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Iranian security forces violently suppressed opposition supporters in the city of Isfahan yesterday as tensions increased before nationwide demonstrations planned for this weekend. Two days after massive demonstrations in the holy city of Qom, clashes erupted in Isfahan, Iran’s third city, as thousands of mourners gathered for a memorial service for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the opposition’s spiritual leader, who died at the weekend. Opposition websites said riot police and Basij militiamen surrounded the Seyed mosque from early in the morning, and then attacked the mourners with batons, teargas and pepper gas. Many were injured and dozens were arrested,...

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East made an observation that the Gulf Arab nations wished he hadn't. General David Petraeus noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force, and it's 80 F-16E fighters could probably quickly destroy the entire Iranian Air Force. The Gulf Arabs would prefer the Iranians to believe their own propaganda, that the Iranian military is much more powerful than it actually is. The Iranian Air Force is mainly a mighty force only in terms of Iranian propaganda. The Gulf Arabs don't want the Iranians to make a strong effort to upgrade their...

The government of Iran provided Khalid Sheik Mohammed with aid and support for years leading up to the 9/11 attacks, according to pg. 149 of the 9/11 Commission, which also noted that 8 to 10 of the hijackers were harbored, funded, transported abroad, and trained in terrorist training camps by Iran. Those AQ camps, run by the IRGC, are currently hosting over 384 AQ operatives and are where the attacks in Casablanca, Madrid, and Istanbul were planned. The Commission noted that Iran sent out senior operatives and Hezbollah officials to monitor their progress, sarcastically remarking that "either this is evidence...

Iran recently conducted another successful test of its long range (2,000+ kilometers) solid fuel ballistic missile (the Sejil II). Apparently, Iran plans to build hundreds of Sejil IIs, and even longer range missiles, over the next six years. There are apparently also plans to build up the supply of mobile launchers for many of these, to make them even more difficult for anyone to spot, and destroy. Solid fuel missiles can be launched without preparation. This is critical, as the liquid fueled missiles take hours to prepare for launch, and spy satellites pass over Iran frequently enough to spot this....

Iran claims its new solid-fuel ballistic missile can evade radar detection. The Defense Ministry said the Sejil-2 was coated with an unidentified material that could foil detection by long-range radar. A senior official said the coating was one of several elements added to the intermediate-range ballistic missile to prevent radar detection. U.S. government sources have dismissed the Iranian claim. The sources said the U.S. intelligence community tracked the flight of Sejil-2 from launch without disruption.

Since the 1990s China has successfully been expanding its influence in the Middle East and Iran in particular without attracting the attention of the global community. China views Iran as a significant potential ally in its attempts to counter-balance western power. Clearly Iran serves as a major source of oil. In addition, it is a leading geopolitical player in the region, capable of heavily affecting the political balance in the Middle East. In addition to energy, China is extensively involved in many areas of Iran's economic development. To help develop Iran's economy, empower it, and open up consumer markets for...

Kerry Floats Plan to Visit Tehran White House Wouldn't Oppose Trip, First by Top U.S. Official in 30 Years, to Chagrin of Iran's Opposition By JAY SOLOMON WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Kerry has suggested becoming the first high-level U.S. emissary to make a public visit to Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, a move White House officials say they won't oppose. View Full Image Mourners attend the funeral procession of Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri on Monday. Demotix Images Mourners attend the funeral procession of Iranian cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri on Monday. Mourners attend the funeral...

Heavy clashes have been reported outside an Isfahan mosque where a memorial ceremony was due to be held in honor of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a founding architect of the Iranian Revolution and spiritual father of Iran's opposition Green Movement. The clashes come two days after a funeral ceremony for the 87-year-old Montazeri, who died on December 19 in his home in Qom, turned into a huge antigovernment protest in the holy city located southwest of the capital. Eyewitnesses tell RFE/RL that as mourners and opposition supporters arrived for today's memorial service, they found security forces and plainclothes agents...

Members of Osama bin Laden’s family have been living in a secret, high-security compound near Tehran, according to Omar Ossama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader’s fourth oldest son. This story was reported by The Times of London Wednesday and was carried by newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Millions of Americans tuned in (and millions more around the world saw clips) as Diane Sawyer made her full-time debut behind the anchor desk Monday night for World News with Diane Sawyer and shared an exclusive sit-down interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They heard Sawyer level harsh accusations at Ahmadinejad about Iran’s nuclear program, its treatment of its citizens as well as of three American hikers arrested after they crossed the border. They also heard Ahmadinejad refer to Sawyer as “respectable lady.” But what most people don’t know is that the voice they heard translating Ahmadinejad belonged to a...

Preventing nuclear war between Iran and Israel would be more difficult than it ever was to avoid a nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. Here's why.

CAIRO – A Saudi-owned newspaper says that one of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's daughters has taken refuge in the Saudi Embassy in Tehran after eluding guards who have held her and five brothers under house arrest for eight years.

CAIRO - A Saudi-owned newspaper says that one of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's daughters has taken refuge in the Saudi Embassy in Tehran after eluding guards who have held her and five brothers under house arrest for eight years.

(excerpt) From the very first days of the post-election violence, Western leaders, with President Obama in the van, chose circumspection over condemnation. Nothing — no protests about human rights abuses — could get in the way of securing a deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over Iran’s programme to create a nuclear bomb. What do we have to show for this venal bargain? Very little. Untenable as this ought to be, strategically as well as morally, a more damning prospect still is emerging. The West may be about to provide a dying regime with a lifeline at the moment of its greatest...

Iranian security forces armed with batons and teargas clashed with supporters of the late dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri in two central cities on Wednesday, opposition websites said. (excerpt) Police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moqadam warned the pro-reform opposition of "fierce" confrontation if it continued its "illegal" activities, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. The reformist Jaras website said many demonstrators were injured and arrests were made during clashes in the city of Isfahan, which occurred when Montazeri supporters gathered for the traditional third day of mourning for him. "Police fired teargas to disperse people ... many people were injured...

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East made an observation that the Gulf Arab nations wished he hadn't. General David Petraeus noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force, and it's 80 F-16E fighters could probably quickly destroy the entire Iranian Air Force. The Gulf Arabs would prefer the Iranians to believe their own propaganda, that the Iranian military is much more powerful than it actually is. The Iranian Air Force is mainly a mighty force only in terms of Iranian propaganda. The Gulf Arabs don't want the Iranians to make a strong effort to upgrade their...

Osama bin Laden’s closest relatives are living in a secret compound in Iran, members of the family said last night. They include a wife and children who disappeared from his Afghan camp at the time of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. There has been uncertainty about the family’s whereabouts for the past eight years, with reports that some of the children had been killed in bombings, while others had joined their father in planning terrorist attacks. However, relatives said that they found out last month that the group, including one of Osama’s wives, six of his children and...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president on Tuesday dismissed a year-end deadline set by the Obama administration and the West for Tehran to accept a U.N.-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel, and claimed his government is now "10 times stronger" than a year ago. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks underscored Tehran's defiance amid the nuclear standoff — and also sought to send a message that his government had not been weakened by the protest movement sparked by June's disputed presidential election. His comments came a day after the latest opposition protest by tens of thousands mourning a dissident cleric who...

The Iranian regime hit back viciously last night after the opposition turned the funeral of their spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, into another huge anti-government demonstration in the holy city of Qom. Men on motorbikes attacked the car carrying Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition leader, back from Qom to Tehran. They smashed the back window and injured one of his aides, a reformist website reported. Hundreds of government agents halted the memorial service for Montazeri, according to a conservative website. The assaults, which cannot be independently confirmed, came at the end of a day when the so-called Green...

Never before in our history has an American president, deliberately and by design, risked our very survival to a maniacal enemy power sworn to remove America from the world. Yet from all appearances, this is exactly what Obama is doing by failing to vigorously oppose Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. But in spite of the fact that over 60% of the public favors militarily destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities, there’s nary a word of protest from the Republicans in opposition. They’re so paranoid about being labeled warmongers, they have shamefully abdicated their own national security responsibilities, just as John McCain did...

Diplomacy offers the best way to resolve tensions over Iran's nuclear program but the Pentagon must be ready with military options if needed, the top US military chief said on Monday. "No resolution is yet in sight, but I fully support the effort to focus on diplomatic solutions to existing tensions" with Iran, Admiral Mike Mullen wrote in a memorandum setting out strategic priorities for the US armed forces in 2010. "My belief remains that political means are the best tools to attain regional security and that military force will have limited results," said Mullen, chairman of the Joints Chiefs...

STRATFOR: The Iran Incursion Wasn't Trivial, Was Meant As A Clear Message To Washington DC Joe WeisenthalDec. 21, 2009, 12:58 PM It seems as though many folks have concluded that last week's incursion by Iranian forces into Iraq, and onto an old oil well, was a minor, meaningless story. A popular, benign, interpretation is that it was just a few, rogue Iranian forces foolishly hoisting a flag onto a well that wasn't pumping oil, with absolutely no consequence whatsoever. Not so say the independent geopolitics analysts at Stratfor. Multiple sources have reported that Tehran ordered the incident. The Iranian government...

A planeload of North Korean arms seized in Bangkok was reportedly bound for Iran, which has been buying up large amounts of weaponry in recent months as it braces for a possible onslaught by Israel, and possibly the United States. Mystery has shrouded the destination of the Georgian-registered Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane that was found be to carrying 35 tons of arms, including surface-to-air missiles and rocket launchers, in 12 crates when it was detained during a refueling stop on Dec. 11 following a tip-off from U.S. intelligence. The five-man crew, all former Soviet air force members from Belarus and...

The political opposition in Iran says hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. The dissident cleric, who died Sunday at the age of 87, had been a spiritual guide for opponents of the government. Some in the funeral procession held aloft the green banners of the opposition movement, while others chanted anti-government slogans. Security forces were present along the route, and there are reports of isolated fighting between some of the police and protesters. The crowds came from across Iran to the holy city of Qom to attend the burial of...

The Iranian Incursion in Context December 21, 2009 By George Friedman A small number of Iranian troops entered Iraq, where they took control of an oil well and raised the Iranian flag Dec. 18. The Iranian-Iraqi border in this region is poorly defined and is contested, with the Iranians claiming this well is in Iranian territory not returned after the Iran-Iraq War. Such incidents have occurred in the past. Given that there were no casualties this time, it therefore would be easy to dismiss this incident, even though at about the same time an Iranian official claimed that Iraq owes...

Defeated Iran opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi gives a rare interview in which he says the Ahmadinejad government is being kept in power by force The Iranian government is being kept in power by force and will not last its four-year term, one of the opposition presidential candidates has predicted.

Opponents of Iran's most senior dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri stopped his memorial service in a tumultuous day in Qom on Monday which saw huge protests and some shots fired, websites said. The car of Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi was attacked by "plainclothes men" on motorbikes as he was returning to Tehran from the service in Qom and one member of his entourage was injured, one of the websites said. The incidents came after huge crowds of Iranians marked Montazeri's funeral in the holy city, 125 km (80 miles) south of Tehran. Websites reported scuffles between mourners...

Last week the House overwhelmingly approved a measure to put a new round of sanctions on Iran. If this measure passes the Senate, the United States could no longer do business with anyone who sold refined petroleum products to Iran or helped them develop their ability to refine their own petroleum. The sad thing is that many of my colleagues voted for this measure because they felt it would deflect a military engagement with Iran. I would put the question to them, how would Congress react if another government threatened our critical trading partners in this way? Would we not...

The U.S. is reaching out to followers of a key Shi'ite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, whose militia once battled U.S. troops and who remains a powerful leader, particularly among Iraq's urban poor. A top Sadrist political leader in Baghdad, Qusay al-Suhail, told The Washington Times that he and his colleagues have been approached five times in the last five months by emissaries seeking to arrange meetings with senior U.S. military and civilian officials at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. "Yes, the Americans tried to talk to me and other Sadrists several times," Mr. al-Suhail said. "They try to talk to us...

Iranian troops pulled back at least partially Sunday from an oil well along the border with Iraq which Baghdad claims as its own. Iraqi officials said an Iranian flag, which had reportedly been planted at the Fakkah oil field, some 450 kilometers south of the capital, had been removed. Around a dozen Iranian soldiers were involved in seizing the well along the ill-defined border, Iraqi officials had said. The war between the two countries in the 1980s left the status of some areas in the region unclear. Ali al-Dabbagh, an Iraqi government spokesman, said that while they pulled back, the...

Iran’s nuclear threat to regional security has replaced Israel as the Arab world’s public enemy number one for the Arab world, according to an Arab survey commissioned by the Doha Debates group.

Iran's opposition seized upon the death of one of the Islamic republic's founding fathers -- a revered ayatollah who was also a fierce critic of the nation's leadership -- to take to the streets in mourning. Tens of thousands of Iranian mourners--many chanting protest slogans--joined the funeral procession Monday for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who had described government crackdowns as the work of power-hungry despots. Iranian authorities have barred foreign media from covering the processions in the holy city of Qom for Ayatollah Montazeri, who died Sunday at age 87. But witnesses said many mourners shouted protest cries including...

Georgie Anne Geyer 12/10/2009 IS THERE A NEW REVOLUTION UNDER WAY IN IRAN? WASHINGTON -- The American people got a good glimpse of the chaos in Iran in 1979 when Americans were held hostage for more than a terrible year -- but perhaps you really had to be in the Middle East to see and feel what a profound effect the "Islamic Revolution" had in that era on the entire region. From Egypt and the Persian Gulf to Indonesia in the Pacific, there was a sense that the world was shaking and might not right itself for many moons. In...

Hundreds of thousands of mourners turned out in Iran's holy city of Qom on Monday for the funeral of top dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. Opposition supporters chanted anti-government slogans in Iran's holy city of Qom on Monday after the funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri. Mourners wearing green items, a symbol of the protests that followed last June's presidential election, chanted slogans similar to those used in the post-ballot demonstrations. There were clashes between hardline pro-government vigilantes and mourners, reports said. "Ansar Hezbollah groups entered the crowd and wanted to derail the slogans and disrupt the ceremony. They went...

Speaking during his weekly television and radio program, Mr Chavez said the aircraft overflew a Venezuelan military base in the western state of Zulia after taking off from neighbouring Columbia. He did not elaborate, but suggested the plane was being used for espionage. "These are the Yankees. They are entering Venezuela," he said. "I've ordered them to be shot down," Mr Chavez said of the aircraft. "We cannot permit this."

WASHINGTON (AP) - Military force would have only limited effect in stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons but must remain an option, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. Baghdad shows no signs of backing down in the standoff over what the United States and other countries say is its drive for a nuclear bomb, Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, told his staff in an annual assessment of the nation's risks and priorities. "My belief remains that political means are the best tools to attain regional security and that military force will have limited...

Tens of thousands of Iranian mourners — many chanting protest slogans — joined the funeral procession Monday for the country's most senior dissident cleric, who had described government crackdowns as the work of power-hungry despots.

One of Iran's most prominent dissident clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, has died aged 87. Hossein Ali Montazeri was a moving spirit in the 1979 revolution which created Iran's Islamic state, and was at one stage set to become its leader. His fierce criticism of the slaughter by Khomeini in his prisons - ended in his being "banned" and theoretically "demoted". Announcing his death, the Mullah regime refused to even give him an Ayatollah title let alone his true Grand Ayatollah one, mentioning him only by his name. One of Shia Islam's most respected figures, he was also a...

Ramadi, Iraq Iraqis remain deeply concerned about Iranian influence in their country five months before the US begins the massive drawdown of its troops from Iraq. Next year, elections will be held in March, and the 112,000 American forces will shrink by more than half by the end of August. As that transition nears, Iraq has made significant progress toward greater security.

Thousands of mourners are gathering in the Iranian city of Qom following the death of leading reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, offering protesters a fresh rallying point for confrontation with the government. Montazeri, who died early this morning aged 87, is due to be buried at the Ma'asoumeh shrine, one of the holiest in Shia Islam, tomorrow. The event threatened to turn into a security nightmare for the authorities amid reports that thousands were travelling from as far away as Isfahan and Najafabad, Montazeri's birthplace. Reformist websites reported that the road between Tehran and Qom was clogged with...

At the end of an hour-long meeting Sunday evening with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that "Egypt has more to fear from Iran than we do." The foreign minister went on to stress that "The greatest danger in the Middle East today is Iran, which is a greater threat to moderate Arab nations than to Israel." Teheran, according to Lieberman, is "attempting to duplicate the model of Hizbullah in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen." Earlier on Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak welcomed Suleiman to Jerusalem, saying that Egypt is a "central player" in the Middle East....

Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s Minister of Defense, announced that the latest test of its Sajjil-2 missile was “a complete success. We will now be able to deliver the outputs of our peaceful nuclear development program to locations as far as 1900 kilometers away in a matter of minutes.” Vahidi noted that “this should serve as a warning to the Zionist terrorists that their days are numbered. The continued Jewish occupation of Palestine is now untenable. Withdrawal or annihilation are the only remaining options for them.” The Minister dismissed the possibility of an Israeli strike against Iran. “Muslims are not afraid of...

A German company that worked with Iraq in the development of its weapons of mass destruction under Saddam Hussein now may be concentrating its technology and efforts in assisting Iran in its ballistic missile program, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Engineering giant Siemens is under investigation for allegedly violating export control laws on two separate shipments of components to Iran. Siemens apparently sought to export from the German port of Hamburg turbo compressors used to accelerate a missile to high speeds from the ground. The compressors originated from a Siemens subsidiary

BAGHDAD — Iraq “is not going to be pushed around” by Iran, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, said here yesterday. Hill and Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of Multi-National Force - Iraq, spoke to reporters traveling with Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Iranians moved onto a disputed oil well in southern Iraq and placed an Iranian flag on the facility. They have since left the facility, which is clearly in Iraqi territory. “It’s like a game of capture the flag,” said an American spokesman in southern Iraq Friday. “It has been...

WASHINGTON: A "bunker buster" bomb with more than 10 times the explosive power of its predecessor is to be put into service by the United States next December, six months later than previously scheduled, the Defense Department said. The deployment's timing may help shape new calculations in long standoffs with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs, much of which are believed to be underground to avoid detection and enhance their chances of surviving an attack.

One of Iran's most prominent dissident clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri, has died aged 87. Hoseyn Ali Montazeri was a moving spirit in the 1979 revolution which created Iran's Islamic state, and was at one stage set to become its leader. One of Shia Islam's most respected figures, he was also a leading critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The BBC's Jon Leyne says the death comes at a crucial time in a standoff between the government and opposition. Iran's rulers will now fear the opposition may attempt a big turnout for his funeral on Monday and other ceremonies marking...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A "bunker buster" bomb with more than 10 times the explosive power of its predecessor is to be put into service by the United States next December, six months later than previously scheduled, the Defense Department told Reuters on Friday. The deployment's timing may help shape new calculations in long standoffs with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs, much of which are believed to be underground to avoid detection and enhance their chances of surviving an attack. "Funding delays and enhancements to the planned test schedule have pushed the capability availability date to December 2010,"...

Iran's senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, has died aged 87, official media reported. Montazeri was an architect of the 1979 Islamic revolution who fell out with the present leadership and was under house arrest for some years. "Hossein Ali Montazeri passed away in his home last night," the official IRNA news agency said in a report that did not mention his title. He lived in the holy Shiite Muslim city of Qom, south of Tehran. In August, he described the clerical establishment as a "dictatorship", saying the authorities' handling of street unrest following a disputed presidential election...

Iran's president says he will soon write to the UN Secretary-General asking for his country to be compensated for World War II damages. "We will seek compensation for World War II damages. I have assigned a team to calculate the costs," Ahmadinejad said. "I will write a letter to the UN Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon] asking for Iran to be compensated for the damages," he added, pointing out that such a move was necessary to ensure that justice was served. "During this period, the Iranian people were subjected to a great deal of pressure and the country suffered a great deal...

Tehran denies Iraqi claim to borderline oil field, says troops are 'on Iranian soil, as defined by known international borders'. Iran confirmed Saturday that its forces had taken over East Maysan oil field, located on the Iran-Iraq border. The move caused a 2.4% spike in oil prices. "The Iranian forces are on Iranian soil, as defined by known international borders. This oil field is Iran's" said an Iranian armed forces statement quoted by the Islamic Republic Arab-language television station, al-Alam.