Posted By Uri Friedman Share

These days, news about the international crisis over Iran's nuclear program is coming at us at a rapid and often bewildering pace. In the last month alone, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called Israel a "cancer tumor" that "should be cut off," vowed to never sway from Iran's nuclear course, dismissed nuclear weapons as a "sin," and, just today, welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's call for toning down all this war talk. It's enough to give any observer a good case of whiplash.

That's why we're taking a step back from the flurry of breaking news and introducing a regular Passport feature to track the drumbeats to war and take the temperature of the major players in the drama. For each post, we'll choose one or more data points or news stories and assign a score based on the following scale:

1. All Quiet on the Eastern Front

2. Natanz to Worry About

3. Nukes of Hazard

4. Seeing Red Lines

5. Bombs Away!

Two stories dominated the news cycle today on Iran. For starters, the United States reportedly offered to give Israel arms that could help in a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities (though the White House denied it):

In particular, it would offer bunker-busting bombs more powerful than those currently possessed by Israel, which would allow the Jewish state to target Iranian facilities even under solid rock.

An Israeli official also claimed that new satellite images provide fresh evidence that Iran is trying to conceal its development of a nuclear weapon:

On Wednesday, pictures provided by unspecified member countries to the International Atomic Energy Agency -- the U.N. nuclear agency -- appear to show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at Iran's Parchin military site. Diplomats said the images suggested the trucks could be carting away radioactive material created in nuclear testing.

 

Verdict: In the end, Isaac's Newton's Third Law applied today -- for every action there was an equal and opposite reaction. AFP reported that the United States had offered to supply Israel with advanced weaponry in exchange for Israel committing to not attack Iran this year. But other Israeli officials are denying that there were any conditions attached to the deal. The satellite imagery of activities at Parchin put a damper on the news that Iran had decided to let inspectors visit the military installation. And even as Israel cautiously welcomes a resumption of big-power nuclear talks with Iran, Iran's envoy to France declared that Iran will not negotiate on its right to enrich uranium -- a critical sticking point. For all these reasons, we're going with Nukes of Hazard.

Feel free to nominate any Iran Watch stories you think we should be highlighting. E-mail Uri [dot] Friedman [at] foreignpolicy.com

IIPA via Getty Images

EXPLORE:IRAN, IRAN WATCH
 

JOHNBOY4546

12:49 AM ET

March 9, 2012

How to slant the news

It is incorrect to claim that the USA "offered" to supply bunker-busters to Israel.

The Israeli press are reporting this very differently i.e. that Netanyahu requested those bunker busters, and Obama said in reply: Go talk to Panetta.

And as for the second report: Heavy vehicles at a miitary research facility!

Gosh! That's unique, isn't it?

Obviously the Iranians have something to hide because - let's face it - who needs heavy vehicles at a military research facility?

 

RES PUBLIC

4:47 AM ET

March 9, 2012

It's not just heavy vehicles

It's earth-moving vehicles. And trucks carting away soil. Just a couple days after they denied the inspectors access to the facility, and a couple weeks before their visit.

Why would Iran be carting away soil before the inspectors visit? Can you think of any realistic explanation?

 

MSAM

3:05 PM ET

March 9, 2012

Parchin

Parchin military complex was visited by IAEA inspectors twice in 2005, they took soil and other samples at the time and found nothing.

The important point is that the alleged experiements occured in pre-2003, and the inspectors found nothing in the earth samples in 2005. Therefore the presence of earth moving equipment now would be irrelevent to their investigation.

The IAEA allegations against the site come from a labtop given to them by "unnamed intelligence sources" (read Israel). This evidence was so problematic and unreliable that the previous IAEA director refused to include it in his reports.
The currect IAEA director is squarely on the side of the US and her western allies and far more willing to accept as fact this so called "evidence". He has been admonished by Iran, China, Russia and other members of the non-aligned movement for not following the rigorous standards of reporting and information sharing that he is obligated to follow.

 

REALREALIST

1:13 AM ET

March 9, 2012

anything to deny it eh johnboy....???? lol...

when the shit hits the fan, people should be blaming the likes of you and your stupid enablers for popularizing iran and fetishizing their feigned innocence ...

moron is the PERFECT word for you.

 

TARQUINIS

12:56 PM ET

March 9, 2012

Israeli attack upon is a global catastrophe

How about, just for one moment, considering the facts? Or do they matter at all in the drumbeat for a most disastrous new war?

Iran with no nuclear weapons is zero military threat against nuclear superpower Israel.

Israel (which refuses to sign or abide by the NPT) is in possession of many hundreds of nuclear warheads. More importantly, it possesses the most advanced delivery systems in the world including nuclear powered ballistic missile firing submarines. A nation with zero nuclear weapons does not attack another with hundreds. Even if (a hypothetical) Iran did some day acquire a nuclear weapon (to secure itself from vicarious nuclear attack) it could never use it against Israel because of the intertwined nature of the Palestinian and Israeli populations. Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in world Islam is in Jerusalem and they would never risk its destruction.

But lets just ignore all of that. I ask all the Zionist posters howling for war, to seriously consider the CONSEQUENCES of an Israeli attack.

If you are paying attention, Syria is currently and steadily sliding into chaos. What originally was a movement in support of democracy is now steadily moving into a sectarian conflict between the Shiia and the Sunni. The Saudis are going to finance weapons for the insurgency. The Shiia of Lebanon and Iran are fearful of major political loss in this, and reluctantly but to date resolutely, continue to back Al-Assad. A war against Iran initiated by Israel would spread to our interests in about half an hour. Iran would certainly hit back to the best their abilities. Prices for petroleum would certainly skyrocket to who knows what level, collapsing our fragile economy like a house of cards. Same for the whole world's economy for the same reasons. Mass chaos from Lebanon to Pakistan. Things quickly spiral out of control. Afghanistan explodes. Al-Qaeda claps its hands in glee in Yemen and Somalia. China and Russia get quite hostile. Radioactive clouds drift eastward over India. And of course in this event, Iran would conclude that it must quickly obtain a nuclear WMD capability. Achieving exactly what you claim you want to avoid!

Great! An Israeli attack slams the whole world into what? A bridge too far? Total global chaos?

Choose your own apocalyptic metaphors. Israel's current political support in the US could evaporate literally overnight.

 

REALREALIST

1:36 PM ET

March 9, 2012

wheres the meir dagan article already? LOL...come on FP!

HAHAHAHAH...

Wait till that comes out tmorrow or something...hahahah...meir dagan is many things, but above all, he was head spymaster for israel for near a decade...you think he's going to air his true thoughts on iran so publicly on television? As many israelis know, these days, dagan is aiming for a career in politics, and he may be thinking if he endears himself to obama, he will get support to try to topple bibi...they can certainly try...it wont work, but they can go for it...

the other possibility is that dagan is saying one thing to tamp down expectations of a strike and then.....bammo!

either way, I would not believe one word from dagan's mouth on so sensitive a subject and certainly not in so public of a way...

can't wait for FP to be allllll over it though...salivating...with all waltz' little "I'm really pro israel cause I care so much" crowd...LOL....

 

THUSALWAYSTOGENIUS

12:36 AM ET

March 12, 2012

Ambassador of Death: Attack of the Drones

Ambassador of Death: Attack of the Drones.

In our world and our time, Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which were experimentally manufactured in 1916, were first armed in order to attempt to kill Osama bin Laden.

They were and still are proven to be unreliable due to the fact that their target abilities are far from surgical precision, they are unstable when flying in less than perfect weather and they crash very often. In addition, loss of communication with these drones is one of the many technical issues that lead to their sub par performance. After consideration, President Clinton decided to shut down the project.

Later on, Bush reopened the project, refinanced it and made used of these drones 44 times, despite the acknowledgement of the performance reports. The attacks evidently lead to casualties; bodies were often hidden and buried by troops on the ground.

However, for now, most drones aren’t exploited for military purpose. They are mostly used for surveillance, reconnaissance, news reporting, border patrolling, intelligence and inspection.

As such, most industrialized countries such as China, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, India, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Japan and Brazil do “harvest” drones. Some of the super drones have even been baptized. Israel named theirs Heron; the United States upgraded their Predator with the Avenger; and, last but not least, Iran named theirs Karrar, which is Farsi for Striker. President Ahmadinejad infamously nicknamed his Persian Menace: the Ambassador of Death.

Episode X : The Persian Menace.

Do not let the Ambassador of Death mislead you into being alarmed. The Ambassador of Death is not Darth Vader’s vehicle of choice. This drone is intended for, and I quote: “Peace and Friendship“. Logically, why should we be nervous over Iran since they have not initiated any attack towards any other country in over 200 years? And yes, the Persian Gulf War has been taken in consideration when making that statement.

That being said, it evidently is not the case when shifting our attention towards the previously mentioned pro-drone countries. Over 239 drone strikes were ordered under the Obama administration. Many of these attacks were carried out against the advice of U.S. Officials and Diplomats. In fact, that tendency has led the Obama Administration of being responsible for at least 85% of drone strikes around the world, particularly in Pakistan.

This is the same Obama that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. Even then, his addition seems unsuited and undeserved, when one remembers past laureates.

As mentioned in a previous article of mine, the five countries (United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia and China) that have secured permanent United Nation seats are also the top global arm dealers. These same countries have been accusing Iran of secretly building nuclear weapons and pressuring them to halt their nuclear program.

It is important to understand or remember that the U.S. did not only assist but also coordinated the launch of the Iranian Nuclear Program in the 50s. This program was maintained for decades, until the 1979 revolution.

This support was even symbolized and categorized as the “Atoms for Peace” Program, implemented in 1953 by Eisenhower. Let’s acknowledge that a program would not be complete without an appropriate inaugural speech. And where else but at the United Nation General Assembly can a prestigious one take place? In this case, the cleverly named “Atoms for Peace” speech quickly followed Eisenhower’s “Chance for Peace” speech.

All this backing did result in the inception of Iran’s first nuclear power plant, which was completed and activated thanks to Russian assistance, in 2011.

The irony! The Atoms for Peace Program’s main principle was to reassure the world during the Cold War (between 1945 and 1991). Sarcastically, the Russians presided over its closing ceremony.

As a counter attack, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board, nations and multinational entities officially reprimanded and sanctioned Iran. This judgment was internationally supported by detailed tangible and evidence. The Iranian authorities, or should I say THE Iranian Authority, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini khamenei, has not yet been successfully coerced by the international pressure. The U.N. inspectors can come and go as often as necessary, it’s all in good faith, from both parties.

Remember, it’s a ll about Peace and Friendship.

“Look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane… No, it’s a drone!”

The Empire Will Strike Back. It is just a question on which Empire will strike first.

Guess who’s building nuclear power plants now?

READ MORE AT : THUSALWAYSTOGENIUS

 

MAXIMB

1:20 PM ET

March 19, 2012

UMMMM, Obama will still be

UMMMM, Obama will still be the one to handle Foreign affairs.....not Biden. Biden can only offer up suggestions, and n the end it is up to Obama to take it, in which he will not, because he will handle it just the way he wants to, and you can believe that those Muslims who are currently working on the Obama campaign....you know, Obama's close friends from College.....Do you really want to see these people in the white house. If you do, then you are a traitor to the US..

"Is rio orange war always comparateur forfait bloque inevitable ?"
MaximB

 

MAXIMB

8:48 AM ET

March 22, 2012

He did a half assed job of

He did a half assed job of it. Osama was on our side fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. The Reagan administration really stepped up support for the Mujhahidine and kicked some Russian butt. Now since old Osama turned on us like a rabid dog, he has to be put down like a rabid dog..

"Is rio orange war always forfait mobile blackberry inevitable ?"
MaximB

 

MAXIMB

11:07 PM ET

March 22, 2012

for much better reasons than

for much better reasons than in placing the NUCLEAR FOOTBALL in the wobbly hands of a Socialist/Marxist quasi-Muslim sleeper agent...for instance....

"Is rio orange war always forfait internet inevitable ?"
MaximB

 

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