http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iran/ en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:30:43 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050425/posts Ayatollah Khomeini's heirs are breathing new life into the Islamic revolution in the hope of transforming Iran into a regional power. The Iranian revolution can only point to a single achievement in the Arab world: Hizbullah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah are keeping revolutionary fervor alive in Lebanon. This base of exported revolution is central to Iran's political-diplomatic efforts to achieve a higher status in the region and in the world. Two additional foundations of Iranian power must be added: * The Iranian nuclear program, complete with delivery systems capable of reaching targets in the Middle East and Europe. *... Jerusalem Center for Public affairs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050425/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:30:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050404/posts Over 15,000 naval personnel from four countries are participating in a Joint Task Force Exercise dubbed "Operation Brimstone", that is underway in North Carolina and off the eastern U.S. coast from Virginia to Florida. The nine day exercise began Monday and includes special forces from France, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The large exercise comes barely a month after the Israeli air force conducted a massive exercise in the Mediterranean reportedly a rehearsal for a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites, and also shortly after the Geneva meeting where six world powers gave Iran yet another ultimatum of two weeks... infolive.tv http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050404/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:01:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050353/posts New intelligence continues to blast away like a sledgehammer at Iran’s rocklike insistence that its nuclear program is purely peaceful and not a nuclear weapons effort as many strongly believe. The latest evidence comes out of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which released a nine-page report that casts serious doubt on Iran’s purported pacifist power program. In a dramatic change, based on new, multi-source, multilateral intelligence received over time from its members, the IAEA has shifted its position from being unable to prove Iran has a nuclear weapons program to being unable... Family Security Matters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050353/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:49:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050266/posts Senator Barack Obama, the visiting Democratic presidential candidate who is leading the race for the White House, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday evening that, if elected president, he would do "everything in my power" to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Asked about concerns that the Iranians would abuse his stated readiness for "tough diplomacy" to play for time and keep moving ahead toward the bomb, Obama said that his "willingness to negotiate" had "very clear and direct goals" and "a sense of urgency." So "if the Iranians fail to respond, we've stripped away whatever excuses they may have,... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050266/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:59:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050219/posts Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called the U.S. decision to send a representative to international nuclear talks in Geneva a "positive step." But he reiterated Wednesday that his country will not back down in the face of international pressure to suspend sensitive nuclear activities. Mr. Ahmadinejad vowed Iran will continue to pursue nuclear technology despite the efforts of what he called oppressive powers. In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Mr. Ahmadinejad's statements continue to isolate the Iranian people from the international community. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran could face additional sanctions if... VOA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050219/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:31:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050175/posts SDEROT, Israel, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama warned in Israel Wednesday a nuclear Iran could lead to nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told a news conference in Sderot after meetings in Jerusalem with Israeli leaders and in the West Bank with Palestinian officials such a scenario "is our single most important threat, both to Israel and also to the United States." UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050175/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:13:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2050147/posts During a whirlwind 36-hour visit that saw US presidential hopeful Barak Obama meet with all of the top Israeli and Palestinian leaders and visit numerous sites throughout the country on Wednesday, the Democratic candidate said all the right things as he tried to assure Israelis that a US administration with him at the helm would not endanger the Jewish state. Polls have shown that a large majority of Israelis prefer Obama’s opponent, Republican John McCain, as president, fearing the Democratic candidate’s Muslim family history and his personal ties to religious figures and political advisors hostile toward Israel. Cross Action News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2050147/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:21:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050077/posts Iran is set to receive an advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft system by year-end that could help fend off any preemptive strikes against its nuclear facilities, senior Israeli defence sources said on Wednesday. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050077/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:51:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050009/posts The U.S. intelligence community in May completed a major National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran that concluded the Iranian military is building up its missile and conventional forces but that its forces remain relatively outdated, according to U.S. officials. The classified assessment, circulated to senior policy-makers, comes amid rising tensions in the region over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment and concerns that Israel or the United States will take military action to knock out Iranian nuclear facilities. Intelligence officials familiar with the estimate declined to disclose its details or even its key judgments, noting that the entire document is... The Gertz File http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050009/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:45:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050006/posts SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday a nuclear Iran would pose a "grave threat" and that the world must stop Tehran from obtaining an atomic weapon. Obama told reporters during a visit to Israel that if elected, he would take "no options off the table" in dealing with the Iran issue and said tougher sanctions could be imposed. "A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Obama told reporters after visiting the Israeli town of Sderot, which lies close to the border... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050006/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:44:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049999/posts JERUSALEM - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Monday that the United States could never allow Iran to inflict a "second Holocaust" on the Jewish people, in comments aired on Israeli TV on the eve of a visit to Israel by his Democratic rival Barack Obama. Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, has described Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last month said it must be stopped by "all possible means." Asked whether he would back Israel if it chose to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, McCain... NewsMax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049999/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:31:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049868/posts Iran will not "retreat one iota" in its nuclear activities, its president says, in his first reaction to a new call for Tehran to end uranium enrichment. Envoys from the US, EU and UN asked Iran to give an answer within two weeks or face possible new sanctions. The meeting in Geneva on Saturday was the first time US and Iranian officials have held face-to-face talks about Iran's controversial nuclear programme. "The Iranian people are steadfast," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said. They "will not retreat one iota in the face of oppressing powers," he said in the televised speech made to... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049868/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:57:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049867/posts The Bush administration should stop talking about a military attack as an option if negotiations do not immediately halt Iran's uranium reprocessing program, two former national security advisers said yesterday. "Don't talk about 'do we bomb them now or later?' " said Brent Scowcroft, adviser to presidents Gerald R. Ford and George H.W. Bush, during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the negotiations between the United States and Iran. Scowcroft added that by mentioning that threat, "we legitimize the use of force . . . and may tempt the Israelis" to carry out such a... WP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049867/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:56:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049847/posts Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Iran will not make any concession in the country's nuclear rights, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Ahmadinejad made the comments in a speech during a visit to the southwestern province of Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad on Wednesday. "Iran will not allow anybody to make any concession," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying, "I advise them (the West) to be more realistic regarding Iran's position in this issue." xinhuanet.com (China) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049847/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:06:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034652/posts Representative Ron Paul says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed a section from a bill passed by Congress which would have barred the U.S. from going to war with Iran without a congressional vote, claiming she did so at the behest of the leadership of Israel and AIPAC. Paul, a former Republican presidential contender who formally removed himself from the party’s nomination race last week, makes the allegation on C-SPAN during a recently held foreign policy conference in Virginia. Paul says Pelosi’s first act as House Speaker in 2006 was to “deliberately” remove a portion of a legislative spending bill which... Newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034652/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:23:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049566/posts U.S. lawyer urges Iran to sue over nukes Tehran | July 23, 2008 12:01:13 AM IST A University of Illinois law professor says he has offered to represent Iran if it decides to sue the United States over threatened nuclear program sanctions. Iran's Press TV reported Tuesday that Francis Boyle, an international law expert, is urging Iranian leaders to sue Israel and the United States through the International Court of Justice in The Hague over their ultimatum that Iran freeze its nuclear enrichment program in a matter of weeks or face further sanctions. If Iran decides to sue, he told... Web India 123 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049566/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:49:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2049520/posts The Islamic Society of North America's (ISNA) roots in the Muslim Brotherhood have been strengthened by newly declassified FBI memos and from a second, highly unlikely source. The records, recently obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism through Freedom of Information Act requests, show that FBI agents investigated a parent organization to ISNA, the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), during the mid 1980s. The FBI investigation concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood members who founded U.S.-based groups had risen to "leadership roles within NAIT and its related organizations," including ISNA, "which means they are in a position to direct the activities... IPT News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2049520/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:16:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049440/posts European Union foreign ministers say they will not support a military strike on Iran but want more talks to try to resolve worries Tehran might be developing nuclear weapons. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says it is now up to Iran to respond to global powers and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana after talks in Geneva on Saturday. Canadian Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049440/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:50:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049244/posts In its waning days, the Bush Administration seems to be veering toward a policy of détente with Iran. Recent moves include a face-to-face meeting with Iran over its nuclear program and the likelihood of reopening a diplomatic mission in Tehran for the first time since--well, you remember. Iran responded to these gestures on the weekend by rebuffing the West's latest set of carrots while refusing once again to give up its uranium enrichment.What precisely did Iran do to deserve the warm shoulder? Now as ever, Tehran underwrites and arms terrorist proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Gaza, and calls for... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049244/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:47:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049218/posts Israel will “almost surely” strike Iran’s nuclear sites in the coming months — and if the conventional attacks fail to destroy or at least delay Iran’s nuclear program, the Middle East will face a nuclear war. That’s the view of Benny Morris, a professor of Middle Eastern history at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, who predicts either a subsequent pre-emptive Israeli nuclear strike or a nuclear exchange after Iran gets the bomb. “Should Israel’s conventional assault fail to significantly harm or stall the Iranian program, a ratcheting up of the Iranian-Israeli conflict to a nuclear level will most likely follow,” Morris, author... newsmax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049218/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:28:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049231/posts JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Monday that the United States could never allow Iran to inflict a "second Holocaust" on the Jewish people, in comments aired on Israeli TV on the eve of a visit to Israel by his Democratic rival Barack Obama. --snip-- Asked whether he would back Israel if it chose to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, McCain told Channel 2 TV: "But I have to look you in the eye and tell you that the United States of America can never allow a second Holocaust." Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049231/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:05:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049220/posts Israel will “almost surely” strike Iran’s nuclear sites in the coming months — and if the conventional attacks fail to destroy or at least delay Iran’s nuclear program, the Middle East will face a nuclear war. That’s the view of Benny Morris, a professor of Middle Eastern history at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, who predicts either a subsequent pre-emptive Israeli nuclear strike or a nuclear exchange after Iran gets the bomb. “Should Israel’s conventional assault fail to significantly harm or stall the Iranian program, a ratcheting up of the Iranian-Israeli conflict to a nuclear level will most likely follow,” Morris, author... newsmax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049220/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:30:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049203/posts As the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, you are about to leave your post after nearly six years and return to Tel Aviv at a time when Iran is releasing touched-up photographs of its latest missile tests and continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of U.N. sanctions. How seriously do you take their threats? Listen to Ahmadinejad, who denies the Holocaust while planning the next one, who talks about wiping Israel off the face of the map — listen to him, and take him at face value.But what if it’s all bluster? Maybe he’s just a short man who... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049203/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:53:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049200/posts It is difficult to imagine Israel attacking Iran. It is, however, more difficult to imagine Israel not attacking Iran. Consider three questions: First, does Iran mean what it says about destroying Israel? When its leaders repeatedly call for Israel's annihilation, after referring to it as a cancer and using other rhetoric not heard on a national level since the Nazi regime's depiction of Jews, is this just rhetorical flourish? Or do they really hope and plan to destroy Israel? Second, can Iran do it? One can hope and even plan to do something outrageous, but that does not necessarily mean... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049200/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:29:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049028/posts he White House on Monday signalled that it expected Iran to reject a US-backed incentives package to end sensitive nuclear work and warned Tehran may therefore face additional sanctions. "It is the position of the P5-plus-one that Iran should suspend its uranium enrichment, that we provided a very generous incentives package that they apparently are going to miss an opportunity to accept," said spokeswoman Dana Perino, referring to the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany. africasia.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049028/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:21:27 GMT