World Politics: "Iran Moving Closer To Stage Where It Will Be Too Late To Destroy Nuclear Facilities, Israel Warns" [01/30/12] "Reviving Western concerns that his government is still contemplating unilateral military action against Iran, Ehud Barak gave one of the clearest signs yet that Israel's support for new US and EU sanctions remains strictly limited. "We are determined to prevent Iran from turning nuclear," he told the World Economic Forum in Davos. "And even the American president and opinion leaders have said that no option should be removed from the table. "It seems to us to be urgent, because the Iranians are deliberately drifting into what we call an immunity zone where practically no surgical operation could block them." Although Israeli intelligence and military officials have privately spoken of Iran's nuclear programme entering a "framework of immunity", it is the first time that a senior figure in Benjamin Netanyahu's government has done so in public. Israel's fears that it might soon be too late to launch military action were bolstered earlier this month when Iran announced that it had begun to enrich uranium at its Fordow plant, which is buried so deep within a mountain it may be impossible for Israeli warplanes or missiles to destroy.  [...]" 

MSM: "U.N. Begins Iran Nuclear Inspection" [01/30/12] "Iran's foreign minister expressed optimism Sunday that a visit by U.N. inspectors to Iran's nuclear facilities would produce an understanding, despite world concerns that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. The three-day inspection tour by the International Atomic Energy Agency team comes during spiking tension. The West is imposing new sanctions to try to force Iran to slow or halt its nuclear program, and Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passage, in retaliation. Visiting Ethiopia, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi appeared to be trying to defuse the crisis. "We are very optimistic about the mission and the outcome" of the IAEA mission, Salehi was quoted as saying by Iran's semiofficial Mehr news agency. "We've always tried to put transparency as a principle in our cooperation with IAEA," Salehi said. "During this visit, the delegation has questions and the necessary answers will be given ..." The findings from the visit could greatly influence the direction and urgency of U.S.-led efforts to rein in Iran's ability to enrich uranium – which Washington and allies fear could eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran has declined to abandon its enrichment labs, but claims it seeks to fuel reactors only for energy and medical research. [...]" 

Commentary: "More US Scrap Metal Headed For Persian Gulf: How Much Clearer Could It Be That A False Flag Event Is Planned?" [01/29/12] "The Pentagon is rushing a “mothership” to the Middle East to be used by commando teams as unrest in the region heightens, reports The Washington Post. The U.S. Navy is planning to refit the USS Ponce, an amphibious transport docking ship, which was about to be retired and decommissioned. The Ponce was commissioned in 1971 - it's now over 40 years old. Wikipedia reports: On 2 December, 2011, Ponce came home to await decommissioning on 30 March, 2012, when she would be towed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and be placed with the mothball fleet [...]"  Related: Commentary:  "USS Enterprise in the Gulf: Setup for False Flag?" [2:37]   

MSM: "Israel: Decision on Iran Attack "Very Far Off" [01/19/12] "Iran got some good news today, as Israel moved to defuse tensions and Russia indicated it likely would not support more sanctions against the rogue nation. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said a decision on whether to attack Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons was "very far off," the New York Times reports. He added that Israel remains convinced that Iran has not begun building such a weapon. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meanwhile, said that a military strike against Iran would be a "disaster," and that Russia wasn't keen on sanctions either, which he said were "seriously intended to have a smothering effect on the Iranian economy and the Iranian population, probably in the hopes of provoking discontent." Iran's own foreign minister was in Turkey today in an attempt to set up new international talks. [...]"  Note: Perhaps they could clue in the US, whose whole Iran stance is based on something which Israel now publicly says is not true.   

MSM: "Iran Agrees To UN Inspection" [01/14/12] "Maybe Iran isn't barreling toward war after all. Western diplomats say Iran has agreed to allow UN nuclear inspectors into the country, with the trip currently scheduled for Jan. 28, the Wall Street Journal reports. That surprise move came as the speaker of Iran's parliament announced yesterday that the country had agreed to Turkey's proposal to host nuclear talks between Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany. "The negotiations can yield results if they are serious and not a game," the speaker said on state-run TV, according to the AFP, which notes that both moves follow the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist on Wednesday and increasingly tighter economic sanctions. So far it's unclear how much latitude the UN team will have, or whether it'll finally get its long-sought interview with suspected nuclear program leader Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. "The exact agenda isn't clear," said one Western diplomat. "We're expecting the meeting to happen." [...]"  

MSM: "Iranian Nuclear Scientist Latest Victim Of Covert Sabotage Efforts" [01/12/12] "Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a chemist who worked in the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, was killed when an assassin riding a motorcycle attached an explosive device to his Peugeot 405. Roshan, 32, was the fifth Iranian nuclear scientist to be killed since 2007. Two attacks using an identical modus operandi occurred in 2010, claiming the lives of one nuclear physicist and wounding another, Fereydoun Abbasi, who has since become the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation. As in the past, Iran was quick to blame Israel. "The responsibility of this explosion falls on the Zionist regime," said Safar Ali Bratloo, the deputy governor of Tehran province. The sophistication of the attack – signified by the fact that the bomb killed only its target and nobody else in the same vehicle – bore the hallmarks of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, according to western security experts. Israeli officials declined to confirm or deny this claim, in keeping with their usual policy. However, General Yoav Mordechai, the Israeli military spokesman, said on his official Facebook page: "I don't know who took revenge on the Iranian scientist, but I am definitely not shedding a tear."  [...]"  Related: "Clinton: "US Had No Role In Killing Iran Scientist" "The Obama administration denied any role in Wednesday's killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist, the latest in a series of events that have exacerbated tensions with Iran. The assassination of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was the latest in a year that has already seen new U.S. economic sanctions, threats to bar American ships from the Persian Gulf, an Iranian death sentence to a jailed U.S. citizen and an escalation in Tehran's uranium enrichment program. Iranian reports said two assailants on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to Roshan's car of, killing him and his driver. Roshan was a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, and the slaying suggested a widening covert effort to set back the Islamic republic's atomic program. But US officials said they had nothing to do with it. "I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters. "We believe there has to be an understanding between Iran, its neighbors and the international community that finds a way forward for it to end its provocative behavior, end its search for nuclear weapons and rejoin the international community and be a productive member of it."  [...]"|Commentary: "Israel Resorts To Murder In Attempt To Convince World Of Iran’s So-Called ‘Nuclear Weapons Program’"  

MSM: "European Oil Refiners Sever Links To Iran" [01/12/12] "European refiners have started to sever links with Iran, stopping spot purchases of crude ahead of a European Union meeting later this month that could impose a full oil embargo on Tehran. Industry executives and oil traders said that some refiners have either stopped or reduced new purchases of Iranian oil, although they continue to receive monthly oil supplies under earlier long-term agreements, or term contracts, that they cannot break without incurring penalties.  [...]"  Note: Induced from the United States, who is extorting and threatening these countries, rather transparently ... these countries to not have to 'obey' any one countries dictates ... all this is in violation of international law.

Commentary: "US Obligated To Take Iran Dispute To International Arbitration" [01/09/12] "... Both Iran and the U.S. are signatories of the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact of 1928 which states, “The High Contracting Parties agree that the settlement or solution of all disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them, shall never be sought except by pacific means.” To the contrary, “The United States has been illegally threatening war against Iran going back to the Bush Jr. Administration,” says international law authority Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois, Champaign, and author of “Destroying World Order: U.S. Imperialism in the Middle East Before and After September 11”(Clarity Press). Boyle reminds, “Article 2 of the United Nations Charter requires the pacific settlement of the international dispute between the United States and Iran.” The UN Charter, he adds, “sets up numerous procedures” for the U.S.-Iranian dispute while prohibiting “both the threat and use of force by the United States against Iran.” Ditto for the Hague Convention of 1899, to which both nations are a party. That pact set up the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague and made it the duty of other signatories of that treaty to remind the aggrieved parties the Court is there for them. The reason given by the U.S. for threatening Iran is alleged to be that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon in secret. This charge is made with a straight face even as the U.S. lavishes military aid on its ally Israel. Israel is said to have an arsenal of 200-300 nuclear bombs it refuses to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect. The spurious U.S. pretext for war flies in the face of U.S. aggression against Iran long before Iran began building the nuclear facilities it says are needed to expand electrical output. Past U.S. aggression had everything to do with Iran’s oil and nothing else. It is indisputable that the CIA in 1953 overthrew by force and violence Iran’s democratic government, causing Iranians years of suffering under a savage, despotic regime. The CIA overthrow was prompted by Great Britain, peeved when Iran took over management of its own oil fields after years of being cheated by the British corporation to whom they were entrusted. That firm today is known as BP. [...]"  Related: "Waging War against Iran is a Criminal Act, in Violation of International Law" " Article 2 (3) of the United Nations Charter requires the pacific settlement of the international dispute between the United States and Iran. To the same effect is article 33 and the entirety of Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter that mandate and set up numerous procedures for the pacific settlement of the international dispute between the United States and Iran. And of course Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter prohibits both the threat and use of force by the United States against Iran.  [...]" | "Obama’s New Military Strategy: Targeting Nations which Challenge US Hegemony" "Obama’s January 5 Pentagon news conference reeked of duplicity like all his pronouncements. Surrounded by Joint Chiefs of Staff, hawkishness took center stage. Stressing a leaner, more agile/flexible military, he said counterterrorism, intelligence and cyberwarfare will be emphasized without sacrificing America’s superiority against global enemies. So will subversion, destabilization, drone killings, other targeted assassinations, global state terrorism, and permanent war. In other words, new and old tactics are featured. Strategies are unchanged. So are imperial aims. Permanent war remains policy. Merciless high-tech killing and destruction will be featured. Ravaging the world one country at a time is planned. [...]" 

MSM: "Panetta: Iran Is Seeking Capability To Build Nuclear Weapon But Hasn't Decided To Develop One " [01/09/12] "Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Iran is laying the groundwork for making nuclear weapons someday, but is not yet building a bomb and called for continued diplomatic and economic pressure to persuade Tehran not to take that step. As he has previously, Panetta cautioned against a unilateral strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying the action could trigger Iranian retaliation against U.S. forces in the region. "We have common cause here" with Israel, he said. "And the better approach is for us to work together." Panetta's remarks on CBS' Face the Nation, which were taped Friday and aired Sunday, reflect the long-held view of the Obama administration that Iran is not yet committed to building a nuclear arsenal, only to creating the industrial and scientific capacity to allow one if its leaders to decide to take that final step.  [...]"  Note: It's still illegal in terms of international law for the US to take this stance.

Commentary: "The USA’s Flawed Political System And The Push For War With Iran" [01/09/12] Note:  Lawrence Davidson finds the drivers for the push for war on Iran inside the USA’s structurally flawed political system, in which the warmongering neocons and faceless Israeli agents in the guise of lobbyists have primacy, and in amoral, cash-hungry politicians and a corrupt media. Related: "Congressmen are Paid to Vote for War" "According to reports from OpenSecrets.org, in 2006, 151 members of Congress had $195.5 million invested in defense corporations. Their average net worth was $910,000 compared to $100,000 for American families in general. Over 50 range between $5 million and $190 million. John Kerry is at the top end of the scale. While insider trading carries hefty prison terms for common people, it is perfectly legal for US congressmen. They are free to own shares in companies that are regulated by committees they sit on. Members of congress can trade freely using insider knowledge they have about regulations or events that could affect specific industries or the stock market as a whole, such as an economic crash, a new law... or a war. If you are a member of Congress and you sit on a 'defense committee', you are free to trade as much defense stock as you want to. A shocking example is former presidential candidate John Kerry, who has $30 million invested in defense contractors. Wars are planned by groups such as the Council of Foreign Relations, founded by David Rockefeller. They feature both politicians and CEO's of defense contractors. [...]" 

Commentary: "Behind The Deepening Crisis With Iran: The Real Story Versus The Cover Story" [01/08/12] "Recently, Obama imposed new sanctions on Iran which according to reports have been very effective, causing a sudden major devaluation of Iran’s currency. The Iranians correctly understand that they are under attack, and have threatened to respond by closing the strait of Hormuz, through which a large percentage of oil from the Mideast flows to the global economy. If the crisis deepens and Iran makes good on its threat to close Hormuz, there is little doubt that the US will intervene to reopen the strait. This will lead to a shooting war for which Iran will be blamed, even though the recent US sanctions were tantamount to overt aggression. I believe the US will exploit the situation to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. But, even more importantly, the US will target Iran’s conventional missiles. Indeed, I believe this is the real reason for US sanctions in the first place, and for the buildup of tensions in recent days. Despite public perceptions, and all the rhetoric about nukes, the present crisis has nothing to do with Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. In my opinion, that is just a cover story. The real issue is the fact that Iran has upgraded its medium range conventionally-armed missiles with GPS technology, making its missiles much more accurate. This means Iran can now target Israel’s own nuclear, bio and chemical weapons stockpiles, located inside Israel, as well as the Dimona nuclear reactor. In short, Iran has achieved a conventional deterrent to Israel. Therefore, statements by Iranian officials that Iran has no nuclear weapons program are in my view probably correct. Presently, Iran does not need nukes to deter Israel. It can do so with its GPS-guided medium range missiles. The Israelis are no doubt gnashing their teeth over this, because they now find themselves threatened by their own WMD stockpiles, and by their own nuclear reactors, especially Dimona, all of which have become targets. A few direct hits by Iran could cause a toxic plume, killing thousands of Israelis. A worst case might signal the end of the Jewish state. It is important to realize that Iran would never launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel because the Iranians know that the US/Israeli response would be devastating. However, if Iran comes under attack first, all bets are off. Iran will defend itself. A counter attack on Israel cannot be ruled out because Iranian leaders understand clearly (even if the American people do not) that the crisis has been manufactured, on Israel’s behalf. [...]"  Note: The US placed sanctions on Japan which resulted in war in the 1940's. It's the usual technique used to 'induce' conflict.

MSM: "Israeli Strike On Iran, Suicide" [12/26/11] "Iran's defense minister says any potential Israeli military strike on the country will spell the end of the Tel Aviv regime. Speaking late on Sunday, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi equaled such act of aggression on the part of Tel Aviv with 'suicide.' He stated that an Israeli attack on Iran would be met with 'deadly strikes,' noting that Tel Aviv was completely isolated at the time and lacked the capability to carry out a military attack against the Islamic Republic. Vahidi added that Tehran has made major progress and holds a unique position in all areas of defensive and offensive capability without any help from other countries. Citing the Islamic Republic's instances of progress in the field, he referred to manufacture of unmanned reconnaissance, defensive, and assault aircraft, electronic warfare technology, aviation industry, and missile technology.  [...]"  

MSM: "US Missiles "Hit Iranian Village" [12/23/11] "Two American missiles struck a village in south-west Iran early today. The news was given in a report by the country's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). IRNA had said yesterday that three people were injured when an earlier US missile struck an oil depot in Abadan. The state-run news agency also said British and American jets had entered Iranian airspace several times. The two rockets hit Manyuhi village near the border with Iraq's Al-Faw Peninsula, an Iranian military commander told IRNA. He gave no details of casualties or damage. "In the border city of Arvand-Kenar, the invading American and British airplanes violated the airspace of the Islamic Republic of Iran three times," the commander said. "In two cases, two rockets... hit the Manyuhi village." The governor of Abadan told IRNA that three people, including a guard at the oil depot, had been released from hospital after receiving treatment. Iran has strongly condemned the US-led military assault on Iraq. [...]" 

MSM: "Israel: Iran Must Chose Between A Bomb Or Survival" [12/13/11] "A senior Israeli cabinet minister on Monday said Iran must be forced to face an existential question over its nuclear drive: choose between getting an atomic bomb, or survival. "We believe that in order to stop the Iranian military nuclear project, the regime in Tehran should face a dilemma -- whether to have a bomb or to survive," Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters in Jerusalem.  [...]" 

Commentary:  "American Enterprise Institute Admits The Problem With Iran Is That It May Not Use Nukes Even If They Had Them" [12/05/11] "The shift in the rationale for war was kicked off this week when Danielle Pletka, head of the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) foreign policy shop and one of the most prominent neoconservatives in Washington, explained what the current obsession with Iran's nuclear program is all about. The biggest problem for the United States is not Iran getting a nuclear weapon and testing it, it's Iran getting a nuclear weapon and not using it. Because the second that they have one and they don't do anything bad, all of the naysayers are going to come back and say, "See, we told you Iran is a responsible power. We told you Iran wasn't getting nuclear weapons in order to use them immediately." ... And they will eventually define Iran with nuclear weapons as not a problem. [...]" 

MSM: "Biden: No Indication Iran Orchestrated Embassy Attack" [12/03/11] "Joe Biden said Thursday he had no evidence the attack on the British embassy in Tehran was orchestrated by Iranian authorities, but it was another example of why the country was a "pariah." [...]"  

MSM: "British Embassy Attacked By Protesters In Iran" [11/30/11]   [1:20] "Several dozen Iranian students have stormed the UK embassy in Tehran, chanting "death to England" and bringing down the British flag. Students clashed with riot police as they climbed over the embassy's gate, rushed into the building and started throwing documents from the windows. The protesters chanted "Down with Britain", "Down with America", "Down with Israel" and "Students are Awake and Hate Britain," according to Fars news agency. [...]" Related: "Iran Rushes Through Law Expelling British Ambassador" "A bill to downgrade Iran's ties with Britain got final approval on Monday a day after parliament approved the measure compelling the government to expel the British ambassador in retaliation for sanctions imposed over Tehran's nuclear activity. [...]"

MSM: "Explosion Rocks Iranian City Of Isfahan, Home To Key Nuclear Facility" [11/29/11] "An explosion rocked the western Iranian city of Isfahan on Monday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, adding that the blast was heard in several parts of the city. According to reports, frightened residents called the fire department after the blast, forcing the city authorities to admit there had been an explosion.  [...]" 

MSM: "Ex-Inspector Rejects IAEA Iran Bomb Claim" [11/22/11] "A former inspector for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repudiated its major new claim that Iran built an explosives chamber to test components of a nuclear weapon and carry out a simulated nuclear explosion. The IAEA claim that a foreign scientist - identified in news reports as Vyacheslav Danilenko - had been involved in building the alleged containment chamber has now been denied firmly by Danilenko himself in an interview with Radio Free Europe published last Friday. [...]"  

Interview: "U.S. Nuclear Weapons Expert Debunks Iran Weapons Fraud" [11/21/11] [30:00] "Clinton Bastin, a nuclear chemical engineer and former head of the DOE program on nuclear materials and reprocessing, debunked the Iran nuclear weapons fraud in a 30-minute telephone interview for LPAC yesterday. [...]" 

Commentary: "Israel’s Plan to Destroy Iran’s Civilian Infrastructure" [11/20/11] "Israel plans not only to attack Iran’s fledgling nuclear program, but also its civilian infrastructure. Eli Lake, writing for The Daily Beast, cites current and former U.S. intelligence officials who say Israel’s target list includes Iran’s electric grid, internet, cellphone network, and emergency frequencies for firemen and police officers. Officials say Israel has developed a weapon that simulates a maintenance cellphone signal comIran, despite its fledgling nuclear program, does not threaten either Israel or the United States. The problem, according to the international bankers and the globalists, is that Iran is not a vassal state mired in poverty and misery like many of its neighbors. It does not take orders from Wall Street and the City of London. Even the IMF is obliged to note that Iran’s economy grew by 3.2 percent this year on the strength of greater agriculture production and higher oil prices. It is not indebted to the bankers and refuses to kowtow to Israel’s insatiable hegemonic drive, so it has to be reduced to rubble. manding cell networks to “sleep” and stopping transmissions. It also has electronic jammers that can interrupt emergency frequencies for first responders and police. [...] "  

MSM: "CIA Operations In Iran Underway To Take Out Tehran Bigs In Mission To Dismantle Weapons Program" [11/14/11] Iranian officials revealed that one of the 17 men killed in a huge explosion at a munitions depot was a key Revolutionary Guard commander who headed Iran’s missile program. And the IRNA state news agency reported that scientists had discovered a new computer virus in their systems, a more sophisticated version of the Stuxnet worm deployed last year to foul up Iran’s centrifuges. Iran said the army base explosion was an accident and the new Duqu virus was contained. But Israeli newspapers and some U.S. experts said it appeared to be more from an ongoing secret operation by the CIA and Israel’s Mossad to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat. [...]"  Related: Mossad Linked To Iran Missile Base Blast" "A US blogger who has frequently published Israeli security information yesterday claimed that the Mossad secret service and the Iranian dissident group Mujaheddin-e Khalq were jointly responsible for the blast at an Iranian missile base on Sunday in which 17 people were killed, including a senior commander. Richard Silverstein cited an Israeli "with extensive senior political and military experience" as the source of the information. The blast at a military base 40km from Tehran was felt in the capital. The base reportedly stores long-range shahab missiles capable of hitting Israel. The senior officer killed in the explosion was General Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, said to be the top commander in Iran's missile force. [...]" | "Iran Military Base Explosion: 17 Feared Dead In Massive Blast Near Tehran" [11/13/11] [0:56] "A massive explosion at a military arms depot near the Iranian capital Tehran killed 27 elite Revolutionary Guards on Saturday and wounded 16 others, state broadcaster IRIB said. Officials said it was an accident which happened as troops were moving munitions at a base in Bidganeh, near the town of Shahriar, some 45km (28 miles) west of Tehran. While there was no indication of any attack, the explosion shook homes and rattled windows for miles around at a time of mounting tensions with Israel over Iran's nuclear programme. Amateur footage showed smoke climbing high into the air giving an indication as to the force of the blast. [...]" 

Commentary: "IAEA Iran Report Thrives on Laptop of Lies" [11/09/11] "In an atmosphere of cringing obedience to Washington, Mr. Amano cannot choose but to play into the hands of the US officials who look over his shoulders and observe with diligence what he puts to paper in the report he writes about Iran. The US-engineered new allegation against the Islamic Republic which is part of a 15-page document issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency is that Iran carried out “work on the development of an indigenous design of a nuclear weapon including the testing of components. Some activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device continued after 2003” and “some may still be ongoing.” This new allegation is indeed based on the fiction of the laptop of death. [...]"  Related: "The 'Laptop Of Mass Destruction" "The George W Bush administration has long pushed the "laptop documents" - 1,000 pages of technical documents supposedly from a stolen Iranian laptop - as hard evidence of Iranian intentions to build a nuclear weapon. Now charges based on those documents pose the only remaining obstacles to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declaring that Iran has resolved all unanswered questions about its nuclear program. But those documents have also been regarded with great suspicion by US and foreign analysts. German officials identified the source of the laptop documents in November 2004 as the Mujahideen e-Khalq (MEK), which along with its political arm, the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), is listed by the US State Department as a ' terrorist organization'. There are some indications, moreover, that the MEK obtained the documents not from an Iranian source but from Israel's Mossad. In its latest report on Iran, circulated on February 22, the IAEA, under strong pressure from the Bush administration, included descriptions of plans for a facility to produce "green salt", technical specifications for high explosives testing and the schematic layout of a missile re-entry vehicle that appears capable of holding a nuclear weapon. Iran has been asked to provide full explanations for these alleged activities. [...]"  

Commentary: "Targeting Iran: World War III and The Chain of Obedience" [11/06/11] "In recent development, what is unfolding is an integrated attack plan on Iran led by the US, with the participation of the United Kingdom and Israel.  [...] Central to an understanding of war, is the media campaign which grants it legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion. A good versus evil dichotomy prevails. The perpetrators of war are presented as the victims. Public opinion is misled: “We must fight against evil in all its forms as a means to preserving the Western way of life.” Breaking the “big lie” which upholds war as a humanitarian undertaking, means breaking a criminal project of global destruction, in which the quest for profit is the overriding force. This profit-driven military agenda destroys human values and transforms people into unconscious zombies.  [...] "  

RT Interview: "Absurdity of Iranian Assassination Allegations" Pepe Escobar [10/13/11]   [7:33] "The American government wants the whole unsuspecting world to believe that the general of the IRGC, which is a very complex and very sophisticated operation in Tehran, which is more important than their armed forces, they have intelligence operations all over the world… They are going to sub-contract a hit – mafia style killing – to a failed Corpus Christi, Texas salesman with a record of bad checks, and he’s going to contact somebody posing as a member of the Zetas Mexican drug cartel, and boast that ‘I can give you 1.5 million dollars and you’re going to hit the ambassador at his favorite restaurant in Washington… I can provide you with tons of opium if you want to do business with my contacts in Tehran.’ In a script conference in Hollywood this thing would go to the garbage immediately. Problem is it’s being paddled by the Attorney General of the United States. Is it coincidence that the Attorney General announced this plot on the very day subpoenas were issued over the Fast and Furious perjury debacle? As we’ve said countless times in the past, when politicians and those highly visible to the public come under fire and stand to lose their positions of power, they deflect blame, or in this most recent case of Iran, create a completely new enemy. With respect to blame deflection, this has all of the hallmarks of an event that took place on August 20, 1998, when then President Bill Clinton launched a cruise missile attack against suspected Sudenese VX nerve gas factories at the height of the Lewinsky scandal that threatened to end his Presidency. You may recall that it was on August 17, 1998 that President Clinton admitted to having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with the White House Intern. It turns out that the attack, later justified because of ties to Osama Bin Laden, manufactured pharmaceuticals – aspirin. Do you see the pattern? The Clinton Sudanese incident was easily covered up, as Sudan served no significant strategic importance to the US, its allies or our foreign challengers. The problem with the Iranian situation, of course, is that we have been butting heads over nuclear energy and other regional issues for nearly a decade – with both sides calling for war, albeit indirectly. [...]" 

Commentary:  "Israel’s Window to Bomb Iran" ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern [10/13/11] "Israeli leaders continue to pound the drum about taking out Iran’s nuclear program – and some hardliners may want to strike soon, fearing the window of opportunity will close if President Barack Obama wins reelection and is less susceptible to political pressures, as ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern observes. [...] There are mounting signs that the right-wing Israeli government may think the timing is right for an attack on Iran, with growing alarms inside Israel about alleged Iranian progress on building a nuclear bomb – and with President Barack Obama fearing loss of key Jewish political support in 2012 if he doesn’t go along. On Sept. 26, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Iran’s alleged progress, telling interviewer Charlie Rose that “time is short” before Iran obtains nuclear weapons and poses a direct threat to Israel and the rest of the world. [...]"  Related: "Scott Horton Interviews Ray McGovern" [10/13/11] [19:52]  "Ray McGovern, member of Veterans For Peace and former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses his article “Israel’s Window to Bomb Iran;” how the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate thwarted the Bush administration’s push for war; Israel’s increasing isolation as its allies depart en masse; Obama’s acute vulnerability to the “Likud lobby’s” influence during his reelection bid; the former Mossad chiefs who worry about Netanyahu’s warmongering; and whether military leadership will speak up to Israel to avoid war with Iran – like admirals Mullen and Fallon did in 2007. [...]"  Note: Either push the right-arrow play button to listen, or download the MP3. 

ProPublica: "Analysis: Alleged Assassination Plot Doesn’t Fit Past Iranian Behavior" [10/13/11] "The alleged Iranian plot to use Mexican cartel gunmen to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington is one of the strangest, most serious terrorism cases to surface in years, a mix of seemingly credible evidence and unlikely scenarios that departs dramatically from Iran’s past record of global terrorist activity [...]"  

False Flag - Iran: "Judge Andrew Napolitano Accuses AG Holder Of Using Iran Assassination Plot To Distract From Fast and Furious Scandal" [10/13/11] [4:00]  

False Flag - Iran: "U.S. Challenged To Explain Accusations Of Iran Plot In The Face Of Skepticism" [10/13/11] " ... American officials offered no specific evidence linking the plot to Iran’s most senior leaders. But they said it was inconceivable in Iran’s hierarchy that the leader of the shadowy Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, was not directly involved, and that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not aware of such a plan. Iran’s leaders marshaled a furious formal rejection Wednesday of the American accusations, calling the case a cynical fabrication meant to vilify Iran and distract Americans from their severe economic problems. A senior member of Iran’s Parliament, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said he had “no doubt this is a new American-Zionist plot to divert the public opinion from the crisis Obama is grappling with.”  [...] American investigators have speculated that the Iranian-American accused in the scheme, Mansour J. Arbabsiar, who lived in Texas on the Mexico border, may have convinced a cousin, a senior Quds official, that he could recruit a member of one of Mexico’s notorious drug cartels to carry out the killing. One provocative theory that American officials are considering is that the assassination was intended as retaliation for the killing of several Iranian nuclear scientists during the past two years. Those deaths are widely believed to have been the work of Israel, with tacit American approval, to slow Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon. [...]  One problem for President Obama and his administration is that since American intelligence claims about Iraq’s illicit weapons proved false in 2003, assertions by the United States about its adversaries have routinely faced skepticism from other countries. ... Everyone is extremely skeptical about U.S. intelligence revelations,” said Volker Perthes, an Iran expert who is the director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. There may indeed have been a plot, Mr. Perthes said. “I don’t regard it as impossible but rather improbable,” he said. If the Iranian leadership authorized such a plot, he said, that would mark “a major escalation against the United States, of the kind that hasn’t happened since the Iranian Revolution.” It would be “almost an act of war,” and Washington “must react in a different way than it has so far.” [...]"  

Commentary:  "Israel’s Window to Bomb Iran" ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern [10/13/11] "Israeli leaders continue to pound the drum about taking out Iran’s nuclear program – and some hardliners may want to strike soon, fearing the window of opportunity will close if President Barack Obama wins reelection and is less susceptible to political pressures, as ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern observes. [...] There are mounting signs that the right-wing Israeli government may think the timing is right for an attack on Iran, with growing alarms inside Israel about alleged Iranian progress on building a nuclear bomb – and with President Barack Obama fearing loss of key Jewish political support in 2012 if he doesn’t go along. On Sept. 26, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Iran’s alleged progress, telling interviewer Charlie Rose that “time is short” before Iran obtains nuclear weapons and poses a direct threat to Israel and the rest of the world. [...]"  Related: "Scott Horton Interviews Ray McGovern" [10/13/11] [19:52]  "Ray McGovern, member of Veterans For Peace and former senior analyst at the CIA, discusses his article “Israel’s Window to Bomb Iran;” how the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate thwarted the Bush administration’s push for war; Israel’s increasing isolation as its allies depart en masse; Obama’s acute vulnerability to the “Likud lobby’s” influence during his reelection bid; the former Mossad chiefs who worry about Netanyahu’s warmongering; and whether military leadership will speak up to Israel to avoid war with Iran – like admirals Mullen and Fallon did in 2007. [...]"  Note: Either push the right-arrow play button to listen, or download the MP3. 

False Flag - Iran: "4 Things You Need to Know About the ' Iran Bomb Plot'" [10/13/11] "The assassination was never going to take place. On Tuesday, FBI Director Robert Mueller described Iranian American Mansour Arbabsiar's alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States as straight out of a "Hollywood script." In a sense he was right—because the plot was controlled from the beginning by the FBI. According to the criminal complaint, when Arbabsiar traveled to Mexico in May 2011, to allegedly find an assassin from the ranks of Mexican drug cartels, he ended up talking to a paid DEA* informant who dodged drug charges in exchange for cooperating with authorities. [...]"  

False Flag - Iran: "US Senator Kerry: 'All Options' Open On Iran Plot" [10/13/11] "Senior US Senator John Kerry left the door open Wednesday to military retaliation against Iran over an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States... [...]" Related: "Alleged Iran Plot "Dangerous Escalation": Clinton" |  "Rep. Peter King Still Flogging Bogus Iranian Plot To Launch Israel's War Against Iran"   "The New York Democrat also told CNN’s Erin Burnett Tuesday the plot has raised the relationship between America and Iran to “a very precipitous level” and there is a need for “significant action.” [...]"

False Flag - Iran: "Saudis Say Iran Must 'Pay The Price' For Alleged Plot As US Resists Retaliation" [10/13/11] " The Saudi Arabian government has issued a menacing warning to Iran that it will have to "pay the price" for the alleged plot to hire a Mexican drugs cartel to assassinate its ambassador in Washington. The threat from the Saudis came as the Obama administration resisted calls from within the US, mainly from the conservative right, to retaliate against Iran with military action. [...] A Saudi prince, Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to Washington and a former head of the Saudi intelligence service, told a conference in London: "The burden of proof and the amount of evidence in the case is overwhelming, and clearly shows official Iranian responsibility for this. This is unacceptable. Somebody in Iran will have to pay the price." [...]"  Note: What a contrived show.

False Flag - Iran: "Iran Complains To UN Over US Claim" [10/12/11] "Iran ambassador to the UN forwards a letter of complaint to the world body, voicing outrage over the US allegations of the Islamic Republic's involvement in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington. [...]" 

False Flag - Iran: "Iranian 'Terror Plot': Not Even Good Propaganda" [10/12/11]   "Fake, fake, fake – I’m talking about the latest anti-Iranian propaganda coming out of Washington, which claims the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were involved in a “plot” to take out the Saudi ambassador to the US and blow up both the Saudi and Israeli embassies. The narrative reads like a formulaic melodrama: two Iranians, one a naturalized US citizen, purportedly approached someone they thought was a member of a Mexican drug cartel – according to the indictment [.pdf], it was a “sophisticated” drug cartel, not the plebeian sort – and proposed paying him $1.5 million to murder Adel al Jubeir, the Kingdom’s ambassador in Washington – oh, and by the way, the Iranians supposedly said, “Are you guys any good with explosives?” The key to understanding just how fake this story is can be found in the New York Times report, which informs us: For the entire operation, the government’s confidential sources were monitored and guided by federal law enforcement agents, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District, said in the news conference. ‘So no explosives were actually ever placed anywhere,’ he said, ‘and no one was actually in ever in any danger.’” Translation: the whole thing is phony from beginning to end. This is another one of US law enforcement’s manufactured “anti-terrorist” triumphs, where the feds set somebody up, fabricate a “crime” out of thin air, and then proceed to “solve” a case that never really existed to begin with. This has been the general pattern of our “anti-terrorist” operations in the US since the beginning – because finding and catching real terrorists is much too hard, at least for our Keystone Kops. Instead of going out and actually, you know, looking for the Bad Guys, and then apprehending them, they lure some unsuspecting Muslim immigrant into a trap, and spring it when the time is right. The long narrative spun by the indictment tells us everything but what we really need to know, which is: how is it that these two Iranian “terrorists” just happened to meet up with a Mexican drug cartel assassin who just happened to be a longtime DEA informant? [...]" 

MSM: "AG Holder Announces 'Terror Arrest' and Accuses Iran of "State-Sponsored Plot" [10/11/11] "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the government has (allegedly) disrupted an 'plot' to kill the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States (allegedly) organized by elements of the Iranian government. The (alleged) plot was (allegedly) disrupted by the FBI and the DEA, and (allegedly) two individuals (patsies) have been charged in the (alleged) case — one still (allegedly and conveniently) at large in Iran. Holder said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force was (allegedly) behind the plot. "This was (allegedly) directed and approved by elements of the Iranian government," he said. Holder declared that the United States government is "committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions." Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the (alleged) assassination was (allegedly) planned as the "opening act in a series of coordinated attacks." [...]"  Note: This is clearly and transparently a fabrication geared to distract from Holders problems with the 'Fast and Furious" arms scandal, and support the psychopaths in Israel, who want the US to attack Iran. This whole episode is another one of those in which foreigners are entrapped by the government in a government-designed scenario in an attempt to 'prove' that the national security apparatus is 'doing it's job'. Anyone astute knows that this is all a set-up for political purposes. We have seen this how many times now? Related: Commentary: "Fast And Furious: 22 Shocking Facts About The Scandal That Could Bring Down The Obama Administration" "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been stonewalling all efforts by members of Congress to look into Fast and Furious. A CBS reporter that has been aggressively investigating this story was recently screamed at and cussed at by a high ranking official that works in the White House. It has become abundantly clear that the Obama administration desperately wants to hide what went on during Operation Fast and Furious. So will they succeed or will we eventually find out the truth? What you are about to read should shock the living daylights out of you. The U.S. government purposely armed Mexican drug cartels with thousands of guns and then ordered agents not to follow the weapons across the border. This should be a story that the mainstream media is pounding on every single day. [...]"|MSM: Iran Rejects US Plotting Accusations"   "Iran has categorically rejected the US accusations that the Islamic Republic was involved in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington, calling it a 'prefabricated scenario.' [...]" | MSM: "Obama Admin Has Known About Iranian Plot Since June! (So Why Reveal It Now?)" [1:03] Note: For the reasons stated in the Note above.

MSM: "Iran Nuke Plant Goes Online" [09/06/11] "Just in case you got a good night's sleep, you can stew on this tonight: Iran says its Bushehr nuclear plant went online last night, beginning testing on the national power grid that had been delayed for years. The Russian-built plant, which Tehran says will eventually supply 2.5% of the nation's electricity, was eking out about 60 megawatts, CNN reports. Eventually, it's slated to crank out 1,000 megawatts. Iran's state-run news agency says it plans to inaugurate the plant next Monday. The move comes in the wake of an IAEA report that warned of increasing concern over the possibility that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, and which accused it of continuing to ignore sanctions [...]"  

MSM: "Iran Offers Full Supervision Of Nuclear Program In Return For Lifting Sanctions" [09/06/11] " Iran's nuclear chief on Monday proposed to allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog "full supervision" of its nuclear activities for five years provided that sanctions against Tehran are lifted, but the official did not give details of his offer. The United Nations has imposed four rounds of Security Council sanctions over Tehran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for an atomic bomb. Iran's nuclear program is already subject to routine IAEA inspections. IAEA cameras monitor Iran's nuclear activities. including its contentious uranium enrichment sites. Vice President Fereidoun Abbasi told the semiofficial ISNA news agency, "We proposed that the agency keep Iran's nuclear program and activities under full supervision for five years provided that sanctions against Iran are lifted." [...]"  

World Politics: "France Warns “Iranian Threat” May Lead To Pre-Emptive Strike" [09/02/11]   "France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Wednesday that Iran’s alleged attempts to build long-range missiles and nuclear weapons could lead unnamed countries to launch a pre-emptive attack. “Its military nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that France wants to avoid at all costs,” he said. Sarkozy did not say which country might launch such a strike, but it has been reported that Israel — perhaps with US support — has considered bombing Iranian nuclear sites if it believes Tehran is close to building a weapon. The French leader placed the blame for the crisis on Iran, which insists it has no intention of building a nuclear weapon, and is merely enriching nuclear fuel for medicinal research and a domestic atomic energy program. [...] ”Iran refuses to negotiate seriously,” he told an annual meeting of French diplomats. “Iran is carrying out new provocations in response to the challenge from the international community for it to provide a credible response.” Sarkozy said France would work with its allies to build support for tougher international sanctions against Tehran’s Islamist regime, in a bid to force it to back down over its enrichment program. Tehran currently does its uranium enrichment, the most sensitive part of its program, at the Natanz facility in central Iran, with plans to divert the 20-percent purification process to a new site near the holy city of Qom. The UN Security Council has repeatedly ordered Tehran to halt all uranium enrichment until its agency the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is satisfied by of the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. But, despite being targeted by four sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to suspend enrichment, Iran remains adamant that it will push ahead and denies Western claims that it seeks to build a nuclear bomb. This week Iran upped the ante once again, announcing that it had abandoned talks with the international community to negotiate a nuclear fuel swap that would see it forego its own enrichment in return for civilian-level fuel. "  

MSM: "Chinese Firm To Finance Iran Refineries" [08/29/11] "Iran's deputy oil minister says his country is in talks with a Chinese company to take part in development of four Iranian refineries. [...]" 

MSM: "Mossad’s Murder Machine Kills Another Iranian Scientist" [08/07/11] "The two assassins arrived from nowhere as their victim was driving home with his wife. Trapped inside his car, he was hopelessly vulnerable as their motorcycles pulled alongside. He would just have had time to notice their blacked-out visors before they opened fire, emptying round after round into his chest. Nuclear scientist Darioush Rezaei died immediately. His wife was critically wounded and still in hospital days after the attack in north eastern Iran. The hitmen? They vanished into the traffic fumes of the night. Rezaei was assassinated because he was an expert on neutron transport, one of the key processes in making nuclear weapons. He joins a long list of Iranian nuclear scientists and engineers who are being systematically targeted by killers apparently dispatched by the Israeli intelligence agency. While it is unlikely Mossad would send its own assassins into such a high-risk environment, they will have recruited locals and given them intensive training. [...]" 

Propaganda Theatre: "US Accuses Iran Of 'Secret Deal' With 'Al-Qaeda'" [07/29/11] "The Obama administration accused Iran on Thursday of entering into a "secret deal" with an al-Qaida offshoot that provides money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Treasury Department designated six members of the unit as terrorists subject to U.S. sanctions. The U.S. intelligence community has in the past disagreed about the extent of direct links between the Iranian government and al-Qaida. Thursday's allegations went further than what most analysts had previously said was a murky relationship with limited cooperation. [...]"

Propaganda Theatre: "US Military Chief Nominee General Martin Dempsey Warns Iran" [07/27/11] "The nominee to be the next chief of the US military on Tuesday warned Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons or sponsor attacks in Iraq, saying it would be making a "serious miscalculation." At his confirmation hearing, General Martin Dempsey pledged to guide the world's most powerful military through a new era of tighter budgets and challenges such as cyber war. He promised to carry out orders for a drawdown in Afghanistan and to keep up pressure on Pakistan to fight Islamic militants. [...]"  Note: Add another delusional psychopathic reincarnated retread to the mix.

World Political Theatre:  "Iran Downs US Spy Drone Near N-Site" [07/20/11]   "Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has shot down a US spy drone which was flying over the central Iranian province of Qom, a lawmaker says. A member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Majlis (Parliament), Ali Aqazadeh Dafsari, said on Tuesday that the unmanned spy plane was flying near the Fordo nuclear enrichment plant in Qom province when the IRGC's Air Defense units brought it down, Javanoline.ir reported on Tuesday. The official stated that the US drone was on a mission to identify the location of the Fordo nuclear enrichment plant and gather information about the nuclear facility for the CIA, Dafsari stated. Earlier in the day, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast had said that the country is installing a new generation of uranium enrichment centrifuges in the country's nuclear facilities to enhance the Islamic Republic's peaceful nuclear program.  [...]"  Note: Don't forget that Iran is a player in the world game ... there are few 'random events' on the political stage ... remember this? Same ball club, different team.

World Politics: "Iran Opens Oil Bourse: Harbinger of Trouble for New York and London?" [07/20/11] "The last three years of global recession have dealt a major blow to American capitalist ideas trumpeted throughout the world on the value of “free markets.” Wall St. has been revealed as a form of casino economy, with the bankster insiders gambling with other people’s, and eventually, the government’s money in the form of bailouts. As the Republicans in Congress, scenting victory in the 2012 presidential elections, hold a gun to the Obama administration’s head and rating agencies consider downgrading U.S. government bonds in light of Washington’s possible defaulting, many ideas around the world that previously seemed implausible because of the dominance of the U.S. economy are garnering renewed interest. Not surprisingly, many of these concepts originate in countries not enamored with Washington’s influence, perhaps none so more than “Axis of Evil” charter member Iran, which has seen its economy hammered by more than three decades of U.S.-led sanctions. Now Iran is working a program that, if it succeeds, could help undermine the dollar’s preeminence as the world’s reserve currency more effectively than a Republican filibuster. Iran’s sly weapon against the Great Satan’s currency? An oil bourse on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, which has now begun selling high-grade Iranian crude oil. [...]" 

PressTV: "Iran Deploys Missiles In Persian Gulf" [07/04/11] "Iranian commander Brigadier General Ali Razmjou says the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has deployed short and medium range missiles in the Persian Gulf. [...]"  

Iran: "Israel Threatens Neighbors With Nukes" [06/13/11] "A senior Iranian lawmaker says Israel defies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and uses its nuclear weapons to threaten its neighbors in the Middle East. Speaking at the second International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Tehran on Sunday, Kazem Jalali said based on the NPT nuclear armed states must not threaten or use nuclear weapons against other countries. “But we see today that some countries including Western ones have simply bypassed the NPT in a way that this treaty has become single-purpose,” Mehr News Agency quoted the spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) as saying. [...]" Related: "Nuclear States Not After Disarmament" "An Iranian diplomat says countries with nuclear arsenals do not believe in nuclear disarmament and shoulder no responsibilities to help create a nuke-free world. [...]" |"US Trying To Take Control Of IAEA"  "Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh says the US is trying to deprive the UN body of its independence. [...]" 

Commentary: "Iran And The Issue Of Nuclear Weapons" [06/11/11]   "Lawrence Davidson considers the roles of Israel, the Israeli lobby in the USA and the conservative Arab Gulf rulers in creating and sustaining the fantasy of an Iranian nuclear threat, and highlights the failure - through cowardice, expediency and duplicity - of politicians who know better and the media to challenge this fantasy. ... Hersh pointed out that there have already been two National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) on the question of Iran and nuclear weapons. These express the collective opinion of 16 US intelligence agencies. Their unanimous conclusion has been that "there is no evidence of any weaponization". If this is the case, what in the world was President Barack Obama talking about when addressing AIPAC? [...]"  

World Politics: "Iranian Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant To Be Started On Schedule" [05/31/11] "Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says Bushehr power plant, the country's first nuclear power plant, will go on stream on schedule. “The plant will officially go on stream on schedule and in the presence of certain foreign visitors,” Salehi told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of an international conference in the Iranian capital of Tehran, IRNA reported. Salehi pointed out that the plant will be connected to the grid for several times on a test run before it actually joins the national grid. Earlier this month, Salehi said the plant had reached the criticality stage, which allows the atoms to split by themselves in a chain reaction without interference from operators. “This stage lasts for two months. We hope the plant will gain some 40 percent of its power within the next one to two months,” he went on to say.  [...]"  

Propaganda: "Watchdog Finds Evidence That Iran Worked on Nuclear Triggers" [05/26/11]   "The world’s global nuclear inspection agency, frustrated by Iran’s refusal to answer questions, revealed for the first time on Tuesday that it possesses evidence that Tehran has conducted work on a highly sophisticated nuclear triggering technology that experts said could be used for only one purpose: setting off a nuclear weapon.  [...]"  Note: Yes, the New York Times really does think everyone is stupid enough to fall for the same lie twice in a row. Related: Flashback:  Jan 02, 2010: "Iran Nuclear Trigger Document a Forgery, Mossad Suspected" "U.S. intelligence has concluded that the document published recently by the Times of London, which purportedly describes an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a “neutron initiator” for an atomic weapon, is a fabrication, according to a former Central Intelligence Agency official. Philip Giraldi, who was a CIA counterterrorism official from 1976 to 1992, told IPS that intelligence sources say that the United States had nothing to do with forging the document, and that Israel is the primary suspect. [...]"  "Senators want to tighten sanctions on Iran" "Senators proposed further tightening sanctions on Iran on Wednesday, reflecting fears that companies overseas, particularly in China, are evading U.S. penalties imposed last year for doing business with Iran. The bipartisan group said they want to step up pressure on Tehran to stop its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons, highlighted by data this week from the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency revealed in a report fresh evidence that Iran has tried to weaponize its nuclear program. The Senate bill was introduced a day after the Obama administration penalized seven foreign firms, including Venezuela's state-owned oil company, for trading with Iran. The legislation is similar to a measure under consideration in the House of Representatives, making it more likely that some tightening of sanctions will pass in the current session of Congress ending in 2013. [...]"   

Propaganda: "9/11 Lawsuit Reveals Iran's Direct Involvement in 9/11 Plot" [05/19/11]   "Attorneys representing "families of 9/11 victims today" are informing a federal court in Manhattan that they are " filing comprehensive evidence that Iran played a key role in planning and facilitating the 9/11 attacks" and called on the U.S. Government to " declassify documents detailing what the U.S. intelligence community knew about Iran's relationship to al Qaeda prior to September 11, 2001." [...]"  Note:  So transparently a fabrication, it's not even silly, over and above the fact that the Iran reference connects this whole fiasco with the Mossad and Israel, who would love for the US to attack Iran for them. With the next AIPAC meeting on May 29th, the timing is auspicious, too. Related: "9/11 Families Lawyers Say Iran Helped Plan Attacks" "... Supporting their arguments, the lawyers cited 28 hours of testimony by three defectors from Iran's intelligence service. Papers were filed yesterday in US District Court in Manhattan calling the new developments "clear and convincing" evidence to conclude that damages should be paid to their plaintiffs, families, and personal representatives of some of those killed in the attacks. Iran has not responded to the lawsuit, which was first filed in Washington and later transferred to New York. [...]"  Note: But the testimony was all a lie, because astute people know Iran had NOTHING to do with the 9/11 debacle. It was US factions and Mossad.

World Politics:  "Israel Blasts Fmr. Spy Chief Over Iran" [05/09/11] "Israeli officials have criticized ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan for calling a possible attack on Iran "a stupid idea," saying he should not share his personal views with others.  [...]"  Related: "Israel Does Not Rule Out Strike On Iran" "After the former Mossad chief described striking Iran as a “foolish idea,” an Israeli security official says there is no solution but to attack Tehran if other options fail. [...]" "Ex-Mossad Chief: Attack On Iran Foolish" 

Iran: "Ahmadinejad Allies Charged With Sorcery" [05/07/11] "Close allies of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been accused of using supernatural powers to further his policies amid an increasingly bitter power struggle between him and the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Several people said to be close to the president and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being “magicians” and invoking djinns (spirits). Ayandeh, an Iranian news website, described one of the arrested men, Abbas Ghaffari, as “a man with special skills in metaphysics and connections with the unknown worlds”. The arrests come amid a growing rift between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei which has prompted several MPs to call for the president to be impeached. [...]"  Note:  Another strange, delusional society ...

"Iranian State TV Carries Report Of Israeli Build-Up" [05/02/11]   "Iranian state television ran a report Monday saying Israeli military aircraft were massing at a U.S. air base in Iraq for a strike on Iran. Israel said it had no knowledge of such a strike plan, as reported on the website of Iran's English-language Press TV, and Iraq's air force commander denied the report. The Pentagon dismissed it as "ridiculous." Press TV quoted what it said was a source close to the movement of Moqtada al-Sadr, an Iraqi Shi'ite cleric who opposes the U.S. presence in Iraq and has close ties to Iran's leaders. [...]"   

"IAEA Report Gives Iran Clean Bill Of Health" [02/28/11] "In an IAEA report issued on Friday, the agency reaffirmed that Iran’s nuclear program has never been diverted to nuclear weapons production, the Press TV correspondent in Vienna reported. But the report still says Tehran must halt its uranium enrichment activities, as demanded by four United Nations Security Council resolutions. Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, stated that the demand is politically motivated, saying, “When all nuclear activities are accounted for and there is no diversion to military purposes… then what is the justification for referring to an old obsolete request of suspension.” [...]"  

"Iran: Nuclear Physicist Killed in Bomb Blast " [11/29/10] " A university teacher was killed in a car bomb blast in Tehran and three people were wounded in another explosion on Monday, Iran’s al Alam Arabic language television reported. Al Alam said the dead person and one of the wounded were nuclear physics teachers.  [...]"  Note: Mossad operation likely.  

MSM: "Iran Bars Some Nuclear Inspectors, Raising U.N. Alarms" [09/07/10] "The U.N. atomic agency expressed alarm Monday about Iran's decision to bar some of its inspectors, suggesting that its efforts to monitor the country's nuclear program were suffering as a result. The unusually blunt International Atomic Energy Agency warning was voiced in a restricted report on Iran made available to The Associated Press that otherwise contained few surprises. It followed Iran's recent decision to strip two experienced inspectors of the right to monitor its nuclear activities after the two reported what they said were undeclared nuclear experiments. [...]"  

Iran: "Mass Graves for U.S. Troops Being Prepared" [08/11/10] [0:25]  Note: Cutesy Iranian PR clip.

Finnish Nuclear Engineer, Who Pushed Dubious Iran Nuclear Weapons Intel, Resigns [07/06/10] "Olli Heinonen, the Finnish nuclear engineer who resigned Thursday after five years as deputy director for safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was the driving force in turning that agency into a mechanism to support U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran. Heinonen was instrumental in making a collection of intelligence documents showing a purported Iranian nuclear weapons research programme the central focus of the IAEA’s work on Iran. The result was to shift opinion among Western publics to the view that Iran had been pursuing a covert nuclear weapons programme. But his embrace of the intelligence documents provoked a fierce political struggle within the Secretariat of the IAEA, because other officials believed the documents were fraudulent. Heinonen took over the Safeguards Department in July 2005 – the same month that the George W. Bush administration first briefed top IAEA officials on the intelligence collection. The documents portrayed a purported nuclear weapons research programme, originally called the “Green Salt” project, that included efforts to redesign the nosecone of the Shahab-3 missile, high explosives apparently for the purpose of triggering a nuclear weapon and designs for a uranium conversion facility. Later the IAEA referred to the purported Iranian activities simply as the “alleged studies [...]"   

Iran freezes nuclear talks for two months [06/29/10] "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran will penalise world powers by freezing nuclear talks for two months as he laid down several conditions for resuming the negotiations. The hardliner said Iran wanted more countries to be involved in talks over its nuclear programme, and added that world powers must clarify Israel's status of nuclear arsenal and what exactly they sought from the discussions. [...]"   

Iran is Surrounded by US Troops in 10 Countries [06/29/10] "Iran literally is surrounded by American troops, notes an oil market analyst, Energy and Capital editor Christian A. DeHaemer. There is no evidence of an imminent attack, but he connects a number of recent events and the presence of American soldiers to warn that oil prices might soar -- with or without a pre-emptive strike aimed at stopping Iran’s nuclear power ambitions. [...]"  American Forces Massing Around Iran  [3:12] "Reports are circulating that the U.S is amassing a greater military presence in the Middle East. The alleged build up is also rumoured to involve the Israeli use of Saudi Arabian air space. It's thought by some to be in preparation for an attack on Iran. [...]"   

Iran says Gaza aid delegation to go on Lebanon ship [06/28/10] "Iranian lawmakers protesting at Israel's blockade of Gaza are planning to travel on an aid ship that is to leave from Lebanon. Lebanon said last week it would allow a Gaza-bound ship called the Julia to sail, via Cyprus, despite warnings from Israel that it reserved the right to use all necessary means to stop ships that tried to sail from Lebanon to Gaza. [...]"  

Iran 'to hit back at ship inspection' [06/28/10] "The Chairman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), Mohammad Hossein Dajmar, says Tehran will retaliate if its cargo ships come under inspection. "To protect its national interests, Iran would be sure to use its legal rights to retaliate if any Iranian ships are inspected," Dajmar said in an interview with IRNA on Sunday. "According to numerous international rules, all countries have the right to protect their waters," he said, arguing further that Iran "can inspect suspicious ships to confront those countries which support the resolutions." The UN Security Council passed a US-sponsored anti-Iran resolution on June 9 that imposes restrictions on the country's shipping industry in addition to other sectors. [...]"  

Iran urges Russia to stand by “its commitments” and deliver S-300 defense system [06/14/10] "A senior Iranian lawmaker urged Moscow to "stand by its commitments" following Russia's decision to stop selling the S-300 defense system to Tehran, the English language satellite Press TV reported Sunday.  Russia is "bound by an agreement to provide Iran with the advanced defense system," Esmail Kowsari, deputy head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said Saturday. "Russia should abide by the agreements made between the two countries and deliver the system to Iran," Kowsari was quoted as saying.  Iran had struck a deal with Russia in 2007 to buy the S-300 systems, but Russia delayed the delivery of the anti-aircraft missiles. "If they (the Russians) refuse to deliver the systems, we are well capable of producing missile defense systems that are very much similar to Russia's S-300 apparatus," Kowsari said.  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin when meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday said his country will freeze missile sales to Iran in light with the UN sanctions, according to the Elysee Palace.  The United States and Israel oppose selling Iran the S-300 air defense system, an advanced missile system capable of shooting down aircraft and cruise missiles from up to 150 km away.  [...]"  

Security Council Resolution Transforms Iran into a "Sitting Duck" [06/14/10] "The UN Security Council voted on June 9 the imposition of a fourth round of sweeping sanctions against The Islamic Republic of Iran, which include an expanded arms embargo as well "tougher financial controls".  In a bitter irony, this resolution was passed within days of the United Nations Security Council's outright refusal to adopt a motion condemning Israel for its attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters.  It also followed the holding of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference in Washington under UN auspices, which called for the establishment, in its final resolution, of a nuclear free Middle East as well as the dismantling of Israel's nuclear weapons arsenal. Israel is considered to be the World's sixth nuclear power, with, according to Jane Defense, between 100 and 300 nuclear warheads. ( Analysts: Israel viewed as world's 6th nuclear power, Israel News, Ynetnews, April 10, 2010). Iran in contrast has no known nuclear weapons capabilities.  UNSC Resolution 1929 is based on a fundamental falsehood. It upholds the notion that Iran is an upcoming nuclear power and a threat to global security. It also provides a green light to the US-NATO-Israel military alliance to threaten Iran with a pre-emptive punitive nuclear attack, using the UN Security Council as rubber stamp.  The Security Council exercises double standards in the application of sanctions: Whereas Iran is the target of punitive threats, Israel's extensive nuclear arsenal, is either ignored or tacitly accepted by "the international community". For Washington, Israel's nukes are an instrument of peace in the Middle East. Moreover, whereas all fingers are pointed at Iran which does not possess nuclear weapons, five so-called "non-nuclear" European states including Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy and Turkey not only possess tactical nuclear weapons under national command, these warheads are deployed and targeted at Iran.  [...]"    

Russia Stops Missile Sale to Iran [06/13/10] "The powers that be in Tehran felt the sting of recently imposed U.N. sanctions Friday when Russia decided to halt the planned sale of air defense missiles to Iran as part of the international response to its controversial nuclear program. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused President Barack Obama of “bullying” other nations into going along with the U.S. agenda. [...]"  

Iran to U.S.: Hand Over Missing Nuke Scientist [06/11/10] "Iran sent a note through the Swiss embassy asking the U.S. to return missing Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri. [...]" 

'US funding terrorist group against Iran' [06/10/10] "A member of a terrorist organization operating in Iran says that a US State department radio station originally put him in touch with the group.  Ali Motlaq is a member of The Royalist Association of Iran or Tondar, a terrorist group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks across Iran in the last 5 years. They have killed and wounded hundreds. Motlaq is currently under arrest for planting bombs and orchestrating the assassination of top Iranian figures. In an exclusive interview with Press TV's IRAN TODAY, he said he first got in touch with the group through Radio Farda - a Persian language radio station funded by the US State Department. [...]" | Iran 'to review' UN watchdog ties "Iran's parliament is to review the nation's links with the UN nuclear watchdog after the latest UN sanctions, state media says. [...]"   

Democracy Now: VIDEO: BP Role in 1953 Iran Coup After Nationalization of Oil [06/06/10] "Sixty years ago, BP was called the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, takes a brief look at the story of the company’s role in the 1953 CIA coup against Iran’s popular progressive Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh. Currently, as the result of Iraqi Invasions Part I and II; considering BP recently won the biggest Iraq oil contract, should make it obviously clear as to why Iran now rests within the brutal crosshairs of a savage and thirsty empire. [...  

Greece, Sweden back Iran deal with Turkey and Brazil - Flotilla attack a factor [06/04/10] "Iran, Turkey, and Brazil signed a declaration in the Iranian capital on May 17, committing Tehran to shipment of 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of its low-enriched uranium in Turkey in exchange for 120 kilograms of 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor that produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment. In their telephone conversation, the three high ranking officials also discussed the recent Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy and denounced the brutal assault against the Palestinian community. [...]"    

Iran narrowly wins UN nuclear battle [05/30/10] "Israel was the big loser in the nuclear review conference in New York - and Iran the big winner. The cause of nuclear non-proliferation was haltingly served in that the conference did reach a consensus, unlike the last time, and a number of watered-down measures were agreed to seek ways of strengthening the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But overall, there was not the decisive strengthening that some states wanted. Instead, governments rallied round one objective - the concept of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East. This was first called for 15 years ago but until now neglected. To its annoyance, Israel found that the US did not block a proposal to hold a one-off conference in 2012 on setting up such a zone. In addition Israel was named for not being a party to the treaty and for not having its nuclear activities under international inspection. Being named like this is always regarded as a diplomatic defeat. It will produce further soul-searching about the relationship between Israel and the US administration of President Barack Obama, which has often been tense and which will now be more so. Israel has already denounced the agreement as "hypocrisy". [...]"     

Iranian Navy detects US nuke sub in Persian Gulf [05/28/10] "Iranian naval forces have detected a US nuclear submarine in the Persian Gulf waters, amid growing concerns over the safety of one of the most important energy routes in the world. [...] 

"Signs of Practical Preparations for a Possible US Military Operation against Iran" [05/27/10] "Excerpt from The Jerusalem Post, which suggest that the US and Israel are preparing to attack Iran. Reports that the Pentagon has okayed reconnaissance missions over Iran were seen in Jerusalem on Tuesday as the first public signs of practical preparations for a possible US military operation against Iran. The New York Times reported on Monday that Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in the Middle East, ordered an expansion of clandestine military activity in the region. According to the report, “officials said the order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.”  The article continued that the seven-page directive “appears to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about the country’s nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for a future military offensive.”  Although it is obvious that the Pentagon has contingency plans for all possible scenarios, one Israeli official said this was “the first time that the public is getting word of practical preparations of military activity.” The official said that if this was a deliberate leak, then it was clearly an attempt to send a tough message to the Iranians that, indeed, no options – as the US has been saying for months – have been taken off the table. And even if this were not a deliberate leak, the official added, the impression the information would have on Teheran would still be the same. [...]"   

Commentary: Iran, Sun Tzu and the Dominatrix Cunt-In-Chief  Pepe Escobar [05/27/10] "Let's face it: Hillary Clinton is one hell of a dominatrix. At first the United States Secretary of State said the Brazil-Turkey mediation to get Iran to accept a nuclear fuel swap was destined to fail. Then the US State Department said it was the "last chance" for an agreement without sanctions. And finally, less than 24 hours after a successful agreement in Tehran, Hillary whips the UN Security Council into submission and triumphantly proclaims to the world a draft resolution for a fourth UN round of sanctions against Iran has been reached. She framed the drive towards sanctions as "an answer to the efforts undertaken in Tehran over the last few days". Wait a minute. Immediately after a genuine - and fruitful - mediation on a very sensitive dossier by two emerging powers - and honest brokers - in the multipolar world, Brazil and Turkey, Washington and its two European Union allies at the Security Council, France and Britain, torpedo it. Is this what passes for global "diplomacy"? [...] As for "US credibility", it's biting the dust once again not only as far as Lula and Erdogan are concerned, but across the developing world - the real, flesh and blood "international community" following this interminable charade. [...] 

Iran warns Russia over S-300 delivery [05/25/10] "Russia will lose its credibility if it fails to fulfill a contract to deliver the S-300 defense missiles to Iran, Tehran's ambassador to Moscow says. [...]"  

Iran’s Uranium Deal a Serious Blow to War Party [05/18/10] "In a move that will likely drive a stake into the heart of the near-term prospects for the US-backed “crippling sanctions” against Iran, Turkey and Brazil have managed to come up with a compromise deal that provides everything the Western nations claimed to have wanted from the third-party enrichment deal in the first place. [...]"  Related: Turkey, Iran, Brazil sign deal on nuclear fuel swap  "Iran inked a nuclear fuel swap deal Monday which commits it to ship 1,200 kilograms of low enriched uranium to Turkey, potentially ending a standoff with world powers gearing for new sanctions against the Islamic republic. Under the agreement, Iran will deposit 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of its low enriched... [...]"   Iran’s declaration on nuclear swap deal  "After several hours of intense negotiations on Monday, the trilateral meeting between Iran, Brazil and Turkey ends with Tehran agreeing to send some 1,200 kilograms of its 3.5 percent enriched uranium over to Turkey in exchange for a total of 120 kilogram of 20 percent enriched uranium, Press TV reported. [...]"  UN praises Iran for nuclear declaration  "The UN has welcomed the announcement of a nuclear declaration by Iran while the US says there are still "serious concerns" over Tehran's nuclear program. [...]" | US admiral welcomes Iran swap deal  "A top US military official has welcomed Iran's nuclear swap deal with Turkey but said there was still a long way before an end to Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West. [...]" Iran Fuel Deal Puts U.S. in Check in Ongoing Nuclear Chess Match "Iran backed the Obama administration into check in its ongoing nuclear chess match by announcing its own nuclear fuel swap deal after a Western-backed plan fell apart last fall.  The country left the Obama administration an out by declaring it would continue uranium enrichment even as it proposes shipping nuclear material to Turkey. To become official, the deal still has to be agreed to by the same group of nations that pursued the proposal Iran rejected in October. But the announcement, regardless, makes the administration's job more difficult should it continue to pursue international sanctions. [...]"  

Iran to propose reforms at US nuclear talks [05/02/10] "Ahmadinejad is expected to defend Iran's right as a signatory to the NPT to master the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment.  He is also expected to urge other NPT signatories to pressure Israel to sign the treaty, at a time when Washington is pressing world powers to impose a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran for defiantly enriching uranium. [...]"  Related:  'Nuclear-armed states ignore NPT pillars'  "A senior official says the Iranian president's presence at the UN nuclear non-proliferation review conference is proof of Tehran's peaceful nuclear intentions." 

US Jewish Groups Call for UN Walkout on Ahmadinejad [05/02/10] "American Jewish organizations have called on United Nations representatives from around the world to walk out on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad next week. Ahmadinejad plans to take the podium during the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. The World Jewish Congress asked its members around the world to pressure their respective governments' representatives to take part in the walkout. [...]"  Note: Naturally. 

IAEA rejects own reports, purpose, Non-Proliferation Treaty: Orwellian vote condemns compliant Iran [05/02/10] "Iran received US assistance under the US-imposed dictator, the Shah Pahlavi (a "king"). When Iran deposed their king, the US withdrew their assistance and refused to refund billions of dollars Iran had paid. France also reneged on contracts without refunding Iran’s payments. The issues over Iran allowing other nations to develop their nuclear fuel is colored by this history of US and France still owing Iran billions of dollars, and refusing Iran’s offer to only allow a fuel exchange if their unprocessed uranium is simultaneously swapped with enriched fuel. [...]"   Related: FLASHBACK - IAEA Legal Expert Stifles Neocrazies "According to ElBaradei’s June, 2009, report [.pdf], the IAEA Secretariat, for the umpteenth time "continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran." [...]"   

Iran says new US policy a nuclear threat [04/12/10] "Iran's supreme leader said Sunday that President Barack Obama has "implicitly threatened" his country with nuclear weapons in a newly outlined U.S. policy and Tehran said it intends to file a formal complaint with the U.N. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, said Obama's language was "disgraceful" and proof the U.S. cannot be trusted. ..."   

Senior Iranian scientist defected to CIA: report  [04/01/10] "ABC News appears to confirm earlier rumors, which intelNews reported on last December, that a senior Iranian nuclear scientist has defected to the CIA. ..."  "Iran Nuclear Scientist Defects to U.S. In CIA 'Intelligence Coup'" "Shahram Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia, reportedly now resettled in the U.S. ..."  Note: Right. He's going to lead the 'charge' on an alleged Iranian 'bomb' project to give a reason for an attack. 

Russia will launch Bushehr plant despite US pressure [03/26/10] "Russia says it will go ahead with the inauguration of Iran's Bushehr atomic power plant despite growing opposition from the United States. ..."   

Iran not producing weapon-grade uranium: IAEA [02/20/10] "Iran has not converted the low-grade uranium that it has produced into weapon-grade uranium, inspectors belonging to the International Atomic Energy Agency have said. The Austrian Press Agency quoted an IAEA expert as saying that the uranium substances that Iran has produced at its Natanz enrichment facility have been carefully recorded and remote cameras have been installed to supervise part of the stockpile. “If the Iranians intend to transport these uranium substances to a secret location for further processing, agency’s inspectors will find out,” he said. The expert added that “so far, Iran has carried out good cooperation with us in relevant verifications”. ..."   

Leader says Iran will never seek atom bomb [02/20/10] "Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Friday that the country neither believes in atomic bombs nor is it seeking to develop such weapons. ..."   

Iran says looks to UN agency to protect its nuclear rights [02/19/10] "Iran hopes the International Atomic Energy Agency will produce an unbiased report on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and protect its right to nuclear energy, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday. ..." 

Obama reverses Biden, warns Netanyahu publicly and privately on Iran [02/19/10] "Government sources said the administration of President Barack Obama relayed a warning to Israel that Washington has not changed its opposition to an Israeli strike option against Iran. ..."  

Turkey reiterates Iran's right to nuclear technology [02/19/10] "Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin throws his weight behind Iran despite recent US threats of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic. ..."  Note: I'm sure Hillary Clintons recent physical tussle and argument with the Turkish prime minister isn't helping. She doesn't function well as as the speaker at the US 'bully pulpit' directed at the world. The 'cunt in chief' ought to be put out to pasture.

US has " no plan for military action against Iran": Clinton [02/19/10]  Note:  The cunt-in-chief lies again. They have at least two plans for everything.  Related: Netanyahu: Israel-Iran War Not Being Planned "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday his country is not planning a war with Iran and that Tehran's concerns over such a conflict are the result of the threat of additional international sanctions. "We are not planning any wars," Netanyahu said, speaking in Moscow after meetings urging Russian officials to approve tougher sanctions against Iran. ..."   

Obama Administration Eyes ‘More Confrontational’ Approach to Iran [02/19/10] "Not that diplomacy will be abandoned publicly, as officials will continue to insist that they are seeking diplomacy, at least nominally, so they can accuse Iran of refusing to accept talks. Since the Iranian government just got done accepting a Western demand only to have it roundly condemned and the rhetoric stumble along more or less unchanged, it seems officials are already comfortable with ignoring reality when it gets in the way of the narrative. ..."  

New IAEA Chief Stokes Iran War Fever for the Bush-Obama Regime [02/19/10] "In an astounding development, the brand-new director of the International Atomic Energy Agency -- who was narrowly elected to the post a few months ago with the strong, one might say insistent, backing of the United States -- has just issued his very first report on Iran's nuclear program. And guess what the new, American-backed director said? Go on, you'll never guess. Give up? Well, hold on to your hats -- the American-backed director, Yukiya Amano, has "broken with the more cautious style of his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei" -- you know, the man who was right about Iraq's lack of a nuclear weapons program -- to suggest (sans proof, of course) that there might be "possible military dimensions" to Iran's nuclear program, which just happens to be the most internationally inspected and regulated nuclear power program in history. That's right; coming just days after Hillary Clinton's fresh bout of fear-mongering about Iran, the American-backed Amano echoed the talking points of the Bush-Obama Administration. (Should we not finally just give the proper name to the "continuity" of our militarist-corporatist rulership?) The Bush-Obama regime has continually proclaimed its unshakable belief that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. So unshakable is this belief that nothing on earth can alter it -- not Iran's willingness to send its uranium to other countries for enrichment, and not the acknowledgment by the White House itself that Iran lacks the technical capability of enriching uranium even to a level far below that needed for weaponization. ..."  Related: 'UN nuclear chief confirms Iran program peaceful'  "Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the UN nuclear watchdog's chief has confirmed that the country's nuclear program is peaceful in nature. ..."  Note: It may not matter: IAEA: "Iran may be making nuclear warhead"   "The U.N. nuclear watchdog says Iran may be working on a nuclear warhead for a missile, CNN reported." Note: The new IAEA chief lies and is moot from now on. What 'watchdog'? He just started the job. Amano previously served as a Japanese diplomat and international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions.

Former IAEA Head Hans Blix: 'Iran Won't Simply Sit There and Accept an Attack' [02/18/10] "Hans Blix is the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and also worked as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq. He talks to SPIEGEL about whether Iran really has the ability to enrich uranium and if economic sanctions can ever be effective. ..."   

AP (Always Propaganda) Continues to Beat War Drums Over Iran’s Medical Reactor Enrichment [02/17/10] "Back again like a bad penny, Associated Press writer George Jahn has returned from nearly a week-long span without any fresh articles to deliver the latest claims that Iran’s civilian enrichment program is either capable of or possibly aimed toward the production of nuclear weapons. Some may remember Jahn’s February 8 article, “Iran Moves Closer to Nuke Warhead Capacity,” and the subsequent furor over exaggerations and flat out misstatements, which ultimately led the AP to pull the piece in its entirety, replacing it with a separate story by a different author. ..."  

Iran says ready to swap uranium with U.S. - Ahmadinejad [02/17/10] "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday his country is ready to swap uranium even with the United States, the ILNA news agency reported. ..."  

Iran begins drilling for oil in Caspian Sea [02/16/10] "The Islamic Republic of Iran has started drilling its first exploratory well in the Caspian Sea to search for oil in the resource-rich body of water. “The Amir-Kabir semi-submersible drilling rig has started exploration drillings in the Caspian Sea. It will drill the country's first exploratory well at a depth of 1,550 meters under the seabed,” North Drilling Company Managing Director Hedayatollah Khademi told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday. ..." 

US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament [02/15/10] "The American public has not been informed by the US news media about highly newsworthy statements made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday February 12. He said the era of nuclear weapons is over, suggesting Iran has no plans to build "inhumane" A-bombs. Ahmadinejad called for a world free of nuclear arms in an interview with Russia's NTV channel. "We believe that not only the Middle East but also the whole world should be free of nuclear weapons because we see such weapons as inhumane," he said. "Today, no one can use a nuclear weapon and we believe that the US is taking a wrong move by stockpiling nuclear weapons," he added. "Those who claim that they are against nuclear weapons should dismantle their nuclear weapons first to prove that they are honest." ..."   

Ex UN arms inspector: Iran truth overcomes US mendacity [02/13/10] "Former Chief UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter says the truth about Iran's nuclear program is prevailing over the hype the western media is creating against Iran. ..."  

A Primer on Iran’s Medical Reactor Plans [02/11/10] "It costs Iran about a $1 million per annum to import its current needs for diagnostic 99Mo. About half of that is “wasted” in transit as the molybdenum decays, an amount that could be saved if the isotope was produced locally. If, as has been discussed in the media, Iran transfers enough LEU (currently at an average enrichment of 3.5% U235) for five years worth of fuel for the TRR (about 160 kg of 19.75% U235 metal according to my calculations) then it will need to ship about 2200 1500 kg of LEU to Russia. However, according to the IAEA, Iran only has about 1508 kg of UF6 LEU, as of 31 July 2009. So Iran will either have to get less TRR fuel or process more 3.5% LEU. The required amount nicely matches the amount of LEU Iran had as of the beginning of August. ..." 

Ahmadinejad: No military solution to global issues [02/11/10] "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says regional and global issues cannot be resolved through military action. ..."  

Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Israel, a smoking gun? [02/11/10] "Dr. Hilal Khashan, a Palestinian-American scholar chairing of Department of Political Studies and Public Administration at the American University of Beirut, said that "the war is looming." 

Obama Administration Plays the "Yellow Cake from Africa" Type Propaganda Card Again: "Iran Reportedly Making A Deal For Raw Uranium" [02/09/10] "This year began with some hope of change in the long confrontation between Iran and the West, but it's ending with new allegations about Iran's nuclear program. The Associated Press obtained a document saying Iran is trying to buy 1,350 tons of uranium ore from Kazakhstan. Associated Press reporter George Jahn talks to Steve Inskeep about the document. ... A nation member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It has good intelligence in the region. It's a two-page summary on this purported deal, basically .... "  Note:  Same MO as Iraq and the UN in early 1990's. This is when the CIA supplied false data to justify an invasion to the UN ... John Bolton and Powell .....

Israel and the US preparing for Iran Part 1 - The Military Perspective [02/09/10] "This year saw an Israeli-US joint exercise "Juniper Cobra 10" take place off the coast of Israel which involved the IDF and the US Navy 6th Fleet. The purpose of the exercise was to participate in countering simulated attacks by ballistic, medium-range and short-range missiles and rockets by Iran on Israel. ..."   

Iran vs Israel: What The Media Wants You To Forget  [02/09/10] "The corporate media have been given their orders to throw the focus back on to Iran.
Here is a recap of what they are trying to make you forget. ..."   

Iran "develops air defense system comparable to Russia's S-300" [02/09/10] "Iran has developed its own air defense system comparable to and even more sophisticated than the Russian S-300 system, the IRNA news agency said Monday, citing an Iranian military official. ..."  Note:  Sounds like propaganda .... why would they have ordered the S-300, to be delivered by the Russians, shortly, if they had a design of their own, or could have designed something better?  Related: Iran "builds own aerial drones with strike capabilities"   

Iran detains 7 ’spies’ tied to US-funded radio station [02/08/10] "Iran has arrested seven people linked to a Farsi-language radio station funded in part by the United States, accusing them of fomenting unrest. According to the Associated Press, the Official Iranian News Agency and state radio both cited a statement by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry which claimed the seven individuals were trained outside of Iran in sabotage, spreading rumors and overthrowing a government by soft means. The suspects were not identified and it is unclear exactly when they were arrested. Iran may be merely trying to discredit the opposition, as opposition protests are expected to swell throughout the streets again on Feb. 11 as Iran marks the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Anti-government demonstrations in Tehran on Dec. 27 turned bloody. At least eight people were killed that day and security forces arrested hundreds more during the most violent clashes since Iran's disputed presidential election last June. ..." 

Iran says CIA agents arrested ahead of Feb. 11 rally [02/08/10] "Iran said Saturday it arrested seven people, including two Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives, who planned to stoke unrest and violence on a march scheduled for February 11. ..."   

US dismisses Iranian claims of nuclear agreement [02/07/10] "Deal to reduce Iran's uranium stockpile in doubt as Tehran accused of stalling for time ..."  Note: There is no 'stalling for time', since Iran's actions are within international purview and the IAEA has not had a problem. The US State Department is delusional, with Hillary at the 'helm' ...  

Russia, Iran begin talks on nuclear issues [02/06/10] "The Russian and Iranian foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Manouchehr Mottaki, started talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday. ..."   

Iran, IAEA agree on nuclear fuel swap scheme [02/06/10] "Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have agreed on a scheme of nuclear fuel swap, but some details are still to be coordinated. ..."  

'Russia guarantees delivery of S-300 system to Iran' [02/05/10] "Iran's ambassador to Russia says Moscow has guaranteed that it will deliver the S-300 missile defense system to Iran. ..."  

Israel threatens force over Iran nuclear standoff [02/05/10] "Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon raised on Wednesday the possibility of using force to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, something Tehran vehemently denies it is seeking. AFP February 4, 2010 “Iran’s plan will probably be stopped by a regime change or, if there is no other choice, by a recourse to force ..." 

Ahmadinejad: Iran ready to send uranium abroad as UN wants [02/03/10] "In policy about-face, Iranian president rejects critics, saying that if West doesn't fulfill deal, Iran will resume uranium enrichment on its own. "If we allow them to take it, there is no problem. We sign a contract to give 3.5 percent enriched uranium and receive 20 percent enriched one after four or five months," Ahmadinejad said. ..." 

US ups pressure but China won't buckle on Iran issue [02/03/10] "The United States is strongly urging China to respond to its call to impose new sanctions on Iran, but Beijing has not succumbed to the pressure to turn against Tehran. ..."  Note:  China has no reason to comply.

'Iran will deliver telling blow to global powers on Feb. 11' [02/02/10] "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nation will deliver a harsh blow to the "global arrogance" on this year's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. "The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race, which was trapped in the dead ends of materialism," Ahmadinejad said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday. "If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles," he added. Ahmadinejad said that in the three decades of its history, the Islamic Revolution had inspired some great developments in the world. The Iranian president made the remarks as the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution approaches. Iranians are expected to pour into the streets on February 11 to celebrate the occasion in public rallies across the country, as they have done annually over the past three decades...."

'With new refineries Iran will export gasoline' [01/31/10] "Iran plans to build seven new oil refineries with a capacity of 1.6 million barrels that could turn the country into a gasoline exporter. ..."  Note: I don't see how they will be able to build these in any meaningful period of time.   

Documentary Film: Inside Iran With Rageh Omaar [01/30/10] VIDEO [90:00]  "Rageh Omaar embarks on a unique journey inside what he describes as one of the most misunderstood countries in the world, looking at the country through the eyes of people rarely heard - ordinary Iranians. It took a year of wrangling to get permission to film inside Iran but the result is an amazing portrayal of an energetic and vibrant country that is completely different to the usual images seen in the media.  ..." 

Iran cites buildup, questions intent of more than 90 foreign warships [01/30/10] "Iran has reported a naval buildup in the Gulf. Officials said Western and allied forces have deployed scores of warships in the Gulf and Arabian Sea. They said nearly 100 warships have been conducting operations, many of which appear to be directed against Iran. "The Westerners know well that the existence of these warships in the Persian Gulf serve as the best operational targets for Iran if they should want to undertake any military action against Iran," Iranian Defense Minister Ahmed Vahidi said. Vahidi, in an address on Jan. 19, said more than 90 foreign warships were detected in the Gulf region. He said they included Western aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and submarines in what has created a "military environment ..."   

Senate OKs sanctions on Iran's fuel suppliers [01/30/10] "he Senate on Thursday approved legislation that would let President Barack Obama impose sanctions on Iran's gasoline suppliers and penalize some of Tehran's elites, a move aimed at pressuring Tehran to give up its nuclear program. The sanctions, approved on a voice vote, would target companies that export gasoline to Iran or help expand the country's oil-refining capacity by, in part, denying them loans and other assistance from U.S. financial institutions. ..."  Related:  Iran says petroleum sanctions will be futile "Tehran Friday rejected a bill passed by the US Senate that would restrict Iran's import of refined petroleum products as a continuation of a “wrong policy,” saying the sanction would not affect the country. ..."  

Iran Accuses Obama of Double Standards on Nuclear Power [01/30/10] "Iran is accusing U.S. President Barack Obama of double standards for supporting the building of nuclear power plants in the United States while threatening Tehran for pursuing a similar goal. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency made the comment in response to Mr. Obama's State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. In that speech, Mr. Obama urged lawmakers to support the construction of a new generation of safe and clean nuclear power plants. He also repeated U.S. accusations that Iran is using its nuclear program to pursue atomic weapons in violation of international agreements. ..."  

Iran to mark national holiday with missile launches [01/30/10] "On Monday, February 1, Iran will start traditional 10-day celebrations of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with missile and satellite launches expected. ..."  Note: I would have thought something to benefit the people would have sufficed for the holiday ... missile launches, not.  

'Nothing' stops Russia arms delivery to Iran [01/29/10] "Russia's state-run arms exporter said on Thursday that "nothing" would stop the country from selling military equipment to Iran. ..."  

Mottaki meets with Sarkozy adviser in Davos [01/28/10] "Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's adviser at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday. ..."   

 Iran:  By way of Deception: Assassinations Occur [01/20/10] "This one came out early last week and I first heard about it on the radio. It is something we should have highlighted in a more timely fashion but it is still making news this week. So we will fill in the blanks and reference some current articles. Last week, Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi, a 50-year-old Tehran University professor of Physics, with a focus on nuclear physics, was assassinated when a bomb exploded at his home. Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi died when a remotely detonated bomb, strapped to a motorcycle outside his home, exploded. You should note that Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi was probably your typical professor and did not have much exposure, socially or professionally, outside of his little academic world at the university in Tehran. According to the below NPR article, Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi “had no prominent political voice, no published work with military relevance and no declared links to Iran’s nuclear program, though his work included some aspects of nuclear theory.” So why was Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi assassinated? Well, because “his work included some aspects of nuclear theory.” So who would assassinate a nuclear physicist that had no political agenda or relevance on a military stage? Who do you think? This smells like a classic, signature, Mossad operation and the Israeli fingerprint is all over it. This is the Mossadi modus operandi and there is really no logical objection to that. It is certainly the first thing I thought about and I am not the only one. Immediately, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the assassination was the result of “Zionist” methods. If you do just a little research on historic Mossad assassination you should come to the same conclusion. ..."    Related: Iranian nuclear scientist killed in Tehran blast   "An Iranian nuclear physics scientist and "a staunch supporter" of the Islamic revolution has been killed in a blast near his home in northern Tehran, Iranian and regional media reported on Tuesday. ..."  Note: Something tells me this is a "wet job" hit by the Mossad or CIA ...  "Assassination 'proof' of Iran scientific progress"   "Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, told Press TV that Ali-Mohammadi's colleagues at the capital's most prestigious university believe the attack was orchestrated by the West. "It is widely believed among collogues that he was assassinated by terrorist organizations probably supported by the United States and with connections with the Americans and the Israelis under different names," he said.  ..."    

Iran says US, UK, Canada assist Afghan drug trade [01/15/10] "A senior Iranian anti-drug official has accused the US, Britain and Canada of playing a major role in Afghanistan's lucrative drug trade. ..."   

Iraq, Iran, and the CIA: Carl Herman interview [01/15/10] "Marine Corp Captain (ret.), professor emeritus, author, editor of Assassination Science and pioneer of research into the assassination of JFK, early advocate to apply the rigor of science to the analysis of what really happened with the attacks of 9/11, and host of “The Real Deal” of Revere Radio, Dr. Jim Fetzer, interviewed me for two hours discussing unlawful US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the prospect for war with Iran, and related topics. The interview is here. ..."   

Turkey, Iran to set up industrial zone [01/11/10] "Turkey and Iran plan to set up a joint industrial zone in a border area, Press TV reported Saturday. Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun, who met with Iran's Industry Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian in Ankara on Friday, said the two sides had agreed to form a committee to discuss the establishment of the joint industrial area to boost economic cooperation. ''A technical committee consisting of 10 persons from each side has been established. The committee will work on the establishment of an industrial zone on the joint border, '' ILNA news agency quoted Erdun as saying. Another Turkish government official, State Minister Zafer Caglayan, said that Turkey's exports to Iran reached $1.7 billion in the first 11 months of 2009. He said bilateral trade had grown to $10 billion in the past eight years. ..."    

Russia, China, Iran redraw energy map [01/10/10] "The inauguration of the Dauletabad-Sarakhs-Khangiran pipeline on Wednesday connecting Iran's northern Caspian region with Turkmenistan's vast gas field may go unnoticed amid the Western media cacophony that it is "apocalypse now" for the Islamic regime in Tehran. ..."  

China blocks Iran sanctions over its nuclear plans [01/08/10] "China has blocked western efforts to impose a fresh round of UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, saying diplomatic efforts to stop Tehran building atomic weapons are ongoing. ..."   

‘Japan ready for nuclear cooperation with Iran’ [01/01/10] "The Japanese ambassador to Iran has said Tokyo is ready to cooperate with Iran in the field of nuclear energy. During a meeting with MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi in Tehran on Tuesday, Ambassador Akio Shirota also called for the expansion of ties between Iran and Japan in various spheres, the Fars news agency reported....."  

Iran, Turkmenistan launch new gas pipeline [12/30/09] "Iran and Turkmenistan are to be connected by a second gas pipeline during a visit by the Iranian president to the central Asian state next week. “The new pipeline could raise the volume of Turkmenistan’s exported gas to Iran up to 14 billion cubic meters annually,” Iran’s Ambassador to Ashgabat, Mohammad-Reza Forqani, told Iran’s Mehr News Agency on Tuesday... ..."  

U.S. Intelligence Found Iran Nuke Document Was Forged [12/29/09] "U.S. intelligence has concluded that the document published recently by the Times of London, which purportedly describes an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a "neutron initiator" for an atomic weapon, is a fabrication, according to a former Central Intelligence Agency official. ..."  Note:  Which we already knew, but it makes the CIA look trustworthy while they help lie us into a new war in Yemen. Related: US spies: Israel or UK forged nukes report on Iran

Iran Bans Memorials For Dissident Cleric In Wake Of Violence [12/25/09]  Note:  Oh, and that's not going to piss them off ... good way to create a civil war on purpose, by manipulating the large minion population in order to justify an authoritarian crackdown.

Social Crisis in Iran: Funeral of Iranian cleric Montazeri turns into political protest " ...The mourning procession for Grand Ayatollah Hosain Ali Montazeri in the holy city of Qom south of Tehran turned into a huge Opposition rally, according to the Guardian, with protesters wearing green and chanting against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with some calling him 'murderer,' going beyond the charge of 'dictator' that has become common. These were the largest demonstrations ever seen in the holy city. Qom is the home of influential grand ayatollahs and some 50,000 seminary students. See Video   Real News Interview:  Iran in crisis after death of Grand Ayatollsh Montazeri [12/25/09] VIDEO [9:12] | "Dr. Nader Hashemi is interviewed. ..."  Related: Iran protests spread in heartland  "Large-scale protests spread in central Iranian cities Wednesday, offering the starkest evidence yet that the opposition movement that emerged from the disputed June presidential election has expanded beyond its base of mostly young, educated Tehran residents to at least some segments of the country's pious heartland. Demonstrations took place in Esfahan, a provincial capital and Iran's cultural center, and nearby Najafabad, the birthplace and hometown of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, whose death Saturday triggered the latest round of confrontations between the opposition movement and the government. The central region is considered by some as the conservative power base of the hard-liners in power. Iranian authorities are clearly alarmed by the spread of the protests. Mojtaba Zolnour, a mid-ranking cleric serving as supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative to the elite and powerful Revolutionary Guard, acknowledged widespread unrest around the country. ..."  Iran warns that it will deal 'fiercely' with protesters "Iran's national police commander said demonstrators will face a fierce crackdown if their "illegal" activities continue, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Wednesday, following several days of anti-government protests and officials calling for the arrest of the political leaders of the opposition.  ..."  | Follow this dynamic

As US Drawdown Nears, Iraq-Iran Tensions Grow [12/21/09] "The sudden eruption of tensions between Iran and Iraq over the oil wells along the Eastern Maysan Province have brought new attention to the region, and are something that Admiral Michael Mullen warns Iraq’s Sunni minority are concerned about with the ostensible US pullout date drawing nearer. ..."  Note: A real hot point.

U.S. Freezes $2 Billion in Iran Case  [12/13/09] "More than $2 billion allegedly held on behalf of Iran in Citigroup Inc. accounts were secretly ordered frozen last year by a federal court in Manhattan, in what appears to be the biggest seizure of Iranian assets abroad since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The legal order, executed 18 months ago by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is under seal and hasn't been made public. ..."  Note:  After this, they'll never have their resources where the US,UK or Australia can get control of it, nor will they have it in dollars, pounds or Euros.

Madsen On RT: Israel likely to attack Iran?  [12/04/09] VIDEO [4:12]  "Recent Israeli military training exercises have raised fears that Israel could initiate an attack on Iran – potentially even a nuclear attack. Israel may be motivated by fears that Iran’s nuclear capabilities could soon surpass Israel’s. Can the U.S. use its influence to persuade Israel to avoid such a course of action? Priya Sridhar talks to investigative reporter Wayne Madsen. ..."  See also 198 comments Related: Iran war games to defend nuclear sites  "Iran has begun five days of large-scale war games to simulate attacks on its nuclear sites, officials said, warning it will retaliate if provoked. The head of Iran’s air defence said the aim of the exercises was to thwart aerial reconnaissance and air attacks. Another official warned Tehran would retaliate with a missile strike on Tel Aviv, if it was attacked by Israel. ..." Russia 'will' deliver S-300 to Iran in 2 months [11/28/09] "Russia has ensured that it will honor a deal providing Iran with the S-300 sophisticated anti-aircraft system, Tehran's envoy to Moscow says. ..."  Note:  If true, this would be a real game-changer for any possible Israeli-led attack against Iran. If they're going to do such an attack, it has to be before this anti-aircraft system arrives in Iran.

Documentary: IRAN (Is Not The Problem) VIDEO [79:00]   "IRAN (Is Not The Problem) is a feature length documentary film responding to the failure of the American mass media to provide the public with relevant and accurate information about the standoff between the US and Iran, as happened before with the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. We have heard that Iran is a nuclear menace in defiance of the international community, bent on “wiping Israel off the map”, supporting terrorism, and unwilling to negotiate. This documentary disputes these claims as they are presented to us and puts them in the context of present and historical US imperialism and hypocrisy with respect to Iran. It looks at the struggle for democracy inside Iran, the consequences of the current escalation and the potential US and/or Israeli attack, and suggests some alternatives to consider. This 79 minute documentary features Antonia Juhasz, Larry Everest, and other activists and Iranian-Americans. The goal of this movie is to promote dialog and change the debate on Iran, so please consider organizing a screening, big or small, in your area. Produced by Aaron Newman, an independent film-maker and part of the Scary Cow film co-op in San Francisco. He is an anti-imperialism/pro-democracy activist, founder of the SF Chomsky Book Club, and a member of Hands Off Iran. There are differences of opinion between many of the voices in this film, but all agree that a war would be unjustified. Below are brief video introductions for each of the people who participated. ..."