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 [Blogging for a free world] An Iranian shipment for Hizbullah explodes: Senior Revolutionary Guard commanders immediately imposed a news black-out following the explosion, even though it could be heard throughout the capital Tehran, and no details of the incident have so far appeared in the Iranian media.

 [The Corner] Iran News Round Up: Daily Telegraph says a huge explosion was heard in Tehran and claims the explosion happened at a Revolutionary Guards base assisting Lebanese Hezbollah.(E) Iran overhauls F-14 fighter jets. Major General Seyyed Hassan Firouz-Abadi, .

 [IsraelForum.com] Kuwati newspaper reports secret Iranian reactor: On July 29, 2008, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa reported that, according to "highly reliable sources," Iranian authorities had begun construction of a secret nuclear reactor in the Al-Zarqan region close to the city of Ahwaz in southwest Iran, on the Iran-Iraq border.

 [The Washington Independent - US news and politics - washingtonindependent.com] Bush Dissenter: 'Don't Start a War With Iran': He characterized the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as an unprofessional and threatening force. When asked to comment on a proposal of his, made during his Central Command tenure, that ties between the U.S. and Iranian navies be used as an entry point for dialogue, Fallon called the plan merely "a discussion point."

 [Hidden History] Acts of War: After a debriefing from Burns, who flew to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where Rice was holding closed-door meetings with the foreign ministers of six Arab nations on the issue of Iran, Rice told the media that Iran “was not serious” about resolving the standoff. Having played the diplomacy card, Rice moved on with the real agenda: If Iran did not fully cooperate with the international community (i.e., suspend its enrichment program), then it would face a new round of economic sanctions and undisclosed punitive measures, both unilaterally on the part of the United States and Europe, as well as in the form of even broader sanctions from the United Nations Security Council (although it is doubtful that Russia and China would go along with such a plan).

[Maverick News Media MNM] 'Work accident' in Tehran?: Theexplosion took place in the Tehran suburb of Khavarshahar as themilitary convoy left a munitions' warehouse controlled by theRevolutionary Guards. According to reports received by Westernofficials, the convoy was taking a consignment of military equipment toHizbollah, the Shia Muslim militia Iran supports in southern Lebanon,when the explosion occurred.

 [ThreatsWatch] ThreatsWatch.Org - RapidRecon: Iran Winning For No Good Reason: But the mullahs’ decision to carry out mass executions gives the lie to that analysis, as does the recent attack on a Revolutionary Guards convoy in the country’s capital city. The RG are the pretorian guard of the regime, and if they cannot protect an armed column (apparently carrying arms to Hezbollah for the next campaign against Israel), they cannot protect anything.

 [Global News Blog] Iran’s theological heartland: why are some clerics nervous?:     Ahmadinejad’s presidency marked a break with what had become a tradition. Not for about a quarter of a century had there been a president who was not a cleric.

 [Dans Blog] Irans confrontation with the West: bluff or buster: In a more sober vein, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Muhammad Ali Jafari, told interviewers that the danger of an American attack had risen in the waning months of the Bush administration, because of the “Republican hopelessness regarding the victory of their candidate.” Iran’s response to aggression would be swift and decisive, said Mr Jafari, and could include strikes against Israel, strikes at countries hosting American bases in the Gulf, and exerting control over the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which most of the region’s oil flows to market. “Certainly if there is fighting the scope will be extended to oil, meaning its price will increase drastically,” he said.

 [Pakistan Ledger: Unbiased World news & views] Iraq ready to explode on three flash points controlled by Iran: The second is in the west, and Anbar, where the US-backed Sons of Iraq sahwa (”Awakening”) movement is moving to take power against the Iraqi Islamic Party, a fundamentalist Sunni bloc. And third is the restive Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr, which is chafing at gains made by its Iranian-backed rival, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI).

 [Global News Blog] Q&A: Iran’s Islamic Revolution Had Western Blessing: The religious forces that were surrounding Khomeini at the time were people like Yazdi, Bazargan, Bani sadr, Ghotbzadeh or among the clergy, people like Beheshti and Motahhari… They were educated and relatively technocratic and the west felt that they could rely

 [IRIS Blog] Hezballah Convoy Sabotaged in Iran?: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards imposed a news black-out immediately after the blast, but the UK newspaper reported that it looked like sabotage was responsible for destroying the convoy as it traveled through Khavarshahar.

 [Dandelion Salad] Acts of War By Scott Ritter: After a debriefing from Burns, who flew to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where Rice was holding closed-door meetings with the foreign ministers of six Arab nations on the issue of Iran, Rice told the media that Iran “was not serious” about resolving the standoff. Having played the diplomacy card, Rice moved on with the real agenda: If Iran did not fully cooperate with the international community (i.e., suspend its enrichment program), then it would face a new round of economic sanctions and undisclosed punitive measures, both unilaterally on the part of the United States and Europe, as well as in the form of even broader sanctions from the United Nations Security Council (although it is doubtful that Russia and China would go along with such a plan).

[Or haGan Blog] The Future of the Alliance: But if diplomacy fails to modify Iranian behavior and instead furnishes Tehran with time to complete its nuclear weapons program, the outcome for Israel could be catastrophic. Compounding the stakes for Israel is the fact that-according to current Israeli Defense Forces estimates, Iran will possess an operational nuclear weapon by 2009, rendering either Obama’s dialogue plan or McCain’s sanction strategy moot.[27]

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