Spanning(en) rond Iran

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Mossad Chief Wanted to Size up U.S. Reaction to Israeli Strike on Iran

February 13, 2012 1:37

Mossad chief Tamir Pardo's visit to Washington last month was meant to get a feel for how the Obama administration would react to a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, The Daily Beast reported on Monday.

Quoting a U.S. official who was involved in the high-level meetings between Pardo and senior U.S. officials in Washington, the report said Pardo wanted "to take the pulse" of the Obama administration to see what the consequences would be if Israel moved forward with a military strike on Iran despite U.S. objections.

The U.S. official told The Daily Beast that Pardo raised several questions with his hosts, including, "What is [Washington's] posture on Iran? Are we [the U.S.] ready to bomb? Would we [do so later]? What does it mean if [Israel] does it anyway?"

http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/02/13/mossad-chief-wanted-to-size-up-u-s-reaction-to-israeli-strike-on-iran/

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Iran says Israel attacked its own embassies

By JPOST.COM STAFF AND HERB KEINON02/13/2012 19:49

In an IRNA interview, Iranian Foreign Ministry says attacks on Israeli embassies in India, Georgia are meant to tarnish Iranian image; PM implicates Iran in attacks on missions in Tbilisi, New Delhi.
By Caren Firouz / Reuters

Israel launched attacks against its own embassies in New Dehli and Tbilisi in order to "tarnish Iran's friendly ties with the host countries," Iran said on Monday, after denying Israeli accusations that Tehran and its ally in Hezbollah involved in the plots.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that "Israel perpetrated the terror actions to launch psychological warfare against Iran," according to the state Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

He said that such actions were in Israel's "innate nature," adding that Iran condemns terrorism in the strongest terms.

Earlier Monday, the Iranian ambassador to New Delhi rejected as "sheer lies" accusations that it was involved in a bomb attack on the Israeli embassy in India.

"Any terrorist attack is condemned (by Iran) and we strongly reject the untrue comments by an Israeli official," Mehdi Nabizadeh was quoted as saying by IRNA, referring to accusations by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Iran was responsible. "These accusations are untrue and sheer lies, like previous times."

Netanyahu placed blame for the dual attacks against Israel's diplomatic missions in New Delhi and Tbilisi Monday squarely on Tehran, saying that Israel will continue to "systematically and with patience, use a strong arm" against international terrorism emanating from Iran.

Netanyahu said that Iran, and its proxy Hezbollah, is responsible for a string of attempted attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad in recent months, including in Thailand and Azerbaijan. In each of the previous cases, he said, the attacks were thwarted with the help of the local authorities.

"Iran, which is behind these attacks, is the greatest exporter of terrorism in the world," Netanyahu said. "The Israeli government and its security forces will continue to work together with local security services against these terrorist actions."

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said that Israel knows exactly how to identify those responsible for the attacks and how to identify those who carried them out, after two seemingly coordinated attacks were launched on Monday against Israeli embassies abroad. Israel, he added, will not allow terrorism to affect its agenda.

"It just shows that Israel and its citizens face terror inside and outside of Israel," Liberman said. "We deal with it every day. We know how to identify exactly who is responsible for the attack and who carried it out."

"We will not allow this to affect our agenda," the foreign minister concluded.

In the first attack, the wife of an Israeli diplomat was injured when a bomb exploded in her car in New Delhi, India. The woman succeeded in driving to the Israeli embassy where she was evacuated to a nearby hospital.

Local authorities were investigating the possibility that the bomb was planted under the car or alternatively that an assassin on a motorbike attached it to the vehicle as it was driving. Indian television cited witnesses who saw a motorbike following the car and possibly throwing an object toward it before the explosion.

