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The Alpha-Omega Report's

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Middle East News Spotlight

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For 12-20-9

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Breaking  News...

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Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called for three emergency cabinet meetings on Sunday. Israeli media speculates that the three meetings are in reference to ongoing negotiations with Hamas to free a captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit in exchange for around 1,000 Palestinian Hamas members. Shalit's capture in June os 2006 precipitated the Summer War of 2006 between Hezbollah and Israel.

At A-O, we're concerned that stories of a Shalit deal might be a smokescreen for something else as some of our intelligence sources at the weekend were warning of an imminent Israeli air strike against Iran. We've therefore been concerned in the past 18 hours that Israeli news media might be spreading a smokescreen in advance of military action with Iran, although, on the flip side, the Israeli cabinet may be too divided to approve military action at this time.

For more on the Israeli cabinet's actions check out Israel's Y-Net news coverage - LINK HERE.

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The government of Iraq on Friday reported that Iranian soldiers have seized an Iraqi oil field, 500 yards from the Iraqi-Iranian border. The Iraqi government has lodged a protest with the Iranian government over the incident.

Iraq's deputy foreign minister stated on Friday that Iranian troops crossed the border and moved 500 yeards into Iraqi territory and seized oil well number 4 in the al-Fakkah oil field located in the Maysan province about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq's largest oil fields.

Iranian soldiers carrying rifles seized the well Thursday night in a 25-car convoy and ordered the Iraqi workers to leave the area, according to a worker at the site who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution. The soldiers then mounted an Iranian flag inside the well, he said.

There were no reports of violence during the incident, and Iranian forces left the well on Friday, leaving the flag behind, the worker said. His account could not be immediately confirmed.

Analysts said it was too early to say whether the incident would mushroom into greater tension but said it could raise concerns with oil companies looking to invest in Iraq. Oil prices rose slightly after news of the incident.

"It looks like some kind of warning shot, and it could definitely escalate into a big worry for oil companies," said Samuel Ciszuk of the London-based IHS Global Insight

On Fox Cable News Channel, former US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton predicted that Iran would take further provocative measures in the near future unless or until there is a reason to stop. Bolton surmised that the oil well seizure is a test to see how far Iran can stretch its muscle.

Other experts wanred that the move would likely halt any efforts by international oil firms to invest money in the Iraqi oil fields along the Iranian border. However, the A-O Intelligence Digest December 20 edition reports that there may be something more to the incident than meets the eye. The Digest's weekly editions are available to those who donate to The A-O Report.

For more detials on the Iranian border incursion and oil well seizure, LINK HERE.

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U.S. President Barack Obama has warned his Chinese counterpart that the United States would not be able to keep Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear installations for much longer, senior officials in Jerusalem told Haaretz.

They said Obama warned President Hu Jintao during the American's visit to Beijing a month ago as part of the U.S. attempt to convince the Chinese to support strict sanctions on Tehran if it does not accept Western proposals for its nuclear program.

The Israeli officials, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the United States had informed Israel on Obama's meetings in Beijing on Iran. They said Obama made it clear to Hu that at some point the United States would no longer be able to prevent Israel from acting as it saw fit in response to the perceived Iranian threat.

After the Beijing summit, the U.S. administration thought the Chinese had understood the message; Beijing agreed to join the condemnation of Iran by the International Atomic Energy Agency only a week after Obama's visit. But in the past two weeks the Chinese have maintained their hard stance regarding the West's wishes to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The Israeli officials say the Americans now understand that the Chinese agreed to join the condemnation announcement only because Obama made a personal request to Hu, not as part of a policy change.

The Chinese have even refused a Saudi-American initiative designed to end Chinese dependence on Iranian oil, which would allow China to agree to the sanctions, said the Israeli officials.

Saudi Arabia, which is also very worried about the Iranian nuclear program and keen to advance international steps against Iran, offered to supply the Chinese the same quantity of oil the Iranians now provide, and at much cheaper prices. But China rejected the deal.

Since Obama's visit, the Chinese have refused to join any measures to impose sanctions. The Israeli officials say the Chinese have been giving unclear answers and have not been responding to the claims by Western nations. Beijing has been making do with statements such as "the time has not yet arrived for sanctions."

China's actions are particularly problematic because China will take over the presidency of the UN Security Council in January. Western diplomats say China would have no choice but to join in sanctions if Russia agrees to support them, but China could delay discussions and postpone any decision until February, when France becomes council president.

The Israeli officials say Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is showing a greater willingness for sanctions on Iran, despite hesitations by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. -- LINK HERE.

 

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Al Jazeera TV News Network's website contains a short article, quoting an Israeli newspaper indicating that President Obama told China that he cannot indefintely restrain Israel from a strike on Iran. This alleged statement was reported by senior Israeli officials to the Israeli newspapers last week. Al Jazeera then posted a short comment and raising the question as to why Israeli officials would leak such a statement at this time.

You can see the short article - LINK HERE. See our previous article for the original Haaretz news story.

