Is Iran Washington’s next strategic target?


Report US special forces operating inside Iran to select suspected weapons sites for possible air strikes.

WASHINGTON - Teams of US commandos have been operating inside Iran since last summer, selecting suspected weapons sites for possible air strikes, The New Yorker reported Monday.

The magazine's award-winning reporter Seymour Hersh, who last year exposed the extent of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, wrote that he was repeatedly told by US intelligence and military sources that "the next strategic target was Iran."

President George W. Bush has signed a series of orders authorizing commando groups to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia, the New Yorker said.

The Bush administration has been conducting secret spying missions inside Iran at least since mid-2004, gathering intelligence on declared and suspected nuclear, chemical and missile sites, it said.

"The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids," Hersh wrote.

"This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign," a former high-level government intelligence official told the magazine.

"The Bush administration is looking at this as a huge war zone. Next, we're going to have the Iranian campaign. We've declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy," the official said.

A top government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon told the magazine that Pentagon civilians - especially Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz - "want to go into Iran and destroy as much of the military infrastructure as possible."

Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz believe that Iran's clerical regime could not withstand a military blow and would collapse, the magazine reports.

International allies are helping the Pentagon with its Iran plans, according to the magazine. Israeli consultants are helping develop potential weapons targets inside Iran. Pakistan is also involved.

Pakistani scientists are providing information to an American task force that is penetrating eastern Iran searching for underground nuclear installations, the magazine said.

In return, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has received guarantees that he will not have to hand over disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan to international authorities for questioning.

Khan, the architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme, in February took responsibility for transfers of nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

The New Yorker article went on to describe how the Bush White House has solidified control over US intelligence operations and how the Pentagon has finagled new powers to conduct covert operations without oversight from the US Congress or involvement by the CIA.

But White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett on Sunday called the Hersh article "riddled with inaccuracies" and said the administration was using diplomacy to address the Iran issue.

"We're working with our European allies to help convince the Iranian government to not pursue weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. We'll continue to work through the IAEA protocol to do just that," Bartlett said.

He was referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog.

"It's critical that the entire world focus on this issue. It is a threat that we have to take seriously, and we'll continue to work through the diplomatic initiatives that he set forth," Bartlett said on CNN.

But Hersh said administration hawks were convinced European negotiations will fail, and when they do, the United States will act - possibly by mid-year.

"The next step is Iran. It's definitely there. They're definitely planning," Hersh told CNN.

In the meantime the Pentagon is trying to get reliable information on Iranian weapon sites, to avoid the embarrassment of the alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

"We don't want another WMD flap. We want to be sure we have the right information," he said.

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"There is no strength nor power except Allah"

~ The spiritual warrior is he who breaks an idol and the idol of each person is his ego ~

Report: U.S. seeks Iran sites for air strikes

Los Angeles Times
Published January 17, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Since at least last summer, the United States has conducted "secret reconnaissance missions" inside Iran in an effort to identify three dozen or more suspected nuclear, chemical and missile sites that could be destroyed with air strikes and commando raids, according to a report Sunday in The New Yorker magazine.

The existence of the missions, described in an article by Seymour Hersh, was not attributed to any source or document.

Hersh's article quoted an unnamed government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon: "The civilians in the Pentagon want to go into Iran and destroy as much of the military infrastructure as possible."

A senior White House aide, without citing any point of contention, denounced the article in a televised interview.

"I've seen excerpts of this story," said White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, appearing on CNN's "Late Edition." "I think it's riddled with inaccuracies, and I don't believe that some of the conclusions he's drawing there are based on fact."

Bartlett said President Bush is using diplomacy to persuade the Iranian regime not to develop or acquire any weapons of mass destruction.

Leaders of the Iran's government have contended that Tehran is interested only in developing nuclear power to generate electricity.


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US COMMANDOS 'IN IRAN'

US commandoes are carrying out covert operations in Iran in preparation for any US attack, it has been claimed.

They are setting up targets for a possible US strike against the country's nuclear sites.


The US has made Iran its next target in its doctrine of pre-emptive action.

The claims are made by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, the man who broke the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Writing in the New Yorker magazine, he said: "The administration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran at least since last summer.

"Must of the focus is on the accumulation of intelligence and targeting information on Iranian nuclear, chemical and missile sites both declared and suspected."

He says the Pentagon wants to identify three dozen targets, mainly nuclear, it can hit in an initial strike.

The commandos have also installed "sniffer" devices in Iran to detect nuclear activity.

The story is based on interviews with former high-ranking intelligence officials in the US government.

President Bush put Iran on notice after the 9/11 attacks when he included it on his "axis of evil" with Iraq and North Korea.

Iran's conservative mullahs have also been at loggerheads with the international community over their nuclear programme.

While Europe and the nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, seek negotiations, Hirsh says America is ready to act.

"The hawks in the administration believe that it will soon become clear that the Europeans' negotiated approach cannot succeed."

--------------------

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Teams of US commandos have been operating inside Iran

since last summer, selecting suspected weapons sites for possible air strikes, The New
Yorker reported.

The magazine's award-winning reporter Seymour Hersh, who last year exposed the
extent of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, wrote that he has
repeatedly been told by US intelligence and military sources that "the next
strategic target was Iran."

President George Bush has signed a series of orders authorising commando groups
to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as
ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia, the New Yorker said.

The Bush administration has been conducting secret spying missions inside Iran
at least since mid-2004, gathering intelligence on declared and suspected
nuclear, chemical and missile sites, it said.

"The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets
that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids,"
Hersh writes.

"This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign," a former high-
level government intelligence official told the magazine.

"The Bush administration is looking at this as a huge war zone. Next, we're
going to have the Iranian campaign. We've declared war and the bad guys,
wherever they are, are the enemy," the official said.

A top government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon told the magazine
that Pentagon civilians -- especially Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and
his deputy Paul Wolfowitz -- "want to go into Iran and destroy as much of the
military infrastructure as possible."

Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz believe that Iran's clerical regime could not withstand a
military blow and would collapse, the magazine reports.

International allies are helping the Pentagon with its Iran plans, according to
the magazine. Israeli consultants are helping develop potential weapons targets
inside Iran. Pakistan is also involved.

Pakistani scientists are providing information to an American task force that is
penetrating eastern Iran searching for underground nuclear installations, the
magazine said.

However, yesterday, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett called the
Hersh article "riddled with inaccuracies" and said the administration is using
diplomacy to address the Iran issue.

"We're working with our European allies to help convince the Iranian government
to not pursue weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. We'll
continue to work through the IAEA protocol to do just that," Bartlett said.

He was referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear
watchdog.

However Hersh maintains that administration hawks are convinced European
negotiations will fail, and when they do, the US will act -- possibly by mid-
year.


US special forces inside Iran select sites for possible air strikes

01-17-2005, 11h48

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Teams of US commandos have been operating inside Iran since last summer, selecting suspected weapons sites for possible air strikes, The New Yorker reported.

The magazine's award-winning reporter Seymour Hersh, who last year exposed the extent of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, wrote that he was repeatedly told by US intelligence and military sources that "the next strategic target was Iran."

President George W. Bush has signed a series of orders authorizing commando groups to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia, the New Yorker said.

The Bush administration has been conducting secret spying missions inside Iran at least since mid-2004, gathering intelligence on declared and suspected nuclear, chemical and missile sites, it said.

"The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids," Hersh wrote.

"This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign," a former high-level government intelligence official told the magazine.

"The Bush administration is looking at this as a huge war zone. Next, we're going to have the Iranian campaign. We've declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy," the official said.

A top government consultant with close ties to the Pentagon told the magazine that Pentagon civilians -- especially Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz -- "want to go into Iran and destroy as much of the military infrastructure as possible."

Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz believe that Iran's clerical regime could not withstand a military blow and would collapse, the magazine reports.

International allies are helping the Pentagon with its Iran plans, according to the magazine. Israeli consultants are helping develop potential weapons targets inside Iran. Pakistan is also involved.

Pakistani scientists are providing information to an American task force that is penetrating eastern Iran searching for underground nuclear installations, the magazine said.

In return, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has received guarantees that he will not have to hand over disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan to international authorities for questioning.

Khan, the architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme, in February took responsibility for transfers of nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

The New Yorker article went on to describe how the Bush White House has solidified control over US intelligence operations and how the Pentagon has finagled new powers to conduct covert operations without oversight from the US Congress or involvement by the CIA.

But White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett on Sunday called the Hersh article "riddled with inaccuracies" and said the administration was using diplomacy to address the Iran issue.

"We're working with our European allies to help convince the Iranian government to not pursue weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. We'll continue to work through the IAEA protocol to do just that," Bartlett said.

He was referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog.

"It's critical that the entire world focus on this issue. It is a threat that we have to take seriously, and we'll continue to work through the diplomatic initiatives that he set forth," Bartlett said on CNN.

But Hersh said administration hawks were convinced European negotiations will fail, and when they do, the United States will act -- possibly by mid-year.

"The next step is Iran. It's definitely there. They're definitely planning," Hersh told CNN.

In the meantime the Pentagon is trying to get reliable information on Iranian weapon sites, to avoid the embarrassment of the alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

"We don't want another WMD flap. We want to be sure we have the right information," he said.

--------------------

__________________
Aalam-e-soz o saz main, wasl se barh ker hai firaaq
Hijr me lazt-e-talb, wasl main marg-e-arzoo...!!!

:CRY1: http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=185920&n=35

Iran dare enemies against any move

Tehran, Jan 17 - Iran has changed into a power that Israel and the United States would never dare to attack it, Iranian Defence Minister said here Monday.

Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani addressing "The Conference on Boosting Defence Warefare Capabilities" said that Iran's Defense Ministry aims to reinforce its deterring military power.

Given the current world political, technological and economic status que, our enemies have entered to the arena with alternative forces, he said.

Shamkhani reiterated that "the winner is he who can defeat its enemies without "the smell of gunpowder" and the Islamic Republic of Iran has gained this capability."


Iran insists it can deter attacks

Shamkhani spoke amid heightened speculation over the threat from US
Iran has the military strength to deter attacks and its flexibility means no country has precise information about its capabilities, a top official says.
Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani added that no one would dare launch attack under such circumstances.

US President George W Bush says he does not rule out force against Iran unless it reveals more about its nuclear plan.

Washington accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists it only wants to produce electricity.

Mr Shamkhani said Iran did not fear attack.

"We can claim that we have rapidly produced equipment that has resulted in the greatest deterrent," the defence minister said, without giving details.

His comments, reported by Iran's Mehr news agency on Monday, came as the US defence department hit back at claims by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh that US commandos have been carrying out covert operations inside Iran.

However it is not clear whether Mr Shamkhani's comments were in response to Hersh's article.

The Pentagon said Hersh's New Yorker article - which claims that commandos have been identifying military targets for future strikes - was based on rumour, innuendo and conspiracy theories.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/4184175.stm
________________

Iran rejects US operations claims

Iranian officials and press are ridiculing claims that US commandos have operated inside Iran
Iran has dismissed a report in the US media that US commandos are conducting missions on Iranian territory to identify targets for possible strikes.
Supreme National Security Council spokesman Ali Aghamohammadi said it would be naive to believe the report, which he called psychological warfare.

Earlier, Iranian Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani said Iran had the military strength to deter attacks.

US President George W Bush says he does not rule out force against Iran.


We can claim that we have rapidly produced equipment that has resulted in the greatest deterrent

Ali Shamkhani
Iranian Defence Minister
Washington has called on Tehran to reveal more about its nuclear plan, accusing it of developing nuclear weapons.

Iran insists it only wants to produce electricity.

The claims on US operations on Iranian territory were made by respected investigative journalist Seymour Hersh and published in the New Yorker magazine.

The Pentagon has described the report as based on rumour, innuendo and conspiracy theories, but has not categorically denied that US troops have been on the ground in Iran.

'Ridiculous'

In the first official Iranian reaction to Mr Hersh's article, Mr Aghamohammadi told Iranian radio it was naive to imagine American spies could carry out secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran.

He said it was not easy for US commandos to enter the country.

His views were echoed by the Teheran Times which dismissed the story as a "ridiculous bluff".

It said the US and Israel knew that attacking Iran would be biting off more than they could chew, and would only choke them if they tried it.

The paper warned that Iran had acquired massive military might and was prepared to attack any intruder with a fearsome reign of fire and death.

Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani said Iran did not fear attack, in comments that were published on Tuesday but may not be a direct response to Hersh's article.

"We can claim that we have rapidly produced equipment that has resulted in the greatest deterrent," he said, without giving further details.

------------------

US Rice: At Some Point Iran Must Be Held Accountable

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that "at some point Iran has to be held accountable for its unwillingness to live up to its international obligations."

In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice said the International Atomic Energy Agency has been documenting the fact that Iran hasn't been "serious" about its obligations under nuclear agreements.

Rice said the U.S. is making some progress in "unifying peoples' views" about what the Iranians are doing and putting pressure on Tehran.

After saying that at some point Iran has to be held accountable for its obligations, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Fla., said "hopefully, sooner than later."

Rice replied "I couldn't agree with you more."

The committee hearing on Rice's nomination to replace Colin Powell is being aired live by cable news outlets.


Bush won't rule out action against Iran

By Reuters

01/18/05 "Boston Globe" -- WASHINGTON -- President Bush said yesterday he would not rule out military action against Iran if Tehran is not more forthcoming about its suspected nuclear weapons program.

"I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will never take any option off the table," Bush told NBC News, adding that he could act if Iran "continues to stonewall the international community about the existence of its nuclear weapons program."

Iran denies that it has been trying to make nuclear weapons.

Bush's comments followed Pentagon criticism yesterday of a published report that it was mounting reconnaissance missions in Iran to identify potential nuclear and other targets. Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita said Sunday's article in The New Yorker magazine was "so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed."

The report said Bush authorized secret commando groups and other special-forces military units to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as 10 nations in the Middle East and South Asia. DiRita and other Pentagon officials did not comment on whether military forces had been doing reconnaissance in Iran.

The New York Times reported today the Bush administration imposed penalties on eight Chinese firms it thinks aided Iran in improving ballistic missiles. The State Department did not name the technology allegedly exported. The firms are barred from doing business with the US government.

US slaps sanctions against Chinese, other Asian firms over trade with Iran

01/18/05 "AFP" --

WASHINGTON : The United States has slapped new sanctions against seven Chinese companies as well as two firms from Taiwan and North Korea, charging they may have helped Iran in its quest for weapons of mass destruction and more modern ballistic missiles.

A State Department notice published in the latest issue of the Federal Register said the nine conglomerates are being penalized for transferring to Iran "equipment and technology controlled under multilateral export control lists."

No specifics have been provided, but the action comes amid increased concerns the administration of President George W. Bush may be toughening its stance toward the Islamic republic accused of harboring nuclear ambitions.

The companies now barred from doing business with the United States include Beijing Alite Technologies Limited, China Aero-Technology Import Export Corporation, China Great Wall Industry Corporation, China North Industry Corporation (Norinco), Q.C. Chen, Wha Cheong Tai Company, and Zibo Chemet Equipment Corporation.

Norinco and China Great Wall Industry that have close ties to the People's Liberation Army are already under US sanctions for violating various export control regimes, and it was not immediately clear how the new measures will affect their business.

The cited Taiwanese firm was identified as Ecoma Enterprise. The list also includes Paeksan Associated Corporation of North Korea, a firm controlled by the country's Communist government.

The measures call for a full US government embargo against the listed businesses and their subsidiaries as well as their exclusion from any US federal assistance program.

All export licenses that involve the nine companies are being suspended, and "no new individual licenses shall be granted," according to the notice.

"These measures shall be implemented by the responsible departments and agencies of the United States government and will remain in place for two years from the effective date," the document said.

The sanctions follow a Central Intelligence Agency report to Congress pointing out that assistance from Chinese companies had "helped Iran move toward its goal of becoming self-sufficient in the production of ballistic missiles."

In addition, the US spy agency reported, firms from China provided Iran and other countries with dual-use items, raw materials and assistance that could present proliferation concern, including equipment and technology that could be used for manufacturing chemical weapons.

China is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime, an international agreement designed to stem proliferation of ballistic missiles, but it pledged in October 1994 to uphold some of its key provisions.

The new crackdown against Iran's trading partners preceded amid new warnings to Tehran, which US officials insist is trying to use its allegedly peaceful nuclear program as cover for building an arsenal of atomic weapons.

"I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will never take any option off the table," Bush said Monday in an interview with NBC News when asked whether his administration was willing to take military action if Iran continued to stonewall the international community about the suspected existence of its nuclear weapons program.

The comment followed a report by award-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker magazine that said US commandos have been already operating inside Iran since mid-2004 selecting suspected weapons sites for possible air strikes.

The Pentagon has dismissed the article as "riddled with errors."

But Bush moved to assuage worries about possible military strikes by saying, in a separate interview with ABC News, that "our policy toward Iran is to deal with them diplomatically."


As America Sleeps, the Strausscon Plan for Iran is on Schedule

By Kurt Nimmo

01/18/05 "Another Day" -- It is a constant drumbeat and will become more so over the next few months: Iran has nukes, or is feverishly working to develop nukes (no easy task), and will ultimately nuke Israel and Europe.

This is essentially the same pretext used to invade Iraq. So blood-thirsty and crazed are the Muslims—and the secular Ba’athist Arabs—they will attack civilized people with nuclear weapons if allowed to do so. It is our task—indeed, our duty—to save the world from Arab-Iranian savagery. Of course, after Iraq was invaded, no weapons of mass destruction were found, so the emphasis shifted from saving the world from Saddam Hussein’s Pandora’s box of nuke-bio-chem weapons to a selfless desire to deliver freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people, beleaguered for so long under Saddam’s tyrannical rule. Of course, all of this is nonsense, so obviously transparent as to be a bad joke, not that most Americans realize, so deep is their sleep and ambivalence.

It must be remembered that Saddam Hussein was a CIA assassin and the CIA worked to install the brutal Ba’ath regime in Iraq. American and European corporations sold Saddam Hussein all the biological and chemical materials he wanted in the 1980s and the Reagan administration encouraged this so long as Iran and Iraq were at war with each other. Iraqi chemical and biological weapons, subsequently eliminated by UNSCOM after Bush I’s invasion, were a threat to Iranians, not Europeans and Israelis. All of this is not some outlandish conspiracy theory but historical fact. It should also be remembered that the CIA overthrew a popular and democratically elected leader in Iran and with Israeli help created a secret police apparatus (SAVAK) that was so brutal Iran “had the worst human rights record on the planet, and … the number and variety of torture techniques the CIA had taught SAVAK were ‘beyond belief,’” as Mark Zepezauer notes.

In other words, the alleged threat faced by “civilized nations” —the United States is so “civilized” it is the only country to actually have nuked defenseless civilians—is a product of CIA intervention in the Middle East. In Iran, as Zepezauer explains, “the Iranian people overthrew the bloodstained Shah, with great bitterness and hatred toward the US for installing him and backing him all those years. The radical fundamentalist regime that rules Iran today could never have found popular support without the CIA’s 1953 coup and the repression that followed.”

None of this is mentioned in the corporate media as the Strausscons prepare to invade, or at least “shock and awe” Iran, destroying its social and political infrastructure the same way they did in Iraq, resulting in misery for millions of people. As Seymour Hersh documents in his latest article published in the New Yorker, the Strausscon plan against Iran is in motion and has worked behind the scenes “at least since last summer.” Hersh also documents the fact the Strausscon “civilians in the Pentagon” are working in tandem with the Israelis to destabilize Iran.

Of course, an invasion of Iran would be insane, considering how badly the occupation of Iraq is going. In Bushzarro world, however, such realities are irrelevant. “Strategists at the headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, in Tampa, Florida, have been asked to revise the military’s war plan, providing for a maximum ground and air invasion of Iran,” writes Hersh. How they will do this with the U.S. military now stretched so thin is not explained.

None of this is surprising. The PNAC Strausscons, with Michael Ledeen leading the charge, have made no secret of their desire to kill Iranians and replace their government with a “democracy,” that is to say a plaint military dictatorship that will follow orders and bow down to Israel. Bush’s “re-election” serves as an affirmation of the Strausscon-Likudite Master Plan for the Muslim Middle East. In fact, the Strausscon-Likudite plan is Bush’s raison d’etre.

Disaster is up the road and around the bend. Seymour Hersh’s article provides further evidence that the Bush Strausscons are on schedule, anxious to kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Muslims in the Middle East (and South Asia as well). It was only a few months ago the corporate media was fantasizing about the demise of Strausscon influence in Washington. As I said at the time, Bush would “win” the election—by hook, crook, bogus terror alerts, and Diebold voting machines owned by Republicans—because Israel’s agenda is of paramount importance.

Now America has to live with the result—perpetual war and a further eroding of America’s precious treasure and resources. Unfortunately, there is no organized or effective way to stop this madness. It will run its course and eventually reality will grind the Strausscon plan to a halt, in the process economically destroying America and impoverishing its people. Finally, on the day the Strausscon machine breaks and Americans wake up and figure out they were scammed, will they place blame where blame is due or will they look elsewhere, guided by the corporate media, and find new scapegoats to blame?

UPDATE 2-US warns Iran over missiles, punishes Chinese firms
By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Bush administration expressed concern on Tuesday about Iran's pursuit of longer-range ballistic missiles and imposed sanctions on Chinese companies it accused of helping Tehran in those efforts.

The economic sanctions -- which the Chinese government denounced as unjustified -- were part of a broader campaign by the Bush administration to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. Iran denies its nuclear facilities are to be used to make weapons.

"I hope we can solve it diplomatically. But I will never take any option off the table," President George W. Bush told NBC television in an interview when asked about the potential for military action against Iran.

The Bush administration made no public announcement of the sanctions, first reported by The New York Times on Tuesday. The penalties and the Chinese companies affected were disclosed in government documents published earlier this month.

U.S. officials say the exports to Iran included high-performance metals, the Times said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush will work with European allies "to find a diplomatic resolution to Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons."

"They made some very clear commitments and we will see by their actions whether or not they are finally serious and willing to follow through on those commitments," McClellan said.

"We have a number of concerns about Iran, including their pursuit of nuclear weapons and their interest in longer-range ballistic missiles, and we've expressed those concerns," McClellan added.

_____________________

CHINA OPPOSES WEAPONS SPREAD

China on Tuesday said it stands opposed to any spread of weapons of mass destruction.

"The U.S. government has wantonly launched sanctions against Chinese companies without any evidence," Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a news briefing in Beijing.

The penalties bar the companies from doing business with the U.S. government and prevent them from obtaining export licenses allowing them to buy controlled technologies from American companies.

The Chinese companies on the penalties list include China Aero-Technology Import Export Corp.; China Great Wall Industry Corp.; and China North Industry Corp., also known as NORINCO.

Also targeted are: Beijing Alite Technologies Company Limited; China's Q.C. Chen; Wha Cheong Tai Co.; and Zibo Chemet Equipment Corp., known as well as Chemet Global Ltd.; Ecoma Enterprise Co. Ltd. of Taiwan; and Paeksan Associated Corp. of North Korea.

Bush has praised China for its help in seeking a diplomatic end to the North Korean nuclear standoff.

Two of the largest companies cited by the administration, China Great Wall Industry and China North Industry, previously have been penalized by the United States. Each is closely linked to the Chinese military.

In December, the State Department imposed similar sanctions on four Chinese companies for selling weapons or arms-related technology, including Liaoning Jiayi Metals and Minerals Co., Wha Cheong Tai Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Triple International Ltd.


Chinese firms penalized for aiding Iran missile program

THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Bush administration imposed penalties this month against some of China's largest companies for aiding Iran's efforts to improve its ballistic missiles.

The move is part of an effort by the White House and U.S. intelligence agencies to identify and slow important elements of Iran's weapons programs.

The White House made no public announcement of the penalties. The State Department placed a one-page notice on Page 133 of the Federal Register early this month, listing eight Chinese companies affected. The notice kept classified the nature of the technology they had exported.

President Bush has repeatedly praised China for its help in seeking a diplomatic end to the North Korean nuclear standoff.

Some officials in the administration speculated in the past week that the decision not to publicize the penalties may have been part of an effort not to jeopardize Chinese cooperation at a critical moment in the administration's effort to bring North Korea back to negotiations.

China has repeatedly vowed to curb its sales of missile technology.

But two of the largest companies named in the State Department's list, China Great Wall Industry Corp. and China North Industry Corp., known as Norinco, have been repeatedly penalized for more than a decade. Both are closely linked to the Chinese military.

A third company on the penalties list, the China Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp., is one of the country's largest producers of military aircraft and was accused of diverting to military use sophisticated machine tools bought from McDonnell Douglas.

Bush administration officials, when asked about the penalties over the past week, said nothing was particularly notable about the latest violations and no evidence suggested that China's leadership was aware of the sales.

U.S. officials said that the list of exports to Iran was classified, but they described them as high-performance metals and components that are banned because they could aid Iran's efforts to extend the range of its missiles.

It was unclear whether some of the technology was "dual use," meaning that it could be used for civilian or military purposes.

Iran's efforts to develop longer-distance missiles are increasingly of concern among intelligence officials. U.S. officials have charged that Iran is trying to develop nuclear warheads, which Iran's leadership denies.

Disaster Squared: Iran Is Next

Seymour Hersh’s latest article in The New Yorker entitled “The Coming Wars” makes it clear that Iran is in Bush’s crosshairs.

“I was repeatedly told that the next strategic target was Iran,” Hersh writes. And he explains that the preparations are already under way. “The Administration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran at least since last summer,” he writes. “Much of the focus is on the accumulation of intelligence and targeting information on Iranian nuclear, chemical, and missile sites, both declared and suspected. The goal is to identify and isolate three dozen, and perhaps more, such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids.”

Hersh adds that “the Pentagon’s contingency plans for a broader invasion of Iran are also being updated.”

This is not a total surprise, since Bush placed Iran in the Axis of Evil, and some neoconservatives have been eager to go after Iran for quite a while, as Chris Toensing reports in the February cover story of The Progressive.

As the invasion of Iraq was being planned, some neoconservatives were boasting that “real men want to go to Tehran,” Toensing says. “Many neoconservatives—especially those who remain in orbit around Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney—are itching for a fight.”

But it’s a fight that the United States may wish it never started. The Iranian people are more opposed to a U.S. invasion than the Iraqis were, and the Iranian military is much stronger than Saddam’s.

In the December issue of The Atlantic, James Fallows wrote a story entitled “Will Iraq Be Next?” For that article, he assembled a group of former U.S. security officials to conduct a “war game” about Iran. The result of that war game was ugly: Any military action by the United States or Israel against Iran would create a huge mess. No assault could knock out all of Iran’s weapons, since the regime has dispersed them, and Iran would likely retaliate against U.S. forces in Iraq.

Toensing makes the same point in his article. He quotes a Tehran University political science professor named Hadi Semati, who says the Iranian regime would “make life as miserable as possible for the Americans in Iraq.”

And Gary Sick, who was Jimmy Carter’s Iran expert at the National Security Council, tells Toensing that U.S. troops would face a much fiercer resistance in Iran. “If you like Iraq, you’re going to love Iran,” Sick says, mordantly.

But Bush keeps rattling the sword. Monday on NBC News he said of the Iranian situation: “I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will never take any option off the table.”

Now you may ask yourself, why in the world is Bush planning war against Iran when the war against Iraq is going so badly?

The answer is, the Bush folks are so deluded that they think Bush’s reelection was a vote not only for the Iraq War but for the neoconservatives who hatched it, Hersh reports.

And those neoconservatives are in a hurry to accomplish their goals before Bush’s four years are up. “This is the last hurrah,” one former high intelligence official told Hersh.

Delusion plus recklessness plus enormous power is going to equal disaster in Iran, even more so than in Iraq.

Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz are dead set on disaster squared.

--------------------

"There is no strength nor power except Allah"

~ The spiritual warrior is he who breaks an idol and the idol of each person is his ego ~

__________________
Aalam-e-soz o saz main, wasl se barh ker hai firaaq
Hijr me lazt-e-talb, wasl main marg-e-arzoo...!!!

Russia to sign nuclear fuel deal with Iran: report
(AFP)
10 February 2005

MOSCOW - The Russian atomic energy agency said on Thursday it would sign a key agreement with Iran on the return of nuclear fuel later this month that would complete Moscow’s construction of the Islamic state’s first nuclear power plant.


The ITAR-TASS news agency quoted the agency’s spokesman Nikolai Shingaryov as saying that the elusive agreement, which has been delayed for over a year, would be signed during atomic energy chief Alexander Rumyantsev visit’s to Iran scheduled for February 25-27.

“We plan to sign, in Tehran, an additional protocol on the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.

The fuel’s return has remained the key impediment to the 800 million dollar Bushehr project.

Russia and the West both fear that Iran could reprocess the spent fuel delivered from Russia by upgrading it through centrifuges to either make a weak “dirty bomb” or an actual nuclear weapon.

Tehran has in the past used various arguments to avoid signing the agreement. It has said the material was too volatile and dangerous to transport back to Russia and also that Moscow was charging too much for the fuel itself.

The United States and Israel had jointly launched an international campaign against Russia’s Bushehr project but Moscow has countered that it would make sure the plant remained harmless to protect its own security interests.

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U.S. Secretary Of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Blames Syria, Iran For The Unexpected Ferocity Of Iraq Insurgency


WASHINGTON - The United States said last week it has no plans to launch a military attack on Syria. But Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday blamed Iran and Syria for the unexpected ferocity of the Iraq insurgency.

"We're not looking to end this [Syrian] behavior with another war," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 3. "It's not our policy to destabilize Syria. It shouldn't be their policy to destabilize Iraq, or Lebanon for that matter."

It was the highest level assertion by the Pentagon that the military did not intend to attack Damascus.

Nevertheless, the Pentagon has determined that Syria has been used as a base to finance and supply the insurgency war in Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said Syria has been the source of at least 1,000 Islamic volunteers recruited by the former Saddam Hussein regime and Al Qaida.

"Syria has not been helpful," Rumsfeld said on Feb. 6. "There is no doubt that the Baathists are located in Syria, from Iraq."

"No one predicted the level of the insurgency as it is today," Rumsfeld said "Partly it's a function of money. Partly it's a function of what the Syrians and the Iranians are doing."

Rumsfeld said that Syrian behavior would help determine the future of U.S. deployment in Iraq. He said Syria continues to withhold millions of dollars in Iraqi assets from the former Saddam Hussein regime.

In his State of the Union address, President George Bush discussed Syrian assistance to the Iraqi insurgency. Bush also condemned Damascus for its support of groups deemed by the State Department as terrorists.

But Pentagon officials said this would not translate into a U.S. war against Syria, particularly in 2005. Officials said Syria, under pressure from Washington, has helped stop insurgency attacks from its territory on U.S. outposts along the western Iraqi border.

But Brig. Gen. Douglas Raaberg, deputy director of operations for U.S. Central Command, told a briefing in Qatar on Feb. 3 that Syria was continuing to allow insurgents to enter Iraq. He said Iran was also allowing insurgents to cross the eastern border with Iraq.

"We clearly see former regime elements and insurgents from Syria coming to Iraq and we have also told the Iranian government that we will not tolerate meddling in Iraq's affairs," Raaberg said. "The desert is vast.They don't just travel by the asphalt road."

Officials said the Pentagon has urged the Bush administration to approve a policy of hot pursuit of insurgents from Iraq into Syria. But they said the Pentagon has not proposed a fullscale war against Damascus.

Officials said the U.S. military would focus on force protection and the halt in the flow of insurgents along the Iraqi-Syrian border

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US intelligence on Iran ineffective, say experts

11.02.05


WASHINGTON - United States intelligence is unlikely to know much about Iran's contentious nuclear programme and could be vulnerable to manipulation for political ends, former intelligence officers and other experts say.

Amid an escalating war of words between Washington and Tehran, the experts say they doubt the CIA has been able to recruit agents with access to the small circle of clerics who control the Islamic Republic's national security policy.

Serious doubts also surround the effectiveness of an expanded intelligence role for the Pentagon, which former intelligence officials say is preparing covert military forays to look for evidence near suspected weapons facilities.

"I will be highly remarkably surprised if the United States has [intelligence] assets in the organs of power," said Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. "They don't even know who the second-tier Revolutionary Guards are."

Iran, in a renewed challenge to US and European efforts to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear bomb, vowed yesterday that it would never give up its nuclear programme.

President Mohammad Khatami also warned of "massive" consequences if it was treated unfairly over its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes only and Washington believes is a cover for producing a bomb.

In Washington, President George W. Bush said a nuclear-armed Iran would be "a very destabilising force in the world" and urged the West to work together to stop this happening.

Doubts about US intelligence on Iran have arisen amid talk of possible military strikes by the US or Israel against suspected nuclear weapons facilities.

Former chief weapons inspector David Kay warned that the Bush Administration was again relying on evidence from dissidents, as it did in prewar Iraq.

"The tendency is to force the intelligence to support the political argument," Kay said in a CNN interview yesterday.

"We're talking about military action against Iran and we don't have a national intelligence estimate that shows what we do know, what we don't know and the basis for what we think we know."

"If US intelligence was bad in Iraq, and it was atrocious, it's probably going to be worse vis-a-vis Iran," said Richard Russell, a former CIA analyst who teaches at the National Defence University.

- REUTERS

_____________


Austrian Firm Sells 800 (sniper) Rifles to Iran

VIENNA, Austria - Iran has contracted to buy hundreds of high-powered rifles from an Austrian firm, the company's owner said Wednesday. The sale drew an indirect rebuke from the United States, but Austrian government ministries said no laws were broken.

Wolfgang Fuerlinger, head of Steyr Mannlicher GmbH, confirmed the deal between his company and Iranian authorities and said U.S. Embassy officials had expressed concerns the arms could make their way to Iraq for use against American troops.

He said he could not confirm Austrian media reports that part of the order - 800 long-range semiautomatic rifles that can penetrate thick metal, along with high-tech snipers' scopes - was flown to Iran last month.

The United States has strict embargoes in place against Iran on sales of weapons or technology or materials that could be used to make weapons.

Steyr .50 HS sniper rifle (Austria)

http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sn64-e.htm

Steyr .50HS heavy sniper rifle, with folded bipod
Caliber: .50BMG (12.7x99mm) or .460Steyr
Operation: manually operated rotating bolt action
Barrel: 833 mm (33")
Weight: 12.4 kg
Length: 1370 mm (54")
Feed Mechanism: single shot, no magazine

The Steyr .50 HS is the most recent development of the famous Austrian arms manufacturer, the Steyr Mannlicher Gmbh & Co KG. First displayed at the ShotShow-2004 (February 2004, Las-Vegas, USA), this single shot rifle is primary intended for anti-material applications and counter-sniping. The Steyr .50HS is available in two calibers, the old and venerable .50BMG and the apparently new .460Steyr (on which so far no data were obtained).

The Steyr .50 HS is a single shot rifle, with manually operated, rotating bolt with two large locking lugs at the front. The two-stage trigger is factory set to 4lbs (1.8kg). The buttstock is adjustable for length of pull, the cheekpiece is also adjustable. Heavy barrel is partially fluted and fitted with effective muzzle brake. Steyr .50 HS has no iron sights; the MilStd Picatinny rail is standard. Rifle is not intended to be fired off-hand; it is fitted with integral folding adjustable bipods.


http://www.steyr-aug.com/contriesarmrorments.htm

First, a police sharpshooter fired the NYPD’s own .30 caliber sniper rifle at a steel target. Downrange, three football fields away, the three shots from the .30 caliber (remember, the 308 is a .30 cal) rifle bounced off the half-inch thick steel.

"You can see it hasn’t penetrated it," says Kelly.

Then the sharpshooter fired three rounds from a Barrett .50-caliber rifle at the same target.

"Went right through," says Kelly. "It is clearly a weapon of war, a round to be used in a wartime situation. It’s appropriate for the military. The effective range is about 2,000 yards. It’s a very formidable weapon."

In other words, if the NYPD’s range had been 20 football fields long, instead of three, the .50-caliber rifle – firing ordinary ammunition -- still would have been devastatingly effective.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in665257.shtml
__________

__________________
Aalam-e-soz o saz main, wasl se barh ker hai firaaq
Hijr me lazt-e-talb, wasl main marg-e-arzoo...!!!

Iran To Sign Deal With Russia For Nuclear Power Plant Fuel


TEHRAN - Iran says it will sign a deal next week with Russia under which Moscow will provide fuel to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Iranian state television quotes a deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Asadollah Sabouri, as saying a pact, which obligates Tehran to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, will be signed February 26.

Under the deal, Mr. Sabouri says Russia will provide the Bushehr plant with nuclear fuel for the next 10 years.

Moscow and Tehran have been locked in negotiations over the final disposition of spent fuel. Russia had refused further assistance in developing the Bushehr plant until Tehran agreed to return the spent fuel, which can be used in the development of nuclear weapons.

The United States says it suspects Iran is trying to develop such weaponry, despite Tehran's assertions its nuclear intentions are peaceful.

Iran-Russia Deal Could Blunt Bush Diplomacy Talk


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Thursday there was still time for diplomacy to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions, but a Russian deal to provide the Islamic republic with nuclear fuel in defiance of the United States was likely to rekindle fears of confrontation.

Iran accused its long-time foe Washington of using a brief worldwide scare over an explosion on Wednesday near its only nuclear reactor to unleash "psychological warfare."

The explosion -- first reported by Iranian television as a possible airplane missile strike but later said to have been an errant construction site blast -- rattled an anxious world.

Washington has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, and it is seeking to halt any potential weapons-related work.

Iran, rich in oil but struggling to provide power for a growing population, denies that it is developing nuclear arms and says its program is solely for generating electricity.

"As you know, the Iranian issue hasn't even gotten to the (U.N.) Security Council yet. And so there's more diplomacy, in my judgment, to be done," Bush told a news conference called to present his new U.S. intelligence czar.

Bush's remarks suggested that any moves toward military action would wait at least until after the matter goes before the United Nations for possible sanctions.

Vice President Dick Cheney recently raised the possibility that Israel, Washington's close ally, might take matters into its own hands and bomb suspected Iranian nuclear sites.

Bush in 2002 grouped Iran with North Korea and Saddam Hussein's Iraq into what he called an "axis of evil."

But he told the news conference that Iran was different from Iraq, which the United States invaded over allegations of weapons development but only after years of diplomacy. Bush said he would discuss Iran during a trip to Europe next week.

Later, his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, called on Iran to stop supporting Hizbollah guerrillas, warning the group's activities could threaten a fragile cease-fire deal between Israeli and the Palestinians

REACTOR FUEL DEAL WITH RUSSIA
Iran, meanwhile, announced a deal to be signed later this month to obtain nuclear fuel from Russia, Washington's former superpower rival, for the reactor in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr.

Russian Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev said ways of accelerating the reactor's start-up would be discussed during his visit to Tehran next week, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

The 1,000-megawatt reactor is due to reach full capacity in 2006.

Under the deal, spent fuel would be sent back to Siberian storage units after about a decade of use -- a condition Russia thinks should allay U.S. concerns that Iran could use the material to make weapons.

Word of the Russian agreement came one day after Iranian state television shook world markets -- already worried about any possible U.S. or Israeli intervention -- by reporting an explosion near the Russian-built nuclear power plant.

The explosion was later attributed to work during dam construction, but only after reports of the blast were flashed around the world.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani, saw a calculated campaign by the United States and the Western media. "Reports of a strike were false and are psychological warfare," against Iran's legitimate nuclear program, he said.

Tehran has accused the United States of using satellites and other means to spy on its nuclear sites and threatened to shoot down any surveillance craft.

The European Union, represented by France, Britain and Germany, has been trying to persuade Iran to scrap any weapons-related activities in return for economic incentives.

Hadley, speaking to reporters hours after the news conference, played down differences with Europe, and put the onus on Iran to show it was prepared to accept a permanent cessation of its enrichment programs and reprocessing activities. "I think that's really the next thing that we need to see," he said.

But the Islamic republic has repeatedly said it will never permanently end its nuclear activities -- a policy that enjoys widespread support across a broad range of domestic political, social and religious factions.

Israel said on Wednesday that Iran was just six months away from having the knowledge to build nuclear weapons.
In the past, Israel has warned of possible pre-emptive military attacks on its nuclear facilities, similar the attack on Iraq's Osiraq reactor in 1981.

Bush did not repeat his vice president's suggestion of possible Israeli air strikes, but he used his press conference to reiterate strong backing for the Jewish state.

"Iran has made it clear they don't like Israel, to put it bluntly. And the Israelis are concerned whether or not Iran develops a nuclear weapon, as are we, as should everybody," Bush said.

"In that Israel is our ally, and in that we've made a very strong commitment to support Israel, we will support Israel if their security is threatened," Bush said.

Iran, Syria grow ever closer

Tehran — Iran warned that any strike on its nuclear facilities would draw a swift and crushing response and called Thursday for an expansion of its newly emerging strategic alliance with Syria to create a powerful united Islamic front that could confront Washington and Israel.

Such an expansion appears unlikely to go far, because many key Arab countries — Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia — are U.S. allies and have long been suspicious of Iran's Shiite Muslim clerical regime.

Still, the statements were another sign of the tense situation, coming a day after Syria and Iran declared they would form a united front against any threats, and a mysterious explosion near a nuclear facility in southwestern Iran that initially was reported as a missile strike but later was attributed to construction work on a dam.

Iran's overtures to other Muslim countries in the Mideast reflect its concern about U.S. pressure to drop all its nuclear ambitions. With Syria under similarly strong American scrutiny — in its case for its role in Lebanon and as an alleged sponsor of terrorism — the two countries are trying to diminish Washington's efforts to isolate them.

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The U.S. administration has so far applied only diplomatic pressure, but has talked tough. U.S. President George W. Bush has labelled Iran part of an “axis of evil” with North Korea and pre-war Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Feb. 4 that a military strike against Iran was “not on the agenda at this point,” but Bush has said he would not rule out any option.

Bush said Thursday the United States would support Israel “if her security is threatened.”

Israel has warned that it may consider a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear installations along the lines of its 1981 bombing of an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad. The United States accuses Iran of having a secret program to make nuclear weapons; Iran insists its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes.

Fears the United States or Israel will attack Iran or Syria abound in the region, and Iranian Defence Minister Ali Shamkhani was quoted Thursday by state-run radio as saying retaliation would be harsh.

“When the Iranian nation sees our crushing response to the enemy, it should know one of our nuclear or non-nuclear facilities has been attacked,” he said.

Iran's powerful former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaking after meeting Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji al-Otari, said it was important to strengthen relations among Iran, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other Islamic countries in the region, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Mr. Rafsanjani said the United States and Israel were trying to create divisions among regional countries, which he said must “stay completely vigilant vis-a-vis the U.S. and Israeli plots.” Mr. Rafsanjani is widely expected to run in June presidential elections.

Iran and Syria long have maintained warm relations. Syria was the only Arab country that remained allied to Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, and the two countries often co-ordinate on foreign policy, especially with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

“The Iranian-Syrian common front is not a new phenomenon,” said Mohammad Sadeq al-Hosseini, an Iranian expert on Arab affairs.

“Iran and Syria have been strategic allies for the past 2½ decades. What was declared Wednesday was insistence on more co-ordination and co-operation between the two in the face of growing U.S. hostility.”

“The declaration may lead to closer high-level contacts so that the two can assist each other at crucial moments,” he said, noting Iran was a major power in the Persian Gulf. “Closer co-operation between Tehran and Damascus can help delay U.S. plans against the two countries.”

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who also met al-Otari, said Iran and Syria would safeguard their political relations by strengthening their economic ties, IRNA reported

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US May Use Proxy To Attack Iran, Says Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has predicted that the United States may use a proxy to launch an attack against Iran over the nuclear issue.

He believed the US would urge Israel to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities just like what the Tel Aviv regime did to Iraq initially before Washington launched the full-scale war in Iraq.

"US seems to want other people to fight for them," he told reporters here in response to questions on the development of the Iran-North Korea nuclear issues.

The US, he said, would attack Iran because it thought that the latter had no weapon of mass destructions although such allegation were made against Tehran.

"They attacked Iraq because they know Iraq has no weapon of mass destruction," he told reporters here Wednesday.

However, Dr Mahathir strongly believed that the US was unlikely to attack North Korea although Pyongyang had openly declared that it possessed nuclear weapons.

"North Korea, the agenda is different. It is not just weapons of mass destruction, there is also this element of hatred against Muslim. There is a religious element in this thing. If it is non-Muslim, the US will not attack," he said.

Furthermore, he said the US would exercise a little bit more careful in handling the North Korean nuclear issue because the country could do a lot of things with its weapons of mass destructions.

The US, he said, believed that it could do anything it liked to the Muslim countries for several reasons.

Firstly because Muslim countries were divided, secondly there were some Muslim countries which supported the US against other Muslim countries and finally because Muslim countries were incapable of retaliation, he said.

He said the only retaliation the US might face was from non-governmental bodies such as Al-Qaeda which resorted to acts of terror.

Dr Mahathir reiterated that the solution to the war against terrorism which was made by him since 1983 was to look at the root causes of all these acts of violence following the decision to take Palestine and give it to the Jews and expel the Palestinians from their own country without any compensation.

However, he felt that powerful countries would not act in settling the root causes of terrorism because they wanted to uphold Israel at any cost even if the whole world were threatened with terrorism.

This was due to the Israelis having a strong hold on the most powerful nations, he said.

Muslim countries on the other hand would continue to fight and sabotage against each other, contributing to a worsening of the situation.

"The Muslim world should go back to Islam. The teaching of Islam. The fundamental teaching of Islam that all Muslims are brothers and Muslims should not kill another Muslim," he said.

Dr Mahathir doubted that the Palestine-Israel ceasefire agreement would work because he had his doubts over Israel's commitment.

Iran warns of swift response to any attack; calls for united Islamic front

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran warned that any strike on its nuclear facilities would draw a swift and crushing response and called Thursday for an expansion of its newly emerging strategic alliance with Syria to create a powerful united Islamic front that could confront Washington and Israel.
Such an expansion appears unlikely to go far, because many key Arab countries - Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia - are Washington allies and have long been suspicious of Iran's Shiite Muslim clerical regime.

Still, the statements were another sign of the tense situation, coming a day after Syria and Iran declared they would form a united front against any threats, and a mysterious explosion near a nuclear facility in southwestern Iran that initially was reported as a missile strike but later was attributed to construction work on a dam.

Iran's overtures to other Muslim countries in the Mideast reflect its concern about U.S. pressure to drop all its nuclear ambitions. With Syria under similarly strong American scrutiny - in its case for its role in Lebanon and as an alleged sponsor of terrorism - the two countries are trying to diminish Washington's efforts to isolate them.

The U.S. administration has so far applied only diplomatic pressure, but has talked tough. U.S. President George W. Bush has labelled Iran part of an "axis of evil" with North Korea and pre-war Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Feb. 4 that a military strike against Iran was "not on the agenda at this point," but Bush has said he would not rule out any option.

Bush said Thursday the United States would support Israel "if her security is threatened."
------------------------

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,147778,00.html


WASHINGTON — It's only a matter of time before Al Qaeda (search) or other terrorist groups try to launch an attack on the United States with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, CIA Director Porter Goss (search) told a Senate panel on Wednesday.

Al Qaeda is trying very hard to circumvent U.S. security and launch an attack on U.S. soil, he said, adding that they are getting their training on the urban battlefields in Iraq.

"Islamic extremists are exploiting the Iraqi conflict to recruit new anti-U.S. jihadists," Goss told the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Those jihadists (search) who survive will leave Iraq experienced in and focused on acts of urban terrorism. They represent a potential pool of contacts to build transnational terrorist cells, groups and networks in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries."

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (search) told the House Armed Services Committee that he believes terrorists are regrouping for another strike. In defending his $419 billion 2006 fiscal year budget request, Rumsfeld said the United States is preparing to deal with any threat.