In the second attack, an embassy staffer in Tbilisi, Georgia discovered a bomb underneath his car as he was driving to the embassy Monday morning. The staffer – a local Georgian national – heard something during the drive, pulled over to the side of the road, noticed the bomb and called local authorities. The bomb was dismantled before exploding.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=257658

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Iran voert al oorlog tegen Israël

Geplaatst door Michael van der Galien op 13 februari, 2012 - 18:59

Heel veel progressieve westerlingen zijn 'bang' dat Israël Iran weleens de oorlog kon verklaren. Juist. Wat vinden deze mensen van de volgende stelling? 'De oorlog is al lang begonnen. De enige vraag is of Israël met gelijke munt zal betalen of niet".

Twee Israëlische ambassades, die in Tblisi en die in New Delhi, waren vandaag het doelwit van een terroristische aanval. Vier mensen raakten gewond. Premier Benjamin Netanyahu zegt dat hij er 100% zeker van is dat Iran achter deze aanslagen zit:

After 2 Israeli embassies targeted, Liberman says Israel won't allow terrorism to affect its agenda; prime minister calls Iran "the world's top initiator of terror," says Iran and its proxy Hezbollah are behind attacks.

Hij zei verder dat Israël "systematisch en met sterke hand" zou reageren op de terreur uit Teheran.

Netanyahu said that Iran, and its proxy Hezbollah, is responsible for a string of attempted attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad in recent months, including in Thailand and Azerbaijan. In each of the previous cases, he said, the attacks were thwarted with the help of the local authorities.

"Iran", zei Netanyahu, "zit achter deze aanslagen". Ook zijn de gekke mullahs "de grootste sponsor van terrorisme ter wereld".

De minister van BuZa, Avigdor Liberman, voegde daaraan toe: "Het bewijst eens temeer dat Israël en haar burgers het doelwit zijn van terrorisme zowel in eigen land, als daarbuiten. Wij hebben geleerd om ermee om te gaan. Dit gebeurt ons immers elke dag. We weten precies hoe we de verantwoordelijken moeten identificeren".

Dat klopt. Ik twijfel er dan ook geen moment aan dat Iran inderdaad achter deze aanslagen zit, terwijl ze ongetwijfeld daadwerkelijk gepleegd zijn door leden van Hezbollah .

Bovenstaande in acht nemende moeten we dus concluderen dat er al lang een oorlog gaande is tussen Israël en Iran. Niet omdat de joodse natie-staat dat zo graag wil, maar omdat de religieuze malloten die het in Teheran voor het zeggen hebben graag een derde wereldoorlog willen veroorzaken.

Een verstandig mens - een verstandige journalist, blogger, of politicus - kan dan niet langer volhouden dat Israël niet geweldadig mag reageren én dat 'het ons niets aangaat'. Israël is een bondgenoot van het westen, dit in tegenstelling tot Iran. Als iemand een bondgenoot van ons aanvalt, vallen ze ons aan.

Laat de 'internationale gemeenschap', die staat te springen om Syrië binnen te vallen, haar pijlen eerst maar richten op Iran. Daar gaat een veel grotere dreiging vanuit dan van Damascus.
 
http://www.dagelijksestandaard.nl/2012/02/iran-voert-al-oorlog-tegen-isra%C3%ABl

[KapiteinRob]

maar ik maak wel onderscheid tussen mensen die met hun volle verstand kiezen om in een geheim nucleair wapenprogramma actief te zijn en redelijkerwijs kunnen weten daarmee doelwit te worden en "gewone" burgers.

De vraag is of al die Iraanse geleerden hebben kunnen kiezen....

[VandeWiel]

De aanslagen kwamen niet bepaald onverwacht. Er waren al berichten vanuit Israël met dreigende taal richting plegers van aanslagen en Khamenei heeft mogelijk een startschot gegeven met een speech waarin hij opriep "joden" overal aan te vallen. Dit artikel geeft wel aan wat de ernst en de gevolgen kan zijn van wat er gebeurt:



Hezbollah's Global Reach


I'm going to assume for the moment that the attacks on Israeli diplomatic vehicles in India and Georgia are the work of Hezbollah, which has promised attacks; which has recently been active in plotting attacks in Thailand, and which can reach into the rain forests of Latin America. It could be another group, of course, but Hezbollah is the obvious suspect. So: Does this mean war? No, not necessarily. This was not a fatal rocket attack across the Lebanese border. No one was killed in these attacks, and only one person was injured -- the wife of a diplomat who had just dropped her children off at school in New Delhi. Yaacov Katz in The Jerusalem Post lays out the choices before the Israeli government:
Until the attacks on Monday, a debate had been raging within the Israeli defense establishment what the appropriate response should be to an overseas attack, if and when one took place.

