ORAC
26th Jun 2007, 23:45
Iranian forces crossed Iraqi border, says report
LONDON: Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have been spotted by British troops crossing the border into southern Iraq, The Sun tabloid reported on Tuesday. Britain's defence ministry would not confirm or deny the report, with a spokesman declining to comment on "intelligence matters".
An unidentified intelligence source told the tabloid: "It is an extremely alarming development and raises the stakes considerably. In effect, it means we are in a full on war with Iran -- but nobody has officially declared it. We have hard proof that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have crossed the border to attack us. It is very hard for us to strike back. All we can do is try to defend ourselves. We are badly on the back foot."
The Sun said that radar sightings of Iranian helicopters crossing into the Iraqi desert were confirmed to it by very senior military sources.
Chaos as Iran starts fuel rations (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6243644.stm)
At least one petrol station has been set on fire in the Iranian capital, Tehran, after the government announced fuel rationing for private motorists. Iranians were given only two hours' notice of the move that limits private drivers to 100 litres of fuel a month.
Despite its huge energy reserves Iran lacks refining capacity, forcing it to import about 40% of its petrol. Tehran is trying to rein in fuel consumption over fears of possible UN sanctions over its nuclear programme. Iran fears the West could sanction its petrol imports and cripple its economy. The restrictions began at midnight local time on Wednesday (2030 GMT Tuesday).
The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says there is anger and frustration the government did not give people more notice. Eyewitnesses have seen at least one petrol station in the outskirts of the west of Tehran on fire and there are reports that three people died in the blaze. All over the city there are huge queues and reports of scuffles at petrol stations as motorists try to beat the start of the rationing and fill their tanks.
Iran's petrol is heavily subsidised, sold at about a fifth of its real cost. So far there has been no announcement about whether Iranians can buy more petrol at the real market cost. Our correspondent says rationing fuel is only likely to add to high inflation and the rising cost of living. It is a dangerous move for any elected government, especially in an oil-rich country like Iran where people think cheap fuel is their birthright and public transport is very limited, she says.
Crackdown on dissent is under way in Iran (http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=52561&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs)
LONDON, June 26 (IranMania) - Iran is in the throes of one of its most ferocious crackdowns on dissent in years, with the government focusing on labor leaders, universities, the press, women's rights advocates, a former nuclear negotiator and Iranian-Americans, three of whom have been in prison for more than six weeks, The International Herald Tribune reported.
The shift is occurring against the backdrop of an economy so stressed that although Iran is the world's second-largest oil exporter, it is on the verge of rationing gasoline. At the same time, the nuclear standoff with the West threatens to bring new sanctions.
The hard-line administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, analysts say, faces rising pressure for failing to deliver on promises of greater prosperity from soaring oil revenue. It has been using American support for a change in government as well as a possible military attack as a pretext to hound his opposition and its sympathizers.
Some analysts describe it as a "cultural revolution," an attempt to roll back the clock to the time of the 1979 revolution, when the newly formed Islamic Republic combined religious zeal and anti-imperialist rhetoric to try to assert itself as a regional leader.....
LONDON: Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have been spotted by British troops crossing the border into southern Iraq, The Sun tabloid reported on Tuesday. Britain's defence ministry would not confirm or deny the report, with a spokesman declining to comment on "intelligence matters".
An unidentified intelligence source told the tabloid: "It is an extremely alarming development and raises the stakes considerably. In effect, it means we are in a full on war with Iran -- but nobody has officially declared it. We have hard proof that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have crossed the border to attack us. It is very hard for us to strike back. All we can do is try to defend ourselves. We are badly on the back foot."
The Sun said that radar sightings of Iranian helicopters crossing into the Iraqi desert were confirmed to it by very senior military sources.
Chaos as Iran starts fuel rations (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6243644.stm)
At least one petrol station has been set on fire in the Iranian capital, Tehran, after the government announced fuel rationing for private motorists. Iranians were given only two hours' notice of the move that limits private drivers to 100 litres of fuel a month.
Despite its huge energy reserves Iran lacks refining capacity, forcing it to import about 40% of its petrol. Tehran is trying to rein in fuel consumption over fears of possible UN sanctions over its nuclear programme. Iran fears the West could sanction its petrol imports and cripple its economy. The restrictions began at midnight local time on Wednesday (2030 GMT Tuesday).
The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says there is anger and frustration the government did not give people more notice. Eyewitnesses have seen at least one petrol station in the outskirts of the west of Tehran on fire and there are reports that three people died in the blaze. All over the city there are huge queues and reports of scuffles at petrol stations as motorists try to beat the start of the rationing and fill their tanks.
Iran's petrol is heavily subsidised, sold at about a fifth of its real cost. So far there has been no announcement about whether Iranians can buy more petrol at the real market cost. Our correspondent says rationing fuel is only likely to add to high inflation and the rising cost of living. It is a dangerous move for any elected government, especially in an oil-rich country like Iran where people think cheap fuel is their birthright and public transport is very limited, she says.
Crackdown on dissent is under way in Iran (http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=52561&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs)
LONDON, June 26 (IranMania) - Iran is in the throes of one of its most ferocious crackdowns on dissent in years, with the government focusing on labor leaders, universities, the press, women's rights advocates, a former nuclear negotiator and Iranian-Americans, three of whom have been in prison for more than six weeks, The International Herald Tribune reported.
The shift is occurring against the backdrop of an economy so stressed that although Iran is the world's second-largest oil exporter, it is on the verge of rationing gasoline. At the same time, the nuclear standoff with the West threatens to bring new sanctions.
The hard-line administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, analysts say, faces rising pressure for failing to deliver on promises of greater prosperity from soaring oil revenue. It has been using American support for a change in government as well as a possible military attack as a pretext to hound his opposition and its sympathizers.
Some analysts describe it as a "cultural revolution," an attempt to roll back the clock to the time of the 1979 revolution, when the newly formed Islamic Republic combined religious zeal and anti-imperialist rhetoric to try to assert itself as a regional leader.....