War with Iran about to start?

[American Patriot]

Two men alleged to be Iranian "agents' arrested in Kenya carrying explosives. Their mission is to attack US-Israel-UK resources there.

More when I get more.

[American Patriot]

Kenya official: Iranian agents planned attack against Israeli, U.S. targets

Kenyan officials say Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad, Sayed Mansour, who were arrested with 15 kilograms of explosives; Netanyahu: Iranian terror is boundless.

By The Associated Press | Jul.02, 2012 | 8:42 PM | 3



A Kenyan policewoman escorting two Iranian nationals Sayed Mansour Mousavi, left, and Ahmed Abolfathi Mohammed, right, in the Nairobi magistrate court in Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, June. 27, 2012. Photo by AP



Malaysia to extradite Iranian accused of plotting to attack Israeli targets abroad
By The Associated Press | Jul.02,2012 | 8:42 PM | 1



Thailand police detains another Iranian suspect in Bangkok bombing
By Reuters | Jul.02,2012 | 8:42 PM | 10





Officials in Kenya said on Monday that two Iranian agents arrested with explosives planned to attack Israeli, American, British or Saudi Arabian targets inside Kenya.



The officials said that the plot appears to fit into a global pattern of attacks or attempted attacks by Iranian agents, mostly against Israeli interests.



Kenyan security forces arrested Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi last week with 15 kilograms of RDX, a powerful explosive, in the coastal city of Mombasa. Several hotels on the coast are Israeli-owned.



One official said the Iranians are members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, an elite and secretive unit. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing security issues.



Responding to the reported Iranian terror plot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the uncovered plot proved the "Iranian terror threat was boundless."
"After Iran sent its people to assassinate the Saudi envoy on U.S. soil, and execute attacks in Azerbaijan, Bangkok, Tibilisi, and New Delhi, now its intention to commit terror attacks on African soils are exposed," the premier added.



The prime minister added that "the international community must fight the world's greatest exporter of terror."



Last week, one of the two Iranians facing charges in Kenya told the Kenyan court that he had been interrogated by Israeli agents while in detention.



Mohammad on Wednesday said the two were interrogated by Israeli agents, a claim that, if true, would suggest security officials believe the Iranians might have been targeting an Israeli-owned property. Iranian agents are suspected in several attacks or thwarted attacks around the globe over the last year, including in Azerbaijan, Thailand and India. Most of the plots had connections to Israeli targets.



Several resorts on Kenya’s coast are Israeli-owned. Militants in 2002 bombed an Israeli-owned luxury hotel near Mombasa, killing 13 people. The militants also tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner at the same time. An al-Qaida operative was linked to those attacks.



Israel’s deputy ambassador to Kenya, Yaki Lopez, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that “this whole incident is an internal Kenyan issue.” He said he had no further comment, including on whether Israeli agents were involved in interrogations.



Human rights lawyers say interrogations of suspects by foreign security agents in Kenya are unconstitutional unless the suspects will also be taken to face charges in the foreign country.



Mohammad also told the court he was tortured in Kenyan custody. He said he went without food for long periods and that he was forced to sleep on a cement floor with only his jacket to keep him warm. Police prosecutor Daniel Musangi denied the accusations that the suspects were tortured. Magistrate Paul Biwott said the allegations were serious and ordered an investigation.



Days after the arrest of the Iranians, the U.S. government, citing information about an imminent terrorist attack, withdrew its government workers from Mombasa and issued an alert last Friday warning against non-essential travel to Kenya’s second largest city. But the warning may not have been linked to the Iranians. Last Sunday, attackers carried out a grenade and gunfire attack on a bar outside Mombasa, killing three people and wounding 25.


Kenya has seen a spate of attacks in recent months following the country’s decision last October to send troops into neighboring Somalia to fight al-Shabab militants.



However, al-Shabab and its partner organization al-Qaida have not traditionally used Iranian operatives in its operations.



The two Iranians were charged last week. Prosecutors say they were possession of explosives known as RDX “in circumstances that indicated they were armed with the intent to commit a felony namely, acts intended to cause grievous harm.”
RDX is a powerful military-grade explosive. They denied both charges and through a translator asked for bond.



On Wednesday, lawyer David Kirimi, who represents Mohammad and Mousavi, argued that the two suspects are investors and their arrests will harm Kenya-Iran relations. But Biwott dismissed that argument, citing the magnitude of the accusations. Musangi, the police prosecutor, said the two were likely to flee if released.

[American Patriot]

'Iran agents planned to hit US and British targets in Kenya'

8:19PM BST 02 Jul 2012

Officials told the Associated Press news agency that the plot appears to fit into a global pattern of attacks or attempted attacks by Iranian agents, mostly against Israeli interests.




Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi were arrested last week with 33 pounds of RDX, a powerful explosive, in the coastal city of Mombasa. Several hotels on the coast are Israeli-owned.




One official said the Iranians are members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, an elite and secretive unit.




Mohammad last week said the two were interrogated by Israeli agents, a claim that, if true, would suggest security officials believe the Iranians might have been targeting an Israeli-owned property. Iranian agents are suspected in several attacks or thwarted attacks around the globe over the last year, including in Azerbaijan, Thailand and India. Most of the plots had connections to Israeli targets.




Several resorts on Kenya's coast are Israeli-owned. Militants in 2002 bombed an Israeli-owned luxury hotel near Mombasa, killing 13 people. The militants also tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner at the same time. An al-Qaida operative was linked to those attacks.

[American Patriot]

Iran starts war games after being hit with sanctions over its nuclear program

Published July 02, 2012

FoxNews.com

Days after being hit with more tough sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, Iran has started new war games simulating an attack on foreign bases in the desert region.

