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State Dept. warns Israel not to ‘betray’ US (Marie Harf warns Israel not to reveal details of deal)
Times of Israel ^ | March 2, 2015, 10:29 pm

Posted on 03/02/2015 12:42:55 PM PST by Dave346

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf says leaks on the Iran nuke talks by Israel would “betray” the US’s trust.

“We’ve continuously provided detailed classified briefings to Israeli officials to keep them updated and to provide context for how we are approaching getting to a good deal,” she told reporters in Washington.

“Any release of any kind of information like that would, of course, betray that trust.”


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Israel; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 201503; 20150303; abdulghanibedawi; aipac; antisemitism; bedawi; betrayal; bomb; carbombings; erdogan; harf; iran; irandeal; iraniangeneral; iranlobby; irg; irgc; israel; israelhate; jerusalemarmy; marieharf; netanyahu; netanyahuspeech; nuclear; proliferation; saudidiplomat; takipur; tawhidsalam; terror; tevhidiselam; trust; turkey; typicalstatedept; vakili; victormarwick; war; waronterror
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To: piasa

Israel embassy car bombing leads to diplomacy row

World | NDTV Correspondent | Updated: February 14, 2012 09:59 IST

New Delhi: The explosion in an Israleli diplomat’s car in New Delhi on Monday has led to a global war of words with Israel training its guns on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran and its “protege” Hezbollah of carrying out the twin bomb attacks on Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia, accusing Tehran of being the “world’s largest terror exporter”.

Addressing lawmakers of his Likud Party, Mr Netanyahu said, “In all those cases, the elements behind these attacks were Iran and its protege Hezbollah.”

Two people were wounded in New Delhi and the bomb in Georgia was defused before it went off.

“Today we witnessed two more terror attacks in India and Georgia. Iran, which is behind these two attacks, is the world’s largest terror exporter. The government of Israel and its security services will continue to cooperate with local authorities against Iran’s global terror,” he added.

Mr Netanyahu said that other attacks in recent months in Azerbaijan, Thailand and elsewhere were thwarted.

An Israeli embassy car in New Delhi exploded today close to the mission in a suspected coordinated terror attack after a car bomb involving an Israeli embassy vehicle in Georgian capital of Tbilisi was defused.

According to initial investigations, two motorcycle borne youths tailed the Israeli Embassy vehicle in New Delhi’s high security zone and allegedly placed “something” in the rear of the car when it stopped at a traffic signal.

In the past, Iran has accused Israel of being involved in a series of killings of it nuclear scientists involved in its controversial atomic programme.

India, which will have to walk the diplomatic tightrope, has assured Israel of a serious and thorough investigation. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said last evening, “The culprits will be brought to justice at the earliest. I have just spoken to Israel’s PM and I have assured Israel’s foreign minister that the law of the land will take its course. The investigation has already started, we will continue with it and keep him posted as and when we get the progress report on the investigation.” Mr Krishna said.

Earlier, reacting to the incidents, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has said that his country “will not allow terrorism to affect its agenda”.

“It just shows that Israel and its citizens face terror inside and outside of Israel,” Liberman said. “We deal with it every day. We know how to identify exactly who is responsible for the attack and who carried it out,” he added in an apparent reference to Lebanese Shi’ite faction Hezbollah.

The incident in New Delhi came a day after the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Hezbollah deputy leader, Imad Mughniyah, who was killed in a car bomb attack.

However, Iran denied Israeli accusations that it was behind attacks on Israeli embassy staff in Georgia and India.

“We categorically reject the accusations made by the Zionist regime. They are part of a propaganda war,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by
the an Arabic television channel.

“Iran condemns all acts of terrorism,” he added.

Iran “has also been the victim of terrorist actions,” Mr Mehmanparast said, adding that “the Zionist regime itself is based on state terrorism and occupation” in reference to
Israeli-occupied Palestinian land.

The US said it has no information yet on who were involved in the bombing on Israeli diplomats vehicle in New Delhi and attempted attack on Israeli diplomatic personnel in Georgia, the White House has said.

“We have no information yet on who is responsible for these attacks, so we are still evaluating what happened,” Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary told reporters.

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US places a high priority on the safety and security of diplomatic personnel around the world.

“We stand ready to assist with any investigation of these cowardly actions,” she said.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the bombing of an Israeli diplomatic vehicle in India and the attempted attack on Israeli Embassy personnel in Georgia. The scourge of
terrorism is an affront to the entire international community,” Ms Clinton said.

Meanwhile, American Jewish Committee condemned attacks on Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia and said it is another ominous indication of how far terrorists, and their
state sponsors, will take their war against Israel.

“The bombing in India, and attempted attack in Georgia, have the unmistakable fingerprints of Iran, and its terror proxy Hezbollah, which destroyed Israel’s Embassy in Buenos
Aires in 1992, and, two years later, leveled the city’s Jewish community center,” said AJC executive director David Harris.

Georgia UN chief Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attacks on Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia and called on the concerned authorities to investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Following the attack that targeted an Israeli diplomatic vehicle in India today, injuring one person, and reports of a foiled attack on Israeli Embassy personnel in Georgia, the Secretary-General recalls his condemnation of attacks against diplomatic personnel and premises wherever they take place,” the spokesperson of the UN Secretary General said.
“He calls on the host authorities to investigate these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice,” the spokesperson said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Story First Published: February 14, 2012 09:59 IST


41 posted on 03/02/2015 1:37:54 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: txhurl

Oh, it does get bigger- see my last post


42 posted on 03/02/2015 1:38:44 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: Dave346

Eat it, Barf!


43 posted on 03/02/2015 1:40:56 PM PST by mongo141 (Revolution ver. 2.0, just a matter of when, not a matter of if!)
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To: longfellow

Obama To Give Infidel-Hating Iran Another $4.9 Billion ... **

www.downtrend.com/ vsaxena/ obama-to-give-infidel-hating-iran-another-4-9-billion

President Obama has not only blessed Iran with another extension in negotiations, but with another $490 million of taxpayer funds as well, reports Fox News.

U.S. to Give Iran Another $2.8 Billion, Concedes Enrichment ... **

www.freebeacon.com/ national-security/ u-s-to-give-iran-another-2-8-billion-concedes-enrichment/
The United States will give Iran access to another $2.8 billion ... according to senior Obama ... The United States already returned to Iran $4.2 billion in ...

Inside Obama’s Iran Sanctions Strategy - The Daily Beast **

www.thedailybeast.com/ articles/ 2013/ 11/ 14/ inside-obama-s-iran-sanctions-strategy.html Obama believes he’s near a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program—and is willing to offer up to $10 billion in sanctions relief. But Israel and Congress think he’s giving away much more.

U.S. to Give Iran Another $2.8 Billion, Concedes Enrichment ... **

www.truthuncensored.net/ u-s-to-give-iran-another-2-8-billion-concedes-enrichment/
... “The United States will give Iran access to another $2.8 billion over the next several ... Obama stated in ... to Iran, are more than $100 billion. ...

Team Obama Gives Iran $6 Billion in Formerly Frozen Cash in ... *

www.libertynews.com/ 2013/ 11/ team-obama-gives-iran-6-billion-in-formerly-frozen-cash-in-exchange-f or-the-islamic-states-promise-not-to-develop-a-nuclear-bomb/ - Proxy - Highlight

Team Obama Gives Iran $6 Billion in Formerly Frozen Cash in Exchange for the Islamic State’s Promise Not to Develop a Nuclear Bomb

Obama Proposes $100 Billion Loan for I.M.F. *

www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234038/posts - Proxy - Highlight

you’d be surprised just how well that book sells in iran and venezuela. tens ... What I want to know is whether we ALL have to give up the one latte’ per ... So how much money has Obama spent or proposed to spend starting with Bush’s

Obama Gave Iran $20 Billion in Sanctions Relief | FrontPage Magazine


44 posted on 03/02/2015 1:41:28 PM PST by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto!)
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To: Dave346

Libs all over Twitter today, just BLASTING Netanyahu with hate.

It really is a sight to see:
https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=netanyahu&src=typd
Lots of retweets of Noam Chomski’s, “Netanyahu not satisfied with survival — he wants Israel to be able to brutalize”


45 posted on 03/02/2015 1:42:08 PM PST by tcrlaf (They told me it could never happen in America. And then it did....)
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To: McGruff

That picture still and always reminds me of Mary Katherine Gallagher...


46 posted on 03/02/2015 1:42:46 PM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: piasa

Here’s why the pro-Iran crowd is going apeschnitt over Netanyahu’s possible case:

See this raving nut’s blog:

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/02/who-carried-out-the-terrorist-car-bombings-in-india-thailand-and-georgia.html


47 posted on 03/02/2015 1:45:18 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: bert
Librarian Barbie has her thong in a wad.


48 posted on 03/02/2015 1:47:22 PM PST by Stand Watch Listen (When the going gets tough...the Low Information President Obola (LIPO) goes golfing)
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To: piasa
Ouch... Introducing Obama's butt buddy Erdogan of Turkey [the guy who with Iran's Khamenei came up with the anti-free speech "Alliance of Civilizations" that the Dems were visiting Istanbul for ... Turkey's been troublesome in the Gaza flotilla affair with its IHH group confronting Israeli personnel at sea on the same boat as Obama's Code Pink donors.

****************************

Iran-backed group implicated in attack on Israel embassy in Georgia , Todays Zaman, http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_iran-backed-group-implicated-in-attack-on-israel-embassy-in-georgia_356730.html

The investigation into an Iran-backed deadly terrorist organization in Turkey has uncovered the organization's connection to the failed bombing attack against an Israel embassy staff member in the georgian capital of Tbilisi on Feb. 2012.

According to information gathered in the comprehensive three-year probe into the Tawhid-Salam cells working for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force in Turkey, Naser Ghafari, one of the commanders assigned to Turkey by the IRGC, instructed a key suspect in the Tawhid-Salam organization to conduct surveillance in Tbilisi. Naser Ghafari operates under the cover of a diplomatic passport attached to the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul.

According to the case file, Ghafari gave the order to Hüseyin Yazikioglu, a Turkish citizen who has been working for Iranian intelligence, on Oct. 15, 2011. Acting on instructions from an Iranian handler, Yazikioglu booked a flight to Tbilisi scheduled for Nov. 14, 2011. The flight was later rescheduled for Nov. 30 and again rescheduled for Jan. 4.

With a court-approved surveillance order, Turkish investigators also gained access to the email account of Yazikioglu and discovered a series of photos sent to him on Oct. 18, 2011 by Turkish citizen Erol Ünaldi. The photos showed landmark places in and around Tbilisi such as the park across from the Radisson Blue hotel and metro stations, among others.

In one of the pictures sent to Yazikioglu's email, police were able to identify the license plate of Ünaldi's car. The car, with the license number 34 BJ 4352, was logged by customs officials at the Artvin Sarp border crossing, and the record indicated that Ünaldi; entered into Georgia on Nov. 2, 2011 and exited Georgia on Nov. 13, 2011. The investigators concluded that Ünaldi; had scouted targets in Tbilisi to identify meeting points with Yazikioglu.

All this activity had been recorded before the foiled bomb attack in Tbilisi on Feb. 13, 2012, when a bomb was found under the car of a Georgian employee of the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi. The car was located near the embassy and police defused the explosive without incident. The same day, in a separate incident, the wife of an Israeli diplomat was injured in a car bomb explosion in New Delhi. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being responsible for both incidents.

Turkish police discovered that the attack targeting the Israeli Consulate General in Istanbul's Etiler neighborhood in May 2011 -- which resulted in serious injuries but no fatalities -- was also staged by the Iran-backed terrorist group. Using street camera recordings, police were able to trace a bomb-laden bike to a storage unit in İstanbul's Fatih district that had been rented using a false identity by Rezazadeh Metin, an Iranian with the Quds Force.

