(AP) – 24 minutes ago

ABOARD THE INS EILAT — Israel’s  prime minister has warned about the dangers of a nuclear Iran after touring an submarine believed capable of firing nuclear-tipped missiles.

Benjamin Netanyahu also visited a missile ship that led the seizure earlier this month of a ship Israel says was loaded with Iranian weapons bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah denied the allegation.

Netanyahu told sailors aboard the ship INS Eilat “the threat that Iran poses is very grave for the state of Israel, for peace in the Middle East and the whole world.” He said Israel would undoubtedly be the “first target, but not the last” in case of an Iranian attack.

Iran denies its nuclear program is aimed at building weapons.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

via The Associated Press: Israeli PM warns about nuclear Iran on navy tour.

Iran: We Know Nothing.

We Know Nothing

November 16, 2009: The government is pressing Russia more, to get the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles that were ordered two years ago, delivered. There is more urgency to this because public, and government, opinion in Israel is turning more towards a military solution. There is less belief in the West, particularly in Israel, that sanctions will have any impact on Iran’s bad behavior. Since the government signed the S-300 deal, some missile base construction has taken place in Iran, and some Iranian military personnel have received training, in Russia, on how to operate and maintain the missile system. But pressure from the West, particularly the U.S. and Israel, has persuaded Russia to hold off on delivery. Once Iran has its S-300 systems operational, any air attack on Iran will become more costly, and require more aircraft, and electronic warfare mojo, to succeed.The government has been having problems getting uranium back from Syria. Iran provided Syrian with the radioactive material several years ago, but Israel discovered Syria’s nuclear program, and bombed the research facility in 2007. Syria refuses to return the uranium, and Iran and North Korea are threatening to cease assistance to Syria’s chemical weapons program until Syria gives in.

In the last year, at least half a dozen Iranian ships, carrying weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemeni Shia rebels, have been sunk or captured. Iran denies any involvement, and dismisses all this evidence as just another Western plot to discredit the religious leadership of Iran. At the same time, the Iranians have to be wondering how the Westerners are getting information on all these arms shipments. Someone is talking.

In the southeast, police are arresting those believed to be supporters of Baluchi terrorists. This includes at least one Sunni cleric, and many Sunni civilians. India has agreed to cooperate in fighting Sunni terrorism, like the Baluchi Jundallah group, based in Pakistan. India is also willing to do joint economic deals with Iran. While Sunni Islamic conservatives are quite hostile towards Hindus, Shia Moslems are more laid back about the religious angle.

While Iran is feared by the Arabs in the Gulf, there is also a lot of popular support among the Gulf Arabs for Iran’s nuclear weapons program. This is part of the centuries old unease at how the Moslem world was, and still is, falling behind the West scientifically, militarily and economically. Even though most Arabs fear Iranian domination, they dislike Western (non-Moslem) power as well. An Iran armed with nukes would show those Western kaffirs (non-Moslems)  a thing or two. And maybe the infidels and Iranians would kill each other off. For Arabs, that would be a perfect solution to many problems.

Police officials believe that Iran is gaining new drug addicts (mostly to opium and heroin) at the rate of 130,000 a year. The police believe that are at least a million addicts in Iran, although unofficial estimates put the number at several million (out of a population of 70 million). Most of the drugs come from Afghanistan. The government considers the drug addiction a less damaging choice for Iranian youth, than active opposition to the government. Yet more and more young Iranians are choosing revolution over drugs. Street demonstrations against the government are growing in size and frequency.

November 12, 2009: Yemen is calling for some kind of international retaliation against Iran for supporting Shia rebels in Yemen. Iran denies everything, despite growing evidence to the contrary.

November 10, 2009: Israel released the German container ship it had seized off Cyprus, after removing dozens of containers and the Iranian weapons they held. The ship then went to Lebanon, where the government there began to conduct an investigation of the incident. Iran calls it all a Western plot to discredit the Islamic Republic of Iran.

November 8, 2009: The government has decided to accuse three American hikers, who, while visiting northern Iraq last July, wandered across the border into Iran, of espionage. By threatening to send the three Californians to jail, some favors can be extracted from the United States (which will come under intense pressure to avoid convictions.)

November 5, 2009: UN weapons inspectors believe that Iran has developed a more compact implosion (a ball of explosives with the nuclear material in its core) warhead design, which makes possible smaller warheads that can fit inside a missile warhead. Iran denies everything, although Iranian agents have been seeking this technology (especially in Russia) for years.

November 4, 2009: In the capital, the annual anti-American demonstrations (to celebrate the storming of the U.S. embassy in 1979, and kidnapping of 52 diplomatic personnel) was usurped by anti-government demonstrators. This was a great embarrassment for the government, and Revolutionary Guards were ordered to arrest all foreigners they found near the demonstrators. At least four were picked. The government wants to make the case that the unrest was caused by foreigners. Over a hundred demonstrators were arrested, but only a few foreigners could be found.

November 3, 2009: Israeli commandos seized a German container ship off the coast of Cyprus, searched its cargo and found over 300 tons of Iranian weapons apparently headed for Hezbollah or Syria.

November 2, 2009: Revolutionary Guards commanders warned people, especially students, to not try to disrupt upcoming (official) anti-American demonstrations. These warnings were ignored.

International News | US, China agree on Iran nuclear “consequences”.

Obama vows “positive, cooperative” ties with China

US President Obama shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) following a statement to the press in Beijing

BEIJING (Agencies)

The United States and China agreed that Iran faced “consequences” if it resisted greater openness on its nuclear program, U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday after talks with China’s Hu Jintao in Beijing.

Obama told reporters in a joint address to reporters that he and Hu “agreed that the Islamic Republic of Iran must provide assurances to the international community that its nuclear program is peaceful and transparent.”

“On this point our two nations and (other global powers) are unified. Iran has an opportunity to present and demonstrate its peaceful intentions, but if it fails to take this opportunity, there will be consequences,” Obama said.

China and the United States are among six world powers seeking a negotiated end to Iran’s nuclear programs.

Report: UN, Iran working on secret deal to end nuclear sanctions – Haaretz – Israel News.

By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service

Tags: Iran nuclear program

The United Nations nuclear watchdog has been holding secret negotiations with Iranian officials to draft a deal to persuade world powers to lift sanctions against Tehran, The Times reported on Tuesday.   According to the report, International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Mohamed ElBaradei drew up a 13-point agreement in September aimed at convincing world powers to allow Iran to continue its contentious nuclear program under close UN inspection. ElBaradei has apparently been trying to resolve this issue before he leaves office at the end of November, according to The Times. The newspaper said it had received the report from a concerned party privy to the issue.   The IAEA has denied that the document exists, said The Times. The Times exclusive comes hours after the IAEA released a report western official say proves Iran is still not meeting its obligations to the international community over its nuclear program. “[The] IAEA’s latest report on Iran underscores that Iran still refuses to comply fully with its international nuclear obligations,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said on Monday. A copy of the IAEA report obtained by Reuters on Monday noted that Iran’s belated revelation of a second uranium enrichment site raised concern about possible further secret nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic. Kelly further said that Iran’s failure to disclose the Qom enrichment facility to the International Atomic Energy Agency was the most recent example of continued noncompliance. “Now is the time for Iran to signal that it wants to be a responsible member of the international community,” he added. “We will continue to press Iran in ways consistent with the dual-track approach to meet its international nuclear obligations.” The report further said Iran had told the IAEA that it had begun building the bunkered site near Qom in 2007, but the IAEA had evidence the project began in 2002, paused in 2004 and resumed in 2006. Iran reported the site’s existence to the IAEA in September. IAEA inspectors also found that Iran had reduced since August the number of centrifuges enriching Uranium at its main Natanz site by 650 to 3,936, while slightly raising the total number of machines installed to 8,692. Western diplomats and analysts said the slowdown was probably caused by technical glitches. A senior official, meanwhile, said Monday that the nuclear agency believes Iran plans to start enriching uranium at the previously secret facility in 2011. The official said the IAEA also believes that the site near Qom will be able to house 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges. A senior international official familiar with a new IAEA report said Monday that number could allow Iran to enrich enough material to be able to arm one nuclear warhead a year. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the restricted nature of the information.

Chris Selley: The mind of the ex-jihadi – Full Comment.

Canada certainly is seeing an upswing in anti-arab / anti-islam propaganda.

Much of it is justified but nevertheless I expect that the surge in propaganda is in preparation for the War on Iran.

According to an unconfirmed report in the French Le Canard Enchaine of Wednesday, Oct. 14, Israel is preparing to bomb Iranian nuclear sites and pro-Iranian targets across the Middle East after December 2009. The prestigious satirical weekly reports that the IDF has notified special forces reservists abroad to get ready to return home in November for immediate drafting to the military operation against Iranian nuclear facilities. The weekly further reports Israel has ordered combat rations from a French firm for these reservists to stay on long-term missions far from home.

Le Canard Enchaine is not alone in predicting an Israeli attack on Iran after December. A former Israeli deputy defense minister, Efraim Sneh, commented to US and British media several times in the past week that if the US fails to rally fellow powers’ support for toughened sanctions against Iran by Christmas, Israel will have to attack its nuclear installations. It may be assumed that Sneh was not just guessing on his own initiative.

Chris Selley: The mind of the ex-jihadi – Full Comment.

Canada certainly is seeing an upswing in anti-arab / anti-islam propaganda.

Much of it is justified but nevertheless I expect that the surge in propaganda is in preparation for the War on Iran.

According to an unconfirmed report in the French Le Canard Enchaine of Wednesday, Oct. 14, Israel is preparing to bomb Iranian nuclear sites and pro-Iranian targets across the Middle East after December 2009. The prestigious satirical weekly reports that the IDF has notified special forces reservists abroad to get ready to return home in November for immediate drafting to the military operation against Iranian nuclear facilities. The weekly further reports Israel has ordered combat rations from a French firm for these reservists to stay on long-term missions far from home.

Le Canard Enchaine is not alone in predicting an Israeli attack on Iran after December. A former Israeli deputy defense minister, Efraim Sneh, commented to US and British media several times in the past week that if the US fails to rally fellow powers’ support for toughened sanctions against Iran by Christmas, Israel will have to attack its nuclear installations. It may be assumed that Sneh was not just guessing on his own initiative.

Nuclear Agency Warns of More Iran Plants – WSJ.com.

Tehran Could Be Building Added Covert Installations, IAEA Says, Urging Government to Show More Transparency

By JAY SOLOMON and DAVID CRAWFORD

WASHINGTON — The United Nations atomic watchdog said Iran could be constructing a number of covert nuclear installations in addition to a secret uranium-enrichment facility the Obama administration disclosed in late September.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also said in a quarterly report released Monday that Iranian officials have told the U.N. that Tehran plans to begin operating the previously unknown nuclear-fuel facility outside the holy city of Qom by 2011.

The IAEA report is the last to be released under departing Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. U.S. officials have long criticized the Egyptian for deflecting Washington’s criticism of Iran in official reports. Diplomats said Monday that the latest report was notable for its sharp tone.

U.S. and European officials believe the Qom site is designed to process Iran’s low-enriched uranium into weapons-grade material. The IAEA said in its new report that Tehran has produced 1.76 tons of low-enriched uranium, enough to produce one or two atomic devices if enriched further.

In the report, the IAEA urged Iran to provide more information on the Qom plant, as well as greater access to Iranian scientists and documents. Without that access, the agency added, the international community can’t be certain Tehran isn’t developing a much larger clandestine nuclear infrastructure for military applications.

