S-300 MISSILES ADDED TO NUCLEAR SITE DEFENSES

"... (Iran) just signed a contract for the supply of another Russian anti-air weapon, the highly sophisticated S-300, rated the most effective killer of ballistic missiles on the market... Moscow has designed the multi-layer air defense system to make Iran proof against Israel’s AirAir ForceForce and the ballistic missiles in its armory... While TOR-M1 can locate and destroy moving targets at low altitudes, the S-300 system uniquely zaps high-flying, medium-range ballistic missiles of the type which is the backbone of Israel’s surface missile units at a distance of 1-40 km. Together, they lend Iran air superiority over any missiles and aircraft. Another of S-300’s significant features is its advanced guidance method which relies on a single phased array radar to trace missiles in the air. This reduces its deployment time to five minutes; secondly, the missiles are sealed rounds and require no maintenance over their lifetime..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), December 26, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

TOR-1 MISSILE BATTERIES INSTALLED AT NUCLEAR SITES

"The head of the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation announced the imminent installment of sophisticated Russian TOR-M1 missile batteries at Iran’s nuclear installations... the multi-functional, multiple layer hardware substantially upgrades the shield protecting Iran’s banned uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Isfahan, as well as Bushehr, from many types or air and missile attack.
The TOR-M1 is designed to intercept “stealth” aircraft, helicopters and drones as well as laser-guided precision bombs, rockets and cruise missiles... it can destroy any of these incoming objects 12 km before they make contact with target.... Its 3D pulse Doppler electronic beam feeds data on 48 targets simultaneously to the system’s firing computers, selecting the ten most dangerous and responding in 5-8 seconds..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), December 25, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

THREE U.S. CARRIER STRIKE GROUPS AND TWO MARINE CARRIERS OFF IRAN

"... in recent months, the USS Enterprise was the only US nuclear carrier cruising Gulf waters with its strike force. On Nov. 5, a second nuclear carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman set out quietly from its Norfolk base for the Gulf with 7,500 sailors and marines aboard the carrier and its strike force. It will be followed by the USS Nimitz. All three carrier groups are escorted by fast nuclear submarines, cruisers and missile destroyers... (also present are) the two US Marine carriers the USS Wasp and the USS Kearsage, with thousands of marines and landing craft on their decks...."
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1314

CHENEY UNABLE TO STIFLE DISSENTING N.I.E. ON IRAN
(But key findings will be kept secret from public)

"A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran has been held up for more than a year in an effort to force the intelligence community to remove dissenting judgments on the Iranian nuclear programme, and thus make the document more supportive of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's militarily aggressive policy toward Iran... The White House wants a document that it can use as evidence for its Iran policy... (but) some analysts have refused to go along... The White House has now apparently decided to release the unsatisfactory draft NIE, but without making its key findings public..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39978

ARAB STATES OFFER IRAN A NUCLEAR COMPROMISE

"Gulf Arab states is reported to have proposed providing enriched uranium to Iran via a multinational consortium... the six states of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - would develop a uranium enrichment plant in a state outside the Mideast... (to) provide nuclear fuel... for all users of enriched uranium in the Middle East..."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A415ACD4-2E69-49AF-8E06-49FCAFB2780A.htm

48-HOUR ATTACK WOULD LET IRANIANS TAKE COUNTRY BACK

"... The air campaign will be easy,” says retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, a FOX pundit who was a rabid advocate of shock and awe over Iraq. “Ahmadinejad has nothing in Iran that we can’t penetrate,” he adds, and several hundred aircraft, including stealth bombers, will be enough to do the trick: “Forty-eight hours duration, hitting 2,500 aim points to take out their nuclear facilities, their air defense facilities, their air force, their navy, their Shahab-3 retaliatory missiles, and finally their command and control. And then let the Iranian people take their country back.”
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/31/4914/

JUST SAY GO TO BOMBING IRAN

"... A senior foreign policy adviser to the Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, has urged that Iran be bombed using cruise missiles and "bunker busters" to set back Teheran’s nuclear programme by at least five years... Norman Podhoretz, one of the founders of neoconservatism, also imparted his stark advice personally to a receptive President George W. Bush...

"We’ve got three carriers in the region and a lot of submarines," Mr Podhoretz said."I would say it would take five minutes. You’d wake up one morning and the strikes would have been ordered and carried out during the night. All the president has to do is say go."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=ABJE3WKV1UZZZQFIQMFCFF4AVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/10/27/wbomb127.xml

U.S. KNOWS THAT IRANIANS ARE NOT FURNISHING EFPs

"When the U.S. military command accused the Iranian Quds Force... of providing the armour-piercing EFPs (explosively formed penetrators) that were killing U.S. troops, it knew that Iraqi machine shops had been producing their own EFPs for years... (and) the U.S. command had considerable evidence that the Mahdi army had gotten the technology and the training on how to use it from Hezbollah rather than Iran..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39810

IRAN ARMS TO TALIBAN?

"The United States has "irrefutable evidence" that Tehran is transferring arms to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, a top U.S. diplomat told CNN..."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/iran.taliban/index.html

"(Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta said) "Iran is our neighbor, is our friend and Iran has had major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The government of Afghanistan has no documents (to show) that Iran's government is involved in the shipment of arms."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071019/ts_nm/afghan_iran_dc

EFFECT OF NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN

"... The new sanctions package includes US financial penalties for any world firms trading with the Revolutionary Guards. They would apply to more than 1,000 companies in Europe, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and Asia.... the new sanctions will have a crippling effect on its national economy... already hard hit by Washington’s systematic blockage of Iran’s dealings with international banks, which has left Tehran seriously short of cash flow, foreign currency and basic commodities....

"Iran very recently sent Indonesia an “emergency appeal” for gasoline and heavy oil, because it has run out of currency to pay for imported refined oil products....

"Iranian sources recall that the Islamic regime announced in advance that approval of these (sanctions) would be deemed tantamount to an American declaration of war on Iran and call forth retaliation. Tehran would target US interests in the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan or Israel by means of Special Groups, i.e. Iran’s foreign intelligence networks, Hizballah or Hamas... that these reprisals may be delayed some days because of a profound power struggle taking place in Iran’s leadership. However... Tehran cannot afford to let Washington’s accusations go unanswered."

--DEBKAfile (Israel), October 25, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

NEW U.S. SANCTIONS ON IRAN

"The Bush administration announced... new sanctions against Iran... accusing the elite Quds division of the Revolutionary Guard Corps of supporting terrorism.... The immediate legal consequence... will make it unlawful for anyone subject to United States jurisdiction to knowingly provide material support or resources to it... Any United States financial institution that becomes aware that it possesses, or has control over, funds of a foreign terrorist organization would have to turn them over to the Treasury Department... the larger point of the designation would be to... persuade foreign governments and financial institutions to cut ties with Iranian businesses and individuals. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/world/middleeast/25cnd-iran.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

ISLAMO-FASCISM AWARENESS WEEK TO OPPOSE LIES OF LEFT

"... October 22-26, 2007... will be... Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week... to confront the two Big Lies of the political left: that George Bush created the war on terror and that Global Warming is a greater danger to Americans than the terrorist threat.... Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is a national effort to oppose these lies..."
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/islamo-fascism-awareness-week/

IRAN PREPARES FOR U.S. ATTACK

"Iran has opened a new air base, unveiled new domestically produced military hardware...
* ... a new, medium-range ballistic missile... the Qadr-1 is capable of striking Israel, southern Europe and US bases in the Middle East.
* ... a domestically manufactured fighter jet... the Saeqeh (Thunderbolt), is ... similar to the US F-18 fighter jet.... they have begun industrial-scale production of the Saeqeh.
* ... a production line for the manufacture of a one-ton smart bomb called the Qadr... an optically guided, air-to-surface, long-range bomb.
* ... opened a new air base near its eastern border with Afghanistan... named Qa'em Al-e Muhammad...
* ... (also) received a US$750 million shipment of 29 Tor-M1 short-range, mobile surface-to-air missile systems from Russia to help guard nuclear facilities."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IJ24Ak05.html

KURD TERRORISTS AGAINST IRAN ARE NOT CALLED TERRORISTS

"... The guerrillas from the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan, or P.J.A.K., have been waging a deadly insurgency in Iran and they are an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K., the Kurdish guerrillas who fight Turkey....Americans classify the P.K.K. as a terrorist group because it is fighting Turkey, an important American ally, while the P.J.A.K. is not labeled as such because it is fighting Iran.
In fact, the two groups appear to a large extent to be one and the same, and share the same goal: fighting campaigns to win new autonomy and rights for Kurds in Iran and Turkey. They share leadership, logistics and allegiance..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/world/middleeast/23kurds.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

"... The label of the word terrorist is so devoid of meaning now, it's hypocritical... First we find groups around the world we don't like, then we find ways to label them as terrorists"... (refering to) the U.S.'s double-standard with regard to two Kurdish separatist groups that, on either side of Iraq's borders, attack Turkish and Iranian troops. "One [the Kurdish Workers Party] is a terrorist, the other [Party for Free Life in Kurdistan] receives support from us."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39861

IRAN READY TO RETALIATE AGAINST ATTACK

"... Ahmadinejad has laid down the gauntlet... He sent the Revolutionary Guards missile and artillery commander, Gen. Mahmoud Chaharbaghshe, to warn that, in the first minute of an attack on Iran, the Islamic Republic would fire 11,000 missiles and mortars against enemy (US and Israeli) bases. The scale of ordnance threatened implied Tehran’s certainty that Syria, Hizballah, Hamas and the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq would join the assault... the president’s venture into brinkmanship points to his confidence that neither the US not Israel can or will dare to strike at Iran’s clandestine nuclear facilities..."
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1308

U.S. MILITARY PREVENTING BUSH ATTACK ON IRAN
Trying to put administration "crazies back in the box"

"... the uniformed military leaders rejected a strike against Iran's nuclear programme.... Bush had asked the Joint Chiefs at the meeting about a possible strike against the Iranian nuclear programme, and that they had unanimously opposed such an attack... the Joint Chiefs had expressed opposition to a strike against Iran... (and) were soon joined in opposition to a strike on Iran by Admiral William Fallon... Fallon made his opposition to war against Iran clear to the White House... Fallon had indicated privately that he was determined to prevent an attack on Iran and even prepared to resign to do so.... vowing that there would be "no war with Iran" while he was CENTCOM commander and as hinting very strongly that he would quit rather than go along with an attack.... Fallon's opposition to a strike against Iranian nuclear, military and economic targets would make it very difficult, if not impossible for the White House to carry out such an operation..."

"There are several of us who are trying to put the crazies back in the box."
--Admiral William Fallon, Commander, US Central Command

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39716

AFGHANISTAN DENIES U.S. ACCUSATIONS AGAINST IRAN

"U.S. leaders have accused Iran of supplying weapons to Taliban insurgents... (but) Tehran strongly denies the charge... (and) Afghanistan said... it had no evidence the government of Iran was behind a shipment of weapons to Taliban insurgents...."

"(Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta said) "Iran is our neighbor, is our friend and Iran has had major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The government of Afghanistan has no documents (to show) that Iran's government is involved in the shipment of arms."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071019/ts_nm/afghan_iran_dc

SYRIA MOBILIZES DEFENSES FOR U.S. ATTACK ON IRAN

"... Syria placed its civil defense services on a state of preparedness and mobilized their reservists. Government and military hospitals across Syria have also been alerted... Syrian president Bashar Assad told the Tunisian daily Al-Shorouk Thursday: I am working on the premise that the Americans will attack Iran.”
--DEBKAfile (Israel), October 12, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

IRANIAN AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM VULNERABLE TO U.S.

"... from the way Damascus described the episode... the electronic systems and radar of the Pantsyr-S1 air defense missiles were a letdown because they failed to down the intruders and therefore leave Syria and Iranian airspace vulnerable to hostile intrusion. Such information on the Russian weapons systems sold to Syria and Iran is essential to any US calculations of whether to attack Iran."
--DEBKAfile (Isael), October 11, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

BUSH VIOLATING NUCLEAR TREATY

"... The Bush administration must stop violating a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty-related commitment by holding out the option of a nuclear attack on Iran and other countries not possessing nuclear weapons..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39421

BUSH FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER HATES IRANIANS


"... "I hate all Iranians."
--Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates

"Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America's stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush's senior women officials: "I hate all Iranians"... (an) MP said: "I formed the impression that some in America are looking for an excuse to attack Iran. It was very alarming."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=484762&in_page_id=1770

SENATE AMENDMENT FOR WAR AGAINST IRAN DRAFTED BY AIPAC

"... the first call for cross-border attacks on Iranian targets was made by the Senate's "independent" Democrat, Joseph Lieberman, who is regarded as particularly close to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Indeed, it was Lieberman and Republican Senator John Kyl... who co-sponsored the Senate amendment... which according to several Capitol Hill sources was drafted by AIPAC... deploying language that some senators argued could be interpreted as authorizing war against Iran..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/II29Ak01.html

PETRAEUS'S COMMANDING OFFICER IS AGAINST IRAN WAR

"... hawks... have pressed their campaign for cross-border military action against Iran in the opinion pages of such neo-conservative publications as The Weekly Standard, The National Review, and the Wall Street Journal. Their calls for action became so intense that the commander of the US Central Command and Petraeus's superior, Admiral William Fallon... complained publicly that "this constant drumbeat of conflict is ... not helpful and not useful. It is not a good idea to be in a state of war. We ought to try to do our utmost to create different conditions," he told Al-Jazeera..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/II29Ak01.html

IRAN LABELS CIA AS TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

"Iran's parliament... approved a nonbinding resolution labeling the CIA and the U.S. Army "terrorist organizations"... (for) using depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, supporting the killings of Palestinians by Israel, bombing and killing Iraqi civilians, and torturing terror suspects in prisons... (This was) in apparent response to a Senate resolution seeking to give a similar designation to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070929/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_us

SYRIAN AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM TESTED BY ISRAEL AND FAILED

"... the Pantsyr-S1E missiles, purchased from Russia to repel air assailants, failed to down the Israeli jets accused of penetrating northern Syrian airspace... The new Pantsyr missiles therefore leave Syrian and Iranian airspace vulnerable to hostile intrusion... information on Russian missile consignments to Syria or Iran is vital to any US calculation of whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program... (the Israeli intrusion showed) that the “absolute jamming immunity” which the Russian manufactures promised for the improved Pantsyr missiles was immobilized by superior electronic capabilities exercised by the jets before they were “forced to leave...”
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1301

NEW RUSSIAN AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM IN IRAN AND SYRIA

"... Pantsir-S1 or Panzir (“Shell" in English) is a short-range, mobile air defense system, combining two 30mm anti-aircraft guns and 12 surface-to-air missiles which can fire on the move. It can simultaneously engage two separate targets at 12 targets per minute, ranging from fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, ballistic and cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions and unmanned air vehicles. It can also engage light-armored ground targets.

"The Pantsyr S1 short-range air defense system is designed to provide point defense of key military and industrial facilities and air defense support for military units during air and ground operations.

"The integrated missile and gun armament creates an uninterrupted engagement zone of 18 to 20 km in range and of up to 10 km in altitude. Immunity to jamming is promised via a common multimode and multi-spectral radar and optical control system. The combined missile and artillery capability makes the Russian system the most advanced air defense system in the world. Syria and Iran believe it provides the best possible protection against American or Israeli air and missile attack...."

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1301

SENATE VOTES FOR WAR AGAINST IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH, CALLS IRANIAN ARMY TERRORISTS

"... the Senate passed the Kyl-Lieberman amendment in support of military actions against Iran... the language (said)... "that it should be the policy of the United States to stop inside Iraq the violent activities and destabilizing influence of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its foreign facilitators such as Lebanese Hezbollah, and its indigenous Iraqi proxies."

"... The inclusion of Hezbollah... is part of a larger attempt... to manufacture an "amalgam" of all the enemies of Israel and the United States throughout the region, and to treat them all as one enemy... (meaning that) many more wars by the United States and Israel are needed to crush this enemy.

"... a secondary detail of the amendment... approves the listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard of Iran as a "foreign terrorist organization." ... the Islamic Revolutionary Guard is the largest branch of the Iranian military (so)... the Senate has classified the army of Iran as an army of terrorists..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bromwich/hillary-clinton-votes-for_b_66174.html

KURDS PROTEST U.S. ARREST OF IRANIAN

"U.S. troops arrested an Iranian man... and accused him of helping to smuggle a deadly type of roadside bomb into Iraq... The U.S.... allege that he is an officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp's elite Quds force... (and) had trained foreign fighters in Iraq and provided them with roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs..."

"But the Kurdistan Regional Government in a statement called the arrest "illegitimate," said the man was a member of a trade delegation that had been invited to Sulaimaniyah by the local government and demanded that he be released... The Kurdish Regional Government said the man was Aghai Farhadi, a member of an economic and commercial delegation from the Iranian governorate of Karmanshah, which borders Iraq's Sulaimaniyah and Diyala provinces. Hassan Baqi, the head of the Sulaimaniyah chamber of commerce, said Farhadi had been in Sulaimaniyah for a week for discussions on opening a border crossing near Panjween,68 miles east of Sulaimaniyah, and other trade-related issues..."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/19856.html

IRANIAN COCKROACHES

"... a cartoon published on the editorial page of the Columbus Dispatch on Sep. 4 has created a furor amongst Iranians worldwide. The cartoon by staff member Michael Ramirez portrayed Iran as a sewer with the word "extremism" on its lid. Cockroaches are shown spreading out across the region and infecting Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan with "extremism".... Ramirez is... well-known for a series of provocative cartoons defending the George W. Bush administration and its "war on terror".

"Comparing people to cockroaches happened during the Nazi era and before the Holocaust in Germany. A similar pattern happened in Rwanda before the genocide in 1994 -- a comparison between Tutsis and cockroaches.When you dehumanise a group of people, then you can nuke them, you can kill them, you can destroy them, and unfortunately that process is moving forward."
--Ali Sheikholeslami, executive director of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Northern California

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39305

AMERICAN MISCALCULATION ABOUT SHI'ITES, IRAQ AND IRAN

"... The scale of the American miscalculation is striking. Before the Iraq war began, its neoconservative architects argued that conferring power on Iraq’s Shiites would serve to undermine Iran because Iraq’s Shiites, controlling the faith’s two holiest cities, would, in the words of then Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, be “an independent source of authority for the Shia religion emerging in a country that is democratic and pro-Western.” Further, they argued, Iran could never dominate Iraq, because the Iraqi Shiites are Arabs and the Iranian Shiites Persian. It was a theory that, unfortunately, had no connection to reality..."
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/19/3934/

DRIFT INTO WAR OUT OF CONTROL

"The UN's chief nuclear weapons inspector yesterday warned against the use of force against Iran, in... an attempt to halt an "out of control" drift to war..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2171631,00.html

BUSH ESCALATING A SHOWDOWN WITH IRAN - RICE ONBOARD

"American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran... Pentagon and CIA officers say they believe that the White House has begun a carefully calibrated programme of escalation that could lead to a military showdown with Iran.... Now it has emerged that Condoleezza Rice... who has been pushing for a diplomatic solution, is prepared to settle her differences with Vice-President Dick Cheney and sanction military action..."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=IR2IGI14NAYLLQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/09/16/wiran116.xml

MAIN NUCLEAR TARGETS

"... neo-conservatives... are plugging... the destruction of no less than 1,200 Iranian military/nuclear targets in a mere three days... The to-be-destroyed list certainly includes the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant; the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz; a heavy-water and radioisotope plant in Arak; the nuclear fuel unit in Ardekan; the uranium conversion and nuclear technology center in Isfahan; the Tehran Nuclear Research Center; the Tehran molybdenum, iodine and xenon radioisotope production plant; and the Tehran Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Laboratories. No one of course is talking about "collateral damage", or the fact that hundreds of Russian experts may be obliterated in Bushehr... or the fact that hundreds of thousands of civilian residents of fabled Isfahan may become victims of radiation provoked by US mini-nukes..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/II07Ak05.html

IRAN TAKES PALESTINIAN PEACE INITIATIVE

"Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will receive the heads of 10 Palestinian factions in Tehran, among them Hamas’ Khaled Meshaal, Jihad Islami’s Abdullah Shelah and, most important of all, Fatah’s radical politburo chief Farouk Kadoumi... this will be the first time Hamas and Fatah representatives sit down at the same table since the former grabbed the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority three months ago. It will also be a feather in Iran’s cap."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), September 5, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

BRITISH WITHDRAWAL LESSENS U.S. MILITARY OPTION

"... analysts in Tehran are able to hide their rather euphoric reaction to the news of the British withdrawal from Basra... A US military option against Iran is now even less likely in light of the power vacuum in southern Iraq that, if need be, could be utilized by Tehran to undermine the stability of the US's presence in the rest of Iraq..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/II05Ak04.html

BRITISH WITHDRAW FROM BASRA INTO AIRBASE

"British soldiers began withdrawing... 550 soldiers stationed in Basra Palace were leaving the downtown site to join 5,000 other personnel at an air base camp on the fringes of the city — ending their permanent presence in Iraq's second largest city.... the palace compound (had been) targeted with daily mortar and rocker attack in recent months.."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070902/ap_on_re_mi_ea/britain_iraq

IRAN'S URANIUM ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

* 2003: Enrichment programme that had been hidden for 18 years is uncovered by IAEA.
* Feb 2006: Iran reported to Security Council.
* 5 Feb 2007: Diplomats confirm Iranian claims to have set up more than 300 centrifuges in two cascades.
* 9 April: Iran claims to be enriching uranium on an "industrial scale". IAEA and Russian officials are sceptical.
* 19 April: IAEA document confirms that Iran running more than 1,300 centrifuges in eight cascades.
* 2 September: Iran claims to have 3,000 centrifuges running.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4031603.stm

ALL TARGETS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED

"... DailyKos... relays a phone conversation with a Navy Landing Signal Officer on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf: She told me we are going to attack Iran. She said that all the Air Operation Planning and Asset Tasking are finished. That means that all the targets have been chosen, prioritized, and tasked to specific aircraft, bases, carriers, missile cruisers and so forth..."
http://icga.blogspot.com/2007/09/rollout-to-war-with-iran-update.html

U.S. PLANS 3-DAY BLITZ ATTACK ON IRAN

"The Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive airstrikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days... US military planners were not preparing for “pinprick strikes” against Iran’s nuclear facilities... They’re about taking out the entire Iranian military..."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece

U.S. HARASSMENT OF IRANIANS IN IRAQ ESCALATES TENSION

"Members of an Iranian Energy Ministry delegation visiting Baghdad at the invitation of the Iraqi government were released Wednesday, a day after being arrested at their hotel by American troops and led away in handcuffs and blindfolds... The (US) said the latest group was detained after American troops confiscated an AK-47 rifle and two 9-millimeter pistols from the group’s Iraqi guards, who “had identification but no weapons permits and also had Iranian money... (also) confiscated a laptop computer, cellphones, and a briefcase full of Iranian and U.S. money... Iraqi and Iranian officials said the Iranians were in Baghdad to help resolve Iraq’s power crisis...."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/world/middleeast/29cnd-iraq.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

"... A media adviser to the Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq told Reuters news agency that the group was in Baghdad at the invitation of Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity to help build a power station in the Shiite city of Najaf... A manager at the hotel where the Iranians were staying said: “I told [the US soldiers] that the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity had invited them, that they were guests of the ministry and that we had a letter from the ministry confirming this.”
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/01/3559/

IAEA REPORT: U.S. NUCLEAR SUSPICIONS BASELESS

"Iran's uranium enrichment program is operating well below capacity and is far from producing nuclear fuel in significant amounts... the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report showed U.S. suspicions about Tehran's nuclear intentions were baseless..."
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-08-30T140657Z_01_BLA046366_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAN-NUCLEAR.xml

ADMINISTRATION TO START PR CAMPAIGN FOR IRAN WAR

"... someone in one of the leading neo-conservative institutions... summarized what he was told this way: They have "instructions" from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox (News)... It will be heavy sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained..."
--Juan Cole in Informed Comment,Thursday, August 30, 2007
http://www.juancole.com/2007/08/cheney-iran-here-we-go-again.html

SITE AGAINST PROMOTION OF AN IRAN WAR BY FOX NEWS

"... a bold effort to provide Americans with a different view of our policy toward Iran than the one Fox News keeps pushing on us. While Fox beats the drums for war, Robert Greenwald has produced documentary evidence that unmasks the 'coverage' for what it is: propaganda to get Americans ready for a Bush administration attack on yet another Middle Eastern nation..."
http://foxattacks.com/

FOX NEWS SETTING UP IRAN LIKE IT DID IRAQ

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1-eyuFBrWHs

U.S. MOVE TOWARD WAR

"The Bush administration has leaped toward war with Iran by... declaring war with the main branch of Iran's military, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which it plans to brand as a terrorist organization.... the stage is now set for direct physical clashes between Iran and the US... One plausible scenario is... "hot pursuit" of the IRGC inside Iranian territory... soliciting an Iranian response... potentially spiraling out of control..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IH18Ak04.html

IRAN TO HELP IRAQ
"Al-Maliki... had a warm meeting Wednesday evening with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, walking hand-in-hand with him into an ornate meeting room... Iranian support boosts al-Maliki amid Iraq's political turmoil... Iraqi and Iranian officials also sought to increase the already surging economic ties between the two oil-rich countries... Iran would build a power station in the Shiite Sadr City enclave and supply Iraq directly with electricity. Iran would also provide 363,000 tonnes of kerosene and liquid gas this year."
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2007/08/08/4401847-ap.html

NO EVIDENCE OF WEAPONS PROGRAM

"... the IAEA has found no evidence of a weapons programme after over 2,200 hours of snap inspections of Iranian nuclear plants..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2142921,00.html

IRAN BUYS LONG-RANGE FIGHTER BOMBERS

"Iran buys... from Russia... 250 Su-30MKM warplanes and 20 IL-78 MKI fuel tankers... Iran has stipulated delivery of the first aircraft before the end of 2007. The transaction, Russia’s largest arms deal in 30 years, will endow Iran with a long-range aerial assault capability. The Sukhoi can sustain a four-and-a-half hour raid at its maximum range of 3,000 km against long-distance, marine and low-lying ground targets across the Persian Gulf and Middle East, including Israel and Lebanon.
The fuel tankers extends the Su-30MKM’s assault sustainability to 10 hours and its range to 8,000 km at altitudes of 11-13 km. The closest comparable plane in the West is the American F-15E fighter bomber. Iran’s acquisition of an exceptionally large fleet of the Russian fighter-bomber will elevate its air force to one of the two largest and most advanced in the region, alongside the Israeli Air Force...Moscow is selling Tehran the same Sukhoi model as India received earlier this year... (and) began delivering the same craft in June to Malaysia..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), July 27, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

TO BE OFFSET BY...

