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)

FACTBOX-Ups and downs in U.S.-Iranian relations

The Iranian straw may break the back of USraeli camel back Obama between the Jewish hammer and the Republican Anvil
#1 Adnan Darwash
Group:Guests

Posted 09 November 2011 - 11:24 AM
The USraeli war mongers started to beat the war drums after the success of US-led NATO forces to neutralise Gheddafi defences and to defeat his rag-tag army. Now it is the turn of Iran-Syria-Hezbullah alliance. The first pretext was the presumed Iranian plot to kill a Saudi ambassador to Washington. The second is Iran potential nuclear bombs. But can Obama and Netanyahu team up to destroy Iran without severe damage to the interests of both countries. The Iranians are not faint-hearted or easy to push around. As a matter of fact they have already challenged the Usraeli war mongers to try their luck. The USraelis will eventually plan to saturate Iran war theatre with all kinds of non-conventional weapons to disable its ability to retaliate. But it is the day after that will be so shocking to the USraelis. It is expected that the Iranians will try to attack US ships and bases in the Persian gulf including the Gulf oil fields. Furthermore the US military and civilian personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Oman will be at the mercy of Iranian fighters.

The Israelis who are used to seeing the Americans fighting their Jewish wars and eliminating their enemies will be in for suprises. But who will gain from such wars on Iran, Syria and Lebanon? The first are the arm industries followed by the oil cartels. The Syrians will love it as the attention will be diverted away from the current national uprising against the regimes.

People of the Persian Gulf may see Iran as a saviour from the age-old rotten and corrupt Emirs, Sultans, Kings and Sheikhs. Most people of the wolrd will cheer seeing America losing so much. The Europeans may forget the chronic crisis of their union and currency. While Arabs and Muslims will love seeing Israeli arrogance going up in flames. In the past the Iranians depended on God , which former president Carter didn't account for when he failed to rescue the US hostages from Tehran. As many have predicetd, the coming days will be pregnant with interesting events and developments.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times

================================
04 Nov 2011 13:42
Source: Reuters // Reuters

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Iran marked the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy on Friday with burning flags and chants of "Death to America", ramping up anti-U.S. rhetoric ahead of the release of a pivotal U.N. report on its nuclear programme.

Iran and the United States broke diplomatic ties following the 1979 Islamic revolution and the storming of the U.S. embassy in Tehran 32 years ago.

Following is an historical survey of U.S.-Iranian relations:

* 1953 - A COUP:

-- In August 1953, the CIA helped orchestrate the overthrow of Iran's democratically elected and popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, restoring the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, to power.

-- Washington acted after Britain, opposed to Mossadegh's policy of nationalising Iran's British-controlled oil industry, convinced U.S. officials the prime minister was turning to communism. As Britain's power faded, the United States became the symbol of what many Iranians saw as Western imperialism.

* 1972 - CEMENTING A RELATIONSHIP:

-- A 1972 visit by U.S. President Richard Nixon cemented a close strategic relationship between Iran and the United States. But opposition to the Shah, led by exiled cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, mounted over the next few years.

* 1979 - KHOMEINI RETURNS:

-- After bloody clashes between protesters and troops, the Shah fled into exile in January 1979. The next month, Khomeini returned to Iran in triumph to seal victory for an Islamic revolution whose mantra was "Death to America".

-- In November 1979, Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 90 hostages; 52 were held captive for 444 days, prompting Washington to break relations in 1980.

* 1986 - ARMS DEAL:

-- U.S. President Ronald Reagan admitted to secret arms deals with Iran that broke a U.S. embargo. The trade was aimed at winning the release of Americans held by pro-Iranian Shi'ite Muslim militants in Lebanon. Money from the sales was secretly passed to U.S.-backed Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua. At the time, Iran was embroiled in war with President Saddam Hussein's Iraq, with Washington giving increasing support to Baghdad.

* 1997 - REFORMISTS IN CHARGE:

-- Iranian voters swept reform-minded President Mohammad Khatami to power. He promoted a "dialogue among civilisations". During his term, Iranians staged an impromptu vigil in Tehran when hijacked planes struck U.S. targets on Sept. 11, 2001.

-- After those al Qaeda attacks, Iran offered support in a U.S.-led war to topple Afghanistan's Taliban leaders, who were shielding al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Iran helped ensure the success of a multilateral post-war conference on Afghanistan. But in January 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush branded Iran part of an "axis of evil" and accused it of seeking nuclear weapons.

* 2003 - INVASION OF IRAQ:

-- The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam, a Sunni Arab leader who had been a deadly enemy of Iran, and brought to power Iraqi Shi'ite factions with closer links to Tehran.

-- As Iraq descended into insurgency and sectarian conflict, the United States accused Tehran of arming, funding and training Shi'ite militias that have attacked U.S. forces in Iraq. Iran denied this, blaming the U.S. troop presence for the violence.

* NUCLEAR STAND-OFF:

-- The United States led efforts to toughen U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activity and in March 2008 the Security Council adopted a third sanctions resolution. Iran says the programme is lawful, peaceful, designed only to generate electricity, but a history of concealing sensitive nuclear work and restricting U.N. inspections has raised Western suspicions.

-- U.S.-Iran tensions worsened after the 2005 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who berated the West, questioned the Holocaust and called for Israel to be wiped off the map. In a surprise development, a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate in late 2007 said Iran put nuclear military plans on hold in 2003.

* NEW U.S. ADMINISTRATION:

-- New U.S. President Barack Obama said in January 2009 that America was prepared to extend a hand of peace to Iran if it "unclenched its fist". Ahmadinejad said Tehran was ready to talk but demanded a fundamental change in U.S. policy.

-- In March 2009 Obama issued a videotaped appeal to Iranian leaders and their people, saying his "administration is now committed to diplomacy" that addresses the full range of issues before them and "to pursuing constructive ties".

-- Iran said later that Obama should fundamentally change Washington's policy towards Iran and should "realise its previous mistakes" and make an effort to correct them.

* WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?

-- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said last week that Iran would like to have friendly relations with the United States one day, but not under current conditions.

-- Commenting on earlier remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Washington supported the Iranian people while opposing the policies of their government, her Iranian counterpart said her message did not add up.

-- Nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, including the United States, have stalled. Washington has been pressing for new sanctions on Iran after uncovering what it says was an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington. (Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit and Edmund Blair; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

========================

Iran is top threat to U.S., military official says

04 Nov 2011 15:34
Source: Reuters // Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Iran is the biggest threat to the United States in the Middle East, surpassing al Qaeda, which is down but not out, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday.

"The biggest threat to the United States and to our interests and to our friends, I might add, has come into focus and it's Iran," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Speaking at a forum in Washington, the official said he did not believe Iran wanted to provoke a conflict, however, and added he did not know if the Islamic state had decided to build a nuclear weapon.

Next week, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, is expected to release a report that includes evidence of Iranian nuclear research which makes little sense if not weapons related, Western diplomats said.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna.)

===============

'Iran war will jeopardize ME for century'
Sat Nov 5, 2011 3:34PM GMT

Reddit

Ex-Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy
Former director of Israeli spy agency, Mossad, says any possible attack against Iran would impact the entire region for the next 100 years.


"An attack on Iran could affect not only Israel, but the entire region for 100 years," Ephraim Halevy told Israeli daily Ynet on Friday.

Halevy added that Iran is "far from posing an existential threat to Israel."

He made the remarks after reports said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have been trying to persuade the cabinet to militarily strike Iran over its nuclear program.

Israeli Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Interior Minister Eli Yishai, Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor and Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Begin remain firmly opposed to any action against Iran.

The ministers believe Israel must continue with efforts to encourage the West to exert more economic and political pressure on Iran.

They emphasize that any military action against Iran should be carried out in full coordination with the United States.

Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear work may consist of a covert military aspect.

Iran argues that it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes as a signatory to

===============


PREVIEW-IAEA report on Iran set to stoke Middle East tension

06 Nov 2011 09:38
Source: Reuters // Reuters

* Iran and foes escalating rhetoric ahead of IAEA report

* Document to deepen suspicions on Iran, but no "smoking gun"

* Tehran rejects intelligence on atomic bomb work as forged

By Fredrik Dahl

VIENNA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected this week to issue its most detailed report yet on research in Iran seen as geared to developing atomic bombs, heightening international suspicions of Iranian intentions and fuelling Middle East tension.

Western powers are likely to seize on the International Atomic Energy Agency document, which has been preceded by media speculation in Israel of military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, to press for more sanctions on the oil producer.

But Russia and China fear the publication now of the IAEA's findings could hurt any chance of diplomacy resolving the long-running nuclear row and they have lobbied against it, signalling opposition to any new punitive U.N. measures against Iran.

Iran rejects allegations of atomic weapons ambitions, saying its nuclear programme is aimed at producing electricity.

The report is tentatively scheduled to be submitted to IAEA member states on Nov. 9 before a quarterly meeting the following week of the agency's 35-nation board of governors in Vienna.

It "will be followed by a U.S.-European Union push for harsher sanctions against Iran at the U.N. Security Council, where Western powers will meet stiff resistance from Russia and China," said Trita Parsi, an expert on U.S.-Iran relations.

The document is expected to give fresh evidence of research and other activities with little other application than atomic bomb-making, including studies linked to the development of an atom bomb trigger and computer modelling of a nuclear weapon.

Sources briefed on the report also say it will include information from both before and after 2003 -- the year in which U.S. spy services estimated, in a controversial 2007 assessment, that Iran had halted outright "weaponisation" work.

Many conservative experts criticised the 2007 findings as inaccurate and naive, and U.S. intelligence agencies now believe Iranian leaders have resumed closed-door debates over the last four years about whether to build a nuclear bomb.

"The primary new information is likely to be any work that Iran has engaged in after 2003 ... Iran is understood to have continued or restarted some research and development since then," said Peter Crail of the Arms Control Association, a U.S.-based advocacy group.

The sources familiar with the document said that among other things it would support allegations that Iran built a large steel container for the purpose of carrying out tests with high explosives applicable to nuclear weapons.

"This is not a country that is sitting down just doing some theoretical stuff on a computer," a Western official said about the IAEA's body of evidence, which is based on Western intelligence as well as the agency's own investigations.

"SABRE RATTLING"

The report will flesh out and expand on concerns voiced by the IAEA for several years over allegations that Iran had a linked programme of projects to process uranium, test high explosives and modify a missile cone to take a nuclear payload.

It is not believed to contain an explicit assessment that Iran is developing a nuclear weapons capability. "The IAEA's report will not likely contain any smoking guns," said Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

But Western diplomats say the dossier will be incriminating for the Islamic Republic and present a compelling case that it is carrying out weapons-relevant work.

Iran says the accusations of military nuclear activity are forged and baseless, showing no sign of backing down in the face of intensified international pressure.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he did not fear possible revelations, saying on Saturday:

"They are claiming that they are going to publish new documents. We know what the truth is -- let them publish them and we'll see what happens. Will they not be called into question as an agency that is under pressure by foreign powers?"

But Iran's history of concealing sensitive nuclear activity and its refusal to suspend work that can potentially yield atomic bombs have already been punished by four rounds of U.N. sanctions, and separate U.S. and European punitive steps.

In the run-up to the report there has been an escalation of rhetoric on both sides.

A senior U.S. military official said on Friday Iran had become the biggest threat to the United States and Israel's president said the military option to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons was nearer.

Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 and launched a similar strike against Syria in 2007 -- precedents lending weight to its veiled threats to take similar action against Iran if foreign pressure fails to curb its atomic activities.

But many independent analysts see any such mission as too much for Israel to take on alone. Israel lacks long-range bombers that could deliver lasting damage to Iran's dispersed and fortified facilities.

Parsi said U.S. officials tended to view Israeli threats of military action as a pressure tactic to get Washington and Europe to adopt tougher sanctions against Iran.

But it he said would be dangerous to dismiss Israel's "sabre-rattling" out of hand, he said.

"How much longer can this game of brinkmanship ... be pursued before it turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy?" Parsi wrote in an article posted on the website of CNN. (Additional reporting by Sylvia Westall in Vienna and Robin Pomeroy in Tehran; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Kevin Liffey)

=======================


Iranian cleric dismisses "empty" Israel threats

06 Nov 2011 12:40
Source: Reuters // Reuters

* Talk of attacking Iran mounts in Israel

* Iran says foes don't dare strike, fear reprisals

* Cleric says threat is mere propaganda

By Ramin Mostafavi

TEHRAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A senior Iranian cleric on Sunday dismissed talk of a military strike by Israel as empty propaganda, taunting the Jewish state for screaming "like a cornered cat" rather than roaring like a lion.

Israeli media have speculated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet consensus to attack Iranian nuclear sites as Western diplomats say new evidence that Tehran researching ways to build atom bombs will be published this week.

Some analysts dismiss the speculation as part of a strategy of psychological warfare to raise pressure on Iran and bolster a case for harsher international sanctions sought by Washington, rather than endorse or participate in military action.

"The recent threats of the Zionist regime against Iran are more for internal consumption for themselves and their masters who are struggling with the Wall Street movement," said Ayatollah Mahmoud Alavi, referring to anti-capitalism protests that began in New York and have spread around the world.

"There is a difference between the roar of a lion and the scream of a cat that has been trapped in a corner," he said. "And this threat of the Zionist regime and its master America is like the scream of a cornered cat."

Alavi, a member of the Assembly of Experts, a body that appoints and supervises Iran's supreme leader, said Israel would not dare attack Iran. "If they make such a mistake they will receive a crushing response from the Islamic Republic," he told the official IRNA news agency.

Iran says it would respond to any attack by striking U.S. interests in the region and could close the Gulf to oil traffic, causing massive disruption to global crude supplies.

TICKING CLOCK

Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Friday that Western intelligence services were "looking at the ticking clock, warning leaders that there is not much time left" to stop Iran getting the bomb.

Iran is already under four rounds of United Nations sanctions due to concerns about its nuclear programme, which it says is entirely peaceful. Washington is pushing for tighter measures after discovering what it says was an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

A new report due from the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Wednesday is set to present new information fleshing out indications of possible military dimensions to its atomic work, adding impetus to the sanctions push, Western diplomats say.

Many Israelis see a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to their existence. Iranian leaders say they are religiously opposed to nuclear arms and accuse the United States and Israel, which is widely assumed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal dating back decades, of hypocrisy on the issue.

Hawks in Israel and the United States say sanctions have failed and the only way to prevent a nuclear Iran might be a pre-emptive strike -- something many military experts say would be dangerous, difficult and have unpredictable consequences.

"The Zionists and America know putting these threats into practice is very costly, the world will stand against them and that is why they will not do such a foolish thing," Alavi said.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned that military action against Iran's nuclear programme could create a "totally destabilizing" situation in the Middle East and France would instead seek to harden sanctions.

"We can still strengthen them (sanctions) to put pressure on Iran and we are going to continue along this path because a military intervention could create a totally destabilizing situation in the region," Juppe told Europe 1 radio.

"We must do everything to avoid the irreparable," he said. (Additional reporting by Alexandria Sage and Sophie Louet in Paris; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

=-==============================


Iran's Ahmadinejad defiant as U.S. raises heat-paper

06 Nov 2011 23:19
Source: Reuters // Reuters

* Accuses Washington of inventing conspiracies

* Says Israel has 300 nuclear warheads

CAIRO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The United States fears Iran's growing military power because it is now able to compete with Israel and the West, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in comments carried by an Egyptian newspaper on Monday.

Responding to a toughening stance from the United States and Israel against Tehran, Ahmadinejad accused Washington of inventing conspiracies to discredit Iran and sowing discord with its near neighbour Saudi Arabia.

"Yes, we have military capabilities that are different from any other country in the region," Egyptian daily al-Akhbar cited Ahmadinejad as saying. "Iran is increasing in capability and advancement and therefore we are able to compete with Israel and the West and especially the United States."

"The U.S. fears Iran's capability," he told the paper. "Iran will not permit (anyone from making) a move against it."

Iran's Islamic rulers, who say Israel has no right to exist, deny accusations that they are seeking nuclear weapons and have warned they will respond to any attacks by striking at Israel and U.S. interests in the Gulf.

A senior U.S. military official said on Friday Iran had become the biggest threat to the United States and Israel's president said the military option to stop the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons was nearer.

Ahmadinejad repeated that Iran does not own a nuclear bomb, but said Israel's end was inevitable.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, is expected this week to issue its most detailed report yet on research in Iran seen as geared to developing atomic bombs.

"It is Israel that has about 300 nuclear warheads. Iran is only keen to have nuclear capability for peaceful means," he said, accusing Washington of lumping Iran with Syria, the Islamist Hamas movement that rules Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The U.S. portrays those four as "the Axis of Evil to save the Zionist entity (Israel). But the Zionists are bound to go out of existence,"

he said.

Responding to a U.S. claim that Iran was involved in a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Ahmadinejad said: "Iran is farthest from thinking of carrying out such crimes but the U.S. is always inventing conspiracies against Iran".

"The U.S. fears any friendship between us and Saudi Arabia and therefore incites disagreements," he said. "To stop the U.S. in its tracks we must deepen the elements of friendship... We are ready for this and the relation between Saudi and Iran already exists and has not been cut off." (Reporting by Marwa Awad; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Matthew Jones)

==========================


In recent days, there has been a vociferous interest in Israel, the US and the UK in fanning the flames of Iranophobia in what observers see as a political red herring to engage in a catastrophic war in the Middle East.

The trio, which constitute a vicious triangle in their roguishly Iranophobic endeavors, have manifestly held secret meetings among the top security officials and formed a united front against Iran.

A recent report by The Guardian has revealed that British Chief of Defense Staff Gen. David Richards visited Tel Aviv secretly during the week, held a number of meetings with top Israeli military and intelligence officials and reassured them of Britain's unwavering support in case of an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. Further to that, the British officials revealed that the US government was mulling accelerating plans for targeted attacks on the country's nuclear sites and that Britain was prepared to be part of the plan for a possible attack.

Interestingly enough, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak arrived in London on Wednesday to hold talks with his British counterpart, with Iran of course to top the agenda. The importance of these meetings is that Britain's senior military official had not visited Israel for a decade. So, the recent meetings indicate the cementing security and military ties between the two countries.

Only recently, a senior US military official addressing a forum in Washington said that Iran had become the biggest threat to the United States. “The biggest threat to the United States and to our interests and to our friends … has come into focus and it's Iran.”

Coincidentally (how so?), on the same day (Friday), Israel's president Shimon Peres also stated something virtually to the same effect, saying that the military option to stop Iran from obtaining "nuclear weapons" was nearer.

When asked by Channel Two News if events were moving toward a military option rather than a diplomatic one, Peres replied, “I believe so, I estimate that intelligence services of all these countries are looking at the ticking clock, warning leaders that there is not much time left.”

In this regard, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a pea in the pod, graced a G-20 summit of world leaders in France with his pithy words, “Iran's behavior and this obsessional desire to acquire nuclear military (capability) is in violation of all international rules. … If Israel's existence were threatened, France would not stand idly by.”

The trio (excluding France) have stepped up their rhetoric against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Threat is not a new word to Iran and the country is prepared for the worst and as Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said on the sidelines of a news conference in the Libyan city of Benghazi, “The US has unfortunately lost wisdom and prudence in dealing with international issues. It depends only on power. They have lost rationality; we are prepared for the worst but we hope they will think twice before they put themselves on a collision course with Iran.”

Time and again, the USA has renewed its hollow rhetoric against the Islamic Republic of Iran, repeating the same allegations again and again and again: that Iran is pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program; that Iran is supporting terrorism in the region; that Iran is violating human rights; that if Iran acquires the technology to produce nuclear weapons, it will create World War III.

The recent allegation leveled against the Islamic republic ahead of the next week's report by the UN atomic watchdog is that Iran has “built a large steel container for carrying out tests with high explosives that could be used in nuclear weapons,” and that Iran has made computer models of a nuclear warhead and other previously undisclosed details on alleged secret work by Tehran on nuclear arms.” Allegation comes after allegation against the Islamic Republic and the vicious triangle is forming to set a stage for an all-out attack against the country with the intended purpose of plundering its natural resources.

However, Iran will not sit quietly and leave the invaders in peace.

In August 2011, a top IRGC commander Brigadier General Ali Shadmani envisaged three effective measures to counter any potential act of aggression.

1. As Israel is the USA's backyard, Iran will disturb peace there. (The absence of peace in Israel will certainly deny repose to the USA as well.)

2. It would take full control of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway where over 40 percent of all traded oil passes (thereby spiraling up the oil prices to a confounding level and dealing a heavy blow to the already deteriorating global economy.)

3. It would keep a close watch on all American military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq. In case of an attack, Iran will cripple the troops stationed in those bases and incapacitate them of any possible move.

In the final analysis, the US hidden agenda in creating Iranophobia is to raise a specter of a nuclear apocalypse in the world, invade the country in alliance with Israel and the UK and other nefarious powers and eventually get their hands on Iran's myriad resources which they have coveted for so long.

In the unholy Israel-US-UK alliance, one cannot say with surety who is the most responsible party for these anti-Iran provocative acts but it seems that the Israeli tail is wagging the US-UK dog.


-- Ismail Salami is an Iranian author and political analyst. A prolific writer, he has written numerous books and articles on the Middle East. His articles have been translated into a number of languages.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/208576.html

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Israel's warnings on Iran get quiet nods in Gulf
By BRIAN MURPHY - Associated Press | AP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Among the many alliances of convenience in the Middle East, one is so unusual that the partners can barely hint about it publicly: Israel and the Gulf Arab states linked by shared fears over Iran's nuclear program.

While their deeper disputes on the Palestinians effectively block any strategic breakthroughs, the recent warnings from Israel and the West about military options against Iran invariably draw in the Gulf and its rare meeting of minds with Jerusalem.

The Gulf states — a cornerstone for U.S. diplomatic and military pressure on Iran — are indispensable parts of any effort to confront Tehran's nuclear ambitions. And even Israel, which has no direct diplomatic outreach to the Gulf, is likely brought into the Gulf-centric policymaking with U.S. envoys acting as go-betweens, experts say.

"I would be surprised if there is no knowledge about the Saudi positions (in Israel) or knowledge in Saudi of the Israeli positions," said David Menashri, director of the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University.

It's part of a complicated mix of mutual worries and divergent risks — the Gulf, unlike Israel, has critical commercial and diplomatic ties with Iran — that puts Washington in the middle as the common ally and chief Western architect of pressure tactics on Iran.

The next moves are expected after the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency releases an intelligence report Tuesday to its 35 board members.

Early leaks from diplomats suggest the document will indicate Iran has made computer models of a nuclear warhead and conducted other weapons-related work, which would strongly reinforce suspicions that Iran is working toward atomic weapons. Iran denies it seeks to develop nuclear arms and claims its program, including uranium enrichment labs, is only for energy and research.

In response to the reports last week, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of giving in to U.S. pressure to level the accusations, which he said were based on fabricated intelligence.

"Iran has already responded to the alleged studies in 117 pages. We've said time and again that these are forgeries similar to faked notes," Salehi told reporters in Tehran.

For the moment, the speculation of an increased threat of military strikes is based on tougher comments by Israel and the West in advance of the IAEA report.

In the latest statement, Israeli President Shimon Peres said "the possibility of a military strike on Iran is more likely to be realized than the diplomatic option."

Peres told the Yisrael Hayom newspaper that Israel must carefully weight all alternatives. "I do not think there has already been a decision on the matter, but it appears that Iran is getting closer to obtaining nuclear weapons," he said in comments published Sunday.

There is no apparent build up or operational changes at bases in the region, which for the U.S. include air wings scattered across the Gulf and the 5th Fleet naval hub in Bahrain. U.S. military planners say they could shift at least 4,000 soldiers to Kuwait after next month's withdrawal from Iraq as part of efforts to boost the Pentagon's already strong presence in the Gulf.

The upcoming IAEA report also must run its course. The U.S. and others hope it will persuade the IAEA board to refer the findings to the U.N. Security Council for possible tougher sanctions on Iran or — as an alternative — a deadline for greater cooperation with the nuclear agency's investigators.

Any scenario, however, will likely shed greater light on common ground between Israel and the Gulf states over how to further isolate and intimidate Iran.

"I would put it this way: The Gulf states, some of them, would like Israel to be more active against Iran, though they would never say it publicly," said Meir Litvak, a regional expert at the Dayan Center think tank at Tel Aviv University.

For many in Israel, the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran is framed in the starkest terms.

Israel is widely believed to have the only nuclear weapons arsenal in the Mideast — although it refuses to either confirm or deny that — and an Iranian bomb would sharply reorder the balance of power and be seen as a direct challenge to Israel's survival.

In a BBC interview aired Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Iran's actions could open "major nuclear arms race" in the region and give Tehran increased leverage over Mideast affairs. Barak said that "paralyzing" sanctions could be enough to pressure Iran, but that "no option should be removed from the table."

"We live in a tough neighborhood," he said. "No mercy for the weak."

The Gulf's views on Iran are generally shaped by decades-old perceptions that the Shiite-led Islamic Republic seeks to weaken the Sunni monarchs and sheiks ruling from Kuwait to Oman. But the levels of worry vary greatly.

Oman maintains close ties with Iran as co-overseers of the Strait of Hormouz at the mouth of the Gulf, which is the passageway for about 40 percent of the world's oil tanker traffic. Energy-rich Qatar, meanwhile, seeks to build more commercial links with Iran, including a deal last week that could allow state-run Qatar Airways to operate flights within Iran alongside the sanctions-battered Iranian passenger fleet.

Saudi Arabia, the Gulf's main power center, appears most eager to tighten the pressure on Iran.

Its leaders have repeatedly accused Iran of trying to destabilize the Gulf Arab states, including claims of encouraging Shiite-led protests for greater rights in strategic Bahrain. Saudi officials also have not tried to publicly counter the U.S. claims that Iranian agents were linked to a foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington.

In one of the most repeated snippets from leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, Saudi's King Abdullah in 2008 urged a U.S.-led attack against Iran to "cut off the head of the snake" and halt Tehran's nuclear program.

Saudi and Israeli policies also have crossed paths at times in the Arab Spring, with each shaken by the fall of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and hoping the Syrian protests against Bashar Assad's regime weaken the Iranian influence in the country.

Still, some analysts remain highly skeptical whether Saudi Arabia and its allies would give a nod to an Israeli attack, which could open a wider conflict in the Gulf and possibly choke off crucial oil exports.

"Yes, the Arab and Persian mutual antipathy is legendary. But the question is whether any Gulf state would go to the extreme of supporting an Israeli attack on Iran," said Ehsan Ahrari, a political analyst based in Virginia who taught security studies at the National Defense University. "The Gulf sheikdoms have to think very hard on this issue."

=================


Iran will respond with steel fist if hit

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:07:03 GMT

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned that if any country launches an attack on Iran, it must be ready to “receive firm slaps and fists of steel” from the Iranian Army.

If the idea of invasion against the Islamic Republic of Iran crosses anybody's mind, they must be ready to receive firm slaps and fists of steel from the Iranian Army, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Basij, and in one word from the great Iranian nation, Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

Speaking at the Imam Ali military college in Tehran on Thursday, the Leader added that it is not the Iranian nation's wont to invade any country, yet they would respond to any act of aggression or even any threat with full might and in such a manner as to implode the invaders and aggressors from within.

The firm Iranian nation is not the sort of nation that would idly stand by and witness the threats of the hollow powers which are "rotten from within,” the Leader added.

The firm structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the national unity of Iranians are the country's most significant deterrent power, the Leader pointed out.

Ayatollah Khamenei went on to say that in a world where the relations between countries and nations are, regretfully, still determined by force and where the bullying powers want to take the fate of the nations into their own hands, “only those nations that can prove their defensive readiness are safe against any harm.”

The Leader also said that Iran's Armed Forces are unique in both the region and the world, and their defensive readiness, coupled with their faith, is a source of pride for the Iranian nation.

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with a military strike under the pretext that Iran's nuclear program may have a covert military aspect.

Iran has categorically rejected such allegations and says it only seeks the peaceful applications of nuclear technology and that the International Atomic Energy Agency has never found any indication of a diversion in Tehran's nuclear program.

Earlier, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that an attack against Iran was becoming "more and more likely."

=====================


Blast reported at military base near Tehran

12 Nov 2011 10:48
Source: Reuters // Reuters

TEHRAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - An explosion occurred at a military base to the west of the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday, Iranian media reported, giving few initial details.

The student news agency ISNA quoted Alireza Janeh, head of security issues at the Tehran governor's office, as saying: "The sound of this blast came from outside Tehran from west direction.


An explosion has ripped through a military barracks in the western part of the Iranian capital, Tehran, with no immediate reports of casualties.

=========================
Huge blast hits arms depot at Iran military base

12 Nov 2011 11:11
Source: Reuters // Reuters

TEHRAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - A massive explosion at a weapons depot on a military base to the west of the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday killed several people and was felt at least 45 km away, local media reported.

The semi-official Fars news agency carried a statement by the Revolutionary Guards which said the blast happened in an arsenal at a base in Bidganeh, near the city of Karaj. Some people were killed, Fars said, without giving further details.

An unknown number of people were killed in a blast that occurred at the site of an arsenal at a Revolutionary Guard military base in Bigdaneh, Iran, west of Tehran on Saturday, the Fars news agency reported.

=====================

ublished 13:23 12.11.11Latest update 13:23 12.11.11
Deadly explosions rock Revolutionary Guards base outside Iranian capital
State media reports several people killed after an ammunitions depot exploded in a base 40 kilometers west of Tehran.

By Reuters and The Associated Press
Tags: Iran


At least one massive explosion at a military weapons depot near the Iranian capital Tehran on Saturday killed several people and was felt at least 45 km miles away, local media reported

The Revolutionary Guards - Iran's elite military force - said a munitions store at a base in Bidganeh, near the city of Karaj, had exploded, according to a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.


In this Sept. 22, 2011 photo, members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard march just outside Tehran, Iran.

Photo by: AP

"Around noon today there was an explosion in one of the arsenals belonging to the Revolutionary Guards near Tehran," Fars quoted the statement as saying. Several people had been killed, Fars said, without giving further details.

The blast was so big it was felt in western suburbs of Tehran, 45 km away, witnesses told Reuters. Many assumed there had been a low-level earthquake. Some media reports said the initial blast was followed by a second explosion.

There were no reports linking the blast to any air strike or other attack. Tension has risen in recent weeks between Iran and its enemies Israel and the United States, which have not ruled out striking nuclear facilities they believe are working towards making atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

On Oct. 12 last year a similar blast at a Revolutionary Guards munitions store killed and wounded several servicemen in Khoramabad, western Iran. Authorities said that explosion was an accident.

In recent years several mysterious explosions took place in military installations in Iran. Two years ago 20 people were killed in a similar blast at a base 500 kilometers southwest of Tehran. According the Washington-based Global Security Institute, the base was used to assemble and store long-range Shihab-3 missiles.

Foreign media has reported in the past that the Israeli Mossad backs certain opposition activists and underground movements, and uses them to carry out attacks. Iran has blamed the CIA, Mossad and British intelligence in backing Jundollah (God's soldiers), a group which has waged a low-level insurgency in recent years. Its members accuse Iran's mostly Shi'ite government of persecution and have carried out attacks against the Revolutionary Guard and Shi'ite targets in southeastern Iran.

================

Blast at Iran military base killed 15 - official

12 Nov 2011 12:50
Source: Reuters // Reuters

TEHRAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Fifteen Iranian servicemen were killed and several others seriously wounded in an explosion on Saturday at a military base near Tehran that happened as troops were moving munitions, a Revolutionary Guards spokesman told state TV.

"My dear colleagues in the Revolutionary Guards were moving munitions in one of the arsenals at that base when, due to an incident, an explosion happened," Ramezan Sharif told news channel IRINN.

"Some of the casualties are reported to be in a critical condition," he added. (Editing by Sophie Hares)

Ahmadinejad opponents to attend weekly Iran prayers

17 Jul 2009 07:26:24 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Rafsanjani to lead prayers after two-month absence

* Mousavi's first official public appearance since vote (Adds detail, changes byline)

By Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN, July 17 (Reuters) - Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a rival of re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will lead weekly prayers in Tehran on Friday for the first time since last month's disputed presidential election.

Opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, the election runner-up, plans to attend the same prayers at Tehran University in his first official public appearance since the June 12 vote that provoked mass protests by his pro-reform supporters.

Pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi, who came fourth in an election he and Mousavi say was rigged in the hardline incumbent's favour, will also be present, his spokesman said.

June's election stirred the most striking display of internal dissent in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution and exposed deepening divisions in its establishment.

At least 20 people died in post-election violence. Mousavi and the authorities blame each other for the bloodshed. The security forces have managed to largely quell last month's street demonstrations, but Mousavi has remained defiant.

There was a large police presence near the university a few hours before the prayers were due to start at around 12:30 p.m. (0800 GMT), a witness said. Scores of policemen were standing at or near the central Enqelab square, the witness said.

Many Basij militia members with batons were also seen near the university.

"I've never been to Friday prayers but me and my friends will go to this one," one female Mousavi supporter said. Reflecting concern the event may turn into a show of strength by Ahmadinejad's pro-reform opponents, Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said on Thursday:

"The vigilant Iranian nation must be aware that tomorrow's sermon should not turn into an arena for undesirable scenes."

LEADERSHIP RIFT

The sermon at Tehran University is broadcast live by state radio and can reach a huge audience.

Rafsanjani, an influential cleric who was president in the 1990s, will lead the prayers after a two-month absence. Some of his relatives, including his daughter Faezeh, were arrested briefly for taking part in pro-Mousavi rallies.

Ahmadinejad on Thursday issued veiled criticism of Rafsanjani, a Mousavi supporter whom the president enraged during the election campaign by accusing him of corruption.

"Nobody has the right to recognise special rights or incentives for himself or his relatives," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Thursday evening.

But Anoush Ehteshami, an Iran expert at Britain's Durham University, said he did not expect a confrontation between Mousavi and Ahmadinejad supporters during the prayers, when worshippers gather both inside and outside the university.

"I doubt very much Ahmadinejad will be there. This is if you like the reformers' turn at Friday prayer,"

he said.

The authorities reject vote rigging charges. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has endorsed Ahmadinejad's victory, but Mousavi says the next government will be illegitimate.

The election also strained ties between Iran and the West, already at odds over Tehran's nuclear programme. Western powers criticised the protest crackdown and Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, accused them of meddling. (Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian and Parisa Hafezi; writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Philippa Fletcher)


-----------

Rafsanjani, who was leading the prayers for the first time since June's disputed presidential election, urged people "not to contaminate the position and the sanctuary of Friday prayers by (inappropriate) comments and slogans."

