Chairman Of The American Joint Chiefs
of Staff Admiral Mullen Warns Against
War With Iran
July 3, 2008
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs
of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen said that a possible aggression
against Iran would have been "extremely stressful" for the US
troops.
BBC reported that during a news conference in the Pentagon
Admiral Michael Mullen commented on a possibility of military
action by the US and Israel in response to Iran's refusal to
curtail its nuclear program.
He warned that opening up a third front - after Iraq and
Afghanistan, where the US troops have been deployed for over
five years now - "would have unpredictable and potentially
dangerous consequences".
Mullen, who just returned from two days of consultations with
Israeli military leaders, declined to discuss those
consultations or Israeli intentions on how to rein in Iran's
nuclear program.
ABC News reported two days ago that Israel is increasingly
likely to attack Iranian nuclear facilities this year.
Western media point out that even though the US denies any
information about preparation for a military strike against
Iran, the very statement that the Admiral has made about
negative consequences of the war shows that the US government
has been actively discussing this option backstage, and Mullen
is trying to convince the US and Israel to thoroughly evaluate
the consequences of the attack before starting to consider this
option.
"But I'm convinced that the solution still lies in using other
elements of national power to change Iranian behavior, including
diplomatic, financial and international pressure," Adm. Mullen
said.
"This is a very unstable part of the world, and I don't need it
to be more unstable," he added.
At the same time Mullen mentioned that his attitude towards the
Iranian regime has not changed. According to him, Iran remains
the destabilizing factor in the region.
The top US military officer maintained that Iran is 'still on a
path to obtain nuclear weapons', adding that it 'needs to be
deterred.'
Meanwhile Iran has been actively preparing for war. Even though
Tehran has been constantly claiming that the US and Israel would
never go for an aggression, Iranians have been increasing their
military capabilities and apparently preparing for the worst
case scenario.
Information agencies have reported that Iran has started a
serial production of light tanks Tosan for rapid response units.
This report came from FNA news agency referring to a statement
made by Colonel Nasser Arab-Beigi, one of the commanders of land
troops of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
The production of the tank, developed on the national basis, has
been launched by Tehran as part of the implementation of the
strategy to independently provide the equipment needs of Armed
Forces.
Nasser Arab-Beigi also said that the situation unfolding around
Iran requires serious strengthening of the country's defense
potential by adopting modern-day combat systems.
According to the information that has been available, a light
tank Tosan weighs no more than 25 tons and is equipped with a
90mm caliber gun and modified system of fire-control. The tank
is capable of traveling long distances on its own, while special
tank carriers are used for this purpose.
Earlier Iranian experts also developed a heavy tank Zulfiqar on
the basis of Russian T-72. The tank is equipped with a 1,000
horsepower engine and can accelerate to 70 kilometers an hour.
The tank's arsenal includes a 125 mm cannon and 7.62mm and 12.7
mm machineguns.
It was also reported that according to Israeli intelligence,
Iran has aimed its missiles at the Dimona nuclear facilities in
Israel (the Negev Desert).
Iran Urges Muslim
Solidarity Against Sacrilegious Measures
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Thursday urged Muslim
states to maintain solidarity in facing challenges targeting the
world of Islam.
"Over recent years, Islamic values have been subject to
strong attacks, all which being based on especial motivations or
wrong attitudes towards Islamic injunctions. The scope of the
attacks has become so extensive to include insult to Holy Quran
and the Holly Prophet (of Islam)," said Mottaki in a meeting
with ambassadors of 57 Muslim states in the UN.
"That's (insult to sanctities) can not be tolerated by Muslim
Ummah and Muslim states should close their ranks and get further
united against such threats," he said.
Meanwhile, Mottaki said Iran is the sole Muslim state from
Asia to run candidacy for a seat in the UN Security Council this
year, so Muslim states are invited to support the bid.
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