Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran according to Scottish Newspaper report.
The Sunday Herald said they can reveal the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu” bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures.
Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran’s controversial nuclear facilities. There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack, should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran not to make nuclear weapons.
Although the story was not confirmed at the time, the new evidence suggests that it was accurate.
Dan Plesch, director of the Center for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London and co-author of a recent study on US preparations for an attack on Iran was quoted by the Scottish newspaper as saying, “They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran. US bombers are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours."
The preparations were being made by the US military, but it would be up to President Obama to make the final decision. He may decide that it would be better for the US to act instead of Israel, Plesch argued.
Diego Garcia is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971 with the British.
Neither the United States nor Israel have ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the long-running row over Iran's disputed nuclear ambitions.
According to The Herald, a shipping company based in Florida, Superior Maritime Services, will be paid $699,500 to carry many thousands of military items from Concord, California, to Diego Garcia.
Crucially, the cargo includes 195 smart, guided, Blu-110 bombs and 192 massive 2000lb Blu-117 bombs.
“The US is not publicising the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely,” he added. “The US ... is using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.”
According to Ian Davis, director of the new independent thinktank, Nato Watch, the shipment to Diego Garcia is a major concern. “We would urge the US to clarify its intentions for these weapons, and the Foreign Office to clarify its attitude to the use of Diego Garcia for an attack on Iran,” he said.
The British Ministry of Defence has said in the past that the US government would need permission to use Diego Garcia for offensive action. It has already been used for strikes against Iraq during the 1991 and 2003 Gulf wars.
More News from Jerusalem
Showing posts with label iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iran. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Iran launches new missile production line - capable of destroying 3,000 ton warships
Iran has started mass production of the Nasr 1 (Victory) cruise missile according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
Iranian Interior Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said at a ceremony to inaugurate Nasr 1 production line "Nasr 1 missile is a cruise missile capable of destroying warships that weigh up to 3,000 tons."
Vahidi, speaking at Iran’s defense ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization also said the “Nasr 1 is a short-range coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missile which could be fired from coasts and all types of vessels.” adding it would strengthen Iran's naval power as “New features will be added to the missile in the near future, making it suitable for launch from helicopters and submarines.”
Ahmad Vahidi said last year while announcing Iran successfully tested upgraded versions of the medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles with can fly up to 2,000 kilometers, putting Israel well within range, that in the event of an Israeli attack its "lifespan, which is today coming to an end, would be speeded up" and “If this [Israeli attack] happens, which of course we do not foresee, its ultimate result would be that it expedites the Zionist regime's last breath.”
This week IHS Jane’s reported, through the use of commercial satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe and GeoEye, that a new launch pad is being constructed with North Korean assistance at Iran’s Semnan space centre that could ultimately launch Tehran’s next-generation Simorgh rocket.
More News from Jerusalem
Iranian Interior Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said at a ceremony to inaugurate Nasr 1 production line "Nasr 1 missile is a cruise missile capable of destroying warships that weigh up to 3,000 tons."
Vahidi, speaking at Iran’s defense ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization also said the “Nasr 1 is a short-range coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missile which could be fired from coasts and all types of vessels.” adding it would strengthen Iran's naval power as “New features will be added to the missile in the near future, making it suitable for launch from helicopters and submarines.”
Ahmad Vahidi said last year while announcing Iran successfully tested upgraded versions of the medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles with can fly up to 2,000 kilometers, putting Israel well within range, that in the event of an Israeli attack its "lifespan, which is today coming to an end, would be speeded up" and “If this [Israeli attack] happens, which of course we do not foresee, its ultimate result would be that it expedites the Zionist regime's last breath.”
This week IHS Jane’s reported, through the use of commercial satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe and GeoEye, that a new launch pad is being constructed with North Korean assistance at Iran’s Semnan space centre that could ultimately launch Tehran’s next-generation Simorgh rocket.
