Who is Netanyahu's rhetoric aimed at? Iran - no, they already know that Israel will take preemptive action if they deemed it in Israels interest. The US maybe, to stiffen The US resolve against Iran. An Israeli audience, quite possibly, most Israeli governments are coalitions, and usually fragile ones to boot; Netanyahu needs to be seen a leader. Also there is a small matter of Lebanon to the North, where Iran and Israel have thier stooges. Read Roberts Fisk's columns in The Independent ( of the UK ) he is coruscating in his denunciation of Iran and Israel, in thier actions in that benighted country, and he should know he resides in Beirut. David
IRAN-Deja vu all over again?
by JWdaughter 318 Replies latest social current
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leavingwt
Iran Fortifies Its Arsenal With the Aid of North Korea
Secret American intelligence assessments have concluded that Iran has obtained a cache of advanced missiles, based on a Russian design, that are much more powerful than anything Washington has publicly conceded that Tehran has in its arsenal, diplomatic cables show.
Iran obtained 19 of the missiles from North Korea , according to a cable dated Feb. 24 of this year. The cable is a detailed, highly classified account of a meeting between top Russian officials and an American delegation led by Vann H. Van Diepen, an official with the State Department’s nonproliferation division who, as a national intelligence officer several years ago, played a crucial role in the 2007 assessment of Iran’s nuclear capacity.
The missiles could for the first time give Iran the capacity to strike at capitals in Western Europe or easily reach Moscow, and American officials warned that their advanced propulsion could speed Iran’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
There has been scattered but persistent speculation on the topic since 2006, when fragmentary reports surfaced that North Korea might have sold Iran missiles based on a Russian design called the R-27, once used aboard Soviet submarines to carry nuclear warheads. In the unclassified world, many arms control experts concluded that isolated components made their way to Iran, but there has been little support for the idea that complete missiles, with their huge thrusters, had been secretly shipped.
The Feb. 24 cable, which is among those obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to a number of news organizations, makes it clear that American intelligence agencies believe that the complete shipment indeed took place, and that Iran is taking pains to master the technology in an attempt to build a new generation of missiles. The missile intelligence also suggests far deeper military — and perhaps nuclear — cooperation between North Korea and Iran than was previously known. At the request of the Obama administration, The New York Times has agreed not to publish the text of the cable.
The North Korean version of the advanced missile, known as the BM-25, could carry a nuclear warhead. Many experts say that Iran remains some distance from obtaining a nuclear warhead, especially one small enough to fit atop a missile, though they believe that it has worked hard to do so.
Still, the BM-25 would be a significant step up for Iran.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/world/middleeast/29missiles.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
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leavingwt
Saudi Arabia Urges US Attack on Iran to Stop Nuclear Programme
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has repeatedly urged the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear programme, according to leaked US diplomatic cables that describe how other Arab allies have secretly agitated for military action against Tehran.
The revelations, in secret memos from US embassies across the Middle East, expose behind-the-scenes pressures in the scramble to contain the Islamic Republic, which the US, Arab states and Israel suspect is close to acquiring nuclear weapons. Bombing Iranian nuclear facilities has hitherto been viewed as a desperate last resort that could ignite a far wider war.
The Saudi king was recorded as having "frequently exhorted the US to attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear weapons programme", one cable stated. "He told you [Americans] to cut off the head of the snake," the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir said, according to a report on Abdullah's meeting with the US general David Petraeus in April 2008.
The cables also highlight Israel's anxiety to preserve its regional nuclear monopoly, its readiness to go it alone against Iran – and its unstinting attempts to influence American policy. The defence minister, Ehud Barak, estimated in June 2009 that there was a window of "between six and 18 months from now in which stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons might still be viable". After that, Barak said, "any military solution would result in unacceptable collateral damage."
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cables-saudis-iran
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leavingwt
Iran to be 'held accountable' for assassination plot, says Joe Biden
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leavingwt
UK military steps up plans for Iran attack amid fresh nuclear fears
Britain's armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme, the Guardian has learned.
The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government.
In anticipation of a potential attack, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.
They also believe the US would ask permission to launch attacks from Diego Garcia, the British Indian ocean territory, which the Americans have used previously for conflicts in the Middle East.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/02/uk-military-iran-attack-nuclear
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botchtowersociety
We've had false alarms for a decade. Same thing will happen here. The only nation that might act is Israel, and even then, I don't see how they could pull it off alone.
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leavingwt
Shimon Peres says attack on Iran "more and more likely"
Israeli President Shimon Peres has warned that an attack on Iran was "more and more likely," days before a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Iran's nuclear programme.
He told Israeli private television's second channel: "The intelligence services of the different countries that are keeping an eye on (Iran) are worried and putting pressure on their leaders to warn that Iran is ready to obtain the nuclear weapon."
"We must turn to these countries to ensure that they keep their commitments ... this must be done, and there is a long list of options," Peres declared.. . .
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thetrueone
LeavingWT, politicians talk from the corner of their mouths to establish or make a statement they deem important to their
own political concerns, that doesn't make their statements truthful or even factual to reality of matters.
The only way this could even possibly come true is if Iran actual developed their own NUKES and there is solid actual proof
on the table. The hatred and feuding thats been going on between those two countries has been going on now
for a long time now, as a result BS comes out both of their mouths .
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designs
Iran's cruise missile's range: 1000 km, distance to Saudia Arabia 600Km.