Iran: to be or…not to be …that is the question
Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 07/10/2019 - 4:44pm
Threats against Iran continue to ratchet, ratchet apace. Where will it all end? Only the gods know… They must know that insanity rules Washington and its allies, no? Not that this is a particularly new state of affairs, given that the US is the largest exporter of violence on the planet, and only the names of her allies change a bit. The rest of the world watches aghast and waits…
'The Triumphinators' by Geli Korzhev
'Netanyahu threatens Iran with Israeli planes that can 'reach everywhere' in the Middle East', July 9, 2019
"As tension mounts over Iran's nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Tehran that Israeli warplanes can strike anywhere in the Middle East, "including Iran and Syria."
"Iran has threatened recently to destroy Israel," Netanyahu said in a video clip posted on Tuesday. "It is worthwhile for them to remember that these planes can reach everywhere in the Middle East, including Iran and Syria."
Netanyahu delivered his stern lecture while standing in front of an F-35 fighter jet at Nevatim Airbase in central Israel. The Israeli Air Force has used its warplanes to strike supposed Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria numerous times, most recently pounding the cities of Damascus and Homs at the beginning of July – attacks that left multiple civilians dead. Last year, Israel became the world's first military power to use the next-generation F-35 in a combat operation, reportedly against Iranian targets in Syria.
PM Netanyahu at the F-35 squadron at Nevatim Air Force base:
"Recently, Iran has been threatening the destruction of Israel. It would do well to remember that these planes can reach anywhere in the Middle East, including Iran and certainly Syria." pic.twitter.com/spFskUNreo
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 9, 2019
"The Israeli leader's video comes a week after Iranian parliamentarian Mojtaba Zolnour remarked that "if the US attacks us, only half an hour will remain of Israel's lifespan."
The Iranian leadership has stuck with a calmer line, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stating in May that "there won't be a war" between Iran and the US. Even the usually hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader, Major General Hossein Salami, said on Monday that "the world knows" Tehran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon."
'Freedom of piracy: US seeks allies to outsource hunt for Iranian oil tankers', RT.com, July 9, 2019
"Washington has a new tactic in its ongoing campaign against Tehran: outsource the naval blockade of Iran and have allies seize oil tankers in international waterways – all in the name of "freedom of navigation," of course.
The latest out of Washington is that the US is looking to put together a "coalition" that would "ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb," as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford said on Tuesday. These are the waterways connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, respectively.
The US is in contact with "a number of countries" to see which ones "have the political will" to support the project, the Marine general added.
A legitimate policing project, however, would easily get UN approval and not require some kind of revamped "coalition of the willing" that the US used to illegally invade Iraq in 2003. Not to mention that Iran itself has welcomed a truly international security effort.
At a guess, two of those countries might be the UK and Egypt, judging by their recent seizures of tankers carrying Iranian oil. The British boarding of the Panamanian-flagged Grace 1 in Gibraltar last week is well known. Days prior, however, Egyptian marines had seized a Ukrainian-flagged vessel in the Suez Canal, the Qatari outlet Al-Araby recently reported. While Tehran has been quiet on the Egyptian seizure, its officials have condemned the taking of Grace 1 as "piracy, pure and simple" and insisted that such behavior sets a terrible precedent and must stop immediately."
'Iran's President Warns UK against Sparking Insecurity after Tanker Seizure, tasnimnews.com, July 10, 2019
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani cautioned the UK government against the consequences of triggering insecurity by capturing an Iranian supertanker in international waters.
"In an address to a Wednesday meeting of cabinet of ministers, Rouhani lashed out at Britain for working as a US proxy in the seizure of Iran's oil tanker Grace 1 near Gibraltar.
The UK has made a "very despicable and wrong" move to seize the Iranian ship, he added.
"We should all try to ensure full security for shipping lines across the world, and I warn the British that you have initiated insecurity and you will understand its consequences later," the president added.
Rouhani emphasized that Iran's supertanker has been seized unlawfully, because the British control over Gibraltar, which belongs to Spain, is an act of occupation.
"An occupier government (UK) that is illegally present in that region (Gibraltar) has taken such a despicable measure (to seize Iran's vessel), while the people of Spain also abominate the UK move," he added.
'US steps up threats as Iran exceeds uranium enrichment cap', Bill Van Auken, wsws.org, 9 July 2019
" The increase in the enrichment level—which had been capped at 3.67 percent and has risen to 4.5 percent, according to Iranian authorities—follows last month's announcement by Iran that it was deliberately exceeding the 300 kg cap imposed by the JCPOA on its enriched uranium stockpiles. The country is supposed to export any excess amounts, but even that option has been undermined by the US "maximum pressure" sanctions regime.
Tehran indicated that it will impose another 60-day deadline for the European powers to take concrete steps to ensure that Iran receives the sanctions relief that it was promised in return for its submission to drastic limits on its nuclear program.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told the official news agency ISNA Monday that if such relief is not forthcoming, Iran could take a third step of installing more centrifuges and enriching uranium to 20 percent.
While the increase from 3.67 to 4.5 percent is largely symbolic, the rise to 20 percent would place the Iranian nuclear program in a position to move more rapidly toward the 90 percent enrichment level needed to produce weapons-grade uranium."
"Iran's latest actions provoked a flurry of new threats from top US officials. President Donald Trump told reporters on the White House lawn Monday that "Iran better be careful," while suggesting that the minimal increase in its uranium enrichment was aimed at securing a nuclear weapon.
Similarly, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that "Iran's latest expansion of its nuclear program will lead to further isolation and sanctions."
Demonstrating once again who one of the Puppet Masters of this administration is:
"And Vice President Mike Pence, speaking before a sympathetic audience of right-wing evangelicals at the Christians United For Israel conference in Washington Monday, said: "Iran should not confuse American restraint with a lack of American resolve … the United States of America and our military are prepared to protect our interests and protect our personnel and our citizens in the region."
Under President @realDonaldTrump, if the world knows nothing else, the world knows this: America STANDS with Israel! pic.twitter.com/n0ib7ZuE0i
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) July 9, 2019
A prepared text released before the speech described the US administration as "willing to talk" with Tehran, but Pence dropped the line in his delivered remarks." [snip]
"Berlin, meanwhile, placed the onus on Tehran for the increasing crisis surrounding the nuclear deal. "The ball is clearly in Iran's court," a spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry told a news conference on Monday. "We want to preserve the deal. For this, parties must stick to it."
The reality, however, is that Tehran has no reason to "stick to it" under conditions in which the US sanctions regime has robbed Iran of the promise of economic normalization that was made in return for its sweeping nuclear concessions."
He writes that the perceived threat that Iran may seize U vessels has, according to Bloomberg News, had caused a UK BP tanker bound for Iraq's Basra oil terminal to reverse course and stop off the coast at Saudi Arabia.
Tehran, Russia, and China all find Washington's July 10 emergency meting with the IAEA board of governors…only too ironic, given that it was Washington (courtesy of Bibi) who'd pulled out of the JCPOA, before which the IAEA had reported that Iran had always been in full compliance with the protocols of The Deal.. Tehran also hopes that the governors will say: "End the sanctions".
And speaking of oil terminals, Tehran said that the ship the UK ha seized at Wahington's request was not headed to Syria, as it was too large to be accommodated at Syrian terminals.
Zarif: Snapback Mechanism Unimplementable
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said it would be impossible to implement the so-called snapback mechanism to renew the UN sanctions on Iran', tasnimnews.com, July 10, 2019
""The snapback mechanism does not apply to Iran at all," Zarif said, adding that Tehran has only referred to the JCPOA terms that allows for compensation.
"Our reasoning is absolutely clear, but the Europeans are making instrumental use (of the JCPOA), as they themselves know that this mechanism has no credibility and have announced that (their recent moves) do not mean using the snapback mechanism," he added.
The Europeans are not ready to pay for their security, he deplored, saying the main problem lies with the US, which has withdrawn from the JCPOA.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran's stance is explicit, which is negotiations under pressure will never be possible. They must stop the pressures and economic war and terrorism against people of Iran. In that case, it would be possible to discuss the implementation of the JCPOA," he added.
Safavid art
"The key point in the snapback mechanism is that in case of a failure to resolve a dispute among the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the UNSC would vote on a resolution "to continue the sanctions lifting", meaning that a single veto from one of the UNSC members (most likely from the US) would end the sanctions' lifting and slap the previous sanctions against Tehran again.
Only if you need more to read; I sure don't (smile):
Nuclear Chief Suggests Solution to Iran-US Conflicts
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi reiterated the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program and proposed a solution "to avoid conspicuous catastrophe", tasnimnews.com, July, 10, 2019
I'll update this when we hear was happened at the big IAEA shindig.
To the citizens of Iran faced with actual war or war by other means: killing and illegal sanctions:
(cross-posted from Café Babylon)
empire and war crimes; #hands off iran
Submitted by Cassiodorus on Wed, 07/10/2019 - 6:17pm
Iran will be getting a nuclear weapon.
And will probably threaten to set it off some time soon. Why shouldn't they? But this isn't the era of the Bay of Pigs incident. This is an era of dystopia, an age in which we are all waiting for Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" to become physical truth, and so at some point there will be a call for sanity, which is to say a revival of the Age of Utopian Dreaming (Enlightenment - Seventies) on the grounds of sustainability.
"The degree to which liberals are coming to inhabit an alternate reality, impenetrable by facts or reason, is actually frightening." -- Steve Maher
because their reactors
@Cassiodorus
are meant to power electrical nuclear generators. 4% worked better for them for that than the 3.5% (iirc) stipulated by the JCPOA. you apparently don't believe tehran, then? on edit: when they say they do not want a bomb?
dunno why the new 60-day tick-tock to 20% wsws had called a hop, skip, and a jump to 90%, wth? i'd meant to ask that after that quote. no one should tell them they can't have one, because they are 'an unstable regime', though. israel and the US are sooooo stable.
Why shouldn't they want a bomb?
@wendy davis They are being embargoed by the premier nuclear power on the planet.
Submitted by on the cusp on Wed, 07/10/2019 - 9:31pm
@Cassiodorus They have no other option.
#1.1 They are being embargoed by the premier nuclear power on the planet.
Submitted by wendy davis on Wed, 07/10/2019 - 10:12pm
oh, bother.
my comment disappeared. i can't speak for tehran, and yes the only nation to use nuclear weapons is perhaps the least stable nation now. dunno why washington reckons they can decide who gets nukes, including of course, pyongyang.
the increase in enrichment in the first place was to convince the EU to put pressure on washington to end the sanctions. they keep dithering in fear of the crazies running this hell-hole nation. look what germany just said: 'the ball is in tehran's court'. wow. so now there's a new 60-day time clock afoot. and the threats and sanction increases proceed...again. and yeah, they're preparing for war, no matter what they say they believe
about 'there will be no war'.
i gotta close down, but i'll check on what happened today at the IAEA in the morning.
g' night, and to you as well, on the cusp.
Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 12:34am
@wendy davis
... yes the only nation to use nuclear weapons is perhaps the least stable nation now
Second law of thermodynamics. It's an inevitable outcome. Enlightened people don't drop nuclear weapons on civilian targets just to see what happens. Twice. The US can be safely written out of the world's future. It serves no one.
Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 10:36am
some used to ask
@Pluto's Republic
on my diaries at the café and my.firedoglake: 'who will stop the US?' those who can and must. and it's begun with the advent of a multi-polar world brewing, and one that includes the Evil Iran.
let me go fetch that josph strumpeter quote on the death of the roman empire... well, i can't find it, but what he saw was that as the empire was dying, it created allies where there really were none, and imagined that the rest of the world was an enemy of the empire, and treated them as such.
loose cannons, as with this dying empire, are at their most dangerous.
Submitted by Big Al on Wed, 07/10/2019 - 10:46pm
Can't vouch for this site, just picked it,
@Cassiodorus but this is common knowledge among the antiwar left, as is the fact that it's never been proven Iran has even tried to develop a nuclear weapon. The entire thing is a manufactured farce that Iran felt it had no choice but to play.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-05-30/ayatollah-khamenei-says-nuclear-w...
Submitted by snoopydawg on Wed, 07/10/2019 - 10:59pm
The leaders of Iran have always said that they don't want
@Big Al
to build nuclear weapons and there is something in their religious beliefs that says they shouldn't. But it's a great ploy for Israel to constantly say that they are being threatened by Iran building nukes. How many decades has Bibi said that they were 'this close' to building one?
Israel should just shut the hell up about having us fight another war for them. Let them put their men and women in harm's way if they insist on starting a fight. I think enough Americans have died for Israel don't you guys? They have made our lives miserable enough because of the amount of money spent on wars of aggression.
#1.1.1 but this is common knowledge among the antiwar left, as is the fact that it's never been proven Iran has even tried to develop a nuclear weapon. The entire thing is a manufactured farce that Iran felt it had no choice but to play.
Certainly the Zionists are leading this charge, as they've
@snoopydawg done since 9/11, but there are also other American interests as indicated above in the essay. In fact, it's fascinating to see how they've made "American interests" the primary rationale (as opposed to the legal right for defense of borders). These wars were never just for Israel, they're also for the corporations and banks that control the world. Couple in the New World Order and religious insanity, it's all an intertwined game for power on the planet. I think the only way to stop it is to elect more and better democrats.
Submitted by snoopydawg on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 1:44am
I'm aware that it's the globalists who have wanted
regime change everywhere, but I don't know when Israel has had any skin in the game. But it is Israel right now that has Trump's ear and are pushing him to attack Iran and not to dare pulling the troops out of Syria and elsewhere.
But yeah once we elect more and better democrats we will all sit around the fire and sing koombya. Just like we did in 2009. And don't forget that this is thee most important election of your life. Sorry, just left rubbernecking a cat fight over yonder.
