WarSclerotic

Hezbollah says Israel detonates communications ‘spy’ device.

Al Arabiya

Friday, 02 December 2011

Hezbollah said the espionage device was detonated by an Israeli drone. (File photo)

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New Sanctions And Whispers Of War In Europe-Iran Standoff – Worldcrunch – All News is Global.

Europe is threatening stiffer sanctions on Iran following a recent attack by students on the British Embassy in Tehran. Diplomacy remains the strategy of choice for the Europeans, but at least one German lawmaker isn’t ruling out military intervention.

by: admin Student protestors rally outside the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran on Tuesday, November 29
By Christoph B. Schiltz
DIE WELT/Worldcrunch

BERLIN — The conflict between Europe and Iran has escalated. E.U. foreign ministers have now agreed to work on sanctions that could include stopping oil imports and cutting Iran’s financial system off from the West. “We decided that this time sanctions would be much harsher,” said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé.

The catalysts for the new measures under discussion were the attacks on the British Embassy in Tehran by Iranian students, and the expulsion of the British ambassador. In a statement, the minister said: “The Council views these actions against Great Britain as actions against the entire European Union.”

The new sanctions will be finalized in January and will add another dimension to the conflict between the Europeans and Iranians over Tehran’s alleged plans to produce atomic weapons. Germany, France and the United Kingdom expressed particularly strong support for harsher sanctions.

Cutting off oil imports from Iran has been repeatedly discussed in the past, but members could never agree on the matter. Greece and Italy have been vehemently opposed to the idea since both countries import significant amounts of their oil supply from Iran.

But now France’s top diplomat, Juppé, is saying that the European Union will work together with various partners to increase deliveries from other countries to make up for the deliveries from Iran. “It’s doable,” he stressed.

Upping the ante

According to Walter Posch, an Iran expert at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), such sanctions “will be interpreted by the Iranian government as a sign that the European Union is looking for regime change.” And, Posch said, that would have consequences. For one thing, Tehran’s willingness to cooperate in negotiations about its nuclear program could fade. There is also the danger that in the future the Iranian government could behave even more aggressively towards the West.

On the other hand, Posch said, the new sanctions are a lot more than pinpricks and will make the country’s economic development – and with it, the survival of the present regime – that much more difficult. Iran presently sells nearly a fifth of its oil to Europe. That oil covers about 6% of the European Union’s needs.

Earlier sanctions have already hurt Iran, said Posch: “They have contributed significantly to the country’s underdevelopment.” Up until now, 143 Iranian companies and organizations had been blacklisted. Following the recent ministerial meeting that number went up to 433.

The hardest hit companies are those that produce technology. Exempted from the sanctions are manufacturers of agricultural and pharmaceutical products. The ministers also raised the number of Iranian individuals who may not travel to the European Union from 37 to 113, although travel bans are symbolic more than anything else.

Not ruling out the military option

Israel, meanwhile, stated that the option to attack the Iranian nuclear program militarily remained open. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel retains the option as a “last resort.”

Barak added that he did not believe international sanctions against Iran would work. He also said Israel does not intend to launch a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities “at this point.” “We don’t need unnecessary wars. But we definitely might be put to the test,” he said.

In Germany, Philipp Mißfelder, Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union spokesman for foreign policy issues in the German parliament, also said that military options with regard to Iran could not be excluded. First, however, sanctions should be tightened. “But I say very clearly that even those who want to put the focus on diplomatic efforts cannot entirely rule out a military option,” Mißfelder said.

The politician went on to say that Iran was the biggest threat in the Middle East “because they are trying to produce an atomic bomb and would certainly not hold back from using it.”

So far, Iran seems unimpressed by all the debates and the announcement of new sanctions. On Thursday, the government released 11 people who had been arrested for storming and plundering the British Embassy.

Brussels took this move to mean that the plunderers were being protected by influential circles in the regime. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has so far remained silent about the incident that led London to expel all Iranian diplomats in the United Kingdom and to close its embassy in Tehran. Berlin, Paris and The Hague have all recalled their ambassadors from Tehran.

German security operatives suspect Iran of planning strikes on U.S. military airports in Germany in the event of a U.S. attack on Iran. According to Posch, “Iran will attack a number of targets should it be attacked.” These would include sites not only in Germany but in Turkey and the Gulf region as well. “It would depend on what military bases the Americans were launching their attacks from,” he said.

BBC News – Media speculate on reasons behind UK-Iran spat.

Commentators expect Iran to be isolated further after the storming of Britain’s embassy in Tehran

World media speculation on the reasons behind the flare-up between Iran and Britain ranges from a conspiracy to drive up oil prices, to a manifestation of in-fighting among the Iranian political elite.

Several wonder about the implications of the storming of the British embassy in Tehran, with one Israeli commentator seeing it as a warning by an embattled Iran that it has the power to hit back.

Several commentators predict that Iran – already the subject of wide-ranging international sanctions – will face further isolation.

Editorial in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Watan

This repeated scenario [of attacking foreign embassies] has become a characteristic of Iran… some regimes are not able to co-exist as much as they are able to antagonise others and get out of domestic crises by creating crises with foreign countries.

Editorial in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jazirah

This Iranian violation that comes as part of the series of attacks and the assassination attempts against ambassadors… indicates that Tehran insists on challenging the international community.

Hassan Haydar in Pan-Arab Al-Hayat

The world must be tired of these little games being repeated by the Iranian regime and mimicked by its Syrian ally, in storming embassies. The issue, indeed, requires a harsh international response.

Habib Fayyad in Lebanon’s Al-Safir

The [storming of the UK embassy] indicates that Iranian anger at Western policies has reached its peak at the official and popular levels. Everything that happened reflects an Iranian approach to put the European camp in the same hostile category as the USA.

Beril Dedeoglu in Turkey’s Star

History has shown that British foreign policy was built around containing Russia and that Iran is one of the areas which both the UK and Russia fight for. The UK has a problem with Russia, rather than with Iran.

Suleyman Yasar in Turkey’s Sabah

Tension around Iran always keeps oil prices high… That is why it is possible that Iran, Israel and those countries which own big oil companies – the USA and the UK – agree on stirring up tension consciously in order to keep oil prices high.

Vasiliy Shchurov in Russia’s Trud

Iran is one of the main exporters of black gold. The cost of a barrel of oil doubled in a year after the Islamic revolution. Oil went up in price only by $2 in a day after the storming of the British embassy and overcame the psychological barrier of $110. However, this seems to be only the beginning.

Bayram Sinkaya in Russia’s Izvestiya

This provocation is aimed at destroying the president’s faction… President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is currently a very significant figure in Iranian foreign policy, whereas the Majlis – parliament – is in the shadow… Many are unhappy about this, and the attack on the embassy is a good way to discredit the president as a person unable to establish normal ties with anyone.

Chen Xiaoru in China’s Zhongguo Qingnian Bao

Since the outbreak of the ‘Arab Spring’, the US and Europe have been trying to devise ways to provoke and isolate Iran to undermine its relatively balanced relations with Muslim countries. The storming of the UK embassy by Iranian students has provided such a unique opportunity.

Yu Guoqing in China’s Nanfang Ribao

Iran’s ability to resist sanctions is still very strong and the effects of new sanctions won’t be great in the short term – as long as they do not extend to a full oil embargo.

Hasan Ahmadi-Fard in Iran’s Qods

The Iranian people should be sure that this time Britain, Europe and the UN Security Council cannot do a damn [thing against Iran]… We continue to stick to our values by maintaining peace and respecting all the international laws and firmly announce that if all the countries in the world stand against our beliefs, we would stand alone against them.

Nadav Eyal in Israel’s Ma’ariv

The escalation is already here. The war is already here… The confrontation with Iran is moving from a secret struggle and assassinations to hitting strategic Iranian military installations… The destruction of the embassy could be interpreted as a strategic Iranian hint to the West and the world – pay attention, you are hitting us, but we also can hit you.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

Israel Hayom.

(Keeps going, and going, and…. – JW)

Report: IDF strikes exposed spy site in Lebanon – Israel News, Ynetnews.

IAF planes bomb Israeli espionage facility that was exposed by Hezbollah in s. Lebanon, website associated with the group reports

Roee Nahmias

Two people were injured after an explosion was heard between the southern Lebanon towns of Srifa and Deir Kifa Friday – a blast that may have been caused by an IDF drone, the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported.

A website associated with Hezbollah said that the IDF bombed an Israeli espionage facility that was exposed by the terror group. According to the report, IAF combat planes launched a strike on the equipment after it was discovered.

Residents told The Daily Star that an Israeli reconnaissance plane was heard flying over south Lebanon prior to the blast. The newspaper cited security sources as saying that the explosion may have taken place near a Hezbollah arms depot.

The IDF has yet to comment on the reports.

Last week, Lebanese media outlets said that a massive explosion rocked a Hezbollah stronghold near the town of Siddiqin in southern Lebanon. The blast was estimated to have occurred at a secret Hezbollah arms cache. The organization closed the area off to local security forces.

On Monday night two Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon at the western Galilee. No one was injured, but damaged was caused to property.

Report: Syria bans iPhone to cover up crackdown on anti-Assad protests – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Statement issued by Customs Department of the Syrian Finance Ministry says, ‘The authorities warn anyone against using the iPhone in Syria’; at least six demonstrators reported killed in Syria on Friday.

By DPA

Syrian authorities have banned the use of the iPhone, further tightening curbs on activists using the device to expose government violence against pro-democracy protesters, the Lebanese website Al Nashara reported Friday.

Syrian activists based in Beirut provided dpa with a copy of a ban they said was issued by the Customs Department of the Syrian Finance Ministry.

	Syrian police armored vehicles in the flashpoint city of Homs last week.
	Photo by: AFP

“The authorities warn anyone against using the iphone in Syria,” read the statement.

Syria has barred most foreign media from the country since the protests began in March.

Opposition activists have been posting on the internet footage of the violent crackdown on protesters.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in Syria since protests started in mid-March, the United Nations said on Thursday.

“It is enough for any tourist or guest visiting Syria to own an iPhone to be a spy suspect,” said one Syrian activist speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

“Steve Jobs must be turning in his grave on learning that his iconic device is banned in his home country,” he added.

Jobs, who died in October, was the co-founder and chairman of Apple. Abdel-Fattah Jandali, a Syrian, was the biological father of the Jobs.

Syrian government forces shot dead at least six demonstrators demanding foreign intervention to stop a crackdown aimed at protests against President Assad on Friday, activists said.

Four people were killed in the southern province of Daraa and two others in the central province of Homs, Syrian activists based in Lebanon said.

At least 20 people were also arrested in the rebellious provinces of Homs, Daraa and Idlib.

Earlier, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said army defectors attacked an air force intelligence center near the border with Turkey, killing at least eight soldiers.

“Around 50 soldiers also defected in the province of Hama,”
activists said.

Protests, which broke out after Friday prayers, were broadcast live on the Doha-based Al Jazeera from Daraa province, where people chanted “the people want the execution of the president.”

Biden in Turkey: Impose new sanctions on Iran – Israel News, Ynetnews.

US Vice President visits Ankara, says ‘we continue to support a diplomatic solution to our concerns with Iran, but we also believe pressure is necessary to secure a negotiated settlement’

Associated Press

Vice President Joe Biden has called on Turkey to impose new sanctions against Iran, while praising Ankara for its role in pressuring Syria to stop its bloody crackdown on protesters.

A top UN human right official warned Thursday that Syria has entered a state of civil war with more than 4,000 people dead and an increasing number of soldiers defecting from the army to fight President Bashar Assad‘s regime.

Turkey announced a set of economic sanctions against Syria earlier this week, as Assad continues with his attempts to crush an 8-month-old revolt against his autocratic rule.

Biden told the Turkish daily Hurriyet: “We look forward to the broadening of international sanctions as a means to bring about change in Syria.”

Biden also urged Ankara to adopt further sanctions against Iran, which the West suspects is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

On Friday, Biden met President Abdullah Gul and Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek but was not expected to meet Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is recovering from a surgery.

Biden also said that the United States “will continue to work with Turkey on pursuing shared interests in the Middle East and North Africa.”

“We continue to support a diplomatic solution to our concerns with Iran,” Biden said. “However, we also believe that putting pressure on Iran’s leadership is necessary to secure a negotiated settlement and that is why we encourage our partners, including Turkey, to take steps to impose new sanctions on Iran.”

Tehran threatens Turkey?

An Iranian general said Saturday that Tehran would target NATO’s early warning radar in Turkey if the US or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic after an International Atomic Energy Agency report said for the first time that Tehran was suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose was the development of nuclear arms.

Ankara agreed to host the radar in September as part of NATO’s missile defense system, which is capable of countering ballistic missile threats from its neighbor, Iran. Turkey insists the shield doesn’t target a specific country but Tehran says the radar is meant to protect Israel from Iranian missile attacks if a war breaks out with the Jewish state.

Biden was also expected to encourage Turkey to repair ties with its formerly close ally Israel. As a long-serving member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden cemented his reputation as an unyielding supporter of Israel, winning the respect of many in the Jewish community.

Relations between Turkey and Israel remain strained following last year’s IDF raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed eight Turkish citizens and a Turkish-American.

Sanctions bite in Syria as oil giant Shell… JPost – Middle East.

    BEIRUT – Royal Dutch Shell said on Friday it would cease operations in Syria to heed new European Union sanctions against Damascus, deepening the international isolation of President Bashar al-Assad imposed over his violent crackdown on popular unrest.

In the latest bloodshed, Syrian army defectors killed eight Air Force intelligence personnel in an attack on their base in the north of the country, according to an opposition group.

The incident suggested that armed deserters are turning increasingly from defending civilian protesters against violent repression by Assad’s security forces to an offensive of ambushes and roadside bombs, raising the specter of civil war.

Western and Arab countries have been intensifying punitive sanctions to press Assad to carry out pledges to halt bloodshed by withdrawing forces from restive cities, stars transition talks with the opposition and admit Arab League observers.

Royal Dutch Shell said it would shutting down in Syria to heed a batch of EU sanctions slapped on Syria’s economically vital oil and financial sectors the day before.

A Shell spokesman said: “Our main priority is the safety of our employees … We hope the situation improves quickly for all Syrians.”

The EU on Friday extended sanctions to three Syrian oil concerns, including the state-owned General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) and Syria Trading Oil (Sytrol), to crank up the financial pressure on the Assad government.

The three oil concerns were among 11 entities and 12 Syrian leadership figures added to an EU blacklist now aimed in part at bringing the Syrian ventures of oil giants to a halt. Royal Dutch Shell was the first to bow out.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for international action to protect Syria’s civilian population from “continual ruthless repression that, if not stopped now, can drive the country into a full-fledged civil war”.

More than 4,000 people have been killed, including 307 children, in the military crackdown on unrest since March and more than 14,000 people are believed to be held in detention, she told an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council.

“In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people,” Pillay said in Geneva. “All acts of murder, torture and other forms of violence must be immediately stopped.”

She voiced disquiet at reports of increased armed attacks by the opposition forces, including the so-called Free Syrian Army, against the Syrian military and security apparatus.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other activists said at least 20 civilians were killed by Syrian security forces across the country on Thursday, mainly in the provinces of Hama and Homs – epicenter of the anti-Assad revolt.

The Observatory said the attack on Air Force intelligence took place in Idlib province, between the towns of Jisr al-Shughour and the Mediterranean port of Latakia.

“A clash ensued for three hours which led to the death of at least eight members of the Air Force Intelligence,” it said.

The Syrian state news agency SANA said security forces “on Thursday killed 5 armed men and arrested 35 others during a clash with armed terrorist members in the Hama countryside”.

It said dozens of Kalashnikov assault rifles, shotguns, grenades and explosives were seized.

The opposition organizes

The anti-Assad Syrian Free Army has formed a military council of nine defecting officers. They issued a declaration pledging to “bring down the regime and protect citizens from the repression … and prevent chaos as soon as the regime falls.”

The main civilian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, held a first meeting with Free Army leaders in Istanbul this week. A Council spokeswoman said the Council only supports a peaceful uprising and the Free Army is not its armed wing.

Syrian armed forces defectors began organizing three months ago and now number around 10,000, say opposition sources.

They cite increased operations in the last ten days by defectors and insurgents in the central regions Hama and Homs, Idlib on the border with Turkey, and the southern province of Deraa where armored convoys have been attacked.

US Vice-President Joe Biden, on a visit to Ankara, praised Turkey for being “a real leader” on the Syrian crisis.

“We also welcome the government’s giving space in Turkey to the political opposition,” he told Hurriyet newspaper. “The United States’ position on Syria is clear. The Syrian regime must end its brutality against its own people and President Assad must step down so a peaceful transition that respects the will of the people can take place,” Biden said.

SANA said Syria had suspended a free trade zone pact with Turkey in retaliation for Ankara’s actions. Turkey, formerly a staunch ally of Assad, has also suspended financial credit dealings with Syria and frozen Syrian government assets, joining the Arab and Western campaign to isolate Assad.

In Paris, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said on Friday he had taken steps to protect members of Syria’s National Council in France after recent threats.

“Given the troubles in Syria, we have seen a certain number of threats on Syrian opponents,” he told a press conference. “Measures to protect them have been taken.”

After a meeting with SNC chairman Burhan Ghalioun earlier this month, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Paris considered the group to be the legitimate partner with which it wanted to work.

Russia sits out sanctions

The expanded EU sanctions list encompasses media companies and firms the EU says supply sensitive equipment to a research center that supports Assad’s suppression of dissent. The United States and the Arab League have also imposed an array of economic sanctions and banned travel by some Syrian VIPs.

But Russia has opposed further sanctions and defended its right to sell arms to Syria. The Interfax news agency on Thursday reported the delivery of Russian anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria, a few days after a United Nations commission of inquiry called for an arms embargo on Damascus.

Russia traditionally uses what influence it still has in the Middle East as a lever in diplomatic maneuvering with Europe and the United States. Syria is also one of its major arms clients.

Russia and China, which both have oil concessions in Syria, teamed up in October to veto a Western-backed Security Council resolution condemning Assad’s government for the bloodshed.

All eyes on Israel after second Iranian blast | The Australian.

UN rights chief calls for ‘urgent’ measure… JPost – Middle East.

    GENEVA – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on Friday for the international community to take action to protect the civilian population in Syria from “ruthless repression” as the country slides into civil war.

More than 4,000 people have been killed, including 307 children, in the military crackdown since March and more than 14,000 people are believed to be held in detention, she told an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council.

“The Syrian authorities’ continual ruthless repression, if not stopped now, can drive the country into a full-fledged civil war. In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people,” Pillay said.

Pillay, a former UN war crimes judge, said that “the need for international accountability has even greater urgency today.”

Earlier on Friday, an opposition group said that Syrian army deserters killed eight people in an attack on an intelligence building in the north of the country.

It said the attack took place on Thursday in Idlib province, between the towns of Jisr al-Shughour and the Mediterranean city of Latakia.

“A group of army defectors … attacked the Air Force Intelligence center,” the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “A clash ensued for three hours which lead to the death of at least eight members of the Air Force Intelligence.”

The Observatory and other activists also said at least 20 civilians were killed by Syrian security forces across the country on Thursday, mainly in the provinces of Hama and Homs.

Turkey, Syria’s biggest trade partner, suspended all financial credit dealings with Damascus and froze its assets, joining the Arab League in isolating Assad over his military crackdown. The United States urged other countries to follow suit.

The world’s largest Muslim body, the Organization of Islamic Conference, urged Syria on Wednesday to “immediately stop the use of excessive force” against its citizens so as to avert any prospect of foreign intervention.