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MOSCOW, January 16 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has completed deliveries of Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran, the defense minister said.
“We have supplied modern anti-aircraft short-range missile systems under a contract. Iran is not under any sanctions,” Sergei Ivanov said, adding that Moscow will continue to develop military and technical cooperation with Tehran.
Anti-aircraft short-range missile
systems (RIA Novosti)
Russia undertook to supply 29 Tor-M1 missiles to Iran under a $700 million contract signed at the end of 2005. The United States protested the deal, which it feared could bolster the military capabilities of the Islamic Republic, classified by Washington as a “rogue state” and part of “the axis of evil.”
AsiaTimes (By Gareth Porter) Jan. 17 – WASHINGTON – US President George W Bush’s seemingly aggressive policy of taking direct action against alleged Iranian “networks” involved in attacks on US troops in Iraq, combined with the deployment of a second aircraft-carrier group off Iran’s coast, has triggered speculation that it is related to a plan for an attack.
…
The Bush speech coincided with an attack by an unidentified US military unit on the building used by Iranian consular officials in Irbil and the seizure of six Iranian officials in the compound. But all indications are that the US military has no real intelligence on any Iranian direct involvement in supplying lethal weapons to insurgents.
US forces raided the Iranian liaison office in Irbil
The statement issued by the US military but clearly written in the White House said the detainees, who were not identified as Iranians, were “suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and coalition forces”. That statement shows that the seizure was not based on any prior evidence of the officials’ complicity in insurgent attacks. US troops also seized documents and computers, indicating that the attack was really nothing more than an intelligence operation, launched in the hope of finding some evidence that could be used against Iran.
LONDON (The Times) Jan. 16 – Britain is joining an American military campaign to blunt Iranian influence in Iraq and the Gulf.
In a move likely to heighten tension in an already volatile part of the world, US forces have been ordered to detain Iranian agents in Iraq and to strengthen substantially America’s military presence in the Gulf.
Two Royal Navy minehunters have arrived in the Gulf to reinforce a naval frigate on patrol in the area.
“We are going after their [Iran’s] networks in Iraq,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the outgoing US Ambassador to Baghdad, said. The aim was to change the behaviour of the Islamic regime in Tehran, he added.
Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, accused Tehran of “very negative behaviour”.
I’d like to know just what bush and company think will happen when they bomb Iran as to what Russia and China are going to do…do they honestly think they can continue to threaten and bomb parts of the world before they start WW111 …against us?
They stupidly bombed in Somalia and killed dozens of civilians and I read yesterday that our troops in the Philippines were fighting which is a big no/no as to policy I believe. There are I’m sure other instances that the public has yet to find out about concerning just what our troops may be doing in various countries.
It seems that in Bushworld the dreaded axis of evil will become an ever-expanding group.
Of course..if there aren’t those ever-expanding ‘evils’ than all those lovely war profiteering companies lose lots and lots and lots of money.
As Stalin said, he did not need friends, he needed enemies against which he could carry out any policy, domestic or foreign.
Leslie
How can we worry? We have a Ph.D. in Russian studies as secretary of state, and Bush “looked into Putin’s eyes and saw his soul.” Please forgive my sarcasm.
Ten years from now, (if we are all here) we will realize how totally myopic we’ve been. My sense is that this is all a world chess game, posturing for the last of the fossil fuels in a decade. Those that have opted out of the game (like Brazil, and perhaps Japan)will be looking at the play-by-play, as China taps the resource in which it has invested the heaviest, Africa. Russia hopes to stay in the game with its Iranian allies.
The last time I was in Beijing, our friendly interpreter said (not unkindly), “You Americans have no sense of history.” He is right–neither do we have a sense of how the chaos we create today in Iraq will reverberate. A president who began a war without understanding the difference between Sunnis and Shi’a (and used the word “crusade” casually in the first weeks of the war) will be relegated to the footnotes in a history of this country’s decline if we don’t begin building a new history now.
I say this as I read about Obama’s new campaign. I’ve also been following Edwards, who has a similar message of positive action. So it is certainly not hopeless. But unless we learn from history we are in deep trouble.
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During recent press conference on the occasion of a White House visit by German Chancellor Merkel …
Secondly, Syria knows exactly what she needs to do in order to reenter the nation — reenter the — you know, to be viewed as a nation that’s constructive. And my own view is, is that we need to proceed with the Hariri tribunal as fast as possible, and hold people to account. If they murder somebody, they need to be held to account. People need to — they need to bring this to conclusion.
So my attitude on Syria is they can be a much more constructive partner and they haven’t been. They don’t need to be told that in meeting after meeting after meeting. They get told that right here in a press conference like this. They know exactly what they need to do. And it’s their choice to make.”
I listened to the press conference, it was clear his knowledge didn’t reach further that Syria – Assad – Hariri murder. In the UN report of December 12, a possible motive:
Another hypothesis under consideration is that apparently obvious motives were used by the perpetrators as a convenient cover, with the real intent being to propel other individuals into the frontline of accusation.
RDX explosives were used in Mitsubishi truck of suicide bomber.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."only two more years……hmmmm, what can happen in that short time?
I would not put anything past this group for their final play.
as always Oui, thanks for the info
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TEL AVIV (Haaretz) Jan. 17 – As news of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz‘s resignation emerged, Knesset members from across the political spectrum called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz to step down from their positions as well.
“Halutz’s step was unavoidable, but he was not the only one responsible for the failures of the war – the government was too,” MK Ophir Pines-Paz, a candidate for leadership of the Labor Party, told Army Radio.
“The political echelon is not innocent of errors. There were failures, oversights by the political echelon.”
Lebanon Attack Plan Sanctioned by VP Cheney
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."completed the delivery. Do you know if they are all operational yet OUI?
… Russia managed to uphold its economic interests and ensured the implementation of its earlier signed contracts with Iran, including on the construction of a light-water reactor in Bushehr and the delivery of the Tor-M1 and S-300 air defense systems.
The Russian arms export agency Rosvoorouzhenie is marketing the 300PMU-1 internationally as a competitor to the MIM-104 Patriot air-defense missile system produced by the US firms Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. There are conflicting reports regarding which countries have acquired the S-300P system …
According to Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems Issue 24, the S-300P has been exported to Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Iran, Slovakia, Syria, and Ukraine. It also states that there are unconfirmed reports of the S-300P being exported to Bosnia, Hungary, Jordan, and Kuwait. According to a 5/12/95 report in the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya gazeta, Iran was considering purchasing the S-300PMU-1.
The Russian S-300PMU-1 (NATO designation SA-10d `Grumble’) TMD system is a much-improved version of the S-300P first developed by the Russian Almaz Scientific Production Association in 1967.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
BAGHDAD (BBC News) Jan. 17 – One of Iraq’s most powerful Shia politicians has condemned the arrest of Iranians by US forces in Iraq as an attack on the country’s sovereignty.
The comments by Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, made in a BBC interview, are seen as the strongest expression yet of Iraq’s concern about the US approach to Iran. The remarks are interesting as Mr Hakim is seen as close to President Bush, says the BBC’s Andrew North in Baghdad.
President George W. Bush welcomes Sayyed Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim, Leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, to the White House Monday, Dec. 4, 2006.Late last year, US troops descended on Mr Hakim’s residential compound in Baghdad and detained two Iranian officials. They were later released.
But last week, five more were detained at the Iranian liaison office in Irbil. They are still being held. US officials say they are linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which they allege trains and arms Iraqi insurgents.
Iran, which has demanded their immediate release, says they are diplomats engaged in legitimate work.
“Regardless of the Iranian position we consider these actions as incorrect,” Mr Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, told the BBC.
“They represent a kind of attack on Iraq’s sovereignty and we hope such things are not repeated.”
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that Iraq needed a constructive relationship with Iran. “We can’t change the geographical reality that Iran is our neighbour. This is a delicate balance and we are treading a very thin line.” We fully respect the views, policies and strategy of the United States, which is the strongest ally to Iraq, but the Iraqi government has national interests of its own,” Mr Zebari said.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."The region is heating up. I’m scrubbing my diary on Iran – that imho, The Iran war has been Launched? My diary has been in progress for days. No need duplicate on topic if Oui doesn’t mind, so here’s my 3 cents.
Let’s not be ostriches. Many tell-tale signs abound from well respected analysts and writers. Some see a mid March early April time line for air attack from the sea:
ING, a major investment bank (of Dutch origin) with operations worldwide, warned investors those who think an attack on Iran is unlikely will be shocked.
Professor Juan Cole writing in Salon.com, “Did the U.S. just provoke Iran?
Please link to see map. It tells the story – as they say a pic is worth a 1,000 words.
“For months, rumors of war between the United States and Iran have been building. Many fear that President Bush is spoiling for a fight, and they’ve begun to interpret various developments in the region as the run-up to an attack on Tehran.”
Hostile Intent-Laura Rozen
Ratcheting up on Iran After the surge … what next?
Did the President Declare “Secret War” Against Syria and Iran?
The view from Kuwait
US military strike on Iran seen by April ’07; Sea-launched attack to hit oil, N-sites
And why will Bush/Israel Attack Iran? It’s the Nuclear, Nuke-ku-lar cry because the sanctions will not work. Sounds familiar?
Negroponte Says Iran Can Weather Economic Pressures
and to fuel and bolster the charge, never mind the facts
Iran says it Needs 10 Nuclear Power Plants
as U.S. Expert Predicts Iran Oil-Export Crisis Within A Decade
Economic geographer Roger Stern has predicted in a recent study in a U.S. National Academy of Sciences publication that Iran might run out of oil for export by 2015. Stern, is a researcher at John Hopkins University[.]”
But Iran is far from achieving nuclear capability for energy or weapons. Never. mind. the. facts.
One glaring tell-tale sign that the secret war against Iran has begun. Ever wonder why the price of oil is gradually being taken down. Over the last 3 weeks – so gradual no one connects the dots. Down from $65 to 51/bbl – in 3 weeks!
The reason: to strangle and reduce Iran’s revenues. As Steve Clemons noted weeks ago, One prominent, incumbent national security officials in the Middle East said that was one option – they would take down the price of oil below $40/bbl
Hmmm.
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Hizbollah’s Use of C-802 Cruise Missile
(August 16, 2006) – Hizballah’s successful use of the C-802/SACCADE anti-ship cruise missile against an Israeli corvette caught both the U.S. and Israel by surprise. The general consensus among defense intelligence analysts is that Iran’s small cadre of IRGC operatives attached to Hizballah (estimated to be about 100 men) helped arm this weapon and guide it to its target. Hizballah’s successful use of the C-802 also raises questions about the safety of U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf in the event of Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz in reaction to U.S. military action against the Teheran regime. Iran reportedly has “hundreds” of these missiles (C-802s) lining its shore of the Strait.
(COMMENT: Contrary to some press reports, the C-802 is not an adaptation of the Chinese Silkworm, but rather a Chinese improvement on the [originally French] Exocet that was used effectively by the Argentine navy in the Falklands war in 1982 …)
● Why the Nuclear Option in Iran is Still on Bush’s Table ◊ by Steven D
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."The Atomic Scientists will need to move their clock hands AGAIN to take account of this development. Getting closer to midnight ……
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The president made clear he was not backing down in his tough rhetoric toward Iran, despite criticism at home. Revolting republicans and liberals alike have openly challenged Bush‘s nuclear diplomacy tactics, many saying his fiery anti-Islam remarks are doing more harm than good.
George Bush said calls for compromise echo “the words of the enemy.”
At the same time, Bush‘s top national security official, John Negroponte, sharply denounced Iranian policy in Iraq, saying Tehran is fueling Shiite-Sunni hatred.
Jipes, how very similar extremists are! I exchanged Ahmadinejad for Bush and you hardly notice a difference!
Ahmadinejad's tour of Latin America: "Any nationseeking to defend itself can count on Iranian aid."
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."