The three day exercise, called Great Prophet 7, involves firing “tens of different missiles” at bases modeled after United States military installations in countries like Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards military force told IRNA, AFP reports.

One ballistic missile in the test, the Shahab-3, has a range of 1,200 miles – enough to strike Israel or southern Europe.

Iran is staging the exercise following warnings that it would counter-attack US or Israeli targets if its nuclear facilities were hit.

Iran has long-claimed its nuclear program is for peaceful intentions and for energy, but Western powers have suspected it is intended for weapons development. Israel has hinted at an attack if diplomatic efforts and sanctions fail, the Associated Press reports.

Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who heads Iran’s Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, said the country “will decisively respond to any trouble” brought forth by “adventurous nations,” AFP reports.

“If they (the Israelis) make a move, they will give us a pretext to obliterate them from the face of the Earth,” Hajizadeh also told IRNA.

The next round of talks aiming to resolve the nuclear dispute are scheduled to take place Tuesday in Istanbul, involving representatives from Iran, the US, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, AFP reports.

On Thursday, the US increased restrictions on foreign companies working with Iran’s central bank, while the European Union enacted an embargo Sunday on Iranian crude oil.

The embargo also prevented European Union companies from providing insurance to tankers carrying Iranian oil to other countries, the AFP reports.

The pair of moves have already cut Iran’s oil exports by 40 percent, according to data released by the International Energy Agency, but Iran disputes the claim.

Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee responded to the sanctions Monday by drafting a bill that urges Iran to stop all oil tankers – regardless of nation – from passing through the Strait of Hormuz if they are supplying crude to countries that support the sanctions, Reuters reports.

More than 17 million barrels of oil pass through the waterway each year.

Iran has periodically conducted war games to flaunt its firepower, most recently in the Strait of Hormuz. The Great Prophet 7 missile exercise echoes similar tests conducted in 2009.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/07...#ixzz1zUo6LXlF

[American Patriot]

US and EU impose crippling sanctions on Iran ( 0)
By Peter Symonds. WSWS
WSWS
Monday, Jul 2, 2012


2 July 2012
A European Union (EU) oil import embargo on Iran that came into force yesterday marks a sharp escalation of the dangerous US-led confrontation with Tehran. Together with harsh new US penalties, the EU ban can only raise tensions in the Persian Gulf, heightening the danger of military conflict.


Welcoming the EU sanctions, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Bloomberg Radio on Saturday: “The pressure track is our primary focus now, and we believe that the economic sanctions are bringing Iran to the [negotiating] table.” She added: “They [the sanctions] are going to continue to increase and cause economic difficulties for them [Iran].”


In fact, the Obama administration has no intention of engaging in a genuine discussions with the Iranian regime over its nuclear program. Washington is seeking to strong-arm Tehran into accepting its ultimatum laid down in meetings between Iran and the P5+1 grouping—the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany—that began in Istanbul in April.


The US has demanded that Iran halt the production of enriched uranium to the 20 percent level, ship its stockpile of that material out of the country and shut down its Fordow uranium enrichment plant. In return, Tehran was offered virtually nothing—access to spare parts for its commercial aircraft, fuel plates for its research reactor in Tehran, and a promise not to enact sanctions beyond those announced.


Talks in Moscow on June 18-20 all but broke down when the US and its European allies refused to budge on any of the demands, including the imposition of the latest US and EU sanctions. The only further scheduled meeting, low-level technical talks to be held tomorrow in Istanbul, amounts to nothing more than a way of averting the negotiations’ outright collapse.


Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Mohammed Khazaee, last week condemned the new sanctions:

“This by itself indicates that they are not willing to engage with us in meaningful dialogue... If the talks do not proceed as they should, we are going to have another standoff in the talks.”

The EU decided to ban oil imports from Iran in January, but offered a five-month phase-in period for existing contracts to allow member states to find alternative supplies. Italy and Greece, which already confront an economic crisis, will be especially affected. “In particular, Greece has been hurt because it was receiving very favourable terms on its Iranian crude which no other supplier is likely to match,” Chatham House analyst Paul Stevens told the BBC.


An EU ban on providing shipping insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil also came into effect yesterday. The London-based International Group of P&I Clubs provides insurance to about 95 percent of the world’s tankers. Iran is desperately seeking to negotiate an arrangement with South Korea after Seoul announced last week it was ending all purchases of Iranian crude due to the lack of insurance. South Korea was the fourth-largest buyer of Iranian oil.


US legislation imposing penalties on foreign corporations involved in trading with the Iranian central bank came into force last Thursday. This measure has already impacted on Iranian oil exports, especially to Asia, as countries scrambled to lower crude purchases in order to be granted a six-month waiver by President Obama. Some 20 countries, including India, Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka, have been granted temporary exemptions.


Obama only granted a waiver to China at the last minute, preventing what could have been a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries. Under the US legislation, corporations doing business with Iran would be denied access to the American banking and financial system. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei last week restated his government’s opposition to any unilateral sanctions on Iran, adding: “Even less will it [Beijing] accept such unilateral sanctions to be imposed on a third country.”


Iranian officials brushed aside the impact of the new penalties. Iran’s central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani said that his country would not be “sitting by idly” and had $150 billion in foreign currency reserves to help fight “these malicious policies.”
The EU ban, however, will compound Iran’s already serious economic difficulties and hit working people hard. European countries were importing 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports a year ago, but that figure has already dropped and will now fall further. Overall, Iran’s oil exports are down by about 40 percent, to about 1.5 billion barrels per day (bpd) from about 2.5 billion bpd last year.


Oil and its derivatives account for nearly 80 percent of Iran’s exports and about half of government revenues. Sanctions already in place have resulted in a 40 percent drop in the value of the currency against the US dollar since last years. The rial has plunged by 15 percent in the past two weeks alone, contributing to soaring inflation.


