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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Iran permitted Swiss to see detained Americans

By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer

WASHINGTON – The State Department on Tuesday welcomed Iran's decision to allow Swiss diplomats to meet with three Americans who have been detained in Iran since being arrested for illegal entry in late July.

The move could be seen as a conciliatory gesture on Iran's part, coming two days before a high-profile meeting between Iran and five world powers seeking to persuade Iran to abandon any effort to build nuclear weapons.

"We welcome this step," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. Asked whether it likely is connected to the coming talks in Geneva on nuclear issues, he said: "Hard to say."

The Swiss government, which represents U.S. interests in Tehran, offered few details of the visit.

"Swiss diplomats represent the interests of the United States, and as part of this provide consular protection for U.S. citizens," Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Adrian Sollberger told The AP. "In this context, they had direct contact today with the three imprisoned American citizens."

Sollberger said "direct contact" meant they were "personally visited" by Swiss diplomats. He provided no details.

The Swiss represent U.S. interests in Iran because the United States has no formal diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.

Crowley said it was not clear whether Iran's the decision to grant Swiss access made it more likely the Americans would be allowed to contact their families.

The three Americans are Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd.

Since the Americans' arrest, their families have had no contact with them and no information other than the fact of their detention.

On Sept. 22, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in New York City to speak to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said in an Associated Press interview that he would ask the country's judiciary to expedite the process and to "look at the case with maximum leniency."

His remark sparked hope among the hikers' families that they might be released and allowed to return home.

Mash'al: Egypt wants unity deal signed in October

September 28, 2009

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Hamas' senior-most political leader Khalid Mash’al sounded a hopeful note on Palestinian unity on Monday, saying that Egypt aims to seal a deal next month.

Mash'al said that Egyptian mediators are inviting all the political factions to a summit where they hope a unity agreement will be signed.

Mash’al, who lives in exile in Damascus, was speaking at a Cairo news conference after meeting with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Sulaiman.

"It was an extremely positive meeting and we discussed various and basic aspects regarding reconciliation," Mesh’al said of the talks. "We tackled many issues pertaining to this proposal and we think this proposal is a good basis to achieve Palestinian reconciliation."

"We extend our hands to our Fatah brothers and all the factions for reconciliation," he was also quoted as saying.

He also explained why Hamas did not respond in writing to Egypt’s latest proposal for unity.

"We didn’t write a written paper but we were keen to come to Cairo to confirm our position in support to the reconciliation agreement and to end the state of division," he said.

He also condemned Sunday’s Israeli settler intrusion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. In addition he called on Arab and Muslim states to help defend Jerusalem. He also demanded that the Palestinian Authority cease security coordination with Israel.

The last Hamas-Fatah unity government was dissolved in June 2007 when Hamas, the victor in parliamentary elections, took full control of the Gaza Strip. Egypt has mediated several fruitless rounds of unity talks over the past year.

The Decapitation of Pakistan by its own Military!

By Zahir Ebrahim

September 29, 2009

Who really killed Benazir Bhutto? I mean the prime-movers? Well let's read it in her own lucid words, which have now been augmented, almost two years later, with the Pakistan's Army Chief of Staff's belated disclosures of September 21, 2009. Why belated? Well, please see these unpublished letters to many Pakistani newspaper editors on their repeatedly perpetuating the fiction of Who Killed Benazir Bhutto in cahoots with the 'hectoring hegemons' and their agents!

The American agenda for Pakistan is not a state-secret. Rather, it is only thinly disguised as perpetually fighting the "insurgents" in a lifetime of war, the World War IV. Whereas, in reality, both the "insurgency", and the "counter-insurgency", are entirely designed and fabricated in the USA as part of the evolving tactics of Hegelian Dialectics. They are enacted on the ground by various two-bit errand boys and expert trigger pullers. The already well-known existence of black-ops assassination squads in Pakistan/Afghanistan, known to the local peoples for years as the real prime-movers behind the heinous local terrorist acts, belatedly confirmed by NYT,WP, and NYT, in August 2009. See these two December 2008 reports on the Mumbai terrorist Act as reportedly orchestrated by Ali Baba from his perch in the Hindu Kush. The arrival of the black-ops in the region is not recent, albeit the public disclosures might be.

Starting in the immediate aftermath of 911, and perhaps even earlier, Pakistan may well have become the largest deployment region for the CIA in modern times, both covert (unknown to Pakistani government and working to destabilize Pakistan), and overt (with Pakistani military's blessings ostensibly fighting the "insurgents", Bin Laden, Al-Qaaeda). And since Jundallah got launched to destabilize Iran, Baluchistan along with the Pak-Afghan regions have been awash with black-ops, and obviously of course, also with officially recognized US soldiers manning American military bases on Pakistani soil. But these soldiers of freedom were rarely spotted in the streets of major cities before. The following video report therefore portends of ominous whirlwinds engulfing Pakistan:

The events today are so transparent that many a retired con-fession artist are getting in on the act to claim the flag of patriotism. Going for hajj after having eaten 900 mice is the favorite pastime of Pakistani praetorian guards. I am only waiting for any sitting Pakistani General to rise to that occasion, if it's not already too late! But I am afraid it probably is – see here, here, here, and here. The decapitation of Pakistan by Pakistan's finest. The shameful and criminal dislocation of up to 2.4 million civilians in May of this year was rightly described as "anexodus that is beyond biblical".

Just as from the USSR's point of view in yesteryears, the "insurgency" against them in Afghanistan was foreign inculcated, entirely fabricated in the USA (as we know today but held as a closely guarded secret then), which thusly forced the Soviets to apply counter-insurgency measures, and subsequently, an outright invasion of Afghanistan (read Brzezinski's own statements in Saving Pakistan cited below, and watch Brzezinski speak in the video clip below devilishly crafting the "insurgency" for the Russians on the Pak-Afghan border), the so called "insurgency" in Pakistan is also similarly fabricated in the USA through covert intervention and black-ops.

The Pakistan military, not too well-versed in political science or Hegelian Dialectics based Machiavellian state-craft (I presume), is similarly being compelled to take real counter-insurgency measures like the Soviets. Aided and abetted of course by high ranking traitors from within their own ranks, and by their foreign paymasters' militaries (NATO, Blackwater now renamed Xe, and other un-named foreign divisions operating within Pakistan which I call "Jundallah-plusplus" to distinguish them from "Jundallah" which is apparently targeting Iran from Pakistani soil). The simple fact that Pakistan is supplying all the drinking water (bottled by Nestle), and full logistics channel for war-making supplies to NATO in Afghanistan is telling in and of itself. Pakistan is equally responsible for destroying the Afghan society, the Afghan people, and there is no less spilled-blood of innocent Afghani Muslims upon Pakistan's hands over the past 30 years, than upon the United States'.

Pakistani military helped destroy Afghanistan, and they are now helping to destroy Pakistan. No Pakistani civilian I know, including myself, ever authorized the Pakistani military to destroy Afghanistan, or aid the United States in its own hegemonic plans on the Grand Chessboard. Do you know anyone? So from where did they get their mandate? I would rather have clean drinking water in my tap, damn it! What good are the bloody nukes when they become the raison d'ĂȘtre for our very destruction in this manner without ever firing a single missile at the drones that are killing our own peoples?

It gives me no pleasure to repeatedly rehearse this footnote to history. What is not already obvious to the Pakistanis? It must surely still occur to many a reasonable military man serving with genuine zeal and honor in the real pivot of power in Pakistan that the end is drawing near. What are they doing idly watching the battle of their lives from the sidelines – when they are not shooting or displacing their own peoples that is? As is quoted from a Dawn newspaper column in the very first document below, "THIS article poses two questions: on the day after US/Nato forces invade and occupy some of Balochistan and Waziristan, what will we say we should have done, and why aren’t we doing it now? Is this far-fetched? ... One hopes that a small group of patriotic officers in Pakistan are also asking themselves what can be done, and why aren’t we doing it now."

If one is genuinely confused about who is the enemy, whether it's the Taliban, Al-Qaeeda, Islamism, Militant Islam, unknown foreign fighters, foreign intelligence agencies, India, Israel, or the United States, please spend the next couple of hours studying the following documents. Write to me if you are still uncertain about who is behind "tickling" the so called "insurgents" into existence, and why that is necessary in order to fight World War IV with our blood:

# The Day After – American Agenda for Pakistan

# Press Release Statement on Pakistan May 26, 2009: "What is not already obvious here?"

# The Final Waging Global War By Way of Deception Report May 23 2009

# Letter to Hamid Mir, Geo TV, May 15, 2009: Stupid or Shill?

# Between Imperial Mobilization and Islamofascism: Pakistani Negroes to the rescue

# Letter to Editor, Dawn, The Prized Negroes of Pakistan Speak Out

# Letter to Editor: Three Points of Agreement with the Distinguished Physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy

# OPEN LETTER TO AITZAZ AHSAN

# Letter to Editor: The interlude between puppetshows is the only reality!

# Press Release September 20, 2008 (Between Mercenaries and Patsies): What's to be Done?

# Happy-Happy Zardari, September 2008: A monologue on Hope and Voluntary Servitude

# Profound Clairvoyance or Blatant Obviousness? February 2008

# Saving Pakistan from Synthetic 'Terror Central' July 2007: Orchestration of 'Lal Masjid' – a precursor to 'shock and awe'?

# 'War on Terror' is not about 'Islamofascism' – Please get with the real agenda you people! April 2003

# (Video) - After all, "God is on your side"

Israeli envoys to US for talks on peacemaking

By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM – The chief Palestinian negotiator on Tuesday played down expectations for President Barack Obama's latest attempt to restart peace talks, saying key differences with Israel make it difficult for negotiations to resume.

The negotiator, Saeb Erekat, spoke ahead of talks in Washington this week with Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell. The former U.S. senator is holding separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinians teams in hopes of reviving the long-stalled peace talks.

Erekat reiterated the Palestinians' insistence that Israel stop all settlement construction in the West Bank, and stressed there would be no direct talks with the Israelis during this week's trip to Washington.

"There will not be Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in Washington," Erekat said. "There will be parallel American-Israeli negotiations and Palestinian-American negotiations."

The talks in Washington are a follow to Obama's summit last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New York. Obama urged the sides to move beyond the two main sticking points — continued Israeli settlement construction and the framework for resuming talks.

Israel has agreed to slow building in the West Bank, captured by Israel in 1967, but has rejected a total halt to construction. Israel had pledged to stop settlement building in a 2003 U.S.-backed peace plan, but has not done so, claiming that the Palestinians have not carried out their obligations.

The Palestinians also want negotiations to begin where they left off under Netanyahu's more dovish predecessor, Ehud Olmert. Netanyahu says he is not obligated to any concessions that Olmert made.

Meanwhile, an Israeli settler was seriously wounded Tuesday when gunmen fired at his car in the West Bank, the military and police said, blaming militants for the shooting.

After initially backing the Palestinian calls for an Israeli settlement freeze, the White House appears to have softened its position, saying it is time for the sides to start talking again even if settlement work continues.

On Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Arab nations to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel in order to help get both sides to the negotiating table. Arab states reacted coolly to Clinton's suggestion.

Israeli representatives of Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are scheduled to meet with Mitchell on Wednesday. Erekat will hold separate talks with Mitchell later in the week.

Among the many obstacles to a final peace deal is the Islamic militant group Hamas' control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas seized power there two years ago after routing forces loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement. Abbas rules only the West Bank.

Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist group, has said a final peace deal is impossible as long as the Palestinians are divided between two governments.

On Monday, Hamas' exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal, said his group has agreed in principle to a proposal for reconciling with its Fatah rivals in a deal that would clear the way for new presidential and parliamentary elections.

A final deal being brokered by Egyptian mediators will be drawn up and signed in October, Mashaal said in Cairo after talks with Egypt's intelligence chief.

Erekat welcomed the news. "We hope the elections can take place," he said, adding that Palestinian politics must be conducted "in accordance with our national interest."

Q+A-Is a Palestinian unity deal imminent?

Sept 29 (Reuters) - Egypt is to call a meeting of Palestinian factions next month to ratify a reconciliation pact between the Islamist Hamas group and rival Fatah movement, a Hamas leader said.

Here's where matters stand on Palestinian unity:

IS A DEAL CLOSE? It's hard to say. Both Fatah and Hamas have missed a series of deadlines for a deal in the past.

But Palestinian elections, slated for January, are approaching, and both groups face the prospect of a constitutional vacuum and a wider political rift unless a ballot is held.

Mediator Egypt is pushing for a compromise date in June.

Hamas knows that Abbas could press ahead with a presidential and parliamentary election without a unity agreement, in response to pressure from some Fatah leaders still smarting from the loss of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in fighting in 2007.

However, many in Fatah are wary of holding elections that could harden the split if held only in the West Bank.

For Hamas, reconciliation with Fatah could lead to an easing of Israel's Gaza blockade and Western powers' isolation of the Islamist group.

IF A DEAL IS SIGNED, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Egyptian security officers would likely deploy in the Palestinian territories, mainly in the Gaza Strip, to oversee a restructuring of the Palestinian security services and formation of a joint Hamas-Fatah police force.

Fatah, Hamas and other groups would establish a committee to oversee reconstruction of homes, businesses and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip damaged or destroyed in Israel's December-January war.

The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt would likely become fully operational. The transit point, largely closed since the Hamas takeover in 2007, had been Gaza residents' main link to the outside world.

WHO'S BEST PLACED TO WIN THE NEXT ELECTION?

Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary election, but political analysts predict a weaker finish in the coming ballot, citing the hardships voters have suffered as a result of the Gaza war and blockade.

While poverty is the rule in the Gaza Strip, the economy in the Fatah-dominated West Bank is improving thanks to the policies of Abbas' prime minister, Salam Fayyad, and an easing of Israeli travel restrictions in some areas.

AND IF NO DEAL IS SIGNED?

Watch for stronger pressure on Abbas from some Fatah officials to hold an election anyway -- a ballot Hamas would block in the Gaza Strip.

In the absence of a unity agreement, Abbas is expected to sign a presidential decree on October 25 setting an election date in January. However, he knows that holding elections only in the West Bank may risk entrenching the division with Gaza.

Morocco urges relocating West Sahara refugees

2009-09-29

Morocco's UN ambassador in Geneva: Algeria blocking solutions for 'voluntary repatriation'.

GENEVA - Morocco on Monday called for the United Nations refugee agency to propose to Western Sahara refugees living in Algerian camps relocation to a third country.

Morocco's UN ambassador in Geneva, Omar Hilale, said Algeria is blocking solutions for "voluntary repatriation" to the part of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco as well as "local integration" in Algerian territory.

Hilale said Algeria's position amounted to condemning the refugees to "collective exile in perpetuity."

Speaking to the executive committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, he said that "Morocco would like HCR... to inform the people in the camps of their right to leave the camps and freely choose to be relocated in a third country."

According to the Polisario Front, an independence movement for Western Sahara, more than 165,000 refugees from the former Spanish colony annexed in 1975 by Morocco live in the Tindouf camps, about 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) southwest of Algiers.

The UN has said the Polisario's estimates are too high and has called for a census to be conducted at the camps, which Algeria, a Polisario supporter, has refused.

The Moroccan ambassador said the UNHCR should "no longer limit itself in the Tindouf camps only to providing food" but should extend its mission "to general protection and in particular to putting in place lasting solutions".

Hilale also said Morocco feared that the despair in the camps "could be exploited by terrorist networks which hold sway in the Sahel Saharan region."

He also said that the refugees, no matter where they might move in the world, would retain their right to participate in any referendum on a political solution for Western Sahara, based on negotiations under the auspices of the UN Security Council.

Morocco claims historical sovereignty over Western Sahara and has proposed a plan for broad self-government, but no independence.

Earlier this month Antonio Guterres made the first visit by a head of the UN refugee agency to the camps of Western Sahara's refugees since they were founded more than 30 years ago.

"These refugees are living for tens of years in precarious conditions. With this visit I want to better know their needs in order to be able to bring them more aid in the most effective way possible," Guterres said on September 10.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=34601.

Golans pledge support to Syria -- Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A group of residents from the Golan Heights pledged their solidarity to the Syrian government and opposition to Israeli occupation, Damascus says.

A delegation from the Citizens of Occupied Syrian Golan issued a statement in support of the Syrian government during a weekend celebration in Syria, the officials Syrian Arab News Agency reports.

"The visit embodies the profound connection and ties between the citizens of the Occupied Golan and the motherland," a statement from the delegation read.

The status of the Golan Heights is one of the more contentious issues in the region. Israel views the territory as an important strategic asset, while Damascus said it would not move forward with a peace settlement with Israel until the area is returned to Syria.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry in a recent report regarding the Palestinian territories accused Israel of disposing nuclear, radioactive and other hazardous waste in tunnels throughout the Golan Heights.

Damascus said the move is part of an effort to prevent Syria from reclaiming the territory occupied and later annexed by Israel.

Caning for drinking beer upheld

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A judge in Malaysia has upheld a court verdict to cane a Muslim woman for drinking beer, news reports said Monday. The chief Shariah judge of Pahang state reportedly ruled that a Shariah High Court's verdict against Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was correct and should stay.

If the punishment is carried out, Kartika would become the first Muslim woman to be caned in Malaysia, where about 60 percent of the 28 million people are Muslims. No date was immediately set for the caning.

Iran condemns Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa mosque

Iran's Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi has condemned an IDF-supported attack against Palestinians in the holy Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem (al-Quds).

In a statement released on Tuesday, Qashqavi said the incursion, which resulted in the injury of scores of Palestinian prayers, is a clear example of Israeli violations of human rights in the occupied territories.

Qashqavi also called for an end to Israel's repeated acts of aggression against Palestinians and Muslims.

“Israel's attack against the third holiest Islamic site, which was staged with the full support and assistance of Israeli soldiers, should be faced with a severe reprimand.”

With the full blessing of Israeli soldiers, a group of Israeli settlers -- people illegally living on Palestinian land -- stormed the al Aqsa mosque premises on Sunday and injured more than 16 Palestinians.

The Muslim world reacted in shock to the incident with the Islamic Conference Organization issuing a strongly worded statement to condemn Israel's violation of the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque.

The attack brought back bitter memories from September 1990 when former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon entered the al Aqsa compound with more than 2,000 military forces. The move gave rise to the second Intifada.

According to statistics obtained by the Palestinian News Network (PNN), more than 6,000 Palestinians have been killed with nearly 50,000 others wounded since the beginning of the second Intifada.

Sixty-nine thousand Palestinians, meanwhile, have been arrested, including 7,800 children.

Iran to hold Int'l Press, News Agencies expo

Iran is planning to hold the 16th International Exhibition of Press and News Agencies, hosting 30 countries in the capital of Tehran.

The event, which will kick off on Oct. 20, 2009 at Tehran's permanent prayer grounds, will present some 1,500 newspapers and journals, Fars News Agency reported.

“Visitors will also be able to read various newspapers and magazines at the exhibition's news cafĂ©,” announced Iran's deputy culture minister for press affairs, Ali Reza Malekian.

Indonesia, the UK, Italy, Brazil, Bahrain, Bosnia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, China, Japan, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Georgia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Venezuela, India, Greece, Azerbaijan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Afghanistan, Armenia, Ukraine and Malaysia will be among this year's participants.

“A photo exhibition will also be held on the sidelines of the event, where photojournalist will showcase their works,” Malekian added.

Iran's 16th International Exhibition of Press and News Agencies will run until Oct. 27.

Hamas to open legislative offices across Arab world

As part of an effort to improve its image and avoid travel restrictions imposed by Israel, Hamas is considering opening branches for the Palestinian parliament across the Arab world, Xinhua reports.

Hamas’ leadership told the Chinese news agency that the idea remains in discussion stages, but sources have confirmed that Hamas lawmaker Marwan Abu Rass arrived in Damascus this week to organize the opening of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)’s first branch outside of Palestinian territories.

“The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc of Hamas is thinking seriously of opening a regular office in the Syrian capital,” Ismail al-Ashqar, a Hamas legislator, told Xinhua.

“Such a step would help break the siege on the bloc's members,” he added. Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the PLC, told reporters in Gaza, “At the beginning, the branches will be in Syria and Egypt before spreading out to all Arab capitals.”

“The aim is to communicate with the world and the Arab parliaments, given the tight blockade of Gaza.”

Haneya urges OIC to convene Jerusalem committee

Deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya Monday called on the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to convene its al-Quds (Jerusalem) committee urgently.

Haneya's call were made a day after nearly a dozen of Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Jewish worshipers who broke into the yard of al-Aqsa mosque, a sensitive Muslim holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem.

In a statement sent to the press, Haneya urged Moroccan King Mohammed VI, the secretary-general of al-Quds committee, to call for an urgent meeting "and to made decisions amounting to the a responsible level."

"The harsh attack on al-Aqsa mosque and al-Quds needs clear Arab and Islamic decisions with mechanisms for implementation to protect the shrine and the holy city," Haneya said.

The yard in the Old City contains the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest Muslim shrine in the world.

The Palestinians put Jerusalem at the center of stalled negotiations with Israel and demand the eastern part of the city as the capital of their future statehood.

For the second day, Hamas is staging rallies and demonstration in the Gaza Strip to protest the incidents in the Old City.

OIC Calls for Immediate Cessation of Illegal Israeli Activities in OPT

NEW YORK, September 29, 2009 (WAFA)-The members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) called for the immediate cessation of all illegal Israeli activities in accordance with the occupying Power's obligations under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, in accordance with commitments and obligations under the Quartet Roadmap, and in respect of the firm international consensus in this regard.

OIC Committee on Palestine (Guinea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal and the Secretary-General of the OIC) met Monday, at the Ministerial level, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to consider the current situation and recent developments regarding the question of Palestine.

The Committee called upon the international community, particularly the Security Council, to hold responsible for Occupied East Jerusalem, and to take urgent action to bring a complete halt to all illegal Israeli measures and actions aimed at changing the demographic composition, character, geographic nature and legal status of the Holy City, de-populating it of its Palestinian inhabitants, entrenching the occupying Power’s unlawful control of the City and thus illegally and unilaterally determining the fate of Al-Quds Al-Sharif (East Jerusalem), the capital of the future State of Palestine.

The Committee called on all OIC Member States to provide urgent material support to the Palestinian people and their institutions in Occupied East Jerusalem so that to protect the cause of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and support the steadfastness of its people and preserve the Arab, Islamic and civilizational character of the Holy City.

The Committee called for an intensification of efforts by the international community aimed at the accelerated achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Roadmap.

The Committee reiterated in this regard its firm and unwavering support for the just cause of Palestine. The Committee called for the speedy realization by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights, including their right to self-determination, with the establishment of their independent State of Palestine, Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, and a just solution for the plight of the Palestine refugees on the basis of General Assembly resolution 194(III).

The Committee decided to exert efforts to raise awareness of the situation in the Holy City, and to strengthen support for the needs of the Palestinian people, including the inhabitants of the Holy City and the besieged civilian population in the Gaza Strip, during this critical period.

The Committee expressed serious concern about the grave situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, especially the continuing inhumane Israeli blockade and dire humanitarian crisis being imposed on the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing illegal colonization campaign being carried out by Israel, the occupying Power, particularly in and around Occupied East Jerusalem.

The Committee strongly condemned the attacks by the Israeli occupying forces, including extremist Jewish colonizers, perpetrated against Palestinian civilians and worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound in Occupied East Jerusalem.

The Committee reiterated its condemnation of Israel's persistent aggression against Islamic and Christian holy places in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and against the Palestinian inhabitants of the Holy City, which continues to cause rising tensions and mounting difficulties for the Palestinian inhabitants of the City in all spheres of life.

The Committee expressed grave concern about and condemned in particular Israel's illegal and intensifying colonization measures, including its ongoing settlement activities, transfer of more Israeli settlers and construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially in and around the Holy City, as well as its escalating practice of demolition of Palestinian homes, eviction of Palestinian families from the City.

Seizing of more Palestinian land, homes and properties, illegal excavations near and beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound, evocation of Palestinian residency rights in the City, continued closure of Palestinian institutions in the City, and the imposition of severe restrictions to movement that have isolated the City from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Iran put nuclear site near base in case of attack

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's nuclear chief said Tuesday his country built its newly revealed uranium enrichment facility inside a mountain and next to a military site to ensure continuity of its nuclear activities in case of an attack.

Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who also heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the site near the holy city of Qom is next to an ammunition depot controlled by the elite Revolutionary Guard, Iran's most powerful military force. He said the only connection between the Qom nuclear facility and the Guard is the Guard would protect it against possible attacks.

"This site is at the base of a mountain and was selected on purpose in a place that would be protected against aerial attack. That's why the site was chosen adjacent to a military site," Salehi told a news conference. "It was intended to safeguard our nuclear facilities and reduce the cost of active defense system. If we had chosen another site, we would have had to set up another aerial defense system."

Details about the newly revealed site and the fact that Iran kept its construction secret for years have raised more suspicion among experts and Western governments that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing weapons — something Tehran has long denied. The U.S. and its allies have strongly condemned Iran over the site and demanded it immediately come clean on its nuclear activities or face harsher international sanctions.

Salehi said the site was selected after a careful study by the authorities and will be open to inspections by the U.N. nuclear watchdog. He said Iran is in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency to set a timetable "soon" for a visit.

He gave the location of the site as about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of capital Tehran on the road leading to Qom. That is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Qom. He dismissed a statement by Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday that the facility was near the village of Fordo, which is about 30 miles south of Qom.

A satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe and GeoEye shows a well-fortified facility built into a mountain about 20 miles northeast of Qom, with ventilation shafts and a nearby surface-to-air missile site, according to defense consultancy IHS Jane's, which did the analysis of the imagery. The image was taken in September.

GlobalSecurity.org analyzed images from 2005 and January 2009 when the site was in an earlier phase of construction and believes the facility is not underground but was instead cut into a mountain. It is constructed of heavily reinforced concrete and is about the size of a football field — large enough to house 3,000 centrifuges used to refine uranium.

Family fights back to militants in India-controlled Kashmir, kills one

One militant was killed and two of his associates were wounded in scuffle with a family in India-controlled Kashmir, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place Sunday night in Rajouri village, 190 km northwest of Jammu, the winter capital of India-controlled Kashmir.

"One militant was killed and two of his associates were injured after a family fought back to them with axes. The family members particularly the women folk displayed extraordinary courage in hacking the militants," said S. A. Watali, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajouri.

The family stated militants had come to target two of its male members.

"After barging into our house the militants started beating us and in retaliation we fought back and snatched rifles from them besides attacking them with axes. After killing a militant and chasing out others, we along with our children took refuge in a nearby police station," said Waqalat Hussain, a family member.

Police also said the family snatched two assault rifles from the militants and handed them to police.

Police and paramilitary troopers have been dispatched to the area to launch a manhunt to trace other militants.

Militants in the region usually target families and individuals for their possible links with police and defense agencies.

In India-controlled Kashmir gun fighting between militants and Indian army troopers takes place intermittently.

Police and defense officials maintain that most of the times the operations triggering gun fights are carried out on prior information provided by informers about presence of militants in specific areas.

Meanwhile, a contingent of police has been deployed at the family's house to thwart further attacks from militants.

Kashmir girl fights off militants

By Binoo Joshi
BBC News, Jammu

A teenage girl says she killed a militant with his own gun after insurgents attacked their home in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Three militants stormed into Rukhsana Kauser's home in a remote village in Jammu region on Monday and started beating her parents in front of her.

Ms Kauser, 18, and her brother turned on the gunmen, killing one and injuring two more. Police praised their courage.

One of the militants wanted to marry Ms Kauser against her will, police said.

The militants escaped and are now being sought by police who are using their blood trails as clues.

'Fired endlessly'

The insurgents went to the house looking for Ms Kauser but her father, Noor Hussain, resisted their demands, Rajouri district senior police superintendent Shafqat Watali told the BBC.

Three gunmen then entered the house and attacked Ms Kauser's parents, while four other militants remained outside.

"My parents told me to hide under the bed and then opened the door," Ms Kauser told the BBC.

"Without saying anything they [the militants] started beating my parents and my uncle. They beat them so badly that my parents fell on the ground. I could not see that and pounced on one of the militants while my brother hit him with an axe," she said.

"I thought I should try the bold act of encountering militants before dying."

Ms Kauser said she grabbed one of the militants by the hair and banged his head against the wall. When he fell down she hit him with an axe, before snatching his rifle.

"I fired endlessly. The militant commander got 12 shots on his body."

Her brother, Eijaz, 19, grabbed one of the other militants' guns and also began shooting.

Ms Kauser said the exchanges of gunfire with the militants had gone on for four hours.

"I had never touched a rifle before this, let alone fired one. But I had seen heroes firing in films on TV and I tried the same way. Somehow I gathered courage - I fired and fought till dead tired."

'Bravery'

Police identified the militant commander as Abu Osama, who they say was a member of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba group and had been active in the Rajouri area for the past five years.

Local residents told police that he wanted to marry Ms Kauser - and was prepared to do so forcibly.

Rajouri police superintendent Shajqat Watali praised what he said was the "exemplary bravery" of Ms Kauser and her brother.

"The reaction by these teenagers was extraordinary."

There are now fears the family could face retaliatory attacks, so they have been given police protection.

But Ms Kauser wants more: "We cannot live here in this village. They should relocate us to a safer place in Rajouri town or elsewhere. The militants are not going to leave us after this embarrassment in which a top commander was killed."

Two Kenyan soldiers injured in attack in Sudan's Darfur: UNAMID

September 29, 2009

A Nigerian peacekeeper has been killed and two Kenyans seriously injured in an attack in Sudan's restive western region of Darfur.

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) confirmed the recent attack on a convoy carrying UNAMID civilian and military personnel by six to eight armed men in El Geneina.

UNAMID said in a statement issued on Tuesday that the incident took place on Monday evening on the road from the UNAMID super camp in El Geneina and the city in Darfur.

"The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) strongly condemns the attack on a convoy carrying UNAMID civilian and military personnel by six to eight armed men in El Geneina on the evening of Monday at around 1845 hours that caused the death of one peacekeeper," the statement said.

According to initial reports, the men opened fire without warning on the convoy, which comprised three vehicles, and stole one of the vehicles.

Three military personnel were injured and taken to the El Genenia hospital, and subsequently evacuated by helicopter to the UNAMID hospital in Nyala, more than 300 km from El Geneina.

"One of the peacekeepers succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards. A total of five UNAMID national and international civilian staff members, two non-UNAMID personnel, 13 military troops and four military police were involved in the incident," it said.

The mission appealed to the Sudanese authorities to speedily investigate this wanton incident to bring the perpetrators to justice.

UNAMID emphasized that peacekeepers are in Darfur to assist in restoring peace and stability to the region, noting that any attack on peacekeepers was an attack on peace itself.

"Targeting UN personnel can potentially have negative consequences for the peace process," the statement said.

Since the inception of UNAMID in January 2008, 14 military personnel and three civilian police have been killed as a result of hostile attacks.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6773085.html.

Yemeni rebel leader denies seeking Shi'ite state

SANAA (Reuters) – A Yemeni Shi'ite rebel leader on Tuesday denied government claims that the sect's insurgents want to set up a Shi'ite state in north Yemen, describing the conflict as a fight for rights.

Several Arab countries are concerned over what they see as efforts by Shi'ite Muslim Iran to extend its influence by supporting the sect's minorities in the region.

The rebel leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said some soldiers were cooperating with the rebels despite "Operation Scorched Earth," a campaign launched by the government in early August to try to crush the insurgency by the rebels -- locally known as the Houthis after their leaders' clan.

The United States and Saudi Arabia, Yemen's neighbor and the world's leading oil exporter, fear this conflict and separatist tension in the south could play into the hands of al Qaeda, which has staged a comeback in Yemen with attacks on government and foreign targets over the past two years.

The government has portrayed the conflict as an effort by extremists of the Shi'ite Zaydi sect to re-establish a cleric-ruled state, or "Imamate" in religious parlance, that fell in 1962 leading to the creation of the Yemeni republic.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, himself a Zaydi, has avoided sectarian language, but government rhetoric elsewhere regularly attacks the rebel movement over their Zaydi beliefs.

"The authority's accusations about the Imamate are just a media war and misleading public opinion. We are not asking for positions, we are asking for rights and justice. The essence of the crisis is political," Houthi said on the rebels' website.

He denied that Iran was backing the rebels or providing arms, which he said some in the army had smuggled to them.

"We have been able to obtain a huge amount of equipment and weapons from (seized) army positions and it is not strange that there are some noble people of conscience in the army who have cooperated with us," Houthi said.

The Houthi rebels say they have been marginalized through a rise in Sunni fundamentalism on the back of Saleh's alliance with Saudi Arabia, whose puranitanical Wahhabi Islam regards Shi'ites as heretics.

Zaydis, who adhere to a different sect from the Shi'ism followed in leading Shi'ite power Iran, are thought to form around a third of Yemen's population of around 23 million.

Saleh said on Saturday the army was ready to fight Shi'ite rebels for years if necessary, calling on them to accept a ceasefire his government has proposed.

The international aid group Oxfam said last week Yemen could soon face a humanitarian crisis as a result of the escalation of fighting. Since disturbances first broke out in 2004 around 150,000 Yemenis have been displaced, aid groups say.

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in Geneva on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had agreed to cooperate on helping refugees.

"UNHCR has positioned tents, mattresses, blankets and other aid items for more than 2,000 people on the Saudi side of the border," spokesman Andrej Mahecic told reporters, noting Saudi Arabia had announced a donation of $1 million for refugees.

Yemen: Editor disappears after publishing critical material

SANA'A -- A Yemeni editor was abducted almost two weeks ago after he criticized the government over continuing armed clashes in Sa'ada, and his whereabouts are still unknown.

Mohammed Al-Mqaleh, a 49-year-old father of seven, and the editor of the Aleshteraki Web site, which is affiliated with the opposition Socialist Party, was abducted from the streets of Sana'a at 11 p.m. on Sept. 17.

Eyewitnesses told his family that he was taken by a group of men who arrived in a white minibus with obscured license plates. The men took Al-Maqleh and deflated one of the tires on his car, which was parked nearby. There has been no credible news of him since.

"Our contacts confirmed that he is detained at the Political Prison in Sana'a," said Saeed Thabet, the executive director of the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate. "Though we contacted the Interior Ministry, the Political Prison and other concerned authorities to clarify the circumstances of the disappearance and current whereabouts of Al-Mqaleh, we had no reply."

Al-Mqaleh's disappearance came after Aleshteraki posted a graphic picture of civilian victims of air strikes in the Sa'ada region where the military has been battling Houthi militants. The website reported that Yemeni military air strikes caused civilian casualties near the city of Sa'ada.

"However, our sources confirmed he is at the political prison. This source also said that Al-Mqaleh has been arrested for issues not related to publishing or press," said Thabet.

He did not rule out the possibility that there may be an attempt to fabricate criminal accusations against Al-Mqaleh.

"We don't exclude that, as this has happened before," he said. He also condemned the way the authorities deal with journalists, including Al-Mqaleh.

"The way that Al-Mqaleh was taken is completely wrong. If the authorities have any accusations or suspicions against him, they should follow the proper way, like arresting him according to the law. Kidnapping him like that is like gang practices," Thabet commented.

The Aleshteraki site, among many others, has been blocked frequently in Yemen.

In April 2008, Al-Mqaleh was imprisoned for several months for "disrespecting the judiciary" after he laughed during a particularly absurd moment during the trial of Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani, who was charged with subversion for writing about an earlier round of the Sa'ada war.

Amnesty International noted that abduction of political opponents and critics and journalists by security agents has become a known practice in Yemen, particularly during political crises such as the clashes in Sa'ada. Those abducted are often tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

Amnesty International called for the release of Al-Mqaleh, adding that AI considers him to be a prisoner of conscience.

The organization urged the Yemeni authorities to protect him from torture and other ill-treatment, and allowed prompt and regular access to lawyers of his choosing, his family and any medical treatment that he may require.

Yemeni journalists fear that Al-Mqaleh may be subjected to abuse, as there have been many reports of psychological torture, severe beatings, sexual assaults, whipping and other forms of violence used again prisoners in Yemen.

Last week, journalists in Sana'a staged a third sit-in protest, demanding authorities disclose the fate of Al-Mqaleh. The sit-ins were organized by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate.

In addition, Facebook users have formed groups calling for journalists and human rights activists to join the sit-ins and marching in Sana'a streets. They did not define the time and the location of the protests.

"Yemeni authorities must realize that the suppression of an independent media will hinder public understanding of internal conflicts, making it more difficult to resolve those conflicts in the future," said the director of the International Press Institute.

"We call upon the Yemeni authorities to immediately make public the whereabouts of the missing journalists. No government should be allowed to make journalists with critical views simply disappear," he said.

By Amel Al- Ariqi

Salah: Palestinian Authority failed to protect Al-Aqsa

(MENAFN - Arab News) The head of the northern branch of Islamic Movement inside Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, on Monday harshly slammed the Palestinian Authority (PA) for "failing to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque" in Jerusalem.

Salah said in a press statement that the PA "was racing behind peace negotiations with the Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) while conspiracies were being hatched against the holy site."

Salah also held Arab and Islamic countries responsible for "repeated intrusions by Jewish groups and Israeli forces into Al-Aqsa Mosque due to their silence and lack of support for Palestinians in their defense of the holy site."

He added that the "Israeli occupation government shoulders the utmost responsibility for any harm done to Al-Aqsa Mosque."

For his part, the deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Monday urged the PA to allow West Bank residents to resume military attacks on Israel.

He said the PA should "lift its heavy hand on the Palestinian people in the West Bank, so they can do what is necessary for the Al-Aqsa Mosque and obstruct Israel's plans to clean Jerusalem of its Palestinian, Arab and Islamic origins."

Haniyeh said recent Israeli "escalations" would not "lead us to abandon the rights of the Palestinian people, or force us to abandon our right to defend ourselves and to resist occupation."

Haniyeh also said last week's tripartite meeting in New York served as a cover for Israel's "aggression against the Palestinian people and their holy places."

He reiterated Hamas' position that Abbas "must stop negotiations and coordination with Israel." Meanwhile, member of Fatah's Central Committee Mohammad Dahlan warned of a new Intifada or uprising after the clashes in Jerusalem.

He called on all the Palestinian factions "to forget their internal problems and unite in the face of the Judaization of Jerusalem."

He stressed that "the national unity is the only response to the Israeli threats."

Russia ignoring Chechen rights rulings - group

* Russia ignores Strasbourg court rulings on Chechnya - HRW

* HRW says their implementation key to improving situation

MOSCOW, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Russia has ignored a series of judgments by the European Court of Human Rights on Chechnya, fueling a cycle of violence in the North Caucasus, a prominent rights watchdog said on Monday.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said not a single perpetrator had been brought to justice despite court judgments naming individuals directly involved in disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture.

The cases relate to violations during Russian military and intelligence operations in Chechnya from 1999 to 2004.

Rights groups accuse pro-Kremlin Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov of ruling effectively since 2004 with a climate of fear to keep control over the mainly Muslim region on Russia's southern flank, where Moscow has fought two wars against separatists in the past 15 years.

An increase in suicide bombs and attacks on security forces in Chechnya and neighboring Ingushetia this year is challenging Moscow's grip on the region. A number of human rights and charity activists have also been shot dead.

Beyond paying compensation and legal fees under the Court's rulings, Russia had failed to fully implement the judgments, ensure effective investigations and hold perpetrators accountable, the group said in a report.

"Full implementation is crucial to prevent abuses from recurring in Chechnya and in other parts of Russia's troubled North Caucasus."

"It carries perhaps the single most significant potential to produce lasting improvements in the human rights situation in this region."

Russian officials were not available for comment.

The report identified Russia's failure to provide access to criminal case files, delays in investigation and legal obstacles preventing investigators from accessing evidence held by Russian military or security services.

It cited examples of the detention of Chechen men by Russian security forces and their subsequent disappearance with little or no investigation into their fate.

"In numerous judgments on cases from Chechnya, the European Court found that the Russian authorities failed to effectively investigate even very strong leads or evidence indicating official involvement in human rights violations," the report said.

Russia announces plans for extensive short-range missile network

Moscow - Russia's military announced plans Tuesday to set up an extensive network of short-range Iskander missiles throughout the country as part of a broader reform of the armed forces. According to a report by the Itar-Tass agency, ground forces commanding General Vladimir Boldyrev said the Iskanders, with a range of 500 kilometres, would be stationed in every defense district.

An exception from the restructuring would be the Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad, located on Poland's northern border.

After the US administration of President Barack Obama announced it was abandoning its missile shield programme in Central Europe, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russia would not position any Iskander missiles close to Poland's border.

Boldyrev said that all Russian reconnaissance battalions were to be equipped with unmanned spy planes. Moscow recently acquired 14 such drones from Israel for an estimated 37 million euros (55 million dollars).

The restructuring is part of a reform of the armed forces which Medvedev, as supreme commander, announced at the outset of the year in order to create a "strong, modern and professional" army.

Media reports in Moscow say there is resistance in the armed forces to the planned reforms, which among other things foresees slashing the number of officers by 160,000 by the year 2012.

Lawyers seek arrest of Israeli defence minister in UK for alleged war crimes

Palestinian families apply for international arrest warrant for Ehud Barak over military offensive in Gaza

Ian Cobain and Ian Black

British lawyers for several Palestinian families are seeking to obtain an international arrest warrant for the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, in a London court over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Barak, who was in overall charge of Israeli's offensive in Gaza earlier this year, is due to speak at a fringe meeting at the Labour party conference in Brighton today.

Barak is due to meet Gordon Brown today and David Miliband, the foreign secretary, tomorrow.

The move relates to alleged war crimes and breaches of the Geneva conventions during the war, which was launched by Israel in response to Palestinian rocket attacks and widely criticized internationally. The death toll is disputed, but the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem found that 1,387 Palestinians died, among them 773 people not taking part in hostilities.

Solicitors are due to ask a district judge at the City of Westminster magistrates court to issue a warrant for Barak's arrest under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, which gives courts in England and Wales universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases.

Barak, who is also deputy prime minister of Israel and leader of the country's Labor party, could argue that his government office guarantees him "state immunity" from prosecution. But lawyers from two London law firms, Irvine Thanvi Natas and Imran Khan & Partners, believe the warrant that the international criminal court issued in May last year for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, offers a precedent. Bashir is accused of committing war crimes in Darfur.

The issue is both politically explosive and legally sensitive.

The accusations against Barak are based, in part, on a United Nations investigation conducted by the former South African judge Richard Goldstone. It concluded earlier this month that Israel had committed war crimes by deliberately attacking civilians and firing white phosphorous shells.

The 575-page report also found that Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group controlling Gaza, may be guilty of committing war crimes by firing rockets at Israeli civilian targets.

Michel Massih, a barrister, said he believed the British government was obliged "to actively pursue people who are alleged to be involved in war crimes".

Massih told al-Jazeera TV: "One does not need, at this stage, to provide more than a basic prima face case and the suggestion would be that Barak certainly was in a position where he has to answer some of the allegations made about the commission of crimes by Israeli troops."

In 2005, human rights groups criticized British authorities for failing to arrest Doron Almog, an Israeli army general for whom an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes had been issued, when his aircraft landed in London. Almog stayed on the plane at Heathrow airport after apparently being informed that he could face arrest and was allowed to return to Israel.

"If the Israeli courts were themselves to investigate, there would be no need to have recourse to international tribunals," Massih said.

"There are allegations of war crimes, there are families seeking redress and because these families are seeking redress they have asked the advice of lawyers in Palestine who have asked the advice of lawyers in the United Kingdom."

Iran army launches high-tech missile boat

Iran's Navy has started employing the most advanced home-made missile boat named Sina in a bid to bolster its defense naval capabilities.

The Sina class warship officially set sail in the Caspian Sea in northern Iran in a ceremony attended by Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and commander of the Iranian navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.

The vessel has been designed and built by experts of Iran's Defense Ministry, in cooperation with Iran's army.

It has more than a hundred radar, artillery, electronic and telecommunication systems and is also equipped with modern navigation systems.

Access to this advanced scientific and research technology carries Iran's message of peace and friendship for regional countries.

Meanwhile, a top Iranian army commander said Tuesday that the country would produce an advanced version of its Sejil missile.

"A new generation of optimized and advanced Sejil missiles will be produced," the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Air Force Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami told state news agency IRNA.

"The solid-fuel long-range Sejil missile has been tested since last year and was delivered to the armed forces and the IRGC air forces in particular," he said.

"The two-stage Sejil has high accuracy and destructive capability and is amongst the most advanced missile systems that the armed forces have.”

Salami stressed that Iran's missile production industry would not stop and said, "Iran's missile industry has been indigenous and is increasing every day."

On Monday, Iran successfully test-fired long-range Shahab-3 and Sejil missiles in the third and last stage of an advanced military drill named The Great Prophet IV, which was carried out by the IRGC.

The optimized Shahab-3 has a range of 1,300 to 2,000 kilometers.

The Sejil is a two-stage missile powered by solid fuel which was tested by the IRGC for the first time in the maneuver.

Both of the projectiles accurately hit their designated targets.

The IRGC successfully test-fired several models of medium-range Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 missiles during the first and second stages of the military drill in central Iran Sunday night.

Salami said the Shahab-2 missiles would hit targets at least 300 kilometers and at the most 700 kilometers away.

The missile tests come as Israel has stepped up its war rhetoric against Iran, repeatedly threatening to bomb the country's nuclear installations.

Iran has vowed a 'firm response' to any military action by Israel, which claims that Tehran is secretly developing nuclear weapons -- a charge denied by both Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog.

Gadhafi cancels private visit to Spain

Tue Sep 29, 2009

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi has canceled a private visit to southern Spain, reportedly because of the absence of top Spanish officials.

Gadhafi 'who had expressed the desire to come to Spain has decided to cancel his visit,' a Spanish foreign ministry source told AFP, without giving an official reason for the decision.

But according to the ABC newspaper, Gadhafi changed his mind because he could not meet with King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The two senior Spanish officials are currently in Copenhagen to support Madrid's bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

Gadhafi was to visit the southern Andalusia region on his way back from a joint summit of the African Union and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) held in Venezuela at the weekend.

The two-day summit brought together nine South American presidents and some 20 African leaders.

Gadhafi's trip to Venezuela was his first to a Latin American state since he came to power 40 years ago.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/107401.html.

Iran MPs warn P5+1 not to repeat 'past mistakes'

Iranian MPs warn they will make new decisions based on their authority if the Group of 5+1 repeats its 'past mistakes' regarding Iran's nuclear program.

A total of 239 of Iran's 290-member parliament (Majlis) issued a statement on Tuesday saying that the upcoming talks between Tehran and the P5+1 will be an important test for the group.

On October 1, Iran is expected to sit at the negotiating table with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany in Geneva to discuss a wide range of global issues.

The Iranian lawmakers emphasized that the upcoming talks were a historic opportunity for the group to end the deadlock over Iran's nuclear issue.

"We support the scheduled talks within Iran's package of proposals and warn the negotiating countries that this is a historic opportunity to surpass the deadlock and resolve the problem," the statement said.

Iran has stressed that although open to talks, it 'will not compromise' on its legitimate nuclear rights.

Human Rights Watch urges Russia to end abuses in North Caucasus

Moscow - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Russia to bring about an end to torture, abductions and extrajudicial killings in the Northern Caucasus, in a report released in Moscow on Monday. Russia should begin by investigating the crimes of security forces in the region, the New York-based organization said.

HRW criticized the near daily killing of suspected Islamist rebels in the Russian republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan as "state-sponsored terror," saying suspects are often not brought to trial.

The organization accused Russia of fueling unchecked violence in the region by ignoring a series of judgments by the European Court of Human Rights on Chechnya, the organization said.

"Every crime that goes unpunished sends a clear signal to others that they can get away with equally horrific abuses," said Jane Buchanan, the author of the report.

The comprehensive HRW report describes numerous instances of families whose relatives were abducted in cases that were never solved. The perpetrators in the murder of civil rights activists like Natalia Estemirova and Zarema Sadulayeva remain at large.

The rights watchdog also noted that security forces had threatened and intimidated staff of Memorial, the human rights group for which Estemirova had worked, including suspicious visits to the homes of staff.

Hamas Leader-in-Exile Says Group Sees Rapprochement with Fatah

Khalid Mash’al, the Hamas Damascus-based leader-in-exile, said on Monday that his group is willing to reconcile with rival Fatah along the lines of the proposal brokered by Egypt. If the rapprochement takes effect, it would clear the way for national elections to be held early next year and for a unity government to be formed. Many observers see the bifurcated Palestinian nation and internecine warfare between Fatah and Hamas as the key obstacles to statehood. Under terms of the Egyptian proposal, day-to-day matters would be run until the elections – presidential and legislative -- by an advisory committee comprised of both factions. The elections will determine the final make-up of the permanent government. Mahmoud ‘Abbas, the Fatah leader who heads the Palestinian Authority, would also head the advisory council.

Somali militants execute 'spies'

Islamist militants in Somalia have executed two people they accused of spying for foreign organizations.

Hundreds watched as a firing squad arranged by the al-Shabab group shot the pair in the capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab officials said the men had been found guilty of working for the US CIA and African Union peacekeepers.

Analysts say the killings may have been in retaliation for a US raid earlier this month, in which an al-Qaeda suspect is said to have been killed.

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says al-Shabab has carried out amputations and lashings in the past, but this is their first public execution in the city.

He says the death sentence was announced and the men were shot almost immediately by 10 masked men.

He says an al-Shabab official told reporters before the execution that the men had admitted spying - one for the AU, the other for the CIA.

Humanitarian crisis

The US regards al-Shabab as a proxy for al-Qaeda in Somalia, and says the group threatens to destabilize the region.

Two weeks ago, US forces launched an attack from helicopters in southern Somalia, reportedly killing Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan who was wanted by the US for attacks in Kenya.

It was the first such US incursion into Somalia for years.

Days after the raid, suicide bombers attacked an AU base in Mogadishu and killed at least 16 people.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in revenge for the US raid.

Several radical Islamist groups are vying for control of the country - and hold power in much of central and southern Somalia, including parts of the capital city.

Al-Shabab is among the groups attempting to impose an extreme brand of Islamic law on the areas it controls.

The rebel fighters are battling troops loyal to the government - which controls little territory but is backed by the US, UN and peacekeepers from the AU.

The country has been wracked by conflict since 1991, when it last had an effective national government.

Some three million people - half the population - need food aid, while hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country.

Palestinians 'close to agreement'

By Christian Fraser
BBC News, Cairo

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal says all Palestinian factions are drawing close to agreement on Egypt's proposals for Palestinian reconciliation.

Mr Meshaal has met the head of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman, to give his answer to the proposals.

He said Hamas have given some thoughts on how the draft might be adjusted - but in principle will return by the end of October to sign a final draft.

Fatah and Hamas have been divided since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

There are signs that after two years of bitter division, they are ready to resolve their many differences.

Mr Meshaal, who had joined a delegation from Gaza, said the Egyptian initiative was a good one and although they have suggested changes they would like to see in the final draft, it is one his side would be prepared to sign.

Fatah, headed by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have already agreed to the Egyptian proposal.

We have still to see any real detail on the main areas of contention: how will security be managed within Gaza to incorporate the exiled forces of the Palestinian Authority; will each side be free to campaign if elections are held in 2010; and what about prisoners?

Each side has accused the other of targeting their respective supporters - we are still waiting to see a framework for the release of those prisoners and a timetable.

But irrespective of the outstanding issues, the factions have said they will return by the end of October to agree the final draft ahead of a signing ceremony.

So on this the anniversary of the beginning of the second intifada, there is some cause for cautious optimism - still suspicion on both sides but in the words of the Mr Meshaal, reason to be positive.

J'lem archbishop: Israel targets mosque today, church tomorrow

September 27, 2009

Jerusalem – Ma'an – Archbishop Atallah Hanna, one of the highest-ranking Christian clergymen in Jerusalem, declared Sunday's violence near the Al-Aqsa Mosque a dark premonition of Israel's plans for the city.

"What is being planned for Jerusalem is very dangerous," the archbishop said in a statement. "What happened today at the Al-Aqsa yard is a dangerous indicator of what Israeli authorities intend to work toward on Al-Aqsa, in particular, and in Jerusalem, in general."

Dozens were injured in clashes that took place after right-wing religious Jews reportedly entered the Al-Aqsa compound ahead of the holy day of Yom Kippur. Israeli police used stun grenades and batons to disperse stone-throwing protesters inside and near the mosque.

"We, as Christian Palestinians and Jerusalemites, cannot keep watching with our hands folded in the face of what happened today," Hanna continued. "Today it is Al-Aqsa; tomorrow it will be the Church of the Holy Sepulcher." "The [Israeli] occupation and its racism does not exclude anyone."

Hanna was ordained Archbishop of Sebastia in 2005 for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which Orthodox Christians consider the mother church of all of Christendom.

The archbishop reaffirmed "the solidarity of Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem and all of the Holy Land with their comrades, the Muslims… Targeting them is the same as us; attacking them is attacking us."

"We are not strangers in our city. We are not guests. The stranger is the one who came and colonized this country," Hanna added. "We are the owners of this land and we will stay on it because this is our homeland, this is our Jerusalem, and these are our holy sites."

Hamas calls for new intifada

September 27, 2009

GAZA, (PIC)-- One of the Hamas leaders in northern Gaza has urged all Palestinians in occupied Palestine to wage a new intifada (uprising) against the Israeli occupation following its settlers' desecration of the holy Aqsa Mosque.

Mohammed Abu Asker, in a press release on Sunday, said that Hamas would organize massive marches in all areas of the Gaza Strip in support of the Aqsa.

He urged the Arabs and Muslims to defend the holy site and to act before they wake up one day to find the Aqsa Mosque in ruins.

Abu Asker finally asked the Palestinian factions to unite in face of the Israeli "ferocious offensive".

Meanwhile, the league of Palestine scholars also issued a statement on Sunday warning of the next more serious step mainly demolishing the Aqsa itself to build the alleged temple in its place.

It recalled that the Aqsa intifada, which erupted in this same month in 2000, was in retaliation to the former "criminal" Israeli premier Ariel Sharon's storming of the Aqsa Mosque's plazas.

The league added that the Palestinian people were ready for another intifada in defense of its sacred places, rights and constants and in rejection of humiliating dictates marketed by the West under the guise of bright slogans such as the peace process.

Palestinians seek Barak's arrest

September 28, 2009

A group of Palestinian families is attempting to have Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, prosecuted in Britain for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, lawyers have told Al Jazeera.

A lawyer working for the families will present their case at a magistrates court in London on Tuesday before British officials decide if it has the jurisdiction to decide the case.

Barak is due in Britain on Tuesday to address a meeting of the Labor Friends of Israel on the sidelines of the ruling party's annual conference. The families hope that an arrest warrant will be issued during his visit.

Michel Massih, the UK-based lawyer taking the case to court, said that he believed that the British government was obliged "to actively pursue people who are alleged to be involved in war crimes".

"One does not need, at this stage, to provide more than a basic prima face case and the suggestion would be that Barak certainly was in a position where he has to answer some of the allegations made about the commission of crimes by Israeli troops," he told Al Jazeera from London.

Gaza bombardment

More than 1,400 Palestinians, at least one-third of them women and children, were killed in Israel's December-January offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Israel said the air, naval and ground assault on the territory was aimed at halting rocket attacks by Palestinian fighters.

Massih said that the case would be based on a number of sources of evidence, including reports by Amnesty International and other human rights organization and the UN investigation into the war.

After the UN human rights commission report, complied by Richard Goldstone, a South African prosecutor, was published, Barak condemned its findings as political and faulted its methodology.

"Although I am incensed by the Goldstone Report, I must admit that I was not surprised," he wrote in The Wall Street Journal. "It is, more than anything else, a political statement - not a legal analysis."

'Punished and terrorized'

Goldstone's report said that the Israeli offensive had "punished and terrorized" Palestinian civilians as troops had failed to take precautions to minimize civilian casualties and in some cases had deliberately attacked them.

The report also accused Palestinian fighters of committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity as they fired rockets into southern Israel.

"If the Israeli courts were themselves to investigate, there would be no need to have recourse to international tribunals," Massih told Al Jazeera.

"There are allegations of war crimes, there are families seeking redress and because these families are seeking redress they have asked the advice of lawyers in Palestine who have asked the advice of lawyers in the United Kingdom."

In 2005, human rights groups criticized British authorities for failing to arrest Doron Almog, an Israeli army general for whom an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes had been issued, when his aircraft landed in London.

Almog stayed on the aeroplane at Heathrow airport after apparently being informed that he could face arrest and was allowed to return to Israel.

Al-Shabaab beheads 'CIA agents'

Tue Sep 29, 2009

Somalia's most powerful militant group, al-Shabaab, has reportedly executed two alleged CIA agents in the country's restive capital, Mogadishu.

The group, which has publicly announced its loyalty to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, issued the execution order after finding the two men guilty of spying for the United States.

According to witnesses, the two men were shot dead early on Monday in al-Shabaab's Maslah camp in northern Mogadishu.

The development comes as government troops recaptured the strategic central town of Beledweyne, some 332 kilometers (206 miles) north of the capital.

Heavy Fighting erupted early on Monday after Somali soldiers carried out a pre-dawn attack on the town's western wing, forcing rebels loyal to another influential militant group called Hizbul Islam to evacuate their bases.

The number of casualties remain unclear, with some sources saying as many as 15 people, most of them militants, were killed in the attack.

Meanwhile, the beleaguered capital was the scene of more fighting, where at least 10 people were killed and 18 others injured, following fierce clashes between African Union troops and rebel forces.

Several artillery shells fired from both sides also slammed into residential areas, claiming an unknown number of civilian lives.

Rebel groups are fighting to overthrow a fragile western-backed transitional government in the Horn of Africa nation.

Violence has intensified in Somalia since an inland US operation angered the rebels, who have ever since vowed to retaliate with more attacks.

The US claims that the air strike had killed an alleged operative working for al-Qaeda.

Somalia has been marred by two decades of civil strife following the ouster of former dictator Mohammad Siad Bare in 1991.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/107385.html.

Hunger threatens 23m in East Africa

International aid group Oxfam says 23 million people are threatened with severe hunger in East Africa due to climate change.

“This is the worst humanitarian crisis Oxfam has seen in East Africa for over ten years,” Paul Smith Lomas, Oxfam's East Africa Director said in a statement on Tuesday.

Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda are the worst-hit nations by severe drought, whereas Sudan, Djibouti and Tanzania are also suffering ill effects.

This is while 'failed and unpredictable rains are ever more regular' across the region, Lomas says.

Thousands of animals have already succumbed to the drought, which is mainly blamed on climate change and global warming.

In Kenya alone, some 3.8 million people are in dire need of emergency aid, as deadly conflicts over diminishing water supplies intensify among pastoralists.

In Somalia, which has also been hit by a bloody insurgency, another 3.8 million people - around half the population - are dependent on food aid.

Over 13 million Ethiopians are also facing food shortages, the UK-based agency said.

The charity organization has already appealed for $15 million to help some 750,000 people in need of emergency food aid.

However, aid agencies operating in the region have suffered massive funding shortfalls this year, as developed countries tighten their belts in the face of the global financial crisis.

Palestinian factions close to unity

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal says a recent Egyptian-proposed initiative to heal rifts among Palestinian factions is a positive step toward reconciliation.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with head of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman, Meshaal said on Monday that the proposals pave the way for settling differences with the rival Fatah faction of Acting Palestinian Authority Chief, Mahmoud Abbas.

"Our meeting was extremely positive. We tackled many issues pertaining to this proposal and we think this proposal is a good basis to achieve Palestinian reconciliation", Meshaal said.

He added, however, that his resistance movement has suggested a number of changes to the initiative before signing the final draft in October.

The Egyptian proposal, aimed at reaching a national unity agreement, calls for the formation of an advisory committee to oversee Gaza's security and the release of political prisoners.

The committee, which would be headed by Abbas, would supervise the deployment of nearly 3,000 PA security personnel in Gaza to operate jointly with Hamas in the region to oversee the release of detainees from both sides, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The initiative also calls for holding presidential and parliamentary elections in 2010. Hamas has repeatedly said that the vote must be held only after reconciliation is achieved.

Fatah, which rules the West Bank, and Hamas have been divided since 2007 when Hamas -- the democratically elected ruler of the Gaza Strip -- took control of the coastal territory.

Fatah has already agreed to the Egyptian proposal.

Armed attack leaves 3 dead in Istanbul

At least three people have lost their lives in an armed attack in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, police and medical sources have said.

According to a report released by the Today's Zaman daily, a former convict identified as Ugur C. attacked a vehicle and opened fire on its three occupants in Istanbul's populous Kadikoy district.

Erkan Bektas and Ahmet Aksu were killed on the spot, while Ismet Keskin suffered injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital in a critical condition. He later succumbed to death due to the wounds he had sustained in the lethal attack.

Police have cordoned off the area and launched a thorough investigation into the assault as the motive behind the attack remains unknown.

Turkey has seen armed attacks from a variety of groups in recent years.

The deadliest of such attacks took place in November 2003, when 58 people were killed by militants in suicide bombings outside two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul.

Philippine toll rises to 246 as new storms brew

By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers and debris-strewn streets Tuesday, pushing the toll from flooding in the northern Philippines to more than 284 dead or missing, while two new storms brewing in the Pacific threatened to complicate relief efforts.

Authorities ordered extra police to be deployed to prevent looting in communities abandoned by fleeing residents, as frustration rose among those who have lost their homes or belongings.

Queues of bedraggled victims grew long at hundreds of aid distribution centers as floodwaters subsided further and more people went in search of food, clean water, dry clothes and shelter.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration — sensitive to criticism it did not give sufficient warning of the deluge or was too slow to respond — conceded it was overwhelmed but said it was doing all it could to help.

The homes of nearly 1.9 million people in the capital and surrounding areas were inundated by flooding unleashed by Tropical Storm Ketsana at the weekend, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said. Nearly 380,000 people have sought shelter in schools, churches and other evacuation centers.

The council said 246 were confirmed dead late Tuesday, with 38 missing.

Officials appealed for international aid, warning they may not have enough resources to withstand two new storms forecasters have spotted east of the island nation in the Pacific Ocean. One could hit the northern Philippines later this week and the other early next week, although meteorologists say that could change.

Ketsana, which scythed across the northern Philippines on Saturday, dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours, causing the country's worst flooding in 40 years. The storm strengthened into a typhoon mid-Monday and crashed into Vietnam's central coast on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people, officials there said. Some 170,000 people were evacuated from its path.

In the Philippines, authorities rescued more than 12,000 people, but unconfirmed reports of more deaths abound, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said.

Water that reached shoulder-depth in parts of the capital's streets on Saturday had subsided in many areas by Tuesday. People trudged through ankle-deep sludge to reach shelters where volunteers handed out bottles of water and other items. Elsewhere, people used shovels and brooms to begin mopping-up.

Many people complained the aid was too coming too slowly, and was not enough.

Arroyo said those who suffered had a right to complain but appealed to them to understand that the scale of the disaster was huge.

"We're responding to the extent we can to this once-in-a-lifetime typhoon emergency," she said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Arroyo opened part of the presidential palace as a relief center, where hundreds of people queued Tuesday for packets of noodles and other food donated by companies and individuals. At another center, Arroyo's executive chef cooked gourmet food for victims.

Arroyo and her Cabinet said they would donate two months' salary to the relief effort.

But conditions in many hard-hit areas remained squalid.

In the Bagong Silangan area in the capital, about 150 people sheltered on a covered basketball court that had been turned into a makeshift evacuation center for storm victims. People lay on pieces of cardboard amid piles of garbage and swarming flies, their belongings crammed into bags nearby.

Seventeen white wooden coffins, some of them child-sized, lined one part of the court. A woman wept quietly beside one coffin.

The storm left entire communities covered in mud, cars upended on city streets and power lines cut.

The government declared a "state of calamity" in metropolitan Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces, allowing officials to use emergency funds for relief and rescue. Arroyo would issue an executive order within the week declaring a national holiday as "clean up day," the palace said.

The United States has donated $100,000 and deployed a military helicopter and five rubber boats manned by about 20 American soldiers from the country's south, where they have been providing counterterrorism training. The United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Program have also provided food and other aid.

Iran says advanced missiles can target any threat

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran tested its longest-range missiles Monday and warned they can reach any place that threatens the country, including Israel, parts of Europe and U.S. military bases in the Mideast. The launch capped two days of war games and was condemned as a provocation by Western powers, which are demanding Tehran come clean about a newly revealed nuclear facility it has been secretly building.

The tests Sunday and again Monday added urgency to a key meeting this week between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany — an international front seeking clear answers about the direction of its nuclear program.

Iran's missile program and its nuclear work — much of it carried out in secrecy — have long been a concern for the United States, Israel and its Western allies. They fear Tehran is intent on developing an atomic weapons capability and the missiles to deploy such warheads, despite Iran's assurances it is only pursuing civilian nuclear power.

In the latest exercise, the powerful Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's missile program, successfully tested upgraded versions of Iran's medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles, state television reported. Both can carry warheads and reach up to 1,200 miles, putting Israel, U.S. military bases in the Middle East and parts of Europe within striking distance.

The launchings were meant to display Iran's military might and demonstrate its readiness to respond to any military threat.

"Iranian missiles are able to target any place that threatens Iran," said Abdollah Araqi, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency.

Iran conducted three rounds of missile tests in drills that began Sunday, two days after the U.S. and its allies disclosed the country had been secretly developing an underground uranium enrichment facility. The Western powers warned Iran must open the site to international inspection or face harsher international sanctions.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hasan Qashqavi, maintained the missile tests had nothing to do with the tension over the site, saying they were part of routine, long-planned military exercises.

That assertion was rejected by the United States and its European allies.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the tests "provocative in nature," adding: "Obviously, these were pre-planned military exercises."

French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Christine Fages agreed, saying "these tests constitute a provocation, even as we have multiplied our offers of dialogue with Iran."

The latest controversy comes days before a critical meeting Thursday in Geneva between Iran and six major powers trying to stop its suspected nuclear weapons program — the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

The prospect of more U.N. sanctions on Iran is a possibility, targeting specific people and facilities. "We're prepared to take additional steps," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington.

Iran's new nuclear site is located in the arid mountains near the holy city of Qom and is believed to be inside a heavily guarded, underground facility belonging to the Revolutionary Guard, according to a document sent by President Barack Obama's administration to lawmakers.

Experts say they have found sites that appear to be military north of Qom, although there has been no confirmation from the U.S. government and Iran says the nuclear facility is south of the holy city.

A satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe and GeoEye shows a well-fortified facility built into a mountain about 20 miles northeast of Qom, with ventilation shafts and a nearby surface-to-air missile site, according to defense consultancy IHS Jane's, which did the analysis of the imagery. The image was taken in September.

However, Iran's Foreign Ministry has given a different location, saying Monday it was near the village of Fordo, which is about 30 miles south of Qom.

GlobalSecurity.org analyzed images from 2005 and January 2009 when the site was in an earlier phase of construction and believes the facility is not underground but was instead cut into a mountain. It is constructed of heavily reinforced concrete and is about the size of a football field — large enough to house 3,000 centrifuges used to refine uranium.

Allison Puccioni, a senior imagery analyst with Jane's, said Monday she could not reconcile the discrepancy between the location detailed in the satellite images and the site described by Iran's foreign ministry. But she said there was no question a massive facility was being hollowed out north of Qom.

"It's undergoing massive construction as we speak. The level of reinforcement and security is highly consistent with a strategic facility," she said in a telephone interview from Mountainview, Calif.

After strong condemnations from the U.S. and its allies, Iran said Saturday it would allow U.N. nuclear inspectors to examine the site.

The facility's military connection could undermine Iran's contention that the plant was designed for civilian purposes.

Israel has trumpeted the latest discoveries as proof of its long-held assertion that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons. By U.S. estimates, Iran is one to five years away from having nuclear weapons capability, although U.S. intelligence also believes that Iranian leaders have not yet made the decision to build a weapon.

Iran is also developing ballistic missiles that could carry a nuclear warhead, although a U.S. intelligence assessment in May says the country is focusing efforts on short- and medium-range missiles like the Shahab.

That assessment paved the way for Obama's decision to shelve the Bush administration's plan for a missile shield in Europe, which was aimed at defending against Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Iran is not expected to have such a missile until 2015 to 2020, according to the report, which was described by a U.S. government official on condition of anonymity because it is classified.

The Sajjil-2 missile is Iran's most advanced two-stage surface-to-surface missile and is powered entirely by solid-fuel, while the older Shahab-3 uses a combination of solid and liquid fuel in its most advanced form, known as the Qadr-F1.

Solid fuel increases a missile's accuracy in reaching targets and is seen as a technological breakthrough for any missile program.

Experts say the Sajjil-2 is more accurate and has a more advanced navigation system than the Shahab.