11/1/08

Iran Accuses US of Faking Persian Gulf Video
New York Times – United States
The United States Navy released this photograph of a speedboat suspected of being from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy maneuvering near three Navy warships …
www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/world/middleeast/10ir
an.html?bl&ex=1200200400&en=ab0fa0fbe1b14f9c&ei=5087%0A

ElBaradei arrives in Iran to discuss remaining questions over nuke …
Jerusalem Post – Israel
By AP Chief of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei arrived in Teheran early Friday for further discussions concerning Iran’s disputed nuclear program. …
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=11999648
95568&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Spate of Executions and Amputations in Iran
New York Times – United States
By NAZILA FATHI TEHRAN — Using strict enforcement of Islamic law, the judicial authorities in a restive region of southern Iran amputated the right hands …
www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world
/middleeast/11iran.html?ref=middleeast

Iran’s dangerous move in the Persian Gulf
San Francisco Chronicle – CA, USA
The recent harassment of US ships by Iranian speedboats in the Persian Gulf has threatened to turn the tense relationship between the United States and Iran …
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f
=/c/a/2008/01/10/EDUPUD2P2.DTL

Iran hits back over warship claims
Financial Times – London,England,UK
By Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran Iran yesterday hit back at claims that its boats had threatened US warships in the Strait of Hormuz, releasing a video that …
www.ft.com/cms/s/6fa07716-bfe7-11dc-8052-0000779fd2ac.html

Iran hits back over Gulf ‘confrontation’
Telegraph.co.uk – United Kingdom
By Damien McElroy America issued a formal diplomatic protest yesterday over its claims that Iranian boats threatened to blow up a US naval patrol in the …
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml
?xml=/news/2008/01/11/wiran111.xml

UN Nuclear Chief Arrives in Iran
The Associated Press –
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The head of the UN nuclear watchdog began a two-day visit early Friday to discuss Iranian compliance with international demands over the …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iRqjZV1
Meppj40hTs8IBOv4DdsQwD8U3BUJG0

US makes official protest to Iran over ship incident
AFP –
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States on Thursday made a formal protest to Tehran over a weekend incident in which Iranian speedboats swarmed around US …
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jijdkVCSA1GnbSnrcl5-BCvwhpsw

Military option against Iran persists
Jewish Telegraphic Agency – New York,NY,USA
Israel and the United States have not eliminated the military option against Iran, a senior Israeli official said. Briefing journalists Thursday on …
www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/106337.html

Iran Daily Opinion Service 11 January
By Michael Veiluva
President Bush is in the Middle East to shore up the dissipating coalition to isolate Iran and ostensibly to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine. However, since he is only meeting with Abbas of the Palestine Authority, …
disarmamentactivist.org/2008/01/10/
iran-daily-opinion-service-11-january/

10/1/08

Iran refutes U.S allegations with video evidence 10 Jan 2008
Iran has shown its own video of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz, in a bid to counter Pentagon accusations that Iranian troops had threatened to blow up American vessels. The footage was released by the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian force involved in the incident, to contradict Pentagon charges that Iranian speedboats swarmed around U.S warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, radioing a threat to blow them up. The Revolutionary Guard had said the day earlier that the film released by the Pentagon was a bad fake, with the sound and image not properly synchronised.
feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=316827

Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel 10 Jan 2008
Despite the official and media portrayal of the incident in the Strait of Hormuz early Monday morning as a serious threat to U.S. ships from Iranian speedboats that nearly resulted in a “battle at sea”, new information over the past three days suggests that the incident did not involve such a threat and that no U.S. commander was on the verge of firing at the Iranian boats. The new information that appears to contradict the original version of the incident includes the revelation that U.S. officials spliced the audio recording of an alleged Iranian threat onto to a videotape of the incident. That suggests that the threatening message may not have come in immediately after the initial warning to Iranian boats from a U.S. warship, as appears to do on the video.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40747

Iran Airs Video Of Ship Incident As US Fleet Unsure Threat Was Iranian
Tehran (AFP) Jan 10, 2008 – Iran on Thursday aired its own video of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz with US warships, as the US Fifth Fleet raised doubts whether a radioed threat came from Iranian speedboats. The United States, meanwhile, made a formal protest over the weekend incident in which Iranian speedboats swarmed around US warships in the Strait of Hormuz entrance to the Gulf. In a bid to counter earlie …
www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_Airs_Video_Of_Ship_In
cident_As_US_Fleet_Unsure_Threat_Was_Iranian_999.html

All options on table’ to stop nuclear Iran: Israel
Jerusalem (AFP) Jan 10, 2008 – Israel is keeping all options on the table if economic and diplomatic pressure fails to halt archfoe Iran’s nuclear programme, Israel’s ambassador to the United States said on Thursday. “In assessing the threat from Iran we see in sync and think similarly. Both America and Israel understand the severity of the threat, the implication of the threat if it grows,” Israel’s US Ambassador Sallai
www.spacewar.com/reports/All_options_on_
table_to_stop_nuclear_Iran_Israel_999.html

Iranian TV airs video of Gulf standoff
Associated Press, YNetNews 1/10/2008
Iran airs footage of its boats, US naval ships in Persian Gulf in apparent attempt to show there was no confrontation between vessels – Iran aired video Thursday of its boats and US naval ships in the Persian Gulf in an apparent attempt to show that there was no confrontation between the vessels. The grainy five-minute, 20-second video — without sound or narration — showed a man speaking into a handheld radio, with three US ships floating in the distance. It appeared to be shot from a small boat bobbing at least 100 yards from the American vessels The footage did not show any Iranian boats approaching the US ships, nor any provocation. But the short clip likely did not show Sunday’s entire encounter, which US Navy officials have said lasted about 20 minutes. It aired on state-run English-language channel Press TV, whose signal is often blocked inside Iran. The Pentagon has released its own video of Sunday’s incident, showing small Iranian boats swarming around US warships in the Strait of Hormuz. In the recording, a man speaking in heavily accented English threatened, “I am coming to you. … You will explode after… minutes The incident, which ended without any shots fired, has heightened US-Iranian tension as President Bush visits the region. Bush was in the West Bank on Thursday, and heads next to Arab Gulf nations where he is expected to discuss strategy on Iran.
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3492664,00.html

Will Naval Incident Undermine Bush’s Iran Message?
Dr. Trita Parsi
…U.S. domestic politics has turned against the current course on Iran. The top three Democratic Presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards are all on the record favouring unconditional diplomacy with Tehran. Furthermore, the winner of the Iowa Republican primary, Mike Huckabee, also favors dialogue. Never before has support for diplomacy with Iran particularly in the middle of an election season been so strong in the U.S. These developments have all contributed to a perception in the region that not only can the U.S. not sustain its isolation policy, but that some dealings between the U.S. and Iran may already be taking place behind the scenes. Consequently, Arab states have initiated their own diplomatic overtures towards Tehran in order to avoid ending up appearing more hawkish on Iran than Washington. Improving ties with Tehran in the wake of a likely U.S.-Iran thaw is the strategically wise thing to do, the Arabs calculate….
www.uruknet.de/?p=39972

U.S.: Voices on Recording May Not Have Been From Iranian Speedboats
Chilling Threat Could Have Come From the Shore or Another Ship, Navy Says
MARTHA RADDATZ and JONATHAN KARL
Just two days after the U.S. Navy released the eerie video of Iranian speedboats swarming around American warships, which featured a chilling threat in English, the Navy is saying that the voice on the tape could have come from the shore or from another ship. The near-clash occurred over the weekend in the Strait of Hormuz. On the U.S.-released recording, a voice can be heard saying to the Americans, “I am coming to you. You will explode after a few minutes.”…
www.uruknet.de/?p=39988

Taped Voices May Not Have Come From Iranian Boats
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011008R.shtml
Martha Raddatz and Jonathan Karl for ABC News report: “Just two days after the US Navy released the eerie video of Iranian speedboats swarming around American warships, which featured a chilling threat in English, the Navy is saying that the voice on the tape could have come from the shore or from another ship.”

‘A Heartbeat Away’ From War With Iran and Pakistan :
As the American people amuse themselves with the illusion that they have any say in the way they are presently governed, our rulers are moving toward war. Two recent incidents underscore the imminence of this prospect.
snipurl.com/1x453
 
Iranian video counters Pentagon report:
Iran released a video on Thursday which it said showed its boats did not threaten U.S. navy vessels in the Gulf, countering Washington’s account of the event which President George W. Bush called “a provocative act”.
snipurl.com/1x455
 
Fifth Fleet unsure threat to US warships was Iranian :
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain said on Thursday there was “no way to know” if a threat radioed to US warships in the Strait of Hormuz came from Iranian speedboats
www.focus-fen.net/?id=n131193
 
U.S.: Voices on Recording May Not Have Been From Iranian Speedboats:
Chilling Threat Could Have Come From the Shore or Another Ship, Navy Says
abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4115702&page=1
 
Bush warns Iran of ‘serious consequences,’
Lays out challenges for Israel and the Palestinians
snipurl.com/1x458
 
‘All options on table’ to stop nuclear Iran: Israel:
Israel is keeping all options on the table if economic and diplomatic pressure fails to halt archfoe Iran’s nuclear programme, Israel’s ambassador to the United States said on Thursday.
www.spacewar.com/2006/080110112827.nlri5wq1.html

Iran: Khatami Prepares Reformers’ Comeback
www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011008G.shtml
Delphine Minoui reports for Geneva’s Le Temps from Tehran, where former president and reformist cleric Mohammed Khatami is staging a comeback for reformist legislators.

Bush’s Last Throw Against Iran
By M K Bhadrakumar
www.countercurrents.org/bhadrakumar100108.htm
The leitmotif of Bush’s high-profile tour of the Middle East is unmistakably Iran. But Washington’s Iran policy lies in tatters and it has no choice but to ratchet up anti-Iran rhetoric, though it realizes there are no takers in the Middle East for such rhetoric of fire and brimstone. The danger now is that Tehran may choose to hunker down and prefer to deal with the next US administration

The Realities As Put Forward
By Syed Ali Safvi
www.countercurrents.org/safvi100108.htm
US policy towards Muslim nations has always been presumptuous, currently fearless Iran takes the heat, comments Syed Ali Safvi

Bush Strongly Warns Iran on Naval Clash 09 Jan 2008
President [sic] Bush warned Iran of “serious consequences” if it meddles again with U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, opening a Mideast peacemaking mission Wednesday on an ominous note. He told Israel to dismantle unauthorized settlement outposts and demanded that the Palestinians halt rocket attacks from areas controlled by Hamas Islamic militants.
www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7212062,00.html

Pentagon ‘will use force’ 09 Jan 2008
The Pentagon warned on Wednesday it is prepared to use force if its warships are threatened in international waters and dismissed as “absurd” an Iranian claim that it faked a video of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz.
www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2248965,00.html

Iran Accuses U.S. of Faking Persian Gulf Video 10 Jan 2008
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard accused the United States on Wednesday of fabricating video showing armed Iranian speedboats confronting United States Navy warships in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, according to a report carried by the semi-official Fars news agency as well as state-run [as opposed to corporate-run] television. [See: Report reveals 1964 Gulf of Tonkin attack ‘never happened’ — NSA report reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks 07 Jan 2008.]
www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/world/middleeast/10iran.html

US blacklists Iranian commander, Syrian-based TV station 09 Jan 2008
The US Treasury said Wednesday it had blacklisted a high-ranking Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer and a Syrian-based television station for allegedly “fueling” ‘insurgent’ activity in Iraq. The Treasury said it had slapped financial sanctions on Ahmed Foruzandeh, who it said was a brigadier general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Qods Force, as well as Syrian-based Al-Zawra television.
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080110/wl_mideast_
afp/usiraniraqsyriasanctionsattacks_080110045631

US Sanctions Iranian General for Aiding Iraq Insurgents
Voice of America – USA
By David Gollust The United States Wednesday imposed sanctions against a general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps for helping insurgents in Iraq.…
www.voanews.com/english/2008-01-09-voa62.cfm

US Video of Iran Speedboats Flawed Iranians Charge Fabrication
By Juan Cole(Juan Cole)
“Iran TV Says BBC, CNN Complicit in ‘Falsity’ of US Footage Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1 Thursday, January 10, 2008 Document Type: OSC Translated Text The navy of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps aired a clip of …
www.juancole.com/2008/01/us-video
-of-iran-speedboats-flawed.html

Iran releases its video of confrontation at sea
Arizona Republic – Phoenix,AZ,USA
In a challenge to the US version of events, Iran Thursday released a video of the confrontation Sunday between five small Iranian speedboats and three US …
www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0110iran-us0110-ON.html

Arabs Sending US Mixed Signals on Iran
The Associated Press –
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Jittery after a confrontation between US and Iranian naval vessels off their shores, the Persian Gulf’s Arab countries …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j5Plgl
a2Qj2BXhZ4GmZX-01lYAEQD8U37ILO1

Iran Hangs 7 People, Media Report
The Associated Press –
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has hanged seven men convicted of murder and drug smuggling, local media reported on Thursday, bringing to 21 the number of people …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYZk8_X
XKLlVkz930bdOWG2HwGygD8U38AA84

Pentagon: US-Iran Warboat Encounter Could Be Fake
According to the Pentagon and military observers, the audio of the incident, which included threats that American vessels “will explode”, could be fake since it contains none of the expected background noise and chatter expected on …
digg.com/world_news/Pentagon_US_
Iran_Warboat_Encounter_Could_Be_Fake

Bush in the Middle East: Iran Over Palestine, Israel Over All
That is not a secret; the lead article in Israel’s leading daily, Ha’aretz, describing the Bush meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, begins “Iran’s nuclear program was at the center of the closed door meeting between Bush and …
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/30005

Bush’s Mideast Trip: Iran Warnings Fall on Deaf Ears in the Region
AlterNet – San Francisco,CA,USA
A read of Mideast countries suggests that the current state of no-war, no-peace between the US and Iran is a major cause of the tension. …
www.alternet.org/story/73274/

FACTBOX: Outlook in standoff over Iran nuclear activity
Reuters – USA
(Reuters) – Keen to help defuse Iran’s standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed ElBaradei left …
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL109538520080110

Turkish PM says Iran gas supplies to resume by next week
AFP –
ANKARA (AFP) — Iran is expected to resume gas exports to Turkey by the beginning of next week, ending a days-long cut forced by a supply crunch,…
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gq4KMF_7ks9To1lZiFPqcaOXloBA

Degrees of Confidence on US-Iran Naval Incident
New York Times – United States
By Mike Nizza The list of those who are less than fully confident in the Pentagon’s video/audio mashup of aggressive maneuvers by Iranian boats near …
thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/d
egrees-of-confidence-on-us-iran-naval-incident/?hp

Iran shows video of navy standoff
BBC News – UK
Iranian state-run TV has broadcast video it says shows a controversial naval standoff between Revolutionary Guards patrols and US warships. …
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7180567.stm

Iran Looms over Bush Trip
By Council on Foreign Relations
Iran looms large behind President Bush’s visit to the Mideast, and some Israelis fear Washington’s new views of Tehran’s nuclear activities reflect diverging US and Israeli interests in the region.
feeds.cfr.org/~r/cfr_main/~3/2143
68073/iran_looms_over_bush_trip.html

UN watchdog chief seeks nuclear clarity in Iran trip
Reuters South Africa – Johannesburg,South Africa
By Mark Heinrich VIENNA (Reuters) – The UN nuclear watchdog chief heads for Iran on Thursday to push for full transparency over its past and present atomic …
africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnL09133075.html

Israeli envoy to US: All options on the table regarding Iran
Ha’aretz – Tel Aviv,Israel
The Israeli source said: “The Gulf states are required to take a more active position against Iran, and only thus can enough pressure on Tehran be created …
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/943594.html

Pax Americana and Iran
By middleXeast
The administration wants to contain Iran by rallying the support of Sunni Arab states, imitating pretty much its predecessors: “a way to stabilize Iraq, declaw Hezbollah, and restart the Arab-Israeli peace process. …
themiddleeastinterest.wordpress.com/
2008/01/10/pax-americana-and-iran/

Iranian TV Airs Video of Gulf Standoff
The Associated Press –
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Iran aired video Thursday of its boats and US naval ships in the Persian Gulf in an apparent attempt to show that there was no…
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hiAbsR
G9E-8-NncKn6AqbyYZd09QD8U2U4MO0

Don’t meddle with US, Iran warned
The Press Association –
US president George Bush has warned Iran of “serious consequences” if it meddles again with US warships in the Persian Gulf. …
ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5
gLZxPDQWtQZ-Oh4fV25QzcSuTAWA

ANALYSIS-Gulf Arabs chart delicate course between Iran, US
Reuters – USA
By Lin Noueihed DUBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) – US President George W. Bush will seek Gulf Arab leaders’ support this week to curb Iran, but may find these…
www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSL07652687

Bush warns Iran at start of Mideast mission
Kansas City Star – MO,USA
JERUSALEM | President Bush warned Iran on Wednesday of “serious consequences” if it meddles again with US warships in the Persian Gulf.…
www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/438085.html

Iran airs own video of US ship incident
AFP –
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran on Thursday aired its own video of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz with US warships, in a bid to counter Pentagon accusations that …
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gL5kSNevHghneEm7ryLLGsFDMnfA

