Tag Archive for Iran

| January 29, 2013
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Iranian Arms Shipment Seized Off Coast of Yemen

Yemeni coast guard intercepted a ship carrying a “substantial” cache of illegal weapons that officials suspect were being smuggled from Iran.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

Yemeni authorities working with the United States Navy intercepted a ship carrying a substantial cache of illegal arms that U.S. officials suspect were being smuggled from Iran.

Followers of Yemen's al-Houthi Shi'ite group armed with weapons

Followers of Yemen’s al-Houthi Shi’ite group armed with weapons – Reuters

The arms, intercepted aboard the ship in Yemeni territorial waters in the Arabian Sea last Wednesday, included surface-to-air missiles, potent explosives and rocket-propelled grenades, a U.S. official and Yemen’s government announced Monday.

The crew of the USS Farragut, a Naval destroyer, was working with Yemeni authorities when they spotted the vessel, said an official in the Obama administration, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Continue Reading »

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| January 28, 2013
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Israel’s PM: Iran is preparing for another Holocaust

Netanyahu, ‘Israel must not make the mistake of underestimating the Iranian threat to destroy Israel’, adding that his gov’t’s 1st & foremost mission remained to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear power.

By DPA

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Iran of planning another “Holocaust,” as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Photo: Reuters

“Holocaust denial is continued energetically by a central state in the world,” he told his cabinet in Jerusalem.

“Not by groups. Not by single individuals. Not by marginal elements. But by Iran, whose leaders on a daily basis and at the United Nations and any other platform deny that the Holocaust occurred, while at the same time they prepare what they believe will be an additional Holocaust: The destruction of the Jewish state.” Continue Reading »

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| January 23, 2013
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Khameini aide says Iran’s backing Assad to avert collapse of anti-Zionist front

Iranian official says rebel leader’s vow to establish relations with Israel & the US, justifies Iran’s involvement.

 

The main reason behind Iran’s support for Syrian President Bashar Assad is to prevent the collapse of the rejectionist front against Israel, a senior aide to the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Religious Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a television interview that was broadcast on Sunday.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards personnel -AP - June 28, 2011.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards personnel watch the launch of a Zelzal missile during maneuvers by the city of Qom, Iran. June 28, 2011.- Photo by AP

“If Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is toppled, the line of resistance in the face of Israel will be broken,” Ali Akbar Velayati told the Arab satellite channel Al-Mayadeen, which is operated by former Al Jazeera reporter Ghassan Ben Jeddo. Continue Reading »

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| January 14, 2013
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Iran Spying on Israel from Golan Heights

A recent U.S. report indicates Iran has established intelligence stations in several areas in the Middle East, including Syria’s Golan Heights.

By Elad Benari

 

Iran has been establishing signals intelligence stations in several parts of the Middle East, including the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S.-based World Tribune reports.

The Defense Department has indicated that one of the intelligence stations was established in the Golan Heights, close to Syria’s border with Israel, the report said.

The Pentagon’s counter-terrorist support office said the stations were established by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps together with Tehran’s leading ally, Syria, according to the World Tribune. Continue Reading »

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| January 12, 2013
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British Munitions Survey Reports Iran Fuels African Conflicts

 

The New York Times reports: British arms researchers surveying ammunition in Africa find trail implicating the Islamic Republic

By Ynetnews

 

A British team of arms-trafficking researchers surveying ammunition used by government forces and civilian militias over recent years in conflicts plaguing Kenya, Uganda, the Ivory Coast and what is now South Sudan, has been able to link them to Iran, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Photo: AFP

According to the findings, the ammunition bore no “headstamps” – a numeric or logo markings used in the arms industry to indicate the location and year of a cartridge’s manufacture –suggesting its producers hoped to avoid detection. Continue Reading »

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| January 4, 2013
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Yemen charges Israeli with espionage

Yemeni official claims man arrested in December had made contact with Israeli security agencies and that such communications were found on his laptop.

By The Associated Press

 

Yemeni security officials said an Israeli who holds Yemeni citizenship will face trial on charges of espionage.

laptop illustrative: Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

laptop illustrative: Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

There were few details of the case. The officials said Thursday the man, in his 30s, was arrested in the southern city of Taiz in late December and accused of spying for Israel. He was transferred to a prison to the port city of Aden this week before his trial. Continue Reading »

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| January 3, 2013
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Intel Officials: Iran’s Ability to Attack Israel Minimal

Iran’s retaliatory capability to attack Israel has been significantly compromised this past year, intelligence officials reported.

By David Lev

 

Iran’s ability to attack Israel has been compromised significantly in the past year, Israeli diplomats meeting in Jerusalem were told by Defense Ministry intelligence officials. According to the study by the officials, Iran’s attempts to prop up Bashar al-Assad and the weakness of Hizbullah has taken a great toll in manpower and treasure from the Islamic Republic.

The officials, quoted in Maariv, said that neither Syria nor Hizbullah are in any position to not only start a war with Israel, but would also be largely unable to respond on behalf of Iran in the event of an Israeli strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Continue Reading »
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| December 25, 2012
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Qatar May Be Buying a Way for the Palestinians to Divorce from Iran

After Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Ibn Khalifa al-Thani, brought a check to Gaza, he now plans to bail out Abbas next week. His strategy may be to separate Iran from the Palestinians.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Qatar’s emir, after having brought a $250 million check to Hamas in Gaza, plans to bail out Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas next week, possibly as part of a strategy may be to isolate Iran from Hamas.

Abbas speaks next to Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister

Abbas speaks next to Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister – Reuters

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Ibn Khalifa al-Thani said he will make good on his pledge to bail out the PA, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency. Continue Reading »

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| December 24, 2012
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Human Rights Watch: Gaza Committed Numerous War Crimes

FINALLY: Human Rights Watch says Gaza “armed groups” commit war crimes by targeting Israeli civilians. HRW also blamed Gaza terrorists for firing rockets & missiles from densely populated areas.

HRW also blamed Iran for provided technical information to Gaza terrorists for building their own  Fajr 5 missiles that were fired on Tel Aviv & Jerusalem.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a rare condemnation of Gaza terrorists on Monday for war crimes – without the usual “balancing act” of blaming Israel.

Terrorist groups boast by publishing their rocket fire emanating from civilian areas within Gaza. - Screenshot

Terrorist groups boast by publishing their rocket fire emanating from civilian areas within Gaza. – Screenshot

HRW did not go so far as to describe “Palestinian armed groups” as terrorists, but the categorical censure of rocket launchers marks a drastic change in the attitude towards Israel and Hamas. Continue Reading »

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| December 18, 2012
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Iran’s state-run newspaper blames ‘Israeli death squads’ for Sandy Hook shooting

 

The most vile piece of Iranian propaganda yet. The outlandish theory isn’t clear, but it appears to argue that the attack could have been retribution for Obama’s cold diplomacy towards Israel.

Will the Iranians swallow such gall?

Posted by Max Fisher

 

Iran’s state-run media outlet PressTV, which broadcasts in English, on Tuesday carried a story blaming Israel for the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. PressTV has a well-earned reputation for incendiary anti-Israel stories and for wild conspiracy theories, but even this seems a far stretch for the organization, which maintains a bureau office in the District.

 

Screenshot of PressTV, an Iranian state-run outlet

. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| December 15, 2012
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Iran warns NATO that Patriot missiles in Turkey could lead to ‘world war’

Islamic Republic officials cautioning that the stationing of NATO missiles could cause conflict in the Middle East and Europe

By Reuters

 

The planned deployment of NATO Patriot missiles along Turkey’s border with Syria could lead to a “world war” that would threaten Europe as well, Iran’s military chief of staff was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Patriot missile launched in the Negev desert

A Patriot missile launched in the Negev desert, February 4, 2003 during a joint U.S. and Israeli exercise codenamed “Juniper Cobra.” – Photo by Reuters

Turkey asked NATO for the Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or missiles, in November to help bolster its border security after repeated episodes of gunfire from war-torn Syria spilling into Turkish territory. Continue Reading »

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| December 13, 2012
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Iran Navy unveils new submarines and warships

Iran claims to have become self-sufficient in manufacturing military vessels – from midget submarines to missile-launching warships.

Teheran  says it would use its military strength only for safeguarding peace & security in the Gulf.

By DPA

 

 

The Iranian Navy unveiled two new submarines and two missile-launching warships on Wednesday, Mehr news agency reported.

An Iranian warship docked at the Syrian port of Latakia, Feb. 25, 2011. Photo by AP

An Iranian warship docked at the Syrian port of Latakia, Feb. 25, 2011.- Photo by AP

The two domestically-built Ghadir submarines and the Sina-7 warships – together with two repaired hovercrafts – officially joined the Iranian Navy, Mehr quoted navy commander Habibollah Sayari as saying.

Iran said in June that it would use its nuclear technology know-how to design nuclear-powered submarines, which could enable the navy to have a constant presence in free waters as well as long-distance operations. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| December 13, 2012
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IAEA arrives in Iran to investigate new satellite imagery that shows construction at Parchin

According to a U.S.think tank, imagery shows ‘steady pace’ of reconstruction at the military site that’s linked to suspected nuclear activity & which the UN nuclear inspector’s team is still attempting to gain access to.

 

A U.S. think tank published satellite imagery on Wednesday which it said shows ongoing construction at Iran’s Parchin military complex, a site linked to suspected nuclear activity. The publication came just ahead of the arrival of a UN nuclear inspector’s team in Tehran on Thursday.
Satellite imagery of Iran's Parchin military complex, taken on December 9, 2012.

Satellite imagery of Iran’s Parchin military complex, taken on December 9, 2012. – Photo by DigitalGlobe – ISIS

The Institute for Science and International Security said that an image taken on December 9 shows “a steady pace of what appears to be the ‘reconstruction’ phase” of a site that had undergone considerable alterations between April and July 2012,  including demolition of buildings and movement of earth. Continue Reading »

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| December 8, 2012
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UN Human Right Watch: Iran’s statements on Israel not incitement to genocide

Human Right Watch leader refuses to label Ahmadinejad’s calls to ‘erase Israel from the map’ as an incitement to genocide.

HRW compares mullah’s remarks to those of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT

 

WASHINGTON – The head of the powerful New York-based Human Rights Watch refused to label as genocide Iranian calls to obliterate the Jewish state and compared Iran’s mullah leadership to the Shas party.

Kenneth Roth

Kenneth Roth – Photo: Bloomberg

The Wall Street Journal’s David Feith, as assistant editorial features editor with the paper, obtained internal HRW emails and published last week a report, headlined “Dancing around genocide,” about alleged HRW bias against Israel and an internecine conflict within HRW’s top leadership about the group’s head, Ken Roth, and his failure to take Iran’s calls to destroy Israel seriously. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| December 8, 2012
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Two Iranian Warships Dock in Sudan… Again

For the 2nd time in 5 weeks, Iranian warships dock in Port Sudan. It seem more Iranian Fajr-5 missiles en route to Gaza.

By Gil Ronen

Two Iranian warships docked in Port Sudan on Saturday, a witness told AFP. This marks the second port call by the Iranian navy in Sudan in five weeks.

Iranian warship in Port Sudan

Iranian warship in Port Sudan
Reuters

The Iranian navy said the 1,400 ton frigate Jamaran and the 4,700 ton support ship Bushehr “docked in Port Sudan, after successfully carrying out their assignments in the Red Sea, and were greeted by high-ranking Sudanese naval commanders.” It did not say how long the warships would stay in port. Continue Reading »

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