Iran

Hi Goyacobol - not sure what to make of all this yet - still gathering reports? First thoughts were that it may be a hyped PR stint, due the "timing" of this event? We know Trump wants to get out of Syria, ordered Troops out and the Pentagon/NATO are inserting MORE Troops and armor tanks to guard the northeast oil wells in Syria. I sense, there was a rendezvous meeting in Afghanistan recently between Esper, VP Pence, Pompeo, Pelosi and Schiff and they are cooking up mischief? In the same token, it's being reported - Trump "failed" to contact Pelosi and Schiff and a few other's on this "situation room" Mission? So, something is "at work" behind the scenes - for Trump to make "a dramatic play" in Syria like this? There is many things in play here, including moves Erdogan is making and I'm really concerned what NATO might have up their sleeve and are waiting to pull-off? Trump may have put a wrench in their wheels, aborting NATO plans?

Did they really kill "al-Baghdadi"?

Trump confirmed that al-Baghdadi died after igniting a suicide vest, killing him and three of his children.
"He reached the end of the tunnel as our dogs chased him down. He ignited his vest killing himself and three children. His body was mutilated from the blast, the tunnel had caved in on it in addition, but test results gave certain immediate and totally positive identification. It was him," the president said.

So he was mutilated and the tunnel caved in on him. How convenient.

Nobody will ever know whether it has really been al-Baghdadi or whether this character had been still alive anyway.
Will they drop him into the sea as they did with Osama-bin-Laden? :whistle:
 
‘All we have are Trump’s words’: UN isn’t confirming elimination of IS chief al-Baghdadi

The UN Monitoring Team on terrorist groups is going to put questions to the US and other involved parties to clarify the fate of al-Baghdadi, Edmund Fitton-Brown, a British diplomat who coordinates the team, told RIA Novosti news agency.
“All we have so far is the public announcement from the Americans, but it does seem like a very confident announcement. They seem very sure of themselves. They claim that they have verified it…
So, I think that should be taken very seriously.”


Russia’s Defense Ministry doubted Trump’s words, saying that it didn’t record any US coalition airstrikes in the area when the raid was said to have been carried out.

Trump initially promised to release a video of the raid, but the Pentagon later said that it had disposed of al-Baghdadi’s remains at sea and have no plans to share any videos or photos. :rolleyes:

Source: RT.com
 
Will they drop him into the sea as they did with Osama-bin-Laden? :whistle:

Trump initially promised to release a video of the raid, but the Pentagon later said that it had disposed of al-Baghdadi’s remains at sea and have no plans to share any videos or photos. :rolleyes:

Source: RT.com

The script is so predictable, it's laughable isn't it? Don't know whether to cry or laugh.
 
Nobody will ever know whether it has really been al-Baghdadi or whether this character had been still alive anyway.

They got their bases covered on that one ... PROMISE not to giggle?

Syrian Democratic Forces say Baghdadi's underwear was DNA tested before raid
Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's underpants were obtained by an undercover source and DNA tested to prove his identity before an operation by U.S. forces to kill him,
an advisor to the Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday.

There may be more trouble ahead for Iran?

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's trip started here and ended in Israel, where he got his new marching orders. Mnuchin has no morals or ethics - his background is a mess.


U.S.' Mnuchin, Kushner to attend Saudi conference, visit Israel
FILE PHOTO: White House senior advisor Jared Kushner (C) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L) wait in the Rose Garden prior to President Donald Trump's news conference on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner will travel to Saudi Arabia, where they will participate in an investment conference and Israel, where they will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Treasury said on Friday.

U.S. Treasury's Mnuchin says U.S. will ramp up pressure on Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shake hands as they deliver joint statements during their meeting in Jerusalem October 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday the United States would increase economic pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, making the pledge during a Middle East trip that includes visits to U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu says Iran seeking means to attack Israel from Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures while speaking during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem October 27, 2019. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran on Monday of seeking the means to launch precision-guided missiles at Israel from Yemen, a signal that the war-torn Gulf Arab country could come under pre-emptive Israeli attack.
 
Israeli operatives fill the ranks of Hamas and Hezbollah, ISIS and al Qaeda. In some cases dozens have been executed but, as had come to the surface in 2014, one stood out above the rest, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi or as he had been exposed, Shimon Elliot. .... writes Gordon Duff: The Strange Case of Baghdadi

Veterans Today broke the story on August 4, 2014, based on French reports and an alleged confirmation by Edward Snowden that Baghdadi was the British born son of Jewish parents, trained from early life in a well known Mossad program to place sleeper agents within key Arab nations.

In this case, Shimon Elliott became “al Baghdadi” in Iraq under a fake identity and was laundered through an American prison to be the actor commanding the long proven fake “Islamic State” that appeared from nowhere fighting the battles of Israel and America’s neocon right.

During the years since, reports, some reliable, some not, have had Bagdadi, or Mr. Shimon, which we believe more likely, move in and out of Israel and, according to reports in the Arab media, die in an Israeli hospital in 2017.

Is there more than one al Baghdadi? Possibly.

mccainisishead.jpg


A photograph taken in Syria in 2013 purportedly captured Senator John McCain posing with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
(Source: snopes.com)

In May 2013, Senator John McCain of Arizona undertook a trip to northern Syria, where he met and posed for photographs with members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), an opposition group founded in 2011 during the Syrian Civil War with the intent of bringing down the government of Syrian president Bashar Hafez al-Assad. The month before Senator McCain’s trip, the Obama administration had promised to provide military assistance to opposition fighters in Syria.

With reports from Russia, now read and re-reported around the world that the Baghdadi killing of October 27, 2019 was faked, no American planes or helicopters were in the region, the story below becomes more credible.

We must remember that Russia moved an S400 system into Syria after Turkey shot down a Russian plane and Turkish operatives executed the pilot. This was only miles away from the alleged American either “re-killing of the dead” or fake killing of a Mossad leader of a US backed organization to destroy Syria and Iraq, we are speaking of course of ISIS. From the Russian media taken from VT reports removed by Israeli intelligence.

The alternative story is that the US recruited Baghdadi from an Iraqi prison.
 

Seven countries issue Iran-related sanctions on 25 targets
FILE PHOTO: Iran's national flags are seen on a square in Tehran February 10, 2012, a day before the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File Photo
WASHINGTON October 30, 2019 - The United States and six Gulf countries agreed to jointly impose sanctions on 25 corporations, banks and individuals linked to Iran’s support for militant networks including Hezbollah, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

The blacklisted targets were announced by the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) nations - which also include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin traveled in the Middle East to finalize details of an economic development plan for the Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.

All 25 targets were previously under sanctions by the United States.

“The TFTC’s action coincides with my trip to the Middle East, where I am meeting with my counterparts across the region to bolster the fight against terrorist financing,” Mnuchin said in a Treasury statement.

In Jerusalem on Monday, Mnuchin said the United States would increase economic pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, making the pledge during a Middle East trip that includes visits to U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Twenty-one of the targets announced on Wednesday comprised a vast network of businesses providing financial support to the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary group that the U.S. Treasury says works for Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Treasury said shell companies and other measures were used to mask Basij ownership and control over multibillion-dollar business interests in Iran’s automotive, mining, metals, and banking industries, many of which operate across the Middle East and Europe.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday welcomed the move by Paris-based FATF, saying in a statement that the IRGC “continues to engage in large-scale, illicit, financing schemes to fund its malign activities.”

A note on Lebanon - From past media reports, Israel has set it's sight on Lebanon as a way of getting closer (geopolitically) to Iran. Just in the last 2-3 weeks, protesters have started demanding a change in Government heads. Basically, Israel's work in action, along with its lapdogs Mnuchin and Pompeo, to get Prime Minister Hariri, who answers to Saudi Arabia - to step down. That action came down less then 24 hours ago. Hariri is now willing to come back as PM but with conditions.

Lebanon's protesters turn on their leaders, breaking taboos

PM Hariri resigns as Lebanon crisis turns violent

Hariri ready to be Lebanese prime minister again but with conditions: source

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri gestures as he leaves after delivering his address in Beirut, Lebanon October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
Saad al-Hariri is ready to return as prime minister of a new Lebanese government, a senior official familiar with his thinking said, on condition it includes technocrats and can quickly implement reforms to stave off economic collapse.

U.S.'s Pompeo calls for new, efficient government in Lebanon
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is pictured at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 18, 2019.   Francisco Seco//Pool via REUTERS
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged Lebanon's political leaders to help form a new government responsive to the needs of its people after Saad al-Hariri resigned as prime minister after huge protests against the ruling elite.
 
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WASHINGTON October 30, 2019 - The United States and six Gulf countries agreed to jointly impose sanctions on 25 corporations, banks and individuals linked to Iran’s support for militant networks including Hezbollah, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

The blacklisted targets were announced by the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) nations - which also include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin traveled in the Middle East to finalize details of an economic development plan for the Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.

All 25 targets were previously under sanctions by the United States.


U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged Lebanon's political leaders to help form a new government responsive to the needs of its people after Saad al-Hariri resigned as prime minister after huge protests against the ruling elite.

It's long overdue for the U.S. to mind it's own business...:evil:
 
It's long overdue for the U.S. to mind it's own business...:evil:

That should be mounted on clear plexglass, in big flashing RED letters and a framed copy placed in the U.S. Senate and one in Congress!

Wonder what Netanyahu is planning - this time?


Israel's Netanyahu plans to move funds from civilian to military spending
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the media after reviewing an exhibition by the Israeli Air Force at the Palmachim Air Force Base near the city of Rishon LeZion in central Israel October 27, 2019. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to shift funds designated for civilian purposes to military spending to meet any threats from Iran, a government official said on Tuesday.

U.S. sanctions on Iran threaten access to certain medicines: report
U.S. sanctions on Iran threaten access by some Iranians to medicines that treat diseases such as cancer and epilepsy,
despite exemptions in the measures for imports of humanitarian goods, a report said on Tuesday.

Iran urges unity among Lebanon's political groups
Iran on Tuesday called for unity among Lebanon's political groups after Saad al-Hariri resigned as Lebanon's prime minister amid protests.
 
The earthquake in Albania according to this article hit an area of Albania which housed the Western supported Iranian resistance movement, which had previously until 2016 been housed in a camp in Iraq. It hasn't been in other media that I have seen and thus can be considered as unverified, but it sounds interesting. They blame Iran for the earthquake, but also reveal how much they were involved in protests in Iran and their Western backers. The earthquake destroyed a lot of their new operation center and caused deaths and injuries. According to wikipedia, the MEK did relocate 4000 members to Albania in this area, close to the epicenter of the earthquake.

Devastating Earthquake Destroys The PMOI/NCR Base In Albania, Possibly Dozens Dead, Survivors Blame Iran
By John Claimor
By Guest Author Last updated Nov 30, 2019
0 2,657
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TIRANA – On 26 November, early Wednesday morning at 3:54 local time, northwestern Albania was struck by a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter northwest of the capital Tirana. The maximum perceived intensity was VIII (severe) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. The tremor was felt in all parts of the country, and in places as far away as the Italian city Taranto and the Serbian capital Belgrade, some 370 kilometers northeast of the epicenter. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Albania in forty years. There have been hundreds of aftershocks, of which four have been greater than 5-magnitude.

Following the deadly earthquake, the Albanian government declared Wednesday a day of national mourning and a state of emergency in the Durres and Tirana regions. The earthquake razed several buildings to the ground in the port city of Durres and the surrounding villages, trapping dozens of people. Material damage and casualties have been reported in Tirana also. Neighboring and European Union countries have reacted to the earthquake with sending civil emergency rescue teams and financial aid.

For more than 36 hours, civil emergency crews, police, the army and specialized rescue teams from other countries have been digging in the ruins of collapsed buildings seeking survivors. The authorities say they have so far rescued 45 people. According to the latest official data, at least 48 people were killed in the earthquake, with 790 injured and more than 20 missing. These numbers are far from complete, especially considering the official hiding of foreign victims.

Unreported foreign casualties
RevContent InArticle SOLO

While Albanian citizens living in Tirana and Durres, 30 km and 15 km from the epicenter respectively, had some luck to avoid disaster, the members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) aka National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR) had none. Stationed only 5 km from the epicenter of the main earthquake, as well as less than a kilometer away from the epicenter of powerful 5.3-magnitude aftershock, the residents of poorly built barracks of the Ashraf-3 base have experienced true horror.
Ashraf-3_usgs.gov_.png
The Ashraf-3 base within the main destructive zone (map: USGS.gov)
Ashraf-3_earthquake-report.png
The Ashraf-3 base and earthquake aftershocks (map: Earthquake-report.com)



And everything almost went unreported. Standing with a colleague at the entrance of Tirana’s hospital in search of new information and tragic personal experiences, we were surprised to see a column of emergency vehicles led by a police car, trumpeting and shouting “Clear the way!” Wondering who is so important that ordinary civilians have to get out of the way, including wounded women and crying children, we followed the column until it stopped and politely asked the police officer about the VIP patients. “No camera, get back,” he ignored our questions and tried to drive us away.

