30 sept 2012
Israeli premier thanks Canada for severing ties with Iran
Stephen Harper meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the side lines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, September 28, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper for closing Ottawa’s embassy in Tehran.
Netanyahu praised the Canadian government’s decision to sever ties with Iran during his meeting with Harper on the side lines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.
"I want to express my pleasure at seeing Stephen Harper again. He's proved he's a real statesman, and Stephen, I think that what you did, severing ties with Iran, was not only an act of statesmanship, but an act of moral clarity," said Netanyahu.
It was the second time that Netanyahu thanks Ottawa for severing ties with Tehran. Israeli President Shimon Peres has also praised the Canadian government for its anti-Iran move described by Tehran as undiplomatic.
It is widely believed that Canada’s abrupt decision to sever all ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran manifestly springs from a strong Zionist sway which has permeated the political structure of the country.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has also said that Ottawa’s “inappropriate” move was carried out under the influence of the Israel, Britain and the US.
On September 7, Canada announced that it is closing its embassy in Iran and asked the Iranian diplomats to leave the Canadian soil within five days. It has also frozen the bank accounts of many Iranian nationals living in Canada and banned money transfers to Iran.
Harper, who has been widely criticized for dancing to every tune of Israel and constantly throwing one-sided support behind the Zionist regime, however, has refused to support Netanyahu's call for setting a “redline” for Iran's nuclear program.
"We want to see a peaceful resolution" of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy program, the Canadian prime minister said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper for closing Ottawa’s embassy in Tehran.
Netanyahu praised the Canadian government’s decision to sever ties with Iran during his meeting with Harper on the side lines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.
"I want to express my pleasure at seeing Stephen Harper again. He's proved he's a real statesman, and Stephen, I think that what you did, severing ties with Iran, was not only an act of statesmanship, but an act of moral clarity," said Netanyahu.
It was the second time that Netanyahu thanks Ottawa for severing ties with Tehran. Israeli President Shimon Peres has also praised the Canadian government for its anti-Iran move described by Tehran as undiplomatic.
It is widely believed that Canada’s abrupt decision to sever all ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran manifestly springs from a strong Zionist sway which has permeated the political structure of the country.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has also said that Ottawa’s “inappropriate” move was carried out under the influence of the Israel, Britain and the US.
On September 7, Canada announced that it is closing its embassy in Iran and asked the Iranian diplomats to leave the Canadian soil within five days. It has also frozen the bank accounts of many Iranian nationals living in Canada and banned money transfers to Iran.
Harper, who has been widely criticized for dancing to every tune of Israel and constantly throwing one-sided support behind the Zionist regime, however, has refused to support Netanyahu's call for setting a “redline” for Iran's nuclear program.
"We want to see a peaceful resolution" of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy program, the Canadian prime minister said.
German Nobelist Grass throws more jabs at Israel
German Nobel laureate Gunter Grass, who earlier in the year called Israel a threat to world peace, is set to further anger the Tel Aviv regime with new poetry referring to Israeli nuclear whistleblower, Mordechai Vanunu as "hero of our time."
A new volume of poetry by the 84-year-old, Germany’s most renowned living writer, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999, came out on Saturday under the title Eintagsfliegen (One Hit Wonders), DPA reported.
The Nobelist has used the work to refer to Vanunu as a "role model."
In 1986, the nuclear technician was sentenced to 18 years in prison for exposing details about Israel's nuclear program and military activities. He leaked the data to Britain's The Sunday Times, while working at Israel's Dimona nuclear facility in the Negev desert in the south of the Occupied Territories, providing convincing evidence that Tel Aviv possesses a nuclear arsenal.
Constructing the nuclear facility began in 1958, and Israel is believed to have manufactured scores of nuclear warheads since the 1960s. Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that Tel Aviv possesses between 200 and 300 nuclear warheads.
Back in April, Grass used a piece of poetry, titled "Was gesagt werden muss" (“What Must Be Said”), to draw attention to the "nuclear power Israel" endangering peace and slamming the West’s hypocrisy over Tel Aviv’s nuclear arsenal.
“Why do I say only now...that the nuclear power Israel endangers an already fragile world peace? Because that must be said which may already be too late to say tomorrow," Grass wrote.
The writer also used the poem to express concern over the consequences of a potential Israeli attack against Iran.
A new volume of poetry by the 84-year-old, Germany’s most renowned living writer, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999, came out on Saturday under the title Eintagsfliegen (One Hit Wonders), DPA reported.
The Nobelist has used the work to refer to Vanunu as a "role model."
In 1986, the nuclear technician was sentenced to 18 years in prison for exposing details about Israel's nuclear program and military activities. He leaked the data to Britain's The Sunday Times, while working at Israel's Dimona nuclear facility in the Negev desert in the south of the Occupied Territories, providing convincing evidence that Tel Aviv possesses a nuclear arsenal.
Constructing the nuclear facility began in 1958, and Israel is believed to have manufactured scores of nuclear warheads since the 1960s. Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that Tel Aviv possesses between 200 and 300 nuclear warheads.
Back in April, Grass used a piece of poetry, titled "Was gesagt werden muss" (“What Must Be Said”), to draw attention to the "nuclear power Israel" endangering peace and slamming the West’s hypocrisy over Tel Aviv’s nuclear arsenal.
“Why do I say only now...that the nuclear power Israel endangers an already fragile world peace? Because that must be said which may already be too late to say tomorrow," Grass wrote.
The writer also used the poem to express concern over the consequences of a potential Israeli attack against Iran.
Israel finance minister says Iran economy 'on verge of collapse'
Iran's economy is edging towards collapse due to international sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Sunday.
Israel regards the prospect of its arch enemy developing nuclear weapons as a threat to its existence, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that, although sanctions are taking their toll, they are not yet forcing Iran to abandon work that could soon lead to a nuclear warhead.
However, Israeli officials appear increasingly ready to acknowledge the effect of recent American and European sanctions designed to restrict Iran's lifeline oil exports.
"The sanctions on Iran in the past year jumped a level," Steinitz told Israel Radio, noting that as finance minister, he follows Iran's economy.
"It is not collapsing, but it is on the verge of collapse. The loss of income from oil there is approaching $45-50 billion by the year's end," Steinitz said.
The United States, Israel's main ally, says it will not allow Tehran to produce the bomb, but sanctions should be given more time to work before force is considered.
American and Israeli commentators say a military strike to destroy Iran's nuclear plants, which Iran says are designed only to develop a nuclear generating capacity, could trigger a regional war with unforeseeable consequences.
In Israel too, some prominent political and military figures question Netanyahu's warning that Iran is so close to the threshold of nuclear capability that military action will soon be the only way to stop it.
But there has been no open split in his coalition over the issue. Steinitz praised the prime minister's speech to the UN General Assembly last week in which he used a cartoon to underscore the perceived Iranian threat.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry document leaked last week said sanctions had caused more damage to Iran's economy than at first thought and ordinary Iranians were suffering under soaring inflation, although this did not appear to be changing policy.
On Saturday, the Iranian currency slumped to an historic low of about 28,400 rials to the dollar, a fall of about 57 percent since June 2011, meaning a sharp rise in the price of imports.
"The Iranians are in great economic difficulties as a result of the sanctions," Steinitz said.
Parliamentary opponents of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad say sanctions are not a major cause of Iran's economic problems and accuse his government of mismanaging the economy.
"The first approach today is that authorities accept their mistakes and failures, second, that they not blame their mistakes on others, and third, that they invite all the pundits and experts to find a way to solve the problems of the economy," Iranian legislator Ezzatollah Yousefian was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Saturday's Haaretz daily that he believed Iran's Islamic theocracy would be toppled in a revolt like the one that toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak last year.
"The opposition demonstrations that took place in Iran in June 2009 will come back in even greater force," he told the paper. "In my view, there's going to be an Iranian-style Tahrir revolution. The young generation are sick of being held hostage and sacrificing their future."
Israel regards the prospect of its arch enemy developing nuclear weapons as a threat to its existence, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that, although sanctions are taking their toll, they are not yet forcing Iran to abandon work that could soon lead to a nuclear warhead.
However, Israeli officials appear increasingly ready to acknowledge the effect of recent American and European sanctions designed to restrict Iran's lifeline oil exports.
"The sanctions on Iran in the past year jumped a level," Steinitz told Israel Radio, noting that as finance minister, he follows Iran's economy.
"It is not collapsing, but it is on the verge of collapse. The loss of income from oil there is approaching $45-50 billion by the year's end," Steinitz said.
The United States, Israel's main ally, says it will not allow Tehran to produce the bomb, but sanctions should be given more time to work before force is considered.
American and Israeli commentators say a military strike to destroy Iran's nuclear plants, which Iran says are designed only to develop a nuclear generating capacity, could trigger a regional war with unforeseeable consequences.
In Israel too, some prominent political and military figures question Netanyahu's warning that Iran is so close to the threshold of nuclear capability that military action will soon be the only way to stop it.
But there has been no open split in his coalition over the issue. Steinitz praised the prime minister's speech to the UN General Assembly last week in which he used a cartoon to underscore the perceived Iranian threat.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry document leaked last week said sanctions had caused more damage to Iran's economy than at first thought and ordinary Iranians were suffering under soaring inflation, although this did not appear to be changing policy.
On Saturday, the Iranian currency slumped to an historic low of about 28,400 rials to the dollar, a fall of about 57 percent since June 2011, meaning a sharp rise in the price of imports.
"The Iranians are in great economic difficulties as a result of the sanctions," Steinitz said.
Parliamentary opponents of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad say sanctions are not a major cause of Iran's economic problems and accuse his government of mismanaging the economy.
"The first approach today is that authorities accept their mistakes and failures, second, that they not blame their mistakes on others, and third, that they invite all the pundits and experts to find a way to solve the problems of the economy," Iranian legislator Ezzatollah Yousefian was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Saturday's Haaretz daily that he believed Iran's Islamic theocracy would be toppled in a revolt like the one that toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak last year.
"The opposition demonstrations that took place in Iran in June 2009 will come back in even greater force," he told the paper. "In my view, there's going to be an Iranian-style Tahrir revolution. The young generation are sick of being held hostage and sacrificing their future."
Azerbaijan eyes aiding Israel against Iran
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev (L ) shakes hands with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen during their meeting in Baku, on Sept. 7, 2012
By Thomas Grove
BAKU (Reuters) -- Israel's "go-it-alone" option to attack Iran's nuclear sites has set the Middle East on edge and unsettled its main ally at the height of a US presidential election campaign.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exudes impatience, saying Tehran is barely a year from a "red line" for atomic capacity. Many fellow Israelis, however, fear a unilateral strike, lacking US forces, would fail against such a large and distant enemy.
But what if, even without Washington, Israel were not alone?
Azerbaijan, the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic on Iran's far northern border, has, say local sources with knowledge of its military policy, explored with Israel how Azeri air bases and spy drones might help Israeli jets pull off a long-range attack.
That is a far cry from the massive firepower and diplomatic cover that Netanyahu wants from Washington. But, by addressing key weaknesses in any Israeli war plan -- notably on refueling, reconnaissance and rescuing crews -- such an alliance might tilt Israeli thinking on the feasibility of acting without US help.
It could also have violent side-effects more widely and many doubt Azeri President Ilham Aliyev would risk harming the energy industry on which his wealth depends, or provoking Islamists who dream of toppling his dynasty, in pursuit of favor from Israel.
Yet despite official denials by Azerbaijan and Israel, two Azeri former military officers with links to serving personnel and two Russian intelligence sources all told Reuters that Azerbaijan and Israel have been looking at how Azeri bases and intelligence could serve in a possible strike on Iran.
"Where planes would fly from --- from here, from there, to where? - that's what's being planned now," a security consultant with contacts at Azeri defence headquarters in Baku said. "The Israelis ... would like to gain access to bases in Azerbaijan."
'Iceberg' relationship
That Aliyev, an autocratic ally of Western governments and oil firms, has become a rare Muslim friend of Israel -- and an object of scorn in Tehran -- is no secret; a $1.6-billion arms deal involving dozens of Israeli drones, and Israel's thirst for Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea crude, are well documented.
Israel's foreign minister visited Baku in April this year.
But a leaked US diplomatic cable from 2009 quoted Aliyev, who succeeded his father in 2003, describing relations with Israel as "like an iceberg, nine tenths ... below the surface".
That he would risk the wrath of his powerful neighbor by helping wage war on Iran is, however, something his aides flatly deny; wider consequences would also be hard to calculate from military action in a region where Azerbaijan's "frozen" conflict with Armenia is just one of many elements of volatility and where major powers from Turkey, Iran and Russia to the United States, western Europe and even China all jockey for influence.
Nonetheless, Rasim Musabayov, an independent Azeri lawmaker and a member of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said that, while he had no definitive information, he understood that Azerbaijan would probably feature in any Israeli plans against Iran, at least as a contingency for refueling its attack force:
"Israel has a problem in that if it is going to bomb Iran, its nuclear sites, it lacks refueling," Musabayov told Reuters.
"I think their plan includes some use of Azerbaijan access.
"We have (bases) fully equipped with modern navigation, anti-aircraft defenses and personnel trained by Americans and if necessary they can be used without any preparations," he added.
US concerns
The administration of US President Barack Obama has made clear it does not welcome Israel's occasional talk of war and that it prefers diplomacy and economic sanctions to deflect an Iranian nuclear program that Tehran denies has military uses.
Having also invested in Azerbaijan's defenses and facilities used by US forces in transit to Afghanistan, Washington also seems unlikely to cheer Aliyev joining any action against Iran.
The Azeri president's team insist that that will not happen.
"No third country can use Azerbaijan to perpetrate an attack on Iran. All this talk is just speculation," said Reshad Karimov from Aliyev's staff. He was echoing similar denials issued in Baku and from Israel when the journal Foreign Policy quoted US officials in March voicing alarm that Azeri-Israeli action could thwart US diplomacy toward Iran and across the Caucasus.
Israeli officials dismiss talk of Azeri collaboration in any attack on Iran but decline public comment on specific details.
Even speaking privately, few Israeli officials will discuss the issue. Those who do are skeptical, saying overt use of Azeri bases by Israel would provoke too many hostile reactions. One political source did, however, say flying unmarked tanker aircraft out of Azerbaijan to extend the range and payloads of an Israeli bombing force might play a part in Israeli planning.
Though denying direct knowledge of current military thinking on Iran, the Israeli said one possibility might be "landing a refueling plane there, made to look like a civilian airliner, so it could later take off to rendezvous mid-air with IAF jets".
A thousand miles separates Tehran and Tel Aviv, putting much of Iran beyond the normal ranges of Israel's US-made F-16 bombers and their F-15 escorts. So refueling could be critical.
Intelligence cooperation
There is far from unanimity among Israeli leaders about the likelihood of any strike on Iran's nuclear plants, whether in a wider, US-led operation or not. Netanyahu's "red line" speech to the United Nations last week was seen by many in Israel as making any strike on Iran unlikely -- for at least a few months.
Many, however, also assume Israel has long spied on and even sabotaged what the Western powers say are plans for atomic weapons which Israel says would threaten its very existence.
A second Israeli political source called the idea of Azerbaijan being either launch pad or landing ground for Israeli aircraft "ludicrous" -- but agreed with the first source that it was fair to assume joint Israeli-Azeri intelligence operations.
The Azeri sources said such cooperation was established.
As part of last year's arms deal, Azerbaijan is building up to 60 Israeli-designed drones, giving it reconnaissance means far greater than many analysts believe would be needed just to guard oil installations or even to mount any operations against the breakaway, ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"With these drones, (Israel) can indirectly watch what's happening in Iran, while we protect our borders," legislator Musabayov said -- a view shared by Azeri former military sources.
Less reserved than Israeli officials, the sources in Azerbaijan and in Russian intelligence, which keeps a close eye on its former Soviet backyard, said Baku could offer Israel much more, however -- though none believed any deal was yet settled.
The country, home to nine million people whose language is close to Turkish and who mostly share the Shiite Muslim faith of Iran, has four ex-Soviet air bases that could be suitable for Israeli jets, the Azeri sources said. They named central Kyurdamir, Gyanja in the west and Nasosny and Gala in the east.
The Pentagon says it helped upgrade Nasosny airfield for NATO use. It also uses Azeri commercial facilities in transit to Afghanistan. But US military aid to Azerbaijan is limited by Washington's role as a mediator in its dispute with Armenia.
One of the sources with links to the Azeri military said: "There is not a single official base of the United States and even less so of Israel on the territory of Azerbaijan. But that is 'officially'. Unofficially they exist, and they may be used."
The source said Iran had been a main topic of talks in April with Israel's Soviet-born foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman.
Reconnaissance, rescue
Azeri tarmac, a shorter flight from key sites in northern Iran including the Fordow underground uranium enrichment plant and missile batteries at Tabriz, might feature in Israeli war planning in less direct ways, the former Azeri officers said.
With Israel wary of its vulnerability to pressure over air crew taken prisoner, plans for extracting downed pilots may be a key feature of any attack plan. Search and rescue helicopters might operate from Azerbaijan, the sources said -- or planes that were hit or low on fuel could land at Azeri bases in extremis.
Such engagement carries risks for Azerbaijan and its oil platforms and pipelines operated with international companies.
Defending against Iran is part of public debate in Baku. The United States has provided Azerbaijan with three Coast Guard cutters and has funded seven coastal radar sites as well as giving Baku other help in protecting its oil installations.
Relations have long been strained between the former Soviet state and Iran, which is home to twice as many ethnic Azeris as Azerbaijan itself. Tehran beams an Azeri-language television channel over the border which portrays Aliyev as a puppet of Israel and the West, as well as highlighting corruption in Baku.
Azerbaijan sees Iranian hands behind its Islamist opposition and both countries have arrested alleged spies and agitators.
Faced with an uneven balance of force, Aliyev's government makes no bones about Israel being an ally. As one presidential aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained: "We live in a dangerous neighborhood; that is what is the most powerful driving force for our relationship with Israel."
However, Israel's confrontation with Iran may turn out, the arms build-up in Azerbaijan, including recent Israeli upgrades for its Soviet T-72 tanks, may have consequences for the wider region and for the stand-off with Armenia -- consequences that would trouble all the powers with stakes in the Caspian region.
"We keep buying arms. On the one hand, it's a good strategy to frighten Armenia," one of the former Azeri officers said of the shaky, 18-year-old ceasefire over Nagorno-Karabakh. "But you don't collect weapons to hang on the wall and gather dust.
"One day, all these could be used."
By Thomas Grove
BAKU (Reuters) -- Israel's "go-it-alone" option to attack Iran's nuclear sites has set the Middle East on edge and unsettled its main ally at the height of a US presidential election campaign.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exudes impatience, saying Tehran is barely a year from a "red line" for atomic capacity. Many fellow Israelis, however, fear a unilateral strike, lacking US forces, would fail against such a large and distant enemy.
But what if, even without Washington, Israel were not alone?
Azerbaijan, the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic on Iran's far northern border, has, say local sources with knowledge of its military policy, explored with Israel how Azeri air bases and spy drones might help Israeli jets pull off a long-range attack.
That is a far cry from the massive firepower and diplomatic cover that Netanyahu wants from Washington. But, by addressing key weaknesses in any Israeli war plan -- notably on refueling, reconnaissance and rescuing crews -- such an alliance might tilt Israeli thinking on the feasibility of acting without US help.
It could also have violent side-effects more widely and many doubt Azeri President Ilham Aliyev would risk harming the energy industry on which his wealth depends, or provoking Islamists who dream of toppling his dynasty, in pursuit of favor from Israel.
Yet despite official denials by Azerbaijan and Israel, two Azeri former military officers with links to serving personnel and two Russian intelligence sources all told Reuters that Azerbaijan and Israel have been looking at how Azeri bases and intelligence could serve in a possible strike on Iran.
"Where planes would fly from --- from here, from there, to where? - that's what's being planned now," a security consultant with contacts at Azeri defence headquarters in Baku said. "The Israelis ... would like to gain access to bases in Azerbaijan."
'Iceberg' relationship
That Aliyev, an autocratic ally of Western governments and oil firms, has become a rare Muslim friend of Israel -- and an object of scorn in Tehran -- is no secret; a $1.6-billion arms deal involving dozens of Israeli drones, and Israel's thirst for Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea crude, are well documented.
Israel's foreign minister visited Baku in April this year.
But a leaked US diplomatic cable from 2009 quoted Aliyev, who succeeded his father in 2003, describing relations with Israel as "like an iceberg, nine tenths ... below the surface".
That he would risk the wrath of his powerful neighbor by helping wage war on Iran is, however, something his aides flatly deny; wider consequences would also be hard to calculate from military action in a region where Azerbaijan's "frozen" conflict with Armenia is just one of many elements of volatility and where major powers from Turkey, Iran and Russia to the United States, western Europe and even China all jockey for influence.
Nonetheless, Rasim Musabayov, an independent Azeri lawmaker and a member of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said that, while he had no definitive information, he understood that Azerbaijan would probably feature in any Israeli plans against Iran, at least as a contingency for refueling its attack force:
"Israel has a problem in that if it is going to bomb Iran, its nuclear sites, it lacks refueling," Musabayov told Reuters.
"I think their plan includes some use of Azerbaijan access.
"We have (bases) fully equipped with modern navigation, anti-aircraft defenses and personnel trained by Americans and if necessary they can be used without any preparations," he added.
US concerns
The administration of US President Barack Obama has made clear it does not welcome Israel's occasional talk of war and that it prefers diplomacy and economic sanctions to deflect an Iranian nuclear program that Tehran denies has military uses.
Having also invested in Azerbaijan's defenses and facilities used by US forces in transit to Afghanistan, Washington also seems unlikely to cheer Aliyev joining any action against Iran.
The Azeri president's team insist that that will not happen.
"No third country can use Azerbaijan to perpetrate an attack on Iran. All this talk is just speculation," said Reshad Karimov from Aliyev's staff. He was echoing similar denials issued in Baku and from Israel when the journal Foreign Policy quoted US officials in March voicing alarm that Azeri-Israeli action could thwart US diplomacy toward Iran and across the Caucasus.
Israeli officials dismiss talk of Azeri collaboration in any attack on Iran but decline public comment on specific details.
Even speaking privately, few Israeli officials will discuss the issue. Those who do are skeptical, saying overt use of Azeri bases by Israel would provoke too many hostile reactions. One political source did, however, say flying unmarked tanker aircraft out of Azerbaijan to extend the range and payloads of an Israeli bombing force might play a part in Israeli planning.
Though denying direct knowledge of current military thinking on Iran, the Israeli said one possibility might be "landing a refueling plane there, made to look like a civilian airliner, so it could later take off to rendezvous mid-air with IAF jets".
A thousand miles separates Tehran and Tel Aviv, putting much of Iran beyond the normal ranges of Israel's US-made F-16 bombers and their F-15 escorts. So refueling could be critical.
Intelligence cooperation
There is far from unanimity among Israeli leaders about the likelihood of any strike on Iran's nuclear plants, whether in a wider, US-led operation or not. Netanyahu's "red line" speech to the United Nations last week was seen by many in Israel as making any strike on Iran unlikely -- for at least a few months.
Many, however, also assume Israel has long spied on and even sabotaged what the Western powers say are plans for atomic weapons which Israel says would threaten its very existence.
A second Israeli political source called the idea of Azerbaijan being either launch pad or landing ground for Israeli aircraft "ludicrous" -- but agreed with the first source that it was fair to assume joint Israeli-Azeri intelligence operations.
The Azeri sources said such cooperation was established.
As part of last year's arms deal, Azerbaijan is building up to 60 Israeli-designed drones, giving it reconnaissance means far greater than many analysts believe would be needed just to guard oil installations or even to mount any operations against the breakaway, ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"With these drones, (Israel) can indirectly watch what's happening in Iran, while we protect our borders," legislator Musabayov said -- a view shared by Azeri former military sources.
Less reserved than Israeli officials, the sources in Azerbaijan and in Russian intelligence, which keeps a close eye on its former Soviet backyard, said Baku could offer Israel much more, however -- though none believed any deal was yet settled.
The country, home to nine million people whose language is close to Turkish and who mostly share the Shiite Muslim faith of Iran, has four ex-Soviet air bases that could be suitable for Israeli jets, the Azeri sources said. They named central Kyurdamir, Gyanja in the west and Nasosny and Gala in the east.
The Pentagon says it helped upgrade Nasosny airfield for NATO use. It also uses Azeri commercial facilities in transit to Afghanistan. But US military aid to Azerbaijan is limited by Washington's role as a mediator in its dispute with Armenia.
One of the sources with links to the Azeri military said: "There is not a single official base of the United States and even less so of Israel on the territory of Azerbaijan. But that is 'officially'. Unofficially they exist, and they may be used."
The source said Iran had been a main topic of talks in April with Israel's Soviet-born foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman.
Reconnaissance, rescue
Azeri tarmac, a shorter flight from key sites in northern Iran including the Fordow underground uranium enrichment plant and missile batteries at Tabriz, might feature in Israeli war planning in less direct ways, the former Azeri officers said.
With Israel wary of its vulnerability to pressure over air crew taken prisoner, plans for extracting downed pilots may be a key feature of any attack plan. Search and rescue helicopters might operate from Azerbaijan, the sources said -- or planes that were hit or low on fuel could land at Azeri bases in extremis.
Such engagement carries risks for Azerbaijan and its oil platforms and pipelines operated with international companies.
Defending against Iran is part of public debate in Baku. The United States has provided Azerbaijan with three Coast Guard cutters and has funded seven coastal radar sites as well as giving Baku other help in protecting its oil installations.
Relations have long been strained between the former Soviet state and Iran, which is home to twice as many ethnic Azeris as Azerbaijan itself. Tehran beams an Azeri-language television channel over the border which portrays Aliyev as a puppet of Israel and the West, as well as highlighting corruption in Baku.
Azerbaijan sees Iranian hands behind its Islamist opposition and both countries have arrested alleged spies and agitators.
Faced with an uneven balance of force, Aliyev's government makes no bones about Israel being an ally. As one presidential aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained: "We live in a dangerous neighborhood; that is what is the most powerful driving force for our relationship with Israel."
However, Israel's confrontation with Iran may turn out, the arms build-up in Azerbaijan, including recent Israeli upgrades for its Soviet T-72 tanks, may have consequences for the wider region and for the stand-off with Armenia -- consequences that would trouble all the powers with stakes in the Caspian region.
"We keep buying arms. On the one hand, it's a good strategy to frighten Armenia," one of the former Azeri officers said of the shaky, 18-year-old ceasefire over Nagorno-Karabakh. "But you don't collect weapons to hang on the wall and gather dust.
"One day, all these could be used."
28 sept 2012
White House: Obama, Netanyahu 'in full agreement' on Iran's nuclear program
Following a phone call between the two leaders, the White House did not say whether Obama gave any ground on giving a 'red line' to Iran; Romney also called the PM later.
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday expressed solidarity on the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, the White House said, amid signs of easing tensions over their differences on how to confront Tehran.
Obama, who opted not to meet Netanyahu on his U.S. visit, spoke by phone to the Israeli leader, who used his UN speech on Thursday to keep up pressure on Washington to set a "red line" for Tehran. But in a softening of his approach, Netanyahu also signaled that no Israeli attack on Iran was imminent before the November 6 U.S. presidential election.
"The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," the White House said in a statement. But it stopped short of saying Obama had given any ground on his resistance to issuing an ultimatum to Tehran as Netanyahu has demanded.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also telephoned Netanyahu later on Friday afternoon. A nuclear-capable Iran and recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa were among the topics they discussed.
The Romney campaign said the Republican presidential nominee and the prime minister discussed "a number of topics of mutual interest to the United States and Israel." They reiterated that "an Iran with nuclear weapons capability is unacceptable."
Romney later told reporters traveling with him that it's unclear whether there is any difference between their so-called "red lines" on when launching military action against Iran would be appropriate.
Romney said he can't completely take the military option off the table because Iran needs to take the threat seriously, but he said he does not believe force will ultimately be needed.
Obama and Netanyahu spoke on Friday as part of their regular consultations, and to follow up on Netanyahu's Thursday meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The premier met with Clinton for approximately 75 minutes in New York on Thursday. According to a state department official, the two discussed Iran, regional developments and the peace process.
Earlier on Friday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta commented on Netanyahu's UNGA speech at a press conference at the Pentagon, where Canadian Minister of Defense Peter MacKay also participated.
"I think we've made very clear what the policy of the United States is with regards to Iran, and the president has made it clear, I've made it clear that the United States' position is that we will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon," Panetta said.
"This is not about containment; this is about prevention. And so that has been and remains the policy of the United States. And with regards to what Israel will or will not do, I think our hope is that both the United States and Israel and the international community can work together to try to ensure that we achieve the same end, which is that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon, and that hopefully we can try to resolve these issues peacefully as opposed to militarily."
MacKay, when asked about his country's interpretation of the red line, replied that "the more important question is the red line in the minds of the Israelis."
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday expressed solidarity on the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, the White House said, amid signs of easing tensions over their differences on how to confront Tehran.
Obama, who opted not to meet Netanyahu on his U.S. visit, spoke by phone to the Israeli leader, who used his UN speech on Thursday to keep up pressure on Washington to set a "red line" for Tehran. But in a softening of his approach, Netanyahu also signaled that no Israeli attack on Iran was imminent before the November 6 U.S. presidential election.
"The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," the White House said in a statement. But it stopped short of saying Obama had given any ground on his resistance to issuing an ultimatum to Tehran as Netanyahu has demanded.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also telephoned Netanyahu later on Friday afternoon. A nuclear-capable Iran and recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa were among the topics they discussed.
The Romney campaign said the Republican presidential nominee and the prime minister discussed "a number of topics of mutual interest to the United States and Israel." They reiterated that "an Iran with nuclear weapons capability is unacceptable."
Romney later told reporters traveling with him that it's unclear whether there is any difference between their so-called "red lines" on when launching military action against Iran would be appropriate.
Romney said he can't completely take the military option off the table because Iran needs to take the threat seriously, but he said he does not believe force will ultimately be needed.
Obama and Netanyahu spoke on Friday as part of their regular consultations, and to follow up on Netanyahu's Thursday meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The premier met with Clinton for approximately 75 minutes in New York on Thursday. According to a state department official, the two discussed Iran, regional developments and the peace process.
Earlier on Friday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta commented on Netanyahu's UNGA speech at a press conference at the Pentagon, where Canadian Minister of Defense Peter MacKay also participated.
"I think we've made very clear what the policy of the United States is with regards to Iran, and the president has made it clear, I've made it clear that the United States' position is that we will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon," Panetta said.
"This is not about containment; this is about prevention. And so that has been and remains the policy of the United States. And with regards to what Israel will or will not do, I think our hope is that both the United States and Israel and the international community can work together to try to ensure that we achieve the same end, which is that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon, and that hopefully we can try to resolve these issues peacefully as opposed to militarily."
MacKay, when asked about his country's interpretation of the red line, replied that "the more important question is the red line in the minds of the Israelis."
27 sept 2012
What Bibi Left Out when he drew his Bomb
Although the red marker was of impressive size, this was quite a “shitty” result US taxpayers get’s in return for it’s 30 Billion US taxdollars in “aid” to fund Israel’s arsenal of (nuclear) weaponry and warfare.
Aside from the hilarious performance with this no-brainer cartoon, Bibi left out some details which can defenitely be regarded as a serious ATTACK on everyone’s intelligence as well. Yet what do those, funding in US remember of Bibi’s favourite Joseph Goebbels imitation or tactics?
Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it ~ Joseph Goebbels
For lately, the inciters and warmongers hungering for world dominion seem to revive the Goebbels ‘heritage’ and other Nazi propaganda practices a lot. “Never Again” we want to experience this, but we sure as hell learned from it (to deploy it on others)
Apparently they counting on you and desperately hope, that your forgot or even skipped that one history class…. So let’s go back:
Compare: Mass Incitement 1939 Anti-Semitism – vs – 2012 Islamophobia
Donate 30 Billion $ sour earned tax money & get a Bomb cartoon in return
Aside from the hilarious performance with this no-brainer cartoon, Bibi left out some details which can defenitely be regarded as a serious ATTACK on everyone’s intelligence as well. Yet what do those, funding in US remember of Bibi’s favourite Joseph Goebbels imitation or tactics?
Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it ~ Joseph Goebbels
For lately, the inciters and warmongers hungering for world dominion seem to revive the Goebbels ‘heritage’ and other Nazi propaganda practices a lot. “Never Again” we want to experience this, but we sure as hell learned from it (to deploy it on others)
Apparently they counting on you and desperately hope, that your forgot or even skipped that one history class…. So let’s go back:
Compare: Mass Incitement 1939 Anti-Semitism – vs – 2012 Islamophobia
Donate 30 Billion $ sour earned tax money & get a Bomb cartoon in return
|
Let’s see what’s gets dished otherwhise than this “Diagram” as Bibi called it at his speech at the UNGA today: Nothing at all than a plate of lies. While 46 million Americans depend on government food assistance to feed their families (Source) and are deprived of proper nutrition, your tax takes care it subsidizes Israel’s army SUSHI COURSES! Never mind the deficit causes America to shuts down fire houses or cuts in infant nutrition (Source)
As 4.6 Million children in US loosing their teeth for it’s more important your tax pays bombs than saving your child’s teeth, for in the end you can “chew” Bibi’s lies without them (Source) |
But who am I to explain the American citizens of their deprivation due to the cost of wars. You experience such a lot better than I am.
Deprivation in the First World’s United States of America, as it does world wide, causing more deaths than any bomb Bibi can draw, nor any WMD can cause. Avoidable mortality.
While Bibi’s diagram does not show you the global bodycount caused by the funding of his bombs, dropped or yet to be deployed. The silenced global bodycount. (Research by Dr. Gideon Polya)
As American Taxpayers Subsidize Israel’s Prosperity (Source) maybe if nothing is left and you will revolt in the end, to put food on your plate to eat, the propaganda machine probably will launch another campaign printing the BibiBomb on your paper plate at the KFC, so you will be reminded that fear costs money and the war on terror has to go on.
Yet, the only terrorists are those inciting and funneling up fear every single day. When do you wake up from your slumber?
But back to the “Iranian” BibiBomb
Deprivation in the First World’s United States of America, as it does world wide, causing more deaths than any bomb Bibi can draw, nor any WMD can cause. Avoidable mortality.
While Bibi’s diagram does not show you the global bodycount caused by the funding of his bombs, dropped or yet to be deployed. The silenced global bodycount. (Research by Dr. Gideon Polya)
As American Taxpayers Subsidize Israel’s Prosperity (Source) maybe if nothing is left and you will revolt in the end, to put food on your plate to eat, the propaganda machine probably will launch another campaign printing the BibiBomb on your paper plate at the KFC, so you will be reminded that fear costs money and the war on terror has to go on.
Yet, the only terrorists are those inciting and funneling up fear every single day. When do you wake up from your slumber?
But back to the “Iranian” BibiBomb
|
Netanyahu speaks at UN general assembly about Iran bomb
Inciting doomsday by Iranian bombs at the UNGA today, Bibi neglects to come up with some realistic nor forensic evidence. So what evidence is there for an Iranian nuclear weapons program? Precious little in fact. But Netanyahu need not worry as long as two-thirds of Americans THINK there’s one. (Source: Sabbah Report) For those among you interested in |
forensics, facts and above all, truth: go get your wake-up call and reassurement here.
Never mind as well that the IAEA recently reported that Iran reduced its breakout capacity (Source)
Bibi left out as well, that while you are being deprived of basic needs or social security, your taxmoney funded (among other weaponry) 1000 GBU 39 Bunker Busters, carrying 75 KG’s of Depleted Uranium EACH. Not that there are any left, they were casted on Gaza in the Cast Lead war in 2008-2009. remains of 75 Tons depleted uranium were found in Gaza’s environment. (Report: Nuclear News Net)
That you in fact are not ‘aiding’ in necessary ‘defence’ but solely in Israel & Cohorts weapontrade industry. And your dollar is sustaining the deadly experiment of turning Palestine into a live testing ground for this:
The zionist rape of this world – In Photos
Israel, hindering any probe into it’s own nuclear weapon arsenal or even capacity is developing nuclear weaponry already for almost 3 decades (if not longer), who knows! Yet, these pictures leaked by Vanunu, of Dimona’s nuclear weapon facility, made in 1985 were not shown during his UN speech (Vanunu’s Photos of Dimona 1985)
The real diagrams
Never mind as well that the IAEA recently reported that Iran reduced its breakout capacity (Source)
Bibi left out as well, that while you are being deprived of basic needs or social security, your taxmoney funded (among other weaponry) 1000 GBU 39 Bunker Busters, carrying 75 KG’s of Depleted Uranium EACH. Not that there are any left, they were casted on Gaza in the Cast Lead war in 2008-2009. remains of 75 Tons depleted uranium were found in Gaza’s environment. (Report: Nuclear News Net)
That you in fact are not ‘aiding’ in necessary ‘defence’ but solely in Israel & Cohorts weapontrade industry. And your dollar is sustaining the deadly experiment of turning Palestine into a live testing ground for this:
The zionist rape of this world – In Photos
Israel, hindering any probe into it’s own nuclear weapon arsenal or even capacity is developing nuclear weaponry already for almost 3 decades (if not longer), who knows! Yet, these pictures leaked by Vanunu, of Dimona’s nuclear weapon facility, made in 1985 were not shown during his UN speech (Vanunu’s Photos of Dimona 1985)
The real diagrams
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Netanyahu at UN and the red lines Iran -Israel
Bibi left out the truth. His simplistic bomb offered no room for facts, nor does he have such a desire to reveal them. While inciting the word detonator for at least 10 times, he forgets to mention which ‘buttons’ are pushed by Israel to keep you ignorant. |
For the real diagrams; To see what is really done with your ‘aid’ you better check some real visualizations containing facts of reality 2012:
Visit Visualize Palestine for the charts, the diagrams and the facts which SHOULD have been shown at the UNGA.
The Red Line is at the Final Stage
His marker did one right thing. Pointing you to the final stage. But this final stage has to be: Stop believing incitement, do not let them insult your intelligence more than already is done, and stop funding Israel’s desires for dominion and tell your government to spend your money at home!
For Lobbyist says Israel should create another ‘False Flag’ to start a war with Iran (Business Insider) and you will have to make a choice whether you want to sacrifice more of what’s rightfully yours, social security, safety of your children which come back in body bags .. again?
For you have been ‘bombed’ tonight again. With the Bibi-Hasbara-Bomb (hasbara=propaganda). Propaganda to distract all, from it;s own crimes. To distract all from what is really happening in Palestine. And beyond. The realization of the ‘Greater Israel’ at cost of all non-zionists including you, the past, and previous false flags.. A war with Iran would be a nice ‘decoy’ for Israel to keep the lid on the false flag of 9/11. (Source: Veterans Today)
I do not feel any need to debunk his speech, for solely on this blog over 200.000 links to resources and facts, reports and real time reporting can be sourced debunking every single one of his lies. Feel free to explore. You deserve the truth and it does not cost no money at all. This, is my call for a red line on Israel’s hasbara. Below, some more information and resources to explore the facts and truth behind the myths.
I wish you wisdom and liberation of propaganda.
Visit Visualize Palestine for the charts, the diagrams and the facts which SHOULD have been shown at the UNGA.
The Red Line is at the Final Stage
His marker did one right thing. Pointing you to the final stage. But this final stage has to be: Stop believing incitement, do not let them insult your intelligence more than already is done, and stop funding Israel’s desires for dominion and tell your government to spend your money at home!
For Lobbyist says Israel should create another ‘False Flag’ to start a war with Iran (Business Insider) and you will have to make a choice whether you want to sacrifice more of what’s rightfully yours, social security, safety of your children which come back in body bags .. again?
For you have been ‘bombed’ tonight again. With the Bibi-Hasbara-Bomb (hasbara=propaganda). Propaganda to distract all, from it;s own crimes. To distract all from what is really happening in Palestine. And beyond. The realization of the ‘Greater Israel’ at cost of all non-zionists including you, the past, and previous false flags.. A war with Iran would be a nice ‘decoy’ for Israel to keep the lid on the false flag of 9/11. (Source: Veterans Today)
I do not feel any need to debunk his speech, for solely on this blog over 200.000 links to resources and facts, reports and real time reporting can be sourced debunking every single one of his lies. Feel free to explore. You deserve the truth and it does not cost no money at all. This, is my call for a red line on Israel’s hasbara. Below, some more information and resources to explore the facts and truth behind the myths.
I wish you wisdom and liberation of propaganda.
Netanyahu to press for Iran 'red line' in UN speech
By Dan Williams
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu will argue for the need to set a "red line" for Iran's nuclear program in his UN speech on Thursday, a confidant to the prime minister said, playing down differences with Washington.
Netanyahu faces the world body a day after US President Barack Obama disappointed some Israelis by imposing no ultimatum to the Iranians in his own address, though he did warn that time for diplomacy with Tehran "is not unlimited".
Israel sees a mortal threat in a nuclear-armed Iran and has long threatened to strike its arch-foe pre-emptively, agitating war-wary world powers as they pursue sanctions and negotiations.
Complicating Netanyahu's strategy have been his testy relations with Obama as a US election looms, and the reluctance of many Israelis to trigger an unprecedented conflict with Iran, which denies that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and has pledged wide-ranging retaliation if attacked.
"The prime minister has already presented red lines in the past. But we have yet to persuade the entire world to present those same red lines," Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, an influential member of Netanyahu's rightist Likud party, told Israel's Channel Two television.
He said Netanyahu, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, "will present them again, will explain why there is a danger not just to Israel, but to the whole West, to the United States, to the whole free world, should Iran pass a certain (nuclear) threshold".
Netanyahu has said that Iran could have enough low-enriched uranium by early 2013 to refine to a high level of fissile purity for a first nuclear device. Israel worries that this final step, if taken, could happen too quickly or quietly to be prevented.
Iran has said it has no plans to enrich uranium beyond the 20 percent purity required to run a reactor producing medical isotopes. That level, however, brings raw uranium exponentially closer to the 90 percent enrichment required for a bomb.
Though reputed to have the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, Israel's forces would be hard-put to deliver lasting damage to Iran's remote facilities and handle a multi-front war.
Locating a completed nuclear warhead in Iran, Erdan said, "would be almost impossible, whereas today we still know where the production facilities of that nuclear warhead are".
Dissent
Netanyahu's public calls for a US ultimatum have deepened acrimony with Obama, a Democrat accused by his Republican rivals of being soft on Israel's security.
The Israeli prime minister denies meddling in the November presidential election in the United States, and Erdan shrugged off his spats with Obama.
"I have no intention of whitewashing and say there are no disagreements between Obama and Netanyahu. But it still doesn't mean anything. Even between a married couple there are sometimes difficult disagreements. It still doesn't mean the pact between them becomes less solid," Erdan said.
Netanyahu, who heads a broad-based, conservative coalition government, said he would take the UN podium for an Israel "united in the goal of preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weaponry".
But surveys show that most Israelis - apparently swayed by the open dissent of several senior national-security figures - would oppose launching unilateral strikes on Iran, given the risk of alienating Washington and of sparking knock-on clashes with Tehran's Islamist militant allies in Lebanon and Gaza.
A poll published by the liberal Haaretz newspaper on Thursday found that 50 percent of Israelis feared for the survival of their country, should there be a conflict.
Israeli opposition leader Shaul Mofaz criticized Netanyahu for sparring with Obama and voiced confidence in US resolve.
"I am convinced that the United States, the president of the United States, is determined to prevent Iran going nuclear," Mofaz told Israel's Army Radio.
Even within Netanyahu's coalition there have been misgivings about the pitch of disagreement with the United States.
Danny Ayalon, deputy to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, described Obama's Iran remarks at the United Nations as "important, albeit measured".
Speaking on Israel Radio, Ayalon said the Netanyahu government and Obama administration were in discreet contacts and approaching agreement on setting limits for Iran.
"And the more Iran flouts the whole world, this coming together will, ultimately, reach a unanimity of positions and absolute similarity," he said.
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu will argue for the need to set a "red line" for Iran's nuclear program in his UN speech on Thursday, a confidant to the prime minister said, playing down differences with Washington.
Netanyahu faces the world body a day after US President Barack Obama disappointed some Israelis by imposing no ultimatum to the Iranians in his own address, though he did warn that time for diplomacy with Tehran "is not unlimited".
Israel sees a mortal threat in a nuclear-armed Iran and has long threatened to strike its arch-foe pre-emptively, agitating war-wary world powers as they pursue sanctions and negotiations.
Complicating Netanyahu's strategy have been his testy relations with Obama as a US election looms, and the reluctance of many Israelis to trigger an unprecedented conflict with Iran, which denies that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and has pledged wide-ranging retaliation if attacked.
"The prime minister has already presented red lines in the past. But we have yet to persuade the entire world to present those same red lines," Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, an influential member of Netanyahu's rightist Likud party, told Israel's Channel Two television.
He said Netanyahu, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, "will present them again, will explain why there is a danger not just to Israel, but to the whole West, to the United States, to the whole free world, should Iran pass a certain (nuclear) threshold".
Netanyahu has said that Iran could have enough low-enriched uranium by early 2013 to refine to a high level of fissile purity for a first nuclear device. Israel worries that this final step, if taken, could happen too quickly or quietly to be prevented.
Iran has said it has no plans to enrich uranium beyond the 20 percent purity required to run a reactor producing medical isotopes. That level, however, brings raw uranium exponentially closer to the 90 percent enrichment required for a bomb.
Though reputed to have the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, Israel's forces would be hard-put to deliver lasting damage to Iran's remote facilities and handle a multi-front war.
Locating a completed nuclear warhead in Iran, Erdan said, "would be almost impossible, whereas today we still know where the production facilities of that nuclear warhead are".
Dissent
Netanyahu's public calls for a US ultimatum have deepened acrimony with Obama, a Democrat accused by his Republican rivals of being soft on Israel's security.
The Israeli prime minister denies meddling in the November presidential election in the United States, and Erdan shrugged off his spats with Obama.
"I have no intention of whitewashing and say there are no disagreements between Obama and Netanyahu. But it still doesn't mean anything. Even between a married couple there are sometimes difficult disagreements. It still doesn't mean the pact between them becomes less solid," Erdan said.
Netanyahu, who heads a broad-based, conservative coalition government, said he would take the UN podium for an Israel "united in the goal of preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weaponry".
But surveys show that most Israelis - apparently swayed by the open dissent of several senior national-security figures - would oppose launching unilateral strikes on Iran, given the risk of alienating Washington and of sparking knock-on clashes with Tehran's Islamist militant allies in Lebanon and Gaza.
A poll published by the liberal Haaretz newspaper on Thursday found that 50 percent of Israelis feared for the survival of their country, should there be a conflict.
Israeli opposition leader Shaul Mofaz criticized Netanyahu for sparring with Obama and voiced confidence in US resolve.
"I am convinced that the United States, the president of the United States, is determined to prevent Iran going nuclear," Mofaz told Israel's Army Radio.
Even within Netanyahu's coalition there have been misgivings about the pitch of disagreement with the United States.
Danny Ayalon, deputy to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, described Obama's Iran remarks at the United Nations as "important, albeit measured".
Speaking on Israel Radio, Ayalon said the Netanyahu government and Obama administration were in discreet contacts and approaching agreement on setting limits for Iran.
"And the more Iran flouts the whole world, this coming together will, ultimately, reach a unanimity of positions and absolute similarity," he said.
Netanyahu draws 'red line' on Iranian nuclear program
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew his "red line" for Iran's nuclear program on Thursday - the point at which Iran has amassed nearly enough highly enriched uranium for a single atomic bomb - and voiced confidence that the United States shares his view.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu appeared to pull back from any threat of an imminent Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, saying the Islamic Republic would be on the brink of producing an atomic weapon only next summer.
He added that he was confident the United States and Israel, which have disagreed about the urgency of military action, could devise a common strategy to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Holding up a cartoon-like drawing of a bomb with a fuse, Netanyahu literally drew a red line just below a label reading "final stage" to a bomb, in which it was 90 percent along the path of having sufficient weapons-grade material.
"A red line should be drawn right here, before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb, before Iran gets to a point where it is a few months or a few weeks away from amassing enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon," he said.
"Each day that point is getting closer, and that is why I speak today with such a sense of urgency and that is why everyone should have a sense of urgency."
Netanyahu added that "the red line must be drawn on Iran's nuclear enrichment program because these enrichment facilities are the only nuclear installations that we can definitely see and credibly target."
"I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down. And this will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy to convince Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons program all together," he added.
Netanyahu was referring to Iran's enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity, a level it says is required for medical isotopes but which also brings it close to bomb-fuel grade.
An August report by UN inspectors said Iran has stockpiled 91.4 kg of the 20 percent material.
According to the UN nuclear watchdog, around 25 kg of uranium enriched to a 90 percent purity level would be needed for a single nuclear weapon.
Israel, believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence and has expressed frustration over the failure of diplomacy and sanctions to rein in Tehran's nuclear activity. Iran says it is enriching uranium only for peaceful energy purposes, not for nuclear bombs.
US President Barack Obama, seeking re-election on Nov. 6, warned Iran on Tuesday in his speech to the General Assembly that he would do what it takes to prevent Tehran from getting nuclear arms and that "time is not unlimited" for diplomacy to resolve the issue.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this week he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu appeared to pull back from any threat of an imminent Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, saying the Islamic Republic would be on the brink of producing an atomic weapon only next summer.
He added that he was confident the United States and Israel, which have disagreed about the urgency of military action, could devise a common strategy to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Holding up a cartoon-like drawing of a bomb with a fuse, Netanyahu literally drew a red line just below a label reading "final stage" to a bomb, in which it was 90 percent along the path of having sufficient weapons-grade material.
"A red line should be drawn right here, before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb, before Iran gets to a point where it is a few months or a few weeks away from amassing enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon," he said.
"Each day that point is getting closer, and that is why I speak today with such a sense of urgency and that is why everyone should have a sense of urgency."
Netanyahu added that "the red line must be drawn on Iran's nuclear enrichment program because these enrichment facilities are the only nuclear installations that we can definitely see and credibly target."
"I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down. And this will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy to convince Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons program all together," he added.
Netanyahu was referring to Iran's enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity, a level it says is required for medical isotopes but which also brings it close to bomb-fuel grade.
An August report by UN inspectors said Iran has stockpiled 91.4 kg of the 20 percent material.
According to the UN nuclear watchdog, around 25 kg of uranium enriched to a 90 percent purity level would be needed for a single nuclear weapon.
Israel, believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence and has expressed frustration over the failure of diplomacy and sanctions to rein in Tehran's nuclear activity. Iran says it is enriching uranium only for peaceful energy purposes, not for nuclear bombs.
US President Barack Obama, seeking re-election on Nov. 6, warned Iran on Tuesday in his speech to the General Assembly that he would do what it takes to prevent Tehran from getting nuclear arms and that "time is not unlimited" for diplomacy to resolve the issue.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this week he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Israeli president says Iran's Ahmadinejad needs history lesson
Israeli President Shimon Peres offered his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a history lesson on Thursday, saying his lack of knowledge about the region was an embarrassment.
The outspoken Iranian leader raised hackles in Israel on Monday when he said Israelis had been occupying their territory for no more than 70 years. "They have no roots there in history," he added during a visit to New York.
Meeting a group of children in Jerusalem, 89-year-old Peres said Ahmadinejad should have known better.
"It was an embarrassing speech which showed a deep historical ignorance with regard to the deep historical connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel," he said, adding that Ahmadinejad did not even know the history of his Persian ancestors.
The name Israel first appeared at the end of the late Bronze Age and Israelite tribes were living in the area more than 3,000 years ago, archaeologists say.
Shortly after 600 B.C., Babylonian forces swept through the lands and forced Jews into exile and captivity. But in 538 B.C. the Persians in turn conquered Babylon and King Cyrus let the Jews return to their old homeland.
"Around 2,500 years ago King Cyrus, the King of Persia, granted the Jewish people led by Ezra and Nechamia the right to return to Israel and to rebuild their home. The Jews lived on the land of Israel for thousands of years and there is no lie or leader that can remove chapters of history," Peres said.
The Jewish rulers of Jerusalem were crushed by the Roman empire and modern-day Israel was founded in 1948 as imperial Britain withdrew from Palestine.
Israel is at loggerheads with Iran over its disputed nuclear program, saying that if Tehran develops an atomic bomb it might use it to try to destroy Israel. Tehran says its nuclear industry is for purely civilian purposes.
Peres said he would write to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and ask him to pass on a written history of Israel and Persia, adding the two nations had known "great friendship".
The outspoken Iranian leader raised hackles in Israel on Monday when he said Israelis had been occupying their territory for no more than 70 years. "They have no roots there in history," he added during a visit to New York.
Meeting a group of children in Jerusalem, 89-year-old Peres said Ahmadinejad should have known better.
"It was an embarrassing speech which showed a deep historical ignorance with regard to the deep historical connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel," he said, adding that Ahmadinejad did not even know the history of his Persian ancestors.
The name Israel first appeared at the end of the late Bronze Age and Israelite tribes were living in the area more than 3,000 years ago, archaeologists say.
Shortly after 600 B.C., Babylonian forces swept through the lands and forced Jews into exile and captivity. But in 538 B.C. the Persians in turn conquered Babylon and King Cyrus let the Jews return to their old homeland.
"Around 2,500 years ago King Cyrus, the King of Persia, granted the Jewish people led by Ezra and Nechamia the right to return to Israel and to rebuild their home. The Jews lived on the land of Israel for thousands of years and there is no lie or leader that can remove chapters of history," Peres said.
The Jewish rulers of Jerusalem were crushed by the Roman empire and modern-day Israel was founded in 1948 as imperial Britain withdrew from Palestine.
Israel is at loggerheads with Iran over its disputed nuclear program, saying that if Tehran develops an atomic bomb it might use it to try to destroy Israel. Tehran says its nuclear industry is for purely civilian purposes.
Peres said he would write to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and ask him to pass on a written history of Israel and Persia, adding the two nations had known "great friendship".
26 sept 2012
Lobbyist Says Israel Should Create A 'False Flag' To Start A War With Iran
Israel is conducting massive "snap-training" exercises.
The U.S. is doing unprecedented naval mine clearing evolutions.
Iran is launching anti-ship missiles and submarines.
Now is the time that a small provocation could lead to a full-blown war.
And Patrick Clawson, Director of Research at Washington Institute Of Near East Policy (WINEP), has suggested that someone should fabricate that small provocation.
The U.S. is doing unprecedented naval mine clearing evolutions.
Iran is launching anti-ship missiles and submarines.
Now is the time that a small provocation could lead to a full-blown war.
And Patrick Clawson, Director of Research at Washington Institute Of Near East Policy (WINEP), has suggested that someone should fabricate that small provocation.
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WINEP is a "key organization in the Israel lobby" that was founded in 1985 by leading members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to "provide a seemingly 'objective' research organization to provide consistently 'pro-Israel' analysis and commentary," according to Harvard professor of International Affairs Steven M. Walt (h/t Firedoglake).
Former AIPAC staffer MJ Rosenberg was reportedly in the room when WINEP was founded and described the organization as "an AIPAC controlled think-tank that would disseminate the AIPAC line but in a way that would disguise its connections." Clawson didn't disguise much. Here's the video: --> |
Speaking at the WINEP policy forum luncheon on "How to Build US-Israeli Coordination on Preventing an Iranian Nuclear Breakout," Clawson (ironically) said that "if, in fact, the Iranians aren't going to compromise, it would be best if someone else started the war."
Before that Clawson listed all the conflicts in which the U.S. didn't become involved until they were attacked, emphasizing that a false flag was needed each time for conflict to be initiated. Here's more from Clawson: One can combine other means of pressure with sanctions. I mentioned that explosion on August 17th. We could step up the pressure. I mean look people, Iranian submarines periodically go down, some day one of them might not come up, who would know why? We can do a variety of things if we wish to increase the pressure... We are in the game of using covert means against the Iranians. We could get nastier. |
24 sept 2012
Netanyahu apologizes for publishing phone conversation with Ban
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for releasing details of a phone conversation between the two over the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Iran.
During a telephone call to the general secretary on August 10, Netanyahu attempted to persuade Ban not to attend the summit in Tehran.
The premier's office then published a statement detailing the conversation, without coordination from Ban’s office.
Netanyahu had urged the UN chief to cancel plans to take part in the conference, saying his trip would be a big mistake and “a stain on humanity”.
The move by Israel reportedly left Ban feeling infuriated and embarrassed.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also called Ban, delivering a similar message.
In the days leading to the conference, Netanyahu increased public pressure against the participation of representatives of different nations in the 16th summit.
However, representatives of more than 100 countries attended the NAM summit held in late August.
Several weeks after the conference, Ban called Netanyahu and informed him of talks held with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ban and Netanyahu are currently scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
During a telephone call to the general secretary on August 10, Netanyahu attempted to persuade Ban not to attend the summit in Tehran.
The premier's office then published a statement detailing the conversation, without coordination from Ban’s office.
Netanyahu had urged the UN chief to cancel plans to take part in the conference, saying his trip would be a big mistake and “a stain on humanity”.
The move by Israel reportedly left Ban feeling infuriated and embarrassed.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also called Ban, delivering a similar message.
In the days leading to the conference, Netanyahu increased public pressure against the participation of representatives of different nations in the 16th summit.
However, representatives of more than 100 countries attended the NAM summit held in late August.
Several weeks after the conference, Ban called Netanyahu and informed him of talks held with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ban and Netanyahu are currently scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In New York, defiant Ahmadinejad says Israel will be 'eliminated'
By Louis Charbonneau
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday disregarded a UN warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric and declared ahead of the annual General Assembly session that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated."
In remarks to reporters in New York, Ahmadinejad also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, denied sending arms into Syria, and alluded to Iran's threats against the life of British author Salman Rushdie.
The United States quickly dismissed the Iranian president's comments as "disgusting, offensive and outrageous."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and criticized US President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.
"Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," Ahmadinejad said. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."
On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Ahmadinejad and warned him of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric in the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad did not heed the warning and, speaking to reporters through an interpreter, alluded to his previous rejection of Israel's right to exist.
"Iran has been around for the last seven, 10 thousand years. They (the Israelis) have been occupying those territories for the last 60 to 70 years, with the support and force of the Westerners. They have no roots there in history," he said, referring to the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948.
"We do believe that they have found themselves at a dead end and they are seeking new adventures in order to escape this dead end. Iran will not be damaged with foreign bombs," Ahmadinejad said.
"We don't even count them as any part of any equation for Iran. During a historical phase, they (the Israelis) represent minimal disturbances that come into the picture and are then eliminated," Ahmadinejad added.
In 2005, Ahmadinejad called Israel a "tumor" and echoed the words of the former Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, by saying that Israel should be wiped off the map.
In Washington, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor denounced the Iranian president's latest comments and reaffirmed the US commitment to Israel's security.
"President Ahmadinejad's comments are characteristically disgusting, offensive and outrageous. They underscore again why America's commitment to the security of Israel must be unshakeable, and why the world must hold Iran accountable for its utter failure to meet its obligations," Vietor said.
The United States also officially linked Iran's state oil company to the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a move that enables Washington to apply new sanctions on foreign banks dealing with the National Iranian Oil Company.
Later on Monday, Ahmadinejad addressed a high-level UN meeting on the rule of law, and his remarks there prompted a walkout by the Israeli delegation.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was quoted on Sunday as saying that Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure Tel Aviv was preparing to attack it.
Ahmadinejad said the nuclear issue was ultimately between the United States and Iran, and must be resolved with negotiations.
"The nuclear issue is not a problem," he added. "But the approach of the United States on Iran is important. We are ready for dialogue, for a fundamental resolution of the problems, but under conditions that are based on fairness and mutual respect."
"We are not expecting a 33-year-old problem between the United States and Iran to be resolved in a speedy fashion," he said. "But there is no other way besides dialogue."
Obama will underscore his commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and address Muslim unrest related to an anti-Islamic video in his speech to General Assembly on Tuesday, the White House said.
'Bullying countries'
In his address to the meeting on the rule of law, Ahmadinejad said states should not yield to international law as imposed "by bullying countries." He is due to speak at UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
In the past, Ahmadinejad has used his UN speeches to defend Iran's nuclear program and to attack Israel, the United States and Europe. He has also questioned the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether 19 hijackers were really responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
Western envoys typically walk out of Ahmadinejad's speeches in protest.
Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran -- under UN, US and European Union sanctions over its nuclear program -- is used to economic restrictions and was not severely affected by them.
"The conditions in Iran are not as bad as they are portrayed by some," Ahmadinejad said, adding that his country can survive without oil revenues.
Ahmadinejad added that Iran's economy was in much better shape than that of the EU, which he said was "on the verge of disintegration and collapse."
There will be high-level side meetings on Iran's nuclear program and the Syrian conflict during the General Assembly, but UN diplomats do not expect either issue to be resolved soon.
Ahmadinejad's annual visits to New York, a city with a sizable Jewish population, are routinely met with protests against his anti-Israel rhetoric.
The New York Post newspaper said on Monday it tried unsuccessfully to deliver to his delegation a Jewish-themed welcome basket containing traditional Jewish foods, such as Gold's Borscht and Manischewitz Gefilte Fish, as well as a ticket to the off-Broadway play "Old Jews Telling Jokes."
'We seek peace in Syria'
The United Nations and Western officials have accused Iran of supplying weapons to Syria's pro-government forces, while Syria's government has accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of arming rebels determined to topple President Bashar Assad.
Ahmadinejad rejected the charge that Iran was sending arms to Syria. "The so-called news that you alluded to has been denied vehemently, officially," Ahmadinejad said to a question.
"We see both sides as equally our brothers," he said. "The intervention and meddling from outside have made conditions that much tougher. We must help to quell the violence and help ... (facilitate) a national dialogue."
Ahmadinejad was also asked about a move by an Iranian religious foundation, in response to the "The Innocence of Muslims," to increase its reward for the killing Rushdie.
"Where is he now?" Ahmadinejad asked of Rushdie. "Is he in the United States? If he is, you shouldn't broadcast that for his own safety."
Rushdie, an Indian-born British novelist who has nothing to do with the video, was condemned to death in 1989 by Khomeini, Iran's late leader, over his novel "The Satanic Verses," saying its depiction of the Prophet Mohammad was blasphemous.
Ahmadinejad also addressed the issue of a California-made anti-Islam video, "The Innocence of Muslims," that has sparked anti-American protests around the Muslim world. He appeared to reject Washington's position that while it condemns the video's content, freedom of expression must be upheld.
"Freedoms must not interfere with the freedoms of others," Ahmadinejad said. "If someone insults, what would you do? ... Is insulting other people not a form of crime?"
Iran has a two-term limit for presidents. Ahmadinejad, widely seen as out of favor with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ends his second term next year. "But that does not mean I will be separating myself from politics," he said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday disregarded a UN warning to avoid incendiary rhetoric and declared ahead of the annual General Assembly session that Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated."
In remarks to reporters in New York, Ahmadinejad also said he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, denied sending arms into Syria, and alluded to Iran's threats against the life of British author Salman Rushdie.
The United States quickly dismissed the Iranian president's comments as "disgusting, offensive and outrageous."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and criticized US President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity.
"Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," Ahmadinejad said. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."
On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Ahmadinejad and warned him of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric in the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad did not heed the warning and, speaking to reporters through an interpreter, alluded to his previous rejection of Israel's right to exist.
"Iran has been around for the last seven, 10 thousand years. They (the Israelis) have been occupying those territories for the last 60 to 70 years, with the support and force of the Westerners. They have no roots there in history," he said, referring to the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948.
"We do believe that they have found themselves at a dead end and they are seeking new adventures in order to escape this dead end. Iran will not be damaged with foreign bombs," Ahmadinejad said.
"We don't even count them as any part of any equation for Iran. During a historical phase, they (the Israelis) represent minimal disturbances that come into the picture and are then eliminated," Ahmadinejad added.
In 2005, Ahmadinejad called Israel a "tumor" and echoed the words of the former Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, by saying that Israel should be wiped off the map.
In Washington, White House spokesman Tommy Vietor denounced the Iranian president's latest comments and reaffirmed the US commitment to Israel's security.
"President Ahmadinejad's comments are characteristically disgusting, offensive and outrageous. They underscore again why America's commitment to the security of Israel must be unshakeable, and why the world must hold Iran accountable for its utter failure to meet its obligations," Vietor said.
The United States also officially linked Iran's state oil company to the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a move that enables Washington to apply new sanctions on foreign banks dealing with the National Iranian Oil Company.
Later on Monday, Ahmadinejad addressed a high-level UN meeting on the rule of law, and his remarks there prompted a walkout by the Israeli delegation.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was quoted on Sunday as saying that Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure Tel Aviv was preparing to attack it.
Ahmadinejad said the nuclear issue was ultimately between the United States and Iran, and must be resolved with negotiations.
"The nuclear issue is not a problem," he added. "But the approach of the United States on Iran is important. We are ready for dialogue, for a fundamental resolution of the problems, but under conditions that are based on fairness and mutual respect."
"We are not expecting a 33-year-old problem between the United States and Iran to be resolved in a speedy fashion," he said. "But there is no other way besides dialogue."
Obama will underscore his commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and address Muslim unrest related to an anti-Islamic video in his speech to General Assembly on Tuesday, the White House said.
'Bullying countries'
In his address to the meeting on the rule of law, Ahmadinejad said states should not yield to international law as imposed "by bullying countries." He is due to speak at UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
In the past, Ahmadinejad has used his UN speeches to defend Iran's nuclear program and to attack Israel, the United States and Europe. He has also questioned the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether 19 hijackers were really responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
Western envoys typically walk out of Ahmadinejad's speeches in protest.
Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran -- under UN, US and European Union sanctions over its nuclear program -- is used to economic restrictions and was not severely affected by them.
"The conditions in Iran are not as bad as they are portrayed by some," Ahmadinejad said, adding that his country can survive without oil revenues.
Ahmadinejad added that Iran's economy was in much better shape than that of the EU, which he said was "on the verge of disintegration and collapse."
There will be high-level side meetings on Iran's nuclear program and the Syrian conflict during the General Assembly, but UN diplomats do not expect either issue to be resolved soon.
Ahmadinejad's annual visits to New York, a city with a sizable Jewish population, are routinely met with protests against his anti-Israel rhetoric.
The New York Post newspaper said on Monday it tried unsuccessfully to deliver to his delegation a Jewish-themed welcome basket containing traditional Jewish foods, such as Gold's Borscht and Manischewitz Gefilte Fish, as well as a ticket to the off-Broadway play "Old Jews Telling Jokes."
'We seek peace in Syria'
The United Nations and Western officials have accused Iran of supplying weapons to Syria's pro-government forces, while Syria's government has accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of arming rebels determined to topple President Bashar Assad.
Ahmadinejad rejected the charge that Iran was sending arms to Syria. "The so-called news that you alluded to has been denied vehemently, officially," Ahmadinejad said to a question.
"We see both sides as equally our brothers," he said. "The intervention and meddling from outside have made conditions that much tougher. We must help to quell the violence and help ... (facilitate) a national dialogue."
Ahmadinejad was also asked about a move by an Iranian religious foundation, in response to the "The Innocence of Muslims," to increase its reward for the killing Rushdie.
"Where is he now?" Ahmadinejad asked of Rushdie. "Is he in the United States? If he is, you shouldn't broadcast that for his own safety."
Rushdie, an Indian-born British novelist who has nothing to do with the video, was condemned to death in 1989 by Khomeini, Iran's late leader, over his novel "The Satanic Verses," saying its depiction of the Prophet Mohammad was blasphemous.
Ahmadinejad also addressed the issue of a California-made anti-Islam video, "The Innocence of Muslims," that has sparked anti-American protests around the Muslim world. He appeared to reject Washington's position that while it condemns the video's content, freedom of expression must be upheld.
"Freedoms must not interfere with the freedoms of others," Ahmadinejad said. "If someone insults, what would you do? ... Is insulting other people not a form of crime?"
Iran has a two-term limit for presidents. Ahmadinejad, widely seen as out of favor with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ends his second term next year. "But that does not mean I will be separating myself from politics," he said.
Ahmadinejad: Iran ready to defend against Israeli attack
By Louis Charbonneau
Iran does not take seriously Israeli threats of attack, but is prepared to defend itself, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and has criticized US President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful, aimed at generating electricity.
"Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists. ... We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves," Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York, where he is due to attend the UN General Assembly.
"While we are fully ready to defend ourselves, we do not take such threats seriously," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was quoted as saying on Sunday that Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure Tel Aviv was preparing to attack it.
"The nuclear issue is not a problem. But the approach of the United States on Iran is important," Ahmadinejad told reporters. "We are ready for dialogue, for a fundamental resolution of the problems" but under conditions that are based on "fairness and mutual respect," he added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Ahmadinejad of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric when two men met in New York on Sunday before this week's annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly.
In previous years, Ahmadinejad has used his UN speeches to defend Iran's nuclear program and to attack Israel, the United States and Europe. He has questioned the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether 19 hijackers were really responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
Western envoys predictably walk out of Ahmadinejad's speeches in protest.
There will be high-level side meetings on Iran's nuclear program and Syria during the General Assembly, but UN diplomats do not expect either issue to be resolved soon.
Iran does not take seriously Israeli threats of attack, but is prepared to defend itself, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and has criticized US President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful, aimed at generating electricity.
"Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists. ... We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves," Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York, where he is due to attend the UN General Assembly.
"While we are fully ready to defend ourselves, we do not take such threats seriously," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was quoted as saying on Sunday that Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure Tel Aviv was preparing to attack it.
"The nuclear issue is not a problem. But the approach of the United States on Iran is important," Ahmadinejad told reporters. "We are ready for dialogue, for a fundamental resolution of the problems" but under conditions that are based on "fairness and mutual respect," he added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Ahmadinejad of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric when two men met in New York on Sunday before this week's annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly.
In previous years, Ahmadinejad has used his UN speeches to defend Iran's nuclear program and to attack Israel, the United States and Europe. He has questioned the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether 19 hijackers were really responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
Western envoys predictably walk out of Ahmadinejad's speeches in protest.
There will be high-level side meetings on Iran's nuclear program and Syria during the General Assembly, but UN diplomats do not expect either issue to be resolved soon.
UN chief warns Iran's Ahmadinejad on fiery rhetoric
By Louis Charbonneau
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric when two men met in New York on Sunday before this week's annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
"The secretary-general drew attention to the potentially harmful consequences of inflammatory rhetoric, counter-rhetoric and threats from various countries in the Middle East," Ban's press office said in a statement.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was quoted as saying on Sunday that Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the state was preparing to attack it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and criticized US President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran getting the atomic bomb.
Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful, aimed at generating electricity.
The UN statement said Ban told Ahmadinejad that Iran should "take the measures necessary to build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program."
The two men also discussed Syria. Iran has been accused of using civilian aircraft to fly military personnel and large quantities of weapons across Iraqi airspace to Syria to aid President Bashar Assad in his attempt to crush an 18-month uprising against him, according to a Western intelligence report.
"The secretary-general stressed the grave regional implications of the worsening situation in Syria and underlined the devastating humanitarian impact," the statement said.
Speaking to reporters in New York, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that "to increase pressure and to increase the isolation of the regime of Assad is one of the goals this week."
On Wednesday, Westerwelle will chair a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on the Arab Spring at which Syria is expected to be a major theme.
Pressure on Syria
Ban said last week that Syria would be one of the main topics of the 193-nation General Assembly meeting. Other diplomats said the furor caused by an anti-Islam film made in California would also be a major issue.
The UN-Arab League mediator in the Syria crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, will address the Security Council on Monday in a private meeting. Brahimi met with Ban on Saturday to discuss the his recent trip to Damascus, where Brahimi met with Assad.
"(Ban and Brahimi) focused on how to address the appalling levels of violence in Syria and how to progress towards an inclusive political solution that will address the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," the UN press office said.
"The worsening crisis in Syria represents a steadily increasing threat to regional peace and security."
Ahmadinejad has regularly attended at the assembly since he took office in 2005. He will give his UN speech on Wednesday and will also speak at a meeting on the "rule of law" on Monday.
In previous years, Ahmadinejad has used his UN speeches to defend Iran's nuclear program and to attack Israel, the United States and Europe. He has questioned the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether 19 hijackers were really responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
Western envoys predictably walk out of Ahmadinejad's speeches in protest.
There will be high-level side meetings on Iran's nuclear program and Syria during the General Assembly, but UN diplomats do not expect either issue to be resolved soon.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric when two men met in New York on Sunday before this week's annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
"The secretary-general drew attention to the potentially harmful consequences of inflammatory rhetoric, counter-rhetoric and threats from various countries in the Middle East," Ban's press office said in a statement.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was quoted as saying on Sunday that Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the state was preparing to attack it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted that Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and criticized US President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran getting the atomic bomb.
Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful, aimed at generating electricity.
The UN statement said Ban told Ahmadinejad that Iran should "take the measures necessary to build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program."
The two men also discussed Syria. Iran has been accused of using civilian aircraft to fly military personnel and large quantities of weapons across Iraqi airspace to Syria to aid President Bashar Assad in his attempt to crush an 18-month uprising against him, according to a Western intelligence report.
"The secretary-general stressed the grave regional implications of the worsening situation in Syria and underlined the devastating humanitarian impact," the statement said.
Speaking to reporters in New York, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that "to increase pressure and to increase the isolation of the regime of Assad is one of the goals this week."
On Wednesday, Westerwelle will chair a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on the Arab Spring at which Syria is expected to be a major theme.
Pressure on Syria
Ban said last week that Syria would be one of the main topics of the 193-nation General Assembly meeting. Other diplomats said the furor caused by an anti-Islam film made in California would also be a major issue.
The UN-Arab League mediator in the Syria crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, will address the Security Council on Monday in a private meeting. Brahimi met with Ban on Saturday to discuss the his recent trip to Damascus, where Brahimi met with Assad.
"(Ban and Brahimi) focused on how to address the appalling levels of violence in Syria and how to progress towards an inclusive political solution that will address the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," the UN press office said.
"The worsening crisis in Syria represents a steadily increasing threat to regional peace and security."
Ahmadinejad has regularly attended at the assembly since he took office in 2005. He will give his UN speech on Wednesday and will also speak at a meeting on the "rule of law" on Monday.
In previous years, Ahmadinejad has used his UN speeches to defend Iran's nuclear program and to attack Israel, the United States and Europe. He has questioned the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether 19 hijackers were really responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
Western envoys predictably walk out of Ahmadinejad's speeches in protest.
There will be high-level side meetings on Iran's nuclear program and Syria during the General Assembly, but UN diplomats do not expect either issue to be resolved soon.
23 sept 2012
Report: Iran uncovered spying device disguised as rock at Fordow nuclear plant
The Fordow nuclear facility under construction inside a mountain located about 20 miles north northeast of Qom, Iran
The monitoring device exploded when Iranian troops near Fordow nuclear plant disturbed it, Sunday Times reports, citing Western intelligence.
A monitoring device disguised as a rock exploded last month when Iranian troops near Fordow nuclear plant disturbed it, the Sunday Times reported, citing Western intelligence sources.
According to the report, Iran's Revolutionary Guards were on patrol last month to check terminals connecting data and telephone links at the underground nuclear enrichment plant, when they saw the rock and tried to move it.
"Iranian experts who examined the scene of the explosion found the remains of a device capable of intercepting data from computers at the plant, where uranium is being enriched in centrifuges," said the report, "It is feared a significant source of intelligence may have been lost for the West."
Iran initially kept news of the explosion secret, the report said, but last week, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, the country's vice-president and head of its nuclear energy agency, revealed that explosives had been used to cut power lines from the nearby city of Qom to Fordow on August 17. A day later, he said, IAEA inspectors had asked for an unannounced visit to Fordow.
"Does this visit have any connection to that detonation? Who other than the IAEA inspectors can have access to the complex in such a short time?" Abbasi-Davani said on September 17.
Speaking at the annual member state gathering of the International Atomic Energy Agency that day, Abbassi-Davani said "terrorists and saboteurs might have intruded the agency and might be making decisions covertly," to undermine Iran's nuclear program.
"It should be recalled that power cut-off is one of the ways to break down centrifuge machines," he said, referring to the machines used to enrich uranium, which can have both civilian and military purposes.
Iran accused Germany's Siemens on Saturday of implanting tiny explosives inside equipment the Islamic Republic purchased for its disputed nuclear program, a charge the technology giant denied.
Prominent lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Iranian security experts discovered the explosives and removed them before detonation, adding that authorities believe the booby-trapped equipment was sold to derail uranium enrichment efforts.
"The equipment was supposed to explode after being put to work, in order to dismantle all our systems," he said. "But the wisdom of our experts thwarted the enemy conspiracy."
Siemens denied the charge and said its nuclear division has had no business with Iran since the 1979 revolution that led to its current clerical state.
"Siemens rejects the allegations and stresses that we have no business ties to the Iranian nuclear program," spokesman for the Munich-based company Alexander Machowetz said.
The monitoring device exploded when Iranian troops near Fordow nuclear plant disturbed it, Sunday Times reports, citing Western intelligence.
A monitoring device disguised as a rock exploded last month when Iranian troops near Fordow nuclear plant disturbed it, the Sunday Times reported, citing Western intelligence sources.
According to the report, Iran's Revolutionary Guards were on patrol last month to check terminals connecting data and telephone links at the underground nuclear enrichment plant, when they saw the rock and tried to move it.
"Iranian experts who examined the scene of the explosion found the remains of a device capable of intercepting data from computers at the plant, where uranium is being enriched in centrifuges," said the report, "It is feared a significant source of intelligence may have been lost for the West."
Iran initially kept news of the explosion secret, the report said, but last week, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, the country's vice-president and head of its nuclear energy agency, revealed that explosives had been used to cut power lines from the nearby city of Qom to Fordow on August 17. A day later, he said, IAEA inspectors had asked for an unannounced visit to Fordow.
"Does this visit have any connection to that detonation? Who other than the IAEA inspectors can have access to the complex in such a short time?" Abbasi-Davani said on September 17.
Speaking at the annual member state gathering of the International Atomic Energy Agency that day, Abbassi-Davani said "terrorists and saboteurs might have intruded the agency and might be making decisions covertly," to undermine Iran's nuclear program.
"It should be recalled that power cut-off is one of the ways to break down centrifuge machines," he said, referring to the machines used to enrich uranium, which can have both civilian and military purposes.
Iran accused Germany's Siemens on Saturday of implanting tiny explosives inside equipment the Islamic Republic purchased for its disputed nuclear program, a charge the technology giant denied.
Prominent lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Iranian security experts discovered the explosives and removed them before detonation, adding that authorities believe the booby-trapped equipment was sold to derail uranium enrichment efforts.
"The equipment was supposed to explode after being put to work, in order to dismantle all our systems," he said. "But the wisdom of our experts thwarted the enemy conspiracy."
Siemens denied the charge and said its nuclear division has had no business with Iran since the 1979 revolution that led to its current clerical state.
"Siemens rejects the allegations and stresses that we have no business ties to the Iranian nuclear program," spokesman for the Munich-based company Alexander Machowetz said.
Iran lawmaker accuses IAEA of passing nuclear secrets to Israel
Yukiya Amano
If Iran cuts ties with UN’s nuclear watchdog, ‘all responsibility will be with IAEA director general,’ says Iranian MP.
A senior Iranian lawmaker accused the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog on Sunday of passing confidential information about Iran's nuclear activities to Israel.
In the latest sign of strained relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Javad Jahangirzadeh, a member of parliament's presiding board, said IAEA chief Yukiya Amano would be to blame if Iran reduced its ties with the body.
"Amano's repeated trips to Tel Aviv and asking the Israeli officials' views about Iran's nuclear activities indicates that Iran's nuclear information has been disclosed to the Zionist regime [Israel] and other enemies of the Islamic Republic," Jahangirzadeh was quoted as saying by Iran's English-language Press TV.
"If the agency's actions lead to Iran cutting cooperation with this international body, all responsibility will be with the IAEA director general," said Jahangirzadeh, a member of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee.
The IAEA was not immediately available to comment on his allegation.
Last week, Iranian nuclear energy chief Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani said "terrorists" might have infiltrated the Vienna-based agency. He suggested the IAEA included too much sensitive information about Iran's nuclear program in its reports that he said could be used by saboteurs.
Western diplomats dismissed his allegations as an attempt to distract attention away from the agency's bid to gain access to a site in Iran it suspects was used for nuclear weapons research, something Tehran denies.
Iran blames Israel and its Western allies for the assassination of nuclear scientists in Iran, including an unsuccessful attempt on Abbasi-Davani in November 2010. It also blames those countries for computer viruses that appeared designed to damage its nuclear machinery.
The 35-nation board of the agency censured Iran earlier this month for defying international demands to curb uranium enrichment and failing to address mounting disquiet about its suspected research into atomic bombs.
The resolution prompted Iran's Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani, to cast doubt on the benefit of Iran's membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Tehran Times reported.
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, told a news conference last week that Tehran would withdraw from the NPT if attacked by Israel which has increased hints it may launch air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.
Iran's parliament does not decide matters of foreign policy and national security, which are the province of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
If Iran cuts ties with UN’s nuclear watchdog, ‘all responsibility will be with IAEA director general,’ says Iranian MP.
A senior Iranian lawmaker accused the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog on Sunday of passing confidential information about Iran's nuclear activities to Israel.
In the latest sign of strained relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Javad Jahangirzadeh, a member of parliament's presiding board, said IAEA chief Yukiya Amano would be to blame if Iran reduced its ties with the body.
"Amano's repeated trips to Tel Aviv and asking the Israeli officials' views about Iran's nuclear activities indicates that Iran's nuclear information has been disclosed to the Zionist regime [Israel] and other enemies of the Islamic Republic," Jahangirzadeh was quoted as saying by Iran's English-language Press TV.
"If the agency's actions lead to Iran cutting cooperation with this international body, all responsibility will be with the IAEA director general," said Jahangirzadeh, a member of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee.
The IAEA was not immediately available to comment on his allegation.
Last week, Iranian nuclear energy chief Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani said "terrorists" might have infiltrated the Vienna-based agency. He suggested the IAEA included too much sensitive information about Iran's nuclear program in its reports that he said could be used by saboteurs.
Western diplomats dismissed his allegations as an attempt to distract attention away from the agency's bid to gain access to a site in Iran it suspects was used for nuclear weapons research, something Tehran denies.
Iran blames Israel and its Western allies for the assassination of nuclear scientists in Iran, including an unsuccessful attempt on Abbasi-Davani in November 2010. It also blames those countries for computer viruses that appeared designed to damage its nuclear machinery.
The 35-nation board of the agency censured Iran earlier this month for defying international demands to curb uranium enrichment and failing to address mounting disquiet about its suspected research into atomic bombs.
The resolution prompted Iran's Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani, to cast doubt on the benefit of Iran's membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Tehran Times reported.
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, told a news conference last week that Tehran would withdraw from the NPT if attacked by Israel which has increased hints it may launch air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.
Iran's parliament does not decide matters of foreign policy and national security, which are the province of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
22 sept 2012
Israel Seeks War on Iran to keep Lid on 9/11
Netanyahu’s first reaction to 9/11: “Good for Israel!” But maybe not in the long term. (orginally published by Press TV)
by Kevin Barrett, for Press TV
Almost every politically-aware person on the planet is puzzled by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s bizarre obsession with Iran. Netanyahu is risking his political career, his reputation, and Israel’s future by intervening in the US presidential elections. He is using all of Zionism’s considerable might – including organized crime assets like “Las Vegas Godfather” Sheldon Adelson – to force Obama to attack Iran; or, failing that, to make sure that Obama is defeated by the Zionist puppet Romney.
by Kevin Barrett, for Press TV
Almost every politically-aware person on the planet is puzzled by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s bizarre obsession with Iran. Netanyahu is risking his political career, his reputation, and Israel’s future by intervening in the US presidential elections. He is using all of Zionism’s considerable might – including organized crime assets like “Las Vegas Godfather” Sheldon Adelson – to force Obama to attack Iran; or, failing that, to make sure that Obama is defeated by the Zionist puppet Romney.
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There are even rumors of Israeli-sponsored assassination attempts on Obama.
Even the rabidly pro-Zionist (but relatively honest) Jewish Daily Forward editorialized: It’s difficult to recall a time when an Israeli prime minister has inserted himself into a presidential election campaign in the way that Benjamin Netanyahu has. It’s even harder |
to recall a time when a trusted ally openly urged the American president to undertake a questionable, unpopular and highly risky war. We sure hope Netanyahu knows what he’s doing, because the stakes for him — and for the two nations he professes to care about the most — could not be higher.
The Jewish Daily Forward has good reasons to wonder whether Netanyahu knows what he’s doing. The editorialist cites polls showing that the American people strongly oppose attacking Iran, even if war breaks out between Iran and Israel and only US intervention could save Israel! These polls show that American voters no longer give a damn whether Israel, which has chosen to live by the sword, finally dies by the sword.
As Dave Lindorff observes, Netanyahu’s mad obsession with pushing the US into yet another unwanted war for Israel “may have fundamentally undermined the long-standing ‘special relationship’ between the US and Israel.
And still Netanyahu continues on this seemingly suicidal course. He even orders the Mossad and its CIA assets including Gladio veteran Terry Jones to unleash a rabidly anti-Islam film, spammed into the faces of every Muslim on the planet via millions of dollars of computer server time and intelligence agency expertise – an obvious attempt to fan the flames of islamophobia and pave the way to a US war on Iran for Israel.
The Jewish Daily Forward has good reasons to wonder whether Netanyahu knows what he’s doing. The editorialist cites polls showing that the American people strongly oppose attacking Iran, even if war breaks out between Iran and Israel and only US intervention could save Israel! These polls show that American voters no longer give a damn whether Israel, which has chosen to live by the sword, finally dies by the sword.
As Dave Lindorff observes, Netanyahu’s mad obsession with pushing the US into yet another unwanted war for Israel “may have fundamentally undermined the long-standing ‘special relationship’ between the US and Israel.
And still Netanyahu continues on this seemingly suicidal course. He even orders the Mossad and its CIA assets including Gladio veteran Terry Jones to unleash a rabidly anti-Islam film, spammed into the faces of every Muslim on the planet via millions of dollars of computer server time and intelligence agency expertise – an obvious attempt to fan the flames of islamophobia and pave the way to a US war on Iran for Israel.
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Obama, who is on record saying he hates Netanyahu and that Netanyahu is a liar, and who knows that Netanyahu manufactured the “Innocence of Muslims” crisis to try to get Romney elected, responded by refusing to meet with Netanyahu in New York, and going on the David Letterman Show instead. A more blatant snub could hardly be imagined.
So what in the world is Netanyahu really up to? Does he actually believe that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, even though |
the CIA has certified that it does not? Does he really think that even if Iran DID have a nuclear weapons program, any Iranian government would be crazy enough to guarantee Iran’s incineration by launching a first strike against Israel.
Of course he doesn’t really believe such nonsense.
Even hard-line Israeli strategists admit that Iran appears to be only developing nuclear expertise, not actual weapons, and that in their worst-case scenario, Israel could live with a nuclear-armed Iran. After all, Iran has not attacked another nation in centuries.
Since the “nuclear crisis” is a hoax (like alleged Iraqi WMD in 2003) then what is the real reason for Netanyahu’s Iran obsession? Is it the Iranian government’s support for anti-Zionist resistance groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and its calls for an end to Zionism through free and fair elections?
Perhaps. Iran’s open commitment to principled anti-Zionism represents the nearly unanimous position of the people of the Middle East, who have never accepted the genocidal Zionist entity as a legitimate state. Israel has been able to bully every other government in the region into shameful silence. The Islamic Republic of Iran will not be silenced. Leveling Iran with bombs would send a message to future Middle Eastern governments: Do not give a voice to your people’s resistance to Zionism, or else!
But while starting a war might punish Iran for its anti-Zionism, such a war would carry terrible risks for Israel. Even if all went well for Israel on the battlefield, the suffering of the people of Iran would probably shame the world into turning against Zionism even more sharply than the world turned against apartheid in the 1980s.
And there is no guarantee that things would go well for Israel on the battlefield. Iran has the capability to riddle Israel with rocket attacks, or even to take out Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility and perhaps render Israel and much of the surrounding region permanently uninhabitable.
And Israel does not have the capability to seriously damage Iran’s nuclear program without US help. If the US intervened on the side of Israel, Iran could shut the Straits of Hormuz, and possibly sink many if not all of the ships there with Sunburn missiles, driving gasoline prices over $10 a gallon and paralyzing the world economy.
Additionally, Iran has the capability to massively attack the US bases that surround it, killing thousands if not tens of thousands of US soldiers. A US president, especially one who dislikes Netanyahu and puts America’s interests ahead of Israel’s, would be very unlikely to help Netanyahu attack Iran.
Given that a war on Iran is a lose-lose proposition for Israel, why is Netanyahu fanatically fanning the flames of war, to the extent that even his American Zionist cheering section is baffled and embarrassed by his behavior?
Some question Netanyahu’s intelligence, arguing that he is just a furniture salesman who has been promoted far beyond his level of incompetence. While there may be some truth to this – I certainly wouldn’t want to overestimate Netanyahu’s intelligence – I don’t think he’s quite that stupid. I think Netanyahu has a very good reason to prefer war with Iran, despite all its risks, to peace. I think he does know what he’s doing.
Netanyahu needs the 9/11-triggered 100-years-war on Islam to continue for the very good reason that if it does not, the State of Emergency still in place in the US will be lifted, and Americans, unencumbered by the National Security restrictions of wartime, will quickly learn what really happened on September 11th, 2001. That possibility poses a very real existential threat to Israel – and to Netanyahu.
As Alan Sabrosky, former Director of Strategic Studies at the US Army War College, told Press TV: “I have had long conversations over the past two weeks with contacts at the Army War College, at the Marine Corps Headquarters, and I have made it absolutely clear in both cases that it is 100 percent certain that 9/11 was a Mossad operation. Period.
Of course he doesn’t really believe such nonsense.
Even hard-line Israeli strategists admit that Iran appears to be only developing nuclear expertise, not actual weapons, and that in their worst-case scenario, Israel could live with a nuclear-armed Iran. After all, Iran has not attacked another nation in centuries.
Since the “nuclear crisis” is a hoax (like alleged Iraqi WMD in 2003) then what is the real reason for Netanyahu’s Iran obsession? Is it the Iranian government’s support for anti-Zionist resistance groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and its calls for an end to Zionism through free and fair elections?
Perhaps. Iran’s open commitment to principled anti-Zionism represents the nearly unanimous position of the people of the Middle East, who have never accepted the genocidal Zionist entity as a legitimate state. Israel has been able to bully every other government in the region into shameful silence. The Islamic Republic of Iran will not be silenced. Leveling Iran with bombs would send a message to future Middle Eastern governments: Do not give a voice to your people’s resistance to Zionism, or else!
But while starting a war might punish Iran for its anti-Zionism, such a war would carry terrible risks for Israel. Even if all went well for Israel on the battlefield, the suffering of the people of Iran would probably shame the world into turning against Zionism even more sharply than the world turned against apartheid in the 1980s.
And there is no guarantee that things would go well for Israel on the battlefield. Iran has the capability to riddle Israel with rocket attacks, or even to take out Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility and perhaps render Israel and much of the surrounding region permanently uninhabitable.
And Israel does not have the capability to seriously damage Iran’s nuclear program without US help. If the US intervened on the side of Israel, Iran could shut the Straits of Hormuz, and possibly sink many if not all of the ships there with Sunburn missiles, driving gasoline prices over $10 a gallon and paralyzing the world economy.
Additionally, Iran has the capability to massively attack the US bases that surround it, killing thousands if not tens of thousands of US soldiers. A US president, especially one who dislikes Netanyahu and puts America’s interests ahead of Israel’s, would be very unlikely to help Netanyahu attack Iran.
Given that a war on Iran is a lose-lose proposition for Israel, why is Netanyahu fanatically fanning the flames of war, to the extent that even his American Zionist cheering section is baffled and embarrassed by his behavior?
Some question Netanyahu’s intelligence, arguing that he is just a furniture salesman who has been promoted far beyond his level of incompetence. While there may be some truth to this – I certainly wouldn’t want to overestimate Netanyahu’s intelligence – I don’t think he’s quite that stupid. I think Netanyahu has a very good reason to prefer war with Iran, despite all its risks, to peace. I think he does know what he’s doing.
Netanyahu needs the 9/11-triggered 100-years-war on Islam to continue for the very good reason that if it does not, the State of Emergency still in place in the US will be lifted, and Americans, unencumbered by the National Security restrictions of wartime, will quickly learn what really happened on September 11th, 2001. That possibility poses a very real existential threat to Israel – and to Netanyahu.
As Alan Sabrosky, former Director of Strategic Studies at the US Army War College, told Press TV: “I have had long conversations over the past two weeks with contacts at the Army War College, at the Marine Corps Headquarters, and I have made it absolutely clear in both cases that it is 100 percent certain that 9/11 was a Mossad operation. Period.
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If Americans ever know that Israel did this, they are going to scrub them off the earth.” And even if Israel were “scrubbed off the earth” peacefully through a one-state solution, Netanyahu would certainly hang for his role in the 9/11 attacks.
Unfortunately for Netanyahu and Zionism, Dr. Sabrosky isn’t the only US National Security insider leaking the truth about 9/11. Hundreds of military and intelligence people have come forward (see: http://patriotsquestion911.com/ ). The two biggest recent leaks are revelations by CIA asset Susan Lindauer that the CIA had detailed foreknowledge of 9/11 and attributed the controlled demolitions of the three NYC skyscrapers to “those goddamned Israelis”; and the assertion by Gwenyth Todd, who worked beside Richard Clarke on the National Security Council, that Clarke (who was publicly fired from an earlier job for being an Israeli spy) is the top suspect as hands-on controller of 9/11 from the US end. Yes, you heard that right: Richard Clarke’s colleague on the National Security Counsel, Gwenyth Todd, suspects Clarke of masterminding and running the 9/11 attacks. If Todd and other high-level sources are right about this, Clarke’s book’s title Your Government Failed You is an understatement. Some of the same high-level sources who finger Richard Clarke as the US boss of the Israeli-instigated 9/11 false-flag operation also claim that President Obama, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dempsey, and other powerful Americans are considering exposing the truth about 9/11 during a second Obama term. In other words, Obama’s re-election could put Israel out of business, and get Netanyahu hanged from the nearest lamp-post. No wonder Netanyahu is “overplaying his hand” by doing everything he can to get rid of Obama. And no wonder Netanyahu is desperately trying to throw gasoline on the “clash of civilizations” fire and trigger war with Iran. A huge Middle East war, no matter how destructive, would maintain the wartime State of Emergency in the US and impede the inexorable revelation of America’s biggest state secret: That American traitors, including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, Richard Myers, and others, helped Israel blow up the World Trade Center, bomb the Pentagon, and kill 3000 Americans on 9/11. |