The bomb in Etiler was supplied by Abdurrahman Çelik, who had previously been convicted of killing two opponents of the Iranian regime in Turkey and given a prison sentence of 12-and-half years, though he was released in 2004 following an amnesty agreement by Erdogan's government.

In his testimony, Çelik admitted that he had been trained in Iran to stage attacks in Turkey and conduct intelligence operations on behalf of Iran for over two months. He also acknowledged that the Iran-based Quds Force had obtained bombs from him and had staged attacks in Georgia and Thailand.

The Tawhid-Salam network allegedly reaches higher-ups in the Turkish government. The politically motivated witch hunt against police investigators who uncovered highly secretive cells in the network publically revealed damaging details from the prosecutors' confidential investigation files. Embattled Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to downplay the significance of the revelation as his government attempted to cover up the investigation by reshuffling police investigators and prosecutors assigned to the case.

Tawhid-Salam was designated a terrorist organization in Turkey by higher courts. Several members of the organization -- which was charged for killing leading intellectuals and attacking Western, Israeli, Arab and other diplomatic targets in Turkey -- were sentenced to prison terms in early 2000.

It appears that sleeper cells were reactivated in Turkey starting in 2008. The names of a number of Turkish and Iranian suspects, some of whom hold high positions in Erdogan's government, have been revealed in recent media reports and put the government in a difficult position.

49 posted on 03/02/2015 1:58:43 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: combat_boots

For Saudi to give Netenyahu overflight means Iran is getting attacked on Net’s time table and I doubt zero would scramble our guys over SA.


50 posted on 03/02/2015 2:03:59 PM PST by txhurl
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To: piasa
Which leads to a direct threat to the United States from Iran: [and an indiect Benghazi-like consulate attack smell in the air]

**************************

Iran-backed Tawhid-Salam network targeted NATO radar base in Turkey, Today's Zaman, http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_iran-backed-tawhid-salam-network-targeted-nato-radar-base-in-turkey_356452.html

Operatives of a secretive Iran-backed terrorist network in Turkey scouted the area hosting a radar site in Malatya's Kürecik district that is part of a NATO early warning radar system, an ongoing investigation has revealed.

According to an 854-page police investigation on the Tawhid-Salam terror network obtained by Today's Zaman, witness testimony provided to the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office on March 22, 2013 indicated that suspects tied to Iranian intelligence had collected information about Kürecik. The witness said many front companies with the cover of legitimate businesses such as real estate agencies or bookstores had been established in Malatya by people with ties to Iran in order to gather intelligence on the NATO radar base.

Iran held the top spot on the list of foreign countries establishing companies in Turkey in 2011, and the number of Iranian-owned firms rose steadily each month in 2012. Observers have repeatedly pointed out concerns in Ankara that some of the Tehran-backed businesses may be front companies set up to finance terrorist activities as well as to circumvent United Nations and United States-sponsored sanctions on Iran.

The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), an organization that tracks foreign firms, reported that Iranians set up 111 companies in Turkey between January and June of 2014. The number of Iran-funded companies set up in 2013 was 280.

The secret witness was identified in the case file with the code name “Safak.” He also claimed that some of the protests held about Kürecik were organized by people linked to Iran who the Tawhid-Salam terror network paid in cash for their services.

Turkey hosts an early warning radar system as part of a NATO missile defense system to protect its European allies. The X-band AN/TPY-2 radar was deployed at a military base in Kürecik, and has been operational since January 2012.

The system is designed to prevent an Iranian missile threat, as explicitly stated by US officials on several occasions.

Then-Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan stated in September 2012 in Washington, “We have made no secret of the fact that Iran's missile program is a reason for concern,” referring to the Kürecik radar's potential focus on Iran.

Turkey's decision to host the radar base has strained Turkish-Iranian ties. “We are closely monitoring relations with Turkey in the national security commission in [the Iranian] parliament. Iran has warned Turkey before that the deployment of the system will have grave consequences,” said Hossein Ibrahimi, the vice president of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, in December 2011.

