Iranian Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, gave a fiery speech Wednesday in  reaction to recent US demands that his government cease developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload by declaring, among other things, that US officials are “disloyal, cruel, criminal, isolated, angry, corrupt, and on the Zionist regime’s payroll” adding that “Iranian armed forces are now, thanks to God, more prepared than ever and will not wait for the permission or approval of any power to develop defense capabilities.”

The Israeli Air Force hit underground terror infrastructure belonging to the Islamist terror militia Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning, along with two naval targets belonging to Hamas. The strikes came in response to an arson attack by infiltrators from the Strip against an Israeli border community the day before. “The Hamas terror organization is accountable for all threats originating from the Gaza Strip, above and below ground, and will bear the consequences for its actions against Israeli civilians and Israeli sovereignty,” said the IDF in a statement.

The movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel suffered yet another crushing defeat on Tuesday when the Volkswagen Group, one of Europe’s largest industrial conglomerates, opened a center in Tel Aviv. The center is designed to facilitate collaboration between local hi-tech start ups, universities and individuals and the dozens of manufacturing, software and computing companies that make up the Volkswagen Group.

The IDF Home Front Command issued a report this week showcasing the poor state of readiness of Israel’s civilian population for a major war on the northern border. Worrying statistics cited in the report included over 150,000 homes in the Galilee region which have no protection from incoming rockets. “We see it as a severe problem that the Israeli government is not prepared for a phenomenon we’re all living with,” Knesset Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni (UTJ) said.

Angolan Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto announced on Wednesday that he is firing Jao Diogo Fortunato, a senior official at the Angolan Embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as another senior Angolan diplomat following their attendance of last week’s ceremony opening the US Embassy in Jerusalem. Augusto gave his official reason for firing the officials as their having “failing to comply with procedures and harming Angola’s good reputation with countries that have enjoyed historically good relations.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on May 21, 2018 was an important step in the realization of the Trump Doctrine. The 12-point speech outlined the administration’s nuclear nonproliferation strategy against Iran, which strives to exert constant pressure on Tehran so as to goad it into a new nuclear deal.

The US needs a holistic and integrated strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean that will stabilize Europe and shift the regional balance in the Middle East back toward the US. Resolving the Syrian conflict is essential for Eastern Mediterranean stabilization, and developing an appropriate policy approach toward an increasingly antagonistic and antidemocratic Turkey is the key to solving the Syria puzzle and re-anchoring the region toward the Euro-Atlantic community.

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