Iran Is Stalking Saudi Arabia and Israel

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday rejected the idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should delay his controversial speech to Congress. McConnell also vowed action on a bill to tighten Iranian sanctions despite White House opposition. He declined to say when the Iran sanctions bill would be debated. Ten Senate Democrats who support it said Tuesday they want to wait until the March deadline before moving ahead. Concerning Netanyahu, McConnell added : "I think we should go ahead and have the speech because the issue is very timely in this country, and this is an American initiative, not an Israel initiative." The address to a joint meeting of Congress, scheduled without advance notice to the White House, has divided Democrats and caused much public comment. McConnell defended the invitation and dismissed the notion that there had been a breach of protocol, saying : "I'm not sure what the custom is. We now have a new Republican Congress. It has a different agenda in many respects from that of the President. We think the Iran sanctions bill is important and ought to be dealt with in the near future." The Senator's remarks to USA TODAY came as international pressure mounted and political jockeying intensified over Iran's nuclear program. Negotiators face a March 24 deadline to reach an agreement. In Washington, a proposal to levy more sanctions on Teheran if a deal isn't reached has divided Democrats and drawn a veto threat from President Obama. It's expected that Netanyahu will again issue warnings about the threat from a nuclear-armed Iran in his address on March 3. The White House has announced that President Obama won't meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he visits Washington, citing the closeness of the Israeli elections on March 17. ~~~~~ Meanwhile, Netanyahu said today that it was Iran that stood behind Hezbollah's deadly attack on northern Israel yesterday, in which two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed while on patrol near the Lebanon border. Netanyahu said : "It is Iran that stands behind the attack on us yesterday from Lebanon,." He was speaking at a memorial marking the first anniversary of the death of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "This is the same Iran that is trying to reach a deal now with world powers that will leave it with the capability of developing nuclear weapons, a deal which we vehemently oppose. We will continue to defend ourselves against every threat, both near and far. Arik (Sharon) understood very well the Iranian regime's character, and what he said then still stands today," Netanyahu added. ~~~~~ What is the Iranian threat to Israel and the Middle East? With bases in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, Iran has surrounded Saudi Arabia and all the oil fields of the Persian Gulf. This deployment would be forcefully reinforced if an Iranian nuclear weapons program is fully developed. Iran's presumed goal in encircling the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia is to gain control over all Middle East petroleim fields, as well as to control the Palestinian islamic jihadist movement so that it can become the leader in the Israeli-Arab conflict. The Iranians already have Hezbollah positioned on Israel's northern border. They need another terrorist group positioned in Gaza to the south, in order to create an encirclement around Israel. Iran is working hard to achieve its goal -- starting with Hamas. Relations between Iran and Hamas were strained after Hamas refused to support the Syrian al-Assad regime, an Iranian client, when al-Assad began to attack the Syrian rebels. Iran and Hamas need each other. Iran wants Hamas because it does not have many sunni allies left in the region and an alliance with Hamas would give Iran a direct link to sunni Qatar, which supports Hamas, seeibg it as a non-terrorist group.This, in turn, would make it easier for Iran to promote itself as a leader with both shiite and sunni allies, not as the partisan leader of a shiite camp fighting against the Saudi-led sunnis. Hamas, for its part, is desperate for any outside support in the wake of its increasing isolation in the President Abbas-led Palestinian Authority. Hamas is also feeling the heat at home because of its failure to rebuild the Gaza Strip after last summer's war with Israel. Hamas leaders are now hoping that Iran will resume its financial aid to the movement, allowing Hamas to avoid a situation where Palestinians might revolt against it. And Egypt's tight security measures along its border with the Gaza Strip, including demolishing hundreds of smuggling tunnels and creating a security zone, have also squeezed Hamas. ~~~~~ Now, Hamas leaders say they have taken a "strategic" decision to restore their ties with Iran. Ismail Haniyeh, former Hamas prime minister in Gaza, announced recently that Hamas is working toward establishing "open relations" with Iran. Another Hamas leader, Osama Hamdan, announced that the differences between Hamas and Iran have been resolved : "We welcome any party that supports the Palestinian cause. Relations between Iran and Hamas have returned to normal." To appease the Iranians, Hamas's armed wing, Izaddin al-Qassam, issued a rare statement "thanking Iran for providing money and weapons" to Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip over the past few years. Hamas knows that improved relations with Iran also means partnering with Teheran's proxy, Hezbollah, with whom Hamas has moved to restore its ties. The commander of Izaddin al-Qassam, Mohamed Deif, last week sent a letter of condolence to Hezbollah chief Hassan for the deaths Hezbollah operatives killed in an Israeli air strike in Syria. In his letter, Deif called on Hezbollah to join forces with Hamas against "the real enemy -- the Zionist entity." ~~~~~ Dear readers, the Hamas-Iran rapprochement is one more sign of Teheran using its Middle East allies to try to destroy Israel. Hamas leaders hope that Iran will resume not only financial aid, but the supply of weapons. Realistically, Iran won't pour money into the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip or for housing for thousands of Palestinian families who lost their homes during the last war. Iran is only interested in making Hamas another Iranian-backed army to be used to attack Israel -- and to pressure Saudi Arabia -- to try to find a weakness, if there is one, that would make the Saudis vulnerable. And-- lest we forget -- Iran's obvious moves are happening at the same time that the Obama administration is busy with another round of talks with Iran over its nuclear program. It should be clear by now that Teheran is using these negotiations to divert attention from its efforts to deepen its tentacles in the Middle East, with the hope of controlling the oil fields and eliminating Israel. Saudi Arabia sees it. Egypt sees it. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner see it. Many Democrats see it. Israel sees it. Why is Barack Obama blind? Or is he? Perhaps he prefers Iran. Or, trotting out Condoleeza Rice and James Baker for Saudi King Salman may suggest that Obama finally realizes just how deeply he has dug himself into a bottomless hole -- and that he sees no way out using his favorite operating mode -- going it alone.