Iran using PA as proxy against Israel - senior official

JPOST ^ | Tomorrow...Which makes it Breaking News...I hope | Herb Keinon

[College Repub]

Iran using PA as proxy against Israel - senior official
By Herb Keinon

JERUSALEM (January 13) - Iran's involvement in the Karine A arms smuggling affair is part of a larger effort to deter Israel from militarily trying to scuttle Teheran's nuclear program, according to a senior diplomatic official.

According to the official, Iran wants to use the Palestinians as proxies, much as it used Hizbullah as a proxy to wage war against Israel in Lebanon.

"Iran wants a base and stronghold in the PA to threaten Israel," the official said. "They feel the way to counter an Israeli threat to their nuclear program is through the use of terrorism. They feel this will deter any attack on Iran."

In addition to Hizbullah in the North and its developing ties with the PA, the official said there is intelligence showing that, since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, the Iranians have exploited the "frustration and anger of Israeli Arabs" to gain recruits for intelligence gathering and to funnel money and arms.

The growing Palestinian-Iranian connection figured prominently in a conversation between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday.

According to Sharon's office, the prime minister briefed Putin on the developing ties between Iran and the Palestinians, and Iran's direct involvement in arms smuggling.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, meanwhile, issued a statement last night saying Iran is the source of world terrorism, adding that everything must be done to make this clear to the world.

"Iran is initiating and funding terror against Israel, and the ayatollahs, who are the source of real power in Iran, call openly for Israel's destruction," said Peres, who added Israel should not underestimate this threat.

Peres wrote UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan two weeks ago to protest against comments made by Iranian leaders calling for Israel's destruction.

Former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani implied last month Israel could be the target of an "Islamic" nuclear attack.

The Iranian connection also came up during Peres's visit last week to India. According to Israeli officials, Iranian fingerprints can also be found on the terrorism facing India.

According to the senior official, the US has evidence of Iranian involvement in the Karine A affair.

The official said evidence of ties with Iran comes at a particularly bad time for the PA, since the US is increasingly seeing Iran as being on the wrong side of the battle against terrorism.

US President George W. Bush warned the Iranians last week against trying to undermine the fledgling interim Afghan government, and US officials said Iran has become a refuge for a number of al-Qaida members.

In his conversation with Putin, Sharon said the PA - in violation of various agreements - continues to try to arm itself with large quantities of weapons.

In a related development, Sharon's office issued a statement last night saying PA claims it has arrested three top officials involved in the Karine A affair were false.

The PA on Friday said it had arrested three men: Fuad Shubaki, a key PA financial figure, and Palestinian Naval Police officers Fathi al-Razem and Adel al-Mughrabi. Last night the Palestinians corrected themselves, saying only Shubaki was being held for questioning, while "arrest warrants" had been issued for the other two.

The Prime Minister's Office said Shubaki was in Ramallah, while the other two are not in PA-controlled areas.

Before being in charge of the financing and supply of the Palestinian Police, Shubaki was in charge of the financial department of Palestinian armed forces in Arab countries. A PA source said he has good connections to Hizbullah and other groups.

"So far we have no evidence linking Shubaki and the others to the smuggling of weapons on the Karine A," the PA source added.

Bassam Abu Sharif, an adviser to Arafat, said Shubaki was placed in "detention for the purpose of investigation."

The order does not necessarily mean that Shubaki would be jailed, nor does it mean that he must be placed under house arrest, the PA source said.

It could also mean that he had to give his identity papers to the Palestinian Police, that his freedom of movement was restricted, and that he has to be available for questioning.

A PA court and investigation committee ordered all three suspects placed under this kind of detention, Abu Sharif said. "It is the first step to gather information, and once there is evidence they will be tried," he said.

Sharon's spokesman, Ra'anan Gissin, said the Palestinian announcements of the arrests and arrest warrants were intended to appease the US.

"They panicked," he said of the PA, "when they realized the [US] president and secretary of state were convinced of the PA's involvement."

(Lamia Lahoud contributed to this report.)

[Orion78]

Iran paid $25m. for nuclear weapons, documents show (5/10/98)
Russia says nuclear technology sales to Iran pose no threat (5/11/98)
Iran has missile which can hit Isreal (9/26/98)
Iran Says Missile Is for Satellites (2/7/99)
Russia May Build 3 Nuclear Plants In Iran (6/29/99)
Canada's nuclear deal with Iran alarms the US (7/9/99)
U.S. Nuclear Equipment Smuggled Into Iran (10/12/99)
Azerbaijan Reexamines Iranian Relations (1/22/01)
Iran ships long-range rockets to Hizbullah in Lebanon (2/28/00)
Iran Defector Says Tehran Behind Lockerbie-CBS TV (6/3/00)
China providing advanced aid in long-range missiles to Iran, Syria (6/6/00)
Iran opens sea lanes to Iraq's oil shipments (6/6/00)

[weikel]

They will never complete their nuclear program if they get close to being able to produce U-235 Israel will bomb the facilities.

