Iran: War would tear US to shreds

An Iranian commander says a US attempt to invade Iran would only leave a frail and shaky structure from a ‘torn to shreds’ America.

Iran’s Armed Forces are fully prepared for an immediate reaction to any offensive on Iranian territory, said Deputy Head of the Armed Forces Headquarters, Brigadier General Seyyed Masoud Jazayeri on Sunday.

“Iran has a comprehensive strategy to intercept invaders and to make the enemy suffer greatly,” Jazayeri cautioned.

He said the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s military have the strongest resolve to defend the Iranian borders, adding that, “What will remain after a foreign invasion against Iran is a frail and shaky structure of a torn-to-shreds America.”

Referring to Washington’s numerous failed plots against Iran, Gen. Jazayeri said ‘the US has learned that no military measures would ever be successful’ against the Islamic Republic.

“This is why the United States has resorted to psychological warfare, cultural inroads, and economic pressure against Iran,” he added.

Jazayeri said if Americans were made aware of the numerous US attempts to topple Iran’s government and meddle in the country’s internal affairs, they would demand their government to adopt new policies.

CS/HGH

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Paul: Congress supports bombing Iran

Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says members of Congress have voiced support for a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Iran.

“I hear members of Congress saying ‘if we could only nuke them’,” said the congressman Thursday.

“If we do (attack) it is going to be a disaster,” he told the Alex Jones Show.

The 72-year-old veteran politician added that the atmosphere in Congress indicates that a military strike on Iran has already been condoned.

“It is still totally bewildering to me when I see men and women in the Congress that I know and like doing this just to get along. Most of them will say, ‘I agree with you on all you say but the Iranians are bad people and they might attack us some day,” Paul said.

Referring to House Congressional Resolution 362 that he calls the ‘Virtual Iran War Resolution’, Paul explained the president plans to impose ‘an absolute blockade of the entire country of Iran, and punish any country or any business group around the world if they trade with Iran’.

Despite the recent UN nuclear watchdog report conceding that there is no link between the use of nuclear material and the ‘alleged studies’ of weaponization in Iran’s nuclear facilities, Washington accuses Tehran of pursuing a military nuclear program.

MD/AA

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US: Oil blockade constitutes an act of war

The commander of US naval forces in the Persian Gulf says any attempt by Iran to shut down the Strait of Hormuz will be an ‘act of war’.

Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, the commander of the Fifth Fleet – responsible for naval operations in the Persian Gulf -, said Monday that the White House will not allow the strategic Persian Gulf oil passage to be sealed off.

Cosgriff made the remarks after Iran warned that it would not hesitate in taking all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests in case of an enemy offensive.

“When a country comes under attack, it naturally uses all its capacities to confront the enemy,” said Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari on Saturday in reference to the country’s ability to cut oil supplies by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

The commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, however, warned that such comments by high-ranking Iranian officials are ‘not helpful’.

Cosgriff suggested that a blockade ‘will not be an action against the United States but against the international community’.

While the Bush administration continues to beat the drums of war against Tehran, Tel Aviv has fueled speculation about the possibility of an attack on Iran. Recent reports indicate that the Israeli regime may have staged military maneuvers to prepare for air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

The Islamic Republic, however, affirms that it is fully prepared to counter any act of aggression on its soil.

MD/AA

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Iran: Attacking our N-sites means war

The top Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander warns that any attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would lead to the outbreak of war.

“Any action against Iran will be interpreted as the start of a war,” Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari told reporters Thursday.

He made the remarks when asked about increasing rumors of a potential US or Israeli attack on Iran, IRNA reported.

The IRGC commander warned that Iran’s response to any act of aggression would make the invaders ‘regret’ their decision.

Washington has never ruled out the possibility of resorting to the use of force against Iran over its nuclear program and reports suggest that the Israeli regime is preparing for a unilateral strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

This is while Washington and Tel Aviv, which accuse Tehran of seeking a military nuclear program, claim they favor a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

Refusing to give up its nuclear drive, Iran insists as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) the country is entitled to a civilian nuclear program.

In its most recent report, the UN nuclear watchdog conceded that there is no link between the use of nuclear material and the ‘alleged studies’ of weaponization in Iran’s nuclear facilities.

MD/HGH

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Maliki condemns US raid in Karbala

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maiki has condemned the recent US raid in Karbala Province, saying the incident infringed Iraq’s sovereignty.

On Friday, American soldiers killed an unarmed Iraqi civilian and arrested four others in an early-morning military raid in Ganaga district, which is the birthplace of the Iraqi premier.

Maliki described the operation as a clear example of ‘breaking the law and infringing Iraq’s sovereignty’.

The control of security of the province has been handed over to Iraqi authorities.

According to Iraqi officials in Karbala province, before the operation US military airplanes deployed dozens of American troops to the area without informing them.

Earlier, outraged Iraqi officials had ordered an investigation into the lethal incident which drew the ire of Iraqi people.

They said that the US military operation violated the terms of the agreement on the handover of Karbala province to Iraqi troops.

“We denounce the operation and demand an explanation from US forces, as security forces in Karbala did not know about it,” said Oqeil al-Khazaali governor of Karbala city on Friday.

The civilians, who were killed and detained in the operation in the Ganaga district, were not outlaws nor did they belong to any armed group, he added.

DT/DT

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Al Gore throws weight behind Obama

Former US vice president Al Gore has announced his endorsement of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama for November election.

Gore said on Monday that he would speak with Obama at an event in Detroit, Michigan later in the day.

“From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected president of the United States,” Gore said in a message on his website.

“Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges – including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis,” he said.

“Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America,” the former vice president added.

Since falling short in the 2000 election after a Supreme Court Decision that gave George W. Bush the White House, Gore has been largely absent from partisan politics, instead focusing on environmental activities.

AGB/DT

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Ahmadinejad to OPEC: Dump weak dollar

Iran urges the OPEC member states again to convert their cash reserves into a basket of currencies rather than the tumbling US dollar.

Speaking at a ceremony to open the 29th ministerial meeting of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated his proposal made about six months ago in a rare summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’s heads of states.

“The fall in the value of US dollar is one of the pressing problems of the world today,” warned the Iranian president at the conference in Isfahan on Tuesday.

He further expressed concern over the adverse effect of the dollar depreciation on the international community, especially energy exporting countries through increasing the price of commodities like wheat, rice and oilseeds.

Ahmadinejad said he warned six months ago in the summit conference in Riyadh that there were many indications pointing to continued fall in the value of the greenback.

“And we see that this continues to happen and the resources and wealth of OPEC member countries have been hugely damaged.

“I again repeat my previous proposal; we should have a basket of different international hard currencies as the basis or the member countries should come up and produce a new hard currency for petroleum contracts,” he stressed.

“They get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper,” Ahmadinejad said earlier after the close of the summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

The comments by the Iranian president gained backing from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as he said at the same event, “The empire of the dollar has to end.”

On the soaring oil prices, the Iranian president said, “At a time when the growth of consumption is lower than the growth of production and the market is full of oil, prices are rising and this trend is completely fake and imposed.”

“As you know the decrease in the dollar’s value and the increase in energy prices are two sides of the same coin which are being introduced as factors behind the recent instability,” Ahmadinejad added.

MK/GM

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Bush: Use of force on Iran not ruled out

The US President says although he hopes to settle Iran’s nuclear standoff through diplomacy he will not rule out the use of force.

In a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, George W. Bush said that the world wants to provide pressure in order to solve Iran’s problem diplomatically, adding, “Iranians must understand all options are on the table however.”

President Bush also took an unprecedented step in acknowledging Iran’s justification for making use of peaceful nuclear energy.

“I would like to say one thing about the Iranian demand for civilian nuclear power, it is a justifiable demand,” he said in London.

The US President has repeatedly vowed to keep the military option on the table, arguing that the ‘consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are such that military strikes are justified, whether a smoking gun is found or not’.

Iran asserts that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty it is entitled to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

Washington and allies have so far imposed three rounds of UN sanction resolutions on Iran, targeting individuals, firms with military links and several banks.

CS/HGH

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Sadr to form new resistance group

Iraq’s influential leader Moqtada al-Sadr has announced plans to set up a new resistance group to fight US occupation in the country.

“The resistance will be carried out exclusively by a special group which I will announce later,” Sadr said in a statement read out at a mosque in the holy town of Kufa.

The cleric vowed to uphold resistance against the occupiers until the liberation of Iraq

Sadr said the group will direct its operations against occupying US forces and will be banned from fighting any Iraqis.

The 60,000-strong Mahdi Army led by Moqtada al-Sadr had regularly clashed with US forces since their invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The group, however, declared a ceasefire last year in August, and maintains that so far its fighters have lived up to it.

The announcement follows Sadr’s call for continued protests against negotiations with Washington over the US presence in the country until a referendum is held on the issue.

Iraqis remain wary of an agreement in principle between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and US president George Bush that would give a legal basis to US troops in Iraq -currently numbering to about 150,000- after the December 31 expiry of a UN mandate defining their current status.

MRS/MMN

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Brzezinski to Bush: Stop Israel

Former White House national security adviser has urged President Bush to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran over its nuclear program.

In an interview on the Bloomberg Television on Friday, Zbigniew Brzezinski, said that an armed conflict between Israel and Iran would widen to include the US and will lead to Iranian attacks against the US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He noted that any military confrontation begins between Iran and the US will put the US “into a very destructive conflict from which the US will not extricate itself for many years to come.”

Brzezinski, 80 and now a counselor at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the most effective strategy for dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be a combination of stiffer economic sanctions and positive incentives to negotiate.

He said threats of military action against Iran are “counterproductive” because they unite the Iranian population in opposition to the US.

Brzezinski said Bush has leverage to discourage an Israeli strike because Israeli warplanes would have to fly through airspace controlled by the US in order to attack Iran, and the US could deny permission to do so.

MGH/HAR

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