"The extremists continue to plot to attack again. They are at this moment recalibrating and reorganizing. And so are we," the Pentagon chief said
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Iran building nuclear-related tunnel

WASHINGTON: The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a nuclear watchdog think tank, has said that Iran is building a tunnel with two entrances but it appears to be too long for storage of uranium.

The ISIS announcement stops short of saying for what purpose the tunnel is being built. ISIS said on Thursday, “Just north of the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) at Esfahan, Iran is constructing a tunnel facility. The tunnel is fairly long, and has two entrances, separated by less than half a kilometre. Construction on the tunnel began in September or October 2004, and Iran is working very hard to finish the project. Iran has declared that the tunnel facility is for storage and other activities that are part of the UCF. It appears too big to be only for storage. It might be intended to house production facilities for some uranium conversion processes. It does not appear large enough to be a complete duplicate of the UCF.”

According to ISIS, Iran already has about 500 tonnes of uranium concentrate, a few tens of tonnes of uranium tetrafluoride and a couple of tonnes of uranium hexafluoride.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that Iran should have declared the facility to it prior to the start of construction. The IAEA visited the site in November 2004, at which time there was no equipment in the tunnel. The Vienna-based agency will continue to visit the facility.

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__________________
Aalam-e-soz o saz main, wasl se barh ker hai firaaq
Hijr me lazt-e-talb, wasl main marg-e-arzoo...!!!

Attacking Iran Would Bring Disaster, Not Freedom


US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has given assurances that a military attack by her country on Iran “is simply not on the agenda at this point”.

But notwithstanding Rice’s disavowal, recent statements by the Bush administration, starting with President Bush’s State of the Union address and Vice President Dick Cheney’s comments about a possible Israeli military attack on Iran, are reminiscent of the rhetoric in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

And Rice herself made clear that “the Iranian regime’s human rights behavior and its behavior toward its own population is something to be loathed.” American policy toward the Middle East, and Iran in particular, is often couched in the language of promoting human rights. No one would deny the importance of that goal. But for human rights defenders in Iran, the possibility of a foreign military attack on their country represents an utter disaster for their cause.

The situation for human rights in Iran is far from ideal. Security forces harass, imprison and even torture human rights defenders and civil society activists. The authorities attack journalists and writers for expressing their opinions and regularly shut down newspapers. Political prisoners languish in jails. Superfluous judicial summonses are routinely used to intimidate critics, and arbitrary detentions are common.

But Iranian society has refused to be coerced into silence. The human rights discourse is alive and well at the grassroots level; civil society activists consider it to be the most potent framework for achieving sustainable democratic reforms and political pluralism. Indeed, readers might be surprised to know how vigorous Iran’s human rights organizations are. Last autumn, when security forces unlawfully detained more than 20 young journalists and bloggers because of what they had written, independent Iranian organizations like the Center for Defense of Human Rights, the Association of Journalists for Freedom of Press, and the Students Association for Human Rights campaigned for their release.

This outcry, in tandem with support from the international community and organizations such as Human Rights Watch, led to the release of detainees. In fact, so great was the criticism that some of Iran’s most senior government officials came out in favor of releasing the detainees.

Independent organizations are essential for fostering the culture of human rights in Iran. But the threat of foreign military intervention will provide a powerful excuse for authoritarian elements to uproot these groups and put an end to their growth.

Human rights violators will use this opportunity to silence their critics by labeling them as the enemy’s fifth column. In 1980, after Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and inflamed nationalist passions, Iranian authorities used such arguments to suppress dissidents.

American hypocrisy doesn’t help, either. Given the long-standing willingness of the American government to overlook abuses of human rights, particularly women’s rights, by close allies in the Middle East, it is hard not to see the Bush administration’s focus on human rights violations in Iran as a cloak for its larger strategic interests.

Respect for human rights in any country must spring forth through the will of the people and as part of a genuine democratic process. Such respect can never be imposed by foreign military might and coercion — an approach that abounds in contradictions.

Not only would a foreign invasion of Iran vitiate popular support for human rights activism, but by destroying civilian lives, institutions and infrastructure, war would also usher in chaos and instability. Respect for human rights is likely to be among the first casualties.

Instead, the most effective way to promote human rights in Iran is to provide moral support and international recognition to independent human rights defenders, and to insist that Iran adhere to the international human rights laws and conventions that it has signed.

Getting the Iranian government to abide by these international standards is the human rights movement’s highest goal; foreign military intervention in Iran is the surest way to harm us and keep that goal out of reach.

Putin says he sure Iran not building nuclear arms

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Iran a boost in its face-off with the United States over its nuclear programme, saying he was convinced the Islamic Republic was not trying to build atomic weapons.

He yesterday said Russia would press on with nuclear cooperation with Tehran, which involves construction of a reactor at Bushehr in southern Iran.

Putin's defence of Iran came in the face of U S concerns that Tehran could be using Russian know-how as a cover to build nuclear arms and less than a week before he meets U S President George W Bush for a summit.

''The latest steps by Iran convince Russia that Iran indeed does not intend to produce nuclear weapons and we will continue to develop relations in all sectors, including peaceful atomic energy,'' Putin told Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani, at the start of Kremlin talks.

Putin's remark was certain to give Iran some comfort in its confrontation with the Bush administration, which has branded the Islamic Republic part of an ''axis of evil'' states bent on trying to develop nuclear weapons.

The Kremlin leader did not spell out what he meant by ''latest steps''.

But he could have been referring to Iran's agreement last year to suspend its uranium enrichment programme -- which can be used to make nuclear bombs -- and its continuing talks with EU countries to find ways to settle the stand-off diplomatically.

His unusually strong backing for Iran seemed to open up the possibility of Iran becoming a point of friction at his summit talks with Bush in the Slovak capital of Bratislava on Feb. 24.

Putin shows support for Iran

Nuclear activities peaceful, Russian says.

Published Saturday, February 19, 2005
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he is convinced Iran is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons and announced plans to visit the country, showing strong support for Tehran a week before a summit with President George W. Bush.

Putin’s bold expression of faith in Tehran starkly contradicts U.S. suspicions about the intentions of Iran, which Bush has labeled part of an "axis of evil" seeking weapons of mass destruction and supporting terrorists.

"The latest steps from Iran confirm that Iran does not intend to produce nuclear weapons," Putin said at a meeting with Iranian National Security Council chief Hassan Rowhani. He said Russia "will continue to develop relations in all spheres, including the peaceful use of nuclear energy."

Russia is building a nuclear reactor for a power plant in Iran, a project the United States fears could be used to help Tehran develop nuclear weapons.

The $800 million project has harmed Russian-U.S. relations for more than a decade. U.S. concerns have been eased by Moscow’s refusal to send Iran nuclear fuel for the reactor unless all spent fuel is returned to Russia - an effort to ensure that it wouldn’t be reprocessed to extract plutonium, which could be used in weapons.

Next week in Iran, Russia’s nuclear chief is expected to sign a protocol on returning the spent fuel, the only remaining obstacle to the reactor’s expected launch next year.

Putin, who will meet with Bush Thursday in Slovakia, said he had accepted an invitation from Iran’s leadership to visit. The Kremlin said no date has been set.

The Russian president’s words are bound to alarm U.S. officials who have praised earlier statements that indicated he shared U.S. concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.

On Monday, a senior U.S. diplomat said Russia had "seen the light" in agreeing that Iran’s claims cannot be taken on faith because of the way it has misled the international community about its nuclear program in the past.

"There are good reasons to be suspicious of what Iran is doing," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday.

Rice has warned Iran to come clean or face the prospect of being brought before the U.N. Security Council.

A Russian analyst questioned whether Putin’s statement was based on actual information or on expediency. Russia has friendly ties with Iran and sees it as an important trade market for Russian industrial goods and services.

"To my mind, it’s hard to find arguments to support Putin’s declaration," said Anton Khlopkov, director of the PIR Center, which studies weapons issues. "Iran is potentially an important strategic partner for Russia ... with a whole series of coinciding interests."

At the Kremlin meeting, Putin did say that the "spread of nuclear weapons on the planet does not aid security."

"We hope that Iran will strictly adhere to all international agreements, in relation to Russia and the international community," he said.

Russia does not want the issue to come before the Security Council, where support for a resolution against Tehran could ruin relations with Iran and where a veto would bluntly defy the United States.

"Russia intends not to allow the isolation of Iran," Khlopkov said.

With Security Council referral and Washington’s refusal to rule out military action in Iran looming in the background, Russia is supporting European diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to permanently abandon its uranium enrichment program.

"We think that Russia can play an important role in this process," Rowhani said.


Iran has no plan to build Nuclear bomb: Putin

MOSCOW (Russia): Russia is convinced that Iran has no intention of developing atomic weapons and will continue to cooperate with Tehran in the civilian nuclear sector, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

“The latest steps on Iran’s behalf persuade us that Iran has no intention of building an atomic weapon.... Consequently, we will continue to cooperate with Iran in all fields, including in nuclear energy,” Putin said as he greeted Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, at the Kremlin.

Russia however was “deeply convinced that the proliferation of nuclear arms on the planet does not contribute to security either for the region or the world,” Putin said.

“We hope that Iran will strictly respect all committments its has made bilaterally with Russia and internationally,” the Russian president stated.

Rowhani said Russia had a role of “great importance” to play in resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.

Putin said he had been invited by the Iranian leadership to visit Tehran and was “preparing for this visit,” Interfax news agency reported. Dates for Putin’s trip to Iran would be set later, he said.

Putin’s meeting with Rowhani came a day after both countries announced that a crucial agreement obliging Iran to return all spent nuclear fuel to Russia would be signed on February 26.

An agreement on the return to Russia of spent nuclear fuel has been the key impediment to completion of an 800-million-dollar project led by Russia to build the plant in Bushehr, southern Iran.

Moscow and the West both fear Iran could reprocess the spent fuel delivered from Russia by upgrading it through centrifuges to either make a weak “dirty bomb” or an actual nuclear weapon.

The United States and Israel had jointly launched an international campaign against the Bushehr project, but Moscow countered that it would make sure the plant remained harmless to protect its own security interests.

Tehran has in the past used various arguments to avoid signing the agreement. It has said the material was too volatile and dangerous to transport back to Russia and also that Moscow was charging too much for the fuel itself.

The United States accuses Iran of using atomic energy as a cover for weapons development, a charge Tehran denies.

Bush Outlines Goals for European Trip

WASHINGTON -- On the eve of his trip to Europe to patch the trans-Atlantic relationship, President Bush says he doesn't believe the West is split between an "idealistic United States and a cynical Europe."

"America and Europe are the pillars of the free world," Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday, the day before he leaves on a five-day trip to Belgium, Germany and Slovakia.

"Leaders on both sides of the Atlantic understand that the hopes for peace in the world depend on the continued unity of free nations," he said. "We do not accept a false caricature that divides the Western world between an idealistic United States and a cynical Europe."

Iraq will be a top agenda item during the president's talks with European leaders and officials of NATO, the European Union and the European Commission. The United States wants to see a larger international role in Iraq, particularly in training its military and police.

U.S. hopes for a larger NATO role suffered a setback last Sunday when Germany rebuffed the alliance's request for help to protect U.N. operations in Iraq. France and Germany, which opposed the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein, have prevented the alliance from developing a wider role in Iraq, and have refused to send their own troops, even on the training mission in Baghdad that NATO has authorized.

Germany has emphasized its efforts to help Iraq in other ways - through military and police training outside the country, economic aid and debt relief. France has stressed its command of NATO peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

In his radio address, Bush didn't mention the NATO mission. Instead, he singled out nations that helped with the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.

"In Iraq, our shared commitment to free elections has stripped the car bombers and assassins of their most powerful weapon, their claim to represent the wishes and aspirations of the Iraqi people," he said.

"In these elections, the European Union provided vital technical assistance, NATO is helping to train army officers, police and civilian administrators of a new Iraq and 21 of our European coalition partners are providing forces on the ground."

Outlining his goals for the trip, the president also said he would discuss how to best advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians; trade issues; and reducing European barriers to American agricultural goods.

"Even the best of friends do not agree on everything," he said, adding that America and Europe need to cooperate to fight terrorism and poverty and promote trade and peace.

"That makes our trans-Atlantic ties as vital as they have ever been," he said.

In advance of his trip, Bush on Friday spoke of Iran during interviews at the White House with broadcasters and correspondents from Russia, France, Belgium, Slovakia and Germany.

He said the United States does not intend to attack Iran to crush its suspected nuclear weapons project and expressed hopes that a European diplomatic initiative would persuade Tehran to abandon any such program.

When asked about an opinion poll showing that 70 percent of Germans believe the United States is planning military action against Iran, Bush replied: "I hear all these rumors about military attacks, and it's just not the truth."

He said he wants diplomacy to succeed in persuading Iran not to produce nuclear weapons.

"Listen, first of all, you never want a president to say 'never.' But military action is certainly not - it's never the president's first choice," he said. "Diplomacy is always the president's first - at least my first choice."

Bush said he supports European nations' efforts to persuade Iran to scrap its uranium enrichment program in exchange for technological, financial and political support.

He did not address U.S. reservations about Europe's approach. The United States has refused to get involved in the bargaining with Tehran or to make commitments, insisting that Iran abandon its program.

"I believe diplomacy can work so long as the Iranians don't divide Europe and the United States," Bush said. "There's a lot more diplomacy to be done."

US military investigates killing of two Afghans close to Iran border(AP)


KABUL - The US military is investigating why American troops fatally shot two civilians outside a base near Afghanistan’s western border with Iran, officials said Saturday.


US troops opened fire on the two unarmed men after they entered an exclusion zone around the base on Feb. 11 near Shindand Air Base in Herat province, said a spokesman for the provincial government.

“Regrettably, two local nationals were killed, and we’re investigating the situation right now,” said Maj. Steve Wollman, a spokesman for the US military.

The two families of the victims’ had received 100,000 Afghanis (US$2,300) each in a “payment of condolence, but that’s not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing,” he said.

Wollman gave no details of the incident, but provincial government spokesman Mohammedullah Afzali identified the two men as Naib and Rasul from the nearby village of Moghelan.

He said the two had apparently entered the area close to the base looking for wood or scrap metal to sell in the local market and had tried to run away when challenged by a group of American soldiers. The soldiers then opened fire.

“The fact is that these people were in the area near the airport where locals are not allowed,” Afzali said. “It was a mistake by those two people and at the same time a misunderstanding by the Americans.”

He said the provincial governor has visited the two families last week to express his sympathy and had also given them US$500 each.

US and Afghan forces have been stationed at the old Soviet-built air base in Shindand, about 580 kilometers (360 miles) west of Kabul, since bloody factional fighting last August resulted in the ouster of regional strongman Ismail Khan as governor.

Wollman said US troops embedded as trainers with Afghan army units as well as American military police were at Shindand. He said he didn’t know if there were any US special forces there.

The American military is already investigating the deaths of several Afghans in custody as well as allegations of abuse brought by former detainees similar to those made against US forces in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Afghan officials have warned that such cases will play into the hands of insurgents and undermine American efforts to win over ordinary Afghans.

US Army documents released on Friday showed that pictures of US soldiers in Afghanistan posing with hooded and bound detainees during mock executions were destroyed after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq to avoid another public outrage.

The Army documents also describe a probe into complaints by senior psychological operations officers in Afghanistan that they saw assaults by special forces on civilians during raids in May 2004 in two villages near Kabul.

That investigation was suspended because the victims could not be interviewed and prospective witnesses were enemy forces, the Army said in its documents.

Wollman referred questions about the alleged assaults to the US Department of Defence in Washington.


PUTIN TO VISIT IRAN


TEHRAN, February 19 (RIA Novosti's Nikolai Terekhov) - Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Hasan Rowhani said that a number of documents on cooperation would be signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's forthcoming visit to Iran.

"The Russian Federation and Iran have several joint projects, in particular, the purchase of passenger liners from Moscow, the construction of the second unit of the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, the issue of ships on the Caspian Sea and others," Mr. Rowhani told journalists on arriving from Moscow on Saturday.

"Some agreements have been already drafted and will be signed during Vladimir Putin's forthcoming visit to Iran," Mr. Rowhani noted.

In his words, the exact time of the Russian President's visit has not been fixed yet.

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