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Bush raises possibility of talks with Iran - Alex Spillius - Daily Telegraph - President George W Bush has said his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could hold informal talks with Iranian leaders at an international conference on Iraq next week, signalling a significant shift in the US administration's stance towards the Islamic republic. In a television interview, Mr Bush said Miss Rice could meet her Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the conference being held in Egypt. Earlier this week Miss Rice said that if Manouchehr Mottaki did not attend the meeting in Sharm el-Sheik it would be a "missed opportunity" and emphasized that America's aim in Iran was not regime change but a "change in the regime".
Iran 'eight years' from operational nuke - President's uranium enrichment claims 'misleading' - Lester Haines - The Register - Experts have calculated that "severe technical difficulties" in Iran's nuclear programme mean it's eight years away from an operational nuclear weapon, the Telegraph reports. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on 9 April that the country had commenced enrichment of uranium on an "industrial scale", but scientists call this "misleading" and estimate it could take Iran four years just to produce enough weapons-grade product for a single nuke. Norman Dombey, emeritus professor of theoretical physics at Sussex University, explained: "It's very difficult to enrich uranium. It calls for several different scientific and engineering disciplines. Iran hasn't yet shown that it has mastered the problem."
Iran four years from atomic bomb, say experts - David Blair - Daily Telegraph - Iran's nuclear programme is facing such severe technical difficulties that it could take four years to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one bomb and eight years to deploy an operational nuclear weapon, experts
EU to hold new nuclear talks with Iran - Mark Tran - The Guardian - The EU foreign policy chief and Iran's top negotiator are to meet for the first time since February in a fresh attempt to break the deadlock over Tehran's nuclear enrichment. An EU official said the principle for the meeting, taking place next week, was established, adding: "It will seek to see whether we can resume negotiations."
IAEA says Iran making nuclear fuel underground - Mark Heinrich - Reuters - Iran has begun making nuclear fuel in its underground uranium enrichment plant, the international atomic watchdog said on Wednesday, in a move by Tehran that raises the stakes in its showdown with world powers. A confidential note by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said Iran had started up more than 1,300 centrifuge machines in an accelerating campaign to lay a basis for "industrial scale" enrichment in the Natanz complex
Iran 'is seeking N Korea's nuclear expertise' - Con Coughlin - Daily Telegraph - Iran and North Korea have appointed high-level delegations to deepen co-operation between the two countries on nuclear weapons technology, according to diplomatic sources in Beijing. The countries are keen to seal a deal before North Korea starts to close its controversial Yongbyon reactor under the terms of an agreement with the United States and regional powers in February.
US Defense Secretary Says Diplomacy Working on Iran - Jim Teeple - Voice of America - U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, on a visit to Israel, says he believes diplomatic efforts to isolate Iran for it uranium enrichment activities are working.
Tehran's new political dynamic - Nazenin Ansari - Open Democracy - The Tehran regime's internal political divisions and personal rivalries are exposed by the crisis over its seizure of British naval personnel - With the capture of fifteen British sailors and marines by Iranian forces on 23 March 2007, the real chieftains ruling the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) emerged from the shadows to send a double signal to the international community: that despite failures in Iran and setbacks abroad, they remain defiant and capable of mounting an asymmetrical attack against western interests - but that they can also act pragmatically. The context of the seizure was the Islamic Republic's double failure in the international arena in recent months: diplomatically at the United Nations over its nuclear-power programme, and militarily in failing to deliver a decisive blow to western power in Lebanon, Palestine or Iraq. These setbacks were reinforced by increasing domestic opposition and rebellion from various social and professional sectors, and by the detention, defection and elimination of members of the IRI's leading cardinals. Such reverses meant both that the cardinals' morale was low, and that that they considered the time ripe for an external show of force to ideologically mobilise their footsoldiers - at a moment when they judged swift military retaliation very unlikely.
Not Another War - Administration must stop its apparent push for war with Iran - Jessica Maxwell - Post-Standard - One can hardly turn on the news or open a mainstream paper without being bombarded by some new, unfounded Bush administration accusation against Iran. With the propaganda war well underway, the United States has also escalated military movements against Iran including attacks on Iranian diplomatic offices, arresting Iranian officials inside Iraq, and sending a second United States aircraft carrier group to the region.
Iran vs. Britain: Who Blinked? - Francis Fukuyama - Today's Zaman - While commentators have charged that Britain capitulated to Iran and handed them a humiliating victory in obtaining the release of the 15 British Marines last week, it would appear that something more like the opposite is actually the case. But to understand why this is so, we have to look at the larger picture of internal Iranian politics against which the crisis played out. Our Iranian problem is actually a problem with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, or in Persian Pasdaran) and allied institutions like the Basij militia. These are the "power" agencies that serve as the political base for the conservatives inside Iran. In return for its support, political leaders like ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have allowed the IRGC to grow into a semi-autonomous state-within-a-state. Today it is a large and sprawling enterprise, that controls its own intelligence agency, manufacturing base, and import-export companies, much like the Russian FSB or the Chinese military. Since coming to power, the current Ahmedinejad regime has awarded IRGC-affiliated companies billions in no-bid contracts, increasing the already great perception among the Iranian public of its corruption.
We cannot look from the sides as we are led towards crisis over Iran - Bush and Blair have spent four years preparing an onslaught that is about oil, rather than non-existent nuclear weapons - John Pilger - The Guardian - It is time we in Britain stopped looking from the side. We are being led towards perhaps the most serious crisis in modern history as the Bush/Cheney/Blair "long war" edges closer to Iran for no reason other than that nation's independence from rapacious America. The safe delivery of the 15 British sailors into the hands of Rupert Murdoch and his rivals (until their masters got the wind up) is both farce and distraction. The Bush administration, in secret connivance with Blair, has spent four years preparing for "Operation Iranian Freedom". Forty-five cruise missiles are primed to strike. According to General Leonid Ivashov, Russia's leading strategic thinker: "Nuclear facilities will be secondary targets, and there are 20 such facilities. Combat nuclear weapons may be used, and this will result in the radioactive contamination of all the Iranian territory, and beyond."
Iran's nuclear progress based on int'l law: Lebanese expert - IRNA - Professor in international law in the University of Lebanon Hassan Jouni said here Friday that nuclear progress made by Iran did not run counter to international law and treaties. Speaking to IRNA, Jouni said the Non-Proliferation Treaty authorizes all countries to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, adding Iran is committed to the NPT.
For Iran, it's a win-win situation - Georgy Mirsky - RIA Novosti - Experts have two main questions about the situation in Iran: first, are the Iranians close to developing a nuclear bomb? And second, are the Americans going to start a war there?
Iran and the US ramped up war of words - Najmeh Bozorgmehr and Gareth Smyth - FT - Iran and the US ramped up their war of words Wednesday, with an Iranian diplomat alleging he was tortured by an American intelligence agent while kidnapped in Iraq and the US army displaying what it said were Iranian-made weapons found in Baghdad.
Iran nuclear 'landmark' angers US - BBC - The US has criticised Iran over its announcement that it can now produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale. "Iran continues to defy the international community and further isolate itself by expanding its nuclear programme," a US official said. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that his country had "joined the nuclear club of nations". Iran maintains its nuclear programme is purely peaceful but the West fears it wants to build atomic bombs.
Iran could be a year away from nuclear bomb - Damien Henderson - The Herald - Iran may be just a year away from having the capacity to build a nuclear bomb - if its claims that it has stepped up production of enriched uranium to an industrial scale are to be believed. However, Western nuclear analysts reacted with a mixture of apprehension and scepticism to Tehran's announcement yesterday that it had begun operating nearly 3000 centrifuges - the devices used to enrich uranium for use in reactors and bombs.
What If Iran Had Invaded Mexico? - Putting the Iran Crisis in Context - Noam Chomsky - ICH - Unsurprisingly, George W. Bush's announcement of a "surge" in Iraq came despite the firm opposition to any such move of Americans and the even stronger opposition of the (thoroughly irrelevant) Iraqis. It was accompanied by ominous official leaks and statements - from Washington and Baghdad - about how Iranian intervention in Iraq was aimed at disrupting our mission to gain victory, an aim which is (by definition) noble. What then followed was a solemn debate about whether serial numbers on advanced roadside bombs (IEDs) were really traceable to Iran; and, if so, to that country's Revolutionary Guards or to some even higher authority.
Iran Can Produce Nuclear Weapons - Russian Expert - MosNews.com - Russia's leading nuclear scientist said on Monday that it was just a question of time before Iran developed a nuclear weapon and it should be stopped, the Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday. Yevgeny Velikhov, a leading physicist and close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Iran, facing a showdown with the United States over its nuclear ambitions, clearly has the know-how to make atomic weapons.
Russia anxious about military action against Iran near its border - RIA Novosti - Russia is concerned about a possible attack on Iran and insists that military action near its border is totally unacceptable, the first deputy foreign minister said Tuesday. Russia, which is separated from Iran in the south by three tiny South Caucasus nations and shares a sea border with the Islamic Republic, has been actively promoting a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue. "Any military action near our border is totally unacceptable," Andrei Denisov said. "We are strongly against it and we are doing our best to prevent it from happening."
Iran forces Israeli rethink - Simon Tisdall - The Guardian - Uzi Arad, former director of intelligence at Israel's spy agency, Mossad, has made a lifetime's study of revolutionary Iran. If international sanctions and diplomatic arm-twisting fail to halt its suspect nuclear activities, he is clear what the west must do: bomb Tehran.
Iran fears U.S. attack in summer: Israeli general - Jonathan Saul - Reuters - Iran is making defensive preparations for what it fears will be a U.S. military attack this summer, Israel's military intelligence chief said on Sunday. Major-General Amos Yadlin also told the Israeli cabinet that Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas and Syria believed they could be targeted in any U.S.-initiated war against Iran, an Israeli government official said, briefing reporters on his remarks. "What we are seeing is their preparation for the possibility of war in the summer. My assessment is that they are defensive preparations for war," Yadlin was quoted as saying, referring to Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. The government official said Yadlin spoke about Iranian fears of a U.S., not an Israeli, offensive.
The bottom line for Iran - The Sunday Times - There is growing evidence that the kidnapping of 15 British sailors nine days ago was a premeditated act of aggression by Iran. It is almost certainly no coincidence that the hijacking in Iraqi waters occurred the day before the United Nations security council voted to tighten sanctions on Iran over its nuclear weapons' programme. It furthermore coincided with condemnations by American and British commanders of Iranian assistance to terrorists fighting the democratically elected Iraqi government. The Iranian logic is that if the West can behave illegally by invading Iraq, seeking to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions and fomenting unrest within its borders, then why should it, too, not behave illegally?
War with Iran will destroy U.S. and the world - Peter Chamberlin - Herald Dispatch - The neocon plan for world domination goes on. Even without former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and all the other key players, the violent plan to remake the Middle East in our image is now shifting into a higher gear. If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of a clock counting down. Bush is running out of time. The majority of the American people think that the war in Iraq has been a series of "mistakes" that have destabilized the region and have given Iran a big boost. People such as Dick Cheney insist that all is going swimmingly. They deny that anyone can stop them from doing whatever they please; the will of the American people does not matter. The war will expand into Iran, regardless of the will of the people.
'Do not launch attack from our soil' - AP - Jerusalem Post - The president of the United Arab Emirates forbade the US military from using bases in his country to attack or spy on Iran as mammoth US Navy maneuvers in the Gulf entered their second day. Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who leads this key US ally, said Tuesday that the Emirates had assured Iran that it was not siding with Washington in its dispute over Teheran's nuclear program.
Iran 'to release UK sailor soon' - IranMania - The one woman among a group of 15 British military personnel seized by Iran will be freed later Wednesday or Thursday, Iran's foreign minister said, according to media reports, CNN reported. The woman, identified as sailor Faye Turney, was seized last Friday by Iran along with 14 other British Royal Navy sailors and marines who were conducting a routine inspection of a merchant vessel at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. "Today or tomorrow, the lady will be released," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told The Associated Press at an Arab summit he was attending in the Saudi capital Riyadh. CNN Turk also reported his comments.
Ominous Signs Suggest Iran War Close - Seizure of British marines could be "Gulf of Tonkin" long yearned for by warmongers - Paul Joseph Watson - Information Liberation - As tensions surrounding Iran's seizure of 15 British navy personnel continue to build, ominous signs that war is nearing give an indication that this could be the new "Gulf of Tonkin" Bush and Blair have long yearned for to justify air strikes on Iran. The U.S. has escalated war games in the area, "The manoeuvres involve the USS John C. Stennis and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, marking the first time the two strike groups have operated in a joint exercise under the US Navy's Fifth Fleet,"
This may not be a major crisis, but it's a warning of grief ahead over Iran - Global reaction to the seizure of British marines on the Shatt-al-Arab is a measure of our loss of moral authority over Iraq - Max Hastings - The Guardian - Comment Is Free - It is dismaying to suppose oneself fighting a war against one party, only to suffer humiliation at the hands of another. The Royal Marines and sailors who set forth on Friday to patrol the Shatt-al-Arab waterway carried loaded guns. They would have used these if necessary against Iraqi smugglers or insurgents. Instead the British were trapped by Iranian gunboats. Any attempt to defend themselves would have precipitated a disastrous clash. The outcome would have been the same, but with blood on the water. The Iranians seem to have planned this operation for days. They wanted western hostages, probably to exchange for their own people held by the Americans, and would have been untroubled by a firefight.
