War of words in the Middle East
Iran Raises Rhetoric Against Israel
By BENOÎT FAUCON in London and JOSHUA MITNICK in Tel Aviv
WSJ
Iran accused Israel of launching cyberattacks on its oil facilities and derided the Jewish state's air defenses, although it didn't take responsibility for a drone that entered the Jewish state's airspace Saturday before Israel shot it down.
Tehran's comments Monday came as political pressure inside Iran rises over the country's fragile economy, partly the result of Western sanctions against its nuclear program. Lawmakers, which has been sparring with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over a range of issues, said they would try to require him to testify over Iran's economy in the coming weeks.
Tehran has grappled with an acute currency crisis since last week, when the long-dipping Iranian currency, the rial, began to plunge. On Sunday, parliamentarians lambasted President Ahmadinejad for a 25% drop in the rial's value against the dollar in the prior week. Mr. Ahmadinejad blames currency speculation and the economic sanctions.
Some analysts said the accusations against Israel could be the regime's attempt to provide a distraction from internal political wrangling and deflect attention from its domestic problems.
(More here.)
By BENOÎT FAUCON in London and JOSHUA MITNICK in Tel Aviv
WSJ
Iran accused Israel of launching cyberattacks on its oil facilities and derided the Jewish state's air defenses, although it didn't take responsibility for a drone that entered the Jewish state's airspace Saturday before Israel shot it down.
Tehran's comments Monday came as political pressure inside Iran rises over the country's fragile economy, partly the result of Western sanctions against its nuclear program. Lawmakers, which has been sparring with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over a range of issues, said they would try to require him to testify over Iran's economy in the coming weeks.
Tehran has grappled with an acute currency crisis since last week, when the long-dipping Iranian currency, the rial, began to plunge. On Sunday, parliamentarians lambasted President Ahmadinejad for a 25% drop in the rial's value against the dollar in the prior week. Mr. Ahmadinejad blames currency speculation and the economic sanctions.
Some analysts said the accusations against Israel could be the regime's attempt to provide a distraction from internal political wrangling and deflect attention from its domestic problems.
(More here.)
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