Syrian state media accused Israel of launching missiles at a target near Damascus on Tuesday, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was quitting the Iranian nuclear deal, a move that had prompted Israel to go on high alert.

The Israeli military said that, upon identifying “irregular activity” by Iranian forces in Syria, it instructed civic authorities on the Golan Heights to ready bomb shelters, deployed new defenses and mobilized some reservist forces.

Israel’s top general, Gadi Eizenkott, canceled a scheduled appearance at an annual security conference and was conferring with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and other national security chiefs, officials said.

Trump’s hard tack against the nuclear deal, while welcomed by Israel, has stirred fears of a possible regional flare-up.

Within two hours of the White House announcement, Syrian state news agency SANA reported explosions in Kisweh, south of Damascus. Syrian air defenses fired at two Israeli missiles, destroying both, SANA said.

A commander in the regional alliance supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Reuters that Israel’s air force had struck an army base at Kisweh without causing casualties.

Asked about those statements, an Israeli military spokeswoman said: “We do not respond to such foreign reports.”

Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been helping Assad beat back a seven-year-old rebellion. Israel has…

The IDF instructed Tuesday evening the authorities in the Golan Heights to open their bomb shelters, following a series of unusual identifications amid Iranian forces in Syria.

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Source: YNet News

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President Hassan Rouhani warned Tuesday that Iran could restart enriching uranium “without any limitations” within weeks, after President Donald Trump pulled America out of the nuclear deal, though he said world powers still in the accord could potentially save the pact.

Rouhani’s speech, broadcast live on state television within minutes of Trump’s announcement, marked a doubling-down for the cleric who has seen his signature foreign policy achievement threatened by Trump for years. Trump’s announcement from the White House marked potentially the worst-case scenario for the relative moderate, as the country’s economy continues to reel despite the deal and may further worsen.

Stressing that the accord remained a “multilateral” one, and not just with the U.S., Rouhani said he’d be sending Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the countries still in the deal — China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Iran hopes the European Union will pass laws to protect European firms from any potential U.S. sanctions. EU officials have suggested they’ll do what they can to salvage the agreement.

Still, Rouhani made a point of stressing that Iran, at any time, could resume its nuclear program.

“So if necessary, we can begin our industrial enrichment without any limitations,” the Iranian leader said. “Until implementation of this decision, we will wait for some weeks and will talk with our friends and allies and other signatories of the nuclear deal, who signed it and who will remain loyal to it. Everything depends on our national…

The Middle East is bracing for milestone events packed into one week that could reverberate in unforeseen ways and change the trajectory of a region shaped by growing conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, leaders of the Shiite and Sunni Muslim camps.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. Early next week, the U.S. will move its embassy in Israel to contested Jerusalem, provoking Palestinians at a time when many thousands plan to march from blockaded Gaza to Israel’s border — and perhaps overrun it.

A look at the developments:

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THE IRAN DEAL

Trump said the U.S. is pulling out of the 2015 deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbing its nuclear program.

A pullout is opposed by other world powers, but supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. withdrawal and the possibility of an eventual collapse of the deal raises concerns about escalation, even war — particularly if Iran is seen as resuming its pursuit of nuclear weapons and Israel retaliates.

Tensions between Israel and Iran already are high over Iran’s efforts to expand its military presence in Syria and airstrikes attributed to Israel that killed Iranian fighters there, prompting threats of reprisal by Tehran. Netanyahu says he’ll counter “Iran’s aggression … even if this means a struggle.”

Israeli security officials say forces are already on high alert in northern Israel.

Netanyahu’s critics inside Israel warn that he is pursuing a risky course by trying to torpedo the nuclear deal, without…

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat announced his intention to formally name the square near the US embassy site the “United States Square in honor of President Donald Trump,” the Jerusalem Press Office released on Tuesday.An official event with American dignitaries will be held in the future to celebrate the naming.

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Source: Jerusalem Post

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