Current Events in Mideast-Africa

Cleric takes bold moves in Pakistan Events follow criticism against president for increasing ‘Talibanization’ MSNBC News Services Updated: 3:05 p.m. ET April 6, 2007 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - In a bold challenge to the government, a firebrand cleric said Friday he had formed an Islamic court to enforce a Taliban-style vice campaign in the Pakistani capital, threatening suicide attacks if authorities try to stop him. Thousands of followers of Maulana Abdul Aziz underlined their defiance by chanting “Our way is jihad!” and setting fire to hundreds of mainly Western DVDs and video cassettes outside Islamabad’s Red Mosque. Friday’s events deepen a dilemma for Pres…

U.S. launches show of force in Gulf Aircraft carriers, warplanes feature in maneuvers off the coast of Iran The Associated Press Updated: 8:17 a.m. ET March 27, 2007 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday began its largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by a pair of aircraft carriers and backed by warplanes flying simulated attack maneuvers off the coast of Iran. The maneuvers bring together two strike groups of U.S. warships and more than 100 U.S. warplanes to conduct simulated air warfare in the crowded Gulf shipping lanes. The U.S. exercises come just four days after Iran’s capture of 15 Brit…

From Jane's Defence Weekly 06 April 2007 Hizbullah prepares for war By Nicholas Blanford Lebanon's Hizbullah organisation is mobilising its military wing, the Islamic Resistance (IR), in preparation for an expected new confrontation with Israel in mid-2007. New recruits are being pushed through an intensified training programme at the Iranian-backed group's training camps in the Bekaa Valley and a steady flow of arms, including surface-to-surface rockets, is coming into Lebanon from Syria, sources within Hizbullah, Lebanese military intelligence and other Lebanese close to the Shia Muslim party told Jane's. The preparations have been detected by Israel, …

From Defense Aerospace US Arms Package to S. Arabia Delayed Due to Israeli Objections (Source: ddi Indian Government news; issued April 5, 2007) A major arms-sale package that the Bush administration is planning to offer Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to deter Iran has been delayed due to objections from Israel, saying the advanced weaponry would erode its military advantage over its regional rivals. Israeli officials, including the former defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, have come to Washington in recent months to argue against elements of the planned sales, the New York Times reported. In particular, the Israelis are concerned about the po…

U.S. winds up biggest war games in Gulf since 2003 Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:52AM EDT MANAMA (Reuters) - The U.S. navy said on Thursday it had ordered an aircraft carrier to the Gulf to replace one of two patrolling the region, as the United States winds down naval war games on Iran's doorstep. The Nimitz carrier strike group will sail from San Diego for the Gulf on Monday, a navy spokesman told Reuters, to replace the Dwight D. Eisenhower, as tensions mount between Iran and the West over captured British troops and Iran's nuclear program. "She (the Nimitz) will deploy to the Gulf region. She is the relief for Eisenhower, who leaves and she replaces her," Lieutenant Co…

By Jonathan Saul JERUSALEM, April 1 (Reuters) - Iran is making defensive preparations for what it fears will be a U.S. military attack this summer, Israel's military intelligence chief said on Sunday. Major-General Amos Yadlin also told the Israeli cabinet that Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas and Syria believed they could be targeted in any U.S.-initiated war against Iran, an Israeli government official said, briefing reporters on his remarks. "What we are seeing is their preparation for the possibility of war in the summer. My assessment is that they are defensive preparations for war," Yadlin was quoted as saying, referring to Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. T…

From DefenseNews Posted 03/22/07 12:06 Iranian Navy Starts War Games in the Gulf: Report By REUTERS, TEHRAN Iran’s navy started more than a week of war games in the Gulf on March 22 using tactical submarines and small vessels carrying missile launchers, state television reported. The exercises are the latest in a series of maneuvers staged by Iran’s military in the Gulf, where the United States has deployed a second aircraft carrier, a move widely seen as a warning to Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. State television said the war games staged by Iran’s regular naval forces "showed their defensive power for protecting the Persian Gulf". It said the maneuvers…

From Defence Talk South African Navy Commissions Charlotte Maxeke ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems | Mar 16, 2007 EMDEN/HAMBURG/KIEL, Germany: On March 14, 2007, the South African Navy commissioned the submarine “Charlotte Maxeke” at Emden-based Nordseewerke GmbH (NSWE), a company of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG (TKMS). This submarine is an ultra-modern submarine of the German 209/1400mod Class. During commissioning ceremony the boat which was christened as S102 on May 4, 2005, got the new name “Charlotte Maxeke.” The boat is the second of a total of three submarines which the South African government ordered from the German Submarine Consortium in 2000. The co…

From Flight International Rafales go to Afghanistan as French commitment grows By Helen Massy-Beresford Air force and navy to deploy six aircraft to Tajikistan in support of ISAF mission France is in the process of sending six Dassault Rafale C/M fighters to support ground troops serving as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Three air force and three navy F2 software-standard aircraft were scheduled to leave for the region on 10 March as part of France's Operation Serpentaire. Their deployment follows the recent completion of ground and flight tests and crew training activities at the air force's CEAM test centre at …

From Marine Corps Times ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s outdated military presents little current threat to its neighbors, despite the fierce rhetoric from its hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, military analysts said Monday at a security conference here in the Persian Gulf. Iran has exaggerated its military capabilities, while U.S. and Israeli leaders have engaged in “provocative rhetoric” that overstates the Iranian threat, said Anthony Cordesman of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. In reality, Iran is more focused on national defense than using military power to boost its influence in the region, he said. …

From Defence Talk Attacking Iran could speed up nuclear programme Agence France-Presse | Mar 5, 2007 Pre-emptive military strikes on Iran could accelerate rather than hinder Tehran's production of atomic weapons, a report by a British global security think-tank said Monday. Backed by the former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Hans Blix, the Oxford Research Group said Iran could respond to an attack by launching a "crash programme" and build a crude nuclear device within months. "If Iran is moving towards a nuclear weapons capacity it is doing it relatively slowly, most estimates put it at least five years away," said one of the report's authors, leadi…

From Aviation Week BREAKING NEWS -- Iran Set to Try Space Launch Jan 25, 2007 By Craig Covault/Aviation Week & Space Technology Iran has converted one of its most powerful ballistic missile into a satellite launch vehicle. The 30-ton rocket could also be a wolf in sheep's clothing for testing longer-range missile strike technologies, Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine reports in its Jan. 29 issue. The Iranian space launcher has recently been assembled and "will liftoff soon" with an Iranian satellite, according to Alaoddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. The move toward …

BAE Not Currently Finalizing Saudi Jet Deal By REUTERS, LONDON DefenseNews BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defense firm, said on Nov. 28 it was not moving forward on finalizing a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. In an interview in the Financial Times, the company’s chief executive, Mike Turner, was quoted as saying BAE could not speak on behalf of the two governments. "But I do know we are not currently moving forward on finalizing the Typhoon contract," Turner was quoted as saying. A BAE spokeswoman said the sentiment of Turner’s comment was that "since Ramadan negotiations between the two sides had not exactly moved apace". …

From Defense Talk Pakistan successfully tests nuclear-capable missile Agence France-Presse | Feb 23, 2007 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Friday test-fired its longest range nuclear-capable ballistic missile, two days after signing a deal with rival India to cut the risk of atomic weapons accidents, the military said. The Shaheen II, or Hatf VI, missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) was launched from an undisclosed location, military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP. "The test was very successful. It was carried out to validate technical parameters and it hit the target with 100 percent accuracy," Sultan said. "It is a two-stage so…

From Defense Aerospace Syria Boosting Arsenal Since War (Source: ddi Indian Government news; issued Feb. 22, 2007) Syria has embarked on an "unprecedented" effort to bolster its armed forces with Iranian and Russian help since Damascus has large numbers of surface-based missiles including the Scud-D, capable of reaching any target in Israel, [israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.] Haaretz also said Russia was about to sell Syria thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles, despite Israeli charges that in the past Syria has transferred those missiles to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Syrian officials did not immediately comment on the Israeli reports, but…

From Navy Times War with Iran would be Navy, Air Force show Some point to buildup in Persian Gulf region as precursor to attack By William H. McMichael - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Feb 21, 2007 20:45:23 EST The attack would probably come by air. Waves of U.S. cruise missiles and warplanes loaded with smart weapons would swoop into Iran from the sea and land bases to destroy key Iranian nuclear facilities. Out in the Persian Gulf, the Navy would wipe out Iran’s navy in a matter of days. Iran’s air defenses could possibly take out a few higher-flying Navy and Air Force tactical jets before being located and destroyed. In short, the first round would …

From DefenseNews Posted 02/20/07 11:06 Iran Stages War Games as U.S. Carrier Arrives in Gulf AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TEHRAN, Iran Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Feb. 20 staged a war game simulating an enemy airstrike as a second nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in regional waters in an apparent warning to Tehran. The Revolutionary Guards’ land forces fought back the hypothetical airstrike from enemy helicopters, planes and missiles with 620 anti-aircraft cannon and shoulder missiles, state television said. "Today, we are fighting back at all kinds of planes at low and average altitudes," said Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the commander of t…

From DefenseNews Posted 02/19/07 14:36 Putin Talks Arms, Nuclear Power in Gulf Visit By NABI ABDULLAEV, MOSCOW On the first tour by a Russian head of state to the Arabian Gulf countries, President Vladimir Putin offered weapons and nuclear power technologies to Saudi Arabia, coordination in trading in natural gas in Qatar, and sold arms and emerged as a power broker in Middle East affairs while in Jordan. Putin traveled to the three Gulf countries Feb. 11-13, right after he blasted the United States and its “unilateralist” actions in Iraq during a speech at a defense conference in Munich. In public appearances and private meetings, the president used his trip t…

From DefenseNews Posted 02/19/07 08:45 UAEAF Signs Tanker Aircraft MOU with EADS By RIAD KAHWAJI, ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates In a surprise announcement, United Arab Emirates officials declared that the country’s Air Force and Air Defense Command has picked the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport Aircraft (MRTT) as its preferred choice for a contract to provide three aerial tankers. “The UAE Armed Forces has signed today [Feb. 19] a Memo of Understanding [MOU] with EADS for the tanker aircraft,” said Maj.Gen. Obaid Al-Ketbi, the UAE Armed Forces Chief of Logistics, at a press conference at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX-07) in…

From Defense Aerospace Statement (Source: Spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Defense; issued Feb. 11, 2007) The Arrow Weapon System marked tonight at 9:18 PM, 11/02/07, an important milestone by completing another successful test. The test, the 15th for the interceptor, the 10th for the complete weapon system, is part of the Arrow System Improvement Program, ASIP, which is being carried out jointly, by Israel and the United States. The objectives of the test were: - To examine improved performance including widening of the interception envelope - To test the system in an integrated operational configuration engaging two batteries located…