Israel Determined to Stop Iran's Nuclear Development

JERUSALEM - In the clearest indication yet that Israel now believes Iran's nuclear aspirations will be curbed, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that efforts being undertaken by the international community will ensure that Tehran does not acquire nuclear capability.

In a series of interviews on the eve of the Passover holiday, Olmert sounded the same message: Iran will not get the bomb. "I want to tell the citizens of Israel: Iran will not have nuclear capability," he told the daily Ha'aretz newspaper.

"The international community is making an enormous effort - in which we have a part, but which is being led by the international community - so that Iran will not attain non-conventional capability. And I believe, and also know, that the bottom line of these efforts is that Iran will not be nuclear..."

Tehran insists its nuclear program is civilian in nature and is meant to generate power. But Israel believes Iran is bent on developing nuclear weapons. Threats by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to "wipe Israel off the map" have further heightened fears in the Jewish state.

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Relations between Israel and Iran continue to worsen. Iran's nuclear program strikes a sore spot for Israel, and Israel is determined to stifle the growth of the nuclear program.

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New Development in 9/11 Tragedy

Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader issued a new audiotape Tuesday accusing Shiite Iran of spreading a conspiracy theory about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks to discredit the power of the Sunni terrorist network.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, has stepped up his denunciations of Iran in recent messages in part to depict al Qaeda as the Arabs' top defense against the Persian nation's rising power in the Middle East.

The increasing enmity toward Iran is a notable change of rhetoric from al-Zawahiri, who in the past rarely mentioned the country - apparently in hopes he would be able to forge some sort of understanding with Tehran based on their common rivalry with the United States. Iran has long sought to distance itself from al Qaeda.

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Iran has attempted to separate itself from all organizations that were somehow involved in the September 11 tragedy in order to avoid international feelings of distaste. However, the sudden mention of Iran's involvement in the disaster can only increase feelings of distrust, which causes many to wonder what will eventually become of Iran.

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Iran: A Strong Military Force

TEHRAN (AFP) — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday proclaimed Iran as the "most powerful nation" on earth as the country's air force showed off its prowess at a time of mounting tension with the West.

"Iran is the most powerful and independent nation in the world," Ahmadinejad told a military parade outside Tehran marking the Islamic republic's annual Army Day, reaffirming one of his favoured slogans.

Ahmadinejad said all the branches of the armed forces would react forcefully in response to any attack against Iran's soil and boasted that no one would dare to launch a strike on the country...

Ahmadinejad repeated his belief that the power of Iran meant the prevailing world order was set to be turned on its head.

"Thanks to the resistance of the Iranian people, the great powers have become bogged down. The region and the world must prepare for great changes and the disappearance of satanic powers."

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Ahmadinejad's boasts over Iran's military strength strikes a soft spot for Americans, and the Iranian air force's display of power only helped to build the tension between the countries. The question remains: What will happen between the U.S. and Iran in the near future?

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Iran: Too Important to Ignore

There was a time not too long ago that Iran was viewed as little more than a nuisance. It was a moderately significant player in the Middle East but not powerful or plugged-in enough to be taken seriously as a regional power.


It could only count Syria as an ally, it had very few other solid links with the Arab world, it was still smarting from the cost of the eight-year-long war with Iraq, and was still finding its way in a post-Cold War world. Ten years ago, a relatively passive policy of containment was deemed a sufficient response to Iran: hemming it in through various trade and financial sanctions and a regular U.S. naval deterrent force patrolling the waters of the Gulf.


Today, little happens internationally without an Iran angle. President Hugo Chavez talks oil politics. Hamas wins an openly contested election in Palestine. Hezbollah and Israel come to blows. Oil prices go up. Iraq burns. In every case, Iran is somehow implicated...


It is vital that we understand the enduring, centuries-long relationship between regional geopolitics and strategic Iranian interests and learn to act on it for the sake of regional stability - regardless of what leaders, moderate or extremist, happen to be in charge in Tehran. Iran's policies are as much a product of regional circumstances as they are domestic imperatives.

