Iran test-fires more new weapons in war games

[lovuian]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/239430/1/.html

TEHRAN : Iran has announced it had successfully test-fired new armour-piercing weaponry and an anti-helicopter missile system on the third day of its latest war games.

"The new generation of anti-helicopter and anti-armour weapons were successfully tested on day three of the manoeuvres," an announcer on state television said as pictures of the test-firing were broadcast Saturday.

In the "Great Prophet II" war games, due to last 10 days, Iran has so far fired its Shahab-3 longer range missile for the first time in manoeuvres as well as new types of land-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles.

The armour-piercing weapons tested Saturday include a rifle equipped with special sights that can identify an enemy seven kilometres (four miles) away and can penetrate a target wearing a bullet-resistant vest from a distance of three kilometres (one-and-a-half miles).

The other new anti-armour weapon tested was a system aimed at penetrating the armour plate of tanks that "can be carried by a person, with high accuracy, high speed and high explosive power".

"The bullet of this system penetrates the armoured equipment and then explodes," state television said.
more...
This is No Iraq... this is a whole different entity

[lovuian]

1. A quote from American Military sources

senior American missile expert has said that the Iranians demonstrated up-to-date missile-launching technology which the West had not known them to possess. They also displayed unfamiliar warheads. But their most startling feat was the successful first test-fire of the long-range Shehab-3 with its cluster of tens of small bomblets, as revealed Oct. 31. The entire range bore the imprint of new purchases from China.

This Shehab-3, whose 2,000-km range brings Israel, the Middle East and Europe within reach - may be more than a match for any anti-missile missile system in American, Israeli or European arsenals – depending critically on the point of its fragmentation. Some of its features are still an enigma in the West.

If the Shehab-3’s cluster separates close to target, the Israel-US Arrow has a chance to intercept it, but the Americans and Israelis have no defense against the multiple warhead if it separates at a distance.
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Anybody can verify if this is just BS or the real thing...???

[lovuian]

2. From what I understand American ships are running Wargames

close to Iran ... is this a display of weaponry???

[lovuian]

3. Since our Newspapers would NEVER REPORT THIS

A large-scale US-Indian sea exercise called Malabar 06 is in progress off the Indian coast of Goa, ending Nov. 5. The American vessels taking part are the USS Boxer carrier, the USS Bunker Hill guided missile battle cruiser, the guided missile destroyer USS Howard and the USS Benfold , as well as the Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine Providence and the Canadian guided missile frigate HMCS Ottawa .

Indian maritime might is displayed with its warships like INS Beas , INS Mysore , INS Shakti , INS Ganga , tanking ship INS Gharial , submarine INS Shankush and Coast Guard ship CGS Samar

Malabar also involves the landing of large number of soldiers ashore, ahead of the Indian acquisition of the massive amphibious USS Trenton transport dock which can carry six helicopters and about a 1000 soldiers.

Our Tehran sources report that last Thursday, Oct. 26, Iranian officials were seriously rattled by a rumor that an Iranian spy plane had located the USS Boxer heading for the Persian Gulf. It prompted fears of an imminent American military assault to lift Republican prospects in the coming US midterm elections of Nov. 7. In any case, the Iranians suspect that at the end of the joint US-Indian exercise in the Arabian Sea, Boxer will veer west and head into the Persian Gulf. There would then be four US air carriers with task forces parked opposite Iranian shores, including the USS Enterprise Strike Group, the USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group and the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, which are already in place.

According to the intelligence reaching Iran, the Boxer and its escorts carry 850 Marines who have just spent months in special training for operations on offshore oil rigs and platforms.

2. American, Italy, France, Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are taking part in an exercise practicing the interception of ships carrying nuclear materials or components for use in advanced weapons. The exercise opposite Bahrain is the first to be held in the Persian Gulf under the three-year old proliferation security initiative.

On Oct. 27, Robert Joseph, the US undersecretary of state for arms control remarked: “From Iranian news reports we know the exercise got the attention of Iran.” But rather than climbing down, Tehran referred two days later to the war games as “adventurous” and placed its armed forces on a high alert which encompassed the joint naval units of the military and Revolutionary Guards in the Persian Gulf, while the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian army, navy and air force were placed on “yellow” alert, one level short of full war.

Also Oct. 29, , supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replaced Iran’s air force chief, Karim Qavami with Brig Gen Capt Ahmad Miqani, on the recommendation of the Revolutionary Guards commander.

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Just letting people know the talk all over the world

[upi402]

7. Thanks. The news has been cancelled it seems. n/t

[Ghost Dog]

9. I'd read that the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group

should have finished it's six-month tour at the end of October and be heading home by now.

Unless I'm getting the data confused, if this Strike Group remains 'in-theater', along with all the other fresh naval deployments, this is indeed a worrying sign...

[AntiFascist]

4. It seems like China is getting really serious lately....

I recall a recent Asia Times article where it listed all the ways China could attack the US in the event that we attacked Iran and it turned into a real World War, including EMP weapons that could take out large regions of the US (electronics-wise).

[lovuian]

5. I sometimes wonder if Bush could be a double agent

it makes you wonder doesn't it the way he has left America so vulnerable

[lovuian]

6. Another Article from Asia Times Confirming the others

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK03Ak02.html

The US campaign to 'persuade' Iran
By Ehsan Ahrari

US pressure on Iran to give up its uranium-enrichment program is taking shape in a variety of ways, with Saudi Arabia emerging as an important actor. However, like all pressure tactics in that part of the world, there is an element of subtlety that is not missed by Tehran, which won't necessarily respond as Riyadh and Washington would expect it to do. In this instance, Iran can be equally subtle, especially in soothing the security-related concerns of its Arab neighbors.
snip...

First, it has been reported that US-led coalition naval
forces have moved into the Saudi port of Ras Tanura. The stated purpose is to ward off possible seaborne attacks from al-Qaeda against the world's largest oil-loading terminal. But Iran will be watching carefully to see how much this US presence intimidates the Saudi leaders. Second, the US - along with ships from Bahrain, Australia, France, Italy and Britain - is conducting exercises simulating inspection of ships carrying illicit weapons-related materials. Iran must understand that the purpose is to intercept any nuclear- or missile-related shipments from North Korea.

Perhaps in response, Iranian state television has announced that naval maneuvers - named "Great Prophet Two" - would take place in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman from Thursday. "The war games are aimed at demonstrating the deterrent power of the Guards against possible threats," General Yahya Rahim Safavi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, was quoted as saying.
snip...
While examining the US exercises in the Sea of Oman and the Saudi decision to allow the US Navy into Ras Tanura port, one has to keep the preceding developments in mind.

The Saudi decision to rely on US forces once again - even though it carries a high risk of escalated resentment among Wahhabi hardliners inside the kingdom - might have been made for contradictory reasons.
more...
It looks like the Saudis have gone with the US... and do not want a nuclear Iran

[malaise]

8. Says who? n/t

[lovuian]

10. kick

:kick: