DTN News: 'Iran's Army Too Powerful To Attack'
*Ahmadinejad speaks at military parade showcasing country's missiles
Source: DTN News / AP
(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - April 19, 2010: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday extolled Iran's military might during an
annual army parade, saying the country is so powerful today that no one would dare attack it.
The parade in Teheran showcased Iran's surface-to-surface Ghadr, Sajjil and Shahab-3 missiles, which have a range of up to 2,000 kilometers that puts Israel and US bases in the region within Iran's reach.
The Shahab-3 missile is also capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Although Teheran doesn't have one, this has been a source for Western concerns along with Iran's controversial uranium enrichment program, which the international community fears masks ambitions for an atomic bomb.
"Today, our armed forces have so much power that no enemy will harbor evil thoughts about laying its hands on Iranian territory," Ahmadinejad said at the parade marking National Army Day. The speech was broadcast live on state TV, which also showed segments of the parade.
Ahmadinejad also urged the US to stop supporting Israel and to dismantle the American military presence in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Teheran sees American troops on its doorstep in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf as a threat, and Ahmadinejad reiterated his allegations that the US presence is the source of the region's instability.
"They have to leave our region, this is not a request, it is an order from the nations of the region. It is the will of the regional nations," said Ahmadinejad. "If they are interested in helping the security of the region, they have to dismantle their military presence in the region and stop supporting Israel."
Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.
Teheran has been also looking to upgrade its defenses, especially as Israel has refused to rule out an airstrike over concerns that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Teheran claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, such as electricity production.
The advances in Iran's military technology cannot be independently verified.
Iranian news agencies reported that the parade Sunday also displayed an air defense system similar to Russian-made S-300, which is capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads at ranges of over 145 kilometers and at altitudes of about 90,000 feet. Iran ordered Russia's advanced S-300 air defense system in 2007 but none have been delivered, allegedly due to technical glitches, though many believe the delay stems from international opposition to the sale.
Source: DTN News / AFP
(NSI News Source Info) BANGALORE, India - April 19, 2010: Police in the southern Indian city of Bangalore on Sunday defused two crude bombs next to a cricket stadium, a senior officer sai
d, a day after explosions outside the ground injured eight people.
Both devices were found next to the 40,000-seater Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the blasts on Saturday sparked panic among spectators queuing up to watch an Indian Premier League Twenty20 match.
One of the defused bombs was near a gate for dignitaries, while the second was beside a billboard, Bangalore police chief Shankar Bidari told reporters.
"We are investigating the twin blasts that occurred Saturday and the detection of two crude bombs Sunday. No arrests have been made so far," he said.
The explosives were discovered by police scouring the area after the first blasts, which they described as "low intensity".
Two matches scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday have been moved to Mumbai from Bangalore, a city which has an international reputation as an information technology hub.
India has been on high alert after a bombing at a restaurant in the western city of Pune in February killed 16 people. Responsibility for that blast was claimed by a splinter of a larger Pakistan-based Islamist group.
New Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games in October, and the cricket World Cup takes place in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from February to April next year.
The Bangalore blasts came after the United States warned Friday in a travel alert that it continued "to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India".
Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young said on Sunday the security situation in India would be closely monitored.
"We're keen to talk to IPL organisers, and that will possibly happen some time in the next 12 hours or so, just to get an understanding of what's going on," he told reporters in Sydney.
"We are relieved however that there have been no injuries to any of the Australian personnel who are in India to play."
Australian Commonwealth Games chief Perry Crosswhite said the bomb attack was not a direct threat to October's Games.
Two policemen and a private security guard were in intensive care for head injuries overnight after the blasts but were not in any danger, hospital staff said.
A third policeman and a fan were also treated in hospital.
Wrapping up the second day of the Tehran conference, Mottaki accused nuclear-armed states of breaching the main pillars of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The Tehran conference, dubbed "Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for None," opened on Saturday with the main aim of promoting nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Mottaki said nuclear-armed powers have contributed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and blocked a number of other countries from achieving peaceful nuclear energy.
He also criticized nuclear-armed powers for not committing to global nuclear disarmament. The Iranian minister said the international forum called for a review of the NPT itself.
The summit also urges Israel — widely believed to possess hundreds of atomic bombs — to join the treaty and allow inspection of its nuclear sites, Mottaki said.
He said the participants of the Tehran conference stressed "that attacks on peaceful nuclear sites" are considered to be in direct "violation of international laws and UN conventions."
According to Mottaki, the second meeting of the conference will be held in April 2011.
