MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By TIM SHIPMAN – “Israel will launch military action to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon as soon as Christmas, intelligence chiefs have warned.

A report by a UN watchdog into Iran’s nuclear ambitions ‘completely discredits’ the Islamic nation’s protestations of innocence, according to Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran is developing a nuclear test facility, nuclear detonators and computer modelling for a nuclear warhead that would fit on an existing missile.

Sources say the understanding at the top of the British Government is that Israel will attempt to strike against the nuclear sites ‘sooner rather than later’ – with logistical support from the U.S.

A senior Foreign Office figure has revealed that ministers have been told to expect Israeli military action, adding: ‘We’re expecting something as early as Christmas, or very early in the new year.’

Officials believe President Barack Obama would have to support the Israelis or risk losing vital Jewish-American support in the next presidential election.” Read more.

Iran: If Our Nuclear Progam is Attacked We Will Fight on the Streets of Tel Aviv and All Throughout Europe and the United States – “The head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said on Tuesday that Iran would start a ‘street war’ in Tel Aviv if its nuclear program was attacked. ‘Israel is not big enough to launch a military strike on Iran, but if it takes such a foolish decision, the Iranian military will fight with the Zionist soldiers in Tel Aviv streets… and will force them out of the Palestinian soil,’ Seyed Hossein Naqavi said. Naqavi also warned, should Tehran’s nuclear program be attacked, the battlefield won’t be in Iran, but ‘the entirety of Europe and the US.’ ‘Iranian forces will fight with the enemies with maximum might and power all throughout the European and US soil, if Iran comes under attack,’ he reiterated.” Read more.

Flashback: Confirmed: Hezbollah Terror Operatives, “Sleeper Cells” Poised in the U.S – “Operatives of the Lebanese Islamic terrorist organization Hezbollah, the same group presently firing missiles into Israel and labeled as one of the most dangerous Islamic terrorist group in the world, are believed ‘to be planning to activate sleeper cells located in New York and other larger cities inside the U.S.’ to stage attacks Americans. ‘The FBI and Justice Department have launched urgent new probes in New York and other cities targeting members of the Lebanese terror group.’ Law-enforcement and intelligence officials stated that “about a dozen hard-core supporters of Hezbollah have been identified in recent weeks as operating in the New York City area (alone).’ The above appeared in an article published in The New York Post on May 22, 2006. Not surprisingly, that very same information was verified through several sources within law enforcement agencies and agents contacted by the Northeast Intelligence Network this weekend… Their international operational budget is estimated to be $200-$500 million annually, including $100 million in contributions provided directly by Iran.” Read more.

“WASHINGTON – Some Arab leaders have told the United States they are willing to provide safe haven to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hasten his ‘inevitable’ departure from power, a senior US official said on Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman did not identify the countries that had offered a place for Assad to go after seven months of protests against his rule in Syria.

‘Almost all the Arab leaders, foreign ministers who I talk to say the same thing: Assad’s rule is coming to an end. It is inevitable,’ Feltman, who is in charge of near eastern affairs, told a Senate panel.

‘Some of these Arabs have even begun to offer Assad safe haven to encourage him to leave quickly,’ Feltman said. He hoped Assad and his inner circle would ‘head for the exits voluntarily.’

Assad has shown no sign of leaving.” Read more.

Syria’s Choice: Murderous Secular Regime or Islamic Fundamentalists – “As Syrian dictator Bashar Assad continues to slaughter his people, there are growing indications that the Islamists are increasing their efforts to replace his regime. What started as a secular Facebook revolution against the Assad regime is now beginning to look more like a jihad [holy war] led by Muslim fundamentalists. The Muslim Brotherhood is clearly seeking to hijack the anti-Assad protests, in both the political and military fields. In the past few months, there have been many signs of a ‘return to Islam’ in Syrian society.” Read more.

By Natasha Mozgovaya – “The United States said Tuesday it was alarmed by a recently published International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran’s nuclear program, adding that it would pursue further economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, as well as mulling ‘a range of possibilities.’

The IAEA report, which was handed over to the 35-member states of the IAEA Board of Governors, details a series of tests, acquisition of materials, and technology that suggests Iran has continuously worked to produce a nuclear weapon since 2003.

Speaking to the press on Wednesday, State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said the conclusions drawn by the report were ‘alarming,’ adding that Washington was looking into ‘additional ways to apply pressure on Iran.’

‘These are very serious allegations, serious charges’, Toner said. ‘And it’s incumbent on Iran to at last engage with the IAEA in a credible and transparent manner to address these concerns. I think going forward we’re consulting with our partners and allies within the IAEA. There is going to be a Board of Governors meeting, I think, at the end of next week where this will be addressed.'” Read more.

Iran won’t retreat ‘one iota’ from nuclear path, says Ahmadinejad – “Iran won’t retreat ‘one iota’ from its nuclear program and the world is being misled by claims it seeks atomic weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday. His comments — broadcast live on state TV and his first since a UN watchdog report said Tehran is on the brink of developing a nuclear warhead — contrasted sharply with Western warnings that Iran appears to be engaged in a dangerous defiance of international demands to control its nuclear ambitions. In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said his country would support boosting sanctions against Tehran to an ‘unprecedented scale’ if Iran stonewalls investigations, even as Israel and others say that military options are still possible.” Read more.

“The commander of the Iranian Navy says Iran has the right to deploy naval vessels near US coastal waters according to international law.

On Tuesday, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that international law permits all countries to send their naval ships to the open seas, and naval forces of the Islamic Republic are also allowed to sail in these waters, the Mehr news agency reported.

He went on to say that the Iranian Navy has the right to sail in waters near the coast of the United States because the coastal waters beyond the territorial waters of the country are regarded as the open sea.

He also spoke about the Jamaran destroyer, saying that it is currently on a patrol mission in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Last year, the Iranian Navy launched the Jamaran destroyer, with a displacement of around 1,420 tons and fitted with modern radar and other electronic warfare equipment.

The Jamaran can carry 120-140 personnel on board and is armed with a variety of surface-to-air missiles.

Earlier in the day, on its first international mission, the Jamaran foiled a pirate attack on an Iranian oil tanker in the southern part of the Red Sea off the coast of Hanish Al Kubra Island.” Source – PressTV.

Iran prepping for missile attack on Israel – “Iran has been preparing Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon to retaliate in the case of Israeli strikes against Tehran’s nuclear sites, according to Egyptian security officials speaking to WND. The security officials said Tehran was convinced the Jewish state was going to attack its suspected nuclear sites in September, prompting Iran to hold joint military drills with Gazan jihad groups in August, including with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Similar drills were held in August with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Those drills were conducted by Iranian Revolutionary Guard members, the officials said. The exercises focused largely on coordinated missile onslaughts from both Gaza and Lebanon aimed at blanketing the Jewish [state].” Read more.