MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

The Muslim Brotherhood’s official motto: “Allah is our objective – The Prophet is our leader – The Qur’an is our law – Jihad is our way – Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope”

Reuters – “CAIRO – The Muslim Brotherhood said on Saturday it had won at least 41 percent of the seats in Egypt’s lower house of parliament, with Islamists of various stripes occupying almost two thirds of the assembly so far.

Banned under deposed president Hosni Mubarak, the Brotherhood has emerged as a major winner from the uprising that toppled him, exploiting a well-organized support base in the first free legislative vote in decades.

It may be some weeks before the exact shape of the lower house is known because of various runoff votes. However, it is unlikely that their outcome will alter the dominance of the Islamists who now look set to wield major influence over the shape a new constitution to be drafted by a 100-strong body that the new assembly will pick.

The Brotherhood has promised that Egyptians of all persuasions will have their say and, while the strong Islamist performance has alarmed some Egyptians and Western governments that backed Mubarak …” Read more.

Top US official meets Muslim Brotherhood to confirm their support of human rights, tolerance, rights of women & international obligations – “The number two official in the U.S. State Department met with a leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday but chose not to see a more hardline Islamist group that has also fared well in Egypt’s first free legislative vote in decades. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns met Mohamed Morsi, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), in Washington’s highest level outreach to the Islamist group as part of a series of meetings with Egyptian political figures in Cairo, the State Department said. ‘From our perspective it was an opportunity to hear from them and to reinforce our expectation that all the major parties will support human rights, tolerance, rights of women and will also uphold Egypt’s existing international obligations,’ State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.” Read more.

Flashback: Muslim Brotherhood Will Not Recognize the ‘Occupying Criminal Enemy’ Israel Under ANY Circumstances, Vows to Cancel ‘Zionist’ Peace Treaty – “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will not recognize Israel ‘under any circumstance,’ the party’s deputy leader Dr Rashad Bayoumi told Arabic daily al-Hayat in an interview publish Sunday. When asked whether it is a requirement for the government in Egypt to recognize Israel, Bayoumi responded by saying: ‘This is not an option, whatever the circumstances, we do not recognize Israel at all. Its [Israel] an occupying criminal enemy.’ The deputy leader stressed during the interview that no Muslim Brotherhood members would ever meet with Israelis for negotiations. ‘I will not allow myself to sit down with criminals.’ Bayoumi went on to say that The Muslim Brotherhood would take legal procedures towards cancelling the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that was signed in 1979.” Read more.

Flashback: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Holds Venomous Anti-Israel Rally, Vows to ‘One Day Kill All Jews’ – “Arab hate: A Muslim Brotherhood rally in Cairo’s most prominent mosque Friday turned into a venomous anti-Israel protest, with attendants vowing to ‘one day kill all Jews.’ Some 5,000 people joined the rally, called to promote the ‘battle against Jerusalem’s Judaization.’ The event coincided with the anniversary of the United Nations’ partition plan in 1947, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state… Speakers at the event delivered impassioned, hateful speeches against Israel, slamming the ‘Zionist occupiers’ and the ‘treacherous Jews.’” Read more.

“A new aircraft carrier strike group has entered the Arabian Sea and another is on its way, a Pentagon official said in a news briefing Wednesday — a shuffling of the U.S. fleet amid rising tensions with Iran.

Officials said there is no connection between the fleet movements and threats from Iran, however, the arrival of the USS Carl Vinson comes on the heals of Iranian military exercises in the Persian Gulf and threats to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil transit route.

And the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran on Wednesday further escalated tensions, as the Obama administration denied any role in the death.

The U.S. Navy announced Monday that the USS Vinson had arrived in the region to conduct missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts.

‘We will work closely with our regional partners to demonstrate our commitment to security and stability in the region,’ Rear Admiral Thomas Shannon said in a written statement.

Captain John Kirby, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Media Operations, on Wednesday denied U.S. involvement in the killing of the Iranian scientist and said the incident has not changed the U.S. position in the Gulf region.

And the number of carriers in the region ‘does go up and down, but it’s based on overall broad requirements in the region that the Central Command commander sets and establishes, [it’s] not necessarily … driven by a specific incident,’ Capt. Kirby said.

The shift in naval assets in the region, Kirby said, is not linked to Iran’s recent threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, a threat made in response to the West’s sanctions on Iranian oil exports over the country’s contested nuclear program.” Read more.

UK sending warship to Persian Gulf amid Strait closure fears – “The United Kingdom said Saturday it plans to send a warship to the Persian Gulf, a move that follows Western criticism of Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. The UK Ministry of Defense described the deployment of the HMS Daring as ‘long-planned’ and ‘entirely routine.’ The destroyer will replace a frigate stationed in the area, it said. Still, in the past two weeks both U.S. and British defense officials have denounced any move by Iran to close the strait, the only outlet from the Persian Gulf and a key trade route for oil.” Read more.

Iranian president arrives in Cuba; U.S. warns of ‘dangerous alliance’ – “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cuba Wednesday for a brief visit that is the third stop in his Latin American tour. Ahmadinejad was to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro later Wednesday, after lecturing at the University of Havana. Cuban diplomatic sources in Havana said that Ahmadinejad also has plans to meet with historic Cuban leader Fidel Castro. As he arrived in the communist island in the Caribbeann, Ahmadinejad lifted two fingers in a sign of victory. He was coming in from Nicaragua, where he attended Daniel Ortega’s inauguration for a further presidential term late Tuesday. U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement Wednesday that ‘Iran and Cuba are both state-sponsors of terrorism, and need to be treated as immediate threats to our national security.'” Read more.

“TEHRAN, Iran — Two assailants on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to the car of an Iranian university professor working at a key nuclear facility, killing him and wounding two people on Wednesday, a semiofficial news agency reported.

The attack in Tehran bore a strong resemblance to earlier killings of scientists working on the Iranian nuclear program. It is certain to reinforce authorities’ claims of widening clandestine operations by Western powers and allies to try to cripple nuclear advancements.

The bomb killed Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported. Natanz is Iran’s main enrichment site, but officials claimed earlier this week that they are expanding some operations to an underground site south of Tehran with more advanced equipment.

Witnesses told Reuters they had seen two people on the motorcycle fix a bomb to the car.

‘The bomb was a magnetic one and the same as the ones previously used for the assassination of the scientists, and is the work of the (Israelis),’ Fars quoted Tehran’s Deputy Governor Safarali Baratloo as saying. ‘The terrorist attack is a conspiracy to undermine the (March 2) parliamentary elections.’

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the country’s nuclear path would not change despite the killing, which it branded a ‘heinous act’.

‘Our path is irreversible,’ Arabic language al-Alam TV quoted an agency statement as saying.” Read more.

Iran, West approaching ‘turning point’ in 2012, officials warn – “War games. Threats to close a key oil passageway and block a U.S. aircraft carrier from returning to the Persian Gulf. An American sentenced to death in Tehran, accused of spying. And now a breakthrough in Iran’s nuclear program. The developments portend what officials see as a momentous year ahead in the standoff between Iran and the West, as Iranian leaders appear to grow bolder despite a new round of international sanctions which, by most accounts, is taking a toll. ‘There won’t be taking an eye off the ball,’ Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations at the Defense Department told reporters on Tuesday.” Read more.

