The warning comes following Ahmadinejad visit to an Island claimed by both Tehran and UAE. Saudi Prince: Any harm to any of the countries touches us all.
Saudi Arabia repeated on Wednesday that it would not tolerate threats to the Gulf Arab states' sovereignty, the latest warning to Iran after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to an island claimed by both Tehran and the United Arab Emirates.
The warning, the third in as many weeks by a member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comes amid increased nervousness in the region over Iran.
Shi'ite-led unrest is resurgent in Bahrain a year after the ruling Al Khalifa family brought in Saudi and UAE troops to help suppress an uprising seen by Sunni Muslim Gulf rulers as sectarian in nature and driven by Shi'ite giant Iran.
"Any harm that comes across any of our countries is harm that touches us all," Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef said in a speech at a meeting of GCC interior ministers in Riyadh.
Nayef also condemned what he called Iran's "occupation" of the island and its role in events in Bahrain.
"We stress that Saudi Arabia and the rest of the council countries are standing in a unified line with Bahrain and the UAE to protect sovereignty and stability, considering their security a part of the council's security as a whole."
Ahmadinejad made a rare visit on April 11 to Abu Musa, one of three Gulf islands also claimed by the UAE and located near oil shipping routes at the mouth of the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz.
Bahrain's Formula One race last month drew fresh attention to ongoing clashes between Bahraini security forces and mostly Shi'ite protesters, although the main Shi'ite Islamist Wefaq party denies any links with Iran.
Tensions with Iran have increased since the Gulf Arab countries' western allies tightened sanctions over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. Tehran says its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.
Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said in a speech over the weekend that Gulf Arab states are pushing ahead with plans for a political union that would involve joint foreign and defense policies, an idea floated by Saudi King Abdullah last December.
After Ahmadinejad's visit to Abu Musa, some 60 km (40 miles) off the UAE coast, the Islamic Republic said its sovereignty over the three islands was not negotiable but it has also called for talks with the UAE to clear up "misunderstandings".
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, quoted by the student news agency ISNA, said Iran wanted to "have the best possible relations with the UAE, as our trade and economic relations are significant."
May 3, 2012
Hamas says holding secret diplomatic talks with EU states
Europe and the U.S. have been rethinking Mideast policy since the Arab Spring uprisings toppled several pro-Western regimes in favor of Islamists.
Hamas has been holding secret political talks with five European Union member states in recent months, a senior member of the Gaza-based Islamist movement said on Wednesday.
The EU's official stance indicates that it will not deal with Hamas unless the group renounces violence and recognizes Israel.
Europe and the U.S. have been rethinking Mideast policy since the Arab Spring uprisings toppled several pro-Western regimes in favor of Islamists.
Osama Hamdan, who handles foreign relations for Hamas, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that talks with European government officials focus on the Hamas positions toward Israel and paralyzed Mideast peace efforts.
Hamdan would not name the countries. Three Hamas officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Britain, France and Holland are among them.
In response to the AP story, the U.K.' Commonwealth Office released a statement, saying: "We do not have any direct contact with Hamas."
"The Quartet have set out clearly that Hamas must renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept previously signed agreements. Hamas must make credible movement towards these conditions, which remain the benchmark against which its intentions should be judged," the statement added.
Hamas has been holding secret political talks with five European Union member states in recent months, a senior member of the Gaza-based Islamist movement said on Wednesday.
The EU's official stance indicates that it will not deal with Hamas unless the group renounces violence and recognizes Israel.
Europe and the U.S. have been rethinking Mideast policy since the Arab Spring uprisings toppled several pro-Western regimes in favor of Islamists.
Osama Hamdan, who handles foreign relations for Hamas, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that talks with European government officials focus on the Hamas positions toward Israel and paralyzed Mideast peace efforts.
Hamdan would not name the countries. Three Hamas officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Britain, France and Holland are among them.
In response to the AP story, the U.K.' Commonwealth Office released a statement, saying: "We do not have any direct contact with Hamas."
"The Quartet have set out clearly that Hamas must renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept previously signed agreements. Hamas must make credible movement towards these conditions, which remain the benchmark against which its intentions should be judged," the statement added.
Israel's military censor to monitor Facebook, Twitter, blogs
Chief censor says new system will not infringe on personal information nor scrutinize private Facebook accounts.
Israel's military launched a new system this week to monitor information on the Internet, the chief military censor said on Tuesday.
Col. Sima Vaknin-Gil said that the new system will monitor visual and textual information on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, on blogs and on traditional news sites.
Speaking at the Digit 2012 conference at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Vaknin-Gil explained that the new system will examine information using key words labeled in advance. The system will be able to monitor information that was previously difficult to reach. "I think that you can't try to catch everything," she said, "because that will make the censor lose its relevance, and furthermore – its morality."
Vaknin-Gil added that "as the chief censor, I have no intention of going into people's personal diaries, and it important for me to note that we do not 'sit' on private Facebook accounts."
Referring to recent incidents of censored information being published on social networks and blogs – notably by Jewish-American blogger Richard Silverstein - Vaknin-Gil said that "the censor is perceived as a body trying to control the Internet, to no avail. This is mistake – we try to operate within the Internet only in terms of elements related to us."
"The censor cannot reject everything," she added. "The censor can only touch things that are likely to harm the security of the state, and these incidents are few."
Israel's military launched a new system this week to monitor information on the Internet, the chief military censor said on Tuesday.
Col. Sima Vaknin-Gil said that the new system will monitor visual and textual information on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, on blogs and on traditional news sites.
Speaking at the Digit 2012 conference at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Vaknin-Gil explained that the new system will examine information using key words labeled in advance. The system will be able to monitor information that was previously difficult to reach. "I think that you can't try to catch everything," she said, "because that will make the censor lose its relevance, and furthermore – its morality."
Vaknin-Gil added that "as the chief censor, I have no intention of going into people's personal diaries, and it important for me to note that we do not 'sit' on private Facebook accounts."
Referring to recent incidents of censored information being published on social networks and blogs – notably by Jewish-American blogger Richard Silverstein - Vaknin-Gil said that "the censor is perceived as a body trying to control the Internet, to no avail. This is mistake – we try to operate within the Internet only in terms of elements related to us."
"The censor cannot reject everything," she added. "The censor can only touch things that are likely to harm the security of the state, and these incidents are few."
EU's Ashton plans Israel visit to update Netanyahu on Iran nuclear talks
Ashton's visit, expected to last several hours, comes ahead of the second round nuclear of talks between Iran and Western powers, which will begin May 23 in Baghdad.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is scheduled to fly in to Jerusalem on Wednesday, to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a rundown of developments in nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers. The meeting is apparently an effort to prevent Israel from speaking out publicly against the talks.
Ashton's visit, expected to last several hours, comes ahead of the second round of talks, which will begin May 23 in Baghdad.
After the first round of talks in Istanbul last month, Netanyahu accused the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany of giving Iran a "freebie" by providing it with more time to enrich uranium, before the second round of talks. U.S. President Barack Obama has rejected the claim.
Ashton's visit was planned during a visit to Europe this week by National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror, said a senior Israeli official.
Amidror met in Brussels with Ashton's deputy, Helga Schmid, who informed him of the strategy undertaken by the negotiating team of the six world powers. The team is headed by Ashton.
The meeting is unusual, because Ashton will meet only with Netanyahu and will not be visiting Ramallah. The Israeli government source said that's because the only topic under discussion will be the Iranian nuclear talks.
Ashton is expected to personally tell Netanyahu about the first round of nuclear talks and about preparations for the next round, in an effort to assuage his concerns that a deal is in the works that would authorize Iran to continue enriching uranium.
Netanyahu is also concerned that Iran will secure a pledge for a suspension of sanctions, including the oil embargo scheduled to go into effect July 1, in exchange for a partial freeze on uranium enrichment. The embargo would be a serious blow to the Iranian economy.
A senior European diplomat who is knowledgeable about the nuclear talks said European officials have been quite pleased with the firm stance Ashton has taken in the negotiations so far.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is scheduled to fly in to Jerusalem on Wednesday, to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a rundown of developments in nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers. The meeting is apparently an effort to prevent Israel from speaking out publicly against the talks.
Ashton's visit, expected to last several hours, comes ahead of the second round of talks, which will begin May 23 in Baghdad.
After the first round of talks in Istanbul last month, Netanyahu accused the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany of giving Iran a "freebie" by providing it with more time to enrich uranium, before the second round of talks. U.S. President Barack Obama has rejected the claim.
Ashton's visit was planned during a visit to Europe this week by National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror, said a senior Israeli official.
Amidror met in Brussels with Ashton's deputy, Helga Schmid, who informed him of the strategy undertaken by the negotiating team of the six world powers. The team is headed by Ashton.
The meeting is unusual, because Ashton will meet only with Netanyahu and will not be visiting Ramallah. The Israeli government source said that's because the only topic under discussion will be the Iranian nuclear talks.
Ashton is expected to personally tell Netanyahu about the first round of nuclear talks and about preparations for the next round, in an effort to assuage his concerns that a deal is in the works that would authorize Iran to continue enriching uranium.
Netanyahu is also concerned that Iran will secure a pledge for a suspension of sanctions, including the oil embargo scheduled to go into effect July 1, in exchange for a partial freeze on uranium enrichment. The embargo would be a serious blow to the Iranian economy.
A senior European diplomat who is knowledgeable about the nuclear talks said European officials have been quite pleased with the firm stance Ashton has taken in the negotiations so far.
Barak: Olmert, Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs are serving Iran
Defense Minister condemns former PM, as well as Dagan and Diskin for travelling the world and playing down the Iranian threat; Olmert fires back at Barak: He will surely disappear from politics soon.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday harshly condemned former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, and former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin for downplaying the threat from Iran, saying the three are serving Tehran.
Barak denounced the three's continued criticisms of him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iranian issue.
In an interview with Yisrael Hayom newspaper, Barak said that the "Olmert gang is traveling around the world and speaking in a way that is serving Iran."
Olmert responded to Barak's criticism later on Thursday, saying that the defense minister will surely disappear from politics soon.
"The fact is that a former prime minister and three heads of Israeli security bodies - that have over the years dealt with the most sensitive matters regarding Israel's security – are positive that Barak, who will surely soon disappear from the Israeli political map, is leaving behind him great damages that harm the state's security and every Israeli citizen must be alarmed," a statement from Olmert's office read.
In the interview, Barak denounced the former prime minister and the former defense chiefs for weakening the Israeli resolve on Iran.
"Olmert, Dagan, and Diskin are travelling the world and are weakening Israeli leaders' accomplishment of turning the Iranian issue into an important and urgent one – not only to Israel but to the world," he said.
Barak, who frequently interviews with foreign networks to speak at length about Iran, said that "there are some issues which could not be discussed openly without the discussion causing damage to the actual issue."
He condemned Diskin for his various statements on Iran, saying that "it is not even his field of specialization or his responsibility."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday harshly condemned former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, and former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin for downplaying the threat from Iran, saying the three are serving Tehran.
Barak denounced the three's continued criticisms of him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iranian issue.
In an interview with Yisrael Hayom newspaper, Barak said that the "Olmert gang is traveling around the world and speaking in a way that is serving Iran."
Olmert responded to Barak's criticism later on Thursday, saying that the defense minister will surely disappear from politics soon.
"The fact is that a former prime minister and three heads of Israeli security bodies - that have over the years dealt with the most sensitive matters regarding Israel's security – are positive that Barak, who will surely soon disappear from the Israeli political map, is leaving behind him great damages that harm the state's security and every Israeli citizen must be alarmed," a statement from Olmert's office read.
In the interview, Barak denounced the former prime minister and the former defense chiefs for weakening the Israeli resolve on Iran.
"Olmert, Dagan, and Diskin are travelling the world and are weakening Israeli leaders' accomplishment of turning the Iranian issue into an important and urgent one – not only to Israel but to the world," he said.
Barak, who frequently interviews with foreign networks to speak at length about Iran, said that "there are some issues which could not be discussed openly without the discussion causing damage to the actual issue."
He condemned Diskin for his various statements on Iran, saying that "it is not even his field of specialization or his responsibility."
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