Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spent three hours with President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Tuesday, May, 14, trying to head off advanced Russian anti-air S-300 missile systems sales to Syria. Instead, the Russian leader issued a warning relating to Israel’s air strikes against Damascus on May 3 and May 5: "In this crucial period it is especially important to avoid any moves that can shake the situation," said Putin. He also indicated that heat should be directed on Washington to reverse its policy on Syria and Assad.

Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Chirkov said Sunday, May 12, that a permanent staff of 20 officers is in place to run Russian fleet operations in the Mediterranean Sea. debkafile: Russia’s step aims at safeguarding the Assad regime and securing its Hizballah and Iranian allies. It also signals Moscow’s Middle East comeback.

Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu, while in Shanghai, faced a sharp dressing-down from President Vladimir Putin Monday, May 6 and a warning that further Israeli attacks on Damascus would not be tolerated.  Putin said highly advanced Russian weapons, including S-300 air defense systems, would be supplied at speed to Syria. 

In a striking reversal, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in Abdu Dhabi Thursday, April 25, that US intelligence now believes the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own people.

Although Obama has approved the deployment of 200 US troops to Jordan, no one knows whether he will order enough military strength to save King Abdullah if his kingdom comes under Syrian attack.

Israel’s leaders are again talking about a unilateral strike on Iran after discovering that contrary to US reports, its nuclear program has picked up speed and after watching the tame US handling of the Korean crisis.

John Kerry faces more obstacles than realistic prospects for his many small steps toward reviving the Middle East peace process and bring Hamas as well as Abu Mazen to the negotiating table. For this he is counting on help from the Turkish prime minister and Qatari emir.

As Israeli offshore gas came on stream, the jockeying for a stake was in full spate. Netanyahu is believed to have been hustled by Washington into picking Turkey as Israel’s energy partner rather than Russia.

Before ending his Middle East trip, Barack Obama finalized with Israeli, Turkish and Jordanian leaders his plans for a US-led military intervention in Syria to liquidate its chemical and biological arsenals.

After patching up the feud between Israel and Turkey, US President Barack Obama faces a much tougher task: brokering ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. To address the looming Syrian chemical arms crisis, President Obama needs a united anti-Assad Arab-Islamic front. He faces a choice between two blocs for the lead role: Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Abu Dhabi, or Turkey and Qatar. Most Arab rulers want no truck with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, which is why he vents his frustration on Israel.

The latest DEBKA-Net-Weekly out Friday expands on its disclosure of last week that during his visit to Israel, US President Barack Obama struck a deal with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for military action against Syrian chemical weapons. The new issue fleshed out that core decision with exclusive revelations on NATO’s role in setting up the expedition, its participants, targets and ramifications, including likely responses by Moscow and Tehran.
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The Turkish-Israeli reconciliation effected by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology was urged strongly by US President Barack Obama, because Ankara urgently needed to revive the military cooperation it cut off with Israel in 2010. debkafile:  Without access to Israeli military technology, Turkey’s armed forces are hamstrung. And without full Israeli, Turkish and Jordanian coordination, Obama’s plan for a joint US-led command center against a Syrian chemical warfare contingency can’t take off. But the apology also went down as a gratuous affront to Israeli military pride.

President Barack Obama persuaded Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in their talks in Jerusalem this week to give Tehran three more months to work through nuclear diplomacy with the P5+1 group of world powers, debkafile discloses. This grace period expires after Iran’s June 24 presidential election, although military action against its nuclear sites may not necessarily follow the next day. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, warned Thursday, March 21, that if attacked, “the Islamic Republic will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.”

Obama has revamped the alliance to fully utilize what he calls Israel’s high-tech innovativeness as more important to the United States even than their security ties. He has even promised Israel a defensive shield in its hostile neighborhood so long as it keeps working.

The US and Israel have agreed on the circumstances that would warrant their intervention in Syria’s use of chemical weapons. For now, they are holding off even though Assad promises more air attacks on Lebanon to bully President Michel Sleiman into expelling Syrian rebels.

Obama pledges to extend the US military assistance program for Israel for another decade when it expires in 2017. Netanyahu said he would not order an attack on Iran without first consulting with Washington.

On Day One of his visit to Israel, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu put to rest their long dispute over an Israeli strike on Iran. In principle, Israel had the right to independently defend itself, they acknowledged, but in practice would not exercise this principle without first consulting with Washington. The president reciprocated with a pledge of expanded military aid to Israel. Both deferred military intervention in the Syrian civil conflict – even for containing its expansion into chemical warfare.

President Barack Obama was greeted on his arrival in Israel midday Wednesday, March 20 with unprecedented ceremonial honors and fanfare. However, the omens augured major differences with his hosts. In the 48 hours before his arrival, Syria for the first time bombed targets inside Lebanon and fired a chemical warhead at Aleppo. While Israel is acutely concerned by this escalation just across its frontiers, the Obama administration withheld a practical response. The two governments are also divided on the handling of Iran’s nuclear program.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu slotted two Likud stalwarts, Silvan Shalom and Yuval Steinitz, into his last two vacant cabinet posts in time to present his third government to the Knesset Monday, March 18. In the final reckoning, Netanyahu retains ultimate decision-making power for security, foreign relations, national strategy, intelligence and Palestinians, along with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. Yaalon opposes Israeli military action against Iran without US cooperation. But he and the cabinet offer short shrift for the Palestinians and sympathy for the pro-settlement lobby.

After weeks of tough haggling, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s third government was in the bag Friday, March 15, with deals signed with two political newcomers, Yair Lapid (centrist Yesh Atid – Future) and Naftali Bennett (pro-settlement Habayit Hayehudi – Jewish Home). At their insistence, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties were excluded for the first time in a decade and their traditional draft exemptions and welfare subsidies ended. Netanyahu’s Likud Beitenu holds seven portfolios including Defense which former chief of staff Moshe Yaalon takes over from Ehud Barak.