Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday ruled out any talks with world powers on Tehran's nuclear drive, but said he was open to a debate with US President Barack Obama.
"We have said this before and we are saying it right now, that we will not talk about the nuclear issue with those outside the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," he told journalistsom international news organisations.
"The Iranian nation will not allow anyone outside the IAEA to discuss our nuclear issue," said Ahmadinejad, who is running for a second term in office in next month's presidential election.
"The nuclear issue is over for us. The talks outside the IAEA will only be about participation in the management of the world and bringing peace to the world," he said.
However, he said he was ready to have a debate at the United Nations with Obama on global issues, adding that he welcomed the change in policy from the new US leader who has said he was open to dialogue with Iran.
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If Israel does not eliminate the Iranian threat, no one will, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
"Israel is not like other countries," Netanyahu told his Likud faction in a meeting which came one week after his meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. "We are faced with security challenges that no other country faces, and our need to provide a response to these is critical, and we are answering the call."
"These are not regular times. The danger is hurtling toward us?The real danger in underestimating the threat," Netanyahu said, addressing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. "My job is first and foremost to ensure the future of the state of Israel ... the leadership's job is to eliminate the danger. Who will eliminate it? It is us or no one."
"Our relationship with the United States is of great importance," Netanyahu said. "Our situation today is different from our situation between 1996 and 1999. Our priorities must be inline with national security needs and we must unite in order to deflect the danger. The Defense Minister and I are working in coordination; he is not conducting an independent policy."
Netanyahu added that he reached understandings Obama, among them that the most important goal for both countries is preventing Iran from attaining a nuclear military capability. Netanyahu told Likud members that Israel received a number of key pieces of defense aid from the Americans.
Continued on Page 47
TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked the presence of foreign forces in the region at a summit with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts on Sunday aimed at tackling terrorism and other security problems.
The three neighbours first such meeting, which ended with pledges of cooperation but without any specific measures being announced, took place as Pakistan and Afghanistan are battling to stem the spread of Taliban insurgencies in their countries.
If we can save Pakistan and Afghanistan from these problems, from extremism ... then such trilateral meetings are meaningful, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told the summit in comments broadcast by Irans English-language Press TV. The problems come from amongst ourselves, he said.
And Iran seems to be in the middle of so much of it ...
But Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, took aim at outside intervention in the region, by others who are alien to the nations and culture of our nations.
Clearly referring to tens of thousands of U.S. and mostly NATO troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said they were pursuing their own interests. Although the presence of foreign forces in our region was under the pretext of establishing security ... it has not been much of a help to the establishment of permanent security and political and economic growth, Ahmadinejad said.
Regional people are able to tackle the ... security issues by themselves, he said.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
05/25/2009 00:00 ||
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TEHRAN - Iran launched on Sunday a production line for manufacturing cannons for warships which can be used against cruise missiles, the Fars news agency reported.
Wonder if they'll illustrate the article with a pic of the US Phalanx system ...
Ummm...sort of.
"The final range of the 40-millimetre naval cannon, named Fath (victory), is 12 kilometres (more than seven miles) and it shoots 300 projectiles per minute," Defence Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said in a statement reported by Fars.
"It can be used against cruise missiles ... It is an anti-aircraft low-altitude weapon for use on warships," he said, adding that it was being entirely built by Iranians.
Iran has boasted in the past of developing new weapons systems only for its claims to be met with scepticism by Western defence analysts.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
05/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
This probably is basically an old twin-mounted Bofors 40mm/L70 (of 1950's vintage) with some window dressing. "Range" of 12km for a ballistic shot (which would be completely ineffective) sounds about right Same goes for the rate of fire (300r/m). Actual effective range is a lot less.
For a prime example, go look it up on WW2 warships - the L60 was used there in a twin mount as the Mk12. Here's a link to the manual online:
#3
Ofcourse it has prox fuzes. They might try to emulate the Breda 40L70 anti-missile based on Bofors. The upgraded Breda Fast-Forty goes to 450 each tube and has proximity fuze amno for anti missile in 4-1km ranges and in 0-1km changes to APDSFS amno destroy the warhead. The Italians choosed the Twin Breda 40L70 in 70's but the improved Fast-Forty lost to 76mm Oto Melara with course corrected projectiles in 90's.
Posted by: Large Snerong7311 ||
05/25/2009 7:17 Comments ||
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#4
Time to make them out of composites, I suppose.
DAMASCUS - Syria denied on Sunday a Russian media report that Moscow no longer wants to sell it eight advanced Israeli target drones MiG-31 planes because of pressure from Israel. This is part of attempts to undermine the friendly relations and cooperation between Syria and Russia, an official Syrian statement said.
The statement was issued as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the Syrian capital and met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Kommersant newspaper quoted an unidentified person close to Russias state arms exporter as saying that the $500-million deal, agreed to in 2007, was halted after Israel protested. The paper quoted another source in an unidentified Russian ministry as saying the contract had been halted because Syria could not come up with the money to pay for the fighters.
Doesn't Kazahkstan have some extra MiG-21s? India? Surely the Syrians can find cheaper planes for all the good it will do them in another shoot-out with the Zionists. Maybe some Pakistani made J-7s ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
...MiG-31 Foxhounds are variants of the old Mig-25 Foxbat - long the USAF boogeyman of choice in the 70s until we found out it was intended to shoot down the long-gone XB-70. In tactical terms, that means the -31 goes like a bullet - and can turn like one.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/25/2009 12:54 Comments ||
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#2
IIRC MIL FORUMS > Russia's MIG is claiming that there NEVER WAS ANY FORMAL AGREEMENT/CONTRACT FOR MIG TO SELL [any]MIG-31's TO SYRIA???
WASHINGTON - Iran is clearly moving closer to acquiring a nuclear weapons capability but military strikes to counter the program would have serious unintended consequences, the top US military officer said Sunday.
I think the unintended consequence of a strike against Iran right now would be incredibly serious, as well as the unintended consequences of their achieving a weapon, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Thats why this engagement, dialogue is so important, he said in an interview on ABC television, referring to President Barack Obamas aim to engage Iran diplomatically.
Mullen said the United States would approach Iran with all options on the table.
So that would leave a pretty narrow space in which to achieve a successful dialogue and a succesful outcome, which from my perspective means they dont end up with nuclear weapons, he said.
Mullen said he did not believe Irans claims that it is developing its nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes, but he said the aim of diplomacy would be to really bring out whether that is how the senior leaders feels.
Certainly from what Ive seen in recent years, Iran is on a path to develop nuclear weapons, he said.
Most of us believe that it is one to three years (away from acquiring nuclear weapons), depending on assumptions about where they are right now. But they are moving closer clearly and they continue to do that, he said. And if you believe that is their strategic intent, as I do and certainly as my Israeli counterpart does, thats the principal concern."
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Posted by: Steve White ||
05/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
so when Iran announces they have nukes, can we beat Fareed like he owes us money?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/25/2009 10:31 Comments ||
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Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group denied a report by a German magazine linking it to the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying Sunday that it was an attempt to tarnish its image before parliamentary elections.
Saturday's report in the weekly Der Spiegel came at a time of rising tensions before the crucial June 7 elections, which could result in the Western-backed government being ousted by a Hezbollah-led coalition supported by Syria and Iran. Hezbollah said the Der Spiegel report was based on "fabrications."
Hariri's assassination has deeply divided the country. His supporters blamed Syria for the killing, a charge Damascus denies, but no one had ever accused Hezbollah of being involved.
A Hezbollah legislator dismissed the Der Spiegel report as "a big lie."
"We are waiting for the international tribunal to react and to see where the German magazine got its information from," Nawar Saheli told The Associated Press Sunday.