Erdogan gov't to hush up probe

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, led by political Islamist President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has launched a politically motivated witch hunt against the police investigators who uncovered the Tawhid-Salam network.

Despite the fact that the terror group allegedly has ties to senior government officials, the Erdogan government wants to hush up the investigation and prevent fallout from the scandal. The police chiefs who worked on the case file for three years were detained on trumped-up charges. But their testimony has revealed more details exposing the structure of terrorist Tawhid-Salam, also known as the Jerusalem Army, which has killed leading intellectuals and attacked Western, Israeli, Arab and other diplomatic targets in Turkey.

The names of a number of Turkish and Iranian suspects, some of whom hold high positions in Erdogan's government, have been revealed in recent media reports and put the government in a difficult position.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Mahmut Tanal claimed that Erdogan's government is closely involved with the Tawhid-Salam organization. “The government is part of it [Tawhid-Salam],” he said. He filed an objection to the dismissal of the Tawhid-Salam investigation, dropped by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office under political pressure.

Ali Fuat Yilmazer, the former chief of the Istanbul Police Department's intelligence unit, said Tawhid-Salam has penetrated deep into the government, in what amounts to international espionage. He has been detained by the government so that he and others involved in the investigation will keep their mouths shut.

The government has tried to downplay the significance of the serious breach of national security and has scrambled to contain the fallout. Erdogan called the terror group “fake” and “imaginary” even though the Supreme Court of Appeals has accepted the group as a terrorist network and upheld the convictions of many of its members.

According to the file, Tawhid-Salam has been operating through four independent cells, all of which are directed by Iranian intelligence operatives who report directly to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The investigation also discovered that the terrorist cell had carried out reconnaissance on the US Consulate-General in Istanbul in 2010, seemingly in preparation for an attack on the building. Police seized a detailed surveillance report that indicated a number of empty shops and flats that could be rented to monitor the consulate. The various rental prices of the flats overlooking the entrances to the building were also listed.

During the reconnaissance activity, suspects used rental and municipal vehicles to scout the neighborhood. In the next phase of the investigation of the Tawhid-Salam network, police verified that the suspects' cell phone activity had been recorded on Oct. 5-6, 2010, in the neighborhood of the US Consulate General. For their surveillance activity around the consulate, members of the cell suggested using a minaret near the consulate building as well as renting a flat for TL 800 a month, from which one of them would be able to spy on the building.

Suspects had also drawn up the plans of the Nuclear Research Institute in Istanbul's Halkali neighborhood and delivered the details to Iranian intelligence

51 posted on 03/02/2015 2:12:08 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa

More:

http://www.todayszaman.com/anasayfa_iran-backed-tawhid-salam-probe-dropped-under-political-pressure_353743.html


52 posted on 03/02/2015 2:16:52 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa
The organization is also noted for killing American, Saudi Arabian and Israeli diplomats, as well as Iranian dissidents who sought refuge in Turkey. The terrorist activities of Tawhid-Salam, also known as the Jerusalem Army, were first identified in 1996 and the organization has been investigated by the police since then. The Iranian intelligence-backed organization is also accused of staging a bomb attack which targeted the Israeli Consulate in İstanbul's Etiler district in 2011 in which then-38-year-old Ayten Bal lost her leg and seven others were injured. Initial investigations suggested the bombing was an act of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorism due to the proximity of the blast to a police school building but deeper investigations made it clear that Tawhid-Salam had carried out the attack. That attack was not the first. In 1996, Tawhid-Salam member Abdülhamit Çelik was arrested for killing two Iran regime opponents in Turkey and sentenced to 12 years, six months imprisonment, though he was released in 2004 following an amnesty agreement. More recent investigations have revealed that members of Tawhid-Salam, including high-ranking figures in Turkey, have been working on behalf of Iranian interests for a long time and that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Sayed Ali Akber Mir Vakili is leading the terrorist group.
53 posted on 03/02/2015 2:19:19 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: Dave346

Wow.

The ‘trust’ that would be betrayed would be Israel discovering that they were not privy to some aspects of the ‘negotiations’ and, hence, choosing to go directly to Congress with the revelations since the Executive branch was being reckless & dishonest.

THAT might explain the drama of this. We shall see...


54 posted on 03/02/2015 2:19:49 PM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus-)
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To: piasa

http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2009/02/25/rise-of-the-iran-lobby-teherans-front-groups-move-on-and-into-the-obama-administration-2/

Rise of the ‘Iran Lobby’: Tehran’s front groups move on– and into– the Obama Administration


55 posted on 03/02/2015 2:22:17 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa

That’s a big multipage report but worth a read


56 posted on 03/02/2015 2:27:08 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa

And as expected, here’s code pink doing today’s sit in to disrupt Netanyahu:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3263330/posts


57 posted on 03/02/2015 2:34:51 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa
HAKAN FIDAN OG TAWHID-SALAM

Erdogan, Davutoglu, Fidan

Leaked confidential US government documents appear to corroborate the findings of Turkey's own investigation into the Iranian-backed terror network Tawhid-Salam in which the head of Turkey's spy agency was alleged to be working for Iranian intelligence.

The top secret US National Security Agency (NSA) document dated April 13, 2013, published by German magazine Der Spiegel on its website on Sunday, reveals that the US had been concerned about the Iranian connections of Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT).

“US intelligence reporting in recent years indicates possible Iranian connections with Dr. Hakan Fidan, the head of the MIT/SIB. The possible impact of these connections to the US SIGINT [Signal Intelligence] relationship is unknown at this time,” the four-page document concluded.

The document is part of large collection of documents from the archive of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Der Spiegel said the documents show that Turkey is the NSA's oldest partner in Asia. “Even before the NSA's founding in 1952, the CIA had established a ‘Sigint,' or signals intelligence, partnership with Turkey dating back to the 1940s,” it said.

Fidan also leads the SIGINT Intelligence Directorate.

According to the Tawhid-Salam investigation that was launched on April 8, 2011 with case file 2011/762, Fidan, who was not the target of the investigation, had ties with a leading commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps's (IRGC) Quds Force posted to Turkey as well as other pro-Iranian suspects who have been working for Iranian intelligence.

The police intelligence investigation determined that Fidan was attached to the second of four cells in the Tawhid-Salam network. He was allegedly working with cell leader IRGC Gen. Sayed Ali Akber Mir Vakili, who maintained two safe houses in Istanbul's Ataköy neighborhood and reported directly to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Other suspected members of the cell include former Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Faruk Koca, Abdülhamit Çelik and one of Tawhid-Salam's founders, Hakki Selçuk Sanli.

Çelik was convicted of killing two opponents of the Iranian regime in Turkey in the '90s and was given a prison sentence of 12 years, six months, but was released in 2004 following an amnesty agreement by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. During his testimony in May 2000 as part of the Tawhid-Salam investigation, Çelik admitted that he had been trained in Iran to stage attacks in Turkey and conduct intelligence operations on behalf of Iran for over two months. He also acknowledged that the Iran-based Quds Force, a special unit of the IRGC, had obtained bombs from him and with them had staged attacks in Georgia and Thailand.

Police investigators discovered evidence implicating Çelik at the site of a bomb attack that targeted the Israeli Consulate General in Istanbul's Etiler neighborhood in 2011, which led to Turkish national Ayten Bal losing her leg and injured seven others. The investigation found that Tawhid-Salam had carried out the attack. Using street camera recordings, police were able to trace a bomb-laden bike to a storage unit in Istanbul's Fatih district that had been rented by an Iranian with the Quds Force, identified as Rezazadeh Metin, who had used a false identity. The bomb had been supplied by Çelik.

Sanli, another member of the second cell, allegedly helped set up the Quds Force operation in Turkey on orders from then-IRGC commander Nasir Takipur in the 1990s. While working for Takipur, Sanli was involved in terrorist attacks targeting US interests in Turkey. Sanli was arrested on May 13, 2000 in police raids against the Tawhid-Salam terrorist network and Takipur fled to Iran. Sanli was tried and sentenced to 12 years in prison, but like Çelik was freed in 2004 when the Erdogan government passed an amnesty bill in Parliament reducing the sentences of a number of convicts.

