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Moscow, Aug 21 (DPA) A Russian newspaper claimed Friday that suspected pirates who boarded the freighter Arctic Sea were actually agents of the Israeli secret service trying to stop it from smuggling arms into Iran. According to Russian media, the Arctic Sea may have been carrying illegal X-55 cruise missiles destined for Iran hidden among its cargo of lumber. Men acting on behalf of the Israeli Mossad secret service commandeered the ship to divert the weapons away from Israel's regional enemy, the daily Novaya Gazeta said. Citing Moscow publicist Yulia Latynina, the daily pointed to the surprise visit of Israeli...

Russia has retrieved its Arctic Sea shipping vessel that was hijacked and charged the offenders. The story doesn’t end there, though, as reports continue to surface alleging the “hijacking” were Israeli operatives sent to intercept missiles headed to Iran.. Other reports indicate the Russians staged their own hijacking after being notified of the ship’s contents by Israel. Regardless of who the hijackers were, they have thwarted a shipment of weapons that would have raised the stakes in the region for Israel and possibly even provoked military conflict. On July 24, the Arctic Sea was hijacked by eight individuals while it...

A former B-2 stealth bomber engineer was found guilty on Monday of selling sensitive military technology to China, the United States Justice Department said in a statement. Noshir Gowadia, 66, was convicted of five offences following trial in a federal court in Hawaii. Gowadia had been accused of passing on design information which would allow cruise missiles to avoid infra-red detection. (Snip) "Mr Gowadia provided some of our country's most sensitive weapons-related designs to the Chinese government for money,"

Iran is producing a range of Chinese-origin missiles. Industry sources said China has transferred technology and equipment for the production of missiles in Iran. They said the missiles included anti-ship, air-to-ground and other weapons. "It has been very successful in offering Iran technology and capabilities that are actually wanted, as opposed to those that might be nice to have," Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, said. The renamed Chinese-origin missiles have included the Nasser-1 anti-ship weapon, regarded as a variant of Beijing's C-704. Iran has also been producing the Nour, identified as an upgraded variant of China's C-802 cruise...

The U.S. military has begun testing massive high-tech dirigibles — designed to provide battlefield commanders with a bird's-eye view of cruise missiles or other threats — in the skies over the Utah desert. An unmanned 242-foot-long balloon was launched Wednesday morning about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. It stayed aloft for about three hours before it was pulled back down as planned, according to Paula Nicholson, a spokeswoman for Dugway Proving Ground. Vast tracts of military-owned desert were chosen for the testing because of their remoteness and resemblance to the mountainous, arid environment of Afghanistan, the military said...

Arms Deal: President Obama signs away U.S. nuclear security and gives the Russians a veto over whether we can defend ourselves. Our nuclear umbrella is in tatters as another piece of paper proclaims peace in our time. Completing a process of disarmament and appeasement that manifested itself in the dismantling and defunding of U.S. military power that began with his inauguration, President Obama signed a new strategic arms limitation treaty with a grinning and very happy Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday in the Czech capital. How fitting this document was signed in Prague, which isn't far from Munich where...

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/04/04/alqaeda-urges-uk-fanatics-to-build-diy-cruise-missiles.html “Al-Qaeda urges UK fanatics to build DIY cruise missiles” Sunday, April 4, 2010,10:30 [IST] SNIPPET: “London, Apr 4(ANI): Fears of a terror attack during the UK General Election have been further fueled by reports that the Al-Qaeda has urged British fanatics to build DIY cruise missiles to attack passenger jets. According to reports, an Al-Qaeda website explains how to build missiles with solid fuel engines using operating manuals for the Russian 107mm Katyusha rocket. Numerous links are also available for guides to make explosives, including C4 plastic explosive, acetone peroxide and TNT. The same site was used to explain...

Indian Air Force's multi-role Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighters could be armed with supersonic cruise missiles by 2012, giving them the capability to strike ground targets from stand-off distance. "The work to adopt the missile for deployment on fighter is being carried out by the Rosoboronexport, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russian partner in BrahMos JV)," a top official of the aircraft manufacturer has said, adding that the missiles could be mounted on the aircraft in two years. With this, India would get the capability to fire these missiles from land, sea as well as air. BrahMos are already...

