Iran the Next Battlefield - Thread Renamed

[vector7]

Israel expected to bomb Iran, French foreign minister says

The French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has said Israel is expected to launch a military strike on Iran before it acquires a nuclear bomb, and urged the Jewish state to hold back in favour of sanctions.

By Carolynne Wheeler in Jerusalem
Last Updated: 2:18PM BST 05 Oct 2008

"I know that some people in Israel and in the army are preparing a military solution or not a solution but a military attack. I don’t know. This is not according to my opinion the solution,� Mr Kouchner told the Israeli daily Ha’aretz in an interview published Sunday, adding that he did not believe Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon would give it any “immunity� from attack.

"First, because you will eat them before. And this is the danger. Because Israel has always said that it will not wait for the bomb to be ready. I think that they [the Iranians] know. Everybody knows,� he said.

The newspaper's print edition quoted Kouchner as saying that Israel would "eat" Iran, but in a written statement the foreign minister said he had used the word "hit," and that he regretted any "phonetic confusion".

Mr Kouchner said French officials believe Iran would be able to produce one bomb within two to four years, though Israeli estimates have suggested the programme is more advanced, and said further talks and sanctions were still the preferred option.

"Iran with an atomic bomb is unacceptable at all,� Mr Kouchner said. “Is the alternative to bomb first? I think not.�

Mr Kouchner’s statement follows last week’s UN Security Council’s resolution demanding an end to Tehran’s efforts at uranium enrichment, suspected to be a clandestine weapons programme though Iran maintains it is to create fuel for peaceful purposes.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also acknowledged last week that in six years of investigations in Iran his agency has never been able to rule out such a programme.

Though Iran has rejected the UN resolutions, its envoy to the IAEA has suggested it might be willing to end uranium enrichment if it were guaranteed an international supply of nuclear fuel.

The French foreign minister met with Palestinian officials and is to meet today with the outgoing Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and his likely successor, foreign minister and ruling Kadima party chairwoman Tzipi Livni.

Following warnings that a peace deal is not expected this year, he has called for the two sides to achieve a breakthrough in talks by year’s end to show the US-backed process relaunched at Annapolis, Maryland has not failed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ster-says.html

[vector7]

Israeli has 3-6 months to hit Iran’s nuclear sites if Moscow sells Tehran S-300 systems

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
October 7, 2008, 11:39 AM (GMT+02:00)


Russian S-300 would make Iran's nuclear sites nearly inviolable Russian military experts calculate that the window for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities will shrink to 3-6 months if Moscow sells Iran (and Syria) the sophisticated S-300 system for guarding those sites against air, missile or cruise missile attack.

DEBKAfile’s

Moscowsources report that Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert failed in the key missions of his Moscowtrip to persuade Russian leaders to discuss Tehran’s nuclear weapons program and to refrain from selling this advanced weapon to Iran and Syria.

President Dmitiry Medvedev’s bureau issued a noncommittal statement Tuesday, Oct. 7, saying that his talks with Olmert were “an exchange of opinion on threats, including terrorism and nonproliferation.� The word “nuclear� was avoided.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who the prime minister met Monday, trotted out the standard Russia claim that Moscow had no definite information that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon and is against tougher sanctions.

Prime minister Vladimir Putin was unable to see him.Moscow’s mainstream media came out Tuesday with a rerun of the statement made on Sept. 17 by Anatoly Isaikin, director of the Russian arms exports agency Rosoboronexport, that his firm is in advanced negotiations with Tehran for the sale of the S-300 missiles. However, on Monday, the same firm disowned knowledge of these missiles having been shipped to Iran, although negotiations for their sale were not mentioned.

Konstantin Makiyenko, from the center for strategic and technological analysis think tank in the Russian capital, said these utterances put Israel on notice to stop selling arms to Georgia and training its army.

Moscow does not conceal its intention of selling S-300 missiles to Syria. A Russian military expert commented: “Our warships if based in Syrian ports will need to be encircled by missile batteries capable of guarding them against air and missile attack.�

According to Russian experts, the system is capable of pinpointing 100 targets and simultaneously intercepting 12 at a distance of 120 km.
Our Russian sources made a point of stressing that Moscow is not subject to embargoes on its foreign arms sales or any international restrictions on supplying defensive weapons to other nations.

[American Patriot]

I think Ryan needs to chime in on that particular article. I'm not sure that it is accurate myself.

[vector7]

Here is the link:

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5635

[vector7]

Iran Views Israeli Strike as US Attack TEHRAN (FNA)- Any offensive action by Tel Aviv would be seen as an attack by Washington, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said symbolizing Israel as a signature mark of the United States in the middle east.

Iran does not believe that Israelis or Americans will attack its nuclear facilities but any attack by Tel Aviv would be considered an attack by Washington, Mottaki said.

"In the Middle East, (no one) makes a distinction between the US and Israel," the minister told Newsweek in an interview.

Reiterating to continue its uranium enrichment program, he said, "What we are doing is completely legal," emphasizing that negotiations are the only way to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to the issue.

Mottaki, however, welcomed the Bush administration's decision to send its Undersecretary William Burns to attend recent talks between Tehran and European Union on nuclear issue, describing it as "the first realistic step" by Washington.

"We welcomed the participation by Mr. Burns in the Geneva talks. We feel that if this is the realistic approach taken by the US right now vis-Ã*-vis the nuclear issue, they must continue with such efforts," he added.

The foreign minister said that previously, the administration of President George W. Bush attached conditions to its participation in the talks with Iran.

Burns's presence in Geneva, argued Mottaki, "meant that those were no longer in play."

An effort has started and if it is to succeed in resolving the nuclear issue, we have to take it to the next step," he added.

Asked why his country is calling for wiping out Israel from the map of the earth, Mottaki said Tehran does not recognize Israel.

Elsewhere, Mottaki said in an interview with the Al-Jazeera on Saturday that Iran does not recognize the Zionist regime as a principle of foreign policy.

He compared the Israeli regime with the apartheid regime of the South Africa.

Asked whether the Zionist regime could attack the Iranian nuclear sites, Mottaki said, "Israel could only make such a move with the US help as it is not capable of launching any attack by itself."

However, Tel Aviv will receive due response as Iran is neither Afghanistan nor Iraq, Mottaki stressed.

Israel and its close ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads.

Iran vehemently denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Speculation that Israel could bomb Iran has mounted since a big Israeli air drill in June. In the first week of June, 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters reportedly took part in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, which was interpreted as a dress rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear installations.

Iran has, in return, warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv.

The United States has also always stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran's progress in the field of nuclear technology.

Iran has warned it could close the strategic Strait of Hormoz if it became the target of a military attack over its nuclear program.

Strait of Hormoz, the entrance to the strategic Persian Gulf waterway, is a major oil shipping route.

Intensified threats by Tel Aviv and Washington of military action against Iran contradict a recent report by 16 US intelligence bodies which endorsed the civilian nature of Iran's nuclear plans and activities.

Following the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) and similar reports by the IAEA head - one in November and the other one in February - which praised Iran's truthfulness about key aspects of its past nuclear activities and announced settlement of outstanding issues with Tehran, any effort to impose further sanctions or launch military attack on Iran seems to be completely irrational.

The February report by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, praised Iran's cooperation in clearing up all of the past questions over its nuclear program, vindicating Iran's nuclear program and leaving no justification for any new UN sanctions.

The UN nuclear watchdog has also carried out at least 14 surprise inspections of Iran's nuclear sites so far, but found nothing to support West's allegations.

Following the said reports by the US and international bodies, many world states have called the UN Security Council pressure against Tehran unjustified, demanding that Iran's case be normalized and returned from the UNSC to the IAEA.

There have also been intense discussions about whether the Israeli air force and navy could successfully carry out an attack by itself against multiple targets more than 1,200 kilometers away that are believed to be scattered and often buried deep underground.

A recent study by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a prestigious American think tank, has found that a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities "is unlikely" to delay the country's program.

Also another study recently conducted by the Bipartisan Policy Center and prepared under the guidance of former senators Republican Daniel Coats and Democrat Charles Robb also said that the US must strike Iran's nuclear sites many times 'over a period of years' to halt the program successfully, otherwise Pentagon would achieve nothing.

Military analysts said that a unilateral strike on Iran by Israel would achieve nothing and seemed more like a joke as it would backfire with overwhelming retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic and its allies on Israel, the United States and their worldwide interests.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8707151425

[Ryan Ruck]

Which one Rick?

[vector7]

Which one Rick?

This one:

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5635

[Ryan Ruck]

In what way do you not think it is accurate Rick? I can't find anything in there that I would strongly disagree with.

[American Patriot]

In what way do you not think it is accurate Rick? I can't find anything in there that I would strongly disagree with.

Israeli has 3-6 months to hit Iran’s nuclear sites if Moscow sells Tehran S-300 systems

The idea that Israel has only 3-6 months.

Note the spelling of "Israel" in the heading. (I don't think that was a mistake of Vector misspelling was it?)

I think Israel can, with the help of the US, hit them any time they like. I think they have hesitated to get some world opinion on their side (not bloody likely) and they waiting to ensure they have at least a tacit agreement from the US to go in.

I don't think those missiles are enough to STOP them from doing so.

[Ryan Ruck]

I see... Well, if Israel had to go it alone and Iran has the S-300 system, I think that could possibly be the case. The S-300 system is pretty robust and would likely cause Israel some significant problems. If, on the other hand, we are actively helping them, I think our better tech could overcome the S-300.

By the way, the misspelling is definitely something from Debka, I checked the link.

[American Patriot]

Ok, well, then you and I actually agree on this this.

[vector7]

Iran: Tehran could make 60 nuclear bombs in two years, says US expert

Milan, 10 Oct. (AKI) - Iran may have the capacity to produce up to 60 nuclear bombs within two years, a leading US non -proliferation expert has told Adnkronos International.

Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Washington-based Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC), was taking part in a summit , "Preventing nuclear proliferation in the Middle East", organised by Italy's Institute for the Study of Foreign Policy (ISPI) and the Italian Foreign Ministry in Milan.

In an interview with AKI, Sokolski raised the alarm about Iran's intentions, claiming that it would have sufficient plutonium after the opening of the Bushehr plant to construct from 30 to 60 bombs.

The nuclear facility at Bushehr is being built under an agreement between the Russian and Iranian governments for 800 million dollars and is expected to begin production in early 2009.

Sokolski said Iran was putting in place the necessary technology and knowledge to recover the new plant's waste using a chemical process that does not need complex installation or specific structures.

"Plutonium that could be used to make atomic bombs," he told AKI. "The fuel for Bushehr will be supplied by the Russians who also said they would dispose of the waste products from it."

But he said few people know that this waste will remain in Iran for two years before being taken away.

"In this time frame the Iranians, with an excuse to analyse the waste, can transfer it to a chemical factory and extract the plutonium," he said.

He said in the first 18 months the plant would use between 22 to 25 tonnes of fuel, from which 300 kilogrammes of plutonium could be recovered from the waste to make from 30 to 60 bombs.

Henry Sokolski heads the nonprofit organisation founded in 1994 to promote a better understanding of strategic weapons proliferation issues among policy-makers, scholars and the media.

He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Institute of World Politics in Washington and is a member of the Congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, to which he was appointed in May 2008.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English...3.0.2568914430

[vector7]

China blocks new Iran sanctions talks: diplomats

By MATTHEW LEE – 50 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — China is blocking high-level talks about imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, apparently in retaliation for U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, according to U.S. officials and diplomats briefed on the matter.

The Bush administration has been trying for more than a week to arrange a conference call among senior officials from the six nations negotiating with Iran. But they have so far been stymied by China's refusal to commit, they said on Thursday.

The officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing internal deliberations between the United States and its negotiating partners: the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France and Russia — along with Germany.

The call has been expected since Iran's top nuclear envoy wrote a letter to the six countries on Oct. 6 complaining about the attitude of the West in the talks.

The group discussion is the next step in a slow-moving pressure campaign designed to persuade Iran to give up objectionable parts of its nuclear program. Iran denies it is seeking a nuclear weapon.

The Chinese have not explained why they are balking at the conference call, but diplomats said they assume it is related to the Bush administration's Oct. 3 announcement that it will sell up to $6.5 billion in advanced weaponry to Taiwan.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and is vehemently opposed to such sales. The announcement from Washington prompted a furious response from Beijing, which canceled several upcoming military exchanges with the United States. U.S. officials have defended the sales and called China's response "unfortunate."

At the time, U.S. officials said they did not expect the Chinese moves to extend beyond bilateral cooperation with the United States. China told the U.S. that it would continue to play active roles in efforts over both Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs. China has not stopped cooperating in six-nation talks to get North Korea to abandon nuclear arms.

However, its stalling on the Iran conference call has raised concerns in Washington and European capitals, where officials want urgent consultations on how to move ahead with the Iranians. Iran is defying international demands to halt suspect nuclear activity and refused to accept incentives it has been offered to stop.

Iran is currently under three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions and the United States and Europe want to impose a fourth round despite resistance from China and Russia.

Before the Taiwan arms sale was announced, the biggest hurdle to discussions on new Iran sanctions was Russia, which, angered by U.S. and European criticism of its invasion of Georgia, thwarted a foreign ministers' meeting on the subject during the U.N. General Assembly late last month.
Russia eventually agreed to a new Security Council resolution that reaffirmed previous U.N. sanctions on Iran but did not add any new penalties.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j...t_WrQD93RRL6G0

[vector7]

Large-scale Iranian Air force exercise simulates attack on Israel

DEBKAfile Special Report
October 15, 2008, 11:06 PM (GMT+02:00)

Iranian Air force in maneuver

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the drill beginning Thursday, Oct. 16 in northern Iran, is Tehran’s rejoinder to Israel’s big aerial maneuver last June.

Then, more than 100 Israeli fighter-bombers went through their paces over the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, roughly the same distance from Israel as Iran.

Tehran’s media claim the exercise will test its air force’s ability to fly to Israel and back without refueling.

The exercise will also test the US-made FBX-T band anti-missile radar system delivered in September and installed at the IAF Nevatim air base in the Negev. The Iranians say they will be practicing their “state-of-the-art military equipment and flight tactics,� meaning an attempt to jam US and Israeli electronics and radar.

According to Iranian media, the entire range of Iran's fighter fleet will take part, including US-made F-4, F-5, F-7 and F-14 fighters and domestic Saegheh fighters. Mid-air refueling will be provided by Boeing 707 aerial tankers.

In mid-August, Iran's Air Force chief, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, maintained that its antiquated fighter jet fleet had been overhauled and upgraded to fly distances of 3,000 kilometers without refueling. That would be more than double the distance between Iran and Israel.

That is why Tabriz, in Azerbaijan, at the northwestern corner of Iran, was picked as the starting point of the exercise. The official communiqué said the planes would be flying from air fields in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz and Hamadan and Dezful.

Our military sources say that this means that the entire maneuver will take place over Iran and not venture out its air space. The planes will have to fly to Tabriz from bases in the south near the Pakistan border in order to replicate the more than 1,200 km distance between Iran and Israel.
The Iranian Air force also aims at deploying more than 100 warplanes for the exercise, matching the number Israel used in its maneuver four months ago.

Tehran has timed this large-scale drill for just three weeks before the US presidential election on Nov. 4, in response to speculation rife in the West that Israel may use the window between the US election and the swearing-in of the new president in January for an attack on Iran’s nuclear installations.

The Iranians aim to show they have a first and second strike capability - not just with ballistic missiles but also by aerial attack.

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5651

[vector7]

		Russia to ship equipment to finish Iranian nuclear plant
		16:59 | 17/ 10/ 2008

TEHRAN, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will soon ship around 1,000 tons of equipment necessary to complete the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a top Iranian nuclear official said on Friday.

"There is an agreement that within four months the Russian side will ship around 1,000 tons of equipment needed for the Bushehr nuclear power plant," Ahmad Fayazbakhsh, the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Iran's IRNA news agency.

Russia is building the $1 billion Bushehr facility in the south of Iran under a 1995 contract. The project is subject to UN monitoring following Iran's refusal to halt its uranium enrichment program and Western suspicions that Tehran is seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Russia's nuclear power chief Sergei Kiriyenko said in early June that preparations for the launch of the Bushehr project, including nuclear fuel operations, would start in the fall. He said with confidence that the safety of nuclear fuel storage was not in doubt.

The Iranian foreign minister said on October 7 that the Bushehr nuclear power plant would be commissioned in the first half of 2009.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20081017/117801701.html

[vector7]

China blocking Iran sanctions

Published: 10/17/2008

China is blocking talks on how to further isolate Iran, according to reports.

An Associated Press report Thursday cited U.S. officials as saying that China is blocking a conference call among the "P5 plus 1" group of major powers who are leading efforts to get Iran to stand down from its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The Bush administration had hoped to convene such a meeting last month in New York during the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, but at that time Russia resisted -- in part because it was still angry at U.S. backing for Georgia during the Caucasus miniwar over the summer.

Now, AP quoted U.S. officials as saying, China is angry at the United States over its sale of arms to Taiwan.

The "P5 plus 1" -- comprised of the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China, all veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, as well as Germany -- has pushed through three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran over the last year. The United States, Britain, France and Germany now want to tighten the sanctions.

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/110799.html

[vector7]

'War on Iran to spell Israel's collapse'

Monday, October 20, 2008

LONDON, October 20 (IranMania) - Former Iranian defense minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani says an Israeli attack on Iran would result in Palestinian victory over Israel in the occupied lands, PressTV reported.

Following recent reports on a possible Israeli strike on Iran, Admiral Shamkhani said Sunday that Iran has readied a contingency plan for any possible war scenarios against the Islamic Republic.

Referring to the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon, Shamkhani said, "Iran would definitely deliver a more devastating blow to Israel than that of Hezbollah."

In July 2006, Israel fought a 33-day war against Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, imposing an aerial and naval blockade on the country and razing villages in the south.

Nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers, died during the 33-day war.

Israel, however, faced a heavy defeat in the month-long war, which according to the Guardian cost Tel Aviv $1.6 bln (?850m).

The former Iranian defense minister said Iran's crushing response to Israel, in case of an attack, would help ensure the return of the occupied territories to Palestinians.

Adm. Shamkhani also expressed doubt about the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran without Washington's support, saying Israel is incapable of a unilateral strike.

A Guardian article recently revealed that Israel 'seriously considered' striking Iran's nuclear facilities in spring.

According to the article, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert's plea for a green light to target Iran's power plants was turned down by US President George W. Bush in a May 14 meeting.

'Should the US give the green light to Israel,' the Iranian admiral said, 'they would pursue a stage-by-stage war scenario for which Iran has already prepared a complete contingency plan'.

Adm. Shamkhani warned that Iranian Armed Forces are also capable of seriously challenging the US image of military superiority.

The Iranian military official's remarks come after Iran announced on Wednesday that the country's Air Force started a large-scale aerial maneuver to test its state-of-the-art military equipment along with its flight and gunnery tactics.

Iran has been holding military exercises on a regular basis after Israel conducted an air maneuver over the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece in early June, which according to Pentagon officials, appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Over 100 Israeli F-16s and F-15s took part in the exercise, which spanned some 900 miles, roughly the distance between their airfields and a nuclear enrichment facility in the central Iranian city of Natanz.

Shamkhani described Israel as a vulnerable enemy and said it would be no match for Iran's state-of-the-art military equipment and capabilities.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/Articl...NewsCode=62433

[vector7]

Iran vows �crushing response� to Israeli attacks

Posted: 20-10-2008 , 09:27 GMT

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said on Monday that the Tehran will give the most crushing response to the minimum threats by Israel. Talking to reporters during his weekly press briefing, he said, according to IRNA, that identity of the Zionist regime is based on threatening other countries.

Israeli regime is well aware of Iran's power, so its anti-Iran moves are only a media maneuver that is not worth taking stand by the Islamic Republic, he added. According to him, the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully ready for any possible action in any condition. "The minimum threat by any country would face the most decisive response by Iran," Qashqavi added.

http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/236878

[vector7]

R E G I O N: Iran calls for strategic partnership with Russia

* Russian deputy FM says Moscow supports Tehran’s nuclear programme
* Says sanctions against Iran would be ‘counterproductive’

Monday, October 20, 2008

TEHRAN: Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili has called for a “balanced strategic partnership� between Tehran and Moscow.

Such a strategic partnership would be a “two-way street�, but to realize this requires “firm determination� by the two sides, Jalili told the visiting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and his delegation here on Saturday. Jalili said that the “two great countries of Iran and Russia� have the potential to achieve this goal.

Ryabkov praised Iran’s constructive positions toward regional and international issues.

The Russian deputy foreign minister said Moscow believes that its relations with Iran are deep-rooted and no country can damage them.

He also stated that Moscow supports Tehran’s principled nuclear position. “Russia will support Iran’s rational approach in the nuclear issue,� Ryabkov noted. He called Jalili’s letter to the EU foreign policy chief very important, saying, “The content of the letter showed that Iran’s approach to the nuclear issue is rational and constructive.�

In his letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on October 6, Jalili accused the six major powers of “unreasonable behavior� in regard to Tehran’s nuclear program.

Solana represents the 5+1 group (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) in nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Iran sanctions: The UN Security Council has slapped three rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that unilateral sanctions against Iran would be “counterproductive�. Russia is of the view that the “politics of adopting unilateral and anti-Iranian sanctions espoused by some countries is counterproductive,� the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has a right to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel. In a separate meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Mohammad-Ali Hosseini, Ryabkov said dialogue is the only way to settle differences over Iran’s nuclear program. Russia has vowed that it will complete the Bushehr nuclear plant in 2009. Hosseini said the Bushehr plant is a symbol of cooperation between the two countries. The Russian deputy foreign minister said Moscow will keep its promise to complete the project at the agreed time.

www.dailytimes.com.pk

[vector7]

Senior Iranian Official Recommends that Iran Mark London as a Target – In Order to Deter Bush from Attacking Iran in Last Months of Presidency

October 20, 2008 No. 2008

In an October 18, 2008 article on the Iranian website Aftab, Wahid Karimi, director of the Europe and U.S. department in Iran's Foreign Ministry, recommends that Iran mark London as a target, since it is the capital of the country that is the U.S.'s closest ally in Europe.

This, says Karimi, would be with the aim of ensuring that the Bush administration does not attack Iran in its final weeks, after the U.S. presidential election next month and before Bush officially leaves office on January 20, 2009.

For full report, visit http://www.memriiwmp.org/content/en/...tm?report=2880.