Archive for August, 2007
Ahmadinejad asked the western powers that threatning Iran won’t work as it is a nuclear Iran. He seemed conscious of the possible interpretations of his statement, and added that a nuclear Iran implies that it it has mastered the entire nuclear fuel cylcle.
In a way, Ahmadinejad was again trying to use the nuclear leverage. Their is a pattern to his statements, after every hard-hitting statement there is one customary message of peace, and there was one here too. He insisted that Iran would pursue its nuclear program through peaceful expedients.
‘’Today, Iran is a nuclear Iran,'’ Ahmadinejad told a press conference in Tehran. ‘’That means, it fully possesses the whole nuclear fuel cycle.'’[source]
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a deviation from the foreign policy of his predecessor, has clearly stated that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable. He went a step furrther and warned Iran of international military actions, if the obstinate Ahmadinejad regime did not mellow down.
It is not certain if France would be part of any such military actions. Nonetheless, strong words from the French President. Sarkozy’s statement can’t be taken as an effort to befriend the U.S. He was just trying to set the record straight and tell Iran that France would not implore the international community to hold back militarily.
Sarkozy is now beginning to outline a definite foreign policy for his government. This is crucial as many were left scrathing their heads over a possible French policy when he rose to power.
“An Iran with nuclear arms is, to me, unacceptable, and I am weighing my words.” Sarkozy told members of France’s diplomatic corps on August 27. “And I underline France’s full determination to support the alliance’s current policy of increasing sanctions, but also to remain open if Iran makes the choice to fulfill its obligations. This policy is the only one that will allow us to escape an alternative, which I consider to be catastrophic. Which alternative? An Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran”[source]
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The U.S think tank is giving finishing touches to the imminent ban on Iran’s Republican Gurad Corps. However, the dark clouds of a possible ban haven’t been able to drive the Iranians into a shell and they continue to talk tough.
Earlier, the head of the Republican Guards had looked unphased by the ban and now Ahmadinejad is looking unperturbed. He has said that an action against the Iranian nation will get a proper response.
He also stated that it is highly unlikely that the Americans would take such an illogical step. At first, the ban sounds a little outrageous to many, not becuase it is illogical but unprecedented. It is a great alternative to war itself.
“They know that any action against the Iranian nation would be faced with a proper response,” Ahmadinejad, himself a former Guards commander, told a news conference[source]
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The Iranian Revolutionary Guards that valiantly defended the country against Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war have evolved into a political and financial power. They reportedly hold a stranglehold on the countries key industries like construction with a market cap (a term generally not used for a military force) of $12 billion dollars. Its political muscle has also bulged with 2 out of every three members of Ahmadinejad’s cabinet being ex-Guard members. Ex-Guard members are present in political corridors in huge numbers.
They seemed to be above any economic watch-dog in the country. Their political and economic might means that they can act autonomously. The huge corpus of funds might just be used to furnish weapons to the Iraqi insurgents and renegade groups like the Mahdi Army. So, the stablization of Iraq might only be possible if the insurgents stop getting monetary support and arms from foreign agencies like the IRG. For this to happen IRG’s economic and political might will have to wane quickly, which is highly unlikely as only the Iranian government can do that and not the international community.
Iranian officials have disclosed an estimated $6 billion in contracts the Revolutionary Guard has received over the years — a figure equivalent to one-tenth of Iran’s annual exports of $66.7 billion, mainly oil. The nation’s annual gross domestic product is about $204 billion, unadjusted for cost of living. [source]
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Iran has announced that it will start the production of 2,000 pound smart bombs. Smart bombs are sophsticated bombs dropped from a Jet plane that can strike within inches of a target. Iranian Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najar announced the mass production of smart bombs on Iran’s state-run broadcaster.
A video of the bombs being dropped onto land targets from a Jet were also shown on Iranian State television. This is an important development as the pin-point accuracy of smart bombs can prove effective in extirpating key land targets.
Iran seems to be preparing itself for any situation, even war. If Ahmadinejad continues with his puerile statements and maintains the ungainly stance on the nuclear issue then a conflict looks imminent.
The bomb “remarkably increases Iran’s defense capabilities,” Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Iranian state television.[source]
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Major Gen Rick Lynch, a high ranking U.S military official in Iraq has said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has about 20 of its elite members operating in Central Iraq. They are part of a drive to boost insurgent activity in Iraq.
He also gave account of numerous instances when Iranian made weapons were found in Iran. These weapons include rockets, armor piercing explosives (or ELFs) and mines. The U.S army has enough evidence to be conviced about the Iranian origins of these weapons.
These Iranian weapons are normally used by the Mahdi army, a Shi’ite rebel group. But some Sunni groups also have access to them.
Tool markings and other manufacturing evidence left no doubt that the components for the captured weapons were made in Iran, he said. [source]
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An Iranian MP who is also a memeber of Iranian Parliament’s National Foreign Policy and Security Commission, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said that a double-edged report would not augur well for Iran-IAEA bilateral ties. He was referring to the report that IAEA Director-General Mohammed ELbaradei will submit to the IAEA next week.
The M.P felt that a realistic report would be conducive to the Iran-IAEA relations, and might help Iran to start talks with the group of five permanent Security Council members and Germany.
If IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei ignores Iran’s cooperation in regards to its peaceful nuclear case and presents a double-edged report to the agency next week, bilateral cooperation between Iran and the agency will suffer, Falahatpisheh said. [source]
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If you thought that Ahmadinejad alone admonished countries about dire consequences then, you were wrong. Even the Exchange Deputy of the Iran Central Bank has taken a leaf out of his obstreperous President’s book.
Mohammad Ja’far Mojjarad warned German Banks to consider their next steps carefully.
The B.B.C. Network News wrote in a report titled, “the warning of the Exchange Deputy of the Central Bank of Iran to the German banks” Mohammad Ja’far Mojjarad has warned the German banks that the interruption of interaction with Iran could, in long term, result in unpleasant aftermath for them. [source]
Under U.S pressure banks across the world have lessened their involvement with Iran. Many European banks have ceased dollar transactions with Iran, and another German bank—Dresdner Bank—also followed suit. This is the third instance of a German bank putting a lid on its relations with Iran. However, Mojjarad added that Iran is overoming this financial ostracisation.
Mohammad-Jaafar Mojarrad also said yesterday that the Iranian government’s “prudent” fiscal policy was stabilising Iran’s macro-economic outlook. His comments came as a third German bank, Dresdner Bank, announced it was cutting links with the country[source]
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