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Ahmadinejad Says Expects US to Attack MidEast Soon
TEHRAN - Iran expects the United States to launch a military strike on "at least two countries" in the Middle East in the next three months, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told state-run Press TV.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad listens to a question during a news conference in Tehran June 28, 2010. Ahmadinejad said Iran had "very precise information that the Americans have hatched a plot" to launch a military strike on at least two Middle Eastern countries. (REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi) In an interview recorded on Monday, Ahmadinejad did not specify whether he thought Iran itself would be attacked nor did he say what intelligence led him to expect such a move.
The United States and Israel have refused to rule out military action against Iran's nuclear program which they fear could lead to it making a bomb, something Iran denies.
"They have decided to attack at least two countries in the region in the next three months," Ahmadinejad said in excerpts broadcast on the rolling news channel on Tuesday.
Israel, which refuses to confirm or deny the existence of its own nuclear arsenal, has a history of pre-emptive strikes against suspected nuclear targets. In 1981 it destroyed Iraq's only nuclear reactor and in 2007 bombed a suspect site in Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran "the ultimate terrorist threat." His deputy, Moshe Yaalon, has said Israel had improved military capability which could be used against foes in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria or Iran.
Ahmadinejad said Iran had "very precise information that the Americans have hatched a plot, according to which they to wage a psychological war against Iran."
He also criticized the U.S.-led drive for international sanctions to pressure Tehran over the nuclear issue.
The European Union agreed a new round of economic sanctions on Monday, including a block on oil and gas investment, following a similar move by Washington and a fourth round of U.N. sanctions.
"The logic that they can persuade us to negotiate through sanctions is just a failure," Ahmadinejad said.
Editing by Jon Hemming
- Posted in
99 Comments so far
Show AllOn the honesty scale I'd say Ahmadinejad has more weight than our Congress and Obama combined (though let's not forget that is still not that much), so who knows what this world might look like in a few months time. I'm compelled to cynically ask that rhetorical question: can it get any worse than it already is?
yes it can get much worse. Read Counterpunch today, Paul Craig Roberts. He speculates on what the year 2017 might be like, 7 years from now. Let's hope his imagination was carried away on this one.
The failure of oil extraction in the Gulf of Mexico, guarantees that the U.S. will seize Iran's oil fields. Of course the U.S. will hide behind some fabricated moral reason.
I don't see the U.S. attacking Iran, not directly. They might through their master, Israel, and give some type of support. But the U.S. simply doesn't have the military resources to launch a full-out massive attack against Iran, which is a much tougher nut to crack than piddly Iraq or Afghanistan (both of which we still can't "win"), both countries which we are still illegally occupying and spending trillions every year in doing so.
We can't afford a 3rd/4th war (depending if you include Pakistan or not), and we don't have the resources for a really serious conflict with Iran; at least not without pulling everything out of the other 2/3 countries we are currently illegally occupying.
But hell, who knows. Look how crazy the U.S. and its "leaders" are. Nothing they do - or don't do - surprises me any longer.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross."
Sinclair Lewis, "It Cant Happen Here", 1935
"I don't see the U.S. attacking Iran, not directly. They might through their master, Israel....."
This may be what Clif High has labeled, "Israel's big mistake". His website, Half Past Human, has a forecast for this.
Let's hope the U.S. & Israel prove Ahmadinejad a liar by not attacking.
>>>> " Iran expects ..."
Pretty hard to shoehorn that into lying.
For some reason, a duplicate got printed.
The comment was made "tongue-in-cheek" meaning that it would be utmostly desirable for there not to be an attack.
What we don't realize is that the notion of a secret weapons program is itself false. It turns out that not only did Bush fail to find WMD in Iraq, but the reason was that when the U.N. went in and searched, Iraq was unable to hide any weapons from them. They were all destroyed.
So the notion that Iran is secretly hiding a weapons program is not only false, it is implausible.
Sure - "our" side has the BEST false flag experts in history.
As I posted on another comment thread, Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station is scheduled to go online at the end of August or begining of September, http://en.rian.ru/world/20100727/159968322.html
This timing also coincides with the anticipated announcement by Special Tribunal for Lebanon of those who ought to be arrested for the assassination of Hariri. This item examines why the STL's evidence is probably no good and how the Israelis intend to use it, http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri07232010.html
Any attack by Israel on Lebanon and/or Iran would need to be okayed by the US Empire, thus making it the real attaker through its Israeli proxy, which is how I interpret Ahmadinejad's remarks. I expect any attack on Bushehr to be followed by an attack on Dimona, either of which would likley have terrible consequences. The War Criminals running the US and Israeli governments have shown they care nothing for the peoples they kill or damage they cause, nor do they even care about their citizenry. What makes this whole scenario plausible is the seeming lack of concern by the Zionist military for the consequences of its acts in contrast to the US military.
In addition to the above noted events transpiring in early September is another:
"After extensive exchanges with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there is reportedly a considerable narrowing of differences between the parties on this issue. By early to mid-September we may witness the finalization of an IAEA-proposed deal for a fuel swap." http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LG28Ak01.html
The above item also details the EU's folly regarding its new round of Iranian sanctions.
thanks for that link to asiatimes....................
looks like they are cutting off their nose to spite their face..................
there's no fool like an old fool..................
Right Martin V ... President Ahmanadinejad, please forgive Americans and know that we are not united against you and your country.
Ahmadinejad is a very intelligent man. A worthy opponent, if you will. In other words, someone to keep a close watch on and work, through diplomacy to reach some mutual satisfaction to the problems between us. (Of which there probably wouldn't be any problems if America would just mind their own business.) Our media, of course, has worked very hard to convince the population that Ahmadinejad is an insane killer and regardless of the fact that none of them know anything about him, nor are interested in finding out, they believe it and repeat it, ad nauseum.
And so, the stage is set to take out a mad man..... We've seen this picture before and we didn't like it.
I guess the fact that he's a Holocaust denier and has said he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth doesn't bother you huh?
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/27/israel.iran)
Or how the Iranian leaders treat their own people?
This is meant to be a comment on Ahmadinejad alone, not U.S. policy.
1) Who gives a rat's ass if he is a holocaust denier? That does not give the U.S. the right to bomb Iran. Or any other country.
2) If the Iranian people don't like how their leaders treat them, then they can overthrow them. It is not our concern.
3) Iran has NEVER - in their entire nation's history - launched an attack against any other country. EVER.
4) Iran is in perfect compliance with the NPT, of which they are a signatory (and of which Israel is NOT), which states they have the right to develop nuclear power for energy purposes. The IAEA has verified, again and again, that Iran is developing nuclear technology purely for energy purposes, and not for weapon-development. But who gives a shit, right? Let's bomb 'em and demonize 'em anyway!
You - and all other right-wing fruitloops like you - need to quit with the ridiculous U.S. Exceptionalism that you are filled with, and that you feel gives the U.S. the right to act as the world's policeman/bully. There are many other countries that despise the U.S. and its leaders (and no, not "because they hate our freedoms"), but if they attacked us they would be launching an illegal act of aggression by doing so, and Americans would be heroes for fighting back tooth and nail against the attackers.
YET - - - perfectly o.k. for the almighty U.S.A. to attack any and all nations it feels like it, for any reason under the sun, in violation of every known law under the sun.
Fucking hypocrites like you are the reason the U.S. is the world's biggest pariah, terrorist nation on earth.
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross."
Sinclair Lewis, "It Cant Happen Here", 1935
Hear, hear!!!
3) Iran has NEVER - in their entire nation's history - launched an attack against any other country. EVER.
Perhaps you skipped the Iraq/Iran war section in you're history book, and if you think they don't have agents in Iraq and Afghanistan you're naive.
I'm not saying we should attack Iran, if I was them I'd be supporting the "insurgency" in both Iraq/Afghan, and I'd also be willing to bet they do in fact have intentions on developing a nuclear weapon (I mean seriously, nuclear energy isn't viable and only exists due to massive government subsidies), and likewise if I was them I'd be doing the same thing.
In any case, I highly doubt we will invade Iran, they have the ability to completely shut down the straight of hormuz, which would skyrocket oil prices and completely shut down the US economy (and many others).
This, like 99% of the news out their is just to distract you from REAL problems, because the human attention span is so short, its easy to keep the masses pre-occupied with stupid crap. If only denial wasn't such a good defense mechanism.
That war started when IraQ invaded IraN. Iraq invaded Iran partly at the urging of the usa, partly because of the lure of quick money and more territory.
Nice try.
Nice catch. I was gonna call bullcrap on this as well.
I didn't say they invaded any other country, I said they have ATTACKED another country.
Would you have endorsed the position that after the Japanese Empire launched a war against the usa in December 1941 you should not have attacked them?
LOL
Heaven help us if we were attacked by every country where we have "agents" involved in clandestine goings on...
I'm not saying we should attack Iran. But mislabeling the truth doesn't get anyone anywhere.
Nothing was mislabeled.
I give a rat's ass if he's a holocaust denier. The United States may not have to right to invade his country, but that doesn't mean that he's a likeable guy, or that he doesn't have bad intentions. It's the job of the UN to keep him under wraps then, not that of the United States.
It's the job of the UN to keep Israel under wraps, yet seems unable to do it.
Iran poses no threat to anyone (except the Zionist aggressors).
Where exactly in my comment did I say he was perfect? Where did I say I have no problems with his policies or opinions? You would do well not to put words into other people's mouths. His opinions on any world event has no bearing whatsoever on the discussion at hand.
What I said was in essence, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
If he "treats his own people" poorly, does that automatically give the US the right to invade the country and bomb the people to hell? Is our mistreatment of Iranian people superior to his mistreatment. If we kill them it's an act of virtue? Are you completely blind to America's policy in the Middle East and what it does to the people of those lands? Are you really so prepared for another Iraq?
It is impossible to answer your question on Ahmadinejad alone, without any reference to US policy. If it weren't for US policy, you would have never heard of the man, nor would you care.
Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust doesn't bother me any more than Israel's denial of its own plan to exterminate the Palestinians.
Israel's treatment of those same Palestinians leaves you no standing to criticize Iran.
q
Tramaker, That is a lie!
He doesn't deny the Holocaust. He simply asks "What does the European killing of Jews have to do with Iran and Palestine".
I have heard him say this many times even on Larry King... He never said it didn't happen and the fact that he asks what this has to do with what is happening now with Israel's war crimes is proof he is not a denier.
He may even be born a Jew, look it up. He likes Jews who are not hawkish Zionists like some of the peaceful Orthodox groups and Jews who want peace.... look it up.
You think, bomb them and risk a nuclear War because you think he mistreats his people.
What is war if it is not treating people with constant horror.
Folks - I specifically said my comment had nothing to do with U.S. policy so how do you infer that I'm in favor of bombing Iran. I was commenting only on the poster who praised Ahmadinejad. Surely one can find better role models, sheesh.
The funny thing is that your comments proved blythespirit's post as correct. Especially the last part when he stated... "Our media, of course, has worked very hard to convince the population that Ahmadinejad is an insane killer and regardless of the fact that none of them know anything about him, nor are interested in finding out, they believe it and repeat it, ad nauseum."
And, as blythespirit reply to you already pointed out... you commenting that he 'praises' or thinks Ahmadinejad is a 'role model' is more about you putting those words into his/her mouth.
And, many (not all) of the people who responded to your post have simply called you out as spreading false information. Is there something wrong with that? I mean, Sheesh.
And, just to clarify (so you don't try to put words in my mouth): I don't like Ahmadinejad, or the Iranian theocracy. I just think that spreading false information (whether knowingly or unknowingly) is the wrong thing to do, and trying to set things straight by correcting and spreading accurate information is the right thing to do.
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If you are interested in learning why Farsi language experts believe that Ahmadinejad never said that he wanted to wipe Israel off the map then I suggest you read this...
http://www.juancole.com/2007/06/
ahmadinejad-i-am-not-anti-semitic.html
And, even if these Farsi language experts are wrong, it wouldn't matter because Ahmadinejad's 'finger is not any button of power' in Iran. The Presidential position in Iran is NOT the same thing as an American President. Again, if you are interested in learning more about Iran and the political landscape then I suggest you read or watch this piece on Democracy Now with Scott Ritter.
Here is a excerpt:
"And, of course, man, he—it’s a field day for the American media, for the Western media, because you get all the little sound bites out there, Ahmadinejad, Ahmadinejad, president of Iran. But what people don’t understand is, while he can vocalize, his finger is not on any button of power. If you read the Iranian constitution, you’ll see that the president of Iran is almost a figurehead.
The true power in Iran rests with the Supreme Leader. The Supreme Leader is the Ayatollah Khamenei. He is supported by an organization called the Guardian Council. Then there’s another group called the Expediency Council. These are the people that control the military, the police, the nuclear program, all the instruments of power. And not only has the Supreme Leader issued a fatwa that says that nuclear weapons are not compatible with Islamic law, with the Shia belief system that he is responsible, in 2003 he actually reached out to the Bush administration via the Swiss embassy and said, "Look, we would like to normalize relations with the United States. We’d like to initiate a process that leads to a peace treaty between Israel and Iran." Get this, Israel and Iran. He’s not saying, "We want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth." He is saying, "We want peace with Israel." And they were willing to put their nuclear program on the table."
Calling someone very intelligent and a "worthy opponent" is not praise?
I'm well aware that he has no "power" in the sense of commanding the military, though he is certainly a contributor to many human rights violations and atrocities:
http://www.hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/iran14703.htm
Sure. He is a dick. But the point of my comment was to show that you were spreading false information. Agreed?
The 'wipe israel off the map' claim is a mistranslation of what he did say. Which was 'that the zionist regime will vanish from the pages of history'. But don't take my word for it, look up the original source and translate it yourself (if you can read/speak the Iranian language that is...)
I don't really care if someone 'denies' the holocaust happened. That kind of thing makes the speaker look just as foolish as the ones who claim the Earth is flat, or that the sun goes round the earth, or that the earth is only 6,000 years old.
Are you arguing that if a nation's leader questions historical events we should kill tens of thousands of people in that person's nation? If you are, you're quite the barbarian.
"I guess the fact that he's a Holocaust denier and has said he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth doesn't bother you huh?"
Pretty much on a par with "bomb them back to the Stone Age", if you recall that quote.
A Holocaust denier? Israel and many Israeli Jews never talk about the Gypsy Holocaust, do they? Or the fact that Hitler was a eugenicist, out to slaughter and sterilize millions of people, NOT just Jews and GYPSIES!
It's worse than that.
You never hear Zionists criticizing Turkey's denial of their holocaust against the Armenians
because Turkey has been a loose ally of Israel.
What hypocrisy!
Of course, Israel shits all over Turkey, but Israel shits all over everybody, including its allies. Remember the Liberty!
lol blythespirit, Ahmadinejad is not very intelligent at all. He's also a nasty piece of work.
I don't know what he means by "intelligent", but Ahmadinejad is definitely not dull - considering that he has a degree in civil engineering and a Ph.D. in transportation planning.
Are you the zionist shill one of the early readers referenced? Perhaps you should give references or examples to why you claim Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is such a monster? When was the last time Iran attacked another country? If you read his speeches to the U.N. He is clearly an intelligent person.
Apologies, just read your other comments below. You appear not to to be the Zionist shill, simply very uneducated when it comes to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Otherwise please back up your facts about him and then, I'm calling you out here, tell us who you voted for this past presidential election, o wise one?
At least Ahmadinejad is his real name. Bibi Netanyahu's real name is Milikowsky! He's a Lithuanian who has no ancestral lineage to the middle east. His father found a ring and adopted the name Netanyahu to make it appear he had historic ties to Palestine. But nothing could be further from the truth. Israel is a phoney country set up on a bribe after WWI. It's a money laundering operation for the Rothschild banking cartel. England had ho more authority to promise Palestine to the Zionists than the US has to give Ireland to Japan.
Palestine is an occupied nation - just as Iraq and Afghanistan are. And what Israel has done to the Palestinian people is right on par with any and all brutal dictatorships of history. Israel is a nasty piece of work!
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2006/05/10/the-shrinking-map-of-palestine/
Land theft is not a virtue - it's a vice.
http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/GazaHolo/index.html
Israel is the biggest violator of UN resolutions on the PLANET.
Zionism: because white supremacy has an even uglier sister.
This is precisely the problem American's have with other world leaders. They assume that because they may be operating by a different philosophy they automatically must be "stupid." We'd do well to realize that America doesn't have a monopoly on intelligence. Just by assuming such a thing, we show a serious lack of intelligence ourselves. Your comment shines a light on the predjudice inherent in this country, (especially as it pertains to the Middle East and its people), and we do so at our peril. You might actually want to take a minute and think about your reply before you hit "submit."
One recent survey showed that 81% of the US people believe that Iran is building a nuclear bomb. This shows how effective the Israeli propaganda machine is. The biggest problem for the US is that Obama and Hillary have been willing parrots for the Israelis along with members of Congress like Joe Leiberman. Their propaganda was so good that after the Israelis were fought to a stand still by the Hezbollah of Lebanon in 2006, many people in the US still thought the Israelis had won. They did terrible damage to the infrastructure of Lebanon with the bunker busters that had been supplied by the US but didn't make much headway on the ground.
There have been rumors of war and saber rattling by the Israelis and also the US against Iran for several years. Dick Cheney tried to precipitate a war against Iran at least twice and the Israelis were turned down by Bush in the summer of 2008 when they asked for support to attack Iran. My gut feeling is that the Israelis will tease the Iranians to test their tactics and hope to neutralize their defenses when a real attack comes. The Russians have stated that there has never been any evidence that the Iranians were attempting to develop nukes and also warned against any unilateral sanctions against Iran. The WH and Congress at the behest of the Zionists have done just that and also egged other countries into more sanctions. The Russians do have the ability to play hardball and they just might deliver the
S-300 anti aircraft missile systems to Iran as a message to both Israel and the US.
I think we need to CLARIFY SOMETHING. Mr. Ahmadinejad NEVER....did you hear that? NEVER NEVER NEVER said Israel should be "wiped off the map. This is pure israeli propaganda BS. Those words were NEVER spoken by Ahmadinejad - they WERE spoken by the Zionist propaganda machine ONLY.
What Mr Ahmadinejad DID say is: the Zionist Regime that governs Israel today should DISAPPEAR FROM THE PAGE OF HISTORY.
That is the CORRECT translation.
And I happen to agree with Mr. Ahmadinejad.
Zionism: Because White Supremacy has an even uglier sister.
You speak the Truth.
With Zionism controlling all four branches of the government, (if you include the MSM-main stream media) they try to control American perception through their propaganda and that will continue. As with the 9-11 story they only need a meager percentage to buy the lie to move their agenda.
yes, since it IS the us government. Nothing to do with any religion.
Unless you include Richard Hagee as a man of the cloth.
All smoke and mirrors. Israel is a black site, not a 'nation'.
peace.