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Israel sending signals of Iranian attack

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Author Topic: Israel sending signals of Iranian attack  (Read 21069 times)
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« Reply #60 on: March 12, 2012, 05:53:49 pm »

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153642#.T138BYHvx0Q

3/11/12

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has pointed the finger at Iran in ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza. “The fire from Gaza is an Iranian problem, not a Palestinian problem,” he said Sunday in a meeting of Likud ministers.

Iran has been accused of funding Islamic Jihad, one of the main terrorist groups operating in Gaza, Judea and Samaria and the group behind many of the recent rocket attacks.

IDF spokesman, Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai, leveled similar accusations. “Islamic Jihad continues to act as the long arm of Iran, which finances, supports, and encourages it even today with weapons and money that come straight from Tehran,” he said.

Hamas has, so far, distanced itself from direct rocket attacks, defense officials said Sunday, but allows attacks to continue unimpeded. Ministers warned that they would hold Hamas responsible for all terrorism perpetrated from Gaza whether or not its members carried out the actual attack.

The IDF has succeeded in dealing a blow to the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas as well as that of other terrorist groups in Gaza, Mordechai said. Assassinations targeting Islamic Jihad have weakened that group’s leadership as well, he noted.
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« Reply #61 on: March 13, 2012, 10:16:49 am »

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ap-obama-ncaatournament

3/13/12

WASHINGTON (AP)—Basketball fan-in-chief President Barack Obama is giving British Prime Minister David Cameron a front-row seat to March Madness, taking his European partner to an NCAA tournament basketball game in Ohio, an election swing state.

Obama and Cameron are attending a “First Four” matchup in Dayton, Ohio, between Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky on Tuesday night, a gesture of goodwill during Cameron’s official visit to the United States and a way for an incumbent president to reach sports fans in an election year.

The White House said the trip to the NCAA tournament game was intended to showcase the special relationship between the two key allies during Cameron’s three-day visit. Obama and Cameron will discuss the upcoming NATO and G-8 summits on Wednesday, followed by a state dinner at the White House.

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« Reply #62 on: March 15, 2012, 06:22:36 pm »

Obama, Cameron reportedly discussed oil release
14 March 2012, by Sarah Turner - Sydney (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-cameron-reportedly-discussed-oil-release-2012-03-14

U.S. president Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron talked about releasing emergency oil reserves at a meeting on Wednesday in Washington, Reuters reported citing people familiar with the talks.

No agreement to release oil reserves was reached, the report stated, citing a U.S. administration official.
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« Reply #63 on: March 15, 2012, 06:35:26 pm »

White House denies report on oil reserve release
15 March 2012, by Greg Robb - Washington (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/white-house-denies-report-on-oil-reserve-release-2012-03-15

The White House on Thursday denied a report that Britain and the U.S. have decided to cooperate in an agreement to release strategic oil reserves.

The report had pushed crude-oil futures lower.

While President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron did discuss energy issues, including the rise in the price oil, during their meeting at the White House on Wednesday, no deal was agreed to, White House spokesman Jay Carney said at the daily briefing.

"I can say very clearly that the report suggesting that any kind of agreement was reached on a course of action with regard to those energy issues, that any agreement was reached with a timetable associated with it, that report is false, it is not accurate," Carney said.

Read the full story: Oil recoups losses; U.S. chills release talk http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-futures-edge-up-after-prior-days-slump-2012-03-15
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« Reply #64 on: March 16, 2012, 09:41:53 am »

http://www.infowars.com/emergency-oil-stocks-release-precursor-to-attack-on-iran/

Three US warships to encircle Iran within days
 
Paul Joseph Watson
 Infowars.com
 Thursday, March 15, 2012
 
The announcement that emergency oil stocks will be released by the United States and the UK, a move that will temporarily drive down prices, could be the precursor to an attack on Iran that will send crude prices soaring again.
 
“Britain has decided to cooperate with the United States in a bilateral agreement to release strategic oil stocks, two British sources said, in an effort to prevent high fuel prices derailing economic growth in a U.S. election year,” reports Reuters.
 
Details of the agreement will be released later today and the process is expected to be implemented by the summer, which is the deadline numerous observers have put on any potential military strike on Iran.
 
The move is ostensibly aimed at driving down oil prices, which have reached up to $125 a barrel for brent crude, but it could also be a maneuver to offset the inevitable spike in oil prices should Iran retaliate against the U.S. and Israel by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
 
“Crude down big on the news, which is merely an advance move ahead of almost inevitable war with Iran, simply to make the spike more palatable,” reports Zero Hedge.
 
Iran was today eliminated from the SWIFT global financial transaction service, a move that makes it impossible for Tehran to conduct international trade via conventional methods. Iran’s economy has been under sustained attack for months, with western sanctions largely responsible for a 10-year low in oil production.
 
According to reports out of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now has now for the first time secured a majority of votes in the cabinet to go to war with Iran.

“This means that theoretically Bibi can begin an attack at any time. Of course, it could mean something different: it could mean the cabinet has approved a strike at any point in future with Bibi determining the timing. So it doesn’t necessarily mean the F-16s will fly tonight or tomorrow. But it could,” writes Richard Silverstein.
 
Last month the Washington Post reported that US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta expected Israel to hit Iran in April, May or June.
 
There are already two carrier battle groups located in the waters just outside Iran, with the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Abraham Lincoln already stationed in the region, along with the USS Makin Island (LHD-8), a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.
 
A third US battleship, the USS Enterprise, is also on its way to the region, meaning that almost the entirety of the United States’ active naval fleet of warships will be stationed just outside Iran within the next 4-6 days.
 
The US has made it clear that should Iran try to block the Strait of Hormuz, the region’s key oil choke point, a “red line” will have been crossed.
 
