Iran the Next Battlefield - Thread Renamed

[American Patriot]

Actually, in looking more carefully at the above photos, I think we're seeing the SAME missile four times now.

[American Patriot]

Iran Fires More Missiles, Fueling Fears Of Even Higher Oil Prices + Obama's Comprehension
PDOP ^ | 07/10/2008 | Jarid Brown The plan must be comprehensive and certainly will not please the extremists on either side. Senator Obama, Harry Reid, and democratic leadership who control the agenda of congress have made no attempt to put forth such a plan. Both the Bush Energy Plan and Democratic Energy plans were partisan driven pieces of legislation that provided no realistic hope for an improved energy outlook. If congress is unwilling to act immediately, then those obstructionists must be removed come November.
For his part, Obama does not comprehend the...

(Excerpt) Read more at politicallydrunk.blogspot.com ...

[American Patriot]

With or Without Nukes, Iran Is a Mortal Threat
Ayn Rand Institute ^ | 7/9/2008 | Elan Journo

Imagine that your neighborhood is overrun by a gang. These brutes are wielding crowbars, knives, and pistols in a frenzied spree of home break-ins and mugging and murder. Now suppose the police reveal that their grand strategy for dealing with this gang is to block them from getting submachine guns--as if without such weapons, the gang would no longer bother people.

Would you sleep soundly at night?

Or would you be outraged? Of course you would, because this gang--even without more powerful weapons--is already a serious menace that must be stopped.

Now, what would you say if this ridiculous what-if scenario resembled our actual response to the very real threat from Iran?

Ever since taking U.S. embassy staff hostage in 1979, the Islamist regime in Teheran has led an international spree of bombings, hijackings, and other terrorist attacks on Americans and Westerners. Now politicians and diplomats, who put up with Iranian aggression for years, are loudly promising to block Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

On the campaign trail, for instance, the candidates debate how (i.e., with or without preconditions) they'd negotiate to dissuade Iran from pursuing a nuke--on the idea that without such a weapon in Iranian hands, everything will be hunky-dory.

But the uncomfortable truth is that if the mullahs got a nuke, Iran would not suddenly undergo a Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation from a friendly neighbor into a rabid enemy. Iran long ago proved itself a threat that must be stopped; a nuclear arsenal would only make it a far worse threat.

For three decades the ayatollahs of Iran have been using proxies--such as Hezbollah--to carry out murderous attacks. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps helped create and train Hezbollah, which hijacked a TWA airliner and which kidnapped and tortured to death American citizens. Iran pulled the strings behind the 1983 bomb attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and later the barracks of U.S. Marines, killing 241 Americans. Iran also orchestrated the 1996 car bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, where 19 U.S. servicemen died.

There's more: The 9/11 Commission found that "senior al Qaeda operatives and trainers traveled to Iran to receive training in explosives," and that "8 to 10 of the 14 Saudi 'muscle' operatives traveled into or out of Iran between October 2000 and February 2001." During the Afghanistan war, Iran welcomed fleeing al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Today, according to the U.S. military, Iran is running training camps near Teheran for Iraqi insurgents, who return to Iraq to practice and train others in their bomb-making skills. There's also growing evidence that Iraqi insurgents get bomb technology from Iran.

What's going on here?

A rational assessment of Iran would have to recognize that the mullahs in Teheran have been conducting a proxy war against America. The inspiration for this war is Iran's jihadist goal of imposing Islamic totalitarianism globally. Iran is a leading sponsor of jihadists and the self-identified role model for exporting its Islamic revolution to other countries. It is the sworn enemy of the West. We should take seriously its call to bring "Death to America!"--because it has already done so.

But too many American diplomats and commentators refuse to judge Iran. Instead, they regard its past hostility as a string of disconnected crises, unrelated to Iran's ideological agenda. They avoid naming the nature of the regime and behave as if its acquisition of a nuclear weapon would be the decisive event. But that particular weapon--despite its power--cannot be the whole story, since we don't worry about other countries, such as France and Britain, having nukes. The rarely admitted difference is that the regime in Iran would eagerly press the launch button.

This fear-the-weapon-not-the-killer mentality refuses to understand the threat posed by Iran right now. This view holds that only the concrete facts about Iran's arsenal have any practical significance, while its abstract, ideological goals and character can be disregarded with impunity. But whether Iran uses one nuke, or attacks with more conventional weapons, its victims are still dead.

Our leaders' narrow concern with Iran's nuclear capability cannot make the regime's longstanding hostility to America go away. Americans should face the real character and conduct of the Iranian regime, before it is too late.

[Toad]

Looks like the video frame capture from post #557 was the original to the shopped pic in #560.

And what a lame Jr. High photo-shopping attempt it is. They didn't even try to change the smoke clouds.

[Ryan Ruck]

I stole a couple pics from the thread I saw on FR on this.



And some equally Photoshopped pics...

[Ryan Ruck]

And what a lame Jr. High photo-shopping attempt it is. They didn't even try to change the smoke clouds.

Exactly. Could have at least used the Smudge tool to change things up a bit and add a few changes to the smoke clouds colors.

[Toad]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Nice pix, Ryan!

[American Patriot]

Iran Test-Fires More Missiles in Gulf; Rice Issues Warning

Thursday, July 10, 2008
AP

July 10: Sparks are seen in the contrail of an Iranian missile after launch into the night sky in the Persian Gulf.


July 10: Sparks are seen in the contrail of an Iranian missile after launch into the night sky in the Persian Gulf.

• 
• 
• 
• 

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the U.S. or Israel, Iranian state television reported Thursday.

The weapons have "special capabilities" and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. It did not elaborate.
A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired simultaneously in the darkness.


The report came hours after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.


"We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and the interests of our allies," Rice said Thursday in Georgia at the close of a three-day Eastern European trip.


Among the missiles Iran said it tested Wednesday was a new version of the Shahab-3, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.


That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan all within striking distance.


Wednesday's missile tests were conducted at the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which up to 40 percent of the world's oil passes. Iran has threatened to shut down traffic in the strait if attacked.


Oil prices jumped on news of Wednesday's tests, rising $1.44 to $137.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.


But another Iranian state channel, Press TV, quoted a senior Republican Guard commander Thursday as saying Iran would maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz and the larger Gulf.


Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, chief of the Guards' joint staff, called the missile tests a "defensive measure against invasions," according to the channel's Web site.


Iran will not jeopardize the interests of neighboring countries, he said without elaborating.

[American Patriot]

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/200.../index.html?hp

July 10, 2008, 9:16 am In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many

By Mike Nizza and Patrick Witty



In the four-missile version of the image released Wednesday by Sepah News, the media arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, two major sections (encircled in red) appear to closely replicate other sections (encircled in orange). (Illustration by The New York Times; photo via Agence France-Presse)


Updated, 9:33 a.m., Agence France-Presse has retracted the image as “apparently digitally altered.”

As news spread across the world of Iran’s provocative missile tests, so did an image of four missiles heading skyward in unison. Unfortunately, it appeared to contain one too many missiles, a point that had not emerged before the photo appeared on the front pages of The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, The Chicago Tribune and several other newspapers as well as on BBC News, MSNBC, Yahoo! News, NYTimes.com and many other major news Web sites.




The Los Angeles Times, The Palm Beach Post and Chicago Tribune, among others, used the image on the front pages on Thursday.




Our homepage at 3:56 p.m. on Wednesday.


Agence France-Presse said that it obtained the image from the Web site of Sepah News, the media arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, on Wednesday. But there was no sign of it there later in the day. Today, The Associated Press distributed what appeared to be a nearly identical photo from the same source, but without the fourth missile.


As the above illustration shows, the second missile from the right appears to be the sum of two other missiles in the image. The contours of the billowing smoke match perfectly near the ground, as well in the immediate wake of the missile. Only a small black dot in the reddish area of exhaust seems to differ from the missile to its left, though there are also some slight variations in the color of the smoke and the sky.
Does Iran’s state media use Photoshop? The charge has been leveled before. So far, though, it can’t be said with any certainty whether there is any official Iranian involvement in this instance. Sepah apparently published the three-missile version of the image today without further explanation.


For its part, Agence France-Presse retracted its four-missile version this morning, saying that the image was “apparently digitally altered” by Iranian state media. The fourth missile “has apparently been added in digital retouch to cover a grounded missile that may have failed during the test,” the agency said.


Top, the image that Agence France-Presse obtained from Sepah News on Wednesday. Below, another image that The Associated Press received from the same source on Thursday.

[American Patriot]

Article from VOA - still showing same images too! LOL

Israel Concerned as Iran Conducts War Games
By Robert Berger Jerusalem 10 July 2008

Berger report - Download (MP3)
Berger report - Listen (MP3)

A second day of military exercises in Iran is causing anxiety in nearby Israel. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

In a handout released on the news website of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, long and medium range missiles rise into the air after being test-fired at an undisclosed location in Iran, 09 Jul 2008

Israel has responded to Iranian war games, saying they show Iran's belligerent intentions. Israel is especially concerned about Iran's test firing of long-range missiles capable of hitting the Jewish state.

"If those missiles will one day be equipped with nuclear warheads, this will produce [an] existential threat to Israel," said
Yuval Steinitz, a senior member of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Israel has grown increasingly alarmed about Iran's nuclear program since late 2005, when the Iranian president threatened to wipe the Jewish state "off the map."

Iran said the military exercises are aimed at showing that the nation can defend itself from an attack by Israel or the United States.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but Steinitz believes Iran is developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to deliver them.

"Therefore we have to do our utmost to stop the Iranian nuclear project before such missiles can really become devastating," he said.

Israel believes the West is not being tough enough on Iran, and it has threatened to launch a pre-emptive strike if sanctions fail.

Meanwhile, in a show of strength, Israel publicly displayed its newest spy plane equipped with sophisticated intelligence-gathering technology and electronic warfare systems. Officials say it is a message that Israel is closely watching Iran's nuclear facilities.

[Jag]

Jul 10, 2008 23:46 | Updated Jul 11, 2008 5:01
Barak to tell Bush time is running out on thwarting Iran

In a series of consultations apparently aimed at coordinating policies against the Iranian nuclear threat, Defense Minister Ehud Barak will head to the US on Monday for talks at the Pentagon, days after Mossad chief Meir Dagan was in Washington for meetings with key intelligence Sources say Israel is urgently trying to convince the US that Iran is closer to passing the nuclear threshold than Washington believes.



Slideshow: Pictures of the week




Dagan's visit came as Iran held a second day of military maneuvers on Thursday and claimed to have test-fired more long-range missiles meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the US or Israel.

Barak will spend three days in the US for talks with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Defense officials said he would likely also meet with President George W. Bush.

A week after Barak's visit, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi will head to Washington for his own round of talks with American defense chiefs, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, who was in Israel two weeks ago.
Barak hinted at Israeli readiness to attack the Islamic Republic on Thursday.


"The Iranian issue is a challenge not just for Israel but for the entire world," Barak told a meeting of the Labor Party faction. "Israel is the strongest country in the region and we have proven in the past that we are not deterred from acting when our vital interests are at stake."

But he quickly noted that "the reactions of [Israel's] enemies need to be taken into consideration as well."

A senior government official said the Dagan, Barak, Ashkenazi visits to Washington were part of the "routine, close consultations" held between Israel and the US.

Another government source said it would be an exaggeration to imagine that the meetings had to do with drawing up operational plans for any type of military action against Iran. According to this source, no decision had been made on the matter, and Israel was extremely unlikely to take any unilateral action.

A senior US official recently said there was a discrepancy of six to 12 months between the time Israel believed Iran would pass the nuclear point of no return, and when the US felt Teheran will have mastered the nuclear cycle.

The source added that the visits of the Israeli officials came as an intense debate continued to rage inside the US administration between those who favored military action, led by Cheney, and those opposed, led by Gates.

"Iran's response to Europe is not ambiguous," the official said. "Iran rejects the international demand to halt the enrichment of uranium and the world must respond accordingly - by increasing and intensifying the sanctions against Iran."

Also on Thursday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told visiting Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin that Teheran posed not only a nuclear threat, but also a "comprehensive" threat because of its support for Hizbullah, Hamas and other extremist elements in the region.

Government officials, meanwhile, did not seem overly concerned about Iran's recent missile tests. One official said both sides were signaling the other that they could cause significant damage. The official put the missile tests in the same category as the reportedly large-scale IAF exercise in the eastern Mediterranean in the first week of June, and a well publicized visit Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made to Dimona on July 1.

In response to the missile tests, Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said Israel "seeks neither conflict nor does it seek hostilities with Iran. Nevertheless, Iran's nuclear program together with their ballistic missile program should be a matter of grave concern for the entire family of nations."

In the second day of exercises in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards claimed to have tested new weapons with "special capabilities" that included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles. A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired simultaneously in the darkness, followed by red plumes of fire and smoke.

On Wednesday, Iran said it tested a new version of the Shihab-3 missile, which officials have said has a range of 2,000 km. and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead. That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan all within striking distance.

In what could be interpreted as an Israeli response to the two-day Iranian exercise, Israel Aerospace Industries put on display for the press on Thursday the air force's most-sophisticated airborne early-warning and control plane, which would likely be used in any strike against Iranian nuclear installations.

The aircraft's sophisticated radar and intelligence-gathering technology as well as electronic warfare systems were developed by IAI's Elta Division and installed aboard a Gulfstream G550 business jet. The plane arrived in Israel in September 2006 and became operation this past February. The aircraft will also be shown at the Farnborough Air Show in England next week. AP contributed to this report.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

Jag

[eversman]

found this online this morning........
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215330937574&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Israel Air Force (IAF) war planes are practicing in Iraqi airspace and land in US airbases on the
country as preparation for a potential strike on Iran, sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry told a local news network, Friday.


Photo: IDF


Slideshow: Pictures of the week

The report, carried also by Iranian news outlets, claimed that recently massive nocturnal activity by IAF craft was noted in several American held airbases, including measures by the US army to increase security around the bases.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the veracity of the report.

According to the sources, former military officers in the Anbar province said IAF jets arrive during the night from Jordanian airspace, enter Iraq's airspace and land on a runway near the city of Hadita. The sources estimated the jets were practicing for a raid on Iran's nuclear sites.

The sources also said the American bases in Iraq might serve as a platform for the IAF from which to attack Iran. If Israeli warplanes will take off from Iraq, they can reach Bushehr in five minutes - a "record time," the sources said.

After reports of a massive IAF exercise over the Mediterranean surfaced several weeks ago, an Israeli official told the times that the drill was "the dress rehearsal" for an attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was the "strongest country in the region." Sending a thinly veiled warning to Iran, Barak said Israel "has already proved it did not shy away in the past from acting when it fears its vital interests are at stake."












ev

[American Patriot]

'Israeli warplanes practice in Iraq'
The Jerusalem Post ^ | July, 11, 2008 | JPOST.COM STAFF

Israel Air Force (IAF) war planes are practicing in Iraqi airspace and land in US airbases on the country as preparation for a potential strike on Iran, sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry told a local news network, Friday.

The report, carried also by Iranian news outlets, claimed that recently massive nocturnal activity by IAF craft was noted in several American held airbases, including measures by the US army to increase security around the bases.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the veracity of the report.

According to the sources, former military officers in the Anbar province said IAF jets arrive during the night from Jordanian airspace, enter Iraq's airspace and land on a runway near the city of Hadita. The sources estimated the jets were practicing for a raid on Iran's nuclear sites.

The sources also said the American bases in Iraq might serve as a platform for the IAF from which to attack Iran. If Israeli warplanes will take off from Iraq, they can reach Bushehr in five minutes - a "record time," the sources said.

After reports of a massive IAF exercise over the Mediterranean surfaced several weeks ago, an Israeli official told the times that the drill was "the dress rehearsal" for an attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was the "strongest country in the region." Sending a thinly veiled warning to Iran, Barak said Israel "has already proved it did not shy away in the past from acting when it fears its vital interests are at stake."

[American Patriot]

Iran's Conflicting Signals to the West
WP ^ | July 11, 2008 | Glenn Kessler

Last week, various Iranian officials made positive comments about a new diplomatic outreach by the United States and its allies, suggesting negotiations on Iran's nuclear program might be possible. This week, Iran test-fired medium-range and long-range missiles, bluntly warning that thousands more were ready to be launched.

The conflicting signals are typical of the opaque Islamic republic, with its many competing power centers and complex system of government. But demonstrating strength before negotiations also is a long-tested diplomatic formula, suggesting the missile launches and harsh rhetoric could be a sign that Iran is suddenly open to bargaining.

"The Iranian calculation is they need a show of strength," said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, director of Middle East studies at Syracuse University's Maxwell School. "They are ready for diplomacy and willing to talk, but they are also saying you can't treat us like a weak, third-tier state."

Former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross said the varying messages may reflect "both sides of the Iranian leadership," but they also send a single message: "It makes no sense to attack us -- we can talk and we can also make things really horrible."

There were conflicting reports yesterday on whether Iran had conducted a second round of missile tests earlier in the day, following an initial set on Wednesday. Farsnews, a news agency with ties to the state, reported that several ground-to-air missiles, as well as a torpedo that "is the fastest in the world" had been test-fired. But Pentagon and intelligence officials said reports of two rounds of tests were incorrect, because eight missiles were fired on the same day, within hours of one another. Iranian media said nine missiles were launched Wednesday, while other reports said as few as seven or as many as 10 missiles were launched.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...

[American Patriot]

Missiles with a message
The Guardian ^ | July 11, 2008 | Editorial

Some of what is going on in Iran is bluster. Missile experts scrutinising images of yesterday's multiple rocket launches disputed Iranian claims that they had fired a missile with an increased range. Iran might also have dramatised the number of missiles it fired, by digitally enhancing the pictures it released.

But much of it is not bluster. If Israel carried out its threat to hit Iran's nuclear sites on the presumption that they are close to building a bomb, Iran would have the opportunity to substantially inflame events in three theatres of war, from Afghanistan and Iraq to the eastern Mediterranean. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a 21-mile-wide passage through which 40% of the world's oil cargo passes, might be the least of the world's problems.

Israel's air force and Iran's rocket forces have both now flexed their muscles. Each believes its military exercises have a deterrent value but, month by month, the space for diplomacy is shrinking. The decision of the oil giant Total to pull out of a huge planned investment in Iran's gas reserves (ostensibly because of the political risks involved but more probably because of the pressure applied by Nicolas Sarkozy's government) could be interpreted as buying more time for diplomacy. If the economic screw is tightened on Iran, the Revolutionary Guards might calculate the real costs of their folly. But the inverse equally applies. What generally follows military exercises and widespread fears of confrontation in the Middle East is conflict itself.

Iran is not an innocent bystander in this game of brinkmanship. As Professor Peter Zimmerman, a former scientific adviser to the US Senate's foreign relations committee, pointed out in a recent article, the Islamic Republic has real questions to answer about its supposedly civilian programme:

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...

[Mina Harker]

Everyone see this one today?:

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/Art...566925,00.html

Officials: Israeli jets flying over Iraqi territory in preparation for strike on Iran
Sources in Iraq's Defense Ministry say for past month Israel using American bases to conduct overflights as part of rehearsal for possible bombing or Iranian nuclear facilities
Roee Nahmias

Israeli fighter jets have been flying over Iraqi territory for over a month in preparation for potential strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry told a local news network Friday, adding that the aircraft have been landing in American bases following the overflights.
Word of Israel's alleged Air Force maneuvers in Iraq has reached Iran. The sources said the US has boosted security in and around the bases used by Israel during the exercises.

According to the Defense Ministry officials, retired Iraqi army officers in the Al Anbar district reported that fighter jets have been regularly entering Iraqi airspace from Jordan and landing at the airport near Haditha.

The sources estimated that should the Israeli jets take off from the American bases it would take them no more than five minutes to reach Iran's nuclear reactor in Bushehr.
American officials said recently that more than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters took part in maneuvers over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece in the first week of June, apparently a rehearsal for a potential bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities.

[Ryan Ruck]

If those articles ev and Mina posted are true, it is EXACTLY what I predicted the IAF would be doing to carry out a strike on Iran. I've also said there is a good chance you'd see them land in Afghanistan after a strike to fuel back up. That would give them opportunity to perhaps carry out a second run.

Truth be told, I'm hoping that we'll be actively helping the IAF. I'd like to see a number of F-22s go on escort with the IAF to provide SEAD and air superiority while the IAF carries out the ground strike.

The F-22s would be perfect for this as they are air superiority fighters and stealthy which can provide plausible deniability and, the IAF's F-16I aircraft are inherently well suited to ground strike.

[American Patriot]

Personally, I'd like to see the ME Supernova.... get it over with.

[American Patriot]

Iraq denies IAF used its airspace
Jerusalem Post ^ | 7/11/2008 | Staff

Iraq denied on Friday reports claiming the Israeli Air Force has been practicing for a possible attack against Iran in its airspace.

On Friday, sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry told a local news network that Israel Air Force (IAF) war planes are practicing in Iraqi airspace and land on US airbases in the country as a preparation for a potential strike on Iran.

The report, which was also carried by Iranian news outlets, claimed that recently massive IAF overnight presence was detected in several American held airbases.

According to the sources, former military officers in the Anbar province said IAF jets arrive during the night from Jordanian airspace, enter Iraq's airspace and land on a runway near the city of Hadita. The sources estimated the jets were practicing for a raid on Iran's nuclear sites.

The sources also said the American bases in Iraq might serve as a platform for the IAF from which to attack Iran. If Israeli warplanes will take off from Iraq, they can reach Bushehr in five minutes - a "record time," the sources said.

After reports of a massive IAF exercise over the Mediterranean surfaced several weeks ago, an Israeli official told the times that the drill was "the dress rehearsal" for an attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was the "strongest country in the region." Sending a thinly veiled warning to Iran, Barak said Israel "has already proved it did not shy away in the past from acting when it fears its vital interests are at stake."

[Ryan Ruck]

I'm sure they did. They don't want Iran getting froggy and trying to hit anything in Iraq.