Netanyahu: Iran unfazed by threats | News24.

2012-08-01 17:44

Benjamin Netanyahu. (AP)

Jerusalem – US and Israeli threats of a military strike have done nothing to stop Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear capability, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in talks with US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.

Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem with the visiting Pentagon chief, Netanyahu warned that time was running out “to resolve this issue peacefully”.

And Panetta used the visit to issue his own warning to Iran over its efforts to develop what Israel and much of the West believe is a bid for military nuclear capability.

“They have a choice to make,” he told reporters on a visit to an Iron Dome battery in the southern port town of Ashkelon with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

“They can either negotiate in a way that tries to resolve these issues and has them abiding by international rules and requirements and giving up their effort to develop their nuclear capability.

“But if they don’t, and if they continue to make the decision to proceed with a nuclear weapon …we have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that does not happen.”

Warning

Israel, the sole if undeclared nuclear power in the Middle East, has repeatedly warned that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to it, and both Israeli and US officials have repeatedly warned that all options – including a military strike – were on the table for preventing such a scenario.

“You recently said that sanctions on Iran are having a big impact on the Iranian economy, and that is correct,” Netanyahu told Panetta. “But unfortunately it is also true that neither sanctions nor diplomacy have yet had any impact on Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.

“You yourself said a few months ago that when all else fails, America will act. But these declarations have also not yet convinced the Iranians to stop their programme,” he warned.

“However forceful our statements, they have not convinced Iran that we are serious about stopping them,” Netanyahu said.

On Tuesday night, the Israeli leader said he had not yet decided whether to mount a military strike on Iran’s enrichment facilities.

Time

But he also said Israel would not rely on anyone else to guarantee its security – not even Washington.

Panetta also made clear it was not time for such a move, reiterating US pleas for more time to let diplomacy and sanctions work before considering a strike.

“We have to exhaust every option, every effort before we resort to military action,” he said in Ashkelon.

“It is my responsibility as secretary of defence to provide the president with a full range of options, including military options should diplomacy fail,” he added.

Asked how the Obama administration would react in the event of a unilateral Israeli strike, Panetta said that questions about what was in Israel’s national security interest “is something that must be left up to the Israelis”.

Unified stance

Panetta said he believed the diplomatic and economic sanctions were “having an effect” but stressed that a unified global stance would be the most crucial element in forcing Iran to rethink.

“The most effective way to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is for the international community to be united, proving to Iran that it will only make itself less secure if it continues to try to pursue a nuclear weapon.”

Barak said it was extremely unlikely that sanctions and diplomacy would convince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, which Tehran insists are purely peaceful in nature.

“The probability of this happening is extremely low,” he remarked, noting that Iran was pushing ahead with daily enrichment of “uranium needed for their weapon.”

“We have clearly have something to lose by this stretched time,” he remarked.

Attack plans

Speaking ahead of his arrival in Israel, Panetta ruled out talks on “potential attack plans” with the Israelis.

“I think it’s the wrong characterisation to say that we’re going to be discussing potential attack plans,” he said in Cairo. “What we are discussing are various contingencies on how we would respond.”

Washington, he said, was continuing to “work on a number of options in that area”. He did not give further details.
Panetta was to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem later on Wednesday.

His visit comes just weeks after a secret visit by US National Security adviser Tom Donilon, who reportedly briefed Netanyahu on US contingency plans for a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Haaretz newspaper reported earlier this week.

In Tuesday’s interview on private Channel 2 television, Netanyahu was asked if he had decided whether to strike Iran.

“I have not taken a decision,” he said. “Israel’s fate depends solely on us and no other country, however friendly,” he said, in reference to the United States.

Israel Defense | Leon Panetta: “Iran will never have nuclear weapons”.

IsraelDefense

1/8/2012

“Iran will never have nuclear weapons,” US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told Israeli President Shimon Peres Wednesday.

Panetta arrived in Israel earlier in the morning, for a series of meetings with senior Israeli officials, which focused on the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“We want to make it clear that Iran will never have nuclear weapons.” Panetta stressed. “We will work in cooperation with Israel and together with the global community to do everything in order to ensure this never happens. I want you to have my personal assurance that we will do everything so that this threat does not become a reality.”

Earlier Wednesday, Panetta met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned that Iran remains unfazed and defiant vis-à-vis the United States and Israel’s threats of a military strike against its nuclear facilities.

Speaking at a press conference held in Jerusalem, Netanyahu warned that time was running out “to resolve this issue peacefully.”

The increasing financial sanctions imposed on Tehran are having a significant impact on the Iranian economy, Netanyahu told the Pentagon chief, “But unfortunately it is also true that neither sanctions nor diplomacy have yet had any impact on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. “You yourself said a few months ago that when all else fails, America will act. But these declarations have also not yet convinced the Iranians to stop their program,” he warned. “However forceful our statements, they have not convinced Iran that we are serious about stopping them.”

Upon arriving in Israel, Panetta met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the two toured an Iron Dome battery stationed near Ashkelon.

Panetta used the visit to issue his own warning to Iran over its continued efforts to develop military nuclear capability: “Iran has a choice to make. They can either negotiate in a way that tries to resolve these issues and has them abiding by international rules and requirements and giving up their effort to develop their nuclear capability. But if they don’t,” he warned, “And if they continue to make the decision to proceed with a nuclear weapon… we have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that does not happen.”

Still, the Pentagon chief insisted that the West must exhaust all diplomatic avenues prior to any decision on a military campaign.

“It is my responsibility as secretary of defense to provide the president with a full range of options, including military options should diplomacy fail,” Panetta was quoted as saying by AFP.

“The most effective way to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is for the international community to be united, proving to Iran that it will only make itself less secure if it continues to try to pursue a nuclear weapon,” he stressed.

‘Sanctions are taking too long’

During the Iron Dome tour, Barak commented that while it was clear that the West’s financial sanctions were effective to a degree, it is “extremely unlikely” that they will prompt Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

“Sanctions and diplomacy have an impact. However, the truth is that there is a low chance that the Ayatollah’s will sit at the table and say ‘that’s it, the game is over – we need to give up the nuclear program.’ It’s important to note that sanctions and diplomacy take time and in the meantime, Iran is continuing to enrich uranium and approach the amounts it needs to prepare a weapon.” Barak said.

The defense minister stressed that Israel has made it clear to the US that, “Only the Israeli government will make the decision regarding its core defense issues.”

Asked how the Obama Administration would react in the event of a unilateral Israeli strike, Panetta said that “questions about… Israel’s national security interests are something that must be left up to the Israelis.”

Barak and Panetta also discussed the defense relations between both countries: “The relations between the US administration and the Israeli government have grown stronger in recent years, and the relations between the US Department of Defense and Israel’s Defense Ministry, and the entire defense establishment, are at what might be a record,” Barak said.

“I believe that a great amount of the credit belongs to my friend, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and of course to President Obama.”

On his part, Panetta said that the US and Israel enjoy a “very close friendship” and even closer defense ties.

Barak echoed the Pentagon chief, saying that “Our relations deepened in a variety of fields, including intelligence, high-tech, and also in ensuring Israel’s qualitative military advantage.

“There is a very comprehensive cooperation, and we recently received another $70 million to advance the readiness of the Iron Dome system. The system represents a remarkable technological accomplishment on the part of the Israeli defense industries, and an exceptional operational achievement for the IAF and the air defense fighters.

“This is a very effective measure,” he stressed, “which provides flexibility to the political echelon, as well as providing defense of a different sort to residents.

“We live in a difficult area, with many dangers, and changes that we have not known in the past that have transpired in the area during the past two years. Israel and the US are closely following the developments. As with any friendship and partnership, there are occasional disagreements, but this does not detract from the quality and depth of the relations. We are determined to keep the relations close, deep and open, even if we don’t always agree on everything, and we will continue maintaining these relations,” Barak concluded.

Israel unconvinced as U.S. urges patience on Iran – CBS News.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, listens as U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks during a meeting at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo)

Updated at 11:16 a.m. ET

(AP) JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that U.S. statements of solidarity with Israel and its assurances that military strikes are still an option aren’t working to convince Iran that the West is “serious about stopping them” from developing nuclear weapons.

Standing with a visiting Leon Panetta, Netanyahu dismissed the U.S. defense chief’s counsel to give diplomacy more time to halt Iran’s nuclear program.

“Right now the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear program,” Netanyahu said at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem. “This must change, and it must change quickly because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out.”

Earlier Wednesday, at an Israeli defense site south of Tel Aviv, Panetta stood beside Defense Minister Ehud Barak to declare that the Obama administration is serious about the possibility of eventually resorting to military force against Iran. But he said all non-military measures must be exhausted first.

Barak sounded as unconvinced as the prime minister, saying he appreciated U.S. support but added that the probability of international sanctions ever compelling Iran to give up its nuclear program is “extremely low.”

Netanyahu’s and Barack’s statements, taken together, dramatized the growing strains in U.S.-Israeli relations over what strategy to pursue with Iran.

Tehran has said repeatedly that its nuclear work is for civilian energy uses only, but suspicions that the Islamic republic will use enriched uranium for nuclear weapons have resulted in international sanctions and saber-rattling from Israel, which perceives a nuclear Iran as an existential threat. The United States has discouraged Israel from a unilateral, pre-emptive military strike on Iran.

Panetta on Wednesday said repeatedly that “all options,” including military force, are on the table to stop Iran, should sanctions and diplomacy — the preferred means of persuasion — ultimately fail.

He said he still hopes Iran will see that negotiations are the best way out of this crisis.

However, Panetta said, “If they continue and if they proceed with a nuclear weapon … we have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that that does not happen.”

Netanyahu for his part, has said repeatedly that if necessary he will order military action against Iran even if Washington objects. Panetta said in his appearance with Barak that he understands that Israel must make such important decisions on its own terms.

“Their effort to decide what is in their national security interest is something that must be left up to the Israelis,” Panetta said.

The Panetta visit to Israel comes just days after U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney met with top Israeli officials about Iran and other issues and said that if he becomes president, he will “honor” whatever Israel decides to do about Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Romney has accused the Obama administration of being too soft on Iran and of not providing sufficient support to Israel.

In greeting Panetta Wednesday at Israeli defense headquarters, Barak said, “The defense ties between Israel and the United States are stronger and tighter than they have ever been and the credit now has to go, most of it, to you, Leon.”

Panetta responded: “We are a friend, we are a partner, we have, as the defense minister has pointed out, probably the strongest U.S.-Israel defense relationship that we have had in history. What we are doing, working together, is an indication not only of our friendship but of our alliance to work together to try to preserve peace in the future.”

Netanyahu told Israeli Channel 2 TV on Tuesday that despite reservations about an Iranian attack among former Israeli security officials and Israel’s current army chief, the country’s political leadership would make the final decision on any attack.

“I see an ayatollah regime that declares what it has championed: to destroy us,” Netanyahu said. “It’s working to destroy us, it’s preparing nuclear weapons to destroy us. … If it is up to me, I won’t let that happen.”

With “matters that have to do with our destiny, with our very existence, we do not put our faith in the hands of others, even our best of friends,” Netanyahu said, hinting that Israel might act alone despite American misgivings.

Netanyahu said both Romney and President Obama have said “Israel has the right to defend itself.”

Barak took Panetta on a trip Wednesday to inspect and get briefed on an Israeli air defense system known as Iron Dome. It is designed to shoot down short-range rockets and artillery shells such as those that have been fired into the Jewish state in recent years from Islamic militants linked to Iran and based in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Obama last week announced he was releasing an additional $70 million in military aid for Israel, a previously announced aid commitment that appeared timed to upstage Romney’s trip to Israel. The stepped-up U.S. aid, first announced in May, will go to help Israel expand production of the Iron Dome system.

Iranians disregard Israeli threat – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews.

Ron Ben-Yishai

Analysis: Khamenei certain Israeli military strike can’t stop Iran from achieving nuclear capabilities, believes West won’t attack due to oil crisis threat

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his close advisors have reached the conclusion that that the “military option” placed on the table by Israel and the West is a mere empty gun, at least until the end of the year because of the elections in the US. The Iranian deterrence is based mostly on money, and more specifically the assumption that an attack on its nuclear facilities would result in a sharp rise in oil prices. Even if the Gulf States increase their oil production, Iran’s retaliatory measures (such as mining the Strait of Hormuz) would lead to a shortage of crude oil and expectations of a shortage. The result would be a price hike that would deal a devastating blow to the chance that the economies of Europe, the US, China and India would recover from the deepening global economic crisis anytime soon.

As for an Israeli strike, as frustrating and insulting as it may be, the Iranians are not in the least bit concerned. They believe that Israel’s military capabilities alone are not enough to cause any significant or long-term damage to their missile arsenal and nuclear plants. But that’s not all. There are other reasons why Tehran estimates Israel won’t attack:

1. The ayatollahs are convinced that the Israeli government and people are extremely fearful of the response such an attack would trigger from Iran, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas (from Gaza) and perhaps even Syria.
2. Khamenei and his aides believe the relations between the US and Israel are a mirror image of the ties between Iran and Hezbollah – classic patron-client relations in which there is concern for the client’s military and economic needs, but the client provides services to the patron and follows orders. According to this premise, just as Hezbollah must shower Israel with rockets in the event of an attack on Iran, Israel must refrain from striking at this stage if Washington believes it would hurt Obama’s interests.
3. The Iranians believe Israel is already isolated in the international community and would not dare isolate itself even more by launching an attack and risk being blamed for deepening the economic crisis.

The regime in Tehran is dealing with a host of internal economic and social problems stemming from the harsh sanctions imposed by the West, but at the same time it is advancing its nuclear and strategic missile programs. Therefore, Israeli officials estimate, only a real physical threat or an actual strike can stop or at least delay Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. Officials in Jerusalem, Washington and London believe the sanctions will eventually cause Iran to stop enriching uranium, particularly if Tehran’s efforts to bypass these sanctions are also curtailed. But until this happens, in at least two years’ time, the nuclear threat will have reached the US as well.

Jeremy Issacharoff, deputy director-general for strategic affairs at the Foreign Ministry, believes the sanctions offer a window of opportunity to resolve the nuclear crisis without military intervention. “As long as the Iranians are under the impression that they are paying a small price for the uranium enrichment – they will continue. But if they realize that the West is determined with regards to the sanctions and that they will suffer even more in the future, then they will stop enriching uranium,” he said.

“This is proven by the fact that their key demand in the negotiations with the West is to lift the sanctions. If they realize that the sanctions will not be removed, they may stop enriching uranium or at least make some concessions (that will slow down the pace of enrichment). This is happening now because they are confidant. The real test is not the threats but what is happening on the ground.”

In order to achieve nuclear capabilities Iran must create not one but three “immunity zones” (the term was coined by Defense Minister Barak):

Military-technological immunity zone:Protection of its missile stockpiles and nuclear plants from a strike. The nuclear facility in Fordo, for example, was built inside a mountain, covered by layers of rock.

Nuclear-technological immunity zone:A situation in which Iran’s ability to produce a number of nuclear bombs will become irreversible – to the point where sanctions, diplomatic pressure and even a strike cannot affect it. In practical terms, such a situation calls for Iran possessing enough uranium enriched to a fissile concentration of 20% and more to produce 2-4 nuclear warheads, as well as the knowledge to mount a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile. Such a development would alter the strategic balance in the Middle East and Iran would be able to leverage its position as a nuclear power to soften the sanctions and deter other countries from attacking.

Political immunity zone:Meant to provide Iran’s nuclear and missile scientists, as well as its Revolutionary Guards, with enough time to create the other immunity zones. A key factor here is the talks with the West, in which Iran is stalling for time by hinting that it would possibly make concessions with regards to uranium enrichment to 20% if sanctions are eased. But EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton found that the Iranian representatives to the talks have no authority to even discuss such matters.

As part of their efforts to create an immunity zone, Iran is also threatening to mine the Hormuz shipping lane and attack oil fields in the Gulf States – an act that would surely lead to a spike in oil prices. However, this appears to be a false threat, because by mining Hormuz Iran would be mining its own exporting route, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait have other shipping lanes. But this threat – real or not – is causing Europe and the US to all but rule out a military strike.

Israel believes Iran will be crossing the “red line,” after which only a military strike can stop it from achieving nuclear capabilities, when it possesses the technological know-how and enough uranium to produce one or more nuclear bombs – even if it has yet to make a “breakthrough” towards building a nuclear bomb. But the Obama administration contends that a military strike should only be carried out if and when the Islamic Republic makes this “breakthrough.” But by then, Netanyahu, Barak and Strategic Affairs Minister Ya’alon claim, it will be too late – and perhaps too little. Why? First of all, because it is not clear whether western intelligence agencies will learn of such a breakthrough in time, and secondly, after Iran will be “on the brink” of achieving nuclear capability, even the American bombers won’t be able to destroy Iran’s enriched uranium and stop its plans for a nuclear warhead.

American officials visiting Jerusalem and the Kirya army base in Tel Aviv these days are trying to allay Israel’s concerns, saying they have operational plans in place. Our bombers are capable of flying back and forth to Iran until the nuclear weapon components are destroyed, they say; we have large forces deployed in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean that are prepared to carry out these operational plans, and our Air Force has recently announced that the 30,000-pound behemoth bunker buster is ready to be used if needed. Even the Fordo plant cannot be protected from these bombs, they argue, so even if word of a “nuclear breakthrough” arrives a little late – it won’t really matter.

It’s safe to assume that Israel is currently focusing its efforts on creating a viable and available military option, but Jerusalem has not reached the point where it has to decide whether or not to strike. Israel may reach this point by the end of the year or the middle of 2013 – depending on Khamenei’s actions. In the meantime, the “forum of eight,” which consists of ministers with vast security-related experience, has yet to discuss this possibility (any decision to attack Iran will likely be reached by the Cabinet).

In summation, it is safe to say that Iran is close to creating the “immunity zones” that will allow it to cross the nuclear threshold. But there remains a period of six months to a year in which even Israel alone would be able to set Iran’s nuclear program several years back. In any case, the Americans can halt Iran’s race towards a bomb by either attacking its nuclear plants or imposing even harsher sanctions that would be backed by a credible threat of a strike. But in order for this to happen, Israel must convince the US to act with resolve. Therefore, this week’s talks with visiting Defense Secretary Leon Panetta are incredibly important.

Netanyahu to Panetta: Iran is not convinced West is serious about stopping its nuclear program – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

Prime Minister Netanyahu says sanctions, diplomacy have had no impact on nuclear weapons program; Panetta: We will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, period.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that U.S. statements of solidarity with Israel and its assurances that military strikes are still an option aren’t working to convince Iran that the West is “serious about stopping” the Islamic republic from developing nuclear weapons.

Standing with the U.S. defense secretary, who is on an official visit to Israel, Netanyahu said, “Neither sanctions nor diplomacy have yet had any impact on Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” Netanyahu said.

“America and Israel have also made clear that all options are on the table. You yourself said a few months ago that when all else fails, America will act. But these declarations have also not yet convinced the Iranians to stop their program,” he added.

“However forceful our statements, they have not convinced Iran that we are serious about stopping them. Right now the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear program. This must change and it must change quickly, because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out,” the prime minster said.

Panetta responded that, “We will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, period. We will not allow them to develop a nuclear weapon, and we will exert all options in the effort to ensure that that does not happen.”

“Make no mistake, we will remain determined to prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon,” he added.

Panetta warned earlier on Wednesday on a visit to Iron Dome anti-missile defense system in Ashkelon, that the United States is prepared to implement ‘other options’ if Iran continues to work toward attaining nuclear weapons.

Millions don’t have access to bomb shelters, gas masks, army warns | The Times of Israel.

Home Front Command head says much of country ill-prepared in case war breaks out

A man tries out a gas mask at a distribution center, July 25 , 2012. (photo credit: Noam Moskowitz/Flash90)

A quarter of the population does not have easy access to a bomb shelter or safe room, even as fears mount of a military  engagement with Syria or Iran.

The Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command said many regional authorities are still not prepared to deal with a regional war and millions of people are still without gas masks, Haaretz reported Wednesday.

According to the Home Front Command, only 53 percent of the population has gas masks and only 30% of households have a reinforced safety room. A quarter of the population does not have a bomb shelter in their building or even close by.

The inclusion of a reinforced safe room to provide protection against missile and bomb attacks has been a requirement in all new residential buildings since the 1990s. This replaces the former arrangement of installing bomb shelters beneath buildings or in communal locations.

Home Front Command sources estimate that a quarter to a third of regional authorities are not ready to deal with an emergency. The Gush Dan area is better prepared than outlying authorities.

However, in an interview with Haaretz, Home Front Command head Brig. Gen. Tzviki Tessler said the chance of a chemical weapon attack on Israel is low, even with the worrying developments in Syria.

“We are carefully following events in Syria,” Tessler said. He noted that there has been no change in the state of readiness of the Home Front Command.

While the goal of equipping 4.5 million people with masks by 2013 should be reached by the end of this year, Tessler said, he added that there was no target date for completing the provision of gas masks to all 7 million Israelis.

Last week, Home Front officer Eyal Eisenberg said that at any given time there are 200,000 missiles aimed at Israeli territory.

“You can see the process that is going on in Syria — that happened with Hezbollah, Hamas, and in Iran,” Tessler said. “It is a process of intensification that brings with it more than anything else missiles with a greater range, a greater number of missiles, and improved accuracy and increased warhead sizes.”

Concerns over Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile amid the turmoil of civil war in that country have seen an increasing number of Israelis arrive at countrywide distribution centers to obtain gas masks.

UN observers say jet fighters used against rebels in Aleppo | The Times of Israel.

Situation in Syria’s largest city escalates as rebels acquire tanks and heavy weapons

This image released by Shaam News Network purports to show a man walking past Syrian a military tank in Damascus, Syria (photo credit: AP/Shaam News Network/AP video)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The United Nations mission in Syria says its observers have witnessed government fighter jets opening fire on Aleppo, the country’s largest city.

In a briefing on Wednesday, mission spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh also said the UN had confirmation that the rebels now have heavy weapons of their own, including tanks.

Ghosheh expressed concern over the situation in the northern city of Aleppo, where rebels have been battling government forces for the past 12 days.

She described “heavy use of heavy weapons, including tanks, helicopters, heavy machine guns, as well as artillery.”

Life for Aleppo’s 3 million residents has become increasingly unbearable as fighting there has entered its 11th day. While rebels seized two police stations, Syrian ground forces pummeled the opposition strongholds of Salaheddine and Seif al-Dawla in the city’s southwest, activists said. Government helicopters also pounded those neighborhoods.

“The regime couldn’t enter the neighborhoods so they were shelling from a distance with helicopters and artillery,” said Mohammed Nabehan, who fled Aleppo for the Kilis refugee camp just across the Turkish border some 30 miles (50 kilometers) away.

Nabehan and others said it was a struggle to find food.

“The humanitarian situation here is very bad,” Mohammed Saeed, an activist living in the city, told The Associated Press by Skype. “There is not enough food and people are trying to leave. We really need support from the outside. There is random shelling against civilians,” he added. “The city has pretty much run out of cooking gas, so people are cooking on open flames or with electricity, which cuts out a lot.”

Days of shelling have forced many civilians to flee to other neighborhoods or even escape the city altogether. The U.N. said Sunday that 200,000 had left Aleppo.

As the bloodshed mounted, the Arab League chief accused President Bashar Assad’s regime of atrocities.

“The massacres that are happening in Aleppo and other places in Syria amount to war crimes that are punishable under international law,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said in Cairo.

In a new report on the Aleppo carnage released Tuesday night, Amnesty International said, “Scores of demonstrators and bystanders, most of them young men and boys but including several children and older men, have been shot dead and hundreds injured in the city by security forces and the notorious shabiha, the armed militias working alongside government forces. ”

“Some of the victims were bystanders who were not taking part in the demonstrations,” the London-based human rights group said. “Families of demonstrators and bystanders shot dead by security forces have been pressured to sign statements saying that their loved ones were killed by ‘armed terrorist gangs.’”

Panetta: US will use ‘all options,’ including military force, to stop Iran | The Times of Israel.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak says chances are ‘extremely low’ that sanctions will force Iran to give up its quest for nuclear weapons

Israeli Defense minister Ehud Barak, left, and US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday Aug. 1 (photo credit: AP/Gali Tibbon, Pool)

ASHKELON, Israel (AP) — US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday that Iran must either negotiate acceptable limits on its nuclear program or face the possibility of US military action to stop it from getting the bomb.

Panetta made his remarks outside the city of Ashkelon in southern Israel, with an “Iron Dome” anti-rocket defense system as a backdrop.

The Pentagon chief said repeatedly that “all options,” including military force, are on the table to stop Iran, should sanctions and diplomacy — the preferred means of persuasion — ultimately fail.

He said he still hopes Iran will see that negotiations are the best way out of this crisis.

However, Panetta said, “If they continue and if they proceed with a nuclear weapon, … we have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that that does not happen.”

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, standing beside Panetta, said he sees an “extremely low” probability that sanctions will ever compel Iran to give up its nuclear activities.

Barak said Israel “has something to lose” by waiting for sanctions and diplomacy to run their course because Iran is continually accumulating enriched uranium as the key ingredient for a nuclear bomb.

Iran says its nuclear work is for civilian energy uses, but suspicions that the Islamic republic will use enriched uranium for nuclear weapons have resulted in international sanctions and saber-rattling from Israel, which perceives a nuclear Iran as an existential threat. The United States has discouraged Israel from a unilateral, pre-emptive military strike on Iran, but has said it would keep all options available.

The Panetta visit with his Israeli counterpart comes just days after US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney met with top Israeli officials about Iran and other issues. Romney has accused the Obama administration of being too soft on Iran and not providing sufficient support to Israel.

In greeting Panetta Wednesday at Israeli defense headquarters, Barak said, “The defense ties between Israel and the United States are stronger and tighter than they have ever been and the credit now has to go, most of it, to you, Leon.”

Panetta responded: “We are a friend, we are a partner, we have, as the defense minister has pointed out, probably the strongest US-Israel defense relationship that we have had in history. What we are doing, working together, is an indication not only of our friendship but of our alliance to work together to try to preserve peace in the future.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was scheduled to meet later Wednesday with Panetta, told Israeli Channel 2 TV on Tuesday that despite reservations about an Iranian attack among former Israeli security officials and Israel’s current army chief, the country’s political leadership would make the final decision on any attack.

“I see an ayatollah regime that declares what it has championed: to destroy us,” Netanyahu said. “It’s working to destroy us, it’s preparing nuclear weapons to destroy us. … If it is up to me, I won’t let that happen.”

With “matters that have to do with our destiny, with our very existence, we do not put our faith in the hands of others, even our best of friends,” Netanyahu said, hinting that Israel might act alone despite American misgivings.

Netanyahu said both Romney and Obama have said “Israel has the right to defend itself.”

The trip to Ashkelon on Wednesday gave Panetta a chance to inspect and get briefed on an Israeli air defense system known as Iron Dome. It is designed to shoot down short-range rockets and artillery shells such as those that have been fired into the Jewish state in recent years from Islamic militants linked to Iran and based in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Obama last week announced he was releasing an additional $70 million in military aid for Israel, a previously announced move that appeared timed to upstage Romney’s trip to Israel. The stepped-up US aid, first announced in May, will go to help Israel expand production of the Iron Dome system.

The Panetta visit to Israel comes at a critical time, with the US considering more direct involvement in Syria’s civil war and weighing its course on Iran.

Panetta acknowledged Monday that international sanctions have not pressured Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions. But the Obama administration thinks tougher sanctions eventually will compel Iran to submit and it doesn’t want Israel to attack prematurely.

Panetta, in Israel, warns that US will use military force to stop Iran nuclear bomb – The Washington Post.

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, August 1, 1:28 PM

ASHKELON, Israel — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday that Iran must either negotiate acceptable limits on its nuclear program or face the possibility of U.S. military action to stop it from getting the bomb.

Panetta made his remarks outside the city of Ashkelon in southern Israel, with an “Iron Dome” anti-rocket defense system as a backdrop.

The Pentagon chief said repeatedly that “all options,” including military force, are on the table to stop Iran, should sanctions and diplomacy — the preferred means of persuasion — ultimately fail.

He said he still hopes Iran will see that negotiations are the best way out of this crisis.

However, Panetta said, “If they continue and if they proceed with a nuclear weapon, … we have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that that does not happen.”

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, standing beside Panetta, said he sees an “extremely low” probability that sanctions will ever compel Iran to give up its nuclear activities.

Barak said Israel “has something to lose” by waiting for sanctions and diplomacy to run their course because Iran is continually accumulating enriched uranium as the key ingredient for a nuclear bomb.

Iran says its nuclear work is for civilian energy uses, but suspicions that the Islamic republic will use enriched uranium for nuclear weapons have resulted in international sanctions and saber-rattling from Israel, which perceives a nuclear Iran as an existential threat. The United States has discouraged Israel from a unilateral, pre-emptive military strike on Iran, but has said it would keep all options available.

The Panetta visit with his Israeli counterpart comes just days after U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney met with top Israeli officials about Iran and other issues. Romney has accused the Obama administration of being too soft on Iran and not providing sufficient support to Israel.

In greeting Panetta Wednesday at Israeli defense headquarters, Barak said, “The defense ties between Israel and the United States are stronger and tighter than they have ever been and the credit now has to go, most of it, to you, Leon.”

Panetta responded: “We are a friend, we are a partner, we have, as the defense minister has pointed out, probably the strongest U.S.-Israel defense relationship that we have had in history. What we are doing, working together, is an indication not only of our friendship but of our alliance to work together to try to preserve peace in the future.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was scheduled to meet later Wednesday with Panetta, told Israeli Channel 2 TV on Tuesday that despite reservations about an Iranian attack among former Israeli security officials and Israel’s current army chief, the country’s political leadership would make the final decision on any attack.

“I see an ayatollah regime that declares what it has championed: to destroy us,” Netanyahu said. “It’s working to destroy us, it’s preparing nuclear weapons to destroy us. … If it is up to me, I won’t let that happen.”

With “matters that have to do with our destiny, with our very existence, we do not put our faith in the hands of others, even our best of friends,” Netanyahu said, hinting that Israel might act alone despite American misgivings.

Netanyahu said both Romney and Obama have said “Israel has the right to defend itself.”

The trip to Ashkelon on Wednesday gave Panetta a chance to inspect and get briefed on an Israeli air defense system known as Iron Dome. It is designed to shoot down short-range rockets and artillery shells such as those that have been fired into the Jewish state in recent years from Islamic militants linked to Iran and based in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Obama last week announced he was releasing an additional $70 million in military aid for Israel, a previously announced move that appeared timed to upstage Romney’s trip to Israel. The stepped-up U.S. aid, first announced in May, will go to help Israel expand production of the Iron Dome system.

The Panetta visit to Israel comes at a critical time, with the U.S. considering more direct involvement in Syria’s civil war and weighing its course on Iran.

Panetta acknowledged Monday that international sanctions have not pressured Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions. But the Obama administration thinks tougher sanctions eventually will compel Iran to submit and it doesn’t want Israel to attack prematurely.

IRAN PREPARING MAHDI’S SPECIAL FORCES | A Time to Betray.

IRAN PREPARING MAHDI’S SPECIAL FORCES

Army of operatives planning for terror, destruction of the West

WND

07/30/2012

by REZA KAHLILI

The Quds Forces, a special Iranian unit of thousands of operatives tasked with exporting Iran’s Islamic revolution, are being told to step up preparations for terrorism for the coming of the last Islamic messiah and the destruction of the West.

Ali Saeedi, the Iranian supreme leader’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards, emphasized during a Friday sermon in Tehran that the Islamic republic must directly confront America so that the necessary environment is created for the reappearance of Mahdi, the Shiite’s 12th imam, who will kill all infidels and raise the flag of Islam in all corners of the world.

“In three points of history, God directly confronts the will of unruly humans in which, of course, the Right will overcome the False,” Saeedi said, according to the Sepah News, the Guards’ official publication. “The first point in history was during the era of pharaoh, the second era was Bani Abbas, and the third is our current era in which it seems that God has willed us to enlighten the world with the coming of Imam Mahdi.”

Saeedi, “Many of the signs [necessary] for the coming have taken place during the previous years; however, the main sign will take place right before the coming.”

There are five levels of readiness that have to be prepared for the coming, he said: “Individual readiness, the readiness for creating the environment, systematic readiness, the readiness in the region and the international readiness. This means Occupy Wall Street must take place, the Americans must lose hope with the Democratic Party and others, and lose faith in the U.N., while at the same time the unraveling in the Middle East, which was not ripe before, must have taken place before the coming.”

This is the first time a high-ranking Iranian official has stated on the record that the Quds Forces are not only involved in the region, but also internationally for a final confrontation with the West.

“The Revolutionary Guards are one vehicle for preparation for the coming, and in the current Islamic Awakening [the Arab Spring] in the region and on international arena, the Quds Forces play a major role in preparing the readiness of the human force needed for such an event,” Saeedi said. “The chief commander of the Guards and the supreme leader’s representative are tasked for preparing the individual readiness, regional readiness as well as international readiness for the coming.”

In another Guards’ weekly publication, Sobhe Sadegh, a front-page analysis explains that the opening of Iran’s geopolitics and the empowerment of its Islamic power are a reality in which Iran’s influence has expanded not only in the region, but also in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Asia and even in Europe and America.

As was the fall of socialism and the Eastern bloc, the analysis promises, so will be the fall of the capitalism and liberal democracy.

The analysis refers to the statements of the founder of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini:

• “I say with all certainty that the 21st century will be the century of Islam.”
• “I say with all certainty that Islam will conquer all key entrenchments of the world.”
• “I say with all certainty that Islam will defeat all world powers.”
• “I say with all certainty that the 21st century is the century where the oppressed will be victorious over the oppressors.”

While the Quds Forces have recently expanded their operations in shipment of explosives to Latin America, Africa and other places in the world, and at the same time have put terror cells on high alert for terrorist acts, the Islamic regime in Iran has expanded its nuclear program in which over 11,000 centrifuges are now running at two facilities, increasing its enriched uranium stock.

As of the last report in May by the IAEA, Iran had enough enriched uranium for six nuclear bombs, and despite all negotiations and recent sanctions, the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, announced days ago that there will be no turning back from the nuclear path.

Reza Kahlili is a pseudonym for a former CIA operative in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards 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).