A senior U.S. administration official said that inflammatory rhetoric by the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday was “uncomfortable” but did not condemn it as unacceptable, as the French have done, BuzzFeed’s Rosie Gray reported.

“Of course I don’t ever like it when people use rhetoric that in any way talks about the U.S. in ways that I find very uncomfortable and not warranted whatsoever,” the official told reporters assembled in Geneva to cover Iran nuclear talks this week…

The official was asked about Khamenei’s address to the Basij paramilitary force on the very day negotiations on the Iran nuclear program were renewed in Geneva. called Israel a “rabid dog.”

“It came from the mouth of the rabid dog of the region—Israel—that Iran is a threat to the world! No, the fake regime Israel and its allies are the threat,” Khamenei said in his speech, broadcast on Iran’s Press TV with an English translation.

Regarding the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 powers, Khamenei said, “We do insist that we will not step back one iota from our rights.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution “expressed regret” that certain European governments curry favor with Zionists who lack humanity. Here’s an ayatollah style regret: “…French politicians not only bow before America but also in front of the ominous and unclean Zionist regime and belittle themselves, and are a disgrace for the French nation…” Oh, yes, that’s regretful.

A French government spokesperson on Wednesday condemned the remarks, calling them “unacceptable” and saying that they “complicate” talks.

Woof.

JNS content was used in this report.

Iran’s attempt to soft-pedal its nuclear program in talks in Geneva has not affected its rabid anti-Zionism, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei now calling Israel the “rabid dog” of the Middle East.

“It came from the mouth of the rabid dog of the region – Israel – that Iran is a threat to the world,” he said in a speech broadcast on the regime’s official Press TV with an English translation. “No, the fake regime Israel and its allies are the threat,” Khamenei said.

He added, “We do insist that we will not step back one iota from our rights.”

His audience responded with the blessing, “Death to America” to  back Iran’s intentions that it wants nuclear power for peaceful purposes,  such as obliterating Western culture and making the world safe for radical Islam.

“We won’t kid ourselves. The international community shouldn’t be tempted into wishful thinking,”  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday after the victory of relatively moderate cleric Hasan Rohani as Iran’s new president..

“We must remember that, anyway, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sets Iran’s nuclear policy. Iran will be tested by its deeds,” Netanyahu added.

Likud minister Yuval Steinitz, who one chaired the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, said he doubts that Supreme Leader Ayotallah Ali Khamenei, who “actually manages foreign affairs, national security and Iran’s nuclear program,” will change the path towards acquiring nuclear capability unless enough economic pressure is applied.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is limiting his country’s nuclear program to fit Israel’s demands, at least for the time being, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to senior U.S., European and Israeli officials, Khamenei’s decision was designed to avoid a crisis during Iran’s election year.

Khamenei wants the June vote to produce a new leader closer to his positions than President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and to avoid the kind of unrest that marked Iran’s 2009 elections.

According to the Journal, Khamenei is “placing the Obama administration and its allies in a delicate strategic position, possibly constraining their response to Iran’s nuclear program.”

Iran’s nuclear program was supposed to hit its point of no return in 2013, enriching a sufficient amount of uranium to enable it to produce a nuclear weapon. In such a case, Israel and its allies were mulling the possibility and the timing of using military force.

A senior U.S. official working on Iran reported that “based on the latest IAEA report, Iran appears to be limiting its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium by converting a significant portion of it to oxide. But that could change at any moment.”

The officials still expect Khamenei’s moves to be a delay, rather than a change of policy. Iran’s actions still appear to be in line with accelerating the pace towards creating weapons-grade fuel. They point out the IAEA’s report that Iran has installed thousands of new centrifuges at the Fordow underground military facility in Qom,. The site is a huge, fortified bunker, possibly immune to U.S. or Israeli air strikes.

With the new centrifuges, Iran is capable of tripling the pace of enriching uranium. If Khamenei decides to step over Israel’s red line sometime this year, Iran could move rapidly to produce the weapons-grade fuel for a bomb.

“There is a good point to be made that Iran has accepted 250 kilograms as the red line, but they are doing this very cleverly,” said Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Iran’s moves would “enable Iran to cross the red line clandestinely in a matter of weeks,” he said.

In a recently published  article “A new intifada in the making?” Missing Peace reported  a strong increase in Palestinian terrorism since the beginning of February.

The same article revealed that Iran is directly involved in the recent provocations against Israel.

The latest of these provocations came last week. It became clear that the Iranian-sponsored terrorist movement PRC had planned to carry out another terrorist attack on Israel’s southern border.

This time however, the IDF  decided not to rely on Egyptian security forces in Sinai in order to prevent this attack.

On Friday March 9th, the IAF assassinated Zuhair Kaisi and Mahmud Haninni, both members of the terrorist movement PRC (Popular Resistance Committee) in Gaza.

According to the IDF, these two PRC members were responsible for the planning and execution of the new terrorist attack on southern Israel.

Kaisi was also among the PRC members who were responsible for a terrorist attack on Israeli civilians near Eilat last August (2011). During that attack 8 Israelis were killed and 40 others were injured.

Rockets

Shortly after the liquidation of the PRC members, Kassam and Grad rockets were fired on Israel from the Gaza Strip. Since then at least 200 rockets have been fired at Israel.

Most of the Grad rockets which were fired on the larger Israeli cities Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Beer Sheva have been intercepted by the “Iron Dome” missile defense system. On Monday alone Iron Dome intercepted more than 22 Grad missiles. Each interception cost the state of Israel USD$21,000.

The IDF reported on Monday evening that Iron dome intercepted 85% of all incoming Grad rockets.

As a result of the ongoing rocket attacks, life in southern Israel has been severely disrupted. One million Israelis are under the threat of the Palestinian rockets. Schools are closed within 60 miles of Gaza.

So far 24 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by IAF actions.

Contrary to reports by international media, 20 of them were members of the terrorist organizations Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committee, the two organizations that are responsible for the firing of the rockets.

The IDF reports that Palestinians are using human shields while launching missiles at Israel.

Four Israelis were wounded by exploding rockets, one of them seriously.

Escalation

The escalation of rocket attacks on southern Israel did not come out of the blue. By February, the PRC and Islamic Jihad had been firing rockets into Israel on a daily basis.

The attacks intensified after the signing of the Palestinian unity agreement in Doha between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Iran criticized Hamas’s leadership in Damascus for signing the agreement and encouraged the Palestinians to continue the ‘armed struggle’ (meaning terrorist attacks) against Israel.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh distanced himself publicly from the new direction of Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal when he visited Tehran in February 2012.

During Haniyeh’s visit the Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Khamenei called Israel “a cancerous tumor that must and will be cut off.”

In the same speech Khamenei admitted that Iran was involved with the war in Gaza in 2008-2009

Iran

It is clear from the developments in Gaza that Hamas acquiesces to the rocket attacks by Islamic Jihad and the PRC.

Iran will continue to provoke Israel through its proxies Islamic Jihad and the PRC. After all, a new war in Gaza could serve as a red herring for the Iranian nuclear program.

Israel sees the use of Iranian mid-range Fajr missiles against  Tel Aviv as a red line. Islamic Jihad is in possession of such missiles.

However, at the moment it is highly unlikely that Israel will launch a major IDF incursion into Gaza like it did in 2008.

Both Israel and Hamas have a clear interest in avoiding war at this point in time, albeit for different reasons.

Israel wants to concentrate on disrupting the Iranian nuclear program and Hamas feels it is not ready yet for a new major confrontation with Israel.

Indeed, the latest developments show that Hamas, with the help of the Egyptians, succeeded in restoring calm to a certain degree.

Monday night only three rockets were fired from the Gaza strip, but the situation remains tense.

Below is a break down of the Palestinians killed in the current round of fighting. At least 20 of them were terrorists

Popular Resistance Committees:

1. Ahmed Hanani
2. Zuhir al-Qaisi
3. Mahdi Abu Shawish
4. Mansour Kamal Abu Nuseira
5. Hussein Barham Al-Breim
6. Ahmad Deeb Salem

Islamic Jihad:

1. Fayiq Saad
2. Muatasim Hajjaj
3. Ahmad Hajjaj
4. Shadi Sayqali
5. Ubeid Gharabli
6. Muhammad Maghari
7. Hazim Qureiqi
8. Muhammad al-Ghamry
9. Muhammad Hararah
10. Mahmoud Najim
11. Raafat Abu Eid
12. Hamadah Salman Abu Mutlaq
13. Muhammad Thaher
14. Bassam al-Ajla

Civilians

1. Ayoub Useila
2. Adel al-Issi
3. Mohammad Hassoni
4. Fayza Hassoni

Hassoni’s appear to have been used as human shields, which is also likely the case with Adel al-Issi.

A report by NBC News quoted unnamed US officials as saying that the string of assassinations of nuclear scientists in Iran is the work of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), and that the group receives funding, training and arms from the Mossad.

This marks the first time that US officials have confirmed that Israel is behind the hits.

The NBC News website also quoted a senior aide to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying “[t]hey (Israelis) are paying … the Mujahedin. Some of their (MEK) agents … (are) providing Israel with information. And they recruit and also manage logistical support.”