Thread: 'Invading Iran is invading Russia, China'

'Invading Iran is invading Russia, China'

Sun Jan 1, 2012 3:13PM GMT


Russia and China will be a headache for US President Barack Obama if he decides on a military confrontation with Iran.

A political analyst says Russia and China consider a US military action on Iran as an attack on their own borders and a threat to their own national security.

“The US is assuming that Russia or China will not respond militarily, but they've been wrong before,” Shamus Cooke wrote on the Global Research website.

Cooke explained that when former US president George W. Bush gave the green light to the then President of Georgia Mikheil Saakahvili to attack South Ossetia in 2008, “Russia surprised everyone by responding militarily and crushing Georgia's invasion.”

“Attacking Syria and/or Iran opens the door to a wider regional or even international war,” Cooke stressed.

Last Month, Major General Zhang Zhaozhong, professor from the Chinese National Defense University, said China would not hesitate to protect the Islamic Republic against a military strike, even if this means the start of the Third World War.

Also last week, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin vehemently criticized any plans of attacking Iran, describing the measure as “a very dangerous scenario” which could lead to a “regional catastrophe.”

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear program may consist of a covert military agenda.

Iran has refuted the allegations, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Over the past weeks, Israel has renewed its aggressive rhetoric against Iran. On November 21, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that "time has come" to deal with Iran.

Israeli President Shimon Peres also threatened on November 6 that an attack against Iran is becoming "more and more likely."

Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.

“If the US becomes militarily involved with Syria and Iran, it is up to the working people of the US to mobilize in massive numbers in the streets to prevent such an attack,” Cooke concluded.

HMV/PKH/IS

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http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218815.html

Iran | 01.01.2012

Obama signs 'toughest yet' Iran sanctions

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Obama has 180 days to decide how to exercise the sanctions

Mounting tensions between the United States and Iran are likely to flare even further after US President Barack Obama has signed new sanctions against Iran's financial and oil sectors.

US President Barack Obama has signed into law tough new sanctions targeting Iran's banking and oil sectors. Effectively, the measures will force companies and financial institutions throughout the world to choose between the United States and Iran as their business partner.

The sanctions, conceived to punish Iran for its nuclear program, are part of a $662 billion (511 billion-euro) defense spending bill Obama signed on Saturday, December 31, during his vacation to Hawaii.

Firms and financial institutions, including foreign central banks, could be barred from trading on US financial markets if they continue ties with Iran's central bank or oil industry. Iran's central bank is essential to processing income from Iranian oil exports.

'Toughest sanctions yet'

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: A third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes the Strait of Hormuz

The Obama administration has called the sanctions America's toughest yet against Tehran. Until now, most sanctions have focused on preventing nuclear industry products from entering Iran.

"Our intent is to implement this law in a timed and phased approach so that we avoid repercussions to the oil market and ensure that this damages Iran and not the rest of the world," said an unnamed senior US official quoted by Reuters news agency.

The measures have sparked fears that Washington could damage ties with Iranian trade partners China and Russia, and that global markets could reel if Iran fires back, sending oil prices sky-high.

However, the measures will not go into effect for 180 days, giving Obama's administration nearly half a year to consider how to implement them. The president will also be granted discretion to give temporary waivers from the sanctions if he judges them to be in US national interest.

Securing oil

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Iran's oil industry is reliant on the country's central bank

The international dispute over Iran's nuclear program - which the West suspects is bent on developing weapons capabilities - currently threatens to impact global oil supply.

Iran announced earlier this week that it would begin testing missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, a move the US warned against. Iran also threatened that, if the US passed new sanctions, it would block the Strait, through which over a third of the world's oil tankers pass.

The US responded to the threats on Friday by announcing a $3.45 billion arms deal with Iran's neighbor across the Strait, the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to build up defenses against Iran. During 2011, the US also sold billions of dollars worth of missiles to neighbors Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The Wall Street Journal reported in December that the US and European officials were seeking assurances from other major oil producers including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates that they would up their imports to the West and Asia if Tehran's energy sector came under tighter sanctions.

Terrorist suspect policy

Also included in the new law are new provisions for the detainment of terrorism suspects, to which Obama responded with concern.

"The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it," the president said in a statement, suggesting that limits on the US's ability to transfer suspects from the military prison at Guantanamo to the United States or a foreign country for trial were poorly conceived.

"I want to clarify that my administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens."

"The executive branch must have the flexibility to act swiftly in conducting negotiations with foreign countries regarding the circumstances of detainee transfers," he said.

Obama came under political fire in early 2011 for allowing the Guantanamo prison on the island of Cuba to remain open, despite a history of rights violations.

Author: David Levitz (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Toma Tasovac

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0%...8986%2C00.html

Iran test fires battleship-sinking missile

Iran's military posturing in the Persian Gulf escalated on Monday after it test-fired a cruise missile it claimed could sink a battleship with a single strike.



Iran's latest surface-to-surface missile, known as the Qader, is launched on the Sea of Oman's shore near the Strait of Hormuz Photo: REUTERS


By Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent

4:46PM GMT 02 Jan 2012

Ten days of naval exercises along one of the world's most sensitive waterways ended with a flourish following the launch of Iran's latest surface-to-surface missile, known as the Qader, which is believed to have a range of about 125 miles.

Two more missiles of shorter range were fired later in the day, bringing the number launched in the past 48 hours to at least four. Iran test-fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile on Sunday.

Western powers were swift to condemn the latest tests, with France describing them as a "very bad signal to the international community." The war games have been accompanied by increasingly bellicose rhetoric from Iranian leaders.

The country's vice-president last week threatened to impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrowest point of the Gulf, if the United States and the European Union persisted with a plan to impose tougher sanctions on Iran.

With nearly a third of the world's tanker-borne oil supplies passing through the Strait, such a move could cripple the world economy and even the threat of a blockade caused energy prices to soar.

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Despite the mounting international criticism, the Iranian regime remained unapologetic. Some MPs openly described the war games as a rehearsal for the closure of the Strait.

Although military officials denied that a blockade was imminent, but Adm Habibollah Sayyari, the commander of the Iranian fleet, boasted that the exercises had sent an unmistakable message to the West about what could happen if Tehran's hand was forced.

"We held the war game in order to maintain stable security in the region so that everyone would discern the Islamic Republic of Iran's capability and deterrent power in defending its borders in open seas and the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Although Iran has faced four rounds of UN sanctions, imposed in an effort to force it to curtail its nuclear programme, the regime's greatest fear has been the prospect of punitive action against its central bank and energy sector, the mainstay of the Iranian economy.

Despite Tehran's increasingly belligerent rhetoric, President Barack Obama last week approved US sanctions against the Iranian central bank, a step that will make it much harder for international refiners to buy crude oil from Iran, the world's fourth biggest producer.

European Union foreign ministers are expected to meet at the end of the month to discuss an embargo on Iranian oil imports.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...g-missile.html

Iran Test Fires Second Missile In 24 Hours As Posturing Escalates

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/02/2012 08:10 -0500

As expected yesterday, when the US went out full bore with a Japan approach of McCollum-like strategy of leaving Iran no option but to keep escalating until finally the US has enough public support grounds for a response, in under 24 hours Iran has launched a second missile, this time not a medium-range SAM to a long-range shore-to-sea missile. Needless to say, the US 5th Navy is watching these quite welcome developments with great interest. From Reuters: "Iran said on Monday it had successfully test fired a long-range missile during its naval exercise in the Gulf, flexing its military muscle to show it could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the region if attacked. The announcement came amid rising tension over Iran's disputed nuclear programme which Western powers believe is working on developing atomic bombs. Tehran denies the accusation and last week said it would stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if the West carried out threats to impose sanctions on its oil exports." At this point it is glaringly obvious to all but the most confused that the US is consistently pushing Iran to escalate further and further, until such time as the US ships stationed in Bahrain say enough and decide it is time to sink some boats.

More

"We have test fired a long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (capable), which managed to successfully destroy predetermined targets in the Gulf," deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi told the official news agency IRNA. Iran earlier said it would test fire two long-range missiles on Monday - Qader and another system called Nour (light) - to display its resolve to counter any attack by enemies such as Israel or the United States."

Where it gets interesting is that in what is a certain show of solidarity for Syria, Iran's Mousavi said observers from the country's closest Arab ally, Syria, would attend the last day of its 10-day naval exercise.

The rest is already well-known:

The European Union is considering a ban - already in place by the United States - on imports of Iranian crude.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet reacted to Iran's threat to stop oil flows, saying it will not allow any disruption of traffic in the Gulf.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state's nuclear row with the West.
Iran said it had no intention to close the Strait of Hormuz.

"No order has been given for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But we are prepared for various scenarios," state television quoted navy chief Habibollah Sayyari as saying.
Probably the best advice we have at this point is to keep an eye on what Goldman's commodity research group is saying: if they tell clients to dump Brent, we are probably minutes away from full out war. Until then, the foreplay will continue.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/iran-t...ring-escalates

Iran Makes First Nuclear Fuel Rods, Fires Mid-Range SAM In Retaliation For Full Blown US Financial Boycott

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/01/2012 12:44 -0500

The political press has been abuzz over the much anticipated signing of the NDAA by Barack Obama on Saturday: this move was not surprising because Obama had already made it clear he would go ahead and enact the law, even though he added some 'stern' language that is supposed to legitimize what some say is a precursor to the establishment of martial law in the US. To wit: "The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it. In particular, I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists." And yet he signed it (full text of Obama's statement on the NDAA, sent while on vacation in Hawaii, can be found here). Perhaps the reason for that unpopular move were some of the more nuanced contents of the Bill, among which is the decision to fully boycott not only Iran, but any bank, including central bank, and other financial institution found to deal with Iran. Which incidentally means most of Russia and China, and probably half of Europe, as all petrodollars generated by the country's petroleum export industry first have to make their way via the international financial community back into the country. The history buffs out there will realize that this form of couched antagonism is nothing short of the US approach to Japan during World War II, which was essentially provoked into attacking Pearl Harbor - read the details of the October 7, 1940 McCollum Memo here, and especially bullet point 10. And unfortunately, it appears that within 24 hours or so, Iran may have already taken the bait. As Reuters and BBC report, Iran has both test-fired a medium-range SAM during the ongoing wargames exercise previously discussed here, as well as made a formal announcement it has made and tested domestically made nuclear fuel rods: precisely the event that the Israel or US-borne Stuxnet was designed to prevent. So as the tennis match of escalation keeps on growing the ball is now once again in the US' court.
Here are some details on the wholesale Iranian financial boycott via Reuters.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law on Saturday a defense funding bill that imposes sanctions on financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank, while allowing for exemptions to avoid upsetting energy markets. The sanctions target both private and government-controlled banks - including central banks - and would take hold after a two- to six-month warning period, depending on the transactions, a senior Obama administration official said.
Under the law, the president can move to exempt institutions in a country that has significantly reduced its dealings with Iran and in situations where a waiver is in the U.S. national security interest or otherwise necessary for energy market stability. He would need to notify Congress and waivers would be temporary, but could be extended.
Sanctioned institutions would be frozen out of U.S. financial markets.
"Our intent is to implement this law in a timed and phased approach so that we avoid repercussions to the oil market and ensure that this damages Iran and not the rest of the world," the senior U.S. official told Reuters.
Iran's central bank is the main conduit for Tehran's oil revenues.
Obama signed the bill during his vacation in Hawaii, just hours after Tehran said it had delayed planned long-range missile tests in the Gulf and signaled it was ready for fresh talks on its disputed nuclear program.
Senior U.S. officials said Washington was consulting with its foreign partners to ensure the new sanctions can work without harming global energy markets. They stressed the U.S. strategy of both isolating and remaining open to engagement with Iran was unchanged.

Ah yes, the precious energy markets. We can't have some unprecedented volatility there, not now when it is now officially an election year. What however we can have, is control over the supply of one of the world's biggest oil exporters. Kind of what happened in Iraq a few years back to stunning success...
So what was Iran's response?

Iran has successfully produced and tested fuel rods for use in its nuclear power plants, state television reported on Sunday, in a snub to international demands that it halt sensitive nuclear work.
The rods, which contain natural uranium, were made in Iran and have been inserted into the core of Tehran's research nuclear reactor, the television reported.
Nuclear fuel rods contain small pellets of fuel, usually low-enriched uranium, patterned to give out heat produced by nuclear reaction without melting down.
"This great achievement will perplex the West, because the Western countries had counted on a possible failure of Iran to produce nuclear fuel plates," the Tehran Times newspaper said.
The development was announced at a time of growing tension between Western powers and Iran after the U.N. nuclear agency reported in November that Tehran appeared to have worked on designing a nuclear weapon. Secret research to that end may be continuing, it said.
The United States and its European allies have increased the sanctions pressure on Iran, one of the world's largest oil producers, to push Tehran to halt the enrichment.
U.S. President Barack Obama signed more sanctions against Iran into law on Saturday, shortly after Iran signalled it was ready for new talks with the West on its nuclear programme and said it had delayed long-range missile tests in the Gulf.

But wait, there's more. From the BBC:

Iran has successfully test-fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile during military exercises in the Gulf, the official Irna news agency reports.
Iranian naval commander, Mahmoud Mousavi, was quoted as saying the missile was equipped with the "latest technology" and "intelligent systems".
The test comes a day after he denied earlier state media reports that Iran had test-fired long-range missiles.
He said on Saturday missile launches would take place "in the coming days".
Iran's 10 days of naval exercises began last week and are taking place in international waters to the east of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
They come at a time of increased tensions between the West and Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
Tehran reacted angrily last week to reports that Western nations were planning to impose further sanctions targeting Iran's oil and financial sectors.

So little by little the US will escalate pressure on Iran to commit increasingly more glaring acts of outright 'insanity', until finally it does the one thing that according to the US media, which will likely be needed to wash-rinse-spin cycle the newsflow, will push the American people, who are just not going to take such 'vile' proocations any more, over the edge. At least according to Santorum's Meet the Press interview from this morning which made precisely that point all too clear.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/iran-m...financial-boyc