Everyone will miscalculate Post "Mission Accomplished"

Started by Adnan Darwash, Jun 08 2012 04:54 AM * Reply to this topic No replies to this topic #1 Adnan Darwash * * Guests Posted 08 June 2012 - 04:54 AM According to the Zionist Guru, Dr Henry Kissinger, only a deaf person is unable to hear the drums of war in the Middle East. The USraeli war mongers have been implementing the “Triple-Post Offense” against the new "Axis of Evil" represented by Iran, Syria and Lebanon. The use of the media, the diplomatic and economic pressure coupled with covert and/or overt military intervention to topple respective regimes. But impartial observers can't help but notice the disastrous outcomes of the past military interventions in Libya and Iraq and predict dire consequences for everyone if the USraelis ever to succeed in toppling the regimes of Syria and Iran or in attacking Hezbullah. In post-Saddam Iraq, the pro-Iranian and anti- American Shiats are in power while post-Gheddafi Libya is practically in the hands of armed Islamists, some of which, cooperate openly with Al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb. The toppling of the minority Alawaites regime of Dr Al-Assad, will most prabably trigger a civil war supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey on one side and Iran, Iraq and Hezbullah on the other. Further escalation of the conflict is apt to involve Russia and America. So missiles, including nuclear war heads, are expected to fly in every direction which will damage those directly involved and those on the fringes like Israel, Saudi Arabia and the massive Western interests.The Missions in the Middle East may be Accomplished while the ground will most probably be controlled by bearded anti-USraeli Jihadists, in other words, back to square one. It is like in Afghanistan, as after 11 years of wars, killing and destruction the Americans want to negotiate with the Taliban. == In Baghdad, Ali Baba had gone but his thieves are in control The Americans have invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, on behalf of Israel, albeit claiming it was carried out to liberate Iraq. Very few people outside the American Zombies were buying the American logic as their hatred for Arabs and Muslims was clearly manifested at Abu-Ghraib, the trigger-happy mercenaries, the massacres in Fallujah, the killing of innocent passers-by using helicopter gunships while Bush dirty-work squads blew up mosques and assassinated Iraqi scientists, with impunity. Before the US invasion, Iraqi borders were hermetic and Iraq neighbors respected Iraq sovereignty. There was law and order in the country while kids were able to walk to their schools without being afraid of kidnapping, blown up to pieces or filled with lead along with their parents by the likes of US-hired Blackwater criminal gangs. But the worst thing the Americans have done was to introduce a system and selected corrupt Americans and Iraqi fraudsters to implement it, making Iraq one of the most corrupt country in the world. The US-installed Kurds, Sunnis and Shiats to rule Iraq are currently accusing each other of corruption. In fact they are all correct. It seems that Ali Baba (Sadam) has gone but thousands of US-imported thieves have replaced Saddam family members and close associates. Similarly, in Libya, Ali Baba (Gheddafi) has gone but thousands of thieves are tearing apart the country hoping to get a piece of its resources. There are good and bad people in every nation. In Germany, a country with high culture, a leader like Hitler had encouraged armed gangs (the baddies) to chase the German intellectuals (the goodies) out of the country or face liquidation and went to establish a barbaric NAZI state. Similarly, in US-occupied Iraq, uncivilized and trigger-happy American cowboys have destroyed Iraqi infrastructure and imported and installed crooks and fraudsters to rule the country and to implement their designs. It is the biggest and worst crime of the 21st century and no-one, until today, was able to bring the US and UK war criminals to justice. The International Criminal Court in La Hague is able to show their muscles on the likes of Charles Taylor but never on Tony Blair, George Bush and the scores of Jewish advisers to face Justice. If this ever to happen it will discourage USraeli and British war mongers from violating human rights (kidnapping, rendition, or torture) or declaring wars that destroy countries. == 0 Why US graduates, Like Dr Morsi, are usually anti US foreign policy? Started by Adnan Darwash, Jun 25 2012 01:14 PM * Reply to this topic No replies to this topic #1 Adnan Darwash * * Guests Posted 25 June 2012 - 01:14 PM After meeting President Kwame Nkruma of Ghana In 1961, late President J.F. Kennedy issued an order to the relevant governmental departments and to foreign aid agencies asking them to setting up programs helping and paying attention to the large number of foreign students in the country. He said that the current practices of neglecting and mistreating these students are working against us as the worst anti-American leaders of Latin America, Asia and Africa are graduates of US universities. In support of Kennedy’s observation, President