Iran could hit Europe with N Korean missiles: WikiLeaks

[Turborama]

Source: ABC (Australia)

US intelligence believes Iran has obtained advanced missiles from North Korea, capable of striking Europe, according to US documents leaked by WikiLeaks and cited by the New York Times.

The newspaper, in a diplomatic cable dated February 24, said "secret American intelligence assessments have concluded that Iran has obtained a cache of advanced missiles, based on a Russian design".

Iran obtained 19 of the North Korean missiles, an improved version of Russia's R-27, from North Korea, the cable said, and was "taking pains to master the technology in an attempt to build a new generation of missiles".

At the request of US president Barack Obama's administration, the New York Times said it had agreed not to publish the text of that cable. "The North Korean version of the advanced missile, known as the BM-25, could carry a nuclear warhead," said the newspaper, adding it had a range of up to 2,000 miles (more than 3,000 kilometres).

Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/29/3078910.htm

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Iran Fortifies Its Arsenal With the Aid of North Korea

NYT

By WILLIAM J. BROAD, JAMES GLANZ and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: November 28, 2010

Secret American intelligence assessments have concluded that Iran has obtained a cache of advanced missiles, based on a Russian design, that are much more powerful than anything Washington has publicly conceded that Tehran has in its arsenal, diplomatic cables show.

Iran obtained 19 of the missiles from North Korea, according to a cable dated Feb. 24 of this year. The cable is a detailed, highly classified account of a meeting between top Russian officials and an American delegation led by Vann H. Van Diepen, an official with the State Department’s nonproliferation division who, as a national intelligence officer several years ago, played a crucial role in the 2007 assessment of Iran’s nuclear capacity.

The missiles could for the first time give Iran the capacity to strike at capitals in Western Europe or easily reach Moscow, and American officials warned that their advanced propulsion could speed Iran’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

There has been scattered but persistent speculation on the topic since 2006, when fragmentary reports surfaced that North Korea might have sold Iran missiles based on a Russian design called the R-27, once used aboard Soviet submarines to carry nuclear warheads. In the unclassified world, many arms control experts concluded that isolated components made their way to Iran, but there has been little support for the idea that complete missiles, with their huge thrusters, had been secretly shipped.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/world/middleeast/29missiles.html

[IScreamSundays]

1. This stuff reeks of a Mossad operation.

There is nothing embarrassing to the US in these cables. Propaganda and misdirection when the wheels are coming off in the United States. Me thinks Wikileaks is BS

[Pavulon]

4. Oh god this is funny. because it was not all anti us, horrible monsters

they are now a honeypot. No they are just assholes that wrote a check and now you get to cover it. Enjoy the party.

[Posteritatis]

6. SecState telling diplomats to harvest foreign dignitaries' credit card numbers isn't embarrassing?

Are we reading the same documents?

I imagine we aren't, as you're probably reacting to excerpts from news articles posted on DU and I've actually read a few of the cables, but it can't hurt to ask.

[IScreamSundays]

14. You mean these:

http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2007/06/07DUBAI355.html

I stand by my statement.

[oberliner]

17. A Mossad operation?

Wow.

[Dreamer Tatum]

19. Heh. Will be hilarious to watch people rationalize bad behavior of other nations

Bush did it.
Mossad did it.
False flag.
Clearly faked.
Blah blah blah.

:eyes:

[Posteritatis]

21. Well hell, that's exactly what CSIS wants you to think!

;)

[leveymg]

30. Or, perhaps, being used as an opportunity to reinforce anti-Iran psy-ops already under way?

That's the impression I'm getting.

[PSPS]

2. "the New York Times said it had agreed not to publish the text of that cable"

At the request of US president Barack Obama's administration, the New York Times said it had agreed not to publish the text of that cable.

Grey Lady. Fit to print. Der Spiegel.

Chortle.

[Pavulon]

3. I wonder if Julian bought stock in Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. I would have

before this dropped. Would have covered some of the expense of living on the run to position myself to gain from the acceleration of boost phase interceptor programs.

I wonder how this impacts START?

Public record, now people will react to this, even if it is not true.

Unintended consequences.

[BenzoDia]

5. I guess this explains why NATO leaders recently agreed on a Missle Defense Shield

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rug]

8. Time to dust off the Axis of Evil rhetoric.

[Pavulon]

11. No, just be sure to invest in the companies that make boost phase

interceptors, they will be getting money in fast order.

[The abyss]

9. ROFLOL

Ya gota love this one! Talk about playing to the cheap seats, LOL.

Russia is backing the Iranians. Bushehr is a joint Russian/Iranian project.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/bushehr.htm
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/27/world/la-fg-iran-nuclear-20101027

China is developing gas & oil projects with Iran, off shore and inland.

Norinco is building the most advanced subway/train system in the world - in Tehran.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norinco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran_Metro

What the hell would Iran want with North Korean missile systems?

Always look for some attempt to "poison the well"

[Pavulon]

10. No russia pulled the s300 systems and is clearly participating

with sanctions.

[The abyss]

13. Russia pulled "selling" the s300 system

That doesn't mean they have not given it to them.

Besides - what would it matter? Obviously Iran is already under the Russia/China support umbrella.

China owns at least 80% of the US debt.

Russia can still make Omaha disappear in 20 minutes or less.

Game over.

We the people need to figure out what future government we support.

[Pavulon]

15. Uhh I vomited in my mouth, when you figure out your new overlords are let me know..Link your 80% lie

We can kill every man woman and child in Russia and China in 20 minutes as well. Bet that debt goes away too. Crack smoking insanity around here, like anyone is going to start a nuclear war.

The refused to sell the weapons. Iran said they would make their own. Read the document on wikidick.

It matters because when someone bombs their facility they will not be shot with s300 systems.

That 80% number came right out of your ass.

[The abyss]

16. There are only "overlords" if you allow them.

Think about it!

[Pavulon]

18. The great irony is these documents are supporting all kinds of positions the wackos

on the fringe do not like. Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons and delivery systems. China is breaking into western businesses. Very funny turn of events.

[The abyss]

20. China has owned western business interests for a long-long-time

What matters is what positions we, the people of the united states, hold.

Do we, the people, own this government?

[Pavulon]

22. You never got back to me with the number, hint its not 80%(nt)

[bossy22]

23. more like 10%

[Pavulon]

24. Correct, floats around 10 - 20 % range (nt)

[Angleae]

26. More like 6%

$846.7 billion out of $13,723 trillion.

[mahina]

12. I could also wipe my ass with my feet

in theory.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

25. Just read that Rumsfeld supplied nuclear weapons to N Korea

made money from it! Is this true? Now I can't find the link - it's somewhere on DU!

[rainbow4321]

27. Companies were selling military parts to China based companies

who in turn are selling them to Iran. Least that is what I have seen in some of the cables.


One of them was a French company and the US sent a cable to France telling them to make the company stop selling the parts to China because they were ending up being sold to Iran in the end transaction.


All roads to Iran seem to lead right thru China when it came (comes?) to Iran getting their hands on material and weapons that they are not supposed to have.

[ronnie624]

28. So? Is Iran not allowed to have missles?

I would love to live in a missile free world, but that's not going to happen. Since when are only U.S. approved states allowed to have missiles?

The United States has far more missiles than Iran, and with much greater range and power, and history shows conclusively, the U.S. is far more likely to attack other countries with them. I've never heard of a treaty or international charter that prohibits certain countries from having a deterrent to U.S. aggression.

[Amonester]

29. Yeah, but Iran doesn't produce any Mickey Mouse's, nor...

5 billion/year high definition porn crap, nor the most profitable quarter for the wall street crooks since the first day they were recorded, six decades ago...

So they're not allowed to exist. :sarcasmatico: