Massive Naval Buildup in Persian Gulf

Western powers and several of their Middle East allies have deployed an enormous naval fleet to the Persian Gulf just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again suggested that his country may soon launch a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. The fleet includes ships from 25 nations, include three full US carrier groups, each one with a complement of more aircraft than the entire Iranian air force. Military officials cited by London's Daily Telegraph said the buildup is part of a new annual exercise, but their was no secrecy about the fact that the "enemy" in the exercise is Iran. There is great fear among Western powers that if Israel strikes Iran's defiant nuclear program, the Islamic Republic will retaliate by trying to close the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf that that sees the daily transit of 18 million barrels of oil, or roughly 35 percent of the world's traded oil. For that oil tap to be shut off would have potentially catastrophic consequences for the economies of the US, Britain, the Euro Zone and Japan, among others. There is also great concern that Israel is planning to strike Iran before the US presidential election in November in order to force President Barack Obama to militarily support the effort. Obama would likely lose a lot of votes among the pro-Israel American public if he did not help, and Jerusalem is worried that if it waits until after the election and Obama wins, he will be less inclined to provide assistance. American and European officials have conducted a flurry of meetings with Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak over the past month, ostensibly to pressure Israel against using military force at this time. Obama and other Western leaders continue to insist that there is hope for a diplomatic solution, despite recent reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggesting that the past 10 years of diplomatic efforts have only served to accelerate Iran's nuclear program. "The world tells Israel 'Wait, there’s still time.’ And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?’," Netanyahu said last week. "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." Netanyahu reiterated the urgency of the situation in a series of interviews with the American press over the weekend. Asked on NBC's Meet the Press program about the possibility of implementing a containment strategy as was done with the Soviet Union after it went nuclear, Netanyahu said the West was underestimating the fanaticism that rules Iran. "I think Iran is very different, they put their zealotry above survival... I wouldn't rely on their rationality," said the Israeli leader. "It's the same fanaticism that you see storming your embassies today. You want these fanatics to have nuclear weapons?"

One Lost Tribe of Israel Returning Home

After a five-year immigration halt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has given permission to a community of Indian citizens who believe they are one of the “lost tribes” of Israel to move to the Jewish state. “We had a major breakthrough, and thank God, the Aliya [immigration to Israel] is set to resume this summer, and we hope and pray to bring the first batch of 50 families, or about 250-300 Bnei Menashe immigrants, to Israel by the end of August,” said Michael Freund, chairman of Shavei Israel, which is behind the initiative. Shavei, based in Jerusalem, hopes to bring to the Jewish state the remaining 7,000 Indian citizens who believe they are the Bnei Menashe, the descendants of Manasseh, one of biblical patriarch Joseph’s two sons and a grandson of Jacob. Already Freund’s group helped facilitate the immigration of over 1,700 Bnei Menashe, with successive Israeli governments allowing and then halting the process. In 2007, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s administration put the kibosh on the process, which is now being reopened. Shavei plans to bring 50 Bnei Menashe families to Israel this summer with hopes of transplanting the remaining tribe members from India to Israel in the next few years. The original batches of Bnei Menashe to arrive here came as tourists in an agreement with Israel’s Interior Ministry. Once in Israel, the Bnei Menashe converted officially to Judaism and became citizens. But diplomatic wrangling halted the immigration process in 2003, with officials from some Israeli ministries refusing to grant the rest of the group still in India permission to travel here. To smooth the process, Freund at the time enlisted the help of Israel’s chief rabbinate, who flew to India in 2005 to convert members of the Bnei Menashe, a process stopped last year by India. Freund then coordinated with the Israeli government the arrival of batches of a few hundred Bnei Menashe as tourists who would later convert, but that process was halted in July 2007. Tribe members live in the two Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, to which they say they were exiled from Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire. According to Bnei Menashe oral tradition, the tribe was exiled from Israel and pushed to the east, eventually settling in the border regions of China and India, where most remain today. Most kept customs similar to Jewish tradition, including observing Shabbat, keeping the laws of Kosher, practicing circumcision on the eighth day of a baby boy’s life and observing laws of family purity. In the 1950s, several thousand Bnei Menashe say they set out on foot to Israel but were quickly halted by Indian authorities. Undeterred, many began practicing Orthodox Judaism and pledged to make it to Israel. They now attend community centers in India established by Shavei Israel to teach the Bnei Menashe Jewish tradition and modern Hebrew. Freund sees the Bnei Menashe immigration as biblical, quoting from Isaiah 43:5, which states, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.” “Those words,” Freund says, “are coming to life before our eyes.” “I think this is a very historic project,” he added. “It is the closing of an historical circle. It is the return of a lost tribe of Israel after 27 centuries of exile, and it is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.” www.e38news.com

Israel: 6 Army Battalions Called Up!

