North Korea Reportedly Fired successfully Ballistic Missile From Submarine.

North Korea Reportedly Fired successfully Ballistic Missile From Submarine.(RocketNews).

Seoul (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un hailed a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test as an “eye-opening success”, state media said Sunday, declaring Pyongyang has the ability to strike Seoul and the US whenever it pleases.

Saturday’s missile launch came amid growing concern that Pyongyang is preparing a fifth nuclear test.

But it was followed just hours later by a North Korean offer to impose a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing if the United States suspends annual military exercises with South Korea.

The US and Britain denounced the SLBM test as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and called on the North to refrain from further moves that could destabilise the region.

South Korea’s defence ministry said the missile, fired from a submarine in the Sea of Japan, flew around 30 kilometres (18 miles).

The North’s state-run KCNA news agency said the test, personally monitored by Kim, confirmed the reliability of the country’s underwater launching system.

It also cited the young leader as saying Pyongyang was now capable of “hitting the heads of the South Korean puppet forces and the US imperialists anytime as it pleases.”

Still images broadcast on state television showed Kim on the deck of the submarine before watching the test through binoculars from shore and meeting the crew and scientists afterwards.

“This eye-opening success constitutes one more precious gift the defence scientists and technicians are presenting to the great leaders and the party,” the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

– Nuclear test offer –

Pictures showed the missile, with “The North Star” emblazoned on it, soar out of the water and fly into the sky, leaving a massive plume of smoke above the sea surface.

State TV also showed what it claimed were underwater images of the missile being ejected from the submarine, using key “cold launch” technology.

North Korea has been pushing to acquire an SLBM capability that would take its nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and the potential to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.

In an interview with the Associated Press in New York, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-Yong said Pyongyang would be willing to halt further tests if Washington announced an end to annual joint military exercises with Seoul.

The annual drills always raise tensions on the Korean peninsula, with the North condemning them as provocative rehearsals for invasion.

Iran Envoy: Inspection of Iran's Military Sites Not Included in Lausanne N. Understanding.

Iran Envoy: Inspection of Iran's Military Sites Not Included in Lausanne N. Understanding. (Fars).

None of the paragraphs of Iran-Powers nuclear understanding in Lausanne allows inspection of the country's military sites, Iran's Envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi stressed.

Speaking at an exclusive interview with the Iran news network late on Wednesday and in response to the latest remarks made by Director General of the IAEA Yukiya Amano about inspecting Iran's military sites, Najafi said that has not been included in the Swiss framework understanding.

“Iran’s issue must be raised at the IAEA as an ordinary case or else it would be impossible to implement an agreement,” Najafi further added.

“The IAEA’s announcement that there are no undeclared (nuclear) sites or activities in Iran relates to the implementation of the Additional Protocol – something which is time-consuming," he further added,

"This issue, given the volume and type of (nuclear) facilities, has taken several years in other countries," Najafi said.

Najafi further noted that the April 2 mutual understanding between representatives from Iran and five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany in the Swiss city of Lausanne does not condition the removal of anti-Iran sanctions on the IAEA’s announcement that there are no undeclared nuclear activities in Iran.

The senior Iranian nuclear figure also termed IAEA’s duties as technical, underlining that IAEA, under the terms of the Lausanne accord, is obligated to oversee whether the measures taken by Iran are line with a final deal over Tehran’s atomic energy program.

He dismissed the latest remarks by Amano that Iran must first take transparency measures regarding all its nuclear activities in order for the world atomic agency to submit its reviews to the Security Council.

“Under the Swiss understanding, the IAEA is (only) required to verify (the activities), for example (verify) that Iran has had no uranium enrichment above the five-percent purity level. Such IAEA corroboration denotes that sanctions must be lifted simultaneously,” Najafi pointed out.

He said all EU and US sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program must be lifted as part of a final deal.

Last Thursday, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri rejected media reports that inspection of the country's military centers is included in the recent nuclear statement issued by Iran and the world powers in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

The Swiss statement does not include allowing inspections of military centers, Jazzayeri said.

"We have not so far permitted inspection of the military centers, and we are not to do so in the future," he underlined.

His remarks came after the UK Guardian Daily claimed that inspecting Iran's military centers was mentioned in the Lausanne statement at the end of talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) on April 2.

Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal: "We will Match Iran in Nuclear Capability"

Saudi Prince Turki: "We will Match Iran in Nuclear Capability". (NYTimes).

Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal: “He (Obama) did go behind the backs of the traditional allies of the U.S. to strike the Iran deal”.

When President Obama began making the case for a deal with Iran that would delay its ability to assemble an atomic weapon, his first argument was that a nuclear-armed Iran would set off a “free-for-all” of proliferation in the Arab world. “It is almost certain that other players in the region would feel it necessary to get their own nuclear weapons,” he said in 2012.