Iran prepared to fight, if necessary - Ian Bremmer - Asia Times - The intensified military buildup in the Persian Gulf poses dangers for escalation, both inadvertent and deliberate. Last week's Iranian decision to surround a British naval vessel and seize 15 sailors and marines directly increases tensions in the Iran conflict (around both the nuclear issue and Iran's intervention in Iraq). It's possible, though unlikely, that the British sailors were inadvertently in Iranian territory; though certainly the patrols around Iraqi offshore terminals and shipping lanes routinely bring British naval vessels right to the edge of Iranian territorial waters. (The Iraqi sea lane is quite narrow in the area of the conflict, with
Iran: A mountain that doesn't move - Kaveh L Afrasiabi - Asia Times - Even though Security Council Resolution 1747 was passed this weekend to impose tougher new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, the mood at the United Nations was anything but celebratory. The latest sanctions block Iranian arms exports and impose an international freeze on the assets of 28 people and organizations involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs. The measures were adopted in a unanimous vote and give Iran another 60 days to comply with the UN's nuclear demands to stop uranium-enrichment activities or, most likely, face even harsher measures.
Operation Bite: April 6 sneak attack by US forces against Iran planned - Indymedia - The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 am on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly "Argumenty Nedeli." Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account. The attack is slated to last for 12 hours, according to Uglanov, from 4 am until 4 pm local time. Friday is the sabbath in Iran. In the course of the attack, code named Operation Bite, about 20 targets are marked for bombing; the list includes uranium enrichment facilities, research centers, and laboratories.
'We Warned the United States' - Der Spiegel - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, 53, discusses efforts to resolve the conflict over Tehran's nuclear program, his country's right to resist and its offer to help bring peace to Iraq.
Ahmadinejad rejects U.N. sanctions - CNN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is rejecting new United Nations sanctions as illegal, according to IRNA, the state-run Iranian news agency.Ahmadinejad, in an interview with France's Channel 2 TV network, warned nations "seeking to impose sanctions against Iran will suffer a greater damage themselves," IRNA reported. The 15-member Security Council unanimously passed a resolution Saturday imposing new sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to suspend its uranium-enrichment program
Seized Britons face prosecution after Tehran claims 'confession' - Peter Beaumont - The Observer - Iran defiantly rebuffed international demands yesterday for the release of 15 seized British naval personnel, claiming that the sailors and Royal Marines had confessed to entering its waters in an illegal act of aggression, and were now to be prosecuted in the Iranian capital. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, claimed in a statement that the Britons were engaged 'in illegal and suspicious' activities, suggesting that Iran might claim they were spying.
Time to Make a Deal? - Washington has finally outmaneuvered Tehran. The question now is how Iran's leaders will respond-and whether this could rescue Bush's legacy. - Michael Hirsh - Newsweek - U.S. forces are massing on Iran, and soon it will be time to strike. No, not militarily-that would be the height of insanity-but diplomatically. The Americans and Europeans are close to achieving the leverage they have long sought against Tehran through a deftly managed policy of political encirclement and economic strangulation. Just two big pieces still need to fall into place: a sign from Iran that it is willing to suspend uranium enrichment, at least temporarily, and a willingness on the part of George W. Bush to take yes for an answer-and strike a deal.
Iran begins new military manoeuvres in the Gulf - dpa German Press Agency - The Raw Story - Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) on Thursday started military manoeuvres in the Gulf, the fourth in eight weeks, the news network Khabar reported. The week of war games entitled "EqtEdar" (Might) would test the latest technical developments in the navy and use of the new tactical submarine and missile launchers. The manoeuvres - like the three previous ones - were aimed at showing Iran's readiness to confront any possible military strikes by the United States in the Gulf and against Iran's nuclear sites.
Iran must have the Bomb - Efforts to bully Tehran into abandoning uranium enrichment are both futile and dangerous. - David Cox - The Guardian - Comment Is Free - The proposed new package of United Nations sanctions against Iran is far from being the breakthrough it has been hailed. The world's fourth-largest oil producer has little to fear from modest economic restrictions. If Iran wants nuclear weapons, it is going to get them. The indications are that it does want them, and with good reason
Iran and the United states: back from the brink - Anoush Ehteshami - Open Democracy - Iran's nuclear militancy is symptom not cause of the wider conflict in the region, says Anoush Ehteshami. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) is likely to be the core security concern of the 21st century as the "war on terror" becomes increasingly bureaucratised and takes its place among the other routine business of states. Nowhere are proliferation concerns over nuclear weapons in particular more urgent than the on western and eastern edges of the Asian continent.
A Journalist Writing Bloody Murder.And No One Notices - Tom Engelhardt - Tom Dispatch - Let me see if I've got this straight. Perhaps two years ago, an "informal" meeting of "veterans" of the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal -- holding positions in the Bush administration -- was convened by Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams. Discussed were the "lessons learned" from that labyrinthine, secret, and illegal arms-for-money-for-arms deal involving the Israelis, the Iranians, the Saudis, and the Contras of Nicaragua, among others -- and meant to evade the Boland Amendment, a congressionally passed attempt to outlaw Reagan administration assistance to the anti-communist Contras. In terms of getting around Congress, the Iran-Contra vets concluded, the complex operation had been a success -- and would have worked far better if the CIA and the military had been kept out of the loop and the whole thing had been run out of the Vice President's office
Former Pakistan Intel Chief: US puts Pressure on Pakistan to Support a US Led Attack on Iran - Global Research - Paktribune.com - Former ISI Chief, Gen (retd) Hameed Gul has said that the Untied States is paving the way to use Pakistan's territory for its expected attack on Iran in order to shift the blame of its failure in Afghanistan to Pakistan. Talking to a private TV Channel, Gen (retd) Hameed Gul said that NATO forces have intensified their activities on Pak-Afghan border as they are frustrated due to their failure in Afghanistan. Former ISI Chief has said that US backed Karzai government has been completely failed in Afghanistan and the United States has now realized that they are now facing strong resistance from Taliban. General (retd) Hamid Gul said that its an American policy to use different tactics to pressurize Pakistan and the main objective of recent visit of US Vice President Dick Cheney to pressurize Pakistan as US would need Pakistan's support and Balochistan land to attack Iran. He said that it may be the possibility that Pakistani government is refusing the United States to given permission to use its land.
Iranian press criticises Ahmadinejad's plan to attend UN session - Khaleej Times Online - Iranian press on Monday criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's plans to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting to clarify Iran's position on the international dispute over its nuclear aims. The news agency Mehr, a fierce supporter of the president, carried an editorial entitled 'Costly trip to New York', charging Ahmadinejad's advisors of not being sufficiently informed about UN mechanisms, and of having probably confused the UN General Assembly with Security Council meetings. The editorial said that the UN Security Council will not necessarily have a meeting, and even if such a meeting does take place, it could be a closed-door session where the representative of the relevant country on the agenda could at most be present as a silent observer.
New Iran military strike warning - ViewLondon - Israeli support for military action against Iran's nuclear ambitions is dangerously misguided, a new report argues today. Security think-tank Chatham House's analysis of tensions over Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear development programme highlights growing pressure within Israel over the potential atomic threat. It argues that domestic concerns about the Iranian threat are pushing the international community towards a military strike despite the clear disadvantages such a course of action would bring
US should drop preconditions for Iran talks, says Hans Blix- Payvand's Iran News - IRNA - Former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Hans Blix is repeating his call for the second time in a week to drop US-led demands for Iran to unconditionally suspend its enrichment program. "I am saying drop your demand for preconditions," said Blix, who was also the UN's top arms inspector for Iraq ahead of the US-led invasion. "That's what prevents you from sitting down with the Iranians. The Iranians say, 'We are ready to sit down, we are ready to discuss the question of enrichment'," he said.
Attack on Iran 'would speed up nuclear work' - Tim Butcher, The Daily Telegraph -A military strike against Iran's nuclear weapons programme would have the effect of accelerating the Islamic Republic's production of prototype warheads, according to a report by leading British think tank. Instead of the widely-accepted five year timeframe for Iran's industrial nuclear programme to produce weapons, the report said a strike would make Iranian experts put together a device in a fraction of the time.
Missing Iranian spy chief 'defected to West' - Tim Butcher - The Daily Telegraph - A former Iranian spy chief was suspected last night of defecting to the West, raising the prospect of a timely intelligence bonanza amid tensions with Teheran. While the speculation was impossible to verify, it is hard to imagine a more tantalising prospect for Western intelligence agencies than the defection of General Ali Reza Azkari, who is known to have served in Lebanon in the 1990s liaising with Hizbollah. Skilful debriefing could shed important light on Iranian arms smuggling to the Shia militia, although he would also be pressed for secrets of Iran's nuclear programme.
Iran 'Fooling' U.S. Military - Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily - Inter Press Service - AfterDowningStreet - New evidence is emerging on the ground of an Iranian hand in growing violence within Iraq. As the United States heads for a confrontation with Iran over
allegations of Iranian involvement in bombings, the massacre in Najaf
last month indicates that Iran could be working also through the Iraqi
government, local leaders in Najaf say. The slaughter of 263 people in Najaf by Iraqi and U.S. forces Jan. 29 provoked outrage and vows of revenge among residents in and around the sacred Shia city in the south. The killings have deepened a split among Shias.
Iran poised to strike in wealthy Gulf states - Colin Freeman - Sunday Telegraph - Iran has trained secret networks of agents across the Gulf states to attack Western interests and incite civil unrest in the event of a military strike against its nuclear programme, a former Iranian diplomat has told The Sunday Telegraph.
The End of Brinksmanship? - Rami G. Khouri - Middle East Online - It appears we have reached the high season of Middle East diplomatic meetings. Perhaps this is because the American-British-Israeli alliance, and their opponents in Tehran, Damascus, and elsewhere, sense that the region is on the brink of catastrophe...Suddenly, the diplomatic meetings season seems to have broken out all over the Middle East, perhaps because the main players saw the looming catastrophe that hovers over this region, and decided to pull back from the brink.
Would Israel attack Iran? Depends who you ask - Dan Williams - Reuters - Israel has long been the wild card in debates on the Iranian nuclear programme -- a country that while formally outside negotiations, has lobbying clout given its strategic fears and penchant for pre-emptive strikes. But Israeli officials, once quick to project military menace in the face of what Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called an "existential threat", are increasingly taking a softer public line on how to meet Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
US invites Iran and Syria to talks on Iraq in reversal of Bush policy · Initiative ends isolation of Tehran and Damascus · Plan seen as attempt to limit criticism of war - Suzanne Goldenberg - The Guardian - The Bush administration gave up one of the central tenets of its Middle East strategy yesterday, reversing its much criticised effort to isolate Iran and Syria by inviting both states to negotiations on stabilising Iraq. The initiative, announced last night by the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, in testimony to the Senate appropriations committee will see America and Britain join Iraq and its neighbours in talks to try to rein in the country's sectarian violence. The proposed meeting was widely seen as an attempt to neutralise criticism of George Bush's strategy on the war - most notably his refusal to open talks with Tehran and Damascus.
US, Iran, Syria to join conference on Iraq - Bush strategy change sees Iran, Syria in Iraq talks as US officials refuse to rule out direct talks with Tehran. - Stephen Collinson - Middle East Online - In a potential policy shift, the United States said Tuesday it would join a conference with Iraq's neighbors which could see senior US officials hold direct talks with foes Iran and Syria. President George W. Bush's administration previously had rebuffed calls from Congress, regional allies and the independent Iraq Study Group last year for a regional forum and discussions with its two arch foes on stabilizing chaotic Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a landmark conference, expected in early April, will follow lower-level talks with regional powers plus the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in Baghdad in March.
Pentagon is 'drawing up plan to bomb Iran' - Laura Clout - The Daily Telegraph - The Pentagon is drawing up a contingency plan to bomb Iran that could be implemented within 24 hours, it was reported yesterday. George W. Bush has ordered a special planning group, established in the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to create a bombing strategy which could be set in motion immediately upon his orders
Ahmadinejad under fire in Iran for hardline nuclear stance · Newspapers criticise 'no reverse gear' remark · US and Britain begin push for tougher sanctions - Robert Tait and Ian Black - The Guardian - Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, came under fire from domestic critics yesterday for his uncompromising stance on the nuclear issue as the US and Britain launched a new diplomatic effort to agree harsher UN sanctions they hope will force Tehran to halt uranium enrichment. Mohammad Atrianfar, a respected political commentator, accused the president of using "the language of the bazaar" and said his comments had made it harder for Ali Larijani, the country's top nuclear negotiator, to reach a compromise with European diplomats.
Pakistani general: Bush's Iran threats a cover up to his failures - IRNA - A Pakistani retired general believes the US President George W Bush is threatening Iran because of the loss of his prestige worldwide. Pakistan's former Inter-Services Intelligence Chief, Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, told IRNA on Tuesday that regarding pressures for imposing sanctions against Iran, the meetings of the OIC members, especially the meeting of Muslim foreign ministers, would restrict decisions of the US and its allies. The political and military analyst said Bush will take actions in future to guarantee success of his party in the upcoming presidential elections and compensate his failures
United States cannot now launch military offensive against Iran - Renaud Girard. - Le Figaro - Since George W. Bush ordered the dispatch of a second air-sea group to the Persian Gulf, there have been growing rumours in Washington of possible US air strikes seeking to destroy Iran's nuclear potential. The press conference that the US Armed Forces' supreme chief gave 14 February merely encouraged these rumours: Bush complained about Iran's dispatch to Iraq of explosive devices that were used against US troops and ruled out any possibility of a direct dialogue between Washington and Tehran
US accused of drawing up plan to bomb Iran - Suzanne Goldenberg - The Guardian - President George Bush has charged the Pentagon with devising an expanded bombing plan for Iran that can be carried out at 24 hours' notice, it was reported yesterday. An extensive article in the New Yorker magazine by the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh describes the contingency bombing plan as part of a general overhaul by the Bush administration of its policy towards Iran.
US funds terror groups to sow chaos in Iran - Indymedia - America is secretly funding militant ethnic separatist groups in Iran in an attempt to pile pressure on the Islamic regime to give up its nuclear programme.
