S300 missiles show new power play by Russia

Source :

TEHRAN, Jun. 2 (MNA) –Iran’s Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Chairman has assessed S-300 system delivery to Syria as a power play by Russia.

About the delivery of the Russian S-300 missile system to Syria, Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that “delivery of S-300 missile systems by Russia to Syria actually is a new phase of Russian power play in the Middle East and a message to the US and its allies for their seditious games they play in the region.”

“Projecting its power, Russia will not allow events in North Africa to be repeated, and won’t let Western involvement in the country so they will create chaos, because Syria is the red line and is very sensitive and important [to Russia],” he asserted.

He also added: “presence of powerful and influential countries such as Russia will result in the deterrence of war in the region and will prevent the Zionist regime and its allies from possible attacks in Syria. In fact, the delivery of S-300 missiles to Syria will create the balance of power in the region.”

In response to the question whether the delivery of S-300 missile system would be the reason for announcing the no-fly zone in Syria, Boroujerdi said: “the delivery of S-300 missiles systems will not be the reason to impose no-fly zone in the area, but this will increase the strength of Syria, beside, without Russia and China’s vote the Security Council cannot decide on this issue.”

Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Chairman emphasized: “the S-300 missile system will give more power to Syrian Government, so they can stand-up to attacks and seditious games the West and the apartheid regime play [in Syria].”

SMH/SH/EA MNA END

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Second Mossad spy trapped in Rafah

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, May 13 (MNA) –Egypt State Supreme Security Prosecutiton has ordered the imprisonment of the second man accused of spying for the Zionist regime in Rafah.

Al-Youm Al-Sabe'a website reported that State Supreme Security head prosecutor, Hisham al- Qarmuti has ordered the imprisonment of another man for the charges of espionage for the apartheid regime for 15 days.

The prosecutor has finished the investigation on a second man, and has decided to lock him under heavy security in Torre prison.

According to the report, Egyptian security forces announced that they had dismantled a spy network, and arrested the ringleader. The investigation revealed that he had been in contact with Mossad agents by his mobile phone.

The report says, after the Egyptian security forces arrested the ringleader, took number of people in Rafah into custody and after interrogating them, released them.

Report: Pentagon upgrades its ‘bunker buster’ bomb to combat Iran

Source : Alarabiya.net English

Al Arabiya -

The world’s largest conventional bomb, known as the “bunker buster,” has been reportedly upgraded by the United States in recent weeks, according to media reports on Friday.

The reports stated the Pentagon showed a video of the upgrade to their Israeli counterparts, “in an effort to reassure them that the U.S. still has an effective military option against Tehran’s nuclear program,” The Telegraph reported.

The 20ft long, 1ft wide bomb, official named the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, now features a new design of explosive fuses to enable it to penetrate bunker depths.

The report highlighted Fordow mountain complex, where Iran is enriching uranium that could be used to make a nuclear bomb, as a possible target.

A series of “bunker buster” bombs have been developed with varying designs depending on the target, The Telegraph reported.

“The new bunker buster has a fusing system that will withstand impact with the more than 100ft of earth and concrete that shields the chambers housing the equipment at Fordow, allowing it to penetrate deeper before exploding,” the report stated.

Chuck Hagel, the U.S. defense secretary, promised Israel during a visit last month that the US would look more closely at options for a a military attack on Iran.

On Friday, the United States said that both Iran and North Korea are trying to obtain high-tech materials linked to their nuclear programs, in violation of U.N. sanctions.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador, Ron Prosor, warned last week against the continued advancement of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Addressing a session of the Security Council, Prosor said that Iran’s nuclear arms program is “hurtling forward at the speed of an express train, while the international community’s attempts to stop it are advancing at the rate of a local bus.”

“As the centrifuges in Iran continue to spin,” he added, “the Iranian regime has the international spinning with lies and manipulations.” “Iran is the greatest threat to the region’s stability,” he stressed.

Ankara denies report Israel seeking Turkish airbase for attack on Iran

Source : Tehran Times

TEHRAN – Ankara has dismissed a news report suggesting that an Israeli delegation set to arrive in Ankara on April 22 would hold talks to use a Turkish airbase to train for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the Hurriyet Daily News.

“The report seems to have explained a hypothesis,” a Turkish official told the Hurriyet Daily News on April 21 concerning the Sunday Times report published on the same day.

“We have already said that the normalization of our relations will be step by step. Talking about the prospects of a military cooperation at this stage would be irrelevant. We are not there yet. We haven’t even yet appointed a new ambassador to Israel,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Eight Turks and one Turkish-American were killed in May 2010 when Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara vessel while stopping an international flotilla trying to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas. Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador and froze military cooperation after a UN report into the incident released in September 2011 largely exonerated Israel.

The Sunday Times alleged that Yaakov Amidror, the head of the National Security Council, who will head the Israeli delegation at April 22 “compensation talks” as part of the steps toward normalization, was additionally assigned to try to resuscitate the 1996 agreement between Jerusalem and Ankara which allowed the Israeli Air Forces to train in Turkish airspace and use the Akinci airbase. “In return, Israel will offer to sell Turkey advanced missile and surveillance technology,” the newspaper said.

EP/PA

Israeli army shoots Gaza farmer

Source : Xinhua

GAZA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces shot and wounded a Palestinian farmer in northern Gaza Strip Monday, marking a violation of a recent Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

Ashraf Al-Qedra, a spokesman of the Hamas authority's health ministry, said the 21-year-old farmer was seriously wounded by a gunshot in his head.

The farmer was working his land in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, which is close to the security fence separating Israel and Gaza.

On Friday, the Israeli army also shot dead a Palestinian who was among a group of Gazans approaching the fence in eastern Gaza City. The victim became the third Palestinian killed near the border since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on Nov. 21 and ended a eight-day fighting that left over 170 Palestinians and six Israelis killed.

Hamas said the terms of the ceasefire granted the Palestinians access to a strip of land along the border with Israel, which has been a no-go zone for years. Israel said it has eased restrictions along the border, but still prohibits people to come up right to the fence for security reasons.

The hamas health ministry said 50 Palestinians have been injured since Nov. 21, while the fishermen's syndicate said up to 30 fishermen have been briefly detained off the Gaza coast, where the ceasefire deal expanded the permitted fishing zone from three to six nautical miles.

Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said the group was keeping a record of what he described as "Israeli violations" and was informing Egypt about them.

Iraq Finance Minister Escapes Assassination Attempt

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) - Iraqi Finance Minister Rafi al- Issawi, locked in a dispute with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, has escaped an apparent assassination attempt, the Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera reported on Sunday citing Issawi's office and security sources.

Issawi's convoy was hit by a roadside bomb between the towns of Fallujah and Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, on Sunday.

The explosion came amid a political crisis between the Shia premier and his mainly Sunni coalition partners in the government.

“A roadside bomb exploded near his convoy,” Issawi’s office said. “His car was not hit and he is safe, but two guards were wounded.”

Police sources said no one was injured but confirmed that the convoy had been hit by shrapnel.

Issawi, who has publicly called for Maliki to be replaced, has been one of the central figures in protests by minority Sunnis against the Shia-dominated Baghdad government after his bodyguards were arrested on terrorism charges.

Iranian MP Asks for UN's Action against Violation of Human Rights in Bahrain

Source : Fars News Agency

The demand was raised by member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Fathollah Hosseini on Friday.

"The international organizations which claim to be the advocates of human rights in the 21st centur should deal with the crimes of a regime which tortures and detains its citizens merely over their legitimate demands," he said.

"Bahrain's revolution is currently the most oppressed revolution in the Arab world, because it has been completely subject to the media blackout by the Arab states," Hosseini added.

Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid- February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's over-40-year rule.

Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors. So far, tens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.

Feature: Gazans celebrate cease-fire with massive rallies

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sirens of ambulances and fire engines were howling over Gaza streets late Wednesday, but at this time, they were not rushing to rescue victims, but celebrating the end of Israel's aggression which has left 162 Palestinians killed.

Egypt declared that a cease-fire was reached between Israel and Gaza's Palestinians. As soon as clock indicator pointed at 9:00 p. m. local time (1900 GMT), ambulance crews and firefighters in the Gaza Strip firstly started the rallies, apparently because they can have a respite after eight days of nonstop work.

"It's time to go home, I will see my family," said an ambulance driver amid crowds of cars and people dancing on the streets, who are waving flags, firing in the air and chanting slogans commending the "Palestinian resistance." However, the driver said he would keep his mobile on and keep alert.

People are also hugging each other and congratulating each other for surviving the eight-day violence.

Yousef Zahar, the general chief of the civil defense, was celebrating outside Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, with his florescent red jacket.

"I was confident that this day will come," he said, adding that "They (Israel) lost the war... Our next battle will be in Jerusalem," he shouted loudly.

For him, Hamas has made a notable progress in lifting the blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza, though the implementation of the agreement is still unclear.

Not far from al-Shifa hospitals, families which took shelter in school were packing stuff and some of them who have cars or donkey carts started to return their homes with their mattresses on the roofs of their vehicles.

But inside the hospital, exactly outside the morgue, some sad people didn't join the celebrations. They were the relatives of the victims who were killed in the last day of the Israeli attacks.

Al Jazeera studio in Cairo set ablaze after angry protest

Source : Reuters

(Reuters) - A studio used by the Al Jazeera TV network in Cairo was set on fire on Wednesday in an attack that an employee said was carried out by a mob that had been chanting slogans against the Qatari-owned station.

The studio overlooks Tahrir Square and is located near the scene of violent clashes between youths and the security forces this week in which dozens of people have been injured. Those confrontations grew out of protests to mark the first anniversary of lethal street battles in the same area.

The first-floor office used by Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, a station set up after the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, was badly damaged by fire.

The studio's windows were smashed and two empty bottles, which had apparently been converted into fire bombs, were found inside the office.

The channel was dedicated to covering Egyptian affairs.

The Interior Ministry described the perpetrators as "trouble makers" who had attacked po officers when they had arrived to investigate, the state news agency reported. The public prosecutor has ordered an investigation.

"There were 200 to 250 people gathered outside the studio chanting against the channel," Ahmed Dessouki, a producer with the channel, told Reuters television.

(Additional reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

zionist Israel to install reconnaissance systems on Turkish aircraft

An Israeli firm has decided to resume the production of equipment meant to be installed on Turkish reconnaissance planes.

Informed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the English-language Hurriyet Daily News newspaper on Friday that Elta Systems Ltd. has decided to restart production of electronic measuring systems (EMS) for four Turkish Boeing 737 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

Elta’s decision to renew the project may mean that Israel is putting an end to its two-year defense exports ban on Turkey.

The Israeli company is the single producer of EMS systems for Boeing’s 737 aircraft, which are to be used as part of Turkey’s NATO forces.

In 2002, Turkey’s Under-secretariat for Defense Industries, the procurement agency, ordered four Boeing 737-700 AEW&C aircraft, a ground radar and control systems, plus ground control segments for mission crew training, mission support and maintenance support.

Elta Systems Ltd. was commissioned to manufacture EMS systems for the four planes. The deal reportedly costs more than $100 million.

But the Israeli defense ministry suspended the project six months ago, after Elta had already completed two of the devices.

AEW&C is a radar system designed to detect aircraft, ships and vehicles at long ranges and control and command the battle space in an air engagement by directing fighter and attack aircraft strikes.

Used at a high altitude, the radars on the aircraft allow the operators to distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft hundreds of miles away.

The system is used offensively to direct fighters to their target locations and defensively in order to counter attacks by enemy forces, both in the air and on the ground.

Hezbollah warns Israel against Iran attack

After numerous Israeli media reports about imminent military attacks on Iran, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, announced that in case of such an attack on Iran, his organization will not hesitate to target Israel with rockets.

Nasrallah: "Hezbollah cannot destroy Israel but we can transform the lives of millions of Zionists in occupied Palestine into a real hell" [payvand.com]

In a speech marking Quds Day and the end of Ramadan, delivered at annual rally in support of Palestinians, Nasrallah pointed out that their rockets are ready and targeted at Israel for such an eventuality...

Source: payvand.com