Ahmadinejad Threatens 2012 Elections Just Like Osama: Jihad!

Just As Former Al-Qaeda Leader Osama Bin Laden Was Planning To Disrupt The United States' 2012 General Elections By Plotting To Kill Pres. Obama, Now Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Appears To Be Encouraging Muslim Extremists Across The Globe To Carry Out The Slain Al-Qaeda Leader's Dark Wishes Via A Mass Jihad.

Apparently Ahmadinejad Wants Muslim Extremists To Help Collapse The United States' Political System & Diminish Our Nation's Foreign Relations Bargaining Power.

If This Isn't A Clear Warning The U.S. & U.N. Needs To Begin Taking Actions To Stop Iran's Ability To Use Nuclear Weapons, I Don't Know How Much More Proof Is Needed.

Iran Has Proven Itself Time & Time Again To Be A Rogue, Rebellious Nation Unwilling To Work Peaceably With Any Other Nation.

I Believe Both U.S. & U.N. Leaders Should STOP Playing With Ahmadinejad By Giving Him Slaps On The Wrist (Useless Sanctions) And Come Together With A Viable Solution That Will Not Only Protect Israel But The United States.

If Not Than God Help America Come 2012!

ALERT:

This Blog Post Was NOT Published To Attack Or Encourage Discrimination Against Muslims In Any Way. Instead It Was Published To Warn America Of Possible Terrorist Plots With Iran's Involvement.

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST!!

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U.S. political system will collapse soon: Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the current political system of the United States will collapse soon.

“Freedom-seekers will rule this country (the U.S.) soon,” Ahmadinejad said during an address on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of a gasoline production unit in Abadan, Khuzestan Province on Tuesday.

He added, “Those who speak of freedom (in the U.S.) themselves say which group has freedom (in their country) and can rule the country. What person seeking freedom has been able to win an election so far in this country, which calls itself the cradle of freedom?”

Only one group, either Democratic or Republican, can attain political power in the U.S., and the others are not allowed to express their ideas, he stated.

“(Barack) Obama is a neophyte and views nations from an imperialistic point of view, and he, through playing with words, speaks as if he is different than his predecessors, while their policy is the same and has not changed,” he stated.

“This is all a puppet show, and Obama is nothing but a puppet, since those who have a role (in defining) the major policies of the U.S. are behind the scenes, but we know them and show the nations who they are,” he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ahmadinejad expressed hope that a new Middle East would emerge without the presence of the occupiers, including the Zionist regime.

The hegemonic powers are bullying regional nations, including North African countries, but this will end soon, he predicted.

The major powers offer regional counties loans and then ask them to act in line with their policies in order to maintain their dominance in the region, he said.

Ahmadinejad called this a new form of innovative hegemony.

“I tell all Muslim nations not to give in to this pressure and that Iran is ready to share all its scientific, industrial, and agricultural achievements with them in order to help them flourish,” he stated.

And Iran is not seeking to serve its political interests through this offer, he added.

All nations should know the United States is not a reliable friend of any country, and Iran knows Washington’s tricks and how it uses other countries to achieve its objectives, the president noted.

Regional nations should maintain close relations with each other and remain vigilant in order to foil the U.S. plots, which have been devised to create divisions between them through, for example, causing conflicts between Sunnis and Shias.



Kill Obama: Bin Laden plotted to assassinate President before 2012 election


Bin Laden called on followers to kill President in run up to 2012 election

Longed for another 9/11 to replicate mass attacks of the past

Orders to not only target New York, but smaller U.S. cities such as Los Angeles

Desperately wanted to 'sow political dissent' in Washington, DC

Urged followers to strike on anniversary of 9/11 and Fourth of July

But arrogant leader became 'lazy and complacent' about own security

Kill as many Americans as possible in a single attack

Only death toll in thousands would shift U.S. policy in Middle East

Target trains as well as planes

Spread out the targets in the U.S.


Osama Bin Laden wanted to assassinate President Obama as in the run up to the 2012 presidential elections, the terror leader's journal seized by U.S. forces reveals.

The mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks wanted to kill the President in a follow up mission, 10 years after the devastating 2001 attack.

U.S. intelligence officials are currently analysing over one million pages of data taken from the terror leader's compound, including his handwritten journal.

The documents reveal that the Al Qaeda leader was still plotting attacks against the U.S. and wanted to find a way to kill Obama.

Bin Laden's own writings indicate that he had urged followers to assassinate Obama as a way of disrupting the 2012 presidential election.

Former intelligence officials said that Bin Laden was focussed on killing the President.

'I would say this is probably very personal on Bin Laden's part, to kill [Obama] that he believes has violated the Muslim faith,' Brad Garrett, a former FBI profiler, told ABC News.

'He is incensed, inflamed, obsessed about killing the President.'

Video footage of Bin Laden watching TV in his hideout showed that whenever Obama came on the screen, the terror leader would quickly try to change the channel.

The seized documents could be the most valuable find of all - a written record that takes readers inside the mind of America's greatest enemy.

Osama Bin Laden's handwritten journal was found at the Pakistan compound where the terror chief was killed in a dramatic U.S. raid more than a week ago.