The group also indirectly accused Israel, saying it believed those who gave the magazine its information sought to draw attention away from Lebanon's recent arrests of people suspected of spying on Hezbollah for Israel.
Der Spiegel said in its Saturday report, which it said was based on sources close to the tribunal and verified by internal documents, that the investigation had reached the conclusion about Hezbollah's involvement about a month ago.
The report said that the assassins used eight cellular telephones bought on the same day in the northern city of Tripoli. One of them made the mistake of calling his girlfriend with one of the phones, revealing his identity.
The report also linked the explosives and the truck used in the attack to the Shiite militant group.
Last month, four Lebanese generals were released by the tribunal. They had been the only suspects in custody.
"The magazine's accusations are police fabrications made in the same black rooms that fabricated similar stories about the Syrians and the four generals," Hezbollah's statement said.
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, a critic of Hezbollah, refused to comment on the report's allegations. "We want justice. We don't give weight to any words said here or there," Saniora told Al-Arabiya TV. "We have put trust in the tribunal and we don't care to what the newspapers say."
After reading the Der Spiegel report, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for the arrest of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. "If this is the conclusion of the investigators an international arrest warrant must be issued immediately against Nasrallah," he said.
Four years ago, U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis said the complexity of the assassination plot suggested a role by Syrian intelligence services and its pro-Syrian Lebanese counterpart. During a news conference in Beirut, Mehlis had said Hezbollah was not involved in Hariri's assassination. An early draft of a report he issued in 2005 linked Syrian President Bashar Assad's inner circle but the two investigators who succeeded him did not repeat the accusations and said Syria was cooperating.
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One of the Middle East's most formidable apologists will try to convince that even though it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, has webbed feet like a duck, an orange bill like a duck, and feathers like a duck, it's not a duck. Good luck, Fareed.
Fareed Zakaria
Everything you know about Iran is wrong, or at least more complicated than you think. Take the bomb. The regime wants to be a nuclear power but could well be happy with a peaceful civilian program (which could make the challenge it poses more complex). What's the evidence? Well, over the last five years, senior Iranian officials at every level have repeatedly asserted that they do not intend to build nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has quoted the regime's founding father, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who asserted that such weapons were "un-Islamic." The country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa in 2004 describing the use of nuclear weapons as immoral. In a subsequent sermon, he declared that "developing, producing or stockpiling nuclear weapons is forbidden under Islam." Last year Khamenei reiterated all these points after meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei. Now, of course, they could all be lying. But it seems odd for a regime that derives its legitimacy from its fidelity to Islam to declare constantly that these weapons are un-Islamic if it intends to develop them. It would be far shrewder to stop reminding people of Khomeini's statements and stop issuing new fatwas against nukes.
Following a civilian nuclear strategy has big benefits. The country would remain within international law, simply asserting its rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a position that has much support across the world. That would make comprehensive sanctions against Iran impossible. And if Tehran's aim is to expand its regional influence, it doesn't need a bomb to do so. Simply having a clear "breakout" capacitythe ability to weaponize within a few monthswould allow it to operate with much greater latitude and impunity in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Iranians aren't suicidal. In an interview last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Iranian regime as "a messianic, apocalyptic cult." In fact, Iran has tended to behave in a shrewd, calculating manner, advancing its interests when possible, retreating when necessary. The Iranians allied with the United States and against the Taliban in 2001, assisting in the creation of the Karzai government. They worked against the United States in Iraq, where they feared the creation of a pro-U.S. puppet on their border. Earlier this year, during the Gaza war, Israel warned Hizbullah not to launch rockets against it, and there is much evidence that Iran played a role in reining in their proxies. Iran's ruling elite is obsessed with gathering wealth and maintaining power. The argument made by thoseincluding many Israelis for coercive sanctions against Iran is that many in the regime have been squirreling away money into bank accounts in Dubai and Switzerland for their children and grandchildren. These are not actions associated with people who believe that the world is going to end soon.
One of Netanyahu's advisers said of Iran, "Think Amalek." The Bible says that the Amalekites were dedicated enemies of the Jewish people. In 1 Samuel 15, God says, "Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." Now, were the president of Iran and his advisers to have cited a religious text that gave divine sanction for the annihilation of an entire race, they would be called, well, messianic.
Iran isn't a dictatorship. It is certainly not a democracy. The regime jails opponents, closes down magazines and tolerates few challenges to its authority. But neither is it a monolithic dictatorship. It might be best described as an oligarchy, with considerable debate and dissent within the elites. Even the so-called Supreme Leader has a constituency, the Assembly of Experts, who selected him and whom he has to keep happy. Ahmadinejad is widely seen as the "mad mullah" who runs the country, but he is not the unquestioned chief executive and is actually a thorn in the side of the clerical establishment. He is a layman with no family connections to major ayatollahswhich makes him a rare figure in the ruling class. He was not initially the favored candidate of the Supreme Leader in the 2005 election. Even now the mullahs clearly dislike him, and he, in turn, does things deliberately designed to undermine their authority. Iran might be ready to deal.
We can't know if a deal is possible since we've never tried to negotiate one, not directly. While the regime appears united in its belief that Iran has the right to a civilian nuclear programa position with broad popular supportsome leaders seem sensitive to the costs of the current approach. It is conceivable that these "moderates" would appreciate the potential benefits of limiting their nuclear program, including trade, technology and recognition by the United States. The Iranians insist they must be able to enrich uranium on their own soil. One proposal is for this to take place in Iran but only under the control of an international consortium. It's not a perfect solution because the Iranians couldif they were very creative and dedicatedcheat. But neither is it perfect from the Iranian point of view because it would effectively mean a permanent inspections regime in their country. But both sides might get enough of what they consider crucial for it to work. Why not try this before launching the next Mideast war?
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Posted by: Steve White ||
05/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Oh, Fareed, you are so funny.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
05/25/2009 4:04 Comments ||
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#2
And if they do drop a nuke on my family, do I have your permision to come over and shove your children into a meat grinder, Fareed?
#6
As before, IMO RADICLA ISLAM'S = MILTERR'S priority focii is to induce the breakup of the COLD WAR "GREAT POWER" NUCLEAR STATES OF ASIA, aka RUSS, CHINA, + INDIA, CAPTURING VARIOUS COLD WAR COMMIE NUC/MILTECHS + as "hedge" in case IRAN gets mil attacked and occupied.
* Year 2009-2012/2016 POST-DUBYA POTUS PERIOD > IRAN's role for itself in the time being is to do what it can to NOT get itself attacked andor invaded by the US-NATO + ISRAEL while it nuclearizes, + COVER THE FLANK OF FUTURE ISLAMIST CENTRAL ASIA/ASIA. IRAN'S NUCLEARIZATION IS IN PARALLEL WID RADICAL ISLAM'S NUCLEARIZATION.
#7
BLOOMBERG > ADMIRAL MULLEN says IRAN MAY GET TO KEEP ITS NUCLEAR PROGS [ *** cough** ENERGY? *** cough ***] AS LONG AS IT ALLOWS SAME TO BE SUBJECT TO UNO IAEA INSPECTION.
* SSSSSHHHHHHHHH, all the MULLAHS + MILTERRS need are SOLAR FLARES/STORMS 2010-2012/2016 to "verify" Vee DIVINE MANDATE the end of ZIONISM + end of US-WEST + RISE OF NUCLEAR ISLAMISM???
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TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked the presence of foreign forces in the region at a summit with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts on Sunday aimed at tackling terrorism and other security problems.
TEHRAN - Iran launched on Sunday a production line for manufacturing cannons for warships which can be used against cruise missiles, the Fars news agency reported.
Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group denied a report by a German magazine linking it to the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying Sunday that it was an attempt to tarnish its image before parliamentary elections.
