EU Concerned by Iran Missile Work, Regional Security Role

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union said on Monday it was gravely concerned by Iran’s ballistic missile launches and tests and called on Tehran to stop activity that deepened mistrust and destabilized the region.

Iran has expanded its missile program, particularly its ballistic missiles, in defiance of opposition from the United States and expressions of concern by European countries. Tehran says the program is purely defensive.

How Iran Plans To Bypass The World’s Main Oil Chokepoint

 

Iran Tries to Bypass the Hormuz Strait

Global markets have recently gone into overdrive in anticipation of the US-Iran standoff’s outcome. President Trump is building up pressure on Tehran, his latest move was to announce his chairing of a UN Security Council meeting on Iran (the US is holding the council presidency this month), most likely to lambast once more the Iranian regime, whilst the Iranian authorities are reverting to their traditional threat, the closing off of the Hormuz Strait. Yet behind the bellicose façade, under the international radar Iran has been proceeding gradually with the construction of oil export infrastructure that bypasses the potentially fatal chokepoint and gives the Ayatollah regime a viable alternative to Kharg and Lavan islands, which currently account for the overwhelming majority, more than 95 percent, of Iran’s oil exports.

Saudi-Led Coalition Begins Attack on Yemeni Port Held by Houthis

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Pro-government forces in Yemen began an assault Wednesday on the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah, which is held by Houthi rebels.

Strikes from a Saudi-led coalition began after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels ignored a deadline to withdraw by midnight local time Tuesday, BBC News reports.

North Korean Ship Carrying 30,000 Rocket Launchers Seized By Egypt

 

In a fascinating report that provides a glimpse into the shadowy North Korean black-market economy, the Washington Post has published a story about a 2016 incident in which Egyptian authorities intercepted a North Korean ship bearing a Cambodian flag after being alerted by US authorities. After searching the ship, Egyptian law enforcement discovered something unexpected: a trove of nearly 24,000 rocket launchers, and components for 6,000 more weapons, hidden below a large pile of loose iron ore.

But perhaps the biggest surprise for the Egyptian authorities emerged when they tried to determine for whom the weapons were intended, and discovered that they had been secretly purchased by the Egyptian military in violation of international sanctions against NK arms sales. Further compounding the irony, Egypt had recently joined the UN Security Council – the international body sponsoring said sanctions – before deciding to circumvent them and buy the weapons.

Former CIA Chief Warns of N. Korea’s Other Nuclear Weapon

This is why Kim Jong-un continues provoking America. Every day there are two North Korean EMP satellites passing over America, twice a day. He’s waiting for a military response. He’s hoping for a reason. Trump is left with a very dangerous position thanks to the Obama, Bush and Clinton administrations who did nothing before it was too late. Kim Jong-un knows he’ll lose in a war against America but he only has to press a button before he dies. Then it’s bye bye for America which will be reset to the stone age.

For the record, this is the first time ever someone from the CIA at his level has admitted (publicly) there are two North Korean EMP satellites circling the globe.

 

FILE – Former CIA Director James Woolsey testifies on Capitol Hill, Aug. 16, 2004, in Washington.

 

WASHINGTON — Advances in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are pushing the international community to respond with increasingly strict sets of sanctions, with the latest round, passed this week, capping the country’s oil imports while banning its lucrative textile exports.

Despite the pressure, the Kim Jong Un regime continues to pursue the development of a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could strike the continental United States, among other targets.

In North Korea Crisis, Russia and China Hold the Cards

 

These two nations are the reason why North Korea is able to operate so freely and dangerously.

After the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on September 11 to increase sanctions on North Korea, the United States tried to portray it as a victory for the American-led efforts to neutralize the North Korean threat. But the UN’s move actually showcases the influence of Russia and China and shows that these two nations hold the cards on North Korea.

Iranian president threatens to revitalize nuclear program

 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president warned Tuesday that it could ramp up its nuclear program and quickly achieve a more advanced level if the U.S. continues “threats and sanctions” against his country, which signed a landmark nuclear accord with world powers in 2015.

Hassan Rouhani’s remarks to lawmakers were his most direct warning that the deal could fall apart and risked ratcheting up tensions with the United States. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to scuttle the accord, which limited Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon while ending most sanctions against it.

Trump administration ‘not playing around’ on North Korea

U.S Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley praised new sanctions against North Korea as a sign that the international community is seriously addressing the threat of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

“It is time for North Korea to realize, we are not playing anymore,” Haley said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”

The sanctions largely target North Korea’s major exports such as coal, iron and seafood, Haley said.

Iran, China Conduct Joint Naval Drills

Last summer, when the Syrian conflict was near its peak under the Obama administration, China unexpectedly warned it was ready to enter the proxy war when in a stunning announcement, Xinhua reported that Beijing was prepared to side with Syria and Russia, against the US-led alliance, and that Xi and Assad had agreed that the Chinese military will have closer ties with Syria and provide humanitarian aid to the civil war torn nation.

A high-ranking People’s Liberation Army officer also said that the training of Syrian personnel by Chinese instructors has also been discussed: the Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China’s Central Military Commission, Guan Youfei, arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for talks with Syrian Defense Minister Fahad Jassim al-Freij, Xinhua added. Guan said China had consistently played a positive role in pushing for a political resolution in Syria. “China and Syria’s militaries have a traditionally friendly relationship, and China’s military is willing to keep strengthening exchanges and cooperation with Syria’s military,” Xinhua quoted Guan.

Reports of North Korea artillery drill as US submarine docks in South Korea

The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan arrives for a regularly scheduled port visit while conducting routine patrols throughout the Western Pacific in Busan, South Korea, April 24, 2017. Jermaine Ralliford/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

 

North Korea conducted a big live-fire exercise on Tuesday to mark the foundation of its military as a U.S. submarine docked in South Korea in a show of force amid growing concern over the North’s nuclear and missile programmes.

SEOUL:North Korea conducted a big live-fire exercise on Tuesday to mark the foundation of its military as a U.S. submarine docked in South Korea in a show of force amid growing concern over the North’s nuclear and missile programmes.

The port call by the USS Michigan came as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group steamed towards Korean waters and as top envoys for North Korea policy from South Korea, Japan and the United States met in Tokyo.

U.S. Launches Missiles at Syrian Base After Chemical Weapons Attack

The United States launched dozens of cruise missiles Thursday night at a Syrian airfield in response to what it believes was Syria’s use of banned chemical weapons that killed at least 100 people, the U.S. military said.

Two U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea, the USS Ross and the USS Porter, fired 59 Tomahawk missiles intended for a single target — Shayrat Airfield in Homs province in western Syria, the Defense Department said. That’s the airfield from which the United States believes the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fired the banned weapons.

The Pentagon said people were not targeted, and there was no immediate word on casualties. U.S. officials told NBC News that aircraft and infrastructure at the site were hit, including the runway and gas fuel pumps.

Fifteen Years after 9/11, and America Still Sleeps

 

How much worse will the destruction and death have to be to wake us up?

Fifteen years after the carnage of 9/11, American foreign policy is still mired in its fossilized dogmas and dangerous delusions. The consequences are obvious. Iran, the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism and long an avowed enemy of the United States, has filled the vacuum of our ignominious retreat from the Middle East, even as the mullahs move ever closer to possessing nuclear weapons. Russia, Iran’s improbable ally, bombs civilians in Syria, kills the Syrian fighters we have trained, bullies its neighbor Ukraine, consolidates its take-over of the Crimea, and relentlessly pursues its interests with disregard for international law and contempt for our feeble protests. Iraq, for which thousands of Americans bled and died, is now a puppet state of Iran. Afghanistan is poised to be overrun by the Taliban in a few years, and ISIS, al Qaeda 2.0, continues to inspire franchises throughout the world and to murder European and American citizens.

As Predicted, the Iran Deal Has Begun to Wreck Global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Efforts

Amid growing indications that Iran does not plan to comply with the July nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), there is a new report that the huge U.S. concessions offered to Tehran to get this agreement are already undermining global efforts against nuclear proliferation.

One of the most significant of these concessions allows Iran to continue to enrich uranium even while the JCPOA is in effect. This contradicts years of U.N. Security Council resolutions calling on Iran to halt all uranium enrichment, and previous U.S. policies that have strongly discouraged nations from beginning peaceful uranium-enrichment programs due to the ease with which they can be used to produce weapons-grade nuclear fuel.

Exclusive: The Pentagon Is Preparing New War Plans for a Baltic Battle Against Russia

But the really troubling thing is that in the war games being played, the United States keeps losing.

For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Department of Defense is reviewing and updating its contingency plans for armed conflict with Russia.

Mideast expert: Israel forced to consider attack on Iran

Now that belligerent Iran has now been given the green light, it wastes no time in showing its true colors and intent. Lifting sanctions has cleared the way for Iran to rise as a world superpower, or Bibically prophesied King of the South.

Long-time readers of Global Geopolitics will also remember it’s been said over the years here that Israel will be backed into a corner and have no choice but to carry out a preemptive strike. In short, this will set the Middle East on fire. Many nations will be involved such as Syria, who has a mutual defense pact with Iran. Turkey might also jump into the fray and take advantage of the chaos by attacking Syria, which might lead to a counter-attack from Damascus on the NATO nation, which means an attack on one is an attack on all. Furthermore, thousands of terrorist cells across the United States homeland will get the green light to carry out attacks — be it crowded shopping malls, hospitals, schools and so on. Expect massive cyber attacks on America’s critical infrastructure, financial system, etc…, too. Lastly, don’t forget, with the U.S. busy and distracted in the Middle East, China might launch an attack on Taiwan which could also lead the Asian giant into an exchange of fire against Japan and America.

Israel will also have to strike soon, possibly by the end of summer or fall of 2015, now that it seems Moscow is going to sell the Iranians missile defense systems than the S-300, as originally offered. This is likely why the IDF is launching massive military drills and calling up reservists as this is being written.

What’s more alarming is that, under the nuclear ‘deal’, the United States is now obligated to protect Iran by ensuring the physical security of its nuclear infrastructure. Yes, you read that correctly. Under Barack Obama, the United States is deliberately working against Israel. In the past, it’s been reported the Obama administration had also threatened to shoot Israeli warplanes down should they attempt to carry out an attack on Iran. Yes, you also read that one correctly.

It’s time for Israel to kill or be killed – and, on schedule and as planned, the Obama administration has provoked World War III where Israel will be set up to be seen as the evil aggressor and the cause of all the world’s ills.

The dynamite has been primed. What lights the very short fuse remains to be seen.

 

Nuclear agreement leaves Jewish state with little alternative

WASHINGTON – The nuclear agreement with Iran leaves Israel with little alternative but to launch a military attack against the Islamic regime’s nuclear facilities, a leading Middle East expert says in a report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

“Assuming the (agreement) goes through the U.S. government and the U.N. Security Council, it’s hard to see what the Israelis can do to protect themselves other than attack the Iranian facilities,” said Middle East Forum president Daniel Pipes in an interview with G2.

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Pipes, a historian, writer and political commentator, said that he sees such an attack as “the next stage” and suggests Israel could receive the assistance of Saudi Arabia.