Khartoum is threatening retaliation against Israeli interests everywhere for what he is saying was an Israeli Air Force attack on an Iranian missile factory. International fugitive President Amar Bashir spoke Saturday saying that “Israeli interests which are now legitimate targets.” according to Israeli intelligence site Debka.

Israeli officials will not confirm or deny that the Israeli Ari Force was responsible for destroying the plant in Khartoum, but Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed Belal Othman said “military experts” who examined the rubble around the Yarmouk Industrial Complex had determined that it was destroyed by Israel-made missiles.

Othman further claimed that the Khartoum International Airport’s radar systems were disabled during the strike and that the missiles used were sophisticated in nature, making Israel the only regional player who could have been responsible.

Debka is further reporting that Sudan does not possess any type of “military experts” and the operatives that Othman was referring to were Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Iranian Air Force Chief Brig. Gen. Hassan Shah-Safi; Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh; Deputy Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh; and Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili.

The generals were in Khartoum to assess the damage and methods used in the strike so that the knowledge gained from their investigation could help Iran assess the potential damage Israel could cause in a long range attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The team of investigators also plans to determine how the radar systems at the airport were jammed.

Military sources are saying this is the second time in the last few weeks that Iranian military and cyberwar experts have had the chance to study the Israeli military’s electronic warfare and air force capabilities. Iran has increased their interactions with Israel, reportedly using their Lebanese proxy Hizbullah to send a pilotless drone into Israeli territory to monitor parts of the country. The drone was shot down an hour after it entered Israeli airspace by the air force.

Khartoum Threatens Israel Over Destroyed Iranian Missile Factory is a post from: The Inquisitr

U.S. exports to Iran rose by nearly a third this year, chiefly because of grain sales, according to U.S. data released last week, despite the tightening of U.S. financial sanctions.

The jump to $199.5 million in the first eight months of 2012 from $150.8 million a year earlier, according to Census Bureau data, is surprising given Western efforts to isolate Iran economically because of its suspected pursuit of nuclear arms.

The increase masks a drop in the export of some humanitarian goods such as medicines, a decline U.S. exporters blame largely on the difficulty of getting paid by Iranian importers because of new U.S. financial sanctions.

But it also shows that goods such as milk products and medical equipment – whose sale to Iran is allowed with a Treasury Department export license – continue to flow despite the sanctions and the payments difficulties.

The United States, its European allies and other nations have imposed the sanctions to force Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program and address questions about its nuclear programs.

Iran denies it is seeking nuclear arms and says its atomic program is solely for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity and producing medical isotopes.

The economic penalties are one side of a two-pronged policy that also includes talks to seek a diplomatic solution. But that has been somewhat overshadowed this year by the possibility of Israeli or U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

WITHOUT GRAIN SALES, EXPORTS WOULD HAVE FALLEN

The largest category of U.S. exports to Iran through August, 2012 was $89.2 million in sales of wheat and other grains. During the same 2011 period, the United States exported no wheat or such grains to Iran, though it sold $21 million of maize.

Without the wheat sales, U.S. exports to Iran would have declined through August overall, sharply in some cases.

Medicinal and pharmaceutical products, including those sold in bulk and those for animals, fell to $14.9 million from $26.7 million. Pulp and waste paper, a category that includes the raw material for diapers, sank to $17.4 million from $40.9 million.

However, exports rose in several other categories. Sales of milk products including cream, butter and other fats and oils derived from dairy more than doubled to $20.3 million from $7.8 million.

Medical, dental, surgical and other “electro-diagnostic apparatus” rose to $8 million from $4.7 million.

Although Iran can still import such goods, U.S. companies have complained for months that it is harder and harder to get paid because Iran’s big banks have been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury for alleged support for terrorism or involvement in the its alleged weapons of mass destruction programs.

While some Iranian banks are not blacklisted, these tend to be smaller institutions with limited access to foreign exchange.

The possibility one of these might obtain hard currency from a blacklisted Iranian institution has spooked foreign banks, who fear that they might be accused of having “indirectly” dealt with a designated Iranian bank, sanctions lawyers say.

DE FACTO HUMANITARIAN BANKING BLOCKADE?

As a result, groups ranging from religious-affiliated non-profits to liberal members of Congress to the U.S. Dairy Export Council have argued for ensuring that the banking sanctions do not choke off humanitarian trade.

“The Administration’s sanctions against Iran have created a de-facto humanitarian banking blockade,” said Kate Gould, legislative associate for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

“The U.S. Treasury Department’s licenses for life-saving cancer treatment would be of no value to an Iranian patient who cannot access the licensed medication due to U.S. sanctions against financial institutions,” she added.

Shawna Morris, vice president for trade policy at the National Milk Producers Federation & U.S. Dairy Export Council, said her group has long supported a humanitarian exemption.

“For the goals of that humanitarian exemption to be fulfilled, it must be clearly applied to not only the permission to sell the agricultural products covered by that exemption but also the related banking transactions needed to actually carry out the sale,” she said in an emailed response to questions about her group’s policy regarding humanitarian sales to Iran.

A Western diplomat said U.S. policy is to target the Iranian government rather than the people with sanctions, though he acknowledged that it is getting harder to make this case as the sanctions grow tighter.

The diplomat said the West did not want to find itself faced with a situation like that of Iraq under Saddam Hussein, who publicized the scarcity of medicines as a result of sanctions to score propaganda victories against Western nations.

“Iraq is not a good memory,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Since we have these vivid memories of how Saddam Hussein used it, we are being very careful not to give them (the Iranians) this weapon to use against us.”

(Editing by Warren Strobel and Sandra Maler)

U.S. Exports To Iran Rise Nearly One-Third Despite Sanctions is a post from: The Inquisitr

Iran’s take on Israel, that the Middle Eastern nation doesn’t deserve to exist, is raising fears that the tension between the nations is spiraling toward an inevitable conflict.

On Friday, Iran’s president called Israel’s existence “an insult to all humanity” in what is considered one of the sharpest attacks on the Jewish state to this point, the Associated Press reported. Israel has already escalated the delicate situation by openly questioning whether it should attack Iran over its growing nuclear program.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that his attack on Israel was an effort to “protect the dignity of all human beings.”

“The existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to all humanity,” Ahmadinejad said while addressing worshippers at Tehran University. The remarks were made as part of nationwide pro-Palestine rallies on the last day of the holy month of Ramadan, a day known as Jerusalem Day.

The harsh words of Iran on Israel are part of a growing conflict. Israel sees Iran as a major threat due to its growing nuclear and missile programs as well as its implicit support of ant-Israeli groups. For its part, Iran has denied trying to make nuclear weapons but that its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at creating energy.

The world is watching to see if the remarks of Iran on Israel lead to any actual conflict. Iran has vowed that, if it is attacked by Israel, it will strike back against not only the Jewish state but also American interests in the region.

If Ahmadinejad’s rhetoric of Iran’s attacks on Israel are to be believed, this conflict might be inevitable. Ahmadinejad also said there is no place for Israel in the Middle East, Reuters reported.

“Today, confronting the existence of the fabricated Zionist regime is in fact protecting the rights and dignity of all human beings,” said Ahmadinejad, wearing the black and white scarf popular with Palestinians.

The harsh words of Iran on Israel echoed through the nation, with demonstrators in Tehran setting US and Israeli flags on fire and chanting “Death to the US” and “Death to Israel.”

Iran On Israel: Existence An ‘Insult To All Humanity’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

As Israel and Iran stand on the brink of a military confrontation of Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli papers are reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received assurances from the government of President Obama and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney that in the event of a war between Israel and Iran, America will join the fight.

Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported on Monday that the assurances were brought directly to Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak in secret messages delivered to senior officials in the Prime Minister’s office. The news was delivered through officials close to Obama and from Romney political advisers as well as Republicans who served in senior roles in former administrations and are expected to serve in important roles again if Romney is elected.

Israel takes the assurances to mean that at the very least the U.S. military will provide a “protective umbrella” to Israel if Iran should decide to launch conventional or non-conventional missiles at the Israeli homefront. They will also help Israel in case Iran’s proxies Hezbollah and Hamas decide to join the fight with missile barrages.

Israel has received similar messages from its US ambassador Michael Oren.

The assessments also include messages that President Obama will not be able to ignore any attack on Iran from Israel or his reelection prospects become distant. It also stand to reason that the President will not be replaced if he is leading the US military at a time of war according to israelnationalnews.com.

Netanyahu and Obama are scheduled to meet on September 27 at the United Nations General Assembly meeting at UN headquarters in New York.

Report: Israel Receives Assurances The US Will Join Any War With Iran is a post from: The Inquisitr

The United States is helping Gulf countries build a missile defense shield according to reports made public by Israel National News early Thursday. The United States fears that Iran may target essential oil and military targets if it feels threatened by the US or Israel. The missile defense system will include advanced radar detection systems and batteries of Patriot missiles capable of shooting down Iranian rockets.

The report said the countries being fortified are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar.

These countries are all considered vulnerable if Iran decides to launch an offensive military campaign against them.

This newest initiative joins several other areas which are considered vulnerable to Iranian attacks. Europe has one of the more robust systems in the world to deter an Iranian attack. The Gulf missile shield has already cost $20 billion dollars and more expenditures are expected.

The United States and Israel seemed poised to attack Iran over its suspected nuclear program. The Iranians claim that their nuclear program exists to provide the country with electricity and medical research, while the United States and Israel claim the program is a cover for developing a nuclear bomb. Israel has threatened to launch a preemptive strike against the Iranian nuclear program if world sanctions do not deter Iran from enriching uranium.

The missile defense shield being built in the Gulf countries has been more difficult to accomplish because those countries are not as cooperative with the US on military matter regardless of their joint fear of an Iranian attack.

Report: The US Is Helping Gulf States Build Defenses Against Iranian Attack is a post from: The Inquisitr