Iran missile development commander killed in explosion

[jakeXT]

Source: Telegraph

...

Brigadier General Hassan Moghaddam was said to be "responsible for industrial research aimed at ensuring self-sufficiency of the Revolutionary Guards' armaments", a coded way of confirming reports that he was responsible for its missile inventory.

The authorities claimed the explosion was caused by an accident which happened as ammunition was being moved, but the high-profile status of its main victim will add to speculation that it was an act of sabotage aimed at the country's nuclear weapons programme.

One US-based commentator known to have good sources in Israel's military community said he had been told it was carried out by Mossad, co-operating with an exile group, the People's Mojaheddin of Iran (MEK).

He drew comparisons with an explosion at a base housing Shahab-3 long-range missiles just over a year ago, which killed 18 people and which was also put down by the authorities to a fire in an ammunition depot.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8887322/Iran-missile-development-commander-killed-in-explosion.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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

[Paper Roses]

2. You know, sometimes I wonder! n/t

[aquart]

4. Don't.

Take it for granted that a highly-targeted attack has occurred specifically designed to keep casualties to the bare minimum.

The physicist murders already demonstrated that Iran's security is porous.

[leveymg]

3. Someone wants Iran to retaliate, really bad.

Don't give them that satisfaction. Revenge is a cold entree.

[aquart]

5. Retaliate on a maybe?

Give anyone an excuse to carpet bomb or send in drones BEFORE they have functioning nuclear capability? Sure, kid.

[leveymg]

7. Exactly. That's the dilemma Iran faces. Guess right, retaliate - war. Guess wrong, aggressive war

Lose-lose choice, which is exactly the reason they haven't retaliated. I'm not advocating retaliation, even if they were reasonably certain about the identity of the parties who have been aggressing against them - quite the opposite. One has to say they show remarkable restraint and discipline, considering.

It seems the game is a several-sided game of trying to provoke Iran to retaliate against another player who is playing a similar, but not identical game of poke-the-caged beast.

[gordianot]

6. Iran has plenty of enemies besides Israel who do not want a nuclear armed Iran.

Kinda like South America when they learned they could purchase Dreadnaughts a century ago.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Or it was an accident.

[BadtotheboneBob]

10. Quite possibly

Aging munitions can become extremely unstable. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=85271

[leveymg]

16. But, of course. That puts the "plausible" into plausible deniability.

[BadtotheboneBob]

17. Wasn't it Freud that said...

... sometimes an 'accident' is just an 'accident'?

[leveymg]

18. Yes, but he made a career out of showing how most "accidents" aren't.

I think it's safe to assume the possibility of intentionality or displaced aggression between third-parties, as well.

[BadtotheboneBob]

19. Certainly it's a possibility...

... But, if so, I'd have to say those 'Third-parties' are darn good to pull it off near Tehran and get away clean.

[Bosonic]

8. Hasan Fathi, Journalist, Detained In Iran Over BBC Broadcast

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency says a man has been detained after broadcasting for the British Broadcasting Corporation's Farsi-language service about an explosion at an ammunition depot.

Fars says Hasan Fathi was detained by security agents after he broadcast a live report Saturday about the blast Revolutionary Guard depot that killed at least 17 soldiers.

BBC's Farsi-language service is not authorized to operate in Iran, and working for the network is against the law.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/13/hasan-fathi-journalist-detained-iran-bbc_n_1091367.html

[Marblehead]

11. probably

an Israeli covert strike... warming up for the big show.

[Octafish]

12. The oil is GREAT!

And all that war does is jack up the prices!

[Zorro]

13. Oops

Those suicide vests can be quite delicate.

[jakeXT]

14. Israel hails deadly blast in Iran

JERUSALEM — Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday hailed the deadly munitions blast at a base of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and hoped for more such incidents.

"I don't know the extent of the explosion," he told military radio, asked about the incident. "But it would be desirable if they multiply."

Iran said earlier that a senior general who pioneered an artillery and missile unit was among the 17 Guards reported killed in Saturday's blast at Bid Ganeh, near the town of Malard on the western outskirts of Tehran.

Guards spokesman commander Ramezan Sharif said the blast, which Iran said was an accident, occurred as "ammunition was taken out of the depot and was being moved outside toward the appropriate site."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i28MvYyqR9sGxc2cZ4U1QlPPQFLA?docId=CNG.93c1b5af9b6cb71a17bf389563809eb2.a1

[bananas]

15. Officer killed in blast a 'martyr', helped Hezbollah, Hamas 'triumph over Israel' in war

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4147728,00.html

Iran Guards: Officer killed in blast a 'martyr'

Senior Revolutionary Guards member says Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam's work helped Hezbollah, Hamas 'triumph over Israel' in wars

Dudi Cohen
Published: 11.13.11, 19:23 / Israel News

<snip>

In an obituary published by the Revolutionary Guards, Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, whose rank was equivalent to that of a brigadier general, is described as a "shahid (martyr)" and one of the key figures in Iran's missile program. The Guards vowed to continue in Moqaddam's "path."

<snip>

The officer reportedly served as a researcher at a Tehran university and headed the "Jihad Self-Reliance" unit, mostly tasked with developing arms and missiles.

Senior Guards member Mustafa Izadi published an article saying Moqaddam's research helped the terror groups fight Israel. "Undoubtedly, the blessed ideas of this shahid assisted in the victories of Hezbollah in the 33-day war (Second Lebanon War) and Hamas in the 22-day war (Operation Cast Lead in Gaza)," Izadi wrote. He was apparently referring to Moqaddam's contribution to the development of short-range missiles, which Iran transfers to the terror groups.

<snip>

[24601]

20. Yep, smoking will kill ya - when you light up in the missile factory n/t

[24601]

21. Delete Dup

[AverageJoe90]

22. Honestly.........

If it hurt the weapons program, then I can view this is as a positive development.