"The United States is reported to be preparing a major arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth $20 billion... it would include missile guidance systems, upgraded fighter jets and naval ships... part of a strategy for countering Iran's growing strength..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6920458.stm

BUT...

"... the arms proposal to Saudi Arabia would face broad bipartisan opposition on the Hill. Despite the administration’s efforts to portray the Saudis as part of the moderate Arab world, members of Congress of both parties are increasingly skeptical..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), July 28, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

B-2 BOMBER GETS PENETRATOR BOMB FOR STRIKING NATANZ

"US Air Force B-2 Stealth bombers will soon be fitted with newly-developed 15-ton Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs... the gigantic new bunker-blaster is designed to hit fortified underground targets such as Iran’s uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz. It will be capable of drilling through many meters of earth or concrete. When it falls from a high altitude, the MOP – composed of 20% explosives, 80% hardened metal - will punch a hole in the toughest protective casing before exploding in depth. It is GPS guided."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), July 23, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

IRAN TO BE PART OF ENDLESS REGIME CHANGE TREADMILL

"... The U.S. isn't massing its naval might in the Persian Gulf for nothing, nor are the daily rhetorical broadsides aimed at Iran just boilerplate. Tehran has been the target from the beginning... It is just a matter of time before an incident on the Iran-Iraq border ignites the coming conflict. That's why the administration is desperately trying to buy time and put off congressional demands that we start withdrawing from Iraq. Meanwhile, they're busy ramping up the war of words with the Iranians... Once we're stuck in the Iranian quagmire, one can easily imagine the objections to a U.S. withdrawal: just re-run the arguments made by this administration and its supporters in regard to Iraq. At that point the American people may wake up and realize that we're on an endless treadmill of "regime change" and occupation..."
http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=11344

INTELLIGENCE GATHERING ON IRAN

"... the sheer breadth and depth of US intelligence activities in Islamic Iran are rarely acknowledged... hundreds (possibly thousands) of Iranian expatriates in western Europe, North America and the Middle East have been effectively recruited by the CIA (and other US intelligence agencies) without their knowledge.... these people are highly educated and often come from the very top of their professions; which ranges from medicine, engineering and the law to more politically oriented careers such as journalism and political and military analysis. The great majority of these people are apolitical,... (they are made to) feel like a "consultant" rather than an "informant" or "agent".... The relationships are handled by subcontractors, and the CIA only assumes direct control when the target is either beginning to produce intelligence-quality information... or has managed to secure access to people who can..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IG21Ak06.html

CHENEY PUSHES BUSH TO ATTACK IRAN

"Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran... Military solution back in favour as Rice loses out... Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo... No decision on military action is expected until next year... "
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2127115,00.html

EAST COAST ENTERPRISE STRIKE GROUP DEPLOYS FOR IRAN

"... The US aircraft carrier USS Enterprise will not rotate with any of the two carriers already present in the Middle East... the Enterprise... will in fact join the USS Stennis and USS Nimitz near the shores of Iran - not replace them... The carrier which departed Norfolk Monday is heading for a six-month Middle East tour of duty with its strike group of four warships: the guided missile destroyers Arleigh Burke, Stout, James E .Williams and Forrest Sherman, as well as three more ships – and 7,500 sailors in all aboard..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), July 12, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

WESTERN POWERS WILLINGNESS TO ATTACK IRAN
(Which report is "spin"?)

As reported in the conservative site Newsmax (http://www.newsmax.com):
"Israel 'Approved' to Strike Iran... Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs said he has received approval from the U.S. and Europe for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. "If we start military operations against Iran alone, then Europe and the U.S. will support us,” Avigdor Lieberman said following a meeting with NATO and European Union officials..."
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/7/13/100257.shtml

As reported in the Jewish news site JTA (http://www.jta.org):
"Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who visited NATO headquarters in Brussels two weeks ago, came away with the impression that Western powers are unwilling to resort to pre-emptive military strikes to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons... NATO leaders reportedly told Israel that it would have to stop Iran's nuclear program alone..."
http://www2.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/102935.html

AL QAEDA IN IRAQ THREATENS TO ATTACK IRAN

"The leader of an al-Qaida umbrella group in Iraq threatened to wage war against Iran unless it stops supporting Shiites in Iraq ..."
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/jul/09/na-al-qaida-group-in-iraq-threatens-iran-with-war/

THIRD CARRIER STRIKE GROUP HEADED INTO GULF

"The USS Enterprise CVN 65-Big E Strike Group will join the USS Stennis and the USS Nimitz carriers, building up the largest sea, air, marine concentration the United States has ever deployed opposite Iran... making good on the assurances of four carriers US Vice President Dick Cheney offered the Gulf and Middle East nations during his May tour... The “Big E” leads a strike group consisting of the guided-missile destroyers USS Arleigh Burke DDG 51, USS Stout DDG 55, Forrest Sherman DDG 98 and USS James E. Williams DDG 95, as well as the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg CG 64, the SS Philadelphia SSN 690 nuclear submarine and the USNS Supply ship AOE 6. On its decks are the Carrier Air Wing CVW 1, whose pilots fought combat missions in the Gulf and Arabian Sea during 2006. The Air Wing is made up of F/Q-18 Super Hornet strike craft, the Sidewinder Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-86, the 251st Marine Fighter Attack Squadron MFA, and the Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ 137. The 32nd Sea Control Squadron VS consists of S-3B Vikings. The Airborne Early Warning Squadron VAQ 3 flies E-2C Hawkeye craft. The Fleet Logistics Support Squadron VRC is based on C-2A Greyhounds.... Washington is considering deploying the fourth US carrier for the region in the Red Sea opposite Saudi Arabian western coast to secure the three US carriers in the Gulf from the rear as well as the Gulf of Aqaba and Suez Canal."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), June 21, 2007
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4334

ISRAELI AIR FORCE TRAINING FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE ON IRAN

"The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has been training on long-range flights, including refueling in mid-flight, in preparation for potential strikes against Iranian nuclear targets.... At the end of 2007 the US and Israel are expected to hold a joint assessment to ascertain the influence of economic sanctions against Iran..."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1182409614270&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

ADMINISTRATION AND NATO DISAGREE ON IRAN ARMS TO AFGHANISTAN

"... a State Department official publicly accused Iran for the first time of arming the Taliban forces last week, but the U.S. commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan rejected that charge for the second time in less than two weeks... Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns declared in Paris Jun. 12 that Iran was "transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan"... But the NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Dan McNeill... (said) that he did not agree with the charge...."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38244

DOGS OF WAR

"... Iran's puppies of war in Gaza and their counterparts in Lebanon are a mixed blessing for their sponsors in Tehran. In Western capitals, the case for military action of some kind against Iran has become far more compelling... The Hamas putsch in Gaza strengthens the position of American hawks who favor a military strike against Iran... Wars start because no one wants to disown his dog... Tehran may have Hamas and Hezbollah on a leash, but it is the master that is dragged forward now, rather than the dog dragged back... The logical result is continued escalation until America and Iran stand off in earnest..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IF19Ak03.html

AL QAEDA TO BLEED U.S. BY PROVOKING WAR WITH IRAN

"... Al Qaeda... has made the U.S. military occupation in Iraq its primary recruiting ground... (and is) today is a global operation — with a well-oiled propaganda machine based in Pakistan, a secondary but independent base in Iraq, and an expanding reach in Europe”... (Al Qaeda) would likely set up new operations in northern Lebanon and Gaza and eventually try to provoke “all-out war” between the U.S. and Iran as part of a “grand strategy” aimed at “bleeding” Washington in much the same way that U.S.-backed mujahadin and their Arab allies bled the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38202

