Iran: Pre-emptive strike against enemies possible

A senior Iranian military commander signaled the Islamic Republic might launch a pre-emptive strike against its "enemies" if the nation's leaders felt an attack on Iran was imminent, providing another example of ever-escalating tensions between Tehran and the West over its nuclear program.

In a clear shot across the bow, the deputy head of Iran's armed forces, Mohammad Hejazi, told state media on Tuesday: "Our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger Iran's national interests, and want to decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions," according to the Reuters news agency.

Hejazi's comments come as another Iranian official said that a U.N. team visiting Iran has no plans to inspect the country's nuclear facilities and will only hold talks with officials in Tehran.

The remarks by Ramin Mehmanparast cast doubt on how much the U.N. inspectors would be able to gauge whether Iran is moving ahead with its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.

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The two-day visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency team, which started Monday, is the second in less than a month amid growing concerns over alleged Iranian weapons experiments.

Iran denies charges by the West that it seeks atomic weapons, insisting its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes only, such as power generation.

Mehmanparast said the visiting IAEA team was made up of experts, not inspectors. He told reporters that the IAEA team was holding discussions Tuesday in Tehran to prepare the ground for future cooperation between Iran and the U.N. watchdog. He said this cooperation is at its "best" level.

"The titles of the members of the visiting delegation is not inspectors. This is an expert delegation. The purpose of visit is not inspection," said Mehmanparast. "The aim is to negotiate about cooperation between Iran and the agency and to set a framework for a continuation of the talks."

Visits to individual Iranian nuclear sites were also not part of the IAEA earlier visit three weeks ago.

But on Monday, Iranian state radio said the U.N. team had asked to visit the Parchin military complex outside Tehran, a known conventional arms facility that has been suspected as a secret weapons-making location and also to meet Iranian nuclear scientists involved in the country's controversial program

"Iran's cooperation with the (IAEA) agency continues and is at its best level," added Mehmanparast.

The IAEA visit comes as Iran announced air defense war games to practice protecting nuclear and other sensitive sites, the latest in a series of military maneuvers viewed as a message to the West that Iran is prepared both to defend itself against an armed strike and to retaliate.

The U.S. and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran's nuclear program, though top American officials have pressed Israel in recent days to delay any strike on Iran, fearing the resulting instability in the region could outweigh an attempt to disable Iran's nuclear facilities.

The official news agency IRNA said the four-day air defense war games, dubbed "Sarallah," or "God's Revenge," were taking place in the south of the country and involve anti-aircraft batteries, radar, and warplanes. The drill will be held over 73,000 square miles near the port of Bushehr, the site of Iran's lone nuclear power plant.

Iran has held multiple air, land, and sea maneuvers in recent months as the tensions increase.

[erpicferl]

judging by recent bungled revenge attacks against israeli diplomats i don't see how iran can pre-emptively attack anybody. iran's leaders are incompetent and hopefully as time passes the iranian people will take back their country from the religious chest beaters currently clinging to power.

[royalcourtier]

Iran has as much of a right under the UN charter to launch a pre-emptive strike as Israel has.

Since many Israelis and Americans have been talking about launching a strike on Iran, Iran would now probably be legally justified in launching a pre-emptive attack. Israel much less so, since there have been few calls in Iran for an attack on Israel.

Ironically the Israeli and American belligerence is validating an Iranian attack.

[guyfrompa46]

You're truly a moron.

[mick7744]

It seems obvious that the stage is being set for the elimination of Iran's nuclear capabilities...

I get that part...but I can't help wondering why Iran is working so hard to aid the West in that effort with their ridiculous saber-rattling.., growling and snarling like a frightened Pomeranian mutt hiding under the couch while issuing defiant warnings to all who approach.

Can you really imagine a world where these unstable, Koran-thumping misogynists have a nuclear capability that would permit them to bully for real instead of just shouting pathetic, empty threats?

I choose not to...

Iran is a rogue, mad-dog regime that is perilously close to being overthrown by their own people and is lashing out in all directions like a terrified cur.

The bottom line is that Iran cannot be allowed to become a nuclear power...and how devistating preventing such an unacceptable outcome turns out to be on the "Islamic Republic" is up to them.

But they'll probably screw it up...

Fear, panic and an irrational belief that their bloodthirsty God will assist them in slaughtering their enemies regardless of the odds...virtually insures it...

[mixplix]

In a recent column on the net someone stated that Iran knows better than to start tossing nukes around because it would be suicidal and I immediately thought where in Gods name has this person been when the culture there in Iran thinks strapping on a bomb and blowing yourself up to kill others is just wonderful. I really think that Iran will nuke its enemies and welcome being bombed back to the stone age. Their belief system would think that would be a joyous moment.

[verrz]

A shallow analysis. You have absolutely no grasp of the situation. Stick to beer and chips and MTV.

[mick7744]

Tell me Legend-of-Iran...

With your wild, irrational, baseless tough talk...shouldn't it be Myths-of-Iran...or better still, Fairytales-and-Other-Stupid-BS-Stories-of-Iran?

[sem042004]

Wow, Obama's plan of dialogue is working so well. The entire world will be in flames because a naive college professor thought that he knows more than all of his predecessors. Weakness invites conflict, and Obama has shown nothing but weakness.

[guyfrompa46]

economicterror - So to put it in your words carter, clinton and Obama have done it all right and everyone else all wrong. Yikes.. You're scary. Jimmy Carter? Really?

[starving1968-3]

by TellitTrue February 21, 2012 11:28 AM EST
The 4 Republican candidates have PETS that are more qualified to conduct American foreign policy than your organizer-in-chief. Like most liberals, you have no logical argument, so you resort to personal attacks.






No logical argument?!?!

I put up Obama's record of ending the unnecessary disaster in Iraq, killing Bin Laden and 22 of his top 30 henchmen, leading us in the NATO effort to remove Qaddafi from power - WITH NOT ONE AMERICAN LIFE LOST, while you throw up nothing but Michael Steele / Rush Limbaugh rhetoric, and you claim that I have no logical argument?!?!

[guyfrompa46]

I have news for you. If Bush didn't put all the security in place after 9/11 Obama would have Nothing to take credit for. And by the way genius.. Obama pulled out of iraq for one thing only,, his campaign. Funny.. Nobody wants to metion that Gitmo is still open another false promise.

[Jesus_to_ground_control]

When Iran's women are not equal to the men.

Now, every time I see a demonstration in Iran there are no women. Only a bunch of mad men who are ready to lynch somebody or a country. My wife made me realize that one night when we were watching the news (with Brian Williams). She said: "Randall, there are no women in the crowd!" I said: "Cheri (that is "Dear" in French), maybe the women have gone shopping or having a night off from the men." And then she said: "Stupide!" Which means "Stupid!" in English and stormed out of the room angry.

In conclusion, after a week of her not talking to me and other things it is my profound opinion that Iran's women must have their marches and demonstrations to show the men that they also have a voice in Iranian society and of course politics.

And then one fine day, when the men will have understood this like me then there will reign in the country a sense of unity, equalness and other things...

[starving1968-3]

Sounds like last week's republican congressional hearing on women's reproductive rights: NO WOMEN ALLOWED!!

[starving1968-3]

by TellitTrue February 21, 2012 11:16 AM EST
Any chance Iran is taking its chances now, BEFORE Obama is replaced by a Republican? That's what happens when a weak leader occupies the White House.






You're completely cracked if you think that ANY of the 4 lunatics running for president on the GOP side have a chance at beating Obama.

But you think that Obama is a weak leader with his record of accomplishments as president, so I guess the question of whether you're cracked or not has already been settled. Now it's just a question of how cracked you are, and your posts are answering that question every time you type something.

[john19000]

If anything thinks these talks will result into something positive, think again. Iran is just buying time. If Iran can stall enough, they will get what they want, nuclear bombs.

[sjc_1]

Exactly, they talked with Europe for years and it went no where. They talked with Hitler as he invaded countries after signing peace treaties. Lying sacks are just that, don't trust them and don't give them even one chance to screw you.

[anonymous010]

So, here's how I see it: Iran has many powerful enemies and not many powerful friends, so they likely feel cornered and exposed. When any living thing gets cornered and feels vulnerable, it usually reacts aggressively, trying to convince whatever has it cornered that it's a threat. Hence, we get all the posturing and so forth we see from Iran. It's not an idle threat, unfortunately. Iran appears to be a proud nation, so they probably want something to back up their posturing in the event things get serious. Something that would give all the countries like us pause before attacking. Something like nuclear weapons.

The irony is that this cycle feeds itself. Iran fears attack from the powerful countries around it, so it seeks to develop a powerful weapon to defend itself. The powerful countries see danger in that, and so threaten to attack Iran if it does develop the weapon, which only feeds into Iran's paranoia that everybody wants to attack them and causes Iran to turn up the threats and fast track weapon development. Eventually, somebody pulls the trigger and a war ignites. The only way I see to stop it is for one side or the other to unconditionally stand down and stop threatening the other. Either Iran has to grant full access to nuclear inspectors and cease all threats, or we have to lift all sanctions and cease all our threats. It would require an enormous amount of trust on the part of whichever side stops first, but it would be the only possible way this could end without bloodshed - and that may not be possible at all.