Pentagon chief Carter not offering new arms deal to Israel

In the face of Israeli outrage over the Iran nuclear accord, the Pentagon is moving quickly to reinforce arguably the strongest part of the U.S.-Israeli relationship: military cooperation. --But officials say Washington has no plans to offer new weaponry as compensation for the Iran deal.

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(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

The Saudi Blockade

Is there a blockade around Yemen? Who is blockading whom? Where will it lead? -- Helene Cooper of the New York Times says the administration is claiming credit for turning back a flotilla of Iranian ships which may have been carrying arms for Tehran-backed rebels. “Pentagon officials on Friday credited the deployment of an American aircraft carrier group in waters off the coast of Yemen for a decision by Iran to turn back a naval convoy suspected of carrying weapons bound for Shiite rebels.” From this one might get the impression it is the Obama administration that is preventing the Iranians from using the sea to resupply its allies. ✧ But a closer reading of the story suggests that USN’s true purpose was to keep the Iranians from challenging the Saudi blockade, which was already in place.

Read more at Richard Fernandez, Belmont Club (PJ Media) Read More......