U.S. SECDEF AND NATO COMMANDER ON IRANIAN ARMS TO TALIBAN

One media says this:
"... Mr Gates said he had seen recent intelligence which made it "pretty clear there's a fairly substantial flow of weapons" into Afghanistan... Mr Gates said it was difficult to believe the Iranian government was unaware... "Given the quantities that we're seeing, it is difficult to believe that it's associated with smuggling or the drug business or that it's taking place without the knowledge of the Iranian government..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6750785.stm

Another media says this:
"... Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Dan McNeil, issued unusually strong denials.. (to) a media campaign portraying Iran as supplying arms to the Taliban guerrillas fighting U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan... Both Gates and McNeill denied flatly last week that there is any evidence linking Iranian authorities to those arms..."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38121

RELIGIOUS AUTHOR SAYS IRAN MUST BE ATTACKED BEFORE END OF BUSH PRESIDENCY

"... Iran is the biggest threat to the United States and to peace in the Middle East, and it should be confronted militarily no later than the end of the George W. Bush presidency. Under no circumstances should U.S. troops be withdrawn from Iraq before the mission is accomplished -- the mission being the disarming of Iran. The U.S. public has been dumbed down by the secular left and the liberal media. And god has been removed from the public square in the U.S., resulting in Christians being systematically "stripped" of their rights... the recommendations in the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) report, issued in early December 2006, are a "call to appeasement -- just like Chamberlain's in the face of Nazi aggression in 1938."
--Mike Evans, author of "The Final Move Beyond Iraq: The Final Solution While The World Sleeps"
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38156

NEW ISRAELI SATELLITE TO GUIDE ROCKETS TO IRAN

"(With the) successful launch Monday of Ofeq-7 imaging satellite, Israel acquires an essential intelligence asset for any war contingency... (and) reflects wide expectations of a Middle East war this summer... the new platform fills the gap in the coverage of distant high-priority areas in the Middle East including Iran.... The military importance... as a deterrent to Iran’s missile threats cannot be overstated. It means that Israeli rockets can be relied on to reach any part of Iran..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), June 11, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

IRAN THREATENS GULF BLITZ IF U.S. ATTACKS

"Iran has threatened to launch a missile blitz against the Gulf states and plunge the entire Middle East into war if America attacks its nuclear facilities.... Gulf states providing the US with military cooperation would be the key targets of a barrage of ballistic missiles.... missiles would be launched not only at US military bases but also at strategic targets such as oil refineries and power stations.... The attacks on Arab states would be in addition to airstrikes on Israel... An Iranian foreign ministry official said: “The objective would be to overwhelm US missile defence systems with dozens and maybe hundreds of missiles fired simultaneously at specific targets..."

"... the “retaliation plan” claimed it would be launched within an hour of a US attack and would be accompanied by increased support for terrorist groups. “The US will be as surprised with Iranian military capabilities as the Israelis were with Hezbollah in last summer’s war in Lebanon...”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1909896.ece

IRAN AND SYRIA ANTICIPATE U.S. AND ISRAELI ATTACKS THIS SUMMER

"... Iranian leaders foresee the next UN Security Council in New York at the end of June or early July ending with an American announcement that the sanctions against Tehran are inadequate... Therefore, the military option is the only one left on the table.... Bush is determined to bow out of office on the high note of a glittering military success against Iran to eclipse his failures in Iraq... According to the Iranian scenario, the timeline for hostilities has already been fixed... The US will strike Iran first, after which Israel will use the opportunity to go for Syria..."
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1279

BOTH CHENEY AND AL QAEDA WANT U.S. TO BOMB IRAN

"Could al Qaeda Attack Trigger War With Iran?... Bush administration policy (is) to hold Iran responsible for any al Qaeda attack on the U.S. that could be portrayed as planned on Iranian soil... Zbigniew Brzezinksi warned last week that Washington might use such an incident as a pretext to bomb Iran... (Brzezinksi said) an al Qaeda terrorist attack in the United States intended to provoke war between the U.S. and Iran was a possibility that must be taken seriously, and that the Bush administration might accuse Iran of responsibility for such an attack and use it to justify carrying out an attack on Iran... Although most elements in the Bush administration appear to oppose military action against Iran, Vice President Dick Cheney has reportedly advocated that course. He has also continued to raise the issue of al Qaeda officials in Iran... "
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38050

I.A.E.A HEAD SAYS "CRAZIES" WANT TO BOMB IRAN

"... Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described those wanting to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities as "new crazies"... Dr ElBaradei said a nuclear-armed Iran would be terrible but the jury was still out as to whether the country even wanted nuclear weapons..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/nuclear_detectives/6707457.stm

U.S. SPYING AND TERRORISM IN IRAN

"A senior Iranian intelligence official... (said) the CIA and British intelligence were involved in spying, but Iran had destroyed several of their networks that were trying to set off bomb blasts, conduct terrorism and kidnappings and also film and photograph sensitive sites.The official complained spy networks were also targeting ethnic minorities and attempting sabotage in areas on Iran's western borders... Iran lodged an official protest on Sunday against the US government for allegedly sending spies to Iran."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6704987.stm

WHY IRAN WILL FIGHT RATHER THAN COMPROMISE

"... Iran's economy is so damaged that it is impossible to tell how bad things are... overall unemployment at 30% and youth unemployment at 50%. Government subsidies sustain a very large portion of the population; 42% of the non-agricultural population is employed by the Iranian state... The present inflation rate of about 20%, driven by a 40% rate of monetary expansion, suggests that government resources are already exhausted... the country exports nothing but oil, carpets and dried fruit... and manufactures nothing the world will buy. Its most pressing problem, unemployment among the 60% of its population now under the age of 30... "

"What strategic consequences ensue from Iran's economic misery? Broadly speaking, the choices are two... (break down like Russia) under the pressure of America's military buildup... (or) gamble on... an imperial adventure... Ahmadinejad and his generation of Revolutionary Guards will fight, and cautious old men like Rafsanjani will not be able to stop them."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IE30Ak03.html

CHENEY CONSPIRACY AGAINST BUSH ON IRAN WAR

"... The AEI (American Enterprise Institute) is conspiring with Vice President Cheney to foment war with Iran... Cheney is working with the AEI warmongers to short-circuit the efforts of Bush’s secretaries of defense and state to find a diplomatic solution... one former high-level national security official describes the Cheney-AEI conspiracy as possibly an act of "criminal insubordination" against President Bush... Cheney and the neoconservatives would likely succeed in convincing Bush to nuke Iran. Cheney... already changed US war doctrine to permit preemptive nuclear attack against non-nuclear powers..."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts211.html

IRAN UNCOVERS U.S. SPIES SUPPORTED BY IRAQI FACTIONS

"Iran says it has uncovered several spy networks run by the US and its allies - the occupying forces in Iraq... The intelligence ministry said it had "succeeded in uncovering, identifying and striking blows" at infiltrators organised by those forces. The statement said the networks had been detected in western, south-western and central parts of Iran... These spy networks were operating under the guidance of the occupiers' intelligence services and with the support of some influential Iraqi groups and factions..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6695653.stm

U.S. ARMADA ASSEMBLES OFF IRAN'S COAST TO BACK UP CHENEY'S PLEDGE

"Nine US military ships enter Persian Gulf Wednesday, assembling off Iran’s coast in largest American naval move since 2003... The vessels carry around 17,000 combat and marine personnel. They include the two aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz and USS Stennis, as well as the USS Bonhomme Richard LHD 6 Group, the world’s biggest amphibious strike force. Iran was not notified of the planned arrival.... Its presence backs up Cheney’s pledge... Cheney visited the region (two weeks ago) and informed ... Gulf rulers that... if Iran refuses to waive a nuclear weapon capability, the US will attack its nuclear, military and economic infrastructure..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), May 23, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

CHENEY PLANNING FOR ISRAEL TO START WAR FOR U.S. TO ENTER

"... Cheney does not support President Bush's tack towards Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic efforts... Cheney believes that Bush can not be counted on to make the "right decision" when it comes to dealing with Iran... The thinking on Cheney's team is to collude with Israel, nudging Israel at some key moment in the ongoing standoff between Iran's nuclear activities and international frustration over this to mount a small-scale conventional strike against Natanz using cruise missiles (i.e., not ballistic missiles). This strategy would sidestep controversies over bomber aircraft and overflight rights over other Middle East nations and could be expected to trigger a sufficient Iranian counter-strike against US forces in the Gulf..."
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/002145.php

BUSH AUTHORIZES NEW COVERT ACTION AGAINST IRAN

"The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert “black” operation to destabilize the Iranian government... Bush has signed a “nonlethal presidential finding” that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran’s currency and international financial transactions..."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/bush_authorizes.html

U.S. ADMIRAL TRIED TO VETO BUILD UP TO THREATEN IRAN

"... the deployment of a third carrier group... would have brought the U.S. naval presence up to the same level as during the U.S. air campaign against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq... The deployment of three carrier groups simultaneously was not part of a plan for an actual attack on Iran, but was meant to convince Iran that the Bush administration was preparing for possible war if Tehran continued its uranium enrichment programme..."