Hezbollah is understood to prefer such an attack - against an embassy, an El Al plane or a consulate - rather than one along the northern border since this would allow it a level of deniability.

Nevertheless, there are some officials within the defense establishment who believe that such an attack needs to be met by a fierce response.

Just last month, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz warned Hezbollah not to test Israel's resolve by perpetrating a terror attack against an Israeli target overseas. If Israel does not respond, it could be perceived as a paper tiger.

Other officials believe that Israel should not go to war over any attack and that the country's reaction would need to depend on the chosen target and of course the outcome, i.e. the number of casualties.



http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/02/hezbollahs-global-reach/252987/

[VandeWiel]

in plaats van mensen die wapens aan het inkopen zijn of mensen die aan een veroordeeld nucleair programma werken.

Ik vind het een beejte kort door de bocht om het elimineren van Iraanse wetenschappers in dit kader van "minder menselijk gewicht" te vinden.

Ieder mensenleven is er een, maar ik maak wel onderscheid tussen mensen die met hun volle verstand kiezen om in een geheim nucleair wapenprogramma actief te zijn en redelijkerwijs kunnen weten daarmee doelwit te worden en "gewone" burgers.

Anders gezegd, iemand die zich inlaat met wapens en partij kiest in een conflict kan verwachten doelwit te worden van de andere partij. Dat lijkt me redelijk fair deal.

[KapiteinRob]

in plaats van mensen die wapens aan het inkopen zijn of mensen die aan een veroordeeld nucleair programma werken.

Ik vind het een beejte kort door de bocht om het elimineren van Iraanse wetenschappers in dit kader van "minder menselijk gewicht" te vinden.

[VandeWiel]

Best mogelijk, zou niet gek zijn als Iran ondergronds terugslaat. Maar er zijn genoeg mogelijkheden, Israël heeft genoeg vijanden.

En hoe vaak Israel ondergronds hetzelfde doet................

Verschil is nog wel dat het om (internationaal beschermde) diplomaten gaat in plaats van mensen die wapens aan het inkopen zijn of mensen die aan een veroordeeld nucleair programma werken. Maar voor de rest, oog om oog...

[Ros]

Best mogelijk, zou niet gek zijn als Iran ondergronds terugslaat. Maar er zijn genoeg mogelijkheden, Israël heeft genoeg vijanden.

En hoe vaak Israel ondergronds hetzelfde doet................

[VandeWiel]

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister has accused Iran of being behind a pair of car bombings against Israeli diplomatic targets in India and Georgia.

Benjamin Netanyahu told a meeting of lawmakers from his Likud Party on Monday that he believed the Iranians were responsible for the attacks in New Delhi and Tbilisi. Two people were wounded in India and the bomb in Georgia was discovered before it went off.
Netanyahu said Israel has thwarted other attacks in recent months in Azerbaijan, Thailand and elsewhere.

"In all those cases, the elements behind these attacks were Iran and its protege Hezbollah," he said.
Iran has accused Israel of involvement in a series of killings of officials and scientists involved in its controversial nuclear program.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Assailants attacked Israeli diplomatic targets in India and Georgia in near-simultaneous strikes on Monday, wounding two people in a car bombing in New Delhi, officials said. Israel's Foreign Ministry said an attempted car bombing in Georgia was thwarted when the device was discovered before it went off.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But suspicion fell on Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, which both have deep grievances against the Jewish state.

Hezbollah recently marked the anniversary of the 2008 assassination of one of its commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, in a bombing widely believed to have been carried out by Israel. And Iran suspects Israeli involvement in a series of killings of officials and scientists involved in its controversial nuclear program.

