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TOP STORIES
President Donald Trump hinted he plans to withdraw from
the Iran nuclear accord, but that he may be willing to negotiate a
new agreement with the Islamic Republic.
Revealing a huge archive of stolen Iranian nuclear
plans, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel accused Iran on
Monday of lying for years about its efforts to build a nuclear
weapon.
Iran has the technical capability to enrich uranium to a
higher level than it could before a multinational nuclear deal was
reached to curb its nuclear program, state TV quoted the head of
Iran's Atomic Energy organization Ali Akbar Salehi as saying.
NUCLEAR DEAL & NUCLEAR PROGRAM
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says a landmark
nuclear deal with Iran was "built on lies", after Israel
claimed to have proof of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons programme.
Mr Pompeo said documents revealed by Israel's prime
minister were authentic.
The White House says it is examining information
released Monday by Israel allegedly detailing Iranian efforts to
cover up the extent of its nuclear efforts before signing onto a 2015
accord meant to freeze the program.
The U.N. atomic watchdog declined on Tuesday to directly
address Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusations that
Iran was breaching its landmark nuclear deal with major powers...
"In line with standard IAEA practise, the IAEA evaluates all
safeguards-relevant information available to it," an
International Atomic Energy Agency spokesman said. "However, it is
not the practise of the IAEA to publicly discuss issues related to
any such information."
Iran said on Monday Israel's allegations about Tehran's
nuclear program were "childish and ridiculous" aimed at
affecting U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on May 12, the
semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.
The European Union's foreign policy chief released a
statement Monday responding to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
presentation regarding Iran's nuclear program, saying he has not
"put into question Iran's compliance" with the landmark accord
from 2015... Germany said it will analyze information presented by
Israel on Iran's nuclear activities on Monday but independent
inspections must be maintained.
France's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that an
Israeli intelligence haul on Iran's past nuclear weapons programme
could form the basis of a push for long-term assurances on Tehran's
nuclear activities.
Defenders of the deal say the Mossad's impressive catch
confirms what was already known: Iran had a secret nuclear weapons
program. Signatories other than the US will be unmoved.
The leading Republican senator on foreign policy
appeared unimpressed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech
Monday detailing Iran's covert past nuclear weapons development,
calling the shared revelations "nothing new" and "not
groundbreaking."
If the West can verify the new Israeli intelligence that
Iran had preserved its design and research work into a nuclear
weapon, that's a big deal - particularly now in light of the May 12
deadline that President Donald Trump has imposed on U.S. negotiations
with Europe to come up with fixes to strengthen the nuclear bargain.
The trove of data would be a blow not only to Iran's credibility but
also to the reputation of American intelligence gathering.
The more we know about how Iran deceived us in the past
about the depth of its program and its true intentions, the less we
can confidently argue that Iran is currently in "full
compliance."
After the intelligence revealed Monday by Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, one thing is clearer than ever: The Iranian regime
has lied repeatedly about its nuclear program and cannot be trusted.
No matter what happens on May 12, May 13 must not see a return to the
status quo ante July 2015.
MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS
The Israeli parliament voted in favor Monday of granting
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the ability to declare war with the
sole approval of his defense chief under certain conditions.
Spies from Israel's Mossad agency discovered the
top-secret location of a warehouse used to store Iran's nuclear
weapons files, broke into the building, took half a ton of documents
and managed to smuggle them back to Israel that same night...
U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Iran's most powerful political and religious figure said
the United States' "feet must be cut off" in the Middle East
as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed his criticism of Tehran
in his tour of the region.
"During the time of the previous American
president, who is as ill-tempered as the current American president,
I said that the era of 'hit and run' is over," Khamenei said
during an April 30 speech. "They know that if they get into a
military conflict with Iran, they will be struck multiple times
over."
Iran's supreme leader on Monday hit out at the United
States a day after new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Riyadh,
accusing Washington of trying to stoke a "regional crisis"
by provoking its ally Saudi Arabia to confront Tehran.
SYRIA, ISRAEL & IRAN
After a second suspected Israeli strike killing Iranian
forces in Syria, the Islamic Republic has few ways to retaliate as
its leaders wrestle with both unrest at home and the prospect of its
nuclear deal collapsing abroad.
Iran's Tasnim news agency said on Monday that reports of
Iran's base in Syria being hit by rockets were baseless and no
Iranians had been killed in the attacks on several military bases in
the Hama and Aleppo countryside.
Israel will do whatever it takes to wipe out Iranian
military capabilities in Syria, even if that means targeting heavily
populated neighborhoods, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said.
An Israeli Cabinet minister said Tuesday his country's
dramatic seizure of what it purports to be Iran's nuclear program
archive could help deter the Islamic Republic from trying to strike
Israel.
The 2015 nuclear deal has financed Iran's Syria military
buildup.
Israel is determined to oust Iran from Syria, but if it
miscalculates, Hezbollah and Hamas could be thrown into the ring.
Netanyahu is prepared to undertake risks - bordering on gambling
It's no longer Israel confronting Hezbollah in a form of
proxy war with Iran. Now, Israel and Iran face each other with Syria
as the setting for their rivalry. What was for so long a war of words
and covert actions between Israel and Iran risks moving closer to
open confrontation
BUSINESS RISK
Oil prices slid on Tuesday as the dollar remained near a
four-month high, but worries that U.S. President Donald Trump will
pull out of the Iran nuclear deal underpinned the market.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran moved to shut down the messaging app Telegram on
Monday, highlighting the regime's concern over the popular platform's
role in organizing widespread unrest that has rippled through the
country in recent months.
Iran is destroying or redeveloping the sites of mass
graves holding those executed in a 1988 wartime purge that killed as
many as 5,000 people, a report released Monday alleges.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday
that Iran is keen to develop ties with the rest of the world, which
is "not merely" the United States and European countries.
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