Armada of British naval power massing in the Gulf as Israel prepares an Iran strike

An armada of US and British naval power is massing in the Persian Gulf in the belief that Israel is considering a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s covert nuclear weapons programme.

Battleships, aircraft carriers, minesweepers and submarines from 25 nations are converging on the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in an unprecedented show of force as Israel and Iran move towards the brink of war.

Western leaders are convinced that Iran will retaliate to any attack by attempting to mine or blockade the shipping lane through which passes around 18 million barrels of oil every day, approximately 35 per cent of the world’s petroleum traded by sea.

A blockade would have a catastrophic effect on the fragile economies of Britain, Europe the United States and Japan, all of which rely heavily on oil and gas supplies from the Gulf.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most congested international waterways. It is only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point and is bordered by the Iranian coast to the north and the United Arab Emirates to the south.

In preparation for any pre-emptive or retaliatory action by Iran, warships from more than 25 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will today begin an annual 12-day exercise.

The war games are the largest ever undertaken in the region.

They will practise tactics in how to breach an Iranian blockade of the strait and the force will also undertake counter-mining drills.

The multi-national naval force in the Gulf includes three US Nimitz class carrier groups, each of which has more aircraft than the entire complement of the Iranian air force.

The carriers are supported by at least 12 battleships, including ballistic missile cruisers, frigates, destroyers and assault ships carrying thousand of US Marines and special forces.

The British component consists of four British minesweepers and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Cardigan Bay, a logistics vessel. HMS Diamond, a brand-new £1billion Type 45 destroyer, one of the most powerful ships in the British fleet, will also be operating in the region.

In addition, commanders will also simulate destroying Iranian combat jets, ships and coastal missile batteries.

In the event of war, the main threat to the multi-national force will come from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps navy, which is expected to adopt an “access-denial” strategy in the wake of an attack, by directly targeting US warships, attacking merchant shipping and mining vital maritime chokepoints in the Persian Gulf.

Defence sources say that although Iran’s capability may not be technologically sophisticated, it could deliver a series of lethal blows against British and US ships using mini-subs, fast attack boats, mines and shore-based anti-ship missile batteries.

Next month, Iran will stage massive military manoeuvres of its own, to show that it is prepared to defend its nuclear installations against the threat of aerial bombardment.

The exercise is being showcased as the biggest air defence war game in the Islamic Republic’s history, and will be its most visible response yet to the prospect of an Israeli military strike.

Using surface-to-air missiles, unmanned drones and state-of-the-art radar, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and air force will combine to test the defences of 3,600 sensitive locations throughout the country, including oil refineries and uranium enrichment facilities.

Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya air defence base, told a conference this month that the manoeuvres would “identify vulnerabilities, try out new tactics and practise old ones”.

At the same time as the Western manoeuvres in the Gulf, the British Response Task Forces Group — which includes the carrier HMS Illustrious, equipped with Apache attack helicopters, along with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle - will be conducting a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean. The task force could easily be diverted to the Gulf region via the Suez Canal within a week of being ordered to do so.

The main naval exercise comes as President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, today to discuss the Iranian crisis.

Many within the Obama administration believe that Israel will launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities before the US presidential elections, an act which would signal the failure of one of Washington’s key foreign policy objectives.

Both Downing Street and Washington hope that the show of force will demonstrate to Iran that Nato and the West will not allow President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader, to develop a nuclear armoury or close Hormuz.

Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, reportedly met the Israeli prime minister and Ehud Barak, his defence secretary, two weeks ago in an attempt to avert military action against Iran.

But just last week Mr Netanyahu signalled that time for a negotiated settlement was running out when he said: “The world tells Israel 'Wait, there’s still time.’ And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?’

“Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

The crisis hinges on Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme, which Israel believes is designed to build an atomic weapon. Tehran has long argued that the programme is for civil use only and says it has no plans to an build a nuclear bomb, but that claim has been disputed by the West, with even the head of MI6 stating that the Islamic Republic is on course to develop atomic weapons by 2014.

The Strait of Hormuz has long been disputed territory, with the Iranians claiming control of the region and the entire Persian Gulf.

Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps recently boasted that “any plots of enemies” would be foiled and a heavy price exacted, adding: “We determine the rules of military conflict in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”

But Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, warned that Iranian attempts to exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz could be met with force.

He said: “The Iranians need to understand that the United States and the international community are going to hold them directly responsible for any disruption of shipping in that region — by Iran or, for that matter, by its surrogates.”

Mr Panetta said that the United States was “fully prepared for all contingencies” and added: “We’ve invested in capabilities to ensure that the Iranian attempt to close down shipping in the Gulf is something that we are going to be able to defeat if they make that decision.”

That announcement was supported by Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, who added: “We are determined to work as part of the international community effort to ensure freedom of passage in the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.”

One defence source told The Sunday Telegraph last night: “If it came to war, there would be carnage. The Iranian casualties would be huge but they would be able to inflict severe blows against the US and British.

“The Iranian Republican Guard are well versed in asymmetrical warfare and would use swarm attacks to sink or seriously damage ships. This is a conflict nobody wants, but the rhetoric from Israel is unrelenting.”

Oh Gosh ! Iran says may retaliate for Canada's "hostile" cut in ties

The Mad Mullah's Republic of Iran accused Canada today of "hostile behavior" under Israeli and British influence after Ottawa cut diplomatic relations, and it raised the prospect of swift retaliation.

Canada said on Friday that it was closing its embassy in Tehran and gave Iranian diplomats five days to leave the country, branding the Islamic Terrorist Republic as the "most significant threat to global peace and security".

Ottawa cited Iran's disputed nuclear work, which Western states see as a disguised effort to develop atomic bombs, its hostility toward Israel and alleged military aid to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is battling a popular uprising.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Terrorist spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the Canadian move was a "continuation of anti-Iranian policies" by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, which has long had poor relations with Tehran.

"The current government of Canada under the leadership of Mr Stephen Harper is known for extreme policies in the domain of foreign policy," Mehr news agency quoted Mehmanparast as saying."The hostile behaviour of the current racist government in Canada in reality follows the policies dictated by the Zionists (Israel) and the British."

The Jewish state is Iran's arch-enemy, while Britain expelled Iranian diplomats late last year after radical Iranian protesters sacked its embassy in Tehran.Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who heads Iran's influential parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said there could be an "immediate and decisive" response to Canada's action, Fars news agency reported."It is essential that the foreign ministry respond to this action by Canada on the basis of national interests."

Canadian diplomats already gone

Canada's 10 diplomats in Iran have already left Tehran, the Canadian foreign ministry said on Friday.

Western states led by the United States believe Iran is covertly trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, though Iran states its uranium enrichment work is wholly peaceful, aimed at generating electricity and medical isotopes.

Mehmanparast said the Canadian move was an attempt to nullify Iran's diplomatic success in hosting a summit of Non-Aligned Movement developing countries last month, which he said Canada had tried to scuttle.He said Canada's anti-Iranian policies included a ban on money transfers for Iranian students studying in Canada and the blocking of the bank accounts of ordinary Iranians as a result of Western sanctions imposed on Iran's banking sector.

There is a large Iranian diaspora in Canada, with more than 120,000 people reporting Iranian ethnic origins.Ottawa's bilateral relations with Tehran deteriorated markedly in 2003, when Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died in Tehran's Evin prison while in custody.

The closure of Ottawa's Tehran mission is the most significant row between Iran and another country since the ransacking of the UK embassy, which British officials said could not have happened without some level of government consent.

The United States has not had a functioning embassy in Tehran since the 1979-81 hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held for 444 days.

U.S To Build Missile Defense Radar Station In Qatar To Counter Iranian Missiles

The U.S. is setting up missile radar battery in the Middle East to counter the threat posed by Iran as it continues testing long range ballistic missiles.

Earlier this month, Iran tested a surface-to-surface missile which successfully hit their targets. The so-called Shahab-3 missile is capable of reaching Israel and southern Europe. The missiles are also capable of hitting U.S. bases in the region.

In an effort to protect U.S interests and allies against Iranian rockets, the Pentagon has chosen a secret site in Qatar to build a missile-defense radar station and is organizing its biggest-ever minesweeping exercises in the Persian Gulf.

The new radar base will house a powerful AN/TPY-2 radar, also known as X-Band radar, and supplement two similar arrays already in place in Israel's Negev Desert and in central Turkey. In turn, the radar installations are being linked to missile-interceptor batteries throughout the region and to U.S. ships with high-altitude interceptor rockets.

