A top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards boasted Saturday that his forces have plans in place to attack the United States from within, should the U.S. attack the Islamic Republic. ● “America, with its strategic ignorance, does not have a full understanding of the power of the Islamic Republic,” Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami said in a televised interview. “We have recognized America’s military strategy, and have arranged our abilities, and have identified centers in America [for attack] that will create a shock.” Reports indicate that terrorist Hezbollah forces — allies of Iran — have infiltrated the U.S. and have mapped out targets. “We will conduct such a blow in which they [America] will be destroyed from within,” Salami said. This is the second warning by a high-ranking officer of the Guards in two weeks. The chief commander of the Guards, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Jafari, addressing Secretary of State John Kerry, said on Jan. 24 that a direct conflict with America is the “strongest dream of the faithful and revolutionary men around the world.” Kerry had previously said that if Iran did not live up to the agreement reached in Geneva on its nuclear program, “all options are on the table.”

Jason Ditz: State Dept Assures Israel: War Likely if Iran Talks Fail
VoR: US sends ballistic missile destroyer to Spain to support NATO missile shield

Iran unveiled this week new anti-aircraft missile systems and a plan to “confront U.S. naval forces” ahead of a series of eight new war games that are scheduled to begin in March, according to multiple Iranian press reports. ● New anti-aircraft missile simulators have been installed at Iran’s Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base, according to a top Iranian military commander, who said the systems would be used to train soldiers in the art of downing enemy aircraft, according to Iranian press reports. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) simultaneously announced this week that it had established a new organization for its “smart combat vessels.” The new war group was created in response to the “need for confronting U.S. naval forces,” according to Iran’s Press TV. These announcements were made just over a month before Iran kicks off its next round of war games, which, for the first time, will include “a drill in the cyber field,” according to the state-run Fars News Agency.

In its latest report on Iran’s nuclear program, the Iran task force of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) admits that it is divided over the value of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA), the Nov. 24 agreement between Iran and the P5+1, but that if after six months from the date of the JPA’s signing on Jan. 10 no final agreement is reached, the U.S. should support an Israeli attack on Iran if its government decides to carry one out. I’ll reprint the the executive summary below, but here’s the final paragraph: The United States should move immediately to impose new sanctions and consider even tougher actions against Iran if no acceptable final is [sic] agreement is in place 180 days after the JPA’s formal implementation on January 20. At that time, the United States should do nothing that would impinge upon Israel’s ability to decide what actions it must take at that time, and indeed should support Israel if it takes military action.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Iran's atomic drive "will be stopped", a day after an interim agreement bringing sanctions relief for Tehran took effect. ● "Iran's military nuclear programme must be stopped, and Iran's military nuclear programme will be stopped," Netanyahu said at a joint news conference with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper, without saying how. Israel has long warned that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state, and has refused to rule out a military strike to prevent that from happening. Netanyahu fought a major diplomatic campaign against the so-called Geneva Agreement which was hammered out in November between world powers and Iran, and on Monday he said the agreement would not succeed in stopping Tehran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said the absence of Iran from this week's peace talks on the Syrian crisis would be an "unforgivable mistake". "Not to ensure the presence at this event of all those who may directly influence the situation, I think, would be an unforgivable mistake," Lavrov told a televised press briefing. "So I fully support the responsible and principled approach by UN Secretary General (Ban Ki-moon), who sent an invitation to those countries that influence the situation, including the Islamic Republic of Iran." Lavrov added the Iran's absence would make the talks that are due to start on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux a "sham".

Stephen Lendman: Syria Peace Talks: DOA ■ Geneva talks aren't about peace. Obama demands regime change. [He says] conflict resolution is impossible as long Assad remains president. He won't step down as long as Syrians want him retained. They do so overwhelmingly. No global consensus exists. Washington, other Western countries, Israel, and rogue regional allies want regime change. Russia, China, Iran and numerous other nations want Syrian sovereignty respected. Demanding Assad must go violates it. Syrians alone must decide their future. International law prohibits outside interference. Washington rules make peace impossible. Talks are DOA.

Finian Cunningham: Geneva II: Iran nixed proves US fixed ■ There is a good reason why Iran has been blocked from attending the Geneva II conference on Syria – because the meeting is not about finding a peaceful settlement. Rather, it is merely an American mechanism for engineering regime change in Syria. What the Americans have failed to achieve through state-sponsored terrorism, they are now trying to win through state-sponsored politics. Iran has consistently endorsed the sovereign right of the Syrian people to negotiate their political future – without pre-conditions or pressure from external powers. And it is because of this Iranian position of principle over Syria that it is being banished at the behest of the US. Iran being nixed proves the US has fixed.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has rescinded his invitation to Iran to participate in the forthcoming international conference aimed at achieving a political solution to the Syrian crisis under pressure from the United States. ● Speaking at a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban is "deeply disappointed" at Iran's statements rejecting the June 2012 Geneva communiqué. "Given that it has chosen to remain outside that basic understanding, he has decided that the one-day Montreux gathering will proceed without Iran's participation," Nesirky added. The 2012 Geneva communiqué outlines measures for a transition of power in Syria, and its key demand means Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will have to step down.

PressTV: Syria talks hypocritical without Iran presence: Lavrov
Bill Van Auken: With Syria talks in disarray, UN yanks invitation to Iran

President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday warned that the danger of Wahhabi thinking has become a threat to the entire world and not just the region’s countries. ■ The President was speaking during a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the accompanying delegation, during which talks dealt with the developments in the region and the common challenges facing its countries, foremost being the epidemic of terrorism and extremist takfiri thinking. President al-Assad added that the Syrian people and some of the region’s peoples have become aware of the seriousness of this terrorist thinking and that everybody should contribute to confronting and eradicating it. The Iranian Minister affirmed his country’s keenness on unifying the efforts of the region’s countries to counter the challenges the region is faced with and combat terrorism to achieve security and stability in it. Discussions also tackled the preparations underway for Geneva 2 conference, with Zarif expressing the Iranian leadership and people’s support for Syria in its efforts to make the conference a success.

Xymphora ■ "Neocons Who Brought You The Iraq War Endorse AIPAC’s Iran Bill" - Again with the public etters advocating mass slaughter, and quite a grisly list of signatories. This isn't a game they are playing. World Jewry - and let me stop and emphasize that that is exactly who it is - is trying to start World War III for the sole reason they think it would be 'good for the Jews'. All you 'progressives' who dislike talking about the realities of Jewish power (ZOG), and its vile methods and goals, can stick your fawning to power in the guise of taking a stand against 'bigotry' or 'racism' up your corrupted asses. The games you are playing have a massive cost.

The ongoing takfiri terrorist besieging of the Syrian city of Yarmouk, the Jewish-Zionist war on French comedic genius Dieudonne and why the silence of the “solidarity activist” community on both hot-button issues is destructive not only to the Palestinian cause but the world as we know it. Yet another master-class lesson from the one and only Jonathan Azaziah.

Breathless predictions that the Islamic Republic will soon be at the brink of nuclear capability, or – worse – acquire an actual nuclear bomb, are not new. For more than quarter of a century Western officials have claimed repeatedly that Iran is close to joining the nuclear club. Such a result is always declared "unacceptable" and a possible reason for military action, with "all options on the table" to prevent upsetting the Mideast strategic balance dominated by the US and Israel. And yet, those predictions have time and again come and gone. This chronicle of past predictions lends historical perspective to today’s rhetoric about Iran.

Grant Smith: Dual-citizen nominee's lifetime benefit to Israel comes at a heavy cost to America. ■ The rushed campaign to insert Stanley Fischer straight from his position leading Israel’s central bank into the number two spot at the Federal Reserve has allowed little time for research into the appointee’s career or for informed public debate about his record. Like the failed recent Obama administration-Israel lobby pincer move to ram approval for U.S. military strikes on Syria through Congress, avoiding such due diligence through velocity may actually be the only means for successful Senate confirmation.

Israel ruled guilty of genocide; the nuclear elephant in that region; and the 'armies' recruited to doctor Wikipedia. Seek truth from facts with leading war crimes prosecutor Professor Francis Boyle, Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar, top saxophonist and former Israeli citizen Gilad Atzmon, and UN Human Rights Rapporteur Professor Richard Falk.

On November 24 the P5+1 and the Islamic Republic of Iran agreed on a temporary deal about the Iranian nuclear program and the sanctions against it. The agreed upon Joint Plan Of Action (pdf) includes this clause in the Elements of a first step which both sides are supposed to have by now implemented:

In return, the E3/EU+3 would undertake the following voluntary measures:
•Pause efforts to further reduce Iran's crude oil sales, enabling Iran's current customers to purchase their current average amounts of crude oil. Enable the repatriation of an agreed amount of revenue held abroad. For such oil sales, suspend the EU and U.S. sanctions on associated insurance and transportation services.
•Suspend U.S. and EU sanctions on:
•Iran's petrochemical exports, as well as sanctions on associated services
•The U.S. Administration, acting consistent with the respective roles of the President and the Congress, will refrain from imposing new nuclear-related sanctions.

Today the United States broke the deal by imposing additional sanctions on Iran. There are now new sanctions against 4 persons, 12 companies and 36 reflagged ships linked to Iran.

In March 2007, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson flew to Kish Island, an Iranian resort awash with tourists, smugglers and organized crime figures. Days later, after an arranged meeting with an admitted killer, he checked out of his hotel, slipped into a taxi and vanished. For years, the U.S. has publicly described him as a private citizen who traveled to the tiny Persian Gulf island on private business. But that was just a cover story. An Associated Press investigation reveals that Levinson was working for the CIA. In an extraordinary breach of the most basic CIA rules, a team of analysts — with no authority to run spy operations — paid Levinson to gather intelligence from some of the world's darkest corners. He vanished while investigating the Iranian government for the U.S. The CIA was slow to respond to Levinson's disappearance and spent the first several months denying any involvement. When Congress eventually discovered what happened, one of the biggest scandals in recent CIA history erupted.

Jason Ditz: Associated Press Withheld Levinson CIA Story for Three Years

A hawkish House Republican says the United States should use tactical nuclear weapons to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities if war with the Islamic republic becomes necessary. | House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., threw down that bold gauntlet Wednesday morning during a C-SPAN interview in which he also suggested Middle East “culture” fosters dishonest negotiators. Asked if war with Iran is inevitable, Hunter replied: “I sure as Hell hope not.” But if push came to shove and US officials deemed strikes necessary, Hunter turned hawkish. He said any American strike would be a “massive aerial bombing campaign,” adding that such a mission should not feature any “boots on ground.” Then, Hunter said the US should use its “tactical nuclear weapons” on Iranian targets.

Israel’s Channel 10 news has quoted an unnamed “senior White House official” as warning that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s shrill opposition to the P5+1 deal with Iran is coming off as “weak and desperate,” and that the administration is viewing his position as of “no great concern.” The official also acknowledged Netanyahu’s attempts to court the US Congress in an attempt to kill the deal, but insisted they were likewise not particularly concerned he could pull that off, warning Netanyahu is losing support and relevance by his constant complaining.

Jason Ditz: Netanyahu Orders Mossad to Find ‘Violations’ to Discredit Iran Deal

“What has been released by the website of the White House as a fact sheet is a one-sided interpretation of the agreed text in Geneva and some of the explanations and words in the sheet contradict the text of the Joint Plan of Action (the title of the Iran-powers deal), and this fact sheet has unfortunately been translated and released in the name of the Geneva agreement by certain media, which is not true,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on Tuesday. She said that the four-page text under the name of the Joint Plan of Action (which has been released by the Iranian foreign ministry) was the result of the agreement reached during the Geneva talks and all of its sentences and words were chosen based on the considerations of all parties to the talks. In fact one of the reasons why negotiations between Iran and the G5+1 took so long pertained to the accuracy which was needed for choosing the words for the text of the agreement, Afkham said, explaining that the Iranian delegation was much rigid and laid much emphasis on the need for this accuracy.

Israel, believed to be the only nuclear power in the region, says allowing any enrichment is dangerous since Iranian centrifuges could quickly convert even low-grade uranium to weapons grade. Israeli officials say the agreement hands a massive victory to Iran. The Economics Minister, Naftali Bennett, said: “If a nuclear suitcase blows up five years from now in New York or Madrid it will be because of the deal signed this morning.”

