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

IRANIAN ANTI-AIR MISSILES IN IRAQ

"... last month, two Iranian QW-1 and SA-7 missile consignments reached Iraqi insurgents allied with al Qaeda and one, radical Shiite Moqtada Sadr’s Shiite militia, the Mehdi Army... Iran’s arms industry has succeeded in replicating a quality version of the Chinese QW-1 and improved its electronics. It is 1.447 meters long and packs 16.5 kilos of explosives... Iranian markings have been erased from the equipment going into Iraq and Lebanon to suggest they were bought on the black market..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), February 10, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

POSSIBLE RESULTS OF ATTACK ON IRAN

"... The possibilities include:
* immediate withdrawal of Iran from the non-proliferation treaty and a wholehearted effort to develop nuclear weapons as quickly as possible - leading to further action by the United States and Israel, and a long war.
* action against US forces in Iraq, through Shi'a militia intermediaries on a far larger scale than at present.
* direct involvement of Iran's Revolutionary Guards in Iraq.
* closure of the Straits of Hormuz, causing a steep increase in world oil prices.
* aid and encouragement to Hizbollah in southern Lebanon (especially if Israel was involved in the attacks).
* paramilitary attacks on oil facilities in western Gulf states...."
http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict/us_iran_4306.jsp

IRAN DENIES ROLE IN IRAQ INSURGENCY

"There is no truth whatsoever in the allegations that Iran has been supplying weapons to the Iraqi insurgents," said Mohammad Mir Ali Mohammadi, a spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations. Instead, Mohammadi said, the United States is producing allegations on "a large scale (to) justify a discredited and dangerously flawed policy" in Iraq...

"Bruce Riedel, former top Middle East expert on the National Security Council, said most attacks on U.S. troops are by Sunni militias, not Shiites backed by Iran. "There is no evidence that the Sunnis are being assisted by Iran," he said.... "

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-04-iran-iraq_x.htm

IRAN HAS SPY SATELLITE AND ICBM MISSILES

"Iran is closer than ever before to the launch of a spy satellite by a BM25 ballistic missile, 18 of which were purchased from North Korea... Iran (has) finished building a reconnaissance satellite and converted (the BM25) ballistic missile into a space launcher. If this claim is correct, then Iran has a launcher able to put 300 kg into earth orbit - and by the same definition... an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) able to drop a payload weighing 300 km, the estimated weight of a reconnaissance satellite, anywhere in the world..."
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1251

IRAN WARNS AGAINST ATTACK, HAS AIR DEFENSE MISSILE SYSTEM

"Iran will strike against US interests worldwide if it is attacked, the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned... Another key Iranian figure, ex-President Hashemi Rafsanjani, has also warned against a strike, saying it would carry a heavy cost for those who tried it... Iran says it has successfully test-fired a land-to-sea missile with a range of 350km (220 miles). Tehran says it has also tested a new Russian-made air defence system..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6342313.stm

DID U.S. HAVE IRANIAN BANKER KIDNAPPED AS PROVOCATION?

"Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad outlined an ambitious plan... to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq — including an Iranian national bank branch in the heart of the capital... Mr. Qumi said the bank was just the first of what he said would be several in Iraq — an agricultural bank and three private banks also intend to open branches.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/29/world/middleeast/29iranians.html?ex=1186290000&en=cc2417c3386132ad&ei=5087&excamp=mkt_at10

"Iran blamed America for the "terrorist" kidnapping of a Iranian diplomat in Baghdad... on his way to the new Baghdad branch of the Iranian state-owned Bank Melli... he was ordered out of his car by... members of the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion, a special military unit that works closely with US forces in the capital and drove American vehicles.... a US military spokesman rejected the charge today."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1340201.ece

IRAN HAS ABIDED BY RULES OF NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

"... Unlike Israel and the United States, Iran has abided by the rules of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which it was an original signatory and has allowed routine inspections under its legal obligations – until gratuitous, punitive measures were added in 2003, at the behest of Washington. No report by the International Atomic Energy Agency has ever cited Iran for diverting its civilian nuclear program to military use. The IAEA has said that for most of the past three years its inspectors have been able to "go anywhere and see anything." ... The head of the IAEA, Mohamed El-Baradei says that an attack on Iran will have "catastrophic consequences" and only encourage the regime to become a nuclear power."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/pilger/pilger47.html

U.S. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE: IRAN NOT A MAJOR ROLE IN IRAQ WAR

"... The NIE, which has been six months in preparation and represents the consensus views of the vast US intelligence community, also stressed that the violence in Iraq is internally generated and sustained, refuting recent suggestions by senior Bush administration officials that Iran is playing a major role in support of Shi'ite militias..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IB06Ak02.html

U.S. PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACK ON IRAN

"... the U.S.-Iran confrontation is getting very dangerous.
* The heaviest concentration of U.S. naval strike forces since the 2003 war against Iraq is concentrating off Iran...
* CIA drones and U.S. Air Force recon aircraft -- along with U.S. and British Special Forces -- are overflying Iran and probing its nuclear and military installations.
* CIA and Britain's MI6 are stirring unrest among Iran's Kurds and Azerbaijanis, and arming Iranian Marxist and royalist exiles...
* Half of the 21,000 additional U.S. troops headed to Iraq are being positioned to cover the Iranian border and block an Iranian threat to the main U.S.Kuwait-Baghdad supply line....
* New contingents of U.S. Air Force personnel and warplanes are arriving at key forward air bases in Bulgaria and Romania that link the U.S. to the Mideast and Central Asia.
* U.S. bases in Britain, Germany, Diego Garcia, the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, and Pakistan are reported on heightened alert.
* Turkey is being pressed to allow U.S. and Israeli strike aircraft to use its air space to attack northern Iran..."
http://www.torontosun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Margolis_Eric/2007/02/04/3522931.html

END TIME PROPHECY SITE SEES WAR WITH IRAN IMMINENT
(Christian groups see war as fulfilment of End Times and Armageddon prophecies)

"Read the news and see the Russian Iranian Alliance is pulling the whole world into destroying three kingdoms = Israel , U.S. , and the U.K. after Damascus destruction. There is so much proof..."
http://www.abbaswatchman.com/

GENERALS WARN AGAINST ATTACKING IRAN

"Three former high-ranking American military officers have warned against any military attack on Iran. They said such action would have "disastrous consequences" for security in the Middle East and also for coalition forces in Iraq. The letter was published in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. It was signed by:
* Lt Gen Robert Gard, a former military assistant to the US defence secretary
* Gen Joseph Hoar, a former commander-in-chief, US Central Command
* Vice Adm Jack Shanahan, a former director of the Center for Defense Information..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6328801.stm

U.S. CANNOT LINK IRAN TO IRAQ STRIFE

"U.S. can't prove Iran link to Iraq strife... Bush administration officials acknowledged Friday that they had yet to compile evidence strong enough to back up publicly their claims that Iran is fomenting violence against U.S. troops in Iraq.... Iranian officials challenged the Americans to produce evidence of their charges... Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates seemed to concede Friday that U.S. officials can't say for sure whether the Iranian government is involved in assisting the attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran3feb03,0,2695314.story?coll=la-home-headlines