Obama: "I'm ready to negotiate with you, Iran." Iran: "Fuck you."

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by DanaC

lol T'dub's channeling Spock again :P

and all is right with the world.

channeling Spock? hehehe

Live long and prosper.

[classicman]

My stars have realigned :p

[classicman]

Iran anniversary 'punch' will stun West: Khamenei

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a "punch" that will stun world powers during this week's 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

"The Iranian nation, with its unity and God's grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned," Khamenei, who is also Iran's commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.

The country's top cleric was marking the occasion when Iran's air force gave its support to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event which led to the toppling of the US-backed shah on February 11, 1979.

His comments came as Iran said it would begin to produce higher enriched uranium from Tuesday, in defiance of Western powers trying to ensure the country's nuclear drive is peaceful.

That's a rather hearty "Fuck You"

[piercehawkeye45]

Eh...they punch as hard as Chavez...

[classicman]

Obama said he was sticking to a two-track approach: offering to negotiate, while threatening further pressure. He said the world would welcome an Iranian decision to accept U.N. demands that it live up to its nuclear control obligations.

"And if not, then the next step is sanctions," the president said. "They have made their choice so far, although the door is still open. And what we are going to be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions that will indicate to them how isolated they are from the international community as a whole."

Obama said work to broaden economic sanctions applied by the U.N. Security Council is moving along quickly, but he gave no specific timeline. He hinted at a trouble spot, saying China's crucial vote was not assured. As one of five permanent members of the Security Council,
China, which has increasingly close economic ties to Iran, can block a resolution by itself.

Obama also said the United Nations penalties are only one part of an international squeeze on Iran, a reference to a sequence of economic strictures that could be applied by the European Union and individual countries over the next several months.

Is anyone confident that more sanctions are really going to affect them? The sanctions affect the people of Iran more than the leadership further increasing the dissent against the US & the west.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates' spokesman said Gates thinks the United Nations should slap sanctions on Iran in "weeks, not months."

IF that is the route we are taking I agree. This seems like more stall tactics for Iran to buy time so the can continue their enrichment program.

At the State Department, spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration was setting no timetable for imposing new sanctions. Administration officials, Crowley said, are "continuing to put together our ideas," along with allies and friends.

One such idea, Crowley said, is for Iran to accept an alternative to the October proposal for swapping Iran's low-enriched uranium for higher-enriched material produced in Russia. The U.S. would be willing, alternatively, to help Iran acquire medical isotopes from abroad, thus bypassing the need for it to obtain or produce 20-percent enriched uranium.

Link
Would that be the same idea that Iran has repeatedly refused already? Yup, I thought so.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Russia is calling for increased sanctions now also. Very unusual move for them.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by classicman

Iran anniversary 'punch' will stun West: Khamenei

Well it's 9pm in Iran so they have three more hours to throw a "punch" - but more likely it's just the same goddamn rhetoric they've been pulling over and over, the attention whoring twats.

[TheMercenary]

I am actually quite interested to see if they have anything up their sleves. No, it is time for them to put up or shut up. If there is some direct action against the US I am quite sure that we could give them a response they wouldn't expect. Maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part.

[classicman]

There is no doubt we could, the issue is whether we should and more importantly . . . will we. The eyes of the world will certainly be on this administration if Iran pulls another stunt.

[Undertoad]

well i was a day early in my thinking but

[xoxoxoBruce]

Iran was successful, the US Government in Washington DC, is shut down tomorrow.

[Undertoad]

US To Syria: "In a sign of openness, we are ready to initiate relations with you after a five-year absence."

Assad of Syria: "Wait for it...."

(flies to Tehran)

Ahmadinejad and Assad, in unison and harmony: "Fuuuuuuuck Yoooooooou".

WaPo: Iran, Syria mock U.S. policy; Ahmadinejad speaks of Israel's 'annihilation'

The presidents of Iran and Syria on Thursday ridiculed U.S. policy in the region and pledged to create a Middle East "without Zionists," combining a slap at recent U.S. overtures and a threat to Israel with an endorsement of one of the region's defining alliances.

... The United States also recently announced that it will send an ambassador to Damascus after a five-year absence, part of an effort to weaken Syria's relations with Iran and discourage the country's support for militant groups antagonistic to Israel.

But the message delivered by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a joint news conference was sharp and spoke to a shared sense that Iran is gaining influence in the region despite U.S. efforts. Until the outcome of the broader struggle over Iran's nuclear program becomes clear, analysts here say, it is unlikely Syria will change direction -- or that progress can be made toward an Israel-Syria peace agreement.

Ahmadinejad, a Holocaust denier, spoke of Israel's eventual "demise and annihilation" and said the countries of the region could create a future "without Zionists and without colonialists."

[TheMercenary]

I wonder how much of this is nothing more than a saber rattle. They are certainly inviting a black eye from someone. I did note that Clinton was seeking support for further sanctions against the military industrial complex.

[piercehawkeye45]

Yeah, Clinton has been pushing tough sanctions on Iran for a while. Also Merc, I'm guessing Iran are looking for external "threats" to take attention off their latest crackdowns. Too bad no one really knows what the hell is going on in that country.

[tw]

Meanwhile Iran did something completely confusing. They moved all their nuclear material to the surface. Literally put a big target on their maybe 20% pure nuclear materials. In a country where it is never obvious who is really in control, this has only created even more confusion with analysts? Why would they make those nuclear materials a perfect target for an extremist Israeli government? And again, who really is in charge?