Armada of British naval power massing in the Gulf as Israel prepares an Iran strike
An armada of US and British naval power is massing in the Persian Gulf in the belief that Israel is considering a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s covert nuclear weapons programme.
10:00PM BST 15 Sep 2012
Battleships, aircraft carriers, minesweepers and submarines from 25 nations are converging on the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in an unprecedented show of force as Israel and Iran move towards the brink of war.
Western leaders are convinced that Iran will retaliate to any attack by attempting to mine or blockade the shipping lane through which passes around 18 million barrels of oil every day, approximately 35 per cent of the world’s petroleum traded by sea.
A blockade would have a catastrophic effect on the fragile economies of Britain, Europe the United States and Japan, all of which rely heavily on oil and gas supplies from the Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most congested international waterways. It is only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point and is bordered by the Iranian coast to the north and the United Arab Emirates to the south.
In preparation for any pre-emptive or retaliatory action by Iran, warships from more than 25 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will today begin an annual 12-day exercise.
The war games are the largest ever undertaken in the region.
They will practise tactics in how to breach an Iranian blockade of the strait and the force will also undertake counter-mining drills.
The multi-national naval force in the Gulf includes three US Nimitz class carrier groups, each of which has more aircraft than the entire complement of the Iranian air force.
The carriers are supported by at least 12 battleships, including ballistic missile cruisers, frigates, destroyers and assault ships carrying thousand of US Marines and special forces.
The British component consists of four British minesweepers and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Cardigan Bay, a logistics vessel. HMS Diamond, a brand-new £1billion Type 45 destroyer, one of the most powerful ships in the British fleet, will also be operating in the region.
In addition, commanders will also simulate destroying Iranian combat jets, ships and coastal missile batteries.
In the event of war, the main threat to the multi-national force will come from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps navy, which is expected to adopt an “access-denial” strategy in the wake of an attack, by directly targeting US warships, attacking merchant shipping and mining vital maritime chokepoints in the Persian Gulf.
Defence sources say that although Iran’s capability may not be technologically sophisticated, it could deliver a series of lethal blows against British and US ships using mini-subs, fast attack boats, mines and shore-based anti-ship missile batteries.
Next month, Iran will stage massive military manoeuvres of its own, to show that it is prepared to defend its nuclear installations against the threat of aerial bombardment.
The exercise is being showcased as the biggest air defence war game in the Islamic Republic’s history, and will be its most visible response yet to the prospect of an Israeli military strike.
Using surface-to-air missiles, unmanned drones and state-of-the-art radar, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and air force will combine to test the defences of 3,600 sensitive locations throughout the country, including oil refineries and uranium enrichment facilities.
Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya air defence base, told a conference this month that the manoeuvres would “identify vulnerabilities, try out new tactics and practise old ones”.
At the same time as the Western manoeuvres in the Gulf, the British Response Task Forces Group — which includes the carrier HMS Illustrious, equipped with Apache attack helicopters, along with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle - will be conducting a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean. The task force could easily be diverted to the Gulf region via the Suez Canal within a week of being ordered to do so.
The main naval exercise comes as President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, today to discuss the Iranian crisis.
Many within the Obama administration believe that Israel will launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities before the US presidential elections, an act which would signal the failure of one of Washington’s key foreign policy objectives.
Both Downing Street and Washington hope that the show of force will demonstrate to Iran that Nato and the West will not allow President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader, to develop a nuclear armoury or close Hormuz.
Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, reportedly met the Israeli prime minister and Ehud Barak, his defence secretary, two weeks ago in an attempt to avert military action against Iran.
But just last week Mr Netanyahu signalled that time for a negotiated settlement was running out when he said: “The world tells Israel 'Wait, there’s still time.’ And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?’
“Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”
The crisis hinges on Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme, which Israel believes is designed to build an atomic weapon. Tehran has long argued that the programme is for civil use only and says it has no plans to an build a nuclear bomb, but that claim has been disputed by the West, with even the head of MI6 stating that the Islamic Republic is on course to develop atomic weapons by 2014.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been disputed territory, with the Iranians claiming control of the region and the entire Persian Gulf.
Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps recently boasted that “any plots of enemies” would be foiled and a heavy price exacted, adding: “We determine the rules of military conflict in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”
But Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, warned that Iranian attempts to exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz could be met with force.
He said: “The Iranians need to understand that the United States and the international community are going to hold them directly responsible for any disruption of shipping in that region — by Iran or, for that matter, by its surrogates.”
Mr Panetta said that the United States was “fully prepared for all contingencies” and added: “We’ve invested in capabilities to ensure that the Iranian attempt to close down shipping in the Gulf is something that we are going to be able to defeat if they make that decision.”
That announcement was supported by Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, who added: “We are determined to work as part of the international community effort to ensure freedom of passage in the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.”
One defence source told The Sunday Telegraph last night: “If it came to war, there would be carnage. The Iranian casualties would be huge but they would be able to inflict severe blows against the US and British.
“The Iranian Republican Guard are well versed in asymmetrical warfare and would use swarm attacks to sink or seriously damage ships. This is a conflict nobody wants, but the rhetoric from Israel is unrelenting.”
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According to documents of the Illuminati from the early 1900's, they intended WW1, 2, and now intend a thermonuclear war to erase the world populations while the elites hide underground to emerge as wannabe Gods. They are currently afraid that their monopoly on power will soon be brought down as the world awakens to their insanity, but i suspect that by time we all do something useful, it will be too late.
Let us all pray that the mad Zionists and insane globalists are stopped from their evil plans.
Scores of black-clad female "ninja" fighters whose ages range from 5 to 56 are just a handful of 3,000 women in Iran who are being trained as lethal warriors at a school in Tehran.
"We train women to have strength and ability. We have to do everything in our power to protect our homeland," said Akbar Faraji, who runs the school.
One of the fighters who has been training for over 13 years said, "Our aim is for Iranian women to be strengthened and if a problem arises, we will definitely declare our readiness to defend our Islamic homeland."
Iran has proclaimed advances in nuclear technology, including new centrifuges able to enrich uranium, a move that has heightened its confrontation with the West over suspicions it is planning to make nuclear weapons.
On Friday, the Home Secretary, William Hague told The Telegraph that Iran's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction could trigger a “new Cold War.”
By Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor
3:20PM BST 07 May 2012
Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, indicated that India could face sanctions if it does not halt the trade by the end of next month during a visit to Calcutta and New Delhi.
She said India could buy its oil requirements from other countries and pointedly declined to offer an exemption if it does not meet next month's deadline.
The pressure will intensify further next month when it's special envoy for energy Carlos Pasqat will visit to assess whether it has sufficiently reduced its Iranian imports.
Washington's demands have put a strain on its relationship with India, forcing Dr Manmohan Singh's weak government to choose between its new 'strategic partnership' with the United States and it's 'civilisational links' with Iran.
Iran is regarded as India's gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia and remains its second largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia.
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25 Apr 2012The enduring nature of its relationship with Tehran was highlighted yesterday as leaders of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce welcomed an Iranian trade delegation while Mrs Clinton was in the capital to meet the prime minister.
Its visit is aimed at finding new payment mechanisms to evade EU and US sanctions, including increased Indian exports to Iran to pay for its oil imports. Iran recently agreed to accept Indian Rupees in payment for almost half India's imports.
India has reduced its oil imports from Iran in recent months to below nine per cent, but it's fast-growing economy is already constrained by fuel and power shortages – officials say it could not rapidly reduce its imports from Tehran without a political and economic blowback.
Washington has acknowledged India's efforts to reduce its dependence, but will not commit to allowing India the same exemption to forthcoming sanctions it has granted to Japan.
In Calcutta Mrs Clinton declined to offer India any comfort on the issue. "If there weren't an adequate supply ... we would understand, but we believe that there is adequate supply," she said.
"We believe, at this moment in time, the principle threat is a nuclear-armed Iran. We need India to be part of the international effort," she added.
But when asked if India might be given the same exemption granted to Japan, she said it was too early to consider.
One senior Indian businessman, a key figure in energy trade with Iran, said he believes the government will seek to meet US demands, but could not go as far as Washington has demanded.
"I can't see India completely walking away from doing business with Iran. They might quietly reduce, but they can't stop, both for political and practical reasons," he said.
