Russia told the United States and European Union Thursday it was extremely disappointed they were imposing additional sanctions on Iran beyond those approved by the UN Security Council with Moscow's backing.

The Associated Press on Monday obtained a copy of a book written in which he wrote that Iran should not deprive itself of the right to produce these "special weapons."

Yazdi's hardline views, including devotion to the Mahdi, a messiah-like figure to reappear ahead of judgement day, have had a strong impact on Ahmadinejad, who shows him more respect than any other senior cleric.

"There is no doubt Iran is definitely building a nuclear weapon," a senior foreign counterproliferation official with a U.S. ally says in an exclusive interview with WTOP.

Saudi Arabia has practiced standing down its anti-aircraft systems to allow Israeli warplanes passage on their way to attack Iran's nuclear installations, a British newspaper reported on Saturday.

An an unnamed U.S. defense source in the area said that this arrangement has been done with the agreement of the [U.S.] State Department.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas chief in Gaza, told WND he believes a Middle East confrontation is likely, possibly in the next few months.

"You don't need to be a fortuneteller to see that Israel is planning something soon."

No ruling Arab leader is as popular as the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose discourse amounts to calls for a jihad against Israel.

"The heart of humanity has taken one of her heaviest wounds in history."

"Bloody massacre" … "spilling the blood of innocent humans"

"Today is a turning point in history … Nothing will ever be the same again."

The Security Council resolution was opposed by Turkey and Brazil, which had brokered a deal with Iran on uranium enrichment. Lebanon abstained.

The final version expands a limited arms embargo, and toughens financial restrictions and shipping inspections.

On a visit to Saudi Arabia Mashaei claimed that the annihilation of Israel should be a global goal. He told Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that "the corrupt and criminal Zionist regime is harming not only the Arab and Islamic world, but all of humanity."

There was no immediate comment from the United States and the other world powers that have led earlier negotiations as to whether the new deal would satisfy them and stave off a fourth round of U.N. sanctions.

... currently there is a silent agreement between the major powers, Russia, USA, France, Britain and Germany, and Israel, that in a Total war, Israel will get all the breathing space it will need to Overpower the Arab world.

"There is no doubt that the technological capabilities, which improved in recent years, have improved range and aerial refueling capabilities, and have brought about a massive improvement in the accuracy of ordnance and intelligence," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon said.

Is Russia taking a pro-Islamic side in one of the most explosive regions in the world? A former Israeli ambassador to Russia explains that Moscow is seeking to increase its involvement, and hold, in the region. Terror organizations? It's doesn't really matter to them.

"Israel has no intention for war, and this is an effort to spread lies in order to create regional tension," Netanyahu said.

"The pace of missile development is much faster than those of solutions," Shamir said. "The new element is that Iran is already in space."

"Within a year of that attack, nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can't support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity," said Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy.

Ephraim Sneh, who was deputy minister of defense under former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, contends that Israel does not need permission from the U.S. to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.

But Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser, says Israel wouldn't jeopardize its relationship with the U.S. by launching a military strike against Iran without an American nod.

In the administration's message of congratulations to Israel on its 62nd Day of Independence, US Secretary of state Hillary Clinton mentions "recognized borders" while omitting the traditional "defensible."

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has warned in a secret three-page memorandum to top White House officials that the United States does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with Iran�s steady progress toward nuclear capability.

When Iran does have nuclear weapons Gaffney thinks they could not be restrained by fear of nuclear retaliation. He says that the Iranian regime is driven by their theology.

...bringing back the twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, the messiah figure, is their highest purpose, and in order to do that, according to their religious beliefs, something very much like the apocalypse needs to take place.

And if conflict of that kind happens, and a strike is performed, then you can expect anything, including use of nuclear weapons. And nuclear strikes in the Middle East, this means a global catastrophe. Many deaths.

See earlier Articles: before Apr. 15, 2010