from:frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21582

Iran now has the materials to make up to ten nuclear weapons, the U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency told a closed-door meeting in Vienna yesterday. That stunning statement, by U.S. ambassador Gregory L. Schulte, not only turned heads; it changed minds.

It was also a conservative statement. In fact, nuclear experts tell me, if Iran had used the equipment the IAEA knows Iran imported from the nuclear black market of Pakistani nuclear dealer Dr. A.Q. Khan, it could have produced enough weapons-grade uranium for between twenty to twenty-five bombs – even as the IAEA was inspecting Iran’s declared nuclear sites. And some sources believe Iran has purchased actual weapons from Ukraine and North Korea recently on the black market.

Schulte’s closed-door summary of Iran’s latest violations of its Nonproliferation Treaty commitments contained three bombshells:

Iran now has a stockpile of 85 tons of uranium hexafluoride gas, “which if enriched could produce enough material for about ten nuclear weapons,” Schulte said.
Iran has told the Agency it now intends to install 3000 centrifuges at Natanz this fall in order to enrich the uranium gas. This is far in excess of anything the IAEA has publicly reported so far.
IAEA inspectors have now concluded beyond any doubt that a 15 page document discovered recently in Iran was “clearly intended for highly-enriched uranium, and refers to ‘hemishells,’” Schulte said. “IAEA inspectors seem to have no doubt that this information was expressly intended for the fabrication of nuclear weapons components,” he added. Iran, predictably, “refuses to turn this document over to the Agency, and won’t reveal when it was received.”
This story is finally coming to New York, thanks to Condoleeza Rice and her top diplomats. Through muscle diplomacy, Condi & Co. have succeeded in tightening the noose on Iran.

In meetings in Washington on Tuesday, and in Vienna on Wednesday, Rice and Schulte successfully blocked a last-ditch effort by IAEA Secretary General Mohammad ElBaradei to pull Iran’s nuclear chestnuts out of the fire.

ElBaradei has been a strong defender of Iran’s “rights” under the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), despite repeated objections by the U.S., France, Britain and others that Iran has violated its treaty obligations and therefore has no rights to nuclear technology under the NPT.

ElBaradei’s efforts should be an international scandal, but they have gone widely ignored in the liberal media. In his latest confidential report to the IAEA board, on February 27, ElBaradei detailed no fewer than eight major violations by Iran of its treaty obligations, including the discovery by IAEA inspectors of damning documents relating to nuclear weapons work. Some IAEA questions had been left “unanswered” by Iran for three years.

Despite this mountain of damning evidence, however, ElBaradei was telling reporters as late as Monday that the nuclear crisis with Iran could be “solved” in a matter of days or a week.

Rice began the turnaround in closed-door meetings on Tuesday with Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Washington. Russia had been engaged in sham negotiations with Iran for several months in an effort to stave off international action to shut down Iran’s nuclear programs.

Emerging from that closed-door session, Lavrov swept the much-leaked Russian proposal off the table. “There is no compromise, new Russian proposal,” he said flatly.

Then in Vienna, ElBaradei received a phone call from a Western diplomat, who told him bluntly that he should stick to IAEA resolutions, including the February 4 resolution to report Iran to the UN Security Council.. Kicking the can down the road “only plays into the hands of the Iranians,” the diplomat said.

Now that there was no more Russian rabbit he could pull from his hat, ElBaradei backed down. That left Tehran’s leaders facing a real showdown with hard deadlines – for the first time.

So with Iran’s case finally headed to New York, the mullahs resorted to blustery threats.

“The United States has the power to cause harm and pain,” Iran’s IAEA delegation said in a statement released yesterday. “But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if that is the path that the U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball roll.”

Just how serious is this latest Iranian threat? Should Americans be worried, or --well, laughing? Does the Islamic Republic of Iran have serious military capabilities that could do damage to a nation wielding the world’s most devastating and precise military machine? Or is this just bluster from a desperate coterie of turbaned tyrants?

ABC News reporter Anne Compton pounced – not on Iran – but on Vice President Dick Cheney for having caused the Iranian threat. It was all because of Cheney’s statement on Tuesday that Iran would face “meaningful consequences” if it developed nuclear weapons.

It’s hard to qualify such twisted logic from the media. Should Iran face no consequences for developing nuclear weapons? Perhaps Americans be applaud Iran’s efforts? Or perhaps we should offer to unilaterally stand down the B-2 bomber fleet at Whiteman AF base in Missouri?

Last week, I obtained Iran’s naval battle plan from a former Iranian intelligence officer who defected to the West. The plan, drawn up by the Strategic Studies Center of the Iranian Navy, NDAJA, includes the use of bottom-tethered mines, purchased from China and Russia, which many U.S. naval analysts believe could destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.

The plan describes in detail how Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz, thus blocking an estimated 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies, using submarines, missiles, coastal artillery, and thousands of small boats that will launch “swarming” attacks on U.S. warships.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have practiced “swarming” attacks on U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz for several years, using six or more 20-foot speed boats equipped with rocket launchers and other weapons.

But the NDAJA battle plan adds a new twist: one of the speed boats in the swarm will be manned by a suicide bomber, who will use the distraction of the other boats to ram into the side of a U.S. ship. (For details of the Iranian battle plan, click here.)

In Tehran yesterday, some 2000 women took to the streets on International Women’s Day, calling on the regime to recognize basic human rights. They wanted simple things, such as an end to the practice of child marriage, authorized under the Islamic Republic’s constitution, or the practice of “vijeh” - temporary “marriages” that are certified by clerics acting as low-level pimps.

For their efforts, hundreds of these brave women and their male supporters were beaten by regime agents, and at least sixty women were arrested.

Now imagine this blustering, brutal, and crude regime armed with nuclear weapons.

Will Mohammad ElBaradei ever get it?

--------------------------------

I think the Iranians must be smoking Crack..

