Q&A | Meir Javedanfar: How Israelis (Including Iranian Israelis) Read Iran - Tehran Bureau | FRONTLINE. "Most Iranian Israelis are very pro-Iran, and very anti-regime. " [ interview ]Meir Javedanfar is an Iranian-born Middle East analyst based in Tel Aviv. He specializes in Iranian affairs in areas including intelligence, defense, the economy, and domestic politics. He is the director of the Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company (MEEPAS) and coauthor of The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran, which examines the background of the Iranian president and the country's nuclear program.
In this interview, conducted via Skype, Javedanfar analyzes the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, Israeli public opinion on a possible military strike against Iran, and the views of Iranian Israelis concerning the "nuclear threat" from Tehran. Let's start with the human and societal side, which we hear less about. There's been a recent rise of "Persian pride" in Israel, unfortunately for the wrong reason. People are concerned about another war. Tens Of People Arrested In East & West Azarbaijan Protesting The Drying Up Of Lake Uromieh « persianbanoo. May 22, 2012 Under increased heavy security atmosphere in East and West Azarbaijan, tens of people were arrested by police and Intelligence Ministry in the last two days. Yesterday in Tabriz, during scattered demonstrations protesting drying up of Lake Uromieh, Esrafil Omidi a post graduate student at Shahid Beheshti university in Uromieh and activists Mostafa Avazpour and Ghader Norouzi were arrested.
Also yesterday morning, former secretary of the Azerbaijani Association of Tabriz University, Afsaneh Toughi was arrested inside the university by Intelligence Ministry forces. Akbar Mohajeri, Hassan Mirzakhani and Mohamad Eskandarzadeh were among those arrested in Tabriz yesterday. Security forces arrested the majority of these people by going to their homes without a warrant, performing a search of the home and confiscating personal belongings. Also, on May 20, city of Maragheh political activist Hoosein Ahmadian and Tabriz Bazar businessman Ali Aghazadeh were arrested. Source: HRANA. Navy Strains To Handle Both China And Iran At Once. VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Coping with China and Iran at the same time is stretching the Navy thin, and it will soon have to choose which theater to prioritize, warned Peter Daly, the recently retired admiral who now heads the prestigious US Naval Institute. The Obama administration’s new strategic guidance said the US would boost its presence in the Pacific as it drew down in the Middle East, but subsequent statements have qualified that as a “pivot to Asia.”
The first problem is the force isn’t truly fungible: it’s mainly ground troops coming out of Afghanistan and Iraq, while the Pacific requires mainly ships and long-range airpower. The second problem is that Iran isn’t cooperating. “The annoying realities of the Iranian situation fly in the face of this wonderfully crafted strategy,” Daly said.
Instead of shifting carrier strike groups and other naval forces from the Persian Gulf to the Western Pacific, the Navy is trying to reinforce both at once. 8 LCSs Could Be Based in Gulf, Says U.S. Navy Undersecretary. The U.S. Navy could eventually have a force of eight ships operating from Bahrain if plans to base littoral combat ships (LCS) in the Arabian Gulf continue as envisioned, the service’s No. 2 official said May 21. The Navy has long been planning to operate LCS ships in the gulf, Undersecretary Bob Work told an audience at the Cato Institute in Washington. The ships, able to perform several different missions when fitted out with specialized equipment packages, already are to replace U.S. minesweepers and patrol boats in the region.
The four-ship minesweeper force operating from Bahrain will be doubled by next month when another four ships arrive from the U.S. West Coast, and a total of 10 large patrol boats are eventually to be stationed there. All will ultimately be replaced by LCS ships. Work did not lay out any timetable for LCS deployments, but it is likely to be late this decade before enough LCS ships will be available to be forward-based in the gulf at the eight-ship level. A Peek Inside The CIA, As It Tries To Assess Iran.
Hide captionThe CIA took considerable heat over Iraq, where weapons of mass destruction weren't found. Now, as the agency assesses Iran, it invites an NPR correspondent to its headquarters for a rare chat about the issue. Andrew Harrer/Bllomberg via Getty Images The latest talks in Baghdad over Iran's nuclear program have prompted the usual arguments. Iran says it has only peaceful intentions. Israeli leaders scoff at that claim. The CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies, meanwhile, are sticking with the assessment they made in November 2007, when they reported that Iran "halted its nuclear weapons program" in 2003 and apparently had not restarted it.
The CIA faced criticism 10 years ago for reporting, incorrectly, that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the caution it has shown since its 2007 estimate on Iran reflects lessons learned from its Iraq experience. The CIA's guarded statements on Iran have drawn criticism from conservatives. Former U.N. ISIS Reports › Iran › New Satellite Image Shows Activity at Parchin Site in Iran. By David Albright and Paul Brannan May 8, 2012 Download PDF ISIS has acquired commercial satellite imagery of the Parchin site in Iran showing new activity that substantiates the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) stated concern regarding recent “activity” at the site.
The new activity seen in the satellite image occurred outside a building suspected to contain an explosive chamber used to carry out nuclear weapons related experiments (see figure 1). Iran should immediately allow IAEA inspectors into the Parchin site and allow access to this specific building. Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. 1Fredrik Dahl, U.N. WATCH LIVE! Hisham B. Sharabi Memorial Lecture with Dr. Stephen Walt. Dr. Stephen M. WaltProfessor of International Affairs, Harvard University The Palestine Center Dr. Stephen M. Google to map movements of ships at sea including US Navy.
Search engine has plans to map the entire ocean floor over next five yearsGoogle has spent $3million on satellite technology and claims it is better at tracking ships than most governments By Daily Mail Reporter Published: 03:34 GMT, 18 May 2012 | Updated: 04:24 GMT, 18 May 2012 Google is set to track the world's warships and make the data available to billions of internet users, raising concerns over the security of the American naval fleet. The search engine plans to offer the coordinates and identity of virtually all vessels at sea on Google Maps after spending around $3million on satellite technology.
The company continues to consult with the U.S. Navy over the plans, as well as with the defence departments of countries around the world. Google has claimed that it is better placed to track the military boats than most governments. Ship-shape: Google will soon be able to show the location of every vessel at sea and maps of the ocean floor Military source. Azerbaijan's Navy Exercises Against Enemy Closely Resembling Iran. Map: Interbasin Water Transfers in Iran. The country already has major water transfer projects moving 2,110 million cubic meters (557 billion gallons). Just two weeks ago, Iran began construction on a new $US 1.5 billion project that will transfer more water from the Caspian Sea. Population growth and the uneven distribution of water in Iran will likely create chronic water shortages, according to a 2005 report by the National Research Council.
The report also estimated that Iran’s annual average per capita volume of renewable water will drop from 2,000 cubic meters (528,000 gallons) to below 1,000 cubic meters (264,000 gallons) by 2025. The map below shows Iran’s current water transport projects by volume and location, as well as what the water is being used for. Infographic © Codi Yeager / Circle of Blue Map of interbasin water transfers in Iran. Source: National Research Council. Suleiman Warns Against War with Israel - Middle East. A day after he was barred from the Egyptian presidential race, the country’s former intelligence chief warned Sunday against a win by the extreme Muslim Brotherhood. Former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who was appointed by ex-President Hosni Mubarak as vice president in the dying days of his administration, was one of ten candidates who were barred from running in the May election on Saturday.
The Presidential Elections Commission (PEC) excluded Suleiman allegedly on the basis of the geographical distribution of the signatures on his candidacy registration, according to the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. The regulations call for a candidate's application to include a minimum of 1,000 signatures from 15 separate governorates in order to qualify for the race. On Sunday, according to a report on IDF Radio, Suleiman expressed his fear that Israel will have to invade the Sinai Peninsula if the Muslim Brotherhood ends up winning the presidential election. When the Geo-Politics of Syria or Iran Intervention Get Real. As I mentioned in Top of the Morning, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev issued a stern warning against foreign military intervention in Syria or Iran.
“Hasty military operations in foreign states usually bring radicals to power,” Medvedev, president for four years until Vladimir Putin’s inauguration on May 7, told a conference in St. Petersburg in remarks posted on the government’s website. “At some point such actions which undermine state sovereignty may lead to a full-scale regional war, even, although I do not want to frighten anyone, with the use of nuclear weapons,” Medvedev said. “Everyone should bear this in mind.” Last month, I visited Georgia and met with government officials in Tblisi. For them, Russian geopolitics is a day-to-day worry. Russia currently occupies about 25% of their land. You may think that this all sounds conspiracy minded.
Iran reveals details of a newfound oil field in Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan, Baku, May 17 /Trend D.Khatinoglu, M. Moezzi/ The details of a newly discovered big oil field in Caspian Sea have been announced, Mehr news agency reports. The announcement was made by Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi as he visited the Amir Kabir semi-submersible drilling platform. Iran first discovered the new oil field on May 10. The reserves have been found at a depth of 2,460 meters. Rostam Qasemi said earlier that the first "oil" torch will be sparked on the "Amir Kabir" platform (Alborz). Qasemi said that a field with gas reserves amounting to 50 trillion cubic feet (more than 1.4 trillion cubic meters) and oil - 10 billion barrels was discovered in the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea in December 2011. The deposit called "Sardar Milli" is located 188 kilometers to the north of the coast of Gilan province and 250 kilometers north-west of the Neka port.
Do you have any feedback? Nuclear infowar: New ‘evidence’ of Iran’s nuclear ambitions as Vienna talks approach. The Iran Crisis Sigils. Israel and Iran: The Grounds for an Israeli Attack. Editor’s note: This article is one of two debating the necessity of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear project. The other, by Robert Wexler, argues that “An Attack Might Be Necessary, but Not Yet.” A broad international coalition agrees that Iran must freeze its nuclear weapons program and may not develop either of the ingredients—sufficient highly enriched uranium and a usable warhead and delivery system—that could result in a bomb for the Islamic Republic. The International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors, the UN Security Council, and the governments of almost every influential country—including the United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France, acting as the P5+1 negotiating group—have not only reached consensus on this demand but acted upon it.
Increasingly tough sanctions have been imposed on Iran to force it to stop what is obviously a military program aimed at building a usable nuclear weapon. Related Essay Are the Mullahs Losing Their Grip on Tehran? Iran finance minister: 'Rest assured' record oil prices over nuclear sanctions. Yukiya Amano, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will fly to Iran Sunday. Iran's finance minister tells CNN that oil prices could rise as high as $160 a barrel"Rest assured there will be a considerable increase," the minister saysThe chief of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency is heading to Iran for talksG8 leaders urge Iran to cooperate with inspectors (CNN) -- Iran's finance minister believes oil prices could rise as high as $160 a barrel thanks to sanctions over its nuclear program, a prediction that comes just as the chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency headed to Tehran on Sunday for high-level talks.
"We must pay close attention when we speak of oil revenues and sanctions against oil sales, who are the winners and the losers of such sanctions? " Shamseddin Hosseini told CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" in an interview that airs Sunday. "Indeed, it is difficult. But not just for Iran. The Iran Crisis Sigils. Israel inches closer to compromise on Iran uranium enrichment, officials say. Tensions Between Iran and West To Keep Oil Prices High.
Maral Pourkazemi | The Iranian Internet. Israel Gets Nuke-Capable Submarine | Defense. An official ceremony to hand over to Israel a Dolphin-class submarine, which can carry nuclear weapons, was held on Thursday in the German city of Kiel. The German-made submarine, named Tanin ("alligator" in Hebrew), is due to enter service in 2013, when all tests are completed. The Tanin is the fourth submarine of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and one of the country’s most expensive defense contracts. Its construction costs are estimated at $500 million, with one third being subsidized by the German government. "The Navy and the submarine fleet constitute a deterrent, protective and strategic arm for the IDF and for the State of Israel," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during the ceremony. A fifth submarine for the IDF is currently in the final stages of construction and is due to enter service in 2014. Two months ago, Israel and Germany have signed a deal to build the sixth submarine, due to be completed by 2017.
Moscow conference warns of West playing with Iran's nuclear card. Iran Special: Photoshop Propaganda With Lots of Missiles (and Jar Jar Binks!) Mosaic Special: Iran and the Nuclear Threat · LinkTV. Gulf Bloc United Over Island Dispute With Iran. Nation & World | Iran FM warns over escalation of Gulf island spat. SocGen Lays It Out: "EU Iran Embargo: Brent $125-150. Straits Of Hormuz Shut: $150-200" Iran Oil Power Declining as Explorers Increase Spending: Energy. Pimco's 4 "Iran Invasion" Oil Price Scenarios: From $140 To "Doomsday" Playing ‘What If?’ with Oil Prices and a Potential Strike on Iranian Nuclear Facilities.
Tactics and Strategy at the Strait of Hormuz.