Has a record-breaking British powerboat become the “ultimate toy” for an Iranian playboy or – as US investigators fear – is it now equipped with the world’s fastest torpedoes aimed at sinking an aircraft carrier in the Gulf?
In spite of efforts by the Obama administration to stop it falling into the hands of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Bradstone Challenger – a high-performance powerboat built with support from a US defence contractor – is believed to be under new and dangerous ownership.
The unusual journey of the Bladerunner 51 powerboat began in 2005 when a team led by UK adventurer Neil McGrigor took it from a Florida boatyard and smashed the Italian-held record for the fastest circumnavigation of Britain. The time of 27 hours and 10 minutes, at an average speed of 61.5 mph including fuel stops, still stands.
Advertised for sale the next year through a broker “as the ultimate toy for someone looking for something a little bit special”, the 51ft craft caught the eye of the Iranians. Initial attempts to buy it were blocked by the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
As the Financial Times has learned from defence and industry sources, Iran did not give up. After the boat passed through at least two more parties, the US got wind in January 2009 it was about to be transferred in the South African port of Durban on to a Hong Kong-flagged Iranian merchant vessel, the Diplomat, bound for the Gulf.
The US commerce department’s Bureau of Industry and Security asked South African authorities to block the transfer. It voiced concern that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards intended to use the boat as a “fast attack craft”. The bureau noted that similar vessels had been armed with “torpedoes, rocket launchers and anti-ship missiles” with the aim of “exploiting enemy vulnerabilities through the use of ‘swarming’ tactics by small boats”.
The loading went ahead because, said one source, no one saw the US notice sent by fax over a weekend. US special forces were ready to intercept the Iranian merchant vessel but the operation was called off, the source said.
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REPEAT:
US special forces were ready to intercept the Iranian merchant vessel but the operation was called off, the source said.
abu bama interfering with Special Forces AGAIN???
More at the link.
Three blasts set off by suicide bombers in cars went off in quick succession in Baghdad on Sunday morning, killing at least 30 people and wounding 200, Iraq's Interior Ministry said.
The blasts went off within five minutes of one another, all near embassy buildings in the capital.
Two of the explosions occurred in the Mansour neighborhood in western Baghdad. One blast was close to the Egyptian Embassy, the other near a complex that holds a number of embassies, including those of Syria and Germany.
The third car bomb exploded near the Iranian Embassy in the central part of the city.
"Is this the result of the elections we voted in?" asked Fued Ahmed, a resident who lives near the Iranian Embassy. "We voted. What did we vote for? The explosion? If they can tell us where there's a safe place that we can go to, we'll go there."
An elderly man added, "Don't talk to me, talk to the government -- with Nuri al-Maliki, with Ayad Allawi, ask them why all these victims lost their lives." He was referring to the current prime minister and head of the Iraqiya bloc, respectively.
In a statement, the Iraqiya coalition said that the day's bombings highlight "the indisputable violations of these security forces and their failure in halting terrorism, which has stolen the lives of tens of thousands of innocent martyrs of people in Iraq."
The Iraqiya bloc, which won a narrow victory in recent elections, implored the current government to restore peace until the formation of the new government.
For his part, al-Maliki called an urgent meeting Sunday with his national security council.
THAT ISN'T ALL:
In addition to Sunday's bombings, the security council discussed the killings of 25 people late Friday in a Sunni village near Baghdad by gunmen wearing military uniforms.
In that incident, five of the dead were women. Most of the victims were shot in the head, and all were found handcuffed, police said. Al Qaeda in Iraq is suspected to be behind the killings, but authorities stressed the investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, in central Baghdad, Iraqi security forces arrested a suspected suicide bomber driving a car loaded with explosives in the al-Massbah neighborhood. The would-be bomber was targeting the police headquarters charged with protecting foreign embassies, Iraqi authorities said.
Also Sunday, Baghdad police reported two roadside bomb explosions in Baghdad. One injured nine people and the other wounded five people. Six police officers were among the injured in those blasts.
Police also reported that explosives attached to two cars in south Baghdad wounded two civilians.
In the city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded, killing three civilians and injuring 35, including seven policemen, police said.
The series of suicide bombings near the embassies was the fifth coordinated attack in Baghdad since August 2009.
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This is Iraq, for G-d's sake! Why are we not hearing about all this???
Is everything we have done over there for nothing? Is abu bama sending Iraq back to hell?
The short answer is yes.
DAMN HIS EVIL SOUL!
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With the way the Brits are kissing their sharia law arses, they probably will offer themselves as sacrifice’s via PC
No one cares but you and I!