"An American Strike on Iran is Essential for Our Existence" - AIPAC Demands "Action" on Iran - Gary Leupp - CounterPunch - Former CIA counterterrorism specialist Philip Giraldi, comparing the propaganda campaign against Iran to that which preceded the war on Iraq, has recently declared, "It is absolutely parallel. They're using the same dance steps-demonize the bad guys, the pretext of diplomacy, keep out of negotiations, use proxies. It is Iraq redux." He's only one of many in his field (including Vincent Cannistraro, Ray McGovern, and Larry C. Johnson) doing their best to expose the Bush-Cheney neocon disinformation campaign according to which Iran is planning to produce nukes in order to commit genocide, while abetting terrorists in Iraq who are killing American troops.
Iranians Worry About Rumors of an American Attack - Marie-Claude Decamps - Le Monde - Truthout - A few days ago, Iranian newspapers echoed back a BBC report, according to which the United States was preparing an attack not only on the country's nuclear sites, but also on its military bases. Since then, nothing. Publicly, no one mentions this possibility. Friday, February 23, the first day off after the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) delivered its report - damning for Iran - Tehran's streets, given over to the madness of weekend traffic, kept their silence. Even Friday prayers at the Great Mosque, a traditional locale for political diatribes during periods of crisis, were not followed by any spillover events: neither American flags burned, nor any demonstration, as is often the case.
How did it come to this? - The Daily Telegraph - Why is the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme reaching a critical stage? Why is Iran suspected of seeking nuclear weapons? How far away might Iran be from having a nuclear bomb? How did they get this far? What has Iran got to gain by restricting its programme? Why might Iran press ahead regardless? Who is in charge of Iran's nuclear policy?
The United States Cannot Launch a Military Offensive Against Iran Today - Renaud Girard - Le Figaro - Truthout - Ever since President George W. Bush ordered the dispatch of a second naval aviation group to the Persian Gulf, the rumor has been growing in Washington of the possibility of American air strikes targeted to destroy Iranian nuclear potential. The press conference that the United States Armed Forces' commander in chief gave on February 14 has only fed the rumor further: during the conference, Bush complained about Iran sending explosives to Iraq that were used against American soldiers, and he excluded any possibility of a direct dialogue between Washington and Tehran.
US Iran intelligence 'is incorrect' - Julian Borger - The Guardian - Much of the intelligence on Iran's nuclear facilities provided to UN inspectors by US spy agencies has turned out to be unfounded, diplomatic sources in Vienna said today. The claims, reminiscent of the intelligence fiasco surrounding the Iraq war, coincided with a sharp increase in international tension as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran was defying a UN security council ultimatum to freeze its nuclear programme.
Iran calls on west to suspend nuclear programmes · President rejects demands as deadline approaches · Iran negotiator to US: 'don't move into boxing ring' - Staff and agencies - The Guardian - The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, today rejected international demands for his country to suspend its uranium enrichment programme as a UN deadline to do so approached. The UN security council has said Iran must cease its work on enrichment - a process in the manufacture of both nuclear fuel and material for nuclear weapons - by tomorrow or face further economic sanctions.
Iran 'six months from mass uranium enrichment' - Lee Glendinning - The Guardian - Iran could be as little as six months away from being able to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, having mastered the technology since last August, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned in an interview published today. However, Mohamed ElBaradei, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, stressed that Iran was still years away from developing a nuclear weapon.
US 'Iran attack plans' revealed - BBC - US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned. It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres. The US insists it is not planning to attack, and is trying to persuade Tehran to stop uranium enrichment.
U.S. increases Iran War Threats - Mazda Majidi -Global Research -Danger of invasion greater than ever before. After weeks of promising to present "smoking gun" evidence against Iran, the Bush administration presented its case on Feb. 11, in Baghdad. U.S. defense officials provided "evidence" that Iran was supplying a particularly sophisticated type of improvised explosive devices to Iraqi insurgents. They claimed that Iranian-supplied explosively formed projectiles had killed at least 170 U.S. and coalition soldiers since June 2004.
Iran warns West on use of force- AlJazeera - Ali Larijani, Iran's nuclear negotiator, has said that any attempt to force the nuclear issue would be met with "an appropriate response". He said this after a meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna on Tuesday to discuss a proposed time-out plan.
IRGC wargames start across Iran - UPI (IRNA) - The Islamic Revolution's Guard Corps (IRGC) Monday launched a three-day military exercise in 16 provinces across the country. IRGC ground forces consisting of 20 brigades will test the most modern arms in the exercises that are held annually.
Iran - Ready to attack - Dan Plesch - The New Statesman - American military operations for a major conventional war with Iran could be implemented any day. They extend far beyond targeting suspect WMD facilities and will enable President Bush to destroy Iran's military, political and economic infrastructure overnight using conventional weapons. British military sources told the New Statesman, on condition of anonymity, that "the US military switched its whole focus to Iran" as soon as Saddam Hussein was kicked out of Baghdad. It continued this strategy, even though it had American infantry bogged down in fighting the insurgency in Iraq.
Iran shuts down website critical of president - Robert Tait - The Guardian - An Iranian website fiercely critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been shut down in an apparent fresh crackdown on anti-government dissent on the internet. Baztab, a fundamentalist site that has previously accused Mr Ahmadinejad of betraying the Islamic revolution by attending a female dance show, has been closed for acting against the constitution and undermining national unity.
Iran to stage new military maneuvers across borders - Global Research - Iranian Revolutionary Guards will stage a new round of three-day military drills from the coming Monday, the local ISNA news agency reported on Sunday. The report quoted an official statement as saying that "20 brigades of Revolutionary Guards' ground forces will join the drills, with the most modern equipment recently distributed to them." "These exercises will be launched in 16 of Iran's 30 provinces, "it added. This is the second time that Iran launched war games in the recent one month.
'India coerced into voting against Iran' - Indrani Bagchi - The Times of India - India has curiously kept its silence over a reported comment by a former US disarmament official, Stephen Rademaker, who said India was "coerced" into voting against Iran at the IAEA in 2005.
Pelosi: Bush Lacks Power to Invade Iran - David Espo - The Guardian (AP) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that President Bush lacks the authority to invade Iran without specific approval from Congress, a fresh challenge to the commander in chief on the eve of a symbolic vote critical of his troop buildup in Iraq. Pelosi, D-Calif., noted that Bush consistently said he supports a diplomatic resolution to differences with Iran ``and I take him at his word.'' At the same time, she said, ``I do believe that Congress should assert itself, though, and make it very clear that there is no previous authority for the president, any president, to go into Iran.''
Bush defends tough stance on Iran - Alex Massie - The Daily Telegraph -President George W Bush said it was "preposterous" to accuse the United States of falsifying intelligence about the extent of Iranian meddling in Iraq. Mr Bush said that it was "certain" that Iran was smuggling arms across the Iran-Iraq border even though he did not know if Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had personally ordered his Revolutionary Guard to supply the weaponry.