"(But) Admiral William Fallon... Bush's nominee to head the Central Command (CENTCOM), expressed strong opposition in February to an administration plan to increase the number of carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf from two to three and vowed privately there would be no war against Iran as long as he was chief of CENTCOM..."

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37738

UNSEEN WAR ON IRAQ HAS BEGUN

"Bush doesn't want detente. He wants to attack Iran... Silently, stealthily, unseen by cameras, the war on Iran has begun. Many sources confirm that the US has increased its aid to armed movements among the ethnic minorities that make up about 40% of Iran's population. ABC News reported in April that the US had secretly assisted the Baluchi group Jund al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam), responsible for a recent attack that killed 20 Revolutionary Guards..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2079648,00.html

STRIKE FORCES ASSSEMBLE, WINDOW TO ATTACK IRAN NEAR

"... the Nimitz is rapidly approaching the Persian Gulf, where it will join two other U.S. aircraft carriers and the French carrier Charles De Gaulle in the largest concentration of naval firepower in the region since the launching of the U.S. invasion of Iraq four years ago... the Nimitz is on its way to the Gulf to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower... But the U.S. Central Command... refuses to say when the Eisenhower will actually depart... For a time, at least, the United States will have three carrier battle groups in the region. The USS John C. Stennis is the third. Each carrier is accompanied by a small flotilla of cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and support vessels, many equipped with Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles (TLAMs)... with the arrival of the Nimitz battle group, the Bush administration will be — for an unknown period of time — in an optimal position to strike Iran with a punishing array of bombs and missiles.."
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/04/970/

JEWS LIVE FREELY IN IRAN

"Some 25,000 to 30,000 Jews live relatively freely among the country's majority Shiite Muslims... and many say that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fiery anti-Israeli rhetoric is about politics, not religion... They caution against comparing Iran's official and visceral opposition to the creation of Israel and Zionism with the regime's acceptance of Jews and Judaism itself. "If you think Judaism and Zionism are one, it is like thinking Islam and the Taliban are the same, and they are not."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0427/p01s03-wome.html

U.S. NEGOTIATING INDIRECTLY WITH IRAN

"... Using Switzerland as an intermediary, American and Iranian officials have exchanged diplomatic messages on a variety of nuts-and-bolts subjects, including the fate of an American citizen missing in Iran, the future of five Iranian operatives whom American forces seized in Iraq, and old financial and property disputes. The contacts amount to a shift for the White House, which rebuffed an Iranian offer of wide-ranging talks on Iran’s nuclear program, Middle East peace, and direct relations after the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq..."
http://www.kansascity.com/136/story/82718.html

KUWAIT PREPARES FOR U.S. ATTACK ON IRAN

"Kuwait government sets up emergency team to prepare for an Iran-US military conflict... Deputy Saleh Ashour reported Tuesday that the Kuwait cabinet had formed a team to draw up plans to keep the country running during a war..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), April 25, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

U.S. SPONSORING TERRORISM AGAINST IRAN

"... American intelligence has been training and equipping anti-Iranian terrorists belonging to the so-called Jundallah in camps inside Afghanistan. The Voice of America recently interviewed Jundollah leader Abdul Malek Rigi. He is a wanted by Tehran for several kidnappings and over 50 killings. In the latest incident, on March 25, Jundallah terrorists blocked the Zahedan-Zabol highway in Sistan-Balochistan province, killing 22 people, injuring six others and taking eight people as hostages. Later, four of these hostages were killed and the video footage of their killing was broadcast on a number of Arab television channels..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ID21Ak01.html

U.S. MILITARY IN IRAQ POSITIONING FOR IRAN WAR

"... It now appears that the US military intends to place as many as five mechanised brigades - comprising about 40,000 men - south and east of Baghdad, at least three of them positioned between the capital and the Iranian border. This would present Iran with a powerful - and potentially aggressive - American military force close to its border in the event of a US or Israeli military strike against its nuclear facilities later this year..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2439530.ece

IRAN PRESENTS GULF SECURITY PLAN

"Iran has proposed a 10-point plan for ensuring collective security in the Persian Gulf region...
The 10-point proposal is as follows:
1. Establishment of a Persian Gulf Security and Cooperation Organization comprising the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as well as Iran and Iraq in accordance with Clause 8 of Resolution 598 of the United Nations Security Council.
2. Preparing common security grounds for fighting terrorism, organized crime and drug smuggling, as well as other joint security concerns.
3. Gradual removal of all restrictions in political, security, economic and cultural fields.
4. Development of trade ties by taking the countries' potentials into consideration and conducting joint investment in economic projects to achieve a regional free-trade mechanism.
5. Guaranteeing the security and energy export of regional countries to secure their interests and achieving a sustainable mechanism for energy needed by the world.
6. Building confidence among regional countries in the nuclear field.
7. Setting up a joint consortium for uranium enrichment among regional countries to procure nuclear fuel and other peaceful nuclear activities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
8. Forging serious cooperation among regional countries for having a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.
9. Putting an end to arms races in the region by providing resources for the purpose of economic development and fighting poverty.
10. Making foreign military personnel exit the region and establishing full security by the regional countries..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East.html

BRITISH ASKED U.S. TO NOT PROVOKE A WAR

"The US offered to take military action on behalf of the 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran, including buzzing Iranian Revolutionary Guard positions with warplanes... Pentagon officials asked their British counterparts: what do you want us to do? They offered a series of military options... The British declined the offer and said the US could calm the situation by staying out of it. London also asked the US to tone down military exercises that were already under way in the Gulf... At the request of the British, the two US carrier groups, totalling 40 ships plus aircraft, modified their exercises to make them less confrontational..."

"A senior Iranian source with close ties to the Revolutionary Guard, told the Guardian: "If this had been between Iranian and American soldiers it could have been the beginning of an accidental war."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2051971,00.html

U.S. SPONSOR OF TERROR GROUP AGAINST IRAN

"A Pakistani tribal militant group responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005... The group, called Jundullah, is made up of members of the Baluchi tribe and operates out of the Baluchistan province in Pakistan, just across the border from Iran. It has taken responsibility for the deaths and kidnappings of more than a dozen Iranian soldiers and officials. U.S. officials say the U.S. relationship with Jundullah is arranged so that the U.S. provides no funding to the group, which would require an official presidential order or "finding" as well as congressional oversight.."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/04/abc_news_exclus.html

BOTCHED U.S. RAID LED TO SAILOR HOSTAGE CRISIS

"A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an official visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines...
"(on) 11 January, helicopter-born US forces launched a surprise raid on a long-established Iranian liaison office in the city of Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. They captured five relatively junior Iranian officials whom the US accuses of being intelligence agents and still holds... The aim of the raid, launched without informing the Kurdish authorities, was to seize two men at the very heart of the Iranian security establishment... Mohammed Jafari, the powerful deputy head of the Iranian National Security Council, and General Minojahar Frouzanda, the chief of intelligence of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard... The two men were in Kurdistan on an official visit during which they met the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, and later saw Massoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government..."
"The abortive Arbil raid provoked a dangerous escalation in the confrontation between the US and Iran which ultimately led to the capture of the 15 British sailors and Marines.."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2414760.ece

NAVY ADVISES U.S. INVESTORS IN BAHRAIN TO FLEE

"American investors in Bahrain advised to pack up business operations and leave... The advice came from officers with US Central Command 5th Fleet HQ at Manama, who spoke of security tension, a hint at an approaching war with Iran. Arab sources report the positioning of a Patriot anti-missile battery in Bahrain this week; they say occupancy at emirate hotels has soared past 90% due mostly to the influx of US military personnel.

NIMITZ STRIKE DEPLOYS TO JOIN STENNIS ANDE EISENHOWER STRIKE GROUPS

"The USS Nimitz and its support ships will be departing San Diego Monday, April 2, to join the John C. Stennis Strike Group in the Persian Gulf. The nuclear carrier is due to relieve the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower , but military sources in the Gulf believe all three US carriers will stay put if tensions continue to climb... the Nimitz group is composed of the Princeton guided-missile cruiser, and four guided missile destroyers – the Higgins , Chafee , John Paul Jones and Pinckney... The mighty American armada is further supported by the USS Bataan and USS Boxer (helicopter assault) strike groups..."