Official figures from Iran’s central bank put the annual inflation rate at 25 percent. The price of basic food items has soared over the past year: chicken by 95 percent, red meat 32.5 percent, grain 56 percent, fruit 81.7 percent and vegetables 92.3 percent. The actual cost of living hikes are likely to be even higher, creating enormous hardships for the working class and the urban and rural poor.


Prior to the imposition of sanctions, the government purchased large quantities of goods from abroad, leading to a loss of local orders and factory closures. The trend was compounded by speculation as businesses shifting assets from production into property and foreign currency. Factory closures and job losses are worsening the country’s high levels of unemployment and underemployment, especially among young people.


The crippling sanctions are not only designed to force the Iranian regime to the negotiating table on Washington’s terms, but are acts of economic war aimed at creating chaos in the lead up to any military attack on Iran. The US and Israel have repeatedly warned that all options—including the military one—are on the table. Both countries have made advanced preparations for unilateral, and illegal, strikes on Iran. Joint US-Israeli war games have just been announced for October.


Iran has repeatedly denied unsubstantiated US claims that it is preparing to build nuclear weapons, insisting that its nuclear programs are for peaceful purposes. The nuclear issue is being exploited by the Obama administration as the pretext for its reckless attempt to establish a regime in Tehran in line with US economic and strategic interests. The imposition of new sanctions is one more step towards a conflict that threatens to embroil the entire region and draw in other powers.

[American Patriot]

Iran MPs seek to shut Hormuz for EU-bound tankers
(AFP) – 27 minutes ago


TEHRAN — Iranian MPs have signed a draft law aimed at banning Europe-bound oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to punish EU nations that slapped sanctions on the Islamic republic, reports said on Monday.


"This project is a response to the oil sanctions imposed by the European Union on the Islamic republic," Ebrahim Agha Mohammadi, of parliament's foreign affairs committee, was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.


"In line with this draft law, the government has the right to stop the transit of tankers (through Hormuz) carrying oil to countries which have imposed oil sanctions on Iran," he added.


Parliament would be asked to approve the draft law and consider it a "priority," he said.


An EU embargo on Iranian oil went into effect on Sunday, provoking anger in Tehran which says the measure will hurt talks with world powers over its sensitive nuclear activities.


Oil market observer bodies and analysts say the embargo, coupled with US financial sanctions ramped up on Thursday, are gutting Iran's vital oil exports, which account for half of government revenues.


The International Energy Agency says Iran crude exports in May appear to have slipped to 1.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) as the market braced for the embargo, which has been phased in since being announced January 23.


That is far less than the 2.1-2.2 mbpd Iran insists it still sells abroad.
Iran has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the oil-rich Gulf if its nuclear programme is targeted by air strikes that Israel and the United States reserve as an option.


That threat, repeated since December, helped propel oil prices to a four-year high of $128 for a barrel of Brent North Sea reference crude in early March.
But political and military officials have said they had no intention on carrying out any threat to close the straight.


Meanwhile the Turkish government announced late Monday that world powers and Iran will hold follow-up talks in Istanbul on Tuesday over Tehran's nuclear programme.

[American Patriot]

Iran Threatens to Disrupt Strait of Hormuz Traffic


Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Jul 2, 2012 6:46PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story


Potential shutdown of major oil shipping lane could cause prices to spike


Shippers and transportation providers could see their fuel prices spike if Iran makes good on a plan to block oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that are headed to countries no longer buying its crude, according to reports.



In reaction to tightening Western sanctions, Iran on Monday introduced legislation that would work to disrupt the trade lane in which one-fifth of the world’s oil is transported. But it’s unclear whether the legislation will pass and how much Iran could disrupt shipping in the strait, considering the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet patrols the waters, according to the New York Times.



Escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S. raised fears earlier this year that Iran could shut down the shipping channel. Until recently, however, those fears have diminished, and oil prices have fallen from the roughly $100 a barrel to about $85 a barrel.



The European embargo on Iranian crude oil took effect Sunday, compounding U.S. sanctions that kicked in Friday. The European sanctions also ban insuring oil tankers that ship Iranian crude.

[American Patriot]

Iran Parliament Calls to Close Strait of Hormuz

Monday, 02 July 2012 18:40

Stop fundamentalism – An urgent legislation has been approved by the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee to encourage the Iranian government to close the straits of Hormuz to oil cargo headed for countries that are participating in the Iranian oil sanctions in Europe.


The proposal was signed by 100 members of the Islamic Parliament by Sunday, said a committee spokesman to reporters.


European countries allowed a six months wait period before a complete oil embargo against Iran went into effect yesterday. This was intended to give time to the Iranian regime to negotiate a favorable deal with the west regarding its nuclear enrichment program. Many observers believed the Iranian nuclear program is in fact a clandestine weapons program.


Western countries and many Middle Eastern countries fear that Iran having a nuclear weapon will destabilize the region and spark a nuclear race.

[vector7]

Obama said he was going to retire the tomahawk cruise missiles.

Even after Libya he said he wasn't going to replace the 162 fired on 20 targets. By contrast, 288 Tomahawks were fired in the whole 1991 Gulf War.

Then a couple of weeks ago the Administration commissions 361 new Tomahawk cruise missiles, 238 of them are being moved to the Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, east of Iran.

The deal may suggest that the U.S. is gearing up soon for a possible military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

According to the articles below...right before the election 2012.

