Free Republic

JERUSALEM – Two reports today about Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of an Israeli military strike have analysts in Israel accusing the Obama administration leaking information to pressure Israel not to bomb Iran and for Iran to reach a compromise in upcoming nuclear talks. The first report in Foreign Policy quotes anonymous American officials saying that Israel has been given access to airbases by Iran’s northern neighbor Azerbaijan from which Israel could launch air strikes or at least drones and search and rescue aircraft. The second report from Bloomberg, based on a leaked congressional report, said that Iran’s nuclear...

Concerns about Iran’s nuclear weapons program are heard these days more in Arabic than any other language, including Hebrew. In recent weeks, it seems that temperatures on both sides of the Persian Gulf have come to a boil. Temperatures in the Gulf, although usually high during the summer, reached a peak not due to global warming but because of increasing fear of Iran among Arab Gulf states. Indeed, concerns about Iran’s nuclear weapons program and negative involvement in the region are heard these days more in Arabic than any other language, including Hebrew. The current peak is associated with a...

Saudi Arabia, concerned over Iran's nuclear weapons program, could turn to Pakistan for the kingdom's own nuclear project, a report said. The Institute of National Security Studies said Riyad has been working to prepare a nuclear infrastructure meant to deter neighboring Iran. In a report by researcher Yoel Guzansky, the institute cited Pakistan as the most likely developer of a Saudi nuclear option. "Therefore, should Saudi Arabia find itself in a sensitive security situation, it may well be that it would seek to capitalize on its investment in the Pakistani program," the report, titled "The Saudi Nuclear Option, said. The...

Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen Has Been a Disaster This month marks three years since the start of the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen, but that is unlikely to be an occasion for celebration in Riyadh. The war is estimated to have cost the Saudis upwards of $100 billion, eroded the international image of the kingdom and failed to achieve its objectives of “eliminating Iranian influence” from Yemen. At the same time, the people of Yemen have suffered immensely from the U.S.-backed Saudi campaign, which killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, destroyed the country’s infrastructure, and has led to widespread disease and...