Posted on 03/12/2006 3:53:46 AM PST by Hannah Senesh
Iran's leaders have built a secret underground emergency command centre in Teheran as they prepare for a confrontation with the West over their illicit nuclear programme, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.
The complex of rooms and offices beneath the Abbas Abad district in the north of the capital is designed to serve as a bolthole and headquarters for the country's rulers as military tensions mount.
The recently completed command centre is connected by tunnels to other government compounds near the Mossala prayer ground, one of the city's most important religious sites.
Offices of the state security forces, the energy department and the Organisation of Islamic Culture and Communications are all located in the same area.
The construction of the complex is part of the regime's plan to move more of its operations beneath ground. The Revolutionary Guard has overseen the development of subterranean chambers and tunnels - some more than half a mile long and an estimated 35ft high and wide - at sites across the country for research and development work on nuclear and rocket programmes.
The opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) learnt about the complex from its contacts within the regime. The same network revealed in 2002 that Iran had been operating a secret nuclear programme for 18 years.
The underground strategy is partly designed to hide activities from satellite view and international inspections but also reflects a growing belief in Teheran that its showdown with the international community could end in air strikes by America or Israel. "Iran's leaders are clearly preparing for a confrontation by going underground," said Alireza Jafarzadeh, the NCRI official who made the 2002 announcement.
America and Europe believe that Iran is secretly trying to acquire an atomic bomb, although the regime insists that its nuclear programme is for civilian energy purposes.
As the United Nations Security Council prepares to discuss Iran's nuclear operations this week, Teheran has been stepping up plans for confrontation. Its chief delegate on nuclear talks last week threatened that Iran would inflict "harm and pain" on America if censured by the Security Council.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hardline president who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map", also said that the West would "suffer" if it tried to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. As the war of words intensified, President George W Bush said that Teheran represents a "grave national security concern" for America.
In Iraq, which Mr Ahmadinejad hopes will develop into a fellow Shia Islamic state, Iran is already using its proxy militia to attack British and American forces, often with Iranian-made bombs and weapons. As tensions grow, Teheran could order Hizbollah - the Lebanese-based terror faction that it created and arms - to attack targets in Israel.
The regime is also reviewing its contingency plans to attack tankers and American naval forces in the Persian Gulf and to mine the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 15 million barrels of oil (about 20 per cent of world production) passes each day. Any action in the Gulf would send oil prices soaring - a weapon that Iran has often threatened to wield.
The Pentagon's strategic planning is focused on the danger that Iran might try to mine the strait and deploy explosive-packed suicide boats against its warships. In May, American vessels in the Gulf will take part in the Arabian Gauntlet training exercise that deals with clearing mines from the strait, which has a navigable channel just two miles wide.
The naval wing of the Revolutionary Guard has in recent years practised "swarming" raids, using its flotilla of small rapid-attack boats to simulate assaults on commercial vessels and United States warships, according to Ken Timmerman, an American expert on Iran.
The Pentagon is particularly sensitive to the dangers of such attacks after al-Qaeda hit the USS Cole off the Yemen with a suicide boat in 2000, killing 17 American sailors. Last month the White House listed two foiled al-Qaeda plots to attack ships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
US intelligence believes that if Iranian nuclear facilities were attacked by either America or Israel, then Teheran would respond by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz with naval forces, mines and anti-ship cruise missiles.
"When these systems become fully operational, they will significantly enhance Iran's defensive capabilities and ability to deny access to the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz," Michael Maples, the director of the Defence Intelligence Agency testified before the Senate armed services committee last month.
A senior American intelligence officer said that the US navy would be able to reopen the strait but that it would be militarily costly. Hamid Reza Zakeri, a former Iranian intelligence officer, recently told Mr Timmerman that the Iranian navy's Strategic Studies Centre has produced an updated battle plan for the strait.
Its most devastating options would be to use its long-range Shahab-3 missiles to attack Israeli or American bases in the region or to deploy suicide bombers in Western cities under its strategy of "asymmetric" response.
"The price to the West for standing up to Iran is clear," Gen Moshe Ya'alon, the former Israeli defence chief said last month in Washington. "It includes terror attacks, economic hardship… and consequences resulting from fluctuations in Iranian oil production. Indeed, the regime believes that the West - including Israel - is afraid to deal with it."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2006/03/12/wiran12bbig.jpg/
"Iran's leaders have built a secret underground emergency command centre in Teheran as they prepare for a confrontation with the West over their illicit nuclear programme, the Sunday Telegraph has been told."
I wonder how many if Iran's leaders have the brains not to be anywhere near this place when the bombing starts?
Iran Secretly Expanding Nuke Sites
According to a very disturbing report at the Telegraph, satellite images reveal secret expansion of Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility: Iran extends nuclear plant in secret. (Hat tip: Link Mecca.)
On their home page, GraphicLens currently features an interactive Flash graphic showing satellite photos of the construction at Natanz since August 2002. This ought to be read in conjuction with this huge story. A senior Pakistani source says that Iran was given uranium enriched enough to be used in nuclear weapons by Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Democrats whine on and on about 'the culture of corruption" and "filibuster" and "Bushitler" ad nauseum. Fiddling while Rome burns. Go to the Democratic websites - see for yourself this stuff isn't even on their radar screen.
There is no way they are going to "test" a nuclear weapon. If they have one, that maniac is going to vaporize whatever part of Israel he can reach. And here's another map I whipped up during a similar Iran nukes discussion,
showing the to-scale size of the 'zones of total devastation' from a variety of nuclear bomb yields, with a map of Israel.
Underground "hardened" command center is not news. Read Timmerman's book.
where is the secret part?
So what? We increase the yield from 5 to 10 megatons, and multiply total deliverable warheads by a factor of 10.
"Problem" solved. :)
Ill tell ya, these Persians have been busy little beavers, just digging away trying to hide things. Meanwhile, europeans are concerned about whether transgender folk are entitled to a third type of bathroom as the original two types are so limiting sexually.
There is a very dangerous underlying theme to Irans nuke plans that I have not heard mentioned at all yet. Despite the actual building of the device or devices, there is much more here than meets the eye. They have so easily out manuvered the west for the last couple of years, that they might be feeling quite full of confidence at this time. This is very dangerous when coupled with islam and hands on nuke buttons. Its not the nuke that is so dangerous, its the knowledge that they can get away with whatever they like and however they like it that is very very dangerous.
Yeah it'd be SO nice if they did all congregate in this one area.
If we bomb their facilities but not take out their evil leaders what good will that do? It buys us some nuclear safety time but it's just hitting the hornet's nest and it'd be used by those in power to justify their revenge.
We'd be smarter to bite the bullet and step on the snake's head, rather than try to grab his tail like that.
Ideally the democracy movement would take hold and solve the Iran situation long term. I saw the Shah's son Reza Pahlavi on Fox last night. He said the military option would hinder the democracy movement. That's too bad because it sure looks like we're going to have to use bombs. He seems like a very good man.
What an illustrative point!
The two are world's apart aren't they. If the Islamics weren't violent who would care?
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Bush went wimpy on Saudi Arabia following 911. Bush has gone wimpy on Iran's making of the IEDs that are killing our troops in Iraq. Bush went wimpy on Syria after knowing they funnel terrorists into Iraq and allowed WMDs from Iraq to be stationed there.
What makes you think Wimpy Bush would go nuclear on Iran?
Good info, but it's only polite to provide the geographical coordinates.
Secrets are sure easy to acquire nowadays.
10 digit UTM's would have been a nice polite addition. ;-)
We can't stick our heads in the sand about Iran as we have ever since Jimmy Carter's woeful performance in the WH. Diplomatic maneuvering, weeks, months spent jabbering pointlessly with the UN and Europe while Iran lies and works away on nukes. Sanctions, whatever, will be pointless once they build one bomb. They'll threaten to use it, our allies will run for the hills, and if we don't act, Israel will. Iran will hand out nukes to anyone with an anti-American attitude, and here come Chavez, Castro, and the rest of our pals in this hemisphere just itching to blow us up. Iran has to be smacked down hard. Revolution, sure, but get the nukes.
"10 digit UTM's would have been a nice polite addition. ;-)"
Oh, those who need to know that information have it, I'm quite certain. In Israel, such information is probably already programmed into appropriate equipment.
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