‘Tinfoil Tuesday’ Claim: Iran used ‘force fields’ and ‘flying saucers’ to take down American drone – “Late last month, Iran put on display what it insisted was a captured American stealth drone. At the time, Tehran claimed it brought down the RQ-170 with a sophisticated electronic attack. Nonsense, says one Iranian engineer who claims to have inside knowledge of the drone-nab. The Islamic Republic used force fields and flying saucers to subdue and capture the unmanned aircraft. Meet Mehran Tavakoli Keshe, who purports to be the father of the RQ-170 abduction. In a recent post to his eponymous foundation’s online forums, Keshe claims the Iranians used ‘advanced space technology’ that he pioneered. ‘The craft has been air-picked-up and been put down on its belly through the use of field forces,’ Keshe writes — by which he means force fields. It’s feeling a lot like Tinfoil Tuesday, our weekly round-up of the planet’s most insane conspiracy theories.” Read more.

By Reuters – “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez lavished each other with praise on Monday, mocked U.S. disapproval and joked about having an atomic bomb at their disposal.

‘Despite those arrogant people who do not wish us to be together, we will unite forever,’ the Iranian president told socialist leader Chavez at the start of a visit to four left-leaning Latin American nations.

Despite their geographical distance, the fiery anti-U.S. ideologues have forged increasingly close ties between their fellow OPEC nations in recent years, although concrete projects have often lagged behind the rhetoric.

Ahmadinejad was in Venezuela at the start of a tour intended to shore up support as expanded Western economic sanctions kick in over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

‘The imperialist madness has been unleashed in a way that has not been seen for a long time,’ Chavez said in a ceremony to welcome Ahmadinejad at his presidential palace in Caracas.

Both men hugged, beamed, held hands and showered each other with praise.

As he often does, the theatrical and provocative Chavez stuck his finger right into the global political sore spot, joking that a bomb was ready under a grassy knoll in front of his Miraflores palace steps.

‘That hill will open up and a big atomic bomb will come out,’ he said, the two men laughing together.” Read more.

Flashback: ‘A World Without America’: Iran Building Rocket Bases in Venezuela to be Used Against ‘Iran’s Enemies’ – “The Iranian government is moving forward with the construction of rocket launch bases in Venezuela, the German daily Die Welt wrote in its Friday edition. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is Teheran’s most important South American ally. Iran is building intermediate- range missile launch pads on the Paraguaná Peninsula, and engineers from a construction firm – Khatam al-Anbia – owned by the Revolutionary Guards visited Paraguaná in February. Amir al-Hadschisadeh, the head of the Guard’s Air Force, participated in the visit, according to the report. Die Welt cited information from ‘Western security insiders.’” Read more.

Flashback: Middle Eastern Terrorists Plan US Attack ‘Worse Than The World Trade Center’ From Latin American Countries – “Middle Eastern terrorists have infiltrated Latin American countries—especially Mexico—to plan an attack against the United States, according to an alarming exposé broadcast this week by the world’s largest Spanish news network. The Univision documentary, ‘La Amenaza Irani,’ (Iranian Threat), uses undercover, never-before-seen video footage to illustrate how Iran’s growing political, economic and military ties to Latin America threaten U.S. security.” Read more.

Isaiah 48:22, “‘There is no peace for the wicked,’ says the LORD.”

By ASSOCIATED PRESS – “GAZA CITY — The top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip rejected compromise with Israel in a fiery speech Wednesday, a day after gunmen killed four Israelis.

In an address to Hamas members, Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would resist peace efforts and criticized the Palestinian president for joining the negotiations.

‘Today marks the start of direct negotiations between someone who has no right to represent the Palestinian people and the brutal occupier, to provide a cover for Judaizing Jerusalem and stealing the land,’ Zahar said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been locked in a fierce rivalry with Hamas since the group seized Gaza from his forces in a violent takeover in 2007, leaving him only in control of the West Bank.

In a swift response to the shooting, Abbas’ forces rounded up 250 low and mid-level Hamas supporters throughout the West Bank in what the group said was the largest sweep in recent memory. Hamas officials called the roundup arbitrary and an act of treason.

Abbas and Netanyahu are in Washington for a series of talks aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel within a year. Negotiations are to focus on core issues of the conflict, including the status of east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as capital of their future state but Israel also claims.” Read more.