Thread: Iran News and Editorials

This is the forum for all people who wish a debate on the Iranian situation.

A map of US bases surrounding Iran.

India Increases Iran Oil Imports - WSJ.com

" Media reports said on Thursday that Iran's crude exports to India have increased to 550,000 barrels a day in January which shows a 37.5% growth compared with the same period last year.

India has increased oil imports from Iran to become the Islamic Republic's largest customer last month, ignoring recent sanctions imposed by US and EU on importing Iran's oil.

The development, the Wall Street Journal report said, has partly offset a 50 percent cut in crude exports to China as a result of pricing dispute. China now imports around 250,000 barrels a day from Iran.

The news comes despite the West's rising pressure on Iran to halt its peaceful nuclear program.

On the New Year's Eve, the United States imposed new sanctions against Iran aimed at preventing other countries from importing Iran's oil and doing transactions with its central bank.

After months of debates, the EU member states also eventually reached an agreement in their meeting on January 23 to sanction oil imports from Iran and freeze the assets of Iran's Central Bank within the EU.

Following the decision, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton claimed that the sanctions are aimed at pressuring Iran to return to talks over its nuclear program.

Despite Ashton's claims, Iran has always underlined its preparedness to resume talks with the West but has meantime stressed that it will never accept any precondition for such talks.

After the EU oil ban against Iran, members of the Iranian parliament finalized a draft bill on cutting the country's oil exports to the European states in retaliation for the EU move.

"The bill has 4 articles, including one which states that the Islamic Republic of Iran will cut all oil exports to the European states until they end their oil sanctions against the country," Vice-Chairman of the parliament's Energy Commission Nasser Soudani told FNA last month.

Elaborating on the other parts of the draft bill, he said another article requires the government to stop imports of goods from those countries which are a party to these sanctions against Iran.

In relevant remarks last week, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi also underlined Tehran's determination to retaliate against the western states' oil ban against the country, and said Iran will certainly cut its oil exports to certain European countries.

"Export of oil to certain European countries will certainly be cut," Qassemi said in a press conference.

"We will decide on stopping oil exports to other European countries later," he added. "

Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

"TEHRAN—Amidst mounting geopolitical tensions, Iranian officials said Wednesday they were increasingly concerned about the United States of America's uranium-enrichment program, fearing the Western nation may soon be capable of producing its 8,500th nuclear weapon. "Our intelligence estimates indicate that, if it is allowed to progress with its aggressive nuclear program, the United States may soon possess its 8,500th atomic weapon capable of reaching Iran," said Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi, adding that Americans have the fuel, the facilities, and "everything they need" to manufacture even more weapons-grade fissile material. "Obviously, the prospect of this happening is very distressing to Iran and all countries like Iran. After all, the United States is a volatile nation that's proven it needs little provocation to attack anyone anywhere in the world whom it perceives to be a threat." Iranian intelligence experts also warned of the very real, and very frightening, possibility of the U.S. providing weapons and resources to a rogue third-party state such as Israel"

U.S. Prepares Georgia for New Wars in Caucasus and Iran [Voltaire Network]



"On January 30 President Barack Obama met with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili in the Oval Office at the White House for an unprecedented private meeting between the heads of state, a tête-à-tête initiated by Washington.

Details of the discussions were not divulged, though Obama is reported to have confirmed American support for Georgia’s full integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and expressed appreciation for Saakashvili almost doubling his nation’s troop strength in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to approximately 1,700 soldiers, making the Georgian contingent the largest of any non-NATO member even as other troop contributing nations are planning to withdraw troops from the over ten-year war in South Asia.

Speculation emerged before the meeting that Obama had summoned the ambitious and erratic Georgian leader to Washington to propose a quid pro quo: The use of Georgian territory for American attacks on Iran in exchange for the U.S. exercising its not inconsiderable influence in Georgia – with a population of only 4.7 million the third largest recipient of American foreign aid – to assist in securing Saakashvili’s reelection in next year’s presidential poll.

Former president Eduard Shevardnadze, who was overthrown by Saakashvili’s self-styled Rose Revolution in 2003 (after which the usurper won over 97 percent of the vote in a dubious special presidential election in January 2004, the near-unanimous result not bothering the U.S. and other NATO nations in the least), was quoted a week before the Obama-Saakashvili meeting as warning, “I don’t rule out that to retain the [presidential] chair Saakashvili may join a military campaign against Iran, which would become a catastrophe for our country.”

Georgian analysts and opposition party leaders seconded Shevardnadze’s suspicions, specifying that the Saakashvili regime would provide air bases and hospitals, of which a veritable proliferation have appeared in recent months, for such a war effort. A Georgian opposition analyst estimated that 30 new 20-bed hospitals and medical clinics were opened last December and that new air and naval sites are being built and modernized, military air fields in Vaziani, Marneuli and Batumi most ominously.

The U.S. launched a train and equip program for the Georgian armed forces over a decade ago, initially staffed by Green Berets but shortly thereafter and to this day by the U.S. Marine Corps, which has refashioned the nation’s military into an expeditionary force for American and NATO wars around the world and in the process (and by design) a combat-trained and -ready force prepared for invading and subjugating neighboring Abkhazia and South Ossetia (which had been part of former Soviet Georgia but never of the Republic of Georgia) and for the inevitable war with Russia which would result from the attempt. The constantly-upgraded Krtsanisi National Training Center and the Vaziani Military Base outside Georgia’s capital are staffed by U.S. and NATO as well as national military personnel.

During the five-day war between Georgia and Russia in August of 2008 which ensued after Tbilisi invaded South Ossetia days after U.S. airborne and Marine forces led a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise, Immediate Response 2008, in Georgia, American military transport planes returned the 2,000 Georgian troops stationed in Iraq – at the time the third largest foreign military contingent in the country, only exceeded by those of the U.S. and Britain – for the war with Russia.

Had the Georgian assault against South Ossetia, timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing while the world’ attention was focused there, succeeded in driving to the Roki tunnel which connects South Ossetia with Russia and thereby blocking reinforcements to repel the Georgian attack, the next target was to be Abkhazia, where Saakashvili had massed 8,000 troops near the Kodori Gorge on the Abkhaz side of the border.

Novosti quoted former Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov two weeks after the war ended claiming: “In the operation the West conducted on Georgian soil against Russia – South Ossetians were the victims or hostages of it – we can see a rehearsal for an attack on Iran. There are a great deal of ‘new features’ that today are being fine tuned in the theater of military operations.”

A month after the Georgian-Russian war ended then-Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin held a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels and, as quoted by Novosti, maintained that: “Russian intelligence had obtained information indicating that the Georgian military infrastructure could be used for logistical support of U.S. troops if they launched an attack on Iran. “‘This is another reason why Washington values Saakashvili’s regime so highly,’ Rogozin said, adding that the United States had already started ‘active military preparations on Georgia’s territory’ for an invasion of Iran. “‘Georgia’s president is ready to make his nation a virtual hostage of a risky military gamble,’ he said.”

A United Press International dispatch at the time revealed that “a secret agreement between Georgia and Israel had earmarked two military airfields in the south of Georgia for use by Israeli fighter-bombers in a potential pre-emptive strike against Iran.”

According to journalist Atul Aneja in The Hindu in October of 2008:

“Russia’s military assertion in Georgia and a show of strength in parts of West Asia [the Middle East]…appear to have forestalled the chances of an immediate strike against Iran. “Following Russia’s movement into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev acknowledged that Moscow was aware that serious plans to attack Iran had been laid out. ‘We know that certain players are planning an attack against Iran. But we oppose any unilateral step and [a] military solution to the nuclear crisis,’ he said at the Valdai Discussion Club, an annual forum of opinion-makers in Moscow. “Russia’s confrontation with Georgia appeared to be partly responsible for Moscow’s perception that an attack on Iran was in the works. “It is now acknowledged that Russia seized control of two airfields in Georgia from where air strikes against Iran were being planned. “The Russian forces also apparently recovered weapons and Israeli spy drones that would have been useful for the surveillance of possible Iranian targets.”

As the U.S. and its NATO allies escalate their military presence in the Persian Gulf – the U.S. has two carrier strike groups in the area and a third on its way – Washington is consolidating military ties with Georgia to a new level. The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 passed in December calls for supplying new “defensive” arms to Georgia, with emphasis on air defense and anti-tank weapons. And perhaps more. Much more.

Last month Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that his country will target missiles stationed in Georgia as part of the U.S.-NATO interceptor missile system.
The Georgian government approved its latest Annual National Program with NATO slightly over a week ago. The Annual National program was launched by the Western military alliance shortly after the 2008 war. At the same time General John R. Allen, commander of all NATO and American troops in Afghanistan, visited Georgia to meet with senior military and government officials.

After his meeting with Obama in the White House, Saakashvili visited with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, leading members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (which, along with the U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, functions as the main pro-Saakashvili Georgian lobbying group in the government), Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta at the Pentagon, from which he was flown on a V-22 Osprey military aircraft to the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, where he was greeted with a 21-gun salute. This week Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia announced the imminent arrival of a delegation of American military experts, asserting U.S.-Georgia military relations were entering “an entirely new phase.” One that, as he elaborated, now extends beyond the U.S. Marine Corps training Georgian troops for Iraq and Afghanistan and to future prospective joint operations against nations like Iran."

Fars News Agency :: Iran to Send Heavy Satellites into Orbit



" Iran plans to send heavy satellites into orbit and is setting up a new launch base for this purpose, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said.

Vahidi said Thursday that the base will be used to launch one-ton satellites into an orbit of 1,000 kilometers.

He said that among Iran's next year plans was the launch of Tolou (Rise) and Fajr (Dawn) satellites into orbit. Vahidi also said that Iran is planning to launch satellites into orbits of up to 36,000 kilometers next year.

Last Friday, Iran successfully sent Navid-e Elm-o Sana'at (Promise of Science and Industry) satellite into orbit. The 50-kilogram orbiter lifted off into space with an orbital angle of 55 degrees on the Iranian-made Safir satellite-carrier.

The Islamic republic, which first put a satellite into orbit in 2009, has outlined an ambitious space program and has, thus far, made giant progress in the field despite western sanctions and pressures against its advancement. "

Progress from internal development along with help from other countries expertise no doubt. Similar to the US, UK and Russia when they "imported" Nazi expertise and prototypes after WW2.

No room for debate Oh-oh, seems you've covered every angle. US "encroachment," is that like having militant neighbors? Good post Oh-oh, you need to start an Iranian help line.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Fars News Agency :: Iran to Send Heavy Satellites into Orbit



" Iran plans to send heavy satellites into orbit and is setting up a new launch base for this purpose, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said.

Vahidi said Thursday that the base will be used to launch one-ton satellites into an orbit of 1,000 kilometers.

He said that among Iran's next year plans was the launch of Tolou (Rise) and Fajr (Dawn) satellites into orbit. Vahidi also said that Iran is planning to launch satellites into orbits of up to 36,000 kilometers next year.

Last Friday, Iran successfully sent Navid-e Elm-o Sana'at (Promise of Science and Industry) satellite into orbit. The 50-kilogram orbiter lifted off into space with an orbital angle of 55 degrees on the Iranian-made Safir satellite-carrier.

The Islamic republic, which first put a satellite into orbit in 2009, has outlined an ambitious space program and has, thus far, made giant progress in the field despite western sanctions and pressures against its advancement. "

Progress from internal development along with help from other countries expertise no doubt. Similar to the US, UK and Russia when they "imported" Nazi expertise and prototypes after WW2.

Not worried about Iran's space program, I'm sure the yanquis have sufficient anti-satellite capability already in place. All those covert shuttle missions and all....

