WarSclerotic

Iran tests domestic-made anti-aircraft defense system – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

Weapons test is designed to show Iran is ready for any Israeli, U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear strike.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the high-level meeting of the General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York September 24, 2012. Photo by ReutersBy Reuters | Sep.24,2012 | 6:04 PM | 2

Iran successfully test-fired a domestically made anti-aircraft system, the country’s English-language Press TV reported on Monday.

“The mid-range system … is capable of intercepting targets at a range of 50 kilometers (30 miles) and can fly at an altitude of 75,000 feet,” the report on Press TV’s website said.

As Israel makes increasing hints it may launch air strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, the weapons test is designed to show Iran is ready for any such Israeli or U.S. attack.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said at a military parade displaying the weapons last Friday that: “The system has been manufactured with the aim of confronting (hostile) U.S. aircraft.”

“The Ra’d air defense system is the first completely indigenous system of the Sepah (Revolutionary Guard), which has been designed and manufactured by committed Iranian technicians in the struggle for self-sufficiency,” Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace arm, was quoted on Sunday as saying Iran might launch a pre-emptive strike on the Jewish state if it was sure Israel was about to attack.
Iran began developing the system after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev banned the delivery of the high-precision S-300 air defense system to Iran, saying it would violate expanded UN sanctions. Iranian officials said after Russia scrapped the sale that Tehran had decided to build its own model of the S-300.

Ahead of his visit to the United Nations in New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the Washington Post that Iran did not take seriously Israeli threats of an attack on its nuclear facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized U.S. President Barack Obama’s position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran’s nuclear program, increasing speculation of Israeli military action ahead of U.S. elections in November.

Tehran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and says its atomic work is peaceful.

Obama describes wave of Middle East violence, murder of U.S. ambassador to Libya as ‘bumps in the road’ | Mail Online.

President Barack Obama referred to recent events in the Middle East, including violent attacks on embassies and the terrorist murder of a US ambassador and three other Americans, as ‘bumps in the road’.

The comment came in Obama’s CBS ’60 Minutes’ interview that aired on Sunday night. 

Steve Kroft, the interviewer, asked: ‘Have the events that took place in the Middle East, the recent events in the Middle East given you any pause about your support for the governments that have come to power following the Arab Spring?

Obama responded: ‘Well, I’d said even at the time that this is going to be a rocky path. The question presumes that somehow we could have stopped this wave of change. 

Bumps in the road: The President said the killing of ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya was some of the ‘bumps in the road’ along the ‘rocky path’ to Middle Eastern peace

Terror attack: It took the White House some days to admit the sacking of the consulate in Benghazi was pre-planned

‘I think it was absolutely the right thing for us to do to align ourselves with democracy, universal rights — a notion that people have to be able to participate in their own governance. 

‘But I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road because, you know, in a lot of these places, the one organizing principle has been Islam.’ 

Sean Smith, another diplomat, and former U.S. Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were also killed.

Republicans leapt on Obama’s ‘bumps in the road’ comment. Ari Fleischer, former press secretary to President George W. Bush said on Twitter: ‘I guess when u win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing “an attack that kills an Ambassador is just a ‘bump in the road.’

Criticism: Obama faced anger from those who saw his ‘bumps in the road’ comment as too dismissive

The Obama administration initially insisted the attack was a spontaneous result of anger about the movie and had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or U.S. policy in the region.

After the head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre told Congress the attack was terrorism, Obama’s spokesman Jay Carney then stated: ‘It is, I think, self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.

‘Our embassy was attacked violently and the result was four deaths of American officials.’

On the same day as the five-hour Benghazi consulate attack, in which RPGs and mortars were used, the U.S. embassy in Cairo was targeted by a mob that tore down the American flag and replaced it with a black Islamic flag.

There were also attacks on U.S. missions in Tunis, Sana’a, Khartoum and Islamabad.

Stevens, the first U.S. ambassador to be murdered since 1979, was a fluent Arabic and French speaker widely viewed as one of the greatest American diplomatic assets in the region. 

A diary written by Stevens and obtained by CNN after being found in the wreckage of the Benghazi consulate revealed that he had been concerned about security threats in the city and a rise in Islamic extremism.

A White House official firmly rejecetd this, telling ABC News: ‘It’s just not true that he was characterising the attack in Benghazi – the question doesn’t even make mention of it. He’s speaking about broad trends.’

Ahmejinadad flashes peace sign and dismisses war talk as chaotic U.N. convenes… and an Iran commander warns of ‘World War III’ | Mail Online

Ahmadinejad said he doesn’t take seriously Israel’s threat to strike Iran’s nuclear sites as he attended UN General Assembly in New York

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 16:21 GMT, 24 September 2012 | UPDATED: 16:25 GMT, 24 September 2012

Iran does not take seriously Israeli threats of attack but is prepared to defend itself, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, adding that Israel has ‘no roots’ in the history of the Middle East and would be ‘eliminated’.

The Iranian president made the remarks as he attended the U.N. General Assembly in New York today where he flashed the peace sign for the cameras.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear sites and has criticized U.S. President Obama’s position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic work is peaceful, aimed at generating electricity.

Sign of the times? Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures as he attends the high level meeting on rule of law in the United Nations General Assembly

‘Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists. … We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves,’ Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York, where he is due to attend the UN General Assembly.

‘While we are fully ready to defend ourselves, we do not take such threats seriously,’ he said, speaking through an interpreter.

The modern state of Israel was founded in 1948.

‘We do believe that they have found themselves at a dead end and they are seeking new adventures in order to escape this dead end. Iran will not be damaged with foreign bombs,’ Ahmadinejad said, referring to Israel.

‘We don’t even count them as any part of any equation for Iran. During a historical phase, they represent minimal disturbances that come into the picture and are then eliminated,’ Ahmadinejad added.

In 2005, Ahmadinejad called Israel a ‘tumor’ and echoed the words of the former Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, by saying that Israel should be wiped off the map.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was quoted on Sunday as saying that Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state was preparing to attack it.

Global meeting: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses diplomats during the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the Rule of Law at the United Nations headquarters in New York

Ahmadinejad said the nuclear issue was one ultimately between the United States and Iran, and must be resolved with negotiations.

‘The nuclear issue is not a problem. But the approach of the United States on Iran is important. We are ready for dialogue, for a fundamental resolution of the problems, but under conditions that are based on fairness and mutual respect,’ he said.

‘We are not expecting a 33-year-old problem between the United States and Iran to be resolved in a speedy fashion. But there is no other way besides dialogue.’

Iran has held several rounds of talks this year on its nuclear issue with six world powers. The six are the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain – as well as Germany. The six powers are represented by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said last Wednesday that he and Ashton had agreed to defer more nuclear talks until the latter had consulted the six powers on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly this week.

On Sunday U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met Ahmadinejad and warned him of the dangers of incendiary rhetoric in the Middle East.

Ahmadinejad is due to speak at a high-level meeting on the rule of law at the United Nations on Monday and then to address the General Assembly on Wednesday.

In the past, Ahmadinejad has used his U.N. speeches to defend Iran’s nuclear program and to attack Israel, the United States and Europe. He has questioned the Holocaust and cast doubt on whether 19 hijackers were really responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.

Western envoys typically walk out of Ahmadinejad’s speeches in protest.

There will be high-level side meetings on Iran’s nuclear program and the Syrian conflict during the General Assembly, but U.N. diplomats do not expect either issue to be resolved soon.

The United Nations and Western officials have accused Iran of supplying weapons to Syria’s pro-government forces, while Syria’s government has accused Qatar and Saudi Arabia of arming rebels determined to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

Ahmadinejad rejected the charge that Iran was sending arms to Syria.

‘The so-called news that you alluded to has been denied vehemently, officially,’ Ahmadinejad said in a response to a question. ‘We seek peace in Syria. We like and love both sides. … We see both sides as equally our brothers.’

‘In Syria the intervention and meddling from outside have made conditions that much tougher,’ Ahmadinejad said. ‘We must help to quell the violence and help … (facilitate) a national dialogue.’

A U.N. Security Council panel of independent experts that monitors sanctions against Iran has uncovered several examples of Iran transferring arms to Syria. The United States and Britain say they are providing non-lethal assistance to Syria’s rebels such as communications equipment, but not arms.

Ahmadinejad also addressed the issue of a California-made anti-Islam video, “The Innocence of Muslims,” that has sparked anti-American protests around the Muslim world. He appeared to reject Washington’s position that while it condemns the video’s content, freedom of expression must be upheld.

“Freedoms must not interfere with the freedoms of others,” Ahmadinejad said. “If someone insults, what would you do? … Is insulting other people not a form of crime?”

Since the controversy over the video erupted this month, some Muslim leaders have reiterated calls for a U.N. measure outlawing insults to Islam and blasphemy in general.

Ahmadinejad also was asked about a move by an Iranian religious foundation, in response to the “The Innocence of Muslims,” to increase its reward for the killing of British author Salman Rushdie.

“Where is he now?” Ahmadinejad asked of Rushdie. “Is he in the United States? If he is, you shouldn’t broadcast that for his own safety.”

Rushdie, an Indian-born British novelist who has nothing to do with the video, was condemned to death in 1989 by Khomeini, Iran’s late leader, over his novel “The Satanic Verses,” saying its depiction of the Prophet Mohammad was blasphemous.

Iran’s Military Is Practicing Mine-Laying In The Persian Gulf – Business Insider.

Iran’s fast boats have practiced placing mines n the Caspian Sea while the U.S. Navy practices sweeping them up in the Persian Gulf in a show of brinksmanship between the two countries as tensions rise in the region over Iran’s nuclear program.

At Iran’s Caspian port of Noushahr, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini was on hand to observe the mine laying practice Sept. 17 by military speedboats backed up by an Iranian frigate.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy and about 30 other nations in the Gulf have started the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2012 (INCMEX).

The exercises come as Israeli leaders have reportedly discussed a possible attack to cripple Iran’s growing nuclear program. Iran has also repeatedly threatened to shut down the oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a massive military buildup by the U.S. and the Gulf states over the past year.

Iran initially dismissed ongoing U.S. and allied naval maneuvers as empty posturing as Iranian leaders explained the motivation to hold a naval mining exercise.

However, a day after the start of the mining exercise, the Iranian navy launched one of Iran’s Russian-made “Kilo” class submarines and a frigate carrying anti-ship cruise missiles, the Fars news agency reported.

Iran’s actions in the Caspian and the Gulf were in response to INCMEX and the military buildup by the U.S. and Gulf allies, said Ramin Mehmanparast, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman.

Outside forces have attempted to “trample the interests of countries of the region to secure their own interests and provoke instability and insecurity,” Mehmanparast said in a statement.

The U.S. has put two carrier battle groups in the Gulf and nearby waters indefinitely, bolstered the anti-missile defenses of the Gulf states, and deployed an F-22 Raptor squadron from the Massachusetts Air National Guard to the region.

The INCMEX exercise began Sept. 17 with meetings of senior allied leaders from participating countries at U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain to “exchange ideas and view the latest mine hunting, sweeping and neutralization technologies,” according to a Fifth Fleet statement.

On Sept. 20, ships were underway to conduct “mine hunting operations; helicopter mine countermeasure operations; international explosive ordnance disposal, diving operations and small boat operations focused toward underwater improvised explosive devices.”

The sea drills were continuing through Sept. 26 in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden, but will steer clear of the Strait of Hormuz itself.

“We’re prepared to make sure there is stability in the region. We understand that one of the threats that’s possibly presented to us is a threat of mines,” Vice Adm. John Miller, commander of the Fifth Fleet, told the Associated Press on Sept. 20.

“We’ve seen that in history so it’s not unthinkable. And so it’s important on an international basis that we can clear those mines from the water,” Miller said.

