As Americans and Israelis celebrated the successful test of the Israeli Arrow-3 missile in Kodiak, Alaska, one factor cast a long shadow over the feast: the Americans’ repeated refusal to let the Israelis export the weapon. For any Israeli weapon developed with US funds, Washington has a veto over any sales outside of Israel itself,… Keep reading →

The Iranian seizure of a British tanker in the Persian Gulf sends a new jolt of tension through the Middle East as complications arise on multiple fronts.

Despite decades of de facto alliance, the US does not have a formal collective defense treaty that would legally require it to come to the defense of Israel.

Tal Inbar, senior space analyst at the Space Research Center of the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, says that Arab space initiatives pose no threat at the moment.

Last month, the defense ministry issued official inquiries into acquiring both aircraft — but, for now, the budget can buy only one.

TEL AVIV: Even as Mideast tensions escalate, with new Israeli strikes on Syria over the weekend and Iran exceeding international limits on enriched uranium, no less a figure than the director of Mossad sees a historic opportunity for peace. Why? Because Iran’s escalating aggression — especially attacks on its neighbors’ economic lifeline, oil exports —… Keep reading →

The answer may lie in the limits of Russian electronic warfare, which — while far more potent than US military EW — still relies on raw power more than precise targeting. It may also show the weakness of the warm relationship Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cultivated with Vladimir Putin, which could run aground on Russia’s increasing support for Iran.

New restrictions on US aid to Israel is driving companies to seek American partners.

Both sides are claiming they stepped back from the edge over the past 24 hours, unwilling to see the loss of life. Tensions in the Gulf haven’t diminished however.

Israeli experts fear that the Iranian attacks aim to drive a wedge between the US and Europe.