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ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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USS Farragut ordered to respond to distress call from cargo ship intercepted by Iran




Iran Revolutionary Guard patrol boats fired shots at a commercial cargo ship and then intercepted the vessel, the M/V Maersk Tigris, which was crossing the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday morning, according to a senior U.S. military official.

Despite reports in some media, there are no Americans on board, the official said.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said it was "inappropriate" for the Iranians to fire the warning shot. The U.S. Navy has dispatched one maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft to observe and monitor the situation, Warren told reporters.

The ship, a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, was transiting the Strait into the Persian Gulf on an internationally recognized maritime route when the the Iranian military contacted the vessel and directed the ship master to "divert further into Iranian waters," according to Warren.

"The master was contacted and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters. He declined and one of the IRGCN craft fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris," said Warren, referring to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. "The master complied with the Iranian demand and proceeded into Iranian waters in the vicinity of Larak Island."

After the shots were fired, the Tigris issued a distress call which was picked up by U.S. forces in the area and the USS Farragut was ordered to head towards the incident. The closest U.S. warship was 60 miles from the incident. The Pentagon thinks about 30 individuals are on board.

The U.S. Navy has also sent aircraft to monitor its status.

According to the shipping company, which is in contact with the U.S. military, the Iranian military has boarded the ship.

Even though the Strait of Hormuz is in Iranian territorial waters, "innocent passage" is applied — ships are authorized to pass through the body of water assuming they abide by all the rules of the sea — because it is an internationally recognized shipping lane.

Warren said it was "to be determined" what the USS Farragut will do when it reached the vicinity of the incident.

The M/V Maersk Tigris was seized at the request of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization (IPMO), Iran's semi-official FARS is reporting, citing informed sources. The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was seized after a relevant court order was issued according to the source, indicating that the IPMO had monetary differences with the ship owner.

It's significant that the vessel is from the Marshall Islands because of the Compact of Free Association between the U.S. and the Islands makes the U.S. responsible for its defense.

"The government of the United States has full authority and responsibility for security and defense matters in or relating to the Republic of the Marshall Islands," the treaty states.

A U.S. Navy official tells CNN that on April 24, the U.S. flagged cargo ship Maersk Kensington was intercepted by four Iranian naval patrol craft in the Strait of Hormuz. "The Iranians encircled the Kensington and followed the ship on its course for a period of time before withdrawing and breaking away," the official said.

After that, the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet issued a notice to mariners about the incident. "We have been in communication with U.S. shipping industry representatives with regards to how their vessels should respond to threatening encounters with foreign naval forces, and how to contact us," the official said. In the April 24 incident, no shots were fired. The official declined to say what advice is being given to U.S. cargo ships.

http://wtkr.com/2015/04/28/uss-farr...ess-call-from-cargo-ship-intercepted-by-iran/
 

amoy

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US Navy Responds to Iran Firing Warning Shots and Boarding Cargo Ship | Fox News



The U.S. Navy sent the guided-missile destroyer Farragut at "best speed" into the Straits of Hormuz yesterday after Iranian Revolutionary Guards patrol craft fired warning shots and boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged container ship.

The U.S. Navy also put up an unarmed maritime patrol aircraft to monitor the 837-foot, 65,000-ton MV Maersk Tigris, which was forced to proceed towards Iran's Larak Island in the heavily-travelled Straits, the chokepoint for much of the world's oil traffic between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said that there were no Americans among the Maersk Tigris crew of about 30, and there were no immediate reports that any had been injured.

The Danish-owned Maersk Tigris, which was registered in the Marshall Islands, was proceeding north through the narrow shipping channel of the 21-mile wide Straits when several armed speedboats from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy began circling.

"The master was contacted and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters," Warren said. "He declined and one of the IRGCN craft fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris."

Following the warning shots, "the master complied with the Iranian demand and proceeded into Iranian waters in the vicinity of Larak Island" but not before putting out a distress call that was picked up by the Navy at the U.S. Central Command, Warren said.

The incident began at about 4:05 a.m. EDT Tuesday when the Iranian speedboats approached the Maersk Tigris. The 509-foot, Arleigh Burke class Farragut was dispatched to the Straits after the shots were fired and was remaining in international waters, Warren said.

Iran's Fars news agency said that "the vessel had been seized for trespassing on Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf." Another Iranian news agency, Tasnim, reported that the incident did not have a "military or political dimension and is a civil matter."

Both Warren and State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said that the U.S. had security obligations to the Marshall Islands, which included coming to the defense of Marshall Islands-flagged ships.

Marshall Islands officials have yet to ask for military assistance "but we do have a security compact," Rathke said.

The Marshall Islands, scene of bloody island-hopping battles at Kwajelien and Eniwetok in World War II, were administered by the U.S. after the war. They attained full independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association with the U.S. which included U.S. defense guarantees.

Rathke said Iran had yet to give the U.S. a reason for the action against the Maersk Tigris and "I'm not going to speculate on what their motives might be." When asked if the Revolutionary Guards might be sending a message against the nuclear talks with the U.S., Rathke said "it's premature to jump to that conclusion."

It was unclear whether the Maersk Tigris may have strayed into Iranian territorial waters. The Straits have a northbound, two-mile wide shipping lane and a two-mile wide southbound shipping lane, with a two-mile buffer zone in between.

"Almost any scenario is plausible" in trying to discern the reasons for the actions of the Revolutionary Guards, said Chris Harmer, the former deputy director of future operations for the Navy's Fifth Fleet based in Manama, Bahrain.

The move against the Maersk Tigris could be seen as payback for the U.S. dispatch of the aircraft carrier Teddy Roosevelt to the Gulf of Aden last week to monitor an Iranian convoy suspected of carrying arms for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, said Harmer, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.

The convoy of nine cargo ships and two Iranian Navy warships was proceeding back to the Persian Gulf Tuesday and was reported heading north at the entrance to the Straits of Hormuz.

Firing on the container ship could also be the action of an Iranian "deviationist group that wants to scuttle the deal" between the U.S. and Iran to rein in Iran's nuclear programs in return for easing economic sanctions, Harmer said.

Another possible scenario involved the enmity of the leader of the Revolutionary Guards, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ali Jafari, towards Saudi Arabia for conducting airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis, Harmer said.

The Maersk Tigris was proceeding from the Saudi port at Jeddah to the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali. "Hard as it might be for us to comprehend, maybe they (the Revolutionary Guards) said we're just going to do this to yank the Saudis chain."

 

amoy

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A happy customer: China invested $21 billion in Iran's oil sector | Al Bawaba


Moqaddam said that Chinese banks are investigating a plan to finance Iranian projects at three times the amount of money Iran has in China (image: on file).

Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Abbas Sheri Moqaddam has said that China has so far invested €20 billion ($21 billion) in the country's oil industry.

Pointing to Chinese oil minister's recent trip to Iran, Moqaddam said that Chinese banks are investigating a plan to finance Iranian projects at three times the amount of money Iran has in China, Fars news agency reported April 17.

He further explained that so far, the relation of China's investment in Iranian oil projects to the Iranian money in China has been a 1-1 correspondence.

According to Moqaddam, China will announce the outcome of its negotiations on tripling investment in Iranian oil projects in the near future.

One of the Iranian projects carried out by Chinese companies is Yadavaran oil field and it is said to be 95 percent completed.

Also, the Chinese company CNPC has signed a $2 billion contract to produce 120,000 barrel per day of petroleum from the North Azadegan field.

China is Iran's biggest oil customer. In 2014, Iran's crude export to China rose by 28 percent compared to 2013 to hit 27.46 million metric tons, about 550 thousand barrels per day.
 

amoy

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Iran, China and the new silk road



On Thursday 2 April, the political framework for a final comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear programme was finally agreed to. In anticipation of potential future sanctions relief, China took a number of immediate steps to secure its trade and energy interests in Iran. While Iran welcomes this, it is still wary of Beijing's efforts.

As European and US sanctions were tightened, Iran increasingly turned to Asia to weather their impact. Despite efforts to coax Beijing away from Tehran, Washington was forced to repeatedly renew US sanctions waivers for China as Beijing continued to import oil from Iran. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency, Chinese purchases of crude oil in January 2014 boosted Iranian exports to 1.32 million barrels per day; 32% above the limit allowed by the November 2013 agreement with the P5+1. Clearly, China was anticipating more permanent sanctions relief and wanted to be ahead of the curve.

Iran is at the heart of a number of key Chinese strategic interests, including greater and more diversified supplies of energy, building a 'Silk Road' connecting the Middle East to China via Central Asia, and increasing its influence in the region.

As a result, energy and trade are not the only areas of cooperation between the two countries. China and Iran's defence cooperation through Chinese sales of advanced defence technologies, and assistance with Iran's ballistic missile program, spans three decades. In May 2014, Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan announced a desire for closer military cooperation with Iran during a rare and very public four-day visit to Beijing by his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Dehqan.

But Iranians are suspicious of the Chinese. They know their relationship is mainly one of convenience. They question whether Beijing would have taken such an active economic role in the Islamic Republic if it weren't for the hole left by Western sanctions and Beijing's gaping energy needs. Iranians also dislike the lack of Chinese economic and political investment in the markets they exploit. In April 2014, Iran cancelled a US$2.5 billion contract with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the development of the South Azadegan oil field after repeated delays in the project. Iranian officials complained about the poor quality and high cost of Chinese equipment and services.

What's more, the reasons for China's withdrawal from existing contracts in the oil and gas sector remain. The sanctions regime is still in place. Chinese businesses are still fearful of the impact of business with Iran on their business with the US. Iranian money is still held up in Chinese banks. Should there be a final agreement in June, their undoing will be painfully slow. The prospect of either suspension or potential 'snap-back' provisions will make businesses fearful of jumping into Iran.

But China's lack of political motivation in business decisions and its existing presence in Iran makes it an attractive partner moving forward. Once again, China wants to be ready should a final agreement be signed.

Just a week after the announcement of the framework agreement, Iranian energy officials went to Beijing to discuss boosting Chinese purchases of oil and investment in the sector in Iran. While Iran is hopeful it can attract European firms particularly in LNG development and technology, it looks to Sinopec and CNPC for developing gas in the South Pars fields and oil in Yadavaran and North Azadegan. China also reportedly agreed to build a pipeline designed to transport Iranian gas to Pakistan. While the project was put on hold because of sanctions, which have yet to be removed, Pakistan is keen to make progress so that the pipeline can be connected as soon as the ban on Iran's energy exports is lifted.

China also wants Iran integrated into Asian multilateral organisations—perhaps in an effort to entice them East. Beijing (and Russia) offered to back Iranian membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This week, China announced that Iran would become a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)—its response to the World Bank. This could help legitimise and facilitate business between both countries. Next month, Premier Xi will pay his first official visit to Tehran. He will be the first Chinese president to go to Iran after 13 years.

China is well paced to reap the benefits of the Iranian economy opening up. Not only did it continue to operate there while others were squeezed out, but it took concrete steps to firm up its commitments as soon as the framework agreement was announced. Much like after the announcement of the interim deal. Iran welcomes the interest, both for economic and political reasons. But Iran's partner of choice is the West—that's why it got into the negotiations in the first place.
 

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Pakistan, Iran to achieve shared prosperity through economic integration

On Pakistan, Iran gas pipeline, Pakistani commerce minister said that Gwadar to Nawabshah gas pipeline was part of Pak-China Trade Corridor and was slated for early implementation. Pakistan will arrange construction of the remaining portion of gas pipeline from Gwadar to Iran border pipeline, thus paving way for import of Iran's gas by Pakistan. The Iranian commerce minister assured that hurdles and obstacles in the way of bilateral trade would be removed through effective measures. He offered maximum facilitation for Pakistan's private sector to hold and participate in trade exhibitions in Iran. The last Joint Trade Committee meeting was held in Islamabad in 2011.

Earlier, Pakistani Commerce Minister Engr Khurram Dastgir met Iranian Minister of Economy and Finance Dr Ali Tayyab Nia. The two sides focused on urgently establishing a banking channel to expedite trade. Engr. Khurram also called on Mr Akbar Torkan, Adviser to President of Iran and Secretary Supreme Council of Iran's Free Trade, Industrial and Special Economic Zones. Both sides mooted proposals for a joint free-trade zone between the ports of Chabahar and Gwadar, and a trade corridor to link Chabahar, Gwadar and Chaman
 

ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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Israeli Defense Minister Invokes Hiroshima and Nagasaki In Response to Iran Question

Speaking at a conference in Jerusalem nearly two weeks ago, the Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon invoked the American decision to drop nuclear bombs on Japan in World War II in response to a question about “dealing with a threat like Iran.”



At the conference, organized by the right-wing Israeli legal activism group Shurat HaDin, Yaalon defended Israel’s decisions in several of its recent wars that critics have said showed a disregard for civilian life.

Although not addressing Iran specifically, Yaalon suggested that Israel may take extraordinary measures that would endanger civilians if “surgical operations” don’t present a viable alternative for accomplishing military objectives. He then raised U.S. President Harry Truman’s decision to use a nuclear weapon in World War II as an example of such a measure, adding, “We are not there yet.”