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This article discusses Iran's initial role as a "nuisance" and their rise to international infamy. The article serves as a harsh reminder that Iran can no longer be ignored; the United States and other countries must now keep Iran at the forefront.

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More Threats on Iran

In his speech on Thursday, Bush wasted little time before getting to the ominous subject of Iran. Time and time again, he lumped the alleged threat from Iran in the same breadth as the one from Al Qaeda, once again fusing enemies in the minds of the American people. “Serious and complex challenges remain in Iraq, from the presence of Al Qaeda to the destructive influence of Iran,” he said, even before declaring that the surge has “renewed and revived the prospect of success...”

“The regime in Tehran also has a choice to make,” Bush said. “It can live in peace with its neighbor, enjoy strong economic and cultural and religious ties. Or it can continue to arm and train and fund illegal militant groups, which are terrorizing the Iraqi people and turning them against Iran. If Iran makes the right choice, America will encourage a peaceful relationship between Iran and Iraq. Iran makes the wrong choice, America will act to protect our interests, and our troops, and our Iraqi partners...”

This man is planning on waging another illegal war, and we need to do all that we can, nonviolently, to stop him.

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As Bush continues to make more threats on Iran, the possibility of war with the Middle Eastern country grows. His plans to "protect our interests" may very well lead to the loss of more American lives and more destruction.

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Strong Iranian Influence in Iraq

WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- Testimony by top U.S. officials in Iraq translates the mission there from a fight against al-Qaida to one against the "nefarious activities" of the Iranians. U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker described the Iranian influence in Iraq as "the greatest long-term threat to the viability" of the Iraqi government, David Ignatius wrote in The Washington Post.

Deterring the Iranian influence in Iraq became the latest justification behind U.S. military strategy in Iraq as al-Qaida numbers dwindle to around 5,000 or so hard-core elements.

The statement by Petraeus that military assessments in Iraq would be ongoing suggests the military strategy by the Bush administration is in a holding pattern as the United States waits out the final days of his presidency, Ignatius said.

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The United States is becoming much more tense as the Iranian influence in Iraq continues to grow. US leaders believe that the best course of action is to deter this influence.

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Iran suspends pilgrim tours to Iraq

Iran has suspended pilgrim tours to Shi'ite Muslim holy sites in Iraq because of rising violence there, state television reported on Thursday.More than 130 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in Iraq since Tuesday, when the U.S.-backed government launched an operation against Shi'ite militias in the southern city of Basra. Fighting has since spread across southern Iraq.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini protested earlier against what he said was the fingerprinting of Iranian pilgrims entering Iraq by U.S. troops, the official IRNA news agency reported.He said pilgrims went to Iraq under an agreement between the two neighbours and with "appropriate coordination between Iranian and Iraqi officials and (hence) there is no need for another party's interference".The United States has accused Iran of stirring up violence in Iraq by funding, training and supplying weapons to Iraqi militias, a charge Iran dismisses. Tehran blames the presence of U.S. troops for the instability and says they should quit Iraq.

This shows how Iran is taking preventive measures and trying to protect its citizens. This does prevent many Iranians from going on religious journeys though.


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Egypt Concerned About Iranian Influence

Egypt has become increasingly concerned by Iran's growing influence in the Gaza Strip since Hamas breached the Gazan-Egyptian border in January. In practice, President Hosni Mubarek told a senior European diplomat recently that because of the situation that has developed there Egypt has a common border with Iran.

President Mubarek compared Gaza to Lebanon and said that "in both places the problems and the crises stem from Iran's growing influence."

Israeli Government officials say that Egypt's attitude to the situation in Gaza has significantly altered and Cairo is now relating much more seriously to cross-border arms smuggling by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, especially since Iranian supplied Grad rockets were fired onto the Israeli city of Ashkelon...

Arab Governments are worried by Iran's growing influence but are unwilling, with few exceptions, to become unpopular and openly criticise Teheran when domestic opinion in most of their countries generally supports Iran, local reports add.

