Iran
Join Date: Aug 2014
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The Russian defence umbrella is there to protect Russian military assets, not Iranian assets. Israel has already made multiple attacks on Iranian controlled sites in Syria, and US air power has even been used to kill Russian mercenaries not associated with the Russian military. Russia does not like the Iranian presence in Syria much more than the US does and will not use its forces to protect Iranian assets.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://www.snafu-solomon.com/2019/0...elligence.html
Israeli Minister of Intelligence declared that Israel is now in “an open confrontation with Iran”…
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
Looks like the USA is about to declare the IRGC a terrorist organisation, with all that entails - and Iran will retaliate.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1RJ07U
The United States is expected to designate the Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organisation, three U.S. officials told Reuters, marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country’s military a terrorist group.
"We will answer any action taken against this force with a reciprocal action," a statement issued by 255 out of the 290 Iranian lawmakers said, according to IRNA.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1RJ07U
Iran will retaliate in kind if U.S. designates Guards as terrorists: MPs
Reuters) - Iran will take reciprocal action against the United States if Washington designates the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as terrorists, a majority of Iranian parliamentarians said on Sunday, according to state news agency IRNA.The United States is expected to designate the Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organisation, three U.S. officials told Reuters, marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country’s military a terrorist group.
"We will answer any action taken against this force with a reciprocal action," a statement issued by 255 out of the 290 Iranian lawmakers said, according to IRNA.
Looks like the USA is about to declare the IRGC a terrorist organisation, with all that entails - and Iran will retaliate.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1RJ07U
The United States is expected to designate the Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organisation, three U.S. officials told Reuters, marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country’s military a terrorist group.
"We will answer any action taken against this force with a reciprocal action," a statement issued by 255 out of the 290 Iranian lawmakers said, according to IRNA.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1RJ07U
Iran will retaliate in kind if U.S. designates Guards as terrorists: MPs
Reuters) - Iran will take reciprocal action against the United States if Washington designates the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as terrorists, a majority of Iranian parliamentarians said on Sunday, according to state news agency IRNA.The United States is expected to designate the Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organisation, three U.S. officials told Reuters, marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country’s military a terrorist group.
"We will answer any action taken against this force with a reciprocal action," a statement issued by 255 out of the 290 Iranian lawmakers said, according to IRNA.
If only they had allowed Iran go into Afghanistan in 1998 after Herat and sort the crap out then world would be a different place but US said no.
Just like they told Gadaffi he couldn't arrest Osama for murdering German intelligence agents and then the Islamic fundies he wanted to wipe out headed to Iraq so US Troops could go home in Body bags.
One wonders what they screw up in the next decade will be, bet it will be Saudi's as Libya is this decades.
I personally don't see the point of doing this. The "Axis of Evil" rhetoric blew up in the US face about a decade ago.
The US was aware that a variety of foreign entities and governments, to include the Saudis, give a variety of help and support to some terrorist organizations. But they have not declared them as terrorist organizations.
That entity, the IRGC, has official status within the Iranian polity and is an arm of Iranian government and policy - regardless of how they are or are not a group of people who make the US policy aims difficult in that region.
That doesn't make them terrorists, nor a terrorist organization.
They are one of host of problems to deal with.
The US was aware that a variety of foreign entities and governments, to include the Saudis, give a variety of help and support to some terrorist organizations. But they have not declared them as terrorist organizations.
That entity, the IRGC, has official status within the Iranian polity and is an arm of Iranian government and policy - regardless of how they are or are not a group of people who make the US policy aims difficult in that region.
That doesn't make them terrorists, nor a terrorist organization.
They are one of host of problems to deal with.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...gc-terrorists/
Trump designates Iran's Guard as terrorists
President Trump on Monday designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, saying its sponsorship of terror in Iraq and elsewhere is unacceptable and that he needed to send an “unprecedented” message that it won’t be tolerated.
It is the first time the U.S. government has designed a segment of a foreign government as a foreign terrorist organization, or FTO. The designation is designed to warn individuals or companies off doing businesses with the corps, including its Quds Force, because doing so would be considered a criminal offense by the U.S.
This action sends a clear message to Tehran that its support for terrorism has serious consequences,” Mr. Trump said in a White House statement. “We will continue to increase financial pressure and raise the costs on the Iranian regime for its support of terrorist activity until it abandons its malign and outlaw behavior.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that global banks and businesses “have a clear duty” to not work with the organisation....... Mr. Pompeo cited the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American military members, and the organization’s support to Syria’s Assad regime in the designation. He also said that IRGC Gen. Qasem Soleimani was responsible for killing 603 U.S. troops during the Iraq war........
Administration officials said the Iranians “forced our hands” in designating the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, citing actions in Iraq that have killed Americans and its work as the “central banker” and chief state sponsor of terror around the globe.
Congressional Republicans applauded Mr. Trump’s move, citing their longtime support for cracking down on the force.
“A formal designation and its consequences may be new, but these IRGC butchers have been terrorists for a long time,” Sen. Ben Sasse, Nebraska Republican, said. “This would be an important step in our maximum-pressure campaign against Iran, the largest state-sponsor of terror and the biggest chaos agent inside the Middle East. This would greatly expand our ability to roll back Iran’s ability to fund and export terror abroad.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said he “completely” supports the decision and said the announcement is “another example of [the administration’s] commitment to reigning in the destructive and murderous Iranian regime.”
Trump designates Iran's Guard as terrorists
President Trump on Monday designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, saying its sponsorship of terror in Iraq and elsewhere is unacceptable and that he needed to send an “unprecedented” message that it won’t be tolerated.
It is the first time the U.S. government has designed a segment of a foreign government as a foreign terrorist organization, or FTO. The designation is designed to warn individuals or companies off doing businesses with the corps, including its Quds Force, because doing so would be considered a criminal offense by the U.S.
This action sends a clear message to Tehran that its support for terrorism has serious consequences,” Mr. Trump said in a White House statement. “We will continue to increase financial pressure and raise the costs on the Iranian regime for its support of terrorist activity until it abandons its malign and outlaw behavior.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that global banks and businesses “have a clear duty” to not work with the organisation....... Mr. Pompeo cited the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American military members, and the organization’s support to Syria’s Assad regime in the designation. He also said that IRGC Gen. Qasem Soleimani was responsible for killing 603 U.S. troops during the Iraq war........
Administration officials said the Iranians “forced our hands” in designating the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization, citing actions in Iraq that have killed Americans and its work as the “central banker” and chief state sponsor of terror around the globe.
Congressional Republicans applauded Mr. Trump’s move, citing their longtime support for cracking down on the force.
“A formal designation and its consequences may be new, but these IRGC butchers have been terrorists for a long time,” Sen. Ben Sasse, Nebraska Republican, said. “This would be an important step in our maximum-pressure campaign against Iran, the largest state-sponsor of terror and the biggest chaos agent inside the Middle East. This would greatly expand our ability to roll back Iran’s ability to fund and export terror abroad.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said he “completely” supports the decision and said the announcement is “another example of [the administration’s] commitment to reigning in the destructive and murderous Iranian regime.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said he “completely” supports the decision and said the announcement is “another example of [the administration’s] commitment to reigning in the destructive and murderous Iranian regime.”
U.S. Deploys Forces to Mideast to Deter Iran
Article in today's WSJ.
New intelligence suggests allied interests and American forces could be imperiled
Extract:-
WASHINGTON—The U.S. is deploying a carrier strike group and a number of bombers to the Middle East to serve as a deterrent to Iran based on new intelligence that suggests allied interests and American forces could be imperiled, multiple U.S. officials said.
The Pentagon is sending a carrier and its accompanying ships as well as what is known as a bomber task force to the region in coming days in response to “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings,” National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a statement Sunday.
The Pentagon is sending a carrier and its accompanying ships as well as what is known as a bomber task force to the region in coming days in response to “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings,” National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a statement Sunday.
Methinks John Bolton is using happenstance to ramp up a false rhetoric. The carrier Group was scheduled for deployment months ago as part of a normal rotation and the "bombers" have been deployed in theatre for decades but the B1's were rotated out to enable servicing and a stand down some time ago, so are just being returned, again as part of a normal scheduled deployment.
Intelligence and the Trump administration?
Mutually exclusive.
Specifically, what new intelligence?
Bolton is as full of it as his boss.
Anyone with half a brain will look at this and see it for the posturing that it is.
Friends have just returned from two week holiday in Iran.
Friendly, lovely people - even if some of their leaders are @rsholes.
Mutually exclusive.
Specifically, what new intelligence?
Bolton is as full of it as his boss.
Anyone with half a brain will look at this and see it for the posturing that it is.
Friends have just returned from two week holiday in Iran.
Friendly, lovely people - even if some of their leaders are @rsholes.
US alert over Iran’s ‘ballistic missiles’ at sea
Brief article in The Times today.
Extract:-
Extract:-
Iran has placed short-range ballistic missiles aboard ships in the Persian Gulf, prompting the US military to deploy an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the region, the Pentagon said last night.
Short range BALLISTIC missiles on ships?
Good luck aiming those...
And the carrier group and bombers were scheduled to go months ago as part of normal force rotation cycles, so were prompted by nothing.
Good luck aiming those...
And the carrier group and bombers were scheduled to go months ago as part of normal force rotation cycles, so were prompted by nothing.
More sabre-rattling?
Why should they? It's the US that pulled out of the deal..............................
http://intelnews.org/2019/05/09/01-2544/
The sudden decision by the United States to deploy significant firepower to the Middle East was partly in response to intelligence that was given to Washington by Israeli officials, according to a report. On Wednesday, the US announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had received instructions to sail to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier is reportedly sailing alongside a cruiser and four destroyers, while an unspecified number of B-52 heavy long-range bombers have been ordered to fly to a US military base in Qatar.
Commenting on this last-minute development, US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Iran that it would face “unrelenting force” if it threatened American interests in the Middle East and beyond. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, said that the move aimed to “deter Iran […] so that there would be no ambiguity about our preparedness to respond to any threat against our people or partners in the region”. Speaking in Congress, the US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said that the decision to move a significant amount of firepower to the Middle East came in response to intelligence showing that Iran had “made plans to target US forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East”. According to ABC News, the intelligence suggested that “Iran or its proxies were planning attacks against US forces in Iraq, Syria and at sea”. But there was no further information reported about the precise nature of the alleged warnings.
Meanwhile, the American news and information website Axios said on Monday that the intelligence that caused Washington’s response was given to the US by Israeli officials. Citing “senior Israeli officials”, the website said that the intelligence given to the US had been gathered “primarily by the Mossad”, Israel’s main external intelligence agency. It added that the information about possible Iranian attacks against the US or its allies in the Middle East was “raised two weeks ago” during closed-door talks at the White House between a US team led by Bolton and an Israeli delegation headed by his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat. The intelligence, said Axios, showed that the US or its allies, including the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, would be targeted by Iran. The information is “understood to be part of the reason for Bolton’s announcement” this week, said Axios.
The sudden decision by the United States to deploy significant firepower to the Middle East was partly in response to intelligence that was given to Washington by Israeli officials, according to a report. On Wednesday, the US announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had received instructions to sail to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier is reportedly sailing alongside a cruiser and four destroyers, while an unspecified number of B-52 heavy long-range bombers have been ordered to fly to a US military base in Qatar.
Commenting on this last-minute development, US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Iran that it would face “unrelenting force” if it threatened American interests in the Middle East and beyond. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, said that the move aimed to “deter Iran […] so that there would be no ambiguity about our preparedness to respond to any threat against our people or partners in the region”. Speaking in Congress, the US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said that the decision to move a significant amount of firepower to the Middle East came in response to intelligence showing that Iran had “made plans to target US forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East”. According to ABC News, the intelligence suggested that “Iran or its proxies were planning attacks against US forces in Iraq, Syria and at sea”. But there was no further information reported about the precise nature of the alleged warnings.
Meanwhile, the American news and information website Axios said on Monday that the intelligence that caused Washington’s response was given to the US by Israeli officials. Citing “senior Israeli officials”, the website said that the intelligence given to the US had been gathered “primarily by the Mossad”, Israel’s main external intelligence agency. It added that the information about possible Iranian attacks against the US or its allies in the Middle East was “raised two weeks ago” during closed-door talks at the White House between a US team led by Bolton and an Israeli delegation headed by his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat. The intelligence, said Axios, showed that the US or its allies, including the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, would be targeted by Iran. The information is “understood to be part of the reason for Bolton’s announcement” this week, said Axios.
http://intelnews.org/2019/05/09/01-2544/
The sudden decision by the United States to deploy significant firepower to the Middle East was partly in response to intelligence that was given to Washington by Israeli officials, according to a report. On Wednesday, the US announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had received instructions to sail to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier is reportedly sailing alongside a cruiser and four destroyers, while an unspecified number of B-52 heavy long-range bombers have been ordered to fly to a US military base in Qatar.
Commenting on this last-minute development, US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Iran that it would face “unrelenting force” if it threatened American interests in the Middle East and beyond. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, said that the move aimed to “deter Iran […] so that there would be no ambiguity about our preparedness to respond to any threat against our people or partners in the region”. Speaking in Congress, the US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said that the decision to move a significant amount of firepower to the Middle East came in response to intelligence showing that Iran had “made plans to target US forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East”. According to ABC News, the intelligence suggested that “Iran or its proxies were planning attacks against US forces in Iraq, Syria and at sea”. But there was no further information reported about the precise nature of the alleged warnings.
