http://news.antiwar.com/2013/10/02/israel-forming-new-gulf-alliance-to-attack-iran/
The election of a reformist president in Iran and a push for diplomacy that is gaining worldwide traction has been disconcerting to Israeli officials, to say the least, and has led to angry condemnations, hawkish speeches, and now comments from Likud MP Tzachi Hanegbi saying his government is no longer convincedthe US is serious about its threats to attack Iran.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-02/irans-cyber-warfare-head-assassinated
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/02/2013 18:25 -0400
It is feared in European capitals that the US is running too fast and too far in his bid for reconciliation with the Islamic Republic, to the detriment by association of their own standing I the Persian Gulf.
Netanyahu decided not to accede to either request. Instead he laid out his credo: Iran must discontinue nuclear development and dismantle its program or face up to the risk of a lone Israeli military attack.
The dissonance between Jerusalem and Washington on Iran and its nuclear aspirations, played down after the Obama-Netanyahu meeting at the White House, emerged at full blast in the UN speech. The consequences are likely to be reflected in American media, as they were at the low point in relations in 2010, when administration officials day by day planted negative assessments of Israel’s military inadequacies for damaging Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Israel Forming New Gulf Alliance to Attack Iran
MP: Israel No Longer Confident US Will Start War
by Jason Ditz, October 02, 2013
Threatening to attack Iran has been such a popular pastime for Israeli governments that they created an entire government ministry called the Strategic Affairs Ministrywhose sole purpose is to spend all day planning “initiatives” aimed at an eventual war with Iran.
The election of a reformist president in Iran and a push for diplomacy that is gaining worldwide traction has been disconcerting to Israeli officials, to say the least, and has led to angry condemnations, hawkish speeches, and now comments from Likud MP Tzachi Hanegbi saying his government is no longer convincedthe US is serious about its threats to attack Iran.
This has Israel’s hawkish officials talking up the prospect of a unilateral attack, and according to new reports today, has them holding “intensive meetings” with top officials from a number of Gulf states, in an attempt to cobble together an alliance to attack Iran without the US.
Though the reports didn’t specify which nations’ officials were met with, the smart money is on the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includesSaudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, all long-time regional rivals of Iran.
In the past, there have been on-again, off-again rumors of Saudi Arabia being willing to grant Israel an airspace corridor through which to attack Iran, though the Saudi government has always denied that this would be the case. The new talks seem likely to revive that speculation.
and.....
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-02/irans-cyber-warfare-head-assassinated
Iran's Cyber Warfare Commander Assassinated
Mere days after the US and Iran showed very tentative signs of some diplomatic progress being possible (and hours after Netanyahu's "Rouhani's a wolf in sheep's clothing" comments), The Telegraph reports that Mojtaba Ahmadi, who served as commander of the Cyber War Headquarters for Iran, was found dead (with two bullets to the heart) in a wooded area north-west of Tehran. This follows the assassination of five Iranian nuclear scientists and the country's ballistic missile program head since 2007 - all blamed on Israel's Mossad. An eyewitness said two people on a motorbike had been involved and "the extent of the injuries indicated he had been assassinated from close range." Western officials (the 'essential' ones) said the information was still being assessed.
Mojtaba Ahmadi, who served as commander of the Cyber War Headquarters, was found dead in a wooded area near the town of Karaj, north-west of the capital, Tehran....Ahmadi was last seen leaving his home for work on Saturday. He was later found with two bullets in the heart, according to Alborz, a website linked to the Revolutionary Guard Corps. “I could see two bullet wounds on his body and the extent of his injuries indicated that he had been assassinated from a close range with a pistol,” an eyewitness told the website.The commander of the local police said that two people on a motorbike had been involved in the assassination....the Imam Hassan Mojtaba division of the Revolutionary Guard Corps said that Ahmadi’s death was being investigated. It warned against speculating “prematurely about the identity of those responsible for the killing”.Western officials said the information was still being assessed...The last victim of a known assassination was Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a chemist who worked in the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, who died when an explosive device blew up on his car in January last year.The death of Ahmadi, a leading specialist in cyber defences, could be an extension of this campaign of subterfuge. Iran has been accused of carrying out a number of cyber attacks detected in the West.
Recall what Russia's Foreign Minister said ealier today: "Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Syria recently got shipments of components for chemical weapons, increasing likelihood of more provocations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says in Moscow after talks with his Indian counterpart, Salman Khurshid." We didn't have long to wait.
http://www.debka.com/article/23323/Israel-and-Saudi-Arabia-are-coordinating-policies-to-counter-US-d%C3%A9tente-with-Iran-
Associates of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Wednesday, Oct. 2, leaked word to the media that high-ranking Gulf emirate officials had recently visited Israel, signaling a further widening in the rift between Israel and President Barack Obama over his outreach to Tehran. These visits were in line with the ongoing exchanges Israel was holding with Saudi and Gulf representatives to align their actions for offsetting any potential American easing-up on Iran’s nuclear program.
DEBKAfile reports that this is the first time Israel official sources have publicly aired diplomatic contacts of this kind in the region. They also reveal that Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf emirates have agreed to synchronize their lobbying efforts in the US Congress to vote down the Obama administration’s moves on Iran.
DEBKAfile reported earlier Wednesday:
After Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with President Barack Obama at the White House Monday, Sept. 30, Secretary of State John Kerry carried a message requesting moderation in the speech he was to deliver next day to the United Nations.
