WAR in the Middle-East ?

[kensington]

Israel attack wouldn't stop Iran nuclear program, says U.K. study

Oxford Research Group predicts Israeli attack would spark long war that might even encourage Iran further.

An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would start a long war and probably not prevent Iran from eventually acquiring nuclear weapons, a think-tank said on Thursday.

The Oxford Research Group, which promotes non-violent solutions to conflict, said military action should be ruled out as a response to Iran's possible nuclear weapons ambitions.

"An Israeli attack on Iran would be the start of a protracted conflict that would be unlikely to prevent the eventual acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran and might even encourage it," it said in a report.

It would also lead to instability and unpredictable security consequences for the region and the wider world, it added.

The United Nations Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran last month over its contested nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons in secret.

Iran says it wants nuclear energy for peaceful uses only.

The report, by Paul Rogers, professor of peace studies at the University of Bradford, said U.S. military action against Iran appeared unlikely but Israel's capabilities had increased.

"Long-range strike aircraft acquired from the United States, combined with an improved fleet of tanker aircraft, the deployment of long-range drones and the probable availability of support facilities in northeast Iraq and Azerbaijan, all increase Israel's potential for action against Iran," the report said.

Israeli leaders usually speak only of leaving all options on the table, although Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon specifically said in May that Israel had the capability to hit Iran.

Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, but refuses to confirm or deny this.

The Oxford report estimated it might take three to seven years for Iran to develop a small arsenal of nuclear weapons if it decided to do so. It said there was no firm evidence such a decision had been taken by the Islamic Republic.

Any Israeli strike would be focused not only on destroying nuclear and missile targets but would also hit factories and research centers and even university laboratories to damage Iranian expertise, the report said.

This would cause many civilian casualties, the report added.

Military action would include the direct bombing of targets in Tehran and probably include attempts to kill technocrats who managed Iran's nuclear and missile programs, the report said.

Iran's responses to an Israeli attack could include withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and immediate action to produce nuclear weapons to deter further attacks, the report explained.

They could also include missile attacks on Israel, closing the Strait of Hormuz to push up oil prices and paramilitary or missile attacks on Western oil facilities in the Gulf.

After a first strike, Israel might have to carry out regular air strikes to stop Iran developing atom bombs and medium-range missiles, the report said. "Iranian responses would also be long-term, ushering in a lengthy war with global as well as regional implications," Rogers said.

Other options open to the West were to redouble efforts to get a diplomatic settlement or accept that Iran may eventually acquire a nuclear capability and use that as the start of a process of balanced regional de-nuclearization, the report concluded.

 

[wikiphile]

Yes, Saudi Arabia has always been the classic NATO Arab country, no action talk only Arab country. Its policy has always been to talk loudly about Palestine sovereignty but do nothing about it as long as Israel don't disturb them. Go bomb the other Arab or Muslim countries all Israel wants, just don't disturb them. Israel has also played along and list Saudi Arabia as enemy country but never disturbed them. Saudi Arabia in its position, wouldn't want any Arab or Muslim country in the Middle East to have nuclear weapons. It'd upset their position in their cozy balance of survival.

Also note that Iran is a Muslim country, not an Arab country. Iranians aren't Arabs, just like Pakistani Muslims and Indonesian Muslims aren't Arabs. Iran just happened to nearby, uncomfortably nearby.

You are right to point out that the Irans are Persians, not Arabs. One detail you forgot to mention is that they are Shiites and not Sunnis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi'a–Sunni_relations

 

[kensington]

ANALYSIS / Iran is keeping a tight rein on Nasrallah and Hezbollah

With aid from Iran, Syria has a factory producing M-600 missiles for Hezbollah. So is Assad really looking for peace?

By Yossi Melman



At an undisclosed site, the Syrians have erected a factory that produces M-600 missiles, capable of hitting almost any target in Israel. According to the French newsletter Intelligence Online, the factory is a joint Iranian-Syrian venture. Iran funded construction of the site, and supplied the assembly line, the technology and the war doctrine. In return, Syria is committed to provide half of the factory's production - that is, half the missiles - to Hezbollah.

Young Hezbollah supporters holding mock ups of Katyusha rockets in front of a portrait of group leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

A few weeks ago, reports in worldwide media outlets indicated that Syria was smuggling missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, in clear violation of the UN Security Council resolution that brought about the end of the Second Lebanon War. The reports, apparently leaked by a source inside Israel intelligence, were later confirmed by the Israeli government. In truth, the term "smuggling" is incorrect. Syria transfers the missiles according to its factory agreement with Iran, but tries to hide the weapons supply from Israeli intelligence and the Israel Air Force, which have been closely following these transfers.

An M-600 has a diameter of 600 millimeters, and a range of 250 to 300 kilometers; it is powered by solid fuel and can carry war heads weighing up to 500 kilograms. The missile is based on technology older than the Iranian Fateh 110, itself an improved version of the Soviet-Chinese-North Korean Katyusha rocket.

Even without the M-600, Syria has many tens of thousands of missiles and rockets, the basis for the Scuds and Katyushas that Hezbollah launched at Israel in the Second Lebanon War. During that war, Israel bombed Lebanon with 7,000 tons of explosives, while the explosives from the approximately 4,000 rockets and missiles Hezbollah fired on Israel added up to "only" 28 tons.

Bashar Assad overseeing military maneuvers.

"It is clear that in the next war we will look back and miss the 2006 conflict, in terms of the amount of explosives that will fall on Israel," says a senior intelligence source. The question is whether this war will take place, when and with whom.

While experts say Hezbollah is preparing itself for war with Israel, there are no signs that it intends to start one any time soon. In fact, the Second Lebanon War limited Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's room to maneuver. The political and military leadership in Iran was angered by Hezbollah's decision to kidnap Israeli soldiers in the ambush that kicked off the war with Israel. The Iranians did not want war at that point, and believed Nasrallah was mistaken in approving the kidnapping without first consulting them. As a result, they took away his right to decide whether to attack Israel in the future.

Since then, Hezbollah has succeeded in rebuilding its capabilities, increasing the number of its fighting units and equipping itself with tens of thousands of missiles, with generous support from Iran and Syria. But at this point in time, it appears Tehran is not interested in another round between Israel and Hezbollah, and Israeli intelligence does not believe a new war will break out this summer. Still, just one incident going out of control could lead to war.

An issue of intentions

A more interesting question being debated by Israeli intelligence is just where Syrian President Bashar Assad is heading. This is an issue of intentions, which intelligence - all intelligence services - always wonder about. Assad's capabilities can be quantified: Exact and up-to-date information can be acquired (Israel does this successfully ) about the number of Syrian soldiers, the structure of the army and its weapons, its theories of war and so on. It is much harder to determine the intentions of the Syrian leader, especially because they are the decisions of one man or no more than a small forum made up of army commanders and advisors.

Israeli intelligence is divided into optimists and pessimists. At the head of the optimist pack is Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, head of the IDF research department, who believes that if Assad receives the Golan Heights back from Israel, he will consent to a peace agreement and everything it implies - including open borders, limited commercial relations and diplomatic ties. Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi believes there is an opportunity here for a diplomatic process, and that everything must be done to pursue it.

In contrast, retiring Mossad chief Meir Dagan holds that Assad will never agree to peace with Israel, because hostility toward Israel is what justifies his rule. The outgoing director of Military Intelligence, Amos Yadlin, feels Assad is still uncertain about which path to take, although he thinks the Syrian leader's behavior in recent years shows that he is tending to distance himself from peace, just as Dagan contends. Israeli intelligence describes this as "strengthening self-confidence to the point of insolence."

'Told you so'

Before the United Staes invaded Iraq in 2003, Assad's advisors suggested that he support President George W. Bush, just as his father and predecessor Hafez Assad joined the senior Bush's coalition during the first Gulf War. Bashar Assad refused. Today he may feel this was a good bet and could tell his advisors, "I told you so." He did not join the American war, and still he is courted by the U.S. administration.

In contrast with both his father's stance and his own earlier positions, Assad is stiffening his demands. He is not prepared to forgo an alliance with Hezbollah and Iran, even in return for a peace agreement with Israel. Still, despite everything, he continues to act with great care and tries not to break the rules.

"What does Assad want?" the intelligence community asks. "That's a tough question," they answer themselves.

 

[kensington]

Blast hits Japanese oil tanker in Persian Gulf


An explosion, possibly caused by an attack, damaged an oil tanker on Wednesday near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said.

The company said the blast on its tanker M. Star caused one minor injury, but did not cause an oil leak.

The ship was damaged due to "an explosion from a suspected attack from the outside" in the waters off Oman, near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, the company said.


The strait leads into the Persian Gulf past Oman and Iran, and is a transit point for about 40 per cent of oil shipped by tankers worldwide.

"We believe it's highly likely an attack," Mitsui spokeswoman Eiko Mizuno said. "There is nothing that can explode in that part of the vessel."

She said a crew member noticed a flash of light right before the explosion, raising the possibility of an attack.

Yuki Shimoda, an official at Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said the ministry was not immediately suspecting an attack, but added that the possibility cannot be ruled out.

