Iran and syria Threaten Israle

[Sissco]

Iran shows off its military might
By Pam O'Toole
BBC News, Tehran

Iran has been displaying its military power at a ceremony to mark the country's annual army day.

Speaking at the parade, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was the most powerful nation in the world.

The country's strength was such that no major power would dare to challenge its security, he said.

Official media claimed the ceremony included the largest ever show of aerial strength, with a fly past by almost 200 aircraft.

There was also a huge military parade, with missiles displayed on trucks.

Confidence

Top officials have made much of Iran's achievements in being able to maintain and manufacture sophisticated military aircraft or other equipment despite US sanctions against it.

President Ahmadinejad expressed his confidence in the strength of the country's armed forces.

He said Iran was now so powerful that "none of the current world powers are capable of, and have the courage to, threaten the Iranian nation and its interests and security".

The president stressed that Iran's armed forces were purely defensive, but warned that they would respond strongly to any act of aggression.

The parade comes amid continuing tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

It also follows a recent war of words between Iran and Israel, in which an Iranian deputy army commander said that if Israel attacked Iran, it would be eliminated from the global arena.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7352654.stm

Assad: Syria preparing for war


Syrian President Bashar Assad has said that while the likelihood of war with Israel breaking out is low given the current circumstances, he sees war with Israel as a real possibility, and is preparing for it.



Speaking to a group of Arab intellectuals at a conference in Damascus, the Syrian leader conveyed that whilst war is not a preferable option, "if Israel declares war on Lebanon and Syria or if America declares war on Iran," his country would be prepared.


According to Assad, there are those in the American administration who want this war, and Damascus is preparing for the worst. "We're acting as if war is imminent and are preparing for it, but our intelligence does not indicate that such war is on the horizon."



"None of us can rule out the option of war, but it is arguable whether Israel will launch war against Lebanon or Syria, or whether the U.S. will launch a war against Iran.



"We should analyze the situation from the perspective of American interests, because the last war in Lebanon has shown that at some point Israel wanted to stop the fighting, but was forced by the U.S. administration to pursue it further," Assad conveyed, according to SANA news agency.



According to Assad, the 2006 Lebanon War has made Israel less assured of its existence in the Middle East. However, he is optimistic regarding the Arabs' future in the Middle East in view of Israel's "ageing" following the war. "After the Lebanon war it was proved that we, the Arabs, are renewing our young generation, while Israel is entering stage of old age.



"Following this war, the question of the country's fate and continued existence has arisen in Israel. Let us let them deal with their issues… while we act according to our own interests," the Syrian leader added.



On normalizing relations with Israel, Assad seemed skeptical: "What's happening in Egypt and Jordan proves that the public is not interested in normalization, and it cannot be forced on it. I know that the Syrian people reject normalization and will not force it on them."


http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Syria/225824

So once again Iran and syria threaten Israel while Iran tries to show how "Mighty" it is!!! Lets just hope that Israel and The U.S do something before Iran and syria launch a first strike at Israel!!

sissco

[Sissco]

Sounds like the Great President Mr bush and the idoit Mr Brown are on the same page over Iran:

President Bush, Britain's Gordon Brown denounce Iran

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered equally stern warnings Thursday about the potential dangers of Iran's nuclear program, and the Briton held out the prospect of extended European sanctions to block outside investment.

On a day when the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency said Tehran was making only slow progress toward production of material suitable for nuclear weapons, Bush and Brown joined in denouncing the Iranian government.

"They have proven themselves to be untrustworthy," Bush said. Added Brown, "Iran has not told the truth to the international community about what its plans are."

Iran contends that its nuclear enrichment efforts are part of a civilian energy program, but Western powers suspect that Tehran is trying to develop an atomic bomb.

Although the two leaders lack the tested friendship Bush developed with Tony Blair, Brown's predecessor, their banter at a news conference suggested an easy relationship.

On eight occasions they invoked the "special relationship" U.S. and British leaders have cherished since the days of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. For Brown, that relationship will be transferred to a new White House occupant next year. Partly in preparation, Brown met with Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican John McCain earlier Thursday.

During a 32-minute meeting with reporters in the sun-soaked White House Rose Garden, Bush and Brown ticked through global trouble spots. On Iraq, Afghanistan, aid for Africa, the parallel economic woes in Britain and the United States, and their joint interest in a new world trade agreement, the two expressed near unanimity of thought.

On Iran, Brown said he was working with other European leaders to extend sanctions by blocking outside investment in an Iranian liquefied natural gas operation. Doing so would signal to Tehran "that what is happening is unacceptable."

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in Berlin that Iran's effort at enriching uranium was moving slowly and that the centrifuges it had added to its nuclear fuel production facility had been older models, Reuters news agency reported. ElBaradei urged Iran not to speed up its program.

A U.S. National Intelligence Estimate last year concluded that Iran had abandoned a clandestine nuclear weapons program in 2003. Nonetheless, Bush said Thursday that if the Islamic Republic learned how to enrich uranium, the knowledge "can be used to develop a nuclear weapon."

The two leaders also announced a renewed commitment to improve healthcare in Africa, with a focus on Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia.

Ties between Bush and Brown appeared to have survived British troop reductions in Iraq, although recent violence in Basra put the relationship to a new test.

Nonetheless, Bush answered emphatically when asked whether his relationship with Brown was a little less special than with Blair.

"False," Bush said.

And the president evinced a chummy air as he held out the prospect of dinner with his guest. "Look, if there wasn't a personal relationship, I wouldn't be inviting the man to a nice hamburger -- well done, I might add," Bush said.

The actual menu was a bit different: ossetra caviar, roasted rib-eye and early spring vegetable fricassee, according to the White House menu.



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usbritain18apr18,1,4272844.story

At least Britain and the U.S are serious about the Iranian Threat and are actually keeping an eye on Iran...Unlike the Bloody French!