In it, he directed Al Qaeda operatives to not only focus on New York City, but spread their operations to target smaller cities such as Los Angeles.

The discovery shatters previously held beliefs that Bin Laden was a 'has been' - acting simply as Al Qaeda's spiritual leader rather than its operational chief.

The journal, as well as hundreds of computer 'pen' drives also containing directives, will only add to the heightened threat level across the U.S.

Among the edicts, one particularly macabre note reveals a mathematical calculation of how many people Al Qaeda would have to kill to finally force the U.S. out of the Middle East - concluding it would take another 9/11 at least.

U.S. officials said the Al Qaeda leader's diary is filled with planning ideas and details of operations.

Among them were the notes for the potential plots against the U.S. rail system which prompted an advisory from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security last week.

In the journals he tells his disciples that only a body count of thousands, something on the scale of the September 11 attacks in 2001, would shift U.S. policy.

He also schemed about ways to sow political dissent in Washington and play political figures against one another, officials said.

They give a clear indication that Bin laden was communicating with other extremists.

'There are strong indications there is back and forth with other terrorists,' an official said.

The handwritten journal included significant dates bin Laden noted as preferred for attacking American targets, including the Fourth of July and the 10th anniversary of 9/11, a U.S. official said.

No imminent plots have been discovered in the journal, which officials have been pouring over since the raid, officials said.

The journal was part of a huge cache of intelligence that included about 100 flash drives and five computers taken by a U.S. Navy SEALs assault team after they swept through the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

And rather than reducing his role, Bin Laden had worked frantically to direct Al Qaeda operations from his secret hideout.

One official said Bin Laden had worked like a 'crime boss'.

But the 51-year-old killer had become so arrogant that he believed he was virtually untouchable - plotting destruction by day and bedding down with his wife at night.

'Bin Laden got lazy and complacent,' a source told the Washington Post.

'I don’t think he thought he would meet his maker in that house. And he certainly didn’t make any preparations.'

Another raised the possibility that he may not have been restricted to his compound.

'There are strong indications there is back and forth with other terrorists,' the official said.

Questions were raised about why Bin Laden did not attempt to escape the building during the raid or hide in a secret compartment, but it now appears that he never feared he would be caught there.

Bin Laden has long been known to record his thoughts, but the discovery of his journal is a real coup for American intelligence chiefs.

His son, in a memoir, has described his father as recording his thoughts and plans, spending hours speaking into a Dictaphone.

The diary may also reveal more about the psyche of the man - his secret fears and terrors.

The treasure trove of intelligence recovered from the 'safe' house is producing a new lead every hour, it has emerged.

Intelligence officials told CBS News that Bin Laden had actually been killed 'relatively early' in the 40-minute operation inside the house.

At least half the time was then spent scooping up every single document, laptop, hard drive and CD that the hit team could find.

In the aftermath of the raid, the CIA has been analysing the information - which comes in at 2.7 terrabytes of data or 220 million pages of text - round the clock.

'Home videos' of Bin Laden recovered from the compound which show the terror chief watching Barack Obama on the news and fluffing his lines in a recorded message, have already been released.

The terror journal shows Bin Laden was communicating from his walled compound in Pakistan with al-Qaeda's offshoots - including the Yemen branch that has emerged as the leading threat to the United States.

Though there is no evidence yet that he was directly behind the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner or the nearly successful attack on cargo planes heading for Chicago and Philadelphia, it's now clear that they bear some of bin Laden's hallmarks.

Officials have not yet seen any indication that bin Laden had the ability to coordinate timing of attacks across the various al-Qaeda affiliates in Pakistan, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq and Somalia, and it is also unclear from bin Laden's documents how much the affiliate groups relied on his guidance.

The Yemen group, for instance, has embraced the smaller-scale attacks that bin Laden's writings indicate he regarded as unsuccessful.

However, the real value of the intelligence is likely to come from leads to other members of Al Qaeda and an insight into the terror network, including how Bin Laden communicated with his subordinates.

The diary could play a key role in that.

Speaking in a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, President Obama described the information as a treasure trove that 'could serve us well in the weeks and months to come'.

'We've got a chance to, I think, really deliver a fatal blow to this organisation if we follow through aggressively in the months to come,' he said.

In a chilling statement posted on Islamic extremist sites last night, Al Qaeda warned the U.S. that it had made a 'big mistake' and a 'serious sin' in killing Bin Laden.

The terror group's media arm, al-Fajr, said the American people 'will pay the price' for the May 2 raid.

It acknowledges that Barack Obama 'is protected by armies', but asks Americans: 'Who will protect you from our assault?'

It also urges Muslims to use Bin Laden's death as motivation to carry out attacks, according to a transcript provided yesterday by the SITE Intel group, which monitors militant messages.

Tensions are still running high in Pakistan where politicians hijacked a parliamentary session in Islamabad to pray for the dead Bin Laden.

The group, including former minister Atta-ur-Rehman, claimed it was their duty as Muslims to carry out the action.

Maulvi Asmatullah, who led the prayers, said: 'Bin Laden was an international figure and above all a Muslim.

