Spanning(en) rond Iran

Gestart door Lex, 14/02/2012 | 16:51 uur

dudge

Een stuk of 40 hamina class achtige schepen zouden idd wel effectiever kunnen zijn in de perzische golf.

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Iran face-off drives new naval small ship focus
Wed May 23, 2012 8:29am EDT

* U.S. Navy sends almost all its small patrol boats to Gulf

* British Navy mulls new small "Black Swan" class warship

* But larger, pricier warships exert strong hold on navies


By Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - For decades, Western navies have built ever larger, more expensive warships. Those vessels now look increasingly vulnerable to thousands of small, fast Iranian attack boats that could dominate the Gulf in the event conflict there.

In response, the U.S. Navy has sent almost its entire fleet of small patrol boats and minesweepers to the region, hastily refitting some to dramatically increase their firepower

Concerns over the Gulf, a key oil conduit, play into a much wider debate about whether developed navies waste their money in pursuing a small number of sophisticated ships. Perhaps, some argue, they should follow the example of poorer states like Iran, who invest in large numbers of smaller ships rather than a handful of larger vessels that could be easily sunk.

In readiness for any potential war with the U.S. Navy and regional allies, Iran's navy and Revolutionary Guard have poured resources into small gunboats.

That, military officials and analysts say, would allow them to launch potentially devastating ""swarm" attacks.

Iran has said it would close off the Gulf if it were attacked by powers, including the United States and Israel, who accuse it of developing nuclear arms.

Western militaries say they are more than capable of meeting any threat and analysts believe that, given the sheer weight of U.S. military force in the region, Tehran would inevitably prove the ultimate loser in any conflict.

But privately, officers worry that their navies are relatively ill-equipped to manage an initial onslaught. Even the loss of a single large Western warship, with a crew of 700 and a cost of running to hundreds of millions of dollars, would be regarded as politically catastrophic.

"We are very concerned with the small boat threat out of Iran," said one Western naval officer with considerable experience in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"They've got thousands of them that come from a bunch of locations, armed with everything from two crazy guys with a machine gun all the way up to antiship cruise missiles. Very dangerous for an unsuspecting target."

Certainly, the lessons of the only recent conflict to involve the kind of small boat attacks likely in the Gulf -- Sri Lanka's three decade civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels -- make alarming reading.

After losing several of its larger warships to small boat "Sea Tiger" attacks, particularly suicide strikes, the Sri Lankan Navy largely withdrew them from the conflict area to fight back with much smaller Israeli-built Dvora and locally manufactured fast attack craft that bristled with machine guns.

The U.S. Navy currently has five small Cyclone-class patrol craft based in Bahrain, with five more on the way, making almost all of its 13 such craft deployed in region, a source familiar with the matter said.

Until recently, these craft, with a crew of less than 30 but almost a dozen machine guns or cannon mounted on their decks, had been seen as something of an irrelevance. Several had been sold off to other navies or scrapped. But now, they are being refitted and having ever heavier weaponry added.

Washington has also deployed more than half its entire minesweeper force - 8 out of 14 vessels - to the Gulf, with four of the remainder based in Japan but ready to sail to the region.

"There's just never been a focus on small ships," says Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College. "Navies, and perhaps particularly defence contractors and shipbuilders, just tend to like larger ships."


"BLACK SWAN" CLASS SLOOP

That, some naval experts say, ignores the fact that it has often been mass produced small ships that win wars.

With the size of frigates and destroyers in particular, the workhorses of modern navies, ballooning in the six decade since World War Two, even some political leaders have become exasperated.

"A Royal Navy locked into a cycle of ever smaller numbers of ever more expensive ships," British Prime Minister David Cameron complained in the House of Commons shortly after taking power in 2010. "We cannot go on like this."

Large warships still have a crucial role, naval experts say. The U.S. Navy's giant aircraft carriers, in particular, are seen as crucial to its ability to project force as a global superpower.

But for many current or predicted tasks, be it operating in an increasingly contested Arctic, tackling pirates in the Indian Ocean or operating in the Gulf or an increasingly restive Southeast Asia, the answer could be a much greater number of smaller multipurpose ships.

This month, Britain's Ministry of Defence Developments, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) released their blueprint for a new class of ship they believe could become the mainstay of the fleet - the "Black Swan-class sloop".

here

The DCDC estimate the cost per vessel could be as low as some 65 million pounds, allowing several to be built for the cost of one large state-of-the-art destroyer. With a crew that could be as low as eight or as high as 60 when circumstances demanded, its flight deck could operate either a large troop-carrying Chinook helicopter or a menagerie of unmanned drones and weapons systems, although such extras would cost more.

Inspired by the fast sailing frigates of the Napoleonic Wars and the corvettes, destroyers and submarines hunters of the Second World War, the "Black Swan" project is controversial. It remains far from clear whether the concept will be adopted and taken further.

Most of Britain's admirals rose through the ranks as officers on large warships, insiders say, and remain hugely attached to expensive, world-class large warships.

"There is always a schism between the big ship and the little ship community," said one officer on condition of anonymity. "Pushing the "Black Swan" is almost certainly career death."


"SPREADING THE SMELL OF GUNPOWDER"

Certainly, for now, the Ministry of Defence seems lukewarm at best. A spokesman told Reuters that studies had shown frigate-sized warships or larger remained the best way for the Royal Navy to meet its requirements, which included "complex war fighting scenarios".

"This... was merely a think piece that speculated on the future shape of the maritime battlespace and made a number of assumptions on future technology, much of which is not yet sufficiently advanced to commit future equipment plans to," he said of the "Black Swan" concept document.

The experience of the U.S. Navy in their attempts to build a not dissimilar ship, the Littoral Surface Combatant, suggests keeping things simple could prove far from easy.

The eventual vessel - stealthy, fast and displacing close on 3,000 tons - is not only rather larger than some of the initial concepts plan, but also strikingly more expensive. Having initially embraced the concept of a small, light vessel, the Pentagon changed its mind mid-process and demanded more armour and safety features.

Critics say the assorted competing demands meant the project ultimately ran out of control, although the U.S. Navy says the ships will be a powerful new system in its inventory.

In April, pressure group the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) reported that the first ship of the $120 billion fleet, the USS Freedom, had been plagued by a total of 648 "chargeable" equipment failures since its delivery in September 2008. They included engine failures and at least 17 serious cracks in the four year old hull.

Even before they reach their planned deployment ports in Southeast Asia as part of the Pentagon's strategic "pivot" , they have also also enraged China - a nation with a uniquely particular historic sensitivity to being surrounded by western gunboats. An editorial in the Communist Party mouthpiece "People's Daily" last month said their arrival would help "spread the smell of gunpowder" across the region.

China's navy itself has long been built around small craft, and most of its top admirals commanded fast attack boats in the early stages of their careers. But in the last decade, Beijing looks to have become increasingly drawn to following the Western model of ever larger ships.

While analysts say China has struggled with its first aircraft carrier, a former Soviet carrier initially imported ostensibly to be used as a casino, it is now believed to be building several of its own from scratch.

"It's interesting," says Gvosdev at the US Naval War College. "They seem to be coming down with the same syndrome." (Reporting By Peter Apps; editing by Ralph Boulton)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/23/arms-navies-smallships-idUSL5E8GN01420120523

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Israel revives military option after Obama rejects its nuclear demands of Iran

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 24, 2012, 9:23 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags:  Iran nuclear   Israel   military option   Barack Obama   Ehud Barak   A fateful decision is reached on IranIsrael has withdrawn its pledge to US President Barack Obama not to strike Iran's nuclear sites before the November presidential election after he rejected its minimal demands for nuclear negotiations with Iran. This is reported exclusively by debkafile's Washington sources.

In public, Israeli ministers still talk as though they believe in results from the Six-Power talks with Iran, which Thursday May 24 limped into their second day in Baghdad with the parties still miles apart. But the presidential veto has essentially cast Israel outside the loop of influence on the outcome of diplomacy.
When Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon on May 17 he was told that Obama had rejected Israel's toned-down demands for Iran to at least to halt high-grade uranium enrichment, export its stocks of material enriched higher than 3.5 percent grade and shut down production at the Fordo nuclear plant near Qom. For six months, the Obama administration tried to sweeten the bitter pill of this rejection by bumping up security aid. The latest appropriation covered another $70 million for manufacturing more Iron Dome short-range missile interceptors.
After talking to Panetta, Barak turned to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon in the hope of winning their support for softening Obama's ruling. Clinton replied she was not involved in the negotiations with Iran and Donilon, that a personal decision by the president was not open to change.
A week of consultations followed the defense minister's return home, during which it was decided to tear up Israel's pledge to refrain from attacking Iran during the US presidential campaign. Wednesday, May 23, the day the Baghdad talks began, Barak signaled Washington to this effect.
It was conveyed in a little-noticed early morning radio interview with the defense minister. To make sure his words reached the proper address without misunderstandings, the defense minister's office issued a verbatim English translation from the Hebrew:
"There is no need to tell us what to do, and we have no reason to panic. Israel is very, very strong, but we do know that the Iranians are accomplished chess players and will try to achieve nuclear capabilities. Our position has not changed. The world must stop Iran from becoming nuclear. All options remain on the table."

As the Baghdad talks went around in circles, Israel's military option was put back firmly on the table and on the US-Iranian chessboard.

http://www.debka.com/article/22024/

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Detailed, 'engaged' Iran nuclear talks enter 2nd day

By REUTERS

05/24/2012 09:18

BAGHDAD - Talks between Iran and world powers to defuse a dispute about Iran's nuclear goals entered a second day on Thursday with Washington cautiously hopeful of progress towards an agreed framework for addressing concerns that Tehran wants to build an atom bomb.

"I believe we have the beginning of a negotiation," a senior US official said of the discussions, which opened on Wednesday in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in a renewed effort at diplomacy that will seek to ease decades of ingrained mistrust.

"We have got engaged ... we have had detailed discussions" for a potential further round of talks, the official said, adding the meeting would continue into a second day on Thursday.

The discussions, watched closely by global oil markets as well as by Iran's arch-enemy Israel, are aimed at exploring ways to settle a long-standing dispute about a nuclear energy program the West suspects is aimed at nuclear bomb research. Tehran has long stated the program is strictly for peaceful purposes.

Both sides - Iran on the one hand and the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany on the other - have been publicly upbeat about the scope for an outline deal following a 15-month diplomatic freeze and exploratory talks in Istanbul last month.

In previous meetings, the two sides could not even agree on an agenda, with each largely repeating known positions and Tehran refusing any dialogue on changes to its nuclear path.

But international energy markets remain nervous, unsettled by extended Western sanctions imposed on Iran's crude exports and the specter of a Middle East conflict arising from possible Israeli strikes against Iran's nuclear installations.

Speaking after the first day of discussions, the senior US official said the meeting revealed a "fair amount of disagreement" but also areas of common ground.

"But still we have to come to closure ... about what are the next appropriate steps."

The overall goal of the six countries jointly negotiating with Tehran is an Iranian agreement to curb uranium enrichment in a transparent, verifiable way to ensure it is for peaceful purposes only. Iran's priority is to secure an end to sanctions isolating the country and damaging its economy.

The senior US official later confirmed that the six powers had also put specific measures to lessen sanctions pressure on the table in the discussions as part of a possible confidence-building package, but declined to elaborate.

Iran hints at flexibility

The pivotal proposal by the six, led by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, was for Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium to the higher fissile concentration of 20 percent, her spokesman, Michael Mann, said as talks got under way.

That is the Iranian nuclear advance most worrying to the West since it largely overcomes technical obstacles to reaching 90 percent, or bomb-grade, enrichment. Iran says it is enhancing the fissile purity to such a degree only for medical research.

