AIPAC Offices Closed for Independence Day

AIPAC offices will be closed on July 3 in observance of America's 233rd Independence Day. Regular Web site updates will resume on Monday, July 6. In the meantime, check out the Issues page for concise analysis, feature coverage and links to special reports on key issues affecting the Middle East, Israel's security and the U.S.-Israel relationship. In addition, see below for recent news items.

Netanyahu: U.S.-Israel Bond is Unbreakable

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking on Wednesday during a Fourth of July celebration at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said the bond between the United States and Israel was unbreakable, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. "We have a close relationship with the United States, which President Obama defined in his speech in Cairo as unbreakable, and it is indeed unbreakable," Netanyahu said. The prime minister also spoke about the danger of Iran, but did not mention the country by name. "The greatest danger facing our world today is that this historical consistency of the triumph and spread of democracy could change if the world's worst regimes acquire the world's most dangerous weapons," he said.

NY Divests $86.2M from Companies Linked to Iran, Sudan

New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Tuesday that his state is withdrawing $86.2 million in state retirement fund investments from nine companies that do business with Iran and Sudan, Bloomberg reported. "These companies failed to meet even the minimum requirements of the risk mitigation programs we initiated two years ago," DiNapoli said, noting that Iran supports terrorism, is trying to become a nuclear power and has called for Israel's destruction, while Sudan is committing genocide. "Can we afford to risk pension fund investments in nations led by these kinds of regimes?" he asked. Tuesday's announcement is the latest in a string of steps taken in New York relating to Iran's illicit nuclear pursuit. In April, the Manhattan district attorney's office charged a Chinese businessman and his company with a conspiracy relating to the sale of potential nuclear materials to Iran. Learn more about Iran's nuclear program.

Treasury Announces New Sanctions on N. Korea, Iran

The United States announced a series of new sanctions Tuesday on North Korean and Iranian entities said to be aiding Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, ABC News reported. The Treasury Department targeted Hong Kong Electronics, based on Iran's Kish Island, for providing support to North Korea's missile program through North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Mining Development Corp. (KOMID), North Korea's main arms dealer and exporter of goods related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. Thanchon has been tied by Treasury to Iran's Bank Sepah, which the United Nations has already sanctioned for its involvement in Iran's nuclear program. "The U.S. has reason to believe that the Tanchon-Bank Sepah relationship has been used for North Korea-Iran proliferation-related transactions," Treasury said.

Iranian Guardian Council Certifies Ahmadinejad Victory

Iran's Guardian Council formally certified the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday, saying there was no validity to charges of voting fraud, The New York Times reported. Earlier in the day, apparently in an attempt to create a semblance of fairness, state television said the Guardian Council had begun a random recount of a limited number of ballots. The recount results served only to arouse skepticism-Iran's official news agency said that in one district, Ahmadinejad won even more votes than he had in the first count. The announcements sparked scattered protests in Tehran that were violently dispersed by Iranian security forces. Since Iran's June 12 presidential elections, Iranian authorities have carried out mass arrests and violently cracked down on dissenters in the streets, reportedly killing nearly two dozen protesters.

Clinton Condemns Iranian Arrests of British Diplomats

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday decried Iran's "deplorable" treatment of British embassy staff arrested on accusations that they stoked post-election unrest, Agence France Presse reported. "We are following the situation with great concern," Clinton said. "We find that the harassment of embassy staff is deplorable and we will continue to support the (United Kingdom) in calling for their release." British officials confirmed that five of the nine embassy staff members arrested in Tehran had been released, but denounced the continuing detention of the four who remain imprisoned. Iran has accused Britain, along with the United States and "the Zionists," of fueling the anti-government protests following the disputed June 12 presidential election.

Report: Indian Firms to Launch Major Iran Gas Project

Despite increasing international pressure to halt energy deals with Iran, a consortium of Indian companies appears ready to spend around $5 billion to develop an Iranian offshore gas field, Reuters reported. News of the deal comes just weeks after Indian oil-giant Reliance Industries Ltd. reportedly halted all gasoline exports to Iran to avoid U.S. sanctions. Major European firms, including France's Total and Austria's OMV, have also delayed or scrapped plans for multi-billion-dollar natural gas export projects in Iran over fears of sanctions, like those included in the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, currently circulating in Congress. The bill, intended to reinforce American diplomatic overtures toward Iran with the threat of tougher sanctions, would limit Iran's ability to import and produce refined petroleum products by requiring the president to sanction companies helping Iran in these areas.