Iran Thread

[Xno Kappa]

derp

Spare me the melodramatics. Just meant that anyone with any common sense wouldn't go shouting controversially charged issues at the top of their lungs in a foreign country they're loosely affiliated with.

[archibaldcrane]

but he's jewish, so he's an israeli citizen

[Elvis]

Spare me the melodramatics. Just meant that anyone with any common sense wouldn't go shouting controversially charged issues at the top of their lungs in a foreign country they're loosely affiliated with.

Who gives a shit what he said. There is no justification for what happened to him. That isn't melodramatic.

The Israeli police officer asking him for a passport just because he was pro-Palestinian and speaking his mind was melodramatic. Get your priorities straight, plow jr.

[Xno Kappa]

Who gives a shit what he said. There is no justification for what happened to him. That isn't melodramatic.

The Israeli police officer asking him for a passport just because he was pro-Palestinian and speaking his mind was melodramatic. Get your priorities straight, plow jr.

Who?

And where the fuck do I condone what they did? Just saying the dude's a fucking dumbass for thinking he wasn't gonna get fucked up or for thinking they was gonna treat him extra special because he's an American. I said you're fucking melodramatic because you took a simple comment and went on a Pro-Palestinian butt-hurt tirade with irrelevant incidents I couldn't care less about on some random ass assumption that I'm Pro-Israel or some shit.

[Elvis]

Who?

And where the fuck do I condone what they did? Just saying the dude's a fucking dumbass for thinking he wasn't gonna get fucked up or for thinking they was gonna treat him extra special because he's an American. I said you're fucking melodramatic because you took a simple comment and went on a Pro-Palestinian butt-hurt tirade on some random ass assumption that I'm Pro-Israel or some shit.

Stop thinking everything is either pro or anti this or that. I don't give a shit where you stand on this issue or anything else.

Your chastising the guy for talking. That's it. TALKING.

He was not yelling. He was not saying Jews should all die. He said Israel was an apartheid state and should conform to international norms.

I posted a video that was also taken during Jerusalem Day parade.

Why the fuck didn't you give us your 2 cents on mobs of Israeli Jews shouting, because that was real shouting, 'slaughter the Arabs'?

Reality is not pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel. That is why I called you plow jr. - plow being the kind of person with a hard-on for authority, whatever the context. Your 'simple'-minded comment was a ridiculous piece of 'advice' for people traveling to apparently fascist countries. Thank you random knob on the internet.

[Xno Kappa]

Okay so I'm being trolled. Just wanted to make sure.

[Elvis]

Okay so I'm being trolled. Just wanted to make sure.

Hipster hipster hipster

[Mazmaz]

I dunno I think Elvis got you good here.

[Correction]

Spare me the melodramatics. Just meant that anyone with any common sense wouldn't go shouting controversially charged issues at the top of their lungs in a foreign country they're loosely affiliated with.

I like the juxtaposition of 'spare me the melodramatics' and 'shouting at the top of their lungs.'

[Yuri-G]

you know what... now that you mention it, I like that too.

[Xno Kappa]

I like the getting mad at some dude in Israel doing stupid shit against Israel is extra special though that shit happens all around the world. Stay free BG politics.

[Correction]

I like the getting mad at some dude in Israel doing stupid shit against Israel is extra special though that shit happens all around the world. Stay free BG politics.

Syntax error, please try again.

[Cail]

US President Barack Obama Saturday signed into law tough new sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and financial sector, in a move that could intensify a brewing Gulf showdown.

The measures, meant to punish Iran for its nuclear program, were contained in a mammoth $662 billion defense bill, which Obama signed despite having reservations that it ties his hands on setting foreign policy.

The sanctions are meant to hit Iran's crucial oil sector and require foreign firms to make a choice between doing business with Tehran's financial sector and central bank or the mighty US economy and financial sector.

Foreign central banks which deal with the Iranian central bank on oil transactions could also face restrictions, sparking fears of damage to US ties with key nations such as Russia and China which trade with Iran.

Obama signed the bill in Hawaii where he is on vacation, at a time of rising tension with Tehran, which has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz -- through which more than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes.

The United States has warned it will "not tolerate" such an interruption.

In comments reported Saturday, Tehran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili warned that Iran would "give a resounding and many-pronged response to any threat" made against it.

But Jalili also said Iran was ready to rejoin EU-led talks with major powers on assuaging Western concerns over its nuclear program.

The White House held intense negotiations with Congress on the terms of the law's implementation, given concern that sanctions on Iran's central bank could spark chaos in the global financial system and hike the price of oil.

Obama said in a statement issued as he signed the bill that he was concerned the measure would interfere with his constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations by tying his hands in dealings with foreign governments.

The bill, which passed with wide majorities in Congress, did reserve some wiggle room for Obama, granting him the power to grant 120-day waivers if he judges it to be in the national security interests of the United States.

Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote to Congress to express concern against an earlier, tougher sanctions measure along the same lines saying it could harm the US push with its partners to isolate Iran.

Geithner argued that foreign allies could resent the new US measures and make it less likely they would cooperate and the sanctions would have the "opposite effect" of their intended purpose of isolating Iran.

Senior US officials said Saturday that they would try to implement the new sanctions guidelines in a way that protected the global economy and US foreign policy priorities, in a way which would still inflict pain on Iran.

There are fears that increased sanctions on Iran's central bank could force the global price of oil to suddenly soar, and actually give Tehran a financial windfall on its existing oil sales.

Rising oil prices could also crimp the fragile economic recovery in the United States and inflict pain on American voters in gas stations -- at a time when Obama is running for reelection next year.

The Obama administration argues that it has imposed the toughest-ever sanctions on Iran by the United States and its allies and says the measures are now having a punishing impact on the Iranian economy and petroleum sector.

The West alleges Tehran is seeking to acquire a weapons capability under the guise of its nuclear research program. Iran denies any such ambition and says its work is only for civil energy and medical purposes.

In recent weeks, Iranian officials have insisted the country was ready to face new sanctions against the oil sector and central bank.

The Wall Street Journal reported this month that US and European officials were seeking assurances from major oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, that they would increase exports to the West and Asian nations if tighter sanctions on Tehran's energy exports are enforced.

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[Athas]

Was that the same defense appropriation budget thing that had the indefinite detention of US citizens attached to it too?

[Cail]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican contender Rick Santorum says that if he's elected president, he would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities unless they were opened up for international arms inspectors.

The former Pennsylvania senator says President Barack Obama hasn't done enough to prevent the Iranian government from building a nuclear weapon and has risked turning the U.S. into a "paper tiger."

Santorum tells NBC television's "Meet the Press" that he would tell Iranian leaders that either they open up those facilities, begin to dismantle them and make them available to inspectors — or the U.S. would attack them.

The Obama administration, like President George W. Bush's administration, has focused primarily on international diplomacy and economic penalties to try to pressure Iran into abandoning its nuclear program. Iran contends its efforts are for peaceful purposes.

.

[Mazmaz]

Iran tests medium-range missile during Gulf drill

Iran's navy said Sunday it has test-fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile during a drill in international waters near the strategic Strait of Hormuz — the passageway for one-sixth of the world's oil supply.

State TV said the missile, named Mehrab, or Altar, has been designed to evade radars and was developed by Iranian scientists. The report didn't provide details or say when the missile was tested.
strait of hormuz

A spokesman for the exercise, Rear Adm. Mahmoud Mousavi, said the missile is one of the newest in the navy's arsenal.

"It's equipped with state-of-the-art technology and a built-in system that enables it to thwart jammers," Mousavi told state TV.

The exercise covers a 2,000-kilometre stretch of water beyond the Strait of Hormuz, including parts of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

The drill, which could bring Iranian ships into proximity with U.S. Navy vessels that operate in the same area, is Iran's latest show of strength in the face of mounting international criticism over its controversial nuclear program. The West fears Iran's program aims to develop atomic weapons — a charge Tehran denies, insisting it's for peaceful purposes only.

The 10-day exercise drew significant attention after Iranian officials warned they may close the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off oil exports, if the West imposes sanctions on Iran's oil shipments.

But Iranian military officials later backed off from the threat, saying Tehran can easily close the strategic oil route at the mouth of the Persian Gulf but has no intention of doing so at this point.

Mousavi made a similar reconciliatory comment on Sunday.

"We won't disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. We are not after this," the semi-official ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

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[Elrina]

Was that the same defense appropriation budget thing that had the indefinite detention of US citizens attached to it too?

Yes. H.R. 1540, the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

And @ Cail, wasn't it already established that all of the Republican candidates for President (except for Ron Paul) want to pretty much instigate a war with Iran? It's starting to seem pretty inevitable, and if it does I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens (even if we "win") it will be bad for us. So many fools, I can just see the oil supply being disrupted and taking a heavy toll on our already terrible economy, and the rhetoric framed as needing to "force them to open the straights again" rather than "aggressively pursue peace negotiations so that they'll voluntarily open them again".

Edit @ Maz

The end of that basically says they don't want to close the straights and close the oil supply, and have no intention of it. Which sounds like it's because they want to avoid instigating an actual war. But they also said they could do so easily, which seems to say "We don't want war, and won't instigate one by closing off the oil supply, but if you start a war with us we damn well can and will".

[Mazmaz]

The government in Iran WANTS a war. If a war occurs, then all opposition is rendered meaningless. Right now the government is very weak in terms of support from the people, but if it was attacked by another country then the people would support the government in whatever it does.

[Lestat]

The government in Iran WANTS a war. If a war occurs, then all opposition is rendered meaningless. Right now the government is very weak in terms of support from the people, but if it was attacked by another country then the people would support the government in whatever it does.

like 9/11

[Correction]

The government in Iran WANTS a war. If a war occurs, then all opposition is rendered meaningless. Right now the government is very weak in terms of support from the people, but if it was attacked by another country then the people would support the government in whatever it does.

Donald Rumsfeld, is that you?