Friday, November 11, 2011

Iran Going on War Footing (and where's the U.S. Navy?)

You have to be careful with Debka, they have been known to twist stories to Israel's advantage. On the other hand they have sources that no other public media can get close to.
From Debka via A Sclerotic Goes to War:

DEBKA-Net-Weekly #516 November 10, 2011
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has put the country on a war footing having decided that the threats by the United States, Israel and NATO members Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Holland to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities should be taken with the utmost seriousness.
Sunday, Nov. 6, two days before the publication of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s critical report, Khamenei summoned the regime’s top officials and commanders to his office for a tour d’horizon of Iran’s readiness for a confrontation.

By taking this stand, the Supreme Leader, DEBKA-Net-Weekly‘s Iranian sources report, put an end to the arguments among three establishment factions over whether the US, Israel and NATO powers were saber-rattling in earnest or faking it to destabilize the regime by scaring 70 million people into believing that a Western offensive was coming down on their heads, brought on by their government’s aggressive nuclear policy.

1. The military faction won out over the other two by persuading Khamenei that the Western-Israeli threat is not only genuine but could be realized at any moment. This faction is made up of a formidable array of top military and Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) officers: IRGC chief Gen. Ali Mohammed Jafari, the al Qods Brigades chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Navy commander Adm. Habibollah Sayyar, Head of the Basij Forces Gen. Nagdio Mohammad-Reza and Commander of Iran’s ground forces Gen. Brig. Ahmad-Reza Bourdastan.

Ahmadinejad apocalyptic

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi offered this enigmatic view: “Let them publish their report. One can die only once and even grief passes.”
He appeared to be advising the Islamic Republic to face up to the inevitable without fear.

2. The position taken by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi at the head of the second faction was that an attack on Iran is not certain but the threat should not be taken lightly. This week, Ahmadinejad maintained that if Iran did not prepare itself for a possible attack, it could face destruction and be thrown back 500 years.

Then, Tuesday, the president gathered his closest advisers around him for an apocalyptic message: “The military showdown with the West and Israel is close. It can no longer be prevented.”
3. This faction warned that plunging into reckless action would give the US and Israel a pretext for attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Tehran must exercise the utmost caution in its responses to avoid giving its enemies cause for war. This group’s spokesman is Mohammed Reza Qalidaf, the Mayor of Tehran and until five years ago one of the four IRGC top commanders.

The Guards mark 102 US Mid-East targets...MORE 
And from ZeroHedge:
With Iran This And Iran That, Here Is The Weekly US Naval Update
Let's face it: with the Iranian invasion foreplay having gone on about 3 years too long, everyone is just waiting for the flashing red "GDP boosting" headline. But to know how close we are to I-day, there is one question needing an answer: where are the boats? Below we share the latest weekly update of US naval positioning, as usual courtesy of Stratfor. The chart is self explanatory: the 5th Fleet AOR is getting just a little too crowded.




(click to enlarge)
You'll note no large ships in the Mediterranean which is odd.
Also, it seems that a lot of the big boats are back in port, refueling, victualing, arming etc.