“The agency has indicated [to Iran] that its declaration of the new facility reduces the level of confidence in the absence of other facilities,” the IAEA report said. “[It] gives rise to questions about whether there were any other nuclear facilities not declared.”

Iran told U.N. investigators who visited the Qom facility last month that it began construction in 2007. But the IAEA said in its report that technical analysis and satellite imagery suggested Tehran actually started working on the plant in 2002.

The IAEA’s disclosure Monday places added pressure on the Obama administration’s efforts to use diplomacy to constrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions. President Barack Obama has given Iran until year-end to show a commitment to negotiations or face expansive new economic sanctions.

Last month, the U.S. and other global powers presented Iran an offer to better manage Tehran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel. The deal calls for Iran to ship roughly 70% of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for reprocessing into fuel rods for Tehran’s medical-research reactor. The White House believes the transfer of the nuclear fuel to international custody would prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons in the near term, while buying time for diplomacy.

In recent weeks, however, Iran has started to step back from its initial commitment to the nuclear-fuel deal. Tehran has said it won’t agree to shipping out its low-enriched uranium in one batch. U.S. officials said that without a single-batch transfer of Iran’s fuel, the deal loses its merits, and they stressed that Washington won’t renegotiate its offer.

“Now is the time for Iran to signal that it wants to be a responsible member of the international community,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Monday. “We will continue to press Iran…to meet its international nuclear obligations.”

Iran has said its nuclear program is focused wholly on peaceful ends. On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Western pressure only makes Iran more determined to advance its nuclear capabilities.

“Cooperation with Iran in the nuclear field is in the interests of Westerners. Their opposition will make Iran more powerful and advanced,” he said in a statement posted late Sunday on the presidential Web site.

Mr. Obama is using his first trip to Asia as president to try to gain Russian and Chinese support for new financial sanctions against Iran in case diplomacy fails. Both Moscow and Beijing have voiced reluctance to back new coercive measures against Tehran. Both nations have deep energy and security ties to Iran.

On Monday, however, Moscow suggested that it might be more supportive of U.S. policy.

Russia’s energy minister told state media that a Russian-designed nuclear reactor being constructed in Iran wouldn’t be operational this year. Russian officials cited technical issues, but U.S. officials say they believe the announcement may be an effort to pressure Iran because Russia built the reactor and has committed to supply fuel.

The IAEA’s Mr. ElBaradei leaves his post at the end of the month and will be succeeded by Japan’s Yukiya Amano, who has suggested he will play a less political role than his predecessor and focus more on technical aspects of preventing nuclear proliferation. Some U.S. officials say the IAEA could take a harder line on Iran and Syria in coming years under Mr. Amano’s stewardship.

The IAEA on Monday also said Syria continues to defy U.N. requests for greater cooperation into a probe of Damascus’s alleged nuclear activities. The U.S. charges Syria with secretly building a nuclear reactor with the support of North Korea. The Israeli air force destroyed the site in late 2007.

The IAEA has specifically been seeking President Bashar Assad’s help in tracing uranium particles that U.N. investigators found last year at the bombed site. Syria denies it was secretly building the reactor. But IAEA officials said the uranium isn’t from Syria’s declared stock, nor is it likely to have come from Israeli munitions, as Damascus claims.

The IAEA also is seeking clarity from Syria on traces of fissile material that agency investigators found during an inspection of Damascus’s research reactor. “Essentially, no progress has been made since the last report to clarify any of the outstanding issues,” said the IAEA’s report.

The U.S. and some Western governments have discussed in recent months the merits of pushing the IAEA to conduct a “special inspection” of Damascus’s alleged nuclear infrastructure. If such an inspection was approved by the IAEA’s board, Syria would either have to comply or potentially face U.N. sanctions.

Syria is Iran’s closest strategic ally and the two nations cooperate closely in arming and funding militant groups fighting Israel, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. Some Western diplomats said there have been concerns that Tehran was aiding Damascus’s nuclear pursuits, though the IAEA hasn’t disclosed any evidence of this.