debka1
19.10.06, 17:43
DEBKAfile - We start where the media stop
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Khamenei Brandishes a Kalashnikov at US and Israel
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis
October 15, 2006, 4:29 PM (GMT+02:00)
The powerful spectacle of Iran’s be-turbaned supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei clutching an automatic rifle, displayed exclusively by DEBKAfile,
drew on the belligerent imagery of Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein. The
Iranian media suppressed this particular shot in its coverage of his sermon
at Tehran University Oct. 13, the third Friday of Ramadan. But the AK 47
toted by the ruler of the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism was not
missed by the political and military leaders in his audience and accentuated
his war message.
DEBKAfile’s Tehran sources reveal that the Iran’s leaders took three fateful
steps ahead of Khamenei’s performance:
1. They pointed up the tradition initiated by the father of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of marking the last Friday of Ramadan
as International al Qods Day - “Jerusalem Liberation Day.”
2. Khamenei’s aides leaked word that his decision to hold the sermon of Oct.
13 was prompted by his discovery that the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group
was heading for the Persian Gulf and would be deployed in operational mode
opposite Iran’s shores by Oct. 21.
3. In Beirut, Iran’s surrogate Hizballah announced the cancellation of its
annual military parade on al Qods day, i.e. Oct. 20.
Military circles in the United States and Israel interpret these steps as
meaning that Iran will be standing by in battle positions the day before the
Eisenhower reaches its destination. DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military
sources have been reporting since late August that Iran’s political and
military leaders have resolved not to wait passively for an American attack
but to go instead for a pre-emptive strike against US forces in the Persian
Gulf and Iraq, as well as targeting Israel.
On October 7, DEBKAfile reported: Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a
pre-emptive attack on Israel to ward off a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites –
whether from Lebanon, or Golan, using Hamas to launch an offensive from
Gaza, or a combination thereof. The Bush administration would then have to
divide its attention and military might among three warfronts simultaneously.
DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly have exhaustively covered the Iranian Blow of
Zolfaqar military exercise ongoing in the Persian Gulf from August and its
military’s high war preparedness, as well the US naval, air and marine
concentrations due to complete their deployment opposite Iran’s shores by the
end of this month.
Khamenei devoted much of his sermon to the Lebanon war waged between Israel
and Hizballah in July and August. “The war isn’t finished,” he said. “And the
losers will certainly not remain idle. These evil forces are already hard at
work to remedy their defeat and Islamic nations need to remain vigilant and
ready to react with determination against any other potential attack.”
The supreme ruler continued: "One of the projects of the Americans, Zionists
and their allies is to come to Lebanon under the United Nations, officially
to defend the Lebanese from the attacks of foreign forces and then change the
cards on the table and fight our Hezbollah brothers."
By smearing as fraudulent UN Resolution 1701 which expanded UNIFIL and
enforced a ceasefire in Lebanon, Khamenei made a pointed attempt to discredit
the world body ahead of the Security Council sanctions session called for
this week to punish Iran for continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of UN
resolutions.
He was also warning “the foreign forces” (UNIFlL) that “the war was not
finished.” A central them of his sermon was therefore “resistance” as “the
key to victory.”
The Supreme leader said the Hezbollah (armed by Iran and Syria) had
achieved "a unique historic victory” for Islam over “arrogance and
colonialism” (Americans and Israelis). "The Lebanon war changed the political
equations in the region.”
Settling accounts with the British and the Americans, Khamenei
commented, "The British are experts in pursuing that policy (of divide and
rule) and they have taught the Americans how to sow the seeds of discord
among Shias and Sunnis in Iraq.
Referring to the situation in Iraq, he said, "The crisis in Iraq preceded the
one in Lebanon, and its intensity has aggravated today, because Iraq,
Lebanon, and other events in the region are all rings of a broken American
chain."
The Iranian ruler laid great stress on "International Qods Day” as the day
of “resistance” for the entire Islamic Umma against “the oppression and
injustice observed by the Zionists and their supporters."
DEBKAfile’s Iran and Islamic sources note that the Kalashnikov in the supreme
ruler’s hand spoke louder than his bellicose rhetoric.
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