The U.S. Navy needed the minesweeping practice, said Christopher Harmer, a retired Navy commander who served with the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

“Historically, the U.S. Navy just has not paid much attention to mines,” Harmer said.

The Europeans have much more experience with minesweeping from World Wars I and II than the U.S., whose home waters were never seriously threatened by mines, Harmer said.

“We do not put a lot of money into minesweeping,” said Harmer, a research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, but the Navy’s mind-set changed earlier this year as Iran ratcheted up threats to close the Straits of Hormuz  if Israel and the U.S., separately or jointly, attacked its nuclear sites.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of Naval Operations, boosted the number of wooden-hull minesweepers in the Persian Gulf to eight and also sent eight anti-mine MH-53 helicopters to the Fifth Fleet.

Both the minesweepers and the helicopters are equipped with the Sea Fox, the German-developed underwater drone built to track mines and destroy them with an explosive warhead.

The Strait of Hormuz is about 25 miles wide. The sea lanes in either direction are only two miles wide with a two-mile buffer zone in between. Iran has warned repeatedly that it could easily shut down the passage through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil is shipped.

Greenert and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have agreed that Iran has the capability to close the Strait, but they project the U.S. Navy could open it up again in about five days.

The Fifth Fleet billed INCMEX as “wholly defensive” and not aimed at a particular country, but defense analysts said the intent was clear.

“It’s obviously directed at Iran,” said Michael Connell, an Iran specialist at the Center for Naval Analysis. “There are no other mine threats in the area.”

The Iranians “view themselves as under siege,” Connell said, and their own mine laying exercise reflected a siege mentality. The Iranian exercise in the Caspian was small scale “but the fact that they’re doing it obviously is intended to send a message” to the U.S., Connell said.

Female sniper: I didn’t think twice – Israel News, Ynetnews.

( God, I’m proud of this country… – JW )

Soldier who killed terrorist recounts events leading to attack on Egyptian border; says ‘I did what had to be done.’ Meanwhile, it has been revealed that another female soldier hid behind bush during incident, was feared to have been kidnapped

Yoav Zitun

As the story behind last week’s deadly terror attack on the Egyptian border unfolds, Corporal S., who has been commended on her performance during the incident, recounted the chain of events for the first time.

S. said that even after seeing Corporal Netanel Yahalomishot dead in front of her, she did not hesitate to attack the terrorists.

“I didn’t think twice. I jumped out of the hummer and did what had to be done. I ran under fire until I reached Netanel, but when I saw his condition, I told my commander there was nothing we could do to save him and we must move on,” she said.

S. explained how it all began: “All of a sudden we heard a female soldier shout on the radio ‘We’re under fire.’ I then told the driver to drive to her location. We didn’t know what to expect. It was the battalion’s first encounter with terrorists.”

‘I knew what had to be done’

S. said that while driving to the scene, she thought of her parents. “I was also worried about the soldier on the radio. The whole unit deserves praise, not just me. It takes a lot of courage to remain calm under pressure.”

After Yahalomi was killed, S. managed to kill one of the terrorists who was carrying powerful explosives. “One of the terrorists exploded right in front of us,” she said.

S. then managed to make her way to one of the injured soldiers Mati Yalovski. “I told him to stay strong and most importantly stay awake.”

S. finally said that she was very proud of herself. “It is a privilege. Not everyone goes through such an ordeal.”

Corporal S. further said that she did not always want a combat position in the army. “Initially, I wanted to be a paramedic but I later realized that I wanted to have a combat role.”

She emphasized the importance of serving in a combat unit and contributing to the State of Israel.

Not so heroic

Meanwhile, as the investigation continues, the IDF has learned that not all soldiers followed protocol during the incident: One of the soldiers, who was afraid of facing the terrorists, hid behind a bush throughout the attack and stayed there even after it ended.

According to the investigation, the soldier was in a patrol jeep when the shooting began. She immediately called it in and informed her superiors.

While other soldiers were under fire, the soldier in question hid behind a large bush for an hour and a half.

