Iran threatens '80,000 rockets at Tel Aviv and Haifa' over distorted Ya'alon comment -
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-threatens-80000-rockets-at-Tel-Aviv-and-Haifa-over-distorted-Yaalon-comment-403750 Iranian officials have been thrown into a fit over distorted comments attributed to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon that have swept across the internet and include popular anti-Israel sites.
A report by Iran's Fars news agency on Wednesday claimed that the defense minister supposedly said "We are going to hurt Lebanese civilians to include kids of the family. We went through a very long deep discussion ... we did it then, we did it in [the] Gaza Strip, we are going to do it in any round of hostilities in the future," while speaking at an unnamed "conference in Jerusalem."
The quote was most likely based on Ya'alon's comments from the May 5 Shurat Hadin conference. He was recounting targeting decisions in which he was involved when it first became apparent that Hezbollah was purposely placing weapons in civilian homes in Lebanon. He said that "If we don't intercept the rocket-launchers in advance, civilians will be hurt, if not killed. If we hit the launchers, it will hurt or kill Lebanese civilians." He said a "long, deep discussion" regarding the "moral and legal considerations" took place before the final decision to strike the rocket launcher.
Another quote attributed to Ya'alon, for which a basis could not be found, claimed that Israel would act "as the Americans did in 'Nagasaki and Hiroshima, causing at the end the fatalities of 200,000.'"
In response, Iranian Major General Rahim Safavi threatened Israel with violence, saying that "the Zionists and the US are aware of the power of Iran and Hezbollah, and they know that over 80,000 (Iranian) missiles are ready to rain down on Tel Aviv and Haifa."
"We have displayed part of our military capabilities while we have kept many of our achievements and capabilities hidden to outsiders," a comment which comes just a month after P5+1 countries agreed to a framework deal with Iran. "Our response will be crushing not just to the Zionist regime, but to any other aggressor who intends to take action against us."
Iran's UN envoy Gholam Ali Khoshrou also mistook the exaggerated statements for real and issued a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. "Moshe Ya'alon's recent remarks and the Zionist official's implied reference to the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the Islamic Republic like what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and also his threats against the Lebanese civilians, including the women and children, shows more than ever the regime's aggressive nature."
Iranian embassy blown up in Damascus: Nusra Front suspected - http://www.debka.com/article/24613/Exclusive-Iranian-embassy-blown-up-in-Damascus-Nusra-Front-suspected
A mighty explosion struck the Iranian embassy in Damascus Wednesday night, May 20, debkafile's exclusive intelligence and counter-terrorism sources reveal. First reports are of "heavy casualties" and serious damage to the embassy compound. The Iranian and Syrian governments have clamped a curtain of secrecy down over the disaster, although the thunder of the explosion and rush of special forces and relief teams to the scene in the Syrian capital could not be concealed.
debkafile's sources add: The explosion has initially been attributed to the Syrian arm of al Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra. A day earlier, Tuesday, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was known to be present at the embassy building in Damascus. It is not known whether he was still there when the explosion occurred or had meanwhile departed for Tehran.
The Iranian embassy is a pivotal point for the Syrian conflict. As the Revolutionary Guards general staff center, it is the venue for the joint Iranian-Syrian military and logistic decisions taken in the conduct of the war. It also served as the Iranian command center for its operations in Lebanon, including military liaison with the Lebanese Hezbollah, whose forces are fighting with Bashar Assad's army in Syria. From there, Al Qods Brigades chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani issued his war directives when he was present in the Syrian capital.
The embassy building was therefore one of the most heavily fortified and guarded premises in the Syrian capital.
Its destruction by a bomb explosion came on the heels Wednesday of the fall of the ancient city of Palmyra to the Islamic State - the second devastating blow for the Assad regime and its backers in a single day. The fate of its rare heritage sites is not the only concern. With Palmyra ((Tadmor - est. pop. 120,000), the Islamic State also gained access to important military sites, including the biggest Syrian air force base.
The disaster may be compared to the ISIS conquest in January of the northern Syrian town of Raqqa, today the Islamists' headquarters in the country. Palmyra is the second major Arab city to fall to the group this week after the Iraqi town of Ramadi on Sunday.
For Iran, the loss of Palmyra is a major setback in the sense that it removes from Syrian military control the main air base where Iranian flights delivered war materiel for the Syrian army and Hezbollah day by day.
Iran will protect Palestinians, other 'oppressed' people in Middle East, Khamenei says - http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-will-protect-Palestinians-other-oppressed-people-in-Middle-East-Khamenei-says-403250
Iran will help oppressed people in the region, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, days after Gulf Arab leaders met US President Barack Obama and expressed concern about Iranian expansionism.
Khamenei also denounced Saudi Arabia for its role leading a coalition of Sunni-ruled Arab states against Yemen's Houthi rebels, comparing it to the pagans who ruled the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam in the seventh century.
His speech to a meeting of Iranian leaders and diplomats from the Muslim world, reported by the state news agency IRNA, brought the issues of political and religious legitimacy squarely into the struggle between the two regional powers.
"Yemen, Bahrain and Palestine are oppressed, and we protect oppressed people as much as we can," IRNA quoted him as saying.
"Those people who bring suffering to Yemeni families during sacred months are even worse than the ancient pagans of Mecca," he said at the event for the holiday of Lailat al-Miraj, when Islam says the Prophet Mohammad visited heaven and met Jesus, Abraham, Moses and other prophets.
Gulf Arab leaders met with Obama on Thursday to express their concern that Iran is trying to expand its influence in the region aggressively, parallel to nuclear negotiations under way with world powers.
The US backs the Saudi-led Sunni coalition waging the military campaign against the Shi'ite Houthi rebels. Riyadh has accused Tehran of arming the Houthis.
By mentioning Bahrain, Khamenei's comments will also raise suspicions that Iran plays a role in the small island nation whose Sunni royal family is accused by rights groups of repressing dissent among the majority Shi'ite population.
Iran denies playing a role in either country, but has consistently criticized the campaign in Yemen and Saudi Arabia's influence in Bahrain, where it sent armed forces to help put down popular protests in 2011.
GULF SHIPPING
The standoff has raised concerns for shipping in the Gulf, a transit route for millions of barrels of oil per day. In the past month, Iranian forces have twice tried to seize commercial ships to settle legal disputes.
"Security in the Persian Gulf is in the interests of everyone... If it is insecure, it will be insecure for all," Khamenei said, indicating Iran's apparent willingness to cause disruption if attacked.
Tensions have also reached the Gulf of Aden, another crucial choke point for oil shipments, after Iran on Monday dispatched a cargo ship towards Yemen under military escort.
Forces from the Saudi-led coalition have imposed inspections on all vessels entering Yemeni waters, raising the potential for a standoff with the Iranian flotilla which is due to arrive in the coming days.
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