Meanwhile, the American news and information website Axios said on Monday that the intelligence that caused Washington’s response was given to the US by Israeli officials. Citing “senior Israeli officials”, the website said that the intelligence given to the US had been gathered “primarily by the Mossad”, Israel’s main external intelligence agency. It added that the information about possible Iranian attacks against the US or its allies in the Middle East was “raised two weeks ago” during closed-door talks at the White House between a US team led by Bolton and an Israeli delegation headed by his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat. The intelligence, said Axios, showed that the US or its allies, including the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, would be targeted by Iran. The information is “understood to be part of the reason for Bolton’s announcement” this week, said Axios.
The sudden decision by the United States to deploy significant firepower to the Middle East was partly in response to intelligence that was given to Washington by Israeli officials, according to a report. On Wednesday, the US announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had received instructions to sail to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier is reportedly sailing alongside a cruiser and four destroyers, while an unspecified number of B-52 heavy long-range bombers have been ordered to fly to a US military base in Qatar.
Commenting on this last-minute development, US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Iran that it would face “unrelenting force” if it threatened American interests in the Middle East and beyond. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, said that the move aimed to “deter Iran […] so that there would be no ambiguity about our preparedness to respond to any threat against our people or partners in the region”. Speaking in Congress, the US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said that the decision to move a significant amount of firepower to the Middle East came in response to intelligence showing that Iran had “made plans to target US forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East”. According to ABC News, the intelligence suggested that “Iran or its proxies were planning attacks against US forces in Iraq, Syria and at sea”. But there was no further information reported about the precise nature of the alleged warnings.
Meanwhile, the American news and information website Axios said on Monday that the intelligence that caused Washington’s response was given to the US by Israeli officials. Citing “senior Israeli officials”, the website said that the intelligence given to the US had been gathered “primarily by the Mossad”, Israel’s main external intelligence agency. It added that the information about possible Iranian attacks against the US or its allies in the Middle East was “raised two weeks ago” during closed-door talks at the White House between a US team led by Bolton and an Israeli delegation headed by his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat. The intelligence, said Axios, showed that the US or its allies, including the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, would be targeted by Iran. The information is “understood to be part of the reason for Bolton’s announcement” this week, said Axios.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...ight-grnvn7gxl
Ships sabotaged as Iran warns it is ready to fight
Four merchant ships were targeted in a “sabotage operation” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates yesterday, the government said, as tensions rise between Iran and the United States. The foreign ministry of the UAE, a US ally, said that “four commercial, civilian trading vessels of various nationalities suffered acts of sabotage” off its eastern coast in the Gulf of Oman. It gave no indication of who might be responsible......
The UAE authorities had denied reports in Lebanese media, which is seen as sympathetic to Iran’s local proxy, Hezbollah, that there had been several explosions at the Fujairah port oil terminal. The reports were widely circulated by Iranian and Russian news sites and on social media.
Fujairah is in a key location near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for the global energy market that Iran has repeatedly threatened to block. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said reports of “explosions” showed that the security of Gulf states was “like glass”........
Ships sabotaged as Iran warns it is ready to fight
Four merchant ships were targeted in a “sabotage operation” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates yesterday, the government said, as tensions rise between Iran and the United States. The foreign ministry of the UAE, a US ally, said that “four commercial, civilian trading vessels of various nationalities suffered acts of sabotage” off its eastern coast in the Gulf of Oman. It gave no indication of who might be responsible......
The UAE authorities had denied reports in Lebanese media, which is seen as sympathetic to Iran’s local proxy, Hezbollah, that there had been several explosions at the Fujairah port oil terminal. The reports were widely circulated by Iranian and Russian news sites and on social media.
Fujairah is in a key location near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for the global energy market that Iran has repeatedly threatened to block. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said reports of “explosions” showed that the security of Gulf states was “like glass”........
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...rted-sabotaged
Saudi oil tankers show 'significant damage' after sabotage attack, says Riyadh
Two Saudi oil tankers have suffered “significant damage” in an apparent sabotage attack off the coast of Fujairah, part of the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi energy minister has said.......
One of the two vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil bound for customers in the US, state news agency SPA reported. The attack did not lead to any casualties or an oil spill but caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels, said Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday.
On Sunday, the UAE foreign ministry said four commercial vessels were targeted by “sabotage operations” near its territorial waters but gave no details of the nature of the sabotage.......
Saudi oil tankers show 'significant damage' after sabotage attack, says Riyadh
Two Saudi oil tankers have suffered “significant damage” in an apparent sabotage attack off the coast of Fujairah, part of the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi energy minister has said.......
One of the two vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil bound for customers in the US, state news agency SPA reported. The attack did not lead to any casualties or an oil spill but caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels, said Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday.
On Sunday, the UAE foreign ministry said four commercial vessels were targeted by “sabotage operations” near its territorial waters but gave no details of the nature of the sabotage.......