Free Republic

In a TV interview, Iranian analyst Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini called Saudi Arabia "a tribe on the verge of extinction." Al-Hosseini, a former advisor to Iranian President Khatami, further said: "We in the axis of resistance are the new sultans of the Mediterranean and the Gulf... and we will shape the map of the region. We are the sultans of the Red Sea as well. Following are excerpts from the interview, which aired on Al-Mayadeen TV on September 24, 2014: Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini: The Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz tighten the noose on the Red Sea, on Israel...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://www.frontpagemag.com - The Self-Inflicted Palestinian VictimhoodPosted By Joseph Puder On April 29, 2014 @ 12:25 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | No Comments Palestinians are viewed on some college campuses in North America as victims of Israel, largely thanks to organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and their Islamist allies.The professional propagandists in groups such as SJP are relying on provocative imagery in their attempt to portray Israel as the oppressor. This is patently false when considering the facts. The picture of an Israeli tank facing a Palestinian rock thrower, painted by SJP and...

Arab Gulf States, which hold some 60 percent of the world’s known energy reserves, should introduce new legislation to cut domestic energy consumption in order to maintain supply obligations to international customers, the United Arab Emirates’ Energy Minister said. “Given the trend we’re observing with Gulf countries emerging as major energy consumers, it is clear that the region has entered a new era,” His Excellency Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei told the 150 delegates gathered at The 5th Gulf Intelligence U.A.E. Energy Forum, held in Abu Dhabi Monday under the theme Global Energy Outlook 2020. “It will now require new policies...

Israel, alarmed at the prospect of a U.S.-Iranian rapprochement, is reported to be discussing the possibility of an anti-Iran alliance with longtime Arab adversaries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a project that could have immense ramifications in the Middle East. If talks are under way, they're in large part the result of many secret meetings between Israeli and Arab intelligence chiefs and other senior officials that have been held over several years, often in the Jordanian capital Amman. Senior Israelis have held meetings with prominent figures from a number of Persian Gulf and other Arab states in...

The April 11 visit by Iranian president Ahmadinejad to the island of Abu Musa, close to where the Strait of Hormuz opens into the Persian Gulf, has severely exacerbated the dispute between Iran and the UAE over possession of the island and two others. This dispute joins a long series of Iranian-Saudi rivalries elsewhere. In Bahrain, Iran is investing great efforts (in propaganda and subversion) to help the Shiite majority in its struggle with the royal house; in Yemen, Iran has recently stepped up its activity; and in Syria, Iran is working to preserve Bashar Assad’s rule while Saudi Arabia...

Newly acquired intelligence reports indicate several Arab countries in the Middle East are lobbying the US to strike Iran this year, Israel's Channel 10 reported. According to the report, which is said to be making its rounds in Britain's political circles, Saudi Arabia wants the Obama administration to attack Iran's nuclear facilities before the final withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. US president has vowed to close the door on American military involvement in Iraq by year’s end, but Riyadh is reportedly afraid Iran will use the American exit to take over the country. Since 2008, officials in the Iraqi...

Bahrain and Dubai are expecting to get more MGM-164 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Last week the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified the U.S. Congress about the planned sale of 130 ATACMS missiles carrying Unitary Warheads T2K (MGM-164), equipping the two gulf states with medium range ballistic missile capability for the first time. According to the agency, the United Arab Emirates’ Army will get 100 ATACMS missiles while Bahrain buy additional 30. The recent announcement includes only missiles, but no launchers, as both countries already have the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) in service.

Saudi Daily: Military Option May be Best Solution to Iranian Nuclear Crisis An editorial in the Saudi daily Al-Madina, published in the wake of announcements in Iran and Russia regarding the imminent activation of the nuclear reactor in Bushehr, took a hard line vis-à-vis the Iranian nuclear program, claiming that the military option may be the best way to deal with it. The article reflected the Gulf states' growing tension and concern regarding Iran's nuclear program, and mentioned their proximity to the Bushehr reactor. Following are excerpts from the editorial:[1] "Tehran's [August 13, 2010] announcement, confirmed by Russia, that an...

(CNSNews.com) – Writing in the London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, general manager of Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV, said that a nuclear Iran would seek to dominate the Gulf States in the Middle East and said he supported a military attack against Iran before it produces nuclear weapons. Al-Rashid was writing in support of statements made by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to the United States Youssef Al-Otaiba, indicating approval for a U.S. attack on Iran. The U.A.E. deputy foreign minister, Tareq Al-Haidan, later said that the ambassador’s comments "were taken out of context.”

The sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan last March 26 by a North Korean torpedo has prompted some Arab Gulf officials to wonder whether this would be a scenario that they would likely face with a nuclear-armed Iran in the future. North Korea, now equipped with nuclear arms, appears to have grown bolder in its provocations of its U.S.-allied neighbor in the south and other parts of East and Southeast Asia. An international team of investigators concluded that the warship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo. Seoul’s reaction has thus far been mild compared to its loss of...