--DEBKAfile (Israel), March 31, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

TWO ACCOUNTS OF LOCATION OF CAPTURED BRITS

UK and Iranian versions of events...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6502805.stm

IRANIAN AND U.S. TREATMENT OF CAPTURED PRISONERS

"... Turney may have been "forced to wear the hijab"... but so far as we know she has not been forced into an orange jumpsuit. Her comrades have not been shackled, blindfolded, forced into excruciating physical contortions for long periods, or denied liquids and food. As far as we know they have not had the Bible spat on, torn up or urinated on in front of their faces. They have not had electrodes attached to their genitals or been set on by attack dogs. They have not been hung from a forklift truck and photographed for the amusement of their captors. They have not been pictured naked and smeared in their own excrement. They have not been bundled into a CIA-chartered plane and secretly "rendered" to a basement prison in a country where torturers are experienced and free to do their worst..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2046324,00.html

"... the status of five Iranian officials captured in a U.S. military raid on a liaison office in northern Iraq on Jan. 11 remains a mystery... the Iranians have disappeared into the U.S.-sanctioned "coalition detention" system that has been criticised as arbitrary and even illegal by many experts on international law.... five men remain in U.S. custody and have not been formally charged with a crime... and so are being held unlawfully..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37142

IF IRANIANS HAD SEIZED YANKS, WAR

"... The U.S. Navy rules of engagement say we have not only a right to self-defense but also an obligation to self-defense... If the Revolutionary Guards had... attacked an American boarding party (instead of Britsh)... (Bush) would have his excuse now, and bombs might already be falling on Iran. All the pieces are in place, and the war could start at any time..."
http://www.startribune.com/562/v-print/story/1086014.html

RUSSIAN AGENCY PREDICTS U.S. WILL ATTACK IRAN IN APRIL

"... the Russian News and Information Agency Novosti (RIA-Novosti) quoted military experts predicting the US will attack Iran on April 6th, Good Friday. According to RIA-Novosti, the imminent assault will target Iranian air and naval defense capabilities, armed forces headquarters as well as key economic assets and administration headquarters. Massive air strikes will be deployed, possibly tactical nuclear weapons as well, and the Bush administration will attempt to exploit the resulting chaos and political unrest by installing a pro-US government..."
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/28/150/

U.S. SPONSORING TERRORISM AGAINST IRAN

"... the U.S. is fomenting opposition and supporting military operations in Iran among insurgent groups and Iranian ethnic minority groups, some of whom are operating from Iraq... the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PEJAK) is one such group. PEJAK is based in the Kurdish region of Iraq, a few miles from the Iranian border, and has staged attacks across the border in Iran since 2004... Iran has denounced PEJAK as a terrorist group and has accused the U.S. of funding PEJAK.... Iranians and Turks both believe that the U.S. is supporting PEJAK..."

"The Mujahedin e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian anti-government group which has been listed as a “terrorist group” by the State Department since 1997, is another anti-government group that has received U.S. support... U.S. Special Forces have been directing members of the MEK in carrying out reconnaissance and intelligence collection in Iran from bases in Afghanistan and Balochistan, Pakistan since the summer of 2004..."

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=42505

FRENCH CARRIER TASK FORCE JOINS U.S. FLOTILLA OFF IRAN

"The French nuclear carrier Charles de Gaulle and its task force enter(ed the) Arabian Sea... (and) rendezvoused with the USS John C. Stennis... Its arrival raises to four the number of Western aircraft carriers cruising within striking distance of Iran, including the USS Eisenhower and USS Boxer.... US and French carriers are sailing and operating in concert opposite Iranian shores for the first time... The Charles de Gaulle is accompanied by French Task Force 473, which consists of five warships: the FNS Cassard guided missile destroyer, the FNS Tourville anti-submarine frigate, the FNS Dupleix destroyer adapted for escorting oil tankers and the FNS Marne, a command and supply vessel.
--DEBKAfile (Israel), March 22, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

U.S. SPONSORING TERRORISM TO OVERTHROW IRAN

"... the United States is officially funding armed groups to overthrow the Islamic government" in Tehran... Secretly, U.S. intelligence services are sponsoring armed attacks within Iran... from so-called former MEK members... The U.S. asks a Mujahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MEK or MKO) member ... if they support democracy. If they answer yes, they can be trained and armed for clandestine actions inside Iran..."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36961

IRAN'S STRATEGY FOR IRAQ

"... A successful US withdrawal from Iraq would free up military resources and restore US political will to focus on Iran. On the other hand, a hopelessly deteriorating quagmire in Iraq may force to US to seek an alternative path to victory by widening the war with an attack on Iran, or instigate an internal coup by supporting Iranian dissident groups. Thus Iran's strategy for Iraq is neither US withdrawal nor escalation, just a slow bleed to drive home the awareness of superpower impotency to the whole world..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IC21Ak06.html

BUSH HAS SNATCHED WAR FROM JAWS OF PEACE

"Washington had the opportunity at the turn of 2007 to isolate and neutralize the Mahmud Ahmadinejad regime in Tehran, but through stupidity and arrogance has made war the most probable outcome... It is pointless to read the signals out of Washington to divine US intentions... no one can make sense of what the US wants to communicate... no one is in charge... different agencies of government are pursuing their own agendas without accountability to a central authority...

"... Washington has done everything possible to destroy the prospects for a diplomatic solution. Whether it was possible to begin with, the historians will have to debate. For the time being, Bush has snatched war out of the jaws of peace."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IC06Ak03.html

ATTACK ON IRAN WOULD ACCELERATE BOMB MAKING

"... If Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapons capacity it is doing so relatively slowly, most estimates put it at least five years away... an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities (now) "would almost certainly lead to a fast-track programme to develop a small number of nuclear devices as quickly as possible... a bit like deciding to build a car from spare parts instead of building the entire car factory..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6418049.stm

IMAGES OF IRAN
http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html

U.S. REFUSES DIPLOMATIC TALKS WITH IRAN

"... This Administration has set a collision course with Iran. Time and again, it has refused to enter into direct diplomatic talks with Iran.
• After the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the Iranian government signaled to the Administration a willingness to cooperate with the United States, including cooperation with the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan. But in January 2002, President Bush labeled Iran a member of the "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address.
• In early 2003, Iran offered to enter into dialogue with the United States regarding several outstanding US-Iran issues, including full transparency of all nuclear facilities; the cessation of support of Palestinian opposition groups; transformation of Hezbollah into a political organization; coordination of counterterrorism efforts; cooperation with political stabilization in Iraq; and the acceptance of the Arab League "Beirut Declaration"--a comprehensive peace, including the establishment of normal relations with Israel. The United States did not respond to this "grand bargain" offered by Iran.
• Also in 2003, the United States refused to join France, Britain and Germany (the EU-3) in a diplomatic effort to curb Iran's nuclear program.
• In November 2005, the US Ambassador to Iraq received permission to begin a diplomatic dialogue with Iran on the issue of Iraqi stability. The Iranians accepted the offer; however, no talks materialized.
• On May 8, 2006... the Administration ignored a letter from President Ahmadinejad to President Bush.
• On May 31, 2006, the Administration said it would... not negotiate with Iran until Iran agreed, ahead of the talks, to abide by US demands.
• On November 29, 2006, President Ahmadinejad sent an open letter to the American people. The Bush Administration refused to respond.
• The White House is now selectively leaking intelligence to set the stage for a military attack on Iran...."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070312/kucinich

U.S. INTELLIGENCE ON IRAN INACCURATE

"... most U.S. intelligence shared with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has proved inaccurate and none has led to significant discoveries inside Iran... none of the tips about supposed secret weapons sites provided clear evidence that the Islamic Republic was developing illicit weapons..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0225-04.htm

ISRAEL DENIES TALKS TO USE IRAQI AIRSPACE TO ATTACK IRAN

"Britain's Daily Telegraph, citing an unnamed senior Israeli defense official, said on Saturday that Israel had sought permission from the U.S. Pentagon to be able to use an "air corridor" in Iraq in the event that the Jewish state decided to launch air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities... (but) Israel's deputy defense minister denied on Saturday that Israel was in talks with the United States to use Iraqi airspace as part of possible plans to attack Iranian nuclear sites..."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2901142

ISRAEL ASKS U.S. CLEARANCE FOR AIR ATTACK ON IRAN

"Israel is negotiating with the United States for permission to fly over Iraq as part of a plan to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.. A senior Israeli defence official said negotiations were now underway between the two countries for the US-led coalition in Iraq to provide an "air corridor"... (saying) "The only way to do this is to fly through US-controlled air space. If we don't sort these issues out now we could have a situation where American and Israeli war planes start shooting at each other."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/24/wiran124.xml

U.S. SPONSORING TERRORISM AGAINST IRAN

"... (Iran's) Balochistan province is "particularly crucial for Iran's national security as it borders Sunni Pakistan and US-occupied Afghanistan... the Sunni Balochi resistance could prove valuable to Western intelligence agencies with an interest in destabilizing the hardline regime in Tehran."

"... The irony is that Afghanistan is being put to use as a launch pad by the US for sponsoring terrorism directed against Iran, when the raison d'etre of the US occupation of Afghanistan during the past five years has been for the stated purpose of fighting a "war on terrorism..."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IB24Ak01.html

Posted here 11/29/2005
NEO-CONSERVATIVE IPC REPRESENTS THE MEK TERRORIST ORGANIZATION IN U.S.
"... Raymond Tanter's Iran Policy Committee has called for Washington to deploy against Tehran the Iraq-based Mujahideen-e Khalq, which is listed as a terrorist group by the State Department..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GK30Ak01.html

U.S. INTELLIGENCE ON IRAN IS INCORRECT

"Much of the intelligence on Iran's nuclear facilities provided to UN inspectors by US spy agencies has turned out to be unfounded... most of the tip-offs about supposed secret weapons sites provided by the CIA and other US intelligence agencies have led to dead ends when investigated by IAEA inspectors... Most of it has turned out to be incorrect... "They gave us a paper with a list of sites. [The inspectors] did some follow-up, they went to some military sites, but there was no sign of [banned nuclear] activities."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2019235,00.html

IRAN SUCESSFULLY TESTS TOR M-1 AIR DEFENSE MISSILE

"... a military manoeuvre in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman near the Hormuz Strait... test-fired the newly acquired, Russian-made TOR M-1 surface-to-air defence shield... The TOR M-1 air defence shield has a 12 km range which could be increased to 20 km... (and) is capable of rapidly tracing down 48 targets and engaging with eight, including cruise missiles simultaneously. The system, capable of tracing modern cruise missiles, was successfully test-fired... (Iran also) deployed the SSN4 land-to-sea strategic missile... The missile can carry a 500-kg warhead and is capable of targeting and destroying big warships..."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36586

Posted here on 11/27/06:
RUSSIAN SUPER MISSILES TO IRAN -- WILL BE INVULERABLE IN 6 MONTHS

"Russia sells Iran sophisticated missile systems capable of repelling US or Israeli air or missile assaults... The first of 29 Tor-M1 systems in the $700m deal have been delivered to Iran... a weapon widely regarded as the most advanced of its kind in the world... (with) ability to simultaneously destroy two targets traveling at up to 700km/h in any weather by day or night, (having) powerful, jamming-resistant radar with electronic beam control... (and) and automatic threat evaluation data on up to 48 targets... its full deployment at Iran’s nuclear installations will make them virtually invulnerable to American or Israeli attack... Therefore, no more than six months remain, until the Russian Tor-M1 systems are in place, for any attempt to knock out Iran’s nuclear weapons industry."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), November 27, 2006
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3541

HELICOPTER DOWNINGS IN IRAQ MAY JUSTIFY ATTACK ON IRAN

"US troops may attack nuclear and military targets in neighboring Iran when a high-casualty attack is traced directly to Tehran... This new presidential directive extends the license President George W. Bush issued last month to US troops to capture or kill Iranian agents supporting Iraqi insurgency and al Qaeda attacks on American forces. It is causing great concern in Tehran's ruling circles - especially as the new license may well be applied when the downing of a large US helicopter ends in a heavy US death toll... Under the new presidential directive, the downing of a helicopter carrying a large number of US troops could trigger a bombing campaign against Iran such as, for example, the dispatch of long-range B2 stealth bombers with bunker-busting bombs for dropping on the 25m deep Natanz site, where centrifuges are positioned for enriching uranium. Attacks may also be mounted against Iran’s military infrastructure."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), February 20, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

U.S. PLANS INCLUDE FULL ATTACK - TWO POSSIBLE TRIGGERS

"US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure... the trigger for such an attack reportedly includes any confirmation that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon... (or) a high-casualty attack on US forces in neighbouring Iraq could also trigger a bombing campaign if it were traced directly back to Tehran..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6376639.stm

U.S. JOINT CHIEF'S POSTION ON IRANIAN IEDS

"We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in Iran. What I would not say is that the Iranian government per se knows about this. It is clear that Iranians are involved and it is clear that materials from Iran are involved. But I would not say based on what I know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6360469.stm

BUSH'S POSITION ON IRANIAN IEDS

"... What we don't know is whether or not the head leaders of Iran ordered the Quds force to do what they did...providing these deadly IEDs to networks inside of Iraq. But here's my point: Either they knew or didn't know, and what matters is, is that they're there. What's worse, that the government knew or that the government didn't know?..."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070214-2.html

IRAN'S POSITION ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS

"In Iran's national-security doctrine there is no place for atomic and chemical weapons," Larijani stated, reminding the world once again that "the Supreme Leader has issued a decree, fatwa, against nuclear weapons and considers it contrary to Islamic principles".
--Iran's national security chief, Ali Larijani, at NATO Conference on Security Policy in Munich
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IB13Ak03.html

IRANIAN AIR DEFENSE MISSILE INSTALLATION COMPLETED

"... Moscow announced it had completed deliveries of 29 sophisticated Tor-M1 mobile antiaircraft batteries to Iran, and Mr. Ivanov hinted that Russia might also supply S-300 long-range air defense weapons. Experts believe that the Tor-M1, which can track 48 targets simultaneously, could seriously complicate any potential air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities..."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0212/p04s01-woeu.html

Posted here on 11/27/06:
RUSSIAN SUPER MISSILES TO IRAN -- WILL BE INVULERABLE IN 6 MONTHS

"Russia sells Iran sophisticated missile systems capable of repelling US or Israeli air or missile assaults... The first of 29 Tor-M1 systems in the $700m deal have been delivered to Iran... a weapon widely regarded as the most advanced of its kind in the world... (with) ability to simultaneously destroy two targets traveling at up to 700km/h in any weather by day or night, (having) powerful, jamming-resistant radar with electronic beam control... (and) and automatic threat evaluation data on up to 48 targets... its full deployment at Iran’s nuclear installations will make them virtually invulnerable to American or Israeli attack... Therefore, no more than six months remain, until the Russian Tor-M1 systems are in place, for any attempt to knock out Iran’s nuclear weapons industry."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), November 27, 2006
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=3541

U.S. DENIES IRAN'S HELP IN CATCHING AL-QAEDA

"... Since al-Qaeda fighters began streaming into Iran from Afghanistan in the winter of 2001, Tehran had turned over hundreds of people to U.S. allies and provided U.S. intelligence with the names, photographs and fingerprints of those it held in custody... including "high-value" targets such as al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith of Kuwait and Saif al-Adel of Egypt... members of the "al-Qaeda operational management committee."

"Last week, the CIA sent an urgent report to President Bush's National Security Council: Iranian authorities had arrested two al-Qaeda operatives traveling through Iran on their way from Pakistan... to fight U.S. troops on Iraqi soil... The arrests were presented to Bush's senior policy advisers as evidence that Iran appears committed to stopping al-Qaeda foot traffic across its borders... (but) the Bush administration, in an effort to push for further U.N. sanctions on the Islamic republic, is preparing to publicly accuse Tehran of cooperating with and harboring al-Qaeda suspects..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/09/AR2007020902294.html

U.S. ABLE TO ATTACK IRAN IN SPRING

"US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage... The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring... "Planning is going on, in spite of public disavowals by Gates. Targets have been selected. For a bombing campaign against nuclear sites, it is quite advanced. The military assets to carry this out are being put in place. We are planning for war. It is incredibly dangerous"...

"... Mr Bush has ordered oil reserves to be stockpiled.... a second battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS John Stennis... is due to arrive within the next 10 days. Extra US Patriot missiles have been sent to the region, as well as more minesweepers, in anticipation of Iranian retaliatory action...But the sources said that... Bush had not yet made a decision... (and) if there was an attack, it was more likely next year, just before Mr Bush leaves office..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2010086,00.html

IRAQI SHIA MILITANTS USING IRANIAN IED

"The most lethal weapon directed against American troops in Iraq... is known as an “explosively formed penetrator”... being used by Shiite groups... The link... to Iran is based on... analysis of captured devices, examination of debris after attacks, and intelligence on training of Shiite militants in Iran and in Iraq by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and by Hezbollah militants..."

"... Only a small fraction of the roadside bombs used in Iraq are explosively formed penetrators... (but) “It is the most effective I.E.D out there,” said Lt. Col. James Danna.... “To me it is a political weapon. There are not a lot of them out there, but every time we crack down on the Shia militias that weapon comes out. They want to keep us on our bases, keep us out of their neighborhoods..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/world/middleeast/10weapons.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=e9a9ae56cb1df98a&hp&ex=1171170000&partner=homepage