What’s Behind Netanyahu’s Call for his US Advisor?

Israeli PM Netanyahu looks on as he arrives to review an honor guard with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed during their meeting in Jerusalem, September 1, 2019. (Reuters)
Israeli PM Netanyahu looks on as he arrives to review an honor guard with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed during their meeting in Jerusalem, September 1, 2019. (Reuters)
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What’s Behind Netanyahu’s Call for his US Advisor?

Israeli PM Netanyahu looks on as he arrives to review an honor guard with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed during their meeting in Jerusalem, September 1, 2019. (Reuters)
Israeli PM Netanyahu looks on as he arrives to review an honor guard with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed during their meeting in Jerusalem, September 1, 2019. (Reuters)

US Election Advisor Aaron Klein was seen several times in recent days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The latter hired him to be part of his team, without specifying his duties.

However, many political sources saw this development as a sign that Netanyahu was preparing for an imminent election battle.

Klein is a strategic advisor who specializes in election affairs and works with several political leaders in the United States and the world. He was a journalist for several right-wing media outlets in the US, then served in the office of Steve Bannon, the strategic adviser of US President Donald Trump. He has been with Netanyahu in the last three electoral battles.

Observers in Tel Aviv expect that the premier would be serious in drawing up a new electoral plan, and if he does not implement it, he will be able to use it to pressure his allies.

They noted that Netanyahu was reading opinion polls and conducting private surveys himself, all of which indicate that if elections are held today, he will win an unprecedented victory and be able to form a stable right-wing government.

Politicians, rivals and top political commentators in Israel point out that Netanyahu’s actions, in the past two weeks, indicate that he believes in the need to end the unity government with alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and that he does not want anyone else to share with the premiership with him.



Iran Media: Russian Rocket Puts Iran Satellite into Space

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Media: Russian Rocket Puts Iran Satellite into Space

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS
A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage, carrying two Ionosfera-M satellites and 18 payloads, including Iran's Nahid-2 telecommunications satellite, blasts off from its launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far-eastern Amur region, Russia July 25, 2025. Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko/Handout via REUTERS

A Russian rocket put an Iranian communications satellite into space on Friday, Iranian state media reported, the latest achievement for an aerospace program that has long concerned Western governments.

"The Nahid-2 communications satellite was launched from Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome using a Soyuz rocket," state television said.

Weighing 110 kilograms (over 240 pounds), the satellite was designed and manufactured by Iranian engineers, the broadcaster added.

Western governments have long expressed concern that technological advances made in Iran's space program can also be used to upgrade its ballistic missile arsenal, AFP reported.

The launch was announced shortly before nuclear talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany opened in Istanbul.

In December, Iran announced it had put its heaviest payload to date into space, using a domestically manufactured satellite carrier.

In September, Iran said it had put the Chamran-1 research satellite into orbit using the Ghaem-100 carrier, which is produced by the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace division.