A spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced on Monday that his country is taking another step closer to breaching the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement in retaliation for what Teheran maintains is American belligerence towards it in a variety of areas. Another Iranian official was quoted by local media outlets as saying the clerical regime is considering whether to abandon the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty entirely if the EU doesn’t begin finding ways to increase its economic activity in Iran despite US sanctions.

The Israeli cabinet held a meeting on the Golan Heights Sunday, culminatiung in the naming of a new town in the strategic area “Ramat Trump” or “Trump Heights.” “This is an historic day for us,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We are going to do two things: Establish a new community on the Golan Heights, something which has not been done for many years. This is an act of settlement and of Zionism of the first order. The second thing is to honor our friend, a very great friend of the State of Israel, President Donald Trump, who recently recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told local media outlets in Ankara Sunday that he expects the first components of the Russian-built S-400 air defense system to be delivered to the Turkish military “ in the first half of July” despite strong pressure from the US and other NATO allies to cancel the order. Erdogan added that he will discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump at the G20 summit later this month.

The movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel suffered another defeat on Sunday when US-based tech giant Intel Corp. announced plans to expand its operations in Israel called “Ignite”. “This program is about how we continue to stimulate ecosystems here in Israel and around the globe by giving opportunities and the chance to bring the size and scale of Intel to the ideas and dreams of entrepreneurs,” said Intel CEO Bob Swan, launching the program at Jaffa’s Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. “The role of Intel in Israel has been a significant contributor to the company’s overall performance for the last 45 years.”

Reports of Hezbollah activity in North America are not new, though such reporting tends to focus on the group’s fundraising, money laundering, procurement, or other logistical activities from Vancouver to Miami. But last month, the criminal prosecution and conviction in New York of the Hezbollah operative Ali Kourani revealed disturbing new information about the extent of Hezbollah’s operations and activities in the US and Canada.

Iran can use its naval, air, and/or missile forces and proxies to attack ships anywhere in the Gulf, around the Strait of Hormuz, in the Gulf of Oman outside the Gulf, and in Indian Ocean waters near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran does not have to launch a major war. It can conduct sporadic, low-level attacks that do not necessarily provoke a major U.S. or Arab reaction, but create sudden risk premiums in petroleum prices and the equivalent of a war of attrition.

Approximately one third of Israel’s some 180,000 Holocaust Survivors are impoverished, struggling with illness, or living alone. In 2009, ICEJ began a partnership with the local charity to provide a Home especially for lonely survivors. It offers attractive assisted-living facilities and a warm family environment. The Haifa Home continues to be a significant and vital project.