On the other hand, at least two European diplomats, German and French, made the opposite request: they asked for a hard-hitting Israeli peroration for setting boundaries - not so much for Iran’s nuclear program as for attempt to slow down President Obama’s dash for détente with Tehran.
It is feared in European capitals that the US is running too fast and too far in his bid for reconciliation with the Islamic Republic, to the detriment by association of their own standing I the Persian Gulf.
They are moreover miffed by the way Washington used Europe as a tool in the long nuclear negotiations between the Six World Powers with Iran and is now dumping them in favor of direct dealings with Iranian leaders.
Netanyahu decided not to accede to either request. Instead he laid out his credo: Iran must discontinue nuclear development and dismantle its program or face up to the risk of a lone Israeli military attack.
The look on the face of US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, sitting at the US delegation’s table in the UN hall, showed he had realized that the prime minister’s words were not just addressed to Tehran; they were an unforeseen broadside against the Obama administration’s Iranian strategy.
The dissonance between Jerusalem and Washington on Iran and its nuclear aspirations, played down after the Obama-Netanyahu meeting at the White House, emerged at full blast in the UN speech. The consequences are likely to be reflected in American media, as they were at the low point in relations in 2010, when administration officials day by day planted negative assessments of Israel’s military inadequacies for damaging Iran’s nuclear facilities.
After the UN speech, the Israeli Home Defense Minister Gilead Erdan tried to pour oil on troubled waters by commenting that the prime minister’s speech had strengthened Obama’s hand against Tehran. However, Netanyahu had a different object. It was to paint Washington’s new partner in détente in the blackest colors, even though he knows there is no chance of swaying the US President from his pursuit of Tehran and the sanctions, which he believes to be the only effective deterrent for giving the Iranians pause, will soon start unraveling.
Binyamin Netanyahu now faces the uphill job of repairing his own credibility. For five years has had declared again and again that Israel’s military option is on track in certain circumstances, but has never lived up to the threat. He has followed a path of almost total military passivity.
President Obama knows that Israel’s military capacity is up to a solo operation against Iran. Tehran, however, though conscious of the IDF’s high military, technological and cyber warfare capabilities, is convinced that Israel like the United States has lost the appetite for a military initiative.
Netanyahu must now revive Israel’s deterrence and convince Iran that his challenge at the UN had ended an era of military passivity and should be taken seriously.
In the coming weeks, therefore, the Iranians will react with steps to upset US-Israeli relations, possibly by raising military tensions in the region directly or through their proxies. Until now Tehran operated from outside Washington and its inner councils. Now, smart Iranian diplomats will be sitting down with the US president close to his ear for friendly discussions on ways to further their rapprochement.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/10/02/Saudi-Arabia-cancels-U-N-speech-over-inaction-on-Arab-Muslim-issues-.html
Last Update: Wednesday, 2 October 2013 KSA 20:03 - GMT 17:03
Saudi Arabia cancels U.N. speech over inaction on Arab, Muslim issues
Al Arabiya
Saudi Arabia has cancelled its address to the U.N. General Assembly citing the international body’s inability to resolve pertaining issues to the Arab and Islamic world.
Diplomatic sources said to Al Arabiya that the Saudi decision to cancel its speech at the United Nations General Assembly for the first time in history, reflects the kingdom's dissatisfaction with the position of the United Nations on dealing with the Arab and Islamic issues, particularly the issue of Palestine that the U.N. has not been able to solve in more than 60 years, as well as the Syrian crisis.
The Saudi diplomat also cited “the monopoly of certain countries” over U.N. decision making.
Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and political analyst, said: “Saudi Arabia is worried about Syria and senses that the U.N. Security Council, with its recent resolution, is taking Syria into a dark tunnel of endless negotiations and procedures to disarm Assad from his chemical weapons, neglecting the Syrian crisis taking place now.”
Khashoggi noted that the Saudi move was aimed to pressure the United Nations and possibility build a coalition of countries that seek a more serious approach by the international community to the issues of the Muslim world.
“Saudi Arabia is a leading country in the GCC and could urge the GCC countries to take a similar position. In addition to that, Arab countries usually turn to Saudi and adopt its position and vision when it comes to critical issues. Even Iran could stand with Saudi in that regard,” Khashoggi added.
Last Update: Thursday, 3 October 2013 KSA 23:11 - GMT 20:11
Gunmen attack Russian embassy in Libya
Al Arabiya
Unknown gunmen attacked the Russian embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday, Al Arabiya correspondent reported.
The sound of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades could be heard around the embassy, the correspondent added.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said confirmed the attack saying none of its staff was injured.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Ekho Moskvy radio the attackers fired at the embassy in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and tried to break into its grounds, Associated Press
She said that according to preliminary information no one among the embassy personnel was wounded.
The attack comes two days after conflicting reports emerged about the circumstances of the murder of an army officer in the Souk Juma district of Tripoli, according to AFP.
Some sources said a Russian woman had killed the officer for his role in the 2011 revolt against the regime of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Others said the woman was the wife of the slain man and that the motive for the killing was a marital dispute.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said confirmed the attack saying none of its staff was injured.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Ekho Moskvy radio the attackers fired at the embassy in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and tried to break into its grounds, Associated Press
She said that according to preliminary information no one among the embassy personnel was wounded.
The attack comes two days after conflicting reports emerged about the circumstances of the murder of an army officer in the Souk Juma district of Tripoli, according to AFP.
Some sources said a Russian woman had killed the officer for his role in the 2011 revolt against the regime of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Others said the woman was the wife of the slain man and that the motive for the killing was a marital dispute.
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