Potential Persian Gulf Disasters: Bahrain and Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Site
The year 2011 may be the start of many calamities that fall upon this world. Already, several have and it is just April. While the Japanese quake, Libyan war, and Arab uprisings are now, not far off, simmering on the back burner are Bahrain and Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The disaster at the Fukishima nuclear plant in Japan may be repeated when Iran finally makes its Bushehr nuclear plant operational next month. Saudi Arabia intelligence has been providing the CIA and Obama with data indicating it may malfunction or explode releasing radiation and exposing millions in the Persian Gulf area. Russia, who built the plant, repeated previous warnings to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the virus attack on a Russian-built nuclear reactor in Iran could trigger a nuclear disaster on the scale of Chernobyl. Russian officials have found bits of metal in the cooling system meaning that the mysterious Stuxnet worm attack upon it has still baffled Iran and is unable to eradicate it. It means the nuclear facility is compromised and future malfunctions are expected. Iran refueled the core just a week ago. If the nuclear goes on line in May with the Stuxnet virus active, Saudi officials it is just a matter of time until a Level 7 disaster occurs. Saudi's want America to prevent it from going on line.
The Bahrain situation grows worse. There is little doubt in Saudi Arabia's intelligence that Iran is stoking many of the flames in Bahrain dissent between rival Sunni and Shiite groups. Saudi intelligence passed evidence to the CIA that Tehran and Hezbollah were actively fomenting the unrest in Bahrain with a view to igniting parallel disturbances in the eastern Saudi oil regions among the two million Shiites living there. Most people in the West do not realize that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have created a deal where Bahrain will be annexed by Saudi Arabia- it will become part of Saudi Arabia. This agreement was in late March and Bahrain will be its 14th Province. Saudi Arabia will also build a naval base there. Saudi Arabia now has 11,000 troops there to oppose any further Iranian intervention.
Iran is furious with this. The two are arch enemies and anytime enemies are in close proximity of one another, it is dangerous. Iran is formenting unrest and already has enlisted Iraq as an ally. The Iranian parliament's security and foreign affairs committee strongly condemned Saudi military steps: "Saudi Arabia knows better than any other country that playing with fire in the sensitive Persian Gulf region is not in their interests". The reference is to the many missiles Iran has that can easily reach Saudi Arabia. Iranian media have not stopped denouncing Saudi actions in Bahrain, likening them to Saddam Hussein's 1990 conquest of Kuwait which triggered the first Gulf War against Iraq. Saudi resolve will counter anything Iran inflicts upon them.
Meanwhile, Libya has sold tons of mustard and nerve gas to suspected terrorist groups from stockpiles captured by the "rebels". They were sold to Hamas and Hezbollah. They were smuggled by car and truck through Sudan with the help of Iranians to Gaza and Lebanon. The rebels sold at least 2,000 artillery shells carrying mustard gas and 1,200 nerve gas shells for cash payment amounting to several million dollars. Tehran threw its support behind the anti-Qaddafi rebels because of this unique opportunity to get hold of the Libyan ruler’s stock of poison gas.
The rebels are the "good" guys, right? NATO aircraft are keeping Qaddafi's military at bay. The mustard gas acquired by Hezbollah could be used in drones they were given by Iran.
It is going to be a disastrous year.