Blasts at Iranian missile launch site

[SamurAchzar]

First Stuxnet, now this. It seems some preparations are underway to take out Iran.

A top-secret Iranian military installation was struck by a triple blast Tues. Oct. 12 the day before Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Lebanon. DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources report the site held most of the Shehab-3 medium-range missile launchers Iran had stocked for striking US forces in Iraq and Israel in the event of war - some set to deliver triple warheads (tri-conic nosecones).
The 18 soldiers officially reported killed in the blasts and 14 injured belonged to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) main missile arm, the Al-Hadid Brigades.
The Imam Ali Base where the explosion occurred is situated in lofty Zagros mountain country near the town of Khorramabad in the western Iranian province of Lorestan. This site was selected for an altitude which eases precise targeting and the difficulty of reaching it for air or ground attack. It lies 400 kilometers from Baghdad and primary American bases in central Iraq and 1,250 kilometers from Tel Aviv and central Israel. Both are well within the Shehab-3 missile's 1,800-2,500-kilometer operational range.
Our Iranian sources report that Tehran spent hundreds of millions to build one of the largest subterranean missile launching facilities of its kind in the Middle East or Europe. Burrowed under the Imam Ali Base is a whole network of wide tunnels deep underground. Somehow, a mysterious hand rigged three blasts in quick succession deep inside those tunnels, destroying a large number of launchers and causing enough damage to render the facility unfit for use.
In its official statement on the incident, Tehran denied it was the result of "a terrorist attack" and claimed the explosion "was caused by a nearby fire that spread to the munitions storage area of the base." In the same way, the regime went to great lengths to cover up the ravages wrought to their nuclear and military control systems by the Stuxnet virus - which is still at work.
In actual fact, DEBKAfile's military sources report, Iran's missile arsenal and the Revolutionary Guards have also suffered a devastating blow. Worst of all, all their experts are a loss to account for the assailants' ability to penetrate one of Iran's most closely guarded bases and reach deep underground to blow up the missile launchers.
The number of casualties is believed to be greater than the figure given out by Tehran.
The soldiers' funerals took place Thursday, Oct. 14, as the same time as Ahmadinejad declared in South Lebanon that Israel was destined to "disappear." A few later, he ended his contentious two-day visit to Lebanon.
This week, Aviation Week discovered that the new intermediate-range BM-25 Musudan ballistic missile exhibited at the North Korean military parade Sunday Oct. 10 - at which Kim Jong-II also paraded his son and heir - bore a strong resemblance to the Iranian Shehab-3.
It is therefore possible that the explosions at the IRGC base in Lorestan Tuesday also sabotaged secret models of the Iran's latest road-mobile, liquid-fuel version of the Shehab-3 ballistic missile.

Original thread was completely derailed & locked. Let's try again. -Admin DrPizza

 

[Red Dawn]

Interesting

 

[CallMeJoe]

Is there any evidence that the explosion was the result of anything more sinister than Iranian incompetence?

Even with the sophistication and redundant safety mechanisms of U. S. weapons systems, shit happens...

 

[Brigandier]

I am pretty sure Burn Notice is starting back up soon, maybe it was Michael Weston.

 

[Kadarin]

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action." -- ??

The above quote may apply here. Stuxnet plus this would seem to indicate that the Israelis could be taking some kind of action against Iran. Remember that if Iran gets too powerful, the very existence of Israel is threatened, and Israel won't allow that.

Of course, it could have been simply an accident; we may never know.

 

[Lemon law]

I somewhat disagree with Kadarin. At this point in time there is zero evidence one way or the other, it could be a total Iranian accident, or proof of Israeli sabatoge.

At the end of the day does the conspiracy theory facts matter without proof either way.

It could morph into an explosive issue, especially since Iran has arrested various suspected spies in the past few days, Even if Israel did not in fact do it, will Israel get blamed anyway?

I don't know and no 0one else does either.

I might also point out that the Spanish American war was triggered over the slogan of Remeber the Maine that blew up in Havana Harbor. Was it a a mere accident or a Spanish plot? Truth be told, over a Hundred years past the event, no one knows to this day.

 

[BeauJangles]

Either way, it is incredibly embarrassing for Iran considering all their saber-rattling lately.

 

[CallMeJoe]

Either way, it is incredibly embarrassing for Iran considering all their saber-rattling lately.

No argument there; either their military screwed up and blew up their own missile site, or some foreign agency got past all their security.

 

[mizzou]

sleeper cell! Is Tom Clancy involved?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Lets just say if it was Israeli actions that caused the explosion due to sabotage or whatever, we will never know.
The loss of face for Iran who has tried to portray an image of invincibility would be mind boggling. They will do everything to cover this up.

 

[Jhhnn]

Lets just say if it was Israeli actions that caused the explosion due to sabotage or whatever, we will never know.
The loss of face for Iran who has tried to portray an image of invincibility would be mind boggling. They will do everything to cover this up.

And Israeli sources, like DEBKA files, will do everything they can to puff it up, as if they actually have firsthand knowledge.

DEBKA files reportedly teamed up with WND some years ago, so figure it out guys...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debka.com

 

[JEDIYoda]

And Israeli sources, like DEBKA files, will do everything they can to puff it up, as if they actually have firsthand knowledge.

DEBKA files reportedly teamed up with WND some years ago, so figure it out guys...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debka.com

Debka`s track records has been amazingly accurate compared to other sites.
But until this has been reported in the mainstream media it`s all conjecture anyways!

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/10/blast_at_iranian_missile_site.html


This is a story that gets curiouser and curiouser the more you look at it...

Originally reported by the DEBKA website , we can now confirm some of the details of this story via the Iranian's own news agency:


Eighteen people were killed in a fire at an ammunitions store in a Revolutionary Guards base in Iran, the Fars news agency quoted a commander of the elite force as saying Wednesday in the latest toll.
"In yesterday's explosion at one of the Guards' bases in Lorestan (in western Iran), 18 people were killed and 14 wounded," commander Yadollah Bouali said.

He said some of the casualties in Tuesday's blast were workers at the base but did not specify whether they included members of Guards.

On Tuesday, Bouali said the explosion hit when fire spread to the munitions store at the base near the provincial capital Khorramabad.

Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television on Tuesday cited a military source it did not identify as saying that "some soldiers" were among the dead at the Imam Ali base.

I find it significant if not a little strange that western media has been ignoring this story. Not even the wire services have picked it up. Of course, the original story came from an unreliable source. But when Iran's own news agency runs with it, you would think a fire and explosion at one of Iran's key military bases might generate a few lines of copy at AP, AFP, or Reuters.


Spook 86 on the Imam Ali Base:

Reports of underground explosions at Khorramabad immediately caught our attention. It was one of the first facilities built to support the Shahab-3, the first Iranian ballistic system capable of striking targets in Israel. Intelligence analysts believe at least 15 Shahab-3s are stationed at the Iman Ali Base, along with an unknown number of mobile launchers. Much of missile maintenance and storage activity at the installation is conducted underground, making it difficult for western intelligence to determine how many missiles are in garrison at any given time, and the overall operational posture of the Shahab-3 unit.
Security at the base is extremely tight, and the underground chambers are (presumably) equipped with blast doors, sprinkler systems and other protective measures. That makes the explosions even more remarkable. Assuming that DEBKA is correct, the Iranians must concede that one of their most important missile bases was crippled by an act of sabotage.

Readers will also note that no one (so far) has claimed responsibility for the blasts. In terms of the usual suspects, you can probably rule out Iranian opposition groups. Generally speaking, they lack the resources to carry out that sort of strike; besides, if one of those groups was behind the strike, they would likely claim credit, to enhance their stature within opposition community and score propaganda points at the expense of the Iranian regime.

It's also doubtful the CIA was behind the incident. We can't imagine the Obama Administration using the agency's covert operations assets to stage such a provocative attack against the Tehran regime--the same government it has been trying to court diplomatically (without success) for the past two years.

On the other hand, the Israel's Mossad certainly has the assets, the skill and the willingness to strike key Iranian targets. And, it certainly fits with the recent pattern of mysterious attacks against Tehran's WMD programs and delivery systems. Earlier this year, computer networks at key facilities--including Iranian nuclear complexes--were hit with a crippling cyber attack, using the Stuxnet worm. Now, one of its medium-range missile bases has been damaged in a daring strike. Operatives somehow penetrated the installation's multiple layers of security, then planted and detonated bombs that destroyed some of Iran's most important military assets.

Speculation like this is fine, as long as you are prone to disbelieve the official story. Indeed, as Spook 86 points out, the possibility is remote that a fire would spread to such a large area of an underground complex.


AT contributor Wesley Clark has a different take:

It's tantalizing to speculate that the Stuxnet worm that affects Siemens process controllers was somehow activated by the "mysterious hand" to accomplish this delightful occurrence, and that more such events may be planned for the future. Even better would it be, if our own warriors were responsible. Of course, they'd never admit it, but it would be a source for some good old-fashioned American pride.

Degrading the enemy's retaliatory capability as this possible intelligence operation has done might indicate that Israel is approaching zero hour in making a decision whether or not to bomb Iran. Certainly, we are talking about a matter of months now - perhaps even weeks - where the window of opportunity for the IDF to strike will be open.

 

[Jhhnn]

American Thinker?

Damn, you're desperate...

 

[Lemon law]

Even if Iran is slightly wounded over this incident, Iran is too big, too far away, and too powerful for Israel to neutralize.

This forum has already war gamed the various Iranian options, and if Israel catches any of the sneak attack blame, none of those war game scenarios will add up to anything but an Israeli disaster.

The world did not side with Hitlers invasion of Poland, did not side with Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, why should Israel think it will get away with sneak attacking Iran?

Its why I hope Israel has nothing to do with the incident, because any alternative explanation becomes very dangerous.

No nation on the face of the earth will trust a sneak.Israel is already on world wide probation over its assassination in Dubai.

 

[SamurAchzar]

Even if Iran is slightly wounded over this incident, Iran is too big, too far away, and too powerful for Israel to neutralize.

This forum has already war gamed the various Iranian options, and if Israel catches any of the sneak attack blame, none of those war game scenarios will add up to anything but an Israeli disaster.

The world did not side with Hitlers invasion of Poland, did not side with Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, why should Israel think it will get away with sneak attacking Iran?

Its why I hope Israel has nothing to do with the incident, because any alternative explanation becomes very dangerous.

No nation on the face of the earth will trust a sneak.Israel is already on world wide probation over its assassination in Dubai.

Complete this sequence:

Osirak 1981
Deir ez-Zor 2007
Busher ????

 

[nonlnear]

Back in the spring there was a guest on NPR talking about the Iranian nuclear program and various strategies in play. He was saying that there is a concerted effort to get defective (as in sloppily manufactured, mislabeled, etc. - not booby trapped) parts into the Iranian nuclear industrial supply chain. I have no idea what exactly happened in this incident, but without any more information to go on it seems almost more likely to me that a small to medium sized explosion deep inside a facility could be the result of such low key sabotage efforts than a covert penetration mission.

 

[SlickSnake]

You think the brain dead zombie "Dear Leader" crackpots in North Korea got the memo about this accident/sabotage/attack yet? Especially since they are apparently sharing weapons technologies? What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.