The Stratfor naval update map below illustrates how Iran is being surrounded by military muscle (click for enlargement).
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« Reply #65 on: March 16, 2012, 10:44:54 am »

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/u-s-threatens-sanctions-with-india-over-its-ties-with-iran/

U.S. threatens sanctions with India over its ties with Iran
March 16, 2012 – WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is threatening to impose sanctions on India over its continued economic ties with Iran amid disagreements between Washington and New Delhi over how much and how soon the latter is reducing oil imports from the (in U.S. eyes) pariah nation. India has “failed” to reduce its purchase of Iranian oil and if it doesn’t do so, President Barack Obama may be “forced” to impose sanction, unnamed administration officials were cited as telling Bloomberg wire service. A decision in this regard could come as early as June 28, they added, implicitly offering New Delhi a ten- week window to show a decline in Iranian oil imports. Indian officials have contested the U.S. assessment by insisting New Delhi is scaling down Iranian oil imports with more reduction in the pipeline, but that concession has been offset by India’s commerce ministry’s well-publicized efforts to ramp up trade with Iran in other areas, a move that has not gone unnoticed by the powerful pro-Israeli lobby in U.S. The potent American Jewish Committee (AJC), which holds Israeli interests dear to its heart, raged against an Indian business delegation being shepherded to Iran by the Indian commerce ministry, pointing to it as an example of New Delhi’s perfidy at a time Israel is India’s close military and counter-terrorism partner. That prompted a strong rebuttal from the Indian embassy in Washington, accusing certain lobbies of presenting a “distorted picture of New Delhi’s foreign policy objectives and energy security needs” by selective use of data about its imports from Iran. But the anti-Iran lobby in US has been galvanized by a report on Wednesday from the International Energy Agency (IEA), showing that India and South Korea “sharply” increased their oil imports from Iran in January. –Times of India
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« Reply #66 on: March 16, 2012, 11:27:43 am »

US Sends Four Anti-Mine Ships To Strait of Hormuz

With the USS Enterprise on its way to bring the number of US aircraft carriers located in the Persian Gulf up to three, the Navy has announced it will send four additional mine countermeasure ships to the Strait of Hormuz as tensions with Iran rise.


“Four additional mine countermeasure ships are being dispatched to the region in addition to further airborne mine countermeasure helicopters, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Navy budget hearing Thursday,” reports Stars and Stripes.

No date has been set for the deployment of the ships, but they will join the USS Enterprise, currently on its way to the Fifth Fleet area of operations, along with the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Abraham Lincoln, both of which are already patrolling the Strait of Hormuz.

“I came to the conclusion we could do better setting the theater,” Greenert told the committee while recounting a recent trip through the waterway on the USS John C. Stennis, which was under the watchful eye of Iranian naval vessels. “I wanted to be sure … that we are ready, that our folks are proficient, they’re confident, and they’re good at what they do in case called upon.”

The deployment of the anti-mine ships follows a warning by US intelligence at the end of December that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were preparing Iranian marine commandos to place mines along the strategic oil choke point.

While a temporary closure of the Strait would send oil prices soaring, analysts believe the US has the capability to clear the waterway of mines within a 24-48 hour period, meaning crude supplies would not be significantly disrupted.

rest: http://www.infowars.com/us-sends-four-anti-mine-ships-to-strait-of-hormuz/
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« Reply #67 on: March 17, 2012, 07:02:08 pm »

Exclusive: Iran food stockpiling grows as grain ships near port
 

By Jonathan Saul and Michael Hogan | Reuters – Thu, Mar 15, 2012
http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-iran-food-stockpiling-grows-grain-ships-near-170217645.html
 
LONDON/HAMBURG (Reuters) - Vessels carrying at least 360,000 metric tonnes (396,832 tons) of grain are lined up to unload in Iran, Reuters shipping data showed on Thursday, a sign that Tehran is succeeding in stockpiling food to blunt the impact of tougher Western sanctions.
 
Iran has been shopping for wheat at a frantic pace, ordering a large part of its expected yearly requirement in a little over one month and paying a premium in non-dollar currencies to work around toughened Western sanctions and avoid social unrest.
 
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« Reply #68 on: March 18, 2012, 08:12:31 am »

http://debka.com/article/21837/

3/18/12

Former Intelligence Minister Ali Falahian, Iran’s senior spokesman on sanctions, said Sunday, March 18,  that if the US and Europe think they can ignore international law to promote their interests, they should know that Iran will respond in kind everywhere it can. “I suggest that the West take seriously our threat to close the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in Tehran’s first response to the SWIFT decision to sever ties with Iranian banks to enforce European sanctions on its nuclear program.

A large fleet of 4 US and French nuclear aircraft carriers and a dozen or more minesweepers and mine-hunting helicopters have piled up on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 percent of the world’s daily oil supply passes,  and Israeli naval vessels have deployed in the Red Sea.

debkafile’s military and intelligence sources estimate Tehran may make good on its threats by trying to drop sea mines in the strategic strait and/or the approaches to the huge Saudi Ras Tanura oil export terminal. A small explosion by an unknown hand hit a major Saudi pipeline between Awamiya and Safwa on March 1. The damage was not great because the saboteurs used a small quantity of explosive but it appeared to be the work of professionals.

While Saudi officials denied the incident, photos of a large fire appeared on the Internet. Gulf oil sources suspect that it was a warning from Tehran of the hazards facing the world’s largest oil exporter.

The SWIFT cutoff of ties with Iranian banks has gone a long way toward isolating Iran from global commerce. It will affect Iranian oil sales to its biggest customers in the Far East, China and Japan, as well as India. The economic noose tightening around its neck is bound to produce a response from Iran, it is estimated in Washington and European capitals. The US-led European sanctions on Iranian oil world trade were boosted in recent weeks by the United Arab Emirates which stopped handling Iranian rials, further reducing its ability to trade and obtain hard currency.
After its foremost ally, Bashar Assad, proved his ability to survive - largely with abundant Iranian help - Tehran is unlikely to let this achievement be marred by a US and European economic stranglehold. The ordinary Iranian may care about his government’s international standing but he cares a lot more about the fast depreciating value of the money in his pocket and his financial assets.

Anticipating that Iran may kick back hard against the tough penalties building up against its nuclear program, three US aircraft carriers are standing by in the Persian Gulf – The USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Enterprise together with the French Charles de Gaulle and their strike groups.

Thursday, US Navy Chief Adm. Jonathan Greenert said he was doubling the American minesweeping fleet in the Persian Gulf by adding another four vessels as well as mine-hunting helicopters to bolster Persian Gulf security and keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international traffic. 

France, Britain, Holland and Germany have also deployed minesweepers in these strategic Gulf waters.
Tuesday, March 13, two Israeli missile corvettes, the INS Lahav and INS Yafo, crossed the Suez Canal on their way to the Red Sea accompanied by the French Imidisi supply ship.

The vast naval buildup of powerful warships confirms that the United States, Europe and Israel are braced for harsh Iranian retaliation across more than one part of the Middle East for the crippling sanctions now taking hold.

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« Reply #69 on: March 18, 2012, 09:44:38 pm »

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/israeli-diplomat-says-war-with-iran-would-engulf-the-world-in-a-nightmare/

Israeli diplomat says war with Iran would engulf the world in a nightmare

March 19, 2012 – ISRAEL – Lieberman arrived in Beijing on Thursday. On Saturday he met with Vice President Xi Jinping and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in hopes of persuading them to support tightening the sanctions on Iran. During the meeting, Israel’s top diplomat said next month’s talks between Tehran and the West represent the final opportunity to resolve the nuclear crisis peacefully. “If, God forbid, a war with breaks out with Iran, it will be a nightmare. Everyone will be involved, including the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia,” Avigdor Lieberman told the Yedioth Ahronoth daily during an official visit to China. According to a report published by the International Atomic Energy Agency last month, Iran has expanded its nuclear enrichment activities, particularly at the Natanz plant. Lieberman is aware of China’s central role in resolving the crisis. “Israel is keeping all of its options on the table,” he told Yedioth, “but we believe that with a united international front the Iranians can be convinced to abandon their nuclear ambitions. If all five permanent Security Council members present Iran with an unequivocal demand – they (Iranians) will have no choice. The Chinese have a lot of influence over Iran, and their position during the negotiations in April will be crucial,” Lieberman stated. “Despite the differences of opinion, the Chinese treat (Israel) with respect. They are very pragmatic, and this gives me hope. They are very concerned by the Iranian issue as well, because Iran’s conduct is totally unacceptable. Such an irresponsible regime – if it obtains nuclear weapons – poses a threat to the entire world.” Asked whether he preferred a military strike over the possibility of existing alongside a nuclear Iran, the Israeli FM said “a country such as Iran does not seek nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes. Therefore, the alternatives we are facing are Iran using nuclear weapons against us, or we prevent such a scenario.” -YNET
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« Reply #70 on: March 25, 2012, 10:06:18 am »

http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=263205


By JPOST.COM STAFF
24/03/2012

'Al Ahram' reports Iranian agents offered 2 Egyptian men 50,000 Egyptian pounds to carry out attack on Israeli vessel.
Iran was planning to bomb an Israeli ship while it crossed the Suez Canal, Egyptian daily Al Ahram quoted Egypt's state security court as saying Saturday.

According to the report, Iranian agents offered two Egyptian men 50,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately NIS 30,000) to carry out the attack.

Egypt detained the two men last week after receiving information of the planned attack. Sources told state news agency MENA that a resident of the canal-side city of Ismailia, Soliman Abdel Razek, had planned to carry out the attack from land alongside the waterway, with the help of a colleague, Salama Ahmed.

Both men denied the accusations.


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« Reply #71 on: March 27, 2012, 12:15:28 pm »

Countries Swapping Billions & Transferring Oil Ahead of War
27 March 2012, by Eric King (King World News)
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2012/3/27_Countries_Swapping_Billions_%26_Transferring_Oil_Ahead_of_War.html

With gold and silver surging higher recently, today King World News interviewed 40 year veteran, Robert Fitzwilson. 

Fitzwilson is founder of The Portola Group, one of the premier boutique firms in the Unites States. 

He told King World News that countries are engaging in currency swaps out of fear of being cutoff from international transfers. 

Fitzwilson also said gold and silver are getting ready for a major move


But first, here is what Fitzwilson had to say about recent developments: 

“Another development that’s been happening in recent days is swaps are being made. 

China and Australia just recently completed a $31 billion swap of their currencies. To me that’s tantamount to barter

These countries have essentially pre-positioned their currencies, probably because they are worried about being cutoff from international transfers.”

“Jim Sinclair has pointed out what is taking place with the SWIFT system. 

I would just like to add that SWIFT has now become a weapon in the currency wars and as Sinclair correctly stated, unfortunately the United States is now threatening other countries. 

We are saying if they do not do what we want, we will cut them off from SWIFT, which will effectively shut down their economy.

We have already seen this with Iran, so India and Iran were trying to do an oil for gold swap

Evidently we’ve warned the Indians because we’re not happy about that. 

So SWIFT is being used to threaten our trading partners and allies....

As we now know, South Africa is actively trying to participate in dethroning the dollar as the reserve currency

If you look at the pattern of what is happening, these are like mini earthquakes all over the world. 

When you add these seismic events together, it suggests that something may be imminent, perhaps in the next month or two. 

Saudi Arabia is suddenly sending 22 million barrels to the United States.  Why did they do that? 

Are they trying to get paid for it before there is some sort of eruption in the Middle-East? Is the US stockpiling oil ahead of war?
 

There are military assets being positioned all over the Middle-East, on all sides. 

So something is building and these countries are taking action ahead of that for self preservation which is understandable.” 

When asked about Bernanke’s speech, Fitzwilson responded, “The part of Bernanke’s speech that really rang true for me was him describing the unemployment as being cyclical, instead of structural. 

The Fed has, in the past, been communicating that unemployment has been structural for some time.

By overtly switching to cyclical, that means they are admitting they need to do some form of quantitative easing and a lot of it. 

The implication is that QE can solve cyclical unemployment, but that is patently false. 

However, to me this was a sea change, where he is now saying unemployment is cyclical and we need to print a bunch of money to solve problems, and we are going to do that.”

Fitzwilson also had this to say about gold and silver: 

“My observation of the patterns in gold and silver is we have been involved in long range trading. 

There is a limit that central banks have imposed on the price of gold and silver. 

When it gets to that limit, the central banks pile in and drive the price of gold and silver back down.

The smart central banks then buy the bullion at incredibly cheap and subsidized prices

The market feels to me like it is getting ready to enter a new, higher range. The new, short-term cap on silver as an example, might be $60.

The bottom line is the advance in gold and silver is being managed. So it’s going up, but it’s not time for the mania

We won’t see the mania until they lose control, but we are getting close to something that should provide tremendous upside fuel for both gold and silver.”
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« Reply #72 on: March 29, 2012, 09:53:01 am »

Got this off of another MB...anyone here with military experience can explain this?

Update on Big E location

The USS Enterprise with CVW 1 embarked is in a scheduled port visit to Piraeus, Greece, during its 22nd and final deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet an 6th Fleet AORs as part of an ongoing rotation of U.S. forces supporting maritime security operations in international waters around the world.

http://www.stratfor.com/image/us-naval-update-map-march-28-2012

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« Reply #73 on: March 29, 2012, 10:13:02 am »

http://debka.com/article/21868/

Two suitcases crammed with counterfeit $100 bills were seized in Kuala Lumpur this week from two Iranian traders who flew in to the Malaysian capital on direct flights from Tehran. One contained 153,000 forged dollars and the second 203,000. The traders claimed they were issued the bills by tellers at the Iranian central bank CBI to finance their business transactions and had no notion they had not been dealt genuine greenbacks.

debkafile’s sources report that alert local businessmen spotted the fake currency despite its quality workmanship when they used it to pay for their purchases.

According to a Malaysian source, the bills were finely printed on special paper. The initial investigation identified the paper as made in China especially for use in printing currency and a supply recently reached Iran.

Malaysian authorities have not identified the Iranian traders who were taken in custody except by their initials – H.M. and A. G.
Kuala Lumpur finds itself in the middle of an international scandal developing around the affair and involving the US, China and Iran. The Iranian embassy is leaning hard on the government to keep it hushed up, threatening to cut off commercial ties if the story is made public, or if the two traders are forced to stay in the country until the legal proceedings take their course.

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« Reply #74 on: March 29, 2012, 09:05:50 pm »

March 30, 2012 – ISRAEL - Last week, it was announced by Info Live that the Israelis were using military bases in Kurdistan to launch surveillance flights into Iran. Now, the three-way tension between the United States, Israel, and Iran became tenser this week with a widely cited report that Israel is developing a “secret staging ground” in Iran’s neighbor to the north – Azerbaijan – for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Quoting unnamed senior US diplomats and military intelligence officials, a lengthy article in Foreign Policy magazine asserts that “Israel has recently been granted access to airbases on Iran’s northern border. The Israelis have bought an airfield,” a senior administration official is quoted as saying, “and the airfield is called Azerbaijan.” Why would US officials be talking about this? Likely to slow down any rush to war in an already volatile region, some speculate. “I think this leak today is part of the administration’s campaign against an Israeli attack,” former US diplomat John Bolton said Thursday on Fox News. “Clearly, this is an administration-orchestrated leak,” Mr. Bolton said, adding, “It’s just unprecedented to reveal this kind of information about one of your own allies.” The challenge for Israel in planning such a strike is the long distance to potential targets – some 2,000 miles round-trip – for its F-15 and F-16 fighters. Planning for such strikes always involves tradeoffs between fuel and bombs. Bases in nearby Azerbaijan (including abandoned former Soviet airfields) could be used for landing and refueling after any strike, allowing Israeli jets to carry more ordnance. Such airfields also could be a staging point for search-and-rescue helicopters that might be necessary to recover downed Israeli pilots. They also could be used to launch drone aircraft for bomb damage assessment once any strike is concluded. Israel and Azerbaijan have developed an economic military relationship over the years. Israel buys oil from Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan recently agreed to buy $1.6 billion in military hardware from Israel, including drones, antiaircraft, and missile-defense systems. This week’s report of a possible basing agreement with Israel does nothing to improve the relationship between neighbors Azerbaijan and Iran.

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/kurdistan-azerbaijan-subs-in-the-gulf-the-israeli-military-encirclement-of-iran-prelude/
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« Reply #75 on: March 30, 2012, 08:33:39 am »

USS Enterprise Prepares To Cross Suez Canal, Days Away From Anchor In Arabian Sea

3/29/12

Much noise has been emanating out of Israel vis-a-vis its Iranian intentions, with some opinions suggesting an attack is imminent, while others claiming that Israel will ultimately defer to D.C., and postpone an attack, and the eventual gasoline price shock, until after the election. The truth is nobody but a few select generals, knows: in warfare surprise is the key factor, so outright flashing invasion intentions is usually an indicator of just the opposite. That said, the most recent update that Azerbaijan has granted Israel access to its airbases along the Iran border is hardly encouraging for Nobel peace prize winners and other pacifists. Yet as we have been claiming for the past two weeks, ever since the launch of CVN-65 on its last tour of duty, the true catalyst, if any, will be the arrival of the USS Enterprise at what may well be its last place of anchor - somewhere in the Arabian Sea, just off the side of CVN 70 and CVN 72 both of which are patrolling the Straits of Hormuz. And as the map from Stratfor below shows, the Enterprise is about to cross the Suez Canal, from which point it will be at most days from entering its catalyst location, namely supporting the Israel air force. Just because the US has never had 3 concurrent aircraft carriers in proximity to Iran before.

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http://www.zerohedge.com/news/uss-enterprise-preapres-cross-suez-canal-days-away-anchor-arabian-ssea
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« Reply #76 on: March 30, 2012, 11:05:52 pm »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUC-Vxwc8u8&feature=relmfu
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« Reply #77 on: March 31, 2012, 06:46:14 pm »

3/31/12

http://news.yahoo.com/clinton-time-running-diplomacy-iran-134022862.html

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made clear Saturday that time is running out for diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program and said talks aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon would resume in mid-April.

