Showing posts with label Persian Gulf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Persian Gulf. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 July 2019

ANOTHER incident involving submarines?



Was there an THIRD 

submarine incident?



Yesterday there were reports of a fire aboard either a Russian nuclear submarine or submersible that I am learning that some non-official military sources are putting down to an electrical short-circuit.






Then both DEBKA FILES (an Israeli intelligence site that is thought to be connected to Mossad) published claims that have not been withdrawn of a second incident close to Alaska.


https://www.debka.com/mivzak/urgent-consultations-in-washington-moscow-on-reported-us-russian-submarines-in-firefight/

Now, the folks at TruNews have picked up a CNN tweet (that was later quietly removed without any clarification) reporting that the US navy struck a Russian nuclear submarine in the Arabian Gulf, mistaking it for an Iranian submarine.


One might say that this was just "fact-checking".

I would say that the order came from "on high" to kill the story.

I shall post the discussion from the TruNews folks in due course.

Sunday, 16 June 2019

An important article from Iran

This came in, via Facebook from Pepe Escobar

THE IRAN-JAPAN NEXUS

This is VERY IMPORTANT. Read and draw your own conclusions.


It was written by Nader Talebzadeh - one of Iran's foremost intellectuals. I treasure his friendship. Extremely knowledgeable, serious - and incorruptible. I've been on his TV show in Iran a few times - and we have discussed very serious geopolitical issues, face to face, no holds barred.

I tried to link directly to the published piece - edited by Kevin Barrett. Facebook blocked it. Here is the most relevant part of the column. Read it carefully - and pay attention to the facts.

____________

"It is an interesting anecdote that I haven’t seen anyone notice. On September 23, 1987 the New York Times announced how an Iranian ship was caught red handed laying mines in the western waters of the Persian Gulf. It was attacked, three Iranian sailors were killed and over twenty captured. Iran denied wrongdoing since it was in war with Saddam and asked what Americans were doing there in the first place? But the juicy dramatic point was: why was the American attack helicopter, which according to the US Navy had been tracking the Iranian boat for quite a long time, attacking at exactly the same time as Ayatollah Khamenei was about to make a speech at the UN general assembly? This was at the peak of the war with Saddam that the US fully supported. The Iranian president was going to speak on why the Americans were so adamant in supporting such a cannibal.

The speech at the UN was completely overshadowed. Ayatollah Khamenei was not heard. The story of Iran’s grand crime of protecting its waters against foreign invasion totally eclipsed the UN speech. “Caught Red Handed” was the headline of every media in the US. The synchronization of the attack and the speech is the point here.

This scenario repeated itself again two days ago when the Japanese President came to visit the Iranian Leader. As the talks were going on two Iranian oil carrying ships were mysteriously attacked and the world media focused on just that. None of the details of the meeting were elaborated upon. A cover up had camouflaged the real story which was the Leader’s response to Trump.

Similar episodes of censorship against him have repeatedly occurred in other instances which I will skip for now. But the point is clear."


This is the article

Historic Iran-Japan meeting eclipsed by orchestrated provocation

This isn't the first time Iran's Supreme Leader has been censored by an "incident" in the Gulf
Since 1979 Iran has been led by men of high intellectual and spiritual caliber...men whose word actually means something. Can the same be said of the US?
14 June, 2019
What is the purpose of recent attacks on oil tankers and installations around the Persian Gulf? The obvious answer: They are false flags by the Axis of Aggression (Israel-Saudis-Pompeo/Bolton) designed to ramp up tension in service to neocon war plans against Iran. But sometimes provocations also serve another purpose: stealing the headlines and changing the conversation. Below is an intriguing analysis by one of Iran’s most influential intellectuals, Nader Talebzadeh.
SINCE 1979 IRAN HAS BEEN LED BY MEN OF HIGH INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL CALIBER…MEN WHOSE WORD ACTUALLY MEANS SOMETHING. CAN THE SAME BE SAID OF THE US?
Details of a Meeting: Censorship in History
By Nader Talebzadeh
The meeting between the Leader of the Islamic Republic and the prime minister of Japan on June 13, 2019 was doubly significant. First it broke the traditional censorship on what the Leader has been saying for over three decades. The prime minister obviously was carrying a message from the US president and it had to be heard by the Leader. Here the voice and the answer were much different than what the Iranian president or foreign minister would say and much more dynamic. It would also come as a wakeup call to the US president who would normally remain uninformed about the undercurrents of almost everything, domestic or foreign related. Second, the message itself, that President Trump could not be trusted, period.
The written letter was not received but an oral presentation was submitted by the prime minister. The message was briefly put. Why should the Iranians trust a man who had defied an already clear agreement that was laboriously reached after five years? The sequence was carefully recorded and edited, yet most world journalists did not see it. This was due to the long standing tradition of censoring whatever he says, going back to thirty two years ago when he was President and appeared at the UN General Assembly.
(September 23, 1987, Page 00001, The New York Times Archives)
It is an interesting anecdote that I haven’t seen anyone notice. On September 23, 1987 the New York Times announced how an Iranian ship was caught red handed laying mines in the western waters of the Persian Gulf. It was attacked, three Iranian sailors were killed and over twenty captured. Iran denied wrongdoing since it was in war with Saddam and asked what Americans were doing there in the first place? But the juicy dramatic point was: why was the American attack helicopter, which according to the US Navy had been tracking the Iranian boat for quite a long time, attacking at exactly the same time as Ayatollah Khamenei was about to make a speech at the UN general assembly? This was at the peak of the war with Saddam that the US fully supported. The Iranian president was going to speak on why the Americans were so adamant in supporting such a cannibal.
The speech at the UN was completely overshadowed. Ayatollah Khamenei was not heard. The story of Iran’s grand crime of protecting its waters against foreign invasion totally eclipsed the UN speech. “Caught Red Handed” was the headline of every media in the US. The synchronization of the attack and the speech is the point here.
This scenario repeated itself again two days ago when the Japanese President came to visit the Iranian Leader. As the talks were going on two Iranian oil carrying ships were mysteriously attacked and the world media focused on just that. None of the details of the meeting were elaborated upon. A cover up had camouflaged the real story which was the Leader’s response to Trump.
Similar episodes of censorship against him have repeatedly occurred in other instances which I will skip for now. But the point is clear.
Columbia University-trained filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh is Iran’s pre-eminent television talk show host. He isn’t really comparable with anything or anyone on American television. But you might say that his work is serious and sophisticated like Bill Moyers, yet reaches a bigger audience (proportional to the population) than Johnny Carson in his heyday. The fact that Nader’s show is watched by many millions speaks well of Iran’s level of education and culture. 
I have gotten to know Nader during my four trips to Iran, including the one last week for the Palestine Conference, and have appeared on his show many times. (Unlike Bill Moyers, Nader is unafraid of such controversial issues as 9/11 truth, false flags, political assassinations, and other matters pertaining to the Deep State.) Nader has lived extensively both in the US and Iran, and understands both societies, and their overlapping histories, well. If any US president were to ever decide to atone for past crimes and heal the American-Iranian relationship, the first person to consult would be Nader Talebzadeh.    Kevin BarrettVeterans Today Editor
Other material

New Horizon chair Nader Talebzadeh discusses neocon war on Iran…and America



22 February, 2019

Listen HERE


Guest: Nader Talebzadeh, Iran’s biggest TV talk show host, chair of New Horizon NGO.

Neocon-Zionist Mnuchin’s Treasury Department recently sanctioned Iranian NGO New Horizon, vaguely alleging that its conferences—which bring together independent thinkers from around the world—are fronts for Iranian spying. The sole basis for this absurd claim is the Justice Department’s indictment of Monica Witt, a former Air Force officer who allegedly defected to Iran and spilled secrets to Iranian intelligence. There’s only one problem: Monica Witt has absolutely no connection to the New Horizon NGO! As New Horizon Chair Nader Talebzadeh explains in this interview, Witt showed up uninvited at the February 2013 Hollywoodism Conference. The organizers did not even know who she was. She apparently presented herself as one of the many Americans who reside in Iran, and was allowed to join the conference as a courtesy. The organizers barely remember her and never saw her again.

New Horizon invites authors, journalists, activists, and notable independent thinkers from around the world to its conferences, which are held about once a year, usually in Tehran. Last May’s conference “Al Quds: Eternal Capital of Palestine,” held in Mashhad, gave rise to an important 9/11 truth initiative. Is Mnuchin sanctioning New Horizon to punish it for supporting 9/11 truth? Or is he lashing out at Nader Talebzadeh for his media work that helped stop Iran from acceding to FATF  — a Zionist international banking tool that designates Iran’s own armed forces as “terrorists”?


Another False Flag to Start a War with Iran?


1) Pompeo Says Intelligence Points to Iran in Tanker Attack in Gulf of Oman
2) Two Oil Tankers Attacked in the Middle East, Stoking Fears of Conflict https://time.com/5606379/oil-tanker-attack/
3) MIDDLE EAST Iran calls tanker explosions ‘suspicious’ as global concern grows https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/06/iran-calls-tanker-explosions-suspicious-global-concern-grows-190613150655075.html
4) Iran says it rescued 44 sailors after 2 tankers were ‘reportedly attacked’ in Gulf of Oman https://www.rt.com/news/461745-oil-tanker-torpedo-uae/
War on Free Speech and Democracy
5) Hundreds of thousands attend protest in Hong Kong over extradition bill https://www.vox.com/world/2019/6/9/18658650/hong-kong-protest-march-china-extradition-bill-2019
6) Pompeo tells Jewish leaders he will ‘push back’ against Britain’s Corbyn and anti-Semitism https://www.jta.org/2019/06/10/united-states/pompeo-tells-jewish-leaders-he-will-push-back-against-britains-corbyn-and-anti-semitism
8) Pompeo declares war (again). This time on Her Majesty’s Opposition https://www.rt.com/op-ed/461608-pompeo-war-uk-corbyn/
9) Drug case against Russian journalist Golunov dropped, he will be freed from house arrest https://www.rt.com/russia/461600-drug-case-against-russian-journalist-dropped/
10) NYT devotes top of front page to propagandizing for YouTube censorship https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html
11) Florida’s Governor just signed a bill that will censor criticism of Israel throughout the state’s public schools https://mondoweiss.net/2019/06/floridas-criticism-throughout/
12) Lula Framed? — Leaked Chats Between Brazilian Judge and Prosecutor Who Imprisoned Lula Reveal Prohibited Collaboration and Doubts Over Evidence https://theintercept.com/2019/06/09/brazil-lula-operation-car-wash-sergio-moro/
War on Palestine
14) US Ambassador Quietly Delivers West Bank to Israel in NY Times https://www.mintpressnews.com/friedman-west-bank/259159/
War on Syria
16) Russia vs Israel: The War That Could Become a Nuclear Disaster https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia-vs-israel-war-could-become-nuclear-disaster-61892
Israel First
17) How NeoCon Billionaire Paul Singer Is Driving the Outsourcing of US Tech Jobs to Israel https://www.mintpressnews.com/
War on the Poor
18) Los Angeles homeless population hits 36,000 in dramatic rise https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/04/los-angeles-homeless-population-city-county
Anniversaries
19) New Evidence Proves Israel Attacked USS Liberty With Orders to Kill 294 Americans https://www.globalresearch.ca/new-evidence-proves-israel-attacked-uss-liberty-with-orders-to-kill-294-americans/5413807
20) 52nd Anniversary of Israel’s Attack on the USS Liberty https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2019/06/08/52nd-anniversary-of-israels-attack-on-the-uss-liberty/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=52nd+Anniversary+of+Israel+s+Attack+on+the+USS+Liberty&utm_campaign=52nd+Anniversary+of+Israel+s+Attack+on+the+USS+Liberty
Odds and Ends
22) Martin’s long-awaited “Assassination of Forrestal”: Definitive work on first SecDef’s 1949 murder https://earharttruth.wordpress.com/2019/06/07/martins-long-awaited-assassination-of-forrestal-definitive-work-on-first-secdefs-1949-murder/
23) Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Claims George Soros Is ‘Remaking’ America https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/fox-news-tucker-carlson-claims-george-soros-is-remaking-america-1.7362111
24) Ilhan Omar to join new black-Jewish congressional caucus https://nypost.com/2019/06/07/ilhan-omar-to-join-new-black-jewish-congressional-caucus/
27) Duty to Warn: A Historical and Psychological Evaluation of a Wannabe Dictator who was also a Sociopath, Narcissist, Egomaniac, Xenophobe and Demagogue https://www.veteransnewsreport.com/2019/06/07/psychological-evaluation-trump/

Thursday, 13 June 2019

BREAKING NEWS: Iranian Media Claims Two Oil Tankers Targeted in Gulf of Oman



Oil Tankers Reportedly 

Attacked Near Oman - 

LIVE BREAKING 


NEWS COVERAGE



Agenda Free television

Unconfirmed reports say two oil tankers have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman, while carrying oil from the Persian Gulf. Get the latest details in our LIVE BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE.

There are also unconfirmed reports that explosions were heard from the ships. The Gulf of Oman is also known as the Sea of Oman. In this interactive live stream, host Steve Lookner brings you the latest updates on the unconfirmed reports that two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman near the Persian Gulf, and he'll also read your comments and questions on the air!


Iranian Media Claims Two 

Oil Tankers Targeted in Gulf 

of Oman



14 June, 2019



Reports about the incident emerged in Middle Eastern media a month after an attack on four vessels off the Emirati coast, which UAE investigators blamed on an unspecified "state actor".


Two successive blasts affected two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday morning, Iran's state-run Press TV reports, citing Al-Alam television network.


The blasts are thought to have been caused by “attacks” on the tankers; it was not immediately clear from the report under which country or countries they were registered.


Pakistani sources were also quoted as saying that the tankers had sent distress calls.


Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations, a maritime safety group run by the Royal Navy, has warned about an unspecified incident in the Gulf of Oman between the Emirate of Fujairah and Iran's coast. The group urged "extreme caution" given the ongoing tensions in the region between the United States and Iran, and said that an investigation is underway.


It comes a month after another apparent attack on vessels in the Gulf. On 12 May, four oil tankers — two Saudi, one Emirati and one Norwegian — were targeted off the coast of Fujairah in what the UAE Foreign Ministry called "sabotage operations."



DETAILS TO FOLLOW


Press TV seems to be down on both my main browsers




I can't get on to Fars News, so we may need to rely 

on Russian media.


Here is Israeli media.



https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Incident-in-Gulf-of-Oman-explosions-affect-two-oil-tankers-report-592351

Sunday, 19 May 2019

The latest from the Persian Gulf


There are conflicting narratives, even non-narratives.

Here is one.

P.S. I consider it a real probability that the US neocons will decide to fight this war with Israel and their Sunni Arab allies despite the whole world saying NO!



Saudi-led Gulf states approve deployment of US troops in the Gulf region


18 May, 2019

Saudi-led Gulf states voted today to approve deployment of US troops in the Gulf region.  Reports coming in from Arab media in the last hour that Saudi Arabia and Gulf states have agreed to a US request to redeploy troops in Gulf waters and on land.
MORE 8:42 PM EDT -- The re-deployment request was similar in nature to the number of troops sent before Operation Desert Storm (Iraq) 1991.   At that time, the US sent 168,000 total US troops.
Today's action allegedly calls for 210,000 US troops and an undisclosed number of "allied" troops.
This is a massive move by the US and its Gulf partners.
I cannot help but notice that the leadership of Iran wear glasses.  I suggest they get a new eyeglass prescription immediately because they obviously cannot see the unimaginable military steam roller moving in their direction.
More to follow. Check back.  

Hal Turner is reporting that "there is VERY high military activity all over the Persian Gulf this morning. Elements from the US and other countries have numerous air assets active and Iran has numerous air assets active.  Iran also has intense ground activity around surface-to-air,  surface-to-ship, and surface-to-surface missile sites throughout their country. "

5:33 AM EDT -- Exxon Mobil staff are currently being evacuated from Qurna I field in Basra, Iraq.
5:52 AM EDT -- Civilian air traffic over the Persian Gulf has been warned by the US to be extremely cautious and be ready to make sudden evac.  MOST (but not all) civilian aircraft seem to be keeping a 50 mile distance from the coastline of Iran, favoring a more westerly route closer to Saudi Arabia as seen on the radar map below: 
8:05 AM EDT -- Exxon Mobil has evacuated all its foreign staff members out of Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai
Sources in the Iraqi Ministry of Oil: Production of the West Qurna field in Basra was not affected by the departure of Exxon Mobil employees
US diplomats warned Saturday that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being "misidentified" amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran it also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming “with little to no warning."
9:06 AM EDT -- Bahraini Foreign Minister warns citizens not to travel to Iraq and Iran because of the unstable situation.
Bahrain asks its citizens in Iran and Iraq to leave immediately.

UPDATE: Sky News Arabia Correspondent quotes an Iraqi source familiar with the situation: Embassies of several foreign countries may follow the step of Washington and the evacuation of non-essential staff from Iraq.

***FLASH***
Threat DANGER is reported by US INTEL as quote "off the scale." 

*** BULLETIN ***
U.S. FAA ISSUES GLOBAL WARNING OF MILITARY ACTIVITY IN PERSIAN GULF AIRSPACE
The Federal Aviation Administration had issued a warning to US commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf & Gulf of Oman, warning "heightened military activities & increased political tensions in the region present an increasing inadvertent risk to US civil aviation...“
 9:15 AM EDT -- Reports of large numbers of Iranian republican guard casualties in last nights Israeli attack in Syria.
9:23 AM EDT -- BAHRAIN FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS OF "CRITICAL AND DANGEROUS DEVELOPMENTS UNFOLDING IN THE REGION"
11:35 AM EDT -- Dozens of Iranian families, some of them officials, entered Iraq during the past two days and settled in Kadhimiya and Karbala in anticipation of a possible US strike.


12:27 PM EDT -U.S. BEGINS DEPLOYMENT OF ***GROUND TROOPS *** TO SAUDI ARABIA 

2:29 PM EDT -BAHRAIN ISSUES ANOTHER STATEMENT TALKING OF VERY GRAVE DEVELOPMENTS TODAY IN THE REGION

2:30 PM EDT -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called urgent meetings (rare on a Saturday) with key US politicians and officials. They are being referred to as crisis meetings. Further meetings hurriedly being coordinated with international allies for later today.

KUWAIT MOVING TO "FULL WAR FOOTING" AFTER BRIEFING BY US OFFICIALS

From yesterday - 
UPDATED 2:47 PM EDT   SEE BOTTOM -- This is BREAKING NEWS as of 9:03 AM eastern US time on Friday, 17 May 2019 -- The Kuwaiti national security council have just had an emergency meeting after briefing by US officials.

They are publicly saying "the hours and days ahead are perilous and that the risk of regional war is unacceptably high."

They are moving to a full war footing within Kuwait, to support the USA and allies against Iran.
The current situation in the region due to rising tensions between the US and Iran, is “perilous”, head of the Kuwaiti parliament Marzouq Al Ghanem said following a crisis meeting with government officials.
He added that the government confirmed readiness to handle emergencies “in case of the eruption of a war” in the region.
Ministers of foreign affairs, trade, electricity and information explained their contingency plans at the meeting held behind closed doors.
“According to the detailed explanation given by the ministers, it has become clear how delicate, sensitive and dangerous the stage ahead and the necessity of taking all measures for all possibilities,” Al Ghanem said.
“At the foreign front, the situation is not assuring,” he added.
In recent days, tensions have mounted in the Gulf after four vessels were sabotaged off the eastern cost of the United Arab Emirates and Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen claimed responsibility for a drone attack on vital oil installations in Saudi Arabia.
UPDATE 9:09 AM EDT --  
RISK OF REGIONAL WAR IS VERY HIGH AND VERY ALARMING - KUWAITI STATEMENT TO THE PRESS

UPDATE 9:17 AM EDT --
SITUATION IS ALARMING AND SPIRALLING OUT OF CONTROL - KUWAITI GOVERNMENT STATEMENT
UPDATE 9:22 AM EDT --
WE ARE EXPECTING WAR IN THE GULF - KUWAITI GOVERNMENT PRESS STATEMENT
UPDATE 2:47 PM EDT --
"War against Iran will lead to World War III. Any attack on Iran would mean the elimination of Israel within half an hour."  - Being broadcast on Iran media outlets now . . .
The war against Iran will pave the way for a third world war, and any attack on Iran would mean the destruction of Israel within half an hour," said Mujtaba al-Nur, head of Iran's nuclear committee.

He pointed out that the United States can start the war, but the end will not be in her hand, pointing out that the US military targets in the waters of the Gulf will remain only a "hill of ash," noting that "before the dust settles, any attack on Iran, Iranian missiles will "hit the heart of Tel Aviv."





US AIRLINERS TO FALL OVER IRAN!! DONALD TRUMP PREPARES CONGRESS FOR WAR!!