Bear Klien, Your Russia is the partner (and has been in the past) of Israel’s great enemies. USA sells Israel’s weapons including partnership on F35. So USA which is super flawed is still not the partner of Israel’s greatest enemies.
I did leave the site due to your supporting Russia an enemy defacto of Israel due to it selling Iran weapons including nuke technology. You should acknowledge your misjudgment and error on this fact. It would be a sign of integrity.
William Burns says start of ‘full-fledged defense partnership’ between Tehran and Moscow already has effect in Ukraine, could have ‘an even more dangerous impact on Middle East’
The head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said in an interview broadcast Friday that Russia was looking to help Iran, which would pose a threat to US allies in the region.
“What’s beginning to emerge is at least the beginnings of a full-fledged defense partnership between Russia and Iran, with the Iranians supplying drones to the Russians, which are killing Ukrainian civilians as we speak today,” William Burns told PBS.
“The Russians are beginning to look at ways in which, technologically or technically, they can support the Iranians, which poses real threats to Iran’s own neighborhood, to many of our friends and partners in Iran’s neighborhood as well,” he said, without naming any of the countries.
Burns said the relationship between Tehran and Moscow was “already having an impact on the battlefield in Ukraine, again, costing the lives of a lot of innocent Ukrainians.”
“I think it can have an even more dangerous impact on the Middle East as well if it continues. So, it’s something that we take very, very seriously,” Burns said.
Iran has supplied suicide drones to Russia, which has in turn used the UAVs to hit civilian and infrastructure targets during its invasion of Ukraine. The EU has said it had evidence that Iran sold drones to Russia since the start of the invasion in February.
Burns’ comments came after the NBC network reported earlier this month that Russia is providing an “unprecedented level” of military and technical support to Iran, in exchange for the weapons Tehran has supplied for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to drones, Tehran is also reportedly considering supplying Russia with ballistic missiles.
“This partnership poses a threat not just to Ukraine, but to Iran’s neighbors in the region,” an unnamed senior official from the Biden administration told NBC. “We have shared this information with partners in the Middle East and around the world.”
The report said Russia may be supplying Iran with military equipment including helicopters and air defense systems, as well as training Iranian pilots on the Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet. US officials said Iran “may begin receiving the aircraft within the next year.”
Officials also said Iran and Russia were looking to cooperate on the manufacture of weapons, including drones. Iran has recently ramped up its use of drones to hit targets in the Middle East, including Israeli-owned ships.
The Russian military largely controls Syria’s airspace, complicating Moscow’s relationship with Jerusalem as Israel is alleged to carry out multiple strikes on targets there as part of its efforts to prevent Iranian entrenchment on its doorstep.
To that end, Israel cooperates with the Russian military, and Israel’s strategic need to maintain freedom of operations in Syria appears to be the reasoning behind Jerusalem’s decision not to supply Kyiv only with humanitarian aid rather than the requested military help.
There have long been concerns that Moscow could put an end to, or reduce, cooperation with Israel on Syria.
Burns also briefly discussed the ongoing protests in Iran, now entering their fourth month.
“I don’t think the Iranian regime perceives an immediate threat to its grip. It still has some very practiced habits of repression and brutality that it’s continuing to employ,” he said, noting that CIA analysts had been struck by the longevity of the protests as well as the breadth of involvement across Iranian society.
“In the long term, though, I think the reality is that this is an Iranian regime that does not have good answers for what’s on the minds of a very young population, 70 percent of which today is under the age of 30,” Burns said.
T. Belman. I read this article very carefully looking for facts, to substantiate the allegations of Burns and the CIA and found none. As for Iran supplying drones to Russia, it did, but how many? You will recall that I posted this article a few days ago: Russia’s growing alliance with Iran is doubtful
Furthermore , considering that most if not all the “news” coming from official US sources like the CIA is propaganda, why should I believe the allegations in the TOI article?
Meanwhile both Obama and Biden have given billions to Iran. Russia gave them nothing. Biden is also financing the PA and ignoring the Taylor Force Act and the terrorism.
So I continue to believe that the US and the EU constitute a bigger threat to Israel than does Russia.
@Bear
Really? The US is clearly partnered with Israel’s greatest enemy, Iran, and they do so against Israel’s interests and that of the US as well.
The US is giving Iran billions of US tax dollars. The US is doing this despite the fact that Russia has murdered thousands of US servicemen, sponsored untold numbers of terrorist attacks against US citizens and, should Iran develop a missile capable of carrying its nuclear bomb, the US would be among the first two targets which the Mullahs would choose.
Then go back and add in the fact that the US is supporting Iran while Iran is murdering Israeli citizens, physically surrounding her on the ground in the region, exporting her military industrial programs to her allies to use against Israel, developing nuclear bombs with which to attack Israel and to manipulate her allies into abandoning her. Beyond this, the US is actually working to weaken Israel directly, trying to change the context of the Abraham Accords to include Qatar, returing the Pals to some claim in Jerusalem, manipulate Israel into abusing the relationship between Israel and Russia to threaten the Syrian cooperation, steal Israel’s gas rights on behalf of an Iranian proxy, and more.
As the US is actually supporting all of this, we should see that this is well passed the actions of a flawed nation. The US is actually working for the Iranians. Perhaps it is related to short term reasons related to the fact that Iran played some role in hacking the US 2020 elections for which Iranian agents were actually arrested. Perhaps it is simply a continuation of the long term US policy to empower Iran and make it a regional hegemon which began long ago.
Whatever the reason, the US is supporting Iran over their own interests, nevermind Israel’s. Then, do consider Israel. As the US weakens its own position and strengthens Iran, it is a two part attack on Isreal’s interests. The fact that the US is giving Iran the cash, actually giving it to them, with which to purchase foreign tech to attack Israel as well as to develop its own vast military industrial complex and nuclear program, it should be seen as a far more important issue than the trade going on between Iran and any other nation. There is no rational reason why the US would want to empower Iran, let alone support their terror regime, let alone support their military expansion throughout the Mideast, let alone support their quest towards making a nuclear missile. When is this ally of Israel’s going to actually stop moving her arch enemy towards a position of total domination against her?
Superflawed? No, we are far past Superflawed, unfortunately far past.
@Michael S.
Debatable. Everybody is playing both sides against the middle. Obama actively supported Iran. When people talk about Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, they conveniently or ignorantly leave out Ukraine’s brutal invasion of Russian majority Luhansk and Donetsk leaving 14,000 casualties, 3,000 of them civilians over 8 years.
Israel needs to pursue its own interests independentlyThe priority should be making itself sanction proof the way Russia has while neutralizing the internal fifth column and applying sovereignty and civil law to Area C.
Evangelical Christian support should continue to be welcome as long as it is just supportive and not trying to dominate. Catholic and liberal Protestant Christians tend not to be supportive.
Friends in one arena can be foes in another. Lord Palmerston’s quip applies.
@Michael
You have a hate on for me and i resent it.
This is a big lie . I am totally supportive of the MAGA people which are mainly Christian I believe and you know that.
While I support Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the 4 provinces, I believe that the US is the bad guy here. It should have acceded to Russia’s demands at the beginning of this war and that would be the end of it. The US caused this war not Russia. So I am in favour of what’s right. If and when the US is in the right, I will support it. Meanwhile it is proving to be Israel’s enemy with its support of the Palestinians and the TSS and its opposition to the new government soon to be.
Michael, this is the last ad hominem attack I will tolerate from you.
I agree, Bear; but I am skeptical that Ted will give such an acknowledgment. The US is now in the throes of a globalist-communist Biden coup. It is supported by the vast majority of America’s Jews, and opposed by most Christians. Instead of trying to help us, Ted has gone full-bore into anti-Christian mode, while at the same time de-facto supporting our national enemies in Iran, China and Russia.
Ted has his country, Israel, which he mistakenly believes he is fighting in the interests of. I have my country, the US, which is the last refuge of everyone in the world seeking freedom and justice. He has his agenda, and I have mine.