Now, as he gathered Arab leaders over dinner at the White House on Wednesday and prepared to meet with them at Camp David on Thursday, he faced a perverse consequence: Saudi Arabia and many of the smaller Arab states are now vowing to match whatever nuclear enrichment capability Iran is permitted to retain.

“We can’t sit back and be nowhere as Iran is allowed to retain much of its capability and amass its research,” one of the Arab leaders preparing to meet Mr. Obama said on Monday, declining to be named until he made his case directly to the president. Prince Turki bin Faisal, the 70-year-old former Saudi intelligence chief, has been touring the world with the same message.

“Whatever the Iranians have, we will have, too,” he said at a recent conference in Seoul, South Korea.

Prince Turki, while in Seoul, went further. “He did go behind the backs of the traditional allies of the U.S. to strike the deal,” he said of Mr. Obama during a presentation to the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a South Korean research organization.

Although “the small print of the deal is still unknown,” he added, it “opens the door to nuclear proliferation, not closes it, as was the initial intention.” 

Prince Turki : “We were America’s best friend in the Arab world for 50 years,” he said, using the past tense. Hmmm.......The Obama 'legacy' a Middle East full of nuclear nut cases. Read the full story here.

Former Al-Arabia Director In Response To Obama's Interview: 'Nuclear Deal Will Empower Iran's Hardliners, Not Moderates'.

Former Al-Arabia Director In Response To Obama's Interview: 'Nuclear Deal Will Empower Iran's Hardliners, Not Moderates'. (MEMRI).

In response to statements made by U.S. President Barack Obama in a May 13, 2015 interview with the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, that a nuclear deal would strengthen the moderate leaders in Iran, the daily's former editor and former director of Al-Arabiya, 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, wrote that the deal is likely to do the opposite, namely empower Iran's hardliners. 

Al-Rashed pointed out that the hawks in the Iranian regime were already boasting that the West had capitulated and agreed to lift sanctions, while the Iranian nuclear program was nearly complete. 

Their current confidence is also evident in a recent fierce clampdown on political rivals and dissidents, he said. Al-Rashed added that the moderates in the Iranian regime may have been strengthened if Washington had linked the deal to Tehran's halting its harmful intervention in other countries.  

The following are excerpts from his article, as it appeared on May 13, 2015 in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat's English edition:

"There is an illusion that the promised agreement with Iran regarding its nuclear program will push it toward moderation, as well as economic and political openness. What will probably happen is the complete opposite. 

The agreement will empower Tehran’s hawks, who are currently being marketed in Iran and who are bragging that most of the nuclear program has been accomplished and that the West has finally submitted and abandoned sanctions.

"During the past few months of international negotiations, Iran’s security fist tightened against state rivals, voicing the regime’s self-confidence. The Kurdish rebellion a week ago in the city of Mahabad, northwest Iran, was to protest security forces’ practices. A girl whom a military officer tried to rape jumped off a balcony, and the Kurdish minority - whose population is 8 million - revolted. Cruelty is behind growing anger in the outskirts of this multiethnic state. In addition to the armed Iranian opposition (People's Mojahedin of Iran), the number of anti-regime armed groups has increased.

"The civil opposition in Tehran fears that signing the nuclear agreement with the West will, unlike what is being promoted in Washington, serve the interests of regime hardliners. The struggle between moderates and hardliners within the state is no secret. The only case when Iran was led by a moderate was under popular leader Mohammed Khatami, who was president from 1997 until 2005. Khatami was met with clerics’ expanded war against the entire moderate movement. He was replaced by extremist Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who led Iran to its current situation of more extremism and militarism, and thus engaging in wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

"The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are also active domestically trying to suppress sedition, as they have done in Mahabad and Balochistan province in the southwest. They have also increased their presence in Khuzestan province, where there is a restive Arab population. The government has previously faced considerable difficulties in taming its Azeri citizens.

"Tehran still remembers the huge uprising that erupted after the rigged elections in 2009, which lasted until Feb. 2010. That revolt was led by reformists from within the regime, and they all ended up in jail.

"By signing the nuclear agreement, the hardliners will feel more confident, aware that foreign threats will have been neutralized and that no one will be able to confront them. 

If Washington had linked the deal to conditions obliging Tehran to halt its military adventures in exchange for ending international sanctions and a pledge that the West will not militarily target Iran, the situation of the moderates within the theocratic regime may have been enhanced.

"The agreement will grant hardliners two gifts. The first is that lifting economic sanctions will fill their treasury with funds to manage their battles. The second is that they will have a stronger status within the regime and against moderate clerics and politicians."

Iran Lawmakers Claim They Were Conned Into Signing 'Bogus' Nuclear Bill.

Iran Lawmakers Claim They Were Conned Into Signing 'Bogus' Nuclear Bill. (Rferl).

A group of Iranian lawmakers are claiming that a bill calling for a halt in nuclear talks with the United States is not the one they signed and was not a matter of "triple urgency."

Signatory Hojjat Khoda'i-Suri said within hours after the bill was passed by a parliamentary review board that the legislation as presented was "bogus." Furthermore, he told the official IRNA news agency, the 80 lawmakers who signed the bill were not aware that it would be given "triple-urgency" status.

According to the Iranian Constitution, a triple urgency bill must go to parliament within 24 hours and is only required at a time of emergency or crisis.

Khoda'i-Suri said he was told that he was signing a mere "double-urgency" bill, which would head to a parliamentary committee before being presented to parliament.

"My signature was in relation to a letter to the president to strengthen the nuclear team," he told IRNA. "And if that would not work, a double-urgency bill ensuring the parliament would supervise the negotiating team would then be considered."

Mohammad Bayatian, another lawmaker, said he did not even know he was signing a bill."The letter signed by members, including me, was only a letter to the president and there was no mention of a bill with triple urgency whatsoever,” he said.

Mehdi Mousavi-Nejad, another lawmaker who signed the bill, told Iranian media that the contents of the bill were different from the one he signed.

The legislation was promoted by Javad Karimi-Qoddusi, a hard-line lawmaker from Mashhad who has been a vocal critic of President Hassan Rohani and the ongoing negotiations with world powers over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Some of the signatories told Iranian media that they would withdraw their signatures and file a formal complaint against Karimi-Qoddusi.

Mohammad Hossein Mir Mohammadi, who sits on a board charged with supervising the conduct of Iranian lawmakers, told IRNA that if parliamentarians file complaints against Karimi-Qoddusi, the board would deal with the matter. Hmmm.....Spinning the truth since the Mullahcracy was founded.....But they will respect the Nuclear deal....don't worry. Read the full story here.

Israeli PM: Business as usual at Nuclear talks even as official says Iran has God's approval to destroy Israel.

Israeli PM: Business as usual at Nuclear talks even as official says Iran has God's approval to destroy Israel. (Jpost).

The historical lesson from World War Two is not to back down from an extremist regime whose platform includes genocide and conquering other states, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, referring to the Iranian regime.

Netanyahu was speaking at a special Victory Day ceremony in the Knesset on Wednesday marking 70 years since the capitulation of the Nazis to the Soviet Union.

"Against the enemies of freedom, enlightenment and progress we need to stand firm and in a timely manner, in order to prevent them from using weapons of mass destruction in order to realize their murderous agendas," the prime minister said.

Netanyahu quoted a senior Iranian official who he said was quoted in Arab media sources on Wednesday as saying that Iran has God's permission to liquidate Israel.

"These statements are being heard by the representatives taking part in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, and the talks continue as normal," Netanyahu said.

"We need to stand firm to prevent the Iranians from using weapons of mass destruction to carry out their will against Israel," Netanyahu added. Hmmmm.....He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

20 pages of final nuclear agreement written – Iranian negotiator.

20 pages of final nuclear fairy tale agreement written – Iranian negotiator. (Taz).

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who is also the country’s second most senior nuclear negotiator, said that Iran and the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) have so far written 20 pages of a final agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

The pages cover issues related to nuclear activities, removal of sanctions, and the related time table, he said.

Araqchi’s statements were quoted by MP Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, spokesman for the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, who was commenting on a committee session where Araqchi was also present, ICANA news agency reported May 11.

The Iranian diplomat further stated that a difficult path remains ahead and there are differences in some issues between the negotiating parties.

A day earlier Head of Iran Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi had said that although the talks were progressing well, the Western parties had backed out on some of the promises they had given earlier.

Hosseini also quoted Araqchi as having said that no one can inspect Iran's military sites.

Refraining to reject the probability of inspection of military sites, Araqchi had in a televised interview said May 5 that the inspections are regulated by the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Also, Iran Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrooz Kamalvandi said May 8 that in the course of Iran's cooperation with the IAEA, nothing as inspection of the country’s military sites had been discussed.

But Iran has defined some framework for information and access as a response to a request by Western countries, he had said.

These statements come at a time when Iranian officials had previously said that the inspection of military sites was among the red lines for the Islamic Republic.


Deputy Commander of the IRGC Hossein Salami for example had said April 18 that Iran would answer inspection of its military sites with “hot lead”.

North Korea, Iran's BFF boasts of firing ballistic missile from submarine.

Source.

North Korea Iran's BFF boasts of firing ballistic missile from submarine. (TOI).

SEOUL: North Korea said on Saturday it had successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine, a step that would mark significant progress in the secretive state's military capabilities.

It could pose a new threat to South Korea, Japan and the United States, which have tried to contain North Korea's growing nuclear and missile strength, military experts said.

The North's leader, Kim Jong Un, oversaw the test-launch from an offshore location as the submarine dived and "a ballistic missile surfaced from the sea and soared into the air, leaving a fiery trail of blaze," the official KCNA news agency said.

"Through the test, it was verified and confirmed that the underwater ballistic missile launch from a strategic submarine fully achieved the latest military, scientific and technical requirements."

North Korea is under United Nations sanctions banning it from developing or using ballistic missile technology.

The United States would not comment on the reported test but said launches using ballistic missile technology were a "clear violation" of UN Security Council resolutions.

"We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments and obligations," a State Department official said in an email.

The KCNA report did not mention the date or the exact location of the test, but a separate KCNA dispatch on Saturday said Kim gave field guidance at a fishery complex in Sinpo, a port city on the country's east coast and the location of a known submarine base.

"The test shows that North Korea missile capabilities are advancing without any constraints now despite a bevy of nonproliferation sanctions applied by the United Nations," he said in an email.

A South Korean military expert who saw still photos of the launch in the North's media said they appeared to show a ballistic missile being fired from a submarine in a "cold launch" through an ejection mechanism, a key element in a submarine launch system.

"The potential of this is that existing missile defence against the North can be rendered useless," said Shin In-kyun, who runs the Korea Defence Network, an independent forum.

Such missile defence systems are positioned to look at the North, not at "submarines that could be south of Jeju or near Guam". Jeju is a South Korean island. Hmmm.........Just imagine a hundred fold coming from Obama's BFF Iran.Read the full story here.

 Related? :

Vid- #Iran unveils what appears to be its first #submarine -launched cruise-missile . @littlebytesnews @AndrewGatward http://t.co/hw4T9dgaD8

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) February 27, 2015

Satellite photos reveal North Korea may have it'sown submarine capable of carrying ballistic missiles.

Satellite photos reveal North Korea may have it'sown submarine capable of carrying ballistic missiles. (Heraldsun).

North Korea is believed to have completed a homegrown submarine capable of carrying ballistic missiles — a move set to significantly extend the rogue state’s nuclear reach.

South Korean government sources were reported in local media as saying a previously unseen submarine spotted in North Korean waters in recent weeks had now been identified.

The rogue state “is believed to have completed construction of the new submarine after importing a Soviet-era Golf-class diesel submarine and reverse-engineering it,” a government source said on condition of anonymity.

South Korean government sources were reported in local media as saying a previously unseen submarine spotted in North Korean waters in recent weeks had now been identified.

The Yonhap news agency reports the submarine was based an old design which was decommissioned by Russia almost 25 years ago. Read the full story here.

New Russian Ballistic Missile Sub Alexander Nevsky to Join Fleet.

New Russian Ballistic Missile Sub Alexander Nevsky to Join Fleet.(RN).

The second new Borey class ballistic missile submarine will enter Russian Navy service on Saturday, a defense industry source has told RIA Novosti.

“The commissioning of the ship into the fleet, as well as a flag-raising ceremony on the ballistic missile submarine Alexander Nevsky, is planned for December 21,” the source told RIA. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will attend the ceremony at the Sevmash shipyard in the northern city of Severodvinsk.

The Defense Ministry said last month that delivery of the boat would be delayed until 2014 following the failure of an onboard missile system during sea trials in September. The malfunction was the latest in a string of eight failures of the new Bulava missile – developed for the new Borey class submarines – out of a total of 19 or 20 launches.

The new Borey class boats are currently incapable of performing their primary role of nuclear deterrence while the Bulava has not yet been cleared for service, a navy command source said on November 1.
The Alexander Nevsky, with a length of nearly two football fields, can carry sixteen Bulava missiles, each fitted with up to ten independently-targetable nuclear warheads. The first ship of the Borey class, the Yury Dolgoruky, entered service in January.

Ballistic missile submarines comprise one leg of Russia’s strategic nuclear triad along with land-based ICBMs and the bomber force.

The Borey is Russia’s first post-Soviet ballistic missile submarine class and will form the mainstay of the strategic submarine fleet, replacing aging Typhoon, Delta-3 and Delta-4 class boats. Russia ultimately expects eight of the type to enter service by 2020. The third boat in the class, the Vladimir Monomakh, is expected to be launched for manufacturer’s acceptance trials this month.Hmmmm......'RESET'.