Kwame Nkruma was awarded Lenin Prize for peace by the Soviet Union in 1963 or during the height of the cold war, despite being an American graduate. While in the US Mr Nkruma was on the FBI watch list while working as a shoe-shine boy to support his studies and to experience US inhumane treatments of its black citizens. Similarly, one can safely assume that Dr Morsi was on the FBI watch list while studying and later on teaching in the USA, that is some 60 years after President Kennedy’s recommendation to treat with respect foreign students. One must mention here that there is a difference between being anti-America and Anti-American. It can may be said with a certain degree of confidence that the majority of US graduates remember with gratitude the generosity of the American people and appreciate the quality of the highly-esteemed US educational institutes, while not necessarily supporting US foreign policy. The Americans should not expect honest and highly-educated people like Dr Mohammed Morsi to promote US government policy of double standards and selective morality in support of Arab dictators and in embracing Israeli atrocities and violations of UN Security council resolutions. The US government had to choose between being a party to all Israeli crimes, and in the process, antagonise 350 million Arabs and over one billion Muslims or revert to international legality. President Obama would like President Morsi to be a peace president, but Obama must also know that Arabs are after a just peace and not the one dictated by the Nazi-style practices of the current Zionist entity in Tel Aviv. Instead of having a friendly government in Egypt run by a US graduate, the Americans have to re-calculate and re-draw their plans for the Middle East starting with firing Obama Zionist advisors that led the US to the Quagmire of Iraq and to embracing Israeli policies on Iran which; had angered an entire generation. Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times == Iran says can destroy U.S. bases "minutes after attack" Wed, Jul 04 14:55 PM EDT By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has threatened to destroy U.S. military bases across the Middle East and target Israel within minutes of being attacked, Iranian media reported on Wednesday, as Revolutionary Guards extended test-firing of ballistic missiles into a third day. Israel has hinted it may attack Iran if diplomacy fails to secure a halt to its disputed nuclear energy program. The United States also has mooted military action as a last-resort option but has frequently nudged the Israelis to give time for intensified economic sanctions to work against Iran. "These bases are all in range of our missiles, and the occupied lands (Israel) are also good targets for us," Amir Ali Haji Zadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, was quoted by Fars news agency as saying. Haji Zadeh said 35 U.S. bases were within reach of Iran's ballistic missiles, the most advanced of which commanders have said could hit targets 2,000 km (1,300 miles) away. "We have thought of measures to set up bases and deploy missiles to destroy all these bases in the early minutes after an attack," he added. It was not clear where Haji Zadeh got his figures on U.S. bases in the region. U.S. military facilities in the Middle East are located in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Turkey, and it has around 10 bases further afield in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan. SCEPTICISM Defence analysts are often sceptical about what they describe as exaggerated military assertions by Iran and say the country's military capability would be no match for sophisticated U.S. defence systems. Iranian media reported that this week's three-day "Great Prophet 7" tests involved dozens of missiles and domestically-built drones that successfully destroyed simulated air bases. Iran has upped its fiery anti-West rhetoric in response to the launch on Sunday of a total European Union embargo on buying Iranian crude oil - the latest calibrated increase in sanctions aimed at pushing Tehran into curbing nuclear activity. Revolutionary Guards commanders have also threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than a third of the world's seaborne oil trade passes out of the Gulf, in response to the increasingly harsh sanctions. Major powers have said they would tolerate no obstruction of commercial traffic through the Strait, and the United States maintains a formidable naval presence in the Gulf region. Iran accused the West of disrupting global energy supplies and creating regional instability and says its forces can dominate the vital waterway to provide security. "The policy of the Islamic Republic is based on maintaining security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz for all ships and oil tankers," Iranian English-language state Press TV quoted the chairman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, as saying. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of using its nuclear program to covertly develop all the components required to produce nuclear weapons, accusations the Iranian officials have repeatedly denied. The world's No. 5 oil exporter maintains that it is enriching uranium for nuclear fuel only to generate more energy for a rapidly growing population. (Editing by Mark Heinrich) ===

