Putin: no more Gospodin Nice Guy

The following article from Jerusalem Post is absolutely earth shattering. Commentary is by Vince Dhimos.

Never has Putin ever gotten so tough with his friend Netanyahu. So what does this mean? It means Russia is not going to carry Netanyahu’s water in the neck-and-neck presidential race between Bibi and Benny Gantz (who is also a hawk but perhaps less of one than Bibi? After all, it was Netanyahu who threatened to annex the West Bank, absolutely illegally). Putin’s new tougher position shatters Bibi’s hopes. It means that Russia is taking steps right now to ensure that the whole world, especially the US, knows that it is not putting up with any more games aimed at waging war on its ally Iran. In that last summit meeting in Israel, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev made a bombshell statement: Iran is and always will be a Russian ally. Those words by a high Russian official effectively took the wind out of the sails of most US officials plotting war on Iran (though some, like the psychopathic and seriously mentally challenged Lindsey Graham, obviously believing Russia would stand down, insisted that now is the time to hit Iran hard). Until Patrushev made that surprise statement, Western wishful thinkers had hoped that during that summit in Israel, the Western con artists could perhaps pull Russia away from Iran. Big flop. And now this.
 
So what may have made the difference? We may never know, but I suspect Iran has decided to apply some pressure to Russia. Remember that Iran has been pressuring Europe to hurry up and develop and use its INSTEX instrument to bypass US sanctions. This Iranian pressure consists of threats to stop complying with the terms of the JCPOA (Iran Deal), particularly as pertain to the enriching of uranium, which it is ratcheting up gradually. Europe has agreed to stick to its terms under the Iran Deal but, in Tehran’s view, is dragging its feet, most likely for fear of further Trump tariffs. As a result, Europe-Iran trade is lagging and Iran is losing money. Given this tendency of Iran to pressure its friend and allies, it would not be surprising if Iran were applying similar pressure to Russia. Assuming the Yemeni Houthis are an Iran proxy, the latest attack on Saudi oil facilities could be part of this pressure (although it is not known whether the Houthis are acting on behalf of Iran). Given Security Council Secretary Patrushev’s statement to Netanyahu and Bolton that Iran is an ally and always will be, Iran may have decided to push this a little further. After all, Iran has been almost inhumanly patient in Syria (and also lately in Lebanon and Iraq as well), tolerating hundreds of attacks (mostly unreported in the West) by Israel on Iran’s paramilitary fighters. After all, even if Iran or Hezbollah were producing weapons that could be used against Israel, they were not actually harming Israel and given the 2006 attack by Israel on Hezbollah and Lebanon, the country that hosted it, the Iranians are certainly justified, from a rational -- ie, non-US -- viewpoint, in preparing arms to defend against a belligerent Israel. Yet Russia, while defending the Syrian people against terrorism since September 2015, just kept standing down and watching the Israeli attacks without ever standing up to Israel or warning it to stop its illegal incursions. The only red line for them was that Israel should not harm any Russian assets. It could also be that the Russian people themselves were also tired of watching this abuse of Russian allies and were tired of Putin’s extreme saintly patience in the face of Israeli aggression.
 
Further, Russia certainly knew that it could exert some influence on today’s presidential elections and since Netanyahu refused to accommodate Russian wishes and also endangered Russian troops in Syria, and most likely was behind some of the drone attacks on Russian air base Hmeimim at Latakia, the Kremlin was simply fed up.
 
But beyond this, Trump and various members of the US government keep spouting anti-Iran war rhetoric and Russia may realize it is time to act and stop the build-up to a possible WW III scenario, particularly now that it has asserted that Iran is an ally. Allies protect and defend each other.
 
At any rate, Russia just keeps getting tougher and tougher on both Israel and the US. Any misfits like Graham who think they can just waltz into Iran and “break the regime’s back” is whistling Dixie, and way out of tune at that.
 
At this time, the polls have closed and exit polls are showing Netanyahu trailing Gantz.
 
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Russia-prevents-Israeli-airstrikes-in-Syria-601618
 
RUSSIA PREVENTS ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES IN SYRIA
 
Israeli sources called Netanyahu's quick Russian visit – to try and convince Putin to ignore Israel's attacks in Syria – "a failure."
 
BY YASSER OKBI/MAARIV
 
 SEPTEMBER 14, 2019
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . (photo credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)
 
The controversy between Israel and Russia regarding airstrikes of Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq continues, despite the meeting Between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was reported on Friday by Independent Arabia.


According to the report, Moscow has prevented three Israeli air strikes on three Syrian outposts recently, and even threatened that any jets attempting such a thing would be shot down, either by Russian jets or by the S-400 anti-aircraft missiles. The source cited in the report claims a similar situation has happened twice – and that during August, Moscow stopped an air strike on a Syrian outpost in Qasioun, where a S-300 missile battery is placed.
 
Moreover, it was claimed that another air strike was planned for a week later on a Syrian outpost in the Qunaitra area and a third one on a sensitive area in Latakia. This development is what pushed Netanyahu to have his quick visit in Russia to try and convince Putin to ignore Israel's attacks in Syria. According to the Russian source, Putin let Netanyahu know that his country will not allow any damage to be done to the Syrian regime's army, or any of the weapons being given to it, because giving such a permission would be seen as giving Israel leniency – something that contradicts Russia's goal of assisting the Syrian regime.


The British-Arabic news outlet reported that Netanyahu tried to present a positive message of the cooperation between the two countries and even tried to use it for his election campaign, but it didn't work. Israeli sources who have spoken with the newspaper called the meeting "a failure." They claimed that everything regarding the air strikes in Iraq and Syria, since they were in the public eye, embarrassed the Russians terribly in the eyes of their allies in the area – Syria, Iran and the militias that support them.

The Russian source said: "Putin has expressed his dissatisfaction from Israel's latest actions in Lebanon," and even emphasized to Netanyahu that he "rejects the aggression towards Lebanon's sovereignty," something which had never been heard from him. Putin further stated that someone is cheating him in regards to Syria and Lebanon, and that he will not let it go without a response. According to him, Netanyahu was warned not to strike such targets in the future.


The news website added that more Israeli sources have said similar things on the subject and that the visit was meant to reduce the severity of the controversy between the countries into a tactical one, rather than an ideological one.


Translated by Jerusalem Post staff.