U-turn, US and Russia

[Christina]

DEBKAfile Reports: In a coordinated U-turn, US and Russia both treat Iran’s space launch as attesting to a nuclear weapons programFebruary 6, 2008, 3:55 PM (GMT+02:00) Wednesday, Feb. 6, Moscow followed Washington in voicing concern that the launch of Iran’s Safir-1 space rocket Monday, Feb. 4, attested to the existence of a nuclear weapons program. This diametrically contradicts the US National Intelligence Estimate of last December, which concluded Iran had shelved its covert military nuclear program in 2003. Moscow too has evidently abandoned its persistent denial of evidence that Tehran is developing a nuclear bomb.The two comments from the WhiteWhite HouseHouse and the Kremlin also point to PresidentsPresidents GeorgeGeorge W.W. BushBush and VladimirVladimir PutinPutin having settled their dispute over harsh sanctions against Iran.The two leaders began pulling their acts on Iran together in December 2007, as DEBKAfile first revealed, when Bush suddenly withdrew his objections to Russian fuel shipments for Iran’s Bushehr reactor. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in answer to a question, the WhiteWhite HouseHouse spokeswoman DanaDana PerinoPerino said Iran’s “space” missile was cause for worry. Such technology, she said, is the same as that needed to deliver a nuclear bomb. Wednesday, Feb. 6, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Losyukov followed suit. He commented that Monday’s test launch of Iran’s “Safir-1 (Explorer-1) raises suspicions over Tehran’s claims of peaceful nuclear intentions and suggested its possible desire to create a nuclear weapon. It was “of course a cause for concern.” Long-range missiles are components of a nuclear weapons system, the Russian official said - the first time any senior Russian official had admitted to suspecting Iran of underhand nuclear weapons activity.DEBKAfile’s Washington and Moscow sources report: The statements from the two capitals indicate that Bush and Putin continue to cooperate on Iran and have decided to leave the controversial NIENIE behind them. The question is: Where does their collaboration go from here? Or, specifically, how does the WhiteWhite HouseHouse propose to reward the Kremlin for adopting its hard line on Iran?The place to watch may be Poland and the CzechCzech RepublicRepublic, where the US president might be flexible in his push for missile interceptor bases in consideration of Moscow’s adamant resistance.

 

[Wakka]

Maybe Iran got the nuclear material from somewhere else? Maybe the black market.

 

[crooner]

Isreal is going to freak!!!! Get ready for sneak attack by Isreal.

 

[Wakka]

Israel probably already has spies in the Irani government. How hard would it be? Just take one of their loyal Arabic citizens and ship them over there.

 

[Christina]

And speaking of Debka, they have a big story up this morning about how "Hamas expands missile targeting area as Israel forces hit back in N. Gaza. Barak threatens harsher military action." use of 'threatening harsher military action' is not to be ignored.Especially when it's accompanied by as many as 9 communications cable breaks, as we reported yesterday, and a virtual disappearance of regular internet traffic to and from Iran that continues this morning.Several board around the internet are now writing about how (and this clip is typical) "The hour is upon the Nation Of Israel and great danger is at hand for the United States."

 

[crooner]

God be with us!