The remarks were first noticed by the website Electronic Intifada. Shurat HaDin posted a full videoof Yaalon’s remarks on-line Tuesday.

Here’s a transcript of the question - which was asked as part of a bundle of questions after Yaalon’s prepared speech - and the full response, beginning with a reference to the specific question and ending just before Yaalon glances at his notepad and starts addressing a subsequent query:

QUESTION: ...[T]o the question of whether democracies are at a strategic disadvantage. Is dealing with a threat like Iran something democracies are not structured well to do?

YAALON: There are those who claim that this battle is not fair because democracy can’t fight back [against a] tyrannical regime - not talking about terror organization. I don’t agree with it. Certain cases, we might take certain steps that we believe that these steps should be taken in order to defend ourselves. I mentioned the discussion about the interception of the rockets positions on civilian houses. We decided to do it.

I can imagine some other steps that should be taken. Of course, we should be sure that we can look at the mirror after the decision or the operation. Of course, we should be sure it is a military necessity. We should consider cost and benefit, of course. But, at the end, we might take certain steps.

I do remember the story of President Truman was asked, How do feel after deciding to launch the nuclear bombs [at] Nagasaki and Hiroshima, causing at the end the fatalities of 200,000 casualties? And he said, When I heard from my officers that the alternative is a long war with Japan, with potential fatalities of a couple of millions, I saw it was a moral decision.

We are not there yet. But that [is] what I’m talking about. Certain steps in cases in which we feel like we don’t have the answer by surgical operations or something like that.

You can watch the video of the question and response.

The response wasn’t quite a threat to use nukes. But perhaps invoking the use of an atomic bomb to end a war isn’t such a wise move for a country with a covert arsenal of nukes seeking to rally the world to its side against Iran’s nuclear program.

... Payvand News - 05/16/15 ...

blah blah blah...
 

ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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Return of 175 martyr divers agitates grievous memories in Iran


It was on May 18 when the bodies of 175 Iranian divers who were reportedly buried alive with their hands tied during Iraq imposed War on Iranback in the 1980s were returned home from Iraq.
As many as 175 bodies belonging to Iranian divers who were killed by the forces of the Saddam’s Ba’ath regime during Operation Karbala-4 with their hands tied, were brought to the country through Shalamcheh Border Crossing in Khuzestan Province.

Brigadier General Mohammad Bagherzadeh, the commander of the Missing in Action (MIA) Search Committee of the Iranian Armed Forces, said some of the retrieved bodies bore no scars indicating that the divers might have been buried alive.

Once the news of the final homecoming of the martyred Iranian divers and what happened to them broke in the Iranian news, millions of Iranian mourned in social networking sites for their distressful loss after 29 years.

The facts on the divers being buried alive or being killed with their hands tied provoked a wave of hatred for the crimes of the Ba’ath regime in Iraq making Iranians to share posts and pictures of the divers on social networking sites, touching off a wave of sympathy on Iranian social media.

The link found its way to other online pages with users creating their own hashtags – including #hand-tied and #175 – to join fellow online mourners and remember the martyred divers.

Messages on the painful loss of divers and sympathetic comments for the martyrs quickly went also viral on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Many users started to share old pictures of the divers; even those with ideological and political differences were shocked by the event which prompted them to set aside their beliefs for a while and shed tears for the men who fought with dignity to protect their homeland.

http://**********/attachments/upload_2015-6-16_1-47-7-jpeg.229992/

A piece of design by Abbas Emad Haghi, a graphic designer, was shared on social media in memory of the divers who finally came back home, but not in one piece.

He wrote a caption under his design which depicts a single diver underwater with the number 175 on his chest. It reads: “When I was working on this design, initially I tied the hands. I got scared. It is horrible to tie somebody’s hands even in virtual world, let alone in reality!”

http://**********/attachments/upload_2015-6-16_1-47-7-jpeg.229989/

A subsidiary of Tehran Municipality’s daily paper Hamshahri (Persian for citizen) and a magazine for the youth, Hamshahri Javan (Young Citizen), dedicated its latest front page to a portfolio about the 175 martyrs where it used ‘Track 175’ as its headline which referred to a recognized 2014 movie, Track 143; the movie narrated the true story of a woman whose only son volunteers to war fronts and goes missing in action. The mother waits years searching for her son believing in his return and finally receives remnants of his son’s corpse after some 25 years. The movie by Nargess Abiar was extensively welcomed by the public.