With speculation over a possible U.S. or Israel military attack adding urgency to the next round of discussions in Istanbul set for April 13, Clinton said Iran's "window of opportunity" for a peaceful resolution "will not remain open forever."

She also expressed doubt about whether Iran has any intention of negotiating a solution that satisfies the U.S., Israel and other countries that believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran contends the program is solely for peaceful energy and research purposes.

"We're going in with one intention: to resolve the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program," Clinton told reporters after attending a security conference in Saudi Arabia.

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« Reply #78 on: April 03, 2012, 12:21:00 pm »

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-greece-conduct-joint-naval-drill-amid-ongoing-tension-with-turkey-1.421907

U.S. Sixth Fleet also participating in the exercise, which includes simulation of attack on offshore natural gas platforms.

Israel, the United States and Greece are in the midst of a naval exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, in what Greek media outlets are saying is a message to Turkey following frayed ties with both Israel and Greece.

The exercise, called "Noble Dina," involves simulations of combat against submarines, air battles and protection of offshore natural gas platforms. The U.S. Sixth Fleet is also participating in the exercise, which the Greek media, which first reported on it, has described as being meant to send a message to Turkey.

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http://debka.com/article/21886/

Russian warships launch drill from Tartus versus US-Israeli-Greek naval exercise

Not 24 hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that a pre-emptive strike (by the US and/or Israel) would violate international law, Moscow put muscle into his warning: Tuesday, April 3, the Russian guided missile destroyer Smetliviy arrived  in the Syrian port of Tartus from its Black Sea base for a naval exercise. The warship’s support group is on the way.

debkafile’s military sources report that the Russian flotilla carried a threefold message for Washington:

1.  The Russian-Iranian strategy of propping up the Assad regime which has brought the Syrian ruler close to victory over his foes, will continue: Diplomacy will be propelled by military impetus.

2.  Russia is providing the Assad regime with defense systems capable of repelling foreign military intervention.

3.  Consigning the Smetliviy warship to Syria illustrates Moscow’s new rapid response policy: Russia is launching a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean to match the “Noble Dina” air and naval maneuver the US, Israel and Greece are conducting across a broad expanse of sea between Crete and the Israeli bases at Haifa and Ashdod.

Israeli warships and air force jets may therefore find themselves not just operating alongside US naval and aircraft but confronted suddenly by one of the largest destroyers in the Russian fleet (NATO-coded ASW-submarine warfare), whose decks are the launching base for anti-air, anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles.

The Smetliviy’s support group, believed to be a supply vessel and a submarine, passed through the Bosporus Saturday, March 31 on their way to Tartus.

Monday, April 2, debkafile reported: Russia and Iran set to counter US/Israeli strike against Iran. US-led Mediterranean naval drill

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« Reply #79 on: April 03, 2012, 08:27:50 pm »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2l0C-KwB7c&feature=uploademail
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« Reply #80 on: April 08, 2012, 12:47:50 pm »

The Russian Military Has an Action Plan Involving Georgia if Iran Is Attacked

Russian Defense Ministry sources told the semiofficial news agency Interfax that action plans are being finalized to react to an armed conflict involving Iran and its nuclear program. The General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces “calculates” that military action against Iran will commence “in the summer” of 2012. Since Israel does not have sufficient assets to defeat Iranian defenses, the Russian military considers US military involvement inevitable (Interfax, March 30).

Bits of information have been appearing, indicating the essence of Russian military action. Last December it was disclosed that families of servicemen from the Russian base in Armenia have been evacuated to Russia, while the troops have been moved from the capital, Yerevan, north to Gumri – closer to the borders of Georgia and Turkey. The preparation of Russian forces in Armenia for action in the event of military conflict with Iran began “two years ago” (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, December 15).

After the short Russo-Georgian war in August 2008, break-away provinces Abkhazia and South Ossetia were occupied by Russian troops. Tbilisi in turn stopped military transit to the Russian troops in landlocked Armenia. There is only an air link to Russia, while fuel and other essentials reportedly come over the Iran-Armenia border. Moscow believes this border may be closed in the event of war. According to Lt. General (retired) Yury Netkachev – former deputy commander of Russian forces in Transcaucasia – “Possibly, it will be necessary to use military means to breach the Georgian transport blockade and establish transport corridors, leading into Armenia (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, December 15). The geography of the region implies that any such “corridor” may go through the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Large scale “strategic” military exercises Kavkaz-2012 are planned for next September, but it is reported that preparations and deployments of assets have begun already because of the threat of the possible war with Iran. New command and control equipment has been deployed in the region capable of using GLONASS (Russian GPS) targeting information. The air force in the South Military District (SMD) is reported to have been rearmed “almost 100 percent” with new jets and helicopters. In 2008, Kavkaz-2008 maneuvers allowed the Russian military to covertly deploy forces that successfully invaded Georgia (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, January 16).

Last September it was announced that sniper units will be created in all Russian army brigades. The first 1,300 newly trained snipers have been deployed in the SMD (RIA Novosti, January 16). SMD units in Abkhazia, Ossetia, Chechnya and Volgograd have been rearmed with new T-90A and T-72BM tanks and new armored vehicles. In 2010 and 2011, SMD units received more than 7,000 pieces of new heavy weapons and have been more than 70 percent rearmed (RIA Novosti, January 16). According to President Dmitry Medvedev, by 2011 the overall rearmament of the entire Russian military with new weapons was much less – 16 percent (www.kremlin.ru, March 20).

Last January the newly appointed commander of the 58th army that spearheaded the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, Major General Andrei Gurulev, announced: “The army is a front-line force that keeps the peace in the region and has been rearmed more than 60 percent” (www.newsru.com, January 28). After an inspection of the SMD by Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, it was announced that new Special Forces units will be deployed in Stavropol and Kislovodsk “to further strengthen the security of the region” (RIA Novosti, January 26). Stavropol and Kislovodsk are ethnic Russian-inhabited North Caucasian regions that have not seen much Islamist or separatist activity.

A new 120-kilometer range land-mobile guided anti-ship missile, Bal-E, has been deployed on the Caspian shore of Dagestan (Interfax, February Cool. The Russian military believes that when the US goes to war with Iran, it may deploy forces in friendly Georgia and warships in the Caspian with the possible help of Azerbaijan. It is reported that in 2012 SMD forces will be 65 percent equipped with new communication devices, while the rest of the Russian military will have 26 percent (RIA Novosti, February 9). SMD units have received 20 new Tornado-G MRLS launchers (first procured in 2012) to replace the aging Grad MRLS. The Grad was massively used by the Russian troops against the Georgians in 2008. The 122-mm Tornado-G is reported to be “three times more effective than Grad,” with increased accuracy, firepower, mobility and a range of up to 100 kilometers (Interfax, April 3). The commander of the airborne troops (VDV), Lt. General Vladimir Shamanov, has announced the Russian troops in Armenia will be reinforced by paratroopers, possibly together with attack and transport helicopters. According to Netkachev, assault VDV units with helicopters may be moved into Abkhazia and South Ossetian (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 4).

The above stream of reports by official spokesmen and carried by government news agencies describes the forming of an offensive spearhead force in the SMD facing Transcaucasia. The force is too heavily armed with modern long-range weapons to be exclusively intended to take on the dispersed rebel guerrilla forces in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. This week, the Secretary of the Georgian National Security Council Giga Bokeria told radio Ekho Moskvi about the growing threat of a war with Russia (Ekho Moskvi, April 2).

In Tbilisi, the possible threat of a new Russian invasion is connected to the parliamentary elections scheduled for next October and possible disturbances that may accompany them. According to polls, the ruling party of President Mikheil Saakashvili seems to be poised for another landslide victory, while the opposition movement, organized by the Russian-based billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, seems to be failing to gather mass support.

Of course, Moscow would be glad to see the electoral defeat of Saakashvili, but the Iranian war is a much more important issue. The Russian spearhead may be ordered to strike south to prevent the presumed deployment of US bases in Transcaucasia, to link up with the troops in Armenia, and take over the South Caucasus energy corridor along which Azeri, Turkmen and, other Caspian natural gas and oil may reach European markets. By one swift military strike Russia may ensure control of all the Caucasus and the Caspian states that were its former realm, establishing a fiat accompli the West, too preoccupied with Iran, would not reverse. At the same time, a small victorious war would unite the Russian nation behind the Kremlin, allowing it to crush the remnants of the prodemocracy movement “for fair elections.” And as a final bonus, Russia’s military action could perhaps finally destroy the Saakashvili regime.

http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=39228&tx_ttnews[backPid]=27&cHash=a8c90828fa84c3e274d92e18765d9e1c
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« Reply #81 on: April 09, 2012, 08:21:59 am »

http://news.yahoo.com/us-navy-deploys-2nd-aircraft-carrier-gulf-104816846.html

4/9/12

US Navy deploys 2nd aircraft carrier to Gulf

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. Navy said Monday it has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region amid rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear program.

The deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks only the fourth time in the past decade that the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating at the same time in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, said Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.

The two carriers will support the American military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden, said Derrick-Frost.

The warships also patrol the Gulf's strategic oil routes that Iran has threatened to shut down in retaliation for economic sanctions.

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« Reply #82 on: April 09, 2012, 08:24:51 am »


World powers to hold talks with Iran on April 14: EU

http://news.yahoo.com/world-powers-hold-talks-iran-april-14-eu-174304213.html

4/8/12

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - World powers will hold the next round of nuclear negotiations with Iran on April 14 in Istanbul, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Sunday.
 
Ashton represents six world powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - in dealings with Iran.
 
"We have agreed to launch talks in Istanbul on April 14," the spokesman said.
 
"We hope that this first round will produce a conducive environment for concrete progress. We are of course aiming at a sustained process," he said.
 
(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)
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« Reply #83 on: April 09, 2012, 04:43:09 pm »

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/irans-nuclear-revolution-already-spreading-through-the-middle-east/

Iran’s nuclear revolution already spreading through the Middle East
Posted on April 9, 2012 by The Extinction Protocol
April 9, 2012 – MIDDLE EAST – Jordan is facing an uphill battle to build its first nuclear reactor to supply badly needed electric power amid serious concern over environmental hazards and financial risks the cash-strapped kingdom would have to endure. Lacking the oil and gas reserves of its neighbors, Jordan has been reliant on imports to provide powers for its homes and vehicles. Chaos in the Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula over the past year virtually cut off natural gas imports because the pipeline has been sabotaged 14 times in succession, most recently this week when a blast cut the line near Al-Arish. Nuclear power could help fill the gap, but the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant last year has cast fresh doubt over the safety and viability of such projects at a time when environmentalists are pushing for clean sources of energy. Aware of the growing opposition to the multi-billion dollar project, the government in Amman has appointed a public relations team to persuade the public of its importance to the country’s energy independence. The Jordan Nuclear Commission said recently government is preparing to announce it has chosen the French nuclear power contractor AREVA to build the country’s first reactor. Construction of the facility would not start before 2013 after finding funding for the project and completing the paper work needed to win the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear monitoring body. The kingdom’s program calls for the construction of a 1,000-megawatt reactor by the end of the decade, with plans in place for an additional three reactors, all of which would transform the country from an energy importer to an electricity exporter. –Jerusalem Post

Saudi Arabia will acquire nukes if Iran does: It would appear the genie is already out of the lamp. “Saudi Arabia has already announced that in case Iran will develop nuclear weapons, the country will be also striving to possess them. In this case, we will face a nuclear race, which will pose the threat to the security of the whole region. This is a specific region, with vast numbers of internal opposing views, which are far from settlement. I am talking about religion, interethnic, interstate, and ideological issues. The possession of the nuclear weapon will result in some negative consequences.” –Caspionet.kz
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« Reply #84 on: April 10, 2012, 06:24:00 am »

Longtime U.S. ally aligning with Tehran
'Arab Spring' result leaves Egypt picking Iran as partner

Just as Washington took the unusual step recently of inviting members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood for White House talks to try regain influence in Cairo, Egyptians followed recent gains by the Muslim Brotherhood in parliament to pursue Tehran as strategic partner instead of Washington, according to a report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

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www.rcg.orgGiven the increasingly close cooperation between what could become an Egyptian government run by the Muslim Brotherhood, Washington also may be looking to the Brotherhood as a potential conduit of communications to Iran, a development that could be unsettling to Israel.

Publicly, the U.S. is cautioning Egypt against growing ties with Iran, while recognizing the reality of the Brotherhood’s possible ascension to leadership in Egypt. U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Ann Paterson has raised concerns about the Brotherhood’s growing links with Iran.

“Washington expresses its concern about the Egyptian Islamic movement’s relations with Tehran,” she said.

For years, however, Shi’ite Iran has been a major financial supporter of the Sunni Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and quietly worked for some two years with the group to oust Washington-backed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last year.

So, that relationship should be no surprise to Washington.

rest: http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/longtime-u-s-ally-aligning-with-tehran/?cat_orig=us
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« Reply #85 on: April 10, 2012, 12:19:19 pm »

Iran says it captured Israel-backed ‘terrorist team’

Iranian security forces arrested an Israeli-backed “terrorist team” days before crucial nuclear talks with world powers, the Intelligence Ministry announced Tuesday.

The announcement, reported by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), said that “terrorists, backed by the Zionists,” were arrested following months of intelligence operations in central and border provinces and that the “Zionist regional headquarters” was discovered in a regional country. In Iran’s ideological vocabulary, Israel is called the “Zionist state.”

REST: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-says-it-captured-israel-backed-terrorist-team/2012/04/10/gIQA8I3I8S_story.html
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« Reply #86 on: April 11, 2012, 08:26:04 am »

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/largest-air-force-exercise-in-gulf-history-takes-place-with-u-s-aircraft-carrier-group/

Largest air force exercise in Gulf history takes place with U.S. aircraft carrier group

Posted on April 10, 2012


April 10, 2012 – MIDDLE EAST – At least 200 American and Arab Gulf fighter-bombers thundered overhead Sunday, April 8 at the outset of the biggest air force exercise ever conducted in the Gulf region. They are simulating war with Iran and an operation for reopening the strategic Straits of Hormuz if it is closed by Tehran. Debkafile’s military sources report that 100 of the warplanes took off from the USS Enterprise and USS Abraham Lincoln which are cruising with their strike groups opposite Iranian shores. The Saudi, UAE, Kuwaiti and Bahraini air forces contributed the other 100. In an unprecedented show of military solidarity with the US, Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet High Command, was also chosen by Gulf Cooperation Council – GCC – members for their unified exercise headquarters to be located at the Shaikh Isa Air Base. Tehran was being told that neither the Obama administration nor the Gulf Arab governments were deterred by its threats of retaliation against emirates placing bases at the disposal of foreign forces for an attack on Iran. However, shortly after the exercise began, Iranian ambassador to Kuwait Rouhullah Qahremani called urgently on Kuwait Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Khalid Al-Sabah with a warning that the Iranian air and navy would attack the Gulf nations taking part in the exercise unless they withdrew at once. The Kuwaiti army chief took Iran’s threat to the GCC Secretary General for Military Affairs Maj. Gen. Khalifa Humaid Al-Kaabi. Kuwait and Riyadh also briefed the Americans. The exercise is due to end on April 15, the day after the six world powers launch resumed nuclear negotiations with Iran in Istanbul. However some Iranian sources were hinting Monday that they would not come to the talks under military threat. –Debka
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« Reply #87 on: April 11, 2012, 05:44:05 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/flow-iranian-oil-asia-slows-sanctions-bite-111058864.html

Flow of Iranian oil to Asia slows as sanctions bite
By Osamu Tsukimori and Charlie Zhu | Reuters – Tue, Apr 10, 2012.

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Japanese trading houses will cut Iranian crude imports from April, industry sources said on Tuesday, in the latest sign that Western sanctions are curbing the flow of Tehran's oil to its biggest customers in Asia.
 
Insurers are showing growing reluctance to cover tankers carrying Iranian oil and a senior official at a unit of Chinese refiner Sinopec Corp <0386.HK> said it was increasingly wary of crude from Iran due to the supply threat posed by sanctions.
 
The United States and European Union have tightened sanctions on Iran's oil trade as they seek to reduce the flow of petrodollars and force Tehran to halt a nuclear program the West suspects is intended to produce weapons.
 
"Iranian crude currently is a rather sensitive subject," Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemicals <0338.HK> Chief Financial Officer Ye Guohua told reporters at an earnings briefing. "This year we will continue to be cautious about Iranian crude imports."

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« Reply #88 on: April 12, 2012, 04:55:29 am »

WASHINGTON – The Russian military anticipates that an attack will occur on Iran by the summer and has developed an action plan to move Russian troops through neighboring Georgia to stage in Armenia, which borders on the Islamic republic, according to informed Russian sources.

See Russia's T-50 fighter > http://www.businessinsider.com/sukhoi-t-50-competes-with-the-f-35-2012-4

Russian Security Council head Viktor Ozerov said that Russian General Military Headquarters has prepared an action plan in the event of an attack on Iran.

Dmitry Rogozin, who recently was the Russian ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, warned against an attack on Iran.

"Iran is our neighbor," Rogozin said. "If Iran is involved in any military action, it's a direct threat to our security." Rogozin now is the deputy Russian prime minister and is regarded as anti-Western. He oversees Russia's defense sector.

Russian Defense Ministry sources say that the Russian military doesn't believe that Israel has sufficient military assets to defeat Iranian defenses and further believes that U.S. military action will be necessary.

