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New IAF Iran Unit to Focus on Preparations for Long-Range Operations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands in front of an F-35 stealth fighter at the IAF’s Nevatim base, July 9, 2019. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom / GPO.
JNS.org – A recently established Iran Unit in the Israeli Air Force is dealing with preparations for potential long-range Israeli air operations.
The unit was established in January at the IAF’s operational headquarters, Israel’s Walla! news site reported on Feb. 19.
The unit is a reflection of the IAF’s defined responsibility to be prepared for a future order to mount strikes on sites in Iran such as nuclear facilities and missile bases.
IAF planners face a complex and extensive challenge that demands meticulous planning across several areas: intelligence gathering, the selection of ammunition, choice of aerial platforms and refueling capabilities. The scale and scope of such an operation are vastly different from short-range operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A solo Israeli strike and a joint Israeli-American strike are both possible scenarios, though the United States under the current administration appears deeply adverse to direct military action against Iran.
The F-35 fighter jet, with its stealth capabilities and vast intelligence-gathering abilities, appears to be the natural candidate for taking the lead in such a strike. In September, Israel formally requested to procure a third F-35 squadron, which would bring the total number of such jets in the IAF to 75. Israel currently has 36 of the 50 jets it has ordered from manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
The IAF, in addition to striking Hamas targets in Gaza and Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on a daily basis, has reportedly also been highly busy in Syria, combating Iranian efforts to build weapons or smuggle them to Hezbollah.
A series of high-level Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps officers, including Sayyed Razi Mousavi, the IRGC’s Syria commander, were killed in airstrikes in and around Damascus in recent months.
Nevertheless, despite the ongoing war and associated activities, Iran remains its own critical arena, due to its conventional and unconventional capabilities. Iran is home to the Middle East’s largest and most varied missile arsenal, a portion of which can strike targets in Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear program is moving ahead at an alarming rate.
On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Iran has further increased its overall uranium stockpile, citing a report by the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency watchdog. As Iran continues to bar International Atomic Energy Agency access to its nuclear sites, as of Feb. 10 it had amassed 5,525.5 kilograms (12,182 pounds) of enriched uranium—more than 1,000 kilograms (2205 pounds) more than was documented in the IAEA’s last quarterly report, released in November 2023.
Of that, 121.5 kilograms has been enriched to 60%, representing a decrease of 6.8 kilograms (14.9 pounds) since the last report in November 2023, according to Reuters.
The decrease is reportedly the result of Iran having diluted some of its 60% enriched uranium in recent weeks with lower-grade material.
The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security estimated in January that Iran could build a crude nuclear weapon within six months.
For weaponization to occur, the Iranians would need to conduct simulations, testing, convert uranium into metallic components and integrate all of the parts into a weapon. This would include the need to place them on missile warheads or bombs, and a possible underground nuclear test.
This means that the IAF must ensure immediate operational readiness.
Already in 2022, the IAF made long-range strike capabilities against Iranian nuclear sites as its top priority.
Iran’s nuclear sites—the most famous of which are the Natanz and Fordow uranium enrichment sites—are not only far away but also heavily fortified, with advanced air-defense systems. In Fordow’s case, the facility is built deep inside a mountain.
In 2020, the Israel Defense Forces formed the Strategy and Third Circle Directorate (a reference to countries in Israel’s “third-circle” periphery, with Iran being the focal point). The directorate was formed due to the need to create a comprehensive, holistic view of threats that begin on Iranian soil and reach the borders of Israel, rather than narrowly viewing developments in isolation from one another.
The post New IAF Iran Unit to Focus on Preparations for Long-Range Operations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’

Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
In a warning sign for the campaign of Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani, a majority of city voters in a new poll say the candidate’s hardline anti-Israel stance makes them less likely to vote for him.
In the survey of likely city voters conducted by American Pulse, 52.5 percent said Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” coupled with his backing of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement made them less likely to vote for him in November. Just 31% of city voters polled were more likely to support him because of these positions.
At the same time, a significant share of young New York City voters support Mamdani’s anti-Israel positioning, a striking sign of shifting generational views on Israel and the Palestinian cause.
Nearly half of voters aged 18 to 44 (46 percent) said the State Assembly member’s backing for BDS and “refusal to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’” made them more likely to support him.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, has been under fire for defending “globalize the intifada,” a slogan many Jewish groups associate with incitement to violence against Israel and Jews. While critics argue it glorifies terrorism, supporters claim it’s a call for international solidarity with oppressed peoples, especially Palestinians. Mamdani has also voiced support for BDS, a movement widely condemned by mainstream Jewish organizations as antisemitic for singling out Israel.
The generational divide exposed by the poll comes amid a broader political realignment. Younger progressives across the country are increasingly critical of Israeli policies, especially in the wake of the Gaza war, and more receptive to Palestinian activism. But to many Jewish leaders, Mamdani’s rising support is alarming.
Rabbi David Wolpe, visiting scholar at Harvard University, condemned the phrase with a sarcastic analogy.
“‘Globalize the intifada’ is just a political slogan,” he said. “Like ‘The cockroaches must be exterminated’ was just a housing authority slogan in Rwanda.”
Jewish organizations have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents in New York and across the U.S. since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last fall. The blending of anti-Zionist slogans with calls for “intifada,” historically linked to violent uprisings, has deepened fears among Jewish communities that traditional red lines are being crossed.
Whether this emerging coalition reshapes New York politics remains to be seen. However, the poll indicates that among younger voters, views that were once considered fringe are quickly moving into the mainstream.
The post New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events

A Jewish gay pride flag. Photo: Twitter.
The research division of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) released a report on Wednesday detailing incidents of hate against Jews which took place last month during demonstrations in celebration of LGBTQ rights and identity.
Incidents reported by the group include:
- At a Pride march in Wales, the activists Cymru Queers for Palestine chose to block the path and show a sign that said “Profiting from genocide,” an attempt to link the event’s sponsors — such as Amazon — to the war in Gaza.
- A Dublin Pride march saw the participation of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which labeled Israel a “genocidal entity.”
- In Toronto at a late June Pride march, demonstrators again attacked organizers with a sign declaring, “Pride partners with genocide.”
CAM also identified a recurring narrative deployed against Israel by some far-left activists: so-called “pinkwashing,” a term which the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement calls “an Israeli government propaganda strategy that cynically exploits LGBTQIA+ rights to project a progressive image while concealing Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies oppressing Palestinians.”
The report notes that at a Washington DC Pride event in early June Medea Benjamin, cofounder of activist group Code Pink and a regular of anti-war protests, wore a pair of goofy, oversized sunglasses and a shirt in her signature pink with the phrase “you can’t pinkwash genocide.”
Other incidents CAM recorded showed the injection of anti-Israel sentiment into Pride events.
A musical group canceled a performance at an interfaith service in Brooklyn, claiming the hosting synagogue had a “public alignment with pro-Israel political positions.” In San Francisco before the yearly Trans March, a Palestine group said in its announcement of its participation, “Stop the war on Iran and the genocide of Palestine, stop the war on immigrants and attacks on trans people.”
CAM notes that this “queers for Palestine” sentiment is not new, pointing to a 2017 event wherein “organizers of the Chicago Dyke March infamously removed participants who were waving a Pride flag adorned with a Star of David on the grounds that the symbol ‘made people feel unsafe.’”
In February, the Israel Defense Forces shared with the New York Post documents it had recovered demonstrating that Hamas had tortured and executed members it suspected of homosexuality and other moral offenses in conflict with Islamist ideology.
Amit Benjamin, who is gay and a first sergeant major in the IDF, said during a visit to New York City for Pride month that “All the ‘queers for Gaza’ need to open their eyes. Hamas kills gays … kills lesbians … queers cannot exist in Gaza.”
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IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.
Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.
Iran’s parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.
“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the IAEA said on X.
Diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors’ safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.
Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“[Grossi] reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,” the IAEA said.
The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tonnes of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.
That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.
As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries’ declarations. But the bombing of Iran’s facilities has now muddied the waters.
“We cannot afford that … the inspection regime is interrupted,” Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.
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