The number of strategic bombers performing routine patrols could be doubled if the Russian General Staff makes such a decision, the commander of Russia's strategic aviation said Tuesday. Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans, the Black Sea and along the borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States in August 2007, following an order from then-president Vladimir Putin. "As a rule, up to four strategic bombers perform patrol flights simultaneously. However, under specific circumstances and on orders from the General Staff, their number could be increased to up to eight aircraft," Maj. Gen. Anatoly...

China continues adapting its ground launched cruise missiles to operate from aircraft. The latest missile to get this treatment is the DH-10. This weapon is similar to early U.S. cruise missiles, and has a range of 1,500-3,000 kilometers and uses GPS, along with terrain mapping. The DH-10 was first shown publicly in the recent 60th anniversary (of the communists taking control of China) on October 1st.) The aircraft carried version is called the CJ-10. This is believed to be based on some American cruise missile technology. Earlier, China had taken the Russian Kh-31 air-to-ground missile (which they bought 200 of...

South Korea has deployed new longer-range cruise missiles that could reach not only North Korea but also parts of China and Japan, a news report said Thursday. Munhwa Ilbo newspaper said Seoul began mass-producing the "Hyunmu-3" missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) early this year. The paper, quoting US and South Korean government sources, said the missile was developed in 2006 and tested for two years before being deployed. "Its development and deployment had been kept confidential because Japan, China and other neighbouring nations could react sensitively," the source said. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) would...

The U.S. Army's Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Sensor (JLENS) System, which uses aerostats to elevate sensors for long-range target detection and tracking for superior land-attack cruise missile defense, demonstrated its first flight during a ceremony in Elizabeth City, N.C. This flight reflects the maturity and operability of the JLENS platform - an aerostat platform that features long-duration, wide-area, over-the-horizon detection and tracking of low-altitude cruise missiles. Its capabilities provide battlefield commanders with enhanced situational awareness and elevated communications, enabling sufficient warning to engage air defense systems and defeat threats. The flight demonstration marked the first time a...

U.S. Submarines Could Retain Nuclear-Armed Cruise Missiles Friday, July 31, 2009 An ongoing review of the U.S. nuclear weapons posture might call for the country to continue arming some of its attack submarines with nuclear-tipped Tomahawk cruise missiles, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, March 24). Washington will look to friendly nations to help decide whether to retire the weapons, a high-level U.S. official told Kyodo News. Japan has asked the United States to consult with partner governments before rolling back any nonstrategic nuclear-weapon deployments, according to the news service. One U.S. ally has expressed support for the missiles' deterrent value,...

Boeing's HyFly hypersonic missile fails in bid for Mach 6 By Graham Warwick An attempt to fly a hypersonic cruise missile demonstrator at Mach 6 has failed, after the scramjet engine powering Boeing's HyFly malfunctioned and the air-launched vehicle plunged into the Pacific Ocean. The January 16 flight was the last under the HyFly programme, which was designed to demonstrate a missile-like vehicle with a range of 400nm (740km) and a maximum cruise speed exceeding Mach 6. The previous flight, in September 2007, failed to meet its objectives. The HyFly is powered by a dual-combustion ramjet (DCR) built by Aerojet....

Dud missile Sandeep Unnithan January 10, 2008 It was dubbed Baby Tomahawkski, a short-legged Russian version of the eponymous US cruise missiles. Fired from the torpedo tube of a submarine, it could fly over 300 km delivering a 400 kg warhead to a target with pin-point accuracy. It would give the Indian Navy’s submarines capability to attack targets on land. Yet, the Kilo class submarine INS Sindhuvijay and the land-attack missiles it is equipped to fire have today joined aircraft carrier Vikramaditya as another bone of contention that India has with its largest defence supplier, Russia. The navy recently refused...

The Navy this month completed its fourth conversion of a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine into an extremely powerful, conventionally armed cruise missile launcher and covert transporter of U.S. special operations force. The last converted missile sub the USS Georgia is now being readied for deployment around the world at its home port of Kings Bay, Ga., said skipper, Cmdr. Rodney E. Hutton. The conversion of the nuclear missile submarines into Tomahawk-firing submarines is one element of a new Pentagon strategy of building up forces to be ready to counter any emerging threat from China. Cmdr. Hutton said the Georgia...

Diplomacy is doing nothing to stop the Iranian nuclear threat; a show of force is the only answer. WE MUST bomb Iran. It has been four years since that country's secret nuclear program was brought to light, and the path of diplomacy and sanctions has led nowhere. First, we agreed to our allies' requests that we offer Tehran a string of concessions, which it spurned. Then, Britain, France and Germany wanted to impose a batch of extremely weak sanctions. For instance, Iranians known to be involved in nuclear activities would have been barred from foreign travel — except for humanitarian...

President Vladimir Putin flexed Russia's military muscles once again yesterday when his government said that 12 strategic bombers would practise firing cruise missiles during a show-of-strength exercise over the Arctic. The giant Tupolev 95 aircraft were due to take off from five air bases, including one near the Bering Straits, separating Russia from Alaska. Mr Putin has made great efforts to extend Russian influence over the Arctic, which may have untapped mineral wealth. Russia has dispatched a scientific expedition to the polar ice-cap and last month a submarine dropped the national flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole. Monday's...

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan, a South Asian nation with nuclear capability, says it has successfully test-fired a new missile that "can carry all types of warheads." The army said in a statement that the country on Saturday fired an "air-launched cruise missile called Hatf-8, or Ra'ad -- which means thunder in Arabic. The missile has "a range of "350 kilometers" or nearly 220 miles "for now." And, it has been designed exclusively for launch from a variety of Pakistan's air platforms." "The missile has a low detection probability due to stealth design and materials used in its manufacturing. The...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan on Saturday successfully test-fired a new air-launched cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the military said. The missile, named Hatf-8 or Ra'ad, has a range of 350 kilometres, an army statement said. The missile gives the air force a "strategic standoff capability" - the ability to strike over a long distance - and could be fitted with any type of warhead, the army said. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf congratulated the scientists and engineers who developed the weapon, it added, Pakistan routinely tests various nuclear-capable missiles in its arsenal, believed to be designed mainly...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could deploy a system to protect an area ranging from Washington to Boston from sea-based cruise-missile attacks within 14 months at a cost of "several billion dollars," a top Lockheed Martin Corp. executive said on Monday. David Kier, who formerly was deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, said the technologies needed to track, identify and destroy any such missiles launched from ships off the U.S. coastline already existed or were under development. "It just requires a will to do it," he told congressional aides at a briefing.

China is developing armed forces that can conduct offensive operations around the world, a GOP presidential candidate has warned.

According to Brian Ross and ABC news, NATO officials claim "they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the United States and Great Britain." I suspect it is only a matter of time before the ever-predictable American media will suggest NATO is lying to get us into a war with Iran. While daily evidence builds of Iran's support of terrorism, the world sits idly by and does nothing. Not even a harsh...

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Iran has been procuring and developing a range of cruise missiles to prepare for war with the United States. A study by the Marshall Institute asserted that Iran has made a major investment in cruise missiles in an effort to bolster military capabilities. The report, entitled "The Cruise Missile Challenge: Designing a Defense Against Asymmetric Threats," said Iran has obtained technology, expertise and components from China and Russia.

BrahMos to be fitted on naval aircraft Friday February 9 2007 00:41 IST BANGALORE: India is redefining the concept of naval reconnaissance by equipping its long-range maritime aircraft with the lethal BrahMos supersonic missiles. This innovation will see all long-range aircraft like IL-38, IL-76 and TU-142 being fitted with BrahMos missiles with a view to converting them into long-range bombers against their current status of recce planes. It also upgrades the status of these aircraft into a complete war machine capable of detecting a bogey and killing it instantly without waiting for strike forces to finish the job. The move...

US refuses to sell air-to-ground missiles for Finland’s Hornet jets Officials in the Untied States have rejected a preliminary request by Finland to buy JASSM air-to-ground missiles for the US-made Hornet F-18 jet fighters used by the Finnish Air Force. Finland inquired about the purchase last autumn as part of an extensive package aimed at implementing MLU2 - the second phase of the modernisation of the Air Force’s fleet of 62 jets. The Americans had no objections to Finnish requests in other respects. Finland will thus be allowed to buy missiles to attack radar stations, as well as NATO-standard Link...

India sets sights on cruise missile market By Siddharth Srivastava NEW DELHI - Long considered among the top importing nations for defense hardware, India is now looking to access the fast-growing international market for cruise missiles, considered a lethally efficient weapon. US forces used almost 1,000 such missiles when they first entered Iraq in 2003, and the total worldwide market is expected to be more than US$10 billion in the next decade. An inventory of more than 80,000 such missiles is estimated already to exist around the world. Indian Defense Minister A K Anthony has said New Delhi is holding...

NORFOLK -– A military judge today sentenced Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann to 12 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for espionage, desertion and other crimes. The 22-year-old submariner from Salem, Ore. admitted guilt to the offenses earlier this week at Norfolk Naval Station in a plea agreement that spared him the maximum potential penalty of life in prison with no possibility of parole. Weinmann, who deserted from the submarine Albuquerque in July 2005 after becoming disillusioned with the Navy, passed classified information about the Tomahawk cruise missile system to the Russians, according to a Pentagon source....

There are many things that the founders of the Greenham Common campsite should be celebrating this year, and only one thing they should not. They generated worldwide publicity for their cause. They boosted the profile of feminism within the United Kingdom. They showed the ease with which agile protestors can outmanoeuvre clumsy local authorities when setting up shop on public land; and many of them found personal fulfilment and greater meaning for their lives. What they did not do was to achieve their ostensible aim: they failed to stop the deployment of NATO cruise missiles in the United Kingdom. Having...

Signing of Indo-French missile pact put off A K DHAR, PARIS, SEP 5 (PTI) The signing of a crucial Indo- French agreement on transfer of technology for production of French cruise missiles by India was put off due to last minute hitches, official sources said today. The deal, which also would have facilitated the transfer of critical technology for sub-systems needed for India's indigenious missile programme, was to have been the high point of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to France. Although Mukherjee had said late last night that the "deal is still on track" and details are "close to...

Italian air force launches Storm Shadow trials By Luca Peruzzi Four long-range missiles to be released during eight-week campaign in South Africa Three of the Italian air force's modernised Panavia Tornado interdictor strike aircraft will leave Ghedi air base near Brescia next week to participate in a service evaluation trial of MBDA's Storm Shadow cruise missile at South Africa's Overberg test range. "During the eight-week deployment, crews and personnel belonging to the air force test wing and the 6th Wing at Ghedi will launch four operational missiles equipped with telemetry packages instead of warheads," says Lt Col Renato Feliciani, team...

See for example this thread first. An Israeli air-defense ship Apparently suffered a slip A missile got through-- fired by you-know-who? "Now you've made Israel MAD!" I quip.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The silent submarine forces of the United States, Israel and Iran are all ramping up for a hot war, adding yet more tension to an already volatile Middle East -- made all the more uneasy by Iran's relentless march to become a nuclear power. Leading off the always lurking and deadly wolfpacks is Israel's fleet of Dolphin-class submarines, each carrying U.S.-supplied Harpoon cruise missiles -- armed with nuclear warheads. The Israel submarines can remain at sea for a month and are equipped with six torpedo tubes appropriate for conventional torpedoes. The tubes can also be used to...

Advanced Missiles to Equip Destroyers By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Domestically-built long-range cruise missiles will equip the Navy’s Aegis destroyers beginning in 2008, a state-funded defense agency said Tuesday. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) said that it plans to outfit three 7,000 ton-class destroyers with the advanced ship-to-surface missiles by 2012, an official at the agency said on condition of anonymity. Each vessel will have 30 cruise missiles, which can fly to ranges of up to 500 kilometers, he said. The ADD has set aside $102 million to develop the missiles since 1996 to replace Harpoon missiles produced by...

