Anyone stockpiling nuclear weapons is mentally retarded' – Ahmadinejad

During a meeting in Indonesia, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejiad said that the era of nuclear deterrence “is over,” and nations that stockpile nuclear weapons are “mentally retarded.”

­He also reiterated his long-running stance that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons, nor does it seek to build one, as the nation does not need atomic weapons to defend itself.

"The period and era of using nuclear weapons is over. … Nuclear bombs are not anymore helpful and those who are stockpiling nuclear weapons, politically they are backward, and they are mentally retarded," Ahmadinejad said during a democracy forum in Bali, Indonesia.

The Iranian president added that any government or agency was free to inspect Iran’s nuclear sites. That statement contradicts Tehran’s recent policy of preventing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observers from accessing some of its nuclear sites.

The US and its allies have long accused ing its nuclear facilities as a cover for developing atomic weapons, a claim which Tehran has repeatedly denied.

The subject has been an ongoing source of tension between Iran and countries that remain skeptical of its nuclear ambitions – the US and Israel being the most vocal critics.

Israel has hinted at taking military action against Iran’s program for some time. Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the country and its allies will have to make a decision on military action against Iran in “eight to ten months.”

In September, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, warned that Tehran would strike US bases in the region if Israel attacked Iran.

“We will enter a confrontation with both parties and will definitely be at war with American bases should a war break out," he told Al-Alam TV.

The US has publicly maintained its preference for a diplomatic solution to the tensions, and has imposed multiple rounds of economic sanctions against Iran in the hopes of forcing Tehran to end its nuclear program.

Idiotic Iranians burn American flags, chant 'death to US' to mark embassy seizure

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Anal Iranian demonstrators hold anti-US and Israel slogans, a cartoon of US President Barack Obama and a portrait of supreme terrorist leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  outside the former US embassy in Tehran on November 2, 2012, during a rally to mark the 33rd anniversary of seizure of the US embassy which saw Islamist students hold 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days.

Thousands of Iranians have gathered in Tehran, setting US flags on fire and chanting “Death to America.” The demonstration marks the 33rd anniversary of the taking of the US embassy, in which 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days.

The demonstrators also shouted anti-British and anti-Israeli slogans, and burnt Israeli flags in front of the former embassy building.

The premises are now controlled by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, and currently serve as a training and educational facility. The building, which is covered in anti-US murals, was named a “den of spies” by the authorities that sponsor the annual commemoration.

Remembering history

On November 4, 1979, Islamist students calling themselves “Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line” invaded the grounds of the US embassy and seized its staff.  Fifty-two US diplomats were held hostage for 444 days.

After failed negotiation attempts, US President Jimmy Carter ordered a rescue mission, which tragically ended in the deaths of eight American servicemen and one Iranian civilian.

The hostages were finally released to the US after the signing of the Algiers Accords which, among other provisions, included a vow that Washington would not interfere politically or militarily in Iranian internal affairs.

The motives for the hostage-taking date back to 1977, when Carter angered Iranians by giving a televised toast to the country’s then-leader, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, declaring how beloved he was by his people. The move angered Iranians who did not support the shah.

Two years later, after the revolution and removal of the shah in 1979, Carter once again angered Iranian citizens by allowing the shah to go to the US for medical treatment.

This intensified Iran’s anti-American sentiment and sparked rumors of the reinstatement of Pahlavi and another US-backed coup. The first coup occurred in 1953, when British and US spy agencies helped Iranian royalists depose of the government of the country’s prime minister and restore Pahlavi back to power.

Some political analysts believe the hostage crisis was a prominent reason Carter lost the election in 1980.

Israel ‘postpones’ nuclear Iran red line by ‘8 to 10 months’

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Defence Minister Ehud Barak 

Iran’s decision to produce fuel rods from a third of its medium-enriched uranium stockpile delayed its alleged nuclear weapon program, says the Israeli defense minister. But Tel Aviv continues to advocate a military solution to halting it.

­The Iranian move, which clearly clashes with its alleged goal of obtaining a nuclear bomb as soon as possible, is just a temporary set-back in Israel’s eyes and apparently does not change its aggressive rhetoric.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak estimates that Israel and its allies will have to take decision over a military solution of the stand-off in “eight to ten months”, because sanctions and diplomacy will fail to curb Iran’s nuclear ambition, Britain's Daily Telegraph cites the minister as saying.

Tehran denies having any intention of weaponizing its nuclear program, but refuses to stop uranium enrichment, which it says is needed for civilian purposes. The US, the EU and their allies have slapped Iran with crippling economic sanctions to force it to shut down its centrifuges, but so far the Islamic Republic remains defiant.

In August, Iran converted some 38 per cent of its uranium enriched to 20 per cent into fuel rods for its civilian research reactor. Barak says the move somewhat postponed the critical moment after which Israel would evaluate that Iran has enough uranium to produce a nuclear weapon.

The hawkish Israeli minister says the decision probably came in response to the “public discourse about a possible Israeli or American operation” against Iran, as a “diplomatic gambit” to win some time and to appease the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“Maybe it’s a combination of all these three elements. I cannot tell you for sure,” he told SW.

Barak insists that the move is just a temporary distraction and that Iran still wants to create a nuclear weapon.

“They think of themselves as a major regional power from the dawn of history and they are determined not to fall into the trap that, in their mind, in their judgment, the late Gaddafi fell into,” he explained.

Israel is determined to prevent this from happening and will make a final decision on an attack before Iran has fortified its enrichment facilities enough to make Israel incapable to significantly damage it using its own forces only.

Barak said; “Basically, it’s about the question of when they come into this zone of immunity, where no Israeli surgical attack, probably somewhat later not even an American surgical attack, can delay them significantly. That’s the issue that bothers us.”

‘Arabs will be glad about strike on Iran’

Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that an attack on Iran would defuse tensions in the Middle East rather then send them skyrocketing.

"Five minutes after, contrary to what the skeptics say, I think a feeling of relief would spread across the region," he told the French magazine Paris Match.

"Iran is not popular in the Arab world, far from it, and some governments in the region, as well as their citizens, have understood that a nuclear-armed Iran would be dangerous for them, not just for Israel," he added.

The reasoning seems counterintuitive, since Iran pledged to retaliate en force to any military operation against it, targeting both Israeli and American forces deployed in the region. This is likely to trigger a major regional war, military experts warn.

Both Netanyahu and Barak have voiced a number of veiled threats against Iran over its nuclear program over the past year. The Israeli PM spoke at the UN General Assembly last month, claiming that Tehran is on the brink of creating a nuclear device.

Intelligence communities in Israel and the US are more skeptical, saying the Iran has long abandoned any attempts at producing an atomic bomb. Experts say if Tehran chose to change its course on the issue, it would take years before it would have both the weapon and the means to deliver it.

The US and other Western countries refused to side with Netanyahu and set a time limit for Iran to halt uranium enrichment. While not ruling out a military solution, they say the prefer sanctions and diplomacy to take root.

Rail wars? Russia ponders new railroad-based missile systems

Plans are underway to create combat railway-based missile systems designed to give Russia a more flexible means of defense.

­The system consists of a train with two or three diesel locomotives and specialized railcars, which look like refrigerator or passenger railcars, but carry intercontinental ballistic missiles, together with command posts, Col. Vadim Koval, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman for the Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN)the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters.

Although the last railway-based missile unit was decommissioned almost a decade ago, the system is getting a second look as a means of protecting Russia’s vast landmass as global threats become more diversified.

"A final decision, however, has not been taken on the issue," Koval added.

The idea of using railroads to move around missiles is not new. Koval noted that the first unit of railway-based missile systems was put on combat duty in Kostroma in October 1987, and removed from service in 2005.

