Conflicts in the Middle East & Northern Africa

[vojnik]

Its a toss up between Iran or Syria to be next. If anyone would be last, it will be Nth Korea, they have something that Iran or Syria don't have "Yet". A major deterrent.

But it will not be USA invading (Iraq, Afghanistan style), for they don't have the money they once had, nor support (within their own country) for anymore wars. However, USA will play some roll (propaganda) and then depend on NATO to fly the flag. Even then, it would not be a ground assault, but some aerial support just like in Libya. The only thing needed now, is major uprising with in where citizens take up guns (a la Kosovo, Libya and to some extent, Macedonia). That would be the green light.

Syria would definitely be next and Iran would be the last Middle Eastern country to have a revolution.

[Volk]

Onur, is seems to me the stage is being set for a WWIII... Nothing else can explain this...

[Zarni]

Volks comment may sound alarmist and frankly crazy in ambition but think harder it is the plan of the Western Powers no doubt

I always hope and wish a Russia, China Iran and India axis can stand up to Western Government aggression

Libya makes me said because it was a great nation just 7 months ago.

[Brian]

It is a fact that the US is preparing to build up troops in Arab states (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, ect).

It is speculated that Iran is the target, but many have said it could be Syria. Stories abound as to why either country is the target. Another article purporting Iran is the target.

Israeli, UK media report increased planning for confrontation with Iran

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/israeli-uk-media-report-increased-planning-confrontation-iran-211736856.html

Reports in the Israeli press indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are working to convince other members of Netanyahu's cabinet and Israeli security chiefs that Israel needs to launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear program.

Netanyahu and Barak "are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran, a senior Israeli official has said," Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Wednesday in a piece co-bylined by four reporters. The two officials "recently persuaded Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who previously objected to attacking Iran, to support such a move," according to the Ha'aretz acount, which has garnered an unusual degree of attention from western policymakers.

Full article in Link

Further, Israel has test-fired a new missile capable of reaching Iran. The missile, named Jericho, is said to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Let ’em come: Defiant Iran challenges Israel

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=israel-iran-go-to-the-brink-on-attack-claim-2011-11-02

Wednesday, November 2, 2011
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Iran is fully prepared for war, the Iranian FM tells the Daily News in a defiant response to a new missile test and a strike debate in Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi responded fiercely to Israel’s testing of an advanced ballistic missile yesterday, saying the country was “always ready for war.”

Israeli defense officials said the military successfully test-fired an advanced missile from a base outside of Tel Aviv yesterday. Foreign news reports said the test involved firing a long-range Jericho missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran.

Full article in Link

The word on the grapevine is that nothing will be done during the Northern winter, so make the best of it. Happy holidays. Others are saying it wont be until after the British Olympics too keep British support on-side.

[Zarni]

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/11/02/britain-prepares-to-attack-iran/

Britain Prepares to Attack Iran
Defense Ministry Expects US to 'Fast-Forward' Plans for Attack
by Jason Ditz, November 02, 2011
| Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum

With Defense Ministry officials saying that they believe the US may soon “fast-forward” plans to attack Iran, Britain’s military is stepping up its own preparations for such an attack under the assumption that they will join in on the war.

The planning is based on expectations that next week’s report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be a “game changer” and will convince President Obama to launch another massive war.

It also comes just a day after reports in the Israeli press that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to convince the rest of his cabinet to launch a unilateral attack on Iran before winter on the argument that an autumn war would be much more convenient.

Though Netanyahu seems to be gaining some ground, there are a number of Israeli cabinet members who say it is their preference to convince the US to start the war instead. Though threats of an impending war against Iran have been coming off and on for over a decade, it seems the Obama Administration’s preference not to see Israel launch a disastrous unilateral war could convince them that the US should start its own disastrous unilateral war instead.

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Utter madness

I will bet Putin will never allow this to go foward China too

[Onur]

Onur, is seems to me the stage is being set for a WWIII... Nothing else can explain this...

Yes Volk, i think the same too.