Ukrainian cruise missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers and capable of carrying nuclear warheads have ended up in Iranian hands after being transported via Russia, Israel’s Director of Military Intelligence Major General Aharon Ze’evi (Farkash) said on Tuesday. Ze’evi said that Iran had recently received 12 of the cruise missiles. 18 such missiles were transported from Ukraine to Russia, of which 12 had somehow managed to end up in Iranian hands. The other six were received by China, Haaretz.com quoted Ze’evi. The diplomatic pressure the international community has exerted on Iran had delayed the Islamic state’s nuclear development plan...

Top News Story Protests, Protests, and more Unrest in Iran over the past few days.Protests: Iran Press News reported on the protest and conflict at Najafabad University. A first hand account.Iran Press News reported that students from the Abbasspour University for Water and Power Industry protested against the regime's guards in their university.Iran Press News reported that an angry mob, protesting the violent and oppressive actions of the disciplinary forces of the regime, attacked governmental bureaus in the Province of Qeshm.SMCCDI reported that drivers of many Iranian Collective Buses refused to validate passenger's tickets, today, in order to protest...

Two recent reports from inside of Iran, if accurate, are very troubling. Iran's Government Seeks Agreement with 12th Imam - in hiding since 13th century?Kamal Tehrani, Rooz Online: a "reformist" website In a formal cabinet meeting chaired by Iran's new president’s first deputy, the ministers printed and ratified an agreement with the Shiites' 12th Imam. In his opening remarks, Parviz Davoudi, Ahmadinejad' first deputy suggested that the cabinet ministers should sign an agreement with 12th Imam, the same way they signed a pact with the new president. The ministers collectively agreed and so there is now an agreement between...

Top News Story Iranmania LONDON, October 16 (IranMania) -Iranian officials said on Sunday they suspected British involvement in a double bomb attack in the ethnic-Arab dominated city of Ahvaz, despite furious denials and condemnation of the attacks from London. Two bombs exploded outside a crowded market late Saturday in Ahvaz, capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province adjacent to British-occupied southern Iraq. Five people were killed and more than 100 injured, according to the latest official toll. "Since there are British troops present alongside our border, there is a concern over their involvement in the explosions in Ahvaz," Alaeddin Borujerdi,...

Iran's hard-lines admit defeat in IraqIran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi The regime-run web site, BAZTAB, in a report admitted to the regime's political defeat in soliciting the support of the people of Iraq and the region where dozens of Arab-language media, backed by the regime, including Al Alam TV are being broadcast. BAZTAB wrote: "The Al Alam news channel was supposed to be the mouthpiece for the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Arab-speaking countries and was meant to compete with some of these immoral western TV networks, in order to restore the popularity of...

Top News Story UK 'sells' bomb material to Iran DTI is accused of approving controversial exports British officials have approved the export of key components needed to make nuclear weapons to Iran and other countries known to be developing such weapons. An investigation by BBC Radio 4 programme File on Four will disclose that the Department of Trade and Industry allowed a quantity of the metal, Beryllium, to be sold to Iran last year. That metal is needed to make nuclear bombs. Britain has had an arms embargo to Iran since 1993 and has signed up to an international...

Top News Story The al-Zawahiri Letter A window into the mind of the enemy.by Dan Darling 10/12/2005 7:20:00 PM THE FULL TEXT of the just-released letter from al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri to Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi, dated July 9, 2005, makes it clear that not only are al-Zawahiri and bin Laden symbolic leaders to the global jihad, but they are still active in running their terror network, too. The letter includes references to the fighting in Afghanistan, a peripheral acknowledgement of ongoing al Qaeda-backed insurgencies in Chechnya and Kashmir, and a discussion of the steps the...

Top News Story Iran accused of training Iraqi bombers Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:50 AM BST LONDON (Reuters) - London has accused Iran of running training camps to teach militants how to carry out roadside bomb attacks on British troops in southern Iraq, according to newspaper reports on Wednesday.The government believes Iran's Revolutionary Guard has taught Shi'ite militia members from Iraq how to make armour-piercing devices, the Daily Mirror reported, citing an unnamed defence source."There is evidence that there are teaching camps in Iran, Lebanon and maybe Syria," the source was quoted as saying. "It means up to 10...

