Iran’s Ali Khamenei closed the door on the direct nuclear talks offered by Vice President Joe Biden, arguing, Thursday, Feb. 7, that they “would solve nothing” because, "You are holding a gun against Iran.” debkafile: He was reacting both to the new sanctions the US imposed Wednesday and to President Barack Obama’s forthcoming visit to Israel to confer with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Iran and Syria. The US has cancelled the departure of a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf due to budget cutbacks.

debkafile reports: The decision to add 1,600 housing units to Ramat Shlomo in East Jerusalem was taken in protest of the way US Vice President Joe Biden lay down the law on the Iran issue in his talks with Israeli government leaders Tuesday, March 9. The key objective of his visit was clearly to hold Israel back from attacking Iran's nuclear installations even after the US backtracked on its promises of tough sanctions instead.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas complained to the UN about Israel's enforcement of order on Temple Mount Friday, March 5, even though the disturbances were staged by radical Hamas and Islamist elements to destroy the US-mediate peace track which he has agreed to join.