A group of Iranian artists, in a spontaneous campaign, paid tribute to 175 martyrs of resistance by publishing photos captioned with heart-rending and touching posts in their memory.

Mahdi Pakdel, Mahnaz Afshar, Mehrab Ghasemkhani, Rasoul Sadrameli, Hossein Mehri, Aref Lorestani, Amir Mohammad Motaghian and Bhareh Rahnama are among Iranian celebrities who expressed their respect towards all those who sacrificed their lives serving humanity in the name of God.

http://**********/attachments/upload_2015-6-16_1-47-7-jpeg.229991/

Renowned Iranian actress Mahnaz Afshar posted a photo in the caption of which she wrote: “In respect to all who served our country, those who left us and those who remained alive unassuming in their dedication to their country.”

“Karbala-4, silence, tears and respect,” Iranian film director, screenwriter and film producer Rasoul Sadrameli wrote under a photo he published in his social networking page.

Former Head of the Cultural and Artistic Organization of Tehran Municipality and a popular religious leader Shahab Moradi also expressed his grief over the painful death of 175 Iranian divers. “The release of the facts on the painful martyrdom of Iranian divers shocked Iranians making them mourn for their lost beloved ones.”



Ehsan Bakeri, son of one of Iranian war heroes who was martyred in the Iran–Iraq War Mehdi Bakeri, published an impressive note in a magazine. “Once again, martyrs prompted unity and solidarity in the society, which proved Iranians’ dedication to the Islamic Iran.”

In a move to commemorate the martyrs, Islamic City Council of Tehran announced on Wednesday, May 27, it would review measures for naming a square in Tehran after 175 divers of operation Karbala-4 which was set in 1987 and became the largest battle of the war.

Public reactions shocked many people and revealed incredible facts. Iranians proved community values are far beyond conventional or media imaginations. Once again they proved they respect their heroes regardless of political inclinations or cultural beliefs and, above all, they proved they have always been united for domestic ‘values.’

http://en.mehrnews.com/news/107555/Return-of-175-martyr-divers-agitates-grievous-memories-in-Iran


 

SANITY

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Iran lawmakers pass bill allowing men to marry adopted daughters Human rights activists say approved bill, making girls vulnerable to the ruling from age 13, 'legalises paedophilia'


Young girls in Chah Bahar, Iran. Iran's body of clerics and jurists has not yet vetted the new legislation on child marriage. Photograph: Jamshid Bairami/EPA

Parliamentarians in Iran have passed a bill to protect the rights of children which includes a clause that allows a man to marry his adopted daughter and while she is as young as 13 years. Activists have expressed alarm that the bill, approved by parliament on Sunday, opens the door for the caretaker of a family to marry his or her adopted child if a court rules it is in the interests of the individual child. Iran's Guardian Council, a body of clerics and jurists which vets all parliamentary bills before the constitution and the Islamic law, has yet to issue its verdict on the controversial legislation. To the dismay of rights campaigners, girls in the Islamic republic can marry as young as 13 provided they have the permission of their father. Boys can marry after the age of 15. In Iran, a girl under the age of 13 can still marry, but needs the permission of a judge. At present, however, marrying stepchildren is forbidden under any circumstances. As many as 42,000 children aged between 10 and 14 were married in 2010, according to the Iranian news website Tabnak. At least 75 children under the age of 10 were wed in Tehran alone. Shadi Sadr, a human rights lawyer with the London-based group Justice for Iran, told the Guardian she feared the council would feel safe to put its stamp of approval on the bill while Iran's moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, draws the attention of the press during his UN visit to New York.


"This bill is legalising paedophilia," she warned. "It's not part of the Iranian culture to marry your adopted child. Obviously incest exists in Iran more or less as it happens in other countries across the world, but this bill is legalising paedophilia and is endangering our children and normalising this crime in our culture." She added: "You should not be able to marry your adopted children, full stop. If a father marries his adopted daughter who is a minor and has sex, that's rape." According to Sadr, officials in Iran have tried to play down the sexual part of such marriages, saying it is in the bill to solve the issue of hijab [head scarf] complications when a child is adopted.