Several vital Indian oil refineries, including those at Madras and Mangalore, were designed and built with Iranian investment specifically to refine Iranian crude, and it would not be possible for them to process oil from other sources, he said.
Israel Provides “Intelligence” That May Prompt US to Join Iranian S...
Susanne Posel
Infowars.com
September 15, 2012
Angelina Jolie, member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations has arrived in Syria to survey the destruction caused by the proxy war created by the US and Israel; as well as confirm that there is a need for the continued supply and support of the CIA-sponsored Free Syrian Army (FSA).
It is expected that Jolie’s envoy will meet with Assad. Lakhdar Brahimi, UN diplomat travelling with Jolie, has replaced Kofi Annan and expects this mission to be “very difficult”.
In the manufactured war concocted in Syria, al-Qaeda has become a US asset . Using advanced tactics in terrorism and suicide bombers, as well as recruiting young and impressionable men to fight with the FSA.
Mainstream media is declaring that the Syrian government is weakening because they are preparing heavy artillery such as military aircraft, helicopters and tanks. The Obama administration is behind the propaganda, with Jeffrey White, fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (a globalist-controlled think-tank) and veteran of the US Defense Intelligence Agency saying that “[Assad does not] have enough combat maneuver units to deal with the rebellion.”
The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided that credible intelligence coming from Israel that Iran has advanced their work on nuclear technology and are calculating their “destructive power” through computer models – and have for the last 3 years. IAEA is now convinced that Iran will have nuclear capability by November.
The Obama administration is hoping to exact some pressure on China and Russia to persuade them to stop supporting Iran militarily. In a bogus resolution, combined with influence from Israel, the Obama administration is feigning diplomatic talks, while the persistence of Zionist-controlled Israel demands violent strike against Iran.
Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State has met with her counterparts representing Germany, China, Britain and France to negotiate a secret deal. Behind closed doors, these nations are unifying against Iran.
David Albright, member of the Institute for Science and International Security, which is a globalist think-tank that has strong influence over Congress and various forms of the US government, has voiced that the US government would “want to have a theoretical understanding of the working of a nuclear weapon that is then related to the experiments you do on the various components.” Albright goes on to say that “the two go hand-in-hand.”
Based on this new “evidence” provided by the Zionist-controlled Israeli government, a military strike against Iran appears to be imminent.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, has asserted that the US has “no right to stop” Israel from striking Iran. Netanyahu declared: “The world tells Israel ‘wait, there’s still time’. And I say, ‘Wait for what? Wait until when?’ Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”
According to the Key Judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s Nuclear Activity published in 2007, Iran was cited as “halting its nuclear weapons program” while “keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons.” This ending of Iran’s endeavors for nuclear weapons was prompted by a “response to international pressure”.
Even the US State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research concluded that “Iran is unlikely to achieve this capability before 2013.”
Netanyahu is publicly becoming tired with the Obama administrations want to pursue diplomacy with Iran. Clinton has explained that the US will not “set a deadline” on talk with Iran, while Netanyahu is calling for a military strike before US November elections.
And then suddenly the “intelligence” appears that would be the decision maker between going to war and continuing talks.
Leon Panetta, US Defense Secretary, asserted that if Iran were to develop a nuclear weapon, the US would have less than 12 months to make a choice about attacking. Panetta said: “It’s roughly about a year right now. A little more than a year. And so … we think we will have the opportunity once we know that they’ve made that decision, take the action necessary to stop (Iran).”
Netanyahu clearly says that: “If Iran knows that there is no deadline, what will it do? Exactly what it’s doing. It’s continuing, without any interference, towards obtaining a nuclear weapons capability and from there, nuclear bombs.”
Jay Carney, White House spokesperson, explains that “the line is the president is committed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and he will use every tool in the arsenal of American power to achieve that goal.”
Dan Shapiro, US Ambassador and Netanyahu minced words over Netanyahu’s frustration with Obama’s Iranian policy.
However, this tiff is part of the propaganda surrounding Iran and the US/Israeli attack on the sovereign nation. Behind closed doors, Obama and Netanyahu have laid out plans to use military and propaganda to justify and cover their agenda against Iran.