Shortly after the attack, as the unit commander began “counting heads” in order to see if all members of the unit were there, they were stunned to realize that one of their own was missing. They immediately thought that she had been kidnapped by the terrorists and taken into Sinai.

‘I didn’t think twice’

Helicopters and search units were immediately called to the scene to search for the missing soldier. She was later found by her commanders, dehydrated behind a bush.

The soldier said she was afraid to shoot back at the terrorists out of fear a “gun fight” would commence. “I thought I didn’t have a chance against them.”

The soldier was reprimanded by her commanders shortly after.

An initial military investigation launched into the incident reveals that the terrorists took advantage of the arrival of African infiltratorsand the fact that IDF soldiers left their post to offer them water.

The terrorists then emerged from their hiding spot, approached the four fighters who remained at the post and opened fire, killing Yahalomi.

Israel has ‘no roots’ in Middle East history: Ahmadinejad.

Monday, 24 September 2012

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country does not take seriously Israeli threats of attack, but is prepared to defend itself. (AFP)

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Iran threatens attacks on US bases in event of war – News – Boston.com.

FILE – This photo released on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, claims to show the chief of the aerospace division of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, left, listening to an unidentified colonel pointing to a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel drone which Tehran says its forces downed. Hajizadeh warned that Iran will target U.S. bases in the region in the event of war with Israel, raising the prospect of a broader conflict that would force other countries to get involved, Iranian state television reported Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Sepahnews, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS NO WAY OF INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING THE CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE By ALI AKBAR DAREINI

Associated Press  / September 23, 2012

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is currently in New York to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly and could seek to use his speech and meetings later this week to highlight the possible risks — including sharply higher oil prices — if military action is taken.

Obama says ‘blocking out’ Israeli ‘noise’ – Israel News, Ynetnews.

US president says he understands Israeli PM’s ‘insistence’ to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear but stresses ‘when it comes to our national security any pressure I feel is to do what’s right for the American people’

Yitzhak Benhorin

WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama described the Israeli pressure to draw a “red line” for Iran as “noise” he is trying to block out.

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, the president addressed the crisis between Washington and Jerusalem over the handling of the Iranian nuclear issue. Obama stressed he feels “an obligation, not pressure” to coordinate with Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli and US officials are still struggling to reach understandings on the matter behind the scenes. US Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren has traveled to Israel to meet Netanyahu before the latter heads to New York for the UN’s General Assembly on Wednesday night.

Obama said he “understands and shares” the Israeli prime minister’s “insistence” that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon as this “would threaten us, it would threaten Israel and it would threaten the world and kick off a nuclear arms race.”

However, in a jab to Netanyahu, he remarked that when it comes to US national security “any pressure that I feel is simply to do what’s right for the American people. And I am going to block out any noise that’s out there.”

Tensions between Israel and the US mounted when Netanyahu demanded that Obama’s administration draw “red lines” for Iran that if crossed would prompt a US reaction. Washington refused to comply but stressed its commitment to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The crisis between Netanyahu and Obama exacerbated as Israeli elements accused the US president of refusing to meet with the prime minister. The White House claimed that schedule constraints prevented any meeting between the two on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

On Sunday, Obama stressed he feels “an obligation, not pressure to make sure that we’re in close consultation with the Israelis on these issues because it affects them deeply.” Earlier this week he noted in another interview that Israel was one of the US’ closest allies in the region.

Friedman blasts Netanyahu

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, also interviewed on “60 Minutes” criticized the president for his attitude towards Israel.

Romney said that Obama’s decision not to meet Netanyahu in New York was a “mistake that sends a message throughout the Middle East that somehow we distance ourselves from our friends.”

Also Sunday, top US journalist Thomas Friedman criticized Netanyahu in an op-ed in the New York Times. “Bibi is Winston Churchill when it comes to demanding that the US draw red lines, but he is a local party boss when America asks him to draw a ‘green line’ delineating where Jewish settlements in the West Bank will stop and a Palestinian state might start. Oh, no! Can’t do that, Bibi tells American officials. ‘I would lose my coalition.'”