The ministry said in a statement the tanker was carrying 270,000 tons of oil, and was heading toward Japan's Chiba Port near Tokyo from Das island in the United Arab Emirate. It said the tanker is registered in the Marshall Islands.

No Japanese vessels have suffered pirate attacks in the area, the ministry said.

The US Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said it's investigating the explosion.

"We've heard about it. We're still in the process of trying to get details," said Commander Amy Derrick-Frost.

© 2010 AFP

-----------------------

An explosion, possibly caused by an attack, damaged an oil tanker on Wednesday near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said.

The company said the blast on its tanker M. Star caused one minor injury, but did not cause an oil leak.

The ship was damaged due to "an explosion from a suspected attack from the outside" in the waters off Oman, near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, the company said.

The strait leads into the Persian Gulf past Oman and Iran, and is a transit point for about 40 per cent of oil shipped by tankers worldwide.

"We believe it's highly likely an attack," Mitsui spokeswoman Eiko Mizuno said. "There is nothing that can explode in that part of the vessel."

She said a crew member noticed a flash of light right before the explosion, raising the possibility of an attack.

Yuki Shimoda, an official at Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said the ministry was not immediately suspecting an attack, but added that the possibility cannot be ruled out.

The ministry said in a statement the tanker was carrying 270,000 tons of oil, and was heading toward Japan's Chiba Port near Tokyo from Das island in the United Arab Emirate. It said the tanker is registered in the Marshall Islands.

No Japanese vessels have suffered pirate attacks in the area, the ministry said.

The US Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said it's investigating the explosion.

"We've heard about it. We're still in the process of trying to get details," said Commander Amy Derrick-Frost.

===================

Another abandoned false flag ??? Like everbody is watching the USA and what they're up to and they seemed not to be able finish what they started nowadays. Seems like the mind is willing but the pocket says otherwise.
The Japs are good friend and trading partners of the Iranians and why in the fuck would the Iranians want to jeopardise that ? Those Yankees must be thinking shit if they still want to pull a funny one out of the hat.

Of course, now they blamed in on a freak wave that came with an explosive sound. Kaboomz !!! No, that was one horny stoned whale looking for his mate....

"Since one of the crew saw a flash on the horizon immediately before the blast, the company suspects it was highly likely an attack," the statement said.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain and responsible for American naval forces in the Gulf, said the master of the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, the M. Star, reported by radio to the U.K.-based Maritime Trade Organization that an explosion occurred on his ship at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, local Bahrain time. The vessel sustained damage on its starboard side while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the master reported.

The captain didn't indicate that his ship had been under attack at the time of his initial voice report, a Fifth Fleet spokesman later said in an email.

The spokesman said the Navy was still seeking information about the explosion.

An initial damage assessment from the ship's owner found that one lifeboat was blown off the ship and there was some damage to some of the ship's hatches. The cause of the explosion and full extent of damage were unknown, the release said.

Fifth Fleet offered emergency assistance, but the ship's master determined it wasn't needed. The Strait of Hormuz remained open for navigation, and shipping lanes were unaffected by the incident, the Navy said.

Capt. Mousa Murad, general manager for the Port of Fujairah, in a telephone interview said the ship's crew reported to him that there was some sort of swelling wave that hit the tanker, injuring one crew member and causing damage in the ship's accommodation area.

A photo released by the Emirates state news agency WAM after the tanker arrived in Fujairah showed a large, square-shaped dent beginning near the waterline on the rear starboard side of the ship's hull.

 

[kensington]

Iran expects EU to be independent


Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has criticized the European Union for pandering to US foreign policy in its dealings with Iran.

"Iran — in an equal position — is eager to expand its ties with Europe and welcomes an independent Europe in its foreign policy," Mottaki said during a meeting with Ireland's new ambassador to Iran, Oliver Grogan, in Tehran on Wednesday.

Iran's top diplomat noted that the EU's recent decision to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic indicates a lack of independence in decision-making by the 27-member bloc.

He added that EU policies in recent years have led Tehran to shift the focus of Iran's foreign relations away from Europe.

Mottaki said the recent technological advances in Iran prove that the country is capable of making great strides in all areas of development.

Grogan expressed satisfaction over the current level of relations between Ireland and Iran but said he expects bilateral relations to expand in the future.

On July 26, EU foreign ministers approved a measure imposing tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, including restrictions on banking, insurance, transport, and investment in new oil and gas fields.

 

[lovesamleong]

Iran is a trouble making nation, the US should have invaded Iran instead of Iraq

 

[kensington]

Ahmadinejad inspects Iran's Natanz nuclear plant.


