Latest news with #JewishInstituteforNationalSecurityofAmerica
Mint
4 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Israeli air dominance means it is shooting down Iranian missiles before they launch
Iran is firing fewer missiles at Israel each day after Israel secured dominance over Iranian skies, enabling it to destroy launchers and take out missiles before they even leave the ground. Israel said on Sunday that it had created an air corridor to Tehran. By Monday, it said its air force had complete control over the skies of Tehran. Since then it has struck dozens of missile launchers amounting to more than a third of Iran's total, the military said, sometimes just as they are preparing to launch an attack. On Wednesday, the military said it had struck overnight a loaded 'Emad" missile launcher as it was about to be fired toward Israel. The air force has also been striking daily Iran's supply of missiles, detection radars and missile batteries, in the wake of Israel's Thursday night attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and senior leadership. This aerial control is proving crucial. Iran fired some 200 missiles in four barrages in its first round of attacks against Israel on Friday and Saturday. But between Tuesday and Wednesday, Iran fired 60 missiles at Israel over eight different waves of strikes, at times sending fewer than a dozen at a time, according to estimates by Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America. Fewer missiles at a time makes it easier for Israeli air-defense systems to intercept them, according to Israeli officials and air-defense experts. There have been no casualties from missile attacks in Israel since Tuesday, according to Israeli paramedics. Twenty-four Israelis have been killed as a result of Iranian strikes since the current confrontation began. Iran's plan, according to statements by senior Iranian military officials before the war, was to overwhelm Israeli air defenses by firing around 400 missiles a day against Israel, said Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute. 'Those plans were all shattered when Israel just defeated Iran's integrated air-defense systems, and within a short period," Nadimi said. Israel's aircraft and other security forces have destroyed 120 missile launchers, squeezing Iran's capability to strike Israel, according to Israeli officials. Israel's control over Iranian skies means it is also been regularly striking Iran's missile storage and production capabilities. Iran started the current conflict with around 2,000 ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel, and has fired around 400 of those so far, according to Israeli military estimates. Experts say Iran has a lot more missiles and many more other kinds of missiles in its arsenal, but it isn't clear how many of those are able to hit faraway targets like Israel. Smoke rising in Herzliya, Israel, after an Iranian missile attack. Some analysts are also speculating that Iran may be withholding large salvos ahead of a possible expansion of the war. President Trump issued threats against Iran and its leadership on Tuesday, suggesting the U.S. could join the war. Israel's aerial dominance is providing the country with some confidence that the impact of the conflict could be contained, at least in Israel. On Wednesday, Israel's airport authorities allowed the first flight to land at Ben Gurion international airport since the start of the current conflict, indicating it feels it has some control over the airspace. Israel's home front command, also on Wednesday, said it would lift some of the restrictions on public gatherings and allow businesses with or near bomb shelters to reopen. Israel has bomb shelters built all around the country and dotting its cities, making many businesses in range of protection. Israel's ability to spot, foil and intercept launches is likely forcing the Iranians to be more careful about moving missile launchers around, because moving makes them more vulnerable to attack, said Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser and fellow at JINSA. Amidror said Israel has also succeeded in disrupting Iranian command-and-control by targeting its senior and midlevel commands, further reducing their ability to coordinate large missile attacks. 'Take all the elements together and they still have a huge potential and may use it in the future, but for the time being Israel has degraded their ability to launch big salvos at many times during the day," Amidror said. Fabian Hinz, research fellow for missile technologies and UAVs at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that Iran is now having to fire missiles at Israel from farther away, which means they are relying mainly on their liquid propellant weapons that have sufficient 1,000-mile range to hit Israel. These liquid propellant ballistic missiles have a number of disadvantages compared with solid propellant missiles, according to Hinz, which is why Iran has been focusing its work on developing longer-range solid propellant missiles in recent years. The biggest disadvantage is they take a considerable amount of time—perhaps a couple of hours—to fuel up, which means Iran can't fire a quick barrage of missiles, as they can with solid propellant missiles. That leaves them more exposed to Israeli strikes. They also require more personnel and trucks to prepare them, which again makes them more visible to Israeli attacks. The fuel liquid propellant missiles use includes extremely hazardous and toxic chemicals, requiring personnel to use protective gear and creating greater safety risks. And the fuel is less well protected within the missile than with solid propellant missiles. 'If you have the Israeli air force overhead hunting for launchers, you really want a system that allows you to launch with minimal preparation and get away as quickly as possible," Hinz said. Nadimi said he expects Iran to pivot to using its most advanced missiles to hit strategic targets like defense industries, military facilities or high-value economic targets. He noted that Iran on Tuesday night said it fired Fattah 1 missiles, which fly at hypersonic speed and have a warhead that can maneuver as it closes in on its target, making it harder for air defenses to intercept. Israeli defense companies are working on systems to intercept hypersonic missiles but they aren't in use yet, a vulnerability in Israel's defenses, he said. Judging the success of Iran's most advanced missiles will be difficult due to strict censorship in Israel against the publication of successful strikes against security-related or other sensitive targets, Nadimi said. If Israel begins to run out of interceptors, Iran could pivot back to its original strategy of trying to overwhelm Israeli air defenses, he added. Write to Dov Lieber at
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Climate of hate' for Jews has been ‘tolerated': Makovsky
(NewsNation) — The president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America has condemned what he believes is a 'climate of hate' against Jews existing in the United States. Michael Makovsky joined 'NewsNation Now' to discuss the killing of two Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. 'My gut reaction … there's a climate of hate, and that's been tolerated for far too long in this country,' Makovsky said. Chicago Jewish leaders condemn Israeli Embassy staffers shooting Makovsky criticized the Democratic Party and sections of the media for not denouncing a climate of antisemitism strongly enough. 'Obviously, the campuses have not just been tolerating, but the professors and the administrators seem to really [be] part of it,' he said. 'We all know that if these demonstrators, over the last year and a half, were wearing white hoods and railing against various minorities of color, there would have been a different reaction.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump makes historic UAE visit as first US president in nearly 30 years
President Donald Trump on Thursday will soon land in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop in the Middle East this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 30 years, following President George W. Bush's trip in 2008. Trump, who has secured major business deals first in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, is expected to announce more agreements with what has long been one of the U.S.' chief trading partners in the region — though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. On the eve of the president's visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi. However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump's crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm. "If I was a betting person, I'd bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump's actual visit that can be announced when he's on the ground in Abu Dhabi," John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements." "The UAE has clearly staked its future on being the Middle East leader in a wide range of 21st-century technologies, from AI to chips to space," he added. "And of course, the shopping list for high-end weapons is almost limitless and always a possible deliverable for a trip like this." Increased scrutiny arose around Trump's Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization's luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region. But all three nations also hold significant value to Washington, as they have become key players in some of the toughest geopolitical issues facing the U.S. and its allies. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia's war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip. While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia or Qatar, he may hit on geopolitical ties more heavily when it comes to the UAE, particularly given that Abu Dhabi is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that holds normalized diplomatic ties with Israel. The UAE has ardently opposed Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump's "riviera plans," instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative. But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.' biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump's one-day visit. "As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making," Hannah said. "But I'm personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America's great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran." Hannah explained that Trump's visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi's "stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood" and could "pay real dividends going forward." "The UAE's top leadership has come to believe that putting most of its eggs into the American basket was an increasingly risky bet as one president after another decided that the Middle East was a lost cause — nothing but 'blood and sand' as President Trump famously said in his first term — and the country needed to pivot its focus toward Asia," he continued. "With a country as influential and resource-rich as the UAE, correcting that unhelpful perception and putting the strategic relationship back on a much more positive dynamic is an important goal."
Yemen Online
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Trump has quietly been hammering Yemen for six weeks
The U.S. military has been bombing Yemen for weeks on end, executing hundreds of strikes this month alone. The standoff between American forces and Houthi rebels backed by Iran risks something President Trump promised to stamp out: endless war. In this case, though, it's being waged almost entirely from the air and often with the help of drones. A renewed campaign kicked off mid-March and hasn't stopped since. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations across the greater Middle East, has been boasting "24/7" coverage. At least 680 strikes were conducted in March and April, according to data from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. Ras Isa oil port, on Yemen's western coast, was among the most recent targets. The attack killed 74 people and injured many more, the Associated Press reported. Satellite imagery showed razed infrastructure and blast marks. The Houthis survived years of attacks from a Saudi-led coalition backed by the U.S. and U.K. The Yemen Data Project logged more than 25,000 air raids in seven years, beginning in 2015. The Houthis continue "to amplify reports of civilian casualties, using them as a rallying cry to boost recruitment and bolster domestic support," Mohammad Al-Basha of the advisory Basha Report told Axios. Without "sustained ground operations to reclaim territory from Houthi control," he added, the militant group "will eventually be able to recover from their current losses — replenishing their ranks, regrouping, and rebuilding their capabilities." There are now two U.S. aircraft carriers, the Harry S. Truman and the Carl Vinson, in the CENTCOM region. Footage shared on social media shows Super Hornet, Growler and Hawkeye warplanes in action. Stealthy B-2 bombers were also spotted at Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. The Houthis have shot down a handful of MQ-9 Reaper drones since early March, according to Fox News and The War Zone. Each costs tens of millions of dollars. The rebels have also choked the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles and explosive unmanned vehicles. Bill LaPlante, then the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, in November told Axios the Houthi arsenal was growing increasingly sophisticated.