[consrv_at_IsraelForum_dot_com]

And still the US will not put Iran on the list of terrorist countries that will be the target of military action similar to Afghanistan.

Too bad...

[thucydides]

Let me see - supporting terrorism is a way to deter Israel from reacting to the threat of nuclear annihilation? Am I missing something, or is this just plain nuts?

[Orion78]

Iran wants end to Western edge (6/23/00)
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Russia Drops Pledge Not To Arm Iran (11/22/00)
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Japan, Iran to boost economic ties (7/22/01)
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EU-Iran Rapprochement on Right Track (12/24/01)
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Palestinian - Iran ties denounced (1/9/02)
Bush Warns Iran Over Afghanistan (1/10/02)
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[Orion78]

Don't even get me started again. I already proved to you on a previous thread that your arguement is null, but you never did say anything back did you?

[goldstategop]

Flash back 9 years ago when the Israeli Left assured us the PLO would be an ally against Islamic fundamentalism and help Israel to buy time to focus on on the looming Iranian threat. Now fast forward to the present: Israel makes the announcement the PLO is an Iranian proxy deployed against Israel. Oops the Israeli Left has been caught with its collective pants down. Even now though they're not admitting and will never admit that Oslo as they've tirelessly promoted and pursued it for the past 9 years was the stupidest folly in human history. I guess they're waiting to be convinced of it by having the PLO set off an Iran smuggled nuclear device in Tel Aviv first before they will finally see the light. So what was that all again about the PLO's supposed to be the great peace partner? They're in bed with Iran!

[Amerigomag]

Am I missing something

Yes.

When the rats are in your bedroom at night nibbling at your toes it's hard to focus your anger on the crack house just down the block.

[weikel]

Im to lazy to read through 100000 links suffice it to say you need very specialized facilities to seperate U-235 from U-238 I think if the Iranians were ever close to building them Israel would bomb the facilities. I also do not believe Iran has the capability in electronics to make anything more than a dirty bomb if they were given sufficient fissionable materials.

[Orion78]

You believe that because you don't bother to read the links I post.

[weikel]

And lets say Israel thought they could then Israel would invade every country in between Iran and Israel just to get to Iran and they would win.

[weikel]

Iraq had a nuclear reactor a while back the Israelis bombed it to rubble.

[kezekiel]

"Iran wants a base and stronghold in the PA to threaten Israel," the official said. "They feel the way to counter an Israeli threat to their nuclear program is through the use of terrorism. They feel this will deter any attack on Iran."

It will? Look around... supporting terrorism is a great way to get yourself attacked.

[Orion78]

I would like to see a link for that if you have it.

[Orion78]

U.S. Nuclear Equipment Smuggled Into Iran (10/12/99)

"The television station said U.S. electronic equipment used in Swedish reactors was smuggled out of Sweden and arrived in Iran. The report said a man was arrested for forging export permits."

[weikel]

I was told that in my history of foreign policy class I don't have a link.

[Orion78]

Iran paid $25m. for nuclear weapons, documents show (5/10/98)

"JERUSALEM (April 10) - Iran paid $25 million for what appears to have been two tactical atomic weapons smuggled out of the former Soviet Union in a highly classified operation aided by technicians from Argentina, according to Iranian government documents marked top secret and obtained by The Jerusalem Post."

So If the Israelis thought the Iranians had atomic weapons in 1998, how come they didnt tear through the middle east and bomb Iran?

[Orion78]

ISRAEL WORRIED ABOUT IRAQI NUCLEAR PROGRAM (2/27/01)

"Israeli officials and analysts said they don't expect Iraq to complete indigenous production of enriched uranium or plutonium for another few years. But they said Baghdad could compensate by smuggling such material from countries in the former Soviet Union. In such a scenario, Iraq would need only several months to complete a nuclear bomb. "The assessment of Iran and Iraq is built on indigenous capability and not smuggled uranium," said Shai Feldman, director of Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. "If it obtains enriched uranium, then Iraq doesn't need three years"

Same goes for Iran. They don't need to build facilities. They just buy it from China or Russia.

[weikel]

But will those countries give them fully functioning ballistic missles. Even if they get fissionable materials it takes considerable skill in electronics and aerospace engineering to build those. Do you think Iran has those capabilities?