The UAE ambassador to the US said "we cannot live with a nuclear Iran".

Iran and the United Arab Emirates are embroiled in a furious new row after the latter's ambassador to Washington publicly expressed support for a US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Yousef al-Otaiba commented bluntly that the benefits would outweigh the short-term costs of military action. "We cannot live with a nuclear Iran," the envoy said at a conference in Aspen, Colorado. "I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the UAE."

Tehran hit back swiftly with a warning from a leading MP of a "teeth-breaking" response to these "harsh and crude" remarks and a possible ban on Iranian travel to the Gulf state, which does billions of dollars of trade annually with Iran.

The UAE foreign ministry called the reported comments "inaccurate and taken out of context", but they were recorded by the Atlantic Magazine, which organised the conference. The ministry insisted that the UAE wanted a peaceful solution to the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme.

The spat follows Iran's decision to scale back economic relations with the UAE after Abu Dhabi implemented the latest UN sanctions punishing Tehran for ignoring demands over that programme.

The row also underlines wider nervousness in the Gulf about Iran, though the UAE is the most hawkish of its neighbours and has been in dispute with it over three islands since 1971.

Controversy erupted in nearby Kuwait recently over an alleged spy ring for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and there are concerns elsewhere about Iranian subversion against the Sunni Arab monarchies.

Otaiba was quoted as saying that he "absolutely" wanted the US to use force to halt Iran's nuclear programme.

"Countries in the region view the Iran threat very differently," he said. "I can only speak for the UAE, but talk of containment and deterrence really concerns me and makes me very nervous. Iran doesn't have nuclear power now but … what makes me think that once they have a nuclear programme, we are going to be able to be more successful in containing them?"

The ambassador's candid remarks were quickly picked up in the US and Israeli media but the damage was done long before an unconvincing official denial was issued in Abu Dhabi. "I hope the government of the UAE will correct this viewpoint," said Kazem Jalali, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.

Analysts and diplomats are aware such views are often expressed in private by officials in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. "Otaiba's remarks may or may not be a gaffe but they certainly reflect official thinking in Abu Dhabi," said Christopher Davidson, a Gulf expert at Durham University. "They want to see more American boots on the ground, and they don't want to live in the shadow of a nuclear Iran."

Davidson said that the UAE also needed to sound hawkish because it is open to accusations of sanctions-busting as Dubai, the closest to Iran of the UAE's seven emirates, is a key trans-shipment point for the Iranian nuclear programme.

Iran and the UAE have close economic ties. Thousands of Iranian companies and businessmen operate in the country and bilateral trade is estimated at $10bn (£6.6bn) a year, mostly made up of Iranian imports. Masoud Daneshmand, head of the Iran-UAE Chamber of Commerce, complained on Tuesday that the Emiratis were going beyond what was required by the UN sanctions regime.

Last week the UAE central bank asked financial institutions in the federation to freeze the bank accounts of 41 Iranians, including the managers of key companies owned by the Revolutionary Guards. The UAE also closed 40 international and local firms accused of shipping contraband and banned dual-use goods to Iran.

 

[lovesamleong]

United Arab Emirates ...... publicly expressed support for a US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

That is good news.... US now have support from a Arab country

 

[kensington]

Mitsui Says Oil Tanker Possibly Attacked Near Hormuz




July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., operator of the world’s second-largest oil-tanker fleet, said one of its ships may have been attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, deemed by the U.S. to be the most important chokepoint for oil supply.

An explosion, which “may have been caused by an external attack,” occurred at 5:30 a.m. Tokyo time, injuring one of the crew, Mitsui said in a statement. The vessel, M. Star, was on its way to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to assess the damage and no oil is leaking, Mitsui said. The tanker was damaged by “a high wave,” the official U.A.E. news agency WAM reported, citing Musa Murad, director of the Port of Fujairah.

The strait connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and is a transit point for tankers hauling oil from producers including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait. The most northerly pirate attack in the Gulf of Oman to date was an incident in October last year involving an oil-product tanker to the south of the strait, data from the International Maritime Bureau in London show.

“The seas are very rough at this time of year because of the southwest monsoons,” said Cyrus Mody, an official at the IMB, which tracks piracy attacks. While a pirate attack isn’t impossible, “it’s difficult,” he said.

U.S. officials said they are watching the situation closely. “We have no information the tanker was attacked,” said State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley. The U.S. will continue to monitor developments, Crowley said.

Energy Information

As much as 17 million barrels of oil a day passed through the strait in the first half of 2008, equal to 40 percent of all seaborne-traded oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of the Energy Department. Located between Oman and Iran, the strait is 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. Most of the oil goes to Asia, the U.S. and Western Europe, the EIA says.

The tanker “suffered a high wave that resulted from an earthquake,” the WAM agency cited the Port of Fujairah’s Murad as saying. Earthquakes were recorded in Iran’s Hormozgan province, along the Strait of Hormuz, at 11:13 p.m. local time last night and 12:51 p.m. and 4:28 p.m. today, according to data on the website of the Tehran-based International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology.

Middle East members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had combined oil output of 19.9 million barrels a day in June, according to Bloomberg estimates. Global supply was 86.1 million barrels in June, according to the Paris- based International Energy Agency.

Piracy Attacks

Piracy attacks worldwide declined 18 percent to 196 incidents in the first half of the year, the IMB said July 15. Attacks in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and around Somalia fell to 98 from 144.

There was an explosion on the starboard side of the ship, which damaged some hatches and one of the lifeboats, said Corey Barker, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, speaking by phone from the fleet’s base in Manama, Bahrain. “The cause and extent of the damage is unknown and will be investigated,” he said.

Built in 2008, the double-hulled ship is 333 meters (1,090 feet) long, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessel most recently stopped on the eastern coast of Qatar and Das Island, owned by Abu Dhabi, ship-tracking data show. The crew consists of 15 Indians and 16 Filipinos, Mitsui said.

The tanker was delivering a cargo to Cosmo Oil Co., a Japanese refiner partly owned by Abu Dhabi, according to Katsuhisa Maeda, a spokesman for Cosmo. It was scheduled to arrive at its Chiba refinery near Tokyo on Aug. 17, he said. Three-quarters of Japan’s oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the EIA.

‘Implications for Ships’

“If it turns out to be an attack it will have implications for ships going in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, and would lead to delays and rising tanker rates,” said Ben Goggin, a freight derivatives broker at SSY Futures Ltd., a unit of the world’s second-largest shipbroker.

Mitsui, based in Tokyo, operates an oil-tanker fleet with a carrying capacity of 15.42 million deadweight tons, second only to Frontline Ltd.’s 16.75 million deadweight tons, according to data on Mitsui’s website.

M-STAR

 

[kensington]

Map Of The Incident


Tokyo -- The Mitsui OSK Lines tanker M. Star suffered an apparent attack in the Persian Gulf near the Straits of Hormuz.

An explosion hit the ship and slightly wounded one crew member at about 12:30 am on the 28th (local time).

The crew of 31 consists of 16 Filipinos and 15 Indians.

The source of the explosion remains unclear, but it seems that it was not caused by any internal malfunction, and was therefore likely an attack.

The M. Star is a 160,000 ton oil tanker owned by Mitsui but registered in the Marshall Islands. It was built in 2008 and was carrying more than 270,000 MT of oil at the time of the explosion.

The damage from the explosion did not affect the ship's ability to sail, nor did it cause an oil leak.

The M. Star had taken on its cargo of oil at Das Island in the United Arab Emirates and was heading for the port of Chiba.

After the explosion, however, the captain set sail for the port of Fujairah to inspect the damage.

It is expected to arrive at 5 pm local time.

Meanwhile, the official news agency of the United Arab Emirates is attributing the damage to high waves caused by an earthquake.

 

[kensington]

What could have caused this damage ???

 

[rodent2005]

Then the war will start between the 2 country. If Israel begin to lose the Syria, Lebanon, Jordan will join in attack Israel to take advantage of the situation/revenge.

Yeah right, then Israel will beat the hell out of all these countries combined like they used to in the 60s and 70s.

 

[kensington]

Blast hits Japan oil tanker


A mysterious explosion hit a Japanese oil tanker near Iran in the vital Strait of Hormuz early on Wednesday, spotlighting a potential threat in a chokepoint for global oil supplies.

There were differing theories about the cause of the blast — which did not cause any serious injuries or an oil spill — ranging from a terrorist attack to an explosion of gases.

Port officials in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates even said the ship was hit by a tremor-triggered wave.

On Wednesday afternoon, the M Star of the Mitsui OSK Lines, was steaming under its own power to the United Arab Emirates for repair. Japan’s transport ministry suspected an attack on the tanker.

“Since one of the crew saw a flash on the horizon immediately before the blast, the company suspects it was highly likely an attack,” the ministry said, adding that the immediate area was not known for piracy.

It said one crew member was injured and the ship was partly damaged but able to keep sailing after the blast hit at 12:30 am (2030 GMT Tuesday).

And Junto Endoh, general manager in the Doha liaison office for Mitsui OSK Lines, told Dow Jones Newswires, the explosion was “maybe an attack, not a spontaneous accident; it may be a terrorist attack.”

The vessel — crewed by 16 Filipinos and 15 Indians — was carrying 270,000 tonnes of crude oil but did not suffer a spill.

It was heading from the UAE to the Japanese port of Chiba at the time of the blast, but turned back for inspection, a company executive said.

The US Navy Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, said the vital shipping route, through which passes an estimated 40 percent of oil exports remained open. “The Strait of Hormuz remains open for safe navigation and shipping lanes are unaffected by this incident,” a statement said.

“The cause of the explosion and extent of damage is currently unknown.” “Initial damage assessment from the ship’s owner, Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd., Japan, is that one life boat was blown off the ship and there is some damage to the starboard hatches.”

The US Navy offered to help but the crew determined it was not needed, the statement said, adding the ship was heading to the port of Fujairah, in the UAE, “under their own power to make repairs.”

The tanker arrived at Fujairah in the early evening, the official WAM news agency reported.

WAM quoted an unnamed officials as saying the tanker bore no external signs of any attack, and added that an investigation was underway to establish the causes of the incident.

In Iran, Ali Akbar Safai, head of shipping in Hormozgan province on the Gulf, told Fars news agency a “fire was caused by a blast on the deck of this vessel” adding that it was “controlled by the forces present in the region and the crew.”

Mohammad Hakimi, another Iranian shipping official, told Mehr news agency “the blast on the Japanese ship happened in Omani waters.”

And Attollah Sadr, head of Iran Shipping and Ports Organisation, ruled out a terrorist attack. “Because of inflammable gases and vapours in oil tankers, a blast is likely,” he told Mehr.

Eiko Mizuno, a Mitsui spokeswoman in Tokyo, told AFP: “The crew member was not seriously injured. His arm was cut by shattered glass.

“The ship is now sailing to the port without having to be towed. It is expected to reach the port as early as late Wednesday (local time).”

“The damage did not spark a fire of the oil inside the tanker. Further details have yet to become available as a full investigation will be launched once the tanker gets to the port.”

The Strait of Hormuz, less than 100 kilometres at its widest point, separates Oman from Iran and is the gateway into the oil-rich Gulf.

Regional tensions are high as Western powers pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, suspecting the regime is seeking a nuclear bomb. Fresh UN sanctions were adopted last month.


================


Sorry USA. You're always a day late or a dollar short...:oIo:

"We do not think the cause of explosion was due to freak waves," Mitsui spokeswoman Eiko Mizuno said in Tokyo. "Waves can capsize vessels, but not cause explosions."

Mitsui said the explosion seemed to be caused by "an attack from external sources" while the tanker passed through Omani waters in the western part of the vital waterway, a narrow chokepoint between Oman and Iran at the Gulf's mouth.

 

[kensington]

US funds sedition leaders to topple Iran


A top Iranian cleric says the US has given "the leaders of sedition" one billion dollars in order to topple the Islamic establishment during last year's post-election unrest.

"I have acquired documents showing that the Americans paid one billion dollars to leaders of sedition through Saudi individuals who are currently the US agents in regional countries,” ILNA quoted Head of the Guardian Council Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati as saying on Tuesday.

“These Saudis, who spoke on behalf of the US, told the opposition figures that if you can overthrow the Islamic establishment, we would pay another 50 billion dollars," he added.

"The opposition leaders staged riots with the help of the US and they were confident that the Islamic Revolution will fall with the assistance of the US because it is a soft war which causes people to break away from the Islamic system," he explained.

The Iranian cleric further pointed out that a system which does not enjoy the support of the nation will collapse automatically.

Ayatollah Jannati said Saudi Arabia is obeying the US “in a servile manner” and added that Iran is the only country which stood by itself and chanted “death to America” with strength.

The 12-member Guardians Council, which among other things is tasked with overseeing the elections and ensuring that they are held in a free and fair manner, endorsed the result of June 2009 presidential election that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win for his second term in office.


=============

 

[kensington]

Israel plans coup in emirate, report says


Israel is aiding and abetting an exiled Arab sheikh in his efforts to stage a "coup" in the Persian Gulf emirate of Ras al-Khaimeh, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, a report says.

The Israeli ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor, has met Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr al-Qasimi, the exiled crown prince of Ras al-Khaimeh, who asked the Israeli envoy to provide help for his campaign to seize control of the strategically important Persian Gulf emirate only 40 miles from Iran, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

The meeting took place in London in March and has been followed by phone calls and wider assistance and advice, according to records of the relationship seen by The Guardian.

