Front-page Iran

War game will focus on situation with Iran

Amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran over the future of Iran's nuclear program, the Pentagon is planning a war game in July so officials can explore options for a crisis involving Iran.
The July 18 exercise at National Defense University's National Strategic Gaming Center will include members of Congress and top officials from military and civilian agencies. It was scheduled in August, before the latest escalation in the conflict, university spokesman Dave Thomas said.
It's the latest example of how otherwise routine operations are helping the United States prepare for a possible military confrontation with Iran. On Tuesday, President Bush refused to rule out military action — even a nuclear strike — to stop Iran's nuclear program. "All options are on the table," Bush said in the Rose Garden.
The exercise is one of five scheduled this year, including others envisioning an avian influenza pandemic and a crisis in Pakistan. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld started the exercises involving members of Congress in 2002 to help the legislative and executive branches discuss policy options.
Such exercises do not involve military members simulating combat. Instead, officials gather for a daylong conference and discuss how to react to various events presented in a fictional scenario.
Prodded by the United States, the United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all uranium enrichment activities by April 28. Last week, Iran said it has mastered the technology to make fuel that could be used for power plants or bombs, but it insists its nuclear program is only meant to generate electricity. The United States and its allies say Iran is working to build nuclear weapons.
The July exercise may have real-world consequences since Iran could interpret it as evidence the United States plans to attack, said Khalid al-Rodhan, an Iran expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Anything the U.S. will do in the region will be seen as further provocation," al-Rodhan said. "Given what's happening in Iraq, it's clear the Iranians are afraid of U.S. intentions."
More at USA Today

Nuclear war with Iran too costly for Americans, Iranians

Author Gore Vidal has called this country the United States of Amnesia because decisions made by the American government often seem divorced from a memory of history. One example of this was the lead-up to the latest U.S. invasion of Iraq, which many people said would bear similarities to the U.S. war on Vietnam.
While there are many clear differences between the war against the peoples of Vietnam and the war in Iraq, the similar idea is that the people of a country will do whatever it takes to fend off the aggressive invasion of their country by a superpower, no matter what the apparent odds.But now it seems Americans can't even remember 2003 as the Bush administration is threatening to attack Iran. Iran has a much stronger military than Iraq, which had been devastated by a decade of sanctions. If the United States were to attack Iran, it is likely the results will be similar to what's happening in Iraq.Iran has recently enriched uranium, which is a necessary component for nuclear weapons the country has threatened to develop in the future. In response to Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Pentagon presented a plan to the White House that includes "the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon ... against (Iran's) underground nuclear sites," according to an article in The New Yorker by Seymour Hersh.There's nothing "tactical" about a weapon of mass destruction. Nuclear weapons kill innocent people indiscriminately. Two years ago, I completed a pilgrimage to the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in order to see the destruction the "leaders" of my country wreaked on the people of those two beautiful cities. It's impossible for me to conceive that with all Americans know about the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of victims in August 1945, there are still people in the United States of Amnesia who would consider ever using nuclear weapons. If the option of nuclear war is unleashed, innocent Iranians will die.
More at TMC Net

Bush won't exclude Iran nuke strike

The United States on Tuesday failed to secure international support for targeted sanctions against Iran and President George W. Bush refused to rule out nuclear strikes if diplomacy failed to curb the Islamic Republic's atomic ambitions.
Bush said he would discuss Iran's nuclear activities with China's President Hu Jintao, who has been cool towards sanctions, during his U.S. visit this week.
Asked if his options included planning for a nuclear strike, Bush said: "All options are on the table. We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so."
But a meeting of major powers in Moscow ended without consensus despite strong U.S. pressure for international sanctions. Washington believes Iraq is trying to build bombs but Tehran says it is only developing nuclear energy.
The meeting of deputy foreign ministers of the U.N. Security Council's permanent members -- The United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- plus Germany, was called after Tehran declared last week that it had enriched uranium and was aiming for industrial-scale production.
The No. 3 U.S. State Department official, Nicholas Burns, argued that sanctions should be imposed on Iran, but Russia and China are resisting and the parties came to no agreement, said U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey in Washington.
"Burns raised the issue of some form of sanctions and there will need to be further discussions on this," he said after being briefed by U.S. officials about the meeting.
More at Reuters

Defiant Iran threatens to ‘cut off hands of any aggressor’

The defiant stance came hours before a two-day meeting in Moscow of senior diplomats from the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany to discuss the issue and less than two weeks before a council deadline for Iran to stop uranium enrichment. “Today, you are among the world’s most powerful armies because you rely on God,” Mr Ahmadinejad declared at a parade to commemorate Army Day. “Iran’s enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead,” he added.
The United States, Britain, Japan, Israel, France and Germany have accused Iran of using its civilian nuclear programme as a cover to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has maintained its right to enrich uranium and says it is only building nuclear facilities to generate electricity. US President George W Bush said that “all options are on the table” to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons, but added that he would continue to focus on the international diplomatic option to persuade Tehran to drop its nuclear ambitions. “We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we’re working hard to do so,” Mr Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden. Mr Bush also said there should be a unified effort involving countries “who recognise the danger of Iran having a nuclear weapon”, and he noted that US officials are working closely with Britain, France and Germany. Mr Bush was asked if his administration was planning for the possibility of a nuclear strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. “All options are on the table,” he said. Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran’s army “has to be constantly ready, equipped and powerful. It has to be equipped with the latest technologies, recognize the enemy and constantly be vigilant.”
More at the IrishExaminer


Oil prices rise above 71 US dollars

World crude oil prices closed with record highs above 71 dollars on the eve of U.S. energy stocks weekly report Tuesday, amid worries of supply in Iran and Nigeria.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, added 93 cents to close at 71.35 dollars a barrel, its highest closing price since 1983, after touching intra-day high of 71.60 dollars, the highest price since 1983.
On London's ICE Futures exchange, the price of Brent North Sea crude for June delivery climbed 1.05 dollars to 72.51 dollars a barrel, its record high since 1988.
The Organization of Petroleum downgraded the world demand-growth forecast for 2006 to 1.42 million barrels a day, down from 1.46 million barrels per day in the previous report Tuesday in its latest monthly report.
Traders are still concerned about the possibilities that Iran's oil exports would halt if the United Nations imposes Teheran an international sanction for its nuclear activities.
Iran vowed on Monday to keep on enriching uranium despite international demand that it freeze its controversial nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported.
More at Xinhua