Two Under-reported Developments in Iran's Nuclear Programs. Iran Designs Nuke Warhead For Shihab-3 Middle East Newsline: Iran was said to have designed a nuclear warhead for the Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile. The United States has briefed several nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency of an Iranian program to develop a nuclear warhead for the Shihab-3. Diplomatic sources said the U.S. briefers asserted that from 2001 to 2003 Iran designed and developed a circular warhead that could detonate at an altitude meant to ensure optimal damage. An empty nuclear warhead was said to have been installed on the Shihab-3...

Top News Story Now we know the truth about Iran, we must actBy Con Coughlin(Filed: 09/10/2005)It was not the outcome the Foreign Office had been planning. When it was announced early last week that a senior British diplomat in Baghdad was flying back to London to give a briefing on Iraq's constitutional referendum, the general expectation in Whitehall was that the following day's headlines would focus exclusively on whether sufficient numbers of Iraqis would turn out to validate the exercise.Imagine the surprise, then, of Jack Straw and his officials the following morning when they opened their newspapers to discover...

Top News Story Iran Focus A powerful Iranian cleric told Tehran’s Friday prayers worshippers the Islamic Republic was unwavering in its nuclear venture and unafraid of international sanctions. “We mustn’t be afraid of sanctions. Even though there is a loss, it also has benefits. We should not fear the losses”, Guardian Council chief Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said. “If we have made any headway these days, it is because of these sanctions against us. Otherwise, we would be like these Arab countries, who have to import everything”, Jannati said. “If we fear sanctions then we will have to accept submission”,...

Top News Story Rooz Online Is Iran about to make concessions on human rights? Arash Motamed The judiciary directive to release imprisoned student activists, which was initially requested by the "Association for the Defense of the Rights of Prisoners" that specifically called for the release of 34 prisoners, and the judiciary’s recent emphasis on the necessity of having juries for political trials are new initiatives from the ultra-conservatives now in the driving seat in Tehran that signal more than just simple administrative changes. In less than three months since it has come to power, the administration of president Ahmadinejad,...

Top News Story Blair links Iraq bombings to row over Iran's nuclear program Ewen MacAskill, Brian WhitakerFriday October 7, 2005The Guardian Tony Blair warned yesterday he will not be diverted from the debate over Iran's nuclear programme by Tehran's suspected involvement in a series of deadly bomb attacks on British soldiers this year. Speaking at Downing Street 24 hours after a British official pointed a finger of blame at Tehran, Mr Blair said: "There are certain pieces of information that lead us back to Iran."Such attacks would not prevent Britain continuing to press for Iran to abandon its alleged...

Top News Story UK accuses Iran over killings of soldiers Ewen MacAskill and Simon Tisdall and Richard Norton-TaylorThursday October 6, 2005The Guardian Britain and Iran clashed openly last night after a senior British official directly accused Tehran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed eight British soldiers and two security guards since May. The bombs, triggered when an infra-red beam is touched, have created havoc among British forces in southern Iraq. They release a projectile capable of penetrating armoured vehicles, against which the British army has virtually no defence.The British official said that Iranian interference...

Top News Story The Washington Times Army takes control of Iran nukes An Excerpt:David R. Sands, The Washington Times:Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has placed the military firmly in control of his nation's nuclear program, undercutting his government's claim that the program is intended for civilian use, according to a leading opposition group. READ MORE A Daily Briefing of Major News Stories on Iran: Dan Darling, The Weekly Standard takes a close look at Iranian Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani and the Qods (Jerusalem) Force unit under his command and his efforts in Iraq. A must read.Iran Press News reported...

Top News Story Rooz Online The "Supreme Leader" turning to Rafsanjani for help with Ahmadinejad? Rooz Online: a pro-reformist website Sharg newspaper carried this headline: “The Expediency Council is responsible for supervising the implementation of the grand policies of the three branches of government.” This is the product of an interview Sharg reporter Akbar Montakhabi had with Mohsen Rezai from the Expediency Council. The relegation of some of the authority of the Leader to the Expediency Council has been the subject of recent talks as a solution to end the current crises and impasse in the political sphere. This...