Reddit: Be on the look out for a coming false flag involving Iran (Xymphora)
He may huff and puff but Benjamin Netanyahu is on his own now as nuclear agreement isolates Israel

The P5+1 deal with Iran may be finalized, but keeping it intact is still a battle, as the sanctions relief in the deal is under immediate threat from the US Congress, where hawks are threatening to impose more sanctions on Iran. For some, like Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R – GA), the argument is that Iran is in a weak position right now and the sanctions could really stick it to them and dictate even harsher terms. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is warning that new sanctions would kill the deal, however, and for many Congressmen, that’s the whole point. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D – NY) and others have made it no secret they oppose the deal, and are pushing new sanctions as a way to “protest” against the deal, and ideally sabotage it outright.

Israel Renews Warnings of Military Action After Iran Nuclear Deal - Time Magazine

Peter Symonds: Interim agreement reached on Iran’s nuclear programs ■ After four days of extended international talks in Geneva, an interim deal was reached on Iran’s nuclear programs early Sunday morning, setting the stage for negotiations over a longer term, comprehensive agreement. Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group (the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) recommenced in Geneva last Wednesday, after the previous round earlier this month broke up without agreement. With the US Congress threatening to impose punitive new sanctions on Iran that could derail further talks, an agreement was sealed that effectively freezes all Iran’s nuclear programs and allows for intrusive inspections in return for very limited relief from the existing crippling sanctions regime. Washington was at pains to stress that Iran received very little in return.

Stephen Lendman: Deal in Geneva: Hold the Cheers ■ Longstanding hardline US/Israeli policy won't change. Sanctions Iran most wants removed remain in place. Stiff new ones may follow later on. For now they're postponed. A six month interim deal was agreed on. It's temporary, modest and reversible. It can be changed, rescinded or ignored if Washington wishes. Iran has no guarantees. It has legitimate demands. It wants its sovereign rights respected.

Xymphora: Let the negotiations begin! ■ Of course, the real negotiations are between the elected government of the United States and the real government of the United States, the Zionist Occupation Government. The job of a successful American Administration is to frame these second negotiations, the real negotiations, in such a way that real American interests, and not solely the interests of a truly insane group of violent group supremacists who would not hesitate to blow up the entire world to steal another square millimeter of land, prevail. The deal provides almost no benefit to Iran except to put the world's real warmongers in the spotlight if the next six months don't produce a lasting agreement due to ZOG blocking.

The deal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the international community to strike with Tehran is basically an Iranian surrender, not a proper agreement, John Limbert, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran, tells RT.

RT: You were the highest-ranking diplomat dealing solely with Iranian issues. Given your expertise, do you see a real chance that a deal can be made?

John Limbert: I do, but it is going to take time, and it is going to take lots of patience. The rule on these things is whatever you’re going to do is going to take longer than you think. And it is going to be harder than you think.

Stephen Lendman: US hostility toward Iran over ‘sovereignty’

France demanded Thursday that the United States and its allies show “firmness” in negotiating with Iran, injecting new uncertainty into the high-stakes talks to curb Iran’s nuclear program, which earlier had appeared to be on the verge of agreement. | Echoing his statement of two weeks ago, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a television interview that agreement with Iran “can only be possible based on firmness.” He said Iran had failed to accept an offer drafted by the United States, France and four other countries after France’s last intervention and added: “I hope they will accept it.” Two weeks ago, Fabius said in a radio interview that the agreement must be “serious and credible” and France would not play a “fool’s game.” His statement appeared to take a slice at the Obama administration, which had a key role in drafting the accord.

Kumaran Ira: In Israel, French President Hollande takes bellicose stance against Iran ■ Last week, Fabius called for aggressive US intervention in the Middle East, criticizing Washington’s foreign policy after it retreated from launching war against Syria and decided to negotiate with Iran. In a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of the formation of the French Policy Planning Staff, Fabius said: “The United States seems no longer to wish to become absorbed by crises that do not align with its new vision of its national interest.” He criticized Washington’s “non-response” in Syria—that is, the Obama administration’s decision to postpone war with Syria. Fabius said, “An American disengagement [from the Middle East], given the role of the United States, is a disengagement, period. This can leave major crises ‘up to themselves.’”

Iran's foreign minister has censured Israel for its strenuous efforts to block a nuclear deal between Iran and the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. "We have seen that statements coming out of Israel indicate that they are not interested in finding solutions [to the nuclear issue], they have been trying to push for problems,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said after meeting his Italian counterpart Emma Bonino in Rome on Tuesday. Zarif accused Israel of trying to sabotage the nuclear talks and of stoking tensions in the Middle East. “So we have reason to be suspicious of every move they make, because every move they make is about building tension and spreading mistrust,” he added.

PressTV: Obama asks senators to ignore Israel lobby against Iran - Video

At least 23 people were killed and over 140 injured Tuesday in a suicide bomb attack targeting Iran’s embassy compound in Lebanon. Most of the dead were passersby in the predominantly Shiite southern Beirut neighborhood of Janah, where the embassy is situated. Iran confirmed the death of its embassy’s cultural attaché. An al-Qaeda affiliated group, the Abdullah Azzam Brigade, claimed responsibility for the attack in a tweet by its “spiritual mentor,” Sheikh Sirajeddine Zuraiqat. The Brigade has reportedly vowed to continue such attacks until Iran and Hezbollah, an Iranian-allied Lebanese Shiite militia, cease militarily supporting Syria’s government.

Israel and Saudi Arabia are working on contingency plans for a possible military strike on Iran, a Sunday Times report said.● The British newspaper reported the two countries are working on plans for a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities if a a deal struck by the P5 plus1 countries in Geneva later this week fails to significantly curb Iran's nuclear program. Israel's intelligence agency Mossad is reportedly working with Saudi officials on the plans. "Once the Geneva agreement is signed, the military option will be back on the table. The Saudis are furious and are willing to give Israel all the help it needs," a diplomatic source told the newspaper. In the framework of cooperation between the two countries, Riyadh has given Jerusalem a green light to use its airspace in the event of a military strike on Iran, the newspaper said. Both countries are "alarmed" by Iran's nuclear ambitions, the report added.

Stephen Lendman: Anti-Iranian Israeli/Saudi Alliance ■ It's an axis of evil. They're strange bedfellows. They have no formal relations. It's believed Saudi Prince Bandar ibn Sultan visited Israel covertly. Doing so broke a decades long taboo. Both countries have common regional interests. They include toppling Syria's Assad. They want Iran's government replaced. Reports suggest both countries formed an anti-Iranian military alliance. On November 17, the London Sunday Times headlined "Two old foes unite against Tehran," saying: "Convinced that Iran is tricking the world over nuclear weapons, Israel and Saudi Arabia may work together to curb its ambitions." None exist. Both countries know it. At issue is eliminating a regional rival.

Stephen Lendman: US hostility toward Iran over ‘sovereignty’ (PressTV Audio) “The issue is really Iranian sovereignty, it’s not Iran’s nuclear program, but a pretext is needed to beat up on Iran, to vilify the government, to make claims that absolutely have no basis and fact,” Stephen Lendman told Press TV on Sunday. Iran is determined to pursue its inalienable nuclear rights during future negotiations with the six major world powers. However, senior Israeli officials have been storming the Capital Hill to feed false information to American lawmakers in an effort to discredit the White House’s nuclear proposal to Iran and cause the nuclear negotiations with Iran to fail. “It’s not Iran’s nuclear program. If Iran had no nuclear program, another pretext would be found to vilify the country and make outrageous claims. The issue is Iranian sovereignty,” Lendman reiterated.

84.4% of Israeli religious sector supports Netanyahu's stance in disagreement with US; 58.7% of respondents against canceling sanctions. ● A poll by Yisrael HaYom this week reveals that most Israelis think that the IDF is strong enough to begin a military strike against a nuclear Iran - without US support. Over 2/3 of respondents (65%) believe that Israel should oppose a deal - which would reduce Iran's economic sanctions in exchange for a reduction in its nuclear capabilities - between Iran and the P5+1. Only 16.1% support the move. Talks for a possible deal are set to resume on November 20. More than half of respondents (52.1%) support the position of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in disagreements with the US over Iran, a number which jumps to a staggering 84.4% in the religious sector. Overall, Netanyahu's approval rating stands steady this week at 41.5%, with Opposition leader Shelly Yechimovich (Labor) at a distant second of 10%. Regarding an Israeli strike against Iran without US intervention, 52.4% of respondents support the move; 68.8% believe that the IDF has enough military might to succeed on its own.