The implication of preparing to move Russian troops not only is to protect its own vital regional interests but possibly to assist Iran in the event of such an attack. Sources add that a Russian military buildup in the region could result in the Russian military potentially engaging Israeli forces, U.S. forces, or both.

Informed sources say that the Russians have warned of "unpredictable consequences" in the event Iran is attacked, with some Russians saying that the Russian military will take part in the possible war because it would threaten its vital interests in the region.

The influential Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper has quoted a Russian military source as saying that the situation forming around Syria and Iran "causes Russia to expedite the course of improvement of its military groups in the South Caucasus, the Caspian, Mediterranean and Black Sea regions."

This latest information comes from a series of reports and leaks from official Russian spokesmen and government news agencies who say that an Israeli attack is all but certain by the summer.

Because of the impact on Russian vital interests in the region, sources say that Russian preparations for such an attack began two years ago when Russian Military Base 102 in Gyumri, Armenia, was modernized. It is said to occupy a major geopolitical position in the region.

Families of Russian servicemen from the Russian base at Gyumri in Armenia close to the borders of Georgia and Turkey already have been evacuated, Russian sources say.

"Military Base 102 is a key point, Russia's outpost in the South Caucasus," a Russian military source told the newspaper. "It occupies a very important geopolitical position, but the Kremlin fears lest it should lose this situation."

With Vladimir Putin returning to the Russian presidency, the prospect that he again would order an attack on Georgia as he did in August 2008 also has become a possibility, these informed sources say.

The Russians believe that Georgia would cooperate with the United States in blocking any supplies from reaching Military Base 102, which now is supplied primarily by air. Right now, Georgia blocks the only land transportation route through which Russian military supplies could travel.

Fuel for the Russian base in Armenia comes from Iran. Russian officials believe this border crossing may be closed in the event of a war.

"Possibly, it will be necessary to use military means to breach the Georgian transport blockade and establish transport corridors leading into Armenia," according to Yury Netkachev, former deputy commander of Russian forces in Transcaucasia. Geography of the region suggests that any such supply corridor would have to go through the middle of Georgia approaching Georgia's capital of Tbilisi given the roads and topography of the country.

In September, the Russian military plans to hold its annual military exercises called Kavkaz 2012. However, informed Russian sources say that preparations and deployments of military equipment and personnel already have begun in anticipation of a possible war with Iran.

These sources report that new command and control equipment has been deployed in the region capable of using the Russian GPS system, GLONASS for targeting information.

"The air force in the South Military District is reported to have been rearmed almost 100 percent with new jets and helicopters," according to regional expert Pavel Felgenhauer of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation.

In 2008, Felgenhauer pointed out, Kavkaz 2008 maneuvers allowed the Russian military to covertly deploy forces that successfully invaded Georgia in August of that year.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov already has announced that new Spetznaz, or Special Forces units, will be deployed in Stavropol and Kislovodsk, which are located in the North Caucasian regions.

Russian sources say that the Russian military believes that if the U.S. goes to war with Iran, it may deploy forces into Georgia and warships in the Caspian Sea with the possible help of Azerbaijan, which since has stated that it will not allow its territory to be used by Israel to launch an attack on neighboring Iran.

There had been speculation that given the improved relations between Israel and Azerbaijan, the Jewish state may use bases from which to launch air attacks on neighboring Iran's nuclear sites. Israel recently agreed to sell Azerbaijan $1.6 billion in military equipment.

A further irritant to Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili is the prospect that Russian assault airborne troops, or VDV units, with helicopters could be moved into Georgia's two breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two provinces were taken by the Russian military during the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war. Initially they were declared by Moscow to be independent countries, but now the Kremlin is indicating they may be annexed to Russia.

Similarly, Lt. General Vladimir Shamanov, commander of the VDV, has announced that Russian troops in Armenia will be reinforced by paratroopers, along with attack and transport helicopters.

"The Russian spearhead (from the Transcaucasia region) may be ordered to strike south to prevent the presumed deployment of U.S. bases in Transcaucasia, to link up with the troops in Armenia and take over the South Caucasus energy corridor along which Azeri, Turkmen and other Caspian natural gas and oil may reach European markets," Felgenhauer said.

"By one swift military strike, Russia may ensure control of all the Caucasus and the Caspian states that were its former realm, establishing a fiat accompli the West, too preoccupied with Iran, would not reverse," he said.

"At the same time, a small victorious war would unite the Russian nation behind the Kremlin, allowing it to crush the remnants of the prodemocracy movement 'for fair elections,' and as a final bonus, Russia's military action could perhaps finally destroy the Saakashvili regime."

Putin has made no secret that he despises Saakashvili and with his return to the presidency, he may consider taking out the Georgian president as unfinished business. Just as in 2008, Putin will not have much to worry about if he sends Russian troops into Georgia, since there was muted reaction from the U.S. and the European countries to the Russian invasion and subsequent occupation.

http://www.worthynews.com/top/businessinsider-com-russia-thinks-an-israeli-attack-on-iran-by-the-summer-is-almost-certain-2012-4/
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« Reply #89 on: April 16, 2012, 09:49:07 am »

http://www.timesofisrael.com/iaf-plans-for-iran-attack/


Israeli TV report shows air force gearing up for Iran attack, says moment of truth is near

‘IAF expects losses, and knows it can’t destroy entire Iranian program’

By Greg TepperApril 15, 2012, 11:49 pm

A major Israel TV station on Sunday night broadcast a detailed report on how Israel will go about attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in the event that diplomacy and sanctions fail and Israel decides to carry out a military strike.
 
The report, screened on the main evening news of Channel 10, was remarkable both in terms of the access granted to the reporter, who said he had spent weeks with the pilots and other personnel he interviewed, and in the fact that his assessments on a strike were cleared by the military censor.
 
No order to strike is likely to be given before the P5+1 talks with Iran resume in May, the reporter, Alon Ben-David, said. “But the coming summer will not only be hot but tense.”

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