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Iran continues to be in conflict with other countries: this time, they're having problems with Egypt. Iran's strong influence in the Gaza Strip is making Egypt uncomfortable. Will Egypt be drug into conflict with Iran?

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Confusing Iran with Iraq

Do you have trouble keeping Iran and Iraq straight? Don't worry -- so do folks at the Pentagon, sometimes.

A Defense Intelligence Agency publication available as recently as yesterday on its Web site noted "an Israeli F-16 raid to destroy an Iranian nuclear reactor" in 1981.

Just one problem: publicly-known history includes no Israeli raid on an Iranian nuclear reactor in 1981. Israel did attack an Iraqi facility at Osirak that year, however.

"I cannot exclude, of course, that the DIA detected an operation which no one else knows of to this day," wrote the man who apparently caught the error, Israeli historian Gideon Remez, in an e-mail to DIA March 24.

However, "today's preoccupation with Iran's nuclear program seems to have been projected onto the events of 27 years ago," Remez noted dryly.


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Because Iran and Iraq both pose a threat to United States security, the two countries are easily confused. American people have even confused the two countries in regards to historical occurences.

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A Bitter Bombing Is Likely

The odds of Bush bombing Iran have gone up dramatically this week.

There's just no other way to rationally interpret the resignation of Admiral William Fallon as head of Centcom.

Fallon resigned, and more likely was pushed out, after Esquire published an article on him entitled "The Man Between War and Peace." It said he was the one standing in the way of Bush bombing Iran...


What's more, according to U.S. News, "two U.S. warships took up positions off Lebanon earlier this month." The Pentagon "would want its warships in the eastern Mediterranean in the event of military action against Iran to keep Iranian ally Syria in check and to help provide air cover to Israel against Iranian missile reprisals," the story said. "One of the newly deployed ships, the USS Ross, is an Aegis guised missile destroyer, a top system for defense against air attacks."

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As was to be expected, William Fallon's resignation has led to a dramatic increase in U.S. and Iranian tension. With Bush's strong penchant for bombing Iran, will we go to war?

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Resignation of US Admiral Does Not Signal Policy Change in Iran

The resignation of the commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan does not signal a policy change on Iran, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says.

Admiral William Fallon said on Tuesday he was stepping down because of public perceptions of a rift with Mr Bush.

A recent article said Adm Fallon opposed military strikes against Iran...

The affair centres on an article in the April edition of Esquire magazine which described the admiral as "the strongest man standing between the Bush administration and a war with Iran"...

He said the idea, suggested in the article, that Adm Fallon's departure would indicate that the US was planning to go to war with Iran was "ridiculous".

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The fact that the strongest force against a war with Iran has resigned is frightening. What does William Fallon's resignation mean for the future of U.S. and Iranian relations?

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Financial sanctions "painful" for Iran-US official

Targeted financial sanctions have been effective in isolating Iran, causing a "painful" situation for Tehran's leaders and raising questions about the Iranian administration, a U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday."Iran has found itself increasingly isolated from the international financial system as banks around the world decide that maintaining their Iranian clientele is not worth the risk of unwittingly facilitating (weapons) proliferation or terrorism," Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey said in remarks prepared for delivery to an American Bar Association conference in Miami.

"That self-imposed isolation combined with the Iranian regime's mismanagement of their country's economy is beginning to generate a debate about the wisdom of the current regime's policies," he added.

Recent U.S. financial measures targeting specific financial institutions have been more effective in applying pressure than sanctions aimed at an entire state, Levey said."Rather than grudgingly complying with, or even trying to evade these measures, we have seen many members of the banking industry in particular voluntarily go above and beyond their legal requirements because they do not want to handle illicit business," he said.

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This post shows that not is there conflict with Iran and the U.S but also the private banks within.

Gay Iranian fights deportation move

A gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed in Iran is battling authorities who want to return him to his home country.Mehdi Kazemi, 19, came to London to study English in 2005 but later discovered that his boyfriend had been arrested by the Iranian police.

Mr Kazemi was told by his father in Tehran that his boyfriend had been questioned about his sexual relationships before his execution in April 2006 and named him under interrogation.
Mr Kazemi claimed asylum in Britain, fearing for his life if he returned to Iran.His case was refused late last year so he fled Britain for the Netherlands where he is now being detained.He appeared before a Dutch court to fight his return to Britain, where he fears authorities will send him back to Iran.

In a letter to the British Government, Mr Kazemi told Home Secretary Jacqui Smith: "I wish to inform the Secretary of State that I did not come to the UK to claim asylum. I came here to study and return to my country."But in the past few months my situation back home has changed. The Iranian authorities have found out that I am a homosexual and they are looking for me. If I return to Iran I will be arrested and executed like my former boyfriend."

Peter Tatchell, of the gay rights campaign group Outrage, who described the Government stance as "shameful" said a Dutch appeal court was expected to decide soon whether to grant him permission to apply for asylum in Holland or send him back to Britain.
A Home Office spokeswoman said it did not comment on individual cases, but if an application is refused there is a right of appeal to an independent judge.

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This post shows that there are no rights for gays in Iran. Also there is curruption in their police force. This shows there is not a very legitimate police force.

U.S. To Increase Pressure on Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury's top sanctions official is traveling to major Middle East financial centers this week to build support for its campaign to increase international pressure on Iran and combat terrorist financing.

A Treasury spokesman said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, will visit Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates this week to talk to government officials and banking executives.

"That trip is part of our overall mission to combat terrorist financing," said Treasury spokesman John Rankin.

The Treasury has frozen U.S. assets and prohibited American transactions with several Iranian state banks and other companies it accuses of aiding Iran's quest for nuclear weapons and of providing financial support to terrorist groups. Among banks blacklisted are Bank Melli, Iran's largest bank, Bank Mellat, Bank Sepah and Bank Saderat.

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The conflict between the US and Iran strengthens. The United States wants to increase pressure on Iran and "combat terrorist financing." What will become of the two battling countries?

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Israeli official calls Iran 'dangerous ticking bomb'

Israel’s ambassador to the United States said today that Iran was becoming a “very, very dangerous ticking bomb” and urged the world to take a more active role in forcing Iran to give up its uranium-enrichment program.A National Intelligence Estimate issued by U.S. agencies in December concluded that Iran suspended its nuclear arms program in 2003, but the Bush administration has stressed that the report confirms that Iran had a program and continued desire to build nuclear weapons.

Sallai Meridor, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., echoed the Bush administration call that Iran remains a serious threat, but he also upped the ante in making a comparison to the international community’s slowness to head off Adolph Hitler in the 1930s.

“The writing is on the wall like in the ‘30s,” Meridor told defense reporters in Washington. “It’s not hidden, it’s stated. Everybody who doesn’t close his eyes can see it. Everybody that is not deaf can hear it. The world should act and act now and not repeat the terrible mistakes that it made in the past.”It’s important to note that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called Israel a rotten state, has declared that the nation needs to be obliterated, and has expressed doubt about the Holocaust.

As you may tell Israel and Iran are going through tough times now but Israel is taking it to the next level. They believe Iran should be wiped off the face of the face of earth. Israel is comparing Iran to Hitler and comparing Iran's actions to the Holocaust.


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False Allegations Concerning Iran's Nuclear Program?

Iran's U.N. ambassador on Monday accused an Iranian opposition group on the U.S. and European Union terror blacklist of fabricating allegations that his country tried to make nuclear weapons in the 1990s.

Ambassador Mohammad Khazee said the United States was getting unreliable intelligence from the Mujahedeen Khalq, also known as the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, which helped Saddam Hussein during the war Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

He insisted that Iran has resolved all six outstanding issues about its nuclear program — which the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in its report last Friday — and Tehran should not face any new U.N. sanctions. He warned that new sanctions would harm "the credibility" of the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice disputed the Iranian assessment, saying the IAEA report provides "very strong" grounds for the Security Council to move ahead quickly with new sanctions. She cited the government's refusal to suspend enrichment — as the council has demanded — and its failure to respond credibly to U.S. allegations that Iran conducted weapons research into high explosives and missile design in the 1990s.

