GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: US ships move closer to Libya, enter Suez Canal

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Federal News Radio

02March2011 8:38amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: CAIRO (AP) - Egyptian officials say two U.S. warships have entered the Suez Canal on their way to the Mediterranean, moving closer to the Libyan coast after orders from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The officials say amphibious assault ships USS Kearsarge and USS Ponce, entered the canal on Wednesday morning from the Red Sea. They say USS Kearsarge is carrying some 42 helicopters on board. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Debka Report: Iran to build permanent naval base in Syria

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

01March2011 3:33pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Just two days after two Iranian warships reached the Syrian port of Latakia via the Suez Canal, Friday, Feb. 25, an Iranian-Syrian naval cooperation accord was signed providing for Iran to build its first Mediterranean naval base at the Syrian port, DEBKAfile's military and Iranian sources reveal.

The base will include a large Iranian Revolutionary Guards weapons depot stocked with hardware chosen by the IRGC subject to prior notification to Damascus. Latakia harbor will be deepened, widened and provided with new "coastal installations" to accommodate the large warships and submarines destined to use these facilities.

Iran has much to celebrate, DEBKAfile's military sources report. It has acquired its first military foothold on a Mediterranean shore and its first permanent military presence on Syrian soil. Tehran will be setting in place the logistical infrastructure for accommodating incoming Iranian troops to fight in a potential Middle East war.

According to our sources, the "cadets" the Kharg cruiser, one of the two Iranian warships allowed to transit the Suez Canal, was said to be carrying were in fact the first construction crews for building the new port facilities. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: SUEZ UPDATE: Iranian Ships Dock in Syria

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING:

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: YNet News

23February2011 12:04pmEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Two Iranian naval ships arrived Wednesday afternoon at the Port of Lattakia in Syria, after crossing the Suez Canal Tuesday, Iranian news agency IRNA reported.

An Iranian senior official told IRNA that Iranian Navy Commander Admiral Habibula Siari is slated to arrive  to Damascus later on Wednesday, accompanied by a delegation of military officials.

The source noted that the ships' arrival will be marked by a special ceremony at the port, which will be attended by officials from both countries.

The delegation is scheduled to stay in Syria for "a short time", and will then continue sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, the source noted.  (read full report)

"GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is a cooperative intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service and Machaseh Security Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, MSS or it's partners or affiliates.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: SUEZ UPDATE: Two Iranian warships sail from Suez Canal

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Philly

23February2011 4:30amEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: JERUSALEM - Two Iranian warships sailed Tuesday from the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, the first such trip in at least three decades, eliciting Israeli allegations that Tehran is seeking to dominate the Middle East.

The vessels headed toward Syria but were expected to remain in international waters as they passed the Israeli coast.

The voyage took the frigate Alvand and the supply ship Kharq close to NATO's southern flank and could further destabilize the Middle East, a region reeling from an unprecedented wave of antigovernment rebellions.

In Tehran, the deputy commander of the Iranian navy said that Iran had "surprised the Zionist regime" with the journey to the Mediterranean.

"The world arrogance [United States] should know that the army of the Islamic Republic is fully prepared to defend the holy ideals of the Islamic Republic, and this readiness grows day by day," Brig. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi told the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley declined to say whether the transit in and of itself, or the Egyptian decision to allow it, was a provocation.

"We will be watching carefully to see where these ships go and the implications of that," he said.

Egypt is the gatekeeper of the strategic canal that links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

Egypt's military rulers, who took power from ousted President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, appeared to have no choice but to allow the passage. An international convention says the canal must be open "to every vessel of commerce or of war."

Iranian warships have not passed through the Suez Canal since 1979.

In sending warships to the Mediterranean now, Iran was asserting itself as a regional power and testing whether Egypt's new rulers will stick to the pro-Western line of the Mubarak government. Some said the voyage also signals that Iran is ready to come to the aid of regional allies, including Syria and Iranian proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Iran late Tuesday, but he did not refer directly to the two warships.

"Iran seeks to exploit the earthquake" now shaking the region, he said. "It is seeking to bring down democratic reform. It is seeking to prevent it. It is seeking to shut down the lights and create another era of darkness like the one we have in Tehran."  (read full report)

"GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is a cooperative intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service and Machaseh Security Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, MSS or it's partners or affiliates.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: What Cargo May Be Aboard Iranian Warships Transiting the Suez Canal?

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Counterterrorism Blog

23February2011 2:05amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Iran’s leaders are closely watching the progress of two of their navy warships, the 1500 ton frigate Alvand and the 33,000 ton refueling and supply ship Kharg, through the Suez Canal. They reportedly will arrive at a Syrian port in a few days. The passage of Iranian warships into the Mediterranean is rightfully viewed, in itself, as a provocative act by Israel and by NATO naval forces. Iranian warships haven't been seen in the Mediterranean since the 1970s. But, perhaps, there should also be great concern with the cargoes these warships may be carrying. What a better way could Iran have to circumvent UN and like-minded country sanctions.

UN Security Council Resolution 1749 ( March 2007) prohibits Iran from “supply(ing), sell(ing), or transfer(ing) directly or indirectly ... any arms or related material." All countries are obligated to prohibit the procurement of such items from Iran by their nationals, or to use their flag vessels or aircraft to transport such items. And, these prohibitions are further re-enforced by paragraph 8 of UN Security Council Resolution 1929 (June 2010).

In November 2009, Israeli naval units interdicted the German-owned freighter Francorp in international waters near Cyprus. The ship had called in Iran prior to its transit to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. The Israeli navy seized 500 tons of Katyusha rockets, mortars, bullets, and grenades concealed aboard the ship in containers belonging to the Iranian shipping line. The ship’s manifest had indicated a much more benign cargo destined for Syria. This is believed to be only one of many occurences involving illicit shipments of Iranian origin arms in violation of UN sanctions. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Israel on high alert for Iranian warships' Suez transit. Kharg brings missiles

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

19February2011 9:48amEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Cairo's approval Friday, Feb. 18 for two Iranian warships to transit the Suez Canal on their way to the Mediterranean has brought Israel and Iran closer than ever before to a naval collision at sea. DEBKAfile reports: Israel has learned that the Iranian cruiser Kharg is carrying long-range missiles for Hizballah which it plans to unload at a Syrian port or Beirut harbor.

US State Department spokesman P.J Crowley said he was "highly skeptical" of the Syrian claim that the two ships' visit was for training. "If the ships move through the canal, we will evaluate what they actually do. It's not really about the ships. It's about what the ships are carrying, what's their destination, what's the cargo on board, where's it going, to whom and for what benefit," Crowley told a news conference.

He was responding to questions in the wake of DEBKAfile's disclosure that the Karg was carrying missiles for Hizballah and indicating that the US and all other UN members were authorized by UN sanctions against Iran to board and search Iranian ships suspected of carrying illegal weapons.

The war ships' passage through Suez has been delayed as Cairo and Tehran spar over an Egyptian navy inspection of the vessels' cargoes. (read full report)

"GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is a cooperative intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service and Machaseh Security Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, MSS or it's partners or affiliates.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Two Iranian warships transit Suez for Syria, tighten siege on Israel

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

16February2011 2:13pmEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Twenty-four hours after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the Egyptian upheaval had no military connotations for Israel, the Iranian frigate Alvand and cruiser Kharg transited the Suez Canal on their way to Syria Wednesday night, Feb. 16. Their passage was termed "a provocation" by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. In Beirut, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah said he was looking forward to Israel going to war on Lebanon because then his men would capture Galilee.

Israel was closely monitoring the Iranian flotilla, whose visit to the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah on Feb. 6 was first revealed exclusively by DEBKA-Net-Weekly 481 on February 10.

Up until now, Saudi Arabia, in close conjunction with Egypt and its President Hosni Mubarak, led the Sunni Arab thrust to contain Iranian expansion – especially in the Persian Gulf. However, the opening of a Saudi port to war ships of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the first time in the history of their relations points to a fundamental shift in Middle East trends in consequence of the Egyptian uprising. 

It was also the first time Cairo has permitted Iranian warships to transit Suez from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, although Israeli traffic in the opposite direction had been allowed. (read full report)

 

"GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is a cooperative intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service and Machaseh Security Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, MSS or it's partners or affiliates.