Tehran has repeatedly ruled out suspending enrichment as called for by several UN Security Council resolutions.

But Iran has hinted at flexibility on higher-grade enrichment, although analysts caution that it would be unlikely to compromise much while sanctions remain in place.

Iranian media close to the Tehran government said its chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili, presented its own five-point package of proposals covering a "comprehensive" range of nuclear and non-nuclear issues.

But a European diplomat, referring to the reported Jalili proposals, said: "We are not quite sure what these five points are. We are trying to find out. There are no details."

http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=271241

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Hakken in het zand bij gesprekken met Iran

Het topoverleg over het nucleaire programma van Iran lijkt stroef te verlopen. De grote mogendheden hebben de islamitische republiek woensdag voorstellen gedaan, maar Teheran wil daar niets van weten. ,,Achterhaald, niet allesomvattend en onevenwichtig'', meldden Iraanse staatsmedia. Het overleg gaat waarschijnlijk donderdag door.

Iran spreekt op de top in Bagdad met de Verenigde Staten, Rusland, China, Groot-Brittannië, Frankrijk, Duitsland en de Europese Unie. Wat die hebben voorgesteld is niet bekendgemaakt. Mogelijk zou Iran uraniumverrijking moeten stilleggen in ruil voor een financiële beloning. Iran eist echter dat de internationale sancties worden versoepeld en zou een tegenvoorstel hebben gedaan.

Westerse landen, Israël en enkele Arabische landen vermoeden dat Iran in het geheim aan kernwapens werkt, onder meer om aartsvijand Israël te vernietigen. Teheran zegt dat het alleen vreedzame doelen heeft, zoals kernenergie.

http://www.rtl.nl/components/actueel/rtlnieuws/2012/05_mei/23/buitenland/hakken-in-het-zand-bij-gesprekken-met-iran.xml

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Iran: Westerse druk en intimidatie zinloos

woensdag 23 mei 2012 |

DUBAI - Druk van het Westen op Iran tijdens gesprekken over het nucleaire programma in het land is zinloos. Dat zei de Iraanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken woensdag.

"Druk en intimidatie zijn zinloos. Ze moeten hun goede wil tonen om deze kwestie op te lossen", aldus de minister. Hij maakte zijn opmerkingen in de aanloop naar het overleg dat Iran woensdag heeft met zes wereldmachten over het omstreden nucleaire programma van het land.

Kernwapens
Westerse landen, Israël en soennitische regimes in het Midden-Oosten vermoeden dat Iran in het geheim aan kernwapens werkt. Israël vreest die wapens. Teheran spreekt dat tegen en stelt dat het slechts vreedzame bedoelingen heeft met de opwekking van kernenergie.

Als voorbereiding op de bijeenkomst in Bagdad voerde de topman van het Internationaal Agentschap voor Atoomenergie (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, maandag overleg in Teheran. Een goede samenwerking met het IAEA bij de inspectie van nucleaire installaties is een voorwaarde die de zes wereldmachten aan Iran stellen

http://www.destentor.nl/nieuws/algemeen/buitenland/11087661/Iran-Westerse-druk-en-intimidatie-zinloos.ece

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

National Security Council considers plan for Israel strike on Iran

Ministers have considered contingency plans for how Britain would respond to a crisis in the Gulf triggered by any Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

By David Blair, and Thomas Harding

7:55PM BST 23 May 2012

The National Security Council has discussed a range of possibilities, including how Iran might retaliate by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz.

This vital waterway at the entrance to the Gulf is only 21 miles wide at his narrowest point and serves as the conduit for about 35 per cent of the world's seaborne oil shipments.

The Royal Navy retains a permanent presence in the Gulf, currently led by HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer and one of the most advanced warships in the world.

Whitehall sources confirmed that ministers discussed the range of contingencies when the National Security Council gathered for a routine meeting last Wednesday. However, a source said this was not prompted by any expectation of an imminent Israeli strike on Iran.

