Israel, US and European Powers Threaten Iran 3

Merkel To Sway China Against Iran

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/224177.html

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arranged a visit to China to convince the country to reduce Iranian oil imports.."

no doubt our own water-boy PM tried the same when he was recently there...

It should be as simple as showing the inspectors how refined their uranium is to put an end to this madness.

Highly enriched uranium (HEU) has a greater than 20% concentration of 235U or 233U. The fissile uranium in nuclear weapons usually contains 85% or more of 235U known as weapon(s)-grade, though for a crude, inefficient weapon 20% is sufficient (called weapon(s)-usable); some argue that even less is sufficient, but then the critical mass for unmoderated fast neutrons rapidly increases, approaching infinity at 6%235U. For critical experiments, enrichment of uranium to over 97% has been accomplished.

As you can see there's a big difference between commercial grade and weapons grade refined uranium... How hard is it to prove which kind you have to an inspector?

It's not rocket science.

Either the UN inspectors will be allowed access to what they need or they will not, and Iran will decide about that, but if they block the UN inspectors they will end up being found guilty in the court of public opinion.

what's strange (but not surprising) is that Iran is held to a higher standard of inspections and constant monitoring of their nuclear work than ANY of the countries that actually already showed they are going to build, test and/or use nuclear arms.  Pretty obvious this whole thing is not about nuclear arms, in fact our policies ENCOURAGE iran to seek a defensive nuclear capability to deal with our constant threats and terrorism.

in fact, wasn't there a deal with the EU prior to 9-11 where Iran had actually stopped enriching in exchange for security from the US/Israel?  it was us that broke the ageement when bush threatened iran with the whole regime change axis of evil stuff.

Also notice how the media puts any anti iran piece front and center, but when they're allowing new inspectors and negotiating it's buried so the public, who is already misinformed, only hears the BS stuff like "they're one year away from the bomb" and they want another holocaust, etc. it's so obvious it's pathetic.   

Wow! NDPP posted a comment without a link to a web site. Quick, someone take a picture...

Are you talking about courtiers that already have nuclear weapons or one's that don't and are trying to get them? It's a little late to inspect nations that aready have them don't you think?

Wow, this is sounding quite serious.

Ehud Barak says Tehran's nuclear programme is slowly reaching 'immunity stage' when no armed intervention could stop it

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/02/iran-israel-ehud-barak-strik...

"Dealing with a nuclearised Iran will be far more complex, far more dangerous and far more costly in blood and money than stopping it today. In other words, those who say 'later' may find that later is too late," Barak said.

Sanctions recently authorised by the international community were "a step in the right direction", he said. But they needed to be intensified and "if sanctions do not achieve the desired effect of stopping the military nuclearisation programme, action must also be considered".

Speculation that Israel is actively considering a strike on Iran's nuclear installations has intensified in recent months. Barak's comments came as the US defence secretary Leon Panetta declined to deny a column in the Washington Post suggesting that he believes Israel would launch a military strike in April, May or June this year.

"No, I'm just not commenting," Panetta said in response to questions about the article by David Ignatius. Washington had indicated its concerns about a military action by Israel, he added.

The US says that sanctions must be given time to work. But some in Israel believe that in the months needed for stiffer sanctions to have the necessary impact, Iran could reach a "zone of immunity".

Barak said the issues had been and continued to be debated "with directness and frankness that has not always characterised the discourse in the past". He said that in his decades of experience, no subject of national defence had been discussed "for so many hours with the participation of all the parties that need to be involved".

But, he added, there was "no guarantee that we can remove all the disagreements among us", indicating that a consensus on whether to attack may not be reached. His comments, prefaced by a list of historical decisions by the state of Israel to embark on military action, appeared to refer to an internal rather than international consensus, but it was not made clear.

Do I hear a big Belgeamurrican crow caw caw cawing? - Hou je fokking bek!

Perhaps it's worth recalling that the last time access and information was granted to IAEA, it was used to whack Iranian scientists. IAEA is hardly a disinterested party so perhaps one can appreciate Iranian reservations about letting their CIA-Mossad enemy range around Iran as they please. In any case there is a process underway, such as it is, and thus far Iran has been found to be in full compliance with international law. Nonetheless the warmongering and threats continue and escalate.

The problem is of course that there is no international system to restrain the fascist mass murdering hegemon's spree of piracy and systematic destruction of any state it pleases to invade, occupy, despoil and steal oil from. Under these circumstances one can certainly appreciate the appeal of what might be the only effective deterrent against such a monster's attack plans.

I think they mean to have a war. And I think it will make no difference that Iran, unlike Israel, or America, has no nukes.

Unfortunately...

Iran Has Uranium for 4 Nukes, Builds US-Reach Missiles - Israel

http://rt.com/news/iran-israel-nuclear-bombs-355

"Iranian scientists have already managed to enrich enough radioactive material to successfully produce not just one, but four nuclear bombs, Israel's military intelligence chief has announced..However no actual evidence was produced or even referred to..."

Dempsey Told Israelis US Won't Join Their War on Iran  -  by Gareth Porter

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106621

"Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey told Israeli leaders Jan. 20 that the US would not participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel without prior agreement from Washington, according to accounts from well-placed senior military officers. There has been no evidence since the Dempsey visit of any change in the Netanyahu government's insistence on maintaining its freedom of action to attack Iran..."

Panetta believes Israel may strike Iran this spring United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, according to reports.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9058443/Panet...

Election year in the US means extra clout for the pro-Likud policy lobby.

LOL... I see this shits never going to stop. Iran does not have a missile that can hit the USA. Not even fucking close.

Building a nuclear device that can explode is one thing... easy as a matter of fact when compared to putting it on an ICBM that can hit a target on the other side of the planet. That is a whole new ball of wax. They'd do better FedExing it to the target.

Assured Mutual Destruction.  Iran knows that launching a nuclear attack would mean the complete obliteration of every square inch of the country, and the extinction of it's people.  There's really nothing to worry about.  All this fuss is just making them more pissed off than they already are.  The gov'ts play it up because they want to keep us in a state of fear, so we don't realize how much they're screwing us themselves.

There's always a new threat to you!   H1N1, BPA, Iraq, Global Warming.

Iran is just the next boogeyman, and so long as you're focussed on that, they can get away with whatever alternate agenda they have. 

@bec  All of Irans uranium is under watch by the IAEA, the second any of it was diverted for any purpose other than civilian power we'd know.  No one, not even the US or Israel has made the accusation that Iran is enriching past 20% or has a secret stash somewhere.  

my point about Iran being held to a higher standard than other nations (i'm referring to countries that already have nuclear weapons such as US, Israel, India, North Korea, Pakistan, etc.) is more that these countries are in the process of "modernizing" and building new nuclear weapons as well as maintaing huge stockpiles of them, some have refused to even sign the NPT or allow IAEA inspections, they threaten to use their nukes on others and in some cases already have and they are also countries that are constantly attacking others as well as carrying out terrorist acts all over the world. 

you'd think inspectors would be demanding to get into those countries and secure their nuke materials and make sure they're not building new arms.  instead the focus is on a country that even the US/Israels top intelligence and military people admit does not currently have a nuclear weapons program.  Instead the US vetoes attempts (including by Iran) to have the middle east become a declared nuke free zone, lest it not be able to deploy nuclear armed warships to the middle east or keep it's stash in north africa...

also, the fact that any concern over north koreas nukes has all but disappeared, even though we know they actually have a weapons program, have tested a weapon and have major tensions with the south including attacking them a few times in the past few years tells me this issue really isn't about concern over Iran's nuclear program as much as an attempt to stop Iran from becoming more influential in a region that the US wants to control... let's not forget the US's sordid history against Iran overthrowing the government, supporting dictators, stifling democracy, commiting and funding terrorism in Iran etc.

Sounds good to me milo... thanks for taking the time to answer; have a great weekend.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/drums-of-war-beat-lo...

This is turning into a nitemare.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53444672-68/iran-israel-nuclear-israe...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/05/iran-warns-attacks-nuclear-b...

Meanwhile, the man expected to execute a political order for such an airstrike was named on Sunday in an appointment that has been embroiled in controversy for weeks.

Amir Eshel is to take up the post of commander of the Israeli air force in April after his appointment was approved by Barak. The move follows reported differences between Netanyahu and military chief of staff Benny Gantz over who should fill the vacancy.

Eshel is thought to be relatively cautious on the issue of military action against Iran, in tune with Gantz who strongly backed him for the post. But, he told reporters last month: "We have the ability to hit very, very hard any adversary" and warned that a nuclear Iran would lead to proliferation across the Middle East.

Europe Coughs Up Costs for US Military Gamble in Iran (and vid)

http://rt.com/news/europe-military-iran-bambery-521/

"Europeans should question why they are being asked to pay for an American-Israeli adventure in Iran during a time of unprecedented austerity, political analyst Chris Bambery told RT. Iran says it will definitely put a swift stop to oil exports to 'certain' European countries.

'The Iranians must understand from recent history, that the history of sanctions, like in the case of the former Yugoslavia or Iraq, has been to soften up those countries in preparation for a military assault,' Bambery told RT."

Hormuz-Mania  - Michael T Klare

http://zcommunications.org/hormuz-mania-by-michael-t-klare

"...No one knows just how high oil prices would go under such circumstances, but many energy analysts believe that the price of a barrel might immediately leap by $50 or more. Indeed some analysts fear that oil prices, already hovering around $100 per barrel, would quickly double to more than $200, erasing any prospect of economic recovery in the US and Western Europe..."

America, the World Leader in Violence and Intimidation  -  by Linh Dinh

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225026.html

"Forget the nuclear weapon babble, America is harassing Iran because it ranks in the top five in both oil and gas preserves. Further, it has the chutzpah to wrest itself away from the dollar hegemony by selling oil to Russia and China for rubles and yuans. Without a doubt, America is the world leader in violence and intimidation, and the US, UK, [CANADA] Israel alliance is the true axis of evil.

Meanwhile, on this depleted uranium, corexit, cesium, Agent Orange and corn syrup mess of an earth, we can look forward to this game on Sunday, where military jets will roar overhead and there will be a huge flag the size of the field itself, with soldiers standing at attention.

During the broadcast, troops stationed overseas will be shown so we can thank them in our hearts for allowing us to watch these simulated wars at home, and when an actual war starts, we can watch that too. Between real and fake wars and car commercials, it's so exciting, all these wars all the time.."

'Israeli Attack Will Prompt Pakistani Response'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4185684,00.html

"After US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta estimated that Israel would attack Iran in June, and Prime Mininster Benjamin Netanyahu warned government officials against 'Iran chatter', a European diplomat based in Pakistan said that if Israel attacks, Islamabad will have no choice but to support any Iranian retaliation.

The diplomat's statement raised the spectre of putting a nuclear-armed Pakistan at odds with Israel, which is widely believed to have its own significant nuclear arsenal..."

 The Coming is Upon Us  

I found this translated YouTube video and found it an interesting look into the (Iranian?) Shiite POV of how things are coming about in the world. It seems they, well some of them, think a prophet is coming soon and the current Iranian leadership is in the middle of it. I had heard about this before but had no idea how the mechanicS of this coming was to go about.

PLEASE: View it at your own digression... its, well, religions prophecy (and propaganda of sorts, who's I have no idea). I took it with a grain of salt but I still found it a rather interesting video as I had no idea about the details of this prophecy of theirs and there's no doubt it has some impact on the events we're talking about here.

I don't care if he's Santa Claus,(sorry it's not PressTV).  I figured your smart enough to figure that out yourself and smart enough to cut through the chaff on stuff like this. Like I said, use your digression when viewing...

What are you afraid of? The CIA is going to grab hold of your mind?...LOL Did you watch the video? Did you know about the prophecy of the twelfth Imam? I'd heard of it but had no idea what it was about and I bet many here don't/didn't niether.

Thanks, A Shiite family runs a convince store down the street from my house. I'm in there every morning buying coffee and I get along with the oldest son. I'm going to ask him about this tomorrow morning.

Here's more of the same:

http://tribulation.com/gogmagog.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkhYWDURtYc&feature=related

ps my Muslim friends tell me that the 12th Mahdi hails from Saudi Arabia (Medina) not Iran. there goes another prophecy...

I think this gobbledygook sells better in Amurrikkka than here. Certainly hope so..

Obama Orders Global US Iran Asset Block

http://rt.com/news/us-block-iran-assets-619/

"US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order to freeze all Iranian government assets held in America and US banks abroad. Obama claimed Iranian financial activities are posing 'continuing and unacceptable risk' to the international financial system."

ROTFL! - just imagine this greasy goldman-sachs water-boy who nearly blew up the whole world with their outrageous filthy frauds and financial grand larcenies, stealing Iran's money, just as they did Libya's on the grounds that selling oil for real money instead of worthless yankee fuck-bucks, is posing 'unacceptable risk'. What a pirate. These Americans kill me...

old news so what? Bomb Bomb Iran?

'US Wages War to Avoid Dollar Collapse' (and vid)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/225241.html

"The US is faced with antiwar protesters who also condemn the assassination of Iran's high-profile nuclear scientists. An analyst believes that warmongering groups in Wall Street provoke wars in the Persian Gulf region in order to prevent the collapse of the US currency."  (Interview with Webster Tarpley and others).

Will Israel Attack Iran? (and vid)

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/02/2012241571683818...

"As Western fears grow over Iran's continuing nuclear programme, we ask how a military strike could impact the region. Inside Story with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses with Yaakov Katz, a defence analyst and author, and Mohammad Marandi, a professor of political science at the University of Tehran."

Well according to what I was told this morning the prophecy is alive and well. The Sunni and Shiites, Iranians included, also believe the 12th Imam will come from Medina in Saudi Arabia. Most believe you will not know when that is going to happen kind of like most Christians can't tell you when JC is going to show up. What is happening now is the Iranian regime is claiming they know; he is alive in Medina and giving Iran secret orders till his appears to the world in the near future. They are also claiming his lieutenants and generals are going to be chosen from the current Iranian leadership.

That is the "gobbledygook", as you call it, Glen Beck and others are repeating; they are not making it up, the Iranians are. The store owner whom I talked withs' family came from Lebanon (they are Shite). He does not believe the Iranian claim and considers it nonsense. He said the sad thing is Iran is promoting this belief in not only Iran but in other places like Lebanon and Gaza where allot of people are desperate to believe in anything that would give them hope, no thanks to Israel and in part the USA.

It was a good conversation; my coffee was free this morning :-)

Don't want to de-rail too much so this is my last post on this...

Israelis Should Be Afraid of Their Leaders not Iran  -  by Gideon Levy

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israelis-should-be-afraid-o...

"And so, it must be said: Danger, Israeli attack ahead (possibly). And yes, we should fear it, with every fibre of our being. All Israeli wars since 1973 were flawed wars of choice. Israel initiated all of them. And so we have entered the time of fear. The time has come to admit it, even to encourage it. For far too long now Israel has been headed by heroes, the kind who don't hesitate to take the country into yet another purposeless adventure. We must tell them now, loudly:

We are a-f-r-a-i-d."

Romney's Man on Iran  -  by Max Blumenthal

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/07/romneys-man-on-iran

"Eliot Cohen and the return of the Neocons...As tension between Israel and Iran rise to unprecedented levels, and Israel's leadership beseeches the US to join a military strike on Iran, Cohen's visions of regime change seem closer to realization than ever..."

War Is The Capital Punishment of Foreign Policy  -  by Michael Harris

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/02/09/michael-harris-war-is-the-capital-pun...

"We should not allow ourselves to be stampeded into supporting a war on arbitrary timelines and hyped intelligence. Those who can't remember hstory are condemned to repeat it.."

Baird, Flaherty Celebrate Canada-Israel Friendship

http://www.cjnews.com/news/baird-flaherty-celebrate-canada-israel-friend...

"...Baird said it was during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center that the danger Israel faces from Iran really hit home.

'Adolf Hitler wrote about his plans in great detail. He had already published Mein Kampf. What Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said about what the Jews are and wanting to wipe them off the earth is something the world should take very seriously,' Baird told the CJN.

I'm not saying that this is what is going to happen. But when people look back 50 or 60 years, no one can say we didn't know. No one can be surprised. The Holocaust tells us that we must take Iran's threats seriously..."

George Galloway - Wiping Israel Off the Map (and vid)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjgCGHy1eF0&feature=related

Of course the 'loyal opposition' was all over Baird for this outrageous lie on our behalf. Right?

This is such old news and for a Minister to be deliberately promulgating this hate propaganda/ 'false news', without a word of protest or clarification from the opposition, official, academic or any other Canadian commentator is a measure of the moribund state of the body politic. Truly a backwater of the first order.

Oh really? Well that shows what PressTV really knows... jackshit. Iran thinks too much of its self... Seriously, Iran is an afterthought to most Americans. Attacking Iran and tanking the economy over it will not get Obama re-elected; the threat of a Republican president will though.

Thanks for the laughs PressTV.

Reagan era... wow thats like what? 5 presidents ago...  and stuff, it's 2012 for fucks sake.

...But, you know what? Its dirty soju matini night so I'll cut you a break...

cha cha.. flap flap flap... cha... the crow flys away...

removed

I wont' believe that till I see it. And at 15,000 you will see it (on YourTube)... just saying.

A quote from planted disinformation--also from the rt story:

But the US-Israel drumbeat to war, is reaching pre-Iraqi war hysteria levels,  where the "forces of decency must act"( to commit further war crimes of aggression) .

AIPAC To Obama: Attack Iran Or Let Israel Do It

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226156.html

"The most powerful Zionist lobby group in the US, AIPAC is increasing pressure upon the administration of Barack Obama to launch a military strike against Iran, a political writer says. 'It is clear that Israel and its neoconservative camp followers here in the United States are increasing pressure on President Obama to either attack Iran or let Israel do it,'  MJ Rosenberg said.

The author said the main reason behind his prediction is that 'this is an election year and no one will say no to Benjamin Netanyahu in an election year.' Rosenberg also pointed to an upcoming meeting of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). 'War enthusiasm will rise to a fever pitch by March, when AIPAC holds its annucal policy conference,' he wrote..."

US Paper: MKO Deserves Nobel For Killing Iran Experts

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226187.html

"An editorial in a leading US daily has called for the Mujahedine-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorists to be rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize for murdering Iranian scientists. 'Were the Mek (MKO) to play the critical role in derailing an Iranian bomb, it would be far more deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize - than a certain president of the United States we could mention,' a NYP editorial read on Friday.

'We'd say the Iranian engineers basically needed killing,' the US daily wrote."

US Congress Pulsates With War Fever  - by Eric Margolis

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30503.htm

"...Why are Iran and Israel at scimitar's drawn? The main reason is that Islamic Iran has become the primary champion of the Palestinians now that the Arab states - and notably Syria - are on the ropes..."

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/02/iran-war-would-cost-...

Iran Escalation: All the Elements for War Are Coming Together

http://antifascist-calling.blogspot.com/2012/02/iran-escalation-all-elem...

"With all the bluster of late in Western media that President Obama is assiduously working to 'restrain' Israel from launching a preemptive attack on Iran, recent developments should put paid  the lies of this dog and pony show...

According to the White House, Obama took the additional step towards cratering Iran's economy and cited 'deceptive practices' of the Iranian central bank in hiding transactions  of sanctioned parties and its failure to prevent money laundering, concluding that Iran's activities pose an 'unacceptable risk' to the international financial system..."

It is interesting that one of the few remaining 'independent' central banks is apparently being targeted, as was Libya's - an additional sugarplum for Obama's international bankster buddies?

Although the Steve Clemons  article (you posted at #81) provides some balance on Iran (at least in monetary costs to the US), more typical is the above Atlantic "nuanced analysis" which speciously serves to hype the inevitability and the reasonable justifiability of an attack on Iran.

This is not new  territory for The Atlantic whose star columnist, Jeffrey Goldberg, served as an Israel Defense Forces prison guard: