Prepare Now for the Coming Middle East War

[American Patriot]

The Navy Is Depending on Dolphins to Keep the Strait of Hormuz Open


John Hudson 10:01 AM ET
If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy has a backup plan to save one-fifth of the world's daily oil trade: send in the dolphins.



The threat of Iran closing the strait has reached a fever pitch, reports today's New York Times, with U.S. officials warning Iran's supreme leader that such moves would cross a "red line" provoking a U.S. response. Iran could block the strait with any assortment of mines, armed speed boats or anti-ship cruise missiles but according to Michael Connell at the Center for Naval Analysis, “The immediate issue [for the U.S. military] is to get the mines.” To solve that problem, the Navy has a solution that isn't heavily-advertised but has a time-tested success rate:



mine-detecting dolphins.


"We've got dolphins," said retired Adm. Tim Keating in a Wednesday interview with NPR. Keating commanded the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain during the run-up to the Iraq war. He sounded uncomfortable with elaborating on the Navy's use of the lovable mammals but said in a situation like the standoff in Hormuz, Navy-trained dolphins would come in handy:

KEATING: They are astounding in their ability to detect underwater objects.


NPR's TOM BOWMAN: Dolphins were sent to the Persian Gulf as part of the American invasion force in Iraq.


KEATING: I'd rather not talk about whether we used them or not. They were present in theater.


BOWMAN: But you can't say whether you used them or not.


KEATING: I'd rather not.

The invasion of Iraq was the last time the minesweeping capability of dolphins were widely-touted. "Dolphins - - which possess sonar so keen they can discern a quarter from a dime when blindfolded and spot a 3-inch metal sphere from 370 feet away -- are invaluable minesweepers," reported The San Francisco Chronicle. In 2010, the Seattle Times reported that the Navy has 80 bottlenose dolphins in the San Diego Bay alone. They are taught to hunt for mines and drop acoustic transponders nearby. The photo above shows a dolphin with a tracking device attached to its fin.



According to a report in 2003, the dolphins only detect the mines. Destroying them is left up to the Navy's human divers. Still, the mammals are large enough to detonate a live mine, a prospect that doesn't delight animal rights groups.

[American Patriot]

FNC reporting.

Carl Vinsion en route.

The White House andState Department denying any new "special channel" to deliver messages to the Iranians.

US Navy is denying that our extra ships have NOTHING to do with the recent tensions.

Some experts are concerned that the Iranians might "misread" the "message" and send anti ship missiles to the area, which the US states "Will be an act of war".

[American Patriot]

U.S. Navy to Maintain Focus on Middle East, Strait of Hormuz 09:23 GMT, January 13, 2012 WASHINGTON | The U.S. Navy will remain focused on the Middle East, particularly the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while ensuring its sailors operating there are remain properly equipped for the mission, the chief of naval operations said Jan. 10.

Navy Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert told a Center for New American Security forum that tensions over the Strait of Hormuz top his list of concerns.

“If you ask me what keeps me awake at night, it’s the Strait of Hormuz and the business going on in the Arabian Gulf,” he said during a question-and-answer session following his keynote address.

Greenert, who discussed the importance of cooperation and partnerships, particularly in light of the new defense strategic guidance, told a reporter he sees no major movement of naval assets from the Middle East.

“There won’t be a taking of my eye off the ball,” he said.
He cited tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, the only sea passage to the open ocean for petroleum-producing nations in the Persian Gulf region. An estimated 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes through the strait.

Iran has flexed its muscles, threatening to cut off access to the strait if the United States continues to maintain an aircraft carrier presence there.

Defense officials have emphasized that closure of the strait will not be tolerated. They called carrier strike group deployments vital to maintaining continuity and operational support to ongoing missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

"Our interest is in safe and secure maritime passage for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters last month when the issue first arose.

Greenert told reporters yesterday he rode the Strait of Hormuz during his recent visit to Bahrain. “I … took a look around and view that as an important aspect,” he said. “So the Navy won’t be taking their eye off the ball.”

He promised to work to ensure naval forces that operate in these waters “have the right equipment to do the right thing.”
“It’s something I mull over … again and again,” Greenert said.

“Our folks that transit in and around that area, I want to make sure that they’re able to deal with the things that they need to deal with,” he added.

That, Greenert explained, includes self-protection and antisubmarine warfare assets. It also includes “anti-swarm” assets to protect against “swarm attacks” by small high-speed boats that have been called the Navy’s equivalent of the improvised explosive device issue.


----
Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

[American Patriot]

By Luis Martinez
@LMartinezABC
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Jan 10, 2012 6:20pm
Navy Chief Says Strait of Hormuz Keeps Him Up At Night

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Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, volunteered today that the Strait of Hormuz keeps him awake at night.



“If you ask me what keeps me awake at night, it’s the Strait of Hormuz and the business going on in the Arabian Gulf,” Greenert said during a question and answer session following his remarks to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).


He added that it’s been that way since his recent visit to Bahrain. “When I was over there, I rode the Strait of Hormuz, took a look around and view that as an important aspect. So the Navy won’t be taking their eye off the ball. ”


Twenty percent of the world’s oil transits through the narrow entryway into the Persian Gulf, and Iran has recently raised tensions with the United States about access to the waterway.


“Our folks that transit in and around that area, I want to make sure that they’re able to do with the things that they need to deal with, basically self-protection, counterswarm, ASW,” Greenert said. ”And so the — that’s what I’m talking about in that regard.”


As far as the newly unveiled military strategy that places a focus on Asia, Greenert said it will not mean an increase in the number of Navy assets there already.



“It’s not a big naval buildup in the Far East,” he said. “We’re there, we have been there, we will continue to be there. ”


He said the new strategic guidance will help guide “the number of ships, aircraft and equipment that we need to distribute around the world, where they are, and adjust accordingly. But my first assessment is we’re in good shape in the Navy where we stand in the western Pacific.”


So it “won’t affect operations in East Asia” because the number of U.S. Navy ships in the region “is about the right proportion I see for the near term. “

[American Patriot]

U.S. naval strike group arrives in Arabian Sea as tensions continue to rise with Iran

• Pentagon said deployment was 'not unusual'
• U.S. denies role in killing of nuclear scientist

By Lee Moran

Last updated at 8:22 AM on 12th January 2012



A new aircraft carrier strike group has been sent to the Arabian Sea - as U.S. tensions with Iran continue to escalate.


The move comes as Iran threatens to close the world's most important oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, if sanctions over its nuclear programme cut off its oil exports.



The U.S. military said it will stop any blockade of the strategic strait, and the top U.S. naval officer said preparing for a potential conflict there was something that 'keeps me awake at night'.

New arrival: The USS Carl Vinson is now in the Arabian Sea as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to escalate



But the Pentagon denied any direct link between recent tensions and the movement of aircraft carriers.



Spokesman Captain John Kirby said: 'I don't want to leave anybody with the impression that we're somehow (speeding) two carriers over there because we're concerned about what happened, you know, today in Iran. It's just not the case.'




Military officials said the USS Carl Vinson arrived in the Arabian Sea on Monday to replace the outgoing USS John C. Stennis carrier strike group, which Iran last week warned not to return to the Gulf after departing in late December.


The Stennis was due to return to its home port in San Diego but the Pentagon did not say when that would happen.

Shipped out: The USS John C. Stennis left the area in December, which prompted Iran to tell it to 'never come back'



Another carrier strike group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, concluded a port visit to Thailand on Tuesday and was now in the Indian Ocean.



It is on track to join the Vinson in the Central Command area of operations, which begins in the neighboring Arabian Sea.


A second U.S. military official added: 'It is not unusual to have two carriers in the CENTCOM theatre at the same time.'
'I don't want to leave anybody with the impression that we're somehow (speeding) two carriers over there because we're concerned about what happened, you know, today in Iran. It's just not the case.'


- U.S. Captain John Kirby


Another official said there had been two carriers in the Gulf region at least twice in the past 18 months.


Tensions between Iran and the United States ratcheted up again in the past week.



Iran started an underground uranium enrichment plant and sentenced an American to death for spying.



Washington and Europe have stepped up efforts to cripple Iran's oil exports, and Tehran on Wednesday blamed U.S. and Israeli agents for killing an Iranian nuclear scientist.



Israel declined to comment on the killing and the United States denied any U.S. role and condemned the attack, in which the scientist was blown up by a bomb attached to his car by a motorbike hitman.


Iran had warned the Stennis not to re-enter the Gulf and it is unclear when another U.S. carrier will enter Gulf waters.



The Pentagon has suggested only that, sooner or later, a carrier will pass through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf.



Kirby added: 'We routinely operate our ships - all of our ships, all of our types of ships - inside the Arabian Gulf and that will continue.'

[American Patriot]

'Standard' duty? More US battle ships head to Persian Gulf

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Published: 12 January, 2012, 09:16
Edited: 12 January, 2012, 19:44

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New British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Daring, the first of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers, leaves the southern English harbour of Portsmouth on January 11, 2012 (AFP Photo / Glyn Kirk)


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TAGS: Arms, Conflict, Military, Nuclear, Middle East, Politics, Iran, China, USA, Gayane Chichakyan, Rory Suchet, Japan

The US is deploying more warships to the Persian Gulf area, with the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson entering the Arabian Sea. Washington is also winning over Japan and India in the oil sanction war against Iran.



The Pentagon denies the USS Carl Vinson has been dispatched to the Gulf region over the Strait of Hormuz tensions.



“Her deployment in that area is routine, long-planned – there’s nothing unusual about that,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.


The Carl Vinson, carrying up to 80 planes and helicopters on board and backed by a cruiser, destroyer, has not gone the through of Strait of Hormuz, a major oil lane, which Iran is threatening to block if the West imposes sanctions on its crude exports.



According to the American broadcaster Fox News, the group is now in the Arabian Sea. The Pentagon says the warships have arrived “not in the Gulf,” but in the area in the US Fifth Fleet’s responsibility. That, apart from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, includes the Red Sea and some parts of the Indian Ocean.



Though now Washington says the USS John C. Stennis, which crossed the Strait of Hormuz on December 29, is not expected to return to the Gulf, the US Navy confirms another aircraft carrier is to join the Carl Vinson. This is the USS Abraham Lincoln, currently in the Indian Ocean and en route to the strike group.
The UK has also commissioned one of its newest warships to the Gulf waters. Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring set out for its "routine" mission to replace a frigate on station previous week.



The UK joined the US in a pledge not to allow Iran to block traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. Tehran’s harsh rhetoric was provoked by the prospect of an international embargo on its oil based on allegations that Iran plans to build nuclear weapons.
­More members in ‘Sanction Iran’ club

Coupled with warship maneuvering, Washington’s is also sharpening its axe for Iran’s economy. US diplomats have set out on a war path to talk other countries into punishing Iran for a prospect its nuclear program might deviate from the civil route.



On Thursday, Washington won over Japan, a major importer of Iranian crude, to impose tough oil sanctions against Tehran. Japan, according to Finance Minister Jun Azumi, imports about 10 per cent of its oil necessities from Iran.


“We plan to start reducing this 10 per cent share as soon as possible in a planned manner,” said Azumi.


In India, the government is also not seeking “to waver” from the American steer, reports Reuters, quoting their sources in the cabinet. India, which spends $12 billion on Iranian oil per year, is Tehran's largest oil buyer after the biggest customer, China.



China on Wednesday reacted coolly to the US efforts. Beijing slammed US sanctions on financial institutions dealing with the Iranian Central Bank, which President Barack Obama approved on New Year’s Eve.



“To place one country’s domestic law above international law and press others to obey is not reasonable,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin.
China, consuming up to 30 percent of Iran’s crude daily exports, comes up as a key player in the sanctions game.



Meanwhile, in the Strait of Hormuz build-up, the Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi has sped up the construction of a pipeline bypassing this bottleneck. The trial of the Fujairah pipeline has been moved to May, reports the Emirates 24/7 news website.
The Fujairah is set to transport 1.4 million barrels per day (mbpd). Tankers currently take up to 17 mbpd through the strait.
Hormuz Straitjacket: US-Iranian standoff

It does not appease Washington that the international nuclear watchdog is on site closely monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities.


“Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that's what concerns us. And our red line to Iran is ‘Do not develop a nuclear weapon,’” said US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.


Iran’s main source of livelihood – its oil export – is in danger. The US is imposing fresh sanctions that will dramatically complicate transactions through Iran’s Central Bank. Iran is also close to losing Europe as a customer.



Cornered by crippling sanctions, Iran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz – a vital oil artery through which one sixth of the world's oil is shipped.



The US has replied by moving its Fifth Fleet to the region, saying if Iran goes for it, they will attack.


Experts say the policy of isolating Iran may lead to other threats from Tehran and a possibility that one day they will go through with their threats.



Washington signals that it is ready, or at least it wants everybody to believe that it is ready.


Some believe it is just a war of words, and neither side will go for an all-out conflict, considering what a disaster it would be for the whole region. It may be a war of words, but actions are already showing.


Thousands of US troops are being deployed to Israel. An American citizen in Iran has been sentenced to death, convicted of espionage.


A look back in history – the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in 1914 set in motion a series of events that led to World War One and then, World War Two.



With regards to Iran today, the possible blocking of the Strait of Hormuz could become that trigger. Or it could be the killing of the American citizen.



Iran might feel cornered, and therefore make drastic moves. Right now it is a war of words. But one bullet fired and the powder keg could blow up. The question is: what is going to provide that deadly spark?

[American Patriot]

U.S. boosts its military presence in Persian Gulf

Additional troops and warships are in place in the event a crisis erupts in the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, officials say.

Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval late last year for the deployments of additional troops and warships to the Persian Gulf to deal with Iran and other potential threats. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

• Also
• Graphic: Persian Gulf
• Iran nuclear scientist killed in car bombing
• Sanctions begin taking a bigger toll on Iran
• Iran sentences American accused of spying to death, reports say

By David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times January 12, 2012, 6:07 p.m.

Reporting from Washington—


The Pentagon quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.

Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.

Officials said Thursday that the deployments are not meant to suggest a buildup to war, but rather are intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The Pentagon has stationed nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait, including a small contingent already there. The new deployments include two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit, a substantial increase in combat power after nearly a decade in which Kuwait chiefly served as a staging area for supplies and personnel heading to Iraq.

The Pentagon also has decided to keep two aircraft carriers and their strike groups in the region. (RD: AH... see, this is not a REPLACEMENT group, but IN ADDITION TO the first group!)

This week, the American aircraft carrier Carl Vinson joined the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis in the Arabian Sea, giving commanders major naval and air assets in case Iran carries out its recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point in the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the world's oil shipments passes.

"There's enough going on in that part of the world that you can see the merit in having a robust presence," said a senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity about military movements.

Navy officials say Iran might be able to temporarily block tanker traffic through the strait using antiship missiles and other weapons, but U.S. commanders say they can reopen the waterway quickly if necessary.

Gen. Ataollah Salehi, head of Iran's army, warned the John C. Stennis not to return to the Persian Gulf after the aircraft carrier passed through the strait this month. The ship is scheduled to return to the U.S. soon, but officials said it will be replaced by the Enterprise in order to keep two carriers in the volatile region.

U.S. officials are divided over how much to publicize the deployments. Regional allies tend to dislike public discussion about their cooperation with Washington. But the Pentagon wants Iran's rulers to know that the U.S. still has adequate forces available in the event of a crisis.

They include the Army's 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Brigade, which shifted to Kuwait from Iraq when the last U.S. forces left last month. The brigade, which has more than 4,500 soldiers and is equipped with tanks and artillery, has been designated a "mobile response force" for the region, according to Col. Scott L. Efflandt, the brigade commander.

A National Guard brigade from Minnesota has been in Kuwait since August, and a combat aviation brigade arrived in December. Another major unit is heading to Kuwait shortly, though officials would not provide details.

Despite the buildup in Kuwait, the total number of U.S. troops in the region has declined with the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq and the drawdown of U.S. troops that began last summer in Afghanistan.

Also Thursday, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on three companies that sell gasoline to Iran. Although Tehran is the world's third-largest exporter of oil, it has limited refining capacity and must import most of its gasoline.

The State Department said it would bar U.S. export licenses and most U.S. financing for the Zhuhai Zhenrong Co., which is based in China and is the largest seller of gasoline to Iran. Also sanctioned was Kuo Oil Pte. Ltd., an energy trading firm based in Singapore, and FAL Oil Co., an independent energy trader based in the United Arab Emirates.

david.cloud@latimes.com

Times staff writer Paul Richter contributed to this report.

[American Patriot]

US Moves Carriers, Denies Iran Link

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January 13, 2012
Daily Press, Newport News, Va.|by Hugh Lessig



The swapping of U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups in the Arabian Sea has put pilots and aircraft from Hampton Roads into the mix against the backdrop of rising tension with Iran.


The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived in the Arabian Sea on Monday to replace the outgoing USS John C. Stennis, the Fifth Fleet announced this week.


Both carriers are based on the West Coast, but the Vinson includes Carrier Air Wing 17, based at Naval Air Station Oceana.



Pilots and aircraft on the Stennis include the air wing staff and Strike Fighter Squadron 81, which flies the FA/18E. It also includes two units based at Chambers Field at Naval Station Norfolk: Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 125, which flies the E2-C Hawkeye, and VRC 40, a fleet logistics support squadron that flies the C-2A Greyhound.


Meanwhile, another carrier strike group headed by the USS Abraham Lincoln ended a port visit in Thailand and was on track to join the Vinson in the Central Command area of operations, which begins in the Arabian Sea.


The Lincoln, also West Coast based, includes Strike Fighter Squadron 34, which flies the FA-18C and is based at Oceana.


There is nothing unusual about moving U.S. carrier strike groups around that part of the world, but the movements are catching worldwide press attention because Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping lane -- as part of dispute over that country's nuclear program.


"I don't want to leave anybody with the impression that we're somehow [speeding] two carriers over there because we're concerned about what happened, you know, today in Iran. It's just not the case," said Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman.
The narrow strait is a transit point between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. The Pentagon has suggested that a carrier will pass through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf at some point.


"We routinely operate our ships -- all of our ships, all of our types of ships -- inside the Arabian Gulf, and that will continue," Kirby said.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.

[American Patriot]

Iran keeps issuing threats, US keeps saving Iranian sailors

As Iran has been promoting its naval prowess and ability to shut the Straits of Hormuz, US naval assets have been busy rescuing Iranian sailors.


By Dan Murphy, Staff writer / January 10, 2012

• 

In this photo released by the US Navy, a US sailor assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd greets a crew member of the Iranian-flagged fishing dhow Al Molai last week. US military officials say the Navy has rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered by suspected Somali pirates.
US Navy/AP




Iran has spent much of the past month crowing about how it could shut down the Strait of Hormuz -- a choke-point for vast quantities of seaborne oil for nearly 40 percent of the world --and said it was "warning" the US to keep its ships out of the Persian Gulf. The US, as a far greater naval power, with a naval base in Bahrain, and an interest in keeping sea lanes open, brushed off the Iranian threat.
Though tensions have continued to rise, with Iran sentencing Iranian-American Amir Mirzaei Hekmati to death yesterday for allegedly spying (his family says he returned to Iran to visit his grandmother) and new US sanctions on Iran's central bank, two peaceful opportunities to underscore the US naval reach in the region literally fell into America's lap.
Q&A: What's with the war talk surrounding Iran?

Last week, the Navy destroyer USS Kidd swept in and rescued 13 Iranian fishermen who'd been held hostage on their small boat by Somali pirates for over a month. The fishermen, who'd been through a "horrific" ordeal according to one of their American rescuers, were given food, medical treatment, and enough fuel to steam home.
Today, the US Coast Guard got into the act. The Coast Guard provides security for the US 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain and patrols the Persian Gulf. Patrol boat Monomoy responded to a distress call from the Iranian cargo dhow, Ya-Hussayn, at about 3 am this morning. The boat was taking on water and had a fire in the engine room and the Monomoy took its six person crew aboard.
The US sailors gave the Iranians a halal meal ("Halal meals are in accordance with Islamic law and are stored aboard U.S. Coast Guard ships to provide to Muslim mariners in distress," the US 5th Fleet helpfully explains), blankets, and minor medical assistance before transferring them to the Iranian Coast Guard's Naji 7 an hour and a half later.
Small cargo boats routinely ply the waters of the Gulf from Iran to Dubai, Manama, and other entrepôts on the Arab western coast. Though the word "dhow" was traditionally used to describe single-masted vessels, rigged with triangular sails, it's sometimes used generically for "cargo boat" in the region.
In the past, Iranian forces haven't been as friendly to civilian mariners in the Gulf. In 2009, Iran's navy seized a British yacht in the Strait of Hormuz, which is just 30 miles wide at its narrowest point and the gateway to the Gulf. The Kingdom of Bahrain's five crew members were held for a few days in Iran and at one point threatened with prosecution before their release. In 2007, Iran seized and held 15 British sailors and marines who allegedly entered Iranian waters while they were patrolling the Iraqi coast. It released them after two weeks.
Follow Dan Murphy on Twitter.

[American Patriot]

Iran warns of tough response to threats Service: Foreign Policy 1390/10/19 01-09-2012 12:29:13 News Code :9010-03205

ISNA - Tehran Service: Foreign Policy TEHRAN (ISNA)-An Iranian official said the country's Navy would confront threats harshly in the Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf or Oman Sea. Iran's Deputy Navy Commander Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem-Bigham said Sunday Iran’s Navy is fully equipped to take control of the Strait of Hormuz. Khadem-Bigham referred to the U.K. decision to send an advanced flotilla to the region and Iranian officials’ warning to the U.S. on not returning aircraft carrier to the Strait of Hormuz and said, "In my viewpoint, the U.S. flotillas which have already been in the region are much more advanced comparing to the ones made by the U.K., and there will be no problem, if one ship is added to them.” He pointed out the U.S. and the U.K. objective in taking some position is to make the region insecure and justify the presence of foreigners in the area. Iranian Deputy Navy Commander referred to Iranian Navy's 10-day “Velayat-e 90” drill began December 24, noting Iran held the exercise to evaluate the readiness of Navy's personnel and the equipment. “Iran only calls for regional peace and security through cooperation of regional countries without the presence of cross-regional and hegemonic powers,” Khadem-Bigham noted. Bigham referred to Iran’s previous cooperation with regional countries on naval security practices, adding Iran’s Navy is ready to carry out joint exercises with neighboring countries for strengthening unity and cleaning the area from foreigners. He pointed to response of regional countries to Iran’s invitation for cooperation to establish regional peace and security, adding Iran is waiting to receive response from its regional states. The Deputy Navy Commander highlighted Iran’s capability on electronic war, noting the country has made considerable progress in this regard.

[American Patriot]

Iran tracks, films U.S. Navy near Strait of Hormuz

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An Iranian general says they will close the Strait of Hormuz if threatened by the U.S. | Reuters




By MACKENZIE WEINGER | 12/29/11 12:51 PM EST
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Iran said Thursday it tracked and recorded video of a U.S. aircraft carrier during its Navy drill near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that the country had photographed and filmed an aircraft carrier on the vital oil route Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
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Iran’s navy chief, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari was quoted in the report as saying the move shows Iran has “control over the moves by foreign forces.”
“An Iranian vessel and surveillance plane have tracked, filmed and photographed a U.S. aircraft carrier as it was entering the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf,” Sayyari said, according to the AP.
The “foreign fleet will be warned by Iranian forces if it enters the area of the drill,” he added.
The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet spokeswoman, Lt. Rebecca Rebarich, told the AP that the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay left the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
She said the movement through the strait was a “pre-planned, routine transit” and added the 5th Fleet’s “interaction with the regular Iranian navy continues to be within the standards of maritime practice, well known, routine and professional.”
Rebarich had warned Wednesday that any disruption to the strait “will not be tolerated” and said the Navy was “always ready to counter malevolent actions to ensure freedom of navigation,” according to the AP.
Acting commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, said in response to Rebarich that “the U.S. is not in a position” to affect Iran’s decisions.
“Iran does not ask permission to implement its own defensive strategies,” he said, according to the AP.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1jMjOkvnF

[American Patriot]

Accidental Hormuz Clash Is Bigger Risk Than Closure, PFC Says

January 13, 2012, 1:20 PM EST

By Grant Smith
Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- An accidental collision between navies amassed in the Strait of Hormuz poses a more likely security risk than Iran delivering on threats to close the waterway, according to PFC Energy Inc.


The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps will hold large-scale exercises in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf next month as tensions mount between the country and the U.S. and European allies over Iran’s nuclear program. A U.S. navy aircraft carrier passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Dec. 27 on routine transit, according to the U.S. 5th Fleet. The U.K.’s Royal Navy said Jan. 9 it’s deploying one of its most modern destroyers, HMS Daring, to the region.


“It’s a pretty small area, and the potential for an Iranian speedboat to bump up against a U.S. vessel is increased,” said Jamie Webster, an analyst at the consultants in Washington. “That potential is where you’ve got the real risk in Hormuz, not a shutting down but an inadvertent confrontation.”


--Editors: Raj Rajendran, Rachel Graham.


To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net


To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net

[American Patriot]

Anti-US chants as murdered Iran nuclear expert buried


Published January 13, 2012
| Associated Press

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  Photo shows Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, who Iran say was killed in a bomb blast in Tehran, Iran.

TEHRAN, Iran - Thousands of mourners chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" on Friday during the funeral of a slain nuclear expert whom Iranian officials accuse the two nations of killing in a bomb blast this week as part of a secret operation to stop Iran's nuclear program.


The assassination of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan has raised calls in Iran for retaliation against the U.S. and Israel, and an independent news website Friday said Iran is preparing a covert counteroffensive against the West.



Roshan, a chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was killed in a brazen daylight assassination when two assailants on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to his car Wednesday in Tehran. The killing bore a strong resemblance to earlier killings of scientists working on the Iranian nuclear program.


State TV showed thousands of people carrying Roshan's coffin through central Tehran before it was taken to a north cemetery for burial. As it marched, the crowd chanted "death to terrorists."


Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, called Roshan's killing a "cowardly assassination" and accused the U.S. and Israel of being behind the attack. He vowed Thursday that the perpetrators and those who ordered the attack would be punished.


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has denied any American role in the slaying and the U.S administration condemned the attack. Israeli officials, in contrast, have hinted at covert campaigns against Iran without directly admitting involvement.


The assassination was carried out a day after Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz was quoted as telling a parliamentary panel that 2012 would be a "critical year" for Iran -- in part because of "things that happen to it unnaturally."


That prompted Hossein Shariatmadari, director of the hardline Iranian daily newspaper Kayhan, to ask why Iran did not avenge Roshan by striking Israel.


The independent news website, irannuc.ir, quoted an unidentified security official as saying Iran is preparing a covert counteroffensive against the West in retaliation for the bomb blast. It suggested the retaliation could include assassinations abroad.


"Iran's intelligence community is in a very good position to design tit-for-tat operations to retaliate for assassinations carried out by Western intelligence services," the official said, according to the website. "Iran's response will be extraterritorial and extra-regional. It follows the strategy that none of those who ordered or carried out (the attacks) should feel secure in any part of the world."


The website's report was also carried by the semiofficial Fars news agency, which is close to the elite Revolutionary Guard.

[American Patriot]

Lieberman: Obama would attack Iran if necessary


Posted By Josh Rogin Friday, January 13, 2012 - 1:34 PM Share



President Barack Obama is prepared to give the order to strike Iran to prevent it from getting a nuclear weapon if sanctions and international pressure prove ineffective, said Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who just returned from a whirlwind trip around the region.
"[Obama] is definitely capable of ordering a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities," Lieberman told The Cable in a Friday interview. "Do I know that he will? No. But the Iranians and others will be foolishly mistaken if they assume that he will not in any circumstance order a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities if the sanctions don't work."
"I don't know that the president will order a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities even if the sanctions don't work, but I know that he's capable of doing that and I believe he's prepared to do that," he said, adding that he doesn't think Obama would ever send ground troops to Iran.
Over the New Year's break, Lieberman visited Israel, Iraq, Tunisia, and Libya, and he said Iran was the number one concern of leaders in the region. In previous meetings, Israeli officials had focused almost entirely on U.S. red lines and their concern over whether Obama would really attack Iran if push came to shove, emphasizing that Israel would attack if the United States doesn't. But now the Israeli government seems more willing to let the sanctions strategy run its course, Lieberman said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview this week that Iran is beginning to show signs of cracking under the international sanctions regime.
"Not only do the Israelis believe the U.S. and the international community has to go through every economic effort to change the mind of the Iranian leadership, but now they believe it might actually work. They believe that the economic sanctions are having an effect on the Iranian economy and beginning to have an effect on the regime," he said.
Lieberman himself doesn't believe that the Iranian regime will ever transform into a constructive member of the world community, but he holds out hope that the sanctions, due to their effect on the Iranian people, could force the regime to rethink its strategy.
"The only thing the Iranian government cares more about than the development of their nuclear weapons is the survival of the regime," he said.
The Obama administration has been adamant that regime change per se is not the goal of U.S. sanctions. On Wednesday, a Washington Post article initially quoted an anonymous U.S. official as saying "regime change" was the goal, but then was quickly corrected to say "public ire" was the sanctions' goal, not regime change. Today, a U.S. official told AFP that the goal of the sanctions was to "close down" the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).
When the Menendez-Kirk amendment -- which imposed sanctions on the CBI and eventually became U.S. law -- came up the Senate, the administration resisted the measure, warning it could harm the U.S. economy and aid Iran's economy. These days, the administration has changed its stance and is now embracing the sanctions.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner traveled to Japan and China this week to encourage them to cut off their dealings with the CBI, and the State Department instructed all of its ambassadors to meet with their host governments to explain the new law and express the administration's intention to enforce it.
Back in Washington, pro-sanctions senators aren't taking any chances that the administration might back off its newer, tougher stance vis-à-vis Iran. Congress is encouraging the EU to implement a full oil embargo, and the Senate plans to bring up a new round of Iran sanctions legislation for consideration as early as next month.
Lieberman and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also plan to introduce a new Senate resolution to express the sense of Congress that a containment strategy for Iran that falls short of doing everything possible to stop the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon is unacceptable.
"Now the Iranians are clearly hurting. We have to make clear to them that if they don't respond to the economic and diplomatic pressures, that containment is not an option. We're not going to just sit there and let them become a nuclear power," Lieberman said about his forthcoming resolution. "I think is a way for Congress of saying with all the options on the table, containment cannot be one [of the options]."
But isn't the Senate's action also directed at the Obama administration, to make it clear to the White House that Congress does not accept a containment strategy for a nuclear Iran?
"Yes, exactly," Lieberman said. "But the first target of the resolution is Iran."

[American Patriot]

US warns Iran over blocking oil strait: report


(AFP) – 1 hour ago


WASHINGTON — The United States has used a secret channel to warn Iran's leaders against closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz, saying that doing so would provoke a US response, The New York Times reported.


Iran has threatened to close the narrow and strategic waterway -- a chokepoint for one fifth of the world's traded oil -- in the event of a military strike or the severe tightening of international sanctions.


The Times, citing unnamed US officials, said late Thursday that the White House has communicated to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that closing the strait would be a "red line" and provoke a response.


The officials did not provide further details about the covert communication channel, except to say that it was separate from the Swiss government, through which the United States occasionally relays messages to Iran's leaders.


The White House would not confirm specifically that it had contacted Iran through the secret channel regarding the Strait, but said it had ways of making its views clear to the Iranian government.


"We have used those mechanisms regularly on a range of issues over the years," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.


"Any message that we have delivered to the Iranian government would be the same as what we've said publicly," he said.


"The United States and the international community have a strong interest in the free flow of commerce and freedom of navigation in all international waterways."


Washington and its allies have stepped up increasingly harsh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear enrichment program, which they have charged is part of a secret drive to develop nuclear weapons.


Iran has insisted its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and vowed to retaliate against any strike on its facilities.


Tensions have flared in recent days following the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist in a bombing Tehran has blamed on US and Israeli intelligence services. US officials have denied any involvement in the attack.


Iran's Revolutionary Guards have announced new naval maneuvers in the Strait of Hormuz within the next few weeks, underlining Tehran's threat to close the narrow channel between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.


Washington has meanwhile sent a second aircraft carrier to waters just outside the Gulf, and a third is on its way.

[American Patriot]

And Russia is heard from now (again):

Russia says would be threatened by Iran military action





Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:31am EST

* Russia opposes Iran oil boycott, defends Tehran
* US, EU and Japan are drawing up sanctions on Iran


Jan 13 (Reuters) - Russia would regard any military intervention linked to Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its own security, Moscow's departing ambassador to NATO warned on Friday.


"Iran is our neighbour," Dmitry Rogozin told reporters in Brussels. "And if Iran is involved in any military action, it's a direct threat to our security."


Rogozin was speaking two days after the killing of a nuclear scientist in Tehran by a hitman on a motorcycle.


Kremlin Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev, who is close to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said Israel was pushing the United States towards war with Iran, according to the Interfax news agency.


Russia, however, opposes a boycott of Iranian oil.


"We are definitely interested in the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Rogozin said on Friday. "But at the same time, we believe that any country has the right to have what it needs to feel comfortable, including Iran."


Rogozin, often described as an anti-Western hawk, was appointed deputy prime minister in December, and will oversee Russia's defence sector when he returns to Moscow.


The United States, the European Union and Japan are drawing up sanctions on Iran to try to force it to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons programme. Tehran says its programme does not have military aims.


The United States on Thursday took punitive action against three oil companies dealing with Iranian oil.


EU foreign ministers are expected to agree on a ban on imports of Iranian crude oil on Jan. 23 - though with a grace period to give European companies time to find alternative sources of crude.


Japan on Thursday pledged to take concrete action to cut its oil imports from Iran. (Reporting By Sebastian Moffett; Editing by Sophie Hares)

[American Patriot]

Britain speaks:

Cameron Says World Will Ensure Strait of Hormuz Stays Open in Iran Dispute

By Robert Hutton and Thomas Penny - Jan 13, 2012 10:00 AM MT



U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said he and other members of the international community are ready to ensure the Strait of Hormuz stays open should Iran attempt to block it in retaliation for sanctions.



Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said on Dec. 27 that his nation would block shipments through the strait, the world’s biggest chokepoint for seaborne oil trade, if sanctions are imposed over Iran’s nuclear program.



“We are now looking at this whole issue of having an embargo on Iranian oil to get that regime to think again,” Cameron told Al Arabiya television in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he held talks with King Abdullah today. “It is in the interests of the whole world that those straits are open and I’m sure if there was any threat to close them the world would come together and make sure they stayed open.”



Western countries say the Gulf state may be seeking atomic capability to build nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for civilian purposes, including power generation. A European Union embargo is currently likely to be delayed for six months to allow members to find alternative supplies, according to two EU officials with knowledge of the talks. It’ll be discussed by the bloc’s foreign ministers Jan. 23.



Oil dropped to a three-week low on that news, declining as much as 1.4 percent. Crude for February delivery fell 73 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $98.37 a barrel at 10:47 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped as much as $1.40 to $97.70, the lowest level since Dec. 21. Oil is headed for a 3.1 percent decline this week.
Temporary Ability

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey said on Jan. 8 that Iran can temporarily choke off the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 million barrels of oil pass each day, the Energy Department estimates.


He added that the U.S. would be able to defeat such a blockade.



The EU ban is likely to include an exemption for Italy, so crude can be sold to pay off debts to Rome-based Eni SpA (ENI), Italy’s largest oil company, according to the officials, who declined to be identified because the talks are private.



A ban on petrochemical products would start sooner, about three months after EU ministers agree to the measure, one official said yesterday. Once a decision is made, member states would be barred from concluding new oil contracts with Iran or renewing those that are due to expire, while existing deals will be terminated within six months, according to a second diplomat today. Long-term contracts constitute the bulk of Europe’s purchases of Iranian oil.
‘Different Options’

“Work by experts from the 27 member states is in a very intensive phase,” Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, said by phone yesterday from Brussels. “They are looking into different options for restrictive measures with a view to adoption on Jan. 23.” She declined to comment on possible phase-in periods or exemptions.



Phasing in the European embargo would satisfy the concern of nations most dependent on Iranian crude, including Italy, Greece and Spain, the first EU official said. Those three nations accounted for 68.5 percent of EU imports from Iran in 2010, according to European Commission data.



Germany, France and the U.K. have been pushing for the embargo to increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, and it has the support in principle of all member states, the EU official said yesterday.
‘Different Path’

“There is a clear threat from Iran in terms of that country’s attempt to acquire nuclear weapons,” Cameron said. “I think that would be very bad for the region, very bad for the world and I think it’s right that all countries across the world step up the pressure on Iran to take a different path. And Britain has been leading the way in that regard in the European Union arguing for sanctions.”



Cameron also urged Russia and China to drop their opposition to United Nations sanctions against Syria and listen to the Arab League, which he said was “leading the way” on the issue.



“President Assad has lost the consent of his people,” he said. “I would urge the Russians, the Russian government, even at this late stage, to look really carefully at why it is proposing to do what it keeps doing in respect to Syria. This is appalling bloodshed, appalling murder on the streets of Syria.”



International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will go to Tehran at the end of the month to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, two diplomats with knowledge of the talks said today.



Iran’s willingness to resume talks doesn’t mean it’s ready to negotiate restrictions on its nuclear program, said Michael Singh, a former official on the U.S. National Security Council.
Negotiating Delay

“All the signals from the Iranians are not that they’re now willing to negotiate an end to their nuclear program, but that they’re not,” said Singh, who is now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “They’re probably hoping to use talks as a delaying tactic, and to raise the hopes of those in the international community who think that negotiations can resolve the issue.”



As Europe weighs its embargo, President Barack Obama’s administration has sent teams worldwide to consult with countries on managing the supply and demand of oil, according to an administration official who briefed reporters in Washington.



Iran, the second largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped 3.58 million barrels of crude a day last month, according to Bloomberg estimates.



OPEC’s other members would be able to make up for a drop in Iranian oil supply if the EU agrees to an embargo, said Chakib Khelil, the group’s former president. Even so, prices may temporarily rally to as high as $200 a barrel on news of any such blockade, he said today in London.



“It should be possible to replace, at least, the European consumption of Iranian oil,” Khelil said in an interview with Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move.”



To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net; Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net


To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net.

[American Patriot]

US, Britain Warn Iran Against Closing Strait

Posted Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
British Prime Minister David Cameron has joined with the United States in warning Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz.
During a visit to Saudi Arabia Friday, Mr. Cameron said the “whole world” would take action if Iran closed the waterway, which is a key export route for oil-producing countries of the Persian Gulf.
The New York Times quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying Washington has sent a message to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, that closing the Strait of Hormuz would provoke a U.S. response.
The report published late Thursday said the covert message was not delivered through the Swiss government, the usual way Washington communicates with Iranian leaders.
Iran recently threatened to close the narrow waterway, which is also a vital shipping route for the global oil trade. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier this week that the threat is “provocative and dangerous.”
U.S.-Iran tensions are also high over the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist in a bomb attack in Tehran Wednesday. Iran blames the United States and Israel and is demanding the United Nations Security Council condemn the murder.
Israel and the United States deny involvement. But U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday U.S. officials have some ideas who may be responsible.
Western nations have been stepping up pressure on Iran to end its nuclear enrichment program, which they say is part of a drive to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

[American Patriot]

China Gets Cheaper Iran Oil as U.S. Picks Up Tab for Hormuz Strait Patrols

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan and Gopal Ratnam - Jan 12, 2012 1:07 PM MT


Enlarge image
A PetroChina Co. gas station attendant fills a customer's vehicle in Shanghai, China. Photographer: Kevin Lee/Bloomberg



China stands to be the biggest beneficiary of U.S. and European plans for sanctions on Iran’s oil sales in an effort to pressure the regime to abandon its nuclear program.
As European Union members negotiate an Iranian oil embargo and the U.S. begins work on imposing sanctions to complicate global payments for Iranian oil, Chinese refiners already may be taking advantage of the mounting pressure. China is demanding discounts and better terms on Iranian crude, oil analysts and sanctions advocates said in interviews.
“The sanctions against Iran strengthen the Chinese hand at the negotiating table,” Michael Wittner, head of oil-market research for Societe Generale SA in New York, said in a phone interview. While there are no confirmed numbers, Chinese refiners are likely to win discounts on Iranian crude contracts as buyers from other nations halt or reduce their purchases of Iranian oil to avoid being penalized under U.S. and European sanctions, he said.
At the same time, the U.S. is bearing most of the cost of air and sea patrols and surveillance in the Strait of Hormuz, through which transit 17 million barrels a day of crude, or 20 percent of world supplies. China, the No. 2 importer of oil after the U.S., enjoys protection for the shipping lanes without paying a cent, retired Admiral Dennis Blair, a former U.S. Director of National Intelligence, said in an interview.
U.S. Patrols
“Policing the region imposes a cost on us, and benefits the Chinese,” Blair said in an interview. A few Iranian officials recently have threatened to shut the passage if the U.S. and Europe enforce tough oil sanctions.
The U.S. military is flying 24-hour drone missions every three days in the Strait and the Persian Gulf and 12-hour sorties by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) manned P-3 surveillance aircraft, according to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert and Navy Captain Jim Hoke.
The U.S. gets 18 percent of its crude and petroleum products from the Persian Gulf, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. China imported 5.09 million barrels of oil a day in the first eleven months last year, of which 51 percent came from the Middle East.
China’s imports of Iranian oil rose 29 percent to 25.3 million metric tons for the 11 months ended November 2011, compared with the same period in 2010, according to Chinese customs data. The value of the imports increased 80 percent to $19.7 billion, according to the data.
Free Ride

As the world’s second-largest economy after the U.S., China often gets an economic free-ride “even absent the current tensions in the Persian Gulf,” said Erica Downs, a China and energy specialist at the Brookings Institution, a research group in Washington.
In Afghanistan, China benefited economically from the U.S.- led war to oust the Taliban, Downs said. In 2007, Metallurgical Corp. of China won the right to develop Afghanistan’s largest copper deposit, even as U.S. forces were fighting and dying in the country, she said.
Oil is Iran’s main source of income, yielding the country $73 billion in 2010 and supplying more than 50 percent of the national budget, according to the U.S. Energy Department and the International Monetary Fund. The second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia, Iran exported an average of 2.58 million barrels a day in 2010, according to OPEC.
Oil Prices

Oil climbed to the highest level in a week on concern that an oil-workers’ strike in Nigeria will curb supplies. Crude for February delivery fell $1.81, or 1.8 percent, to $99.06 a barrel at 2:30 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after touching $102.98 earlier in the day.
The U.S. and Europe say they are targeting Iran’s oil earnings to force the regime to abandon a suspected nuclear weapons program. Iran says that its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian energy and medical research.
While China has voted for four rounds of United Nations sanctions on Iran, China’s leaders have criticized efforts to expand U.S. and European sanctions unilaterally. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said a congressional measure signed into law by President Barack Obama on Dec. 31 to penalize Iran’s central bank and block payments for its petroleum exports elevates U.S. law above international norms.
Biggest Refiner

China is the biggest refiner of Iranian crude, buying 22 percent of Iran’s oil exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“Iran is one of China’s biggest petroleum suppliers,” Zhai said at a Jan. 11 briefing in Beijing. “China hopes that petroleum imports won’t be affected, as petroleum is needed for China’s development and for ensuring the needs of its people.”
The U.S. today announced sanctions against China’s Zhuhai Zhenrong Company, the country’s largest supplier of refined petroleum to Iran. The U.S. has determined that Zhenrong brokered delivery of $500 million of gasoline to Iran between July 2010 and July 2011, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. Energy trading firms Kuo Oil Pte. Ltd., of Singapore and FAL Oil Company Ltd of United Arab Emirates also were sanctioned, according to the statement.
Sanctions Imposed

All three companies had transactions with Iran with individual deals exceeding $1 million and total value in excess of $5 million. The firms face penalties under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 that will prohibit them from receiving U.S. export licenses or loans exceeding $10 million from U.S. banks, according to the statement.
China is seeking to diversify its Middle East oil sources. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao embarks Jan. 14 on a six-day trip to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
During Wen’s visit, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, and Saudi Arabian Oil Co. will sign an agreement for a proposed refinery at Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, the Saudi state-oil company said in an e-mailed statement Jan. 8. Sinopec has agreed to a 37.5 percent stake in Aramco’s planned 400,000 barrel-a-day fuel-processing plant.
Undermining U.S.
Even if it diversifies sources of oil, China is unlikely to sever commercial ties to Iran, said Willy Wo-Lap Lam, an adjunct professor of history at the Chinese University in Hong Kong.
“It has been a long-standing policy of Beijing’s to undermine U.S. influence in the Middle East even as the Obama administration is shifting its diplomatic and military pivot to the Asia-Pacific,” Lam said in an e-mail. “There is no possibility that Beijing will curtail its oil imports from Iran, which is seen by Beijing as a major ally.”
Instead, China’s oil executives are expected to demand lower prices for Iranian crude, said Mark Dubowitz, director of the Iran Energy Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an advocacy group in Washington.
Dubowitz estimates that if China were the only remaining buyer of Iranian crude, it might command as much as 40 percent discounts. Among the other major refiners of Iranian oil, India has increased orders from Saudi Arabia, and Japanese and South Korean officials say they are gradually reducing their dependence on Iran, Dubowitz said.
EU Ministers

The European Union, which is collectively the No. 2 buyer of Iranian crude, taking 18 percent of Iran’s exports, has agreed in principle to an embargo of Iranian oil. The 27 EU foreign ministers are expected to approve the embargo at a Jan. 23 meeting in Brussels.
Discussion of the EU embargo “is already setting off a cascade of oil-market behavior,” as the Chinese try to exploit Iran’s weakness by demanding price cuts, Dubowitz said.
The Chinese “are forcing the Iranians to offer these price discounts to compensate for added political and legal risk,” said Dubowitz, who has been advising Congress and the Obama administration.
Sanctions work in part by leveraging the greed of buyers willing to flout sanctions, he said. Even those buyers will hurt Iran’s bottom line by cutting their oil revenue, Dubowitz said.
Dubowitz agrees with Lam that there’s little evidence that “Beijing and Tehran are breaking up.” Rather, a shrinking circle of refiners will be able to “ruthlessly drive for discounts,” he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Gopal Ratnam in Washington at gratnam1@bloomberg.net. Indira A.R. Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net

[American Patriot]

Editorial: A prelude to war? The Egyptian Gazette Friday, January 13, 2012 04:41:10 PM CAIRO - Is the Middle East about to witness a new war between Iran and the Western powers, given the escalation in the threats in the past few days?Tehran says it will close the Strait of Hormuz, if anyone should attack its nuclear institutions or impose sanctions on the sale of its oil.
In the meantime, Iran has further stoked Western fears about its nuclear activities by starting to enrich fissile material in a new site deep inside a virtually impregnable mountain bunker. The Fordo site near the holy city of Qom, 90 miles southwest of Teheran, has begun enriching uranium to 20-percent purity, as the UN atomic watchdog agency recently revealed. Apparently, Tehran isn’t taking the American and Western war threats seriously and is continuing with a nuclear project that it says is for peaceful purposes, with the material to be use to make isotopes for treating cancer. Tehran seems confident that the Western threats and even sanctions will never develop into a war, especially at a time when most Western countries are suffering from a chronic economic crisis, making a new war a terrible financial burden. Besides, Obama’s administration, that has just wrapped up a war in Iraq, won’t launch a new one in the region in the presidential election year. An American war on Iran would strengthen its relations with Israel and therefore the Jewish lobby in the States, but it might cost Obama the voices of many Americans who are fed up with the economic hardship such wars have caused them. Mere threats of war and the imposition of more sanctions on Iran could be enough to encourage the Jewish lobby and promote arm deals with the Gulf states that might find themselves involved if war erupted. Selling more weapons to the rich oil states would pump billions of dollars into an ailing American economy. Some analysts believe the recent American and European ban on dealing with the Iranian Central Bank and purchasing Iranian oil to be a prelude to war.