As America’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen meets with top military and intelligence officials in Israel, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be holding similar meetings, in Russia. The prime minister is expected to meet with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The senior officials will discuss Israel’s growing concerns regarding a rapidly-advancing Iranian nuclear program, aware that Russia [and China] remain opposed to implementing crippling sanctions on Iran, a move that might avoid the need of a military action against Iran, an operation that could chas v’sholom be very costly.

Mr. Netanyahu will also discuss if and how Russia can be of assistance in jumpstarting diplomatic talks between Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority).

While Western politicians continue spanning the globe, holding meetings and running strategies, Iran’s speaker of the parliament over the weekend released a statement that “Even if President Barak Obama threatens another ten times, we will continue moving ahead with the nuclear program”, echoing many previous statements of defiance released by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other high-ranking officials.

It does appear however that Ahmadinejad is not just taking a ‘sit back and wait’ approach and he has began making arrests, seeking to weaken a voice of opposition. The daily Yisrael HaYom reports that steps have also been taken to interrupt the nation’s cellular telephone network, as well as foreign satellite channel broadcasts, broadcasts that while illegal, are becoming increasingly popular.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)