Israel today called up six Army Battalions to go to the boarder of Eqypt and Syria. Sixteen other battalions where put on standby alert to be used if needed. As this call-up is a little out the norm, we will have to wait and see just what the need is over. The call up could be a pre-caution for the up coming attack on Iran. Time will tell! www.e38news.com

Russian special Forces Arrive in Syrian

Russian special forces have arrived in the Syrian. The job of the troops has not fully come to light, yet. But, it appears that they are there to help the Syrian President stand his ground. They are also there to keep other countries from using air strikes to help the rebels in their attacks.

This is GOG starting to get involved directly in the Middle East.

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Israel Signs Deal For Sixth Dolphin Submarine

Israel signed a contract Wednesday to purchase its sixth Dolphin-class submarine for a reported $530 million. Germany will fund a third of the vessel's cost.

The new and improved Dolphin submarine is the most advanced of its kind, operating solely on regular diesel fuel, as opposed to nuclear fuel like all other military watercrafts in the world. According to foreign reports, the new Dolphin would be able to carry nuclear weapons and its various capabilities would allow for it to operate in many scenarios and missions, even on prolonged and distanced voyages.

In the months to come, Navy officials are expected to travel to Germany to get better acquainted with the fourth Dolphin submarine, which is currently being built there, and transport it to Israel within the upcoming year. The fifth submarine, also being worked on in Germany, will be transported in a similar way the following year.

Israel operates three Dolphin submarines now, one off it's coast, two in the Persian Gulf.

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Latter Day Rain

The snow blanketed famous Jerusalem landmarks like the Jaffa Gate, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount in the Old City.

Snow or rain so late in the season is known in the Bible as the latter rain. The precipitation is needed since Israelis are in the middle of a drought.

Is this a sign that the "Latter Day Rain", which refers to the Holy Spirit, is starting to begin?

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Israel Strikes Oil Off Tel Aviv Coast

Israel's Modiin Energy and Adira Energy Corp. on Tuesday confirmed the discovery of an commercially viable quantity of oil just 15 miles off the coast of Tel Aviv.

Late last year, Modiin and Adira published surveys of the 150-square-mile Gabriella field showing that the site likely contained significant quantities of both oil and natural gas.

Speaking to shareholders in Tel Aviv, Adira officials said Gabriella is expected to yield 232 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Add that to the 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered last year at other Mediterranean sites, and Israel's energy situation is starting to look much improved.

Modiin majority shareholder Tzahi Sultan told Israel's Globes business newspaper that drilling at the Gabriella site should begin later this year, and a well will be in place producing oil in about five years.


It just keeps getting better and better!

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Iran’s Nuclear Sites Not Immune To US Bunker-Busters

Western spy agencies for years have kept watch on a craggy peak in northwest Iran that houses of one the world’s most unusual nuclear sites. Known as Fordow, the facility is built into mountain bunkers designed to withstand aerial attack. Iran’s civil-defense chief has declared the site “impregnable.”

But impregnable it is not, say U.S. military planners who are increasingly confident of their ability to deliver a serious blow against Fordow, should the president ever order an attack.

U.S. officials say they have no imminent plan to bombard the site, and they have cautioned that an American attack — or one by its closest Middle Eastern ally, Israel — risks devastating consequences such as soaring oil prices, Iranian retaliation and dramatically heightened tension in a fragile region.

Yet as a matter of physics, Fordow remains far more vulnerable than generally portrayed, said current and former military and intelligence analysts. Massive new “bunker buster” munitions recently added to the U.S. arsenal would not necessarily have to penetrate the deepest bunkers to cause irreparable damage to infrastructure as well as highly sensitive nuclear equipment, likely setting back Iran’s program by years, officials said.

