Showdown in the Red Sea: U.S. Sends 11 Warships to Confront Iran

"Many high-level people have warned of the use of a false flag attack to justify war with Iran. For example"

Washington's Blog Sunday, June 20, 2010

www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/06/showdow ... ds-11.html

Israel National News is reporting :



What should we make of the fact that 11 U.S. warships and an Israeli warship are sailing up the Suez Canal on their way to the Red Sea?

This is - on the surface - a faceoff over Iran's support for relief ships trying to sail into Gaza. Specifically, Iran has said it will have Iranian military ships escort the flotilla providing humanitarian goods to Gaza to make sure it arrives safely. On the other hand, the U.S. has backed Israel's blockade of Gaza.

Tensions are obviously high between the U.S. and Israel, on the one hand, and Iran on the other. The U.S. and Israel have talked for years of bombing Iran's nuclear sites.

As the Telegraph wrote last July:



An armada of U.S. warships in the Red Sea is similarly meant to convey a credible threat to attack Iran.

Indeed, because the Red Sea connects with the Arabian Sea (and see this), a large navy presence in the Red Sea will escalate tensions dramatically.

This could quickly lead to a real confrontation. This is especially true because warships from hostile nations could be in very close quarters, and one mistake (such as accidentally bumping into a foreign ship) could unintentionally lead to war.

But we can't look at this faceoff in a vacuum.

Intelligence Failures

Remember that there have been numerous intelligence failures in the past which have led to war.

For example, the U.S. Navy's own historians now say that the sinking of the USS Maine -- the justification for America's entry into the Spanish-American War -- was probably caused by an internal explosion of coal, rather than an attack by the Spanish.

It is also now well-accepted that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident which led to the Vietnam war was a fiction (confirmed here).

And two lies were used to justify the 1991 Gulf War: the statement that Iraqis murdered Kuwaiti babies and the statement that a quarter of a million Iraqi troops were massed on the border with Saudi Arabia (see also this article)(technically, the statement about Kuwaiti babies did not come from the U.S. government, but from a public relations firm hired by the government).

snip

Iran

Many high-level people have warned of the use of a false flag attack to justify war with Iran. For example:

* Jimmy Carter's former National Security Adviser and Obama's initial foreign policy adviser- Zbigniew Brzezinski - told the Senate that a terrorist act might be carried out in the U.S. and falsely blamed on Iran to justify war against that nation
* Congressman Ron Paul told Congress: "I am concerned, however, that a contrived Gulf of Tonkin- type incident may occur to gain popular support for an attack on Iran"
* And a member of the British Parliament (George Galloway) stated: "there is a very real danger" that the American government will stage a false flag terror attack in order to justify war against Iran

Thus, if any elements within the U.S. or Israeli government wish to find an excuse to attack Iran, they could either manufacture false intelligence or carry out a false flag attack.

A war with Iran would benefit no one other than the giant defense contractors would plunge the world into a very deep depression (notwithstanding George W. Bush's sentiment to the contrary). Indeed, if China and Russia side with Iran, the U.S. might end up losing against Iran.

May cool heads prevail.

http://beforeitsnews.com/news/82/992/Sh ... _Iran.html

This really is getting scary, I hope tensions ease soon

Iran on war alert over "US and Israeli concentrations" in Azerbaijan
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2010, 1:23 PM (GMT+02:00)

In a rare move, Iran has declared a state of war on its northwestern border, debkafile's military and Iranian sources report. Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps men and equipment units are being massed in the Caspian Sea region against what Tehran claims are US and Israeli forces concentrated on army and air bases in Azerbaijan ready to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

The announcement came on Tuesday, June 22 from Brig.-Gen Mehdi Moini of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), commander of the forces tasked with "repelling" this American-Israeli offensive. He said: "The mobilization is due to the presence of American and Israeli forces on the western border," adding, "Reinforcements are being dispatched to West Azerbaijan Province because some western countries are fueling ethnic conflicts to destabilize the situation in the region."

In the past, Iranian officials have spoken of US and Israel attacks in general terms. debkafile's Iranian sources note that this is the first time that a specific location was mentioned and large reinforcements dispatched to give the threat substance.

Other Iranian sources report that in the last few days, Israel has secretly transferred a large number of bomber jets to bases in Azerbaijan, via Georgia, and that American special forces are also concentrated in Azerbaijan in preparation for a strike.

No comment has come from Azerbaijan about any of these reports. Iranian Azerbaijan, the destination of the Revolutionary Guards forces reinforcements, borders on Turkey, Iraq and Armenia. Witnesses say long IRGC convoys of tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft units and infantry are seen heading up the main highways to Azerbaijan and then further north to the Caspian Sea.

On Tuesday, June 22, Dr. Uzi Arad, head of Israel's National Security Council and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closest adviser, said "The latest round of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran is inadequate for thwarting its nuclear progress. A preemptive military strike might eventually be necessary."

debkafile's intelligence and Iranian sources point to three other developments as setting off Iran's war alert:
1. A certain (limited) reinforcement of American and Israeli forces has taken place in Azerbaijan. Neither Washington nor Jerusalem has ever acknowledged a military presence in this country that borders on Iran, but Western intelligence sources say that both keep a wary eye on the goings-on inside Iran from electronic surveillance bases in that country.

2. Iran feels moved to respond to certain US steps: The arrival of the USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea and it war games with France and Israel, which included live-fire bombing practices against targets in Iran.

3. The execution of Abdolmalek Rigi, head of the Sunni Baluchi rebel organization (including the Iranian Baluchis), on June 20 was intended as a deterrent for Iran's other minorities. Instead, they are more restive than ever. Several Azeri breakaway movements operate in Iranian Azerbaijan in combination with their brethren across the border. Tehran decided a substantial buildup in the province would serve as a timely measure against possible upheavals.

http://www.debka.com/article/8868/

ahhhh....unless you can 'hope' a little bit harder L, it looks like time might be running out.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/138231

Reports: IAF Landed at Saudi Base, US Troops near Iran Border

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at a Saudi Arabia base, a semi-official Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday, while a large American force has massed in Azerbaijan, which is on the northwest border of Iran.

Both reports follow by less than a week the Pentagon’s confirmation that an unusually large American fleet sailed through the Suez Canal Saturday. Several reports stated that an Israeli ship joined the armada.

The Pentagon played down the news, saying the American maneuvers were routine. However, a report by Iran on Wednesday that it has enriched dozens of pounds of 17 per cent enriched uranium serves as a reminder that time is running out to stop Iran from being able to produce a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s Fars News Agency said the Israeli military aircraft landed 10 days ago at the Saudi base near the city of Tabuk, located in northwest Saudi Arabia, one of the closest areas in the oil kingdom to Iran.

Fars said that the Tabuk base will be the central station for an Israeli attack on Iran. It quoted an Islamic news site that a commercial airline passenger said the airport in Tabuk was closed to all other traffic during the alleged Israeli landings. The passenger said that "no reasonable explanation” was given for shutting down the airport and those passengers were compensated financially and booked in four-star hotels.

“The relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have become the talk of the town,” the passenger added. The chief authority in Tabuk, Prince Fahd ben Sultan, was reported be coordinating the cooperation with Israel.

Azerbaijan
Iran’s government-funded Press TV reported that the Revolutionary Guards began closely patrolling the Islamic Republic’s northwestern border after noticing the American forces, which Iran claimed also included Israeli troops. Azerbaijan’s independent Trend news site also reported on Wednesday that American armed forces are in the country, which is in an armed conflict with rebels.

Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Mehdi Moini said Tuesday that his forces are mobilized “due to the presence of American and Israeli forces on the western border.” The Guards reportedly have called in tanks and anti-aircraft units to the area in what amounts to a war alert.