Fuggin AAA          

1) Nuke
2) Rinse
3) Repeat as necessary

Quoted: from:frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21582 Iran now has the materials to make up to ten nuclear weapons, the U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency told a closed-door meeting in Vienna yesterday. That stunning statement, by U.S. ambassador Gregory L. Schulte, not only turned heads; it changed minds. It was also a conservative statement. In fact, nuclear experts tell me, if Iran had used the equipment the IAEA knows Iran imported from the nuclear black market of Pakistani nuclear dealer Dr. A.Q. Khan, it could have produced enough weapons-grade uranium for between twenty to twenty-five bombs – even as the IAEA was inspecting Iran’s declared nuclear sites. And some sources believe Iran has purchased actual weapons from Ukraine and North Korea recently on the black market. Schulte’s closed-door summary of Iran’s latest violations of its Nonproliferation Treaty commitments contained three bombshells: Iran now has a stockpile of 85 tons of uranium hexafluoride gas, “which if enriched could produce enough material for about ten nuclear weapons,” Schulte said. Iran has told the Agency it now intends to install 3000 centrifuges at Natanz this fall in order to enrich the uranium gas. This is far in excess of anything the IAEA has publicly reported so far. IAEA inspectors have now concluded beyond any doubt that a 15 page document discovered recently in Iran was “clearly intended for highly-enriched uranium, and refers to ‘hemishells,’” Schulte said. “IAEA inspectors seem to have no doubt that this information was expressly intended for the fabrication of nuclear weapons components,” he added. Iran, predictably, “refuses to turn this document over to the Agency, and won’t reveal when it was received.” This story is finally coming to New York, thanks to Condoleeza Rice and her top diplomats. Through muscle diplomacy, Condi & Co. have succeeded in tightening the noose on Iran. In meetings in Washington on Tuesday, and in Vienna on Wednesday, Rice and Schulte successfully blocked a last-ditch effort by IAEA Secretary General Mohammad ElBaradei to pull Iran’s nuclear chestnuts out of the fire. ElBaradei has been a strong defender of Iran’s “rights” under the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), despite repeated objections by the U.S., France, Britain and others that Iran has violated its treaty obligations and therefore has no rights to nuclear technology under the NPT. ElBaradei’s efforts should be an international scandal, but they have gone widely ignored in the liberal media. In his latest confidential report to the IAEA board, on February 27, ElBaradei detailed no fewer than eight major violations by Iran of its treaty obligations, including the discovery by IAEA inspectors of damning documents relating to nuclear weapons work. Some IAEA questions had been left “unanswered” by Iran for three years. Despite this mountain of damning evidence, however, ElBaradei was telling reporters as late as Monday that the nuclear crisis with Iran could be “solved” in a matter of days or a week. Rice began the turnaround in closed-door meetings on Tuesday with Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Washington. Russia had been engaged in sham negotiations with Iran for several months in an effort to stave off international action to shut down Iran’s nuclear programs. Emerging from that closed-door session, Lavrov swept the much-leaked Russian proposal off the table. “There is no compromise, new Russian proposal,” he said flatly. Then in Vienna, ElBaradei received a phone call from a Western diplomat, who told him bluntly that he should stick to IAEA resolutions, including the February 4 resolution to report Iran to the UN Security Council.. Kicking the can down the road “only plays into the hands of the Iranians,” the diplomat said. Now that there was no more Russian rabbit he could pull from his hat, ElBaradei backed down. That left Tehran’s leaders facing a real showdown with hard deadlines – for the first time. So with Iran’s case finally headed to New York, the mullahs resorted to blustery threats. “The United States has the power to cause harm and pain,” Iran’s IAEA delegation said in a statement released yesterday. “But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if that is the path that the U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball roll.” Just how serious is this latest Iranian threat? Should Americans be worried, or --well, laughing? Does the Islamic Republic of Iran have serious military capabilities that could do damage to a nation wielding the world’s most devastating and precise military machine? Or is this just bluster from a desperate coterie of turbaned tyrants? ABC News reporter Anne Compton pounced – not on Iran – but on Vice President Dick Cheney for having caused the Iranian threat. It was all because of Cheney’s statement on Tuesday that Iran would face “meaningful consequences” if it developed nuclear weapons. It’s hard to qualify such twisted logic from the media. Should Iran face no consequences for developing nuclear weapons? Perhaps Americans be applaud Iran’s efforts? Or perhaps we should offer to unilaterally stand down the B-2 bomber fleet at Whiteman AF base in Missouri? Last week, I obtained Iran’s naval battle plan from a former Iranian intelligence officer who defected to the West. The plan, drawn up by the Strategic Studies Center of the Iranian Navy, NDAJA, includes the use of bottom-tethered mines, purchased from China and Russia, which many U.S. naval analysts believe could destroy U.S. aircraft carriers. The plan describes in detail how Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz, thus blocking an estimated 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies, using submarines, missiles, coastal artillery, and thousands of small boats that will launch “swarming” attacks on U.S. warships. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have practiced “swarming” attacks on U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz for several years, using six or more 20-foot speed boats equipped with rocket launchers and other weapons. But the NDAJA battle plan adds a new twist: one of the speed boats in the swarm will be manned by a suicide bomber, who will use the distraction of the other boats to ram into the side of a U.S. ship. (For details of the Iranian battle plan, click here.) In Tehran yesterday, some 2000 women took to the streets on International Women’s Day, calling on the regime to recognize basic human rights. They wanted simple things, such as an end to the practice of child marriage, authorized under the Islamic Republic’s constitution, or the practice of “vijeh” - temporary “marriages” that are certified by clerics acting as low-level pimps. For their efforts, hundreds of these brave women and their male supporters were beaten by regime agents, and at least sixty women were arrested. Now imagine this blustering, brutal, and crude regime armed with nuclear weapons. Will Mohammad ElBaradei ever get it? -------------------------------- I think the Iranians must be smoking Crack..

Iran, sumarized:

1) They are roughly equal to Iraq vis-a-vis 1989, but with slightly more modern weapons, as one would expect since it's 2005...

2) They would be capable of mounting conventional military resistance, but not capable of winning... Again, see Desert Storm

3) They could fuck with the Persian Gulf, vis-a-vis Iran/Iraq War of the 80s, but that wouldn't hurt us, so much as it would PO the rest of the world (just like the last time they did it)...

4) They allready contribute to the terrorist situation in Iraq, so no change there...

However, they know we are busy next door, and really can't spare 1-2 (maybe 3) heavy divisions to come kick their asses...

Basically they believe their nuke facilities are dispursed & hardened enough to make them air-strike proof, and that we can't politically & militarily stretch ourselves to 3 wars at once....

We'll see how that goes... I, personally, will be halfway across the world helping to fulfill yet another *wonderful* responsibility of the US Army: babysitting everybody's favorite crazy communist: Kim Jong Il!!!  

P.S. That's your worst case scenario -> US gets into it with Iran, and the norks or chicoms decide it's time for a land grab.....