Obama “reconsiders” military attack on Iran

DEBKAfile DEBKA-Net-Weekly June 26, 2012, 10:28 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Barack Obama Iran nuclear military option Saudi Arabia


Leon Panetta with Saudi intel chief Prince Moqrin

In the wake of failed diplomacy, US President Barack Obama is in the process of “reconsidering” his decision to hold off on military action against Iran. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was in Riyadh to sound out Saudi rulers on a combined US-GCC operation.

In its latest issue, out last Friday, DEBKA-Net-Weekly explores the prospects of this operation, along with revelations about President Vladimir Putin’s talk with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. From Jerusalem, Putin issued his “most striking warning to Obama.”

To subscribe to DEBKA-Net-Weekly, click here.

Saudis Preparing for US to Strike Iran in October

DEBKA.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly #547 June 28, 2012


F-22 Raptors

The last ten days have seen a shift in US President Barack Obama’s negative position on military action against Iran’s nuclear program.

Saudi King Abdullah and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have been informed that Obama is in the process of “reconsideration.” His aides amplified this with a couple of ifs: If the state of nuclear diplomacy between the six world powers and Iran remains unchanged – that is, inert; and if the Syrian crisis remains unresolved, the US president will reach a final decision on the use of force against Iran in the first half of October – three and a half months hence.

In private conversations, high-ranking Saudi princes, some connected to military and intelligence circles, were confiding last week to Western and Arab visitors to Riyadh their certainty that, at last, the US and maybe Israel would soon resort to military action against Iran, according to DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military and intelligence sources.

“It is already decided,” one prince told a visiting European official. But what if President Obama changed his mind? The prince replied: “Anything can happen, of course. But this time we’re sure the American decision to attack is final and we are already making appropriate preparations. The question now isn’t if the Americans will attack Iran, but when,” he said.

He was less sure about whether the US operation would take place before or after the US presidential election on November 6.

The pipeline bypassing Hormuz is up and running


Saudi preparations, our sources say, are going forward on two tracks (click on the map to enlarge):

1. The defense of government, military and oil targets. These focus on guarding the two main Saudi oil exporting terminals at Ras Tanura on the Persian Gulf coast and Abqaiq on the Red Sea against the contingency of Iranian reprisals for a US attack by missile strikes on the two terminals and raids by Iranian special forces trained in sabotage tactics.

2. A Saudi counterattack on Iranian targets. Their air, naval and special operations units will stand ready to hit back at strategic targets within Iran if Saudi territory comes under Iranian attack.

Strongly tying in with these preparations was the announcement Wednesday, June 27, by Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad al-Sharqi, ruler of Fujairah that the Habshan-Fujairah pipeline which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz goes into operation this month.

Fujairah is one of the princedoms making up the seven United Arab Emirates. The UAE has built the pipeline to pump most of its oil exports from the east coast terminals to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, away from the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint controlled by Tehran.

It has an initial capacity of 1.5mn bpd rising to 1.8mn bpd, which represents the bulk of the UAE’s current production of around 2.5mn bpd, Sheikh Hamad said.

A palpable sense of anticipation was also reported this week by DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s intelligence sources among US ground, naval and air forces stationed in the Middle East.

Iran is too rich to be deterred by new sanctions



The die is cast, the Saudis believe, because US and European oil sanctions, presented by Washington as the ultimate weapon for bringing Iran to heel by choking off funding for its nuclear program, have completely missed their aim. Iran is flush with cash and has plenty put by to keep its nuclear projects rolling forward in the face of international penalties.

Internal US administration reports reveal that the soaring oil prices of recent years were a bonanza that filled Tehran’s pockets.

Even after the recent leveling-out of prices, their revenues still stand at “only” four times the August 2002 volume.

Last August, prior to the latest rounds of sanctions, the International Monetary Fund estimated Iran would earn $104 billion from its oil exports in 2012-2013. That figure is four and-a-half times the Islamic republic’s 2002-2003 receipts of $23 billion.

Even if export volumes were to drop by half and prices plummeted to $50 per barrel, Iran’s inflation-adjusted oil earnings would still be higher than they were a decade ago.

The Saudis conclude that the failure of sanctions has left only one way open to halt Iran’s momentum toward a nuclear bomb and that is a military offensive.

Will a US-Israel maneuver be a launching-pad against Iran?



The impression of an operation’s imminence was also gained by American Jewish leaders during recent visits to the White House. In the last DEBKA-Net-Weekly issue (No. 546 from June 22), we reported that President Obama has been inviting Jewish leaders to visit him in the Oval Office in an effort to stanch the loss of Jewish support and Jewish contributions draining away from his election campaign.

Like the Saudi princes, the Jewish leaders came away with a strong sense that the president had made up his mind to attack Iran.

Israel and the US are set to conduct their largest ever military exercise in October, according to a report published in Israel Monday, June 25, which instantly caught the eye in Tehran and Riyadh.

The maneuver will feature 3,000 American and thousands of Israeli troops, advanced anti-missile defense systems and other measures for countering simultaneous fire from Iran and Syria. The drill will simulate this fire, with tens if not hundreds of rockets and missiles filling the air.

The commander of the 3^rd Air Force, Lt.-Gen. Craig A. Franklin, was in Israel to establish a joint planning committee with IDF to coordinate the details of the exercise.

Israel will test its upgraded Arrow 2 defense system, while the US will deploy the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System and PAC-3 Patriot air defense platforms.

The drill is codenamed Dress Rehearsal. The Iranians and Saudis are convinced by the name that the exercise will be the opening shot of the attack on Iran in October.

Crude Spikes On News Iran Lawmakers Propose Straits Of Hormuz Blockade For Sanctions Countries

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/02/2012 10:14 -0400

• Crude
• Iran
• Mohammad
• national security
• Reuters

What goes down, must come up. In this case crude, which is soaring on news out of FARS that Iranian lawmakers have drafted a bill proposing a blockade of the Straits of Hormuz for oil tankers heading to sanctions supporters, i.e., embargo countries. Naturally, if implemented, this would mean an almost inevitable military retaliation on behalf of the "western world." Then again, this is not the first time Iran has postured with a blockade.