'I took it as my religious duty to offer prayers for him.'

The killing of Bin Laden has given Obama's approval rating a huge bounce to the highest point in two years.

It now stands at 60 per cent with more than half of Americans saying he deserves to be re-elected, according to The Associated Press-GfK poll.

Al-Qaeda has not named bin Laden's successor, but all indications point to his Number two, Ayman al-Zawahri.

The question is whether al-Zawahri, or anyone, has the ability to keep so many disparate groups under the al-Qaida banner. The groups in Somalia and Algeria, for instance, have very different goals focused on local grievances. Without bin Laden to serve as their shepherd, it's possible al-Qaida will further fragment.


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Sources: Daily Mail, MSNBC, Tehran Times, Youtube, Google Maps

Iran's Military Dictatorship Puts Israel & World's Security In Precarious Position

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Iran Becoming Military Dictatorship


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that Iran is becoming a military dictatorship, a new U.S. accusation in the midst of rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear ambitions and crack down on anti-government protesters.

Speaking to Arab students at Carnegie Mellon's Doha campus, Clinton said Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps appears to have gained so much power that it effectively is supplanting the government.

"Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship," she said. "That is our view."

Last week the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it was freezing the assets in U.S. jurisdictions of a Revolutionary Guard general and four subsidiaries of a previously penalized construction firm he runs because of their alleged involvement in producing and spreading weapons of mass destruction.

The Revolutionary Guard has long been a pillar of Iran's regime as a force separate from the ordinary armed forces. The Guard now has a hand in every critical area including missile development, oil resources, dam building, road construction, telecommunications and nuclear technology.

It also has absorbed the paramilitary Basij as a full-fledged part of its command structure — giving the militia greater funding and a stronger presence in Iran's internal politics.

Serious Negotiations

In her Doha appearance, Clinton also said she foresees a possible breakthrough soon in stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

"I'm hopeful that this year will see the commencement of serious negotiations that will cover every issue that is outstanding," she said, adding that "everyone is anticipating" progress after more than a year of impasse between the negotiating parties.

The peace talks broke down in late 2008 with Israel's incursion into Gaza, which had launched rocket attacks on Israeli targets.

Clinton spoke in an interview with the Al-Jazeera TV network before a live audience of mostly Arab students at Carnegie Mellon's Doha campus.

In remarks in the Qatari capital on Sunday, Clinton said she and the president are disappointed that the administration's efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks had failed thus far.

A Carnegie Mellon audience member who identified himself as an Iranian expatriate asked Clinton if the U.S. would be present in Iraq if Iraq had no oil resources. She said the U.S. wants a normal relationship with the Iraqi government, regardless of its natural resources.

"When we leave Iraq, as has been agreed to, with our military — and we're on schedule to do that — we will hopefully have a relationship with Iraq as we have with any other country," she said. On Sunday she said the number of U.S. troops in Iraq had fallen this month below 100,000 and that the United States is on track to have all combat troops out of the country by the end of summer.

Reflecting the extent of concern in the Persian Gulf region about a U.S. confrontation with Iran, another member of the audience asked Clinton about the outlook for improving relations with Tehran. Clinton reiterated the Obama's administration view that Iran has violated its international obligation to use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes. And she regretted that Iran has not accepted U.S. offers of nuclear negotiations.

"Unfortunately, there has not been the kind of response that we had hope for from the Iranian leadership," she said.

Clinton makes a point of raising the topic of women and girls' rights whenever she travels abroad. In a speech Sunday to a forum on U.S.-Muslim relations, she stressed it in the context of U.S. support for nations seeking to build democratic institutions.

"As nations strive to build and strengthen governments that reflect the will of their people, grounded in their own traditions, they can count on the United States to be their partner," she said. "But the will of the people means the will of all the people, men and women. Women's rights are an issue of singular importance to me personally and as secretary of state."

She also cited the issue of violence against women, without mentioning any specific country.

"Even today, in 2010, women are still targets of violence," she said Sunday. "And all too often, religion might be used to justify it. But there is never a justification for violence against women. It is not cultural. It is criminal. And it is up to religious leaders to take a stand for women, to call for an end to honor killings, child marriages, domestic and gender-based violence."

Later Monday, Clinton was flying to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a meeting with King Abdullah and a session with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.

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Iran Is Now A Nuclear State


President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed Thursday that Iran has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level, saying his country will not be bullied by the West into curtailing its nuclear program a day after the U.S. imposed new sanctions.

Ahmadinejad reiterated to hundreds of thousands of cheering Iranians on the anniversary of the 1979 foundation of the Islamic republic that the country was now a "nuclear state," an announcement he's made before. He insisted that Iran had no intention of building nuclear weapons.

It was not clear how much enriched material had actually been produced just two days after the process was announced to have started.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed Iran's claims, saying that country's leadership has made a series of statement based on politics, not physics.

The claim of new progress in Iran's nuclear program came a day after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions, freezing the assets in U.S. jurisdiction of a Revolutionary Guard general and four subsidiaries of a construction firm he runs.

