Random chart - Iranian oil

Source: US Sanctions Are Designed to Kill

Random chart - Iran's weapons

and...

Source:  Worldwide equipment Identification Cards - Iran Edition

Watch out! (Iran)

With the current unrest in Iran, the amount of fakery on twitter is spiking! Some examples:

Example 1: Older video from Argentina passed off as occurring in Iran:

Example 2:  Older video from Bahrain passed off as occurring in Iran:

Example 3:  A convenient 'mis-characterization':

Example 4:  Still from a 2012 movie passed off as occurring in Iran:

Example 5:  Some disinformation:

Random chart - threats

Source: Poll: Arabs See U.S. as a Threat

Random charts - world crises

 

 

 

Source: Munich Security Report 2016: Boundless Crises, Reckless Spoilers, Helpless Guardians (80-pg PDF)

Update II - "shadow commander"

The July 7th, 2014 blog entry 'Recycle...' discussed the "shadow"commander of Iran's Quds Force, General Qassem Suleimani.  

IRGC-QF Maj. Gen Soleimani, as young commander during Iran-Iraq War has extensive pictures of the "shadow commander" that "no one's ever heard of."

Recycle...

In September 2013 we were treated to an expose of the "... very mysterious..., very powerful..." commander of Iran's Quds Force, General Qassem Suleimani. The Shadow Commander ostensibly stripped the mask off this shadowy figure involved in acts of terrorism around the world, many targeting Americans.

However, there had already been plenty of coverage of this "shadow commander" characterized as being the "... single most powerful operative in the Middle East today, and no one’s ever heard of him.", including for example:

Iranian who brokered Iraqi peace is on U.S. terrorist watch list - May 2008

An exhaustively sourced and foot-noted three-part report on Suleimani, from January, March, and July of 2011:

a. Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani: A Biography

b. Iran’s Secret Network: Major General Qassem Suleimani’s Inner Circle 

c. Iran's Most Dangerous General

Iranian general steps out of the shadows - December 2011
The hidden hand in Syria - July 2012

Was the Top Iranian Rev Guards Commander Killed in Damascus? - July 2012

And now, almost a year later, we get  Iran’s Top Spy Is the Modern-Day Karla, John Le Carré’s Villainous Mastermind, which recycles the "... single most powerful operative in the Middle East today, and no one’s ever heard of him" quote/meme while also throwing in film and literary allusions ("Keyser Soze", John le Carré’s characters...)

Great quote- discrimination

“From Nigeria to Russia to Iran, indeed in some 80 countries the world over, LGBT communities face discriminatory laws and practices that attack their basic human dignity and undermine their safety,” 

- Secretary of State John Kerry, while  releasing the annual State Department report on human rights...

Hagel and Iran

President Obama has nominated ex-Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to be the next U.S. Secretary of Defense. Since this was a long time coming - the notion had been floated a good month or more before it actually occurred - opponents and proponents of Hagel's candidacy have lined up to savage and laud him, respectively.... His opponents ostensible concerns: "... They fear that Hagel will cut the military budget. They fear that he’ll roll over if Iran builds a nuclear weapon. They fear that he’s too reluctant to use military force generally. And they fear he doesn’t much like Israel; the extremists on this point claim he’s anti-Semitic..." 

On the other side, many support a Hagel nomination precisely because they feel it reduces the likelihood of an armed confrontation with Iran. Unfortunately, I believe that this is not the case, and that they are sorely mistaken in this regard. I'd draw a parallel with the role of Colin Powell in the Bush presidency when it came to the war with Iraq. Many were beating the drums for war with Iraq, and one of the few resisting appeared to be Colin Powell (yes, he was Secretary of State and not Defense, but that's an inconsequential difference), who was pushing for action via the United Nations. However, when Powell was won over to the 'war faction' it undercut the war's opponents and was a powerful force in favor of military action, precisely because of his initial opposition!

Hagel as Secretary of Defense may well play an analogous role - regardless of Hagel's supposed current predilection against military action in the context of Iran, the decision is the President's. It seems much more likely that in the face of a Presidential decision to engage in military action, Hagel would be unlikely to resign and oppose this publicly; and a Hagel going along with and supporting action would severely undercut those opposed to such a move.  

