Spanning(en) rond Iran

[Jah]

Jerusalem Post over dit bericht:

Diskin says he has 'no faith' in current leadership

Former Shin Bet chief says leaders are not fit to lead, says they mislead the public about Iran: "Attacking Iran will encourage them to develop a bomb all the faster."

Former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin sharply criticized Israel's top leadership at the Majdi Forum in Kfar Saba Friday night, saying he has no faith in it and its ability to lead Israel, Army Radio reported.

Referring to the leaders as "our two messiahs," a likely reference to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Diskin said "they are not fit to hold the steering-wheel of power. I have no faith in the current leadership in Israel and its ability to conduct a war."

Regarding their handling of the Iranian nuclear issue, Diskin said the leadership "presents a false view to the public on the Iranian bomb, as though acting against Iran would prevent a nuclear bomb. But attacking Iran will encourage them to develop a bomb all the faster."

On Tuesday, Netanyahu told CNN that while sanctions against Iran are visibly impairing its economy, they have not impacted its continuing nuclear activities.

"They're certainly taking a bite out of the Iranian economy, but so far they haven't rolled back the Iranian program or even stopped it by one iota," Netanyahu said. "I hope that changes, but so far, I can tell you the centrifuges are spinning."

"If the sanctions are going to work, they better work soon," he emphasized.

Thursday, Barak cast doubt on the success of upcoming nuclear negotiations between the West and Iran.

Despite the strongest-ever sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Barak said in an Independence Day speech, "the chances that, at this pressure level, Iran will respond to international demands to irreversibly stop its program seem low. I would be happy to be proven wrong."

The United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia (the P5+1) are due to meet Iran for a second round of nuclear negotiations on May 23 in Baghdad.

Diskin also said Friday that political killings like the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin may reappear in Israel. "There are tens of Jewish extremists in the territories and in Israel that are ready to use firearms against Jews," he said.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=267783

[Jah]

Weer een (voormalig) hooggeplaatst figuur van de Israelische veiligheidsdienst die zich afzet tegen het beleid dat door Netanyahu gevoerd wordt:

Israel's former Shin Bet chief: I have no confidence in Netanyahu, Barak

Yuval Diskin says Israel's leaders are misleading the public on Iran, accuses country's leadership of making decisions 'based on messianic feelings.'

Former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin expressed harsh criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday in a meeting with residents of the city of Kfar Sava, saying the pair is not worthy of leading the country.

"My major problem is that I have no faith in the current leadership, which must lead us into an event on the scale of war with Iran or regional war," Diskin told the "Majdi Forum," a group of local residents that meets to discuss political issues.

"I don't believe in either the prime minister or the defense minister. I don't believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on messianic feelings," he added.  

Diskin deemed Barak and Netanyahu "two messianics - the one from Akirov or the Assuta project and the other from Gaza Street or Caesarea," he said, referring to the residences of the two politicians.

"Believe me, I have observed them from up close... They are not people who I, on a personal level, trust to lead Israel to an event on that scale and carry it off. These are not people that I would want to have holding the wheel in such an event," Diskin said.  

"They are misleading the public on the Iran issue. They tell the public that if Israel acts, Iran won't have a nuclear bomb. This is a misrepresentation. Actually, many experts say that an Israeli attack would accelerate the Iranian nuclear race," concluded the former security chief.  

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-former-shin-bet-chief-i-have-no-confidence-in-netanyahu-barak-1.426908

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Legerchef Israël: Iran wil geen bom
Toegevoegd: woensdag 25 apr 2012, 17:50

Door correspondent Monique van Hoogstraten

De Israëlische opperbevelhebber Benny Gantz denkt niet dat Iran een atoombom gaat maken. Dat zegt hij vandaag in een interview in de Israëlische krant Haaretz. Volgens hem is het Iraanse leiderschap "zeer rationeel" en beseft het maar al te goed dat het een "enorme fout" zou zijn een kernwapen te produceren.

Israël dreigt Iran aan te vallen als het een kernwapen ontwikkelt. Premier Netanyahu en zijn minister van Defensie Barak zijn daar heel uitgesproken over. Maar opperbevelhebber Gantz neemt een wat gematigder positie in. Hij wil dat alle andere opties eerst zijn uitgeput, voordat een militaire aanval in zicht komt. Zijn interview in Haaretz gebruikt hij om zijn voorzichtige aanpak nog maar eens duidelijk te maken en de oververhitte oorlogstaal van de politici wat af te koelen.

Het moment is welgekozen, want op dit moment onderhandelen westerse diplomaten met Iran over het atoomprogramma. Die gesprekken lijken anders dan eerder, perspectief te bieden: eind mei wordt er verder gepraat in Bagdad.

Volgens premier Netanyahu is die pauze in de gesprekken alleen maar verlies van kostbare tijd. Iran zal die tijd volgens hem benutten om door te gaan met het verrijken van uranium. Maar de opperbevelhebber denkt dat het diplomatieke offensief en de economische sancties tegen Iran vruchten beginnen af te werpen. Ofwel: dat Iran bereid is te buigen.

Dat neemt niet weg dat Gantz alle voorbereidingen treft voor een militaire actie: "De militaire optie is de laatste om in te zetten, maar de eerste om voor te bereiden, wil je geloofwaardig zijn". Dat betekent een voorbereiding op alle fronten: niet alleen tegen Iran, maar ook tegen het aangrenzende Libanon (Hezbollah) en Gaza (Islamitische Jihad). Volgens Gantz beschikken die over vier tot vijf keer zo veel wapenkracht als een paar jaar geleden.

Hij houdt ook rekening met aanvallen vanuit Syrië. "Ik weet niet wat er in Syrië gaat gebeuren, maar je kunt ervan uitgaan dat de Golanhoogten niet zo rustig zullen zijn als voorheen." De hoogvlakte is Syrisch, maar sinds 1967 bezet door Israel. Er wonen nog steeds veel Syriërs.

Gantz zegt dat 2012 een kritisch jaar wordt, maar niet per se een "go/no-go"-jaar: een jaar waarin het erop aan zal komen of Israël Iran aanvalt. "Maar we zitten wel dichter bij het einde van het hele debat, dan er middenin", zegt hij.

Bron: NOS

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Netanyahu says Iran must stop 'all enrichment'

Wednesday, Apr 25, 2012

WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Iran should remain under biting sanctions until it halts all uranium enrichment, appearing to exceed UN demands on Tehran.

His remarks appeared aimed at stepping up pressure on Iran as it engages in revived international nuclear negotiations amid increased speculation in recent months that Israel may soon take military action to halt its nuclear drive.

"They have to stop all enrichment," Netanyahu told CNN in an interview in Jerusalem, adding that he would not accept Iran enriching uranium to even three per cent, which is near the level required for peaceful atomic energy.

"After you stop all enrichment... you will get these (fuel) rods from another country that can allow you to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," he said.

Netanyahu said Iran must also "dismantle the underground bunker," apparently referring to the Fordo site near the holy city of Qom, where UN inspectors say it has begun enriching uranium to 20-per cent purity.

When asked if he worried that his language might commit Israel to launching a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, Netanyahu replied: "I'm not worried what we look like. I'm worried about stopping this."

Iran has already developed the capacity to enrich uranium to 3.5 per cent, the level required for atomic energy, and to 20 per cent, which is used to create medical isotopes.

It would have to enrich to 90 per cent in order to make nuclear weapons.

Israel has long seen Iran as the greatest threat to its survival, both because of Tehran's nuclear program and because of its leaders' calls for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map.

Tehran has insisted its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and has claimed the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

An Iranian envoy is scheduled to meet with representatives of the P+5 group, which includes the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany, in Baghdad on May 23 for fresh talks aimed at resolving the nuclear impasse.

US and EU diplomats are reportedly planning to demand that Iran close and dismantle the Fordo site, stop enriching uranium to 20 per cent and ship existing stockpiles out of the country, demands already rejected by Tehran.

Iran and the P5+1 met in Istanbul on April 14 for the first time in 15 months.

The UN Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran over suspicions that its avowed civilian nuclear program is a cover for a secret atomic weapons drive, a charge vigorously denied by Tehran.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20120425-341962.html

[Huzaar1]

whooptiedooo..

Iraniers lopen zo'n 30 jaar achter met hun computer technologie ten op zichte van boeing, lockheed etc.
Alsof ze maar iets kunnen met een stroom gedecodeerde enen en nullen.
80% van de code is bedoeld om het signaal te blokkeren en om te leiden en iedere ontvanger/zender/scanner voor de gek te houden, 10 % voor besturing van dat ding en het overige is niet te filteren.

Ze mogen natuurlijk een feestje bouwen daar en vooruit , dan nog maar eens een keer hun oorlogsbuit tentoonstellen.
Enkel, het is nu wel genoeg en ze moeten niet denken dat ze nu in 1 klap jaren lange achterstand hebben ingehaald. Wanneer de VS dit wil is Iran nog steeds in 1 klap weg en die haatbaarden daar verdienen het bijna om eens goed op hun plaats te worden gezet. Die oorlogszuchtige taal van ze.. enig idee hoe dat de wereld verneukt? Eikels.... ik sta elke keer met een zuurder gezicht bij de Kassa door die haatopruiende shalla's en welke andere mafkees beweert profeet van wie te zijn die alle ongelovige honden wel eens een lesje gaat leren.

Leven die lui nog in de jaren 30 van de vorige eeuw dan? De Iraanse economie is net zo goed als die van elk ander land gekoppeld aan dat van een ander.... Misschien kunnen we Kees de Jager sturen in ruil voor onderhandelingen.

[Lex]

Iran Decodes US Drone Intel

TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior Iranian military officials announced that the country's experts have decoded the intelligence gathering system and memory hard discs of the United States' highly advanced RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft that was downed by Iran in December after violating the country's airspace.

Speaking to FNA, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh revealed some data taken from the aircraft's intelligence system to discourage his counterparts in Pentagon who had alleged that Iranians would not succeed in decoding the spy drone's memory and intelligence devices.

"This plane is seen as a national capital for us and our words should not disclose all the information that we have very easily."

"Yet, I provide four cues in here to let the Americans know how deep we could penetrate into (the intelligence systems and devices of) this drone," he added.

Hajizadeh stated that the drone parts had been transferred to California for technical works in October 2010, adding that the drone was later transferred to Kandahar, Afghanistan in November 2010 and had a flight in there.

The commander said that the drone had experienced some technical flaws in its Kandahar flight in November, but the US experts failed resolve the problems at the time.

Hajizadeh added that the RQ-170 was then sent back to an airfield near Los Angeles in December 2010 for tests on its censors and parts, adding that the drone had a number of test flights in there.

As a forth cue to prove Iran's access to the drone's hidden memory, the commander mentioned that the spy drone's memory device has revealed that it had flown over Al-Qaeda Leader Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan two weeks before his death.

"Had we not accessed the plane's soft wares and hard discs, we wouldn't have been able to achieve these facts," Hajizadeh said, reiterating that Iran's military experts are in full command of the drone intel and hold a good knowledge of the drone parts and programs.

The unmanned surveillance plane lost by the United States in Iran was a stealth aircraft being used for secret missions by the CIA.

The aircraft is among the highly sensitive surveillance platform in the CIA's fleet that was shaped and designed to evade enemy defenses.

The drone is the first such loss by the US.

The RQ-170 has special coatings and a batwing shape designed to help it penetrate other nations' air defenses undetected. The existence of the aircraft, which is made by Lockheed Martin, has been known since 2009, when a model was photographed at the main US airfield in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The revelation came after Russia and China asked Tehran to provide them with information on the capture US drone.

Ahmad Karimpour, an adviser to Iran's defense minister, said on Friday that Tehran has received requests from many countries for information on the RQ-170 Sentinel, but Moscow and Beijing have been most aggressive in their pursuit of details on the drone.

Fars News Agency,
News numbre:  8101300601
2012-04-22 - 12:39

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Nog maar een paar uurtjes?

Beslissing betekend nog niet dat er ook actie volgt. Met die Israeli's weet je het nooit, suprise is their middle name.

Nu zijn de vervolg "besprekingen" met Iran gepland voor 23 mei a.s.

Maar idd Israel heeft een reputatie hoog te houden.

[dudge]

Nog maar een paar uurtjes?

Beslissing betekend nog niet dat er ook actie volgt. Met die Israeli's weet je het nooit, suprise is their middle name.

[Enforcer]

Binnen nu en 21 April wordt besloten om Iran aan te vallen!  Israel heeft geen groen licht nodig van Washington DC.  Deze beslissing wordt genomen in de Knesset.  Amerikanen moet je nooit vertrouwen!   Daarna is het up to the Kirya (Hoofdkwartier IDF in Tel Aviv)
Spoedig zal jullie wereld er heel anders uit zien.  Wees niet bang, mijn lieve Kaakskoppen.

Nog maar een paar uurtjes?

[Lex]

AIV waarschuwt voor escalatie rond Iran

DEN HAAG - De Adviesraad voor Internationale Vraagstukken, een belangrijk adviesorgaan van het kabinet, waarschuwt voor een escalatie in de crisis rond het nucleaire programma van Iran. 

De raad doet dat donderdag in een advies aan minister Uri Rosenthal van Buitenlandse Zaken.

De internationale controverse rond Iran brengt ''grote veiligheidsrisico's met zich mee, terwijl er geen harde aanwijzingen zijn dat Iran op korte termijn over een kernwapen zal beschikken'', aldus de AIV.

De raad pleit voor nieuwe diplomatieke initiatieven om een oplossing te vinden.


Gevoelig

De AIV constateert dat de al decennia durende controverse tussen Iran en de internationale gemeenschap over het nucleaire programma van Iran is opgelaaid. ''Een mogelijke Israëlische aanval op Iraanse nucleaire installaties is daarbij een dreigend scenario.''

De AIV vindt dat het westen in de diplomatieke contacten ook rekening moet houden met Iraanse gevoeligheden zoals de veiligheidsrisico's die het Iraanse regime zelf ervaart in de eigen regio. De AIV pleit ook voor verlichting van de economische sancties tegen Iran, mits het meewerkt aan de beantwoording van openstaande vragen van het Internationaal Atoomenergie Agentschap (IAEA). Europa zou Iran moeten helpen bij de ontwikkeling van andere, duurzame energiebronnen, aldus de adviesraad.

© ANP
19 april 2012 11:09

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Barak: We did Not Promise Not to Attack Iran

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, Tuesday morning, that Israel has not pledged not to attack Iran during talks with the West.

In an interview with Israel Defense Forces Radio, Barak said: "I do not believe the attempts of the international community to stop Iran's nuclear program will bear fruit." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made ​​it clear, Monday evening, that the United States will continue to impose sanctions and put pressure on the regime in Tehran despite the resumption of talks

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/237423

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Iran's Best Defense

Posted by Michael Widlanski Bio ↓ on Apr 17th, 2012

As US officials again ask Iran to stop its atom bomb program, President Barack Obama seems to be working hard to shield Iran and to prevent Israel from striking at Iran's nuclear weapons potential. US officials are believed to be behind stories about Israel readying basing and refueling options in countries near Iran, like Azerbaijan.

The Azeris quickly denied they allowed Israel to use their land., and this is a sign the Azeris are feeling pressure not to help Israel, even as Obama reportedly used the Islamist and strongly anti-Israel leader of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, to send a message to Iran that the US would be willing to accept "an Iranian civilian nuclear program."

For Israel—and for Saudis, Jordanians and Egyptians—Iran's  bomb is not a matter that can be indefinitely delayed in a diplomatic ping-pong match.

President Obama has been rotating his top officials on and off the diplomatic playing field to deter an attack on Iran. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey, and many others have been sent to Jerusalem to tell Israel NOT to attack Iran.

"It's not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran," said General Dempsey, in  an interview with CNN. Meanwhile, Secretary Panetta openly discussed some of Israel's options and possible time tables in ways that make them less surprising and effective for possible use against Iran.

At the same time, Obama has been seen using the playbook of his favorite pundit,  CNN's Fareed Zakaria, whose book is often under Obama's  arm, and  Zakaria  says "Within the context of Iranian politics, Ahmadinejad is the pragmatist." For more than three years, President Obama has agreed, trying to "engage" such "pragmatists."

"Pragmatist" has a special meaning for Zakaria/Obama or maybe they have not heard Ahmadinajad brag about how he felt a halo appear around him when he told the UN that everyone should pray for the Mahdi,  an Islamic messiah Ahmadinajad believes has to be born out of a fire that will cleanse the world.

Ahmadinajad and Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, want such a mighty Mahdi. Their ideas are so extreme that Ayatollah Khomeini—hardly a moderate—outlawed them when he was alive. He felt the Mahdi cult would cause Iran's destruction.

Zakaria thinks attacking Iran is dumb because Iran is run by "rational" men like those who led the Soviet Union.  Zakaria has said this for a long time, and he has been wrong for a long time.

The Soviets were led by conservative old men who said Communism would beat the West as part of an "inevitable dialectic."  They could afford to wait. They did not run around handing out weapons of mass destruction to terrorists or client states. Iran is different. It helped Syria build a nuclear program and sends missiles to Venezuela.

Iran's leaders are not careful old atheists who are deterred or avoid confrontation. They feel God is on their side. They think God wants them to move things along quickly to His paradise on Earth. They sent thousands of children to certain death, to clear minefields with their bare hands, with only "keys to paradise" dangling from their necks. Blood clearly does not deter Iran's leaders, not even the blood of children.

Obama feels Iran can be swayed by non-military means before it gets a bomb. Recently, Obama has urged "tough" sanctions on Iran, but it took him three years to move away from engaging Iran to trying to strangle it.

However, this is not a real option. Russia and the China will not allow real sanctions, vetoing it at the UN. Obama's earlier model of talking nicely to the Iranians was really just a huge waste of time, but for Iran, it was time used  building a bomb

For a decade, Iran has played the world for fools, processing yellow cake uranium to uranium hexafluoride  gas and then to weapons grade uranium. Iran claimed it was  working for "civilian purposes." There is method to Iran's madness, but it is not playing by the Western playbook or US-Soviet doctrines of deterrence.

Some suggest President Obama wants to reserve for himself the option to face Iran himself in a way that can achieve a dramatic victory a few days before the November elections. More likely, Obama just does not like to use force and also has trouble admitting his various game plans of "engaging Iran" and now "sanctions" have failed.

Still, President Obama needs to recall that this is no game for the Israelis and Iran's Arab neighbors who realize that Iran is not just playing games.

Israel and many Arab countries—Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia—are not going to wait forever for President Obama to get his game plan together.

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/04/17/irans-best-defense/2/

[Marc66]

En ik altijd maar denken dat de media ultra-links georienteerd is, maar ik lees, hoor en zie steeds vaker in de media dat deze oorlogspraat uit. Er gebeurd niet veel, de media is op zoek naar sensatie, bangmakerij, stemmingmakerij of heeft gewoon echt niets anders te doen? 

[Jah]

Israeli TV report shows air force gearing up for Iran attack, says moment of truth is near

'IAF expects losses, and knows it can't destroy entire Iranian program'

By GREG TEPPER

A major Israel TV station on Sunday night broadcast a detailed report on how Israel will go about attacking Iran's nuclear facilities in the event that diplomacy and sanctions fail and Israel decides to carry out a military strike.

The report, screened on the main evening news of Channel 10, was remarkable both in terms of the access granted to the reporter, who said he had spent weeks with the pilots and other personnel he interviewed, and in the fact that his assessments on a strike were cleared by the military censor.

(...)

Ben-David said that if negotiations break down, and Iran moves key parts of its nuclear program underground to its Qom facility, the IAF "is likely to get the order and to set out on the long journey to Iran."

"Years of preparations are likely to come to realization," he said, adding that "the moment of truth is near."

Ben-David interviewed several squadron leaders, pilots and other officers. He noted that some of the IAF personnel, "it is likely, will not return from the mission." An officer named

Gilad said it would be "naive" to think there would be no losses.
The IAF is said to be worried about the advanced anti-aircraft systems that Russia has sold to countries in the region, the report said. Among those systems, the SA 17 and 22 in Syria and Iran present a challenge.

According to the report, it's the older versions of the F-15 that can fly further than any other plane in Israel's arsenal, and this puts them on the front line of any potential attack.
One pilot said in the report that the F-15 "is a plane with a very wide range of operation — a combination of relatively energy-efficient engines, and significant flightworthiness regarding weapons and fuel."

The IAF has a full-sized unmanned plane, the "Eitan," that is said to be able to fly to Iran, the report indicated. "This plane can do all that is required of it when the order is given," a pilot said, without elaboration.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/iaf-plans-for-iran-attack/

[Jah]

Iranian nuclear scientists were present at failed North Korean missile launch, says source

Anonymous diplomatic source tells South Korea's state news agency 12 Iranian officials observed the failed missile launch last week in North Korea.

A dozen Iranian nuclear experts visited North Korea last week to observe its failed rocket launch on Friday, South Korean state news agency Yonhap's Washington correspondent reported on Sunday.

"On March 31, 12 Iranians of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG) arrived in North Korea. "The Iranians undoubtedly were there to observe the missile launch and receive test data from North Korea," the correspondent quoted a diplomatic source, who wished to remain anonymous, as saying.

Defying international pressure, Pyongyang launched a long range missile, but U.S. and South Korean officials said it crashed into the sea a few minutes after launch, dealing a blow to the reclusive state

The launch of the three-stage Unha-3 rocket took place at 7:39 A.M. local time on Friday, according to South Korean officials. Pyongyang has claimed that the launch was meant to place a communications satellite in space, but the U.S., Japan, South Korea and other nations view it as part of North Korea's attempt to advance its military ballistic missile capacity.

The launch was timed to celebrate the 100th birthday of Kim Il-sung, the deceased founder of the state, and to coincide with the ascent to power of his grandson Kim Jong-un.

North Korea admitted its long-range rocket failed to deliver a satellite into orbit on Friday, and the U.S. condemned the provocative action as a threat to regional security.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/iranian-nuclear-scientists-were-present-at-failed-north-korean-missile-launch-says-source-1.424585