US Govt Uses Emergency Authority to Provide Tank Shells to Israel

An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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US Govt Uses Emergency Authority to Provide Tank Shells to Israel

An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

The State Department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5 million for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The shells are part of a bigger sale that was first reported by Reuters
on Friday that the Biden administration is asking the US Congress to approve. The larger package is worth more than $500 million and comprises of 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians.

As the war intensified, how and where exactly the US weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though US officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it.
Rights advocates expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesn't align with Washington's effort to press Israel to minimize civilian casualties.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the United States, according to the Pentagon statement.
The sale will be from US Army inventory and consist of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment.



Iranian Capital Builds 'Defensive Tunnel' after Israeli Strikes

People cross an intersection in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People cross an intersection in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iranian Capital Builds 'Defensive Tunnel' after Israeli Strikes

People cross an intersection in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People cross an intersection in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran is building a "defensive tunnel" in the capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, following strikes by Israel on targets in the country.
The tunnel, located near the city center, will link a station on the Tehran metro to the Imam Khomeini hospital, thus allowing direct underground access to the medical facility, Reuters said.
"For the first time in the country, a tunnel with defensive applications is being built in Tehran," the head of transport for Tehran City Council told Tasnim.
Last month, Israel carried out its first officially-recognized strikes in Iran, hitting missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in the country's west, as a response to Iran's Oct.1 attack on Israeli territory.