I think Pentagon realized that they cannot pursuit wars in middle-east all by themselves and for a while, they are following a new policy and this so-called Arab spring is a part of it. I believe that they are creating new puppet rulers and creating new conflicts or reviving old problems between them at the same time. It`s like, they wanna create a war in middle-east where they can stand back but strongly support their allies from behind the scenes.

These plans includes Turkey too. Because of these new developments, our relations with Syria gone bad and Iran is going bad too. They are trying to force us to implement measures against Syria and Iran by using NATO.

I am reading articles about that for some time. This is from a US based evangelical neo-con website, named The Christian Science Monitor;

Turkey's rising clout leaves Iran fuming on sidelines of Arab Spring
The fast-emerging split between Turkey and Iran has revived a centuries-old rivalry between the Ottomans and the Persians. Once friends, Turkey and Iran are finding that their reactions to the Arab Spring revolutions are driving them apart and renewing an old regional rivalry.

..........

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middl...of-Arab-Spring

But thats so stupid. Turkey is in peace with Iran for about ~400 years, so why we should be hostile to them just because of US interests?? It`s too dangerous for us too. Iran is not hostile to us yet. Neither Turkey nor Iran never desires that but it`s like western world trying to make us hostile against each other. Turkey closed it`s territory to NATO and US soldiers during the war against Iraq but if we allow US/NATO attack to Iran from our soil, then i am 100% sure that Iran attacks Turkey too. Iran attacks anyone who are acting hostile to them. This might create WW-3 because Russia and China definately supports Iran against the US/NATO, not because they love Iran but because Irans fall would indirectly mean their downfall too.

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/11/02/b...o-attack-iran/

Utter madness

I will bet Putin will never allow this to go foward China too

I checked Presstv after i read your link. Here is Iranian response to them;

Israel attack on Iran military suicide
There is a strong speculation that Israel is bound to mount an attack on Iranian nuclear sites, a threat which the Zionist regime has frequently repeated and an idea which, if translated into action, will bring about apocalyptic consequences for the Zionist entity.

Reportedly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently sought to drum up cabinet support for a military strike against the nuclear sites of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In joint efforts with the defense minister Ehud Barak, Netanyahu has succeeded in wringing support for such a reckless act from the skeptics who were already opposed to launching an attack on Iran. Among those he managed to convince was Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

There are still those in the Israeli cabinet who are against such a move including Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor, Strategic Affairs Minister and Netanyahu confidant Moshe Yaalon, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, army chief Benny Gantz, the head of Israel's intelligence agency Tamir Pardo, the chief of military intelligence Aviv Kochavi and the head of Israel's domestic intelligence agency Yoram Cohen.

However, the support voiced by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is considered an ace in the hole for Netanyahu who also enjoys the full-throated support of Washington.

In a show of military prowess and obvious brinkmanship, Israel test-fired a nuke capable missile on Wednesday which cannot be taken as a coincidence considering the threat made by Netanyahu.

"Israel today carried out the test-firing of a rocket propulsion system from the Palmachim base," a Defense Ministry statement said. "This had been long planned by the Defense establishment and was carried out as scheduled."

Echoing his old familiar comments about Iran, Netanyahu said in a parliamentary address on Monday, "A nuclear Iran will pose a serious threat to the Middle East and the entire world, and it of course poses a direct and heavy threat to us."

Also on Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister accused Iran of being “the largest, most dangerous threat to the current world order,” adding that Israel expects the international community to “step up efforts to act against it.”

Moshe Yaalon, Israel's strategic affairs minister, told Army Radio on Tuesday, "The military option (against Iran) is not an empty threat, but Israel should not leap to lead it. The whole thing should be lead by the United States, and as a last resort."

There seems to be a united front against Iran in the Israeli cabinet but as far as a military strike is concerned, there is a difference of opinion as to the sanity of such an act and the looming consequences it may incur.

Be it as it may, one of the main factors which render such an act implausible is that Israel is well aware of Iran's military competence and self-sufficiency.

From a military point of view, Iran is known as the best in the region and one of the best in the world in terms of missile industry.

