Iran converts thousands of Hizballah missiles into precision weapons

 

Intensified Iranian-Syrian air traffic was detected in the wake of the April 13 US-UK-French air strikes on Syrian chemical sites, including at least two Syrian Air Force Il-76 cargo jets flying between Iran and Syria. DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that these flights most likely carried equipment and engineering personnel for Iran’s Precision Project for upgrading a portion of Hizballah’s arsenal. This project, under the direction of Al Qods chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, recently went into high gear. The engineering crews, who began arriving in Syria and Lebanon in February, are believed to have finished retooling several thousand of Hizballah’s short-range and medium-missiles and expected to meet their full target in the summer.

U.S. Pilots Confirm: Obama Admin Blocks 75 Percent of Islamic State Strikes

What we’ve known all along from previous posts…

ISIS was hit in token strikes.

ISIS could’ve been wiped out years ago.

…is now confirmed via military pilots.

 

‘We can’t get clearance even when we have a clear target in front of us’

U.S. military pilots who have returned from the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq are confirming that they were blocked from dropping 75 percent of their ordnance on terror targets because they could not get clearance to launch a strike, according to a leading member of Congress.

Strikes against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) targets are often blocked due to an Obama administration policy to prevent civilian deaths and collateral damage, according to Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

German spies cooperating again with Assad’s secret service – Bild

Germany’s spy agency is working again with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s secret service to swap information on Islamist militants, the Bild daily said, despite Berlin’s opposition to Assad staying in power under any peace deal for Syria.

Citing well-informed sources, the mass-circulation newspaper said German foreign intelligence BND agents had been travelling regularly to Damascus for some time for consultations with Syrian colleagues.

Germany shifts position, will add might to military campaign against IS

Berlin: Germany will join the military campaign against Islamic State militants in Syria by deploying Tornado reconnaissance jets, refuelling aircraft and a frigate to the region, after a direct appeal from close partner France for Berlin to do more.

The decision to commit military personnel and hardware is a shift for Germany, which has resisted such direct involvement in the conflict. It still has no plans to join France, the United States and Russia in conducting air strikes in Syria.

“Today the government took difficult but important and necessary decisions,” German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen​ told reporters after meeting with legislators.

Iran claims Russia has started delivery of S-300 missile defense system

Ignoring Israeli objections, Moscow announced in August that supply of advanced weaponry was imminent

Tehran announced Monday that Russia had begun delivering its advanced S-300 air defense system to Iran in accordance with an agreement struck between the two countries earlier this year.

A defense ministry press release quoted by Iran’s semi-official Fars News dismissed “recent media reports” skeptical of the military deal, and confirmed the delivery of the S-300 surface-to-air missile system was underway.

Putin signs decree drafting 150,000 conscripts into the Russian military… as his fighter jets launch new wave of air strikes in Syria

• Muslim Chechen leader wants ‘opportunity’ to fight terror group in Syria
• Russia blitzed dozens of targets in Syria – but U.S. says none held by ISIS
• Moscow foreign minister Lavrov rejected the ‘rumours’ as ‘unfounded’
• U.S. was only given hour notice of strikes which killed at least 36 civilians
• Russia and the U.S. agree to hold urgent talks to avoid clashes in Syria

Vladimir Putin has signed a decree drafting nearly 150,000 conscripts into the Russian military as Moscow’s warplanes unleashed a new wave of airstrikes in Syria.

The timing of the move – on the very day Russia entered the Syrian conflict yesterday – will raise suspicions the Russian President is planning a wider offensive to prop up his Syrian counterpart.

U.S. Moves to Block Russian Military Buildup in Syria

WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday moved to head off preparations for a suspected Russian military buildup in Syria as Bulgaria agreed to an appeal from the Obama administration to shut its airspace to Russian transport planes. The planes’ destination was the Syrian port city of Latakia.

The administration has also asked Greece to close its airspace to the Russian flights, Greek and American officials said, but Greece has not publicly responded to the request.

Ya’alon: Israel ‘not responsible’ for Iran nuke scientists’ lives

The point of no return has now been reached because of the nuclear deal and Israel is now left with no choice. What should be interesting to see in the near future is how the United States will defend Iran, as it’s now obligated by terms in the ‘deal’ to do so. A hostile Obama administration has also reportedly threatened to shoot down Israeli fighter jets to prevent a strike in the past.

 

Defense minister hints assassinations may resume, says Israel considering air strikes against nuclear facilities

Israel is not responsible for the lives of Iranian nuclear scientists, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said in an interview published Friday, making a less-than-veiled threat that covert assassination missions blamed on Israel could resume.

As the world moves closer to ratifying a nuclear deal that Jerusalem says won’t keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear arsenal, Ya’alon told German newspaper Der Spiegel that Israel would do anything necessary in order to assure Tehran does not get atomic weapons, including taking military action.

Turkey’s Political Influence Felt as Washington Turns Its Back on Kurds Fighting ISIS

Some of the most successful fighters against the Islamic State are being isolated and attacked by America’s new favorite ally in the region.

Kurdish militias are achieving the stated goals of the Obama administration — to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS — as well or better than any other fighting force. From Kobane to the recent liberation of Tel Abyad, Kurdish militias have won hard-fought victories against ISIS fighters in Syria, while preventing the advance of ISIS into northern Iraq.

What’s more, the Kurds in northern Syria have established a political order like few others in this region of the world. Known as Rojava, the Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria are governed through participatory decision-making forums that include councils made up of women, Christians, Yazidis and Muslims. David Graeber, a leading figure in the Occupy Wall Street movement, calls Rojava a “remarkable democratic experiment.”

Report: Iran sends navy vessels near Yemen amid airstrikes

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Iran dispatched a naval destroyer and another vessel Wednesday to waters near Yemen as the United States quickened weapons supply to the Saudi-led coalition striking rebels there, underlining how foreign powers are deepening their involvement in the conflict.

Iran’s English-language state broadcaster Press TV quoted Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari as saying the ships would be part of an anti-piracy campaign “safeguarding naval routes for vessels in the region.”

The maneuver comes amid an intense Saudi-led Gulf Arab air campaign targeting the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, who come from a Shiite sect. Critics say Shiite power Iran backs the Houthis, though both the Islamic Republic and the rebels deny any direct military assistance.

US Navy Launches Video Game for Training Sailors

What military would you take seriously that trains with video games? ‘Simulators’ are another story.

 

The US Navy has unveiled a multiplayer video game, called Strike Group Defender, aimed to train seamen to defend ships from missile raids.

NEW YORK, January 29 (Sputnik) – The US Navy has unveiled a video game for training seamen how to defend ships from missile raids by simulating airstrikes and teaching players how to react, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) revealed in a statement Thursday.

Pentagon Wants to Build Aircraft Carriers in the Sky

 

The Pentagon’s main research arm wants to find out what a flying “aircraft carrier” carrying a fleet of small aerial drones might look like and how much it would cost the military.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced Sunday it would open a competition for proposals to build a large aircraft — similar to a C-130 — that could carry and distribute aerial drones across a large area. DARPA officials said they wanted to see proposals for a system that could both launch the drones, but also recover them mid-flight.

ISIS militants less than 2 miles from Baghdad, fierce fighting reported near Iraqi capital

For a previous August 7th live interview with Canon Andrew White on the ground in Iraq while facing ISIS, please click here.

 

The Islamic State group has made gains in Iraq, approaching the country’s largest city Monday. Meanwhile, ISIS continued to attack Kurdish town Kobani in northern Syria. While the Turks have sent tanks to the border, so far they haven’t lifted a finger to help the Kurds, who face being massacred if ISIS keeps advancing.

The Vicar of Baghdad sent an SOS from the besieged Iraqi capital Monday and warned that the murderous Islamic State militants were breathing down their necks.

“People are very fearful the nation looks as if it has collapsed,” Canon Andrew White, who runs the last Anglican church in Iraq, wrote on his Facebook page. “The usual hectic and crazy streets were this morning almost empty.”

White, who also heads British-based charity Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, made the social media post before Iraqi forces — backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition — appeared to stymie the ISIS advance.

But according to White, the Islamic fanatics were less than two miles from the city’s borders and he warned that the Iraqi Army was no match for them.

“This morning I was with one of my soldiers who is assigned by the government to protect me,” White wrote. “I asked him what he would do if he saw ISIS coming. He told me he would take off his uniform and run.”

Russia threatens to retaliate against U.S. military

Warns airspace over Syria under protection of Moscow

TEL AVIV – Russia has delivered a behind-the-scenes threat to retaliate if airstrikes carried out by the U.S. or its allies target the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Middle Eastern security officials told WND.

The security officials said Russia complained Sunday in quiet talks with United Nations representatives that the Obama administration’s current aerial campaign against Islamic State fighters in Syria is a violation of international agreements regarding control of Syrian airspace.

The officials said Russia warned it could potentially retaliate if U.S. or Arab airstrikes go beyond targeting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and instead bomb any Syrian regime targets.

Iraq: Yazidi Rescue Mission ‘Far Less Likely’

A humanitarian mission to rescue thousands of Yazidis trapped in Iraq is “far less likely” to take place after an assessment carried out by a US team.

US Army Special Forces soldiers and a US Agency for International Development (USAID) team spent several hours on the mountain speaking to refugees on Wednesday.

They have since returned to Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region, and reported fewer Yazidis remain trapped on the mountain than previously feared.

Some 5,000 refugees remain stranded on Mount Sinjar, according to Sky sources.