Attacks 'part of Tehran's nuke agenda'
Geoff Elliott

July 31, 2006

FIRST the Hezbollah attacks on Israel, now this. Yesterday,
Hezbollah's key sponsors, Tehran, indicated it would not comply 
with any UN resolutions trying to suspend Iran's nuclear program.

"Iranians will not accept unfair decisions, even in the framework of
resolutions by the international bodies," Iran's state-run radio said.

The announcement provides the backdrop to what plenty in Washington
are saying about the Hezbollah-Israel conflict. It appears as no
coincidence that Hezbollah started to fire rockets into Israel just as
the Security Council sat down to draft its resolutions on how to deal
with Iran and its ambitions to go nuclear.

[... big snip ...]

Ahmadinejad believes he is on a mission to "pave the path for the
glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his
reappearance", as recounted in a speech in Tehran last November.

According to Shi'ites, the 12th imam disappeared as a child in the
year 941. The prophecy says when he returns he will reign on earth for
seven years, before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the
world.

Robert Baer, a former CIA officer in the Middle East and author of the
book See No Evil that inspired the film Syriana, says Ahmadinejad and
his Revolutionary Guards are "apocalyptic Shi'ites".

He was quoted as saying recently that they were "capable of making a
bomb, hiding it, and launching it at Israel. If you're sitting in Tel
Aviv and you believe they've got nukes and missiles -- you've got to
take them out. These guys are nuts, and there's no reason to back
off".

But Ahmadinejad is not the sole voice in a country with moderate
positions too.

Former CIA Middle East analyst and another Brookings scholar Ken
Pollack says the international consensus on the Iranian nuclear issue
is unprecedented and the delay in Tehran's response to the nuclear
package offered to them in June indicates that there is a battle
internally in Tehran on what to do.

"(Iranians) have all reported these deep divisions within the Iranian
political system over how to respond to this package deal," says
Pollack.

[... ...]

"It is clear that in the United States, Iran is seen as the ultimate
culprit behind Hezbollah's operation, and they are being held
accountable. That that view is not solely limited to the United States
creates real danger for the Iranians," Pollack says.

[... ...]

Full article at "The Australian"
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19962863-601,00.html 

Cheers, Steve..

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