Khalid, who was sent into exile in 2003, is seeking to replace his ailing father Sheikh Saqr and half brother Sheikh Saud to take control of Ras al-Khaimeh.

He claims that Ras al-Khaimeh has become a trafficking hub for "nuclear arms parts" to Iran and has spent over £4 million (over $6 million) on an international public relations and lobbying campaign to persuade US politicians and the pro-Israel lobby in the United States that it would be safer if he were in charge.

The alliance with Israel is the latest twist in the already extraordinary saga of Khalid's bid to return to power, the report said.

Sheikh Saqr is understood to be dying in hospital in Abu Dhabi and his son, Sheikh Saud, 54, the sitting crown prince, has been told to get prepared for his wake.


============

 

[kensington]

Iran warns Israel against wrong move


Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has warned Israel that “any injudicious action” will lead to the annihilation of the Tel Aviv regime.

“Any injudicious action of Israel will trigger the countdown of its destruction,” General Vahidi told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet session on Monday.

“Israel is facing many setbacks in resolving its domestic, regional and international problems. Therefore, it is trying to get rid of this heavy burden through putting the blame on others,” he went on to say.

The Iranian defense minister reiterated that public pressure on Israeli officials has prompted them to have some false illusions in their minds.

Israel has repeatedly voiced its determination to stop Iran's nuclear program, even through military means.

Aggressive Israeli efforts against Iran's nuclear program come despite widespread reports of its possession of over 200 nuclear warheads that was acquired with blessings from Tel Aviv's Western sponsors. Israel has refused to sign or commit to any international atomic regulatory treaties.

Tehran says its nuclear program is completely peaceful and has never been diverted to weapons production.

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[kensington]

Ahmadinejad inspects Iran's Natanz nuclear plant.


The UAE ambassador to the US said "we cannot live with a nuclear Iran".

Iran and the United Arab Emirates are embroiled in a furious new row after the latter's ambassador to Washington publicly expressed support for a US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Yousef al-Otaiba commented bluntly that the benefits would outweigh the short-term costs of military action. "We cannot live with a nuclear Iran," the envoy said at a conference in Aspen, Colorado. "I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the UAE."

Tehran hit back swiftly with a warning from a leading MP of a "teeth-breaking" response to these "harsh and crude" remarks and a possible ban on Iranian travel to the Gulf state, which does billions of dollars of trade annually with Iran.

The UAE foreign ministry called the reported comments "inaccurate and taken out of context", but they were recorded by the Atlantic Magazine, which organised the conference. The ministry insisted that the UAE wanted a peaceful solution to the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme.

The spat follows Iran's decision to scale back economic relations with the UAE after Abu Dhabi implemented the latest UN sanctions punishing Tehran for ignoring demands over that programme.

The row also underlines wider nervousness in the Gulf about Iran, though the UAE is the most hawkish of its neighbours and has been in dispute with it over three islands since 1971.

Controversy erupted in nearby Kuwait recently over an alleged spy ring for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and there are concerns elsewhere about Iranian subversion against the Sunni Arab monarchies.

Otaiba was quoted as saying that he "absolutely" wanted the US to use force to halt Iran's nuclear programme.

BO LUMPHAR CHI, AGAIN...


UAE rejects envoy's 'attack Iran' remarks

The UAE says The Washington Times has "taken out of context" remarks made by its envoy to the US Yousef al-Otaiba regarding a military strike on Iran.

The Washington Times quoted al-Otaiba as saying Tuesday that a military attack on Iran would have short-term costs but long-term benefits, arguing that it is impossible to "live with a nuclear Iran."

"If you are asking me, 'Am I willing to live with that versus living with a nuclear Iran?,' my answer is still the same: 'We cannot live with a nuclear Iran.' I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the UAE."

Tareq al-Haidan, the UAE's deputy foreign minister, dismissed the report as inaccurate, saying the remarks were "taken out of context," AFP reported.

"The statements attributed by The Washington Times to the UAE ambassador to the United States, Youssef Al-Otaiba, are not precise," the official WAM news agency quoted Haidan as saying on Wednesday.

The deputy minister said that the comments carried by the paper "came as part of general discussions held on the sidelines of an unofficial gathering," in which the ambassador was speaking.

The official said that the UAE "rejects the use of force as a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and rather calls for a solution through political means."

Iran has repeatedly assured its neighbors that its nuclear program neither poses a threat to the region nor the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, in its numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, has found no evidence suggesting that Tehran's nuclear work has deviated toward non-peaceful purposes.


