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France, Britain and Germany (the E3) submitted a draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors on Monday pressing Iran on uranium traces at undeclared sites and the barring of inspectors, according to text seen by Reuters.

The draft, which will be voted on this week, calls on Tehran to cooperate without delay on a years-long investigation by the U.N. nuclear watchdog into the traces, including by letting the IAEA collect samples if necessary.

It also calls for Iran to allow IAEA uranium-enrichment experts on the inspection team, which Tehran has barred, and urges Tehran to implement a March 2023 joint statement that pledges cooperation.

“[The Board] calls on Iran to provide sufficient cooperation with the Agency and take the essential and urgent actions as decided by the Board in its November 2022 resolution, to resolve safeguards issues which remain outstanding despite numerous interactions with the Agency since 2019,” the text reads, according to Reuters.

The draft follows up on the previous resolution, that was passed 18 months ago.

Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying that the Islamic Republic would react if the resolution passes.

The Europeans are aiming to pass the new resolution after not moving forward at the last IAEA meeting in March after the Biden administration expressed opposition to the move.

A senior European diplomat claimed that the United States is having “difficulty” moving ahead with the resolution.

The diplomat added that “in our conversations we continue to do everything to convince them.”

The Wall Street Journal cited diplomatic sources as saying on May 27 that the Biden administration has pressed a number of other countries to abstain in a censure vote, saying that is what Washington will do.

Iran’s stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium has increased by 20.6 kilograms (45.5 pounds) since February, AFP reported on May 27, citing a new confidential IAEA report.

The document, which was also seen by the Associated Press, revealed that Tehran has accumulated 142.1 kilograms (313.2 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%. This level of enrichment is just a technical step from 90% enrichment, considered weapons grade.

According to the IAEA definition, it is technically possible to create an atomic bomb with roughly 42 kilograms (92.5 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% if the material is further enriched to 90%.

Iran has continued to ramp up enrichment, while maintaining that its nuclear program is strictly peaceful.

However, Western powers claim there is no credible civilian explanation for Tehran’s nuclear activities. In 2022, the IAEA issued a report saying it could not “provide assurances that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”

According to the IAEA, Iran’s total stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at 6,201.3 kilograms (13,671.5 pounds)—a 675.8 kilogram (1,489.8 pound) increase in three months.

Following meetings with officials in Iran earlier this month, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told reporters that Tehran’s cooperation with the organization has been “completely unsatisfactory” in recent months and urged the country to adopt “concrete” measures to address concerns.

There have also been recent Iranian threats of a push towards the bomb. On May 9, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Tehran will weaponize its nuclear program if Israel “threatens its existence.”

Two weeks ago, a lawmaker close to the regime suggested that the country might already possess an atomic bomb, saying, “In my opinion, we have achieved nuclear weapons, but we do not announce it.” JNS

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday morning surveyed the seam line area where a series of shooting attacks by terrorists from Tulkarm have recently taken place. The latest shooting attack was thwarted overnight Monday when IDF commandos killed two terrorists at the seam line. Senior IDF officials, the head of the Emek Hefer Regional Council, and other council heads of nearby yishuvim also participated in the tour. During the tour, Edelstein that “reducing the defense plan for the yishuvim along the seam line is a return to the days before October 7th. The writing is on the wall and the fence – a delay in response could cost lives.” “The importance of protecting the country’s borders should not be overstated, and especially the stretch of the seam line, which is only a few kilometers away from the yishuvim in the center of the country.” “I call on the Minister of Defense and the Minister of National Security to immediately provide appropriate and immediate solutions. This is no longer a theoretical discussion of ‘what if’ and ‘maybe,’ as we have already learned from bitter experience. It is time for all of us to take responsibility.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israeli forces overnight Monday killed two terrorists who had been preparing to fire at Israeli towns from the city of Tulkarem in the Shomron, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Members of the IDF’s Combat Intelligence Collection Corps’ Unit 636 who were in the area ambushed the gunmen as they approached the security barrier, killing them and confiscating their weapons.

“IDF soldiers work at all times to thwart any attempt to harm the citizens of the State of Israel,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.