More News from Jerusalem
Monday, March 1, 2010
Senator Kerry: Israel won't go alone on Iran - U.S is on same page
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry visiting Jerusalem today said the United States and Israel were “on the same page” regarding Iran’s nuclear program and called on the international community to take a tough stance against Iran's nuclear program and impose effective sanctions.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Senator Kerry met this morning to discuss the main issues on the agenda, including the Iranian nuclear threat and ways to resume the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Speaking to reporters concerning the various options on the table the Senator said "I think that the prime minister is fully aware through his conversations with the administration as well as through his own comments to not be rash or not jump the gun and to give the other opportunities a chance"
On whether or not Israel would make a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities Senator Kerry said he believed “Netanyahu understood what the U.S. was trying to achieve with diplomacy.”
The Senator also met with opposition leader Tzipi Livni who warned of the situation that has unfolded since the government added to a list of heritage sites the Cave of Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb saying “The diplomatic conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is about to turn into a religious one that will be impossible to solve,” adding "I call upon the Palestinian leadership to stop the deterioration in the situation before it is too late.”
Vice President Joe Biden is expected to make a trip to Israel shortly to continue with discussions on the Iranian situation.
Read more News from Jerusalem
Sunday, February 21, 2010
President Peres to the Jewish Agency Board of Governors: Iran presents the greatest danger for the whole world
“Iran presents the greatest danger for the whole world. An international coalition must do three things: raise a moral call, impose economic sanctions, and install advanced anti-missile defense systems.”
“I think there exists a great call for a Jewish spiritual revival and re-moralization against the dangers we face”
President Peres opened the three-day meeting of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors today. In his address the President told the Jewish leaders: “Iran presents the greatest danger for the whole world. Today the Arabs are being challenged by the Iranian desire to establish a non-Arab hegemony over the Middle East as it was for four hundred years under the Persian Empire. The Iranians use Israel as an excuse but we shall disappoint them. We don’t want to govern anybody—neither Arabs, nor Muslims.”
The President declared “we have to think seriously how to handle [the Iranian threat], and how to face it,” and stated that “I don’t think [Iran presents] a problem or danger simply against Israel. It’s against the whole world. Having imperialistic ambitions and a nuclear bomb is a very dangerous combination because a single bomb today is like a whole army in other times. The world will become ungovernable if every country in the Middle East will have a nuclear bomb without responsible people to govern it. I am afraid the world is moving too slowly to face the problem.”
Read more on News from Jerusalem
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Checkmate - Ahmadinejad is Playing Iran's Deadly Game
Checkmate - Ahmadinejad is Playing Iran's Deadly Game
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is playing a very dangerous game. His years of defiance in the face of international pressure to come clean about Iran's nuclear ambitions is coming to a head.
The latest IAEA report proves Iran is capable of making a nuclear weapon. With their enrichment program going from 20 to 90 percent; the process would take just six months.
Israel, in the event of what looks like a ‘when’ and not ‘if’ major conflict in the middle east, is going to have its hands full with a barrage of Kassam, Grad, Mortars, Katyusha and Scuds fired at her by hostile neighbors in retaliation to an attack on Iran by Israel, the US or a coalition of countries. No matter who leads the attack on Iran, it will be played out as Israel’s fault and Israel will pay the ultimate price.
Since the 2006 Lebanon war there has been one report after another that Hezballah has restocked and refortified its military with weapons smuggled in through Syria from Iran. Syria has built up its reserves with weapons from Iran as well. Hamas in Gaza has not lost any time during this past year’s cease fire, smuggling bigger and more sophisticated weapons, and now has rockets that can travel 60 kilometers, which puts Tel Aviv in striking distance from the south.
What does this mean for Israel? Even with the mid 2010 launch date of the first “Iron Dome” system along the Gaza border, a barrage of rockets from three different sides all at once may prove more than the Iron Dome can handle.
IDF Head of Operations, Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, said that some Hezballah rockets now have a range of more than 150 miles -- making Tel Aviv reachable from as far away as Beirut. Israeli officials say Hezbollah's most potent weapons include about 500 Iranian Zilzal guided missiles, with a range up to 186 miles.
In addition, they say Hezballah has 4,000 to 6,000 Iranian Fajr 3 rockets; an artillery rocket that has an estimated range of 45 kilometers or 25-30 miles, and Fajr 5 rockets, which have a range of about 75–80 kilometers. In totality The IDF estimates Hezballah has about 40,000 rockets of different sizes and types and the stock pile is growing daily.
On top of the Iranian threat and an ever growing stockpile of conventional weapons being prepared for what seems like an inevitable conflict in the near future, Israel in the last few weeks is witnessing an escalation in the rhetoric against her from both Syria and Lebanon. Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened this week "If you bomb the airport of martyr Rafik Hariri in Beirut, we will bomb Ben Gurion's airport in Tel Aviv." Today Syria's prime minister warned Israel that any new Mideast war would be “catastrophic for the region and beyond.”
Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric and defiance to the UN and the rest of the international community an effort to egg Israel into a preemptive strike so Iran’s puppet nations can launce a conventional attack on Israel, while all the time yelling “self defense”?
Make no mistake a Nuclear Iran is a threat to Israel, the Middle East and the rest of the world. I was reminded that the game of chess found its roots in the Middle East. Did you know the word “Mate,” as in “Checkmate” is Arabic and means "died", "is dead”?
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is playing a very dangerous game. His years of defiance in the face of international pressure to come clean about Iran's nuclear ambitions is coming to a head.
The latest IAEA report proves Iran is capable of making a nuclear weapon. With their enrichment program going from 20 to 90 percent; the process would take just six months.
Israel, in the event of what looks like a ‘when’ and not ‘if’ major conflict in the middle east, is going to have its hands full with a barrage of Kassam, Grad, Mortars, Katyusha and Scuds fired at her by hostile neighbors in retaliation to an attack on Iran by Israel, the US or a coalition of countries. No matter who leads the attack on Iran, it will be played out as Israel’s fault and Israel will pay the ultimate price.
Since the 2006 Lebanon war there has been one report after another that Hezballah has restocked and refortified its military with weapons smuggled in through Syria from Iran. Syria has built up its reserves with weapons from Iran as well. Hamas in Gaza has not lost any time during this past year’s cease fire, smuggling bigger and more sophisticated weapons, and now has rockets that can travel 60 kilometers, which puts Tel Aviv in striking distance from the south.
What does this mean for Israel? Even with the mid 2010 launch date of the first “Iron Dome” system along the Gaza border, a barrage of rockets from three different sides all at once may prove more than the Iron Dome can handle.
IDF Head of Operations, Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, said that some Hezballah rockets now have a range of more than 150 miles -- making Tel Aviv reachable from as far away as Beirut. Israeli officials say Hezbollah's most potent weapons include about 500 Iranian Zilzal guided missiles, with a range up to 186 miles.
In addition, they say Hezballah has 4,000 to 6,000 Iranian Fajr 3 rockets; an artillery rocket that has an estimated range of 45 kilometers or 25-30 miles, and Fajr 5 rockets, which have a range of about 75–80 kilometers. In totality The IDF estimates Hezballah has about 40,000 rockets of different sizes and types and the stock pile is growing daily.
On top of the Iranian threat and an ever growing stockpile of conventional weapons being prepared for what seems like an inevitable conflict in the near future, Israel in the last few weeks is witnessing an escalation in the rhetoric against her from both Syria and Lebanon. Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened this week "If you bomb the airport of martyr Rafik Hariri in Beirut, we will bomb Ben Gurion's airport in Tel Aviv." Today Syria's prime minister warned Israel that any new Mideast war would be “catastrophic for the region and beyond.”
Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric and defiance to the UN and the rest of the international community an effort to egg Israel into a preemptive strike so Iran’s puppet nations can launce a conventional attack on Israel, while all the time yelling “self defense”?
Make no mistake a Nuclear Iran is a threat to Israel, the Middle East and the rest of the world. I was reminded that the game of chess found its roots in the Middle East. Did you know the word “Mate,” as in “Checkmate” is Arabic and means "died", "is dead”?
Sunday, February 14, 2010
U.S Military Head in Israel as PM Netanyahu heads to Russia
U.S Military Head in Israel as PM Netanyahu heads to Russia
Amid growing speculation of an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen is in Israel for discussions with military personel while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is en-route to Moscow for meetings with top Russian officials.
Michael Mullen had a brief stop first in Egypt and will have another stop in Jordan on the way out. So far there is just speculation to the nature of the talks however, amid renewed speculation that the Israelis may be preparing for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, the subject is expected to be focused on the growing threat from Iran’s nuclear program.
During his visit Admiral Mullen will hold a private meeting with Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi, as well as a briefing with senior commanders of the General Staff, including Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Maj. Gen. Benny Ganz, Head of Israel Defense Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, Head of Strategic Planning Directorate, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, and the military attaché to Washington, Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni.
Despite some differences of opinion concerning Iran’s nuclear program, last year Mullen said both himself and Ashkenazi are "by and large" in agreement on Iran's progress toward obtaining nuclear weapons. He also knows "there is a leadership in Israel that is not going to tolerate" a nuclear Iran, saying that Tehran's atomic designs are a matter of "life or death" for the Jewish state. Regarding the question of whether or not Iran’s nuclear program has peaceful purposes he said, "I fundamentally believe that the Iranians are on a path to developing a nuclear weapon.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke about his coming trip to Russia during today’s cabinet meeting, saying "We will discuss Iran first and foremost." Netanyahu is expected to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin where he will push for urgent "crippling sanctions" against Iran over its nuclear program.
Meanwhile in the background and possibly flying under the radar was the American military teams visit to Israel to disgust the possibility of storing some of the equipment and ammunition that is going to be pulled out of Iraq. “There is talk that some of the equipment will be stored in Israel,” the official said. “If that is the case, in the event of an emergency we may be able to use it.” Last month the pentagon decided to double the value of emergency military stockpiles it stores in Israel.
The US already maintains several stockpiles in Israel that include missiles, armored vehicles, aerial munitions and artillery ordnance. The US began stockpiling equipment in Israel in the early 1990s.
"Officially, all of this equipment belongs to the US military,” one official said. “If however, there is a conflict, the IDF can ask for permission to use some of the equipment.” US stockpiles were used during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
The IDF and the Pentagon are also working on an agreement regarding the establishment of a Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) maintenance center in Israel. The US will set up a maintenance center on an Israel Air Force base. The center will be manned by Americans who would maintain planes that would make up a squadron of F35 fighters Israel is seeking from the U.S.
Amid growing speculation of an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen is in Israel for discussions with military personel while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is en-route to Moscow for meetings with top Russian officials.
Michael Mullen had a brief stop first in Egypt and will have another stop in Jordan on the way out. So far there is just speculation to the nature of the talks however, amid renewed speculation that the Israelis may be preparing for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, the subject is expected to be focused on the growing threat from Iran’s nuclear program.
During his visit Admiral Mullen will hold a private meeting with Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi, as well as a briefing with senior commanders of the General Staff, including Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Maj. Gen. Benny Ganz, Head of Israel Defense Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, Head of Strategic Planning Directorate, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, and the military attaché to Washington, Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni.
Despite some differences of opinion concerning Iran’s nuclear program, last year Mullen said both himself and Ashkenazi are "by and large" in agreement on Iran's progress toward obtaining nuclear weapons. He also knows "there is a leadership in Israel that is not going to tolerate" a nuclear Iran, saying that Tehran's atomic designs are a matter of "life or death" for the Jewish state. Regarding the question of whether or not Iran’s nuclear program has peaceful purposes he said, "I fundamentally believe that the Iranians are on a path to developing a nuclear weapon.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke about his coming trip to Russia during today’s cabinet meeting, saying "We will discuss Iran first and foremost." Netanyahu is expected to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin where he will push for urgent "crippling sanctions" against Iran over its nuclear program.
Meanwhile in the background and possibly flying under the radar was the American military teams visit to Israel to disgust the possibility of storing some of the equipment and ammunition that is going to be pulled out of Iraq. “There is talk that some of the equipment will be stored in Israel,” the official said. “If that is the case, in the event of an emergency we may be able to use it.” Last month the pentagon decided to double the value of emergency military stockpiles it stores in Israel.
The US already maintains several stockpiles in Israel that include missiles, armored vehicles, aerial munitions and artillery ordnance. The US began stockpiling equipment in Israel in the early 1990s.
"Officially, all of this equipment belongs to the US military,” one official said. “If however, there is a conflict, the IDF can ask for permission to use some of the equipment.” US stockpiles were used during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
The IDF and the Pentagon are also working on an agreement regarding the establishment of a Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) maintenance center in Israel. The US will set up a maintenance center on an Israel Air Force base. The center will be manned by Americans who would maintain planes that would make up a squadron of F35 fighters Israel is seeking from the U.S.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)