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The Alpha-Omega Report's

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The Mideast Spotlight News

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For February 21, 2010

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SHOCKER!

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World Net Daily's Jerusalem Bureau reports that an Egyptian government official has told WND that Russia intends to deliver the S-300 air defense system to Iran "within the next month" - meaning sometime in March.

The A-O Intelligence Digest's intelligence sources had also picked up a similar report, noting the Egyptian source was a military source. Russia had already announced last week that it would honor its promise to sell the S-300 system to Iran and would deliver the system when certain "technical" issues had been resolved, but no time frame was mentioned.

For the WND report - LINK HERE.

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Just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu left Moscow to return to Israel, Russian defense officials announced a re-affirmation of an arms sales agreement with Iran to provide the S-300 Air Defense system. At the same time, officials revealed that delivery of the S-300 system would be delayed due to technical factors.

Russian spokesman Alexander Fomin told the Interfax News Agency that "The delay is taking place because of technical problems. The delivery will take place when they have been resolved." The sale was originally agreed upon back in 2007 after 2 years of negotiations but until now, the Russians had not given an explanation for the delay in delivery. Many Western analysts believe the deal was delayed due to U.S. pressure.

Just hours before Israel's Prime Minister flew to Moscow, Security Council Deputy Secretary Vladimir Nazarov told Interfax News: "There is the signed contract that we must fulfill, but supplies have not started yet. This deal is not restricted by any international sanctions, because these are merely defensive weapons."

Two weeks earlier, Iran's ambassador to Russia told reporters that Russian leaders had guaranteed him that the S-300 system would be delivered to Iran but no time frame was given, noting that the Russians inidicated there were several technical factors that needed to be resolved. For more details, on this story, LINK HERE.

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Hezbollah's top leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel that Hezbollah has the ability to "pound" Israel's largest and busiest airport, Ben-Gurion Airport with long-range missiles fired from Lebanon. Hezbollah is reported to have more than 42,000 rockets and missiles in its arsenal with some capable of hitting nearly every part of Israel.

For more on the Hezbollah-Israel situation, LINK HERE.

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UN Report Admits:



Iran May Be Developing Atom Bomb


The UN's nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, reported on Thursday (2/18) that Iran may be currenty working to develop a nuclear warhead. The report disputes a U.S. intelligence estimate which claimed Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. The IAEA report indicates that Iran never stopped its nuclear weapons program.

The U.S. State Department responded to the leaked UN report stating that it had "ongoing concerns" about Iranian nuclear activities. A State Department spokesman admitted that the U.S. didn't understand why Iran refused to engage in constructive dialogue over its nuclear program and noted that "you have to draw some conclusions from that."

The leaked report, prepared for the 35 board nations of the IAEA also indicated that Iran has managed to make a minute amount of near 20% enriched uranium within days of starting production. Such production puts Iran nearer to the capacity for makign fissile warhead material.

The new report is far more critical of Iran's refusal to cooperate with teh IAEA than previous reports. This is due to a change in leadership as of the beginning of this year. The previous director, Mohammed ElBaradei bent over backwards to protect Iran from harsh criticism but his successor, Yukiya Amano of Japan seems to have no such inclination to protect Iran from critical analysis.

The new director's report indicates that evidence supplied by the western nations, including Israel is compelling that Iran is moving forwards in a nuclear weapons program.

In related developments - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an Arabic TV network that the U.S. was not planning on any military action but rather on calling for economic sanctions against Iran in an effort to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.

Iran again reiterated that it will not give up its nuclear uranium enrichment program. For more details on this story, LINK HERE.

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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran's arch-foe Israel was mulling starting a war "next spring or summer" but has yet to make a final decision

Without specifying whom would be targeted, Ahmadinejad said: "According to information we have they (Israel) are seeking to start a war next spring or summer, although their decision is not final yet."

"But the resistance and regional states will finish them if this fake regime does anything again," the hardliner said at a press conference when asked about ongoing efforts to reconcile ties betwen Arabs and Israel. 

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who warned a day earlier that Iran was moving towards a military dictatorship. More details, LINK HERE.

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Saudi officials met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and conveyed their concerns that it is too late for new sanctions against Iran. Saudi leaders expressed concern that sanctions will not stop Iran's quest for nuclear weapons and hinted that the only viable solution for halting Iran's drive for nuclear weapons is to use the military option. For more details, .

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Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Kremlin on Tuesday for consultations on the Iranian nuclear issue. After the meeting, the Russian leader's spokeswoman said that Russia wanted Iran to cooperate more closely with the UN's nuclear watchdog agencye, the IAEA.

"Russia considers that Iran must work more actively and more broadly with the IAEA and with other countries in providing information about its nuclear program. The international community must be sure that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful. But if these obligations are not fulfilled then nobody can rule out the use of sanctions."

