report: Iran developing missiles that could eliminate obstacles to delivering nuke
November 28, 2022 — The Times of Israel reports: “Iran has reportedly been developing large cruise missiles that could potentially ‘eliminate many of the obstacles’ toward delivering a nuclear bomb.
Citing several US intelligence and security sources and experts, The New York Times reported Thursday that Tehran has moved closer toward achieving weapons-grade enrichment and could soon possess the technology required to deliver nuclear bombs.
While both American and Israeli intelligence officials have suggested that Tehran would require at least two years to reach sufficient levels of enrichment and build a bomb that could fit atop a missile, the report said ‘growing gaps in knowledge’ about the pace of Iran’s nuclear development could significantly change that estimation…”
Iran starts enriching uranium to 60% at Fordow nuclear site, stepping closer to bomb
November 22, 2022 — The Jerusalem Post reports: “Iran has started enriching uranium to 60% purity at its underground Fordow nuclear site, according to state media on Tuesday, which described the action as a response to the UN nuclear watchdog’s demand for more cooperation from Tehran.
Iran is already enriching uranium to up to 60% purity elsewhere, well below the roughly 90% needed for weapons-grade material but above the 20% it produced before a 2015 agreement with major powers to cap enrichment at 3.67%.
‘In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has informed the agency that it has started enriching uranium to 60% purity at Fordow site,’ the semi-official ISNA news agency reported, adding that it was a ‘strong response’ to the agency’s latest resolution.
The IAEA 35-nation Board of Governors on Thursday passed a resolution ordering Iran to cooperate urgently with the agency’s investigation into uranium traces found at three undeclared sites, diplomats at the closed-door vote said.
The semi-official Fars news agency said Tehran had also started the process of ‘replacing the first-generation centrifuges (IR-1) with advanced IR-6 ones’ at Fordow, a site buried inside a mountain…” (Iran’s goal is found in Psalm 83:4: Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. As Dr. Van Impe has emphatically stated before – it won’t happen. God has promised: …I will give them [Israel] an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off – Isaiah 56:5. See the next report.)
Israel must get rid of its nuclear weapons, UNGA majority decides
November 1, 2022 — The Jerusalem Post reports: “Israel must dispose of all its nuclear weapons and place its nuclear sites under the International Atomic Energy Agency’s purview, the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee stated in an initial 152-5 vote.
The five nations that opposed Friday’s resolution on the ‘risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East’ were: Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Palau and the United States. Another 24 countries abstained, including European Union members.
The annual resolution submitted by Egypt to the UNGA in New York was sponsored by the Palestinian Authority and 19 counties including Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
The resolution largely targets Israel, which is believed to be one of only nine nations to possess nuclear weapons. Israel has never admitted to having such weapons…”
Palestinians push for ICJ to rule ‘Israel occupation’ is annexation
November 7, 2022 — The Jerusalem Post reports: “A United Nations committee is set to hold a vote this week on bringing the question of the legality of Israel’s ‘occupation’ of lands beyond pre-1967 lines to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.
Palestinian representatives to the UN pushed the resolution, which was officially proposed by Nicaragua since the Palestinians are observers, not a member state. It asks the ICJ to consider that the continuing nature of the ‘Israeli occupation’ is de facto annexation.
The UN Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee, known as the Third Committee, is set to begin debating the matter on Wednesday and to vote on Friday. If the committee approves the measure, which it is likely to do, the UN General Assembly will vote on it next month. If that is approved, which is also likely, the question will be brought before the ICJ.
An ICJ decision that Israel has illegally annexed the West Bank and east Jerusalem would not be legally binding on the Jewish state, but Jerusalem would view such a decision as a serious blow that would empower the movement to delegitimize Israel and pressure international corporations to boycott it, a diplomatic source said…” (Genesis 15:18 states: In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates and in Joshua 1:4 we read: From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. These verses encompass all of the land modern Israel currently possesses, plus all of the land of the Palestinians (the West Bank and Gaza), plus some of Egypt and Syria, plus all of Jordan, plus some of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Israel currently possesses only a fraction of the land God has promised.)