===================


The Iranians are busy dismantling the gulf states monarchies through their democratisation of the region. Those crowns are a bit heavier now since most of those previously unaccounted and politically side-lined Shiites are the majorities in those gulf states.

 

[kensington]

Iran independent of world powers

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Islamic Republic has gained independence, withdrawing itself from the circle of influence of economic powers.

The Iranian chief executive made the remark at the inaugural ceremony of two new projects in Morvarid Petrochemical Complex and Pardis Petrochemical Company in the southern Iranian port city of Assalouyeh in Bushehr province on Wednesday.

"Iran's efforts to proceed with giant national oil, gas and petroleum projects by [Iranian] experts have cut the dependence bonds with other economic powers and multinational companies," IRNA quoted President Ahmadinejad as saying.

"Iran's steps in constructing the remaining phases of Assalouyeh have not only brought achievements for Iran but also for all other countries," he added.

Following the June 9 UN Security Council resolution sanction against Iran, the US and EU adopted unilateral measures against the Islamic Republic which includes a ban on investment in Iran's oil and gas industry as well as the sales of energy related equipment.

In response to the unilateral sanctions, the Islamic Republic has reiterated that such measures will only make Iran more independent.

"Sanctions will bear no fruit but promotion of self-sufficiency for the Iranian nation on one hand and deprivation of Europe and the West, on the other hand, from a unique opportunity to cooperate with a regional power which enjoys high political, economic and cultural potentials," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday.

In a similar stance, President Ahmadinejad also warned that if the foreign companies do not abandon the imposed, unilateral and cruel conditions [in dealing with Iran], they will soon lose markets in other countries as well as Iran.

He further slammed the sanctions by saying "we do not welcome sanctions but we declare that the Iranian nation has mounted its efforts to reach the highest peaks of achievement."

The chief executive underscored that this is the reality which has been ignored by Iran's enemies due to the domination of Zionist regime [over their administrations].

Pointing to the bullying powers, the head of the state emphasized that under the present global circumstances colonial powers are doomed.

"The colonial powers have no solid status and their foundations are shaky," he said, adding that in such situations they [US and the West] can not threat any nation including the proud, determined and civilized Iranian nation.

President Ahmadinejad further slammed US and Western powers for looting world nations, saying they will soon have to face the dire consequences of their actions when justice is established across the world.


===========

 

[kensington]

Iran cmdr. guarantees US shame in ME

Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces warns Western military analysts and chiefs against attacking the Middle East to avoid "humiliation" over their "unwise" move.

"We advise American, British and Israeli commanders and analysts against another unwise act in order to avoid [future] humiliation and distress over failures in the Middle East because in this case they would have to pay a heavy price," the Brig. Gen. Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan said Wednesday.

"Americans can be certain that in the event of a ground, naval or aerial attack against our country, they will be faced with a crushing and decisive response which will be much more fatal and crushing than their initial act [of aggression]," Mehr News Agency quoted the commander as saying.

General Pourdastan's warning followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's exclusive interview with Press TV on Monday, in which he revealed US and Israeli plans to attack two countries in the Middle East within the next three months.

"First of all, [by attacking Iran's neighbors], they want to hamper Iran's progress and development since they are opposed to our growth, and secondly they want to save the Zionist regime (Israel) because it has reached a dead-end and the Zionists believe they can be saved through a military confrontation," Ahmadinejad explained.

Pourdastan said that the increase in moral corruption, desertion and suicide among American forces deployed near the Iranian borders "attests to the failure and lack of discipline in the US military."

The commander said that the military had become one of the top ranking forces in the world due to its state-of-the-art military equipment and various drills.


============

 

[kensington]

US daren't make move against Iran

Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani
speaks in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah.

Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani warns over US constant plots against the Islamic Republic, saying the US lacks courage to make any anti-Iran move.

“The United States still seeks to break the Iranian nation's will. The more sanctions they issue against us, the stronger the Iranian nation's will becomes,” Larijani said in western Iranian city of Kermanshah on Tuesday.

He further added that the Iranian nation still opposes the United States and stressed the importance of maintaining readiness to encounter the US.

The Iranian official deplored dual policies of the US government on Iran, saying, “US President Barack Obama cannot stretch his hands to the Iranian nation while the US Congress adopts moves against Iran.”

Larijani also stressed that these efforts have no impact on the will of the Iranian nation.

He noted that support for Iraq during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-88) was a clear sample of the US plot to defeat the Iranian nation and said, “This imposed war was not Iraq's war with Iran, but it was a war of most big powers which support Iraq.”

The Iranian speaker stressed the importance of reinforcing unity in the country and urged the nation to refrain from conducting acts which are not within the interests of the Islamic establishment.