Simple solution for world piece (intentional misspelling).

1)  Reinstall Saddam Hussein as our boy.
2)  Saddam restores peace through his gentle killing of dissendents.
3)  Saddam, with our support, attacks Iran for Round II.
4)  Saddam, with our support, defeats Iran and calls in the UN to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program.
5)  Saddam thanks us by giving us Iranian oil at a cut throat rate, say, we buy gas for twenty-five cents a gallon.
6)  We all live happily ever after.

Quoted: Simple solution for world piece (intentional misspelling). 1)  Reinstall Saddam Hussein as our boy. 2)  Saddam restores peace through his gentle killing of dissendents. 3)  Saddam, with our support, attacks Iran for Round II. 4)  Saddam, with our support, defeats Iran and calls in the UN to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program. 5)  Saddam thanks us by giving us Iranian oil at a cut throat rate, say, we buy gas for twenty-five cents a gallon. 6)  We all live happily ever after.

wtf is wrong with you?!

We should've wiped Iran of the map in 1979.

Should we........yes
Will we.........no

I can't wait for the pics of Ahmenejad getting dragged from his hidey hole in the middle of nowhere.

Overdue bigtime.

Quoted: Simple solution for world piece (intentional misspelling). 1)  Reinstall Saddam Hussein as our boy. 2)  Saddam restores peace through his gentle killing of dissendents. 3)  Saddam, with our support, attacks Iran for Round II. 4)  Saddam, with our support, defeats Iran and calls in the UN to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program. 5)  Saddam thanks us by giving us Iranian oil at a cut throat rate, say, we buy gas for twenty-five cents a gallon. 6)  We all live happily ever after.

Your logic ,although fucked up, would work.

Quoted: I can't wait for the pics of Ahmenejad getting dragged from his hidey hole in the middle of nowhere.

There won't be a wild-rat-chase if we went after Iran... The only folks we have anything on were in power back in the 70s...

He's a shill - a voice for the Council, and if the council falls he just goes away...

Heck, the Iranians allready have a functioning democratic system, it's just the judiciary, military & the council that fuck things up for them (the reason that goofball got elected is that the Council banned all the respectable candidates... It would be like Ralph Nader or Pat Buchannan  winning the 08 election because the GOP & Democrats were banned from running anyone).....

Who the hell is selling them centrifuges? First we should have a 'coming to Jesus' conversation with their diplomats. Next, Israel or us or both should fully eliminate their reactors and R&D sites (right after we get the CIA/DIA in there to politically and economically destabilize the country through their media).

Where the hell is the Intelligence Community when you need them. Oh wait, we've castrated them from taking any risks anymore.

Fu()&*_CK

Quoted: Quoted: Simple solution for world piece (intentional misspelling). 1)  Reinstall Saddam Hussein as our boy. 2)  Saddam restores peace through his gentle killing of dissendents. 3)  Saddam, with our support, attacks Iran for Round II. 4)  Saddam, with our support, defeats Iran and calls in the UN to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program. 5)  Saddam thanks us by giving us Iranian oil at a cut throat rate, say, we buy gas for twenty-five cents a gallon. 6)  We all live happily ever after. Your logic ,although fucked up, would work.

+1

Screwy, but workable...in theory...

from:www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/12/wiran12.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/12/ixworld.html



Iran builds a secret underground complex as nuclear tensions rise
By Philip Sherwell in Washington
(Filed: 12/03/2006)

Iran's leaders have built a secret underground emergency command centre in Teheran as they prepare for a confrontation with the West over their illicit nuclear programme, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.

The complex of rooms and offices beneath the Abbas Abad district in the north of the capital is designed to serve as a bolthole and headquarters for the country's rulers as military tensions mount.

 

Iran uses small attack boats to simulate assaults on US warships

The recently completed command centre is connected by tunnels to other government compounds near the Mossala prayer ground, one of the city's most important religious sites.

Offices of the state security forces, the energy department and the Organisation of Islamic Culture and Communications are all located in the same area.

The construction of the complex is part of the regime's plan to move more of its operations beneath ground. The Revolutionary Guard has overseen the development of subterranean chambers and tunnels - some more than half a mile long and an estimated 35ft high and wide - at sites across the country for research and development work on nuclear and rocket programmes.

The opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) learnt about the complex from its contacts within the regime. The same network revealed in 2002 that Iran had been operating a secret nuclear programme for 18 years.

The underground strategy is partly designed to hide activities from satellite view and international inspections but also reflects a growing belief in Teheran that its showdown with the international community could end in air strikes by America or Israel. "Iran's leaders are clearly preparing for a confrontation by going underground," said Alireza Jafarzadeh, the NCRI official who made the 2002 announcement.

America and Europe believe that Iran is secretly trying to acquire an atomic bomb, although the regime insists that its nuclear programme is for civilian energy purposes.

As the United Nations Security Council prepares to discuss Iran's nuclear operations this week, Teheran has been stepping up plans for confrontation. Its chief delegate on nuclear talks last week threatened that Iran would inflict "harm and pain" on America if censured by the Security Council.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hardline president who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map", also said that the West would "suffer" if it tried to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. As the war of words intensified, President George W Bush said that Teheran represents a "grave national security concern" for America.

 


In Iraq, which Mr Ahmadinejad hopes will develop into a fellow Shia Islamic state, Iran is already using its proxy militia to attack British and American forces, often with Iranian-made bombs and weapons. As tensions grow, Teheran could order Hizbollah - the Lebanese-based terror faction that it created and arms - to attack targets in Israel.

The regime is also reviewing its contingency plans to attack tankers and American naval forces in the Persian Gulf and to mine the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 15 million barrels of oil (about 20 per cent of world production) passes each day. Any action in the Gulf would send oil prices soaring - a weapon that Iran has often threatened to wield.

The Pentagon's strategic planning is focused on the danger that Iran might try to mine the strait and deploy explosive-packed suicide boats against its warships. In May, American vessels in the Gulf will take part in the Arabian Gauntlet training exercise that deals with clearing mines from the strait, which has a navigable channel just two miles wide.

The naval wing of the Revolutionary Guard has in recent years practised "swarming" raids, using its flotilla of small rapid-attack boats to simulate assaults on commercial vessels and United States warships, according to Ken Timmerman, an American expert on Iran.

The Pentagon is particularly sensitive to the dangers of such attacks after al-Qaeda hit the USS Cole off the Yemen with a suicide boat in 2000, killing 17 American sailors. Last month the White House listed two foiled al-Qaeda plots to attack ships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

US intelligence believes that if Iranian nuclear facilities were attacked by either America or Israel, then Teheran would respond by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz with naval forces, mines and anti-ship cruise missiles.

"When these systems become fully operational, they will significantly enhance Iran's defensive capabilities and ability to deny access to the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz," Michael Maples, the director of the Defence Intelligence Agency testified before the Senate armed services committee last month.

A senior American intelligence officer said that the US navy would be able to reopen the strait but that it would be militarily costly. Hamid Reza Zakeri, a former Iranian intelligence officer, recently told Mr Timmerman that the Iranian navy's Strategic Studies Centre has produced an updated battle plan for the strait.

Its most devastating options would be to use its long-range Shahab-3 missiles to attack Israeli or American bases in the region or to deploy suicide bombers in Western cities under its strategy of "asymmetric" response.

"The price to the West for standing up to Iran is clear," Gen Moshe Ya'alon, the former Israeli defence chief said last month in Washington. "It includes terror attacks, economic hardship… and consequences resulting from fluctuations in Iranian oil production. Indeed, the regime believes that the West - including Israel - is afraid to deal with it."

I keep saying, the reason Bush went to India is to persuade them to handle the "Iran Problem".  US and Isreal just provide intelligence and targeting info.

Then the Indians turn the whole place into a tech center for Dell.

Everybody wins.

I think we should Bomb'm back to 9th Century ...

Quoted: Quoted: Simple solution for world piece (intentional misspelling). 1)  Reinstall Saddam Hussein as our boy. 2)  Saddam restores peace through his gentle killing of dissendents. 3)  Saddam, with our support, attacks Iran for Round II. 4)  Saddam, with our support, defeats Iran and calls in the UN to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program. 5)  Saddam thanks us by giving us Iranian oil at a cut throat rate, say, we buy gas for twenty-five cents a gallon. 6)  We all live happily ever after. wtf is wrong with you?! We should've wiped Iran of the map in 1979.

Maybe I'm just really hungry at the moment (haven't eaten all day), but that sounds badass!!!!!!

Quoted: I think we should Bomb'm back to 9th Century ... www.economist.com/images/20060311/1006LD1.jpg

You mean forward to!

Quoted: Quoted: I think we should Bomb'm back to 9th Century ... You mean forward to!

8th or 9th Century...not much difference in terms of technology...
at least the indigenous technology would match their culture..

Doesn't Iran understand that they don't stand a chance

Quoted: Quoted: Who the hell is selling them centrifuges? WHO?   Easy!!!! The same people that sold them all the plans for the production facilities and the blueprints for a FULLY TESTED AND PROVEN BOMB……… Yes, the PAKISTANIS!!!!… yes, those self same Pakistanis who created the Taliban and 'claim' to a friend of the US.

Honestly though, who the hell is willing to go to war in Pakistan.  It smells like shit there.

I think it'd be best if we just blew them to hell.

"Time to whoop ass on Iran?"


It was time in 1979.

Oh, I think it will happen, I think we WILL kick Iran's ass, it won't be today, it won't be tomorrow, but, it's coming and it will be about effin time!

Uh... we control the gulf, we control the land to their west (Iraq), we control the main country to their east (Afghanistan) , and have good relations with the other to their east (pakistan) and good relations all around...

yes a fight with them would be bloody and strain our forces to the point we may have to weaken our stand in S. korea, but we do hold all the millitary cards...

lets not forget their is a sizable group of educated Iranians who would love for us to 'liberate' them.

I hope diplomacy prevails but its end is growing near... the only thing is that the public opion grows weary of wars... I only hope that this changes so that diplomacy will have some serious teeth... with out it we'll be fighting them soon.

Quoted: from:www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/12/wiran12.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/12/ixworld.html Iran builds a secret underground complex as nuclear tensions rise By Philip Sherwell in Washington (Filed: 12/03/2006) Iran's leaders have built a secret underground emergency command centre in Teheran as they prepare for a confrontation with the West over their illicit nuclear programme, the Sunday Telegraph has been told. The complex of rooms and offices beneath the Abbas Abad district in the north of the capital is designed to serve as a bolthole and headquarters for the country's rulers as military tensions mount.   www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2006/03/12/wiran12.jpg Iran uses small attack boats to simulate assaults on US warships The recently completed command centre is connected by tunnels to other government compounds near the Mossala prayer ground, one of the city's most important religious sites. Offices of the state security forces, the energy department and the Organisation of Islamic Culture and Communications are all located in the same area. The construction of the complex is part of the regime's plan to move more of its operations beneath ground. The Revolutionary Guard has overseen the development of subterranean chambers and tunnels - some more than half a mile long and an estimated 35ft high and wide - at sites across the country for research and development work on nuclear and rocket programmes. The opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) learnt about the complex from its contacts within the regime. The same network revealed in 2002 that Iran had been operating a secret nuclear programme for 18 years. The underground strategy is partly designed to hide activities from satellite view and international inspections but also reflects a growing belief in Teheran that its showdown with the international community could end in air strikes by America or Israel. "Iran's leaders are clearly preparing for a confrontation by going underground," said Alireza Jafarzadeh, the NCRI official who made the 2002 announcement. America and Europe believe that Iran is secretly trying to acquire an atomic bomb, although the regime insists that its nuclear programme is for civilian energy purposes. As the United Nations Security Council prepares to discuss Iran's nuclear operations this week, Teheran has been stepping up plans for confrontation. Its chief delegate on nuclear talks last week threatened that Iran would inflict "harm and pain" on America if censured by the Security Council. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the hardline president who has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map", also said that the West would "suffer" if it tried to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions. As the war of words intensified, President George W Bush said that Teheran represents a "grave national security concern" for America.   www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2006/03/12/wiran12bbig.jpg;jsessionid=RZDRTKXFJKUD5QFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0 In Iraq, which Mr Ahmadinejad hopes will develop into a fellow Shia Islamic state, Iran is already using its proxy militia to attack British and American forces, often with Iranian-made bombs and weapons. As tensions grow, Teheran could order Hizbollah - the Lebanese-based terror faction that it created and arms - to attack targets in Israel. The regime is also reviewing its contingency plans to attack tankers and American naval forces in the Persian Gulf and to mine the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 15 million barrels of oil (about 20 per cent of world production) passes each day. Any action in the Gulf would send oil prices soaring - a weapon that Iran has often threatened to wield. The Pentagon's strategic planning is focused on the danger that Iran might try to mine the strait and deploy explosive-packed suicide boats against its warships. In May, American vessels in the Gulf will take part in the Arabian Gauntlet training exercise that deals with clearing mines from the strait, which has a navigable channel just two miles wide. The naval wing of the Revolutionary Guard has in recent years practised "swarming" raids, using its flotilla of small rapid-attack boats to simulate assaults on commercial vessels and United States warships, according to Ken Timmerman, an American expert on Iran. The Pentagon is particularly sensitive to the dangers of such attacks after al-Qaeda hit the USS Cole off the Yemen with a suicide boat in 2000, killing 17 American sailors. Last month the White House listed two foiled al-Qaeda plots to attack ships in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. US intelligence believes that if Iranian nuclear facilities were attacked by either America or Israel, then Teheran would respond by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz with naval forces, mines and anti-ship cruise missiles. "When these systems become fully operational, they will significantly enhance Iran's defensive capabilities and ability to deny access to the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz," Michael Maples, the director of the Defence Intelligence Agency testified before the Senate armed services committee last month. A senior American intelligence officer said that the US navy would be able to reopen the strait but that it would be militarily costly. Hamid Reza Zakeri, a former Iranian intelligence officer, recently told Mr Timmerman that the Iranian navy's Strategic Studies Centre has produced an updated battle plan for the strait. Its most devastating options would be to use its long-range Shahab-3 missiles to attack Israeli or American bases in the region or to deploy suicide bombers in Western cities under its strategy of "asymmetric" response. "The price to the West for standing up to Iran is clear," Gen Moshe Ya'alon, the former Israeli defence chief said last month in Washington. "It includes terror attacks, economic hardship… and consequences resulting from fluctuations in Iranian oil production. Indeed, the regime believes that the West - including Israel - is afraid to deal with it."

CIWS & Standard can handle most of Iran's naval threats....

I believe Iran has Sunburns and Yakhonts. The Yakhonts were designed and built by the Russians to defeat ships protected by the US AEGIS weapon system and  European counterparts. If the US strikes and has a hard a time finding their launchers as it did with Scuds the Iranians could turn the Persian Gulf into graveyard of burning oil tankers with these things. The effect of that on an already fragile world economy could be cataclysmic, especially if they start launching missle salvo after missle salvo at the Saudi's 2 main refineries. One should also remember that Iran has the very latest in Russian anti-tank weapons, including the Kornet.

What I find interesting is that just last week our government contracted with Boeing to produce 10,000 more JDAM's:

webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?SESSIONID=&aId=10840

And now news agencies are reporting that Iran has extensive underground command centers. It all seems a little too coincidental to me. I mean, where else are we going to use these bunker busters? We've already overturned Saddam’s regime. What’s left, but Iran?

I think a conflict is imminent.

Am I the only one who gets excited when a war starts?

Bush hears this and turns to a Secret Service agent and says, "Hold me beer and watch this."

Jimmy Carter is gonna have a whole lot of blood on his hands.

Rice began the turnaround in closed-door meetings on Tuesday with Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Washington. Russia had been engaged in sham negotiations with Iran for several months in an effort to stave off international action to shut down Iran’s nuclear programs. Emerging from that closed-door session, Lavrov swept the much-leaked Russian proposal off the table. “There is no compromise, new Russian proposal,” he said flatly.

Wonder if she threatened to tell the world the truth about how much the Russkies have contributed to the delinquency of certain nations

Quoted: CIWS & Standard can handle most of Iran's naval threats....

Yeaahhh, uh, I dunno if CWIS can target surface craft - I thought it was slaved to its own HF radar set, which had software coded to seek out the ballistic trajectories of high-speed inbound missiles.

The Standard has a minimum standoff range. I don't know what it is, but it isn't 600 yards or less. The real work will be done by sailors manning M14s and Bushmaster 25mm cannon mounts over the rail. I believe that there are anti-tank weapons onboard USN vessels as well, although I don't know how effacacious they'd be against high-speed boats.

If you get fifty or sixy sailors and Marines on the railings of a ship, they'll put down a hail of lead that will fuck up Hadji's day on any craft light enough not to be taken out earlier by the inevitable Marine helos or F/A-18s.