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 Iraq’s Sadrists Back Off Attacks Upon Prime Minister Maliki For Now Iranian pressure has often been pointed to as a possible cause for Sadr’s change in position, but that overlooks important facts. Iraq’s ambassador to Iraq has been pushing Sadr and other Iraqi parties to end their arguments. The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Qods Force General Qasim Suleimani and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were said to be in talks with Sadr. Sadr’s former teacher, and spiritual leader of the movement, Ayatollah Kadhem al-Hussein al-Haeri who is based in Iran sent a message to Sadr saying that he shouldn’t split the Shiite parties by going after Maliki. Haeri then issued a fatwa meant to pressure Sadr to back off his no confidence drive. Sadr was then called to Tehran at the beginning of June, where Iranian officials pushed him to give Maliki a two-month reprieve to work out his differences with his opponents. Iran is concerned about the political crisis in Iraq, because it does not want instability on its doorstep. That’s especially true now, because it is dealing with the chaos in Syria, which threatens one of its closest allies in the region. It has therefore been pressing parties like the Sadrists to come to some sort of resolution to their differences. Tehran’s influence is limited in this matter however. Despite Iran’s efforts, Sadr has maintained his back and forth stance towards Maliki, and will likely continue with it into the foreseeable future. That’s because Sadr is thinking about his political future, and that outweighs the concerns of Tehran. SOURCES Abdul-Zahra, Qassim and Murphy, Brian, “Iran rallies to aid Iraq’s embattled leader,” Associated Press, 6/19/12 AIN, “Iran pressurizes to prevent withdrawing confidence from Maliki, says Naji,” 6/6/12 - “Kinani denies reaching agreement between Sadr Trend, SLC in Iran,” 6/6/12 - “MP announces completing signatures required to withdraw confidence from Maliki,” 6/16/12 - “Musawi expects holding meeting involves all blocs leaders,” 6/16/12 - “Musawi: Sadr Trend, SLC about to reach agreement to settle crisis,” 6/6/12 - “Sadr insinuates his Trend recantation concerning withdrawing confidence from Maliki,” 7/1/12 - “Sadr: To have Shiite dictator means “Real danger faces Shiite,” 6/16/12 - “Sadrist MP: Investigating side for Maliki must be adherent to reformation demands,” 6/15/12 - “SLC MP : Maliki, Sadr talks tackled settling political crisis,” 6/16/12 Associated Press, “Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Maliki fights off attempt to push him out of office,” 6/11/12 Aswat al-Iraq, “Al-Sadr in Najaf to take strong stance on unseating al-Maliki – source,” 6/14/12 Baghdadi, Salam, “Kurdish MP: Sadrists still demand replacing Maliki,” AK News, 6/26/12 Brosk, Raman “We’re awaiting request to parliament to hold emergency no confidence meeting, says Ahrar bloc,” AK News, 6/9/12 Habib, Mustafa, “sadrist political leader: ‘most important thing is to remove al-maliki,’” Niqash, 6/21/12 Hiltermann, Joost, conversation, June 2012 Independent Press Agency, “Lebanese newspaper: Khamenei intervened to pressure on the chest to dissuade him from withdrawing confidence from the Maliki,” 6/13/12 Jakes, Lara, “Firebrand cleric says Iraqi premier should resign,” Associated Press, 6/24/12 Mohammed, Fryad, “Kurdish official: Withdrawing confidence from Maliki “impossible,”” AK News, 7/3/12 Mustapha, Hamza, “Al-Maliki and al-Sadr’s war of words escalates,” Asharq al-Awsat, 6/21/12 National Iraqi News Agency, “Bahaa Al-Araji: Ahrar Bloc will not participate in questioning Al-Maliki,” 6/26/12 - “Sadr comment on al-Maliki’s statement to sweep the election results : “Saddam also claimed that his vote score 100%,” 6/22/12 - “Sadr refuses Malik’s nomination for a third term,” 6/17/12 - “Sadr : withdraw of confidence from al- Maliki pleases Mighty God,” 6/23/12 - “Sadr: Withdrawing confidence from Maliki is a divine Iraqi project,” 6/16/12 - “Sadrist MP: Maliki’s nomination for a third term is dictatorship,” 6/20/12 - “Shabandar gives the choice to Sadrists to abide the decision of the National Alliance or to leave to another Alliance,” 6/13/12 Al-Rafidayn, “Political body of the Iraqi National Alliance called the members of the political reforms,” 6/27/12 Shafaq News, “Moqtada al-Sadr indicates the existence of “harm” in interrogation of al-Maliki,” 7/1/12 Wicken, Stephen, “Sadr’s Balancing Act on Maliki,” Institute for the Study of War,” 6/18/12

== Iran losing billions as oil exports extend slump Thu, Jul 05 11:09 AM EDT SINGAPORE/TOKYO (Reuters) - Iran will see its July oil exports more than halved from regular levels seen last year because tough new Western sanctions are stifling flows and costing Tehran more than $3 billion in lost revenue per month. Declining oil exports, the lifeblood of the Iranian economy, will increase Tehran's struggle to contain spiraling inflation and mounting unemployment amid its standoff with the West over its nuclear program.

"They will eventually have to close down production. Right now it seems very unlikely that they will get any relief from sanctions any time soon," said an executive with a Western oil firm with a long history of dealing with Iran.

Exports in July will be a maximum of 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), said an industry source familiar with Iran's monthly shipping plans and who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Iranian exports have declined steadily from the 2.2 million bpd average in 2011, as its oil buyers cut imports to comply with U.S. and European Union sanctions imposed due to concerns the country is attempting to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says its nuclear activities are peaceful. It was estimated to have shipped between 1.2 million and 1.3 million bpd in June, industry sources said last month. But actual July exports could be even lower as top buyer China disputes freight costs with Iran's top tanker company, delaying the loading of cargoes set to flow east. India, Iran's second-largest oil buyer, could also reduce July loadings as Iran struggles to find tankers of the size Indian refiners require. Japan and South Korea, among Iran's top five buyers, have halted all Iranian imports this month due to complications with shipping insurance, also sanctioned by the EU. Japan is expected to resume buying this year. It has been granted exemption from U.S. sanctions last month after having already steeply reduced purchases. If Iran exported 1.1 million bpd in July, it would mean the country's budget losing around $3.4 billion revenue this month compared with a year ago, when exports amounted to 2.2 million bpd and Brent oil prices stood at around $110 versus $100 today. Iranian oil usually sells at a discount of several dollars to benchmark dated Brent. DWINDLING STORAGE SPACE As sales fall, Iran has been forced to store its unwanted crude on tankers in the Gulf and cut production to an estimated 2.95 million bpd, the lowest in nearly a quarter of a century, as it runs out of onshore and offshore storage capacity. In April, shipping sources said Iran had been forced to deploy more than half its fleet to store oil at anchorage in the Gulf, equating to 33 million barrels. The country is expected to store at least a further 8.3 million barrels this month, double the amount in June, the source familiar with the shipping plans said. But as it stores more crude, it may struggle to complete deliveries to Asian customers, who request Iran makes deliveries on its own tankers. The Islamic Republic is expected to load a maximum of 890,000 barrels per day for its top Asia buyers, the source said, down 40 percent from the 1.48 million bpd taken during the same period last year. China was scheduled to take a maximum of 492,000 bpd for July loading and India some 300,000 bpd at most. Japan will load around 98,000 bpd for mid-August delivery, industry sources said. In Europe, Turkey and Italy were the only countries which continue to import Iranian oil after the start of the EU embargo. Turkey is buying around 160,000 bpd of oil from Tehran, down about a fifth from last year's average. Italy was exempted from EU sanctions because it is owed about $1 billion by Iran and South Africa is also continuing imports. This week, Kenya emerged as the potential buyer of up to 80,000 bpd of Iranian oil, but quickly cancelled the deal under pressure from Washington and Brussels. (Reporting by Luke Pachymuthu in Singapore and Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo, Peg Mackey in London; Writing by Randy Fabi and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Simon Webb and David Hulmes) == Iran plans to sell oil via private group, evade ban Sat, Jul 07 09:23 AM EDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has reached agreements with European refiners to sell some of its oil through a private consortium, an official said on Saturday, a move designed to circumvent sanctions intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt its disputed nuclear program. The head of the oil products exporters' union said the agreement between the exporters' union, Iran's central bank, and the oil ministry would get round a European Union ban on shipping insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil, though he gave few details and did not name the refiners involved. The EU put into effect a ban on the importation, purchase, or shipping of Iranian oil on July 1, and the Islamic Republic will see its oil exports fall by more than 50 percent this month from last year's regular levels, costing it billions of dollars a month in revenue. "There have been discussions with European refiners, and a final agreement has even been reached," said Hassan Khosrojerdi, the exporters' union head, according to Iran's Mehr News Agency. "In accordance with the agreement, it is planned that 20 percent of Iran's oil exports will go through this private consortium." He added: "It is likely that because of international restrictions, we will give minor privileges or discounts to some of the buyers of our oil." Khosrojerdi did not say which refiners were involved or how they would receive the oil. Asked what steps had been taken to circumvent the shipping insurance ban, he said only "With the agreement with some of the European refiners, this problem has been solved completely." Iran's oil ministry authorized the private export of Iranian oil in May, the Iranian Student News Agency reported at the time. Historically, Iran's National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) was solely responsible for the sale and marketing of Iran's crude. Before the EU embargo, Iran sold about one fifth of its crude to Europe. EU sanctions targeting insurance have severely disrupted Iran's oil sales to Asia as well, and Japan, one of Iran's top buyers, will import no Iranian crude in