The explosion in India tore through a diplomat's car, Israeli officials said. The Foreign Ministry did not identify the wounded, but Indian officials said the driver and a diplomat's wife were injured.

The explosion took place in the late afternoon close to the embassy, said embassy spokesman David Goldfarb. Television footage showed a charred minivan with blue diplomatic plates, its rear door apparently blown out.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor would not discuss who was injured nor the extent of the injuries because it was a security matter.
"We are looking into the incident and cooperation with local security forces is excellent," Palmor said from Israel.
Authorities in the former Soviet republic of Georgia said an explosive device was planted on the car of a driver for the Israeli Embassy.
Shota Utiashvili, spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry, said the driver noticed a package attached to his car's undercarriage on Monday and called police.

Police found a grenade in the package and it was defused, Utiashvili said. He did not specify where the car was parked when the device was discovered.

There was no immediate comment from Iran. But speculation will undoubtedly be raised over the possibility of Iranian-linked payback for assassinations on nuclear scientists and other covert plots that Tehran has blamed on Israel's spy agency Mossad and Western allies.
Last month, a director of Iran's main uranium enrichment site was killed in a blast from a magnetic bomb placed on his car. The official, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, was at least the fifth member of Iran's scientific community killed in apparent targeted attacks in the past two years.
Iran accused Israel of being behind the attacks. Later, Iran's official news agency IRNA said it had "evidence" of alleged U.S. and British involvement in the Roshan killing.

In a signal that Iran could strike back for Roshan's killing, Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, the spokesman for Iran's Joint Armed Forces Staff, was quoted by the semiofficial ISNA news agency last month as saying that Tehran was "reviewing the punishment" of "behind-the-scene elements" involved in the assassination.

"Iran's response will be a tormenting one for supporters of state terrorism," he said, without elaborating. "The enemies of the Iranian nation, especially the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime, or Israel, have to be held responsible for their activities."
Iran also has blamed the U.S. and allies for a sophisticated computer virus, known as Stuxnet, that was programmed to disrupt the centrifuges used in uranium enrichment. Iran said the virus was detected in its systems, but claimed no serious setbacks occurred.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gtNJOVounyz8FMJxXONhnJESevcw?docId=00b08268a9644ef683d6bbb57b97fd30

[VandeWiel]

Sanctioning in silence is costing the west goodwill on Iran's streets
Ordinary Iranians need to be reminded by the west that their suffering through sanctions is the fault of Iran's elite

Ik weet niet of de schrijver zelf met mensen in Iran actief contact heeft of op basis van haar eigen ideeën dit schrijft, maar het onderwerp kwam onlangs in een discussie hier naar boven.

Verder valt het me op dat de bewust steeds geloofwaardigere dreiging van oorlog met Iran grote consequenties begint te krijgen. Niet alleen wil blijkbaar de pers in Israel leuke uitzichtpunten huren, maar mensen die zaken doen met Iran lijken flink voorzichtiger te worden. De kans is groot dat je bij een oorlog kunt fluiten naar het geld van goederen die je aan Iran verkoopt en dat handelaren meer en meer goederen enkel op vooruitbetaling willen verkopen of zelfs helemaal niet meer. Langzaamaan wordt Iran op deze manier behoorlijk gesloopt.

Je zult zien dat de dreiging van een oorlog zo voor Iran misschien nog wel veel funester uitpakt dan de sancties op zich zelf. Iran moet dus ook oppassen met te veel roepen dat ze de straat gaat afsluiten, als ze nog actief wil blijven op de internationale markt. Het schrikt anders heel wat mensen nog meer af om nog zaken met Iran te doen. 

[VandeWiel]

Sanctioning in silence is costing the west goodwill on Iran's streets
Ordinary Iranians need to be reminded by the west that their suffering through sanctions is the fault of Iran's elite



Daily life in Iran has never been such a grind. In just the past month, the price of milk and yoghurt has jumped, foreign medicines have risen by a third and most brands of cigarettes cost about 20-50% more. Exporters nervous about getting paid are suspending shipments of tea, rice and cooking oil. Iran's middle class is feeling the squeeze; with the country's currency in a tailspin, holidays to favourite spots like Turkey and Thailand are no longer an option.

As the prospect of further price increases looms, even moderate Iranians opposed to the government are growing resentful of the west.

In the early days of his presidency, Barack Obama was bubbling over with messages for the Iranian people. In comparison, today's silence is deafening. The west has become so involved in its political brinkmanship with the mullahs that it has lost sight of how its actions play out internally in Iran. But public sentiment should not be ignored, as what unfolds in Iran will have as much to do with Iranians as it does with Iranian politicians.

The west must outline that sanctions are not designed to target the people of Iran, but Iranian officials and the Revolutionary Guard elite who now control large swaths of the economy. Iranians need to hear that the west is applying sanctions as a means to avoid a worse confrontation, and that humanitarian goods like food and medicines are exempt.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/13/sanctioning-silence-iran-west

[Lex]

'Iran zal Straat Hormuz afsluiten'

door Bart Olmer

AMSTERDAM -  Iran zal de Straat van Hormuz sluiten, wat een legitieme aanleiding vormt voor een onmiddellijke luchtaanval op Iranese nucleaire doelen door de Amerikaanse en Israëlische luchtmacht.

Die voorspelling doet de Israëlische professor Yoram Dinstein, wereldwijd beschouwd als gezaghebbend oorlogsrechtexpert en –misschien nog belangrijker– het morele kompas voor de Israëlische regering en veiligheidsdiensten.

Dinstein is deze week in Nederland voor gesprekken met Nederlandse parlementsleden en het geven van universiteitslezingen. De professor is één van 's werelds prominentste oorlogsrechtgeleerden. Dinstein is betrokken bij de pilotentrainingen van niet alleen de Israëlische luchtmacht, maar ook de Nederlandse luchtmacht en andere westerse strijdkrachten. Voor wettelijk advies is hij de belangrijkste adviseur voor de Israëlische regering.

Dinstein zegt er volledig overtuigd van te zijn dat Iran de Straat van Hormuz gaat afsluiten, waardoor de wereld wordt afgesneden van de olieproductie. Door de 35 zeemijlen smalle zeestraat vervoerden olietankers vorig jaar 17 miljoen vaten olie per dag, éénvijfde van de wereldwijd verhandelde ruwe olie. Afsluiting van de zeestraat is voor Israël een wettelijk 'casus beli', een officiële aanleiding voor oorlog, zegt Dinstein.

Per dag varen 14 volle tankers door de straat, vooral met Azië als bestemming. De olie is afkomstig uit Iran, Irak, Koeweit en Saudi-Arabië. Afsluiting van dit zeegat heeft dramatische consequenties hebben voor de levering van olie aan de wereld. De bestaande alternatieven – pijplijnen naar de Rode Zee en de Middellandse Zee – hebben onvoldoende capaciteit om de gevolgen van een blokkade volledig op te vangen.

Dinstein voorspelt dat Iran op korte termijn haar troefkaart speelt: ,,Dit merkwaardige regime in Teheran zal een agressieve daad plegen die gezien kan worden als een gewapende aanval op lidstaten van de VN, zoals het met geweld afsluiten van de Straat van Hormuz. En daarna krijgen we oorlog met luchtaanvallen van Israël en Amerika. Geloof me of niet, maar herinner je dat ik de eerste was die dit voorspelde... Iran zal een aanval uitvoeren, die de aanleiding wordt voor dit scenario."

Dinstein, oud-decaan van de universiteit van Tel Aviv, oud-voorzitter van Amnesty International in Israël en auteur van een reeks standaardwerken over oorlogsrecht, wordt geregeld geconsulteerd voor advies met de juridische afdelingen en adviseurs en de commandanten van het Israëlische leger (IDF) en de Israëlische veiligheidsdienst Shin Bet. Ook heeft hij nauwe banen met inlichtingendiensten wereldwijd. Op basis van die contacten zegt hij: ,,De oorlog met Iran zal 48 uur duren." Verschillende opvattingen van Dinstein zijn door het Internationale Gerechtshof en het Internationale Strafhof verheven tot geldend internationaal recht.

De professor bevestigt –,,Formeel vertegenwoordig ik toch niet mijn regering." – de Israëlische luchtaanvallen op nucleaire installatie in Irak in 1981 en de aanval op een door Noord-Koreanen gebouwde nucleaire reactor in Syrië in 2007. Formeel weigert de regering elk commentaar over die aanvallen. Volgens Dinstein verkeerde Israël destijds met beide landen in een staat van oorlog. Israël zal dan ook de Iranese installaties aanvallen, zodra Iran de Straat van Hormuz afsluit, wat als oorlogsverklaring wordt opgevat. ,,Voor nu hebben we alleen nog uitwisseling van onvriendelijkheden, geen staat van oorlog met Iran. Maar Iran zal de Hormuz-straat afsluiten en Israël en de VS zullen dan aanvallen."

Telegraaf,
ma 13 feb 2012, 09:55

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Iran urges Hamas to keep fighting against Israel

TEHRAN: Iran's leaders urged the Hamas prime minister of Gaza to continue the Islamic militant group's resistance against Israel and promised support, state TV reported yesterday. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh that Iran would always stand by the Palestinian "resistance" against Israel and warned him against "compromisers." President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his part said it was Iran's "duty" to stand by the Palestinians.

The hardline remarks come as Iran watches with concern attempts by Hamas to move closer to wealthy Gulf Arab states. Widened support for Hamas in the Arab world may come with demands that the Islamist movements moderate and not embarrass its new patrons. Israel and Iran consider each other archenemies. Israel has not ruled out a strike against Iran's nuclear program, which it says is aimed at developing weapons technology. Iran denies this and says the program is for peaceful purposes.

Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, was quoted as telling Haniyeh that people expect Palestinian resistance to continue. "People do not expect anything except endurance from Palestine's resistance," Khamenei was quoted as saying. He said the movement "should be watchful about influence of compromising elements ... since the outbreak of sickness is gradual." Khamenei said the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat lost his popularity because he distanced himself from resistance. "Resistance attracts people, and it is a big resource that should be protected," he said.

The Supreme Leader said Iran would always "stand by the people of Palestine and the resistance movement." Khamenei on Feb 3 affirmed that Iran had provided support to Hamas – a well-known policy, but one that Iranian leaders rarely state explicitly. Haniyeh, for his part, was quoted as saying that Iran was a "strategic reserve" for the Palestinians, and that Hamas would continue a strategy consisting of the "liberation of all the Palestinian lands, the pursuit of resistance and the rejection of peace talks."

Haniyeh also met Ahmadinejad yesterday. The president was quoted as saying that support for Palestine was a task for all Muslims. "As its duty, the Iranian nation has stood next to the oppressed nation of Palestine." The remarks come as Hamas' top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, leads what appears to have been a political shift. He has pursued reconciliation with his Western-backed rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a longtime proponent of negotiations with Israel, and has argued that non-violent protests are an important tool in resisting Israeli occupation.

Haniyeh arrived in Iran on Friday for a three-day visit. The visit was seen an attempt by the Palestinian militant movement to avoid snubbing Iran, the group's longtime patron, even as it cultivates ties with the wealthy Gulf. Some in Hamas want to be part of the broader Islamist political rise triggered by last year's Arab Spring uprisings. For this, Hamas needs new friends among Gulf states at odds with Iran. But others in the movement may wish to maintain the relationship with Tehran, which helped Hamas when it had few friends in the Arab world. – AP

http://new.kuwaittimes.net/2012/02/13/iran-urges-hamas-to-keep-fighting-against-israel/

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

U.S. Would Block Iran From Mining Hormuz Strait, Commander Says

By Tony Capaccio - Feb 12, 2012 8:28 PM GMT+0100 .

The U.S. Navy would move to stop any Iranian attempt to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz or Persian Gulf as an "act of war" the international community wouldn't tolerate, the U.S. Navy's top Gulf commander said.

Iran's inventory of thousands of mines "represents an indiscriminate and very difficult maritime problem," comparable to the improvised roadside bombs used in Iraq and Afghanistan to kill U.S. troops, Vice Admiral Mark Fox, commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet, told reporters at his Bahrain headquarters and on a conference call today.

Iran's Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said on Dec. 27 that his nation may close the Strait, the passageway for about one-fifth of globally traded oil, if the U.S. and its allies impose stricter economic sanctions in an effort to halt his country's nuclear research. U.S. officials, including Pentagon spokesman George Little, have said since that threat that they haven't seen any Iranian moves to close the waterway.

"The laying of mines in international waters is an act of war," Fox said today. "We would, under the direction of the national leadership, prevent that from happening. We always have the right and obligation of self-defense and this falls in 'self-defense.'

''If we did nothing and allowed some'' mining, ''it would be a long and difficult process to clear them,'' Fox said.

While Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian use, the U.S. and allies say the country may move to develop nuclear weapons.

Iranian's Vow

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters in Tehran yesterday that his country won't ever cede to international pressure. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he will disclose ''major nuclear accomplishments" in coming days, according to the state-run Press TV news channel.

"The Iranians have every bit as much right to operate in international waters as we do," Fox said, and "we are very keen on not trying to over-pressurize the situation."

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that controls Persian Gulf operations is "capable of striking a blow, I don't deny that," Fox said. "The guidance I give the commanding officers of my ships is that 'you have a right and obligation of self- defense.' "

Still, "the oil always flowed," even in periods of instability such as the "Tanker War" in the 1980s, when ships were attacked and damaged, he said.

Mine-Sweeping Ships

The U.S. has four Avenger-class mine-sweeping ships in the Gulf -- the USS Ardent, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator and USS Scout. The U.K.'s Royal Navy has another four vessels -- the HMS Pembroke, HMS Middleton, HMS Quorn and HMS Ramsey, according to the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

Mines in the Strait could prompt insurance companies to raise rates on tankers utilizing the waterway, which in turn could lead at least temporarily to higher oil prices.

U.S. officials who follow Iran for the U.S. Central Command estimated in 2008 that Iran possessed as many as 5,000 mines. That compares with 1,000 mines in the 1980s during its conflict with Iraq and the Tanker War.

These include moored mines such as a variant that damaged a frigate, the USS Samuel Roberts, in April 1988 during the Operation Earnest Will escort of Kuwaiti and Saudi tankers.

The inventory also includes as many as 600 advanced mines bought from Russia, such as the MDM-3, which can be dropped from an aircraft. These "influence mines" can be programmed to detonate based on a ship's acoustic signature.

Caught 'Red-Handed'

The Navy would detect signs of Iranian mine-laying through surveillance aircraft and sensors, Fox said.

During the Tanker War "we caught some guys red-handed and we stopped them," he said.

Iran was assessed by U.S. officials in 2008 as having a substantial inventory of mines that could be laid by three Russian-built Kilo-class diesel submarines it bought in the 1990s. In the past 18 months, Iran also increased its inventory of smaller, domestically made Yono-class submarines to more than 10 from 5 previously, Fox said.

The subs are similar to the vessel the U.S. assessed as having sunk the South Korean corvette Cheonan in March 2010, Fox said.

The Yono class is a "lethal but not very capable submarine, he said. ''It doesn't go very far. It can't stay submerged very long, but the geography of the Strait of Hormuz is certainly in their favor," Fox said of the narrow waterway.

The Office of Naval Intelligence also says the Yono-class subs may be used to deploy scuba divers.

Iran has increased the number of small, fast patrol aircraft, some of which have been outfitted with a large warhead for a suicide run at U.S. vessels, Fox said.

It also has boosted the number of coastal-defense cruise missiles along the Strait and invested to make them mobile.

"They have a capability, and we take that capability very seriously and are prepared for it," Fox said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-12/u-s-would-block-iran-from-mining-hormuz-strait-commander-says.html