It's not too late to stop Iran - Gareth Evans - International Herald Tribune - No one should be surprised at the European Union's internal assessment, leaked this week, that little can now be done to stop Iran from acquiring the capacity to produce enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. That writing has been on the wall for at least a year, as Iran has remained internally united in its determination to have that capacity and the rest of the world has been much less than united in its willingness to stop it.
Burns: 'Conflict with Iran not inevitable' - UPI - A top U.S. diplomat says the United States is in no hurry to abandon dipomacy to resolve the Iranian nuclear threat. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns Wednesday said that Washington is working hard behind the scenes to convince Iran to agree to negotiate on its nuclear ambitions. "We've got time. There's no one arguing inside the administration ... to the effect that we have to exhaust diplomacy in the next few months," Burns said during a forum at the Brookings Institute in Washington.
Larijani: Iran pledges not to produce nuclear weapons - IRNA - Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani said that Iran is prepared to fully guarantee that it does not intend to produce nuclear weapons.
From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq - The same neocon ideologues behind the Iraq war have been using the same tactics-alliances with shady exiles, dubious intelligence on W.M.D.-to push for the bombing of Iran. As President Bush ups the pressure on Tehran, is he planning to double his Middle East bet? - Craig Unger - Vanity Fair - In the weeks leading up to George W. Bush's January 10 speech on the war in Iraq, there was a brief but heady moment when it seemed that the president might finally accept the failure of his Middle East policy and try something new. Rising anti-war sentiment had swept congressional Republicans out of power. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had been tossed overboard. And the Iraq Study Group (I.S.G.), chaired by former secretary of state James Baker and former congressman Lee Hamilton, had put together a bipartisan report that offered a face-saving strategy to exit Iraq. Who better than Baker, the Bush family's longtime friend and consigliere, to talk some sense into the president?
This Dog Won't Wag - Last weekend marked the start of the Bush administration's new 'marketing campaign'on Iran. It won't work on the public, but will it persuade enough of the talking heads- media and foreign policy elites - to support the Bush administration if they attack Iran? - Michael Tomasky - Middle East Online - Put aside completely the merits of starting a war with Iran, which is easy to do since there are none. Does the White House really believe that it can help itself politically by doing this? Do the people who have alienated this country and decimated another actually think that they can get away with this -- that the natural order would assert itself, and that the people would respond in the usual rallying way if the president went on prime-time television to announce the commencement of air strikes?
US flexes muscles towards Iran - Jonathan Marcus - BBC - The arrest of five Iranian officials, seized by US troops in a raid on an office in Irbil in northern Iraq, could signal a new more assertive US policy towards Tehran.
War with Iran is in no one's interests - Anne Applebaum - The Daily Telegraph - 'War in Iraq, war in Iran?" That's a headline I saw in Britain earlier this week. In Washington, the headlines read more like "Tentative nuclear deal reached with North Korea" and "Obama must show more than potential", but never mind: the American invasion of Iran appears imminent, at least in some quarters of the British Isles, so it has to be taken seriously. But before we all head off to the next round of anti-war demonstrations, it's important to separate the facts from the rhetoric.
Bush's Blow-Up With Iran - TomPaine.com -When asked today if the U.S. were preparing for war with Iran, President Bush continued his doublespeak. He reiterated his claim that explosive devices being used in Iraq against U.S. troops are connected to the Iranian government. While saying that he is going to "do something" about it, he also denied that he is trying to provoke a war. The connection between those explosive devices and the highest reaches of the Iranian government is questionable at best. Much has been made of the discrepancy between what reporters were told by anonymous Defense and intelligence officials in Baghdad last weekend and what Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace told reporters Tuesday.
Iran Lies - David Swanson - Here's the latest reason they must be telling the truth about Iran and the need for a new war: they lied about the last one. That's right, according to the latest dispatch from the Associated Press, "No one who has seen the files has suggested the evidence is thin. But senior officials - gun shy after the drubbing the administration took for the faulty intelligence leading to the 2003 Iraq invasion - were underwhelmed by the packaging."
Don't go into Iran, George - Niall Ferguson - Sunday Telegraph - The political effects in Iran (to say nothing of the rest of the Middle East) would be to strengthen the radicals around President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the very moment when they seem to be losing popular support. There is, in short, a real danger that a pre-emptive strike against Iran could turn Goliath into Samson, bringing the temple of Dagon crashing down on everyone in the Middle East, including Samson himself.
Gulf states load up on weapons of war - Gethin Chamberlain - Sunday Telegraph - Leaders of Sunni Arab states are embarking on a military spending spree in an attempt to contain the growing threat from Iran. Alarmed by the progress of Iran's nuclear programme and the prospect of a military clash between its Shia regime and the United States, Gulf leaders intend to use billions of dollars of oil revenue to purchase a huge array of military hardware.
US preparations for attacking Iran at advanced stage - report - KUNA -US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage despite repeated public denials by the Bush Administration, the Guardian newspaper claimed Saturday. Informed sources in Washington told the paper the present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring. However, the sources said if there was an attack, it was more likely next year just before US President George W. Bush left office. Neo-conservatives, particularly at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), are urging Bush to open a new front against Iran, and so is US Vice President Dick Cheney. The US State Department and the Pentagon are opposing, as are Democratic congressmen and the overwhelming majority of Republicans.
Target Iran: US able to strike in the spring - Despite denials, Pentagon plans for possible attack on nuclear sites are well advanced - Ewen MacAskill - The Guardian - US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington. The present military build-up in the Gulf would allow the US to mount an attack by the spring. But the sources said that if there was an attack, it was more likely next year, just before Mr Bush leaves office.
'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran Claims - Greg Mitchell - Editor & Publisher - Saturday's New York Times features an article, posted at the top of its Web site late Friday, that suggests very strongly that Iran is supplying the "deadliest weapon aimed at American troops" in Iraq. The author notes, "Any assertion of an Iranian contribution to attacks on Americans in Iraq is both politically and diplomatically volatile."
Surprising partners among Tehran's layer of alliances - Julian Borger - The Guardian - When Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed this week to hit back at American interests around the world if Iran was attacked, it was no empty threat. More than at any time in the life of the Islamic republic, Iran is positioned to inflict significant pain on the US and its allies in many places at the same time.
A Strike on Iran would signify the Beginning of an Epoch of Nuclear War - Dmitriy Sedov - Global Research - Strategic Cultural Foundation (Russia) - In my paper entitled "2007: Opening a New Page in the World's History", published in September, 2006, I examined the possibility that a US strike on Iran using small-scale nuclear munitions [mini-nukes] would be launched, and that the strike would become the beginning of an epoch of nuclear wars. There were various responses to the paper. Some authors, including recognized experts, doubted the possibility of such a development. At present, few people doubt that there will be a strike on Iran. Rather, the question is whether nuclear or conventional weapons will be used in the offensive.
Putin attacks 'very dangerous' US - BBC - Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticised the United States for what he said was its "almost uncontained" use of force around the world. Washington's "very dangerous" approach to global relations was fuelling a nuclear arms race, he told a security summit in Munich.
U.S. Weighs Divulging Iran-Iraq Proof - Katherine Shrader and Anne Gearan - The Guardian - - The Bush administration is haunted by the history of intelligence blunders about Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction as the United States tries to document that Iran is providing lethal help to Iraqi fighters.
The Gulf of Sneezes - Jeffrey Steinberg - Executive Intelligence Review - A survey of senior U.S. military, intelligence, and diplomatic specialists confirms that the Bush-Cheney Administration is presently on a course towards provoking a military confrontation with Iran sometime before the end of the Spring of 2007. Were such a lunatic provocation to go unchecked in the immediate days and weeks ahead, the planet would be plunged into perpetual war, and financial and economic chaos, that could take generations to undo. One certain consequence of a U.S.-provoked war with Iran would be the total destruction of the United States as the sovereign republic of the Founding Fathers, and the demonization of the U.S.A. in the eyes of what might remain of the population of the rest of the world.
Ayatollah: even Bush can be brought to his senses - Mark Tran - The Guardian - The war of words between the US and Iran today escalated as Iran's supreme leader warned that Tehran would target American interests if attacked. "The enemies know any aggression will give way to a wide reaction from Iranian people toward them and their interests in all parts of the world," Iranian state television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.
Next stop Iran? - The Economist - Why George Bush should resist a Wagnerian exit from the White House - "We are not planning for a war with Iran." So said Robert Gates, America's new defence secretary, on February 2nd. You cannot be much clearer than that. With a weak and isolated president, and an army bogged down in the misery of Iraq, the American Congress and people are hardly in fighting mood. Nonetheless, and despite Mr Gates's calming words, Iran and America are heading for a collision. Although the risk is hard to quantify, there exists a real possibility that George Bush will order a military strike on Iran some time before he leaves the White House two years from now.
Rice Disputes Claim of Iranian Overture - Anne Geran - The Guardian - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice disputed claims Wednesday that the Bush administration bungled a diplomatic overture from Iran that offered a broad dialogue with the United States after nearly a quarter-century of enmity.
The Persian Gulf: a war of position - Paul Rogers - Open Democracy - The logistics of the United States military build-up off Iran's coast are ominous. - The United States operations in Iraq continue to be costly. The number of American combat deaths in October 2006 - January 2007 (334) was the highest of any four-month period since the war began in March 2003. In the first five weeks of 2007, 110 US troops have been killed and nearly 700 wounded. The destruction of five helicopters between 20 January and 8 February has inflicted serious damage, and created a new strategic headache for US forces aware of the rising technological capability of the Iraqi insurgents.
Iran threatens 'worldwide strike' if attacked - Natalie Paris and agencies - The Daily Telegraph - Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has today warned that if under attack, Iran will hit back at US interests worldwide. While it is not unusual for Iran to threaten such a wide-reaching response to US action, the threat was issued as details were broadcast on state television that missiles had been test-launched today.
We must stop Bush bombing Iran, and stop Iran getting the bomb - A new Plan A, with more American carrots and European sticks, is necessary. But don't count on it working - Timothy Garton Ash - The Guardian - We should not bomb Iran to prevent Iran getting the bomb. The consequences would be disastrous. After Iraq, US or Israeli military action against this regionally powerful, oil-producing Shia muslim country would make the world a still more dangerous place. The cure would be worse than the disease. That's what a new report from a diverse coalition of British organisations says, and it is right. But this is not enough. Joining with wiser heads in Washington to prevent George Bush making a final gung-ho blunder is only a preliminary to the real business. Anyone who, after a bracing afternoon walk chanting "stop the war" and "stop Bush", goes home thinking they have made the world a safer place needs to think some more.
'Give Us the Proof' - Iran's ambassador to Baghdad responds to charges that Tehran is fostering sectarian violence and helping insurgents in Iraq. - Babak Dehghanpisheh - Newsweek - Tensions between the United States and Iran, seldom below simmering, are reaching boiling point in Iraq. It started with a U.S. military raid on a Baghdad compound linked to Abdul Aziz Hakim, the leader of Iraq's largest parliamentary bloc, last December.
US military chiefs eye confrontation with Iran - Philip Sherwell - Sunday Telegraph - America's military chiefs are at loggerheads with the country's diplomats and spies over tactics for confronting Iranian agents in Iraq over their role in lethal attacks on US forces. The rift has spilled over into a dispute about how and when to publish alleged evidence of Iranian backing for Iraqi militias and Iran's provision of supplies and technology for roadside bombs, the biggest killer of American soldiers in Iraq, a White House adviser revealed.
Israel's Bomb, Iran's Pursuit of the Bomb and U.S. War Preparations - Walter C. Uhler - The Huffington Post - Four years ago today, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell played a major role in persuading a gullible, stupefied and craven American news media and public - but not a cynical world - to support the Bush administration's illegal, immoral invasion of Iraq. He did so by presenting a panoply of lies, false statements and exaggerations about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ties to al Qaeda terrorists.
Attacking Iran would be disastrous, warns coalition of opinion led by retired officers - Julian Borger - The Guardian - Warnings of the dire consequences of military confrontation with Iran, and calls for a renewed diplomatic effort, are being issued on both sides of the Atlantic in a sign of the growing anxiety over the prospect of US or Israeli action.
06/02/07
Military action against Iran not off table, says Blair - Matthew Tempest - The Guardian - Tony Blair today insisted that the option of military action against Iran should not be taken "off the table" - as he issued a stern reprimand to the Tehran regime for its nuclear strategy and for fomenting unrest in the region.
Iran: a war is coming - John Pilger.com - American plans to attack Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons. Although the majority of Americans voted last November to end the war in Iraq, the Bush cabal remains undeterred by inspid protests from Democrats and is proceeding with another, even more dangerous adventure. The United States is planning what will be a catastrophic attack on Iran. For the Bush cabal, the attack will be a way of "buying time" for its disaster in Iraq. In announcing what he called a "surge" of American troops in Iraq, George W Bush identified Iran as his real target. "We will interrupt the flow of support [to the insurgency in Iraq] from Iran and Syria", he said. "And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."
The United States and Iran: the logic of war - Paul Rogers - Open Democracy - The Bush administrations's hardline rhetoric, backed by more military hardware in the Persian Gulf, brings a devastating confrontation nearer. The surge in United States troop levels in gathering pace. As it does so, the civilian losses in Iraq continue at an appalling rate: as many as a hundred people often die each day as a result of car-bombs, shootings and other attacks. American soldiers themselves continue to fall. A relatively low level of casualties in the first two weeks of January may have reflected a reduced number of patrols, but from the middle of the month the US casualty rate soared. In the four weeks to 24 January, eighty were killed and 400 wounded
U.S. warns Iran over Iraqi insurgents - JoAnne Allen - Reuters - Iran is supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons technology used to kill American troops, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday, sending another warning to Iran against interfering in Iraq.