The spokeswoman confirmed that the two leader's conversation revolved around the Iranian nuclear issue.

LINK HERE.

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Israeli PM Netanyahu Says:


If Iran Gets Nukes - So Will Turkey


Following his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and local Jewish community leaders on Monday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu went out to eat with his wife Sara at a Moscow restaurant and coincidentally ran into Greek Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs George Papandreou.

The Greek premier, facing an economic crisis back home, asked if he could join the Netanyahus.

In an apparent to prod the Greeks toward action on the Iranian issue Netanyahu said that a nuclear Iran would eventually lead to the Nuclearization of Turkey, Greece’s long-time nemesis, as well as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The hour-long discussion focused both on the economic crisis facing Athens, and the Iranian crisis facing the world. Netanyahu told Papandreou that just as what was needed for Greece to emerge to from its deepeconomic crisis was help from the international community along with actions taken by the Greek government, what would be needed to emerge from the Iranian crisis was concerted efforts by the rest of the world as well.

If there is a crisis, Netanyahu told his counterpart, whether be it economic or nuclear, the international community must step in. Netanyahu said repeatedly during his Moscow visit that one of the goals of the visit was to push the world towards taking “sanctions with teeth against Iran."

On the second day of his Moscow visit, the prime minister met with seven leading Russian media commentators, and will give thee different interviews to Russian media in the early afternoon. Later in the day, he was scheduled to visit the Russian White House for a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin, and then return to Israel around midnight


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In an unusual move, the governments of the United States, Russia and France have issued a joint letter to the United Nation's nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA complaining about Iran's escalating uranium enrichment program, calling the move "unjustified." Last week, Iran began enriching uranium to a 20% level.

Claiming the move was "wholly unjustified" and raises concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this development is the apparent hardening of Russia's position concerning the Iranian nuclear program. The Kremlin has indicated that Iran could face harsher measures if Iran can not convince the international community of its peaceful intentions for nuclear power. For more details on this story, LINK HERE.

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Iranian President Ahmadinejad issued another direct warning to any nation that harms Iran in any way - including voting for sanctions. The Iranian leader stated:

"If anyone does anything against Iran, then our response won't be the same as in the past. No, we will definitely react and make them regretful." LINK HERE.

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The fact that Ha'aretz, Israel's left-leaning daily, found it necessary on February 17 to warn the Benjamin Netanyahu government not to attack Iran [1] strongly suggests that the option is on the table.

It seems clear that the administration of US President Barack Obama never will use force against Iran, despite the Iranian regime's open contempt for Washington and the international community. US Secretary of State Clinton this week responded with a direct "no" - not "all options are on the table" - when asked if America was planning a military strike.

During a February 16 visit to Saudi Arabia, Clinton talked about responses to Iran as if America had already decided that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, something Tehran vigorously denies. Clinton was quoted as saying that the "evidence doesn't support" Iran's claim it is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program.

Read the full, lengthy analysis presented by The Asia Times - LINK HERE.

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Iran has launched its first Iranian-made naval destroyer, the Jamaran. on Friday at its naval base at Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf. The destroyer is equipped with anti-air and anti-ship missiles, a helicopter landing pad, and torpedoes. It can reach speeds of 30 knots and displaces at 1,500 tons.

The destroyer will be the first active destroyer serving in the Iranian Navy since the war with Iraq in the 1980s. Three destroyers in that war are now being warehoused and not available for service. Iran does have a handful of Frigates and Corvettes as well as 3 Russian-built, Kilo-class submarines.More details, on the new destroyer, LINK HERE.

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The U.S. State Department and the White House are pulling out all the stops and diplomatic levers in an attempt to garner harsh, new UN sanctions against Iran in a last ditch bid to halt Iran's nuclear weapons program. For details on where the effort stood as of this past weekend, LINK HERE.

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Israeli AIr Force officials announced on Sunday, (2/21) that Israel is developing a fleet of unmanned jets capable of reaching and bombing Iran. The planes can reportedly remain in the air for nearly a day.

The new aircraft, called Heron TP drones are about the size of a Boeing 737 jetliner and is the largest unmanned aircraft in Israel's air force. The purpose of the aircraft is for 20 hours of continuous surveillance and it can carry varying types of payloads flying at altitudes of more than 40,000 feet. Israeli officials hailed the aircraft as a "technological and operational breakthrough."

Israeli officials refused to say how many of these craft are now operational or whether the aircraft was designed for bombing missions against Iran. Even so, Israeli officials stressed that aircraft was flexible and adaptable for new types of mission deployments.

The Heron TP could provide surveillance, jam enemy communications and connect ground control and manned air force planes. For more on this story, LINK HERE.

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Pakistani and US forces have captured the top Taliban Military Commander in Karachi, Pakistan. LINK HERE.

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LINK 2 Transcript

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