“Iran issues rare threat to develop nuclear weapon if “pushed”,” CBS, February 9, 2021.  Three parts to this story—Iran reverses itself and threatens a nuclear weapon, the never seen nuclear fatwa is mentioned, and an inside conspirator in the killing of Fakhrizadeh.  It says in part, “Iran’s intelligence minister has warned the West that his country could push for a nuclear weapon if crippling international sanctions on Tehran remain in place, state television reported Tuesday. The remarks by Mahmoud Alavi mark a rare occasion that a government official says Iran could reverse the course of its nuclear program, which Tehran has long insisted is for peaceful purposes only.  A 1990s fatwa, or religious edict, by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei states that nuclear weapons are forbidden. “Our nuclear program is peaceful and the fatwa by the supreme leader has forbidden nuclear weapons, but if they push Iran in that direction, then it wouldn’t be Iran’s fault but those who pushed it,” Alavi was quoted as saying. “If a cat is cornered, it may show a kind of behavior that a free cat would not,” he said, adding that Iran has no plans to move toward a nuclear weapon under current circumstances. … Following the killing last December of an Iranian scientist credited with spearheading the country’s disbanded military nuclear program, Iran’s parliament has approved a law to block international nuclear inspectors later this month — a serious violation of the accord. Alavi, the intelligence minister, was also quoted as saying that a member of the Iranian armed forces “facilitated” the killing of the scientist, which Iran has blamed on Israel. The minister did not expand on what he meant — and it was not clear if the soldier had carried out the explosion that killed the scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Israel, which has been suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has repeatedly declined to comment on the attack. This was the first time that Iran acknowledged a member of its armed forces may have acted as an accomplice in the killing of Fakhrizadeh, who headed Iran’s so-called AMAD program, which Israel and the West have alleged was a military operation looking at the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon.”

“Iran, N. Korea resumed missile collaboration in 2020: UN report,” France 24, February 9, 2021.

“Many Iranians Privately Reject State-Mandated Religious Conservatism,” James Dorsey, BESA Center, February 9, 2021.

“IDF intelligence: Iran at least two years from nuclear bomb,” Udi Shaham, Jerusalem Post, February 9, 2021.

“Iran Is Close To Getting An Atomic Bomb—But It Could Still Choose To Stop,” David Axe, Forbes, February 9, 2021.

“Iran summons Belgium envoy over sentencing of diplomat,” AP, Star Tribune, February 9, 2021.  “Iran has summoned Belgium’s ambassador in response to the 20-year prison sentence given an Iranian diplomat convicted of planning a thwarted bomb attack against an Iranian opposition group, state-run IRNA news agency reported Tuesday. Iran’s foreign ministry said the legal process, detention, trial and conviction of Assadollah Assadi, who worked as a diplomat in Iran’s embassy in Vienna, was in violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and are illegitimate. During the meeting with the Belgian ambassador, Iran’s foreign ministry urged Belgium’s government to immediately release Assadi. IRNA’s report said Iran’s foreign ministry also delivered a written objection to Belgium’s ambassador. Last week, a court in Antwerp sentenced Assadi, who had been identified as an undercover agent, to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of planning a thwarted bomb attack against exiled Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq in France. Assadi contested the charges and refused to testify during his trial last year, invoking his diplomatic status. He did not attend Thursday’s hearing at the Antwerp courthouse in which he was sentenced. The court rejected Assadi’s claim of diplomatic immunity saying he was on vacation at the time of his arrest — and not in Austria, where he was accredited. The case has infuriated Iran, whose foreign ministry claimed the legal process was influenced by a conspiracy designed by the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq to destroy Iran-Europe relations.”

“Lebanon must be freed from Iranian tyranny,” Maria Maalouf, op-ed, Arab News, February 9, 2021.  In part, “The killing of political activist Luqman Salim last week epitomizes the agony of Lebanon as it seeks to retain its sovereignty against the hostile forces plotting to keep it in turmoil by perpetuating its never-ending political crises. Salim was a politician and a writer who sought to end the hardships of the Lebanese by emphasizing their unity. He pictured Lebanon as a nation taken hostage by the regional powers around it, especially Iran. Contrary to those who push for reform in Lebanon by appealing for help from outside powers, and in particular from Europe and the US, Salim established the responsibility of the people of Lebanon to organize themselves and take action to help improve their conditions.” … A chorus of voices condemned his killing. The most intriguing were the statements made by his sister, who accused Hezbollah of masterminding his kidnapping and assassination. She revealed that he frightened the group with his influential ideas. She added that her brother was an unarmed person fighting against a group of people who were launching rockets and were the cause of the explosion that devastated Beirut last year. She stated that her family has no confidence in the Lebanese judiciary and instead called for an international investigation to be conducted. … The problem for Lebanon is not only the assassination of a prominent political figure, but also the historical question of the suffering of all Lebanese people, as they have become the subjects of Hezbollah’s brutality. The entire discussion surrounding Salim’s killing is an elaboration of the idea of the hegemony of Iran in the Arab world. It is an explanation of the integral part of the strategy to turn Lebanon into a client state for the theocracy ruling Iran, using violence to eliminate opponents and establish a zone of terror in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.”

“IDF foils Iranian scheme to spark conflict on Israel-Syria border,”  Hanan Greenwood, Israel Hayom, February 9, 2021.