Iran: Bush's Next Disaster? - Joe Conason - YahooNews - Whatever George W. Bush may tell us about his intentions toward Iran, every action and order indicates that he will seek to expand the war eastward from Iraq. Despite the warnings voiced by wiser military and diplomatic advisers, the president still seems to be listening to the same discredited neoconservatives whose fantasies and falsehoods drove us into the Iraqi quagmire.
Lawyers warn on Illegality of Any Offensive Military Action by US against Iran - Global Research -CCR and Other Groups Issue Open Letter Warning of Illegality of Any Offensive Military Action by US against Iran - Today European, international, and U.S. legal and human rights groups issued an open letter warning of the illegality of any offensive military action by the United States against Iran. Signatories include the Center for Constitutional Rights (U.S.), Droite Solidarite (France), European Association of Lawyers for Human Rights and Democracy, Italian Association of Democratic Lawyers, Haldane Society (United Kingdom), International Association of Democratic Lawyers, National Lawyers Guild (U.S.), and Progress Lawyers Network (Belgium).
Shell defies American pressure and signs £5bn Iranian gas deal - Terry Macalister - The Guardian - Shell has signed an important deal to help Iran develop a major gas field, ignorming growing pressure from George Bush to isolate the country for being part of what he alleges is an "axis of evil".
America 'poised to strike at Iran's nuclear sites' from bases in Bulgaria and RomaniaReport suggest that 'US defensive ring' may be new front in war on terror - Gabriel Ronay - Sunday Herald - President Bush is preparing to attack Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of April and the US Air Force's new bases in Bulgaria and Romania would be used as back-up in the onslaught, according to an official report from Sofia. "American forces could be using their two USAF bases in Bulgaria and one at Romania's Black Sea coast to launch an attack on Iran in April," the Bulgarian news agency Novinite said.
Bush Warns Iran Against Action in Iraq - Terence Hunt - The Guardian - President Bush said Monday the United States`will respond firmly'' if Iran escalates military action in Iraq and endangers American forces. But Bush emphasized he has no intention of invading Iran.
Only the US hawks can save the Iranian president now - Ahmadinejad is failing to deliver for the poor and losing support, but he could yet survive because of the international threat. - Ali Ansari - The Guardian - The honeymoon is over. Iran's controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has finally come unstuck. His popularity with the Iranian electorate - the subject of much incredulous analysis in 2005 - seems to be falling back at last, and the country's latest exercise in populism seems to be reaping the rewards of unfulfilled promises bestowed with little attention to economic realities.
Bush: Iran not a target of U.S. - The Toronto Sun - President George W. Bush said yesterday the U.S. "will respond firmly" if Iran escalates military action in Iraq and endangers American forces. However, Bush emphasized he has no intention of invading Iran.
Is Bush's American preparating to attack Ahmadinezhad's Iran? - Philippe Gelie - Le Figaro - Since George W. Bush toughened the tone on Iran on 10 January, a day does not pass in Washington without the official spokespersons denying the bellicose intentions of the White House. "We are not preparing to invade Iran," Tony Snow maintained on 16 January. "I cannot understand why some people act as if they are blowing on the embers when there is no fire," his deputy Dana Perino added. "We have said we are going to pay attention to Iranian interference in Iraq, which causes harm to our troops. There is no provocation there except on the part of the Iranians."
Decoding Bush: 'Iran, you're next? - Prof. Christopher Vasillopulos - Todays Zaman - A noted neocon and unabashed war hawk, Richard Perle told a journalist that a short message could be delivered to other hostile regimes in the Middle East, 'You're next.'To neocons Iraq was merely a target of opportunity, the easiest victory in a series of invasions that would culminate in Iran. The most disturbing and by far the most important element of President Bush's January 10th speech was that it foreshadowed an attack on Iran. He did not say so in so many words. Nonetheless, in my view, a decoding of his remarks reveals a desire to punish Iran and some Arab nations for obstructing American efforts in Iraq.
They're broken men, so don't let them take us to a new war - Presidents Bush and Ahmadinejad have lost face at home; now others must forge peaceful settlements in the Middle East - Henry Porter - The Observer - There is a striking likeness in the expressions of George W Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran as they confront each other over the issues of uranium enrichment and dominance in the Middle East. It falls somewhere between the chastened and defiant playground bully.
Iran attack possible, says Cameron - Damian Reece - The Daily Telegraph - A pre-emptive military strike against Iran involving British troops could be launched under a Conservative government after David Cameron yesterday refused to rule out the use of force against the Gulf state.
Saudi warns 'interfering' Iran - Aljazeera.net - Saudi Arabia's king has said Iran is putting the Gulf region in danger and has advised Tehran leaders to know "their limits".
Hegemony and Appeasement: Setting Up the Next U.S.-Israeli Target (Iran) For Another "Supreme International Crime" - Edward S. Herman and David Peterson- Zmag - Still digesting their recent and ongoing aggressions in the Middle East, the Bush and Israeli regimes now threaten to attack Iran. As these warrior states cast their long shadow across the region, they find themselves aided and abetted by the Security Council, the other major powers, parties of the opposition, and the media.
Ayatollah's snub pressures Iran president - Con Coughlin - The Daily Telegraph - Internal pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to abandon his confrontational policies with the West has intensified after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme spiritual leader, snubbed a request for a meeting on the country's controversial nuclear programme.
Arab League's Moussa warns U.S. against Iran attack - Reuters - The threat of a U.S. attack on Iran is very serious and would risk spreading sectarian violence throughout the Middle East, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said on Wednesday. "It's a 50/50 proposition, and we hope that it won't happen. Attacking Iran would be counterproductive," Moussa told Reuters at the World Economic Forum.
Stop the Iran War Before It Starts - Scott Ritter - The Nation - In April 2001 I was invited to Washington, DC, by a group of Republican Congressmen collectively known as the Theme Team. The subject was Iraq. It seems that the Theme Team, responsible for monitoring the ideological pulse of America, was somewhat perturbed that a self-described Republican and former Marine officer, not to mention a former UN weapons inspector, was trash-talking America's Iraq policy. While this sort of action might have been acceptable during the tenure of a Democratic President like Bill Clinton, it was not part of the grand design when it came to the presidency of George W. Bush.
U.S. warns Iran to back off in Persian Gulf - International Herald Tribune - A U.S. State Department official ruled out talks with Iran and said Tuesday that a second U.S. aircraft carrier strike group now steaming toward the Middle East is Washington's way of warning Tehran not to challenge America
Brzezinski slams Bush's "stupid" Iran policy - IRNA - Former US National Security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski harshly criticized the Iran policy of US President George W Bush, branding it as "stupid and self-blinding," the Hamburg-based Die Welt newspaper reported in its Tuesday edition.
Edwards: Iran Threat Serious - Ronen Bodoni - TotallyJewish.com - "Iran is serious about its threats," former US Senator John Edwards has told an audience in Israel. "The challenges in your own backyard - represent an unprecedented threat to the world and Israel," the candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination told the Herzliya Conference, referring mainly to the Iranian threat.
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