EHUD BARAK: TOO LATE TO STOP IRAN’S NUKES WITH MILITARY ACTION: Iran is close to becoming a nuclear state and military action will no longer be effective in stopping the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, former prime minister Ehud Barak warned this week.
“Both Israel and (for sure) the US can operate over the skies of Iran against this or that site or installation and destroy it. But once Iran is a de-facto threshold nuclear state, this kind of attack simply cannot delay the Iranians from turning nuclear. Indeed, under certain circumstances, it might accelerate their rush towards assembling that bomb, and provide them a measure of legitimacy on grounds of self-defense,” Barak wrote. With that said, the former prime minister and IDF chief of staff called on the United States to help provide Israel with the means needed to carry out an independent military attack against the Iranian nuclear program if “both governments are convinced it is absolutely necessary.” Israel should reserve the right to a large-scale military operation against the Islamic Republic, as a nuclear breakout “will most probably” occur when the US has its hands full with other crises across the globe, Barak said. “This summer, Iran will turn into a de-facto threshold nuclear state,” Barak added, further warning that operations over Iranian skies “simply cannot delay the Iranians from turning nuclear.” (JPost / VFI News)
NASRALLAH: HEZBOLLAH HAS ALL OF ISRAEL IN ITS MISSILE RANGE – REPORT: All of Israel is within the range of Hezbollah’s missiles, Lebanese Hezbollah terror leader Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview published Monday night, July 25.
“All land and sea targets of Israel are within the range of Hezbollah missiles,” he said, adding that Hezbollah has created “active deterrence” against Israel. Nasrallah also boasted about a recent drone operation Hezbollah carried out, targeting Israel’s Karish gas field. Israel downed the drones, but Nasrallah told media that Hezbollah has used drones over Israel many times in the past. Nasrallah threatened Israel against using the Karish field. He also said US President Joe Biden’s trip to the region illustrated how the US does not want a new conflict in the Middle East. He suggested that Hezbollah could gain from this by bringing Iranian oil and gas to Lebanon, and that Hezbollah can exploit Lebanon’s crisis and the US desire for stability in the region. (JPost / VFI News)
IRAN NUKE CHIEF VOWS UN WATCHDOG’S CAMERAS WILL REMAIN OFF UNTIL DEAL REVIVED: The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Monday, July 25, that UN surveillance cameras installed at the country’s nuclear sites to monitor operations will remain off, unless the defunct 2015 nuclear deal with world powers is revived.
Iran said it removed the cameras last month as talks to rescue the nuclear agreement faltered.“We will not turn on the IAEA cameras, until the other side returns to the nuclear deal,” Mohammad Eslami told reporters. Eslami said that the whole point of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was to end accusations that Iran’s nuclear program is anything but peaceful. As long as such accusations persist, the cameras will stay off, he said, insisting that Iran’s nuclear activities were for peaceful purposes only. “They demand that Iran makes a quick decision, [insisting that] time is limited and Iran must respond quickly,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said at his weekly news conference, referring to Western parties to the nuclear deal. The JCPOA was signed between Iran and the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. It gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program to prevent it obtaining a nuclear weapon. As part of the deal, Iran agreed to install dozens of UN-operated cameras at its facilities to monitor activities. (TOI / VFI News)
ROCKETS TARGET GAS FIELD IN IRAQI KURDISTAN: Several rockets were fired at the Khor Mor gas field near Chamchamal in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region overnight on Monday.
The gas field is located near Sueimania, a major Kurdish city near the Iranian border. According to the media, the field is operated by the UAE-based Dana Gas, and was also attacked earlier this year in June. The Kurdistan region is currently engaged in a dispute with Baghdad about energy exports. Pro-Iran militias have targeted oil and gas facilities before, especially near Kalak north of Erbil. The militias have also targeted US forces and a Turkish base. The attack supposedly did not impact the field’s production or work, and there were no casualties. In contrast, when the field was attacked back in June, the company had to temporarily suspend operations. “Khor Mor field produces 452 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, according to Dana Gas,” it is noted. According to officials in the Kurdistan region, an investigation is ongoing about the attack. Kurdistan is often a victim of Iranian attacks, attacks by pro-Iranian militias and also by Turkish forces, whose bombardment killed numerous tourists just last week. (JPost / VFI News)
MOROCCO AND ISRAEL AGREE TO ESTABLISH LEGAL COOPERATION: Morocco and Israel agreed on Tuesday, July 26, to establish legal cooperation, a new step in the normalization between the two countries, media reports. The agreement was announced during Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s visit to Rabat.
This partnership follows a series of bilateral agreements in areas as diverse as defense and security, economy and industry, technology, culture, and sports. The legal cooperation, sealed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Sa’ar and his Moroccan counterpart Abdellatif Ouahbi, is the first of its kind since the resumption of diplomatic ties between Israel and Morocco in late 2020. It will result in, among other things, the “sharing of expertise” and the modernization of judicial systems through digitization, according to a joint statement. During the visit, Sa’ar will also meet with other Moroccan government political and security officials. “I see great importance in strengthening bilateral relations and dialogue with Morocco in various fields, and policies, and I hope that my visit will contribute to this,” he said. (INN / VFI News)
GOOGLE’S DEVELOPER REALIZED ITS AI WAS SENTIENT WHEN IT DENIED ISRAEL AS A JEWISH COUNTRY: A Google developer was recently fired for revealing that the tech giant’s AI bot had a mind of its own. The trigger that made him realize that the technology was sentient was a joke it made about Israel not belonging to any religion.
In a recent interview former Google developer Blake Lemoine explained how he arrived at the conclusion that Google’s AI system, LaMDA was sentient and how a witty response about Israel being run by a philosophy based on a science fiction movie. As part of the process, Lemoine would continually challenge artificial intelligence with nuanced questions that a robot would have a hard time answering. He discovered that the software has a disturbingly good sense of humor, which set off red flags. One example he gave was when he challenged the bot to a quiz regarding what religion matches what country or region. When asked about Israel, the software didn’t provide a definitive answer or a guess but instead made a joke, a “funny” one at that, according to Lemoine. Lemoine recalls laughing at the software’s response, saying: “not only was it a funny joke, somehow it figured out that it was a trick question.” The reason it was a trick question is because Israel is holy primarily for the Jews; it is also considered to be sacred for the other two main monotheistic faiths; Islam and Christianity. (I365N / VFI News)
VISIT OF INDIAN BUSINESSMEN TO ISRAEL IS BOOST FOR FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: A delegation of 90 entrepreneurs and investors from India’s JITO Incubation & Innovation Foundation (JIFF) were exposed to leading Israeli companies and accelerators in the fields of defense and homeland security, food-tech, smart cities and cybersecurity during a visit last month to Israel.
The visit from June 26-30 was facilitated by the Consulate General in Mumbai with the support of the Foreign Ministry in Israel Kobbi Shoshani, Israel’s consul general to Mumbai and Midwest India, told the media that this visit could be a boost for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), to be signed sooner or later between the two countries. He explained that the delegation from the JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation was made up of the new generation of some of the most prominent businessmen in the country, who are indeed connected to most of India’s senior businessmen. When politicians see such a large delegation come back from Israel full of enthusiasm, he said, “it gives a boost to the FTA.” The decision to sign on to a Free Trade Agreement is already on the way, Shoshani added. “I think it is going to be very soon, but this gave a boost for it to come even faster because this is the interest of India and Israel,” he said. (JPost / VFI News)
The suggestions, opinions and scripture references made by VFI writers and editors are based on the best information received.
Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff
