It looks like Iran already got a bargain. That makes it quite interesting.
news.yahoo.com
Western powers study more Iran sanctions
By Adrian CroftFri Aug 8, 1:53 PM ET
Britain, France, Germany and the United States are considering imposing additional sanctions on Iran over its nuclear work, possibly in the energy, reinsurance or financial sectors, a senior British official said on Friday.
These are beyond measures already taken by the United Nations Security Council and beyond steps likely to be considered in a possible next round of U.N. sanctions, the official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said.
"We are at a fairly early stage of this but ... there are areas of the Iranian economy that are vulnerable to targeted sanctions -- whether they be in the LNG (liquefied natural gas) sector, investment in the oil and gas sector, imported refined products, reinsurance, other financial areas -- which are areas we would look at if we are looking to increase the pressure on the Iranian leadership," the official said.
He said the countries discussing imposing additional sanctions were Britain, France, the United States and Germany, and primarily the first three of those countries.
There were "a number of other countries that we would want to involve in those discussions as we go forward," he said, without naming them.
Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States have been leading diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to freeze nuclear enrichment.
Western powers fear Tehran wants to build an atomic bomb. Iran says it is only seeking to master nuclear technology to generate electricity.
RUSSIA SAYS NO FIRM DEAL
The United States and Britain said on Wednesday the six major powers had agreed to consider more U.N. sanctions against Iran after Tehran failed to freeze its nuclear activities, but Russia said there was no firm deal.
The U.N. Security Council has previously passed three sanctions resolutions against Iran.
However, the British official said he had "no illusions that it will be difficult, as it was last time, to actually agree the text of some tough sanctions in the Security Council."
Middle East experts predict negotiations on a new sanctions resolution will be lengthy as veto-wielding council members Russia and China seek to balance their growing frustration with Iran with major commercial interests in the world's fourth biggest oil producer.
Iran's oil and gas industries are seen as off-limits for U.N. sanctions. International tension over Iran's nuclear programme has been one factor that drove up U.S. oil prices to a record $147 a barrel in July.
Iran promised a "clear response" at an unspecified date.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last month the United States would impose more of its own sanctions against Iran, along with European allies, as long as Tehran refused to give up sensitive nuclear work.
Here is another side to this Georgia's tail wagging.
It does look like a bigger mess is on its way. Iran may get a bargain from Russia and may soon become part of the Shanghai protection ring. If Pakistan's puppet is removed it will soon become a mighty mess.
debka.com
Israel backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
August 8, 2008, 4:26 PM (GMT+02:00)
Georgian tanks and infantry, aided by Israeli military advisers, captured the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, early Friday, Aug. 8, bringing the Georgian-Russian conflict over the province to a military climax.
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin threatened a “military response.”
Former Soviet Georgia called up its military reserves after Russian warplanes bombed its new positions in the renegade province.
In Moscow’s first response to the fall of Tskhinvali, president Dimitry Medvedev ordered the Russian army to prepare for a national emergency after calling the UN Security Council into emergency session early Friday.
Reinforcements were rushed to the Russian “peacekeeping force” present in the region to support the separatists.
Georgian tanks entered the capital after heavy overnight heavy aerial strikes, in which dozens of people were killed.
Lado Gurgenidze, Georgia's prime minister, said on Friday that Georgia will continue its military operation in South Ossetia until a "durable peace" is reached. "As soon as a durable peace takes hold we need to move forward with dialogue and peaceful negotiations."
DEBKAfile’s geopolitical experts note that on the surface level, the Russians are backing the separatists of S. Ossetia and neighboring Abkhazia as payback for the strengthening of American influence in tiny Georgia and its 4.5 million inhabitants. However, more immediately, the conflict has been sparked by the race for control over the pipelines carrying oil and gas out of the Caspian region.
The Russians may just bear with the pro-US Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili’s ambition to bring his country into NATO. But they draw a heavy line against his plans and those of Western oil companies, including Israeli firms, to route the oil routes from Azerbaijan and the gas lines from Turkmenistan, which transit Georgia, through Turkey instead of hooking them up to Russian pipelines.
Saakashvili need only back away from this plan for Moscow to ditch the two provinces’ revolt against Tbilisi. As long as he sticks to his guns, South Ossetia and Abkhazia will wage separatist wars.
DEBKAfile discloses Israel’s interest in the conflict from its exclusive military sources:
Jerusalem owns a strong interest in Caspian oil and gas pipelines reach the Turkish terminal port of Ceyhan, rather than the Russian network. Intense negotiations are afoot between Israel Turkey, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azarbaijan for pipelines to reach Turkey and thence to Israel’s oil terminal at Ashkelon and on to its Red Sea port of Eilat. From there, supertankers can carry the gas and oil to the Far East through the Indian Ocean.
Aware of Moscow’s sensitivity on the oil question, Israel offered Russia a stake in the project but was rejected.
Last year, the Georgian president commissioned from private Israeli security firms several hundred military advisers, estimated at up to 1,000, to train the Georgian armed forces in commando, air, sea, armored and artillery combat tactics. They also offer instruction on military intelligence and security for the central regime. Tbilisi also purchased weapons, intelligence and electronic warfare systems from Israel.
These advisers were undoubtedly deeply involved in the Georgian army’s preparations to conquer the South Ossetian capital Friday.
In recent weeks, Moscow has repeatedly demanded that Jerusalem halt its military assistance to Georgia, finally threatening a crisis in bilateral relations. Israel responded by saying that the only assistance rendered Tbilisi was “defensive.”
This has not gone down well in the Kremlin. Therefore, as the military crisis intensifies in South Ossetia, Moscow may be expected to punish Israel for its intervention.<<
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