David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said that any 20-percent enriched uranium produced just a few days after the start of the process would be "a tiny amount."

The United States and some of its allies accuse Tehran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to build nuclear weapons but Tehran denies the charge, saying the program is just geared toward generating electricity.

"I want to announce with a loud voice here that the first package of 20 percent fuel was produced and provided to the scientists," he said.

Enriching uranium produces fuel for nuclear power plants but can also be used to create material for atomic weapons if enriched further to 90 percent or more.

"We have the capability to enrich uranium more than 20 percent or 80 percent but we don't enrich (to this level) because we don't need it," he said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

Iran announced Tuesday it was beginning the process of enriching its uranium stockpile to a higher level. The international community reacted by discussing the imposition of new U.N. sanctions.

Revolutionary Guard assets frozen

The U.S. Treasury Department went ahead on Wednesday and froze the assets in U.S. jurisdictions of a Revolutionary Guard general and four subsidiaries of a construction firm he runs for their alleged involvement in producing and spreading weapons of mass destruction.

Tehran has said it wants to further enrich the uranium — which is still substantially below the 90 percent plus level used in the fissile core of nuclear warheads — as a part of a plan to fuel its research reactor that provides medical isotopes to hundreds of thousands of Iranians undergoing cancer treatment.

But the West says Tehran is not capable of turning the material into the fuel rods needed by the reactor. Instead it fears that Iran wants to enrich the uranium to make nuclear weapons.

Ahmadinejad restated Iran's position that it was not seeking to build nuclear weapons.

"When we say we do not manufacture the bomb, we mean it, and we do not believe in manufacturing a bomb," he told the crowd. "If we wanted to manufacture a bomb, we would announce it."

"We told them the Iranian nation will never give in to bullying and illogical remarks," Ahmadinejad added.

Western powers blame Tehran for rejecting an internationally endorsed plan to defuse the situation by having Iran export its low enriched uranium for enrichment abroad and returned as fuel rods for the Tehran reactor.

Iran, in turn, asserts it had no choice but to start enriching to higher levels because its suggested changes to the international plan were rejected.

The president said Iran will triple the production of its low-enriched uranium in the future but didn't elaborate.

"God willing, daily production (of low enriched uranium) will be tripled," he said.

A confidential document from the U.N. nuclear agency shared Wednesday with The Associated Press said Iran's initial effort at higher enrichment is modest, using only a small amount of feedstock and a fraction of its capacities.


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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

Iranian Gov't Stops Revolution Protests; Human Rights Violations

Senator Joe Lieberman Explains (on first video below) How Congress Plans To Help Stop Iran's Unacceptable Regime & Violation of Human Rights.

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Iran’s Show Of Force Quashes Protest Attempts


A massive Iranian security presence, including riot police and gangs of motorbike-riding militia, appeared to snuff out attempts Thursday by anti-government protesters to orchestrate counter-demonstrations on the anniversary of the revolution that created Iran's Islamic republic.

Police clashed with protesters in several sites around Tehran, firing tear gas to disperse them and paintballs to mark them for arrest. Gangs of hard-liners also attacked senior opposition figures as they tried to attend the rallies — including the wife of the head of the reform movement.

Plainclothes Basiji militiamen beat 65-year-old Zahra Rahnavard with clubs on her head and back until her supporters formed a human ring around her and whisked her away, according to the Web site of her husband, Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Foreign media, including NBC News, were only allowed to cover the official ceremonies in Freedom Square, where hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered to mark the revolution's 31st anniversary.

NBC's Ali Arouzi reported that he and the handful of other accredited reporters in Iran were bused into the official rally in Freedom Square, penned into a certain section, barred from talking to even the government supporters and then bused out of the area. He said they were told that they were absolutely prohibited from going out independently to film activities on the streets of Tehran.

The anniversary celebrations were an opportunity for Iran's clerical regime to tout its power in the face of the opposition movement, which has persisted in holding mass street protests since disputed presidential elections in June in defiance of a fierce months-long crackdown.

Based on the reports out of Tehran, the security clampdown appeared to have succeeded in preventing a major opposition turnout. Their numbers were not immediately known — but opposition Web sites spoke of groups of protesters in the hundreds, compared to thousands in past demonstrations.

Official media made no mention of clashes or arrests and state television said "tens of millions of people" attended rallies in support of the revolution across the country of 70 million.

One protester told The Associated Press she had tried to join the demonstrations but soon left in disappointment. "There were 300 of us, maximum 500. Against 10,000 people," she told an AP reporter outside Iran.

"It means they won and we lost. They defeated us. They were able to gather so many people," she said. "But this doesn't mean we have been defeated for good. It's a defeat for now, today. We need time to regroup." She spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by authorities, who have jailed protesters for talking to foreign media.

Internet disruptions

Tehran residents also reported Internet speeds dropping dramatically and e-mail services such as Gmail being blocked in a common government tactic to foil opposition attempts to organize.

Heavy numbers of riot police, members of the Revolutionary Guard and Basij militiamen deployed at key squares and major avenues in the capital to prevent protests from marring the annual mass rallies for the revolution's anniversary.

State television showed images of thousands upon thousands carrying often identical banners marching along the city's broad avenues toward the central Azadi, or Freedom, Square. There, the massive crowds waved Iranian flags and carried pictures of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic state, and his successor as supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a nationally televised address in the square, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaimed that Iran has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level, reiterating that Iran is now a "nuclear state."

'Death to the dictator'
Ahmadinejad made no mention in his speech of Iran's political turmoil.

For days ahead of the anniversary celebrations, anti-government Web sites and blogs have called for a major turnout in counterprotests. Groups of opposition protesters gathered Thursday in several locations around Tehran, wearing green clothes and waving green balloons — the opposition's signature color.

Meantime, opposition Web sites sought to gather as much information as possible from the protests.

* "Security forces fired tear gas to disperse a group of protesters who were trying to march toward Azadi Square as they chanted 'death to the dictator,'" the Web site Rahesabz said, reporting an unknown number of arrests. Police and Basijis on motorbikes swept toward central Tehran, where protesters and security forces clashed in several locations, it and other opposition Web sites reported.

* The Web site, Iran's Green Voice, said security forces fired shots and teargas at supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi staging a rally in central Tehran. Mousavi and his wife attended one of the rallies, it said.

* Another opposition site, Norooz, said 30 people were arrested in one Tehran square.

* The various sites, many run from outside of Iran, also featured videos allegedly taken during protests. The Website, IranNewNow, had a live blog based on reports from the streets with many of the uploaded YouTube videos.

While msnbc.com can not confirm the provenance, date and other information about these clips, we are posting some here as there is no other source of video from the street protests.

Security forces also briefly detained the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the architect of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and her husband, who are both senior pro-reform politicians, according to the couple's son, Ali.

The granddaughter, Zahra Eshraghi, and her husband Mohammad Reza Khatami, who is the brother of a former pro-reform president, were held for less than an hour before being released, their son told the AP.

Text messaging, Internet service hobbled

Iranian authorities again tried to squeeze off text messaging and Web links in attempts to cripple protest organizers. Internet service was sharply slowed, mobile phone service widely cut and there were repeated disruptions in popular instant messaging services such as Google chat, though some were sporadically accessible.

Many Internet users said they could not log into their Gmail account, Google's e-mail service, since last week.

"We have heard from users in Iran that they are having trouble accessing Gmail," Google said in a statement. "We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic and we have looked at our own networks and found that they are working properly."

Opposition members went on roof tops late Wednesday and shouted Allah-u-Akbar ("God is greatest") in protest — echoing similar cries after the disputed June election as well as anti-shah protests more than three decades ago.

The opposition claims that Ahmadinejad's victory in the June 12 election was fraudulent and that the true winner was pro-reform leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. Hundreds of thousands marched in the streets against the government in the weeks after the vote, prompting a massive wave of arrests.


Sources: AP, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Youtube

Obama Sanctions Iran; The Real Deal Or More Politics?

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White House Announces New Iran Asset Freeze


The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it was freezing the assets of four subsidiary companies of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a senior commander.

The move, which comes ahead of official rallies in Iran to celebrate Revolution Day on February 11, extends existing sanctions to ban any American firms or citizens from dealing with the four companies and the commander, IRGC General Rostam Qasemi, who is also in charge of the Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters.

"As the IRGC consolidates control over broad swaths of the Iranian economy, displacing ordinary Iranian businessmen in favor of a select group of insiders, it is hiding behind companies like Khatam al-Anbiya and its affiliates to maintain vital ties to the outside world," said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department.

"Today's action exposing Khatam al-Anbiya subsidiaries will help firms worldwide avoid business that ultimately benefits the IRGC and its dangerous activities."

The sanctions were issued under an Executive Order, which freezes the assets of those considered to be involved in spreading weapons of mass destruction and their supporters.

Billions of Dollars

The four companies, which are owned or controlled by Khatam al-Anbiya and mostly involved in mining and engineering projects, are: Fater Engineering Institute, Imensazen Consultant Engineers Institute, the Makin Institute and the Rahab Institute.

The statement added that the IRGC had a "growing presence" in Iran's business community and "extensive economic interests" in defense production, construction and the oil industry, "controlling billions of dollars of business."

The announcement comes amid on-going political unrest within Iran, where police said Wednesday they had arrested several people who were allegedly preparing to disrupt rallies Thursday marking the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Opposition leaders have called on supporters to take to the streets, raising the risk of renewed violence eight months after a disputed election plunged Iran into crisis.

The authorities say the pro-reform opposition will face a firm response if it tries to hijack state-sponsored celebrations of the anniversary, when they say the Iranian nation in a display of unity will "punch the faces" of its Western enemies.

The hardline leadership is also facing increased international pressure after the Islamic state announced this week an expansion of nuclear work which the West suspects is aimed at making bombs, a charge Tehran denies.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday the international community was moving "fairly quickly" toward imposing broader sanctions on Iran, a major oil producer.

A senior U.S. official said Wednesday that the U.S. hopes a United Nations debate on Iran next week will shine new light on Tehran's mistreatment of prisoners, its repression of protesters and its imprisonment of journalists and intellectuals.

John Limbert, who was among dozens of Americans held captive in Iran in 1979-1980, said he wanted to hear honest credible discussions about Iran's human rights situation even if the U.N. Human Rights Council holding the debate has a spotty record in that regard.

The four-year-old U.N. body has been criticized for failing to address some of the world's most serious rights violations, but Limbert, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran, said Monday's hearing offers the world a valuable forum.

People in Iran have been "gassed, arrested, beaten up and shot" since its disputed presidential election in June, Limbert told reporters.

"The U.S. and the international community can bear witness to what is going on there, and can speak a simple truth."

Sources: MSNBC

Iranian Leaders Condemn U.S. & Vow To Crush Opposition Protesters.."Death To America!"

Government Supporters Pack Iranian Cities To Condemn Opposition, U.S.


Thousands of Iranian political supporters jammed the streets of the capital and other cities Wednesday in response to anti-government rallies during Sunday's observances of the holy day of Ashura.

As crowds headed toward Revolution Square, they cried "Death to America," "Death to Israel," and "Death to Moussavi." The latter refers to Mir Hossein Moussavi, the main opposition candidate in Iran's June 12 presidential election that swept incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad into office for a second term.

Moussavi and his followers declared the election fraudulent, touching off a wave of protests over the summer that left several demonstrators dead and dozens jailed.

No government opponents were seen at Wednesday's rally in Tehran, said CNN's Shirzad Bozorgmehr from the capital. Opposition Web sites advised their supporters to stay home.

After the rallies, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported that "two known plotters" have left Tehran for northern Iran. The identities of the two could not immediately be confirmed.

Bozorgmehr, who watched the demonstrations from the sidelines, said that at Vali Asr square, the crowd was so dense he could not make his way through on foot. From a bridge, he overlooked an area from Imam Hossein Square to Revolution (Enghelab) Square, a distance of about 18 kilometers (11 miles).

There were "easily hundreds of thousands, if not over a million people," he said. There also were protests in Tabriz, Shiraz, Arak, Gilan and Sistan-Baluchestan province, according to government-funded Press TV.

Wednesday's rallies, which also denounced France and the United Kingdom, lasted at least two hours, and state television ran messages across the bottom of the screen indicating the nationwide gatherings were "huge."

"Millions of Iranians gather to condemn insulting Ashura," one ticker read. Others reported that marchers had renewed their allegiance to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, supported the Iraniansystem and renewed their allegiance to the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led Iran for a decade after the 1979 revolution.

Ahmadinejad said Wednesday's march showed that the harsh criticism by foreign nations can never have a negative impact on his country.

"The officials of these countries should understand that their attempts will not affect the Iranian nations' equations, stances and idealistic and perfectionist move," Ahmadinejad told reporters at the end of a Cabinet meeting.

He said the United States and certain European countries were trying to foment unrest in Iran, and described those efforts as futile, the state-owned Fars news agency reported.

The president also advised President Obama and his European allies to learn from the experiences of their predecessors.

"Officials of the U.S. and certain European states showed again that they have embarked on wrong plans, stances and attitude," Ahmadinejad said.

Protest organizers distributed a news release after the march that condemned the Ashura demonstrations. They accused those who participated of acting against Ashura, the holy Quran, Islamic values and the Islamic Republic, according to ILNA (Iranian Labour News Agency).

The declaration called the rioters "Mofsed Bel Arz" (corrupt on Earth) and said they had waged war against God. The declaration also demanded that Iranian authorities review the country's relations with Britain and France, which, along with the United States, have criticized the Iranian government's intolerance for anti-government protesters.

The document praises Iran's state media for their "courageous work" in exposing the "plotters" and those in the media who were influenced by foreign spy agencies and had "incited people to riot."

Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran's chief prosecutor, told reporters Tuesday that seven people were killed in Sunday's riots. The toll makes them the bloodiest since June, when demonstrations over the disputed election left at least eight dead.

Sunday's face-offs came on the anniversary of Ashura, a major Shiite Muslim holy day that marks the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed, as a martyr.

Among the seven who died was Moussavi's nephew, Seyyed Ali Moussavi, who was buried quickly on Wednesday with security personnel watching from nearby. There were no demonstrations or disturbances during the burial, and several plain-clothed and uniformed security personnel patrolled the area.

The Iranian parliament held a closed session Wednesday to discuss punishment for "insults that were made" (to the holy Ashura Day) in Sunday's anti-government protests. State media sourced an official as saying that around 500 people had been arrested in conjunction with the weekend clashes.

The crowd shouted slogans denouncing government reformists: "[Mohammad] Khatami should be defrocked," referring to the moderate former Iranian president who sought democratic reforms; and "Karrubi is illiterate and should leave politics and religion," a reference to former parliament speaker Mehdi Karrubi, a backer of Khatami.

"The blood that runs in my veins is a gift to the leader," one person yelled, referring to the Supreme Leader.

According to Bozorgmehr, "The march was orderly and I saw no sign of security forces in any large numbers. The crowd was a mix of men, women and children, as well as large religious processions accompanied by loud speakers denouncing Sunday's protests."

According to NoroozNews, a pro-reformist news Web site, at least six journalists and political and civil rights activists were arrested early in the day.

Among them were Badr-Alsadat Mofidi, director of the Professional Journalists' Association; Keyvan Mehregan; political director of the Eetemad Meli newspaper; Nasrin Vaziri, who covers parliament for the semi-official ILNA; and Morteza Kazemian, a staff writer and political activist for the opposition Web site Rahesabz.net, who was detained at 1 a.m.

Another journalist, Masha-Allah Shams Alvazein, was arrested Tuesday morning, NoroozNews said. According to its report, "three young agents showed up at his house with a nameless arrest warrant, and about one hour after he resisted and asked for a name-specific arrest warrant, two older agents showed up and threatened to take him by force if he did not go willingly."

NoroozNews said Mansoureh Shojaey, a women's rights activist, also was arrested Wednesday, shortly after midnight, at her house.

There are reports that a prosecutor has signed arrest warrants for 200 journalists, NoroozNews said.

In Jerusalem on Wednesday, international representatives of jurists, parliamentarians, human rights activists and Iranian dissidents held a news conference to reveal their petition for additional sanctions against Iran.

They cited the country's "harsh crackdown on opposition demonstrators" as well as its defiance over its nuclear program.

Leading the coalition of about 60 people was Irwin Cotler, a former Justice Minister of Canada, now a Liberal Party member of the Canadian Parliament. He accused the Iranian government of "gross violations of international law."

"What we are witnessing in Ahmadinejad's Iran is a toxic convergence of four distinct yet interrelated dangers: the danger of a nuclear Iran, the danger of state-sanctioned incitement to genocide, the danger of state sponsorship of international terrorism and the danger of a massive assault on human rights," Cotler said.



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Sources: CNN, Google Maps

Pres. Obama At The "Constructive" Iran Nuclear Talks In Geneva: "We Want Action"

(President says the Iranian government must follow with constructive action.)

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(The Geneva Swiss Talks. MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.)

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(Showdown with Iran.)

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Pres. Obama: Iran nuclear talks "Constructive"

President Barack Obama on Thursday described talks among global powers and Iran over Iran’s disputed nuclear program as “constructive.” But he said Tehran must follow up with concrete steps, including giving international inspectors full access to its newly disclosed nuclear site.

In brief remarks to reporters in Washington, Obama must “demonstrate through concrete steps” that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

He said the talks in Switzerland were a “constructive beginning” but added it must be followed by “constructive action” by Iran.

In particular, Obama said, Tehran must grant International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors “unfettered access” within two weeks to its recently disclosed uranium-enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom.

Earlier, a senior EU envoy said Iran has pledged to open the plant to U.N. inspectors, perhaps in the next few weeks.

“Talk is no substitute for action,” the president said. “Our patience is not limited.”

The U.S. and five other world powers agreed to a second round of talks with Iran by the end of October, a U.S. official said.

Six countries

Undersecretary of State William Burns represented the Obama administration in the talks. The other countries involved were Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

"It was a productive day but the proof of that has not yet come to fruition, so we'll wait and continue to press our point of view and see what Iran decides to do," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier.

Asked whether the administration's strategy of offering to engage more directly in dialogue with Iran was now paying off, she said more than gestures and discussions are required in order to meet the administration's goals.

"I will count it as a positive sign when it moves from gestures and engagements to actions and results," she said. "That's a necessary pathway and I think we're on it. We've always said we would engage. But we're not talking for the sake of talking," she said, adding, "Today's meeting opened the door, but let's see what happens."

Deputy State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Burns used the meeting with chief Iranian delegate Saeed Jalili "to reiterate the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

"He addressed the need for Iran to take concrete and practical steps that are consistent with its international obligations and that will build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its program.

"While the focus of the discussion was on Iran's nuclear program, both sides had a frank exchange on other issues, including human rights," said Wood.

Direct engagement with Iran

The encounter appeared to be concrete proof of Obama's commitment to engage Iran directly on nuclear and other issues — a sharp break from the policy under the Bush administration.

More broadly, the meeting suggested that Obama was putting his concept of U.S. foreign policy into action, with its emphasis on negotiating even with the nations that are most hostile to the United States.

Confirming that the seven nations planned to meet again, senior EU envoy Javier Solana said Iran had pledged to open its newly revealed uranium enrichment plant to International Atomic Energy Agency inspection soon.

Iran's disclosure of the new plant had threatened to poison the atmosphere of the talks, with the West saying Tehran only revealed it because it feared it would found out. Uranium enrichment can make both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

Solana said Iran had pledged to "cooperate fully and immediately with the IAEA" and said he expected Tehran to invite agency inspectors looking for signs of covert nuclear weapons activity to visit "in the next couple of weeks."

At the United Nations, the Iranian Foreign Minister suggested his country's talks with the U.S. and five other world powers could be expanded to the "summit" level.

Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran was willing to discuss a variety of security, economic and political issues, although he did not specifically refer to nuclear issues, which the six powers consider the most critical topic.

