THE WISDOM FUND: News & Views
January 1, 2018
Times of Israel

Kuwaiti Report: U.S. Gives Israel Go-Ahead to Kill Powerful Iranian General

US intelligence agencies have given Israel the green light to assassinate the senior Iranian responsible for coordinating military activity on behalf of the Islamic Republic in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida

by Sue Surkes

US intelligence agencies have given Israel the green light to assassinate the senior Iranian responsible for coordinating military activity on behalf of the Islamic Republic in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida.

For the past 20 years or so, Qassem Soleimani has commanded the Quds Force -- the branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards responsible for military and clandestine operations outside of the Islamic Republic.

Soleimani is a key figure in efforts to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad . . .

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Non-Proliferation Treaty (July 1, 1968)
- Forbids the five member states with nuclear weapons from transferring them to any other state
- Forbids member states without nuclear weapons from developing or aquiring them
- Provides assurance through the application of international safeguards that peaceful nuclear energy in NNWS will not be diverted to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices
- Facilitates access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy for all NNWS under international safeguards
- Commits all member states to pursue good faith negotiations toward ending the nuclear arms race and achieving nuclear disarmament.

[Under their plan, the Americans would spend $150,000 to bribe journalists, editors, Islamic preachers, and other opinion leaders to "create, extend, and enhance public hostiltiy and distrust and fear of Mossadegh and his government." Then they would hire thugs to carry out "staged attacks" on religious figures and other respected Iranians, making it seem the Mossadegh had ordered them. Meanwhile, General Zahedi would be given a sum of money, later fixed at $135,000, to "win additional friends" and "influence key people." The plan budgedted another $11,000 per week, a great sum at the time, to bribe members of the Iranian parliament. On "coupe day," thousands of paid demonstrators would converge on parliament to demand that it dismiss Mossadegh. Parliament would respond with a "quasi-leagal" vote to do so. If Mossadegh resisted, military units loyal to General Zahedi would arrest him.--Stephen Kinzer, "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq," Times Books, April 4, 2006, p. 123]

NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

["About 10 days after 9/11, I went through the Pentagon, and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz. I went downstairs just to say hello to some of the people on the Joint Staff who used to work for me, and one of the generals called me in. . . . He says, "We've made the decision we're going to war with Iraq." This was on or about the 20th of September. . . .

So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan. I said, "Are we still going to war with Iraq?" And he said, "Oh, it's worse than that." . . . "This is a memo that describes how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran."--Gen. Wesley Clark, "'Seven Countries in Five Years'," democracynow.org, March 2, 2007]

Paul Craig Roberts, "Are the Iranian Election Protests Another US Orchestrated 'Color Revolution'?," counterpunch.org, June 21, 2009

Gordon Prather, "The U.S. Is Violating the NPT -- 30 Countries Could Soon Have Nuclear Weapons," Antiwar.com, September 26, 2009

"Rhetoric About Iran Repeat of Iraq War Propaganda," The Wisdom Fund, May 28, 2010

"UN Calls on Israel to Open Nuclear Facilities," The Wisdom Fund, December 4, 2012

"Rick Steves' Iran," PBS, May 14, 2014

"Iran & the United States," U of Oklahoma, December 8, 2014

"Why They Hate the Deal With Iran," counterpunch.org, July 15, 2015

Stephen Kinzer "The CIA's Holy War," brown.edu, June 2016

Matthew Rosenberg and Adam Goldman, "C.I.A. Names the 'Dark Prince' to Run Iran Operations, Signaling a Tougher Stance," nytimes.com, June 2, 2017

Ian Sample, "Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Approved at United Nations," Guardian, July 7, 2017


"Iran nuclear deal: Key details," bbc.com, October 13, 2017

Scott Ritter, "Propaganda Aiming to Prove Iran Supplied Missiles Backfires ," theamericanconservative.com, December 26, 2017

[Many of the international sanctions against Iran were lifted under the 2015 accord on Iran's nuclear program. But unilateral American sanctions on doing financial transactions with Iran remain in place, and the cumulative effect of sanctions has been severe.--Thomas Erdbrink, "Scattered Protests Erupt in Iran Over Economic Woes," nytimes.com, December 29, 2017]

"Iran - Regime Change Agents Hijack Economic Protests," moonofalabama.org, December 29, 2017

"US State Department Hints At Iran Overthrow: Are We Witnessing The Early Stages Of Regime Change?," zerohedge.com, December 30. 2017

[The current protests appear much more sporadic, with no clear leadership and with objectives that have shifted over the course of the past four days.--Trita Parsi, "There's Something Different About These Iran Protests," commondreams.org, January 1, 2018]

Kevin Barrett, "US media lies about Iran protests -- just like in 1953," veteranstoday.com, January 2, 2018

"Iran - Few Protests - Some Riots - U.S. Prepares The Next Phase," moonofalabama.org, January 2, 2018

M. Reza Behnam, "Dispelling the Iranian Terrorism Myth," veteranstoday.com, January 3, 2018

[What Rouhani should have explained to Iranians in detail is the direct consequences of hard economic times and United States sanctions, which are affecting the country.--Pepe Escobar, "Why there won't be a revolution in Iran," atimes.com, January 3, 2018]

"Iran protests: US accused of 'grotesque' interference," bbc.com, January 4, 2018

Trita Parsi, "Trump's threats to kill the nuclear deal have inhibited investment, leading to continued economic distress -- but it was the Iranian government's leaked budget that enraged the public," bbc.com, January 4, 2018

Eric Margolis, "Trump's Failed Coup in Iran," ericmargolis.com, January 6, 2018

"Thousands rally against 'crime minister' Netanyahu in Tel Aviv," timesofisrael.com, January 6, 2018

[Amb. Nikki Haley called an emergency meeting Friday of the Security Council regarding the riots in Iran. The session left her and us looking ridiculous.--Patrick J Buchanan, "What Is America's Mission Now?," antiwar.com, January 9, 2018]

[Everyone knows Bolton is a hawk. Less understood is how he labored in secret to drive Washington and Tehran apart.--Gareth Porter, "The Untold Story of John Bolton's Campaign for War With Iran," theamericanconservative.com, March 22, 2018]

[There is no historical example of an imperial power renouncing its interests in compliance with a paper agreement. It only abides with agreements when it has no other options.--James Petras, "Imperial Road to Conquest: Peace and Disarmament Agreements," informationclearinghouse.info, April 30, 2018

"Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity Call on Trump Not to Pull Out of Iran Nuclear Deal," consortiumnews.com, May 7, 2018

[the nuclear deal is incorporated into international law by UN Security Council Resolution 2231--Jan Oberg, "The U.S. Just Declared War on Iran," counterpunch.org, May 9, 2018]

Ted Snider, "Trump's Ten Lies: A Response to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Speech," antiwar.com, May 11, 2018

Scott Ritter, "Mike Pompeo's 12-Step Plan for Disaster With Iran," truthdig.com, May 11, 2018

Dan Kovalik, "Pompeo's Speech Against Iran Reveals Failure of US Foreign Policy," counterpunch.org, June 7, 2018

[The tool the U.S. is using in Iran are operatives of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a terror cult that has been fighting with Saddam's Iraq against Iran and is despised by the Iranian people.--"U.S. Attempts Violent 'Regime Change' In Iran," moonofalabama.org, July 1, 2018]

Jonathan Landay, Arshad Mohammed, Warren Strobel and John Walcott, "U.S. launches campaign to erode support for Iran's leaders," trust.org, July 21, 2018

Hasan Illiak, "Qassem Soleimani in Venezuela: The lesser known motive behind his assassination," thecradle.co, January 3, 2023

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