#1.1.1.3.1 done since 9/11, but there are also other American interests as indicated above in the essay. In fact, it's fascinating to see how they've made "American interests" the primary rationale (as opposed to the legal right for defense of borders). These wars were never just for Israel, they're also for the corporations and banks that control the world. Couple in the New World Order and religious insanity, it's all an intertwined game for power on the planet. I think the only way to stop it is to elect more and better democrats.
lol;
i reckon big al was teasing as much as you are, snoopy. 'skin in the game'? only their bombing pilots snooping plane pilots. only reason i went for the tweet was that seeing his smirking, smug crooked smile drives me...wild with anger. the US's 'partners in peace', bibi and saudi arabia'.
but trump has bibi's ear and bolton's (perhaps to a lesser degree, depending on which day of the week) ear as well. and perhaps: gina haspel's CIA ear as well.
i'd call the overthrow
of mossadegh by the CIA and MI6 in 1953 a 'war'. irrc, it was at the behest of (then) standard oil. they'd thought mossadegh was quite the commie, nationalizing iran's oil and whatnot. so...in came the western-friendly shah of iran who signed over iranian oil fields to the US and UK. i just got to wondering about israel and the shah, and just found these hints (too much to read for now, but fascinating, so later):
The Unwritten History of Israel's Alliance with the Shah's Dictatorship,
June 30, 2019 LobeLog
Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 9:48am
love that omid safi
had named putin's russia in one of his list of dictatorial regimes, though. but yes, all that is the way i've always understood the history.
Weapons of mass destruction work directly against Iran's
... spiritual principles and modern culture.
For centuries, Iran has been traveling a defensive and non-invasive path, which is a cultural value of their civilization. Modern Iran has repeatedly stated that its culture cannot accommodate offensive weapons with devastating destructive powers. Professional defense analysts, even in the West, generally conclude that Iran's military doctrine and posture is defensive in nature.
Were that not the case, and if Iran had sought nuclear weapons, they would already have a stockpile sufficient to deter would-be attackers.
There are nuclear-capable countries in the world that would be willing to entertain this technology transfer to Iran, if only for the sake of a sane balance of power in the region. This is a possibility that is discussed in open-source Intelligence circles, but Iran's non-aggressive posture over the past 300 years render it highly unlikely. However, for the US and Israel, a nuclear-armed Iran is a never-ending fever dream. They fear the worst because they know they would both eagerly embrace weapons of mass destruction, if they didn't already have them.
Iran's simple answer — that they would reject doomsday weapons if they were offered because possessing them would corrupt their cultural philosophy and hurl them down a path they do not wish to travel — this notion is rejected by Israel and the United States. These are both committed and deliberate genocide nations. They are both replacement cultures for a genocide done in their name, and the genocide is still visible. Both nations carry a deeply embedded fear that someday there will be a reckoning for their inhumanity — unless they kill all their enemies, first.
The nations in the Eastern Hemisphere want to trade and do business with Iran and each other. Iran is not an inherent threat to them recently and historically. Indeed, Iran offers many desirable advantages, geographically and culturally. Iran's long term goal has been to build nuclear power plants that will provide power to their country, so they can stop burning oil. They have been on this quest since the 1950s. US sanctions, blockades, and economic attacks have forced Iran to refine their own nuclear fuel for to power plants of their own design.
To achieve a nuclear agreement with the Obama administration, Iran had to pretend that they were trying to make nuclear weapons; then they had to promise to stop doing it. This charade was especially undignified because so many states were aware of this farce. But the Persians do want to live normally in this world, aligned to the peaceful doctrine that they have followed for centuries.
brilliant comment
and understanding of persian culture; i reckon it's one of the reasons i feature persian artwork in my iranian diaries. this was a superb psychological divination:
Both nations carry a deeply embedded fear that someday there will be a reckoning for their inhumanity — unless they kill all their enemies, first.
now this i guess i should have known, but had not known:
To achieve a nuclear agreement with the Obama administration, Iran had to pretend that they were trying to make nuclear weapons; then they had to promise to stop doing it.
whooosh.
Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 7:23pm
Thanks so much, Wendy.
I have great respect for the work you do here, so that means a lot. Your Iran essays have touched on unique points and I've read them with great interest. I am inspired that you can intuitively grasp the Persian situation from the spiritual angle. This usually has no traction in the charred soul of an indifferent America, so I generally avoid that realm in my geopolitical discussions.
Iran has the largest, thriving population of practicing Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel, a fact that stands in stark contrast to the dark purpose that drives American madness. The US Federal government's armies and treasure are subject to the control of a dark force of inhumanity, which temporarily occupies the collective soul of Israel, and is embodied by Benjamin Netanyahu (בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ).
Americans know in their hearts which nation this dark force migrated from, because they recognize the concentration camps and the genocide. Through this lens, the geopolitically aware can gaze at the world and see across history where the dark force has burned in the past, and where its embers have landed and gained a foothold. The natural home for this force can always be found deep within dying Empires, where it smolders in the heart of darkness. It waits for the tinder to feed its hunger, which occurs when there is a massive smothering of the lifeforce, as took place in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, when it found a new home. The demon that Americans truly fear is America itself. You can smell the sulfur in the clothing of our leaders.
This is the spiritual truth behind the state of denialism among Americans, and it defines their gullibility, forgetfulness, inability to think critically, lack of self awareness, raging sociopathy, soaring incarceration, predatory diplomacy, and perverted fetish with instruments of power and death. It's a low and pedestrian fate. A monument to al that is trite in human existence.