More:

A member of the Iranian parliament (Majlis) said that Iran will close the Hormuz Strait if the economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic take effect.

Arsalan Fathipour in an interview with Alalam News Network said that the recent oil price fall will not last for long.

"We take the control of the Hormuz Strait. If we are supposed to be sanctioned, we will not allow a drop of oil to pass through the strait," he said, Fars News Agency reported.

"In such a situation, oil price will surge and we will see that those who have imposed sanctions will not be able to be accountable for their people," he noted.

He noted that Iran can find new customers for oil.

Iran has stored up imports and hard currency for a "battle" against EU sanctions, officials said on Sunday, the day that the measures aimed at pressuring the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program take effect.

Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said the country has stockpiled the population's daily needs to reduce the impact of the embargo hitting the oil and banking sectors.

"Today, we are facing the heaviest of sanctions and we ask people to help officials in this battle," Rahimi was quoted by the IRIB News.

He said the "dastardly sanctions" might cause "occasional confusion" in the market, but that the Iranian nation would not be stopped.

Central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani also told the Mehr News Agency that Iran has "plans" to deal with the embargo and enough hard currency to meet its import needs.

And from Reuters:

Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has drafted a bill calling for Iran to try to stop oil tankers from shipping crude through the Strait of Hormuz to countries that support sanctions against it, a committee member said on Monday.

"There is a bill prepared in the National Security and Foreign Policy committee of Parliament that stresses the blocking of oil tanker traffic carrying oil to countries that have sanctioned Iran," Iranian MP Ibrahim Agha-Mohammadi was quoted by Iran's parliamentary news agency as saying.

"This bill has been developed as an answer to the European Union's oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Agha-Mohammadi said that 100 of Tehran's 290 members of parliament had signed the bill as of Sunday.

If indeed willing to follow through, it surely mean Iran has at least implicit whisper support of Russian and Chinese support when the situation inevitably escalates.

[vector7]

June 21st, 2012

U.S. sending floating naval base through the Suez Canal

By Barbara Starr

File photo of the USS Ponce before it was refitted for long-term duty in the Persian Gulf.

A U.S. warship designed as a floating base for naval special forces is scheduled to transit through the Suez Canal for the first time as early as Friday, Navy officials say.

The USS Ponce, an amphibious transport ship, recently finished a complete overhaul that now has it configured to operate as a floating staging platform for the military. It is being launched into the oil shipping lanes at a time of heightened tensions across the region, U.S. Navy officials told CNN.

The ship began approaching Suez on Thursday and is expected to enter the canal shortly on its way to the Persian Gulf.

The ship will function as a staging base for special operations forces and small patrol boats, including mine countermeasure vessels, in gulf waters that Iran has previously threatened to shut down.

Gen. James Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, had long pressed for the conversion of the Ponce in order to have a mobile platform from which troops could quickly deploy at a time when budget cuts are restricting large-scale deployments.

The Ponce is specifically tailored to maritime missions in the Persian Gulf region, where land-based forces often do not have ready access and concerns persist about maintaining open access to the Strait of Hormuz for international shipping.

The ship has a mixed crew of Navy officers and enlisted personnel, as well as civilian government mariners.

The ship is expected to reach Bahrain about 10 days after making it through the canal. It is not clear when combat forces may board the ship.

[vector7]

Source: Iran preparing to down American passenger planes

Published: 1:32 AM 07/02/2012

In this Feb. 1, 2009 file photo, American Airlines jets are seen at the Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

A source who served in Iranian intelligence says the Iranian regime is preparing to down Western airliners in case of an attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has been preparing for war for some time as the Islamic regime closes in on developing nuclear weapons, says a source who served in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence and has recently defected to a country in Europe.

The source said the regime has taken several measures should war erupt:

• Thirty-two command and control centers have been formed around the country so that the Guards and the Basij can act independently in battle. In case of a breakdown of communication with the central government, their orders are to suppress any uprising from within and confront any potential enemy.
• All political prisoners and all activists within the country are to be slaughtered, as are those Iranian opponents outside the country, to ensure no viable opposition will remain to guide an uprising to overthrow of the regime.
• Thousands of cells have been established in collaboration with Hezbollah to conduct terrorist acts against Israel, America and the West. One specific preparation, as discussed by the Guard commanders, is to target America’s civilian airliners in order to cause terror in the West.

Elaborating on the regime’s strategy, Morteza Mirban, the deputy commander of the Guards’ ground forces, recently told Basij News that the Basij forces have the capability to hurt aggressors even in their own countries.

Mirban boasted that soon the Guards will have armaments that the enemy could have never imagined.

Referring to possible terrorist attacks on U.S. vessels in the gulf, Mirban said, “Today over 3,000 boats are in the Persian Gulf and involved in commerce, constantly passing by America’s naval ships. The question is, how can America engage us in war not knowing how it will get hit next? If they (America) dare to take up arms, they will see how they will regret their act.”

Mirban said that “all of the enemy’s bases are within reach of our missiles, and with our allies such as Hezbollah, we are capable of hitting them thousands of kilometers away. The enemy is interested in life, but because of our ideology, no matter if we kill for Allah or be killed on Allah’s path, we are victorious.”

The source said that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear bomb, which regime leaders believe will make them invincible. The source and others disenchanted with the regime also wonder why the West is vacillating and allowing Iran to pursue its destructive goals.

The Revolutionary Guards announced Sunday that they will conduct three days of war games starting Monday.

