Quds Force could be planning attack in Turkey

Intelligence units have warned that the Quds Force, a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, plans to send a group to Turkey to carry out a series of demonstrations that may include a bomb attack on the Embassy or Consulate General of the United States.

The Turkish Security General Directorate (EGM) has warned police departments in all 81 Turkish provinces that they must be vigilant and remain alert to the existence of such a threat. The intelligence pertaining to the possibility of such an attack was delivered in a secret letter to the information department at Turkey's General Directorate of Security. The written statement indicates that a team linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard will be sent to Turkey and that it may be planning to bomb the US embassy or consulate general in the country. The Quds Force is infamous for its role in attempting to export Iran's revolution to other countries through the instigation of chaos and by acting as the overseas branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp.

However, facts about the force are well-guarded and scarce. The statement further details that the team intends to stay in five-star hotels in the city where the plan is to be carried out and that as a result, caution should be exercised when dealing with non-Turkish individuals staying at such lodgings. The statement also noted that groups linked to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah may also take part in the plotted demonstrations or attacks.

Intelligence data regarding the plan have been assessed by Turkish security forces to be an effort by Iran to stir to action illegal Turkish political groups following Turkey’s decision to host a NATO early-warning radar system and recent developments in Syria that have seen the establishment of a training camp for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a step interpreted as a response to Turkey’s criticism of the Syrian regime for its brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests.

A number of Iranian officials pledged revenge on Turkey last year after the country approved the establishment of the NATO defense system on its soil, with prominent military and political figures saying that Turkey would be sorry for siding with the US. Iran has interpreted Turkey’s role in the international community as a threat against its interests, and is convinced the US and Israel are its archenemies seeking to destroy Iran. However, top Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, have assured Turkey that such threats coming from Iranian lawmakers do not reflect the official policy of the country and that Turkey should only consider information from senior Iranian authorities in office.

Salehi has also frequently expressed his concern over such “provocations” that may try to see the brotherhood of Iran and Turkey, which spans centuries, fall apart. He believes the countries should keep in close contact and cooperate regarding regional developments. Although Turkey and Iran are engaged in close cooperation when it comes to combating terrorism and sharing intelligence along their common border, the countries frequently disagree about developments in the region.

One such recent disagreement was sparked last month when US troops pulled out of Iraq and left the country to submerge into a sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites. Turkey, a Sunni-majority country, claims to dismiss sectarian differences in its approach to the Middle East and urges Iran to work for solidarity among sects rather than allowing the Shiite bloc alone to monopolize power in the hands of the sect. Iran is also speculated to be leading a new rise of the Shiite Crescent in the region, supporting Shiite-backed political blocs in other countries, such as Syria, while creating chaos in those ruled by Sunni leaders, such as Bahrain. Iran vehemently refutes this role in both cases and denies having connections to recent arms shipments intercepted by Turkey allegedly on their way from Iran to Syria, where pro-democracy clashes run the risk of leading to a civil war.

Shocking Video & Photo 'Blue bra' girl brutally beaten by Egypt military

The above photo shows Egyptian army soldiers beating a young woman in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Saturday, the second straight day of clashes with protesters that began on Friday and continued overnight. There's no reason to believe that there was anything special about this woman or even about the way that soldiers treated her. Members of the army, once beloved by Egypt's activists for standing by their side during the revolution in February, have sent hundreds of men and women to the hospital over the last 48 hours and have killed at least 10, some with live ammunition fired into crowds.

But there is something especially barbaric about this photo. The taboo of violence against unarmed women is unusually strong in the Arab world. But to watch three soldiers beat a defenseless woman with batons, their fists, and for one extraordinarily cruel soldier with his boot, is not even the most provocative part. For these men to pull her black abaya above her head and expose her midriff and chest is, for Egypt, a profound and sexually charged humiliation. And there is a certain awful irony of using that abaya, a symbol of modesty and piety, to cover her face and drag her on the street that, though probably not intentional, will not be lost on Egyptian eyes. Here, below, is part of the photo pulled out in detail.

Activists managed to capture a video of the incident. It is difficult to watch. She takes so many blows to her head, and one man stomps on her chest so forcefully, that it's difficult to imagine she required anything less than hospitalization. Though one of the soldiers makes a half-hearted effort to cover her back up (after he is done beating her, of course, on the face and chest with a baton), she appears limp. Three soldiers pick her up from her arms and legs, and then the camera cuts away.

Outraged Egyptian Facebook users posted a composite of three photos from the above video. Taken together, they appear to show that a pair of bystanders -- a man and a woman, both well dressed -- watched the young woman's beating, went to her side after the troops discarded her, and were then beaten themselves for their effort.

The Egyptian military, the strongest and most powerful institution in the country and perhaps the Arab world, has taken a dramatic and dark turn since winning power earlier this year. Though it initially safeguarded the revolution in February by protecting protesters from President Hosni Mubarak's state security forces, it has gradually (if clumsily) consolidated power since his fall, declaring that it will retain independence from and control over any democratically elected government. As protests against the military have grown, the generals have abandoned their earlier pledges to support the people and refrain from violence against civilians. The SCAF -- the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, a panel of top military leaders -- increasingly looks like Egypt's new dictator. Its troops, now openly attacking civilians, are unlikely to deescalate their war against democratic activism.

All crackdowns are brutal. Stories of violence against women, frequently tinged with sexual aggression, are as common in Egypt's crackdown as they are in every other. The story behind this photo, of a modest young woman stripped down and beaten like an animal, is remarkable precisely because it is ordinary.

U.S. officials, analysts differ on whether drone in Iran TV video is real

  

Iranian TV aired images Thursday of what it says is a U.S. stealth drone that went down in Iran last week, an apparently intact RQ-170 drone propped on a pedestal and triumphantly displayed

"Military experts are well aware how precious the technological information of this drone is," said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Forces, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.

There was disagreement among Pentagon officials about whether the drone in the video is real. Military and intelligence officials were analyzing the Iran television footage.

One U.S. official said right now the U.S. can't be certain it's the real stealth drone, because U.S. personnel don't have access to it. But he added there's no reason to think it's a fake.

However, a second senior U.S. military official said that a big question is to how the drone could have remained virtually intact given the high altitude it is believed to have crashed from.

Earlier Thursday, a Pentagon spokesman said the video is being examined.

"We've seen the imagery. There are folks that are looking at it," Capt. John Kirby told a news conference.

He and his fellow spokesman, George Little, would not comment further on whether the drone is the one that the U.S. military said went missing. They did say that the missing U.S. drone had not  

been recovered

John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, said his initial impression from pictures sent to him by CNN isn't what one would expect to see after a crash. He said he was guessing that the object is a mock-up prepared for a parade, noting a U.S. flag in the picture.

Pike pointed out that the wings in the picture droop down, whereas in most pictures of such a drone the wings are higher than the center, which is good for stability

Bill Sweetman, an aviation analyst, said the craft appears to be the RQ-170 and it looks real to him.

If the drone came down in what he called a flat spin or what is known as a falling leaf departure, the plane would be pretty much intact, but the belly would be badly scraped. He said all of the electronics inside would most likely be in one piece.

Sweetman doubts the Iranians hacked into the system and took control of the aircraft. It is much more likely it crashed by itself since "that's what drones do."

And the condition also suggests it was not shot down but was a system failure. There are no burn marks from a fire, no holes and no outward damage. Sweetman noticed a dent along the leading edge but doesn't know what that necessarily means.

"It's fairly clear here from the pictures that the outer wings have been separated. The question is, did that happen in the accident or (did they take) them off to move the aircraft," Sweatman said.

The CIA and the Pentagon would not comment on the latest development.

Two U.S. officials confirmed to CNN on Tuesday that the missing drone was part of a CIA reconnaissance mission that involved both the intelligence community and military personnel stationed in Afghanistan.

A senior U.S. official with direct access to the assessment about what happened to the unmanned aircraft said it was tasked to fly over western Afghanistan and look for insurgent activity, with no directive either to fly into Iran or spy on Iran from Afghan airspace.

A U.S. satellite quickly pinpointed the downed drone, which apparently sustained significant damage, the senior official said.

Aired by the official Press TV network, the video Thursday showed different angles of the unmanned aircraft. It had been flying over the eastern town of Kashmar when it went down, the network said.

"Recently, our collected intelligence and precise electronic monitoring revealed that this aircraft intended to infiltrate our country's airspace for spying missions," Hajizadeh said.

"After it entered the eastern parts of the country, this aircraft fell into the trap of our armed forces and was downed in Iran with           minimum damage."

Hajizadeh said the plane's wingspan "is around 26 meters (85 feet)." It is 4.5 meters (14 feet, 9 inches) long, 1.84 meters (6 feet) tall and "is equipped with highly advanced surveillance, data gathering, electronic communication and radar systems," he said.

Hajizadeh said B-2 and F-35 planes have used the technology found in the aircraft, which is guided via satellite link and land stations in Afghanistan and the United States.

"As far as its platform and coating are concerned, this kind of plane has been designed to evade radar systems and from the viewpoint of technology it is amongst the most recent types of advanced aircraft used by the U.S.," Hajizadeh said.

The official Islamic Republic News Agency and Fars said Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss ambassador to Iran, who received an official reprimand for the U.S. actions. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran, which doesn't have diplomatic relations with the United States.

Iran demanded U.S. reparations for the act, which it says is "against every international law and regulation, as well as contrary to the region's peace and security," Fars said.

Meanwhile, Iran's U.N. ambassador said in a letter Thursday to the world body that the drone flew 250 kilometers (150 miles) into Iranian territory "to the northern region of the city of Tabas."

The letter from Ambasador Mohammad Khazaee to U.N. Secretary-Genera Ban Ki-moon and the heads of the General Assembly and Security Council did not specify how the drone ended up in the hands of the Iranians, saying only it "faced prompt and forceful action" by the armed forces.

"My government emphasizes that this blatant and unprovoked air violation by the United States government is tantamount to an act of hostility against the Islamic Republic of Iran in clear contravention of international law, in particular, the basic tenets of the United Nations Charter," Khazaee's letter said.

He called for U.N. condemnation of U.S. "acts of aggression," as well as "clear and effective measures to be taken to put an end to these dangerous and unlawful acts in line with the United Nations' responsibilities to maintain international and regional peace and security."

Iranian diplomats leave UK

They left Heathrow Airport in the afternoon, the Foreign Office said, and the roughly two dozen diplomats and their dependents will be welcomed back at Tehran airport, according to Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency.

Iran's relations with Britain have become increasingly strained in recent months, largely due to tensions over Tehran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment — a process that can lead to the development of nuclear weapons.

Images broadcast around the world Tuesday showed demonstrators tearing down British flags and brandishing a looted picture of Queen Elizabeth II at the embassy compound in Tehran. The incident has deepened Iran's isolation and significantly escalated tensions with the West.

Britain's ambassador to Iran, Dominick Chilcott — now back in Britain — said the experience had been "frightening." "We had no idea how it was going to end," he said, describing how the mob trashed rooms, damaged furniture, scrawled graffiti and tore up a portrait of Queen Victoria, as staff took shelter in a secure area of the embassy.

"It felt like very spiteful, mindless vandalism, but it wasn't quite mindless," Chilcott said. They removed anything that was electronic — mobile telephones personal computers ... anything that might give information about who you were talking to or what you were doing."

He said seven staff at a separate residential compound that was also attacked were seized and "quite roughly handled" by the invaders. In response to the attack, British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Wednesday ordered the Iranian diplomats to leave within 48 hours.

Hague also pulled Britain's diplomats out of Iran following the embassy attack and backed new sanctions on the Islamic republic. At least four other European countries, including Germany and France, also moved to reduce diplomatic contacts with Iran.

Hague has said the attacks were "clearly premeditated" by high-ranking officials, but claimed there were "divisions within the Iranian regime" about the move. Chilcott said he believed the violence was connected to moves by Iranian hard-liners including parliament speaker Ali Larijani to bolster their standing within the regime.

He said that in Iranian politics, "you can do yourself a lot of good by bashing the Brits." Iran's government has criticized the attacks, but hard-liners have spoken out in support of the protesters. Mohammad Mohammadian, a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised the attackers, saying they had targeted the "epicenter of sedition."

As the deadline for the Iranian diplomats approached, about 20 protesters gathered outside the Iranian Embassy in London to demonstrate against the regime in Tehran. Shouting "terrorists, terrorists, must go," the protesters — many from the London Green Movement which campaigns against Iranian human rights issues — stood in front of flags reading "Free Iran."