Enriched Uranium
As signs point to a higher American-Israeli military profile aimed at Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, the Islamic Republic’s vice president and director of the nuclear program, announced Wednesday that Iran has produced another 37 pounds of uranium enriched to 20 percent. The production of the uranium defies United Nations demands that Iran stop its unsupervised nuclear development, although the 20 percent level is far below level that is needed to build a nuclear weapon.

"Potentially, we can produce 5 kilograms (11 pounds) a month, but we are not in a hurry over this," Salehi told the semiofficial ISNA news agency. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

Ofek-9: Israel Launches New Spy Satellite



JERUSALEM — Israel launched a spy satellite called "Ofek 9" late Tuesday, Israel's Defense Ministry and officials said, increasing Israel's capacity to keep an eye on enemies like Iran.

The Defense Ministry issued a statement saying the satellite was launched late Tuesday from the Palmachim air force base on Israel's coast south of Tel Aviv. An hour later, after the satellite completed its first circuit, the ministry said it had achieved its proper orbit, describing it as "a surveillance satellite with advanced technological capabilities."

Defense officials said Ofek 9 is a spy satellite with a high resolution camera. It would join two other active spy satellites in the Ofek series already orbiting the earth. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because details were not made public, said the three satellites would give Israel considerable coverage of sensitive areas.

Addition of a new satellite gives Israel the capability of sending space-borne cameras over sensitive areas more frequently. One of Israel's main targets for spy photos is Iran, because of its nuclear program.

Israel considers Iran to be a strategic threat, charging that its nuclear program is meant for developing bombs, despite Iranian denials. Also, Iran has tested missiles that can reach Israel, and its leaders frequently refer to Israel's destruction.

Israel is also thought to be targeting Syria with its satellites. In 2007, warplanes struck a site in Syria thought to be a nuclear facility under construction. Israel has not commented, but it was widely reported that the attacking aircraft were Israeli.

Defense officials said that with each successive Israeli satellite, cameras are more advanced and offer higher resolution. They said the camera aboard Ofek 9 was made by Elbit, a leading Israeli high-tech optics firm. They said the camera could pick out missiles and launchers on the ground.

Isaac Ben-Israel, a former head of the Israeli space agency, told Israel Radio that the new satellite weighs about 650 pounds (300 kilograms), small in comparison to American spy satellites. He said it would take another two or three days before it could be determined if its camera was working properly. So far, he said, Israel has not had problems with cameras aboard its satellites.

In 2008, an Israeli spy satellite launched from India took aloft an advanced radar system that would allow photography in all weather conditions and at night.

Story continues belowBesides its spy satellites, Israel also has a number of communications satellites in orbit.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/2 ... 22170.html

from Newsweek - complete article at link below. Despite their denial of its purpose, this article confirms that the facts are accurate.


U.S. Naval Movements Unrelated to Iran's Purported Gaza Stunt

U.S. and European defense and national-security officials say that the movement of a U.S. Navy aircraft-carrier group into the Red Sea through the Suez Canal is unrelated to an alleged attempt by Iran to send one or more ships carrying humanitarian aid to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza. con.

http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/declassif ... stunt.html

Report: US warships stationed off Iranian coast

By Daniel Tencer
Sunday, June 27th, 2010 -- 4:22 pm

As unconfirmed reports of an imminent Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities pick up steam in the Middle Eastern media, a US-based strategic intelligence company has released a chart showing US naval carriers massing near Iranian waters.

The chart, published by Stratfor and obtained by the Zero Hedge financial blog, shows that over the last few weeks a naval carrier -- the USS Harry S Truman -- has been positioned in the north Indian Ocean, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which leads into the Persian Gulf. The carrier joins the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was already located in the area. The chart is dated June 23, 2010.