Forming an arc, the three radar sites together can detect missile launches from northern, western and southern Iran enabling U.S. officials and allied militaries to track missiles launched from deep inside Iran.

U.S officials believe Iran could have a ballistic missile as early as 2015 that could threaten the U.S. Qatar was chosen to host the new radar site because it is home to the largest U.S. military air base with more than 8,000 troops stationed there.

According to the Pentagon, it will cost $12.2 million to construct a pad for the radar, roads, barracks and security measures at the Qatar site.

The move comes after months of futile negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program although Tehran disputes claims of building nuclear weapons.

Although the U.S officials say the radar site and upcoming naval exercises are defensive in nature, the move could be reflected as provocative to Iran.

According to reports, the U.S. moves are intended to address the two Iranian offensive capabilities Pentagon planners most worry about: Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles and its threat to shut down the oil-shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz by mining them.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced on Monday that it is sending an aircraft carrier to the Middle East several months early to ensure two carriers are present in the region at all times.

British spy agents ‘foil’ Iran’s bid to obtain nuclear weapons

British spies have foiled Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, says the MI6’s head, while also warning that Tehran will succeed in its nuclear goal within two years

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejat visits a nuclear facility in this file photo. If Iran acquires nuclear status, Israel and the US will ‘face huge dangers,’ says UK’s intel head.. Hürriyet photo

Britain’s foreign intelligence chief believes covert operations by his agents prevented Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but that the Islamic state will become armed within two years, the Daily Telegraph reported on July 13.

In a rare public speech, MI6 boss John Sawers told a meeting of around 100 senior civil servants in London that British agents had foiled Iran’s attempts to produce a nuclear weapon as long as four years ago, according to the Telegraph.

“You’d have Iran as a nuclear weapons state in 2008 rather than still being two years away in 2012,” the report quoted Sawers as saying last week. When Iran does finally acquire nuclear status, the intelligence chief warned that Israel and the United States “would face huge dangers,” said the report.

“The Iranians are determinedly going down a path to master all aspects of nuclear weapons; all the technologies they need,” Sawers said. “I think it will be very tough for any prime minister of Israel or president of the United States to accept a nuclear-armed Iran.”

Iran has previously accused Israel and the U.S. of trying to disrupt its nuclear program through covert operations by Mossad, MI6 and the CIA. Several Iranian nuclear scientists have been apparently assassinated in recent years, while a powerful computer virus known as Stuxnet attacked the computer systems of their nuclear facilities. Britain and America have denied the allegations, but Israel has remained silent on the issue.

The U.S. unleashed a fresh wave of sanctions against Iran on July 12, ratcheting up pressure to convince Tehran to take seriously concerns about its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The actions impose additional sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation networks and identify Iranian “front” companies and banks to assist in compliance, the Treasury Department said. “The Treasury and State Department actions target more than 50 entities tied to Iran’s procurement, petroleum, and shipping networks,” the Treasury said.

More accuracy for Iran’s missiles

Iran has been subject to severe international economic sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, which Western powers believe masks an atomic weapons drive despite repeated denials by Tehran.

In the meantime, Iran has continued to show off its military power in recent war games, which, it said, are proof of its improved missile technology.

The war games this month showcased missiles with improved accuracy and firing capabilities, Iranian media reports said on July 13. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards conducted the exercise in the central desert, firing ballistic missiles including a long-range variety meant to deter an Israeli or U.S. attack. The targets were models of foreign military bases, and the stated goal was to show that Iran’s missiles can hit Western bases and Israel.

Several Iranian news websites reported that 90 percent of the missiles hit their targets and that this demonstrated their increased accuracy. Another achievement, the reports said, was Iran’s capability of firing multiple missiles within seconds. This would challenge the U.S. or Israel’s ability to intercept incoming missiles should a war break out, the reports said.

Kenya police: Iranians shipped 100kg of explosives

Iranian nationals charged with preparing to commit acts intended to cause grievous harm to western targets.

Two Iranians accused of planning attacks on Western targets in Kenya shipped more than 100 kilograms of powerful explosive into this East African country, and most of it has not been recovered, a police officer told a court on Tuesday.

Iranian nationals Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi are charged with preparing to commit acts intended to cause grievous harm after they were arrested last month and led officials to a 15-kilogram stash of the explosive RDX.

Police Sgt. Erick Opagal of Kenya's Anti-Terrorism Police Unit asked the court to deny the two suspects bail because more than 85 kilograms of the explosive authorities say was shipped into Kenya has not been found.

"The police have information that the [suspects] have a vast network in the country meant to execute explosive attacks against government installations, public gatherings and foreign establishments," Opagal said in an affidavit.

Granting bail would allow the suspects to continue planning attacks, he told the court.

Global terror

Officials say the two suspects may have been planning attacks on Israeli, U.S., British or Saudi Arabian interests in Kenya. Security officials believe the two are members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, an elite and secretive unit that acts against foreign interests.

Iranian agents are suspected in several successful or thwarted attacks, especially against Israeli interests, around the globe over the last year.

Several resorts on Kenya's coast are Israeli-owned, as is Nairobi's largest and newest shopping mall. Militants bombed an Israeli-owned luxury hotel near the coastal city of Mombasa in 2002, killing 13 people, and tried to shoot down an Israeli airliner. An Al-Qaida operative was linked to those attacks.

On June 12 the two Iranian suspects arrived in Kenya and traveled to Mombasa, Opagal's affidavit said, adding that they returned to Nairobi on June 16 after receiving the explosive from an accomplice who is still at large. Opagal said that after their arrest on June 19 in Nairobi they led officers to some of the explosives hidden at a Mombasa golf course.

One of the Iranian's lawyers, David Kirimi, said on Tuesday that the prosecution was "blowing the matter out of proportion." He said his clients were sickly men, one with a liver condition and the other a heart ailment, and their detention was further damaging their health.

Kirimi said they were civil servants in Iran who were in Kenya on tourist visas.

Magistrate Paul Biwott said he would rule on the bail application on Monday.

Five Iranian scientists with links to Tehran's nuclear program have been killed in the last two years, according to Iran by Israel as well as U.S. and British intelligence agencies. In return, Israel blames Iran for alleged reprisal missions on Israeli property and personnel overseas.

In search of peace: Annan arrives in Iran from Damascus

UN peace envoy Kofi Annan is in Iran after finishing a round of talks with Syrian authorities in Damascus. The trip reinforces Annan's belief that Tehran is one of the key players in finding a solution to the conflict in Syria.

­Annan described his talks in Damascus as constructive, saying the sides agreed to move ahead with implementing a peace plan proposed by the envoy.

"We agreed to an approach which I will share with the opposition," he told reporters.

During his visit, Annan met with both Syrian President Bashar Assad as well as the country’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

Damascus reiterated their commitment to Annan`s peace plan.

"In both meetings we reassured Annan of Syria's commitment to implement the six-point plan and hope the other side is mutually committed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the UN and Arab League special envoy has arrived in Iran, Syria's main ally in the region.

On Saturday Annan said that Iran should be involved in the resolution of the crisis, because it is an “actor” in the situation whose participation is necessary.

Speaking to Le Monde, the envoy stressed the role of Moscow and Teheran in dealing with the conflict in Syria, saying that there is "no alternative" to Russia’s participation in a diplomatic solution and that Iran also “cannot be ignored.”

While Annan was holding talks with Syrian authorities in Damascus, Moscow has conducted a round of negotiations with the Syrian opposition.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with a Syrian delegation led by Michel Kilo on Monday.

The opposition delegation stated that the question of removing President Bashar Assad from power is secondary, while their primary goal is the transition from violence to democracy.

Following the talks, Lavrov pointed out to the importance of the Syrian opposition having a unified platform. The foundation of this platform should be an inclusive dialogue between the authorities and the opposition, the Minister said.

­Moscow has also invited another prominent opposition group, the Syrian National Council (SNC), to come to Russia for talks.

The delegation is expected to visit after July 10, the Foreign Ministry said, though no exact dates were announced.

The SNC has repeatedly said that it sees a solution for Syrian crisis only in the ouster of President Assad.

The majority of Western countries consider the group to be the only “official" opposition. In April, Friends of Syria recognized the SNC as the "legitimate representative" of all Syrians.