Iran Targets Dissidents With 30,000-Strong Spy Army

In February 2010, Iranian spies had Tehran’s most wanted man in their sights. Their target, Sunni Islamist militant Abdolmalek Rigi, had killed an Iranian general and was responsible for a string of terrorist attacks in Iran from across the Pakistani border. After Rigi boarded a commercial flight to Dubai that took him through Iranian airspace, secret agents on board appeared, ordered the plane to land, and then arrested Rigi. He was later executed.
That’s just one operation in recent years by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, or MOIS. According to a new report by the Federal Research Division at the Library of Congress, the spy agency counts as “the most powerful and well-supported ministry among all Iranian ministries” (.pdf) in terms of finances and support. The report, first obtained by Bill Gertz at The Washington Free Beacon, describes a 30,000 strong army of spies — the largest intelligence agency in the Middle East — responsible for assassinating political opponents, espionage, and, above all, crushing potential rivals to Tehran’s ruling elite.
But first note that the MOIS is distinct from the Quds Force, the combination special forces and CIA-styled intelligence wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. According to the report, the MOIS is mainly a domestic agency directed at infiltrating regime opponents inside Iran — as well as dissident groups organized by Iranian expatriates around the world. It’s currently headed by cleric Heydar Moslehi, who the U.S. government has sanctioned for being allegedly responsible for “beatings, mental abuse, and sexual abuse” carried out against Iranian political prisoners.
That makes it distinct from the Quds Force, Iran’s combination of foreign intelligence service and special forces units. The Quds Force — led by the mysterious Gen. Qassem Suleimani — is responsible “for the most part” in carrying out “extraterritorial operations such as sabotage, assassinations, and espionage.”
The MOIS is also opaque by nature, and it’s worth treading cautiously with the report’s claims, some of which are quite alarmist. There are allegations Iran works with al-Qaida against the U.S., but the report is scant on the details aside from attempts by Osama bin Laden to approach Iran during the 1990s. The claim also belies evidence, in recent years, that the relationship between Iran and al-Qaida has been characterized more by hostage trading and hostility rather than working together as allies.

The report claims the MOIS and Iranian Quds Force are using Hezbollah agents in Latin America to wage “asymmetrical warfare against the United States,” though this is likely overstated. The former U.S. military chief for South America, Gen. Douglas Fraser, said last March that Hezbollah was expanding into South America but that its operations were mainly confined to fundraising and “illicit activities” tied to the drug trade, not terrorist attacks.
But the report still presents a detailed look at its history and organization. The MOIS was birthed after the Iranian revolution of 1979, but the agency’s roots go further back, to the time when Iran had a pro-U.S. government headed by the dictatorial Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Brought to power in a CIA-backed coup, the Shah built a secret police force called SAVAK to spy on, arrest and execute opponents of his regime. At the time, the main targets for SAVAK operations were Persian communist groups, and the agency became notorious for assassinating political dissidents and torturing thousands of political prisoners. Ultimately, SAVAK failed to protect the regime, which was overthrown in the 1979 revolution that brought the current Islamist regime to power.
SAVAK was disbanded and its director, General Hassan Pakravan, was executed shortly after the revolution. But the new regime needed spies of its own. The regime created several new spy agencies, but these were a complicated hodge-podge of groups with little centralized control. What did the regime do? They took three of the new agencies, combined them into the MOIS under the direct authority of the Ayatollah, and granted amnesty to former SAVAK agents needed to help staff it.
Reactivating the former agents was partly born out necessity: Iraq invaded Iran in September 1980, and Tehran needed experts to root out Iraqi spies. But SAVAK tactics would also go on to be used against the regime’s opponents more broadly, including assassinations of dissidents inside and outside Iran. The agency has even created a team called Oghab 2, or Eagle 2, to protect Iran’s nuclear program against sabotage. But they don’t seem to have been particularly effective.
Today, according to the report, the MOIS considers the exiled Iranian terrorist group Mujahideen-e Khalq, or MEK, to be “the most serious dissident organization with regard to the Revolution.” Once supported by Saddam Hussein, the MEK has in recent years sought to build ties to prominent American lobbyists and figures from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to ex-CIA director Michael Hayden, and successfully lobbied the Obama administration into removing their group from the State Department’s list of known terrorist groups. The MEK hasn’t launched a terrorist attack in some time, but is still known for cult-like behavior and indoctrination rituals.
Iran treats the MEK more seriously than it may deserve, perhaps given the group’s ties to Washington insiders. But the MEK is a fringe cult and has scant support among Iranians. If the regime’s spies should feel threatened by anyone, it should be the Iranian public.

Tehran will conduct several military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz in the coming months

Tehran has programmed several military maneuvers in the sensitive Strait of Hormuz in the coming months, according to the commander of the Navy Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Admiral Ali Fadavi, which however did not specify the exact timing .

Iran's long-range missiles said to lag U.S. intelligence fears

An internal report for the U.S. Congress has concluded that Iran probably is no longer on track, if it ever was, to having an ocean-crossing missile as soon as 2015.
The study casts doubt on a view long held by U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran could be able to test-fly by 2015 an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, if it receives "sufficient foreign assistance."
"It is increasingly uncertain whether Iran will be able to achieve an ICBM capability by 2015," said the report by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, which works exclusively for lawmakers.
Iran does not appear to be receiving as much help as would likely be necessary, notably from China or Russia, to reach that goal, according to the 66-page report dated Thursday.
It is also increasingly tough for Tehran to obtain certain critical components and materials because of international sanctions related to its disputed nuclear program.
In addition, Iran has not demonstrated the kind of flight test program generally deemed necessary to produce an ICBM, said the study by Steven Hildreth, a specialist in missile defense who consulted seven external expert reviewers.
The study appears to be the most detailed unclassified look yet at Iran's controversial ballistic missile and space programs. It does not address Tehran's nuclear program, which has prompted international fears that it could lead to atomic weapons at short notice.
An effective nuclear-weapons capability requires three things to work together - enough fissile material, a reliable weapons device and an effective delivery system, such as a ballistic missile that can grow out of a space launch program.
Iran's efforts to develop, test and field ballistic missiles and build a space launch capability have helped drive billions of dollars of U.S. ballistic missile defense spending, further destabilized the Middle East and contributed to Israel's push for pre-emptive action.

