Iran Intends to Dominate Middle East, Israelis Warn

Israel's President Shimon Peres warned that Iran is planning to extend its sphere of influence across the entire Middle East. Peres said that time is running out for diplomacy and sanctions to convince Tehran to disband its nuclear program, an Israeli counterterrorist said to this writer.

Peres stated that Iran "really wants" to dominant the region and is using its global to achieve that goal. "They have already established bases through Hezbollah and Hamas, they are involved in Syria and Iraq and want to shake up the entire Middle East," Peres said in a statement issued by his office. The president stated he does not believe the United States and the Western world will ignore Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and regional hegemony. "I can't imagine that the United States and Europe will allow the Middle East to fall into Iranian hands. Maybe there is a limit to time, but right now we have to do whatever we can to deepen the non-military pressures while making clear that other options remain," Peres said, referring to a host of sanctions that so far failed to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program.

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Senior Hamas leaders recently used various opportunities and forums to restate the movement's rigid, extremist fundamental position regarding the conflict with Israel, according to an Israeli police official. For example, Ismail Haniya, head of the de-facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, welcoming a delegation from Malaysia, emphasized Hamas' adherence to its principles, especially its refusal to cede one inch of the territory of "Palestine" and its insistence on the "right of return" of six million Palestinian refugees from outside Palestine. Designated by the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997, Hamas carries out attacks -- such as suicide bombings, rocket launches, improvised explosive device attacks, and shootings -- against civilian targets inside Israel. Meanwhile, the top leader of the Iranian-supported terrorist group Hezbollah warned the United States and Israeli governments that interference in the internal affairs of Iran or any military attack would result in violence throughout the Middle East.

Israelis blast Obama over lack of Iran nuclear deadline

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau on Monday blasted the Obama administration's refusal to give the Iranian government a deadline for dropping the Islamist country's nuclear weapons program, an Israeli national police counterterrorism expert told the Law Enforcement Examiner. The Israelis believe the Obama administration is giving Iran more time to develop a nuclear bomb by its inaction, the Israeli source said. The officials commented on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statements on Iran, in which Clinton said the United States does not want to set "a red line" to Iran's nuclear program, the Haaretz daily reported. "Not only do these comments fail to deter Iran, they only serve to calm them," a an Israeli official told Haaretz newspaper. Prime Minister Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government have stated that they are refusing to get involved in U.S. presidential politics, but Netanyahu is attempting to persuade President Obama to draw a "line in the sand" and to deter the Iranians from building a nuclear device. Over the weekend, former special forces officer and popular political leader BiBi Netanyahu said that Israel and the United States were engaged in discussions regarding possible deadline dates. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking on behalf of Obama, told the Israelis that "the United States believes that the best option so far is to continue negotiating with Iran." "We're watching very carefully about what they do, because it's always been more about their actions than their words," Clinton said on Monday in response to Netanyahu's criticism. "I do hope [Prime Minister] Netanyahu isn't holding his breath for any action by Obama and his minions. This president is all about winning in November by any means necessary and while he attempts to portray himself as pro-Israel, his [Democrat] party displayed the opposition to Israeli issues when they booed the addition to the Democrat Platform that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," noted former police commander Jacob Eisenberg. "That is why the mental giants in the news media love Obama so much," quipped Eisenberg, who is now a security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism. Last week, the top leader of the Iranian-supported terrorist group Hezbollah warned the United States and Israeli governments that interference in the internal affairs of Iran or any military attack would result in violence throughout the Middle East.