July. (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati, editing by Tim Pearce) ============= ALERT Attack on Iran would be disastrous for region: Russia By Asad Farooq - Feb 23rd, 2012 (1 Comment) 7 Moscow: Russia has categorically said that attack on Iran would be disastrous for the region as well as the whole system of international relations. “The scenario of military action against Iran would be catastrophic for the region and possibly the whole system of international relations,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Wednesday. “Therefore I hope Israel understands all these consequences … and they should also consider the consequences of such action for themselves,” the Russian official added. Gatilov’s remarks came as Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said on Sunday that attacking Iran is “not prudent at this point” as it “would be destabilizing.” Israeli officials have recently ramped up their war rhetoric, threatening Iran with military strikes in case the US-engineered sanctions against the country fail to force Tehran into abandoning its civilian nuclear program. The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program, using this pretext to impose sanctions against Iran and threaten the country with military attack. Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful use. ===== West "vaccinated" Iran against sanctions: Khamenei Wed, Jul 11 09:33 AM EDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday dismissed harsher sanctions imposed on Iran this month over its disputed nuclear activity, saying the country was "100 times stronger" than before. A European Union embargo on Iranian crude oil took full effect on July 1 - a joint effort with the United States to force Tehran to curb nuclear energy work the Western powers say is a camouflaged bid to develop bombs, which Tehran denies. Prices of goods have soared and the Iranian rial has plunged in value as broader, deeper sanctions have been introduced this year targeting Iran's financial and energy sectors.

"The Iranian nation, through life, wealth and loved ones, has stood up to all plots and sanctions and has advanced to the extent that today we are 100 times stronger compared with 30 years ago," Khamenei told a women's conference in Tehran in a speech that was published on his official website. "These days Westerners are being sensational about sanctions but they don't understand that they themselves vaccinated Iran through their sanctions imposed over the last 30 years," he said. Iran's Islamic Revolution a little over three decades ago toppled the U.S.-backed shah. Iranian officials regularly shrug off sanctions, saying they have little or no effect on the country. But a combination of increasing unemployment, substantial price rises and rampant inflation is creating tough new challenges for the government.

Industry sources say Iran's oil exports have declined in the wake of the EU crude ban and extensive U.S. diplomatic efforts to get Iran's main customers to cut their imports. The United States imposed sanctions in 1979, soon after the Islamic Revolution that overthrew its monarchy. Successive U.S. administrations have added to the embargo, effectively creating a near total ban on any trade between it and Iran. The U.N. Security Council has imposed four rounds of international sanctions specifically targeting Iran's nuclear activities. Tehran says its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful energy purposes only. Six world powers and Iran have had several rounds of negotiations on how to defuse concerns over its nuclear ambitions this year but found no common ground for a deal. Senior diplomats from the EU and Iran will meet on July 24 for technical talks to try to salvage diplomatic efforts to resolve the decade-long standoff. (Reporting by Marcus George; Editing by Mark Heinrich) == FBI probes China's ZTE over Iran tech deals-report Fri, Jul 13 05:07 AM EDT 1 of 2 By Steve Stecklow LONDON (Reuters) - The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into Chinese telecoms gear maker ZTE Corp's sale of banned U.S. computer equipment to Iran and its alleged attempts to cover it up and obstruct a Department of Commerce probe, the Smoking Gun website reported. The federal investigations stem from a Reuters report in March that Shenzhen-based ZTE sold Iran's largest telecoms firm a powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile and Internet communications. The Reuters article also reported that ZTE's 907-page "Packing List" for the $120 million contract, dated July 24, 2011, included hardware and software products from several top U.S. tech companies, including Microsoft Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co, Oracle Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and Dell Inc. Sales of the equipment are prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Iran. After the Reuters report in March, ZTE said it would curtail business with Iran. The Smoking Gun published on its website excerpts from a confidential FBI affidavit based on a May interview with Ashley Kyle Yablon, the general counsel of ZTE's U.S. subsidiary in Texas. According to the affidavit, Yablon told two FBI agents that ZTE officials had discussed shredding documents, altering the packing list and denying it was genuine in an effort to subvert a Department of Commerce investigation into ZTE's sales of U.S. equipment to Iran. The Commerce Department issued a subpoena to ZTE the day after the Reuters report, seeking the Iranian contract and the packing list, according to the affidavit. SKIRTING SANCTIONS The affidavit stated that Yablon told the FBI that a ZTE attorney had told him the company "was concerned about how the Reuters reporter obtained a copy of the packing list ... because it could no longer ‘hide anything.'" Yablon said he told the attorney "he would not be involved in a cover-up". Yablon stated he later saw a copy of the Iranian contract that "essentially described how ZTE would evade the U.S. embargo and obtain the U.S.-manufactured components specified in the contract for delivery to" the Iranian firm, Telecommunication Co. of Iran, according to the affidavit. Yablon also said he was told that ZTE owns "sub companies" that it uses to purchase U.S.-made telecommunications equipment for sale to countries subject to embargoes, the affidavit states. On Friday, ZTE spokesman David Shu said the company had no immediate comment. Yablon could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the FBI office in Dallas and a Justice Department spokesman in Washington both declined to comment. Late last year, Nokia Siemens Networks, a venture between Nokia and Siemens, said it would gradually reduce its business in Iran, pressured by tightening international sanctions. The venture was a key supplier to Iranian telecoms operators along with Ericsson and China's Huawei. SHARES GAIN The FBI probe presents new troubles for ZTE in the United States, where it has been trying to expand its operations. In addition to the Commerce Department probe into its sales to Iran, ZTE also is under investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee over whether its equipment represents a threat to national security. ZTE - China's second-largest telecoms equipment maker and the world's fourth-largest mobile device maker with 4.2 percent global market share in the first quarter, according to Gartner - is publicly traded, but its largest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned enterprise. In Hong Kong, ZTE shares closed 1.5 percent higher at HK$12.50. The stock has almost halved so far this year and had fallen in all of the previous six sessions on worries of soft first-half results and concerns over a dispute between China and the European Union over industry subsidies. Its Shenzhen-listed shares fell 2.3 percent. "Sentiment will be weakened, but I don't see any material impact on ZTE in terms of earnings," said Hong Kong-based Nomura analyst Huang Leping. "ZTE may find it harder to break into the U.S. in its technical equipment division, as (the U.S.) becomes more strict and puts more restrictions on technical equipment due to security concerns." (Additional reporting by David Ingram, Chyen Yee Lee in HONG KONG and Melanie Lee in SHANGHAI; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) ================ Insight: Despite sanctions, Apple gear booms in Iran Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:05am EDT Print This Article[-] Text [+] 1 of 1Full SizeBy Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - At its gleaming store, RadanMac offers the latest Apple gear - the new iPad, iPhones, iPods, laptops, all-in-one desktop computers and more. But this is no ordinary Apple store. It's in Tehran, where Apple and other U.S. computer products are banned under U.S. sanctions that have been in place for years. Despite the embargo, RadanMac is one of an estimated 100 stores in the Iranian capital that openly sell Apple products, often at little more than U.S. prices. "Business has been booming for the last three years," said Majid Tavassoli, the store's owner, in a phone interview. He said his company employs more than 20 staffers and has been supplying Apple products to Iranian buyers since 1995. The company also has a servicing unit and a business sales arm whose clients have included the Central Bank of Iran, state television channels, newspapers and design professionals. Iran's booming Apple business underscores the limitations of economic sanctions by the United States and other countries. Washington and its allies have imposed sanctions in an attempt to curb Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran maintains is peaceful. U.S. companies are barred from selling any goods or services to Iran unless they obtain special authorization. The focus of the sanctions has been on Iran's banks and oil industry, Iranian individuals and companies that Western capitals believe are assisting what they suspect is Tehran's drive towards a nuclear weapons capability. But U.S. consumer products and computer equipment are another matter. Although they are banned, enterprising Iranian merchants continue to source them through underground trade routes in the Middle East and beyond. In the case of Apple, some digital sales of music, videos and software go directly through the California company - via its iTunes and App Store online services. According to Tehran computer dealers, Iran is a rapidly growing market for software downloads: Iranians register Apple accounts with randomly-chosen addresses outside the country, and use foreign gift-cards to pay for purchases. In response, a spokesman for Apple Inc referred Reuters to its export control policy that restricts it or any subsidiaries it owns from exporting any products to Iran. Once considered rare and sought-after, iPhones and iPads are now de rigueur in Iran among those who can afford them. The epicenter of the trade is Tehran's largest technology mall, the bustling Capital Computer Complex, where more than 350 traders supply products for Iran's increasingly tech-savvy population. One of RadanMac's competitors is a smaller firm called Apple Iran. Its website is a nearly exact replica of Apple's own, except for the Persian language and a disclaimer: "This website is not in anyway affiliated with Apple Inc." Apple has been attempting to shut it down, according to a person familiar with the matter. "We're really proud of it," says Apple Iran spokesman Ali Afghah, an Apple enthusiast and author of a Farsi-language study on the history of the company. "I'm known as the Apple guy by friends and family," said the 28-year-old, who bought his first Apple computer in 2002 and now describes himself as a "Mac-head." "It was different then," he said. "The products were around double the price." Like RadanMac, Apple Iran boasts an impressive cast of corporate customers for its services. Along with major Iranian banks, they have included IRIB - Iran's state broadcasting network - newspapers and magazines, Afghah said. "There must be at least 1,000 editors in Iran now using Macs, if not more," he estimated. Neither government officials nor editors responded to requests for comment on whether they used Apple technology. In recent months, Afghah said, Apple Iran has seen sales decline because of tough new sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies against Iran's financial sector. The new measures have caused Iran's currency, the rial, to plummet and made international payments from Iranian banks much more complex. The company relies on a steady stream of creative individuals - including musicians, film editors and photographers - to keep its business going. Tavassoli set up RadanMac - in Farsi, the word "radan" means "the one who does everything correctly" - after his employer, a Middle Eastern computer company, pulled out of Iran. He had worked there as a service engineer for Apple products. Left with the company's spare parts, he said he invested a few thousand dollars and spent the next 15 years combining his love of Apple technology with trying to make a living out of it. "To start with, it was really tough," said the 51-year-old. "Four of my colleagues gave up and moved back to the States. But I love what I do." Despite the sanctions, Tavassoli said there was no shortage of business because of Iranians' love for the latest technology. Still, sales come with major headaches and taking big investment risks. Like many traders, he prefers to order directly from distributors in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. But the tightening embargoes against Iran's financial system since the beginning of this year now make direct shipments more problematic, especially if they are large. He can use Dubai or Turkey as an alternative transit point but that incurs additional duties and shipping fees. Iranian customs also needs to be paid: around 4% for portable products and a whopping 60% for larger components, such as desktop iMacs and monitors. Even so, prices often remain competitive with authorized Apple dealers outside Iran. The lowest spec MacBook Pro was priced in Tehran this month at around $1,250, compared to $1,200 (before tax) for the slightly updated model in New York. This is significantly cheaper than buying the product in many European capitals. The fluctuations in Iran's volatile open market dollar rate mean that prices change every day. Apple dealers in Iran often manage to obtain the company's newest models within weeks of their release and at reasonable prices. The latest releases also show up sooner via opportunistic travelers who purchase them abroad and resell them at highly inflated prices. Obtaining spare parts poses particular challenges. RadanMac draws customers by offering a one-year service contract with all sales. "It's Iranian Apple Care," Tavassoli said with a chuckle, alluding to the name of Apple's own technical support and warranty services. In the absence of a reliable supply of spare parts his team often has to borrow from new computers to fix old ones. "It's one of the most difficult issues we face," he says. In the meantime, Iranian demand for Apple's own online stores is rising, say Apple traders who report a sharp rise in requests from customers. Thirty-year-old computer engineer Sina, who didn't want his family name to be published, said he set up an iTunes account for his girlfriend after buying her an iPod. Computer users in Iran trying to download directly from iTunes eventually will see a "1009 error message," which indicates that the service is blocked to the country from which the connection is being made. Sina said he circumvented the block on Iranian Internet addresses by using a secure, virtual private network to access the Apple website. Then he downloaded iTunes. He first tried to register an account with a U.S. address he found on the Internet, but encountered problems. But a Canadian address worked. He also bought online a Canadian gift card to make purchases. "Everything worked fine," he said. He noted that many young Iranians use gift cards on iTunes to buy games and apps, not music. "In Iran, music is mostly piracy and just copied to iTunes from other sources," he said. Iranian computer sellers agree the practice of outfoxing iTunes is becoming very common in Iran. Tavassoli says his company now focuses on Farsi-language educational tools it has developed for its clients. He has produced video tutorials, given seminars and produced an app for iPhone users that is available on iTunes. "If you can provide your customers with everything they need, you'll survive," said the entrepreneur, who spent seven years in the United States. Tavassoli's investment and hard work seem to have paid off. But not being allowed contact with the company he has devoted his career to remains an enduring source of frustration. "Over the years I've personally installed more than 4,000 Macs here," he said. "Apple would be so damn proud of me and yet it doesn't even know me. That hurts, that really hurts." (Marcus George reported from Dubai; additional reporting by Steve Stecklow in Washington and London; edited by Mike Williams) © Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved. == Iran renews Hormuz closure threats Sun, Jul 15 13:18 PM EDT DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran renewed threats on Sunday to close the Strait of Hormuz unless sanctions against it were revoked, though it remains unclear how Tehran could shut down the vital oil shipping channel given the significant American military presence there. The Iranian parliament is considering a bill calling for the strait to be closed. The assembly has little control over national defense and foreign policy decisions and, while the bill would be largely symbolic, it would indicate the legislature's support behind any leadership decision to close the strait. "(Under the bill) the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will continue until the annulment of all the sanctions imposed against Iran," lawmaker Javad Karimi Qoddousi was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency. The bill will be taken up by parliament this month, said another lawmaker, Seyed Mehdi Moussavinejad, Fars reported. Foreign and national defence policy rests with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel, through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports passes, in retaliation for sanctions placed on its crude exports by Western powers. The sanctions were imposed over Iran's nuclear programme, which the West suspects is aimed at creating an atomic weapon and Tehran says is for peaceful energy purposes. The United States has beefed up its presence in the Gulf, adding a navy ship last week to help mine-clearing operations if Iran were to act on its threats. The Iranian chief of staff of the armed forces, Seyed Hassan Firouzabadi, said on Sunday that any decision to close the strait would have to come from Khamenei, with the Supreme National Security Council advising him, according to Fars. Military analysts have cast doubt on Iran's willingness to block the slender waterway, given the massive U.S.-led retaliation it would likely incur. Alarmed by the Iranian threats, the United Arab Emirates has completed a long-awaited oil export terminal on the Gulf of Oman, loading the first cargo on Sunday. The Gulf OPEC member hopes to increase exports from the new facility to around 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd). An Iranian official said on Sunday that the UAE pipeline would not be able to meet the world's oil demand if the Strait of Hormuz were closed. (Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo) =================== U.S. can defeat any Iranian effort to block oil shipping: Panetta Wed, Jul 18 13:55 PM EDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has the military capacity to defeat any Iranian attempt to shut down sea commerce in the oil-rich Gulf region and will hold Tehran directly responsible for shipping disruptions, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday. "The United States is fully prepared for all contingencies here," Panetta told a Pentagon news conference. "We've invested in capabilities to ensure that the Iranian attempt to close down shipping in the Gulf is something that we are going to be able to defeat, if they make a decision to do that." Panetta's comments came amid rising tensions in the region over Iran's nuclear program and its threats to close the vital Strait of Hormuz unless the international community revokes sanctions imposed on Iranian oil shipments. A security team aboard a U.S. Navy oiler opened fire with a .50 caliber machine gun on a small boat off the United Arab Emirates this week after it failed to heed warnings to alter its course. An Indian fisherman was killed and three others were wounded in the incident, which is under investigation. Concerns about the security situation in the region have prompted the Pentagon to bolster its military presence, announcing this week, for example, that it would move the USS Stennis aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf four months earlier than planned in order to maintain current force levels. The Stennis will replace another carrier that is being withdrawn, which would have left one strike group in the region to counter Iran and support U.S. combat air operations in Afghanistan. The U.S. military announced on Tuesday more than 20 countries would participate in anti-mine exercises in the region in September. The exercises will not take place in the Strait and the Pentagon denied it was sending a message to Iran. The USS Ponce, a forward staging base ship, arrived in the Gulf earlier this month to help support mine countermeasure operations and other maritime security efforts in the region, the military said. British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond, appearing at the Pentagon news conference with Panetta, said London was committed to helping ensure Gulf sea lanes remained open. "I can reaffirm our commitment to play our part in maintaining freedom of navigation in the international waters of the Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz," Hammond said. "Any attempt by Iran to close the Straits would be illegal and the international community will not allow it to happen." Panetta said Washington was prepared to respond to any move against sea commerce by Tehran. "The Iranians need to understand that the United States and the international community are going to hold them directly responsible for any disruption of shipping in that region, by Iran or for that matter by its surrogates," he said. (Reporting by Phil; Stewart and David Alexander; Editing by Paul Simao) ====== U.S. Navy helicopter crashes in Oman, fate of crew unknown Thu, Jul 19 12:45 PM EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed in Oman on Thursday and the fate of its five crew members was unknown, the U.S. military said, even as it ruled out hostile activity. The helicopter, a MH-53E Sea Dragon, manufactured by United Technologies Corp's Sikorsky Aircraft unit, crashed 58 miles southwest of Muscat while flying a heavy load in support of the Omani government. "The crash was not due to any sort of hostile activity and the status of the five crew members is still being determined," said the statement from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, adding the crash was under investigation. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Jackie Frank)