Iranian Oil Bourse IS A Reality

From early 2008...

Israel would inform, not ask U.S. before hitting Iran
May 6 2009

www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE54523R20090506

So while no one questions Israel's willingness to attack should it deem U.S.-led talks on curbing Iranian uranium enrichment a dead end, such strikes would almost certainly entail at least last-minute coordination with Washington.

Israel would want to ensure that its jets would not be shot down by accident if overflying U.S.-occupied Iraq, and to give Americans in the Gulf forewarning of possible Iranian reprisals.

"Whether or not Israel got the green light from Washington to attack Iran is almost immaterial, as everybody in the region would believe that the U.S. was complicit," said Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"Israel would seek forgiveness, not permission."

www.comcast.net/data/fan/html/popup.html?v=774854814&pl=foxf...

Above is a FOX clip on the matter

http://voanews.com/english/2008-06-20-voa66.cfm
100+ Fighters Practice Attack

http://www.dailypaul.com/node/50738

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/05/29/officials_i...
Officials: Iran, al-Qaida communicating
Published: May 29, 2008 at 8:27 PM

WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- Top officials in the U.S. government say the Iranian government has secretly been in contact with al-Qaida leaders in recent months.

The officials told ABC News that highly sensitive intelligence indicates the Iranian government has communicated with al-Qaida leaders on the status of high-level operatives in the terrorist organization who have been under house arrest in Iran since 2003.

ABC said the operatives include two sons of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"The Iranians know there would be hell to pay if these guys were set free," one official said.

"Iran likely sees these individuals, as major bargaining chips," another official told ABC News. "How and when they're going to use those chips or whether they are going to keep them in the bank is part of an ongoing strategic discussion they are having internally."

ABC News said all of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

Poland posed no threat to Germany prior to the German attack on Poland. But the Germans actually portrayed the attack as defending their territory from a Polish attack. Sound similar?

Mike
"Fire Team for Freedom" on revolutionbroadcasting.com
Mondays thru Thursdays Midnight EST
or visit www.mikeandjake.com

Venezuela has declared that it is establishing a common bank with Iran to finance economic development projects in the two countries.

The bank, to be based in Tehran, will have an initial capital base of 1.2 billion dollars, with each nation providing half of the funds, AFP reported on Tuesday.

It follows up on a March 2007 agreement the two countries signed.

The relations between the two countries has elevated to an unprecedented level during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's term.

Last month Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said unity and cooperation between Tehran and Caracas has gotten the 'US imperialism' riled up.

"The two countries' cooperation has turned into a great unity between the Iranian and Venezuelan nations and this annoys the US imperialism," he said.

www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=56645&sectionid=351020102

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...myOPK8iCnzBzlQ

US, allies say UN report bolsters fears Iran wants nuclear bomb

4 hours ago (around 3:30 CDT on 5/27/08)

WASHINGTON (AFP) ­ The United States said Tuesday that Iran's refusal to respond to queries from the UN atomic watchdog is "very troubling," warning its behavior bolstered suspicions it aimed to build a nuclear bomb.

The US government, which has spearheaded toughening rounds of sanctions against Tehran, added it was studying what "diplomatic next step" to take after Monday's report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

France and Germany -- which along with Britain, Russia and China are locked in carrot-and-stick negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program -- voiced immediate concerns about the report.

The IAEA on Monday expressed "serious concern" that Iran is still hiding information about alleged studies into making nuclear warheads and defying UN demands to suspend uranium enrichment.

The alleged studies comprise a uranium conversion project, high explosives testing and designs for a missile re-entry vehicle, and suggest there may have been a possible military angle to past nuclear work.

The report "refers to the fact that the Iranians are willfully -- trying to willfully withhold information about their activities related to potential weaponization," McCormack told reporters in Washington.

"There are a number of different questions out there about the military's involvement in this nuclear program, about Iran's efforts to fabricate hemispheres of uranium," he said.

"And I'm not sure other than for a weapon why you would do that," McCormack added.

Washington has in the past pointed to IAEA inquiries into Iran's possession of blueprints for making the uranium metal hemispheres that are the core of bombs as signs of military intentions.

McCormack called the new report "very troubling" and "disturbing," adding: "And we'll see what diplomatic next step will flow from this."

The State Department spokesman said the report will have no impact on a so-called "refreshed" package of incentives for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment and reprocessing work.

"The package is set," McCormack said.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he hopes to travel to Iran soon to present the package from the six negotiating powers after meeting Tehran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki over the weekend.

The permanent Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany have re-worked an offer of political and trade incentives originally made in 2006.

Solana has been struggling to establish high-level talks aimed at getting Iran to accept the package but Tehran refuses to suspend enrichment as a precondition for negotiating.

Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel to help meet its electricity needs and has so far defied three sets of Security Council resolutions which demand it halt the process.

At highly refined levels, such work can also make the fissile core of an atomic bomb but Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and has vehemently denied that it is seeking to make weapons with it.

In Paris, French foreign ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said the details mentioned in the report "could be the sign of a possible military dimension of the Iranian nuclear program."

In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the report "leaves open a number of questions that we will have to examine very quickly."
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No need for either party's conventions, then, right?

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JE28Ak01.html
Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August'

Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the source, but their projected New York Times op-ed piece has yet to appear.

The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously
-snip-

Friday, May 9, 2008. (AP Photo/David Karp)
By JOHN WILEN
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time Friday, bringing its advance this week to nearly $10, as investors questioned whether a possible confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela could cut exports from the OPEC member. Gas prices, meanwhile, rose above an average $3.67 a gallon at the pump, following oil's recent path higher.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal published a report that suggested closer ties between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and rebels attempting to overthrow Colombia's government. Chavez has been linked to Colombian rebels previously, but the paper reported it had reviewed computer files indicating concrete offers by Venezuela's leader to arm guerillas. That appears to heighten the chances that the U.S. could impose sanctions on one of its biggest oil suppliers.

"If we put on sanctions, I'm sure Chavez would threaten to cut off our oil supply," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. "Obviously that would have a major impact on oil prices."

Light, sweet crude for June delivery vaulted to a new record of $126.25 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before retreating slightly to settle up $2.27 at a record $125.96. Oil futures set new records for the fifth straight day, and ended the week up $9.64, or 8.3 percent.

Even if Chavez cut oil shipments to the U.S., Venezuelan oil would still make its way to the U.S. via middle men, who would buy it from Venezuela and resell it to the U.S., Flynn said. But that new layer in the supply chain would bump up costs.

www.wtopnews.com/?nid=111&sid=577994

Published: Saturday, 10 May, 2008, 02:08 AM Doha Time

BEIRUT: Hezbollah fighters, their guns blazing, seized control of west Beirut yesterday after three days of deadly street battles with pro-government foes pushed Lebanon dangerously close to all-out civil war.
The US warned that the Shia movement must be held accountable for the violence and said it was working with Lebanon’s neighbours and the UN Security Council on steps to do so. Convoys of triumphant opposition gunmen firing into the air and flashing victory signs took to the streets after routing fighters loyal to the Western-backed government of the divided nation.

As the fighting eased, the army and police moved across areas now in the hands of opposition forces which have been locked in an 18-month power struggle with the ruling coalition. But as foreigners scrambled to leave it was unclear what the immediate future would hold, amid fears the protracted political feud could plunge Lebanon back to the dark days of the 1975-1990 civil war. Although the guns had largely fallen silent in the besieged capital last night, a security official said two opposition militants were killed in fighting south of Beirut.

Both sides appeared unwilling to give any further ground yesterday, with Hezbollah insisting that the roadblocks that have paralysed much of the nation would remain until the government meets its demands. “We are not carrying out a coup — all of this is related to the government’s decisions,” an opposition official said. “We are offering partnership... and they want to monopolise power and limit our share.”
But Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfat ruled out any chance of the government going back on its decision to probe Hezbollah’s private communications network — the trigger for the latest unrest.
“It would be easier for the government to resign than to revoke its decision,” Fatfat said.

The unrest triggered urgent international appeals for calm, amid fears that any possible civil war could spread to the region.
The White House called the fighting proof of the danger Hezbollah poses to the region.

“Hezbollah’s relationship with Iran and Syria, as well as its history of international terrorism and provision of lethal support and training to Iraqi-based extremist groups, demonstrates the threat it poses to international peace and security,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
“The US is consulting with other governments in the region and with the UN Security Council about measures that must be taken to hold those responsible for the violence in Beirut accountable,” he said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would support Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora in the standoff. “Seeking to protect their state within a state, Hezbollah has... demonstrated its contempt for its fellow Lebanese,” she added. In Brussels EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also assured Siniora of the European Union’s “full support.”

Earlier Christian Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused Hezbollah of launching “an armed coup... that is counter to the constitution... and democratic principles”.

Hezbollah, the most powerful armed group in Lebanon, was the only faction allowed to keep its weapons after the civil war to fight Israeli forces occupying the south.

In west Beirut, most shops and businesses remained shuttered while tanks rolled through the streets and riot police and troops patrolled but with orders not to intervene in the conflict. – AFP

www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=2...

John Bolton, America’s ex-ambassador to the United Nations, has called for US air strikes on Iranian camps where insurgents are trained for war in Iraq.
Mr Bolton said that striking Iran would represent a major step towards victory in Iraq. While he acknowledged that the risk of a hostile Iranian response harming American’s overseas interests existed, he said the damage inflicted by Tehran would be “far higher” if Washington took no action.

“This is a case where the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we’re not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do,” he said. “Then the ball would be in Iran’s court to draw the appropriate lesson to stop harming our troops.”

Mr Bolton, an influential former member of President George W Bush’s inner circle, dismissed as “dead wrong” reported British intelligence conclusions that the US military had overstated the support that Iran was providing to Iraqi fighters.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1931520/John-Bolton-US-should-bomb-...

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3868...
May 4, 2008

United States is drawing up plans to strike on Iranian insurgency campMichael Smith
Read Mick Smith's defence blog at www.timesonline.co.uk/micksmith

The US military is drawing up plans for a “surgical strike” against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards continue with attempts to destabilise Iraq, western intelligence sources said last week. One source said the Americans were growing increasingly angry at the involvement of the Guards’ special-operations Quds force inside Iraq, training Shi’ite militias and smuggling weapons into the country.

Despite a belligerent stance by Vice-President Dick Cheney, the administration has put plans for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities on the back burner since Robert Gates replaced Donald Rumsfeld as defence secretary in 2006, the sources said.

However, US commanders are increasingly concerned by Iranian interference in Iraq and are determined that recent successes by joint Iraqi and US forces in the southern port city of Basra should not be reversed by the Quds Force.

“If the situation in Basra goes back to what it was like before, America is likely to blame Iran and carry out a surgical strike on a militant training camp across the border in Khuzestan,” said one source, referring to a frontier province.

They acknowledged Iran was unlikely to cease involvement in Iraq and that, however limited a US attack might be, the fighting could escalate.

Although American defence chiefs are firmly opposed to any attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, they believe a raid on one of the camps training Shi’ite militiamen would deliver a powerful message to Tehran.

British officials believe the US military tends to overestimate the effect of the Iranian involvement in Iraq.

But they say there is little doubt that the Revolutionary Guard exercises significant influence over splinter groups of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army, who were the main targets of recent operations in Basra.

The CBS television network reported last week that plans were being drawn up for an attack on Iran, citing an officer who blamed the “increasingly hostile role” Iran was playing in Iraq.

The American news reports were unclear about the precise target of such an action and referred to Iran’s nuclear facilities as the likely objective.

According to the intelligence sources there will not be an attack on Iran’s nuclear capacity. “The Pentagon is not keen on that at all. If an attack happens it will be on a training camp to send a clear message to Iran not to interfere.”

President George W Bush is known to be determined that he should not hand over what he sees as “the Iran problem” to his successor. A limited attack on a training camp may give an impression of tough action, while at the same time being something that both Gates and the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, could accept.

www.politicallore.com/writers/shaun-booth/us-beats-war-drum-...

Busy "Iran" day new wise...May is on horizon

US official: Iraqis to urge Iran to stop backing militias

By LOLITA C. BALDOR – 2 hours ago

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Iraqi leaders are hoping to pressure Iran to stop aiding militias in Iraq by presenting Tehran with the latest evidence of weapons and training crossing the border, a senior defense official said Wednesday.

It is not known yet whether the Iranians agreed to the meeting. But the official said the Iraqis want to try let Iran know that the support is not helpful and should be stopped. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

According to the official, plans to roll out the evidence of Iranian support for the militias during a public briefing have been delayed to give the Iraqis time to speak directly to Tehran about the problem.

U.S. officials have recently escalated their complaints about the weapons and training that Iran — largely members of Tehran's elite Republican Guard — is providing to militants. The problem was underscored during the recent fighting in Basra.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is meeting with Mexican leaders, said Tuesday that the U.S. is not laying the groundwork for an attack against Iran. And his spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters Wednesday that he is not aware of any "ramping up or revision" of war plans for Iran at the Pentagon.

U.S. Military officials have said that the evidence includes caches of weapons that have date stamps showing they were produced in Iran this year.

The weapons to be presented will include mortars, rockets, small arms, roadside bombs and armor-piercing explosives — known as explosively formed penetrators or EFPs — that troops have discovered in recent months, according to another senior military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the evidence has not yet been made public.

The U.S. very briefly had two Navy aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf this week — a move that Gates said Tuesday could be seen as a "reminder" to Iran. The Pentagon has routinely said that moving ships to the Gulf is a way of showing countries there that the U.S. remains committed to the region.

At the Pentagon, defense officials said the USS Abraham Lincoln entered the Gulf in a normal rotation of forces, not as an addition of force. The carrier that the Lincoln replaced, the USS Harry Truman, has now left the Gulf and is en route to its home base at Norfolk, Va. The two carriers were together in the Gulf for only one day, as is common during a rotation, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because details about ship movements are considered classified.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iVp6OcsznLJpeFv8SenE_EhxI...

Tehran, April 30

(Xinhua) Iran has replaced the US dollar with other currencies in its oil transactions, an oil ministry official said Wednesday. “The dollar has completely been removed from our oil trade. Crude oil customers have agreed with us to use other currencies. Our future oil business will be in euro in Europe, yen in Asia,” he added.

In the wake of worsening relations with Washington in the past years over the nuclear disputes and the latest depreciation of the US dollar, Iran has vowed to scale down the use of the greenback in its foreign trade. The Iranian central bank has also reduced its dollar reserves.

During the last summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Saudi Arabia, Iran proposed that it was necessary to replace the US dollar with other major hard currencies in oil trading.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari declared last December that Tehran had completely stopped selling its oil in dollars, according to a report by the semi-official ISNA news agency at that time.

www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/iran-replaces-us-dolla...