Israel Hoping to Start a War With Iran Before US Elections

• Israel Hoping to Start a War With Iran Before US Elections
  by Jason Ditz, https://news.antiwar.com/
  Recent rounds of sabotage attacks against Iranian targets have been consistently blamed on Israel. It’s not just Israel being Israel, according to some officials familiar with the situation, but rather, Israel trying to start a war while Trump is still in power.
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  Israel sees war as a tougher sell if Biden gets elected, while Trump would be easier, especially ahead of the vote. EU officials were reportedly concerned Israel would try to provoke something soon. Israeli officials refuse to comment on specific sabotage operations.
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  Israeli officials concede it is “common knowledge” they are behind some of the Iran attacks, but they don’t want to specify which ones when there are so many candidates. Officials also say their policy on Iran is clear, without confirming or denying trying to suck the US into a war.
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  Trump’s own administration has some officials very keen on provoking fights with Iran, but so far Trump has resisted launching a war. It’s not clear, with his “most pro-Israel ever” label on the line, he could resist joining an Israeli war.
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  Israel has been keen on a war with Iran for decades, and is always trying to pick a good time to sucker the US into the conflict. While Iran focuses on defensive preparedness, it’s likely they’ll be advised by allies to try to resist any reaction to the provocations through November hoping that as this window closes, Israel will dial back attacks.

• Israel Has 80-90 Nukes, SIPRI Report Says, as Tel Aviv Continues to Accuse Iran of Nuclear Obsession
  by https://www.rt.com/
  Israel, which routinely accuses Iran of trying to obtain nuclear weapons and pledges to use force to stop Tehran, maintains its own undeclared nuclear arsenal estimated at 80 to 90, according to the latest report by SIPRI.
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  There are nine nations in the world that currently have nuclear weapons, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says in its newly released yearbook on the state of armaments and international security. The world nuclear stockpile went from 14,465 at the beginning of last year to about 13,865 this year, the report estimates, as the US and Russia were delivering on their promises under the New START Treaty signed in 2010.
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  Israel, which maintains a policy of neither confirming nor denying the possession of nuclear weapons, has between 80 and 90 warheads in its stockpile, the same as the year before, the institute said.
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  It comes as tensions between Iran on one side, and the US and regional ally Israel on the other, continue to mount. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s unsinkable prime minister, has for years waged a campaign accusing the Iranians of having unwavering nuclear ambitions, regardless of the evidence, or lack thereof.
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“Iran doesn’t frighten me and I don’t think it should frighten the American people. They don’t have a bomb. They haven’t made a decision to build one. They don’t have the means to deliver one. And the Israelis have 300 atomic bombs! I mean who presents the existential threat to whom?” – Pat Buchanan (7:58 onwards)