Epstein Secrets

njamin Netanyahu, the two close allies are at odds once again - - this time over a proposed "first step" nuclear agreement with Iran. Washington and Jerusalem eventually will find a way to move beyond this titanic clash, but no kiss-and-make-up effort can erase the scars that will be left behind. The cur

its behavior has been ruthlessly rational for the most part. Even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini -- a far more committed ideologue than his successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- agreed to end the Iran-h War in 1988 when his subordinates told him that continuing the conflict would only result in further Iraqi victories a

ter foe. The pressure from an often-hostile Congress is also mounting. A group of influential senators, fresh from a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu in Jerusalem, has called on Mr. Obama to lay down sharper criteria, known as "red lines," about when to act against Iran's nuclear ambitions. "We're saying to t

the IAEA has documented, Iran is putting all the pieces in place to have the option to develop nuclear weapons at some point. Were Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to decide tomorrow to go for a bomb, Iran probably has the technical capability to produce a testable nuclear device in about a year and a missile-

he Iron Dome and Arrow anti- missile defenses, which presumably add to American security. Ya'alon, it seemed, had bought one of the t-shirts sold in Jerusalem souvenir shops to tourists that says, "Don't worry America—Israel is behind you," and missed the irony. But then, the entire talk raised questions

ader in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing. This long overdue visit will culminate in Meshaal meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In his meeting with Meshaal and in his recent and first visit to Qatar, Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Shalah discussed the details of t

in an enclave over which it has a strong grip." The AP (5/25) reports that Blinken "announced Tuesday that the U.S. would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem — a move that restores ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration." The consulate "long served as an autonomous off

vented by term limits from running again." According to the Post, "The council's selections, which reflect the preferences of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, virtually guarantee the election of a hard-line government," and Ebrahim Raisi, "a conservative cleric who heads Iran's judiciary, is widely viewe

in an enclave over which it has a strong grip." The AP (5/25) reports that Blinken "announced Tuesday that the U.S. would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem — a move that restores ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration." The consulate "long served as an autonomous off

ented by term limits from running again." According to the Post, "The council's selections, which reflect the preferences of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, virtually guarantee the election of a hard-line government," and Ebrahim Raisi, "a conservative cleric who heads Iran's judiciary, is widely viewe

What's the issue? No "natural growth" means strangling to death the thriv- ing towns close to the 1949 armistice line, many of them suburbs of Jerusalem. that every negotiation over the past decade has envisioned Israel retaining It means no increase in population. Which means for every child bo

council is a 12- member commission that must validate the elections before an official winner can be declared. Council members are appointed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and the head of the judiciary. The council vets candi- dates and has the power to veto laws deemed inconsis- tent with Is

lawmakers. The perils of such unconditional solidarity were addressed by Germany's new president, Joachim Gauck, during his first official visit to Jerusalem last Tuesday: "I don't want to imagine every scenario that could get the chancellor in tremendous trouble, when it comes to politically implementi

unclear how Israel would have acted if a Scud missile tipped with nerve gas had hit a residential area. Only Netanyahu and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, probably know how close the world stands today to a new war. The Israeli prime minister and Khamenei have "one thing in common," says Walther Sti

table, even though the outcome affects its own vital interests, particularly where the borders, the question of refugees, and the final status of Jerusalem are concerned. The regime's sensitivity to the confederation debate in Israel only reflects the questions it faces domestically: Can Jordan secure

end the movement or a faithful son of the Khomeini order who was given leeway by the regime's powers that be. He couldn't defy the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or run afoul of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The case is now being made that Rohani is no freelancer, that he is a player of standing in the

a personal appeal from the king to withhold the U.S. veto at the United Nations from a resolution condemning continued Israeli settlement building in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Saudis believe that solving the issue of Palestinian statehood will deny Iran a key pillar in its regional expansionist strat

the Iranian nation.... This is the same as 'Islamic Awakening,' which is the result of the victory of the big revolution of the Iranian nation," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran also broadcast speeches by Hezbollah's leader into Bahrain, cheering the protesters on. Bahraini officials say that Iran went further, providi

ry-general, currently Nasrallah, presides over the Majlis al-Shura and functions as the group's leader under the authority of the "jurist theologian" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. Five administrative bodies, organized around thematic responsibilities, run Hezbollah's political, military (jihad), parliame

e sole outlet to Rawabi sits off a dizzying two-lane highway flanked by round, scraggly hills. In this part of the West Bank, just north of where the Jerusalem suburbs thin into a dry, granite- gray wilderness, the mountains seem to aid in the illusion that Israeli and Palestinian spheres of authority can re