Free Republic

The Iranian navy will send warships to deploy in the Atlantic from March, a top commander said on Friday, as the Islamic Republic seeks to increase the operating range of its naval forces to the backyard of the United States, its arch foe. A flotilla will leave for the Atlantic early in the Iranian new year, starting from March, Iran’s naval deputy commander said. “The Atlantic Ocean is far and the operation of the Iranian naval flotilla might take five months,” Rear-Admiral Touraj Hassani was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. Hassani said in December that Iran...

The Castro/Chavez Axis Click here to launch the Podcast Player We're coming up on the 45th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis and I think it's worth talking about. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy faced down the USSR, risking total war, and forced the Soviets to remove ballistic weapons from Cuba. Missiles located less than a hundred miles from America were aimed at the US. A lot of people, I think, have forgotten. Most schools don't even teach about it in any real detail. Judging by the indifference that many people have to the nuclear arming of Iran, I...

CARACAS (Reuters) – Russia has agreed to lend Venezuela over $2 billion to finance the purchase of weapons including tanks and advanced anti-aircraft missiles, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday. Chavez said the purchases agreed on a trip to Moscow last week included 92 tanks and the S-300 missile system, which is capable of shooting down fighter jets and cruise missiles. "We have to thank the Russian government, which approved a $2.2 billion loan for arms spending," Chavez said on his weekly television show. He did not say how much the new weapons cost. A major oil exporter, Venezuela's...

Mother Russia is also turning out to be the mother of all arms sellers. The former Cold War superpower, where crusading journalists and anti-corruption bankers are regularly bumped off gangland style and the rule of law has become a joke, has just been designated the leading exporter of arms in 2005 to developing countries by a report issued by the Congressional Research Service, a branch of the US Congress. According to the report, China, India and Iran are Russia’s best customers for its booming arms industry which took in $1.6 billion more than 2004 to reach $7 billion in sales...

Remember Chavez owns Citgo, we can put him out of business. Chavez is NOW getting a Russian Weapons Factory built by Putin. The RUSSIANS are building an AK-47 Kalashnikov Assault Rifle factory in Venezuela, to give armament support to Communist Rebel groups throughout the Americas. Chavez NOW has IRANIANS operating his oil refineries in Venezuela for him. It is likely only a matter of time, if not already, before Chavez has Iranian built LONG RANGE missiles, with a variety of warhead types aimed at: Guess Who? CITGO is NOW in the process of Changing Its Name to PETRO EXPRESS due...

Little coverage has been given to Israel's REAL opponent in this Gaza conflict IRAN. The Islamic Republic created by Jimmy Carter, is described as one of the chief arms providers of Hamas, but their control of the terrorist group go WAY beyond giving them weapons to kill with. Dr. Walid Phares believes that Iran deliberately pushed Hamas to provoke Israel at a time "between" the two Presidential administrations and before the Israeli and Palestinian elections: Timing the Hamas end to the cease fire between two American presidencies in Washington and just before the Israeli and Palestinian elections, the Iranian Mullahs...

(Videos at site) Venezuela kicks off two days of military drills on Saturday in response to US President Donald Trump's threat of military action and newly announced sanctions on the crisis-stricken nation. Trump warned on August 11 that the United States was mulling a range of options against Venezuela, "including a possible military option if necessary." His Vice President Mike Pence later played down the threat, insisting that Washington was prioritizing a diplomatic solution and economic sanctions. National security advisor HR McMaster followed suit, saying "no military actions are anticipated in the near future." But tension only surged again when...

Russian-Venezuelan trade totals $100 million a year. The Russian delegation, including Oil Vice Minister Leonid Tropko, was expected to sign pacts on tourism, Russian investment and exploring the possibility of a commercial satellite launching facility in Venezuela. They will depart Saturday. Russia to Maintain Oil Status CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The prime minister of Russia said Friday his country's petroleum production policy would be decided independently of other nations and that the world's second-largest supplier of crude is in favor of a price range between $22 and $25 per barrel. ``The position of the Russian government is clear. We ...

The military implementation of the George W Bush administration's unilateralist foreign policy is creating monumental changes in the world's geostrategic alliances. The most significant of these changes is the formation of a new triangle comprised of China, Iran and Russia. Growing ties between Moscow and Beijing in the past 18 months is an important geopolitical event that has gone practically unnoticed. China's premier, Wen Jiabao, visited Russia in September 2004. In October 2004, President Vladimir Putin visited China. During the October meeting, both China and Russia declared that Sino-Russian relations had reached "unparalleled heights". In addition to settling long-standing border...

In a letter to then Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev regarding his role in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro reflected upon the possible use of nuclear weapons during the U.S.-Soviet confrontation, “It was my opinion that, in case of an American invasion [Cuba], a massive and total nuclear strike would have to be launched.” Given Castro’s affection for nuclear weapons, it should come as no surprise to observers that the aging terrorist has befriended Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Just last week, Ahmadinejad, a recognized anti-Semite and human rights violator, threatened unspecified retaliation against the West unless it...

Prosecutors in New York have charged a Chinese businessman and his company with a conspiracy relating to the sale of sensitive materials to Iran, covert transactions that prosecutors say violated United Nations bans aimed at restraining Tehran’s rocket and nuclear ambitions. According to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan on Tuesday, the Chinese company sold tungsten, high-strength steels and exotic metals to the Defense Industries Organization, an arm of the Iranian military, from 2006 to 2008, often using shell companies to hide the transactions. Both Defense Industries and the Chinese parent company, the Limmt Economic and Trade Company, are banned by...

Senator Ted Cruz says that the proposed U.S.-Iran deal is "dangerous for America." He made the comments in a prepared statement sent out today by his Senate office. Ted Cruz “If the reports are correct, this is a terrible deal, and it is dangerous for America. The prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapon capacity is the gravest national security threat we face, yet it appears that this 'deal' does not require Iran to dismantle even a single centrifuge or turn over even a single pound of enriched uranium. To lift economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for an amorphous promise...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela will install an advanced air-defense system with anti-aircraft missiles capable of shooting down approaching enemy warplanes, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday. Chavez, who has repeatedly accused the United States of plotting to overthrow him, said the missiles would help defend the oil-rich country against any "aggression." "We're going to acquire the most modern anti-aircraft defense system," Chavez said during a televised speech in the coastal state of Falcon, where military planes and newly purchased Russian helicopters swooped overhead during a military parade. "We're going to armor Venezuela." He said the air defense system would protect...

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shored up opposition to a U.S. drive to curb Iran's nuclear program on a visit to Venezuela on Sunday that cemented an anti-American front with President Hugo Chavez. Ahmadinejad's first trip to Venezuela highlighted Iran's backing for the fellow OPEC country's bid for a U.N. Security Council seat that Chavez would use to challenge Washington's campaign for international sanctions against Tehran. Chavez, who Washington calls a destabilizing, anti-democratic force, cast the visit as two countries jointly defying what he says is the imperialist aggression of the world's only superpower. "Iran is one of...

CARACAS - Latin Briefs Venezuela is reportedly planning to buy three Russian submarines to modernize its navy's fleet in the latest potential military deal between the two countries. Venezuela is set to purchase three Amur-class submarines to replace its German Type 209 submarines, the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported Sunday. The diesel-electric submarines are equipped with an anti-ship weapon system that enables the vessels to fire Club-S missiles and torpedoes from 10 torpedo tubes in the bow, RIA-Novosti said. Venezuela's state-run Bolivarian News Agency reported last week that the navy was also seeking bids from the governments of South Korea,...

Russia has struck a deal to provide Iran with short-range, surface-to-air missiles, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Monday. He defended the deal, saying that the weapons system was purely defensive. Russian media reported Friday that Russian and Iranian officials had signed various weapons contracts in November worth a billion dollars (?850 million) that would send up to 30 Tor-M1 missile systems to Iran over the next two years. ''A contract for the delivery of air defense Tor missile systems to Iran has indeed been signed,'' Ivanov said in comments broadcast by the state channel Rossiya, without giving further details.

With Iranian nuclear aspirations gaining notice, it's worth directing attention to the growing relationship between Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez. The Reagan administration repulsed Soviet efforts to set up camp in Central America. Iranian designs on Venezuela perhaps deserve similar U.S. attention. The warmth and moral support between Ahmadinejad and Chávez is very public. The two tyrants are a lot more than just pen pals. Venezuela has made it clear that it backs Iran's nuclear ambitions and embraces the mullahs' hateful anti-Semitism. What remains more speculative is just how far along Iran is in putting down...

We already learned that Russia was sending bombers to Venezuela for military exercises and supporting the country’s imploding economy. What could Vladimir Putin have wanted in exchange? We’re probably seeing the answer come into focus as Russia moves in to “help” Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro as we head into the new year. Putin is going to bail out Maduro’s failing government with some cash in exchange for establishing some measure of control over that nation’s vast crude oil reserves that are currently lying mostly dormant. (WaPo) As allies go, Venezuela is a relatively cheap one for Russia. But the potential...

SNIPPET: "President Chávez also announced during the visit that Venezuela is working on a preliminary plan for the construction of a “nuclear village” in Venezuela with Iranian assistance so that “the Venezuelan people can count in the future on this marvelous resource for peaceful purposes.” The transfer of Iranian nuclear technology from Iran would be a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions - 1737 (2006), 1747 ( 2007), and 1803 (2008) - that imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear technology transfers. In late September 2009, comments by Venezuelan officials offered conflicting information about Iran’s support for Venezuela’s search for uranium deposits....

RUSSIA has sent supersonic bombers capable of carrying nuclear missiles to one of Venezuela’s islands in the Caribbean Sea, according to reports. This follows news earlier in the month that the former-Soviet state was planning to set up its first military base in the Caribbean after striking a deal with cash-strapped Venezuela. Venezuela’s socialist president Nicolas Maduro did not object to the proposals, according to Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The deployment will represent the one of the largest postings of the Russian military in the region since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Under Venezuelan law, military bases cannot be...