Posted on 09/23/2015 9:53:03 AM PDT by Trumpinator
September 23, 2015 3:45 pm
Russia’s Syria build-up takes Iran by surprise
Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
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The US is not the only country puzzled by Moscow’s recent military build- up in Syria. The leaders of Iran, supporters of Damascus alongside Russia, are also scratching their heads about President Vladimir Putin’s intentions.
...snip....
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But the decision by the Kremlin to deploy fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles inside Syria, and the subsequent US announcement last week that it welcomed a role for Russia and Iran in bringing Mr Assad to the negotiating table, have baffled Iranian officials.
“There are concerns in Iran that Russia intends to leave us behind and become the key to finding a solution for Syria in co-operation with the US,” said one regime insider, who added that Russia “has reassured us that this is not their intention”.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
Yesterday, I posted the following musing:
To: DoughtyOne
Iran maybe worrying. What if Syria ditches Iran in favor of Russia? Detente with Israel? Why should Syria fight now for the Sunni Palestinians who sided with the jihadists? The Palestinians the Syrian Ba’athists supported were the secular socialist kins like themselves.
14 posted on 9/22/2015, 4:49:04 PM by Trumpinator
If Startfor is looking to hire me I am in the books....
Ping!
I am war gaming this as we speak.....
Russia parked on the coast in Syria has value to Russia because of the pipelines. Iran is a competitor to Russia for oil and gas sales to China. Russia may want to keep the Chinese sucking on their pipe while denying Europe an easy draw on that side of the pipeline. Keep Iran needy...
24 posted on 9/22/2015, 4:58:18 PM by Trumpinator
Link is here @ http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3339985/posts?q=1&;page=1#14
Pretty sad that Russia has to go fix America’s mess.
Iran isn’t surprised or baffled. The al Quds commander, Gen. Soleimani, met with the Russians a month ago, remember? This was a coordinated move.
The Quods Forces and IRCG gave Russia and China the go ahead for this operation in Syria.
September 11, 2015
Jennifer Griffin, Lucas Tomlinson
FoxNews.com
As the Pentagon warily eyes a Russian military build-up in Syria, Western intelligence sources tell Fox News that the escalated Russian presence began just days after a secret Moscow meeting in late July between Iran’s Quds Force commander — their chief exporter of terror — and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Fox News has learned Quds head Qassem Soleimani and Putin discussed such a joint military plan for Syria at that meeting, an encounter first reported by Fox News in early August. ...”
The Quds Force is the international arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, involved in exporting terrorism to Iran’s proxies throughout the Middle East including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. ...”
Officials who have monitored the build-up say they’ve seen more than 1,000 Russian combatants — some of them from the same plainclothes Special Forces units who were sent to Crimea and Ukraine. Some of these Russian troops are logistical specialists and needed for security at the expanding Russian bases.
by Jacob Kornbluh
Sept 2, 2015
In a phone interview with CNN Tuesday evening, Trump claimed that there’s “something in the Iran deal” that “people don’t understand” saying if someone attacks Iran, “we have to come to their defense.”
“Does that include Israel?” Trump asked. “And most people say yes, they don’t have an exclusion for Israel. So if Israel attacks Iran, according to that deal, I believe, the way it reads, unless they have a codicil or they have something to it, that we have to fight with Iran against Israel.” ..."
Trump was most probably referring to language highlighted by the opponents of the deal. On page 142, the deal includes a clause that states, “Co-operation through training and workshops to strengthen Iran’s ability to protect against, and respond to nuclear security threats, including sabotage, as well as to enable effective and sustainable nuclear security and physical protection systems.”
Washington-based Center for Security Policy asserted that Annex III appears “to commit the United States and other world powers to the defense of Iran’s nuclear program.”
Which rational actors in the world want to babysit the insane murderous tribal rivalries in the Middle East? If they did, they would not be rational.I realize Russia has vital interests in maintaining Assad in Syria and their support of Shite Iran but I think they would be manifesting a bit of that insanity if they think they are going to overextend their grasp to the nuttier Sunnis who are aligned against Assad and Iran. Welcome to the Mad Hatters Tea Party, Vladmir.
You about to be schooled in the ways of the insane asylum the US has been minding for the last 6 decades.
It’s not a surprise , Iran knew their plans . There have been recent meetings
The only one taken by surprise is Obama.
Ain’t that the truth!
The weakness, incompetence and criminality of the Obama Administration have put the United States in her greatest threat of nuclear war ever.
The Russians docked a submarine loaded with nuclear missiles in Syria.
The message is clear.
“Attack anything in Syria with missiles or jets, and one of those missiles might ‘accidentally’ get launched by the concussion of your weapons.”
We are in serious, serious danger.
I never worried about a nuclear strike from the old Soviet Union. Too much at stake back then.
Now? High unemployment. Low oil prices. A weak President. A President who might have committed criminal acts.
Watch out.
No he was probably in on the planning
Would not be surprised if it was one of the side deals on the Iran agreement
I think Bibi and the American people are the only ones surprised but we should not be
Trumpinator, or as I refer to him, "Putinator", is a pro-Russia, pro-Putin, shill. I've asked him more than TEN times now to find ANYTHING AT ALL negative to say about Putin, Russia, and/or their current OR past activity, and he can't come up with ANYTHING.
Granted it won’t be fixed in our favor. But they will bring order to the chaos.
Yes, I’ve read about the competition for pipelines and I think that is the main motivation. Qatar or Saudi is in that competition too.
Yes. I agree.
Um, both Iran and Syria are client states of Russia so why would Iran be worried????
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