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Friday Iran was in a "crisis" after last month's disputed election, in the first such comment by a senior establishment figure in the Islamic Republic.
Influential cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, leading the weekly ceremony for the first time since the disputed June 12 election, said many Iranians had doubts about the official result in favor of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

"We are all members of a family. I hope with this sermon we can pass through this period of hardships that can be called a crisis," he said in a Friday prayer sermon broadcast on state radio.

---------------

Hardline Iran editor:Rafsanjani backs "law-breakers"

18 Jul 2009 07:11:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Hardliner's editorial underlines leadership rift

* Published day after Rafsanjani criticised vote aftermath

By Fredrik Dahl and Hashem Kalantari

TEHRAN, July 18 (Reuters) - A hardline editor seen as close to Iran's top authority accused a powerful cleric on Saturday of backing "law-breakers," in comments highlighting deepening divisions in the Islamic Republic after a disputed election.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of the Kayhan daily, also criticised former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for saying in a sermon on Friday Iran was in crisis.

In apparent defiance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Rafsanjani said many Iranians had doubts about the official result of the June 12 vote and he also took issue with the way the authorities had handled the poll and its aftermath.

As he led Friday prayers at Tehran University for the first time since the election, tens of thousands of protesters outside used the event to stage the biggest show of dissent for weeks.

Clashes erupted near the university between police and followers of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi, who came second and still contests official results that showed President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad had been re-elected by a wide margin.

The government has portrayed post-election mass protests last month as the work of local subversives, or "rioters", and Western powers seeking to topple the Islamic establishment.

"Most certainly Mr Rafsanjani is familiar with the definition of a crisis ... The most meaningful word to describe the current conditions is a conspiracy," Shariatmadari said in an editorial.

He said Rafsanjani, a moderate who backed Mousavi's election campaign, had done nothing to prevent the gathering of Mousavi supporters inside and outside Tehran University, where prayers are held each Friday and broadcast live on state radio.

CLERICAL CHALLENGE

"At the same time he used every opportunity available to challenge the outcome of the election," wrote Shariatmadari, who earlier this month called for Mousavi and another leading reformist to be put on trial for "terrible crimes".

Noting Rafsanjani had urged everybody to abide by the law, the editorial added in a clear reference to Mousavi supporters who have continued to defy a ban on demonstrations:

"Mr Rafsanjani ... not only disregarded what he had said but openly supported the law-breakers."

The election stirred the most striking display of internal unrest in Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, since the 1979 revolution and exposed deep rifts in its ruling elite.

It has also further strained ties between Iran and the West, already at odds over Tehran's nuclear programme. Western powers criticised the crackdown. Iran accused them of meddling.

Rafsanjani, who heads the Assembly of Experts -- a powerful body that can in theory dismiss the supreme leader -- in his sermon also demanded the immediate release of people detained in the unrest and called for press curbs to be relaxed.

He did not go as far as Mousavi in denouncing the conduct of the vote, but his remarks still posed a clear challenge to Khamenei, who has upheld the election result and accused foreign powers of fomenting the unrest.

At least 20 people died in post-election violence. Mousavi and the authorities blame each other for the bloodshed. Riot police and religious Basij militia eventually suppressed June's street demonstrations, but Mousavi has remained defiant.

(Editing by Sophie Hares) (For more Iran coverage double click on [ID:nLP150493])

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Iran hardliners round on Rafsanjani in election row
18 Jul 2009 13:41:06 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Hardliners' attacks underline leadership divisions

* In Friday sermon, Rafsanjani criticised vote aftermath (Recasts with cleric criticises Rafsanjani)

By Fredrik Dahl and Hashem Kalantari

TEHRAN, July 18 (Reuters) - Iranian hardliners hit back at former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Saturday for criticising the conduct of last month's election and its aftermath, highlighting deepening establishment divisions.

An editor seen as close to Iran's top authority said Rafsanjani was backing "law-breakers", a reference to opposition protesters, and a senior cleric accused him of creating rifts in the Islamic Republic and hinted he should face legal action.

In apparent defiance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Rafsanjani said in a sermon on Friday that many Iranians had doubts about the official result of the June 12 vote, which showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won.

Leading Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time since the election, the powerful cleric also declared that Iran was in crisis after the poll, which opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi says was rigged in the hardline incumbent's favour.

Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, an Ahmadinejad ally and a member of Iran's top legislative body, rejected Rafsanjani's remarks.

"Who planted the seeds of doubt in the election in the minds of people? ... Isn't this sowing discord?" Yazdi told a news conference, according to the official IRNA news agency.

He added, according to Fars News Agency: "Those who planted doubt in society and those who irrigated it to make it sprout out of the soil and pour into the streets to violate people's lives and property ... should be dealt with legally."

The election stirred the most striking display of internal unrest in Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, since the 1979 revolution and exposed deep rifts in its ruling elite.

HARDLINERS HIT BACK

At least 20 people died in post-election violence. Mousavi and the authorities blame each other for the bloodshed. Riot police and religious Basij militia eventually suppressed the street demonstrations, but Mousavi has remained defiant.

Post-election events have also further strained ties between Iran and the West, already at odds over Tehran's nuclear programme. Western powers criticised the crackdown. Iran accused them of meddling.

Rafsanjani's robust stance appeared to set him on collision course with Khamenei, who has openly backed Ahmadinejad in a departure from the supreme leader's accepted role as a lofty clerical arbiter above the political fray.

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters used the Friday prayers led by Rafsanjani, a moderate who backed Mousavi in the election, to stage the biggest show of dissent in weeks.

Clashes erupted near the university between police and followers of Mousavi, who came second and still contests the official election results.

The government has portrayed post-election mass protests as the work of local subversives, or "rioters", and Western powers seeking to topple the Islamic establishment.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of the Kayhan daily, said Rafsanjani had done nothing to prevent the gathering of Mousavi supporters inside and outside Tehran University, where prayers are held each Friday and broadcast live on state radio.

"At the same time he used every opportunity available to challenge the outcome of the election," wrote Shariatmadari, who earlier this month called for Mousavi and another leading reformist to be put on trial for "terrible crimes".

Noting Rafsanjani had urged everybody to abide by the law, his editorial added in a reference to those who defied a protest ban: "Mr Rafsanjani ... not only disregarded what he had said but openly supported the law-breakers."

Shariatmadari is seen as a close ally of Khamenei, Iran's most powerful figure with the final say on all matters of state.

Rafsanjani, who heads the Assembly of Experts -- a powerful body that can in theory dismiss the supreme leader -- in his sermon demanded the immediate release of people detained in the unrest and called for press curbs to be relaxed.

Rights groups say hundreds of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists, activisits and lawyers, have been detained by the authorities since the election. (Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian; editing by Tim Pearce)


--------------

ANALYSIS-Iran's hardline leaders failing to stem discontent

21 Jul 2009 09:59:08 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Iran's post-election power struggle persists

* Turmoil dims prospects for nuclear dialogue with West

* Rafsanjani sermon emboldens opposition

* Khamenei faces unprecedented challenge to authority

By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

BEIRUT, July 21 (Reuters) - Iran's post-election power struggle is shaking the Islamic Republic to its roots, with no sign that its supreme leader can assuage popular anger or regain the trust of alienated politicians and clerics any time soon.

The turmoil since hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in a June 12 vote his opponents said was rigged has rendered moot U.S. President Barack Obama's offer of engagement with Iran, which the West suspects of seeking nuclear weapons.

It is hard to see how Iran could forge consensus on nuclear negotiations or dialogue with the United States while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is facing unprecedented challenges to his authority and deep fissures within the ruling elite.

Tehran, which says its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, faces a September deadline to agree to substantive negotiations with the West or risk tougher international sanctions.

"Whether or not you can find an interlocutor in Iran at this moment is questionable because the whole regime is in crisis," said Rasool Nafisi, a U.S.-based Iran expert. "Whatever move it made would be perceived as either arrogance or weakness."

The nuclear issue may have to await the outcome of Iran's gravest internal upheaval since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

A hard-hitting Friday sermon by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a disaffected regime heavyweight, has re-energised the opposition after security forces quelled last month's huge street protests and jailed hundreds of prominent reformists and intellectuals.

"The main problem the opposition faces is that their brains trust is either in prison, under house arrest, or unable to communicate freely," said Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"There remains tremendous popular outrage, but at the moment there is no leadership to channel that outrage politically."

Sadjadpour saw no sign of an early compromise because hardliners feared any concession would only encourage their foes, and for now they still control the levers of power.

"While there are pronounced cleavages among Iran's clerical elite, Khamenei's power base is not the clergy but the Revolutionary Guards. When and if we start to see rifts among the Guards it could be fatal for both Khamenei and Ahmadinejad."

Khamenei, apparently stung by Rafsanjani's sermon in which he said Iran was in crisis because of doubts over the election result and demanded an end to detentions and press curbs, warned senior figures on Monday not to help Tehran's enemies.

"Elites should know that any talk, action or analysis that helps (the enemy) is a move against the nation," he said.

But Rafsanjani appears too powerfully entrenched to ignore. "He is not just anybody. He is one of the leading figures of the revolution and well-anchored among large groups of clerics," said a Western diplomat in Tehran. "He has a fantastic network."

CLERICS IN A QUANDARY

Defeated candidates Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi have defied Khamenei's efforts to silence their protests. Former President Mohammad Khatami, a mild reformist, on Monday boldly proposed a referendum on the legitimacy of the government.

Ideologically, the backing of Iran's clerical establishment is crucial for the leadership's standing, but few ayatollahs have endorsed Ahmadinejad and some, like dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, have even attacked Khamenei.

"The clerics don't know what to do," said Baqer Moin, a London-based Iran analyst. "They are stuck between Khamenei's uncompromising position and an emboldened opposition which is demanding more than Khamenei is willing to give."

Khamenei, who succeeded revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as supreme leader in 1989, has endorsed Ahmadinejad and the election result, risking his own credibility as a mediator in disputes and ultimate arbiter of state policy.

"The supreme leader has lost his power to pronounce the final word," said Moin, a biographer of Khomeini. "He is just another politician ... reflecting the interest of various groups surrounding him, not the system as a whole."

Rafsanjani, 75, a veteran insider who heads a body that can in theory dismiss the supreme leader, was accused of corruption by Ahmadinejad during a mud-slinging election campaign.

But he took a lofty line at Friday prayers, saying unity and people's trust in the voting process must be restored after a "bitter day" -- trenchant indirect criticism of Khamenei.

"Rafsanjani has played it quite cleverly and in fact gave the speech the leader should have," Ali Ansari, an Iran scholar at Britain's Durham University said of Friday's sermon.

At stake now, he said, was the political survival not just of Ahmadinejad, but of Khamenei, who was "weakening by the day".

Some analysts see an outside chance that Iran's hardline leaders, feeling isolated at home, might seek an accommodation with the West to gain legitimacy and shore up their position.

So far, however, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have repeatedly accused Western powers of inciting post-election unrest and have ruled out any concessions on Iran's nuclear projects. Conversely, Obama may be in no haste to embark on any negotiation that might bolster Iranian leaders caught up in such a fluid, unpredictable political drama in Tehran.

"I fear Ahmadinejad's presence serves as an insurmountable obstacle to confidence-building with the United States," Carnegie's Sadjadpour said of the prospects for engagement.

"It's going to be impossible for Tehran to reassure us that its nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful as long as Ahmadinejad remains so outspokenly belligerent towards Israel." (Editing by Jon Hemming)