The weapons’ capabilities are likely to factor in discussions with a stream of Israelis leaders arriving in Washington over the next week. The Obama administration will seek to assure the visitors, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of U.S. resolve to stop Iran if it decides to build a nuclear bomb. White House officials are worried that Israel may launch a preemptive strike against Iran with little or no warning, a move U.S. officials argue would be do little to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions and may in fact deepen Iran’s determination to become a nuclear state.

In arguing their case, U.S. officials acknowledged some uncertainty over whether even the Pentagon’s newest “bunker-buster” weapon — called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP — could pierce in a single blow the subterranean chambers where Iran is making enriched uranium. But they said a sustained U.S. attack over multiple days would probably render the plant unusable by collapsing tunnels and irreparably damaging both its highly sensitive centrifuge equipment and the miles of pipes, tubes and wires required to operate it.

“Hardened facilities require multiple sorties,” said a former senior intelligence official who has studied the formerly secret Fordow site and agreed to discuss sensitive details of U.S. strike capabilities on the condition of anonymity. “The question is, how many turns do you get at the apple?”


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Iran's Defense Minister Warns About Secret Weapons

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has claimed that Iran is in possession of secret weapons along with top secret capabilities that could be used to confront the United States.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has many hidden capabilities, which are kept for rainy days,” Vahidi said in the interview, “We have not yet revealed all our capabilities.”

In referring to the U.S. assets positioned in the Persian Gulf, Vahidi stated that: “These days Americans badly fear that an incident happens in the region and they can’t stand against the Islamic Republic’s firm positions vis-à-vis that given event.”

Vahidi then in an ominous warning to America said, “Undoubtedly, since our defense is an independent and defensive one based on our own defensive policies, special defense doctrines and internal capabilities, the U.S. will face a completely new environment when [it] gets involved with the new issues that Iran is pursuing and it will be obliged to think of this new environment.”

The Iranian defense minister went on to say that the American armed forces’ passivity in a possible confrontation with the Islamic regime’s forces will be due to the fact that Iran has not shown all weapons in its arsenal.

Vahidi is wanted by Interpol for the 1994 Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that killed more than 80 people and injured 100.

Vahidi also, as the chief commander of the Guards’ intelligence unit, directed the Marine barracks bombing killing 241 U.S. servicemen. He has been involved in many other terror attacks collaborating with Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaida.

Today, Vahidi oversees the Islamic regime’s missile and nuclear program along with proliferation of arms to al-Qaida, Taliban, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups.

As revealed recently, Iran’s supreme leader has issued an order to activate all terror cells under its command, including the Quds forces and Hezbollah, to attack U.S. and Israeli interests in America and around the world, as well as for the Guards to prepare for missile attacks against U.S. military bases in the region, targets in Israel and in closing down the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is just praying that we will attack them, so the Mahdi will appear.


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Israelis Don't Plan To Notify US If They Strike Iran

Israeli officials say they won't warn the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, one U.S. intelligence official familiar with the discussions told the Associated Press. The pronouncement, delivered in a series of private, top-level conversations, sets a tense tone ahead of meetings in the coming days at the White House and Capitol Hill.

Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the U.S. would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel's potential attack. The U.S. has been working with the Israelis for months to persuade them that an attack would be only a temporary setback to Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak delivered the message to a series of top-level U.S. visitors to the country, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the White House national security adviser and the director of national intelligence, and top U.S. lawmakers, all trying to close the trust gap between Israel and the U.S. over how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Netanyahu delivered the same message to all the Americans who have traveled to Israel for talks.

This is a pre-emptive statement by Netanyahu to let Obama and the press know what Israel's position is before he meets with Obama in the next few weeks.

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Obama To Try and Talk Netanyahu Out of Iran Strike

After Obama's advisers failed to convince the Israelis to not do it!

After a high-ranking US delegation headed by White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon failed in three days of tough talks (Feb.18-20) to dissuade Israeli leaders to back off plans for a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites, the White House invited Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for talks with President Barak Obama on March 5. He will try and break the stalemate which ended his advisers’ talks with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.
The defense minister, addressing his Independence Party later Monday praised Israel’s security relations with the US as very good and very important for a strong Israel. The dialogue between the two governments, he said, is marked by openness, mutual respect, understanding and attentiveness.

At the same time, Barak hinted at discord by adding, “Both are sovereign nations which are ultimately responsible for their decisions in relation to themselves and their future.”

President Obama has proven himself time and time again not to be on the side Israel. Now it looks like he is up to it again. Israel asked two and half years ago for permission to fly across Iraq and for US help in attacking Iran. Obama flat turned them down. Now it looks like Obama is trying to stop Israel from doing something on their own. What a mistake!

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Iran Says It Seeks To Strengthen Lebanese Army

Iran's defense minister says it is Tehran's strategic policy to strengthen the Lebanese army.

The comments by Gen. Ahmad Vahidi to his visiting Lebanese counterpart, Fayez Ghosn, were posted on the Iranian defense ministry's website Sunday.

Iran is a key supporter of the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Tehran denies arming the Shiite militant movement, but is believed to funnel it weapons and millions of dollars in funding.

Ghosn is a member of Marada, a Christian party allied with Hezbollah. Both groups are close to Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad, who is traditionally a major power-broker in Lebanon but faces an uprising against his rule.

Tehran may be trying to strengthen its independent ties in Lebanon if Assad falls.

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Russia Warns Israel Not To Attack Iran; Again!!!

Is Vladimir Putin GOG?

“Russia warned Israel on Wednesday that attacking Iran would be a disastrous act, and played down the failure of a U.N. nuclear agency mission to Tehran, saying there is still a chance for new talks over the Iranian atomic program,” This is second time this month that Vladimir Putin has let it be known that Russia will get involved if Israel and/or the US attacks Iran. Moscow is now unequivocally and quite openly backing the mullahs in Iran and Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Geopolitical events over the past decade are pointing more and more that he just maybe, time will tell! If this happens, these are the events that will lead up to Ezekiel 38 and 39 that I have been telling you about for well over year now.

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US Ups Defenses Against Iran Closing Hormuz Strait

The Pentagon is bolstering US Navel and land-based defenses in the Persian Gulf in order to thwart any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz. Defense officials are saying that the military has notified Congress of plans to preemptively place new mine-detection and clearing equipment and expand surveillance capabilities in and around the strait. The US military also wants to quickly modify weapons systems on ships to target Iranian fast-attack boats, as well as shore-launched cruise missiles. The readiness push, lead by the military's Central Command, indicates the extent to which war planners are taking tangible steps to prepare for a possible conflict with Iran, even as top White House and defense leaders try to emphasize other options over war.

The US' primary concern is that Iran could rapidly mine the strait and use heavily armed speedboats to attack or ram Western ships trying to clear the waterway. A successful Iranian attack on a US warship could drag the US into a larger conflict. In addition, US special-operations teams stationed in the United Arab Emirates would take part in any military action in the strait should Iran attempt to close it. A military official said these forces have been working to train elite local forces in Gulf nations including the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.

The tension between the US and Iran escalated in January when Tehran delivered a blunt warning that an American aircraft carrier that left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz should not return. Determined to keep the waterway open, the US deployed a different aircraft carrier to the Gulf, and sent another warship near the area, prompting the Islamic Republic to back down from its threat.

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IDF Thinks Syria Could Attack Israel Soon !!!

There is growing concern in the Israeli army that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad could attack the Jewish state as pressure mounts for him to step down.

Assad is currently facing a revolution in his own country that he has sought to quell with brutal military force. Those bloody tactics have resulted in a good portion of the Syrian army joining the opposition, and Syria is nearing the point of full-scale civil war.

The situation has prompted the Arab League and Western powers to consider injecting their own military forces into Syria with the aim of ending Assad's rule. But before that happens, Israeli military officials believe Assad would lash out at Israel, both to divert Arab attention on Syria's internal struggle and to establish a lasting legacy for himself.

What has made this prospect all the more worrying is that recent reports suggest Assad has been using chemical weapons against the Syrian opposition, including civilians. If he attacks Israel, it is believed Assad would have no problem using those same weapons against the Jewish state.

Syria reportedly has the most extensive chemical weapons arsenal in the world.

The Israeli army has been holding drills and formulating plans focused on dealing with a number of possible scenarios springing from the situation in Syria.

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Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah Operatives Aiding Assad's Brutal Crackdown

Iran has significantly increased its involvement in Syria over the past few days. The presence of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah operatives assisting Syrian President Bashar Assad's in his brutal crackdown of protesters now number in the high hundreds; while the Arab League said that it will not supply the rebels with arms unless the bloodshed comes to a halt.

The majority of Iranian and Hezbollah operatives in Syria supply Assad's army with intelligence and train the Damascus forces on weapons' maintenance and reconnaissance. A smaller group of operatives is involved in the actual fighting.