Iranian missile threats have also prompted a U.S. drive for an increasingly capable shield for Europe, largely built by contractors such as Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Raytheon Co and Northrop Grumman Corp.
ASSESSING THE ICBM THREAT
The U.S. intelligence community since 1999 has stuck to the conditional 2015 date, provided Iran gets enough outside help, for a potential Iranian ICBM capable of reaching the United States, which is at least 10,000 kilometers away.
An ICBM is generally defined as having a range greater than 5,500 km (3,400 miles). Such missiles from Iran could threaten targets throughout Europe and the Middle East.
"With sufficient foreign assistance, Iran may be technically capable of flight-testing an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2015," the Defense Department told Congress in its 2012 annual report on Iranian military power.
Michael Birmingham, a spokesman for the office of the Director of National Intelligence, which leads the 17 organizations which comprise the U.S. intelligence community, said views among spy agencies vary on the Iranian ICBM outlook.
He added that the 2015 date cited by the Defense Department was "heavily caveated."
Iran appears to have a significant space launch effort, not merely a disguised cover for ICBM development, the Congressional Research Service report said.
Iran became the ninth country to demonstrate an indigenous space launch capability on February 2, 2009, when it launched an Omid satellite from a Safir 2 rocket.
Iran has stated it plans to use future launchers to put intelligence-gathering satellites in orbit, a capability that is a decade or so in the future.
Tom Collina, research director of the private Arms Control Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, said the report suggests the United States could respond in a more "measured" way to a potential Iranian long-range missile threat.
"We do not have to deploy missile defenses on the East Coast by 2015, as some in Congress want, nor do we have to rush missile defenses into Europe, which makes Russia nervous," he said.

Two Powers, Qatar And Iran, Try To Sway Hamas

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--The courtship of Hamas between rivals Iran and Qatar has been one of the Middle East's intriguing subplots of the Arab Spring. The bloodshed in Gaza has now sharpened their competition for influence with the Palestinian militant group and the direction it takes in the future.
Qatar has sought to use its vast wealth to win over Hamas with investments and humanitarian aid and encouraging Arab partners to do the same — part of the hyper-rich U.S. allied nation's broader campaign to bring under its wing Islamist movements that have risen to power in the region the past two years. Qatar's influence with Hamas could edge it away from armed action toward diplomacy.
Iran, meanwhile, is invigorating its longtime role as the builder of the rocket arsenal for Hamas' military wing.
For Hamas, there are benefits in both directions — and it's happy to play both sides. During a celebration rally in Gaza City after an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire came into place ending fighting between Israel and Hamas, Gazans wildly waved flags of Qatar, along with those of Egypt and Turkey, in gratitude for those countries' diplomatic support.
At the same time, Hamas' leader-in-exile Khaled Mashaal, who is based out of Qatar, gave a very public thanks to Iran for standing by Gaza with crucial military assistance. Fighters in Gaza also hailed the new reach of their arsenal, with Iranian-designed Fajr-5 rattling Israel by reaching the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Visiting the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday, Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who is close to the country's supreme leader, promised leaders of Palestinian militant groups that his country would continue to boost "the resistance's capabilities in confronting the Zionist arrogance and aggression," according to Palestinian official Khaled Abdul-Hamid, who attended the meeting.
The reminder of Hamas' reliance on Iran for weapons could help smooth a relationship that has been running through a rough patch because of the civil war in Syria, Iran's top ally.
Embarrassed by the Syrian regime's crackdown on a mainly Sunni Muslim uprising, Hamas leaders based in Damascus for years broke with Syria and left for Qatar and Egypt. Though Iran continued to send weapons to Hamas, the break undermined the "Axis of Resistance" grouping Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas that Iran has assembled in the Arab world.
It's doubtful Iran can fully reclaim its position as the main big brother for Hamas. But Tehran's image is certain to receive some lingering boost in Gaza.
For Hamas, hyper-rich Qatar is a political and economic lifeline, a key part of the militant group's attempts to bolster its ties with the Western-backed Gulf states in efforts gain more international legitimacy. Last month, Qatar's emir became the first head of state to visit the Gaza Strip since Hamas took control five years ago. The Gulf state pledged nearly $500 million in aid and a song called "Thank you, Qatar" played on Gaza radio and TV as the emir was given a hero's welcome.
During the heat of the Gaza battle the past week, Qatar's prime minister gave a blistering dressing down to the Arab League during an emergency meeting, saying Arab nations had to do more to fight Gaza's poverty and isolation than just pass resolutions.
"We can't give hope without delivering," Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani told the gathering last week in Cairo.
Two days after his outburst at the Arab League meeting in Cairo, Sheik Hamad suggested that his country would be willing to open dialogue with Israel on a long-term Gaza truce if it leads to lifting the blockade. The Arab Spring, he added, has made Israel feel more vulnerable, but also perhaps more ready to make deals.
"We need to talk with everyone to reach a comprehensive peace," he told CNN on Monday.
For Qatar, the outreach to Gaza also is part of far wider ambitions to become a major policy-shaper in the Middle East. The tiny Gulf nation has emerged as a strong backer of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has risen to power in Tunisia and Egypt after the fall of those countries' autocratic leaders in early 2011.
In February, Qatar brokered talks between Hamas' Mashaal and his longtime rival, internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Qatar has also sought to influence Syria's rebels. This month, it hosted Syrian opposition groups in a breakthrough effort to unite rebel factions under one coalition, which has opened the way for greater international recognition and promises of aid. Qatar had led calls to supply Syrian rebels with heavy weapons to counter air and tank attacks by Bashar Assad's forces. Qatar also was a key backer of the Libyan uprising.
On Thursday, Qatar also invited the newly formed Syrian opposition coalition to appoint its ambassador to the Gulf state, the Qatari news agency reported.
Salman Shaikh, director of The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said it's not a matter of "having to go all for Iran or all for Qatar.'
"What Qatar is trying to do is change the reality. They are trying to blaze a trail that will weaken the international isolation of Gaza from the Israeli blockade," he said.
Qatar has so far stopped short of offering any kind of military support for Gaza to avoid a rift with Washington, Israel's most powerful ally.
Iran takes a very different view.
Officials in Tehran boasted this week about its longtime arms support for Hamas militants — part of Iran's bookend strategy to equip anti-Israel factions in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon on Israel's northern border.
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of the Revolutionary Guard, said Iran supplied fighters in Gaza with the technology to "quickly" produce the Fajr-5 missiles. The statement fits with previous Iranian denials that it is not directly sending missiles to Gaza, but suggests close coordination on construction and movement of supplies, presumably through the smugglers' tunnels linking Gaza and Egypt.
The Gaza fighting, at the least, bought Iran some restored street credibility as its image was battered by its backing for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"The war with Israel reminded Hamas that Israel is the main issue not Syria," said Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a professor in politics in Tehran's Allameh University.
But Hamid Reza Shokouhi, editor of Iran's independent Mardomsalari daily, said the bump in Iran's popularity with Gazans could be only "short-term." He questioned whether Iran could sustain its influence in Gaza against the almost unlimited resources of Qatar and its Gulf partners.
Iran's Foreign Ministry and a parliamentary committee have applied for permission to visit Gaza in the coming weeks via the border crossing with Egypt, said Hasan Qashqavi, deputy foreign minister in charge of consular affairs.
Qatar's prime minister said the competition for influence is Gaza only likely to intensify as other nations such as Turkey and Egypt reach out.
"We are not trying to take Hamas from anybody else, from Iran or others," he said in the CNN interview. "Hamas, they have to decide for themselves. I think they are pretty mature to decide for themselves."

Turkey Swaps Gold For Iranian Gas

Loophole in Western Sanctions Allows Iran to Buy Gold in Turkey With Turkish Payments for Gas Imported From Iran

Turkey on Friday acknowledged that a surge in its gold exports this year is related to payments for imports of Iranian natural gas, shedding light on Ankara's role in breaching U.S.-led sanctions against Tehran.
The continuing trade deal offers the most striking example of how Iran is using creative ways to sidestep Western sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, which have largely frozen it out of the global banking system.
The disclosure was made by Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister and top economic policy maker Ali Babacan in answers to questions from the parliamentary budget committee.
Iran provides 18% of Turkey's natural gas and 51% of its oil. But since U.S. and European Union sanctions ban Tehran from receiving payments in dollars or euros, Ankara pays Iran for the gas in Turkish liras. The lira is of limited value for buying goods on international markets but ideal for purchasing Turkish gold. The government hasn't specified how it pays for Iranian oil.
"In essence, gold exports [to Iran] end up like payments for our natural gas purchases," Mr. Babacan said. "Turkey is depositing the payment for the gas we purchase from Iran to Iran's account in Turkey…I don't know exactly how they then transfer it," he said.
The identity of the final destination of the gold in Iran isn't known, but the scale of the operation and its dramatic expansion suggest the Iranian government plays a key role, analysts say.
In Turkey, state-run lender Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS has been responsible for processing the payments, since the U.S. adopted a measure in January to stop dealing with financial institutions working with Iran's central bank, freezing out private Turkish banks from facilitating payments. Halkbank raised 4.5 billion liras ($2.5 billion) Monday in Turkey's biggest offering in a secondary share sale-a 20.8% stake, according to a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Mr. Babacan's remarks Friday helped clarify an aspect of Turkish trade policy that has been a source of speculation since unusually high exports to Iran first appeared in March, the month Iran was cut off from the Swift global payments network, effectively blocking the country from performing international financial transactions.
Tehran has sought alternative means of payment for energy exports—its main foreign currency earner and economic lifeblood—including renminbi and rupees, as well as gold, in an attempt to skirt international sanctions and pay for its soaring food costs.
Analysts cautioned that although the trade with Iran wasn't illegal, Ankara wanted to keep details out of the public eye for fear of raising the ire of Washington, which is leading the international push against Tehran for its alleged push to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes including medical treatments.
Turkey sold $6.4 billion of gold to Iran in the first nine months of this year, up from just $54 million in 2011, according to official data, tripling Ankara's exports to its eastern neighbor and almost evening the trade balance that historically has been dramatically in Tehran's favor. Iran accounts for 60% of Turkey's gold exports this year, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 30% of the total.
Those transactions also helped cut a gaping Turkish current-account deficit to 7% of gross domestic product in September from an unsustainable 10% at the end of last year and improved Turkey's short-term external financing needs—a key development that this month that enabled Ankara to secure its first investment-grade credit rating in almost two decades.
The glittering bilateral gold trade has supplemented a strong trading relationship. Despite tightening sanctions, Turkey's total trade with Iran rose 50% to a record $16 billion in 2011. The countries have already surpassed that peak with $18.8 billion in almost evenly split exports and imports in the first nine months of this year.
Although Turkish gold sales to Iran spiked parallel to U.S. and European Union sanctions, August and September saw bullion exports shrink amid a jump in sales to the United Arab Emirates, leading to speculation that the gold is now traveling to Iran through the U.A.E.
"Historically, Turkey is a gold importer due to demand from the jewelry industry, albeit it seems that current gold exports are related to demand from the U.A.E. and on to Iran. There has been concern that these sales somewhat reflect illicit trade with Iran," said Tim Ash, head of emerging markets research at Standard Bank PLC in London.
Traders in Istanbul's famed Grand Bazaar, which still plays host to a significant percentage of Turkey's gold trade, have speculated for months that Iran's government had been behind the bullion buying spree, since there was no discernible increase in the amount being purchased by traditional Iranian customers or tourists.
The government has denied direct links between the role of rising gold sales in buying energy, with Energy Minister Taner Yildiz saying in July that Turkish importers were paying for gas and oil in dollars and liras as per their purchasing agreements.
"This is a statement of what until now has seemed obvious, but was officially kept under wraps," said Robert O'Daly, a Turkey analyst at Economist Intelligence Unit in London. "As long as Turkey is importing gas from Iran, the gold exports will continue to be substantial."
While ties between Tehran and Ankara have become increasingly complicated in the past two years, as the Arab uprisings have polarized foreign policy aims, the neighbors have enough mutual interest to maintain a healthy trading relationship. The countries split most recently over the Syrian conflict, where Iran supports President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey backs rebels seeking to oust the regime in Damascus.

Iran to launch satellite to space by solid-fueled missile

Chief Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mohammad Ali Jafari announced that Iran will launch new satellite to GEO orbits in space by solid-fueled missile, Fars reported.

Jafari said that as part of marking the first anniversary of IRGC general Hassan Tehrani's death, Iran will be launching its satellite into space by a solid-fueled missile.
One year ago, IRGC General Hassan Tehrani got killed as a result of an explosion occured during the missile test, that was supposed to test the solid-fueled rocket carrying a satellite to space.
"Iran has not launched a over 100-kg satellite (by liquid-fueled missile) to GEO orbit so far, but we planned this project and developed after Tehrani's death," he added.
Iran has already sent three satellites into space. On February 3, the country successfully launched its third domestically manufactured satellite, named the Navid (Promise), into orbit.

The Safir one satellite carrier rocket was used to launch the Navid research satellite.
The commander, Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, was a major figure in IRGC efforts to build long-range missiles, who died reportedly during a test of missile in a military base last November.

Iran successfully tests Koker-1 VTOL drone

Iran has successfully tested its first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone, dubbed "Koker-1", and will officially unveil it on the Kish Island in the next calendar month of Azar (Nov. 22-Dec. 20), the Mehr News Agency reported.

The drone reportedly uses ultra-advanced technology and has been manufactured in Iran for the first time.

The "Koker-1" drone does not require runways at all and can take off and land vertically, experts say.

It is capable to fly continuously for three hours within a radius of 170 kilometers at 12,000 feet height in different climatic conditions.

According to earlier reports, Iranian experts have also built another radar-evading drone, named "Liko", with the capacity of carrying 100 kg of cargo for 100 kilometers.


"Liko" is also capable of non-stop flights for three hours. The 53-kg UAV can fly at an altitude of 16,000 feet and requires the shortest landing runway length.

Iran's first indigenous long-range drone "Karrar" was unveiled in August 2010.

"Karrar" is capable of carrying a military payload of rockets to carry out bombing missions against ground targets, flying long distances at a very high speed, and gathering information.

Iranian jets fire on U.S. drone

wo Iranian Su-25 fighter jets fired on an unarmed U.S. Air Force Predator drone in the Persian Gulf on November 1, the Pentagon disclosed on Thursday.
The incident, reported first by CNN, raised fresh concerns within the Obama administration about Iranian military aggression in crucial Gulf oil shipping lanes.

The drone was on routine maritime surveillance in international airspace east of Kuwait, 16 miles off the coast of Iran, U.S. officials said. The Predator was not hit.

"Our aircraft was never in Iranian airspace. It was always flying in international air space. The recognized limit is 12 nautical miles off the coast and we never entered the 12 nautical mile limit," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in responding to questions from reporters after CNN reported the incident.
Little said the United States believed this was the first time an unmanned aircraft was shot at by the Iranians in international waters over the Gulf.  In December of 2011, a U.S. surveillance drone crashed in eastern Iran.  Iranians claimed to have shot it down, and created a toy model of the drone to celebrate its capture.
Little stopped short of calling the incident an act of war although the Pentagon was concerned.

Two U.S. officials explained the jets were part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps force, which has been more confrontational than regular Iranian military forces.

At least two bursts of gunfire came from the Su-25s' cannons. The drone started to move away but the Iranian aircraft chased it, doing aerial loops around it before breaking away and returning to Iran.
The Obama administration did not disclose the incident before the presidential election, but three senior officials confirmed the details to CNN on Thursday.  They declined to be identified because of sensitive intelligence matters surrounding the matter.
The drone's still and video cameras captured the incident showing two Su-25s approaching the Predator and firing onboard guns.
The Iranian pilots continued to fire shots that went beneath the Predator but were never successful in hitting it, according to the officials.
U.S. military intelligence analysts are still not sure if the Iranian pilots simply were unable to hit the drone due to lack of combat skill, or whether they deliberately were missing and had no intention of bringing it down.
But as one of the officials said, "it doesn't matter, they fired on us."
Little said the United States has to assume Iran was trying to bring down the Predator.
The United States protested the incident but had not heard back from Iran.
Iran has, at other times, been confrontational in the region.  In January, the U.S. military and coast guard had close encounters with Iranian Navy vessels which approached at high speeds and exhibited provocative behavior.
Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, declined to say whether his country knew about the incident before Pentagon officials

Iran's Speedboats Capable of Launching Cruise Missiles

Iran's speedboats have been equipped with the capability to fire different types of anti-ship cruise missiles, an Iranian defense official announced on Monday.

"Our missiles have the capability of being launched from boats with the speed of over 30 knots, and these missiles include Zafar, Nasr, Nour and Qader," Deputy Defense Minister and Head of Iran's Aerospace Organization General Mehdi Farah told FNA, adding that "Qadir missiles" will also be added to the list in near future. He underlined Iran's growing missile capability as well as the special capabilities of Iran's cruise and coast to sea missiles, and underlined high flexibility in the tactical use and missions of these missiles. "The tactical use (and goals) of these missiles can vary in accordance with the type of threat." In May, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said that Iran has allocated thousands of its speed boats for military purposes, adding that production of missile-launching speedboats is under Iran's monopoly. "All throughout the world, Iran is the only country which has speed vessels with the ability of firing (rockets and missile) at high speeds," Fadavi said at the time. "We now have speedboats which can launch missiles as they traverse at a speed over 60km (per hour)," the commander underscored. Zafar (Triumph) is a short-range, anti-ship, radar guided missile capable of hitting and destroying small and medium-sized targets with high precision. The missile can be mounted onto light and speed boats, enjoys a high capability in anti-electronic warfare and is highly destructive. The anti-ship missile, called Nour (Light), is a long-range cruise missile manufactured by Iran and has already been mounted on several military gears. Iran's latest cruise missile production, Qader (Mighty), was displayed to the public during the military parades marking the Week of Sacred Defense in September

Is This Iranian Defection An Intelligence Coup For The CIA?

Defecting Iranian cameraman brings CIA priceless film of secret nuclear sites 

 

reveals one of the CIA’s most dramatic scoops in many years, and epic disaster for Iran. Our most exclusive Iranian and intelligence sources disclose that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s personal cameraman, Hassan Golkhanban, who defected from his UN entourage in New York on Oct. 1, brought with him an intelligence treasure trove of up-to-date photographs and videos of top Iranian leaders visiting their most sensitive and secret nuclear and missile sites.
The cameraman, who is in his 40s, is staying at an undisclosed address, presumably a CIA safe house under close guard.
He stayed behind when Ahmadinejad, after his UN speech, departed New York with his 140-strong entourage. For some years, Golkhanban worked not just as a news cameraman but personally recorded visits by the Iranian president and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of top-secret nuclear facilities and Revolutionary Guards installations.
When he left Tehran in the president’s party, his luggage was not searched and so he was able to bring out two suitcases packed with precious film and deliver it safely into waiting hands in New York.
The Iranian cameraman has given US intelligence the most complete and updated footage it has ever obtained of the interiors of Iran’s top secret military facilities and various nuclear installations, including some never revealed to nuclear watchdog inspectors. Among them are exclusive interior shots of the Natanz nuclear complex, the Fordo underground enrichment plant, the Parchin military complex and the small Amir-Abad research reactor in Tehran.

Some of the film depicts Revolutionary Guards and military industry chiefs explaining in detail to the president or supreme leader the working of secret equipment on view. Golkhanban recorded their voices.
Our sources also disclose that, in late September, he took the precaution of sending his wife and two children out of Iran on the pretext of a family visit to Turkey. They are most likely on their way to the United States by now.
From his years as a member of the loyal Bassij militia, the cameraman earned the complete trust of Iran’s security services and was able to reach his professional pinnacle as personal photographer for the two most eminent figures in the country, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, with the task of recording their most confidential pursuits.
This was his second visit to New York. The first time, a year ago, US intelligence was able to make contact and persuade him to defect with his stock of priceless photos and film.
Although Golkhanban’s defection to the United States and request for asylum was disclosed to the media some days ago, Tehran has not made any comment.

Iran Says Nuclear Equipment Was Sabotaged

 Iran on Saturday accused the German technology company Siemens of planting tiny explosives inside equipment Iran bought for its disputed nuclear program, a charge Siemens denied.

Aladdin Boroujerdi, a prominent lawmaker, said Iranian security experts discovered the explosives and removed them before detonation. The authorities believe that the booby-trapped equipment was sold to derail uranium enrichment efforts, he said.

Siemens said its nuclear division had had no business with Iran since the 1979 revolution.

Any sale of nuclear equipment to Iran is banned under United Nations sanctions, raising the possibility that if the country indeed has some, it was acquired through third parties.

Mr. Boroujerdi did not say when or how Iran had obtained Siemens equipment. Despite a wide array of international sanctions, Germany remains one of Iran’s most important trading partners.

The United States and its allies suspect that Iran’s nuclear work is aimed at producing weapons. Iran says it wants to enrich uranium only for peaceful purposes, and asserts that it has been the target of a concerted campaign by Israel, the United States and their allies to undermine its nuclear efforts covertly.

Some Iranian officials have also suggested that specific European companies sold faulty equipment to Iran with the knowledge of American intelligence agencies and their own governments, since the sales would have harmed the country’s nuclear program.

Fereydoon Abbasi, Iran’s most senior nuclear energy official, said on Monday that separate explosions — which he attributed to sabotage — had cut power supplies to Iran’s two main enrichment facilities.

Iran Displays Newest Air-Defense Missile System in Parades

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) displayed a highly advanced air defense shield, called 'Ra'd', during military parades in Southern Tehran on Friday.

According to IRGC Air Defense Unit, the highly-advanced home-made Ra'd (Thunder) air defense system is equipped with 'Taer' (Bird) missiles, which can trace and hit targets 50km in distance and 75,000f in altitude. The production and use of the system can boost Iran's air-defense capabilities in various fields, officials said earlier this month. IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari had informed on Sunday that his forces had started the production of the Ra'd system. "The Ra'd air-defense system, which is more advanced than the Buckeye system has recently been developed and is now being mass-produced," Jafari told reporters in a press conference here in Tehran Sunday. "In ranges up to 50km and in altitudes from 25 to 27km (70,000 feet), Ra'd is ranked as a mid-range radar system," added the General. "The air-defense system will boost the Islamic Republic's ability to counter aerial threats," he continued. In May 2012, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said Iran is mass-producing Ghadir Radar systems in great numbers, adding that the radar system covers areas over 1,000km in distance. "This radar system can cover areas around 1,100 in range and its designing and production project ended early last (Iranian) year and is now being mass-produced," Hajizadeh told FNA at the time. In June 2011, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps put into operation the new home-made long-range Ghadir radar system that enables its forces to monitor low-altitude satellites. The Ghadir radar system which covers areas (maximum) 1,100km in distance and 300km in altitude has been designed and built to identify aerial targets, radar-evading aircrafts, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles as well as low-altitude satellites. Last December, senior Iranian military commanders announced that the country has equipped its air defense units with advanced radars capable of detecting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Commander of Khatom ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli said now Iran can trace and shoot down small UAVs over its airspace. Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli also said that air defense units are closely monitoring overflights of foreign aircraft and are fully prepared to detect and shoot down unauthorized UAVs. Iran has locally made radar systems with different ranges up to some 1,850 miles (3,000 kilometers).

Iranian Invents Fragrance to Deceive Enemies in Battlefield

An Iranian innovator said he has invented a fragrance-making and spraying device to deceive enemies in the battlefield by camouflaging the gunpowder smelt in the area.

Mohammad Sadeh Pir-Tavana, the inventor of the aroma producing and spraying device, told FNA on Monday that his invention pumps and spreads the smell of fresh air, rainy weather, seaside weather and tea fragrance in vast areas to change the smell of the battlefield, specially in those areas where the two sides are not deployed classically and the two warring parties should analyze various battlefield specifications, including the smell of the gunpowder, to realize if there has been any armed force or engagement there. "The 'Deceit Perfume' is considered as a highly effective and strategic weapon for civil defense, and for pushing back enemy threats, surprise attacks and offenses," Sadeh Pir-Tavana said. Noting that the enemy can realize the presence of military forces by smelling the fragrance of food, fire or gunpowder, he said, "In this strategic project of the Armed Forces, four samples of smells like the fresh air, rainy weather, seaside and tea have been produced." Sadeh Pir-Tavana reiterated that the seaside smell can be used by the Navy and the tea fragrance can be utilized by the police officers for deceiving the criminals on the crime scene. In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in the defense sector and gained self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and defense systems. The country has repeatedly made it clear that its military might is merely based on the state's defense doctrine of deterrence and that it poses no threat to other countries.

Iran Displays Underground Missile Silos in Army Exhibition

The Iranian Army displayed its latest military achievements, including underground missile launch-pads, in an exhibition in the Northern Iranian city of Noshahr.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei visited the exhibition of the Army's technical, defense, combat and scientific achievements and activities. Research drones equipped with laser system capability and subsurface remote-controlled Taha reconnaissance vessels were among the achievements on display in the exhibition. The underground missile silo, dubbed as Jask-2, with the capability of launching missiles from underground launch-pads against surface targets were among the other achievements of the Iranian army displayed in the exhibition. In July 2011, Iran announced that it has conducted a successful test of hitting mobile naval targets in international waters by three hi-tech and radar-evading missiles. The missile drills conducted by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in late June 2011 demonstrated that Iran has made some huge progress in missile technology. During the first stage of the drills the IRGC unveiled an underground missile launch pad. According to senior commanders of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Iranian experts have been busy with developing the technology and infrastructures for the underground silos for the last 15 years. The pads have the capability to launch different types of missiles, including long-range Shahab class missiles.

Iran close to nuclear weapons mid-2013

Iran is on the point of being able to build a nuclear weapon within six or seven months and U.S. President Barack Obama has clearly set in Tehran a "red line" not to cross said Benjamin now Netanyahu.

Speaking on U.S. television, the Israeli prime minister said that Iran completed by mid-2013 90% of the way allowing him to have enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb.

He urged the United States to impose a limit on the Islamic Republic not to cross or risk military intervention that Barack Obama refuses to do. "We must draw the red line in front of them now, before it is too late," Netanyahu said during the show "Meet the Press" on NBC. Such an initiative would probably just do not have recourse to force, he added.

This divergence of views between Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu strongly strained relations between the United States and Israel.

Iran confirms it has forces in Syria and will take military action if pushed

Army commander gives clear sign of Tehran's continuing support for al-Assad's regime but denies troops signify military presence

IRAN has confirmed for the first time that forces from its revolutionary guards corps are in Syria helping Bashar al-Assad's government crush rebels, and warned that it would get involved militarily if its Arab ally came under attack.
In a clear public signal of Tehran's continuing support for Assad, the commander of the Islamic republic's elite military formation said that "a number" of members of the IRGC's Qods force were in Syria, though General Mohammad Ali Jafari gave no further details and claimed this did not constitute "a military presence".
It was a surprisingly candid response to persistent claims by western countries, the Syrian opposition and Israel that Iran is actively helping the regime fight its enemies in the 18th month of a bloody war. Lakhdar Brahimi, the veteran Algerian diplomat who replaced Kofi Annan as UN envoy to Syria earlier this month, met Assad in Damascus on Saturday but warned afterwards that any progress would be slow and halting given the yawning gap between government and opposition. "The crisis is dangerous and getting worse, and it is a threat to the Syrian people, the region and the world," said Brahimi.

Reports from Syria on Sunday described government forces fighting rebels amid shelling and sniper fire in Damascus and Aleppo, as well as in Homs and Deir ez-Zor. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist network, reported 103 dead. Opposition activists reported 115 people killed on Saturday. According to the UN some 20,000 people have been killed. Opposition sources say the figure is closer to 30,000.
Jafari's admission underlines the way in which the Syrian uprising has become enmeshed in regional and international rivalries. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are arming Syrian rebel groups, while the US, Britain and France have called for Assad to go but are offering only limited and non-lethal backing to the armed opposition. Russia and China have repeatedly blocked action against Syria at the UN.
The Qods force includes elements of special forces, intelligence-gathering and aid, and answers to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It has been accused of planning attacks inside Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Jafari said the IRGC was providing "intellectual and advisory help" to Syria.
British officials say the IRGC has provided riot control equipment and technical advice on how to crush dissent, for example on how to flood areas with security forces. Iran is also providing support to improve the Syrian regime's intelligence-gathering capabilities and help to monitor protesters' use of the internet and mobile phone network, including text messaging.
Iran is said to have been dismayed at the heavy-handed way its long-standing Arab ally responded when the unrest began in March 2011, contrasting it with its relatively more sophisticated response to protests that followed its own disputed presidential election in 2009.
"If Syria came under military attack, Iran would also give military support but it … totally depends on the circumstances," AFP reported Jafari as saying at rare press conference in Tehran. The general also said the Strait of Hormuz, the channel at the mouth of the Gulf through which a third of the world's traded oil passes, would be a legitimate target for Iran should it be attacked. "If war occurs in the region and the Islamic republic is involved, it is natural that the Strait of Hormuz as well as the energy [market] will face difficulties. "The US has many vulnerabilities around Iran, and its bases are within the range of the guards' missiles. We have other capabilities as well, particularly when it comes to the support of Muslims for the Islamic republic," he said.
In Damascus, Brahimi also met Syrian opposition figures who are still tolerated by the regime. "We told Mr Brahimi … of our support for his efforts to resolve the crisis by ending the violence and killings, providing medical care and releasing political prisoners," said Hassan Abdel Azim, spokesman for the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change.
But the head of the Free Syrian Army's military council in Aleppo, Colonel Abdel Jabar al-Oqaidi, predicted that the envoy's mission would fail, like Annan's, because he had nothing to offer people who were fighting for their freedom, al-Arabiya TV reported.
Syria's state news agency Sana quoted Assad as telling Brahimi that the success of his mission hinged on "pressuring countries which finance and train the terrorists, and which traffic weapons to Syria, to stop these actions."
In Istanbul, Tariq al-Hashimi, the fugitive Iraqi vice-president, said in interview that the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was failing to stop ammunitions and armaments reaching Syrian government forces. "My country is unfortunately becoming an Iranian corridor to support the autocratic regime of Bashar al-Assad," he said. "There is no doubt about that."

Ex-ambassador to Israel: U.S. will go to war with Iran in 2013

Former Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, offered a dire prediction of a U.S. confrontation with Iran, saying it could escalate into war as early as next year.
"I'm afraid that 2013 is going to be a year in which we're going to have a military confrontation with Iran," he said Sunday on "Face the Nation."
Indyk joined a roundtable of foreign policy experts to discuss the latest protests in the Middle East and Israel's public statements pressuring the United States over Iran.
The former ambassador said the time has not come, yet, that the U.S. needs to take military action. "Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon," he said. [W]hile there's still time, there's not a lot of time."
As for the public dispute between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama over Iran, Indyk said he doesn't think "the difference between Netanyahu and Obama on this is that great, in terms of the President's commitment not to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons."
On Israel's insistence that the U.S. publicly declare a "red line" that Iran is not permitted to cross, Indyk said "that is an unreasonable requirement. The idea of putting out a public red line - in effect issuing an ultimatum - is something that no president would do. If you noticed, Governor Romney is not putting out a red line; Senator McCain didn't, either. And neither is Bibi Netanyahu for that matter, in terms of Israel's own actions."

Richard Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, echoed Indy's assessment that negotiations with Iran have not dissuaded the Iranians to halt their nuclear program. He said Netanyahu has sought to increase pressure publicly because "he doesn't want these things to be drawn out indefinitely."
The roundtable also discussed the anti-American protests across the Arab World the past few days, saying they are a defining moment for newly-minted, post-Arab Spring governments.
"[T]he old world of the Middle East is gone. No new world has yet taken its place," Haas said, likening the protests to a "forest fire" and the Middle East to the "wild west."
"It's more than about a film. This is the equivalent of a forest fire. Anything could set it off, so the film is the wrong place to focus," Haas said. 
"I think the president was right on one thing he said the other day: these countries are not allies, they're not adversaries, they're somewhere in-between," he added. "The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, in Egypt, it has to decide whether it's a government, a political party, or a popular movement."
New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman said the protests, which began in part due to an anti-Islamic film mocking the Prophet Mohammed and led to the death of four American Consulate workers, are "confused and fraudulent."
"Twenty thousand Arab Muslims in Syria have been killed, and there hasn't been a single protest around the Arab world, yet our embassy in Cairo and Libya, our consulates there, were ransacked because of a nut ball film on YouTube," Friedman said.
"[T]here's just a huge fight going on... over what is going to be the future of this region. Who's going to set the rules? And right now, you have the far, far right in the Muslim world trying to challenge the right in the Muslim world, and no leaders really standing up and charting, I think, a progressive, forward future," he added.
Friedman said the countries are in danger of "falling behind exponentially in this globalized world today." He said countries in the Middle East "have exactly enough time, starting now, to get into the modern world.
"And to spend another decade futzing around with Islam as the answer? Islam is a great and glorious faith, but it is not the answer to their development issues today."
Indyk, who is now at the Brookings Institution, said the problems of some Middle Easter countries go beyond anti-American protests. The Middle East is experiencing a "descent into chaos and the potential for a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shias, to spread from Syria to Iraq to Lebanon and then to Bahrain and even Saudi Arabia. And so there's real potential here for much more instability that we're already witnessing."

US Dollar Gains as Rial Crisis Continues in Iran

Only after a few days from Ahmadinejad’s speech in state television channel, U.S. Dollar hit an historical mark against Iranian Rial.
Today U.S. Dollar traded for 24,500 Rials in Tehran’s market but even it reached the number of 25,500.
Currently the official rate of Dollar versus Rial set by Central Bank of Iran is only 12,260 Rials but the market’s rate is more than 24,500 Rials which shows a big gap.
Central Bank chief Mahmoud Bahmani is utterly unable to control the situation and only in his spell the price of Dollar against Rial increased by more than %35.
Two years ago at the same time the official and unofficial Dollar rate was less than 12,000 Rials. The current crisis is admitted by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and he think it is because of the United States financial sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. United States and its European allies believe Iran is developing nuclear weapon but Iran denies these claims and says it is going to use nuclear power for peaceful intentions.

Iran to Optimize Zulfiqar Tanks to Confront Modern Threat

 Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said the country continues optimizing the home-made Zulfiqar tanks in a bid to upgrade its capabilities against modern threats.

Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said the country continues optimizing the home-made Zulfiqar tanks in a bid to upgrade its capabilities against modern threats.

"Each day we work on a newer version of Zulfiqar tanks so that the tank could maintain its efficiency in the battlefield and ground defense," Pourdastan told FNA on Saturday.

"We certainly make changes in Zulfiqar tanks in accordance to threats and prepare it and make it an advanced tank in accordance with our battleground needs," Pourdastan stated.

In April 2012, Pourdastan underlined the army's high capability to produce different hi-tech military tools and weapons, including a modern fire-control system mounted on the home-made Zolfaqar Tanks.

"The (new) fire control system of Zulfiqar tank has been manufactured and unveiled and the laser telemetry devices have also been mounted onto the tanks. Zulfiqar can now vie with the world's most advanced tanks," Pourdastan told reporters at the time.

Zulfiqar is a second generation of Iran's main battle tank (MBT). The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997. The tank has a distinctive box-shaped, steel-welded turret of local design. Zulfiqar combat weight is reported to be 36 tons and has a 780 hp diesel engine; the tank has a 21.7 hp per ton ratio.

Zulfiqar is operated by a crew of three personnel. The automatic loader is believed to be the same one from the T-72 tank.

The Zulfiqar-1 uses a fire control system which enjoys a 'fire-on-the-move' technology. The Zulfiqar mounts a laser-warning pod on the turret. Its design enables the tank to use an Iranian-made package of reactive armor.

Zulfiqar-2 is a prototype tank used as a test bed. The Zulfiqar-3 also features considerable upgrades to the fire control system, chassis, engine and main gun, with a 125mm autoloader.

Iran: Scenarios of striking Israel

The question of using force to halt the progress of the Iranian nuclear bomb has not yet been decided by the Israeli leaders. If the head of the government, Netanyahu and his defense minister, Ehud Barak, are for many voices - generals, former intelligence chiefs, intellectuals, President Shimon Peres - warned against the consequences of intervention. "It is impossible to consider that managers can take such a decision without a minimum consensus among the political class and the security cabinet," says Bruno Tertrais, expert from the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).

Every day that passes brings us closer to this possibility, however. The diplomatic process is almost at an end: the negotiations were "killed" by the unwillingness Iranian sanctions were almost to maximum.Mixture of computer viruses and targeted assassinations of scientists, covert action program has slowed, but not enough. The latest report from the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, released in late August, has determined that Iran had doubled the number of centrifuges at Fordow , a site buried under a mountain near Qom, the shelter, therefore, possible air raids. "The Iranians have made ​​no effort, no concession. They give ammunition to those who want to move up a gear, "says a source close to the matter.

Soon, the Iranians will be able to transform their uranium to 20% highly enriched uranium to 90% and make several nuclear warheads. The "zone of immunity" beyond which facilities and activities will be critical strikes more vulnerable to Western, especially because they have been buried, is approaching. "If the Israelis allow this limit to be exceeded, it depends entirely on the United States for their security. What they can afford, "said a European diplomat. Hence the temptation to hit, damage to which can be and still get a reprieve that could go up to two years. A break long enough to look for new solutions, hoping that in the meantime the Iranian regime, which sees the Jewish state as a "cancerous tumor" to eradicate, have changed.

The scenario most commonly studied in Israel, where the army, the IDF has been training for several years, is that of a single raid, "invisible" and dazzling to minimize reaction of the Arab street. As one who had destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981 or the al-Kibar site in Syria in 2007. To accomplish this mission, Israel has antibunkers fragmentation bombs, which were delivered by the United States. IDF is also negotiating with U.S. officials providing tanker aircraft that would allow her to be independent hunters.

The operation, however, may be more hazardous than Osirak or al-Kibar, where Israeli bombers had destroyed a reactor. In Iran, the intelligence services have listed twenty sites, 5 or 6 very important. "With the prospect of military intervention, the Israelis must at least reach the Fordow site before it is operational and complicate the activities of Natanz," said Camille Grand, Director of the FRS.

On the merits, the Americans, the main allies of Israel, are also committed to do everything to prevent the emergence of a nuclear Iran. But the clocks do not show the same time on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic shores. Acting alone, the Israelis - who can not afford, for technical and political reasons, too long to keep their fighters in the sky of the Middle East - must do so quickly.

"One bomb" against the Jewish state ...

In Washington, the sense of urgency is not the same. In the election campaign, weakened by the economic crisis, caught in matters of domestic policy, Obama wants to avoid having to manage a new international crisis before the election on November 6. He also knows that if the U.S. military is in charge of the Iranian problem, it can save time, maybe six months, the Israeli calendar - with its bombs hyperpuissantes and its ability to conduct a real campaign air.

But Netanyahu does he trust Barack Obama? The two men did not like much. "And the Israelis remember that the Americans had also said they would not let Pakistan and North Korea have a nuclear weapon. We know what it is today ... "says a close case. However, the Iranian nuclear issue is considered an existential threat to Israel, "one bomb country" sometimes say the Iranians, that is to say, incapable by themselves to survive, despite its nuclear status, a bomb Iran, because of its small size and its lack of strategic depth.

For several weeks, senior American officers march in Tel Aviv, probably written the local press, local officials to call for restraint vis-à-vis Iran. The United States has suddenly decided to downsize they had assigned to joint exercises in Israel, due to disagreements over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.Some experts now believe that the debate on U.S. intervention could be a compromise between Washington and Tel Aviv: a "yellow light" Americans. Mitt Romney is a supporter of the firm vis-à-vis Iran.As for Barack Obama, he can afford to lose the support of the American Jewish lobby?