The successful production of the short-, medium- and long-range missiles Shahab (Meteor) and Sejjil (Baked Clay), Saqeb (falling stone) and Sayyad (Hunter), Fateh (Conqueror) and Zelzal (Temblor), Misaq (Covenant) and Ra'ad (Thunder), Toufan (Storm) and Safar (Journey) bears testimony to this claim. The country has so far succeeded in producing more than 50 types of high-tech missiles as part of its deterrent strategy for enhancing military might as it has always been exposed to threats by the Zionist regime and Washington.

The recent Iranian missile Qader (powerful), a magnum achievement, is a sea-launched cruise missile which has a highly destructive power and can eliminate frigates, warships as well as any coastal targets. With a range of over 200 kilometers, the missile can evade any highly advanced radar systems.

Shahab (meteor) III, one of the great missile achievements of the country, is a medium-range ballistic missile designed to hit targets within the range of up to 2000 kilometers. Generally considered as a nightmare for Israel, the missile was test-fired on July 8. 2008 and has been upgraded since then to an impeccable standard.

A senior IRGC commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh has already stated that Iran has the know-how to build missiles with over 2,000 kilometers but since the US and Israeli targets are within the reach of the current missiles, the country does not see any point in doing so.

“Iran's missiles have a range of up to 2,000 kilometers and have been designed for US and the Zionist regime (Israel)'s bases in the region,” he added.

According to the Iranian commander, as there is a distance of 1,200 kilometers between Iran and Israel, Iran is already capable of targeting the Zionist regime with the current missiles. Needless to say, Sejjil (Baked Clay) and Shahab missiles rank among the missiles capable of targeting objects within a range of 2,000 kilometers.

With over 50 types of state-of-the-art missiles at its disposal, Iran is readily capable of delivering a death blow to any aggressor who ventures to violate its soil. However, Iran has frequently said its military might poses no threat to other countries and that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.

As the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said the “main objective of producing weapons in Iran is defending the country against bullying enemies” while in the West, “the main reason for weapons production is increasing the wealth of the weapons cartels.”

It matters little on what grounds the idea of attacking Iran was articulated in the minds of the Israelis or who was the initial originator of this imbecilic notion.

What is important is that an Israeli attack will not only disturb the political equilibrium in the Middle East but it will inflict losses of inconceivable proportions upon the Zionist entity as well.

A military strike by Israel on Iran is tantamount to a final nail in the coffin of Zionism.

Nov 3, 2011

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/208047.html

[Onur]

Here is the latest article from Israeli media;

Peres: I believe Israel, world approaching military option on Iran nuclear threat
President says nations of the world made commitments to Israel and they must now make good on those commitments to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

President Shimon Peres said Friday that he believes that Israel and the world may soon take military action against Iran. Despite this, Peres added that a distinction must be made between the public discourse and what happens in practice.

In comments to Israel Channel 2, Peres said "Intelligence services of all countries understand that time is running out and they are warning their leaders."

"It would seem that Iran is getting closer to having nuclear weapons," Peres said, adding, "In the time that remains, we must urge the other nations of the world to act, and tell them that it is time to stand behind the promise that was made to us, to fulfill their responsibility, whether that means serious sanctions or whether it means a military operation."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak also related to the Iranian nuclear threat, saying, "We can't remove any option from the table, but there is no immediate emergency. Our position has not changed and will not change, we believe that Iran must be prevented from achieving nuclear [weapons] capability."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomac...hreat-1.393801

[Sputnik]

West&NATO converting secular Arab states to sharia?

* NATO backed new leader of Libya made a speech in Tripoli and announced that Libya will be ruled with sharia regime from now on.

* A new islamic party under the 70 year old man was victorious. The leader of this party lived in England for 20 years and gone to Libya just two months ago. AFAIK, Tunisia was the most secular state among all the Arab countries but after the revolution, islamist supporters of British educated newcomer leader, started attacking secular laws of the state in a strict way. The tension is quite high between secularists and islamists in the country;

*In Egypt, a NATO backed military general ruling the state but it`s quite certain that a group called "muslim brotherhood" will win the upcoming elections and it`s quite likely that they will implement sharia laws in there.

All going according to plan. What would the west/EU do without turmoil around the world. Someone they can call an enemy.

What would the Drug Cartel's controlling the EU do when there is no money to be made from Pain and suffering?

What would the Oil Cartel's (also controlling the EU) do, when we have oil rich nations defending their sovereignty by refusing the west controlling there resources?

[Big Bad Sven]

I will bet Putin will never allow this to go foward China too

Russia and China will do f_ck all.

Russia did nothing during the kosovo war. It didnt do anything about Libya just bitched on TV.

In regards to the possible upcoming Iranian war, its good to see the propaganda machine work over time about the Iranians. Realistically the majority of Iranians are very pro western and not the anti western fundamental lunatics they are made out to be. And also jews live very well in Iran...

And one last thing, when was the last time Iran or even the persian empire started a war with any other country? I rest my case

[Onur]

Russia and China will do f_ck all.

Maybe they can indirectly support Syria when NATO intervention begins but if/when NATO attacks Iran i am quite sure that Russia&China will directly involve in to the mess because otherwise, they can kiss goodbye to their dreams of becoming world powerhouse. Thats why lots off people are saying that attacking Iran starts WW-3.

Gerald Celente on War with Iran - 'Beginning of WW3' (2-Nov-11)(GLOBAL POLITICS series) - YouTube

And one last thing, when was the last time Iran or even the persian empire started a war with any other country?

Thats a good question. They did war with Iraq in 1980s but Saddam attacked Iran in first place. Guess who supported Saddam to do that? Ofc it was the USA and the west who provided him all sorts of military equipment including chemical weapons [later used upon kurds, which became the "OMG Saddam is evil, lets overthrow him" factor, while it was OK to use it upon Iranians during the 80s!!!] and all the money. Iran fought with US-backed Saddam for 8-9 years, lost more than million men but didn't even loose one inch of land to Iraq.

[Zarni]

As Onur said Russia and China better do something because they will hen be encirled a US attack on Moscow or its satelite States becomes a closer reality. China also is in the pipe dream of the American War folk they would love to strike China too

The American Empire is not going to loose its status easily that is dam for sure

[Onur]

The latest intelligence provided to UN nuclear officials, due for publication on Wednesday and obtained by the US based newspaper, Washington Post. According to the report, Iran will fully have nuclear weapon capability in few months and it claims that Russian, north Korean and Pakistani scientists helped Iranians to achieve their nuclear goal. I think this will create major problems between these countries and the western world.

Btw, Russia and China officers warns that any attack to Iran will have grave consequences for the world;

Russia and China warn America against Iran strike as tensions rise ahead of damning atomic agency report
Russia and China have expressed growing concern about a possible American military strike against Iran over its nuclear programme.

And this week the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is to publish a damning report with 'compelling evidence' that Iran is secretly building an arsenal of nuclear warheads.

Fresh details suggest that Iran could even be 'nuclear ready' within months.

And laying bare the disturbing extent of the country’s atomic weapons programme will increase calls in the United States for pre-emptive action against the Islamic state.

And that plays into the hands of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is said to be pushing for an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

However, Iran has threatened to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, severing 40 per cent of the world’s oil supplies.

Russia's foreign minister today became the latest critic of any proposed action against Iran warning it would be 'a very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences.'

China has also expressed concern about a military strike against Iran, but has also urged Tehran not to be confrontational with the IAEA.

Moscow and Beijing have signaled concern that the report will box Iran into a corner and dim any chance of diplomacy resolving the dispute, which has the potential to spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.

'The Russians in particular have been lobbying quite intensively,' one senior Western diplomat said.

Meanwhile former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has weighed in to slam Iran saying the U.S. should consider even tougher penalties against the Iranian government and 'be doing everything we can to bring it down.'

Rice told ABC's This Week that the U.S. should never take the option of military force off the table when it comes to dealing with Iran.

The current Iranian government is trying to obtain a nuclear weapon and has repressed its own people, she said.

'The regime has absolutely no legitimacy left,' she added.

Israeli President Shimon Peres has also expressed a determination to launch a military strike against Iran.

'The possibility of a military attack against Iran is now closer to being applied than the application of a diplomatic option,' he said over the weekend.

'I estimate that intelligence services of all these countries are looking at the ticking clock, warning leaders that there was not much time left,' he added.

Republican candidate Rick Perry, last week came out to back an Israeli air strike on Iran.

The Texas Governor said he would support Israel on the matter if there is proof Tehran is moving closer to having a nuclear weapon.

The news comes as a former Soviet weapons expert and scientists in Pakistan and North Korea are all believed to have aided Iran in its nuclear quest, according to the United Nations.

The latest intelligence provided to UN nuclear officials, due for publication on Wednesday and obtained by the Washington Post, suggests former Soviet weapons scientist Vyacheslav Danilenko allegedly taught Iranians how to build high-precision detonators that could trigger a chain reaction during the mid 1990s.'

But it makes clear the Iranians want to be able to build such weapons quickly if need be.

And thanks to outside help, the Iranians are now on 'the threshold' of making a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on top of a ballistic missile, says the study.

One key technical breakthrough, say the IAEA’s intelligence sources, is that Iran has learnt how to design a device known as an R265 generator.

It added there was also evidence to suggest other precision technology linked to experts in Pakistan and North Korea had helped advance Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Iranian officials appear unconcerned.

Iran’s foreign minister and former nuclear official, Ali Akbar Salehi, told the Mehr News Agency: 'Let them publish and see what happens,' adding that the uproar over the country's nuclear programme was '100 per cent political' and that the IAEA is 'under pressure from foreign powers.'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday the U.S. feared Iran's growing military power because it is now able to compete with Israel and the West.

'Yes, we have military capabilities that are different from any other country in the region,' he said. 'Iran is increasing in capability and advancement and therefore we are able to compete with Israel and the West and especially the United States.'

'The U.S. fears Iran's capability. Iran will not permit (anyone from making) a move against it.'

Earlier this week, it was revealed Britain was drawing up contingency plans for any military action.

Commanders were working out how to deploy Navy submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles in case President Barack Obama decides to launch missile strikes against Iranian bases.
7th November 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ions-rise.html

Iran has one of the most advanced missile technology in the world. They managed to manufacture 1000s of missiles which can destroy any target within 2000km range with less than one meter failure rate and guided missiles which can hit moving targets like warships by using remote control with their spy satellites. As the article says, if Iran manages to attach nuclear warheads to these missiles, then they will have capability of destroying any US military base or their satellite countries in whole middle-east. Iran also have technology to fire these missiles from their warships. So, they can even hit US territory too.

Thats why US and Israel is scared that much.

[Zarni]

Yes I had no doubt China and Russia will not stand for an attack on Iran

Onur I would like to know did Russia ever deliver the TOPOL to Iran or did Iran design its own indigenous TOPOL variant

[Zarni]

http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/11/03/israels-big-bluff/

Israel’s Big Bluff

How we'll go to war with Iran
by Justin Raimondo, November 04, 2011

[Onur]

AFAIK, Iran, Russia, China and north Korea works together for creating new missile technologies but this is happening for 20+ years, it`s not a recent development. Pakistan and Russia might have helped Iran for nuclear technology but i think Iranians are self-capable of creating missile technology for themselves despite decades of embargoes from the western world.


Zarni, i just read the article you posted. It`s so true. Israel doesn't have the capability to deal with Iran alone. They are just trying to create psychological situation to persuade all the western world to attack Iran. On the other hand, i believe Iran have the capability of destroy whole Israel in matter of few weeks if they left alone. The other US satellite Arab states wouldn't take more than a week to destroy for Iran because they have many pro- Iran Shiite elements outside Iran mainland, like in Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon etc., military groups like Hezbollah in whole middle-east and more. For example, %70-75 of Iraqis are Shiites. They deeply hate US and their puppets in there. They can start riot in Iraq if Iranian state wishes so.