Tehran has also increased the financial assistance it lends Damascus. It also maintains regular flights to the Syrian capital – a practice Arab League members have suspended due to the escalating violence.

Iran's financial aid is one of Assad's lifelines, as it keeps the middle class in Damascus and Halab (Aleppo) from rising against him as well.

The Islamic Republic's decision to bolster ties with Syria at a time when Tehran has to deal with growing international sanctions, imposed on it over its refusal to suspend its nuclear program, indicates that the ayatollah's regime believes Assad and his government can survive the uprising.

The rebels have long claimed that Iran is helping Assad – an assessment backed by Britain and the United States.


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Russia Warns Against US or Israel Attack on Iran

Russia has strongly objected to Western belligerence towards its allies Syria and Iran, warning that a military assault on the Iranian regime could cause a “chain reaction” that would destabilize the entire world.

Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, vowed to veto any United Nations proposal for military intervention in Syria and promised especially to do all they could to prevent a military strike on Iran.

“The consequences [of attacking Iran] will be extremely grave,” he said. “It’s not going to be an easy walk. It will trigger a chain reaction and I don’t know where it will stop.” Russia has even been training its military on scenarios related to the crisis of a possible military conflict in Iran.

Russia has supported some sanctions on Iran, but has refused to comply with any additional sanctions. The U.S. has heaped some of the harshest economic sanctions on Iran ever conceived and has been pressuring its allies in the European Union and Asia-Pacific to embargo Iran’s oil, or at least reduce it significantly.

The sanctions could result in a humanitarian catastrophe on the scale of what Iraq experienced in the 1990s, with approximately 500,000 children dying as a result of the U.S.-led sanctions after the Gulf War of 1990-91. The Obama administration claims it is applying the sanctions to convince Iran to stop enriching uranium.

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Another Gas Discovery for Delek, Noble Energy!

Noble Energy and the Delek Group announced on Sunday another significant discovery of a natural gas field off the coast of Haifa. The field, located in the Mediterranean waters 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) northwest of Israel's northern port city, reportedly totals about 1.2 to 1.3 trillion cubic feet.

Gas-bearing strata some 40 meters (120ft) thick was discovered at a depth of 5,500 meters (16,500ft) in the offshore Tanin 1 (Crocodile) well. That strata is part of the Tamar sands structure.

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Killings, blasts, computer worms: The covert war on Iran

Death of yet another nuclear scientist indicates some element has already waged military campaign to halt Islamic Republic's nuclear program

The killing of Iranian professor Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan on Wednesday was the latest in a series of hits on scientists who are linked to the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, which Israel and other Western nations are desperately trying to halt.
According to Iranian media reports, the incident, which took place at the Seyed Khandan neighborhood in northern Tehran, "looks similar to attacks on nuclear scientists in the city," more than one year ago.
Tehran's deputy governor was quick to say that Israel was behind the "assassination… aimed at militarizing the (diplomatic) situation, and disrupt the elections in Iran.”
American blogger Richard Silverstein claimed that a senior Israeli source "with great political and military experience" told him that the Mossad carried out the hit along with Iranian opposition group the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI).
In addition to the targeted killings of scientists, the three explosions which took place in Iran within a month towards the end of 2011 indicate that some element has already waged a military campaign against Tehran.
On December 12 Iranian media outlets reported that 16 people were killed in an explosion at a steel factory.


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US to sell Israel 2,500 Hummers, trucks

IDF officials reach preliminary deal on equipment used by US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan

The IDF is soon to purchase 2,500 Hummer vehicles, trucks and other equipment from the United States military, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.
Top IDF officials have recently travelled to the US and reached a preliminary agreement on the deal, which includes gear used during US engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Defense establishment sources noted Saturday that the purchase is worthwhile for Israel, as the payment for the gear would be taken out of the military aid provided by the US to the Jewish state.
If the deal goes through, the reportedly low-mileage Hummers and trucks will arrive in Israel and undergo testing before being stored away in the IDF's emergency warehouses.
The US pulled out its last convoy of troops from Iraq in December, and has set an aggressive timetable for withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan has well.
The IDF said on Thursday that it is gearing up towards a joint missile defense drill with US. Both nations said the exercise is expected to be the largest of its kind so far. While the maneuver's date is yet to be announced, a senior IDF official said it is to take place within the next few weeks.


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