Peace and Goodwill

In "solidarity" and brotherhood with Sudan, Iran had moved two naval vessels, a helicopter carrier and a destroyer to Port Sudan on Monday.  Two days later the ships departed, back to their mission in the Indian Ocean to do their marine duty as a sea power in an effort to halt piracy on the high seas.  Iran portrays itself as a member in good standing of the world community.  Doing its part to ensure that the world is a safer place.

They make a good pair, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, indicted for war crimes for his mission to destroy Darfurians, and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has pledged on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran to destroy and eradicate the State of Israel from the map of the Middle East.  Both are exemplars of world leaders doing their part to ensure a safer, peaceable world.

Some dastardly entity sought to destroy the manufacturing capability of an armaments plant in Sudan in the belief that weapons produced at the Yarmouk facility are destined for Tehran who sends them on through Sudan to Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, keeping them well supplied with advanced weaponry. 

[The weapons could be] "something with air defence capability ... or could very well belong to the category of rockets and missiles, but just larger, stronger and longer range" explained retired Israeli Brig.-Gen. Shlomo Brom, convinced there exists a "strong possibility" that Israel had pinpointed an "imminent threat" emanating from the factory's production.

More or less corroborated by Gen. Sameh Seif Elyazel, former Egyptian army general who felt the strike resulted from data on short-range missiles assembled at the factory "under Iranian supervision", meant to build up the inventory of Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups.  His analysis was fortified by "private conversations with Israeli officials" conveyed to him from another source.

"Iran wants to put Israel under pressure from the north, through Hezbollah and from the east through Gaza", was his informed and expert interpretation.  Which, of course, the Republic interprets as keeping the peace.  But Iran has many problems which it seeks to solve, among which is the conduit for its arms shipments to Hamas since Israel halted maritime lanes effecting direct delivery to Gaza.

The Syrian conflict has impacted deleteriously on Iran's relations with Hamas.  Hamas took umbrage at Alawite Shiites butchering Sunni Syrians.  Syria does represent Iran's most important regional ally.  After all, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea are inconveniently located outside the Middle East and North Africa, so while their support is very much appreciated, their useful effect is limited.

Labels: Africa, Armaments, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamism, Israel, Middle East, Political Realities

posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, October 31, 2012