The meeting focused on the possibility of a "third party" taking action – which means Israel rather than Britain or America.
But neither London nor the United States has ruled out launching military action against Iran's nuclear facilities if diplomacy and economic pressure fail to resolve the confrontation.

Britain has treaty obligations to defend almost all of the Arab states in the Gulf. "Our hands are pretty much tied if any of the states invokes the agreements saying they need our aid then we will have to turn up," said a Whitehall source.

Since the Libyan campaign last year, the RAF is understood to have updated its plans for joining a possible US-led attack on Iran. Tornado GR4 bombers would lead any assault by flying direct from RAF Marham in East Anglia to the Gulf region to fire their Stormshadow cruise missile at a range of up to 350 miles from any targets in Iran. They would then land at a Gulf state where they would be based for future missions.

Eurofighter Typhoons, whose ground attack technology is less advanced, could be used to provide air defence.

Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft of the RAF are already based in one Gulf state. They could provide "real time" surveillance and eavesdropping on Iranian targets.

A Royal Navy attack submarine has also deployed to the Indian Ocean with an arsenal of Tomahawk cruise missiles that could hit targets 400 miles away.

But any British contribution would be a fraction of the firepower that the US has discreetly amassed in the region over the last year. Six F22 Raptors, the world's most advanced fighters, have been deployed to the Gulf, joining a squadron of up to 18 F15E Strike Eagles, designed for long range bombing raids.

B1 Lancer bombers and an array of surveillance and drone aircraft are already based in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Meanwhile, two American carriers are in the region: USS Carl Vinson and Abraham Lincoln, which deploy a total of 80 F18 Super Hornets capable of striking more than 200 targets in a single day.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9285455/National-Security-Council-considers-plan-for-Israel-strike-on-Iran.html

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Atoomagentschap rekent op snel akkoord met Iran

dinsdag 22 mei 2012 12:35

De chef van het Internationaal Atoomenergieagentschap (IAEA) verwacht 'zeer gauw' een akkoord te kunnen tekenen met Iran over het omstreden nucleaire programma van het islamitische land.

Yukiya Amano bezoekt Iran om over het kernprogramma te onderhandelen

'De EU laat haar tanden zien met olieboycot. Maar nieuwe klanten voor de Iraanse olie staan al in de rij en het anti-westerse sentiment zal alleen maar groeien.'

Lees het Elsevier-commentaar van Robbert de Witt: EU-boycot Iraanse olie: goedbedoeld maar zinloos

De Japanner Yukiya Amano deed zijn uitspraak dinsdag bij aankomst in Wenen waar het hoofdkwartier van het IAEA is gevestigd. Hij is een dag in Teheran geweest om de Iraniërs te spreken over hun kernprogramma.

De atoomwaakhond van de Verenigde Naties hoopt Iran ervan te overtuigen weer inspecties van kerncentrales toe te staan.

Onderhandelingen
Op woensdag komen vertegenwoordigers van de vijf permanente leden van de VN-Veiligheidsraad in de Iraakse hoofdstad Bagdad bijeen om met de Iraniërs te praten.

Westerse landen vermoeden dat Iran in het geheim aan een atoomwapen werkt en hebben sancties afgekondigd om het land op andere gedachten te brengen. De Amerikaanse senaat stemde maandag nog in met strengere strafmaatregelen waardoor het voor Iran moeilijker wordt olie te verkopen.

Het Westen hoopt een akkoord te bereiken waaronder Iran belooft geen hoogverrijkt uranium te produceren wat geschikt zou zijn voor het maken van kernwapens.

Volgens de Iraniërs dient hun uraniumverrijkingsprogramma slechts vreedzame doeleinden. Zij willen energie opwekken en medische isotopen vervaardigen die worden gebruikt om kanker te behandelen.

Compromis
Israël vreest een Iraanse kernbom en waarschuwt dat het bereid is tot militair ingrijpen tenzij het islamitische land het programma stopzet.

Enkele weken geleden liet de Israëlische minister van Defensie Ehud Barak echter weten dat zijn land bereid is tot een compromis waarbij Iran een kleine hoeveelheid laagverrijkt uranium zou mogen produceren. Zo kan het aan de binnenlandse vraag naar medische isotopen voldoen zonder kernwapenmateriaal te maken.


http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Buitenland/339291/Atoomagentschap-rekent-op-snel-akkoord-met-Iran.htm

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Iran wants to destroy Israel - Netanyahu

Tue 22 May 2012 06:27 GMT | 8:27 Local Time

Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran wants to destroy Israel and it is developing nuclear weapons to fulfill that goal, Israeli Prime Minister says.

Iran is seeking atomic weapons to destroy Israel and world powers should not make any concessions over its nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.

Netanyahu made the remarks as the head of the UN nuclear watchdog was in Teheran on a key mission that could lead to the resumption of probes on whether Iran has secretly worked on a nuclear weapon.

Much of the West believe Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies. Israel views a nuclear Iran as an existential threat due to frequent calls by Teheran for its destruction along with its support of violent anti-Israel groups and its long-range missile program.

'Iran wants to destroy Israel and it is developing nuclear weapons to fulfill that goal,' Netanyahu said at a conference for public servants on Monday.

'Against this malicious intention, leading world powers need to display determination and not weakness. They should not make any concessions to Iran,' he said.

Sky News

http://www.news.az/articles/iran/60747

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Senaat VS verscherpt sancties Iran

WASHINGTON - De Amerikaanse Senaat heeft maandag ingestemd met strenge nieuwe strafmaatregelen tegen Iran om de nucleaire ambities van de regering in Teheran te dwarsbomen. Mikpunt van de sancties zijn de Iraanse Revolutionaire Garde en bedrijven die zaken doen met Iran.

Op Amerikaanse beurzen genoteerde bedrijven worden verplicht alle transacties met Iran te melden bij de beurswaakhond, de Securities and Exchange Commission. Personen en bedrijven die Iran van middelen voorzien waarmee het regime tegen eigen burgers kan optreden, zoals traangas, rubberkogels en bewakingsapparatuur, kunnen te maken krijgen met beslaglegging en onthouding van visa.

Het Huis van Afgevaardigden stemde in december met soortgelijke maatregelen in.

De Verenigde Staten en vijf andere landen praten woensdag in Bagdad met Iran over het Iraanse atoomprogramma. Teheran zegt dat dit uitsluitend vreedzame doeleinden dient, maar de VS en hun bondgenoten vermoeden dat Iran heimelijk werkt aan kernwapens.

geplaatst:
22-05-2012 - 8.30

http://www.nd.nl/artikelen/2012/mei/22/senaat-vs-verscherpt-sancties-iran

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Rusland: Westerse landen overwegen aanval op Iran

maandag 21 mei 2012 10:14

Westerse landen denken serieus na over militair ingrijpen in Iran. Dat heeft de Russische onderminister van Buitenlandse Zaken dit weekend gezegd na afloop van de G8-top in de Verenigde Staten.

De Russische onderminister Ryabkov vreest een oorlog

'Een aanval op kerncentrales in Iran zou enorme gevolgen hebben – een groot regionaal conflict dreigt en duizenden Iraanse raketten staan op scherp.'

De leiders van de zeven grootste industrielanden plus Rusland spraken in het Amerikaanse Camp David over de mogelijkheid om strategische oliereserves aan te spreken indien de olieprijs verder stijgt. De Russen interpreteren dat als bewijs dat het Westen een aanval op Iran overweegt.

Signalen
'Het is een van de vele signalen dat de militaire optie als realistisch en mogelijk wordt gezien,' zei minister Sergei Ryabkov op zondag.

Hij voegde eraan toe dat Moskou zich zorgen maakt over de oorlogstaal die door westerse landen, waaronder Israël, wordt uitgeslagen. 'We willen niet dat de regio en de wereld vervalt in nieuwe scheidslijnen en politieke verdeeldheid.'

Atoomprogramma
Westerse landen vermoeden dat Iran in het geheim aan een atoomwapen werkt. Volgens Iran dient het uraniumverrijkingsprogramma van het land slechts vreedzame doeleinden, zoals het opwekken van energie en het vervaardigen van medische isotopen die gebruikt kunnen worden bij het behandelen van kanker.

Israël zou een Iraanse kernbom beschouwen als een existentiële dreiging en heeft gewaarschuwd dat het bereid is tot militair ingrijpen tenzij de Iraniërs hun programma stopzetten.

Een inspecteur van het Internationaal Energieagentschap kwam maandag in Iran aan om wederom over het omstreden kernprogramma te praten.

Boycot
Europese landen zijn van plan in juli een boycot van Iraanse olie af te kondigen. De Amerikanen kopen al geen Iraanse olie meer. De olie-export van het islamitische land is dit jaar met 20 procent gedaald.

De vraag naar olie blijft echter wereldwijd stijgen waardoor de prijs oploopt. De Amerikaanse president Barack Obama en premier David Cameron van het Verenigd Koninkrijk willen oliereserves aanspreken om de prijs te drukken.

Andere Europese landen en ook de Republikeinse oppositie in de Verenigde Staten zijn het hier niet mee eens. De reserves bestaan immers niet om tijdelijke prijsstijgingen het hoofd te bieden, maar om een plotselinge afname in het aanbod op te vangen zoals in het geval van een Arabische boycot.

Hoge prijs
Rusland gedijt bij de hoge olieprijs. De Russische staat is zeer afhankelijk van olie- en gasexport.

Als de olieprijs onder de 100 dollar per vat zakt, komen olieproducerende landen als Rusland en Saudi-Arabië in de financiële problemen.

Door Nick Ottens

http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Buitenland/339176/Rusland-Westerse-landen-overwegen-aanval-op-Iran.htm

dudge

Citaat van: IPA NG op 18/05/2012 | 19:24 uur
Heb liever dat we onze eigen baas zijn.

Ahh, er was een tijd dat een Nederlandse vlag betekende 'spot niet met mij', en dat de meeste dat ook niet aandurfden.
Uiteindelijk is het best knap dat een relatief klein land als Iran toch zo'n prominente plaats op het wereldtoneel weet te veroveren. Welliswaar staan ze daar redelijk eenzaam en aan wat wij de verkeerde kant vinden, maar toch, het toont maar aan dat macht altijd relatief is, en nooit eendimensionaal.

IPA NG

Citaat van: Tanker op 18/05/2012 | 19:22 uur
Citaat van: Marc66 op 18/05/2012 | 18:30 uur
Lex, Amerika wil de nieuwe wereldorde leiden en leider zijn, dat is niets bijzonders. Ooit was Rome zo en niet zo heel lang geleden wilde Duitsland het ook zijn. Niets bijzonders.
Ik heb liever dat de VS de baas is dan pak hem beet Iran, Saudi-Arabie, Noord-Korea, Pakistan etc....

Heb liever dat we onze eigen baas zijn.
Militaire strategie is van groot belang voor een land. Het is de oorzaak van leven of dood; het is de weg naar overleven of vernietiging en moet worden onderzocht. --Sun Tzu

Tanker

Citaat van: Marc66 op 18/05/2012 | 18:30 uur
Lex, Amerika wil de nieuwe wereldorde leiden en leider zijn, dat is niets bijzonders. Ooit was Rome zo en niet zo heel lang geleden wilde Duitsland het ook zijn. Niets bijzonders.
Ik heb liever dat de VS de baas is dan pak hem beet Iran, Saudi-Arabie, Noord-Korea, Pakistan etc....

KapiteinRob

Citaat van: IPA NG op 18/05/2012 | 19:09 uur
Iran doet er dan slim aan de minisub en Sunburn productie op te voeren...

De minisub kun je gewoon bij de Subway kopen....