 

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Hamas has pledged to support Iran and fight Israel, if Israel launches pre-emptive air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. The statement suggests that hostilities might be imminent. More details on the Hamas declaration - LINK HERE.

 

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The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved legislation to impose sanctions on foreign companies that help supply gasoline to Iran, a move lawmakers hope will deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program. Full story details, LINK HERE.

 

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Iran has test-fired its new solid-fuel, medium-range ballistic missile known as the Sajjil-2. The missile has the capability to easily reach not only Israel but parts of southern Europe including Italy.

It is Iran's first, solid-fuel missile with such an extended range. Solid fuel missiles are easier to maintain and can be launched for more rapidly than the liquid-fueled rockets which can require as much as two days of advance preparations.

Solid-fuel missiles are impractible and expensive vehicles for conventional warheads but ideal for nuclear warfare. The new Iranian test is perceived in the West that Iran is determined to acquire nuclear missile capability that could threaten not only Israel but Europe also.

This is not the first test of the Sajjil-2 missile. Iran conducted its first successful launch of the missile back in the spring of this year. For more details on this story, LINK HERE.

 

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Iran is close to a "technological breakthrough" that would enable it to build nuclear weapons, Israel's military intelligence chief said in a rare public assessment Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin said Iran has enriched enough uranium this year at its facility in Natanz to build a bomb and is on the brink of a "technological breakthrough" that would enable it to build atomic weapons. More details, LINK HERE.

 

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The US Air Force's order for the new MOP bunker-buster bomb that is slated to be 10 times more powerful than previous bunker-buster bombs has hit a second round of production snags and will be delayed for a year, according to an announcement by the Defense Department.

Production of the 30,000 pound bomb that is supposed to be able to penetrate 24 foot thick concrete walls has run into financial funding delays and last-minute design enhancements setting back the project by a full year. The program was initially scheduled to deliver the first of 14 bombs to the Air Force next June but per Pentagon request, Congress approved additional funds to speed up production so that the first bombs would become available this month. However, other DoD budget constraints shifted the extra funds to more urgent projects and additional design enhancements to the bomb have delayed production.  The first bomb is now expected to be delivered in December of 2010. For more details on this story, LINK HERE.

 

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Iran's cyber army is reported to have hacked into the highly popular "Twitter" texting service and temporarily crashed the system. More details, LINK HERE.

 

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A top-level Iranian nuclear official announced on Friday that the Iranian uranium enrichment program is not progressing as fast as international experts feared.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization, said Iran won't have a new generation of more efficient centrifuges for the production of nuclear fuel until 2011 and won't have its heavy-water plant in Arak operational for "three or four years."

The official's admission is viewed by many international experts as an attempt by Iran to defuse a new push for economic sanctions. For more on this story, LINK HERE.

 

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The Iraqi government revealed that last Thursday night, Iranian troops crossed the border and moved 500 yards into Iraq to seize an Iraqi oil well. Iran claims that much of the Fakka oil fieldin Maysan Province in southeastern Iraq is actually Iranian soil.

Iranian soldiers forced Iraqi oil workers to flee the area and then planted an Iranian flag on the oil rig. By Sunday, the Iranian troops had withdrawn back across the border but the incident has prompted a diplomatic incident and left Iraqi leaders wondering if the long-standing feud between Iraq and Iran will resume.

More details on this story from the New York Times - LINK HERE.

 

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Iran's Grand Ayatoolah Hossein-Ali Montazeri has died after a long illness. The Ayatollah was an opponent of Iran's founding father, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and was banished from politics. The Grand Ayatollah Montazeri was also a fierce critic of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. For more on this story, LINK HERE.

 

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The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen told news reporters on Sunday that he is becoming increasingly worried that Iran is running out the clock towards acquisition of nuclear weapons and nothing will be done to stop the clock.

The Admiral also believes that any military action against Iran should only be done as a last resort. The admiral's comments were made aboard a US military transport plane in midflight from Germany to Washington about the same time that Israel's cabinet was in the middle of a sudden, emergency meeting, allegedly discussing the possibility of a deal with Hamas to free a captured Israeli soldier. We find the timing of these two stories to be "interesting" although not necessarily related.

The Admiral went on to state: I grow increasingly concerned that the Iranians have been non-responsive. I've said for a long time we don't need another conflict in that part of the world," he said. "I'm not predicting that would happen, but I think they've got to get to a position where they are a constructive force and not a destabilizing force."

Mullen also voiced concerns about Iran's seizure of an Iraqi oil well and what that might portend for Iran's future intentions. He worries about Iran's attempts to destabilize not only Iraq but the entire region. The Admiral stated:

"And I worry about, you know, the clock now running on the dialogue and the engagement and sort of, where are we if that doesn't finish well? And certainly recent indications are ... they're not very responsive."

For the full story on the Admiral's comments - LINK HERE.  Video Report from YouTube - .

 

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Iranian political dissidents will continue to protest against the Iranian ruling regime going into 2010. Details, LINK HERE.

 

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Turkish news media reports that a series of foiled terror attacks against Israeli targets in Turkey were planned by Hezbollah. More details, LINK HERE.

 

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