Posts tagged Tehran
Iran Sends Boatload Of Fajr-5 Missiles To Gaza To Launch At Tel Aviv
Nov 19th
Iran sends hundreds of Fajr-5 Missiles To Gaza
An Iranian 150-ton freighter departed Bandar Abbas port Sunday, Nov. 18, with a cargo of 220 short-range missiles and 50 improved long-range Fajr-5 rockets for the Gaza Strip, DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report. The ship turned toward the Bab al-Mandeb Straits and the Red Sea.
The Iranian weapons, called Fajr-5 missiles, give Hamas the ability to strike deeper into Israel than ever before.
The new Fajr-5′s have a 200-kilo warhead, which packs a bigger punch than the 175 kilos of explosives delivered by the rockets in current use with the Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip. To extend their range to cover the 85 kilometers from Gaza to Tel Aviv, Hamas removed a part of their payloads to make them lighter.
Tehran is sending the fresh supply of disassembled rockets to replenish the stocks its allies, the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami, depleted in their round-the-clock attacks on Israel since Nov. 10.
To throw Israeli surveillance off the trail, the ship started its voyage called Vali-e Asr owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, and was quickly renamed Cargo Star and hoisted the flag of Tuvalu. This South Pacific island nation, which lies between Hawaii and Australia, has a tiny population of 11,000, most of them Polynesians. Iran provides most of its revenue since earlier this year when Prime Minister Willy Telavi agreed to register Iran’s entire tanker fleet of 22 vessels to Tuvalu, to help Tehran dodge the US-EU oil embargo.
Our intelligence sources have learned that four big Sudanese shipping boats sailed out of Port Sudan early Monday and are waiting to rendezvous with the Cargo Star and offload its missile cargo in mid-sea.
The Sudanese will then be told by Tehran whether put into Port Sudan with the missiles, or turn north and sail up the Red Sea to the Straits of Tiran to link up with Egyptian fishing boats which regularly ply this waterway in the service of Palestinian-Iranian smuggling networks. They would unload the missile cargo in a quiet inlet on the Sinai coast. From there, it would be carried to the smuggling tunnels running from Sinai under the border into the Gaza Strip.\
Palestinian teams assisted by Iranian and Hizballah technicians in the Gaza Strip would then assemble the new rockets and make them operational.
Through most of the voyage, two Iranian warships, the Khark heliicopter carrier and Shahid Naqdi destroyer, which are posted permanently in the Red Sea, escorted the arms ship until the cargo changed hands.
DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources also disclose that the Jihad Islami leader Ramadan Abdullah Shelah was sharply remanded by Tehran for meeting Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo Sunday to discuss terms for halting Israel’s counter-missile operation in Gaza now in its sixth day.
Iran bankrolls these Palestinian extremists and has no intention of letting Shelah bow to Cairo’s wishes which run counter to Tehran’s plans and interests.
While Egypt’s new Islamist leaders are intent on carving out for themselves a responsible role in the region by restoring order, solving crises and restraining radicals, radical Iran has its own fish to fry and is bent on escalating war tensions in the Middle East. source – DEBKA
Obama Has No Answer To Iran’s Firing On US Drone Over Persian Gulf
Nov 9th
This “incident” was purposely and willfully kept from the America people for a full week before the election and was not made public for a full 24 hours after the election. Obama can do nothing except by deceit, lies and cover-ups. And in typical Obama fashion, he refused to take action against his fellow Muslims. Just like at Fort Hood…just like in Benghazi…just like in Tunisia….
From Yahoo News: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iranian warplanes fired at an unarmed U.S. drone in international airspace last week but did not hit the aircraft, the Pentagon said on Thursday, disclosing details of an unprecedented incident that triggered a formal warning to Tehran through diplomatic channels.
Reuters- A MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft in an undated photo. Credit U.S. Air Force
The November 1 intercept was the first time Tehran had fired at an unmanned American aircraft, in a stark reminder of how tensions between the United States and Iran could escalate quickly into violence.
If Iran had hit the drone, as the Pentagon believes it was trying to do, it could have forced American retaliation – with the potential consequences that entails.
According to the timeline provided by the Pentagon, two Iranian SU-25 “Frogfoot” aircraft intercepted the American drone at about 4:50 a.m. EST (0850 GMT) as it conducted a routine, but classified, surveillance mission over Gulf waters about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the aircraft fired multiple rounds at the Predator drone and followed it for at least several miles as it moved farther away from Iranian airspace.
“We believe that they fired at least twice and made at least two passes,” he said.
International airspace begins after 12 nautical miles and Little said the drone at no point entered Iranian airspace. Last year, a crashed CIA drone was recovered inside Iran.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was quickly notified of the incident, as were members of Congress and the White House, Little added. The United States also sent Iran a warning through diplomatic channels, saying it would defend its military assets and would keep sending aircraft on such surveillance operations.
“There is absolutely no precedence for this,” Little said. “This is the first time that a (drone) has been fired upon to our knowledge by Iranian aircraft.”
Many questions about the incident remain, including why Iranian warplanes could not manage – if they wanted – to shoot down an unarmed drone, which lacks advanced capabilities to outmaneuver them.
Asked whether the Iranian aircraft were simply firing warning shots, Little said: “Our working assumption is that they fired to take it down. You’ll have to ask the Iranians why they engaged in this action.” There was no immediate comment by Iranian officials.
SANCTIONS TIGHTENED
President Barack Obama has resisted calls from inside the United States and Israel for military action against Iran, focusing instead on crushing rounds of sanctions, which were tightened again on Thursday.
The United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s communications minister and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for jamming international satellite broadcasts to Iran and censoring and closing newspapers and detaining journalists.
The sanctions are part of broader efforts to isolate Tehran, which denies U.S. accusations that it seeks to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its civilian atomic program. In an effort to drive Iran to compromise, the United States and the European Union have gone for the jugular – Iran’s oil exports – over the past year.
The United States and Israel, which regards a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence, have also hinted at the possibility of military strikes on Iran as a last resort.
Obama has said the United States will “do what we must” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and has repeatedly said that all options are on the table – code for the possibility of using force. source – Yahoo News
Defecting Iranian Cameraman Gives CIA Priceless Film Of Iran’s Secret Nuclear Sites
Oct 5th
DEBKAfile reveals one of the CIA’s most dramatic scoops in many years, and epic disaster for Iran. Our most exclusive Iranian and intelligence sources disclose that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s personal cameraman, Hassan Golkhanban, who defected from his UN entourage in New York on Oct. 1, brought with him an intelligence treasure trove of up-to-date photographs and videos of top Iranian leaders visiting their most sensitive and secret nuclear and missile sites.
Iranian cameraman Hassan Golbankhan and Revolutionary Guards chiefs
The cameraman, who is in his 40s, is staying at an undisclosed address, presumably a CIA safe house under close guard. He stayed behind when Ahmadinejad, after his UN speech, departed New York with his 140-strong entourage. For some years, Golkhanban worked not just as a news cameraman but personally recorded visits by the Iranian president and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of top-secret nuclear facilities and Revolutionary Guards installations.
When he left Tehran in the president’s party, his luggage was not searched and so he was able to bring out two suitcases packed with precious film and deliver it safely into waiting hands in New York.
The Iranian cameraman has given US intelligence the most complete and updated footage it has ever obtained of the interiors of Iran’s top secret military facilities and various nuclear installations, including some never revealed to nuclear watchdog inspectors. Among them are exclusive interior shots of the Natanz nuclear complex, the Fordo underground enrichment plant, the Parchin military complex and the small Amir-Abad research reactor in Tehran.
Some of the film depicts Revolutionary Guards and military industry chiefs explaining in detail to the president or supreme leader the working of secret equipment on view. Golkhanban recorded their voices.
Our sources also disclose that, in late September, he took the precaution of sending his wife and two children out of Iran on the pretext of a family visit to Turkey. They are most likely on their way to the United States by now.
From his years as a member of the loyal Bassij militia, the cameraman earned the complete trust of Iran’s security services and was able to reach his professional pinnacle as personal photographer for the two most eminent figures in the country, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, with the task of recording their most confidential pursuits.
This was his second visit to New York. The first time, a year ago, US intelligence was able to make contact and persuade him to defect with his stock of priceless photos and film. Although Golkhanban’s defection to the United States and request for asylum was disclosed to the media some days ago, Tehran has not made any comment. source – DEBKA
Obama’s Greatest Foreign Policy Accomplishment Is Protecting Iran From Israel
Aug 26th
Lies, lies and more lies from the Occupier-in-chief
“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:4
Obama, Hillary and company have said the words “we cannot allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons” so often and with such determination that you would be absolutely convinced that they meant it and were working day and night to make it come to pass. But you would be completely wrong.
When God’s Payday arrives for Obama and Company, it will not be a pretty sight to see.
Obama and his team are doing nothing of the kind. In fact, they have done and continue to do the opposite. We would suggest to you, our readers, that perhaps the only reason why Iran has been able to make such spectacular progress towards having nuclear weapons is because Obama has been hyper-diligent about keeping Israel away from them. As Obama stalls, and Israel falls for his empty promises, Iran continues to build out it’s nuclear program as well as adding reinforcements against an air strike to take it out. Israel must face the fact that in order to protect themselves they must go it alone. And if they are not willing to do that, then they must prepare for the bombs to start falling. Its one or the other, but either way time is about up.
Finally, to Mr. Obama and to Mrs. Clinton, when you tell us with a straight face that you will “not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons”, we can reply with out the slightest bit of hesitation that we think you two and your administration are liars of the highest magnitude. May the Holy God of Israel reward you according to your works. And buddy, boy will He ever.
From DEBKA: The White House has fixed an appointment for President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to hold talks on Sept. 27, DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report. Netanyahu will spend ten days in the United States, during which he will address the UN General Assembly and launch Israel’s counter-attack on the virulently anti-Semitic themes of Iran’s official anti-Israel propaganda.
This timeline indicates that the prime minister is inclined to accommodate President Obama by delaying once again an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program until after the US presidential election on Nov. 6. It stands to reason that Netanyahu would not fix a date with Obama to take place after an attack, or that the president would receive him. That being the case, there will not be much for them to talk about.
Obama stood up to the blasts from a number of influential American editorial writers and strategic analysts who urged him to offer Israel a solemn commitment for a pre-emptive American offensive against Iran from the Knesset podium, as a means of holding the Netanyahu government back from military action in the fall of 2012. Another suggestion was for the president to formally notify the US congress of his plans for military action if Iran persisted in speeding the development of ifs nuclear weapon capacity.
Obama rejected both suggestions – and Iran continued to accelerate its advance towards a nuclear weapon undisturbed.
Thursday, diplomats close to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, disclosed that Iran had installed another 1,000 uranium enrichment machines in its fortified underground facility at Fordo, and was expanding its production of 20-percent refined uranium. Experts not bound by the IAEA’s diplomatic constraints report that enrichment climbed to 30 percent some months ago and was now on the way to 60 percent. At least 3,000 centrifuges were now spinning at Fordo.
Israel recently passed information to Washington that Iran had already developed a radioactive (dirty) bomb.
Yet US official spokesmen keep on intoning that there is still room for diplomacy - even after all the parties admitted that the Six Power talks with Tehran broke down irretrievably weeks ago. And Friday, Aug. 24, seven hours of argument between the IAEA and Iranian representatives failed to dent Iran’s implacable opposition to any reduction in its nuclear drive or the slightest transparency.
One can only conclude that, even after Iran has the bomb, the mantra “there is still room for diplomacy” will continue to issue from official US mouths and the Washington-Tehran dialogue drag on, possibly through new channels, as it does with Pyongyang.
After they meet, the US President may reward the Israeli Prime Minister with a marginally more assertive statement about Iran as a sort of consolation prize for his restraint. But that will not change the fact that neither has raised a finger to halt a nuclear Iran, both preferring to bow to domestic political pressures and considerations. Their inaction has given two Middle East leaders a major boost for progress on their own nuclear initiatives.
Last March, Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who was recently appointed head of general intelligence, travelled secretly to Beijing and returned with Chinese President Hu Jintao’s consent to sell Saudi Arabia nuclear-capable CSS-5 Dong-Feng 21 MRBM ballistic missiles. He also agreed to send over Chinese nuclear engineers and technicians to help Saudi Arabia develop uranium enrichment and other nuclear production capacities.
This work is already in progress at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology near Riyadh. In the last few weeks, Saudi Crown Prince Salman launched negotiations with Tehran on a non-aggression pact and other understandings covering bilateral cooperation behind America’s back on such issues as Syria.
It should be obvious from this development alone that the Middle East nuclear race, which both President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu admitted would be triggered by a nuclear Iran, unless preempted, is in full flight, a fact of which they have neglected to inform the general public in both countries.
But there is more
After less than three months in office, the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is following in Saudi footsteps: He will kick off his first foreign trips next week with a visit to Beijing, where he hopes to take a leaf out of the Saudi nuclear book. He then touches down in Tehran, ostensibly to attend the Non-Aligned Organization’s summit opening there on Aug. 26, but meanwhile to cultivate ties with Tehran for common action in the Middle East.
He has laid the ground for this by proposing the creation of a new “contact group” composed of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey to disentangle the Syrian conflict – again behind America’s back. The optimistic presumption that the Egyptian president will have to dance to Washington’s tune to win economic assistance is proving unfounded. And Obama’s hands are tied. In June 2009, he bound his administration’s Middle East policy to mending American ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. Today, he can hardly starve the new Cairo administration of financial aid. source – DEBKA
‘Bible Answer Man’ Hank Hanegraaff Joins OWS & Muslims In Anti-Israel Conference In Tehran
Apr 23rd
Applying the Abrahamic curse
“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you…” Genesis 12:3
Tehran, Iran – Present among the invited guests at an anti-Zionist Occupy Wall Street conference in Iran was the President of the Christian Research Institute, and star of the Bible Answerman radio show, Hank Hanegraaff.
My, my..look who's a Jew hater. Why it's the BIBLE ANSWER MAN Hank Hanegraaff. Shocking! (rolls eyes)
From John McTernan’s INSIGHTS: Notice how the OWS crowd is now against Israel. All the trouble in the world is caused by the Zionists! Obama endorsed this movement. This is the Hard Left married to the Islamists and in bed with them. It did not take long for them to merge. Please pay close attention, that in the video is Hank Hanegraaff! He is now a full blown apostate.
He hates Israel and is now 100 percent against the prophetic word. The God of Israel has merged him with the Hard Left and Islam. Just listen to his own words. This is happening to all “Christians” who are against God’s prophetic word. They will be merged with the God-haters and Hanegraaff is a warning to what will happen. source – INSIGHTS
Israel Reportedly Considers Pre-Emptive Attack on Iran
Nov 2nd
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly trying to rally support for an attack on Iran, according to government sources.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are said to be among those backing a pre-emptive strike to neutralize Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Sky News reports.
Israel knows that if Iran gets a nuke, they will certainly use it. Something needs to be done to prevent that.
A “narrow majority” of ministers currently oppose the move, which could lead to retaliation. In response to reports of an effort to gain cabin approval on Netanyahu’s proposal, Lieberman said: “Iran poses the most dangerous threat to world order.”
Lieberman added that Israel’s military options should not be a matter for public discussion.
In response to Netanyahu’s proposal, Iran’s military chief warned that an Israeli attack on the Islamic nation’s nuclear development sites “will inflict heavy damages,” according to the Iranian ISNA news agency.
“The U.S. officials know that the Zionist regime’s military attack against Iran will inflict heavy damages to the U.S. seriously, as well as the Zionist regime,” said Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran’s chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of Iran’s armed forces.
Israel successfully test-fired on Wednesday a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran. An Israeli defense official told The Associated Press that the military tested a “rocket propulsion system” in an exercise planned long ago. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of security restrictions, and declined to give further information.
Further information about the test was censored by the military. Foreign reports, however, said the military test-fired a long-range Jericho missile — capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran.
Israel considers Iran its most dangerous threat. It cites Tehran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile development, repeated references by the Iranian leader to Israel’s destruction and Iran’s support for anti-Israel militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran, meanwhile, has said its nuclear program is meant only to produce energy for the oil-rich country. It has blamed Israel for disruptions in its nuclear program, including the mysterious assassinations of a string of Iranian nuclear scientists and a computer virus that wiped out some of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges.
Israel has repeatedly said that it hopes economic sanctions will persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program. Israeli diplomats have been lobbying the international community for tougher sanctions. source – Fox News
Iran Demonstrations Moving Ahead Despite Threats and Intimidation
Feb 13th
Revival of the Green Movement
Protests in Iran are expected to move ahead tomorrow, despite the Interior Ministry’s refusal to issue a permit for a rally in support of the Egyptian and Tunisian people. The planned demonstration has been referred to as Iran’s “Day of Rage.” The two main opposition leaders, Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi are believed to have been placed under house arrest for the last several days in advance of the demonstrations, though only Karroubi’s arrest can be officially confirmed. The Green Movement has been quietly kept alive since the government crackdown on protesters following the 2009 elections, and new demonstrations are anticipated to re-energize the movement; the Iranian dictators are scared.
“Iranian reformist leader Mehdi Karroubi has been placed under house arrest, presumably in connection with the request to stage the rally. But on Sunday a renewed call for the demonstration appeared on both Karroubi’s website and one belonging to another opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
A statement on Karroubi’s website Kaleme called the Iranian government’s restrictions a sign of “weakness and fear” over the “most peaceful” civil and political demonstration.” source: VOA
Iranian opposition leaders, Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
Ardeshir Amir-Arjomand, spokesman for the former presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, had very strong words for the regime:
“Our dictators in Tehran are ruling the country with terror and panic,” he said. “They are afraid of their own people. They only sanction whatever pleases themselves, and disapprove of anything that is not under their surveillance. The call for renewed street protest in Iran is a clear sign that the green movement is still alive, and that’s why they’re afraid of it.”
“The regime in Iran wants to link the opposition to foreigners; this is exactly the game Mubarak played by saying that Egyptian protesters are backed and organised by foreigners, but it didn’t work at the end. This is an old trick, they [the regime in Iran] defended the protests in Egypt but when it comes to Iran, they link them to foreigners.”
According to Amir-Arjomand, the regime in Tehran depends on violence to secure its existence. He said: “Their biggest tactic is to create an atmosphere full of terror and horror, so that they can prevent people from going out or at least reducing their numbers. They have plans to produce violence on Monday and this is why they have increased the security presence in central Tehran.”
