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TROUBLE IN ARMENIA'S NEIGHBORHOOD: MIDDLE EAST ARMS RACE INTENSIFIES AMID LOOMING SPECTER OF WIDESPREAD WAR
ANALYSIS | 01.02.13 | 14:34
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Armenia's recent military acquisitions and announced modernization
of some of its defense capabilities may fit the general context of a
big war prospect in the Greater Middle East that is deemed as real as
ever after this week's direct involvement of Israel in the escalating
conflict in Syria.
Apparently, an attempt is being made to drag Iran into the war in a
country with an allied ruling regime in order to have a legitimate
region for strikes against the Islamic Republic that has annoyed
the West by its nuclear ambitions. Experts say this is a legitimate
scenario, and it is not excluded that the recent reinforcement of
missile capabilities of the countries sharing borders with Iran could
be connected with this war threat.
Iran has a frontier with Armenia and a de-facto border with Karabakh,
so any destabilization of the situation in the country will certainly
affect the two Armenian states as well. Therefore, experts suggest
that the visit to Armenia by a delegation of senior Russian military
led by Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu earlier this week could be
connected to the likely developments in Iran.
On January 30 at dawn, Israeli jets violated Syrian airspace and bombed
military targets outside Damascus. Two people were killed and five were
wounded in the attack on a facility where, according to some sources,
Syrian authorities were conducting research on unconventional types
of weapons, including biological and chemical ones.
The air raid by Israeli warplanes gave the Syrian conflict a whole new
dimension, turning it into a full international conflict, threatening
to engulf the entire region.
The high command of the Syrian Army issued a statement in which
it said that Israel had entered into an agreement with external and
internal forces hostile to Syria. But this was rather the first direct
accusation by Syria against Israel.
Meanwhile, international experts believe that any Israeli attack
against Syria could lead to a serious deterioration in the situation
in the region. Iran has already said that it would consider any such
attack as aggression against its territory. Iranian Foreign Minister
Ali Akbar Salehi stressed that Tehran supports the Syrian people and
the political program of settling the crisis in Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has harshly denounced Israel's actions,
saying that they could be a gross violation of the UN Charter.
Meanwhile, Israel itself now speaks more about Iran than Syria.
Officials in Tel Aviv insist that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear
facilities will not give sufficient effect and that a U.S. military
intervention is necessary. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said that the attack must be made prior to the point when Iran
completes the process of enriching uranium to 20 percent and 2013 is
considered to be decisive in this sense.
So far, Washington has consistently refused to overtly interfere in
the processes, not only in Iran but also Syria.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
ANALYSIS | 01.02.13 | 14:34
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Armenia's recent military acquisitions and announced modernization
of some of its defense capabilities may fit the general context of a
big war prospect in the Greater Middle East that is deemed as real as
ever after this week's direct involvement of Israel in the escalating
conflict in Syria.
Apparently, an attempt is being made to drag Iran into the war in a
country with an allied ruling regime in order to have a legitimate
region for strikes against the Islamic Republic that has annoyed
the West by its nuclear ambitions. Experts say this is a legitimate
scenario, and it is not excluded that the recent reinforcement of
missile capabilities of the countries sharing borders with Iran could
be connected with this war threat.
Iran has a frontier with Armenia and a de-facto border with Karabakh,
so any destabilization of the situation in the country will certainly
affect the two Armenian states as well. Therefore, experts suggest
that the visit to Armenia by a delegation of senior Russian military
led by Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu earlier this week could be
connected to the likely developments in Iran.
On January 30 at dawn, Israeli jets violated Syrian airspace and bombed
military targets outside Damascus. Two people were killed and five were
wounded in the attack on a facility where, according to some sources,
Syrian authorities were conducting research on unconventional types
of weapons, including biological and chemical ones.
The air raid by Israeli warplanes gave the Syrian conflict a whole new
dimension, turning it into a full international conflict, threatening
to engulf the entire region.
The high command of the Syrian Army issued a statement in which
it said that Israel had entered into an agreement with external and
internal forces hostile to Syria. But this was rather the first direct
accusation by Syria against Israel.
Meanwhile, international experts believe that any Israeli attack
against Syria could lead to a serious deterioration in the situation
in the region. Iran has already said that it would consider any such
attack as aggression against its territory. Iranian Foreign Minister
Ali Akbar Salehi stressed that Tehran supports the Syrian people and
the political program of settling the crisis in Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has harshly denounced Israel's actions,
saying that they could be a gross violation of the UN Charter.
Meanwhile, Israel itself now speaks more about Iran than Syria.
Officials in Tel Aviv insist that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear
facilities will not give sufficient effect and that a U.S. military
intervention is necessary. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said that the attack must be made prior to the point when Iran
completes the process of enriching uranium to 20 percent and 2013 is
considered to be decisive in this sense.
So far, Washington has consistently refused to overtly interfere in
the processes, not only in Iran but also Syria.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress