The United States is defeated

-- Russia and the BRICS join China in putting their foot down over an attack against Iran. Whether the American people get to hear this or not they will see it soon enough. Barack the Bloody has been stopped. And soon he will find himself and the interests he represents as pariah throughout our species. Our race is to end the rule of The Powers That Were (TPTW) before they can do more damage to our Mother Earth and to all of us. -- MCR

China steps up pressure to prevent any attack on Iran

A senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday an attack on Iran would invite devastating retaliation that would envelop the region and destabilise the global economic recovery, and added that the international community had to restrain itself from war.

Reuters,

6 April, 2012

Iran is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes.

Israel and the United States have threatened military action against Iran unless it abandons activities which the West suspects are intended to develop nuclear weapons.

China, which has close energy and trade ties with Iran, has urged a negotiated solution to the dispute and long opposed the use of force or unilateral sanctions on Iran.

The comments by Chen Xiaodong, head of the Foreign Ministry's West Asia and North African affairs division, was China's strongest warning yet not to use force to resolve the dispute.

"If force is used on Iran, it will certainly incur retaliation, cause an even greater military clash, worsen turmoil in the region, threaten the security of the Strait of Hormuz and other strategic passages, drive up global oil prices and strike a blow at the world economic recovery," he said.

"There may be 10,000 reasons to go to war but you cannot remedy the terrible consequences of plunging the people into misery and suffering and the collapse of society and the economy caused by the flames of war," Chen said on a web chat hosted by Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily.

Speculation is growing that Israel could launch some form of strike against Iranian nuclear installations, which Israel sees as a threat to its existence.

During a visit to Beijing last month, Israel's foreign minister hinted it could launch a preemptive attack on Iran despite repeated calls by China to allow diplomacy to take its course.

Chen said the pressing task was for all sides to restrain themselves and resume dialogue as soon as possible.

"The international community has a responsibility to restrain itself from war," he said.

More talks between Iran and world powers are expected to take place this month in an attempt to reach a compromise.

The most recent talks failed in January 2011 after Iran refused to suspend its uranium enrichment work, as demanded by the United Nations in several resolutions.

Russia warns against strike on Iran

Russia’s foreign minister has strongly warned against a military attack on Iran, saying that a pre-emptive strike would violate international law. Sergei Lavrov said Monday on a visit to Armenia that an attack on Iran would destabilize the region

The Daily Star,

3 April, 2012

Israel and the U.S. have warned that all options remain open, including military action, to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Iran declared Monday it will not be swayed from its nuclear “path” by sanctions, a week before talks with world powers that are increasingly seen as a last chance for diplomacy in its showdown with the West.

“The sanctions may have caused us small problems but we will continue our path,” Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi vowed in an interview with the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

“We do not underestimate any enemy, no matter how tiny and lowly they are. The regime’s officials – the supreme leader, the president, the army, the [Revolutionary] Guard and Basij [volunteer paramilitary force] – are completely vigilant. And the nation is prepared to defend the achievements of Islamic Iran,” he said.

The defiant words came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday that the talks between Iran and the world powers would take place April 13 and 14 in Istanbul.

She and U.S. President Barack Obama have both publicly said that the window for diplomacy in the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program is closing.

“Our policy is one of prevention, not containment,” Clinton said in Saudi Arabia after talks with her Gulf Arab counterparts. “It is up to Iran to engage in the talks “with an effort to obtain concrete results,” Clinton said.

However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency Monday the date and place for talks have not yet been set.

Israel – the sole, if undeclared, nuclear weapons state in the Middle East – and the United States have threatened military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities if diplomacy and sanctions fail to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions.

The U.N. Security Council has imposed four sets of sanctions on Iran because of suspicions over its nuclear program, which the United States and its allies believe includes a drive to develop atomic weapons capability.

The West has imposed its own unilateral economic sanctions on Iran.

But Iran’s Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told the Mehr news agency Monday that the West’s efforts to curb Iranian oil exports “have been a failure.”

“We have seen off what they describe as ‘rigorous sanctions’ against the oil industry,” he said.

Iran denies any military dimension to its nuclear activities.

Its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called nuclear weapons a “sin.” But he has also refused to bow to sanctions, and warned Iran would retaliate in kind if attacked.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in an interview with the Fars news agency that Iran considered the talk of war to be a “psychological” gambit “to affect the Iranian nation, to lower the support of the people for the system.”

But, he said, “our readiness [to ward off any threat] is at its peak. We take any threat, even those with a low probability of happening, seriously.

“If any practical action, either surgical or long-lasting, is taken, we will respond decisively.”

The talks between Iran and the P5+1 group – the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany – are seen as an opportunity to defuse the tense situation.

European Union officials in Brussels said that, despite Clinton’s affirmation, Istanbul had not yet been fully confirmed as the venue.

“The talks are scheduled to start late on the 13th and will be held primarily on the 14th,” one EU diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. They will “very likely” take place in Istanbul, but all parties had not yet reached complete agreement, the diplomat said.

A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the P5+1 in the negotiations, said only: “We will announce it [the venue] formally once we have full agreement.”

The last round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group was held in Istanbul in January 2011 and ended in failure. Geneva hosted the round before that in late 2010.

The United States is poised to bolster unilateral sanctions that are already making it harder for Iran to sell its vital oil exports. Countries that do not reduce Iranian oil imports risk being targeted by U.S. sanctions.

But Salehi stressed to IRNA: “The West thinks that Iran is like many other countries who will yield under America’s pressure. But they are mistaken.”

He said Iran had resisted Western pressure ever since it became an Islamic Republic following its 1979 revolution. And he said the United States would be forced to retreat from its positions if Iranian “national unity” was strengthened.

BRICS nations warn of any attack on Iran

Concerned over the situation developing around Iran's nuclear issue, India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa on Thursday warned any military action could result in "disastrous consequences" and pushed for dialogue and diplomatic efforts to resolve the problem.

Asian Tribune

30 March, 2012

At a Summit meeting in Delhi, the five-nation grouping BRICS also expressed worries over the situation in Syria and called for an immediate end to all violence and violations of human rights while seeking solutions only through Syrian-led inclusive political process.

"We are concerned about the situation that is emerging around Iran's nuclear issue," said a Joint Declaration issued after the meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and South African President Jacob Zuma in Delhi. "The situation concerning Iran cannot be allowed to escalate into a conflict, the disastrous consequences of which will be in no one's interest," it said.

The leaders said they "recognize" Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy consistent with its international obligations. They supported resolution of the issues involved through political and diplomatic means and dialogue between the parties concerned, including between the IAEA and Iran and in accordance with the provisions of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

"Iran has a crucial role to play for the peaceful development and prosperity of a region of high political and economic relevance and we look to it to play its part as a responsible member of the global community," they said.

The leaders of BRICS countries also discussed the situation in Syria and expressed deep concern over it. "Global interests would best be served by dealing with the crisis through peaceful means that encourage broad national dialogues that reflect the legitimate aspirations of all sections of Syrian society and respect Syrian independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty," the Declaration said. "Our objective is to facilitate a Syrian-led inclusive political process and we welcome the joint efforts of the United Nations and the Arab League to this end," it said.

The grouping asked the Syrian government and all sections of Syrian society to "demonstrate the political will to initiate such a process, which alone can create a new environment for peace." The Russian President underlined that there should be no foreign intervention in Syrian affairs and the perception that the issue could be addressed militarily only is "doomed to fail". Rousseff also opposed any unilateral military action against Syria.

The BRICS countries were divided over a West-sponsored resolution on Syria at the UN recently, with India voting in favour of it and Russia and China against. In the Declaration today, the BRICS countries supported the efforts being made by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in bringing about a political resolution of the crisis.

The BRICS leaders said the "period of transformation" taking place in the Middle East and North Africa should not be used as a pretext to delay resolution of lasting conflicts like Arab-Israel problem, but rather it should serve as an incentive to settle them. "Resolution of this and other long-standing regional issues would generally improve the situation in the Middle East and North Africa," they said.

They asked Palestinians and Israelis to take "constructive measures, rebuild mutual trust and create the right conditions for restarting negotiations, while avoiding unilateral steps, in particular settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Seeking to reinforce their growing economic heft with diplomatic clout, the BRICS grouping Thursday pitched for a bigger say in global governance institutions, including the UN and the IMF, and told the West that dialogue was the only way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue and the Syria crisis. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which comprise nearly half the world's population and a growing share of global GDP, signed two pacts to spur trade in their local currencies. They also agreed to set up a working group for a joint development bank to promote mutual investment in infrastructure.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Presidents Hu Jintao (China), Dmitry Medvedev (Russia), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil) and Jacob Zuma (South Africa) ended the fourth BRICS Summiy by renewing the pitch for reforming global governance institutions and closer coordination on global issues. The five leaders stressed on the restructuring of the world order to accommodate emerging economies and developing countries and for promoting sustained and balanced global economic growth.

"While some progress has been made in international financial institutions, there is lack of movement on the political side. BRICS should speak with one voice on important issues such as the reform of the UN security Council," said Manmohan Singh, the summit host.

"We are committed to stepping up exchanges with other countries on global economic governance reforms and increasing representation of developing countries," said Hu.

The BRICS include Russia and China, two veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, and three aspiring members for a permanent seat - India, Brazil and South Africa. The BRICS leaders also pitched for greater voting rights for developing countries in the IMF and voiced disappointment with the West over the slow pace of the quota reforms.

In a fresh assertion, BRICS asked the West to implement the 2010 governance and quota reform before the 2012 IMF/World Bank annual meeting, as well as the comprehensive review of the quota formula to better reflect economic weights. They asked for enhancing and representation of emerging market and developing countries by January 2013, followed by the completion of the next general quota review by January 2014.

In a signature step, the BRICS decided to create their first institution in the form of a BRICS-led South South Development Bank that will mobilise "resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries", the BRICS' Delhi Declaration said.