To paraphrase Einstein, if instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits. But we knew that.
Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 9:12pm
aw, bless your heart for all
of this. but RL has fallen apart here, and i'll have to respond tomorrow. as a closing song, what could possibly be more fitting than yusuf islam?
g' night all, love,
Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 10:31am
regarding my grasp
of the persian culture, iirc it began with a storfied history of iran i'd put up at the café so as not to tax JtC's site with all the images. last time i'd looked, even some of those tweets had melted away oddly enough. but the woman who'd strung it altogether showed me the artwork, the love, and reverence for life during mossadegh's rule, and post '79 revolution, anyway.
but i'd grabbed a lot of artwork and architecture for my media files, although the rest in general files disappeared then my last laptop crashed and died. now this i hadn't known:
Iran has the largest, thriving population of practicing Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel
although there certainly are a lot of officially recognized religions in iran according to the wiki.
'To paraphrase Einstein, if instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits. But we knew that.'
pure poetry, pluto; how i wish we could make it so...before it's too late. but the poets and the musicians...and fine artists have occupied that place for centuries, haven't they?
even those who paint the brutalities afoot in certain times, then imply what could have been, should have been...better. as the 'triumphators' above, or the diego riveras of the world, the goyas...and so on.
on edit: i found it (from may 2018); her name is Nyusha; but the documents, photos, artworks...all go to 'page not found'. maybe she's no longer on this side, but rather...crossed over?
Considering what Trump did, or didn't do,
after the downing of the drone, which just about everyone fell for:
"On June 20 Iran shot down a U.S. spy drone. U.S. President Trump decided not to retaliate. The White House and the media claimed that Trump had ordered a strike on Iran but pulled it back at the last minute. We said that this was likely bullshit:
The whole storyline of "a strike was ordered but Trump held back and saved the day" might well be fake."
And the incredible proposition to Iran to let him selectively bomb them to save his ugly face,
"A senior Iranian general has revealed that Washington, through diplomatic channels, recently asked Tehran to allow it to conduct a small-scale operation in the Iranian airspace in order to save its face following the IRGC's shoot-down of a US spy drone."
And considering he knows full well a major military assault on Iran would be a disaster for him, not to mention the fucking planet (but that's not his primary concern), it's highly unlikely Trump will go for a shock and awe war on Iran (remember he said it would be over quickly, same old bullshit), and probably a saving face "renegotiation" of the JCPOA and some of the sanctions. No doubt, they will continue to try to weaken and destabilize Iran however while doing the same to Russia and China.
I wrote my first "are they going to attack Iran" essay about ten years ago.
"Can't we just bomb a few buildings like we did in Syria so I don't look weak and to shut John Bolton the hell up? Please.."
elijah magnier has proven to have been correct. other things he's reported...perhaps not so much. iirc, it was he who'd said 'his iranian sources' reported that tehran would sink enough of their own ships to close the strait of hormuz. sure they would. 'pariah nation' here we come. and of course, the US is seeking allies in their quest...above n the OP, while hassan rouhani says:
as i remember it, the planned strike (i'd always wondered if the whole thing hadn't been a CIA psyop) was to bomb the bushehr nuclear power complex, and apparently moscow believed the thread as well. from my last diary on iran, john helmer:
'Russians Help Iranians Dig in as Final Battle Against Great Satan Looms', John Helmer, June 27, 2019, russia-insider.com
"The Russian General Staff has reinforced the air defences for Russians at the Iranian nuclear reactor complex at Bushehr, on the Persian Gulf, according to sources in Moscow. At the same time, Iran has allowed filming of the movement of several of its mobile S-300 air-defence missile batteries to the south, covering the Iranian coastline of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. More secretly, elements of Russian military intelligence, electronic warfare, and command and control advisers for Iran's air defence systems have been mobilized to support Iran against US and allied attacks.
The range of the new surveillance extends well beyond the S-300 strike distance of 200 kilometres, and covers US drone and aircraft bases on the Arabian peninsula, as well as US warships in (and under) the Persian Gulf and off the Gulf of Oman. Early warning of US air and naval-launched attacks has now been cut below the old 4 to 6-minute Iranian threshold. Counter-firing by the Iranian armed forces has been automated from attack warning and target location.
This means that if the US is detected launching a swarm of missiles aimed at Iran's air-defence sites, uranium mines, reactors, and military operations bunkers, Iran will launch its own swarm of missiles at the US firing platforms, as well as at Saudi and other oil production sites, refineries, and pipelines, as well tankers in ports and under way in the Gulf., etc.
Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 10:46pm
This strategic posture of Iran's defense is all that stands between the possible roll up to a full scale attack on the US and a certain nuclear winter, which we will not survive.
Ultimately, we will die by the sword. But not today.
To be, Wendy, there is no question. Great excerpts, thx./nt
from your fonts
to the gods' ears, amiga.
Morning Update:
TEHRAN -Tehran says the UN nuclear watchdog's special meeting held at Washington's request to win the Board of Governors' support for its anti-Iran claims turned into another failure for Americans', tehrantimes.com, July 11, 2019
"Another failure for the US at the mockery of the IAEA's Board of Governors," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi tweeted on Wednesday in reference to an emergency meeting of the 35-member Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss Iran's nuclear program, which wrapped up with no conclusion earlier in the day in Vienna.
The emergency meeting was held at the request of US Ambassador to International Organizations Jackie Wolcott. Iran later criticized the US' request as a "sad irony" as Washington is the party that has violated the deal first by unilaterally pulling out of it and imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The US had approached various delegations before requesting to convene the special meeting but in the end had to make the request itself, says Iran's ambassador to the IAEA Kazem Gharib-Abadi.
"We have been informed that the United States were seeking to have some formal outcome of this meeting, something like a resolution […] but because they haven't been in a position to convince the others to have their support for their claim, regarding consideration of Iran's ceasing its implementation of the JCPOA, there has been no conclusion," he told Press TV following the special session.
"The majority of the members of the Board supported the JCPOA, multilateralism and deplored unilateral actions of the US," he added.
The Russian Ambassador to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, also tweeted after the meeting that the US "was practically isolated on this issue".
Ulyanov told the assembled diplomats it was an "oddity" that the meeting had been called by the US, "the country that declared the JCPOA to be a 'terrible deal'".
He said "in practice, it turns out that Washington is aware of the importance of the Plan (JCPOA)."
Also in a statement to the meeting, the UK, France, and Germany said such issues "should be addressed by participants to the JCPOA, including through a meeting of the Joint Commission to be convened urgently."
The E3 at the same time called on Iran to implement its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal in full despite the fact that Iran's decision to reduce its commitments under the deal was made after Europe's failure to live up to its side of the bargain.
The European parties to the JCPOA were supposed to compensate for the US withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 and the impact of its sanctions on the Iranian economy. Back in January, the E3 officially announced a special payment mechanism, known as the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), which was aimed at facilitating trade with Tehran despite the US bans.
However, it took a long time for the trade channel to become fully operational. The first transaction is set to take place soon, but Iran says without injection of sufficient money into the channel, it cannot help the country reap the benefits of the deal."
E3 = Bloody Hypocrites. but 'no conclusion reached' is a win for the Good Guys. woot! sorry bibi, bolton, trump, and pompeo.
i'll be back soon to answer the great comments. toast and 3-loaves-of-bread day are calling my name. ; )
Submitted by QMS on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 8:08am
issues "should be addressed by participants to the JCPOA..."
which discludes the american empire, INC.
Bully for the IAEA to maintain decorum.
At least there is one international agency refusing to roll over.
exactly;
and yes, 'bully on them!'
let's here from FM javad zarif:
31 yrs ago today, US warship shot down #IR655—a passenger jet—over Iran's territorial waters, killing 290 innocents incl 66 children.
US aggression against Iran did not begin with @realdonaldtrump. Courage & foresight—true grit in the face of #B_Team's thirst for war—can end it. pic.twitter.com/1Bu5MIiDpV
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 3, 2019
this i hadn't known:
Bolton & Netanyahu killed Paris agreement between E3 & Iran in '05 by insisting on zero enrichment.
Result? Iran increased its enrichment 100 fold by 2012.
Now they've lured @realDonaldTrump into killing #JCPOA w/the same delusion.#B_Team hasn't learned. BUT THE WORLD SHOULD.
@JZarif
Jul 8 "#B_Team sold @realDonaldTrump on the folly that killing #JCPOA thru #EconomicTerrorism can get him a better deal.
As it becomes increasingly clear that there won't be a better deal, they're bizarrely urging Iran's full compliance. There's a way out, but not with #B_Team in charge"
(in the extra reading i'd provided at the end of the diary.)
Submitted by wendy davis on Thu, 07/11/2019 - 12:32pm
knitting together
pluto's 'The US can be safely written out of the world's future. It serves no one', and 'who will stop the US? those who can and must', i'd remembered this:
'If You Provoke the Entire World, Something May Happen', andre vltchek, july 4, 2019, journal-neo
The United States believes that it is so invincible, exceptional and so frightening that no one would ever dare to protest, let alone defend its people against constant humiliation, economic embargos and military threats.
It used to be like this for quite some time. In the past, the West used to bully the world before and after each well-planned assault. Also, well-crafted propaganda used to be applied.
It was declared that things are done 'legally' and rationally. There were certain stages to colonialist and imperialist attacks: "define your goals", "identify your victim", "plan", "brainwash your own citizens and people all over the world", and then, only then, "bomb some unfortunate country back to the stone ages".
Now, things are slightly different. "The leader of the free world" wakes up in the middle of the night, and he tweets. What comes from his computer, tablet or phone, (or whatever he uses), is spontaneous, unpolished and incredibly dangerous. Similar in substance to what made him wake up in the middle of the night, in a first place."
He has been regularly offending Mexico, and of course Iran, China and Russia.
He basically tells the leader of the most populous nation on earth – China – to "be there", at the G20 Summit, or else.
Whenever he and his lieutenants are in the mood, they get busy antagonizing everyone: Cuba and Nicaragua, DPRK and Venezuela, Bolivia and Syria.
Of course, the main "culprits" are always the 'biggest bad boys', Russia and China.
It was always like this, at least in the modern history of the planet. Colonialism, neo-colonialism, imperialism: they have many different faces but one common root. Root that has been often hidden deep under the surface.
But this time it is all in the open, raw and brutally honest.
The danger is that someone might take Donald Trump seriously, and respond accordingly.
In the past, verbal insults similar to those unleashed now by the US President, could easily have led to a war, or at least to the breaking up of diplomatic relationships.
In case Westerners have not realized it, yet – people all over the world are indignant. I talk to Libyans, Afghans, Iraqis, Venezuelans, Cubans, Iranians: they hate what comes from Washington; hate it with passion. They know that what is being done to them is terrorism, thuggery. But for now, they do not know how to defend themselves. Not yet, but they are thinking.
The entire world now resembles a brutal ghetto, or a slum, where a heavily armed gang controls the streets, and in fact every corner and alley.
At least in the past, subjugated people were able to hide behind decorative words and ideological pirouettes. They were able to 'save their face'. They were sodomized in the name of 'freedom', 'democracy' and 'human rights'. Now, a horrible reality is flying directly into all directions: "You will do as you are told!" "It is us who will decide." "Obey, because we said so". Entire proud nations are being reduced into states of slaves or even worse – lap dogs.
All this may change, soon. Now there is an entire coalition of powerful nations, ready to defend themselves, and also defend each other. Militarily, economically, and ideologically. But the USA and Europe should not take this tolerance for granted. They should not provoke its former and present victims.
there's a lot more, of course. i will say that i truly admire andre vltchek, photo- journalist, historian, and philosopher.
This is a very important read.
Thanks for posting it. Don't let this be the last time you post it. People should read this and understand. Not because it will save us from the insanity of the US Demon State. That would happen only if the American people regained consciousness and could throw off the shackles of their brainwashing — but our collective soul has been flatlined by disinformation for decades. People should read this in order to protect and prepare themselves for grave adversity. So far this year, suicides have broken all records. People know....
i'm glad you found it so
@Pluto's Republic @Pluto's Republic
worthy. when he posts at dissident voice, he's permitted to enter photos of who and what he sees in his epic travels. images for folks like me can act as indelible memories text tries to emulate.
and you're right that there needs to be a massive shift in consciousness, but it's hard to imagine that happening in any meaningful way...until it's too late.
we're told that polls show 'americans don't like war', but 'how important do they rate it?'...is never asked. but sigh; i'll add this new rubbish below, which exemplifies the portions of brooking's the road to persia (on edit; silly woman:
"Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran document/scheme tony cartalucci had provided in one of my diaries on iran.
"At one point in the policy paper, Brookings would state:
The truth is that these all would be challenging cases to make. For that reason, it would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for the airstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.)
Here, Brookings policymakers openly conspire to undermine global peace by "goading" another nation into a war it neither wants nor will benefit from. Provoking a nation that poses no threat to the national security of the United States is a clear violation of international law - with the Brookings paper serving as a literal signed confession.
Yet despite this open admission, conspiring against world peace, what is of more interest is the United States' plans to disavow any responsibility for an attack it would use its regional proxy, Israel, to carry out in its place. It states specifically under a chapter titled, "Allowing or Encouraging an Israeli Military Strike," that:
...the most salient advantage this option has over that of an American air campaign is the possibility that Israel alone would be blamed for the attack. If this proves true, then the United States might not have to deal with Iranian retaliation or the diplomatic backlash that would accompany an American military operation against Iran. It could allow Washington to have its cake (delay Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapon) and eat it, too (avoid undermining many other U.S. regional diplomatic initiatives).
Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 6:52pm
Americans may not have evolved spiritually
...but enough of them have evolved the intellect and distrust to immediately dismiss this kind of bullshit:
...the most salient advantage this option has over that of an American air campaign is the possibility that Israel alone would be blamed for the attack. If this proves true, then the United States might not have to deal with Iranian retaliation or the diplomatic backlash....
A growing swathe of Americans know exactly who is behind these illogical actions and atrocities. They've learned some Italian, too: cui bono?
After such events, the US always casts the first blame — invariably on the party who benefits least from the action.
How stupid is that strategy?
The problem with DC think tanks is that their bubble culture makes these desk jockies slow and clueless. Their adversaries are always way ahead of them. They are getting paid to talk to themselves. That's principally why the US hasn't been able to win a war in seventy years of trying. Not even WWII. They think that killing foreign populations and destroying nations is winning. Sun Tzu would tell them that is the very reason their Empire is stillborn.
#8.1 #8.1
Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 8:47pm
you may be right on that
passage's construct (i'm agnostic), but what i'd meant to be referring to was this portion (and i will say cartalucci's brought several essays featuring that document, iirc):
'The truth is that these all would be challenging cases to make. For that reason, it would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for the airstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.)
in regard to this epic fukkery below: 'After alleged UK tanker incident in Persian Gulf, EU powers threaten Iran', Alex Lantier, wsws.org, 12 July 2019
Submitted by wendy davis on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 8:58am
this is how shooting wars begin:
'After alleged UK tanker incident in Persian Gulf, EU powers threaten Iran', Alex Lantier, wsws.org, 12 July 2019
"US and UK military sources claim that Iranian boats intercepted a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, before a British warship, the HMS Montrose, chased them off.
None of the reports about this incident can be taken at face value. Iran has flatly denied that it took place, and US officials making allegations have not posted videos they claim to have of it.
Wednesday night, European time, US Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban accused Iranian Fast-Attack Craft/Fast Inland-Attack Craft (FAC/FIAC) of harassing the tanker. He stated that the Pentagon was "aware of the reports of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's FAC/FIAC harassment and attempts to interfere with the passage of the UK-flagged merchant vessel British Heritage today near the Strait of Hormuz."
The HMS Montrose "pointed its guns at the Iranian boats," who then allegedly fled. "It was harassment and attempt to interfere with the passage," US military officials contacted by Britain's Independent newspaper said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A UK Ministry of Defense statement alleged: "Contrary to international law, three Iranian vessels attempted to impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the Strait of Hormuz." It said the HMS Montrose "was forced to position herself between the Iranian vessels and British Heritage and issue verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, which then turned away."
the UK will increase its patrols, he then writes of the many op-eds in the german papers calling for an international flotilla to guard against iran's nefarious deeds, "even if it plays into trump's hand"...as well as this:
"It added that London and Paris "also expressed interest in contributing to Sentinel, a maritime partnership designed to enhance security for commercial ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz and other choke points." Both London and Paris declined to comment on this decision, citing the secrecy of special forces operations. Their war drive thus is developing behind the back of the British and French people."
the tehran times has it this way:
"Early on Thursday, two American officials, who were speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, claimed that five boats believed to belong to the IRGC had approached the tanker British Heritage at the northern entrance of the Strait of Hormuz and ordered it to stop."
""Patrols by the IRGC's Navy vessels have been underway in the Persian Gulf based on current procedures and missions assigned to them with vigilance, precision and strength," said the Public Relations Department of the IRGC Navy's Fifth Naval Zone in a statement.
"In the past 24 hours, there has been no encounter with foreign ships, including British ones," it added.
The statement further noted that the IRGC Navy's fifth zone has the power to act "decisively and swiftly" and seize foreign vessels in the area it is tasked with patrolling if an order is issued to that effect."
"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also reacted to the allegations, saying they are merely meant to create tensions.
Those who make such claims attempt to "cover up their weak point," he added. "Apparently the British tanker has passed. What they have said themselves and the claims that have been made are for creating tension and these claims have no value."
small wonder joseph dunsford's twitter account has been archived now that he's the Pentagon's Big Cheese. he's a twitter hashtag now, swear to gawd.
lackey states, puppet states, where will it end? oh, and yesterday: 'Trump threatens new sanctions amid farcical indictment of Iran, Bill Van Auken', wsws.org, 11 July 2019
"Trump made his denunciation of the "terrible deal" on the same day that the US staged a farcical intervention before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria.
The US performance in Vienna provided a revealing exposure of the nature of American "diplomacy," which consists of ultimatums designed only to further the twin aims of regime change and war."
when speaking of dunsford's announcement of a scalable coalition' to 'ensure freedom of navigation of the straits of hormuz:
the "coalition" will consist of just the US and the Persian Gulf Sunni oil sheikdoms led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Mark Esper, Trump's latest acting secretary of defense, raised the prospect of such a coalition last month with Washington's ostensible allies in NATO and was roundly rebuffed."
and the boilerplate 'this military escalation might all lead to a third world war'.
closing time for me;
i need a break, and i have two more episodes of the incomparable 'Treme' to watch; the music, the sashayin' in the second lines, the 'Indian' costumes and 'fights' during mardi gras...my stars.
but let's close with this sam bradley cover; as far as i'm concerned he owns this dylan song now:
next up: the revolutionary zapatistas v. AMLO the fake leftist. (it may be a while; i'm workin' it too hard, as usual.) g' night, all.
Edg, I just realized a point needs to be made.
By: on the cusp