WarSclerotic

Iran claims to have shot down U.S. spy drone over nuclear site – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Report comes a day after Iran confirmed it was installing a new generation of advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges.

By Reuters

Iran has shot down an unmanned U.S. spy plane over its Fordu nuclear site, a state-run website reported on Wednesday, a day after it confirmed it was installing a new generation of advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges.

“An unmanned U.S. spy plane flying over the holy city of Qom near the uranium enrichment Fordu site was shot down by the Revolutionary Guards’ air defense units,” MP Ali Aghazadeh Dafsari was quoted as saying by the Youth Journalists Club, affiliated to Iran’s state TV.

	Photo by: AP

“The plane … was trying to collect information about the site’s location ,” he said, without giving details. He did not say when the incident happened.

The Fordu site, secretly built inside a mountain bunker near Qom, was acknowledged by Iran only after Western intelligence agencies identified it in 2009.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday appeared to confirm a Reuters story last week that Iran was installing two more advanced models of the centrifuges used to refine uranium for large-scale testing at a research site.

In January Iran announced it had shot down two unmanned western reconnaissance drone aircraft in the Gulf.

The Pentagon denied that report but acknowledged some spy planes had crashed in the past due to mechanical failure.

Iran is at odds with major powers over its nuclear work, which the United States and its allies say are intended to enable Iran to produce bombs. Iran denies the allegations and
says it wants only to generate electricity.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to end the nuclear row.

Iran has dismissed reports of possible U.S. or Israeli plans to strike Iran, warning that it will respond by attacking U.S. interests in the Gulf and Israel if any such assault was made.

Analysts say Tehran could retaliate by launching hit-and-run strikes in the Gulf and by closing the Strait of Hormuz. About 40 percent of all traded oil leaves the Gulf region through the strategic waterway.

Iran often launches military drills in the country to display its military capabilities amid persistent speculation about a possible U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran says installing new nuclear… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.

  TEHRAN – Iran is installing new uranium enrichment machines aimed at speeding up progress in its nuclear program, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, a development that may add to Western concern about Tehran’s aims.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast appeared to confirm a Reuters story last week that Iran was installing two newer and more advanced models of the centrifuges used to refine uranium for large-scale testing at a research site.

If Iran eventually succeeds in introducing the more modern centrifuges for production, it could significantly shorten the time needed to stockpile material which can have civilian as well as military purposes, if processed much further.

“By installing the new centrifuges progress is being made with more speed and better quality,” Mehmanparast said, adding the move showed Iran was being successful in its “peaceful nuclear activity.”

Iran denies Western accusations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and says it is refining uranium for electricity generation and medical applications.

‘Germany, Israel finalize sale of sixth Dolphi… JPost – Defense.

  Germany will provide Israel with its sixth Dolphin-class nuclear-capable submarine and will subsidize the deal with a total of 135 million euros, German magazine Der Spiegel reported overnight Sunday.

According to the report, German Defense Minister Tomas de Maiziere met in Israel last week with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak and promised to finalize the deal for the submarine.

The Dolphin submarine is capable of launching nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.

Talks on the deal for the sub stalled last year after the Germans declined to underwrite it, as they had done with previous purchases. The vessel will cost between $500 million and $700m. The submarines are considered Israel’s most sophisticated and strategic weapon.

Israel already has three Dolphin-class subs; another two are currently under construction in Germany with expected delivery dates of 2012 and 2013.

According to foreign reports, Israel’s submarines have a second-strike capability and carry cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads.

Germany donated Israel’s first two submarines after the first Gulf War and, according to the German press, split the cost of the third with Israel. The three undersea vessels currently in the navy’s possession employ a diesel-electric propulsion system, which requires frequent resurfacing to recharge their batteries.

The new submarines – called the U212 – will be fitted with a new German technology in which the propulsion system combines a conventional diesel/lead-acid battery system and an air-independent propulsion system used for slow, silent cruising, with a fuel cell equipped with oxygen and hydrogen storage.

The submarines will also incorporate specifications gleaned from Israel Navy experience. The Dolphins currently in the navy’s fleet were tailor-made for its needs and reportedly have considerable operational capability.

3 rockets hit western Negev overnight – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Qassams fired from Gaza explode within Ashkelon Coast, Shaar Hanegev regional council; no injures or damage reported

Shmulik Hadad

Three Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on Saturday night hit open areas in the western Negev. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The first rocket exploded at around 1 am within the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council. Two additional Qassams landed in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council later on.On Friday night, a rocket exploded in an open area within in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no injuries and no damage was caused in the incident as well.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz held an evaluation of the situation on Friday following the rockets fired from Gaza over the past weeks.

The army believes Hamasis not preventing other organizations from launching the rockets, and may be trying to test the IDF’s response policy.

In the past weeks the army’s policy has been to strike targets in the Strip in response to each rocket fired at Israel, avoiding a large-scale operation for now.

Nonetheless, military sources noted that the IDF views Hamas as solely responsible for any terrorist incident and will not hesitate to use harsher measures against the organization if it failed to act against the rocket fire.

Syria steps up Hezbollah armament – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Growing unrest in Syria seems to have no impact on Damascus’ efforts to supply Shiite group with weapons. Recent deliveries said to include Scud D, M600 ballistic missiles which put Israel, Jordan, parts of Turkey in range

News agencies

Damascus has accelerated its supply of weapons to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, Ynet learned Saturday.

According to intelligence sources in the West and the Middle East, Syria’s arms shipments to the Shiite organization have remained steady despite the unrest sweeping across the country, and they include advanced ballistic missiles.

Syria is said to be employing the help of experts from Iran and North Korea to press ahead with its development of sophisticated missiles at a secret site, believed to be built into Jabal Taqsis, a mountain near the opposition stronghold of Hama.

The missile program is allegedly run by the Scientific Studies and Research Centre in Damascus, an organization that is already on the United States’ sanctions list.

With financial and political support from Iran, Damascus has also stepped up its military assistance to Hezbollah.

Sources close to Hezbollah said that the flow of weapons entering the Bekaa Valley from Syria had accelerated since March, when protests erupted against the Assad regime.

The scale of arms shipments is said to be so great that Hezbollah “doesn’t know where to put it all.” Another source said that the shipments were simply contingency measures and that “We can send it all back when things calm down in Syria.”

Latest weapon deliveries to the Lebanon-based militant group include, according to The Australian, advanced Scud D surface-to-surface missiles, which can carry a one-ton warhead and have a range of 700km – placing all of Israel, Jordan and a large part of Turkey within Hezbollah’s range and therefore at risk.

Hezbollah has also reportedly been given M600 surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of 250km and are based on Iranian technology.

According to The Times, M600 missiles are considered “strategic weapons” and “This is the first time that a terror organization has obtained a missile of this type.”

Scud missiles are based on North Korean expertise.

“North Korea has transitioned from selling full missile systems to licensed production and assembly of missiles (in third countries),” said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies non-proliferation and disarmament program.

Israeli military intelligence also confirmed that Hezbollah has been engaged in a serious arms build-up.

“They moved some weapons before the uprisings in Syria, when the situation in Egypt was starting. But now that they see Syria as possibly unstable we are seeing the movement of a lot of weapons into Lebanon,” an Israeli military intelligence source said.

“We have never had a quieter border with Lebanon but the threat from there has never been greater.”

AFP contributed to this report

Clinton fends off Arab League cri… JPost – Diplomacy & Politics.

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER,  JPOST CORRESPONDENT 
07/16/2011 09:38

 

After Nabil Elaraby, in Istanbul, condemns “foreign interference in Syria,” US Secretary of State reiterates Assad “has lost his legitimacy in the eyes of his people”; comments come as 32 Syrian protesters killed.

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  WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fended off criticism from the Arab League over America’s condemnation of Syria, reiterating that the current regime had lost the legitimacy to lead as it killed at least 32 civilian protesters Friday.

“[Syrian President Bashar] Assad has lost his legitimacy in the eyes of his people because of the brutality of their crackdown, including today,” Clinton said during a meeting of the Libya Contact Group in Istanbul. “And we, along with many others in the region and beyond, have said we strongly support a democratic transition.”

She noted that US officials had conducted many conversations with counterparts concerning Syria during the course of the day.

“We’ve made our views very clear, and the messages coming into Syria are remarkably similar, from everyone that I spoke with today,” she said.

Clinton was responding to comments from new Arab League head Nabil Elaraby slamming “foreign interference” in the affairs of Arab countries and declaring that Syria’s governance is “exclusively decided by the people” at a news conference he held Wednesday in Damascus after meeting with Assad.

US President Barack Obama refrained from calling Assad’s rule illegitimate until just this week, months after protesters began taking to the streets and paying with their lives. The Obama administration was much quicker to slap a similar label on the Libyan regime after leader Moammar Qadafi began to kill civilians calling for an end to his rule.

Administration officials explained the discrepancy in part because of the greater Arab support for challenging Qadafi. Syria, in contrast, retains much stronger ties and allegiances from Arab leaders, as demonstrated by Wednesday’s meeting.

Clinton’s comments came as Syrian security forces killed 32 civilians, including 23 in the capital, in a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations, the Local Coordination Committees grassroots activists’ group said.

Hundreds of thousands of people participated in what were the biggest protests so far against Assad, witnesses and rights groups said.

The casualties represented the highest death toll in central neighborhoods of Damascus since the uprising against Assad’s autocratic rule erupted four months ago in the southern part of the country.

The killings prompted the opposition to cancel a “National Salvation” conference that was due to be held in Damascus Saturday after security forces killed 14 protesters in front of the wedding hall where the conference was scheduled to take place, opposition leader Walid al-Bunni told Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Syrian security forces kill 12 in biggest … JPost – Middle East.

  AMMAN – Syrian security forces shot dead at least 12 protesters on Friday as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the country in the biggest protests so far against President Bashar Assad.

Assad, facing the greatest challenge to 40 years of Baath Party rule, has sought to crush demonstrations. But although rights groups say some 1,400 civilians have been killed since March, the protests have continued unabated and swelled in size.

“These are the biggest demonstrations so far. It is a clear challenge to the authorities, especially when we see all these numbers coming out from Damascus for the first time,” said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Police fired live ammunition and teargas in the capital Damascus, killing five people, and in southern Syria near the Jordanian border, where four people were killed, witnesses sand activists said. Three protesters were shot dead in the northern city of Idlibm, they said.

“We are in Midan and they are firing teargas on us, people are chanting,” a witness said by telephone from the centre of Damascus.

In the city of Hama, scene of a 1982 massacre by the military, live video footage by residents showed a huge crowd in the main Orontos Square shouting “the people want the overthrow of the regime”.

At least 350,000 people demonstrated in the eastern province of Deir al Zor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Syrian forces shot dead two pro-democracy protesters there on Thursday, residents said.

Despite being the center of Syria’s modest oil production, Deir is among the poorest regions in the country of 20 million. The desert area has suffered water shortages for six years which experts say have been caused largely by mismanagement and corruption, and have decimated agricultural production.

As well as police and the army, Assad has also deployed irregular militia known as shabbiha from his Alawite minority sect, a branch of Shi’ite Islam. Sunni Muslims are the biggest group in Syria.

International powers, including Turkey, have cautioned Assad against a repeat of massacres from the era of his father, the late President Hafez Assad, who crushed leftist and Islamist challenges to his rule. This culminated in the killing of up to 30,000 people in Hama in 1982.

The US and French ambassadors visited Hama in a show of support last Friday. Three days later their embassies were attacked by Assad loyalists. No one was killed in the attacks, which were condemned by the United Nations Security Council.

Iran developing centrifuge to sp… JPost – Iranian Threat – News. 

Photo by: REUTERS

  VIENNA – Iran is stepping up centrifuge development work aimed at making its nuclear enrichment more efficient, diplomats say, signaling a possible advance in the Islamic Republic’s disputed atomic program.

Two newer and more advanced models of the breakdown-prone machine that Iran now operates to refine uranium are being installed for large-scale testing at a research site near the central town of Natanz, the diplomats told Reuters this week.

If Iran eventually succeeds in introducing the more modern centrifuges for production, it could significantly shorten the time needed to stockpile material that can have civilian as well as military purposes, if processed much further.

But it is unclear whether Tehran, subject to increasingly strict international sanctions, has the means and components to make the more sophisticated machines in bigger numbers.

Iran denies Western accusations it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons and says it is refining uranium for electricity generation and medical applications.

Tehran’s refusal to halt enrichment has drawn four rounds of UN sanctions, as well as increasingly tough US and European punitive measures on the major oil producer.

Iran has for years been trying to develop centrifuges with several times the capacity of the 1970s-vintage, IR-1 version it now uses for the most sensitive part of its atomic activities.

Marking a potential step forward for those plans, diplomats said work was under way to set up two units of 164 new machines each. Until now, only smaller chains or individual centrifuges of the IR-4 and IR-2m models have been tested at the R&D site.

“They are moving forward here,” said one senior diplomat, from a member state of the International Atomic Energy Agency. “This is slow and steady but notable progress they are making.”

Other diplomats confirmed that installment was taking place, but was not yet finished. There was no comment from Iran’s mission to the IAEA, the Vienna-based UN atomic watchdog.

Testing of a complete 164-centrifuge cascade has been due for a long time and it would be an “important step,” said Olli Heinonen, a former head of IAEA inspections worldwide.

UNSC gets ‘devastating briefing’ about S… JPost – International.

  UNITED NATIONS – The UN nuclear watchdog brought allegations of covert atomic work by Syria before the Security Council on Thursday, but the 15-nation body took no immediate action amid divisions among key powers.

The International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors voted in June to report Syria to the council, rebuking it for stonewalling an agency probe into the Dair Alzour complex, bombed by Israel in 2007.

Western countries said Thursday’s closed-door briefing by Neville Whiting, head of the IAEA safeguards department dealing with Syria and Iran, had made clear that Syria had a secret nuclear plant. They said the council should pursue the issue, but suggested it might not discuss it again before September.

Russia and China, allies of Damascus who can veto any council action, queried whether the council should be involved, as the Syrian complex no longer exists.

US intelligence reports have said the complex was a nascent, North Korean-designed reactor intended to produce plutonium for atomic weaponry, before Israeli warplanes reduced it to rubble. Syria has said it was a non-nuclear military facility.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters Whiting had given a “devastating briefing … from which you could only draw one conclusion — that Syria did have at Dair Alzour a clandestine nuclear plant.”

Damascus had “tried to conceal the purpose of that plant … misled the IAEA about what the purpose was and … failed to cooperate effectively with the IAEA in following up the questions that the IAEA put to them,” he said.

IAEA to produce new report in September

Both Lyall Grant and German Ambassador Peter Wittig noted that the IAEA was due to produce a new report on Syria for its board of governors in September. “And then we take it from there,” Wittig said.

But Chinese envoy Wang Min said Beijing was “not very happy” about the council’s involvement. “We should not talk about something that does not exist. There are a lot of things that happened in the past — should we discuss all of them?” he asked.

Russian envoy Alexander Pankin, asked what he had learned from Thursday’s briefing, said “not much.”

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said the meeting “didn’t come to any conclusion because the Security Council considers only matters related to threats to peace and security, not to prefabricated, unfounded accusations against a member state of the United Nations.”

“The point is that there is no case for the Security Council to consider in its deliberations,” he said.

Diplomats have said council members could strive for language urging Syria to cooperate with the IAEA but that Damascus is unlikely to face UN sanctions over the issue.

Syria pledged on May 26 to cooperate with the IAEA and provide access to sites and information related to the probe, but Lyall Grant quoted the nuclear watchdog as saying cooperation had not improved since then.

In a statement, US Ambassador Susan Rice called on Syria to fulfill its pledge and that Damascus’s “positive and prompt cooperation with the IAEA would be the best way to resolve outstanding questions about its nuclear program.”