An adopted daughter is expected to wear the hijab in front of her father, and a mother should wear it in front of her adopted son if he is old enough, Sadr said. "With this bill, you can be a paedophile and get your bait in the pretext of adopting children," Sadr said. Some experts believe the new bill is contradictory to Islamic beliefs and would not pass the Guardian Council. An initial draft of the bill, which had completely banned marriage with adopted children, was not approved by the council and it is feared that MPs introduced the condition for marriage to satisfy the jurists and clergymen. This is why Sadr fears it can pass the council this time. The bill has prompted backlash in Iran with the reformist newspaper, Shargh, publishing an article warning about its consequences. "How can someone be looking after you and at the same time be your husband?" the article asked. Shiva Dolatabadi, head of Iran's society for protecting children's rights, has also warned that the bill implies that the parliament is legalising incest. "You cannot open a way in which the role of a father or a mother can be mixed with that of an spouse," she said, according to Shargh. "Children can't be safe in such a family." Execution of juvenile offenders in Iran has also been in spotlight in recent years amid confusion between the age of majority – when minors cease to be legally considered children – and the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which is 15 for boys and nine for girls under Iranian law.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/26/iran-lawmakers-men-wed-adopted-daughters
That country needs immediate foreign intervention/occupation and be taught ethics.
 

blueblood

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That country needs immediate foreign intervention/occupation and be taught ethics.
What they do with their own citizens should be none of our concern or else someone will read us our infant mortality rates.
 

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Hillary Clinton: “If I’m President, We Will Attack Iran”


On Friday, presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton addressed a hand-picked audience at a Dartmouth College campaign event. She lied calling Iran an “existential threat to Israel… I hope we are able to get a deal next week that puts a lid on (its) nuclear weapons program.”


Even if we do get such a deal, we will still have major problems from Iran. They are the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism.



They use proxies like Hezbollah to sow discord and create insurgencies to destabilize governments. They are taking more and more control of a number of nations in the region and they pose an existential threat to Israel.



We…have turn our attention to working with our partners to try to reign in and prevent this continuing Iranian aggressiveness.



Fact: US and Israeli intelligence both say Iran’s nuclear program has no military component. No evidence whatever suggests Tehran wants one. Plenty indicates otherwise.



As a 2008 presidential aspirant, she addressed AIPAC’s annual convention saying:



The United States stands with Israel now and forever. We have shared interests….shared ideals….common values. I have a bedrock commitment to Israel’s security.



(O)ur two nations are fighting a shared threat” against Islamic extremism. I strongly support Israel’s right to self-defense (and) believe America should aid in that defense.



I am committed to making sure that Israel maintains a military edge to meet increasing threats. I am deeply concerned about the growing threat in Gaza (and) Hamas’ campaign of terror.



No such campaign exists. The only threats Israel faces are ones it invents.



Clinton repeated tired old lies saying Hamas’ charter “calls for the destruction of Israel. Iran threatens to destroy Israel.”



“I support calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard what it is: a terrorist organization. It is imperative that we get both tough and smart about dealing with Iran before it is too late.”



She backs “massive retaliation” if Iran attacks Israel, saying at the time:



“I want the Iranians to know that if I’m president, we will attack Iran. In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them.”



She endorses using cluster bombs, toxic agents and nuclear weapons in US war theaters. She calls them deterrents that “keep the peace.” She was one of only six Democrat senators opposed to blocking deployment of untested missile defense systems – first-strike weapons entirely for offense.


Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].

==

:D.. Trying to be macho so that US gets its first ever Women President!!!
 

amoy

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China Building Two Nuclear Power Plants in Iran
By Mars Woo | Jul 26, 2015 01:01 AM EDT

Atomic Energy Organization in Iran (AEOI) head Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted in the news as saying that China will deploy over 20,000 workers and engineers for the nuclear power plant project.

Iranian authorities said the country is ready for the two nuclear plants that will be built by China because it has water reserves of 90 tons and up to 8 tons of uranium that will support the project.

AEOI spokesman Behrous Kamalvandi said the Iranian government expects the two Chinese-built nuclear power plants to produce up to 190,000 separative work units of nuclear fuel. The fuel will be used for industrial purposes.

"The new deal will change our country's nuclear industry," Salehi said, adding that while the cost of the two plants are high, it will be justified as Chinese firms start to open businesses in Iran.
Read more: http://www.chinatopix.com/articles/...uclear-power-plants-in-iran.htm#ixzz3h3gO7FfN

Iran releases list of oil money debtors
Jul 26th, 2015 by John Donovan.

The oil major Royal Dutch Shell owes Tehran $2.8 billion while it made a net loss of $6 million trading Iranian oil in 2012.

TEHRAN, Jul. 26 (MNA) – Iran’s Central Bank and National Oil Company released the list of companies and refineries owing oil dues to Iran.

During the period US and European sanctions prevented international banks from transferring money to the Islamic Republic, billions of Iran’s oil revenues were frozen in banks overseas.

In a joint statement released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) the oil giants and refineries owing to Iran were listed, in which some Greek refineries, British-Dutch-owned Shell refineries, BP, South Korean Petrochemical and Polymer Company, along with Indian refineries top the list of Iran’s oil debtors.
 

ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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Ok guys! it is starting:

Switzerland Lifts Sanctions Against Iran

Swiss government calls lifting of sanctions 'a sign of its support' for nuclear deal's implementation.


REUTERS - Neutral Switzerland will officially lift on Thursday sanctions against Iran that had been suspended since January 2014, the government announced on Wednesday, citing a deal last month between Tehran and six big powers to curb Iran's nuclear program.
"The Federal Council (government) wishes today's steps to be seen as a sign of its support for the implementation of the nuclear agreement and its interest in deepening bilateral relations with Iran," a statement said.
The deal that Iran struck with China, Russia, the United States, Germany, France and Britain aims to rein in Iran's nuclear program in return for relief from UN, EU and U.S. sanctions that were crippling the Islamic republic's economy.

The Swiss sanctions had banned trade in precious metals with Iranian state bodies and set requirements to report trade in Iranian petrochemical products and the transport of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.
Switzerland will also introduce a new exemption clause that lets Berne implement UN Security Council resolutions on Iran.
The government said Switzerland wished to "promote a broad political and economic exchange with Iran" but would monitor implementation of the nuclear deal.

"Should implementation of the agreement fail, the Federal Council reserves the right to reintroduce the lifted measures," it said.

Switzerland Lifts Sanctions Against Iran World Haaretz Daily Newspaper Israel News
 

ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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@ShahryarHedayatiSHBA is there any truism in the news regarding Iran buying J-10 fighters from China ???

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150731/1025235830.html

According to this, it states Iran is planning or finalizing a deal for 150 J-10 jets from China, 100 Il-78 from Russia and also states they are also in negotiation for 250 Su-30 aircrafts from Russia....

but even They're citing Debka File...a notorious Israeli neo-con website, with a history of promoting dubious erroneous claims and falsifications.
 

ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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India pushes for $2.6 billion Iran smelter

Tehran, Aug 9, IRNA - Iranian and Indian officials will meet next week to discuss plans to construct an aluminum smelter and a captive power plant in Iran in a project worth about $2.6 billion.
India pushes for $2.6b Iran smelter


National Aluminum Co Ltd (NALCO)’s idea to set up the 1-million-ton capacity facility is driven by power shortages in India given that electricity accounts for 40 percent of smelting costs.
Tapan Kumar Chand, NALCO’s new chairman and managing director, will meet Iran’s Ambassador to India Gholamreza Ansari in New Delhi next week to take things forward, the Tehran-based English newspaper Iran Daily reported.
Chand said his company would prefer a local partner who could supply cheap electricity to fire the smelter. For feedstock in the plant, NALCO will ship alumina from the Indian state of Odisha.
The company has been planning to build the smelter since 2014 but was dragging its feet because of sanctions on Iran.
Last month’s conclusion of nuclear talks has encouraged the Indian government and companies to push for stepped-up trade with the Islamic Republic.
India’s state-owned Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) plans to import one million metric tons of iron ore from Gol Gohar Mining Company of Iran. The Mangalore-based company makes pellets from the imported ore and exports them to Iran.
KIOCL has already supplied 50,000 metric tons of high grade iron ore pellets to Iran and expects to sell 1-2 million tons more.
On Monday, Ambassador Ansari said Iran would welcome India’s participation in various ‘big ticket projects’ in diverse sectors.
Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan plans to visit Tehran at the head of a delegation to win back development of a major gas field, which New Delhi lost by dawdling under US pressures.
India has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop Iran’s strategically-located Chabahar port but a commercial accord has to be inked yet in order to start the project.
 

Illusive

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http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150731/1025235830.html

According to this, it states Iran is planning or finalizing a deal for 150 J-10 jets from China, 100 Il-78 from Russia and also states they are also in negotiation for 250 Su-30 aircrafts from Russia....

but even They're citing Debka File...a notorious Israeli neo-con website, with a history of promoting dubious erroneous claims and falsifications.
Should go for 5th gen Pak fa, its not that far away, and get mig29k meanwhile which has lot of upgrades and its a naval version, adaptability shouldn't be a problem cause you already have those in your inventory.
 

ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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U.K. Reopens Iran Embassy After Four Years as Hammond Visits


Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond arrived in Tehran on Sunday to open the U.K.’s embassy in Iran four years after a mob attack shut it down, marking an improvement in diplomatic relations since July’s nuclear accord.

Police and security forces lined streets leading to the embassy for Hammond’s visit, the first by a U.K. foreign minister since 2003. He will remain in the Iranian capital with a trade delegation on Monday, the Foreign Office said in a statement. Iran’s embassy in London will also reopen on Sunday.

The nuclear agreement between Iran and global powers has eased the Islamic Republic’s isolation, which intensified under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2011, a mob assaulted the U.K. embassy as well as a British residential compound in Tehran, tearing down the U.K. flag and Queen Elizabeth II’s picture, breaking windows and rifling through documents. The U.K. expelled Iranian diplomats from London.


“The opening of the embassy can create a more suitable basis, and eases the circumstances, for the relationship between Iran and European countries, including the U.K.,” Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, a senior adviser to President Hassan Rouhani, said in an interview in Tehran.

Trade Ties
The election of Rouhani in 2013 helped to ease tensions between Iran and the West. Rouhani had a popular mandate to repair an economy hurt by sanctions, and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers that year he had “reached out” to Rouhani. The two met in New York last September -- the first between leaders of the countries since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The U.K. is also a signatory to last month’s nuclear deal with Iran, which lifts sanctions in return for imposing curbs on its atomic program.

“Encouraging trade and investment” will help ensure the success of the agreement, Hammond said in the Foreign Office statement. The two countries should be ready to discuss joint challenges such as regional terrorism, the spread of Islamic State and drug trafficking, he said.

Nobakht said Iran welcomes foreign investments that can bring “technology and knowledge.”Better trade ties can also help Iran’s non-oil exports access international markets, he said.

Hammond is scheduled to meet his counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian state radio reported.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...mbassy-after-4-year-closure-as-hammond-visits
 

ShahryarHedayatiSHBA

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Iran says it shot down reconnaissance drone as officials unveil updated missile






In an official photo released on Saturday, Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani, left, briefs the media after unveiling the surface-to-surface Fateh-313, or Conqueror, missile. Photograph: AP


Associated Press in Tehran



Iran’s official IRNA news agency said on Saturday the country’s military had shot down a reconnaissance drone in western Iran near the border with Iraq.

IRNA quoted Colonel Farzad Fereidouni, a local air defense system commander, in a report as saying the unmanned aircraft was shot down in recent days after it “confronted” the air defense missile system. He did not say which country the drone belonged to, or give specifics on the timing.

Iran has claimed to have captured several US drones in recent years, including an advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone in December 2011 and at least three Boeing-designed ScanEagle aircraft.

Iran said last year it had successfully tested its copy of the RQ-170 drone based on one it captured. Tehran has said it is also copying the ScanEagle.


Iran also unveiled a short-range solid fuel ballistic missile on Saturday, an upgraded version that the government said could more accurately pinpoint targets.

The surface-to-surface Fateh-313, or Conqueror, was unveiled at a ceremony marking Defense Industry Day and attended by President Hassan Rouhani, who said military might was necessary to achieve peace in the volatile Middle East.

State television showed footage of the missile being fired from an undisclosed location. The missile is a newer version of Fateh-110 and has a quicker launch capability, a longer lifespan and can strike targets with pinpoint accuracy within a 500km (310-mile) range, the report said.

United Nations security council resolution 2231, which endorsed a landmark nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers last month, has called on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Iran says none of its missiles are designed for that purpose.


The resolution also contains an arms embargo against Iran for the next eight years, but it’s not part of the historic nuclear deal. Iran has said it won’t abide by that part of the resolution and Rouhani reconfirmed it Saturday.

“We will buy weapons from anywhere we deem necessary. We won’t wait for anybody’s permission or approval and won’t look at any resolution. And we will sell weapons to anywhere we deem necessary,” he said in comments broadcast live on state television Saturday.

Rouhani said Iran could not remain passive when instability has spread in neighbouring countries.

“Can we be indifferent ... when there are special circumstances on our eastern, western, northern and southern borders?” he said, apparently referring to fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

“How can a weak country unable to stand up to the military power of neighbors, rivals and enemies achieve peace?”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/22/iran-shoots-down-drone-missile-iraq
 

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