“Long-, medium- and short-range surface-to-surface missiles will be fired from different locations in Iran … at replica air bases like those used by (U.S.) military forces,” said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards aerospace division in charge of missile systems.

European oil sanctions against Iran began Sunday, but the Iranian regime met them with defiance and threats against the West.

“Our doctrine of threat against threat mandates that any confrontation will be responded to by a greater attack, and we are ready for it,” Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, the deputy head of Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an speech marking the anniversary of the downing of an Iranian civilian airliner on July 3, 1988.

The guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes mistook Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian jetliner, for a fighter plane in the heat of confrontation with Iran over the Iran-Iraq war. All 290 passengers, including 66 children, died in that incident.

“There is a possibility that America will commit the same heinous crime (as it did in 1988), but this time the response will be harsh where we will make them regret their act,” Jazayeri said, according to Sepah News, the official media outlet of the Revolutionary Guards.

The only way to avoid such retaliation again is for America to leave the region, Jazayeri said. “Only then will it be safe.”

Reza Kahlili is a pseudonym for a former CIA operative in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the author of the award winning book “A Time to Betray.” He is a senior Fellow with EMPact America, a member of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and teaches at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy (JCITA).

[vector7]

Russian warns of blocking Afghanistan supply route

Russian warns of blocking Afghanistan supply route

July 2, 2012 | 9:22 am

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/worl...ply-route.html

WASHINGTON - A key Russian legislator warns that his government could withdraw permission for the United States to supply its troops in Afghanistan through Russia if the two countries can’t resolve their differences over missile defense.

Alexey Pushkov, chairman of the international affairs committee of the State Duma, said in a recent interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken the missile defense issue “very close to his heart.”

If there is no agreement between the countries on missile defense, the issue of NATO’s use of the two routes “will eventually come into play,” said Pushkov, who is a Putin ally. “I would not take it lightly.”

Russia fears that the NATO missile defense system being assembled in Eastern Europe could one day be expanded enough to neutralize the Russian nuclear missile arsenal.

The Pentagon places top priority on Russia allowing NATO to use the so-called northern distribution route, especially since Pakistan has closed off a NATO supply line as a result of its disputes with the Obama administration. The United States and Russia have an agreement in principle on Russia allowing NATO to use a second air route, through Ulyanovsk, as NATO reduces its troops and equipment in the country.

Although President Obama has expressed confidence that the two countries can find a compromise on the issue, Pushkov said he was skeptical.

“I am skeptical because today in the U.S., taking any steps toward the Russia position is a kind of taboo -– it’s almost a treason –- it’s like selling out American security to Russia,” he said.

He said that among ordinary Russians, American use of the northern supply line is “not popular,” and plans for the second supply line is “even less popular.”

[Malsua]

Well, ain't they special. It's bluster.

[American Patriot]

This ain't about Syria now. This about fucking with us.

[American Patriot]

Iran test-fires medium range missiles







By Marcus George
DUBAI | Tue Jul 3, 2012 7:18am EDT



(Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday it had successfully tested medium-range missiles capable of hitting Israel in response to threats of military action against the country, Iranian media reported.


Israel says it could attack Iran if diplomacy fails to force it to halt its disputed nuclear energy program. The United States also has military force on the table as a last resort, but U.S. officials have repeatedly encouraged the Israelis to be patient while new sanctions against Iran take effect.


The Islamic Republic announced the "Great Prophet 7" missile exercise on Sunday after a European Union embargo against Iranian crude oil purchases took full effect after another fruitless round of big powers talks with Tehran.


Iran's official English-language Press TV said the Shahab 3 missile with a range of 1,300 km - able to reach Israel - were tested along with the shorter-range Shahab 1 and 2.


"The main aim of this drill is to demonstrate the Iranian nation's political resolve to defend vital values and national interests," Revolutionary Guards Deputy Commander Hossein Salami was quoted by Press TV as saying.


He said the tests were in response to Iran's enemies who talk of a "military option being on the table". "The maneuvers are an answer to the rude words spoken against Iran," Fars news agency quoted him as saying.


Fars said dozens of missiles had been aimed as simulated air bases and that Iranian-built unmanned drones would be tested on Wednesday. Analysts challenge some of Iran's military assertions, saying it repeatedly exaggerates its capabilities.


Tehran regularly states its military dominance in the Gulf and has tested nerves across the oil industry, which is concerned by disruption in global crude supplies.


Iran has previously threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which passes more than a third of the world's seaborne trade, in response to increasingly harsh sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.


"The message of the ... missile maneuvers is that our country with full force is ready to provide security in the Persian gulf region and security for the transit of oil cargo," said foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast.


The EU embargo aims at pushing Iran to curb uranium enrichment that Western countries say is aimed at developing an atomic weapons capability, an accusation Iran has denied. Tehran says it wants only civilian nuclear energy from enrichment.


On Monday, a group of Iranian parliamentarians proposed a bill calling for country to try to stop oil tankers shipping crude through the Strait of Hormuz to countries that support sanctions against it.


However, the Iranian parliament is relatively weak, analysts say, and the new measure has no chance of becoming law unless sanctioned by Iran's clerical supreme leader.
(Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati)

[American Patriot]

U.S. Adds Forces in Persian Gulf, a Signal to Iran

NASA, via Associated Press


The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf beyond it, as seen from the International Space Station in 2003. Iran is to the right.

By THOM SHANKER, ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER

Published: July 3, 2012 24 Comments


WASHINGTON — The United States has quietly moved significant military reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to deter the Iranian military from any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff over its nuclear program escalates.






The flight deck of the American aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in February in the Persian Gulf.




Enlarge This Image

Ali Mohammadi/International Iran Photo Agency, via Associated Press

Iranian Navy patrol boats maneuvering during a drill in the Gulf of Oman last December.




The deployments are part of a long-planned effort to bolster the American military presence in the gulf region, in part to reassure Israel that in dealing with Iran, as one senior administration official put it last week, “When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it.”



But at a moment that the United States and its allies are beginning to enforce a much broader embargo on Iran’s oil exports, meant to force the country to take seriously the negotiations over sharply limiting its nuclear program, the buildup carries significant risks, including that Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps could decide to lash out against the increased presence.
The most visible elements of this buildup are Navy ships designed to vastly enhance the ability to patrol the Strait of Hormuz — and to reopen the narrow waterway should Iran attempt to mine it to prevent Saudi Arabia and other oil exporters from sending their tankers through the vital passage.



The Navy has doubled the number of minesweepers assigned to the region, to eight vessels, in what military officers describe as a purely defensive move.



“The message to Iran is, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ ” one senior Defense Department official said. “Don’t even think about closing the strait. We’ll clear the mines. Don’t even think about sending your fast boats out to harass our vessels or commercial shipping. We’ll put them on the bottom of the gulf.” Like others interviewed, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the diplomatic and military situation.



Since late spring, stealthy F-22 and older F-15C warplanes have moved into two separate bases in the Persian Gulf to bolster the combat jets already in the region and the carrier strike groups that are on constant tours of the area. Those additional attack aircraft give the United States military greater capability against coastal missile batteries that could threaten shipping, as well as the reach to strike other targets deeper inside Iran.



And the Navy, after a crash development program, has moved a converted amphibious transport and docking ship, the Ponce, into the Persian Gulf to serve as the Pentagon’s first floating staging base for military operations or humanitarian assistance.



The initial assignment for the Ponce, Pentagon officials say, is to serve as a logistics and operations hub for mine-clearing. But with a medical suite and helicopter deck, and bunks for combat troops, the Ponce eventually could be used as a base for Special Operations forces to conduct a range of missions, including reconnaissance and counterterrorism, all from international waters.



For President Obama, the combination of negotiations, new sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil revenues and increased military pressure is the latest — and perhaps the most vital — test of what the White House calls a “two track” policy against Iran. In the midst of a presidential election campaign in which his opponent, Mitt Romney, has accused him of being “weak” in dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue, Mr. Obama seeks to project toughness without tipping into a crisis in the region.
At the same time he must signal support for Israel, but not so much support that the Israelis see the buildup as an opportunity to strike the Iranian nuclear facilities, which Mr. Obama’s team believes could set off a war without significantly setting back the Iranian program.



A key motivation for “Olympic Games,” the covert effort to undermine Iran’s enrichment capability with cyberattacks, has been to demonstrate to the Israelis that there are more effective ways to slow the program than to strike from the air.



But this delicate signaling to both Iran and Israel is a complex dance. Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that the administration must strike a fine balance between positioning enough forces to deter Iran, but not inadvertently indicate to Iran or Israel that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites is imminent or inevitable.



“There are a lot of expectations to manage,” Mr. Kerry said in an interview. “People need to know you’re serious, but you must also leave room for peaceful resolution. It’s very important not to take steps that send the wrong messages here.”



There is little evidence that the increased pressure is having the desired effect.



Negotiations with Iran are at a stalemate, though a group of Iranian, American and European experts are expected to meet in Istanbul on Tuesday to review a recent American proposal and Iranian response. So far, though, Iran has strenuously resisted all efforts to force it to give up enrichment of uranium, starting with production of a type that is considered relatively close to bomb grade.



Responding to the tightening of Western sanctions, Iran on Monday announced that it would consider proposed legislation to disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz as well as missile tests, in a drill clearly intended as a warning to Israel and the United States.



The Iranian legislation calls for Iran’s military to block any oil tanker en route to countries no longer buying Iranian crude because of the embargo. It was unclear whether the legislation would pass or precisely how Iran would enforce it.



Senior Pentagon and military officials acknowledge that Iran has the capability to close the strait, at least temporarily, and the additional mine-clearing forces can be viewed as both concrete and spoken evidence of Washington’s commitment to make sure any closing is as brief as possible.



The most significant Iranian threat to shipping came during its war of attrition with Iraq in the 1980s. Iran attacked tankers and other commercial traffic to disrupt Iraq’s oil revenues and threaten shipments from other Arab states viewed as supporting Baghdad. Iran also laid significant numbers of mines in an attempt to block transit, prompting mine-clearing operations and attacks on the Iranian Navy by American warships.



Defense Department officials stressed that the recent reshaping of American forces in the Persian Gulf region should not be viewed as solely about the potential nuclear threat from Iran.



“This is not only about Iranian nuclear ambitions, but about Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions,” the senior Defense Department official said.
“This is a complex array of American military power that is tangible proof to all of our allies and partners and friends that even as the U.S. pivots toward Asia, we remain vigilant across the Middle East.”



While American ground troops have been withdrawn from Iraq, a force equivalent to an extra Army combat brigade has remained in Kuwait, officials said. It could have many roles to contain regional instability, but Iran is a primary concern.



While it always is difficult to read Iran’s intentions, senior American Navy officers have noted that Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf have refrained recently from provocative behavior.



“Things have been, relatively speaking, quiet,” said Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations, assessing actions by Iranian Navy vessels over “the last couple of months.”



But that was without the pressure of the new sanctions; already Iran is exporting far less oil every day than a year ago: about 1.5 million barrels a day versus 2.5 million before the gradual imposition of earlier sanctions.



While Iranian vessels have avoided any confrontations with allied warships in recent weeks, Iran expects to equip its ships in the Strait of Hormuz soon with shorter-range missiles, a Revolutionary Guards commander said on Friday, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.



With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran, the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.



The United States and 19 other countries will hold a major mine countermeasure exercise in the Persian Gulf in September, said a senior military officer who noted that countries in the region were taking more steps in their own defense, including buying American-made air defense systems and other weaponry.

[American Patriot]

US 'moves new forces to Gulf' in sign to Iran
(AFP) – 4 hours ago


WASHINGTON — The United States has moved new forces into the Gulf to keep strategic waterways open and strike deep within Iran in the event of a regional military escalation, the New York Times reported Tuesday.


The Times cited senior officials as saying the quiet build-up was aimed at reassuring Israel that Washington is serious about addressing Iran's nuclear program and keeping the Straits of Hormuz -- a key oil choke point -- open.


"The message to Iran is, ?Don't even think about it,'" it quoted a senior Defense Department official as saying.


"Don't even think about closing the strait. We'll clear the mines. Don't even think about sending your fast boats out to harass our vessels or commercial shipping. We'll put them on the bottom of the Gulf."


The Navy has doubled the number of minesweepers in the region, to eight vessels, and stealthy F-22s and older F-15C warplanes have been deployed to regional bases to reinforce existing carrier strike groups, the Times said.


US President Barack Obama has sought to roll back Iran's nuclear program though diplomatic means -- ramping up sanctions to unprecedented levels in recent months -- while not ruling out a military strike.


Western nations and Israel have accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian uranium enrichment program, charges adamantly denied by Tehran.


Iran and the P5+1 group comprising the five UN Security Council permanent members (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States) plus Germany plan to hold an experts-level meeting in Istanbul to discuss the dispute.


The talks were to take place between technical experts after three previous rounds earlier this year, at a more senior political level, failed to bridge the vast gap dividing the two sides.


Iran has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the oil-rich Gulf if its nuclear program is targeted by air strikes.


That threat, repeated since December, helped propel oil prices to a four-year high of $128 for a barrel of Brent North Sea reference crude in early March.

[American Patriot]

Just thought I'd post this image, cuz I LIKE IT!


The United States has two aircraft carriers close to the Gulf region (AFP/US Navy/File)

[American Patriot]

Energy Resources
Iran wants emergency OPEC meeting

Published: July 3, 2012 at 8:24 AM

TEHRAN, July 3 (UPI) -- Iran's oil minister said he wants to hold an extraordinary meeting with members of the OPEC cartel in an effort to control downward trends in crude oil prices.

U.S. and European sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports went into force last weekend. Iran is among the top five oil producers among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Despite sanctions, oil prices Monday sank further below $100 per barrel on weak manufacturing data from the U.S. and Chinese economies. The ongoing economic crisis in Europe continues to drag on oil prices.

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi called on OPEC to hold an extraordinary meeting to address falling oil prices.

Tehran is considered a price hawk, lobbying for a price above $100 per barrel.

He told the Oil Ministry's Petroenergy Information Network consistency is needed among OPEC members to ensure market stability.

"If OPEC members don't observe agreed production ceiling it will be followed by disorder in oil markets," he said.

Saudi Arabia was one of the major oil-producing countries that stepped in to provide a buffer against the drop in Iranian crude from the market. Some governments have restricted Iranian crude oil imports in an effort to protect themselves against sanctions.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Ene...#ixzz1zZ6CJIvv

[vector7]

Iran fires dozens of missiles at mock US base in military drill

Ongoing exercise underlines Iran’s ‘offensive intentions,’ says ex-Shin Bet chief — and hence the imperative to halt its nuclear weapons drive

By Ron Friedman and Ilan Ben Zion
July 3, 2012, 1:21 pm

Iran’s current missile exercises, timed to coincide with Tuesday’s start of low-level talks in Istanbul on its nuclear program, underline the regime’s “offensive intentions” and the consequent imperative to prevent it from attaining nuclear weapons, Kadima Knesset member Avi Dichter, the former head of the Shin Bet intelligence service, said Tuesday.

Tuesday is the second day of the three-day “The Great Prophet 7″ exercise, during which the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has test-fired dozens of short-, medium- and long-range rockets as part of a major drill aimed at simulating attacks on foreign targets, Iran’s IRNA news agency said.

The drill has involved firing a range of missiles, including the Shihab-3 missile which can reach Israel and southern Europe, at a dummy enemy base built to resemble US military bases in the Persian Gulf, Israel Radio reported.

IRNA said the missiles targeted and destroyed mock positions of “ultra-regional forces” set up in a desert region in central Iran.
The range of missiles being tested included some that Iran has supplied to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel Radio said.

Dichter described Iran as “a regional power — not only in terms of oil resources, but also in weapons development.” It constitutes “a threat to Israel, but not only to Israel,” he said. Israel was developing the appropriate missile defense capabilities, he added.

The Iranian regime is “attack-moded” in its orientation, he said. That’s why there is such acute concern over what use it might make of nuclear weapons if it attained them, and that’s why the international community has to thwart the Iranian nuclear ambition.

Speaking two days after new EU oil sanctions against Iran came into effect, Dichter said the Iranian regime would have to explain to its 90 million people “why its economy is in such difficulties.”

On Sunday Revolutionary Guards general Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that the three-day missile exercise should be seen as a message “that the Islamic Republic of Iran is resolute in standing up to… bullying, and will respond to any possible evil decisively and strongly.”

“If they take any action, they will hand us an excuse to wipe them off the face of the earth,” said Hajizadeh, evidently referring to Israel.

Hajizadeh also said Iran has produced an anti-radar missile called “Arm” that can hit any source of radar. He said the weapon could travel at several times the speed of sound, had an estimated range of 300 kilometers, and could “damage” missile shields in Turkey and Gulf countries.