U.S. Drone Returned...But Miniature-Sized

In December, the United States' RQ-170 Sentinel drone was captured by the Iranian government. The U.S. government insisted the drone was in operation over East Afghanistan and came down only due to "technical malfunction."
President Obama called for the drone to be returned, but on December 11th, the Iranian government made it clear they would not comply with President Obama's request with regards to the United States' "hostile act" of impeding upon Iranian airspace.
Now, the Iranian government has agreed to return the drone but only a miniature version that is 1/80th the size of the original. The miniature version will also be available for Iranian customers to purchase at stores for the United States' currency equivalent of $4.00.
Hillary Clinton, the United States' Secretary of State, admits that even with the formal request, "we do not expect [Iran] to comply."

Scientist Killing Blamed to U.S. and Israel

Last Wednesday, a magnetic bomb attached to his car killed Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan and his driver. He was the third Iranian scientist to be killed in the last two years.

A top Iranian general accused the U.S. and Israel of these killings and promoting “state terrorism.” Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, deputy chairman of Iran’s Chief of Staff, said, “Iran will hold the U.S., Britain and the Zionist regime accountable for their actions.” He also added that these assassinations would not stop their progress on creating strategic technologies.

The top cleric, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was blaming the CIA and Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency. He said that the scientist’s death showed “the global arrogance spearheaded by the U.S. and Zionism has reached a deadlock in confrontation with the determined, devout and progressive nation of Islamic Iran.” He warned, “We shall persist in punishing the perpetrators of this crime, as well those supporting them behind the scenes."

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also accused Israel as “agents of imperialism and international Zionism.” Other top officials also blamed the U.S. and Israel. Both of these countries have charged Iran of making a nuclear bomb, which the latter denied.

Moreover, a newspaper aligned with Khamenei argued that Iran should be able to use its power to retaliate. They are calling for the government to respond to these assassinations, suggesting of targeting Israeli officials.

Iran’s ambassador to UN, Mohammad Khazaee believed that these killings are a way to stop Iran from using nuclear energy. Iran insisted that they are producing civilian energy and not some deathly weapons. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency, UN’s nuclear watchdog, reported that Iran conducted weapon related research and that they cannot assure its stability.

On the other hand, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to these accusations by denying that U.S. was “categorically” behind the killings. Furthermore, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta assured the troops that U.S. was not involved.

I think that both countries are in a brink of conflict right now. The negotiations and peace talks between the U.S government and Iranian government have not been going well. U.S. has imposed economic sanctions to Iran, resulting to high inflation. I hope that this war of words would not turn into something bigger and more serious.

Hey...Can We Have that Back?

As mentioned in an earlier post, the U.S. had recently lost a reconnaissance drone over western Afghanistan due to, as Iran claims, Iranian hackers jamming its signal. Now, however, the U.S. asks for its drone back and is currently waiting for an answer. According to the article attached to this post's title, an Iranian military officer had previously announced that they will not be returning the drone.

"'No nation welcomes other countries' spy drones in its territory, and no one sends back the spying equipment and its information back to the country of origin,' said Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy commander of Iran's military, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Sunday.

'It makes no difference where this drone originated and which group or country sent it to invade our airspace,' Salami said. 'This was an act of invasion and belligerence.'"

I think Salami makes a valid point. This was an act of invasion and probably won't be getting that drone back...But what do you think? Will the U.S. get its drone back? Does it deserve its drone back? Thoughts?

Finders Keepers! Iran has lost U.S. spy drone

As some of you may have read in the news, the Pentagon recently announced that it had lost a reconnaissance drone in western Afghanistan due to technological difficulties. Iran claimed responsibility, stating that Iranian hackers had used jamming signals to divert the craft.

"Iran hacking into the drone is as likely as an Ayatollah standing on a mountain-top and using thought waves to bring it down," Lewis, a former Reagan administration official now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Yahoo News by email Monday. "The most likely explanation is that it crashed on its own."

(Link to article: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/cyber-experts-pentagon-skeptical-iran-brought-down-u-205358251.html;_ylt=AkExI0QkKcTCz_POW7RDd9_yWed_;_ylu=X3oDMTFkNWJ1MDBuBG1pdANCbG9nIEJvZHkEcG9zAzMEc2VjA01lZGlhQmxvZ0JvZHlBc3NlbWJseQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTNicWxwcnRmBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDYTAxYzU5YzAtMGQ2YS0zN2I0LTkxYjItOTc3OWFiOTdlYzQ3BHBzdGNhdANvcmlnaW5hbHN8dGhlZW52b3kEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdlBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3#more-5901)

As embarrassing as it has been for the Pentagon to lose such a valuable piece of technology, they were further humiliated when Iran's Press TV broadcasted a tour of a very intact US spy drone. Iran, which has been complaining for a while that such drones are invasive and violate its sovereignty, now seems to be getting some revenge.

Here's a yahoo news article that give a more detailed description.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/iran-releases-images-downed-u-spy-drone-171144210.html

Skepticism Arises Regarding Alleged Iran Plot

There are quite a few issues brought up today that causes skepticism about the Iran conspiracy plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US and bombings.

Ambassador Adel Jubeir

First, there is no clear, reasonable rationale. Iran is a country on their way to the brink. Countless economic sanctions and other isolation measures have been pushing Iran to the sidelines of the international arena. It's unlikely that they are going to risk further damage on their economy and international status by planning a sloppy assassination plot against Adel Jubeir on US soil, angering both the US and Saudi Arabia - obviously two very influential countries.

Second, there is no precedent and this plot is very inconsistent with known previous Iranian procedures. Iran has never been linked to an assassination plot or attack against anyone on US soil. Sure they have been accused of attack plots, but they have never been publicly found guilty of any sort of conspiracy on US soil (most likely because they are probably always extra covert and the people will undoubtedly go through tremendous lengths to cover up their tracks). With that said, I think it's very unlikely that they hired an average Iranian-American and administered only one proxy (the Mexican drug cartel) - a non-Muslim one at that - for such an amateurishly-schemed plot.

Attorney General Holder

Third, Saudi is not Iran's number one enemy. Iran has many more intense conflicts with its neighboring Afghanistan, Iraq and also Bahrain. There isn't a real incentive here. It's true that Iran has ongoing tension with Saudi Arabia. However, an assassination of a Saudi official will only nudge other countries to support Saudi and condemn Iran. I doubt they would really make a decision as stupid as this.

Fourth, the alleged plot is inconstant and has too many loose ends. Nobody is certain on the allegations. Even Attorney General Eric Holder commented that the US government cannot yet firmly accuse the Iranian government of any knowledge on this alleged plot due to a lack of evidence. [Source] Moreover, others have commented that this situation seems like a decoy and distraction away from AG Holder's role and involvement in the notorious "Operation Fast and Furious".

Why would Iran risk so much in a plot that has a slim chance of success? Smells fishy...

The bottom line: is this a real threat or, according to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, just a distraction our government threw our way?

Iran Plot - A "Dangerous Escalation"

The US's accusation that Iran is allegedly planning to assassinate Saudi's ambassador to the US in Washington DC is starting to unfold.

Last night, it was announced that the US has unearthed a plot by Iranians to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, Adel Al-Jubeir. Two men who are allegedly connected to the case (one of whom is a member of the Quds force, an Iranian special foreign actions unit) were charged in a federal court in New York for conspiring both the assassination and bombing of Israli and Saudi embassies. One of the men, Arbabsiar (left), is an Iranian-American living in Texas. He had traveled to Mexico recently, where he hired a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate Al-Jubeir at the ambassador's favorite DC restaurant. The US has also placed sanctions on five more men who are thought to be overseeing the conduction of the alleged plot.

Top officials condemned Iran and threatens to increase efforts in further isolating the nation (with more trade sanctions and what not). WH press secretary Jay Carney said last night that the US will work bilaterally with other nations and the UN to further our preexisting policy of isolating Iran.

In response to the US sanctions and accusations, the Iran ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaee, said in a letter to the UN SG Ban Ki Moon that the Iran "seeks a world free from terrorism and considers the current US warmongerings and propaganda machine against Iran as a threat not just against itself but to the peace and stability in the Persian Gulf region".

While it's important to ensure the safety the diplomats who are essentially the face and embodiment of the relationship between two nations, we have to consider whether or not we can actually deal with this situation. If we do anything beyond placing more economic sanctions, will we be able to handle it? Do we really want to bite off more than we can chew? Our involvement in the Middle East is already extremely complicated and intense; do we want to augment that?

Further info:

[x] Opinion column on CNN with more Iran-American relations background information

[x] US Attorney General Eric Holder's statement

[x] Details about the assassination & bombing plot

Developments in Iran nuclear talks

It feels like Iran, the United States and its allies are again playing a game of bluffing and testing each other. Iran is advancing a militaristic agenda, to what extent is a little murky, while America is trying to hold onto diplomatic pretenses while becoming increasingly vocal against Iranian nuclear development. Both entities move back and forth without relinquishing the key objectives.

Compounding this, too, is President Obama’s declaration of wanting to heal and make progress with our international relationship with Iran, which is obviously being pushed aside in not wanting to back down from demands.

My impression is that Iran is stalling for time and that the October 25 deadline for inspection is intended to appear as more of a concession than it is. It has certainly been that way in the past—Iran has done it and so has North Korea. Iran’s modus operandi is to seemingly meet certain United States demands while actually buying time. Meanwhile, the countries using whatever means of diplomatic pressure lose their common footing, allowing Iran to regroup and strengthen its position.

Some recent articles on the issue: Mideast: Iran Inspections (from the Council on Foreign Relations, the second post on that page)

And Congress poised to act swiftly on Iran if needed.

This article is only marginally related, but it struck me as pretty bizarre. Found it during some fact-checking research for this post: Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is secretly ... Jewish?.

Thanks for reading--What do you think about the United States stance on Iran's nuclear program? Do you think that as a country we should more aggressively pursue our goal? Or do you think we should back off at this juncture?