JERUSALEM: The head of Israel’s domestic intelligence service, Ronen Bar, has announced his resignation and will step down on June 15, Israeli media reported late on Monday, six weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to oust the security chief.
The Shin Bet, which handles counter-terrorism investigations, has been at the center of a growing political battle pitting Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government against an array of critics ranging from members of the security establishment to families of hostages in Gaza.
Netanyahu said on March 16 that he had long ago lost confidence in Bar and that trust in the head of the domestic security service, whose roles include counter-terrorism and security for government officials, was especially crucial at a time of war.
The Supreme Court later temporarily froze the government’s bid to sack Bar, who claimed that Netanyahu wanted to fire him after he refused to fulfill requests that included spying on Israeli protesters and disrupting the leader’s corruption trial.
Netanyahu, in response to the accusations, accused Bar of lying.
Israel’s Shin Bet chief announces resignation, to step down June 15, Israeli media reports
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Israel’s Shin Bet chief announces resignation, to step down June 15, Israeli media reports
- Shin Bet has been at the center of a growing political battle pitting Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government against an array of critics
Iran close to deal with China to buy supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles
- Giant aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford docks in Crete en route to Middle East
LONDON: Iran is close to a deal with China to purchase supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, as the US deploys a vast naval force near the Iranian coast ahead of possible strikes.
The CM-302 missiles have a range of about 290 kilometers and are designed to evade shipborne defences by flying low and fast. Their deployment would significantly enhance Iran’s strike capabilities and pose a threat to US naval forces in the region, two weapons experts said.
“It’s a complete gamechanger if Iran has supersonic capability to attack ships in the area,” said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence officer and now senior Iran researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank in Israel. “These missiles are very difficult to intercept.”
It is not known how many missiles are involved in the potential deal, how much Iran has agreed to pay, or whether China would go through with the agreement given heightened tensions in the region.
“Iran has military and security agreements with its allies, and now is an appropriate time to make use of these agreements,” an Iranian foreign ministry official said.
Meanwhile the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, has reached the US naval base of Souda Bay on the Mediterranean island of Crete en route to the Middle East.
Washington has more than a dozen warships in the region: the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, nine destroyers and three combat ships.
