WarSclerotic

Kenya arrests Iranian terror suspects – UPI.com.

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 3 (UPI) — Two Iranians arrested in Kenya who led authorities to a cache of explosives planned to attack Israeli, U.S., British or Saudi targets, officials said.

Suspects Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi are believed to be members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards elite al-Quds force, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported Tuesday quoting Kenyan authorities.

A police source told the London daily the two were under surveillance as soon as they arrived in Kenya and were arrested June 19 in Nairobi.

“Our anti-terror officers were highly suspicious of them from the moment that they landed in country,” a police officer told the paper. “From what we saw, their intention was clear to plan and execute terrorism attacks. I cannot say against which countries, it could be any target, from any country.”

The Kenya radio station Capital FM said the two led authorities to a cache of 33 lbs of RDX explosives in Mombasa.

On June 27, the Iranians told a Kenyan court they had been tortured by Israeli agents while in police custody and demanded medical attention, the radio report said.

Nairobi’s Senior Principal Magistrate Paul Biwott denied the two bail and ordered they be escorted to a hospital for treatment at their own cost and set the next court hearing for July 23, the radio said.

Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being behind terror attacks in Africa, The Telegraph said.

“After Iran sent its agents to murder the Saudi ambassador on U.S. soil, the country has engaged in attacks in Azerbaijan, Bangkok, in Tbilisi, in New Delhi, and now we have just discovered a plot for a terrorist attack in Africa. The international community must fight against this major player in the world of terrorism,” the paper quoted Netanyahu saying.

US sends floating base for special forces to Gulf to thwart Iran – Telegraph.

US officials have revealed that a military build-up in the Gulf region includes the deployment of warships, F-22 stealth fighter jets and a new amphibious base to launch special forces attacks.

MPs said the move was designed to punish the EU after its embargo on Iranian oil exports came into force on Sunday Photo: AP

Lebanon news – NOW Lebanon -Iran and Hezbollah to defend Syria from “attack,” PFPL-GC chief says.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command leader Ahmad Jibril on Tuesday warned that Iran and Hezbollah will defend Syria from attacks. (AFP/Louai Beshara)

( Wow!  Is the US really that smart/good?  I never considered this.  Thank you, Galio.  – JW )

I think that in light of the discovery of the Flame virus on the highest level of Iranian government computers the capture of the RQ-170 by Iran was no accident.

In fact it was planned so that the Iranians would download the virus thinking they were hacking into the secrets of the drone. This allowed the CIA to effectively penetrate into the highest level of the Iranian government monitoring communications between key players.

US Flexes Muscles against Iran in Gulf – Defense/Security – News – Israel National News.

Iran will find its boats “on the bottom of the Gulf” if it tries to mine the Persian Gulf to prevent oil and gas tankers from sailing.

US Navy patrols Persian Gulf

US Navy

The United States has deployed ships and aircraft in the Persian Gulf region in a clear warning to Iran that “the military option is on the table” if Tehran tried to block the strategic waterway uses by oil and gas tankers, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

“Don’t even think about closing the strait. We’ll clear the mines,” a defense department official told the newspaper. “Don’t even think about sending your fast boats out to harass our vessels or commercial shipping. We’ll put them on the bottom of the gulf.”

Another administration official was quoted as saying, “When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it.”

The deployment of more American warplanes in the Persian Gulf would give the United States a greater ability to strike deep within Iran in the event of a decision by President Barack Obama to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The other side of the coin is the possibility that the American military force could cause Iran’s military generals to pull the trigger finger and try to block oil tankers from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. a move that would cause the price of crude oil – and gasoline at the pump – to spiral upwards less than five months before the U.S. presidential elections.

In addition, the United States has deployed more warplanes have been deployed at two regional bases.

The Obama administration continues to stiffen sanctions in Iran, but Israel reiterated this week they are too little and too late.

Iran continues to try to try to show it is strong enough to defend itself and also to launch attacks on U.S. bases and on Israel. It announced Tuesdays that it successfully fired “tens” of missiles that can strike Israel and regional bases, but the claims were made by the Fars News Agency, linked with the Revolutionary Guards and often a source of unsubstantiated claims.

Iran also has threatened to pass a law that would block oil tankers on their way to countries that have joined the American embargo, but there is no indication of how it could enforce such a law.

One major factor working against Iran is that virtually all of the Gulf States are aligned with the United States and have a common interest with Israel to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear ability and advancing its dream of establishing an Islamic empire in the Middle East.

US military strength beefed up at Hormuz as nuclear talks with Iran fade.

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 3, 2012, 4:26 PM (GMT+02:00)

The USS Ponce

The Obama administration released details Tuesday, July 3, of a fresh buildup of its military forces in the Persian Gulf, stressing their task is to fend off any Iranian attempt to endanger international shipping by blocking or planting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Shortly after the announcement, senior US administration officials said the fourth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers taking place in Istanbul Tuesday were most probably the last: Tehran has refused to give way on the key issues of the 20-percent grade enrichment of uranium and the closure of its underground nuclear facility at Fordo.
The new war drums sent oil past $100 for the first time in three weeks.

As for the Gulf buildup, US sources said counter-measures were in place in case the extra forces were targeted for Iranian aggression.
Tehran earlier threatened military reprisals for the oil embargo imposed by the European Union Sunday, July 1. The next day, the Prophet 7 missile exercise was launched by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards simulating attacks on “enemy air bases.”

The wording of the exercise’s mission was taken as strongly intimating that Tehran had US air bases in the Persian Gulf and Middle East, including facilities used the US Air Force in Israel and Turkey, well within the sights of its missiles. It was stressed that short-, medium- and long-range missiles were being put through their paces.

Tuesday, commanders of the Iranian exercise reported that dozens of missiles had been trained for several hours on mock “enemy bases” in several countries, stating that missiles capable of hitting Israel had been successfully tested.
The US has doubled the number of fast warships in Gulf waters that are capable of instantaneously responding to Iranian moves for closing the strategic Straits of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes daily. More minesweepers are also on hand, as well as commando units for preventive action against the planting of mines in the sea lanes frequented by oil tankers on their way to and from Gulf export terminals.
debkafile’s military sources report that US, Saudi and other Gulf armies have been on high military alert since Thursday, June 28, on two counts: the escalating Syrian crisis and the potential threat to the strategic strait in response to the EU embargo. Iranian leaders have often threatened to treat this penalty as an act of war. As part of their new stance, Saudi forces moved up to the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
According to our sources, the information released in Washington on the US Gulf buildup represents only a fraction of the concentration of strength gradually building up around Iran for five months since March. It was then that two squadrons of the F-22 Raptor stealth planes were moved to the United Arab Emirates air base at Al Dhafra and troops were flown in to two strategic islands, Masirah on the Gulf of Oman and Socotra at the meeting-point between the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Their numbers now are estimated at 40,000.  See the attached map.

Morsi to visit Iran next month, fueling hopes in Tehran for warmer ties | The Times of Israel.

New Egyptian leader to attend conference; Iran’s FM seeks upgraded relations

Egypt’s new president, Mohammed Morsi (center), leaves Friday prayers at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo last month (photo credit: Amr Nabil/AP)

Newly elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is to travel to Iran next month, fueling expectations in Tehran of a warming of relations with Egypt under its Muslim Brotherhood leadership.

Morsi will participate in an international conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, Egyptian and Lebanese media outlets reported on Tuesday afternoon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying he hoped the visit would strengthen ties between the two countries and lead to an upgrading of their diplomatic relations, with the re-opening of their embassies and an exchange of ambassadors.

Morsi automatically became chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement when he took on presidential responsibilities last week, the Prensa Latina news agency reported, but will relinquish the position during next month’s meeting to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Last week, Morsi denied an Iranian report that said he wanted to strengthen ties with Iran. The Iranian Fars News Agency claimed to have interviewed him, and quoted him saying, “This will create a balance of pressure in the region, and this is part of my program.” The same article also claimed he had said he would reconsider the peace treaty with Israel.

Egypt’s Al-Ahram, citing the official MENA news agency, quoted Morsi’s spokesman as saying that Morsi had not granted an interview to Fars and that everything printed in the article was “without foundation.”

The Non-Aligned Movement is made up of a large group of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major international power bloc. The group typically takes positions critical of US foreign policy.

U.S. Adds Forces in Persian Gulf, a Signal to Iran – NYTimes.com.

NASA, via Associated Press

The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf beyond it, as seen from the International Space Station in 2003. Iran is to the right.

By THOM SHANKER, ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID E. SANGER.

Published: July 3, 2012

The deployments are part of a long-planned effort to bolster the American military presence in the gulf region, in part to reassure Israel that in dealing with Iran, as one senior administration official put it last week, “When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it.”

¶ But at a moment that the United States and its allies are beginning to enforce a much broader embargo on Iran’s oil exports, meant to force the country to take seriously the negotiations over sharply limiting its nuclear program, the buildup carries significant risks, including that Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps could decide to lash out against the increased presence.

¶ The most visible elements of this buildup are Navy ships designed to vastly enhance the ability to patrol the Strait of Hormuz — and to reopen the narrow waterway should Iran attempt to mine it to prevent Saudi Arabia and other oil exporters from sending their tankers through the vital passage.

¶ The Navy has doubled the number of minesweepers assigned to the region, to eight vessels, in what military officers describe as a purely defensive move.

¶ “The message to Iran is, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ ” one senior Defense Department official said. “Don’t even think about closing the strait. We’ll clear the mines. Don’t even think about sending your fast boats out to harass our vessels or commercial shipping. We’ll put them on the bottom of the gulf.” Like others interviewed, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the diplomatic and military situation.

¶ Since late spring, stealthy F-22 and older F-15C warplanes have moved into two separate bases in the Persian Gulf to bolster the combat jets already in the region and the carrier strike groups that are on constant tours of the area. Those additional attack aircraft give the United States military greater capability against coastal missile batteries that could threaten shipping, as well as the reach to strike other targets deeper inside Iran.

¶ And the Navy, after a crash development program, has moved a converted amphibious transport and docking ship, the Ponce, into the Persian Gulf to serve as the Pentagon’s first floating staging base for military operations or humanitarian assistance.

¶ The initial assignment for the Ponce, Pentagon officials say, is to serve as a logistics and operations hub for mine-clearing. But with a medical suite and helicopter deck, and bunks for combat troops, the Ponce eventually could be used as a base for Special Operations forces to conduct a range of missions, including reconnaissance and counterterrorism, all from international waters.

¶ For President Obama, the combination of negotiations, new sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil revenues and increased military pressure is the latest — and perhaps the most vital — test of what the White House calls a “two track” policy against Iran. In the midst of a presidential election campaign in which his opponent, Mitt Romney, has accused him of being “weak” in dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue, Mr. Obama seeks to project toughness without tipping into a crisis in the region.

¶ At the same time he must signal support for Israel, but not so much support that the Israelis see the buildup as an opportunity to strike the Iranian nuclear facilities, which Mr. Obama’s team believes could set off a war without significantly setting back the Iranian program.

¶ A key motivation for “Olympic Games,” the covert effort to undermine Iran’s enrichment capability with cyberattacks, has been to demonstrate to the Israelis that there are more effective ways to slow the program than to strike from the air.

¶ But this delicate signaling to both Iran and Israel is a complex dance. Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that the administration must strike a fine balance between positioning enough forces to deter Iran, but not inadvertently indicate to Iran or Israel that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites is imminent or inevitable

¶ “There are a lot of expectations to manage,” Mr. Kerry said in an interview. “People need to know you’re serious, but you must also leave room for peaceful resolution. It’s very important not to take steps that send the wrong messages here.”

There is little evidence that the increased pressure is having the desired effect. Negotiations with Iran are at a stalemate, though a group of Iranian, American and European experts are expected to meet in Istanbul on Tuesday to review a recent American proposal and Iranian response. So far, though, Iran has strenuously resisted all efforts to force it to give up enrichment of uranium, starting with production of a type that is considered relatively close to bomb grade.

Responding to the tightening of Western sanctions, Iran on Monday announced that it would consider proposed legislation to disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz as well as missile tests, in a drill clearly intended as a warning to Israel and the United States.

The Iranian legislation calls for Iran’s military to block any oil tanker en route to countries no longer buying Iranian crude because of the embargo. It was unclear whether the legislation would pass or precisely how Iran would enforce it.

Senior Pentagon and military officials acknowledge that Iran has the capability to close the strait, at least temporarily, and the additional mine-clearing forces can be viewed as both concrete and spoken evidence of Washington’s commitment to make sure any closing is as brief as possible.

The most significant Iranian threat to shipping came during its war of attrition with Iraq in the 1980s. Iran attacked tankers and other commercial traffic to disrupt Iraq’s oil revenues and threaten shipments from other Arab states viewed as supporting Baghdad. Iran also laid significant numbers of mines in an attempt to block transit, prompting mine-clearing operations and attacks on the Iranian Navy by American warships.

Defense Department officials stressed that the recent reshaping of American forces in the Persian Gulf region should not be viewed as solely about the potential nuclear threat from Iran.

“This is not only about Iranian nuclear ambitions, but about Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions,” the senior Defense Department official said.

“This is a complex array of American military power that is tangible proof to all of our allies and partners and friends that even as the U.S. pivots toward Asia, we remain vigilant across the Middle East.”

While American ground troops have been withdrawn from Iraq, a force equivalent to an extra Army combat brigade has remained in Kuwait, officials said. It could have many roles to contain regional instability, but Iran is a primary concern.

While it always is difficult to read Iran’s intentions, senior American Navy officers have noted that Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf have refrained recently from provocative behavior.

“Things have been, relatively speaking, quiet,” said Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations, assessing actions by Iranian Navy vessels over “the last couple of months.”

But that was without the pressure of the new sanctions; already Iran is exporting far less oil every day than a year ago: about 1.5 million barrels a day versus 2.5 million before the gradual imposition of earlier sanctions.

While Iranian vessels have avoided any confrontations with allied warships in recent weeks, Iran expects to equip its ships in the Strait of Hormuz soon with shorter-range missiles, a Revolutionary Guards commander said on Friday, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran, the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

The United States and 19 other countries will hold a major mine countermeasure exercise in the Persian Gulf in September, said a senior military officer who noted that countries in the region were taking more steps in their own defense, including buying American-made air defense systems and other weaponry.

Source: Iran preparing to down American passenger planes | The Daily Caller.

By Reza Kahlili

Bio | Archive | Email Reza Kahlili

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In this Feb. 1, 2009 file photo, American Airlines jets are seen at the Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, file)

A source who served in Iranian intelligence says the Iranian regime is preparing to down Western airliners in case of an attack on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has been preparing for war for some time as the Islamic regime closes in on developing nuclear weapons, says a source who served in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence and has recently defected to a country in Europe.

The source said the regime has taken several measures should war erupt:

• Thirty-two command and control centers have been formed around the country so that the Guards and the Basij can act independently in battle. In case of a breakdown of communication with the central government, their orders are to suppress any uprising from within and confront any potential enemy.
• All political prisoners and all activists within the country are to be slaughtered, as are those Iranian opponents outside the country, to ensure no viable opposition will remain to guide an uprising to overthrow of the regime.
• Thousands of cells have been established in collaboration with Hezbollah to conduct terrorist acts against Israel, America and the West. One specific preparation, as discussed by the Guard commanders, is to target America’s civilian airliners in order to cause terror in the West.

Elaborating on the regime’s strategy, Morteza Mirban, the deputy commander of the Guards’ ground forces, recently told Basij News that the Basij forces have the capability to hurt aggressors even in their own countries.

Mirban boasted that soon the Guards will have armaments that the enemy could have never imagined.

Referring to possible terrorist attacks on U.S. vessels in the gulf, Mirban said, “Today over 3,000 boats are in the Persian Gulf and involved in commerce, constantly passing by America’s naval ships. The question is, how can America engage us in war not knowing how it will get hit next? If they (America) dare to take up arms, they will see how they will regret their act.”

Mirban said that “all of the enemy’s bases are within reach of our missiles, and with our allies such as Hezbollah, we are capable of hitting them thousands of kilometers away. The enemy is interested in life, but because of our ideology, no matter if we kill for Allah or be killed on Allah’s path, we are victorious.”

The source said that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear bomb, which regime leaders believe will make them invincible. The source and others disenchanted with the regime also wonder why the West is vacillating and allowing Iran to pursue its destructive goals.

The Revolutionary Guards announced Sunday that they will conduct three days of war games starting Monday.

“Long-, medium- and short-range surface-to-surface missiles will be fired from different locations in Iran … at replica air bases like those used by (U.S.) military forces,” said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards aerospace division in charge of missile systems.

European oil sanctions against Iran began Sunday, but the Iranian regime met them with defiance and threats against the West.

“Our doctrine of threat against threat mandates that any confrontation will be responded to by a greater attack, and we are ready for it,” Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, the deputy head of Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an speech marking the anniversary of the downing of an Iranian civilian airliner on July 3, 1988.

The guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes mistook Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian jetliner, for a fighter plane in the heat of confrontation with Iran over the Iran-Iraq war. All 290 passengers, including 66 children, died in that incident.

“There is a possibility that America will commit the same heinous crime (as it did in 1988), but this time the response will be harsh where we will make them regret their act,” Jazayeri said, according to Sepah News, the official media outlet of the Revolutionary Guards.

The only way to avoid such retaliation again is for America to leave the region, Jazayeri said. “Only then will it be safe.”

Reza Kahlili is a pseudonym for a former CIA operative in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the author of the award winning book “A Time to Betray.” He is a senior Fellow with EMPact America, a member of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security and teaches at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy (JCITA).

U.S. moves new forces to Gulf to ward off Iran: report.

Tuesday, 03 July 2012

Iranian military personnel pray as they stand behind a cleric on a naval ship on Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to close the strategic Strait at the entrance to the Gulf if its nuclear program is targeted by air strikes. (Reuters)

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The United States has moved new forces into the Gulf to keep strategic waterways open and strike deep within Iran in the event of a regional military escalation, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The Times cited senior officials as saying the quiet build-up was aimed at reassuring Israel that Washington is serious about addressing Iran’s nuclear program and keeping the Straits of Hormuz — a key oil choke point — open.

“The message to Iran is, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ “it quoted a senior Defense Department official as saying.

“Don’t even think about closing the strait. We’ll clear the mines. Don’t even think about sending your fast boats out to harass our vessels or commercial shipping. We’ll put them on the bottom of the Gulf.”

The Navy has doubled the number of minesweepers in the region, to eight vessels, and stealthy F-22s and older F-15C warplanes have been deployed to regional bases to reinforce existing carrier strike groups, the Times said.

On Tuesday Iranian media reported that Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards test fired several ballistic missiles, including a long-range variety capable of hitting U.S. bases in the region as well as Israel,.

The official IRNA news agency said the surface-to-surface missiles successfully hit their targets, while semi-official Fars said the salvos included the so-called Shahab-3 missile. It quoted a leading officer as saying the missiles travelled distances of up to 1,300 kilometers, or 800 miles.

“So far, we have launched missiles from 300 to 1,300 kilometers in the maneuver,” said Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who heads the Guards’ aerospace division. He hinted that some missiles had an even longer range.

Iran has tested a variety of missiles in previous war games, including a Shahab-3 variant with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).

Israel is about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away from Iran’s western borders, while the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Iranian shores in the Persian Gulf.

On Sunday, a European Union oil embargo meant to pressure Iran over its nuclear program came into effect. The West suspects the Islamic Republic wants to build nuclear weapons, and Israel has hinted at an attack if diplomatic efforts and sanctions fail to eliminate what it sees as a direct threat.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, such as power generation and cancer treatment.

The commander quoted by Fars said Iran also plans to use both unmanned and manned bombers in the war games.

He said Iran is testing a variety of other missiles in the exercises, which Tehran says aim to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of its warheads and weapons systems.