Reports of mass movements of Israeli and US naval warships have been circulating through the media for weeks. On June 19, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that 12 US and Israeli warships were seen moving through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

And a report from the Associated Press published Saturday evening cited "unconfirmed" reports from Israeli and Iranian media that Saudi Arabia has allowed Israel to use its territory in preparation for an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

snip

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0627/report-warships-stationed-iranian-coast/

I'm not saying this is true or untrue; decide that for yourself.

Hectic preparations for historic Ahmadinejad visit to Beirut
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 11, 2010, 11:33 PM (GMT+02:00)

Feverish preparations are afoot in Tehran for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's first visit to the Lebanese capital. Reporting this, debkafile's Iranian sources define the trip's purpose as a confrontational exercise to warn the US and Israel that full implementation of the tough new UN, US and European sanctions will provoke an Iranian war on Israel - waged from Lebanon.

Iran's rulers came up with this plan in their marathon consultations last week, prompted by the realization that the US embargo on gasoline and other refined oil products were for real. Combined with the Obama administration's partial success in closing the US banking system and markets to Iranian firms and the UAE's consent to close its ports to Iranian traffic, the new measures have the potential for throwing a large spanner into the Islamic Republic's normal economic activity.

The planning for Ahmadinejad's trip to Lebanon - probably towards the end of July or early August - went into high gear after Syrian president Bashar Assad and the Qatari ruler Shiekh Hamad Bin Khalif Al Thani (who engineered the power-sharing accord for setting up the Lebanese government coalition in 2009) reacted positively to the notion of the threesome landing in Beirut aboard the same plane or in convoy, at the invitation of Lebanese president Michel Suleiman.

This procedure was advised to insure the Iranian president against a possible Israel attempt on his life and also that of Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who would be on hand in the welcoming party headed by the Lebanese president.

Sunday, July 11, debkafile reported that Hizballah had massed 20,000 armed men along the border with Israel, while Israeli Defense Forces had ranged tank and armored divisions on the other side of the border.

The broad outline of the visit was laid down by Lebanese Shiite lawmaker Nabih Beri and Alaedin Boroujerdi, Chairman of the Majlis foreign affairs and security committee, who was in Beirut last week to attend the funeral of the Shiite cleric Ayatollah Hassan Fadlallah.

It was decided to use the occasion for the Iranian, Syrian, Qatari and Lebanese leaders to hold a war conference, essentially to plot moves for ramping up the Arab-Israeli conflict. They have already decided in principle to lay the groundwork for a high-tension crisis to erupt between Israel and Lebanon some time in September or October, by which time Tehran will be able to gauge in full how much the new sanctions are hurting Iran.

http://www.debka.com/article/8906/

Iran Guards warn U.S. of "fallout" over bomb attack

By Ramin Mostafavi and Hashem Kalantari

TEHRAN | Sat Jul 17, 2010 7:32am EDT

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The United States will face "fallout" from a deadly rebel bomb attack in southeast Iran, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander was quoted as saying on Saturday by a semi-official Iranian news agency.

Massoud Jazayeri did not elaborate on what he meant. Iran has accused arch-foe Washington of backing Jundollah, the group that claimed responsibility for Thursday's blasts that killed 28 people and wounded 306, including members of the Guards.

"Jundollah has been supported by America for its terrorist acts in the past ... America will have to await the fallout of such criminal and savage measures," said Jazayeri, deputy head of the dominant ideological wing of Iran's armed forces.
Jundollah, a Sunni Muslim rebel group, said it set off the bombs at a prominent Shi'ite Muslim mosque in the city of Zahedan in retaliation for the Islamic Republic's execution in June of Jundollah leader Abdolmalek Rigi.

Iran says Jundollah has links to Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and in the past has accused Pakistan, Britain and the United States of backing Jundollah to create instability in the southeast of predominantly Shi'ite Iran.

All three countries have denied this, and Jundollah denies having any association with al Qaeda.

Mohammad Hassan Rahimian, an envoy of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the funeral, also blamed Washington for the attack, the official news agency IRNA reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday condemned the bombing and said those responsible must be brought to account.

"The murder of innocent civilians in their place of worship is an intolerable offense, and those who carried it out must be held accountable," Obama said in a statement.

The United States is embroiled in a stand-off with Iran over its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful energy purposes but Washington and other world powers suspect is a cover to develop the means to build atom bombs.

Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic relations shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Jundollah, which says it is fighting for the rights of Iran's Sunni Muslim minority, said Rigi's relatives carried out the bombings targeting a Revolutionary Guards gathering.

The bodies of those killed were buried on Saturday in a ceremony in Zahedan attended by tens of thousands of people, according to Iranian state television.

Live footage showed the coffins, shrouded in Iranian flags, being carried on trucks with mourners chanting "Death to America" and demanding punishment of the attackers.

Iran arrested Rigi in February, four months after Jundollah claimed responsibility for a bombing which killed dozens of people, including 15 members of the Guards. That was the deadliest attack in Iran since the 1980s.

Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province on the border with Sunni Muslim Pakistan. The province is dogged by serious security problems with frequent clashes between Iranian police and drug dealers and bandits.

A senior police official, Ahmadreza Radan, warned that Iran had a right to "pursue rebels inside Pakistan territory ... Iran has limited patience. Instability in Sistan-Baluchestan is rooted abroad (where) there is lack of will to confront rebels."

He said 40 people "who wanted to create instability" in Zahedan had been arrested there since the latest bombing.

Iran is grappling with ethnic and religious tensions in the southeastern province and authorities have responded to attacks by Sunni rebels with a spate of hangings. Human rights groups and the West have condemned the hangings.

Iran rejects allegations by rights groups that it discriminates against ethnic and religious minorities.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66G0NT20100717

Oh boy, this is a very scary escalation of this situation...

Can you say false flag to force a conflict, not like it has not happened before right

This is truly getting scary, if that whack job has access to Nukes I have NO DOUBT that he will use them in the name Allah

Pray this situation simmers down or I fear a HUGE battle, this one will make Iraq look like a walk in the park and with the US stretched in TWO WARS already I seriously do NOT see this ending well..

Hamas leader killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
By the CNN Wire StaffJuly 31, 2010 7:06 a.m. EDT

Gaza City, Gaza (CNN) -- A senior Hamas member was killed during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, Hamas security forces said Saturday.

An airstrike in central Gaza killed Saed Al Bitran, who was responsible for manufacturing weapons, the Hamas forces said.

The Israel Defense Forces said the attack on a weapons-manufacturing site in central Gaza was part of a series of strikes starting late Friday in response to a rocket assault on Ashkelon earlier in the day.

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/31/gaza.airstrikes/index.html?hpt=T2

Saudi Arabia to Block BlackBerry Messaging
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 1, 2010

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The UAE said Sunday it will block key features on BlackBerry smart phones, citing national security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use. Neighboring Saudi Arabia quickly indicated it planned to follow suit.

The decision could prevent hundreds of thousands of users in the Mideast country from accessing e-mail and the Web on the handsets starting in October, putting the federation's reputation as a business-friendly commercial and tourism hub at risk.

snip

Within hours of the announcement, a telecommunications official in neighboring Saudi Arabia said the desert kingdom would begin blocking the BlackBerry messaging service starting later this month. The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media, said the country's telecommunications regulator would issue a statement on the move soon. Just in time for Ramadan?

Read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/08/01/technology/AP-ML-Emirates-BlackBerry.html

Gaza militants vow wave of attacks against Israel

I just heard Wolf Blitzer report this, and then found it on Reuters' Breaking News. It is only a short blurb on Reuters so far,; so I can't post it, but basically it says that 13 militant groups have joined forces to attack Israel more effectively. This will also include suicide bombers.

Read it here: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE681275.htm