U.N. chief warns Ahmadinejad on fiery rhetoric amid European calls for new sanctions.

Monday, 24 September 2012

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has used his U.N. speeches to defend Iran’s nuclear program and to attack Israel. (Reuters)

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Obama snubs Netanyahu on Iran: My decisions – only what’s right for America.

DEBKAfile Special Report September 24, 2012, 9:24 AM (GMT+02:00)

Obama puts the lid on Iran cooperation with Israel

US President Barack Obama said Sunday night, Sept. 23 on CBS “60 Minutes” that he understands and agrees with Netanyahu’s insistence that Iran not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons as this would threaten both countries, the world in general and kick off an arms race. But he then added: “When it comes to our national security decisions – any pressure that I feel is simply to do what’s right for the American people. And I am going to block out – any noise that’s out there.”

Obama went on to say: “Now I feel an obligation – not pressure but obligation – to make sure that we’re in close consultation with the Israelis on these issues because it affects them deeply.”

So, consultation? yes; cooperation? forget it. His comments removed the last hopes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak may have entertained of cooperation with the US for curtailing Iran’s nuclear designs by military force.
The US president was crystal clear: By saying he will be ruled solely by American security interests, he showed them that they too were being left to be guided by Israel’s security interests. So forget about red lines for America, he was telling Netanyahu.
His blunt verging-on-contemptuous dismissal of Israel’s concerns as “noise out there” was not much different from the way Iran’s leaders referred to the Jewish state.
Their threats against Israel have different dimensions: On the one hand, they say that if Israel is even thinking of attacking Iran, it will be destroyed in a preemptive attack. On the other, Israel has neither the military capability nor the courage to strike Iran.
Asked on CNN Sunday whether he feared a war with Israel was imminent, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: “The Zionists are very much, very adventuresome… They seek to fabricate new opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors.”
Obama’ “noises” are Ahmadinejad’s “fabrications.”
The Iranian president had no need to explain how Iran would react, because the answer was broadcast ahead of his arrival in New York to address the UN General Assembly Thursday, by Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards missile section.
The general said Sunday:  Should Israel and Iran engage militarily, “nothing is predictable… and it will turn into World War III” Addressing Iran’s Arab-language network, he said, “In circumstances in which they (the Israelis) have prepared everything for an attack, it is possible that we will make a pre-emptive attack. Any Israeli strike would be presumed to be authorized by the US. Therefore, “we will definitely attackUS bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Afghanistan.”
Tehran was therefore pulling against Obama by tying American and Israeli security interests into an inextricable bundle.
debkafile’s Jerusalem sources report that Netanyahu is now seriously considering calling off his trip to New York for a speech to the UN General Assembly scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 27. He realizes that by challenging US policy from the UN platform, he would lay himself open to criticism for gratuitous provocation of the president and interference in America’s election campaign weeks before a presidential election.
Obama’s Republican challenger Mitt Romney, in a separate CBS interview, attacked Obama’s reference to Israel’s legitimate concerns about a nuclear Iran as “noise out there,” calling it “just the latest evidence of his chronic disregard for the security of our closest ally in the Middle East.”

Earlier, Romney termed the president’s decision not to meet Netanyahu as sending a message throughout the Middle East “that we distance ourselves from our friends.”
As debkafile reported after that Obama snub, the wrangling with Washington has reduced Netanyahu’s options to start standing alone and making his own decisions.
Obama’s latest words underline this. The prime minister can no longer avoid his most fateful decision and one that is critical to Israel’s survival: to attack Iran and disrupt its nuclear program or live with an anti-Semitic nuclear Iran dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state and a threat to world stability.
For two weeks, the Israeli prime minister has dodged and ducked around the White House message. Instead, he has kept on bombarding Washington with high-powered messengers. They all came back with the same tidings: the US President is not only fed up with Israeli pressure but more determined than evade any military engagement with Iran.