Standing aside, but at a decent distance, we saw paramedics fastly carrying wounded on stretchers inside, at least two dozen of them. Some were covered with sheets full of blood, probably half dead, while others were howling in some incomprehensible language. Foreigners, therefore special treatment, I think to myself. But who? Too many for some embassy staff, too much well-treated for tourists, I wondered.

Given the obvious secrecy and strict police measures, we decided to change our approach. Instead of asking sensitive details with the press cards, we dodged the cops and approached one young paramedic: “They sent us here, we are translators, where should we go?” I asked him with self-confidence. “So you speak Iranian,” he responded. “Of course I speak Persian, or Iranian, as you inaccurately say,” I taught him differences and repeated the question about direction. “Second floor,” he explained, showing us where to go, and left quickly.
For me, things immediately started to make sense. Few in Albania do not know that there is a base near Tirana with 4,000 members of the controversial Iranian opposition group, displaced in 2016 from Iraq at the request of the US government. We journalists know a little more. Their compound is highly guarded and residents are strictly controlled, with no contact with the outside world. Several fugitives from the base gave shocking stories, and Albanian journalists who reported about their cases were facing tremendous pressures and harassment. Thus, this disastrous situation turned out to be a gold mine, a unique opportunity to find out what happened there. And what was happening earlier.

Repeating the same approach, I introduced myself as a translator and entered the hospital building. Fortunately, being busy in all that mess, none of the hospital staff asked additional questions or demanded documents, nor know Persian. Neither do I. Therefore, I hoped to find a sufficiently lively and friendly English speaker among the casualties, and I did. Teymur, a skinny mustachioed man in his late 50s, spoke English badly and slowly, but honestly.

“Not fair, we’re razed, but Tehran is not”
“It started shaking while I was sleeping in our dormitory with many others,” Teymur begins his experience. “At first the bed started to shake and I saw many waking up, then the windows and ceiling bursting down. Comrades in our and adjacent dormitories started screaming, some shouting that we were under attack. Finally, the structure began to collapse and the beam fell on my legs. I can’t feel my legs. In the half-dark I saw large chunks falling down, some were crushed, instantly dead. All this happened in less than a minute. Soon there was a lot of dust and I couldn’t see anymore, I just yelled for help. It felt like Mersad.”

Later, on the Internet I found out that Mersad was the name of the 1988 military operation in which Iranian army destroyed their troops in a canyon. Asked to evaluate the number of dead and the damage in their base, Teymur says:

“At dawn I was pulled out of the rubble. They lined us up the road and we waited for emergency vehicles. I heard that some were taken to Durres, others to Tirana. I saw seriously wounded and dead, perhaps dozens. I don’t know exactly. Earlier in the ruins I was calling out the names and out of twenty comrades in dormitory, only three answered me. But I know very well that the dormitory barracks have been destroyed, some razed to the ground, some badly damaged. Most of the base staff were sleeping, the rest were at computers in a hall, working an eight-hour night shift online. There are casualties there too, the ceiling has fallen and ruined our hard work. Simply not fair!”

It was astonishing that Teymur spoke calmly about the dead and wounded, but started to blubber like a baby about the computer hall. He seemed to be more upset by infrastructure losses than by human casualties. I asked him why the computer hall is so important to him.
“We arrived in Albania three years ago and since then we have been preparing for a new life. We have been told that our dear Saudi and Israeli allies have invested a lot of money in our base and infrastructure, that we are safe here. We have been told that we have full support of the US government and all their allies, mister Bolton even promised us to celebrate together in Tehran soon. A year ago, we got new computer equipment and for months we worked hard, promoting human rights and democracy. Just ten days ago, we saw Iranian people on the streets and Tehran buildings ablaze, we thought our dreams had come true. But today, no revolution, no halls, no computers. Everything was lost!”

“It has something to do with Iran”

Teymur’s raised voice elicited the reaction of his colleague in the next bed, chanting something like “mark bar this, mark bar that.” Asked to translate from Persian, Teymur explained that his comrade was cursing Iran and its government. “Why,” I asked.
“It has something to do with Iran, no doubt, we all know that,” Teymur claimed. I was pretty dazzled and asked him if he wants to say that Iran caused the earthquake.

“Yes, yes! How is it possible that an earthquake hits us directly? We were told that the earthquake epicenter was very, very close to our base, that there had been no such strong earthquake for decades! Is it a coincidence that it strikes precisely in the early morning hours when all comrades are at the base, inside the barracks? Someone obviously planned to cause as many casualties as possible! How is it possible that an earthquake strikes us just five days after the suppression of our revolution inside Iran? This is pure revenge! I’m sure that Iranian fingerprints exist. In fact, the Albanian police already announced that they had uncovered Iranian agents who were planning attacks against us, just a month ago. Maybe their agents buried and activated powerful bombs, maybe they use high frequencies via satellites to provoke earthquakes, I read that it’s possible. Iran should not posses such advanced technology, I hope our brother Trump will increase sanctions against their research networks, or respond by force,” Teymur said.

Just when his story was becoming more and more interesting, our conversation was interrupted by a security guard who banged on the door. “Who gave you permission to interview the casualties? If you don’t have an interview permit, get out”, security guard yelled, threatening to take our equipment. “If you publish anything in the media without permission, we will sue you and you will regret it,” a corpulent patron of alleged democracy fighters threatened us at the end.
 
I looked on Google Earth and zoomed in to get a better view of this base financed by the US taxpayers to the tune of $20+ millions. It is indeed very close to the epicenter and there have been aftershocks there today aswell pretty much spot on where the base is, so perhaps karma is playing a hand in this. I am more inclined to that idea than to the idea that Iran is possessing earthquake inducing weapons. Wikipedia writes about the base:
In May 2018, MSNBC aired never-before-seen footage of the MEK's secret base in Albania, described as a "massive military-style complex"

Here is the image:
Ashraf-3.gif
 
'Christmas is coming and it could be 'rainy.'

2019-12-02

Iran the Common Enemy in Middle East Protests: Pompeo
03/12/2019
ERBIL — The clerical regime of Iran is the enemy that united protesters across some countries in the Middle East, said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
 
The following article is not fresh, and was expressed when it was politically fitting, but it also explains the reason why there could be some Iranians both inside Iran and outside who are very much opposed to the current style of governing Iran.

DEATH FROM THE DARK AGES Hanged from cranes, thrown off cliffs and stoned to death… Iran’s brutal history of barbaric executions revealed after ‘CIA spies’ sentenced to death
WARNING
  • Patrick Knox
  • 24 Jul 2019, 11:00
  • Updated: 24 Jul 2019, 17:23
[...]
Last year 273 people were executed for a range of crimes in a manner that would not look out of place in Isis' Caliphate.

But the actual numbers are likely to be much higher as most executions are carried out secretly.

Some have committed serious crimes such as rape and murder.

Over the years others have been killed for being gay, committing adultery, sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol.

In fact “Revolutionary Courts” have the power to execute anyone for anything they deem to be “corruption on earth”.

Children as young as 12 are sentenced to death which international law forbids.

In 2018 six kids were executed, including two child brides who killed their abusive adult husbands.

What are Revolutionary Courts?
They are a special system of courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Trials, which last a few minutes, are blatantly unfair.
They are not held in public, there is no jury and sometimes defence lawyers are banned.
Human rights group say the evidence used for conviction is often extracted by torture.
A single judge decides the fate and punishment which is often death. Appeals are not an option.
The courts were founded in 1979 when the Islamic regime came to power.
Opposition was rooted out and convicted. Today they are still used as a tool of repression.

[...]
One thing not explained is why Iran has these legal provisions, what they are based on.
The way executions are carried out by the US, the UK is different and often includes also some of the bystanders and the suffering probably is on par with the cruel ways ascribed to Iran. Here is an article posted on SOTT that lays out the legal justification for these acts and gives one example:
How Lies And The Bethlehem Doctrine Brought About The Illegal Murder of Soleimani
And for a general discussion of this murder Trump orders assassination of top Iranian General. There will be a response and its consequences.
See also Extrajudicial killing - Wikipedia
 
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