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — plus Germany hope to persuade Tehran to freeze the enrichment program.

Second round of talks

Going into Thursday's talks, one of the top U.S. goals was to get the Iranians to commit to a second round of talks within a couple of weeks in order to keep the dialogue in a compact timeframe. The U.S. assumption was that if Iran was willing to engage seriously on the nuclear issue, a positive sign would be its agreement to have a second meeting shortly.

A U.S. government official confirmed to The Associated Press that commercial satellite images taken of the purported nuclear site near Iran's holy city of Qom are generally accurate.

At least three private sector imagery analysts in the United States have focused on the site because it fits the description given by the U.S. government: It is 20 miles from Qom, it is built into a mountainside and it has features consistent with a secret nuclear facility, parts of which the U.S. government says are underground.

Neither the U.S. government nor Iran has officially confirmed the location or the accuracy of the commercial imagery analysis.

Passions over hidden plant

At best, Thursday's talks could start lowering passions over the hidden plant, Iran's three-year defiance of the U.N. Security Council's enrichment ban and Western assertions that Tehran is a supporter of terror — and lead to another meeting later this year.

That, in turn, could be the start of a process that could not only end the threat of an Israeli or U.S. strike against Iran's nuclear facilities as a last resort. It could ultimately lead to an agreement on a limited Iranian uranium enrichment program — but under tight international control meant to banish concerns that it could be turned toward making warhead material.

Such hopes are tenuous. Since the five nations first proposed a set of political and economic concessions to Tehran for a full stop to its enrichment activities three years ago, Iran has expanded the program. It now has more than 8,000 centrifuges set up in its cavernous underground facility at Natanz, with most of them working to churn out fuel-grade enriched uranium.

If the talks fail, the U.S. and its Western allies will renew their push for a fourth set of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

The initial set of sanctions in 2006 focused on banning trade with Iran in materials, equipment, goods and technology that could contribute to Iran's uranium enrichment program. Iran says its program is intended to provide fuel for civilian power reactors, but the U.S. suspects it could be used to make nuclear weapons.

U.N. sanctions against Iran were expanded in March 2007 by banning arms exports from Iran and imposing a freeze on the financial assets of 28 individuals and entities. More sanctions in March 2008 restricted the import by Iran of dual-use technologies — those that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.



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Global Controversy Regarding Iran's Nuke Program Intensifies...World Leaders Meet Again

(World leaders meet on Iran nukes. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports from Geneva, Switzerland, where diplomats from Iran, the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are meeting to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.)

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(Is a peaceful Nuke program possible?)

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Sources: MSNBC, NY Times, TIME, Google Maps

Gates Responds To Iran's Secret Nuke Station: "The Iranians Are In A Bad Spot"

Gates: Secret nuke site puts Iran in "bad spot"


Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the disclosure of Iran's secret uranium-enriching facility could force more economic penalties against a country reeling from serious social and political divisions.

He played down the effectiveness of military strikes against the site, arguing that pressuring Tehran economically and diplomatically would have a better chance of changing the Tehran government's policies.

"The reality is, there is no military option that does anything more than buy time," he told CNN's "State of the Union" in an interview broadcast Sunday.

"The Iranians are in a very bad spot now because of this deception, in terms of all of the great powers. And there obviously is the opportunity for severe additional sanctions."

Gates' comments come ahead of a meeting Thursday in Geneva involving diplomats from Iran, the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. Tehran's nuclear program is at the top of the agenda.

On Sunday, Iran said it successfully test-fired short-range missiles during military drills by the elite Revolutionary Guard.

Gates emphasized China's key role in winning additional penalties against Iran. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, including China, would have to agree to new sanctions. The United States, Britain and France support additional economic conditions and Russia now appears favorable. But China relies heavily on Iranian oil imports and remains reluctant to give its assent.

"China's participation is clearly important," Gates said.

Gates said further penalties could cause Iran to change its nuclear policies because it already faces serious economic problems. He described the political turmoil under Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as "simmering," and noted that unemployment among young people in the country is about 40 percent.

"It's clear in the aftermath of the election that there are some fairly deep fissures in Iranian society and politics and – and probably even in the leadership," he said. "And, frankly, this is one of the reasons why I think additional and especially severe economic sanctions could have some real impact because we know that the sanctions that have already been placed on the country have had an impact."

The Pentagon chief added, "We are seeing some changes or some divisions in the Iranian leadership and in society that we really haven't seen in the 30 years since the revolution."

It is critical that world powers persuade the Iranians that their pursuit of nuclear weapons will undermine their country's security, Gates said.

This week's meeting is the first step to see if Tehran can change policy to the satisfaction of the world's powers. If that fails, Gates said, then "you begins to move in the direction of severe sanctions. ... I think that severe sanctions would have the potential" of changing their policies.

"How long do I think we have? I would somewhere between one to three years," he told ABC's "This Week."


Sources: Huffington Post, AP, TIME

Weekly Address: G20 Summit Progress, Warning To Iran

Weekly Address: Progress with the G-20 in Pittsburgh




Sources: Whitehouse.gov