.
A strike would further cripple the world’s economy, but secure Israel’s allegiance to the US in the near future. Israel would strike at Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and the military extremists in Hamas territory of the Gaza strip. Striking at Iran’s nuclear oil facilities would greatly harm China’s economy and its need for oil resources. While pulling out of Iraq, the US has established a strong military/intelligence base in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Emirates.
BREAKING NEWS: Upon arrival in Cannes (France) for the G20 Economic Summit, President Obama not only mentions the aspect of world’s economy and unemployment. Obama specifically mentioned the discussion at the G20 will also be about Iran’s nuclear threat.
UK military steps up plans for Iran attack amid fresh nuclear fears
(Guardian) Nov. 2, 2011 – Britain’s armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran’s nuclear enrichment programme.
The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government.
In anticipation of a potential attack, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.
IAEA RAPPORT
The Guardian has been told that the IAEA‘s bulletin could be “a game changer” which will provide unprecedented details of the research and experiments being undertaken by the regime.
One senior Whitehall official said Iran had proved “surprisingly resilient” in the face of sanctions, and sophisticated attempts by the west to cripple its nuclear enrichment programme had been less successful than first thought.
He said Iran appeared to be “newly aggressive, and we are not quite sure why”, citing three recent assassination plots on foreign soil that the intelligence agencies say were coordinated by elements in Tehran.
RECOVERY FROM STUXNET COMPUTER WORM
In addition to that, officials now believe Iran has restored all the capability it lost in a sophisticated cyber-attack last year.The Stuxnet computer worm, thought to have been engineered by the Americans and Israelis, sabotaged many of the centrifuges the Iranians were using to enrich uranium.
Netanyahu trying to persuade cabinet to support attack on Iran
(Haaretz) Nov. 2, 2011 – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who previously objected to attacking Iran, was recently persuaded by Netanyahu and Barak to support such a move.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran, a senior Israeli official has said. According to the official, there is a “small advantage” in the cabinet for the opponents of such an attack.
Senior ministers and diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency’s report, due to be released on November 8, will have a decisive effect on the decisions Israel makes.
The commotion regarding Iran was sparked by journalist Nahum Barnea’s column in Yediot Aharonot. Barnea’s concerned tone and his editors’ decision to run the column under the main headline (“Atomic Pressure” ) repositioned the debate on Iran from closed rooms to the media’s front pages.
Bahrain: Defense and Foreign Relations with US
In addition to maintaining strong relations with its largest financial backers, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the U.A.E., Bahrain has worked to improve its relations with Qatar and has proper, but not warm, relations with Iran. Bahrain-Iran relations have been strained since the discovery in 1981 of an Iran-sponsored coup plot in Bahrain. Bahraini suspicions of the Iranian role in local unrest in the mid-1990s remain. On March 16, 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced its judgment on the long-standing maritime delimitation and territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar.
Bahrain’s strategic partnership with the U.S. has intensified since 1991. Bahraini pilots flew strikes in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, and the country was used as a base for military operations in the Gulf. Bahrain provided logistical and basing support to international maritime interdiction efforts to enforce UN sanctions and prevent illegal smuggling of oil from Iraq in the 1990s. Bahrain also provided extensive basing and overflight clearances for a multitude of U.S. aircraft operating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Bahrain deployed forces in support of coalition operations during both OEF and OIF.
Bahrain and the United States signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement in October 1991 granting U.S. forces access to Bahraini facilities and ensuring the right to pre-position material for future crises. Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. The U.S. designated Bahrain a Major Non-NATO Ally in October 2001.
The US Naval Base at Manama, Bahrain
The home base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet has become a subject of discussion for American policymakers since large-scale protests broke out in Bahrain this past February. Located in the Persian Gulf near key Saudi Arabian oil fields, Bahrain has been the regional base of operation for the US Navy for more than six decades. As part of US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT for short which is also headquartered in Bahrain), the Fifth Fleet is responsible for protecting America’s interests in some 5 million square miles encompassing the Persian Gulf, the Arabian and Red Seas and is a powerful symbol of American presence and power in the Middle East.
Bahrain protests between Sunni minority and Iran backed shia majority suppressed by Saudi forces
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