Hamas published footage of masked terrorists on May 27 opening fire with automatic weapons at Bat Hefer, an Israeli village east of Netanya that borders the Green Line.

In the footage, two Palestinians wearing Hamas headbands declare their allegiance to the Gaza-based terrorist organization. The video also includes a photo of the weapons they used to carry out the attack.

There were no casualties caused by that incident, according to Channel 12. Hamas said the attack was in response to the previous night’s IDF airstrike in Rafah, which targeted Yassin Rabia, the head of Hamas’s Yehuda and Shomron headquarters, and Khaled Nagar, a senior official in the group’s Yehuda and Shomron wing.

Also on May 27, some 30 Palestinians advanced toward Bat Hefer after they managed to climb over the security fence near Tulkarem, local media reported. Security camera footage showed the infiltrators climbing the wall using a rope and entering vehicles on the other side.

The IDF said in a statement to Channel 12 that it was aware of the problems with the security fence and was working to address the issue.

“Earlier today, infiltrators crossed in the area near Tulkarm. Upon receiving the report, forces immediately made their way to the site and arrested 19 infiltrators near the fence,” the military stated.

The IDF also noted that during the past few years, a new battalion and special units were established to protect the Seam Line, and the rules of engagement were changed.

“As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the number of infiltrators,” the IDF said.

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s acting foreign minister met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut to discuss “political and security” developments in its war against Israel, the Tehran-backed terror proxy said on Tuesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani touched down in Lebanon on Monday for his first official visit since his predecessor was killed in a helicopter crash last month along with president Ebrahim Raisi.

According to a Hezbollah statement cited by local media, the meeting focused on “the latest political and security developments in the region, particularly on the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, as well as proposed solutions and potential scenarios for the progression of events.”

According to Hezbollah, Nasrallah thanked Tehran “for its continued support for the peoples of the region and the resistance movements, as well as for its stable and firm stance against sanctions and threats.”

The terror leader also reiterated his condolences on the deaths of Raisi, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian and other officials who perished in the May 19 helicopter crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

Hezbollah has been engaging in near-daily attacks against northern Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, killing more than 20 people and causing widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israelis remain internally displaced due to the violence.

Israeli forces have struck hundreds of Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon in response, including the terrorist group’s senior leadership.

On Monday, Bagheri met with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib, praising the “close relations” between the two countries and claiming that “resistance is the basis for stability in the region.”

“All countries in the region, especially the Islamic countries, should adopt a joint movement in order to counter Israeli aggression and protect the Palestinian people, especially in Rafah,” said Bagheri.

Bagheri will also visit Syria this week “to meet with the two countries’ officials as well as the officials of the resistance front to discuss ways to counter [Israel],” the state-run IRNA news agency has reported. JNS

Louisiana could soon become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom. The legislation received final approval from the state’s GOP-dominated Legislature earlier this week and is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. It mandates that a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” be required in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded universities. The GOP-authored bill comes during a new era of conservative leadership in Louisiana under Landry, who succeeded two-term Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in January. The state’s reliably red Legislature also has a GOP supermajority and Republicans hold every statewide elected position, paving the way for lawmakers to push a conservative agenda. That includes a package of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, tough-on-crime policies, migrant enforcement measures and legislation mirroring conservative plans in Texas and Florida. Similar bills requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms have been proposed in other statehouses — including Texas, Oklahoma and Utah. However, with threats of legal battles over the constitutionality of such measures, no state has had success in the bills becoming law. If signed into law in Louisiana, legal challenges are expected to follow. Legal battles over the Ten Commandments in classrooms are not new. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law was unconstitutional and in violation of the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The high court found that the law had no secular purpose, but rather served a plainly religious purpose. In Louisiana, a state ensconced in the Bible Belt, proponents of the bill argue that the measure is constitutional on historical grounds. GOP state Sen. Jay Morris said Tuesday that “the purpose is not solely religious to have the Ten Commandments displayed in our schools, but rather its historical significance.” He went on to say that the Ten Commandments is “simply one of many documents that display the history of our country and the foundation for our legal system.” The law also “authorizes” — but does not require — the display of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance in K-12 public schools. Opponents continue to question the bill’s constitutionality, warning that the state is sure to face lawsuits. Democratic state Sen. Royce Duplessis argued that while supporters of the legislation say the intent of the bill is for historical significance, it does not give the state “constitutional cover” and has serious problems. The lawmaker questioned why the Legislature was focusing on the display of the Ten Commandments, saying there are many more “documents that are historical in nature.” “I was raised Catholic and I still am a practicing Catholic, but I didn’t have to learn the Ten Commandments in school,” Duplessis said on Tuesday. “It is why we have church. If you want your kids to learn about the Ten Commandments take them to church.” The author of the bill, GOP state Rep. Dodie Horton, argued earlier this session that the Ten Commandments do not solely have to do with one religion. “This is not preaching a Christian religion. It’s not preaching any religion. It’s teaching a moral code,” Horton said during a committee hearing in April. Last year, the […]

The Israel Day on Fifth parade in New York City on Sunday drew more than 100,000 attendees, “breaking all previous records,” the UJA-Federation of New York stated on Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), city mayor Eric Adams and state attorney general Letitia James also attended the annual event, “demonstrating their love and support for Israel, its people and its culture,” per the UJA Federation.

The parade was conducted with a serious security presence, with the NYPD blocking off the park side of 5th avenue along the parade route. The protest section was moved north to a location after the end of the parade route, to minimize interaction between parade attendees and the protesters. Baruch Hashem, only one incident was reported to have taken place.

{Matzav.com}

Firefighters on Tuesday were able to gain control of the fires that broke in in northern Israel, near Amiad, after over 9 hours of battling the blaze.

It took 18 teams of firefighters from the northern, coastal and central districts to gain control of the fire, in addition to forces from the Israel Defense Forces, KKL-JNF, and the Israel Police.

Firefighters also gained control of the fires in Kiryat Shmona and Kfar Giladi. However four teams are still working to control the fire in the Naftali Ridge.

These fires were caused as a result of dozens of launches from Hezbollah. Fires have been spreading since Monday afternoon, with the hot and dry weather making any impact a possibility to start another fire.

30 launches were detected on Monday afternoon crossing from Lebanon towards northern Golan Heights, and these fell in open areas. Additionally, air defense soldiers intercepted an unmanned aircraft carrying explosives that crossed from Lebanon near the Naftali Ridge area.

Unfortunately, another explosive drone that crossed from Lebanon was not intercepted and fell in the area, and, an explosive drone that crossed from Lebanon fell in the Metula area.

Later, another alert was activated in the north of the country, as a suspicious ariel target was spotted over Israeli territory. Interceptors were launched towards the target, and Baruch Hashem, no injuries were reported.

Severe air pollution is noticeable throughout the upper Galil area due to all the fires. Due to the fires, the few residents who remained in Kiryat Shmona have been forced to evacuate.

District Commander Sub-Commissioner Yair Lakim said: “We will stay here until we control the fire and protect the residents’ homes. We will fight for every house. We will work non-stop until we put out the fire.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit stated: “Over the past few hours, the IDF has been conducting a situational assessment with Israel Fire and Rescue Services to allocate additional means, forces, and firefighting capabilities in order to extinguish the fires in northern Israel.”

“At this stage, IDF reserve soldiers, engineer tools, mechanical equipment, fire trucks, and fire tanks were reinforced. An IDF Home Front Command’s fire battalion is currently operating at the scene and assisting fire and rescue forces.”

“The forces gained control over the locations of fire, and at this stage, no human life is at risk. The Commanding Officer of the Northern Command is currently arriving at the Kiryat Shmona Fire Station.”

The IDF announced that six IDF reservist soldiers were lightly injured as a result of smoke inhalation and transferred to a hospital to receive medical treatment. Their families have been notified.

The Ziv Hospital in Tzfas said an additional 5 civilians were brought to the hospital as a result of the fire near Amiad.

“These are minor injuries as a result of smoke inhalation. The injured are undergoing a series of tests and will be released later.”

On Tuesday morning, the hospital updated that a total of 16 individuals, seven reservists and nine civilians, were brought to the hospital in light condition.

The Prime Minister’s Office said that Prime Minister Netanyahu held a situational assessment with the heads of the security services regarding the developments in the north of the country.

It continued saying that Netanyahu “received a snapshot of the activity to extinguish the fires from the National Fire and Rescue Authority.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded, “What is happening now in the north is moral bankruptcy. Reckless management by the Concept Cabinet, a direct continuation of the policy of containment and proportionality, a policy that directly led to October 7. Instead of bowing down to Hamas, it is time for all of Lebanon to burn.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid reacted, saying: “The north is going up in flames and Israeli deterrence is burning with it. The government has no plan for the day after in Gaza, no plan to return the residents to the north, no management, no strategy. A fully reckless government.”

{Matzav.com}

Many Americans still aren’t sold on going electric for their next car purchase. High prices and a lack of easy-to-find charging stations are major sticking points, a new poll shows. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they would be at least somewhat likely to buy an EV the next time they buy a car, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, while 46% say they are not too likely or not at all likely to purchase one. The poll results, which echo an AP-NORC poll from last year, show that President Joe Biden’s election-year plan to dramatically raise EV sales is running into resistance from American drivers. Only 13% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases a gas-hybrid car, and just 9% own or lease an electric vehicle. Caleb Jud of Cincinnati said he’s considering an EV, but may end up with a plug-in hybrid — if he goes electric. While Cincinnati winters aren’t extremely cold, “the thought of getting stuck in the driveway with an EV that won’t run is worrisome, and I know it wouldn’t be an issue with a plug-in hybrid,″ he said. Freezing temperatures can slow chemical reactions in EV batteries, depleting power and reducing driving range. A new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency requires that about 56% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2032, along with at least 13% plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars. Auto companies are investing billions in factories and battery technology in an effort to speed up the switch to EVs to cut pollution, fight climate change — and meet the deadline. EVs are a key part of Biden’s climate agenda. Republicans led by presumptive nominee Donald Trump are turning it into a campaign issue. Younger people are more open to eventually purchasing an EV than older adults. More than half of those under 45 say they are at least “somewhat” likely to consider an EV purchase. About 32% of those over 45 are somewhat likely to buy an EV, the poll shows. But only 21% of U.S. adults say they are “very” or “extremely” likely to buy an EV for their next car, according to the poll, and 21% call it somewhat likely. Worries about cost are widespread, as are other practical concerns. Range anxiety – the idea that EVs cannot go far enough on a single charge and may leave a driver stranded — continues to be a major reason why many Americans do not purchase electric vehicles. About half of U.S. adults cite worries about range as a major reason not to buy an EV. About 4 in 10 say a major strike against EVs is that they take too long to charge or they don’t know of any public charging stations nearby. Concern about range is leading some to consider gas-engine hybrids, which allow driving even when the battery runs out. Jud, a 33-year-old operations specialist and political independent, said a hybrid “is more than enough for my about-town shopping, dropping my son off at school” and other uses. With EV prices declining, cost would not be a factor, Jud said — a minority view among those polled. Nearly 6 […]

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The Palestinian Authority has voiced uncommon criticism of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei following his commendation of the October 7th massacre.

At a Tehran event marking 35 years since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s passing, the Islamic Republic’s leader remarked, “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood (the terrorists’ designation for October 7th) was exactly what the region needed. Our region needed this operation.”

“This operation was a decisive blow to the Zionist regime,” he elaborated.

Khamenei claimed the massacre thwarted a US-supported multinational plot designed to let Israel “dominate the politics and economy” of the Middle East.

“This scheme had reached its final moments. At such a critical moment, the Al-Aqsa Flood attack began and destroyed all the plans of the enemy,” he observed.

He further asserted that the massacre set Israel “on a path that will end in nothing but decay and destruction.”

The office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas denounced these comments. According to the PA’s official news agency WAFA, the office stated, “The Palestinian people are paying the price of the Israeli war. They are the first to be affected by this war, which sheds their blood, and has resulted, since last October 7, in the killing of more than 36,000 Palestinians, wounding 83,000 others, the destruction of infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches, displacing thousands of citizens, and exterminating hundreds of families.”

The PA’s statement continued: “These declarations, which clearly express an intent to sacrifice Palestinian blood and countless children, women, and the elderly, and to devastate Palestinian land, will not lead to the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinian people have been fighting and struggling for a hundred years, and they do not need wars that do not serve their aspirations for freedom and independence, and the preservation of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian sanctities.”

“What we seek is to end the occupation and realize our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, not policies that undermine Palestinian national goals, which include the liberation of Jerusalem and its sanctities, and that devastate the Palestinian people and displace them from the land whose identity they have struggled to maintain for generations,” the statement added.

The Presidency emphasized that “we are in continuous confrontation alone with Israel, and with successive US administrations that constantly use the veto to deny Palestinians their legitimate rights, and are attempting to remove Jerusalem from the equation, providing weapons and money to maintain the Israeli occupation, and preventing the raising of the Palestinian flag over Jerusalem and the holy sites.”

It should be highlighted that the Palestinian Authority and its Fatah leadership strive to be seen as a moderate faction, aiming to gain American and Western support and to replace Hamas in Gaza. Nevertheless, concurrently, Fatah’s militant arm, the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, has engaged in terrorist activities both in the Gaza Strip and in Judea and Samaria.

This denunciation of the Iranian Supreme Leader mirrors past statements by PA officials regarding October 7th, focusing on the subsequent war against Hamas and its impacts while largely overlooking the mass murder and rape of civilians by the terrorists.

{Matzav.com Israel}

A Somali woman pushes her bandaged hand between two vertical bars of a thick metal barrier separating Belarus from Poland as she and four other women gaze toward the European Union. They nod gratefully as a Polish humanitarian aid worker calls to them across a stretch of land as wide as a one-lane road and promises to help. Polish soldiers patrol nearby. The verdant patch of Bialowieza Forest that spans the border is among the flashpoints of a monthslong standoff between Belarus and its main backer and ally Russia, and the 27-member European bloc, which has seen a surge in migrant flows toward the frontier ahead of EU parliamentary elections that start on Thursday. WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BORDER? The number of attempted illegal border crossings from Belarus into EU-member Poland has shot up in recent months to almost 400 a day — from only a handful a day earlier this year, Polish officials say. Poland’s border guards have also decried increasingly aggressive behavior by some migrants on the Belarus side of the border. They have posted online videos of some throwing rocks, logs and even burning wood at the Polish troops from behind the fence. There have been cases of soldiers and guards being hospitalized and some have needed stitches after being stabbed or cut by knife-wielding assailants. Last Tuesday near the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne, officials said a migrant reached between the bars of the more than 5-meter (16-foot) -high barrier and stabbed a soldier in the ribs. For the past few years, EU authorities have accused authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of weaponizing migration by luring people to his country to find an easier entry point into the bloc than the more dangerous routes across the Mediterranean Sea. Still, migrants have died, with some buried in Muslim and Christian cemeteries in Poland. WHAT DOES POLAND SAY? Poland sees the new push at the border as an orchestrated attempt by Russia and Belarus to fuel anti-migrant sentiment, which could in turn boost far-right parties in the European vote. Poland and the EU say migrants — who have trekked to former Soviet countries from as far away as the Middle East and Africa — have become pawns in an effort by Russia and Belarus to destabilize Europe, which has backed Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion more than two years ago. The $405 million (374 million euro) metal barrier was put up along a 180-kilometer (110-mile) stretch of border under Poland’s previous conservative government in 2022, part of efforts to curb large inflows of migrants that many in the EU want to reduce. The barrier has been a winning point for anti-immigrant parties that often support or are supported by Russia. Now the government of Polish entrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who took over in December pledging a new pro-EU administration following eight years of stormy conservative rule, has vowed to step up security measures and says it must protect the EU border. “We are not dealing with (just) any asylum seekers here, we are dealing with a coordinated, very efficient — on many levels — operation to break the Polish border and attempts to destabilize the country,” Tusk said last week while visiting border troops. WHAT IS THE POLITICAL ENDGAME? According to Poland, Moscow’s scenario of purportedly […]