Asharq Al-Awsat
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Europeans Sidelined in US-Iran Nuclear Talks despite Holding Key Card
Washington's decision not to coordinate with European nations about its negotiations with Iran on Saturday will reduce its leverage and make US and Israeli military action against Tehran ultimately more likely, analysts and diplomats said. The United States did not tell European countries about the nuclear talks in Oman before President Donald Trump announced them on Tuesday, even though they hold a key card on the possible reimposition of UN sanctions on Tehran, three European diplomats said. "The United States is going to need a coordinated diplomatic strategy with its European allies going into these negotiations with Iran," said Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. That coordination is "crucial to making sure that there is maximum pressure and any diplomatic option has a chance of success," Misztal said. Trump, who restored a "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran in February, on Wednesday repeated threats to use military force against Iran if it didn't halt its nuclear program and said Israel would be "the leader of that." The West suspects Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which it denies. The threat of renewed sanctions is intended to pressure Tehran into concessions, but detailed discussions on strategy have yet to take place with the Americans, the diplomats said. Because the United States quit a 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, it cannot initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions, called snapback, at the United Nations Security Council. That makes Britain, Germany and France, known as the E3, the only deal participants capable of and interested in pursuing snapback, so it is crucial that Washington align with these allies, analysts said. Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, has already lobbied the E3 to initiate it. According to the three diplomats, the E3 told Iran they would trigger the snapback mechanism by the end of June. Iran responded that doing so would mean harsh consequences and a review of its nuclear doctrine, the diplomats said. "The E3 do not trust the United States because it is taking initiatives without them being consulted," said a senior European diplomat. Trump withdrew the US in 2018 from the nuclear deal with Iran also signed by Russia and China. The accord curbed Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. Russia opposes restoring sanctions. Under the nuclear accord, participants can initiate the 30-day snapback process if they are unable to resolve accusations of Iranian violations through a dispute-resolution mechanism. But that opportunity expires on October 18 when the accord ends. Since the US exited the deal in 2018, Iran has far surpassed its uranium enrichment limits, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Tehran is producing stocks of fissile purity well above what Western powers say is justifiable for a civilian energy program and close to weapons grade. GOING IT ALONE The US administration's approach echoes Trump's first term in office, when he also prioritized unilateral talks with Iran, and with his stance on the war in Ukraine, where Washington has begun direct talks with Moscow, sidelining Europeans. European officials have held some meetings with US counterparts but said they were not sufficiently in-depth. Even a meeting on Iran with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting a week before Trump's announcement was difficult to arrange, three E3 officials said. The British, French and German foreign ministries did not respond directly when asked if they had been made aware of the Oman talks ahead of time. "We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through snapback if necessary," a British foreign ministry spokesperson said. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said tersely on Wednesday that the French "take note with interest" the talks. Neither the White House National Security Council nor the State Department immediately responded to a request for comment on the snapback or coordination with Europeans. EUROPEAN-IRAN DIRECT TALKS Having negotiated with Iran as a trio as far back as 2003 on the nuclear issue, the European countries consider their role essential to a solution. In the 2015 deal, a key carrot for Iran was being able to trade with Europe. The Europeans have helped the United States pressure Iran in recent months, including at the UN atomic watchdog and with new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program, detention of foreign citizens and support for Russia in the war against Ukraine. During the US policy vacuum after Trump won the election but before he took office, the Europeans tried to take the initiative by holding exploratory talks with Iran that began in September and have continued. The E3 said that was necessary because time was running out before the 2015 deal expires on October 18. They have tried to sound out whether new restrictions, albeit narrower than those agreed in 2015, could be negotiated before then. Diplomats said that in those talks, Iranian officials have often quizzed their counterparts on the new US administration. "Iran believes that talks with the E3 and other parties to the nuclear deal can help defuse tensions over its nuclear program and can be complementary to talks with the US," said an Iranian official.
