![[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great Forum Index](http://www.activistchat.com/images/ActivistChatStandsLogo.jpg) |
[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great Views expressed here are not necessarily the views & opinions of ActivistChat.com. Comments are unmoderated. Abusive remarks may be deleted. ActivistChat.com retains the rights to all content/IP info in in this forum and may re-post content elsewhere.
|
View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Ramin Etebar,MD
![](images/avatars/gallery/Fantasy RPG/holyknight.gif)
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 74 Location: USA
|
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 11:43 pm Post subject: Iran threatens oil disruption in event of US 'mistake' |
|
|
Iran threatens oil disruption in event of US 'mistake'
By Roula Khalaf in London and Negar Roshanzamir in Tehran
June 5 2006
Financial Times
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/19ff99b6-f42f-11da-9dab-0000779e2340.html
Iran's supreme leader yesterday warned that energy supplies from the Gulf would be disrupted if the US made a "mistake" against his country, as officials in Tehran prepared to receive the details of an international package of "carrots and sticks" aimed at resolving the nuclear dispute.
In an attempt to raise the diplomatic stakes and deflect growing international pressure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate decision-maker, appeared to contradict earlier assurances from Tehran that the world's fourth largest oil producer would not use the oil weapon.
"If Americans make a mistake about Iran, the flow of energy from this region will definitely be jeopardised," he said in a speech, insisting, however, that Iran would never be the initiator of war. His comments are likely to unsettle oil markets when they open today.
Iranian analysts say the regime considers one of its most potent cards the ability to disrupt energy supplies through the straits of Hormuz, from which much of the world's oil shipments pass.
But Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, yesterday played down the leader's threats, highlighting that Iran depended heavily on oil revenues.
Mr Khamenei did not specifically mention last week's US offer of talks with Iran if it agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and processing activities. But he referred scathingly to a "recent message from Americans", describing it as "rude, cheap and full of foolish arrogance".
Sticking to Iran's official position that it has no intention of building a nuclear bomb, he suggested the regime felt emboldened and saw no need to make concessions. He said the government in Tehran was "one of the most popular in the last 100 years since the constitutional revolution", while the Bush administration was "one of the most hated governments in the history of the US".
Despite an agreement reached last Thursday by the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany, to offer Tehran a package of incentives in return for suspending uranium enrichment, Mr Khamenei insisted that there was no international consensus on Iran policy.
Yet the bold rhetoric combined with milder messages from other senior officials. President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad said on Saturday Iran would study the international proposals and not rush to judgment. The package is set to be delivered to Iran by Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, possibly this week.
Analysts in Tehran said the occasion of Mr Khamenei's speech marking the anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic republic, required the projection of a defiant image.
But the leader's comments also highlighted the challenge ahead for the world community in trying to persuade the regime to give up uranium enrichment. "The leader wants to show that Iran can stand firm and that it won't falter," said one analyst. "At the same time. Iran will study the proposals and postpone any decision on them as long as possible." _________________ Ramin Etebar, MD |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
Ramin Etebar,MD
![](images/avatars/gallery/Fantasy RPG/holyknight.gif)
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 74 Location: USA
|
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:48 am Post subject: Oil surges on Iran warning to U.S. |
|
|
Oil surges on Iran warning to U.S.
Secretary of state dismisses threats from Khamenei
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/05/us.iran.oil/
(CNN) -- Oil prices have surged above $73 a barrel after Iran warned the U.S. that any "misbehavior" could endanger oil movements in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. light crude for July delivery is up 82 cents or 1.1 percent at $73.15 a barrel in electronic trade on Monday, after reaching a high of $73.55 earlier.
The figure is oil's highest price in three weeks. Oil futures reached $75.35 on April 21 and 24, the highest since trading began in 1983.
London Brent crude rose 92 cents to $71.95 a barrel in Monday trade.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sunday that any "misbehavior" directed at Iran would serve to disrupt Persian Gulf shipments.
"In order to threaten Iran, you say that you can guarantee movements of oil through this region," he said, referring to shipments that pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz near Iran and other countries.
About 17 million barrels a day -- 20 percent of the world's daily needs -- leave the Gulf region via oil tankers using the narrow passageway.
The United States "should know that the slightest misbehavior on your part would endanger the region's energy security," he said. "You are not capable of guaranteeing energy security in this region."
Khamenei did not specify what he meant by disruption or misbehavior.
"If you, the United States, make a wrong move regarding Iran, definitely the energy flow in this region will be seriously endangered. We are committed to our national interests, and whoever threatens it will experience the sharpness of this nation's anger," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice deflected concerns about the remarks. "We're not going to react to every statement that comes out of Iran," she told CNN's "Late Edition."
"The oil card -- well, let's just remember that Iran is some 80 percent dependent on oil in its budget" and would be unable to handle a disruption, she said.
Oil prices have also been boosted by production problems at U.S. refineries at the start of the peak northern summer driving season.
Iran is embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions.
Although Washington has no diplomatic relations with Iran -- which President Bush branded part of an "axis of evil" -- the United States last week agreed to join European allies in negotiations with Tehran if Iran suspends its uranium enrichment program and resumes full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Islamic republic says it wants to pursue nuclear power for peaceful purposes, but the United States and the European Union believe it harbors aspirations to be armed with nuclear weapons.
Six world powers -- Germany and the five veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council -- last week agreed on a package of incentives if Iran stops uranium enrichment, or penalties if it refuses.
"That diplomatic process needs to work now with Iran being given the proposal that the six parties put together in Vienna, with Iran recognizing that it now has a path ahead that would allow an end to this impasse," Rice said. "But also that the international community is committed to a second path should that first path not work."
The EU's Javier Solana is expected to leave Brussels on Sunday for a Middle East tour that could accommodate a detour to the Iranian capital. (Full story)
Rice refused to lay out a timetable for Iran to respond to the latest overture, saying, "I don't believe in setting timelines and deadlines. The only point here is that this can't be endless. The Iranian program is progressing, and the international community needs to know if there is a negotiating option that really has life in it."
Rice also rejected assertions by Iranian leaders that the West is trying to prevent Iran from having nuclear energy.
"If what Iran is looking for is civil nuclear technology, a peaceful program with civil nuclear technology, no one is trying to deny them that," she said.
"They've said from time to time that they have a right to civil nuclear, to a civil nuclear program. We accept that."
"The question is, can they have a civil nuclear program that does not have the proliferation risk associated with having ... certain fuel-cycle technologies on Iranian territory?"
No compromise on enrichment program
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday his country is ready to hold "fair and unconditional" talks with the West on Iran's nuclear issue, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. (Full story)
Ahmadinejad, who spoke to thousands gathered at Khomeini's shrine, repeated that Iran will not compromise on its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, the news agency said.
But Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran will formally announce its views on the incentives package after it has been studied.
Ahmadinejad, a hard-line conservative, has sparked international outrage with some of his previous comments denying the Holocaust and calling for the destruction of Israel.
Khamenei -- who didn't mention the diplomatic offer from the six nations -- insisted that the country "is not pursuing a nuclear bomb" and said "we have no intention of war with any government."
"We have no plans that would require us to have a bomb. This is against Islamic principles. Building and maintaining a nuclear bomb costs a lot, and we do not need this," he said.
"We are no threat to anyone, but we are dedicated and committed to our national interests and aspirations," he said. "But if anyone wants to stop us, they will feel the wrath and anger of this nation."
He criticized U.S. policies in Iraq and the Palestinian territories and compared U.S. President George W. Bush with Ahmadinejad, saying the Iranian leader was more welcomed during international visits than was Bush.
"Your current government is the most hated in the U.S. history from the point of view of the people, whereas ours is the most popular in Iran in the last 100 years," Khamenei said.
"In Latin America such as Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela, governments are elected based on the strength of anti-American slogans. The people of the U.S. -- they don't have security in their private telephone conversations," he said.
CNN's Shirzad Bozorghmehr contributed to this report _________________ Ramin Etebar, MD |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
Ramin Etebar,MD
![](images/avatars/gallery/Fantasy RPG/holyknight.gif)
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 74 Location: USA
|
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 4:11 am Post subject: Iran warns U.S. on oil shipments |
|
|
Iran warns U.S. on oil shipments
Sunday, June 4, 2006
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/04/us.iran/#
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Ayatollah Ali Khameni, Iran's supreme leader, has warned the United States that any "misbehavior" directed at Iran would serve to disrupt Gulf energy shipments.
"In order to threaten Iran, you say that you can guarantee movements of oil through this region," he said Sunday, referring to shipments that pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz near Iran and other countries.
The United States "should know that the slightest misbehavior on your part would endanger the region's energy security," he said. "You are not capable of guaranteeing energy security in this region."
Khameni did not specify what he meant by disruption or misbehavior.
But he said "we will not start a war. We have no intention of war with any government."
Khameni was speaking on the 17th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, who spearheaded the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979.
Iran is embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions.
The Islamic republic says it wants to pursue nuclear power for peaceful purposes, but the United States and the European Union believe it harbors aspirations to be armed with nuclear weapons.
Khameni -- who didn't mention the package of incentives for Iran to end its nuclear ambitions -- insisted that the country "is not pursuing a nuclear bomb. This is not true, and it is an absolute lie. We are not pursuing an atomic bomb. We have no plans that would require us to have a bomb. This is against Islamic principles. Building and maintaining a nuclear bomb costs a lot, and we do not need this. "
"We only aspire to building an Iran, which would secure the well-being of its people and serve as a model for other nations. We want to come out from under the humiliation of the last few centuries. This nation has power and dignity, but it has been denied us in the past partly by the betrayal of our own governments as well as by foreigners.
"We are no threat to anyone, but we are dedicated and committed to our national interests and aspirations, but if anyone wants to stop us, they will feel the wrath and anger of this nation."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad, however, has been taunting and rebuking Israel and the Jewish people. He said a few months ago that Israel should be wiped off the map. Iran regards Israel as a threat because of its reputed nuclear program and dislikes its treatment of Palestinians.
On Saturday, Ahmadinejad said his country is ready to hold "fair and unconditional" talks with the West on Iran's nuclear issue, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. (Full story)
On Thursday, six world powers -- the five veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council, along with Germany -- agreed in Vienna to "substantive" incentives in an attempt to coax Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment.
The EU's Javier Solana is expected to leave Brussels on Sunday for a Middle East tour that could accommodate a detour to the Iranian capital. (Full story)
No compromise on enrichment program
Ahmadinejad, who spoke to thousands gathered at the shrine of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, repeated that Iran will not compromise on its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, the news agency said.
In his speech, Khameni argued that Iran is not a threat to the world and cited the support of 116 Non-Aligned Movement nations for Iran's aspirations for nuclear technology.
He criticized U.S. policies in Iraq and the Palestinian territories and compared U.S. President George W. Bush and Ahmadinejad.
"Those people currently running the government of the U.S. should understand and should compare their president with our president. Your president is hated within the U.S. according to your own polls. Your current government is the most hated in the U.S. history from the point of view of the people, whereas ours is the most popular in Iran in the last 100 years.
"Wherever your president goes in the world, there are demonstrations against him, and he is hated in Africa, in Asia and everywhere. In Latin America such as Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela, governments are elected based on the strength of anti-American slogans. The people of the U.S. -- they don't have security in their private telephone conversations.
"The government of the U.S. doesn't trust their own people to allow them to have private telephone conversations and have passed laws to eavesdrop on them. The recent visit of the Iranian president to Indonesia and his predecessors' visits to Lebanon and other countries were all warmly welcomed."
CNN's Shirzad Bozorghmehr contributed to this report _________________ Ramin Etebar, MD |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
Ramin Etebar,MD
![](images/avatars/gallery/Fantasy RPG/holyknight.gif)
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 74 Location: USA
|
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 4:19 am Post subject: Iran threatens oil supply |
|
|
Iran threatens oil supply
http://www.ameinfo.com/87934.html
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that any attempts by western governments to punish the country for its nuclear policy could result in oil supply disruption, reported the AFP. Khamenei labelled western accusations that Iran plans to build nuclear weapons as a lie. He added that any punitive action taken by the West would lead to the blocking of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. _________________ Ramin Etebar, MD |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
hookahman
Joined: 05 Jun 2006 Posts: 1
|
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
Khameni is a loser, and if the George Bush Administration continues to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the Iranian people, then I would have to say the Admin is also a loser! |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
Ramin Etebar,MD
![](images/avatars/gallery/Fantasy RPG/holyknight.gif)
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 74 Location: USA
|
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:48 pm Post subject: Crude Oil Rises as Iran Says U.S. Risks Disrupting Shipments |
|
|
Crude Oil Rises as Iran Says U.S. Risks Disrupting Shipments
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=agOZkJbbjoKM&refer=home
June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to the highest in three weeks after Iran's supreme leader said the U.S. risked disrupting oil shipments from the Persian Gulf region.
The U.S. could ``seriously endanger energy flow in the region'' by acting against Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday. Iran, the fourth-biggest oil producer, borders the Strait of Hormuz. About 17 million barrels a day is transported through the waterway. Countries along the Gulf produce 27 percent of the world's oil, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
``We're up because there's increased concern about the nuclear standoff with Iran,'' said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. ``Iran might curb exports, attack tankers in the Strait of Hormuz or cause other trouble if the U.S. were to take further action.''
Crude oil for July delivery rose 82 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $73.15 a barrel at 1:40 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $73.84, the highest since May 11. Oil touched $75.35 on April 21 and 24, the highest since trading began in 1983. Prices are up 33 percent from a year ago.
Brent crude oil for July settlement rose 94 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $71.97 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange. Futures touched $74.97 a barrel May 2 and 3, the highest since the contract began trading in 1988.
`Within Weeks'
Khamenei didn't say what steps Iran might take to counter U.S. action. Last week, the U.S., China, Russia, the U.K., France and Germany offered Iran incentives to abandon any nuclear weapons development. Iran must respond to the offer ``within weeks,'' U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
Khamenei, in the address carried by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, said Iran is in a stronger position than the U.S. because President George W. Bush is the most unpopular leader in the world. Bush ``faces protests and public wrath wherever he steps on earth,'' Khamenei said, according to IRNA.
The U.S. has accused Iran of using its nuclear research as cover for the development of atomic bombs. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists the program is exclusively for generation of power.
In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow counseled patience while Iran decides on the offer. ``Commodities markets may be unsettled by a comment like that but over time, if this succeeds, the commodities markets are going to be very happy,'' Snow said.
`Very Dependent'
``We shouldn't put too much emphasis on a threat of this kind,'' Rice said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program. ``After all, Iran is also very dependent on oil revenue.''
Iran relies on oil for between 80 and 90 percent of the country's export earnings, according to the U.S. Energy Department. It made $31.5 billion in 2004. Sales will rise 23 percent to $55 billion this year as oil prices climb, Hadi Nejad- Hosseinian, Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs, said May 17.
Iran produced 3.85 million barrels of crude oil a day in April, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Most Iranian oil exports go to Japan, China, South Korea and Europe. The U.S. imports no oil from Iran and has had sanctions against the country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
``It is a ratcheting up of the rhetoric, but it's nothing new,'' said Stephen Schork, president of Schork Report in Villanova, Pennsylvania. ``What the market seems to conveniently ignore is that the oil weapon works both ways. Yes, Iran is a major exporter of oil, but it is also a major importer of refined product.''
Iran imported an average 170,000 barrels of gasoline a day in 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
`One Big Pot'
``It's one big pot,'' said Ric Navy, a broker at BNP Paribas SA in New York. ``It doesn't matter that we don't import any oil from them. The world pumps 85 million barrels, so 4 million barrels is a nice little chunk.''
Oil prices more than doubled in 1979 after a revolution in Iran slashed the nation's oil exports. By February 1981 U.S. refiners were paying an average $39 a barrel for imported oil, according to Energy Department figures, or $86.88 in 2006 dollars.
At its narrowest, the Strait of Hormuz consists of two-mile- wide channels for inbound and outbound tanker traffic and a two- mile-wide buffer zone.
Oil has risen 20 percent this year amid disruptions of supply from Nigeria and Iraq and concern that Iranian shipments may be reduced because of the disagreement about the country's nuclear program.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, kidnappers yesterday released eight foreign oil workers they took hostage two days earlier in the Niger River delta. The incident was the fourth kidnapping of foreign oil workers this year in Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer.
Attacks by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta on Nigerian facilities operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and others have shut as much as 631,000 barrels a day of crude production this year, more than a quarter of the West African nation's daily output. About 550,000 barrels a day remain shut.
Saudi Arabia's crude oil output fell to 9.1 million barrels a day in April because of weaker demand, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi. The desert kingdom is the world's biggest oil exporter. Saudi output averaged almost 9.5 million barrels a day in the first quarter, according to the International Energy Agency. _________________ Ramin Etebar, MD |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
Ramin Etebar,MD
![](images/avatars/gallery/Fantasy RPG/holyknight.gif)
Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 74 Location: USA
|
Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:50 pm Post subject: Khamenei Spoke of Jeopardizing Oil Shipments - Not a Blockad |
|
|
Khamenei Spoke of Jeopardizing Oil Shipments - Not a Blockade
June 05, 2006
DEBKAfile
From DEBKA-Net-Weekly
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1171
In his most explicit threat yet, Iran’s supreme ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared Sunday: "If you make any mistake, definitely shipment of energy from this region will be seriously jeopardized. You have to know this."
He added, addressing the West: "You will never be able to protect the energy supply in this region. You will not be able to do it."
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice shot back to "Fox News Sunday: "We shouldn't place too much emphasis on a threat of this kind," because Iran also has an interest in protecting its major source of revenues.
Both sides know that Tehran gets 80% of its income from oil exports. They also know that more than 60% of the world's oil supply passes through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and shipping lanes to the Far East. Much of the shipping sails close to Iran’s coast.
DEBKAfile’s Gulf sources suspect that the tough talk indicates that a secret dialogue is afoot somewhere in the world and has reached the stage of muscle-flexing, or even a point of decision. These same sources did confirm the existence of bilateral negotiations three months ago in Washington and Geneva, which broke up without agreement. They are less sure about the resumption.
Whether or not these talks have resumed, DEBKAfile’s military sources affirm that the United States, Iran, the Gulf emirates and Israel are pushing ahead with preparations for a showdown over Tehran’s nuclear plans - as first revealed in DEBKA-Net-Weekly on May 19:
Washington has begun signaling allied governments in the Persian Gulf and Israel that a US military operation against Iran’s nuclear sites is in the works for 12 to 18 months hence at the soonest. They were advised to start making their own preparations.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s exclusive Washington and Middle East military sources reveal that the Bush administration has for the first time translated its ambiguous statements - which never “ruled out any options, including the military”- into a clear decision to put preparations in train for likely action within a timeframe ending in the second half of 2007.
The Iranians having made no bones about their refusal to backtrack on uranium enrichment, teams of American officials have fanned out on highly confidential missions to the capitals of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Turkey and Israel. They raised three issues related to possible American strike action:
1. A request to use their bases for US naval and air force attacks on Iran.
2. The backlash potential from Iran against nations supporting US attacks.
3. The supply of advanced American weaponry to the nations in the line of fire as their deterrence against an Iranian counter-attack and as a strategic counterweight to Iran’s missile arsenal.
From their discreet American visitors, the regional governments obtained an outline of the state of play:
US intelligence has finished mapping out the Iranian sites whose destruction its experts estimate will terminate the rogue nuclear program and its aims. The maps take into account American assessments that around 35% of Iran’s designated nuclear sites are dummies built to hoodwink American or Israeli attackers and cause them to throw away their logistic resources and ordinance for nothing.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s intelligence sources disclose that American intelligence experts are convinced they can distinguish between the real sites and the empty buildings and tunnels constructed as decoys. Even if the Iranians build fresh decoys or relocate active sites, America’s network of spy satellites and planes have them all under close enough surveillance to discover their new locations, and determine which fake installations have covertly been made operational.
End of the DEBKA-Net-Weekly 254 excerpt.
Tehran is undoubtedly fully aware of America’s intentions and has been girding up for a military contingency for some time.
In its grand “Great Prophet” sea and air maneuver from March 31 to April 6, the Iranian armed forces displayed a glittering array of new hardware, including various sea missiles, flying boats and submarines, all presented as capable of disrupting oil shipping in the Gulf.
In his warning this week, Khamenei spoke of “seriously jeopardizing” oil supplies, but fought shy of an outright threat to block the Hormuz Strait. DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources believe the supreme leader was thinking in terms of the disruptions of August 1987 and again in 1988, when Iran strewed Gulf waters and the Hormuz Strait with M-08 contact mines of Russian manufacture. The oil traffic proceeded nonetheless in convoys escorted by US warships and aircraft. The convoy escort and minesweeping operation was called Operation Earnest Will. Between August 1987 and April 1988, one supertanker, the 415,000-ton Bridgeton, was hit as well as a US frigate, the Samuel B. Roberts. But although the supplies moved slowly, they never came to a stop.
Now, too, the Iranian ruler is not talking of total stoppage of Gulf navigation, although he did not rule out the possibility of a greater number of oil tankers and US warships falling victim than was the case 18 years ago.
Secretary Rice pooh-poohed the threat, but DEBKAfile’s military and Iranian sources advise caution. The Iranian leadership will not stand by and wait for Washington to finish all its military preparations. Should diplomacy – overt and covert – fail to solve the impasse posed by its nuclear plans, Tehran appears to be gearing up for an attempt to force Washington and its Gulf allies into a round of limited hostilities as a means of deterring them from an all-out attack on its nuclear installations. _________________ Ramin Etebar, MD |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
ViaDrEtebar
Joined: 03 Aug 2004 Posts: 91
|
Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 5:42 pm Post subject: What Happens If Iran Blocks The Strait Of Hormuz ? |
|
|
The Wall Street Journal wrote: |
What Happens If Iran Blocks The Strait Of Hormuz ?
August 27, 2007
The Wall Street Journal
Matt Chambers
link to original article
As tensions simmer between the U.S. and Iran, a big energy threat hangs over the world...Iran has said that if the U.S. attacks, it will respond by disrupting trade through the Strait of Hormuz -- the narrow gateway that tankers use to bring oil from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. About two-fifths of the world's seaborne oil passes through the Strait.
As tensions simmer between the U.S. and Iran , a big energy threat hangs over the world.
Iran has said that if the U.S. attacks, it will respond by disrupting trade through the Strait of Hormuz -- the narrow gateway that tankers use to bring oil from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. About two-fifths of the world's seaborne oil passes through the Strait.
Now sheikdoms in the United Arab Emirates -- the third-biggest OPEC oil producer -- are looking at projects that would keep oil and commerce flowing if the Strait is blocked. The U.A.E. won't say the projects are a direct response to Iran 's threats -- but the plans would clearly help in the event of an emergency.
Many of the plans center on the U.A.E.'s sleepy eastern coast, which is on the open-ocean side of the Hormuz choke point. Abu Dhabi , the key oil producer among the U.A.E.'s seven semi-autonomous enclaves, is planning an oil pipeline to the eastern emirate of Fujayrah, where it can be carried to the sea without passing through the Strait. And a host of other development is being considered for Fujayrah, including a larger port and the world's biggest liquefied-natural-gas storage and trading hub.
In terms of volume, blocking the Strait of Hormuz "is probably the biggest single energy-security risk that exists in the world," says Lawrence Eagles, head of oil markets at the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based energy watchdog for the world's most industrialized nations. "There is a lot of discussion on these issues, and from an energy-security perspective, it would be very welcome to have any opportunity to bypass the Strait of Hormuz ."
For the IEA, the issue is an important one. In the event of an oil disruption, the IEA will likely release emergency stocks held by member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. While at the end of 2006 there were 1.5 billion barrels of oil in the emergency stocks, representing about 88 days of oil output through the Strait, this would take time to coordinate and distribute.
"The issue is how much crude can be moved [from stockpiles] in how much time -- there is only so much that the IEA can do," says Mr. Eagles.
About 17 million barrels of crude oil moved through the Strait of Hormuz daily last year, representing more than a fifth of the world's total supply. The oil is taken single file through the two-mile-wide shipping lanes by a steady stream of tanker traffic. While the export level has dipped this year under self-imposed production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it is expected to grow to as much as 32 million barrels a day by 2030 as Persian Gulf countries increase production, according to the IEA's 2005 World Energy Outlook.
So far, the U.A.E., which produces 2.5 million barrels of crude oil daily, has committed to only one major oil project to bypass the Strait: the pipeline between its onshore Habshan oil field, in Abu Dhabi , and Fujayrah. The Abu Dhabi-owned International Petroleum Investment Co. this year awarded project-management and construction contracts and plans to have the pipeline finished in 2009. It is expected to move 1.5 million barrels a day.
If the pipeline is a success, it could take some pressure off oil prices that invariably rise when tensions with Iran boil over. Of course, the pipeline couldn't completely solve the problem of a blockade, since it will account for less than 10% of the normal amount of oil going through the Strait. "Any incremental supply helps, but quantifying what effect that would have [on prices] is very difficult" and would depend on other factors such as how long supply was disrupted, says Mr. Eagles of the IEA.
The pipeline would bring another economic advantage: sparing shippers the travel time and expensive insurance rates charged for entering the Gulf. Insurers add a "war premium" for ships heading to most Persian Gulf ports, and some analysts fear this premium will increase if Iran tries to block the Strait.
Apart from the pipeline, Abu Dhabi is studying the prospect of building a refinery in Fujayrah. And Fujayrah itself is gearing up for a host of other expansion projects. In preparation for the pipeline, it is expanding the size of its port, adding 16 new tanker berths. It also is preparing for a wave of new oil and refined-product storage capacity, which could hold about 25 million barrels, planned by producers and trading companies.
Cramped by the Hajar mountain range, Fujayrah has also earmarked an area near its port for land reclamation for industrial projects, extending about one-third of a mile into the Gulf of Oman -- which sits on the other side of the Strait from the Persian Gulf -- and up the coast for 2.5 miles.
Dubai , the U.A.E.'s booming commercial center, also has plans in Fujayrah -- but not for oil. The emirate has seen its oil production dwindle in recent years, so it wants to lessen its dependence on the fuel. One scheme it is looking at involves profiting from the region's production of liquefied natural gas, which is cooled to a liquid so it can be transported by tankers.
As part of the plan, Dubai wants to build in Fujayrah a $2 billion LNG storage plant previously slated for Dubai , according to an official familiar with the matter. The storage hub, which will be the biggest of its kind, is intended to offer the ability to store, trade and plan supplies of the fuel. A location outside the Persian Gulf is seen as more reliable.
Dubai is also trying to create a new benchmark from which the region's crude oil can be priced. The Dubai Mercantile ExchangeDubai Mercantile Exchange, which was started this year by Dubai and the New York Mercantile Exchange, has chosen to base its futures on Omani crude, which ships from the eastern port of Mina Al Fahad, on the east coast outside the Strait of Hormuz. Among other things, this would allow futures trading to continue if the Strait were blocked and Persian Gulf supplies were cut off.
Concern about the reliability of oil exports through the Strait has buoyed oil prices this year as Tehran continues to defy U.N. Security Council demands to stop uranium-enrichment work. The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to produce weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
Iran 's threats to disrupt oil have come from as high up as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. If any country attacks Iran , "shipment of energy from this region will be seriously jeopardized," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a June 2006 speech. He also said the U.S. and its allies won't be able to provide security to all the shipments that transit close to Iran 's coast. Iran 's oil minister at the time, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, later said that if the country's interests are attacked, oil would be used as a weapon.
While most security and regional analysts doubt Iran's ability to block exports for any amount of time, recent naval exercises indicate Iran is testing its ability to do so, with antiship missiles and mines, according to the commander of U.S. naval forces in the region. But blocking the Strait would be difficult, says Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. And the U.S. and other countries that rely on trade through the passage would be forced to act.
Heinrich Matthee, Middle East analyst in London with the security-consulting firm Control Risks, says totally blocking the Strait would exhaust Iran 's resources and would likely only be a last resort. But, he says, Iran doesn't have to completely block the Strait to cause trouble. It could also seriously disrupt shipping by using nonmilitary boats to lay mines in the Strait, which is 34 miles wide at its narrowest point.
"What you may end up with is a civilian vessel with a mine, laying the mine, and going away, and that could be done for a long time and done quite cheaply," says Mr. Matthee. The move could end up boosting insurance rates and oil prices.
Mr. Chambers is a staff reporter for Dow Jones Newswires in Jersey City , N.J. He can be reached at matt.chambers@dowjones.com |
|
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
Oppenheimer
Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 1166 Location: SantaFe, New Mexico
|
Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
What Happens If Iran Blocks The Strait Of Hormuz ?
The simple and honest answer is that all hell breaks out, and when the dust settles, the Iranian people will be looking to form a new government to fill the void. |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
ViaDrEtebar
Joined: 03 Aug 2004 Posts: 91
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:25 pm Post subject: Mullahs Warns Strait of Hormuz Will Be Blocked-Must Read |
|
|
Islamist Invaders and Occupiers Of My Motherland Warns Strait of Hormuz Will Be Blocked
Ramin Etebar, MD wrote: |
A huge amount of the world's oil flows through the Straits of Hormuz, and Iran could impair -- if not shut down -- passage through that. Iran has already shown that it can -- and will -- throw shocks through the oil market by causing a little trouble in those waters. If they chose to do so for real, the entire world would be hurting -- and the price of oil, already at record highs, would skyrocket.
RE |
Crossfire War - Iran Warns Strait of Hormuz Will Be Blocked in Case of War
By Willard Payne
http://newsblaze.com/story/20080628133315payn.nb/topstory.html
Night Watch: TEHRAN - "If there is a confrontation between us and the enemy from outside the region, definitely the scope will reach the oil issue." That was a quote from the commander of the Iran Revolutionary Guards, Major-General Mohammad Ali Jafari, as he issued a series of warnings to Israel , the U. S. and neighboring countries who may allow U. S. forces in bases there to attack Iran . This past week economic analysts on CNBC World/Asia estimated the price of a barrel of oil would reach $250 due to Iran 's response when attacked. Tehran is aware besides ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads they can also use the economic weapon of the price of oil. The Jerusalem Post reports his observations and warnings were made through an interview with the Iranian paper Jam-e-Jam. Regarding Israel Jafari stated, "This country is completely within the range of the Islamic republic's missiles. Our missile power and capability are such that the Zionist regime-despite all its abilities-cannot confront it." Concerning neighboring countries, like Kuwait-Iraq-Bahrain, that have U. S. bases which could be used against Iran Jafari responded, "If enemies from outside the region (US) use the soil of regional countries against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the governments of those countries will be responsible and it is our obvious right to act in the same way against their military capabilities and ability of enemies anywhere." [JPOST]
Jafari summed up the effectiveness of any enemy offensive action by saying, "There is the possibility that by attacking Iranian nuclear sites the enemy wants to delay our nuclear activities, but any interruption would be very short since Iranian scientific ability is different from that of Syria and Iraq ." He is referring to Israel destroying Iraq 's nuclear reactor in 1981 and a Syrian nuclear base last September but both of those facilities were out in the open which is not the case with Iran . I have always suspected the Iranian sites, so often shown on the news, are dummy sites, decoys with the most important facilities subterranean and nuclear bomb proof, sites which were never examined by the circus inspections arranged by Tehran for the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Though an Iranian official with their Defense Ministry stated several years ago they will not let the U. S. attack first, when U. S. President George W. Bush first began discussing attacking Iran as an option on the table, these current statements by Iran 's military-political-spiritual leaders indicate they have no fear of any initial offensive against them. Tehran can easily use an enemy first strike to appear to be just another regional victim of military aggression from the U. S.-Israel something a lot of Muslims in the region would identify with.
April 27, 2006 crossfirewar.com linked the article from the London based pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on details they had received on Tehran 's military response to an enemy attack. Sources informed them the response is an offensive designated Judgment Day and not only involves missile attacks on Israel and U. S. bases in the region, but also the activating of terror cells in Western Europe-North America, against countries that have opposed Iran's nuclear weapons program. The same countries, France-Britain-Germany-U. S. that have led the economic sanctions against Iran . Tehran would also have their regional military contacts like Hezbollah-Hamas and the Mahdi Army begins their offensives and no doubt Syria will also enter the fighting. Iran has been preparing for this ever since the end of the 1980-88 Iran/Iraq war as they witnessed the spread of Islamic extremism from North Africa to Indonesia as a result of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran led by the Ayatollah Khomeini and at the same time they realized the world was eager to arm them. Every arms dealer and weapons manufacturer knows the Jihad pays well not to mention scientists and technicians.
Jerusalem - General Jafari's remarks were made the same day Debka reported the Pentagon Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and U. S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead had ended their one day meeting in Israel with Israel Defense Force (IDF) commanders. Iran 's preparations and their obvious threat to not only Israel but to the West gives the West and Israel no other choice. As if the Allies have finally realized the longer it takes to attack Iran the more time Iran will have to increase its nuclear stockpile and Tehran has openly indicated recently they are ready to export nuclear weaponry to Syria-Serbia. The Speaker of Iran's Parliament (Majlis), Ali Larijani, has often spoken of the West's miscalculations in dealing with Iran and what the West really underestimated was the level of hatred, not only in Iran , but throughout the region for the West and its long and current history of attempting to manipulate and control events there. The Ayatollah Khomeini was in exile in a Paris suburb when he overthrew the Shah of Iran. Industrial groups in France and the West thought they could use him to cause disturbances just between Russia and Iran which would provide Russia reasons to re-occupy Iran as they did during World War II with the British. That would reduce the cost of Iran 's oil exports which would be controlled by the West through Moscow . [DEBKA]
This is not the war the West intended. Governments in the West are completely out of their depth and I think they have finally realized Israel was never the main target of Tehran 's foreign policy. One does not become a major international presence by trying to conquer the sand and desert of Israel or the salt in the Dead Sea . The Persian mentality in Iran realizes you only become that prominent by defeating other powerful international alliances like NATO. Governments in the West had no idea when the sent Khomeini back to Tehran from Paris they were laying the foundation for World War III.
FACTBOX - The Strait of Hormuz, Iran and the risk
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKBLA83063520080628
(Reuters) - Iran 's Revolutionary Guards said Iran would impose controls on shipping in the vital Gulf oil route if attacked and warned of reprisals, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Speculation has mounted that Iran could be attacked over its disputed nuclear programme after a report said Israel had practised such a strike. The United States has said it wants a diplomatic end to the atomic row but has not ruled out force.
Analysts say Iran , OPEC's second largest crude producer, could seek to impede Gulf shipping if pushed. U.S. naval chiefs are concerned Iran could resort to mining the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf in a major conflict.
The sea channel which shares Iran 's coastline at the entrance to the Gulf is the world's most important waterway because of the huge volume of oil exported through it daily.
Here are some facts about the Strait of Hormuz :
-- Oil flows through the Strait account for roughly 40 percent of all globally traded oil supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The figure fluctuates with changing OPEC output.
-- In May 2007, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated 13.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude passed through the narrow channel on tankers.
-- An additional 2 million barrels of oil products, including fuel oil, are exported through the passage daily, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
-- Exports from the world's largest LNG exporter Qatar also pass through the Strait en route to Asia and Europe , totalling some 31 million tonnes a year.
-- Ninety percent of oil exported from Gulf producers is carried on oil tankers through the Strait.
-- One of U.S. Central Command's (CENTCOM) key missions in the Gulf is to ensure the free flow of oil and energy supplies.
-- Between 1984 and 1987, a "Tanker War" took place between Iran and Iraq , where each nation fired on the other's oil tankers bound for their respective ports. Foreign-flagged vessels were caught in the crossfire.
-- Shipping in the Gulf dropped by 25 percent because of the exchange, forcing the intervention of the United States to secure the shipping lanes.
-- Iran has admitted to deploying anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles on Abu Musa, an island strategically located near the Strait's shipping lanes.
-- The EIA predicts oil exports passing through the strait will double to between 30 million and 34 million bpd by 2020.
-- Over 75 percent of Japan 's oil passes through the Strait.
-- Merchant ships carrying grains, iron ore, sugar, perishables and containers full of finished goods also pass through the strategic sea corridor en route to Gulf countries and major ports like Dubai .
-- Heavy armour and military supplies for the U.S. armed forces in Iraq and other Gulf countries pass through the channel aboard U.S. Navy-owned, U.S.-flagged and foreign-flagged ships.
-- Geographic location: a narrow bend of water separating Oman and Iran connects biggest Gulf oil producers like Saudi Arabia with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea .
-- At its narrowest point, the Strait is only 34 miles (55 km) across.
-- The Strait consists of 2-mile (3.2-km) wide navigable channels for inbound and outbound tanker traffic as well as a 2-mile wide buffer zone.
Sources: International Energy Agency (IEA), U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), GlobalSecurity.org , U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Clarkson shipping consultancy.
GULF OIL ROUTE AT RISK
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=221669&Sn=WORL&IssueID=31101
TEHRAN : Iran has threatened to impose controls on shipping in the Gulf oil route if it was attacked and warned regional states of reprisals if they took part. Commander of the Revolutionary Guards General Mohammad Ali Jafari warned that if his country is attacked Tehran would strike back by barraging Israel with missiles and choking off the Strait of Hormuz .
Jafari said there were strong deterrents against striking Iran including the country's missile power, the vulnerability of Israeli and US forces in the region and the low probability of a successful attack.
"Naturally, any country coming under attack will use all its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy. Given the main route for energy to exit the region, one of Iran 's steps will definitely be to exercise control on the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz," Jafari told Jam-e-Jam newspaper, which is affiliated to Iran 's state-run radio and television network.
"Should a confrontation erupt between us and the enemy, the scope will definitely reach the oil issue... Oil prices will dramatically increase.
"This is one of the factors deterring the enemy from taking military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
He said any military action might "be able to delay Iran 's nuclear activities but this delay will certainly be very short".
Jafari also warned neighbours not to let their territory be used.
"If the attack takes place from the soil of another country ... the country attacked has the right to respond to the enemy's military action from where the operation started," he said.
Jafari said US forces were "more vulnerable than Israelis" because of their troops in the area.
" Iran can in different ways harm American interests even far away," he said.
Jafari suggested Iran 's allies in the region could also retaliate.
"Israelis know if they take military action against Iran ... the abilities of the Islamic and Shi'ite world, especially in the region, will deliver fatal blows," Jafari said, adding that Israel was in range of Iranian missiles.
Iran threatens to cut off Gulf oil exports if nuclear facilities are attacked
By Angus McDowall
Telegraph.co.uk
28/06/2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/2211630/Iran-threatens-to-cut-off-Gulf-oil-exports-if-nuclear-facilities-are-attacked.html
The head of Iran 's powerful Revolutionary Guards has threatened to hurt Western economies by cutting off Gulf oil supplies if his country's nuclear facilities are attacked.
With speculation growing that Israel or America might strike Iran 's nuclear sites, Major General Mohammed Ali Jafari also said Iran would consider launching missiles at the Jewish state and attacking any neighbouring countries that helped American forces.
"Naturally every country under attack by an enemy uses all its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy," said Maj Gen Jafari in the local Jam-e Jam newspaper. "Regarding the main route for exiting energy, Iran will definitely act to impose control on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz ."
About 40 per cent of all world oil exports flow through the 35-mile wide Strait of Hormuz, banked along its northern side by Iran . With world oil supplies already constricted, any Iranian action could push energy prices through the roof.
"After this action, the oil price will rise very considerably and this is among the factors deterring the enemies," said Maj Gen Jafari, whose forces have already installed missiles on the island of Abu Musa in the middle of the strait. Crude oil is now trading for more than $130 a barrel.
Military analysts have often speculated that Iranian sea mines, artillery or rocket attacks could imperil tankers. During the Iran-Iraq war in the eighties, shipping came under attack, forcing the United States to intervene and defend oil supplies.
Although some Iraqi, Kuwaiti and Saudi oil could theoretically be moved across land instead, it would take precious weeks to bring the necessary pipeline into operation, testing the limited reserves held by Western governments in case of emergencies.
Some Western countries believe Iran is using an ostensibly peaceful nuclear programme to try to build an atomic bomb. They accuse it of enriching uranium in underground bunkers not to supply fuel for a nuclear power plant, as Iran says, but to feed a nuclear warhead.
So far, diplomatic attempts to stop Iran enriching uranium have drawn a blank, as the country insists it is allowed to use the process under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
As a result, Israeli and American politicians have publicly discussed blowing up Iran 's nuclear sites. Last week it was revealed that Israel has even rehearsed air strikes against Iranian facilities in wide-ranging aerial manoeuvres.
"This country [ Israel ] is completely within the range of the Islamic republic's missiles," said Maj Gen Jafari. "Our missile power and capability are such that the Zionist regime - despite all its abilities - cannot confront it."
Iran threatens Persian Gulf shutdown
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/29/Iran_threatens_Persian_Gulf_shutdown/UPI-31641214741475/
TEHRAN, June 29 (UPI) -- An Iranian military leader says he will shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil supply line bottleneck, if the United States or Israel attacks the country.
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ali Jafari, commander of Iran 's elite Revolutionary Guard, said his troops would immediately move to close off the Persian Gulf waterway should the United States or Israel bomb Iran 's nuclear power sites, which the West suspects are fronts for producing a nuclear weapon.
"Naturally every country under attack by an enemy uses all its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy," Jafari was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. "Regarding the main route for exiting energy, Iran will definitely act to impose control on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz ."
Jafari predicted the economic consequences of closing the waterway would be heavy, saying, "After this action (of Iran imposing controls on the Persian Gulf waterway), the oil price will rise very considerably and this is among the factors deterring the enemies."
The Iranian commander also had a warning for Arab states that allowed their territory to be used by the West to launch an Iranian strike, promising they would face retribution.
Report: Iran to Hit Israel if Attacked, Control Oil Passageway
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The commander of Iran 's Revolutionary Guards warned that Tehran would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and controlling a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf , said a newspaper report published Saturday.
The report in the conservative Jam-e-Jam newspaper comes after the disclosure of a recent Israeli military exercise over the Mediterranean Sea that was seen as sending a message to Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions.
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said there were strong deterrents against striking Iran , including the country's missile power, the vulnerability of Israeli and U.S. forces in the region and the low probability of a successful attack.
Iran has spread its nuclear facilities across the country and has built key portions underground to protect it from airstrikes.
But Jafari warned that if attacked, Iran would strike back, including choking off the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a narrow outlet for oil tankers leaving the Persian Gulf .
"Naturally, any country coming under attack will use all of its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy. Given the main route for energy to exit the region, one of Iran's steps will definitely be to exercise control on the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz," Jafari told Jam-e-Jam, which is affiliated with Iran's state-run radio and television network.
In 2006, Iran 's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also threatened to disrupt the world's oil supply if the United States attacked Iran . Iran is the world's fourth largest oil producer. About 60 percent of the world's oil passes through the strait.
"Should a confrontation erupt between us and the enemy, the scope will definitely reach the oil issue. ... Oil prices will dramatically increase. This is one of the factors deterring the enemy from taking military action," Jafari was quoted as saying.
U.S. officials have suggested that the Israeli drill, conducted from May 28 to June 12, was a dress rehearsal for an Israeli strike.
But the Greek government, which took part in the exercise, rejected that assessment. And some observers have said the disclosure of the maneuvers was aimed at getting the international community to step up diplomatic pressure on Iran .
Just before the drill, Europe presented Tehran an offer of economic incentives to halt its enrichment of uranium.
Iran has not formally responded. Less than a week ago, the European Union named Iran 's largest commercial bank, the Revolutionary Guards' chief and the head of the country's nuclear program as the targets of new sanctions imposed over Tehran 's nuclear defiance.
The United States and Israel say Iran 's nuclear program is intended to produce weapons — a claim Iran denies, saying its program is for peaceful purposes including producing energy.
Israel has a doctrine of "nuclear ambiguity" and has never confirmed nor denied having its own nuclear weapons program.
Jafari also warned that an attack against Iran will also prompt Muslims, including Shiites, to harm U.S. and Israeli interests throughout the Middle East in retaliation to any attack against Iran . He mentioned the Tehran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Iran and Israel are each other's biggest foes, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel 's destruction. Though Israel has said it favors a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff, it has not ruled out a military strike.
An Israeli air attack that destroyed an unfinished nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981 and a strike on a suspected nuclear facility in Syria in September have added to the suspicions that Israel is planning action against Iran .
Report: U.S. 'preparing the battlefield' in Iran
Story Highlights
New Yorker article says Congress authorized up to $400 million for covert ops in Iran
Journalist Seymour Hersh says program is being staged from Afghanistan
U.S. officials decline comment, deny the U.S. is launching raids from Iraq
Iranian general says troops are building graves for invaders in the event of war
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration has launched a "significant escalation" of covert operations in Iran , sending U.S. commandos to spy on the country's nuclear facilities and undermine the Islamic republic's government, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday.
White House, CIA and State Department officials declined comment on Hersh's report, which appears in this week's issue of The New Yorker.
Hersh told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that Congress has authorized up to $400 million to fund the secret campaign, which involves U.S. special operations troops and Iranian dissidents.
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have rejected findings from U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran has halted a clandestine effort to build a nuclear bomb and "do not want to leave Iran in place with a nuclear program," Hersh said.
"They believe that their mission is to make sure that before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program," Hersh said.
The new article, "Preparing the Battlefield," is the latest in a series of articles accusing the Bush administration of preparing for war with Iran.
He based the report on accounts from current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. Watch Hersh discuss what he says are the administration's plans for Iran »
"As usual with his quarterly pieces, we'll decline to comment," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told CNN.
"The CIA, as a rule, does not comment on allegations regarding covert operations," CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said.
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad , denied U.S. raids were being launched from Iraq , where American commanders believe Iran is stoking sectarian warfare and fomenting attacks on U.S. troops.
"I can tell you flatly that U.S. forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran , in the south or anywhere else," Crocker said.
Hersh said U.S. efforts were staged from Afghanistan , which also shares a border with Iran .
He said the program resulted in "a dramatic increase in kinetic events and chaos" inside Iran , including attacks by Kurdish separatists in the country's north and a May attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 13 people.
The United States has said it is trying to isolate Iran diplomatically in order to get it to come clean about its nuclear ambitions. But Bush has said "all options" are open in dealing with the issue.
Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at providing civilian electric power, and refuses to comply with U.N. Security Council demands that it halt uranium enrichment work.
U.N. nuclear inspectors say Tehran held back critical information that could determine whether it is trying to make nuclear weapons.
Israel, which is believed to have its own nuclear arsenal, conducted a military exercise in the eastern Mediterranean in early June involving dozens of warplanes and aerial tankers.
The distance involved in the exercise was roughly the same as would be involved in a possible strike on the Iranian nuclear fuel plant at Natanz , Iran , a U.S. military official said.
In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor.
Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned other countries against moves that would "cost them heavily." In comments that appeared in the semi-official Mehr news agency Sunday, an Iranian general said his troops were digging more than 320,000 graves to bury troops from any invading force with "the respect they deserve."
"Under the law of war and armed conflict, necessary preparations must be made for the burial of soldiers of aggressor nations," said Maj. Gen. Mirfaisal Baqerzadeh, an Iranian officer in charge of identifying soldiers missing in action. |
|
Back to top |
|
![](templates/subSilver/images/spacer.gif) |
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|