EU-DIGEST

Europe is waiting to see how Obama plays Iran - John Vinocur

What worries the Europeans, but particularly the French, who hold the European Union's rotating presidency until Jan. 1, is what Obama intends to do once he is in the White House.Wary of challenging Obama's current reservoir of international prestige and support, the European leadership's concerns on Iran are only half-articulated.But they go to fears of being cut out of the process in the direct U.S.-Iran talks Obama has promised and losing a means to bring pressure against eventual military action.

What do Obama's campaign pledges about talking to Iran "directly" and "without preconditions" mean now? And how influential are U.S. experts who argue he should run around Russia's chokehold on the UN Security Council's initiatives and sanctions by starting head-on, "all options on the table" negotiations with the mullahs?

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, Iran

'Israel war on Iran on the radar'

A senior European Union diplomat says the perfect time for Israel to strike Iranian nuclear installations 'is between now and January 20'. "A possible Israeli strike against Iran is not completely off the radar," Turkish paper Hurriyet quoted the diplomat as saying. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday that Tel Aviv is 'convinced that Iran continues to try to build a nuclear weapon'.Israel, meanwhile, argues that the use of military force is a legitimate option in halting Iran's nuclear progress. "Israelis would consider a move such as this before Bush and Cheney leave," said the EU diplomat, adding that once Obama takes office, Israel's chances of striking Iran would be off the agenda.

Note EU-Digest: One can only pray and hope this dangerous plan does not materialize. Unfortunately it has a far better chance to succeed than the possibility of Obama breaking loose from the Jewish lobby's terror and giving Israel and the Palestinians an ultimatum: "No more financial aid or political support until Israel dismantles all its settlements and roadblocks, and withdraws to the agreed-upon borders, and you the Palestinians no more support until rocket attacks on Israel cease."

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, Iran, Israel, War

Watching Obama from Tehran

Iranian President Ahmadinejad has great admiration for his own fortune-telling capabilities. For years, he has been making all kinds of predictions. Among his most famous are the destruction of Israel and the end of the “U.S. empire.” In March 2008, he made another prediction. “They would not allow Obama to become the U.S. president,” declared the Iranian president confidently in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais. This new failure in his clairvoyance has probably disappointed the president. Nevertheless, he took the time to congratulate the man he thought would never become president by saying, “Tehran welcomes basic and fair changes in U.S. policies and conducts.” He added what is obviously his idea of helpful advice: ”I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem.”

Despite this message, the conservative hard-line camp in Iran is worried about the overwhelming enthusiasm and support for the U.S. that Obama’s election has created around the world. A popular American president who talks about peace and wants to negotiate with Iran would take away their justification for leading the anti-American front in the Middle East. The most intriguing reaction to Obama’s victory in Iran was reported by the Saudi-based Al Arabiya. In a report, this news outlet said that some Iranian officials had interpreted Obama’s election as as a sign of the arrival of the Mahdi. This is because Obama’s first name, Barack, means blessing and his second name, Hussein, is the name of the third Shiite imam who Iranians revere. The Saudi channel refused to reveal the name of the Iranian website on which its reports were based. Note EU-Digest: According to the Muslims al-Mahdi is "the rightly-guided one" who, based on Islamic Hadiths (traditions), will come before the end of time to make the entire world Muslim. Over the last 1400 years numerous claimants to the mantle of the Mahdi have arisen in both Shi`i and Sunni circles.

Labels: Ahmadinejad, Barack Obama, Iran, US

Turkey-Iran trade exceeds euro 8.7b (US$ 11b)

Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen announced on Friday that Tehran-Ankara trade exceeded 11 billion dollars in the current Iranian calendar year (to end on March 20, 2009). Such a trade volume is an indication to existence of close economic cooperation between the two nations, he added. He made his remarks in a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Istanbul on ‘Europe and Central Asia’.

Labels: Iran, Turkey

Iran opens trade center in Netherlands

The Mehr News Agency quoted TPOI Director for Foreign Branches Affairs Hamid Zadbum as saying that a number of Iranian and Dutch traders as well as Iran-Netherlands Cultural Council members also attended the inaugural ceremony. The two sides expressed hope that the trade center would pave the way for the two-way trade in the long run, Zadbum said, adding, they announced their full-fledged support of any activity which would enhance bilateral economic and commercial relations.

Labels: EU, Iran, Netherlands, Trade

Russia, Iran, Qatar discuss OPEC-style gas cartel

Russia, Iran and Qatar took their first serious steps toward forming an OPEC-style cartel for natural gas on Tuesday, a prospect that has unnerved energy-importing nations in Europe and the United States. The three countries together account for 60 percent of the world's gas reserves, and Russia and Iran have both been accused of using their hold on energy supplies to bully neighboring countries. The European Union, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, criticized the proposal, saying "energy supplies have to be sold in a free market."

Note EU-Digest: The three countries do not control 60% of the gas supplies and the idea of a gas cartel makes little sense unless it includes at least the top ten suppliers of natural gas which are:

1. Russia … 656.2 billion cubic meters (19.9% of estimated world total)

2. United States … 490.8 billion cubic meters (14.9%)

3. Canada … 178.2 billion cubic meters (5.4%)

4. Iran … 101 billion cubic meters (3.1%)

5. Algeria … 84.4 billion cubic meters (2.6%)

6. United Kingdom … 84.2 billion cubic meters (2.6%)

7. Norway … 83.4 billion cubic meters (2.5%)

8. Netherlands … 77.3 billion cubic meters (2.3%)

9. Indonesia … 74 billion cubic meters (2.2%)

10. Turkmenistan … 72.3 billion cubic meters (2.2%).

Labels: Cartel, Gas Supplies, Iran, Quatar, Russia

IAEA 'puts Israeli nukes on agenda'

The UN nuclear watchdog has unanimously agreed to put the issue of Israel's nuclear capabilities on the agenda of its annual meeting. After requests by the Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab League, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed to put the issue of Israel's nuclear capabilities on the agenda of the 52nd annual meeting of the UN body.

The move was initially met with protests by the US and Canada but the two countries had to back down from their position after they realized that other member states of the IAEA meeting's presidential board would not support their stance, an informed source told Fars News Agency on Monday. Israel is believed to possess the only nuclear arsenal of the Middle East but it has so far refused to allow IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear sites.

Labels: IAEA, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Nuclear weapons

EU Assessment: Israel Incapable of Stopping Iran Nuclear pogram. Program

EU diplomatic sources who specialize in the Middle East believe that Israel cannot stop the Iranian nuclear program on its own using military means. "Iran's counterstrike would not be the end of the story. There is no military solution and no stabilizing outcome," the EU source said. The assessment comes within the context of serious concerns in Europe that Israel, feeling its back against the wall, would strike Iran's nuclear facilities, even under the assumption that such action would only set back the Iranian program, not destroy it. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told the German government, for example, that Israel will not allow Iran to go nuclear. At the same time, the overall assessment in the EU is that sanctions have not significantly impacted Iranian policy thus far, and are unlikely to do so in the future. EU sources also consider it unrealistic to expect any pressures on Tehran over its nuclear drive to result in a regime change.

In his latest report to the 35-nation Board of Governors, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei confirmed "the non-diversion" of nuclear material in Iran and added that the agency had found no "components of a nuclear weapon" or "related nuclear physics studies" in the country. The IAEA report confirmed that Iran has managed to enrich uranium-235 to a level 'less than 5 percent.' Such a rate is consistent with the construction of a nuclear power plant. Nuclear arms production, meanwhile, requires an enrichment level of above 90 percent.

Labels: EU, Iran, US

Sarkozy Says Iran May Provoke Israeli Attack, Causing Disaster - by Francois de Beaupuy

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iran's nuclear program may provoke an attack by Israel, urging the Islamic republic to accept international inspections. ``Iran is taking a major risk in continuing its process of obtaining nuclear weapons, which we are certain is happening,'' Sarkozy said today in Damascus, Syria. ``One day, whatever the Israeli government is, we can imagine ourselves one morning with an Israel that would have attacked. That would be a disaster.''

Labels: EU, Iran, Israel, Sarkozy

Dutch recall spy from Iran fearing U.S. attack

The Dutch intelligence service stopped an espionage operation in Iran because of an "impending U.S. attack." A top agent was recalled from what was described as a successful operation to infiltrate and sabotage the weapons industry in Iran because it was believed he would be inside one of the targets of the alleged attack, according to an Aug. 29 report in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.The newspaper quoted a source as saying that the agent was recalled "because the U.S. was thought to be making a decision within weeks to attack Iran with unmanned aircraft."

Labels: EU, Iran, Netherlands

Israel - Buildup to the Next War - by Noah Feldman

The prospect of an Israeli attack on Iran before the next president’s inauguration in January is not just the stuff of airport thrillers. Much of the Israeli military establishment and Israeli public currently believes that a nuclear Iran is an existential threat. This gives Israel a motive for action much stronger than that of the U.S., for whom an Iranian bomb would primarily be a blow to our interests in the gulf region. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or whoever emerges as his successor in September might well be prepared to take risks that would not be worth it for the United States, especially given the vulnerability of our troops in Iraq.

Any Iranian movement against U.S. assets would give President Bush just about the only domestically viable political excuse for bombing Iran that is possible to imagine. Because that would put Iran at war with the United States, not just Israel, Iran might choose to hold back. That likelihood, coupled with President Bush’s visceral support for Israel, might be enough reason for the administration to tolerate an Israeli attack that did not too directly implicate the United States. Given the uncertainty surrounding a potential Obama administration, this autumn may be Israel’s last and best chance to go after Iran’s nuclear capability.In the brave new world of our immersion in Iraq, we have increasingly found ourselves waking up with strange bedfellows. Strangest of these, of course, is Iran itself, with whom we have been quietly consulting over Iraq’s affairs because neither country wants an all-out civil war in that country.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US

The War With Iran - by Douglas Herman

The war began as planned. The Israeli pilots took off well before dawn and streaked across Lebanon and northern Iraq, high above Kirkuk. Flying US-made F-15 and F-16s, the Israelis separated over the mountains of western Iran, the pilots gesturing a last minute show of confidence in their mission, maintaining radio silence. At 9:15 AM, Baghdad time, the first Iranian missile struck the Green Zone. For the next thirty minutes a torrent of missiles landed on GPS coordinates carefully selected by Shiite militiamen with cell phones positioned outside the Green Zone and other permanent US bases. Although US and Israeli bomber pilots had destroyed 90% of the Iranian missiles, enough Shahabs remained to fully destroy the Green Zone, the Baghdad airport, and a US Marine base. Thousands of unsuspecting US soldiers died in the early morning barrage. Not surprisingly, CNN and Fox withheld the great number of casualties from American viewers.

By 9:30 AM, gas stations on the US east coast began to raise their prices. Slowly at first and then altogether in a panic, the prices rose. $4 a gallon, and then $5 and then $6, the prices skyrocketed. Worried motorists, rushing from work, roared into the nearest gas station, radios blaring the latest reports of the pre-emptive attack on Iran. While fistfights broke out in gas stations everywhere, the third Middle Eastern war had begun.

Labels: Iran, US, War

Nuclear Negotiations with Iran May Continue Amid Caution - by Kamal Nazer

Iran is refusing to compromise, but it wants to keep on negotiating with the international community over the fate of the country’s nuclear program. Iranian officials continue to hope that they can revamp a deal, but some experts caution that Tehran may err in pushing too far. Iran responded on August 5 to an ultimatum delivered by the so-called 5+1 group -- comprising the five UN Security Council permanent members, along with Germany -- which demanded in July that Tehran immediately suspend uranium enrichment activity in exchange for an international guarantee that new economic sanctions would not be imposed.A major assumption the Iranians appear to be making is that US President George W. Bush is eager to strike a deal on the nuclear issue in order to bolster his diplomatic legacy. In addition, if Bush does not exhibit a desired level of flexibility, Iranian leaders believe his successor may be easier to deal with. A July 29 article in Tabnak, a publication closely associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, suggested that Bush wanted to achieve a "lighting diplomatic success," not only to enhance his personal image, but also to improve his party’s chances of retaining the presidency in November. The article went on to hint that it would be a "mistake" to strike a deal with Bush, unless Iran could come away with a substantially better bargain that what is currently on the table.

Labels: Iran, Nuclear energy

The European Union has received a written reply from Iran regarding international proposals about its nuclear program. The precise contents of the letter have not been made public. The United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany are planning to discuss the letter in a telephone conference tomorrow. Two weeks ago, the six countries offered Iran improved economic and political cooperation in exchange for a freeze of its nuclear activities. Iran was given 14 days in which to reply, something it has now done at the very last moment. An Iranian functionary has said that the letter to the EU does not discuss a freezing of Iran's nuclear program. This would suggest Iran does not agree with the request.

Note EU-Digest: Iran's response to an incentives package aimed at defusing a dispute over its nuclear program is unacceptable, U.S. officials said Tuesday, making the prospect of new sanctions against the country more likely. The Australian notes: "With only 174 days left in office, Bush may not need pressure from Cheney and co, or from the Israelis, to start bombing. He's got another motive. For centuries Roman centurions had no end of trouble with those pesky Persians. So perhaps Nero Claudius Caesar Germanicus W. Bush takes Persia personally."

Labels: China, EU, George Bush, Iran, Nuclear energy, Russia

'Iran to be equipped with Russian S-300 by 09'

Iran will receive the advanced Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense system by year-end, senior Israeli military officials say. An Israeli military official claimed the missile batteries would arrive in early September, as Iran's contract with Moscow asserts that the S-300s to be delivered by the end of 2008, Reuters reported. The S-300 is the most sophisticated version of the anti-aircraft system which is capable of tracking 100 targets at once and firing on planes 120 km away.

Iran has cited diplomacy as the only means acceptable in clarifying the nature of its nuclear activities but has warned that it would target Israel and 32 US bases in the region should the country come under attack.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US

Iran, Turkey seek stronger energy cooperation

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki on Saturday held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on ways to expand comprehensive cooperation especially in energy sector. “Fortunately, the train of bilateral relations is moving in a good condition. Joint agreements on energy and building an electricity power plant are underway and the memoranda of understanding on cooperation in South Pars gas filed are in the final process,” Mottaki stated. He expressed hope that the implementation of Article 44 of the Constitution which calls for the privatization of state-run economy will provide the ground for further cooperation between the two neighbors’ private sectors.

Labels: Iran, Turkey

Prospects of Iranian nuclear issue's resolution remain dim after Geneva talks

A solution to Iran's nuclear issue remains elusive after the high-level talks in Geneva on Saturday between six major powers and Iran achieved only "insufficient" progress. Significant progress is unlikely unless the key parties involved in the issue are ready to show more flexibility and make substantial compromise, analysts say. As the U.S. troops are bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington is keen to see some progress in efforts to solve Iran's nuclear issue, especially before President George W. Bush leaves office in January. And a peaceful resolution of the crisis could be seen as a big achievement for Bush's presidency. White House spokesperson Dana Perino said before the talks that the U.S. official would not be in Geneva to negotiate, and more sanctions were still possible if Iran rejected the incentives. "We will be there to listen, (and) we are not there to negotiate," she said.

Labels: Iran, Nuclear energy

Iran Nuclear Talks End Without Agreement - by Glenn Kessler

High-level international talks on Iran's nuclear program ended inconclusively today in Geneva, with European envoy Javier Solana telling reporters that Iran needed to give a more definitive answer within two weeks.

The meeting was significant because for the first time a U.S. diplomat, Undersecretary of State William J. Burns, joined other envoys in meeting with the top Iranian nuclear negotiator. U.S. officials had said the shift in Bush administration policy was intended to help lead to a breakthrough in the impasse over the Iranian program, but if Iran failed to respond positively, it only would unify the international coalition dealing with Iran.

Labels: Iran, US

In a surprising development in the tense American-Iranian relationship, the US announced this week that it would send a high-level State Department official to attend talks with Iranian nuclear negotiators in Switzerland over the weekend. This unexpected policy turn comes after a tense, saber rattling summer during which the US, Israel, and Iran have traded threats, staged war games, and tested weapons. But observers suggest that the shift in the US's longstanding tactic of isolating Tehran may be motivated by a desire to ensure that other countries such as China and Russia do not make too many concessions to Iran during the negotiations.

Note EU-Digest:Washington finally has realized that one way of avoiding the further meltdown of the US economy that dialog with Iran is a far better tactic to calming down the jitters about the US economy in the financial world than taking confrontational actions.

Labels: Iran, US

Iran and Israel build up their bluffing game - by Gerard Baker

There has been a certain choreographed quality to events in the skies over the eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf in the last month. This week Iran fired a volley of medium-range missiles into the skies over the Gulf, demonstrating its capacity to hit targets in Israel. A month ago, Israeli warplanes carried out large and fearsome warplane exercises over the Mediterranean that looked like a practice run for a bombing raid on Iranian nuclear facilities. But appearances can be deceptive. In Iran's case at least part of the deception has already been exposed - to mildly comical effect. It turns out that the picture of the launch of four Iranian missiles that appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world yesterday was itself a fake.

The simple reality is that, for all its sabre-rattling, Israel cannot carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities on its own. An Israeli strike would require the active co-operation of the US. Israeli F15 and F16 warplanes would not only have to fly and be refuelled in Iraqi airspace - controlled by the Americans - but the whole operation would require logistical support from US bases on the ground in Iraq. Support helicopters would need to be based in Iraq and rescue teams needed to evacuate any downed Israeli pilots would have to operate inside Iraq. In short this would be in effect a joint US-Israeli mission. The catch is that Washington has no intention of joining in any attack any time soon.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US. Middle East

The US has warned Iran to stop missile testing if it wants to gain the trust of the world, after "war games" in the Gulf today that Iranian officials said were a response to US and Israeli threats. Iran demonstrated its military force when it test-fired nine long and medium range missiles in the strategic Strait of Hormouz, through which 40% of the world's oil passes.Television reports said the missiles fired included a new version of the Shahab-3 missile, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is equipped with a conventional warhead weighing a tonne. Such a missile could reach Israel, Turkey, Afghanistan or Pakistan. Israel's military has also flexed its muscles in recent months as tensions with Iran have risen, sending warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean in June. US officials described that incident as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear program, which the west fears is aimed at producing atomic weapons. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev today said Israel "does not desire hostility and conflict with Iran". "But it is clear that the Iranian nuclear program and the Iranian ballistic missile programme is a matter of grave concern," he said.

Note EU-Digest: these tests by Iran are mainly in reaction to the provocative Israeli warplane exercise around and over the Mediterranean. Military experts agree that if Israel audacity to attack Iran the defeat they suffered in Lebanon will be nothing in comparison to the damage that Iran would do to Israel, not only with their rockets, but also with their"proxy" militia surrounding Israel.

Labels: Iran, Israel, Oil, US

Iran buys American despite tough talk from both nations

U.S. exports to Iran including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons grew more than tenfold during President George W. Bush's years in office even as he accused Iran of nuclear ambitions and helping terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran, at least $158 million worth under Bush, than any other products.

Other surprising shipments to Iran during the Bush administration: fur clothing, sculptures, perfume and musical instruments. Top states shipping goods to Iran include California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin

Labels: Iran, Trade, US

The Coming Attack on Iran: A Perfect Storm of Madness- by Bernard Weiner

The question is not whether Iran will be attacked, but by whom and whether the bombing will commence within the next several months or shortly after the November election.The neocons argue that if Iran is not stopped now, America will lose all hopes of future influence and control in the oil-rich region. Iran would become one of the most powerful, and likely anti-U.S., players in the Greater Middle East, with all the military, economic and oil-based implications that such hegemonic power brings with it. In short, say the neocons, it's vital to stop Iran in its tracks now while the stopping is still possible. Once Iran has operational nuclear-tipped missiles -- which could be a mere ten years down the line, or less -- the entire equation would change.

Labels: EU, Iran, US

Bush Returns from Europe without Understanding the Old Continent's Position on Iran - by Ida Garibaldi

There was little more than the window dressing of a farewell tour in President Bush's trip to Europe earlier this month. Most significantly, he failed to come away with a clear idea of where Europe stands on Iran. It is a pity, but it is not surprising. At the end of his second mandate an American president progressively loses his political influence, becoming a semi irrelevant actor on the political scene of his country. This element coupled with the entrenched European indecision in facing the Iranian issue undermined the results of a trip that otherwise could have had a very positive effect on the transatlantic alliance.

Labels: Bush, EU, Iran

Labels: Iran, Israel

Iran has no plans to move money out of Europe

Iran is not planning to move assets from European banks, a banking official said on Tuesday, rejecting reports it is making major withdrawals to dodge impending EU sanctions. "No money from Iranian banks has been transferred out of European banks to Iran or other countries. And it will not be (moved)," the managing director of Bank Mellat, Ali Divandari, was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency. "There is no reason for the transfer of this money," said Divandari, whose bank is one of Iran's major state banks. The United States and European Union are seeking to ratchet up pressure on Tehran in the standoff over its contested nuclear programme by imposing a range of financial measures against the Islamic republic. Media reports have said Iran has been shifting tens of billions of dollars from the European banks to other institutions, fearing that further sanctions would affect its access to investments. Divandari however said that the transfer of such assets has not even been discussed.

Labels: Economy, EU, Iran

Iran withdraws $75 billion from Europe

Iran has withdrawn around $75 billion from Europe to prevent the assets from being blocked under threatened new sanctions over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions, an Iranian weekly said. Western powers are warning the Islamic Republic of more punitive measures if it rejects an incentives offer and presses on with sensitive nuclear work, but the world's fourth-largest oil exporter is showing no sign of backing down. "Part of Iran's assets in European banks have been converted to gold and shares and another part has been transferred to Asian banks," Mohsen Talaie, deputy foreign minister in charge of economic affairs, was quoted as saying.

Labels: Economy, EU, Iran

Warmongers, Chickenhawks, FOX News and Iran (VIDEO) - by Tim King

These are some of the people trying to drive the United States into a needless war with Iran when the country already doesn't adequately care for the number of veterans at hand. Limbaugh, Murdoch, Lieberman, Bolton, O'Reilly, McCain, Bush, Hannity, are among politicians and media personalities willing to send our military into another war.The single biggest problem and threat to the future of the United States and Iran, is Fox News. They are a common enemy to all that is honest; blatant liars that all play the game or they don't work at Fox. Again, almost all of those who root for attacking Iran, spare John McCain, are chickenhawks with no military experience or background. They are the ones who call for war but would never have the courage to fight in one. Each is an individual who could have made that an aspect of their life, and that lack of experience of being in combat personally allows them to be who they are today, warmongers and chickenhawks.

Labels: Iran, Murdock

Official Explanation Of Deadly Mosque Explosion Questioned

Two days after a deadly explosion at a mosque in one of Iran's largest cities, controversy has erupted over the cause of the blast. Eyewitnesses and some local officials say it appeared to be a bomb blast, while Iranian officials in Tehran say the explosion was accidentally caused by leftover ammunition from an exhibition recently held in the mosque.The latest official figures say 12 people died and some 200 were injured in the explosion at the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada Mosque in the southern city of Shiraz on April 12. The explosion happened as the main cleric, Hojatoleslam Mohammad Enjavinejad, was leading his regular service for some 800 people.

Labels: Iran, Terrorism

Start another war? With what? - by Dan K. Thomasson

Now and then predictions of a pending U.S. invasion of Iran still raise their ugly head on the Internet no matter how illogical or unsustainable. That secret plan scenario is most assuredly going to follow President Bush and his fellow plotters right out the door of the White House nine months from now. The simple question to those propounding that and other allegations of planned U.S. aggression outside of Iraq and Afghanistan is: "Invade with what?" The brutal truth is that both the Army and the Marine Corps have been so strained by the current campaigns they would have trouble engaging the security forces of Monaco.

Labels: Iran, US

For the complete report from crossrhythms.co.uk click on this link

Israel Prepares For Showdown With Iran - by David Dolan

With Iranian leaders bombastically stating once again during February that Israel will soon be destroyed, Israel's top military leader warned mid-month that a decisive armed conflict could break out in the troubled region at any time. He added that it would be a major test over the resolve and preparedness of the country's regular and reserve armed forces.Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi became Israel's Armed Forces Chief of Staff less than one year ago when his predecessor, Dan Halutz, was forced to resign in the wake of the controversial 2006 military stalemate with Hizbullah forces.

"There are dangers to our survival on the horizon and great challenges to Israeli security. The Israeli Defense Forces need to insure a rapid victory in any conflict, and I cannot guarantee that we won't need to act in the near future."

Some Israeli military analysts averred that the Armed Forces Chief was cryptically referring to an Israeli air force strike upon Iran's burgeoning nuclear program, which they assume would not only be followed by Tehran's threatened missile counterstrikes upon Israeli civilian and military targets (including the Dimona nuclear reactor), but by missile, rocket and probably ground assaults from Syrian, Hizbullah and Hamas forces.

Labels: Iran, Israel, US, War

Ahmadinejad welcomed heartily in Iraq - US humiliated - by Mark Mackinnon

It's a damning indication of how poorly things have gone for the United States during its five-year misadventure in Iraq that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can drive in broad daylight though this war-ravaged city and spend the night at the presidential palace, but George W. Bush can't. Mr. Ahmadinejad was greeted with lavish ceremony yesterday as he became the first Iranian President to visit Baghdad, a trip some said reflected Iran's great and growing power in Iraq and how severely the U.S. effort to remake Iraq into a Western-friendly democracy has gone awry.Apparently ignoring repeated U.S. charges that Iran is destabilizing his country, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani smiled broadly as he greeted Mr. Ahmadinejad outside his palace. Hailing a new era in ties between their states, the two men clasped hands and exchanged traditional kisses on the cheeks before walking together down a red carpet to review an honour guard as a military band played the two national anthems.

Unlike Mr. Bush's cloak-and-dagger visits here - fly-in trips to heavily guarded U.S. military bases that only last a few hours, often with no advance notice given to even the Iraqi government - Mr. Ahmadinejad's schedule was announced days earlier. He spent last night at Mr. Talabani's palace, across the Tigris River from the fortified Green Zone that houses the massive new U.S. embassy.

Labels: Ahmadinejad, Iran, Iraq, US

Russian energy ties with Iran send U.S. a message - by Simon Webb and Amie Ferris-Rotman

As the United States warns the world away from business with Tehran, Moscow's tightening ties to Iran's energy sector underline Russia's differences with Washington over Iranian nuclear plans and Kosovo's independence. While the timing of Moscow's announcement on Tuesday may have been political, the deal for Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom to take on big new Iranian oil and gas projects was a long time in the making and dovetails with Gazprom's strategic ambitions, analysts said. Gazprom, the world's biggest gas producer, will play a larger role in developing Iran's giant South Pars gas field and will also drill for oil. "The Russian government and the United States are at loggerheads over how to engage with Iran, with Russia actively favoring a more open relationship," said Ronald Smith, chief strategist at Alfa Bank. "This makes Gazprom rather indifferent to American policy wishes."

Labels: Energy, EU, Iran, Russia

Iran unveils space center, launches rocket capable of carrying a satellite; US concerned

Iran launched a research rocket and unveiled its first major space center, state television reported Monday, the latest steps in a program many fear may be cover for further development of its military ballistic missiles. State television showed live images of the event, with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issuing the launch order. Iran has long declared a goal of developing a space program, but the same technology used to put satellites in space can also be used to deliver warheads. The country's space program, like its nuclear power program, has provoked unease abroad.

Labels: Iran, Space Exploration

Saudi Arabia has 'nothing bad' against Iran says Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal

Bush, facing recession fears at home after prices surged to a record 100 dollars at the start of the year, raised the sensitive issue on the second day of a visit to OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia -- the world's largest oil producer. He said he planned to discuss with King Abdullah "the fact that oil prices are very high, which is tough on our economy. And that I would hope, as OPEC considers different production levels, that they understand that if their -- one of their biggest consumers' economy suffers -- it will mean less purchases, less oil and gas sold." OPEC is due to meet in Vienna on February 1 under pressure to calm prices after shrugging off calls to increase output at its last meeting in December. Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi later announced: "We will raise production when the market justifies it, this is our policy." Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal gave a cool response to Bush's request, made in Jerusalem last week, that Arab countries "reach out" to Isreal to boost the revived Middle East peace talks. "I don't know what more outreach we can give to the Israelis," the minister told a press conference with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Faisal, speaking through an interpreter, also said Saudi Arabia had "nothing bad" against its powerful neighbour Iran. "Iran is a neighbouring country, an important country in the region. Naturally we have nothing bad against Iran." Tuesday's talks between Bush and Abdullah, which follow dinner talks on Monday, were being held at the king's ranch in Janadriyah outside Riyadh, where even the stables for his thoroughbred horses are air-conditioned.

Labels: Iran, Saudi Arabia, US

34 Euro MPs Urge EU Council to end terror listing of Mojahedin of Iran

A press release by Mr. Struan Stevenson, Vice-President of the group of the European People's Party (EPP-ED), the largest group in the European Parliament, annonced that 34 senior Euro MPs of the group in a joint statement called on the EU council of Ministers to immediately end unlawful terror listing of People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The announcement followed the December 18th visit by Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran to the main headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels where she discussed the latest developments and the Iranian Resistance's legal and political measures to compel the EU Council of Ministers to implement the European Court of Justice ruling to remove the PMOI from the EU's terror list.

Labels: European Parliament, Iran

The European Middle East Regional Space: Powerful and modern Turkey is in Iran’s interest: Mottaki

A powerful and modern Turkey is in Iran’s interest, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said in Teheran on Tuesday. The current level of economic cooperation between Tehran and Ankara is an example in the history of the two countries’ relations, Mottaki stated in a meeting with Murat Mercan, the Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee chairman.

Labels: EU, Iran, Turkey

EU welcomes NIE report on Iran

EU welcomes NIE report on Iran

EU has no problem with Iran's peaceful nuclear program, says the chairwoman of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Iran. Angelika Beer who arrived in Tehran on Thursday for a five-day visit met on Saturday with the head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mahmoud Mohammadi, IRNA reported. During the talks she hailed the recently released US NationaI Intelligence Estimate on Iran report and noted, "The European Union has always said, and still believes in it, dialogue is the only proper solution to Iran's nuclear dispute."

Labels: EU, Iran

Russia Criticizes U.S. Missile Plans, Talks Up Alternatives - by NICK COLEMAN

Russian officials criticized the United States Dec. 5 for what one called an “unconstructive” approach to missile defense, while voicing hopes for cooperation on Moscow’s own missile proposals.
The criticism came after a U.S. intelligence report undercut U.S. allegations about Iran’s atomic goals, which have been a pillar of U.S. arguments for building new missile defense facilities in the Czech Republic and P