Iran Test Fires Second Missile In 24 Hours As Posturing Escalates

Zero Hedge ^ | 01/02/2012 | Tyler Durden

[SeekAndFind]

As expected yesterday, when the US went out full bore with a Japan approach of McCollum-like strategy of leaving Iran no option but to keep escalating until finally the US has enough public support grounds for a response, in under 24 hours Iran has launched a second missile, this time not a medium-range SAM to a long-range shore-to-sea missile. Needless to say, the US 5th Navy is watching these quite welcome developments with great interest. From Reuters: "Iran said on Monday it had successfully test fired a long-range missile during its naval exercise in the Gulf, flexing its military muscle to show it could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the region if attacked. The announcement came amid rising tension over Iran's disputed nuclear programme which Western powers believe is working on developing atomic bombs. Tehran denies the accusation and last week said it would stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if the West carried out threats to impose sanctions on its oil exports." At this point it is glaringly obvious to all but the most confused that the US is consistently pushing Iran to escalate further and further, until such time as the US ships stationed in Bahrain say enough and decide it is time to sink some boats.

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"We have test fired a long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (capable), which managed to successfully destroy predetermined targets in the Gulf," deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi told the official news agency IRNA. Iran earlier said it would test fire two long-range missiles on Monday - Qader and another system called Nour (light) - to display its resolve to counter any attack by enemies such as Israel or the United States."

Where it gets interesting is that in what is a certain show of solidarity for Syria, Iran's Mousavi said observers from the country's closest Arab ally, Syria, would attend the last day of its 10-day naval exercise.

The rest is already well-known:

The European Union is considering a ban - already in place by the United States - on imports of Iranian crude.

 

The U.S. Fifth Fleet reacted to Iran's threat to stop oil flows, saying it will not allow any disruption of traffic in the Gulf.

 

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state's nuclear row with the West.

 

Iran said it had no intention to close the Strait of Hormuz.

 

"No order has been given for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But we are prepared for various scenarios," state television quoted navy chief Habibollah Sayyari as saying.

Probably the best advice we have at this point is to keep an eye on what Goldman's commodity research group is saying: if they tell clients to dump Brent, we are probably minutes away from full out war. Until then, the foreplay will continue.

[CodeToad]

Thisis all to make Zero look better. He’ll play tough but not place sanctions on Iran, then Iran will backoff and Zero will take credit for being tough.

[bgill]

[duckman]

Zero’s planning his next vacation, he’s delegated other affairs.

[goseminoles]

Posturing is the perfect word for this..

[CodeToad]

Exactly, except this isn’t just bravado. It is designed to get those civlian ships to stay in port and cause havoc on the oil markets.

[Molon Labbie]

“If we fire them all, then the Great Satan can’t find them and blow them up. We will show them, Insh’allah.”

[Oberon]

Oil being fungible, sanctions from the West are no more than symbolic. Eastern nations will gladly buy the Iranian oil while the West is buying Saudi oil. Net effect? More or less nil.

[Venturer]

Certainly we are not backing Iran into the Corner the Japanese were backed into prior to WW2.

Iran has choices. All they need do is stop building the weapon they have promised to destroy Israel with.

The thesis of this story is a boatload.

[Venturer]

Certainly we are not backing Iran into the Corner the Japanese were backed into prior to WW2.

Iran has choices. All they need do is stop building the weapon they have promised to destroy Israel with.

The thesis of this story is a boatload.

[blueunicorn6]

They can’t build refineries to make their own gasoline, but they sure like their bottle rockets.

[Sundog]

Meanwhile, our boys and girls on the big love boat, the USS John Stennis, are making out in the rope lockers like there’s no tomorrow.

[blueunicorn6]

Is Julie on that boat? I liked Julie. She was pretty in a cute sort of way. I used to dream about being stuck in a lifeboat with her. I’ll bet she’s a Captain by now. Oh, Julie....give me the orders that I’ve longed to hear. I’d batten down her hatches.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Certainly we are not backing Iran into the Corner the Japanese were backed into prior to WW2.

Eh? What corner would that be?

The Japanese were an expansionist nation prior to WWII. They had invaded China in the 1930s and had taken over and militarized many of the Pacific Islands, including the Philippines, and then bombed our Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. What corner were they backed into to cause that?

[eyedigress]

Exactly. NoBama is an utter and complete failure. The NWO is an utter and complete failure and the idiots in charge of their respective nations that bought into this shit are utter and complete failures.

[Pilsner]

What corner were they [the Japanese]backed into to cause that?

FDR's sanctions deprived Japan of the resources it needed to wage an offensive war. That gave the Japanese two options: 1. Stop its expansionism, or 2. Seize the resources it needed to wage an offensive war, by expanding its offensive war. I don't think FDR bears any responsibility because the Japanese chose to expand their war. I think that FDR, and his civilian and military advisers, bear a lot of responsibility for not adequately preparing for what would happen if the Japanese chose option 2.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

I had forgotten about FDR cutting off the oil to Japan. I guess that does make this a similar situation.

There is an excellent book titled The New Dealers' War: The war within WWII by Thomas Freeman. He makes a compelling case that FDR got into the war and fought it in a way to save Joe Stalin's butt. Hitler had attacked him from the west and Japan was posing a threat on the eastern front. Freeman says that FDR had outfitted an old sailing ship with a cannon, put in under an American flag, put a young Navy Lt in charge, making it a U.S. warship, and sailed it into Japanese waters trying to instigate an incident with Japan to give us the excuse to enter the war. Japan saved him the trouble and attacked Pearl Harbor but never spotted the sailing ship.

As we have learned since, there were lots of Communists and Communist sympathizers in FDR's administration. Additional pressure was exerted by his wife.

[Olog-hai]

How can you step up your offensive war if you’re deprived of the means to do so?

[Olog-hai]

Iran isn’t going to play ball with Obama like that. Doesn’t fit the plan of bringing the Mahdi back.

[rmlew]

The Nips wanted war and went to war with the US to protect their genocidal war against China. They could have made a deal with the Dutch for oil, but were too busy trying to carve up Euriopean colonies.

And if you think that the Japanese were right to attack us, you had better hope we never meet. I may ask for your property or goods at whatever price I want, and when you refuse shoot you and take it. And unless you are a hypocrite, you would have no grounds to complain.