WarSclerotic

Sneh: Israel to Attack Iran if Sanctions Not In Place By Christmas « Yes, But, However?

NEW YORK (YBH.ME) – Former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh  stated in an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times that if sanctions against Iran are not in place by Christmas, Israel may attack Iran on its own.  “If no crippling sanctions are introduced by Christmas, Israel will strike,” he said. “If we are left alone, we will act alone.”

Ephraim Sneh rattles sabre at Iran

Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaee, rebuked Mr. Sneh’s comments today in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonin and said that “there is no explanation for Israel’s continuing threats against Tehran.” Mr. Khazaee also stated that “the only threat in the region is Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which remains unsupervised to this day.”

Many nations of the west and Israel have taken a harsh line on Iran’s nuclear ambitions,  peaceful or otherwise.

Recently, Cleric Mojtaba Zolnour, a senior leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, claimed that Iran will “blow up the heart of Israel” if attacked by either Israel or the United States.

Hillary Clinton and David Miliband tell Iran: time is running out for nuclear deal – Telegraph

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, turned the spotlight on Iran on Sunday, warning that the “world will not wait indefinitely” for an agreement over its nuclear programme.

Speaking after talks in London with David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, she welcomed Iran’s agreement earlier this month at to transfer most of its low-enriched uranium to other countries, but added: “It must be followed by action.”

Mrs Clinton said: “The international community will not wait indefinitely for evidence that Iran is willing to live up to its international commitments.”

At the talks in Geneva on Oct 1, Iran agreed in principle to transfer most of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium to Russia and France so that the material could be further enriched and then used in a medical research reactor in Tehran. If so, Iran would lose most of the highly sensitive material that could be used to make a nuclear bomb.

But observers sceptical over whether Tehran’s regime will abide by this deal. Mr Miliband said the talks in Geneva had marked a “constructive beginning”, but added: “There is a long way to go before any of us are convinced that Iran is willing to abide by its international obligations.” The Foreign Secretary urged Iran to take advantage of the opportunity created by President Barack Obama’s offer of a new relationship and said the country “will never have a better opportunity to establish normal relations with the international community”.

Mr Miliband said: “Iran can be treated like a normal country in respect of nuclear issues when it starts behaving like a normal country.”

Mrs Clinton is on a five day tour of Europe, which continues with visits to Belfast and Dublin. After meeting Mr Miliband, she travelled on to Chequers to meet Gordon Brown.

Their talks focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan and the issue of whether to send more Western troops to the region. In an overt criticism of the handling of the Afghan conflict before Mr Obama’s election, Mrs Clinton said: “We have been in office about nine months, we obviously believe the prior eight years were not as effective or as focused as they might have been.”

Iran: Israel’s threats inexplicable – Israel News, Ynetnews

Iran’s ambassador to UN demands Security Council take steps against comments made by Ephraim Sneh, who said Israel would attack Iran if sanctions weren’t in place by Christmas

Dudi Cohen

DEBKAfile – Russia halts TOR-M1, S-300 air, missile defense missiles to Iran

October 11, 2009, 9:07 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian TOR-M1 anti-air missile

DEBKAfile‘s military sources report that Russia’s abrupt suspension of consignments of advanced Tor-M1 air defense missiles and S-300 anti-missile systems has left Tehran high and dry for effective weapons to defend itself and its nuclear facilities against attacks.

Our Iranian sources disclose that extreme frustration prompted the boasts of Revolutionary Guards Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami Sunday, Oct. 11, that Tehran’s hi-tech missiles can repel any attack against the country. He spoke in the northern town of Sarri.

Regarding sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic, he said: “Today, the US is experiencing demise despite its great economic, defensive and military power, but the Islamic Iran has remained abloom amid waves of animosities and blaze of sanctions and the nation’s power and capability are getting stronger every day.”

Salami went on to sing the praises of the Revolutionary Guards, its power and its missile capability for confronting enemy threats. Our Sejil missiles, he said, can repel any threat and attack.

DEBKAfile‘s military sources note that the two-stage solid-fuel Sejil has a range of 2,200 km., is accurate within a 20-meter radius but is after all a ground-to ground missiles which is incapable of repelling missile or air attacks. The IRGC commander was trying to lift plunging morale in his corps and the Iranian military; both know that denied the top-quality Russian air defense missiles, Iran has no shield against an American or Israeli missile or air attack.

According to our Moscow sources, the Russians froze the transfers of anti-missile, anti-air missiles to Iran in the expectation of Saudi Arabia following through on negotiations for the purchase of the latest word in Russian anti-missile hardware, the S-400, which is more advanced than the S-300 system now withheld from Iran. It has never been sold to a foreign government and even the Russian army has only two brigades armed with S-400 batteries. The Saudis insisted on making the transaction contingent on Moscow withholding the S-300 and Tor-M1 from Iran.