Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel s diplomatic reporter
In this Jan. 25, 2011 file photo, demonstrators deface a poster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Alexandria, Egypt. (AP Photo)
Ten years ago, in late 2010 and early 2011, the Arab world experienced a series of convulsions that tore apart the Middle East as we knew it. Starting in Tunisia, where a young fruit vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest corruption and police abuse, angry demonstrations spread throughout the region. Some of the world’s longest-ruling leaders were toppled within months. There was a sense of optimism, that the long-suffering citizens of Arab nations were finally rising up to demand basic human rights and dignity in secular, youth-led popular uprisings.
Iran nuclear talks plagued by series of unfortunate events defenceconnect.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from defenceconnect.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Not surprising. Israel s involvement in previous actions was immediately leaked to the media. And by the media, I mean the New York Times and other publications in the United States associated with the Biden administration. Israel notified the US that it is responsible for the Tuesday attack on an Iranian cargo ship affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, an American official told The New York Times. And the usual anonymous officials quickly condemned them as disruptive. U.S. and Iranian officials said the incident, on the first day of the talks, could advance the agenda of those opposed to a rapprochement. “It’s clear what the timing intends to achieve,” one U.S. official said.
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel s diplomatic reporter
A suspicious boat off the stern of the Iranian ship Saviz in the Red Sea in 2018. (Al Arabiya video screenshot/File)
In early March, after an Israel-owned ship was damaged by limpet mines in the Gulf of Oman, The Times of Israel wrote that “Israel could send its own message by targeting an Iranian ship in the Red Sea, such as the Saviz.”
Last Tuesday, Israel is believed to have done just that, attacking that very Iranian vessel, with mines of its own, according to reports.
As detailed in that story a month ago, “since 2017, the Saudis have alleged the Saviz served as a maritime base and weapons transshipment point for the [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps].”