However, with the nature of warfare changing and the global situation increasingly volatile and unpredictable, military leaders argue it may be a good time to give some versatility to Russia’s missile defenses.

Meanwhile, Russia is looking for ways to counter the US missile defense system, which is being deployed in Eastern Europe. Despite Moscow’s warning that the technology has the potential to spark a new arms race, US and NATO officials remain adamant and refuse to cooperate with Russia. Washington has even rejected Moscow’s request to provide it with legal assurances that the system will never be activated against Russian territory.

Railway-based missile systems are designed for use along special military patrol routes, as well as railway lines used by the public.

Formerly, three missile divisions – near Kostroma, Krasnoyarsk and Perm – were deployed. Employing 12 trains, the system transported 36 missiles, each with 10 nuclear warheads.

Russian military experts say that with technological advances made in missile technology, the use of railroad-based systems could be an effective means of protecting Russia.

US missile defense: ‘global, mobile and threatening’ - Russia

NATO’s missile defense system presents a threat to Russia’s national security and may trigger the militarization of Europe, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told a NATO Parliamentary Assembly delegation on Thursday.

"This missile defense concept is global and mobile, and it creates unpredictability,” Rogozin said at a meeting with NATO officials at the Federation Council. “That is the real Figaro; Figaro here and Figaro there."

Rogozin said Moscow is “awaiting explanations from NATO and Washington concerning the real purpose [of the system],” he stressed.

The Deputy Prime Minister remarked on the military defense components “that are being deployed around Norway, the bases in Romania,” which are aimed at intercepting “strategic rockets according to speed, range and altitude characteristics."

Rogozin then mentioned the US naval group – the core of European missile defense – which “may be deployed in European ports rather far from the Russian territory (such as a base in Spain).”

However, "the same fleet will invariably appear in our northern seas under particular circumstances."

"The radius of use of these weapons makes them a real threat to us,” Rogozin noted. “The strategic potential of Russia is a guarantee of its sovereignty and independence."

The US missile defense system, first shelved then repackaged under the Obama administration, has been a thorn in the side of the Russia-US reset. Indeed, Russia has warned that the issue has all the potential to escalate into another arms race.

If new threats to Russia's strategic potential appear, Russia will simply have to consider the threatening prospect of a militarized Europe.

Rogozin implored the NATO delegation not to push Russia into a position where it will be forced to respond.

"We request you don’t do that,” he stressed. “The Russian response has a…political and diplomatic nature at the moment, but you will not like the technical response we may have to pursue under certain circumstances."

Although the Vice Premier said Russia has no reason to fear for the security of its western borders, he acknowledged there are threats that both Russia and the European Union share alike.

"We see new threats arising in Russia and European countries and…these threats are practically identical to both you and us," Rogozin told the NATO delegation. "Russia is no an exporter of such threats to NATO states, and we can hardly reproach NATO for the presence of such threats."

Russia regards the European Union as its unconditional strategic partner and Moscow is not interested in any conflicts or controversies disrupting the bilateral partnership, he stressed.

“The 21st century should…represent the revival of Russia's full-scale presence in Europe's common political affairs, which would be of much benefit both for Russia and Europe,” he declared.

EU bans import of Iranian gas to European countries – German FM

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the EU is banning the import of Iranian natural gas into union nations. The announcement came as EU governments agreed to one of the toughest sets of sanctions yet on Iran's nuclear program.

The sanctions also include a ban on financial transactions between European and Iranian banks, with some exceptions for those involving humanitarian aid, food, and medicine purchases.

The decision was made during Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

“The [EU] Council has agreed additional restrictive measures in the financial, trade, energy and transport sectors, as well as additional designations, notably of entities active in the oil and gas industry," a written statement issued by the European Union council said.

Further export restrictions were imposed on industrial software, graphite, and the metals which the EU believes could be used to develop ballistic missiles. The new restrictions also prohibit eurozone companies from providing shipbuilding technology and classification services to Iranian tankers and cargo vessels.

The sanctions aim to pressure Iran to cooperate in talks regarding its nuclear program. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the new sanctions were a “sign of our resolve in the European Union that we will step up the pressure.”

Also on Monday, leading European satellite provider Eutelsat SA took 19 Iranian television and radio broadcasters off the air, in a move to abide by earlier EU sanctions. The decision prompted accusations of censorship and threats of lawsuits from Iranian state television.

“We terminated the contracts because it was the order of the European Commission. We have to follow it,” Karen Badalov, area manager of Eutelsat SA, told Press TV.

This is the second round of EU sanctions imposed on Iran in the past few months.

In July, the European Union banned the import of Iranian crude oil, as well as financial services relating to the sale, purchase and transport of Iranian oil.

The sanctions marked a major policy change for the EU, which was traditionally a major importer of Iranian oil.

The decision followed a set of sanctions issued by the US last June, when Washington banned the world's banks from making oil-related transactions with Iranian financial institutions. Previous US sanctions have banned almost all trade with Iran, with certain exceptions for activity ‘intended to benefit the Iranian people.’

Several other countries – including Switzerland, Japan, Australia and Canada – have also imposed sanctions on Iran in recent years, in response to what they describe as Tehran’s lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA).

The US and its allies have long accused Iran of using its nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic weapons, though Tehran frequently vows its program is solely for civilian purposes.

Ahmadinejad cameraman hands nuclear tapes to CIA, Israel's Debka reports

The Iranian cameraman assigned to document President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent trip to the UN has defected, and new reports claim that with his exit he has handed the US a trove of never-before-seen footage of his homeland’s nuclear facilities.

Hassan Golkhanban, a journalist for the Iranian News Network, was among the 140-people that accompanied President Ahmadinejad to the United Nations headquarters in New York last week. Unlike the rest of the Iran head’s entourage, however, the videographer vanished before returning home and has since asked the US State Department to grant him political asylum.

Now Israel’s Debka news agency reports that with his application for asylum, Golkhanban has made good with America’s request for information on a rumored nuclear warhead program being ramped up overseas.

According to Debka, the trusted member of President Ahmadinejad’s crew took with him to the States two suitcases full of “the most complete and updated footage” that US intelligence has ever been offered of Iran’s top secret military facilities and other related structures, something the site claims to include “exclusive interior shots of the Natanz nuclear complex, the Fordo underground enrichment plant, the Parchin military complex and the small Amir-Abad research reactor in Tehran.”

On their part, Iran has not yet commented on either Golkhanban’s defection or the rumored footage reported to have since been delivered to American authorities, but his lawyer confirms that the cameraman has indeed cut ties with Ahmadinejad.

“He was being threatened because of what he thought would happen when he went back,” New York-based attorney Paul O’Dwyer tells Jewish News One in a sit-down interview this week.

“There were demands made on him by the presidential detail while he was here,” O’Dwyer says, “to do things that he did not want to do, and he was obviously very, very concerned about what the repercussions to him would be when he went back to Iran for disobeying those orders.”

Commenting on his client to CNN, O’Dwyer adds of Golkhanban, “He’s perceived as not being a supporter, or being an opponent of the Iranian regime… somebody who has betrayed the regime and who can no longer be trusted by them.”

The United States has been eager to get to the bottom of Iran’s nuclear program, a project that Ahmadinejad attests is for peaceful purposes. If Debka’s report checks out, however, US intelligence may finally be able to hold Iran accountable for proved attempts towards procuring a nuke.

According to the source, “Some of the film depicts Revolutionary Guards and military industry chiefs explaining in detail to the president or supreme leader the working of secret equipment on view.”

During his own recent address before the UN General Assembly, US President Barack Obama called a nuclear-armed Iran “not a challenge that can be contained” that has the potential to “threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy.”

“That is why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable. And that is why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” President Obama told his audience.