Sunday 31 August 2014

America declares war on the world

Iran slams new round of US sanctions as ‘invasion’, says they violate nuclear dealL

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.(Reuters / Carlos Barria)

RT,
30 August, 2014

Iran’s president has condemned as an “invasion” new sanctions on around 30 firms, banks and individuals, imposed by the US amid stalled talks on Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran believes Washington’s move contradicts earlier agreements.

"Sanctions are an invasion of the Iranian nation. We should resist the invasion and put the invaders in their place," Iranian president Hassan Rouhani told officials in remarks broadcast by state TV. "We should not allow the continuation and repetition of the invasion."

On Friday, the United States announced it was putting more pressure on Iran by penalizing around 30 businesses, banks and individuals, allegedly helping Iran proceed with working on its nuclear program, supporting terrorism and letting Iran evade prior sanctions.

"
Today we took additional steps in our effort to maintain pressure on the government of Iran," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House's National Security Council.

Additional sanctions contradict an interim agreement reached by Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers, Iran's state TV said. The deal includes Iran curbing its nuclear activities in exchange for lifting some of its sanctions.

"These actions are inconsistent with the current process of nuclear negotiations," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in remarks quoted by the state news agency IRNA and cited by Reuters.

"
At a time when the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken confidence building measures based on the agreements, as was reflected by the IAEA reports in Tehran, Iran is expecting the same actions by the U.S. and the rest of the (powers)."

The US insists that the new set of sanctions are consistent with the interim agreement, explaining that they are not an expansion of the sanctions regime, but rather extending the list of persons and entities under types of sanctions that are currently effective.

.@StateDept today imposed sanctions on entities providing support to illicit Iranian nuclear activities. Learn more: http://go.usa.gov/mhHB 


"The United States remains committed to working with our P5+1 partners toward a long-term, comprehensive solution that provides confidence that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful," Hayden said.

US officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said more than 60 people and firms had already been targeted since the parties agreed to hold comprehensive nuclear discussions.

Apart from Iranian firms and individuals, some other foreign ones have been sanctioned by the US, such as UAE-based Goldentex FZE and Italian firm Dettin SpA.

Also on the new sanctions list is Moscow-based Iranian Asia Bank (formerly Chemeximbank), which according to the US Treasury “provided support to the Central Bank of Iran and designated Iranian banks.”

In mid-2014, Iranian Asia Bank converted and facilitated the delivery from Moscow to Tehran of US dollar bank notes valued at over $13 million to representatives of the Iranian government,” the US Treasury statement reads.

The sanctions ban transactions with the penalized individuals or companies and freeze their US assets and property.

The talks on Iranian nuclear program between Tehran and the P5+1 powers (Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States) started in February. The sides failed to strike an interim deal in July as was initially planned. The talks have been extended to November 24.

The US suspects Iran of attempts to develop nuclear arms, while Tehran denies the allegations and says its uranium enrichment program is purely for civilian purposes.



First shot’: Iran tests Bavar-373 system aimed to substitute Russian S-300
Tehran has showcased an indigenous long-range air defense system, the Bavar-373 missile, developed as an alternative to the Russian S-300 after Moscow canceled its contract.

:
 A picture shows a part of Iran's new medium range anti-aircraft air defence system Mersad (Ambush) (AFP Photo)

RT,
30 August, 2014



"Bavar-373 has fired a first successful shot," the commander of the Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base, Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli, told Iranian state TV on Friday.
According to Iranian security officials, the new system is better than the Russian S-300, as it is able to track over 100 targets, just like the Russian system but with a higher targeting capability.
"We believe that 'Bavar' and '3rd of Khordad' missile shields are better than some other long-range missile defense systems of the country," ol-Anbia added, Fars news reports.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the development of the missile system, after then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev banned armed sales to the country in light of UN sanctions against Tehran. Following the move, Iran filed a $4 billion lawsuit against Russia in the international arbitration court in Geneva.

View image on Twitter
completes indigenous system http://bit.ly/VV5Pk2 

The S-300 is a long-range surface-to-air missile system produced by NPO Almaz. It is designed to be used as a defensive weapon against aircraft and cruise missiles.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Air Defense commander boasted that the country's defense systems will track down all of Islamic Republic's enemies if they fly over Iran's airspace.
We give a warning to the enemy’s aircraft before entering the Islamic Republic’s airspace, and deem any kind of intruding drones or planes of enemy a threat, and shoot it down immediately in case of entry [into Iran],” Colonel Mahmoud Ahmadi, commander of Iran’s southwestern Air Defense zone, Tasnim news reported.
A drawing of the Bavar-373 (Image from wikipedia.org)
This follow an August 24 incident, when the country's forces shot down a stealth drone thought to be sent from Israel. The invading “Hermes” aircraft was intercepted by a surface-to-air missile.

Iran has also unveiled plans to increase the number of air defense sites from the current 3,600 to 5,000, according to Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli.



Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.(Reuters / Carlos Barria)

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