Sanli kept a low profile for a while after his release until he was re-engaged by Iranian agents. Police discovered that Sanli delivers Iranian “hush money” on a monthly basis to the families of the murderers of Turkish intellectual Ugur Mumcu and others killed in the 1990s on the orders of Mir Vekili. He also visits convicts such as Ferhan Özmen as well as others.

Police discovered that in the 1990s Sanli and Mumcu's killer, Özmen, met regularly at a car dealership in Ankara that is owned by Koca. Fidan, a noncommissioned officer (NCO) in the Turkish military at the time, regularly attended the meetings. Koca, one of the founders of the ruling AK Party who later on became a deputy, was described as being pro-Iran and even named his son after Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini. He was also the landlord of a house that Erdogan rented in the early 2000s. A wiretap was later found there.

Koca has become wealthy under the Erdogan government, while he has apparently kept in close contact with Mir Vekili. Koca owns S'LO Cafe, a prestigious establishment in Ankara's Çukurambar district that is patronized by the new elite in Ankara. The investigation discovered that the top floor of S'LO Cafe is reserved for special guests and that Fidan had Turkish intelligence secure this location against possible eavesdropping. These special guests -- including Fidan, Koca, Mir Vekili and Sanli, according to the leaks -- use the back door to access the top floor for meetings.

The police determined that Koca works as a liaison between Fidan and Mir Vekili. A wiretap recording from Dec. 1, 2013 reveals that Koca, on instructions from Fidan, set up an emergency contact with Mir Vekili to secure permission for a plane carrying Energy Minister Taner Yildiz to land in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil. Mir Vekili said he would talk to his contacts in Tehran to convince the Iraqi leadership to allow Yildiz to visit Arbil after stopping in Baghdad.

With the help of an informant, the police also discovered that Mir Vekili had learned of a high-profile argument within Erdogan's government two days before media outlets published it. According to a leak reported by Twitter user @ACEMUSAKLARI, Fidan had been sharing confidential information about Cabinet meetings with Mir Vekili. Media outlets reported that Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Annç had tendered his resignation and stormed out of a Cabinet meeting after a fight with Erdogan, but was later convinced to withdraw his resignation.

Fidan was allegedly recruited by Iran in the 1990s through Shiite study meetings in Ankara and Koca was allegedly the person who facilitated the meetings. The most alarming document against Fidan was discovered on Jan. 17, 2000, when a huge archive was seized by the police during a raid on a safe house operated by Hezbollah in Istanbul. The document revealed the names of public employees who were working for Iran.

Fidan, an NCO at the time, was listed under the codename “Emin.” Police notified military intelligence about Fidan, who later quit the military service. During the surveillance, police discovered that the same codename for Fidan was used in conversations among suspects in the Tawhid-Salam network as well.

Fidan also has links to the first cell in the Tawhid-Salam terror network. Hüseyin Avni Yazicioglu, the lead suspect in the investigation, maintained close contact with Fidan and met him several times, according to his wife, Kamile, who volunteered to testify against her husband and provided a cache of documents incriminating him. She said her son and Fidan's son were friends from school and that her husband had used their son to set up meetings with Fidan.

The Turkish government has been trying to contain the fallout from the Tawhid-Salam investigation that implicates senior government officials who have been working on behalf of Iranian interests. The government-orchestrated revenge operation against police chiefs who uncovered the terrorist network was launched in July, unlawfully detaining the lead investigators on trumped-up charges. A government-friendly prosecutor decided to drop the investigation into the Tawhid-Salam organization following political pressure.

58 posted on 03/02/2015 2:58:48 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa

http://ycanv.blogspot.com/2014/09/hakan-fidan-og-tawhid-salam.html

link to above article


59 posted on 03/02/2015 2:59:58 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/09/24/how-iran-outwits-obama-in-the-middle-east/


60 posted on 03/02/2015 3:08:23 PM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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