UPDATE 1-Turkish PM says Iran gas supply to resume by Monday
Reuters UK – UK
ANKARA, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Iran’s supply of natural gas to Turkey, halted this week, will resume on Monday at the latest, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said …
uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL1067086520080110

Iran a threat to world peace: Bush
AFP –
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Iran poses a threat to world peace, US President George W. Bush said on Wednesday adding that the international community must work…
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hU_RKBQrc49vCn8jJa_EkF_2HSyw

Iran Daily Opinion Service 10 January
By Michael Veiluva
Ever the harsh film critic, Iran is crying “fake” over the US Navy’s release of yet another You Tube video wonder. No sense of humor, I say. Cut the US Navy some slack! They couldn’t get to the Toho Productions lot in Japan in the short …
disarmamentactivist.org/2008/01/09/
iran-daily-opinion-service-10-january/

Iranian Naval Incident Undermines Bush’s Iran Message
Not only can the US not sustain its policy of isolating Iran, but some dealings between the US and Iran may already be taking place behind the scenes. Arab outreach to Iran – which largely is a response to a perception of the likely …
digg.com/world_news/Iranian_Naval_
Incident_Undermines_Bush_s_Iran_Message

Iranian TV: Pentagon Video, Audio Fake
The Associated Press –
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of fabricating video and audio released by the Pentagon showing Iranian boats confronting US …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hiAbsR
G9E-8-NncKn6AqbyYZd09QD8U2D1P80

Bush warns Iran at start of Mideast mission
Kansas City Star – MO,USA
JERUSALEM | President Bush began a weeklong Middle East mission Wednesday by denouncing Iran as a threat to world peace and pledging to shore up flagging …
www.kansascity.com/659/story/438085.html

Top Iranian General Hit With Sanctions
Washington Post – United States
By Robin Wright The United States yesterday slapped sanctions on a top
Iranian general and three exiled Iraqis based in Iran and Syria for
fomenting …
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articl
e/2008/01/09/AR2008010903254.html?hpid=topnews

Bush has harsh words for Iran during Mideast trip
CTV.ca – Canada
US President George Bush warned Iran Wednesday against further attempts to intimidate American warships in the Persian Gulf, in the midst of a mission to …
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNew
s/20080108/bush_israel_080109/20080109?hub=CTVNewsAt11

IAEA chief heads to Iran as nuclear probe enters final stage
Times of India – India
VIENNA: The head of the UN atomic watchdog is flying to Iran this weekend as the long-running probe into Tehran’s disputed nuclear drive appears to be …
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/IAEA_chief_heads_to _Iran_
as_nuclear_probe_enters_final_stage/articleshow/2688441.cms

Bush warns Iran of consequences of any new naval crisis
Reuters – USA
By Tabassum Zakaria JERUSALEM (Reuters) – President George W. Bush warned Iran on Wednesday of “serious consequences” if it attacked US ships in the Gulf …
www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0970631720080110

Will Naval Incident Undermine Bush’s Iran Message?
By Irancove
Though the US embarked on a policy of isolating Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis, the policy was significantly intensified after the end of the Cold War and the initiation of the Middle East peace process. …
irancoverage.com/2008/01/09/will-
naval-incident-undermine-bushs-iran-message/

Saudi FM Urges Restraint by US and Iran
The Associated Press –
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister urged the United States and Iran on Wednesday to show restraint after this weekend’s naval …
ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hoXAynR
bd2g0qyA_hj5DJCPs3mZwD8U2LQU00

Bush says Iran remains ‘a threat to world peace’
Daily Times – Lahore,Pakistan
JERUSALEM: US President George W Bush warned Tehran on Wednesday of“serious consequences” if Iran attacked US ships and repeated his assertion that Iran is …
www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=
2008%5C01%5C10%5Cstory_10-1-2008_pg1_8

Asia Comment: Crisis In Iran – The Federation!
Goal.com – Switzerland
Comment: Crisis In Iran – The Federation! After almost nineteen months, Iran has a new head for her football federation. Ali Kafashian whose last position …
www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=541411

Columbia Says It Knows of No Visit to Iran
New York Times – United States
By Sewell Chan Officials at Columbia University were taken aback on Tuesday when the Mehr News Agency, a government-sponsored news outlet in Iran, …
cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/
columbia-says-it-knows-of-no-visit-to-iran/?hp

Iran warned of reprisals if American naval ships are attacked
Times Online – UK
President Bush began his first official tour of the Middle East yesterday with a stern warning to Iran that it would face “serious consequences” if its …
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/
middle_east/article3160322.ece