Published: June 21, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Crossfire War - Iran Places Armed Forces on War Alert
By Willard Payne
Crossfire War - Rapid Fire News=Tehran - Baghdad - Damascus Watch - West Asia - North - Northeast Africa Theatre: Iran Supreme Leader Orders Military on War Alert - Israel - US Forces in Gulf Also on Alert - Tehran States Ready to Detect and Destroy Any Attack
Night Watch: JERUSALEM - "The Iranians should read the writing on the wall...This was a dress rehearsal and the Iranians should read the script before they continue with their program for nuclear weapons." That was a quote from an Israeli official regarding the reports yesterday of the Israel Air Force (IAF) conducting the first week of June long range maneuvers in the Eastern Mediterranean and over Greece to practice an air attack on some of Iran's nuclear facilities. The Jerusalem Post/AP report the quote was made to The Times of London and frankly it sound too optimistic, as if the official believes an air attack would do major damage to Iran's nuclear stockpile and production. Yesterday crossfirewar.com quoted an Israeli military analyst who admitted he expected the operation to have limited success at best. The "script" the official boasts about was written by Tehran as soon as they began their nuclear program as far back as 1981 and Tehran knew they were preparing for (f)allout war primarily with the West nor was it any secret Israel was considering conducting an air raid on Iran and joint operations with the Pentagon. [
JPOST]
Persian Gulf - However, Debka is reporting Iran's government is wondering why the reports of the air maneuvers are being made public now. I suspect Tehran realizes the publicity is a way of preparing the world community for all out war in the region, in other words an attack, either by Israel acting alone or with Washington is near, what U. S. President George W. Bush has been saying for the past five years, an attack on Iran is an "option on the table". At the time an Iranian defense official stated they will not let the U. S. attack first and knowing how seriously Iran wants to maintain the initiative and keep the U. S. forces in the region and Israel on the defensive I now wonder the real reason for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issuing an order Friday which placed Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country's armed forces on war alert. It may be an offensive war alert. As a prelude Tehran may have Hamas/Hezbollah and Shia militias in Iraq begin a new wave of attacks then Syria-Iran enter as support. [DEBKA]
Persian Gulf - PressTV is reporting one of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) senior commanders, Major-General Mohammad-Ali Jafari, was speaking from a command ship in the Persian Gulf Saturday and stated Iran is prepared to detect and repel any attack. General Jafari was viewing defensive maneuvers with torpedoes and missile speed boats as they engaged targets in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. Iran's air defenses will of course engage the IAF as Iran's ships will target any possible action by U. S. warships in the Gulf and Strait. [PRESSTV]
Aleppo - WebIndia123 is reporting, according to the German news weekly Der Spiegel, the government of Syria President Bashar al-Assad is having second thoughts on continuing cooperation with Iran on nuclear weapons production. The magazine quoted an unspecified intelligence report and did not give the reason but I suspect it is because of the IAF's successful air attack on the Syrian nuclear base of al-Kibar on September 6, 2007. It was constructed for the purpose of producing weapons grade plutonium, as Tehran continued its uranium enrichment. The base was built with direct assistance from North Korea, which is why Pyongyang strongly protested the attack, and it was financed by Tehran. North Korean scientists worked alongside Syrians-Iranians and the site was just one week away from producing weaponry when it was destroyed. Such cooperation on advanced weapons systems is one of the hallmarks of the Iran-Syria military axis but with Israel's ability to monitor and destroy Syrian bases al-Assad may realize continued attempts by Syria to achieve nuclear weaponry will be a wasted effort. [WEBINDIA123]
It is also being reported in July 2007 an explosion occurred near the Syrian city of Aleppo which seriously disrupted Damascus' joint effort with North Korea-Iran on increasing Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons. The explosion released a large amount of mustard gas and the nerve agent Sarin which killed fifteen Syrian military officers, dozens of Iranian "rocket scientists" and three North Korean technicians. When production is rushed, either in a war or in preparation, chances for accidents are dramatically increased. It is quite possible the chemicals were being fitted into warheads for Syria's ballistic missiles.
Night Watch Information Service
www.crossfirewar.com
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