Iran Shuns IAEA Weapons Inspectors
Iran scuttled IAEA chief ElBaradei's probe of its nuclear activity.
Iran signaled Thursday that it would no longer cooperate with U.N. nuclear inspectors probing for clandestine nuclear weapons work in the country, the Associated Press reported. The announcement from Iranian Vice President Gholam Reza Aghazadeh comes just days after Tehran stonewalled demands from six world powers that it halt uranium enrichment activities, as called for by the U.N. Security Council. Iran had previously barred International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from entering key nuclear sites, and a recent report by the group expressed "serious concern" over indications that the Iranian military has played a key role in the country's nuclear program, and that research had ventured into explosives, uranium processing and a missile warhead design — activities associated with nuclear weapons.
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Shin Bet Chief: Egypt Not Stopping Hamas Weapons Smuggling
Diskin said Egypt should halt weapons smuggling into Gaza.
Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin on Tuesday said Egypt is doing little to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons from the Sinai Peninsula into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli newspaper
Ha'aretz reported. "Egypt accepts the fact that there is smuggling from its territory...[which] is part of the Middle Eastern theater of the absurd," Diskin told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "We have asked the Egyptians to deal with the families of smugglers operating in Sinai." Diskin's comments coincide with reports that Hamas is using the Egyptian-brokered "tahdiyeh" or "period of calm" to re-arm and militarize the Gaza Strip.
Ahmadinejad: Iran Will Never Halt Its Nuclear Program
Ahmadinejad said Iran would not back down in its nuclear pursuit.
Responding to recent overtures by the United States, the European Union, Russia and China, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday vowed that his country would not yield in its drive for a nuclear weapons capability, Agence France Presse reported. "The Iranian people are steadfast and will not step back an inch against the oppressive powers," Ahmadinejad said. "You are mistaken if you think you can force this nation to back down with sanctions, threats and pressure." Ahmadinejad’s comments come days after direct talks between Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and senior American and European diplomats. Iran has accelerated its efforts to enrich uranium - a key step toward developing nuclear weapons - violating multiple binding U.N. Security Council demands that the Islamic Republic suspend its illicit atomic work.
Iran Ignores Calls for Halt to Enrichment Activity
Saeed Jalili ignored demands for an enrichment freeze.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday accused Iran of not being serious about its disputed nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat at weekend talks in Geneva, the Associated Press reported. During the discussions, Iran had been expected to respond directly to the package of incentives presented by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Instead, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, delivered a "meandering" monologue full of irrelevant "small talk about culture" that appeared to annoy many of the others present at the table. "We expected to hear an answer from the Iranians but, as has been the case so many times with the Iranians, what came through was not serious," Rice said. "People are tired of the Iranians and their stalling tactics." Iran also distributed a paper at the talks outlining their negotiating position, but the document ignored the core international demand that Iran suspend uranium enrichment activity, as repeatedly called for by the U.N. Security Council.
Bulldozer Driver Goes on Rampage in Jerusalem
The attacker wounded 16 Israelis before being killed by Israeli officers.
In the second attack of its kind this month, a Palestinian terrorist on Tuesday wounded at least 24 Israeli civilians when he deliberately plowed a bulldozer into a passenger bus and at least five cars in downtown Jerusalem, the Israeli newspaper
Ha’aretz reported. "This was another attempt to murder innocent people in a senseless act of terrorism," said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. "All people who believe in peace and reconciliation must unequivocally condemn this attack. Unfortunately, it is clear that we as a society will have to remain vigilant against terrorism." On July 2, another resident of east Jerusalem rammed a bulldozer into cars, buses and pedestrians on one of the city's busiest streets, killing three people and wounding at least 45 others – including a six-month-old baby girl – before being shot dead by security personnel.
Brown to Knesset: Israel Has Right to Freedom, Security
Brown was the first British prime minister to address the Knesset.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday extolled his nation's support for the Jewish state in an historic speech before Israel's Knesset, Sky News reported. "To those who question Israel's very right to exist, and threaten the lives of its citizens through terror, we say: the people of Israel have a right to live here, to live freely and to live in security," Brown told Israeli lawmakers. "And to those who believe that threatening statements fall upon indifferent ears, we say in one voice: that it is totally abhorrent for the president of Iran to call for Israel to be wiped from the map of the world." Brown, who was the first British prime minister to address Israel’s parliament, hailed Israel's many achievements in its 60 year history, saying "no other country has accomplished as much in such a short time."