If diplomacy fails and Iran gets a nuclear bomb, the U.S. would still have ways to discourage Tehran from using these terrifying weapons. But there are limits on what even the world's sole superpower can do to contain a nuclear-armed Iran and blunt its influence in the volatile Middle East. U.S. officials insist they are not resigned to a nuclear Iran and are pressing negotiations to prevent it from joining the world's club of nuclear-armed nations. At the same time, though, the administration and the Pentagon are clearly anxious to avoid a military confrontation with Tehran. So Washington has set...

Iran has focused its intelligence efforts on the U.S. military presence in the Gulf. The U.S. intelligence community has determined that Iran was bolstering intelligence operations against the American military presence in Iraq and Gulf Cooperation Council states. The community said Teheran was also using its proxies to spy on American troops. "Iran is enhancing its focus on U.S. intelligence activities and relies on foreign intelligence partnerships to extend its capabilities," the intelligence community said in a report. The Teheran regime has been expanding intelligence operations through such proxies as Hamas, Hizbullah and Venezuela. The report, titled "Annual Threat Assessment,"...

Israel has been urged to support U.S. arms exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council. A report by the Institute for National Security Studies asserted that Israel could benefit from U.S. defense exports to the six GCC states. Authored by researcher Yiftah Shapir, the report said Israel could better intercept ballistic missiles from Iran if similar defense systems were sold to Gulf Arab militaries. "Information from such systems deployed in the Persian Gulf may contribute to early warning about missiles launched at Israel," the report, titled "The United States and the Buildup of Military Force in the Persian Gulf," said. The...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah for support lobbying for U.N. sanctions against Iran on Wednesday and discussed ways to boost the kingdom's air and missile defenses.The United States is leading a push for the U.N. Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, and aides to Gates made no secret of their hopes that Saudi Arabia could press regional allies for help. "We are certainly hopeful that the Saudis will use whatever influence they have, which is considerable, in this region and throughout the world to try to help...

The Obama administration is arming Gulf States to be able to defend against an Iranian attack while delaying a push for tough sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Reports of the weapons sales came one day after the U.S. Senate gave unanimous approval for a bill to target American companies that provide refined oil to Iran and would impose new sanctions on Iran’s refined petroleum sector.

The Kuwait Air Defense Forces successfully test fired Raytheon Company's Patriot Air and Missile Defense System against tactical ballistic missiles. The test firings were held last month at the Udairi Range in Kuwait in conjunction with other Kuwait Air Defense and Land Forces elements during a joint exercise. The test firings used a Kuwait Patriot Configuration-2 Plus fire unit with Guidance Enhanced Missiles as the interceptors, which are operated and maintained by Kuwait Air Defense brigade troops. The Patriot system successfully engaged and destroyed two Patriot-as-a-Target missiles, as well as three foreign Multiple Launch Rocket System-type targets, both configurations emulating...

The dollar's role in world trade is declining almost as rapidly as the federal government is conjuring fiat money out of thin air. The latest blow comes with the creation of a Gulf Monetary Council, with the aim of establishing a multinational petro-state currency. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard reports: "The Arab states of the Gulf region have agreed to launch a single currency modelled on the euro, hoping to blaze a trail towards a pan-Arab monetary union swelling to the ancient borders of the Ummayad Caliphate. 'The Gulf monetary union pact has come into effect,' said Kuwait's finance minister, Mustafa al-Shamali, speaking...

World financial markets are quaking in the wake of a request by Dubai World, a principal investment vehicle for the Emirate of Dubai, to suspend debt service amounting to billions of dollars in the next 6 months. The company owes a total of $59 billion. Islam, of course, opposes interest payments on borrowed money, so much of the debt is so-called Islamic debt, in which different labels are applied, but the concept of paying for the use of money remains. Dubai's fabulous skyline has been built on a vast pool of debt, and property there was often pre-sold and re-sold...

Tensions over Iran's nuclear programme have spurred an arms race in the Gulf with record defence deals being negotiated. Saudi Arabia, long the major arms-buyer in the region, is now being overtaken by relative minnows such as the United Arab Emirates as they share their neighbour's fear of the growing military strength of their Shia neighbour. Iran yesterday began a week-long military exercise to test its readiness against missile attack. The exercise was overtly intended as a message to Israel that any attack on its nuclear programme would be met with strong resistance. "If the enemy wants to test its...

Arab states, particularly in the Gulf, are seeking to build up their air power and missile defenses to counter any challenger from Iran. Mostly they're looking to their traditional arms suppliers in the West, the United States, Britain and France, but Russia is pushing hard for a piece of the action. This year's biennial Dubai air show, which opened Sunday in the United Arab Emirates, provided a showcase for the latest technology on offer. Air power has been the deciding factor in most Middle Eastern conflicts since the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, when Israeli warplanes annihilated the air forces of Egypt,...