Israelis: no attack on Iran until after Madonna gig




By Jennifer Lipman, February 10, 2012

Israeli fans of Madonna have appealed to Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone action against Iran until after her Tel Aviv concert.
Fans of the singer, who announced this week that she will open her global tour with a show in Israel, launched a campaign on Facebook.
They are asking the Israeli Prime Minister to say "no to war with Iran" until after the May 29 gig.
On of the creators of the page said the page was intended to be pro-peace and was meant in jest.
"We love Madonna, and it's just our humorous way of dealing with not so humorous life in the Middle East," they said. "We send our neighbors in Iran a message of unity, and hope Madonna will grace their country with a visit on her upcoming tour."


Link

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

According to Iran state TV, Iran will shortly announce some "very important nuclear achievements".

No link, obviously. I'll elaborate when it's published.

Probably the reactor has finally started producing electricity. Anything elase will not go down well.

Fars News Agency :: Russia Renews Opposition to Military Option against Iran



"TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian top diplomat Sergei Lavrov reiterated his country's strong opposition to using military force against Iran, and urged a negotiated end to the differences between Iran and the West. Lavrov said on Monday that his country will not accept use of military force against Iran.

Stressing his country's stance against any probable military action against Iran, Lavrov said [COLOR="rgb(255, 250, 205)"]in a press conference with his Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al- Nahyan in Moscow that Iran's nuclear issue must be resolved through political means. [/COLOR]

He said Russia is concerned about developments on Iran's nuclear programs and believes that [COLOR="rgb(255, 250, 205)"]the only way to solve it is through peaceful means, and taking any the military action must be completely removed from the agenda[/COLOR].

"Russia is interested in establishing peace and stability in the Middle East region and is ready to negotiate with all UN Security Council members to reach a consensus on establishment of security in the Persian Gulf," the Russian foreign minister said.

The Russian foreign ministry had earlier rapped the Zionist regime for its war rhetoric against Iran, and cautioned that the approach will increase tensions and have dire consequences. On Wednesday, Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of Security and Disarmament Department at Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, [COLOR="rgb(255, 250, 205)"]denounced Tel Aviv's hawkish rhetoric on Iran over its nuclear program as "inventions" that "are increasing the tension and could encourage moves towards a military solution with catastrophic consequences." [/COLOR]

The top Russian official also described the speculations over Iran's nuclear program as "noise" and reiterated that such allegations "have political and propaganda objectives, which are far from being inoffensive."

The US and its close ally Israel have recently intensified their war rhetoric against Iran. The two arch foes of the Islamic Republic accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads.

Iran vehemently denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry. Iran has, in return, warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv.

The United States has long stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran's progress in the field of nuclear technology.

Iran has warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, it will target 32 American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway.
"

Lounge? Shouldn't this be in issues?

A question indeed, maybe the mods of the "issues" thread will enlighten you/us.

Asia Times Online :: Attack on Iran easier said than done

"WASHINGTON - Despite renewed media speculation regarding possible Israeli attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities as early as this spring, skepticism that such a campaign could actually be successfully carried out remains relatively high, raising the question of whether there is more bark than bite to Israeli threats.

It cannot expect a repeat of 1981 when the Israeli air force destroyed the Osirak reactor at Al-Tuwaythah, just south of Baghdad.

The Iranians are aware of both Israeli capabilities and the US-made precision-guided penetrating munitions in the Israeli inventory. The Iranian program has been dispersed all over the country - estimates range between 12 and more than 20 locations - and the facilities have been built with US and Israeli capabilities in mind and are protected by modern Russian air defense systems.

The single-most critical element of the Iranian program is thought to be the Natanz facility. The heart of the facility is the centrifuge area, located in an underground, hardened structure.

But even if Israel tries to limits the target set, it would still have to attack other facilities besides Natanz. For example, the newer Fordow fuel-enrichment plant near Qom, where Iran has already moved 3.5% enriched uranium from Natanz, is built into the side of a mountain and is heavily fortified. There is a uranium conversion plant at Isfahan, a heavy-water facility being constructed at Arak and centrifuge factories outside Tehran. "

The article continues with a breakdown of the Israeli airforce calculating which routes are best, which countries will "enable" them and the consequences to those countries from Iranian response.

It concludes with

"Theoretically, the Israelis could do this, but at great risk of failure. If they decided to attack Natanz, they would have to inflict sufficient damage the first time - they probably would not be able to mount follow-on strikes at other facilities.

The ultimate question is once Israeli planes have flown back, won't Iran be able to repair the damage and accelerate the nuclear program? Or does Israel assume that the US would pick up where they left and start a long-term war with Iran? "

Iran stops oil exports to six EU countries - state TV | Reuters

"(Reuters) - Iran has stopped oil exports to six European states in retaliation for European Union sanctions imposed on the Islamic state's key export, its English-language Press TV reported on Wednesday.

"Iran cuts its oil exports to six European countries," Press TV reported.

Press TV said Iran has stopped exporting oil to Netherlands, Greece, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Brent crude oil prices were up $1 a barrel to $118.35 shortly after the announcement.

The EU's 27 member states have decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this.

Iran's oil minister said on February 4 that the Islamic state would certainly cut its oil exports to "some" European countries."

Looks like Iran has the oil contracts it needs in the bag.

Originally Posted by Hampsha

If there is a war with Iran can we make it 'The west against the rest' We can wipe out Iran and Israel as well as north korea, china, burma, pakistan, all the other stans, venezuela, mexico(what the hell), Russia, Greece, Spain, Nigeria (gotta put an end to those scammers), all those other places in Africa where rapists and people that cut of hands live are and Switzerland (they deserve it) along with a few other areas where facists have settled in the western world like that strip from Texas to the Atlantic in the states.

Thus spake the voice of moderation.



(Can we do France and Belgium as well, they're horrible c**ts).

Originally Posted by Hampsha

If there is a war with Iran can we make it 'The west against the rest' We can wipe out Iran and Israel as well as north korea, china, burma, pakistan, all the other stans, venezuela, mexico(what the hell), Russia, Greece, Spain, Nigeria (gotta put an end to those scammers), all those other places in Africa where rapists and people that cut of hands live are and Switzerland (they deserve it) along with a few other areas where facists have settled in the western world like that strip from Texas to the Atlantic in the states.

let's make it simpler and nuke America and England, everyone in the world fucking hate them

I offered the southern US already. That's all you are getting.

Originally Posted by Hampsha

I offered the southern US already. That's all you are getting.

Will that get Mexico?

Originally Posted by Hampsha

I offered the southern US already. That's all you are getting.

let's keep NY and San Francisco, the only place in the US where Americans are not complete retards

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

(Can we do France and Belgium as well, they're horrible c**ts).

Essex, that is after N&J leave in March. Bournemouth and Manchester any time tomorrow would be good.

Iran sends reply to Ashton?s letter on 5+1 talks - Tehran Times



"TEHRAN – Iran sent a reply on Wednesday to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s letter dated October 2011.

Ashton represents the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany) in nuclear negotiations with Iran.

The letter contains suggestions about the date, venue, and agenda of new round of talks about Iran’s nuclear program between Tehran and the 5+1 group, Ali Baqeri, the deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

It is more than likely that the new round of talks will be held in Istanbul in the near future.

The Iranian official also emphasized that the Islamic Republic will accept no preconditions for the resumption of talks with the six major powers.

In a letter to Iran dated October 2011, Ashton announced that the 5+1 group is willing to resume talks with Iran within weeks if Tehran is prepared to “engage seriously in meaningful discussions.”

The letter came after Saeed Jalili, Iran’s SNSC secretary and chief nuclear negotiator, wrote a letter in September 2011 to Ashton announcing Iran’s readiness to resume talks.

If Iran is ready to discuss concrete confidence-building measures without preconditions, “we would be willing to agree on a next meeting within the coming weeks at a mutually convenient venue,” Ashton said.

“I welcome your suggestion to resume talks, in order to take fundamental steps for sustainable cooperation,” she said."

Excellent move, lets hope they last a while and not just a couple of days of tongue lashing.