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NATO official: Iran could fire conventional or nuclear missiles into Europe

dandelion salad | 01.09.2009 18:31 | Anti-militarism | Anti-racism | Other Press | World


Echoing the six-month-long intensive propaganda campaign before invading Iraq in 2003, the leading members of the NATO Alliance (US, UK, Germany, France) and Israel are desperately trying to show Iran as a threat, without presenting a shred of evidence.

Now, an anonymous “NATO official” is claiming that Iran is posing a threat not only to Israel, but also to Europe. Even more astonishingly, after 4 years of constant scare-mongering over “Iran’s nuclear threat”, this official is reverting to Clinton administration’s “Iran’s ballistic threat” propaganda.

Daily Telegraph, 2007
Daily Telegraph, 2007




[propaganda alert]


NATO official: Iran could fire conventional or nuclear missiles into Europe in the foreseeable future


Editorial note:

Echoing the six-month-long intensive propaganda campaign before invading Iraq in 2003, the leading members of the NATO Alliance (US, UK, Germany, France) and Israel are desperately trying to show Iran as a threat, without presenting a shred of evidence.

Now, an anonymous “NATO official” is claiming that Iran is posing a threat not only to Israel, but also to Europe. Even more astonishingly, after 4 years of constant scare-mongering over “Iran’s nuclear threat”, this official is reverting to Clinton administration’s “Iran’s ballistic threat” propaganda.

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1) Iran 'scores points' on IAEA report despite US pressure (29 August 2009)
2) NATO official: Iran could fire conventional or nuclear missiles into Europe (31 August 2009)

3) [from the archives] Longer range on Iranian missile Shahab-4 could hit Central Europe (29 July 1998)

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 http://presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=104726&sectionid=351020101


excerpts from: Iran ‘scores points' on IAEA report despite US pressure

Press TV, 29 August 2009


"Tehran['s ambassador to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh] says despite US pressure the UN nuclear watchdog has reflected four of the positive steps taken by Iran in the latest report it released on Friday."

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 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251145156719&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter


excerpt from: NATO interest in Iran increasing

by Yaakov Katz , Jerusalem Post, 31 August 2009


"NATO's interest in Iran has dramatically increased in recent months as the Islamic Republic works to upgrade its ballistic missiles and increase their range so they can penetrate deep into Europe, according to officials at the Western military alliance [NATO]. […]

“Iran can now reach Israel but still wants to develop longer ranges. … We believe that in the foreseeable future, Iran could fire conventional or nuclear-tipped missiles into Europe” [a NATO official said].

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from the archives:


excerpts from: Longer range on Iranian missile Shahab-4 could hit Central Europe

by Bill Gertz, Washington Times, 29 July 1998


"Iran is working on a longer-range version of the Shahab-3 [ballistic] missile it flight-tested last week and it could be deployed in two to five years, […] Martin Indyk, assistant [U.S.] secretary of state for Near East affairs, told reporters […]
U.S. intelligence agencies estimate that the Shahab-4 will have a range of up to 1,240 miles - enough to hit targets as far away as Central Europe."

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related links:


Netanyahu: Our lesson from the Holocaust is that threats to our existence must be nipped in the bud (28 August 2009)

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/netanyahu-the-lesson-of -the-holocaust-is-that-we-should-nip-threats-to-our-existence-in-the-b ud/


Gordon Brown: New sanctions on Iran is a priority
Benjamin Netanyahu: Time is running out (25 August 2009)

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/uk-new-sanctions-on-ira n-is-a-priority-israel-time-is-running-out/


Israeli ambassador to US: Obama’s end-of-the-year deadline to Iran has been moved up to September (16 August 2009)

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/israeli-ambassador-to-u s-iranian-nuke-could-wipe-off-israel-in-seconds/


Israeli ambassador to US: Iranian nuke could wipe off Israel in seconds (4 July 2009)

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/israeli-ambassador-to-u s-iranian-nuke-could-wipe-off-israel-in-seconds/


Obama: The clock is ticking (26 June 2009)

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/obama-the-clock-is-tick ing/


Obama: Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat to its neighbors (5 April 2009)

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/obama-irans-nuclear-and -ballistic-missile-activity-poses-a-real-threat-to-its-neighbors/

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dandelion salad
- Homepage: http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/nato-official-iran-could-fire-conventional-or-nuclear-missiles-into-europe-in-the-foreseeable-future/

Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

fireworks and paperweights.

02.09.2009 17:15

As we all know, they only require enriched uranium to use as paperweights, and all their rockets are just for innocent firework display purposes.

The fact that Iran is run by violent election stealing right wing loons is purely coincidental.

operator


Fool me twice

02.09.2009 20:16


I suppose the obvious response is:

JOE PUBLIC official: Europe could fire conventional or nuclear missiles into Iran in the foreseeable future

But of course, if JOE PUBLIC had an ounce of wit to scratch himself he would realise that the Bush-Powell-Rumsfeld-Cheney cabal of war criminals used the UN process to disarm Iraq BEFORE launching an ILLEGAL. IMMORAL, AGGRESSIVE and VIOLENT attack on a state which, after the event, had quite obviously complied in all the requirements for which non-compliance was touted as a reason for going to war.

The problem for JOE PUBLIC is a) he doesn’t want to believe that HE is among the BAD GUYS, b) he needs the OIL (stupid) and c) so long as the media can keep massaging his conscience (with even patently obvious lies) he doesn’t really give a rat’s arse WHAT hapens to “foreigners” and morality and honour are a bit passe anyway.

allen


Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists interview ElBaradei

02.09.2009 23:14

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists just published an interview with Mohamed ElBaradei, the outgoing IAEA head.

BAS:
Is Iran minimizing the risk of its nuclear program--namely by keeping it purely civilian-oriented?
ELBARADEI:
We have not seen concrete evidence that Tehran has an ongoing nuclear weapons program. But somehow, many people are talking about how Iran's nuclear program is the greatest threat to the world. In many ways, I think the threat has been hyped. Yes, there's concern about Iran's future intentions and Iran needs to be more transparent with the IAEA and international community. We still have outstanding questions that are relevant to the nature of Tehran's program, and we still need to verify that there aren't un-declared activities taking place inside of the country. But the idea that we'll wake up tomorrow and Iran will have a nuclear weapon is an idea that isn't supported by the facts as we have seen them so far. It's urgent, however, to initiate a dialogue between Washington and Tehran to build trust, normalize relations, and allay concerns as proposed by President Obama. To me, that's the only way forward. That's not a popular position. I'm accused by some of politicizing the evidence. About Iran, I've been told, "Mind your own business; you're a technician." And yet, at other times, on other matters, I have been told that I'm the custodian of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty--sometimes by the very people who tell me to mind my own business when it comes to Iran. I don't put much stock in either designation. I'm neither a custodian nor a technician; I'm merely someone who is trying to do his job. And I know the world won't be successful in achieving nuclear disarmament unless there's an equitable universal arms control regime in place that deals with the root causes of proliferation such as poverty, conflicts, and violence. So when I tell our member states, "If you want the agency to do a good job at stemming proliferation, you have to work on the root causes," that's not politicization; that's looking at the big picture and being faithful to my job.
BAS:
What lessons have you learned from your experiences with Iran--and the same for North Korea and Iraq?
ELBARADEI:
One lesson is to keep the dialogue going--particularly in the case of North Korea. There, whenever a dialogue was taking place, things were on the right track. Whenever the dialogue stopped, things started to go bad. Now, two nuclear tests later, we have no choice but to talk to the North Koreans and understand where they're coming from. Another lesson is to use sanctions only as a last resort and to avoid sanctions that hurt innocent civilians. As we saw in Iraq, sanctions only denied vulnerable, innocent civilians food and medicine, resulting in some of the most egregious human rights violations I've ever seen--all in the name of the rule of law. So we should try very hard to establish an ongoing dialogue, because sanctions are never a solution. As for force, I'm not against it. But to me, you have to exhaust all other possibilities for a peaceful resolution until force becomes the last option. You can't jump the gun as the United States did in Iraq. In total, one out of three Iraqis has had his or her life pulverized because of a war that never in my view should have been fought in the first place.

Danny
- Homepage: http://thebulletin.org/files/065005001.pdf