Iranian Alert - January 21, 2006 - Has the West waited too long? Will Iran test a nuke in March?

Regime Change Iran ^ | 1.21.2006 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

Top News Story

Has the West waited too long? Will Iran test a nuke in March?

• United Press International reported that an Iranian opposition group claims that Tehran is planning a nuclear weapons test before the Iranian New Year on March 20, 2006.

 

The Tough.

• Spiegel Online reported that French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday threatened states developing weapons of mass destruction with nuclear retaliation.
• Daily News reported that acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: Israel will not allow Iran to get the bomb.
• Economic Times reported that Nicholas Burns, the US under secretary of state for political affairs speaking about the current crisis with Iran, said: “This is the most serious issue before the world."

 

The Not so Tough.

• Financial Times reported that Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN’s nuclear monitor, has turned down a request by the European Union to issue a far-reaching condemnation of Iran’s nuc­lear program before the next meeting of the IAEA.
• The Financial Times reported that China reiterated its calls for restraint on Thursday in the growing crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.
• Reuters reported that Germany's foreign intelligence agency believes that Iran is at least three or four years away from getting a nuclear weapon.

 

Hillary is Suddenly Tough on Iran.

• The New York Times reported that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton last night criticized the Bush administration for its response to Iran's nuclear program.
• Daniel McKivergan, Weekly Standard Blog argued that while Sen. Clinton suddenly talks tough on Iran, she hasn't explained why the Clinton-Gore Administration helped arm Iran with "highly threatening military" equipment.

 

Iran is not just a threat to Israel.

• Ilan Berman, National Review Online reminded us that Ahmadinejad's animus isn't simply directed toward Israel. Ahmadinejad has announced: "The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny . . . a historic war between the oppressor [Christians] and the world of Islam."

 

Iranian Opposition asks for help from the West.

• Magna Carta, a new Iranian opposition group, issued a letter to the international community calling for political and media support for their efforts to create a free and democratic Iran.

 

Iran Preps for Sanctions.

• Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Iran is ready to transfer 8 Billion Dollars from the EU to Asian banks.
• SBS TV reported that a US senator has announced legislation that would urge the international community to impose tough sanctions on Iran.

 

Iran/Syria Update:

• Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday on a two-day official visit.
• The Daily Star explored how the growing rapprochement between Iran and Syria will affect Lebanon.

 

Here are a few other news items you may have missed.

• Kenneth R. Timmerman, FrontPageMagazine.com said that when making a revolution, allies matter, arguing that the MEK/MKO are the wrong allies.
• Reuters reported that an Iranian Sunni militant group said it had killed one of a group of Iranian soldiers it has held hostage.
• Reuters reported that Iran said it will hand over nine Iraqi coastguards who Baghdad says were "kidnapped" by Iranian forces.
• Human Rights Watch released its 2006 Human Rights Watch World Report.
• And finally, Memri.org published a video and transcript of a disturbing interview with a Bahraini women's rights activist regarding Shia Islam and women.

 

[DoctorZIn]

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[buffyt]

The libs are all TOUGH ON IRAN now but if Bush were to move forward against Iran, they will all claim it is the WRONG thing to do. They are all such hypocrites on the left.

[buffyt]

I met a man from Iran. My clothes washer and dryer repairman in Lake Jackson Texas, sent from Sears. Super nice man. He said he wishes USA would do FOR Iran, what we did FOR Iraq. He would love to be able to go back there and enjoy himself and his family.

[bert]

My gut tells me that the fact has been known for some time and the current rcaheting up of world tension is the resule.

The articles with the March timetable are leaks of what governments have known for some time IMHO

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping.

[M Kehoe]

Good afternoon. I hope all is well with you. Thanks for the thread each day.

Things are heating up in Persia. After the various comments by Ahmadinejad, and other actions by the Iranian government, a reasonable person could conclude that the U.S. is at war with Iran (not to mention our Embassy in Tehran, and hostages, Marine barracks in Beirut and embassy, etc. in the past).

It might be time for the mullahs and Ahmadinejad to clear their calendars.

Tick, tick, tick...

5.56mm

[popdonnelly]

Yeah, but Iran is a large, mountainous country. We can't do it easily without the active help of the people of Iran.

[Brooklyn Kid]

Does that MAGNA CARTA group have a website?

[Reborn]

And for those who missed this info before:

WAR---Military Attack Against Iran Now Imminent

17:14 Jan 19, '06 / 19 Tevet 5
A7 Radio's "The Tovia Singer Show"

World renowned investigative reporter and terror expert, Kenneth R. Timmerman, author of the bestselling book, Countdown to Crisis: the Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran, and Carl Limbacher, reporter for NewMax.com, reveal that the US and Israel will destroy Iran's nuclear facilities in less than 10 weeks from now.

Click for more or to listen

[Brooklyn Kid]

Thanks for that link.

Sounds like we should expect a very sobering State of the Union Address.

[wolfcreek]

I had a feeling that Iran wasn't kidding with it's threats. The reports that they already have nukes, is not a surprise to me. If true, it might be time for everyone to get their affairs in order because, this could be the war We have all feared.

[AdmSmith]

The gnomes are reducing their risks:

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-01-22T230814Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-233198-1.xml&archived=False

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS is cutting ties with all of its clients in Iran because the business is unattractive, a spokesman said on Sunday. The move comes as a global conflict over the country's nuclear policy is heating up.

High costs deriving from uncertainty about security and regulatory matters in Iran meant the business was no longer worth continuing, the spokesman said. The decision was not driven by political motives, he added.

"We started to exit customer relationships with counterparties in Iran in autumn last year," UBS spokesman Serge Steiner said. UBS is the world's largest asset manager and its decision will be closely watched by rivals. "This holds true for all our business units and for all UBS's regions around the world," he added.

Iran faces referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions, after failing to convince the world its atomic programme is peaceful, and the country said on Friday it was moving foreign holdings out of Europe.

But Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday flatly denied that any currency had been transferred to shield funds from possible U.N. sanctions, contradicting previous statements from central bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibani.

Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, also indicated on Sunday that it was considering terminating relationships with Iran. "We are closely looking at the developments and we're increasingly worried," a spokesman said.

Iranian clients hold 1.4 billion Swiss francs ($1.09 billion) in assets in Swiss banks, according to central bank data. Most of that money is with the country's two biggest banks, UBS and Credit Suisse. Both UBS and Credit Suisse had declined to comment on Friday about their relationships with clients in Iran.

SYRIA, TOO

Separately, a source close to UBS said the world's sixth-largest bank was also severing relationships with clients in Syria, which was blamed by the U.N. for the killing of a Lebanese politician last year. UBS declined to comment.

UBS's Steiner said that the decision to pull out of Iran had been made after finding that high compliance costs were not likely to be outweighed by benefits it expected from business with clients in the country.

But he rejected the idea that the world's sixth-largest bank had made the decision in order to protect ties with the United States, where it does a huge part of its business and which is one of Tehran's fiercest opponents in the global political arena. "It's not a political decision. It's purely a business decision that is taking many factors into account," he said.

Switzerland hosts the world's largest wealth-management industry for foreign clients and is considered a safe haven for clients in countries where political or regulatory instability bars them from putting their money into a local bank.

Financial markets have reacted nervously to the uncertainty about Iran's foreign holdings, estimated at more than $30 billion, with Switzerland and Lebanon mentioned as safe havens.

Analysts have said it was unclear, however, what Iran would gain by transferring money to other foreign accounts, which would be equally subject to U.N. measures.

[traumer]

Has the West (USA) waited too long?

You know who will the democrats blame....

[FARS]

I saw this earlier - not on FR - and you probably heard the US has frozen the assets of the Syrian Intelligence Chief.

BTW, the Jundallah have killed one of the nine Iranian border guard hostages and have stated they will kill one a week unless their demands are met. The dead man was the local border post commander, whose name I do not recall at this moment. Najmi or something like that. It made me think of the famous tiny wrestler or weightlifter Namjou.

[DoctorZIn]

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