In their scenario, Obama will request permission of Congress in writing for the of use military force against Iran in response to their alleged nuclear weapons program.
Regardless of his obtaining approval from Congress, Obama will go ahead with the plans to attack Iran.
Obama has agreed to speak in Israel just weeks before the US elections wherein he will promise the US military to Israel’s plan to attack Iran. Paralleling this strategy, the federal intelligence and surveillance agencies in the US will be “upgraded” so that regardless of who is elected this November, the US government will be equipped with the necessary resources to attack Iran.
This scheme is scheduled for the spring of 2013.
Susanne Posel’s website is Occupy Corporatism.
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
September 16, 2012
Following a story published in The Telegraph reporting an armada of U.S. and British ships amassing in the Persian Gulf, a top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned Sunday that “nothing will remain” of Israel if his country is attacked.Continued below.
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“Our response to Israel is clear: I think nothing will remain of Israel (should it attack Iran). Given Israel’s small land area and its vulnerability to a massive volume of Iran’s missiles, I don’t think any spot in Israel will remain safe,” said Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafar.
He also said Iran would close down the Strait of Hormuz, strike U.S. bases in the Middle East, and withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“The US military bases sprawled around Iran are considered a big vulnerability. Even the missile shields that they have set up, based on information we have, could only work for a few missiles but when exposed to a massive volume of missiles, the shields will lose their efficiency and will not work,” he explained.
According to The Telegraph, leaders in the West are certain Iran will move to close down the Strait of Hormuz if its nuclear facilities are attacked. Approximately 35 per cent of the world’s oil supply currently moves through the Strait.
“If a war breaks out where one side is Iran and the other side is the West and U.S., it’s natural that a problem should occur in the Strait of Hormuz. Export of energy will be harmed. It’s natural that this will happen,” said Ali Jaffer.
The Telegraph says Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps navy will use an “access-denial” strategy and directly target warships and attack merchant shipping.
The newspaper reports warships from more than 25 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, began a 12-day exercise on Saturday in the Gulf. The multi-national force includes three US Nimitz class carrier groups hosting more aircraft than Iran’s entire air force.
The war game is the largest ever conducted in the region. It will concentrate on breaking an Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and perform drills to counter Iranian mining.
In October, Iran will stage its own exercises in the Persian Gulf to demonstrate its ability to defend the country against the threat of attack. Iran is showcasing the exercise as the “biggest air defense war game in the Islamic Republic’s history, and will be its most visible response yet to the prospect of an Israeli military strike,” according to The Telegraph.
During the exercise, Iran will use aerial drones, surface-to-air missiles, and radar described as state-of-the-art. In an effort to ward off an Israeli air attack, the Revolutionary Guard will test the defenses of 3,600 strategic locations around the country.
Sources inside the Obama administration believe an attack is inevitable and will come prior to the election in November.
In late August, it was reported that Israel will strike Iran before the election. Alon Ben-David, described by the Daily Mail as a well-informed military correspondent for Israel’s Channel 10 News, claimed that Israel was “closer than ever” to a strike against Iran.
Published on Sep 14, 2012 by CaptainTripps2010
Wars and rumors of wars keeps the railroads busy these days. This train has a load of tanks but the destination is unknown.
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis.
Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over the public. Such incidents may occur after a coup d’état (such as Thailand in 2006); when threatened by popular protest (China, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989); to suppress political opposition (Poland in 1981); to stabilize insurrections or perceived insurrections (Canada, The October Crisis of 1970). Martial law may be declared in cases of major natural disasters, however most countries use a different legal construct, such as a state of emergency.
Martial law has also been imposed during conflicts and in cases of occupations, where the absence of any other civil government provides for an unstable population. Examples of this form of military rule include post World War II reconstruction in Germany and Japan as well as the southern reconstruction following the U.S. Civil War.
Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews, the suspension of civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians. Civilians defying martial law may be subjected to military tribunal (court-martial).
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012[1] was signed into United States law on December 31, 2011, by President Barack Obama.
The Act authorizes $662 billion in funding, among other things “for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad.” In a signing statement, President Obama described the Act as addressing national security programs, Department of Defense health care costs, counter-terrorism within the U.S. and abroad, and military modernization. The Act also imposes new economic sanctions against Iran (section 1045), commissions appraisals of the military capabilities of countries such as Iran, China, and Russia, and refocuses the strategic goals of NATO towards “energy security.” The Act also increases pay and healthcare costs for military service members and gives governors the ability to request the help of military reservists in the event of a hurricane, earthquake, flood, terrorist attack or other disaster.
The most controversial provisions to receive wide attention were contained in Title X, Subtitle D, entitled “Counter-Terrorism.” In particular, sub-sections 1021 and 1022, which deal with detention of persons the government suspects of involvement in terrorism. The controversy was to their legal meaning and potential implications for abuse of Presidential authority. Although the White House and Senate sponsors maintain that the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) already grants presidential authority for indefinite detention, the Act states that Congress “affirms” this authority and makes specific provisions as to the exercise of that authority. The detention provisions of the Act have received critical attention by, among others, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, and some media sources which are concerned about the scope of the President’s authority, including contentions that those whom they claim may be held indefinitely could include U.S. citizens arrested on American soil, including arrests by members of the Armed Forces.
The bill passed the House 283 to 136.
In May 2012 federal court issued a preliminary injunction which temporarily blocked the indefinite detention powers of the NDAA for American citizens (section 1021) on the grounds of unconstitutionality. On August 6, 2012 federal prosecutors representing President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta filed a notice of appeal with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals hoping to eliminate the ban. The following day, arguments from both sides were heard by Judge Forrest during a hearing to make her injunction permanent. On September 13, 2012, Judge Forrest affirmed her earlier ruling, making the block permanent. The permanent block was appealed by the Obama Administration on September 14, 2012
Iran Responds to Massive U.S. Armada Gathering in the Persian Gulf
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
September 16, 2012
Following a story published in The Telegraph reporting an armada of U.S. and British ships amassing in the Persian Gulf, a top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned Sunday that “nothing will remain” of Israel if his country is attacked.
“Our response to Israel is clear: I think nothing will remain of Israel (should it attack Iran). Given Israel’s small land area and its vulnerability to a massive volume of Iran’s missiles, I don’t think any spot in Israel will remain safe,” said Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafar.
He also said Iran would close down the Strait of Hormuz, strike U.S. bases in the Middle East, and withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“The US military bases sprawled around Iran are considered a big vulnerability. Even the missile shields that they have set up, based on information we have, could only work for a few missiles but when exposed to a massive volume of missiles, the shields will lose their efficiency and will not work,” he explained.
According to The Telegraph, leaders in the West are certain Iran will move to close down the Strait of Hormuz if its nuclear facilities are attacked. Approximately 35 per cent of the world’s oil supply currently moves through the Strait.
“If a war breaks out where one side is Iran and the other side is the West and U.S., it’s natural that a problem should occur in the Strait of Hormuz. Export of energy will be harmed. It’s natural that this will happen,” said Ali Jaffer.
The Telegraph says Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps navy will use an “access-denial” strategy and directly target warships and attack merchant shipping.
The newspaper reports warships from more than 25 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, began a 12-day exercise on Saturday in the Gulf. The multi-national force includes three US Nimitz class carrier groups hosting more aircraft than Iran’s entire air force.
The war game is the largest ever conducted in the region. It will concentrate on breaking an Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and perform drills to counter Iranian mining.
In October, Iran will stage its own exercises in the Persian Gulf to demonstrate its ability to defend the country against the threat of attack. Iran is showcasing the exercise as the “biggest air defense war game in the Islamic Republic’s history, and will be its most visible response yet to the prospect of an Israeli military strike,” according to The Telegraph.
During the exercise, Iran will use aerial drones, surface-to-air missiles, and radar described as state-of-the-art. In an effort to ward off an Israeli air attack, the Revolutionary Guard will test the defenses of 3,600 strategic locations around the country.
Sources inside the Obama administration believe an attack is inevitable and will come prior to the election in November.
In late August, it was reported that Israel will strike Iran before the election. Alon Ben-David, described by the Daily Mail as a well-informed military correspondent for Israel’s Channel 10 News, claimed that Israel was “closer than ever” to a strike against Iran.