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While Iran believes that U.S. accusations concerning the nuclear program are senseless and were initiated by unreliable resources, the U.S. states that they have "very strong" reasons to follow their instincts and impose new sanctions on Iran.

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Ahmadinejad's Beliefs Up For Argument

Iran's former nuclear negotiator, a cleric, has said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government is encouraging superstitious practices.

The remarks have intensified the debate over the return of the Shia saviour, the 12th Imam known as the Mehdi.

Since Mr Ahmadinejad came to power he has repeatedly spoken of the need to plan for the Mehdi's imminent return.

Shia believe he went into hiding more than 1,000 years ago but will return to save the world from injustice.

Hassan Rowhani said the 12th Imam himself made it clear that anybody who claimed to have seen him would be a liar.

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Ahmadinejad's personal beliefs are causing dissention in Iran. This episode in Iran's history strengthens my belief that politics and religion should be two separate entities.

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Iran's Racial Comments Toward Israel

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday to express "outrage" over recent statements by Iranian officials calling for the destruction of Israel.


In the hour-long conversation, Gillerman said it was "outrageous for a member state to use racist, Nazi-like statements against another member state."


In yet another verbal attack against Israel Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Jewish state a "filthy bacteria" whose sole purpose was to oppress the other nations of the region.


"The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast," the Iranian president told supporters at a rally in southern Iran.


Ahmadinejad's remarks followed similar statements last week by Gen. Muhammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, who wrote in a letter to Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah that he was convinced "that Hizbullah's might is increasing with every passing day, and that in the near future, we will witness the disappearance of this cancerous growth called Israel."

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Again, Iran is experiencing tension with Israel. Ahmadinejad has been accused of making racial remarks against Israel, which has led to outrage on behalf of the Israeli people.

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Five Web Sites Shut Down During Iranian Elections

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities banned five Web sites that comment on current events for "poisoning" public opinion ahead of the crucial mid-March parliamentary elections, the state radio reported on Thursday.

The move is the latest in an election period which has seen the Interior Ministry, run by hard-liners close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, disqualify more than 2,000 prospective candidates — most of them reformers.

About 280 of those candidates were reinstated Tuesday by the Guardian Council, Iran's hard-line constitutional watchdog. But reformists have complained the reversal was insufficient to ensure a fair election.

In the past, the authorities have occasionally closed down some of the hundreds of private Web sites that comment on Iranian news and politics. But this was the first time they closed down five at once — a reflection of growing tension ahead of the vote.

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Iranian leaders are trying to minimize propaganda during the elections. Traditional Iranian leaders do not want reformists to expose their plans for Iran, and the reformists feel that the shutting down of the web sites fails "to ensure a fair election."

A History of Bad Blood

WASHINGTON - By his own admission, US ambassador John W Limbert's ordeal as a captive during the Iranian hostage crisis began with a monumental failure of negotiation. "




In 1979, somebody thought it would be a good idea to the let the Shah [of Iran] into the US for medical treatment, despite - I must say - the very eloquent and well-stated advice of our charge d'affairs at the time, Bruce Langein, who told Washington in no uncertain terms what he thought about the idea," said Limbert, during a talk at the government-funded think-tank the United States Institute of Peace. He is now charge d'affairs of the American Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan.




Limbert and 51 other US diplomats were held captive for 444 days until their release on January 20, 1981. Since the embassy siege, Iran and the US have remained in a state of "no war, no peace". Enmity and mistrust run deep, with each side accusing the other of past misdeeds. An oft-told Washington joke goes something like this:



Iranian: "Will you guys get over 1979?"


American: "Sure, only if you get over 1953."


Iranian: "Never."



In 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency backed a coup d'etat to oust democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq and return the Shah to the Peacock Throne.

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This article discusses the ancient conflict between the United States and Iran. Though the conflict is over 50 years old, little has improved between the two countries.