The bottom line? Does Hagel as Secretary of Defense reduce the likelihood of an armed conflict with Iran? Probably not so much!

Some links:
Chuck Hagel and His Enemies
6 Reasons Obama Chose Chuck Hagel
The Real Reasons Republicans Hate Hagel
Hagel, the Enemy of Liberals' Enemies, Shouldn't be Their Friend 
Colin Powell: Chuck Hagel ‘superbly qualified’ to be defense secretary

Great quotes - Iranian missiles

"Iran already has a missile that could reach the U.S. if it could put it on a ship and move it to within 600 miles of the American coastline.."

- CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence (here)

Random charts - nuclear Iran

Source: Israel: Possible Military Strike Against Iran’s Nuclear Facilities (52-pg CRS PDF)

Random chart - public opinion

Source: Poll: Most Back Military Action To Stop Iranian Nukes

Random picture

Source/credit: (Iran) War Art - Sacred Defense Week Follow the link for several more...

Brief update II (Rinse and repeat)

A February 14th, 2010 blog entry, 'Just in time...', noted the periodic recycling of charges of an Iranian hand in attacks against the U.S. in Iraq. Each time the "proof" consisted of charges by U.S. sources, as well as allusions to the "sophistication" of weapons or attacks (apparently considered sufficient and prima facie evidence of Iranian meddling!).

Well, rinse and repeat, see Weapons prove Iranian role in Iraq, U.S. says and U.S. military sees Iran behind rising troop deaths in Iraq. Ah, quotes from U.S. officials, a liberal use of the words "sophisticated" and "well trained". The first article reports that U.S. ambassador to Iraq "Jeffrey provided details of the forensic testing" Strangely, the article then did not go on to share any of these "details". In the second article Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, chief spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq is quoted as saying of those believed responsible for some of the recent attacks, "... all of them receive at least indirect support from elements in Iran..."

Well, clearly a (Tenet-style) "slam dunk."

Random charts

Source: Iran: Public Opinion on Foreign, Nuclear, and Domestic Issues.

Random chart

Source: IAEA Iran Safeguards Report: Shutdown of Enrichment at Natanz Result of Stuxnet Virus? Downgrade in Role of Fordow Enrichment Site

Random charts

Source: Stuxnet: A Breakthrough

Truth or?

Recent reports have been showing up from various media sources, all with headlines that Iran is paying the Taliban a bounty ($1,000) for each American soldier they kill, as well as various other amounts for other anti-American strikes (e.g. $6,000 for a 'successful' attack on an American military vehicle) - for example, see this New York Daily News article, this MSNBC report, this Fox News article, this Weekly Standard article, etc.

The source? Apparently a Sunday Times article, referencing a "Taliban treasurer" who spilled the beans to the Sunday Times reporter in Afghanistan. The original Sunday Times article is behind a pay wall, so the various media accounts simply reference each other, without any sort of analysis of the original article, and without providing any additional information (for example the New York Daily News references MSNBC's report of the Sunday Times article; the Weekly Standard article references Fox News; and so on).

Searching the Sunday Times for the terms 'Taliban' and "Iran" one gets a large number of hits in the same vein e.g. see above headlines re Iran paying the Taliban, providing them arms, training them to lay bombs and set ambushes, etc., etc.

So, this allegation is part of an ongoing pattern of unproven allegations; is rather thinly sourced; does not answer many questions (e.g. why would a "Taliban treasurer" share such sensitive information so cavalierly with a news reporter? Wouldn't he, at a minimum, be risking Iranian displeasure which could result in the money being cut off or worse - say death); suggests an unnecessarily complex and convoluted funding mechanism (front companies bidding on reconstruction work, then skimming funds that they route to Tehran and Dubai, then send back to Afghanistan via the hawala system) rather than just funneling cash directly; etc.

All of which raises plenty of doubt re the authenticity of this "news"....

Great quotes

"Abu Mazen and all these evil people should perish from this world. God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians."

"I must announce that the Zionist regime, with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene"

Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (during his weekly sermon), and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad (on the anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini), respectively.

Random picture

h/t Uskowi on Iran: Iran to exploit uranium