Ballot centers close, capping largest election in Iraq’s history

Ballot centers close, capping largest election in Iraq’s history

Aswat al-Iraq, “Ballot centers close, capping largest election in Iraq’s history

Voting centers closed their doors at 05:00 p.m. on Sunday, capping the largest election ever in the history of Iraq, where nearly 19 million voters from the nation’s 18 provinces picked their favorites amongst 6200 candidates to occupy the new parliament’s 325 seats.

Nearly 10,000 voting centers comprising 52,000 stations closed their doors amidst acts of violence that claimed the lives of more than 24 Iraqis and wounded 10 others who have been casting their votes since 07:00 a.m. today (March 7).

The new parliament is comprised of 325 seats: 68 from Baghdad, 31 from Ninewa, 24 Basra, 18 Thi-Qar, 17 Sulaimaniya, 16 Babel, 14 Arbil, 14 Anbar, 13 Diala and 12 seats for each of Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Najaf and 11 for Wassit and Diwaniya while Missan, Duhuk, Karbala and Missan will get 10 seats and Muthanna only 7.

Aswat al-Iraq article continues here.

Russia says won’t back “crippling” Iran sanctions

Yahoo! News (Reuters), “Russia says won’t back “crippling” Iran sanctions

Russia will not support “crippling” sanctions against Iran, including any that may be slapped on the Islamic Republic’s banking or energy sectors, a senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow last week to press the Kremlin to back tougher sanctions against Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons project.

This week, Netanyahu called for an immediate embargo on Iran’s energy sector.

Yahoo! News (Reuters) article continues here.

Iran to ‘hide nuclear plants inside mountains’

Iran to 'hide nuclear plants inside mountains'

Yahoo! News (AFP), “Iran to ‘hide nuclear plants inside mountains’
by Jay Deshmukh

Iran said on Monday it is considering plans to build two new uranium enrichment plants concealed inside mountains to avert air strikes, drawing condemnation from the United States.

The announcement from Iran’s atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi came soon after top US General David Petraeus warned that Washington would now pursue a “pressure track” against Iran to thwart its galloping nuclear programme.

“Inshallah (God willing), in the next Iranian year (starting in March) as ordered by the president we may start the construction of two new enrichment sites,” Salehi told ISNA news agency.

Yahoo! News (AFP) article continues here.

Israel unveils new drone fleet that can reach Iran

My Way News (AP), “Israel unveils new drone fleet that can reach Iran
by Tia Goldenberg

Israel’s air force on Sunday introduced a fleet of huge pilotless planes that can remain in the air for a full day and could fly as far as the Persian Gulf, putting rival Iran within its range.

The Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 86 feet (26 meters), making them the size of Boeing 737 passenger jets and the largest unmanned aircraft in Israel’s military. The planes can fly at least 20 consecutive hours and are primarily used for surveillance and carrying diverse payloads.

At the fleet’s inauguration ceremony at a sprawling air base in central Israel, the drone dwarfed an F-15 fighter jet parked beside it. The unmanned plane resembles its predecessor, the Heron, but can fly higher, reaching an altitude of more than 40,000 feet (12,000 meters), and remain in the air longer.

My Way News (AP) article continues here.

UN: Iran might be building a nuke… no sh*t!

UN: Iran might be building a nuke... no sh*t!

Fox News (AP), “U.N. Watchdog Concerned Iran Is Working on Nuclear Weapon

The U.N. nuclear agency on Thursday said it was worried Iran may currently be working on making a nuclear warhead, suggesting for the first time that Tehran had either resumed such work or never stopped at the time U.S. intelligence thought it did.

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency appeared to put the U.N. nuclear monitor on the side of Germany, France, Britain and Israel. These nations and other U.S. allies have disputed the conclusions of a U.S. intelligence assessment published three years ago that said Tehran appeared to have suspended such work in 2003.

The U.S. assessment itself may be revised and is being looked at again by American intelligence agencies. While U.S. officials continue to say the 2007 conclusion was valid at the time, they have not ruled out the possibility that Tehran resumed such work some time after that.

Fox News (AP) article continues here.

Israel’s Mossad may be behind intricate assasination of Hamas militant

The Carden Chronicles, “Wet Work in Middle East- Mossad? The Mahmoud al-Mabhouh Assassination
by Matt Carden

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It well known that Mossad has a history of participating in assassinations and using forgein passports when they do so. After the brutal murder of the Olympic team in 1972, they took out those responsible. In the 1960’s they kidnapped Nazi Adolf Eichmann from Argentina so he could be brought to trial and executed.

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the “now dead” terrorist, was an illegal smuggler of arms for Hamas. He helped found the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades- militant wings of Hamas, and was involved in the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers, Sa’adon and Sasportas, during the first Palestinian intifada in 1989. It is also believed he was involved in smuggling arms from Sudan to Gaza in 2009.

Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found dead on January 20, 2010 in his hotel room in Dubai.

The Carden Chronicles article continues here.

Cheney on Biden’s recent Iraq comments

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Khamenei: Iran anniversary ‘punch’ will stun West

Khamenei: Iran anniversary 'punch' will stun West

Breitbart (AFP), “Iran anniversary ‘punch’ will stun West: Khamenei

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a “punch” that will stun world powers during this week’s 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

“The Iranian nation, with its unity and God’s grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned,” Khamenei, who is also Iran’s commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.

The country’s top cleric was marking the occasion when Iran’s air force gave its support to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event which led to the toppling of the US-backed shah on February 11, 1979.

His comments came as Iran said it would begin to produce higher enriched uranium from Tuesday, in defiance of Western powers trying to ensure the country’s nuclear drive is peaceful.

Breitbart (AFP) article continues here.

Iran’s Supreme Leader: Annihilation of Zionist regime imminent

Iran's Supreme Leader: Annihilation of Zionist regime imminent

Fars News Agency, “Supreme Leader: Annihilation of Zionist Regime Imminent

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed that the Zionist regime is moving on a precipice towards demise and it will soon experience annihilation.

“I am very optimistic about the future of Palestine and believe that Israel is moving on the precipice of wane and demise, and God willing its annihilation is for sure,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement Ramadan Abdullah Shallah here in Tehran.

Fars News Agency article continues here.

Defiant Iran set to begin higher enrichment of uranium

Defiant Iran set to begin higher enrichment of uranium

Yahoo! News (AFP), “Defiant Iran set to begin higher enrichment of uranium

Iran will begin enriching uranium to 20 percent from Tuesday, the Islamic republic’s atomic chief announced on Sunday just hours after being told to do so by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The decision raises the stakes in a dispute with the West less than a week after Iran had appeared to accept a UN-drafted nuclear deal on the supply of fuel for a research nuclear reactor in Tehran.

Ahmadinejad’s move drew fire from Britain and the United States, and analysts said it was a bid to exert pressure on Washington and drive a wedge between the six powers over attempts to impose new sanctions on Tehran.

Yahoo! News (AFP) article continues here.

Iran’s artful appeasement

Iran's artful appeasement

Times Online, “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plays game of cat-and-mouse with West over nuclear deal
by James Bone and Catherine Philp

President Ahmadinejad demonstrated yesterday that he has become a master of playing cat and mouse with the West — and this time the mouse was real.

Once again, the Iranian leader offered a last-minute concession to head off the West’s drive for new sanctions against the Islamic republic. At the same time, Iran thumbed its nose at UN restrictions on its ballistic missiles programme by sending a rocket into space carrying a mouse, two turtles and some worms.

In an interview on state television, Mr Ahmadinejad said that Iran had no problem shipping enriched uranium abroad in a deal that Tehran had resisted for months. The surprise announcement came as the West prepared to ask Russia and China to back UN sanctions on the Iranian energy sector, central bank and Revolutionary Guards — the first UN sanctions since March 2008.

Times Online article continues here.

Obama sends ships and deploys missile shield in response to Iran

Obama sends ships and deploys missile shield in response to Iran

Guardian, “US raises stakes on Iran by sending in ships and missiles
by Chris McGreal

Tension between the US and Iran heightened dramatically today with the disclosure that Barack Obama is deploying a missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf from attack by Tehran.

The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait – and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations.

American officials said the move is aimed at deterring an attack by Iran and reassuring Gulf states fearful that Tehran might react to sanctions by striking at US allies in the region. Washington is also seeking to discourage Israel from a strike against Iran by demonstrating that the US is prepared to contain any threat.

Guardian article continues here.

Bomb detecting device found to be a fraud, possibly led to deaths

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Chemical Ali executed

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‘Unusually high’ number of no-fly listers trying to board US-bound planes

'Unusually high' number of no-fly listers trying to board US-bound planes

Mirror.co.uk, “Terror alert: Two men on ‘no-fly’ list stopped at Heathrow
by Vincent Moss

Two men were stopped boarding US-bound planes at Heathrow days before Britain’s terror threat was raised to “severe”.

News of the incidents came hours after Home Secretary Alan Johnson lifted the threat level amid fears that al-Qaeda is planning an attack.

The new level, which means an attack is reckoned “highly likely”, is second only to “critical”.

Security sources say an Egyptian was stopped last Saturday as he tried to board an American Airlines flight to Miami. A man from Saudi Arabia was banned from boarding a United Airlines flight to Chicago the next day and sent back to Saudi.

The incidents and the raised threat level follow the failed Christmas Day bombing on a plane over Detroit.

Anti-terror officials said the past week had seen an “unusually high” number of people on their no-fly list trying to board US-bound planes.

Mirror.co.uk article continues here.