Epstein Secrets

ity are going to hold them directly responsible for any disruption of shipping in that region — by Iran or, for that matter, by its surrogates.' Mr Panetta said that the United States was "fully prepared for all contingencies' and added: "We've invested in capabilities to ensure that the Iranian attempt

would be foiled and a heavy price exacted, adding: -We determine the rules of military conflict in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz." But Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, warned that Iranian attempts to exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz could be met with force. He said: "The Irania

isible response yet to the prospect of an Israeli military strike. Using surface-to-air missiles, unmanned drones and state-of-the-art radar, Iran's Revolutionary Guards and air force will combine to test the defences of 3,600 sensitive locations throughout the country, including oil refineries and uranium enrichmen

lopment work would be done and that he expected the bomb to be ready to take on the deepest bunkers soon. "We're still trying to develop them," Mr. Panetta said. President Barack Obama has made clear that he believes U.S. and international sanctions can curb Iran's nuclear program if they are given mo

erground in Iran. But U.S. defense officials say they believe the MOP could already do damage sufficient to set back the program. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Thursday, acknowledged the bomb's shortcomings against some of Iran's deepest bunkers. He said more

an at present. Until 2010, most of the sanctioned goods smuggled into Iran came through the UAE and Oman. Backed by the Iranian government and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), "small-size" strategic goods, including aircraft components and sophisticated electronic equipment, were smuggled into the Iranian islands

that time, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CIA Director David Petraeus, Joint Chi=fs Chairman Martin Dempsey, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. His las=-minute decision in August 2013 not to strike Syria after its use of chemi=al weapons was popular in the Pentagon and with the public, but

st backer of the Shiite-linked Syrian regime, has forged deep tie= to the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government and assures that Hezbollah, whic= Iran's Revolutionary Guards nurtured from its birth in the early 1980s, remains impressively armed and trained.=/span> The U.S. also has p=ayed a role. In the wake of 9/11, it

President Obama said "I don't think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do." That didn't square with the view of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who's been reported as saying he expects an Israeli attack this spring. Nor does it square with public warnings from Israeli Defense EFTA00687006

ntain some significant element of surprise—a known unknown. What could that be? Here's a hint: Gen. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, recently warned that "any place where enemy offensive operations against the Islamic Republic originate will be the target of a reciprocal attack.

n its time with Barak. At least a half-dozen times in the past year, he has made trips to Washington, where he usually meets with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Between the visits, U.S. military officials are on the phone with him almost every week. Though Barak denie

attack." But if the aftermath of a war remains murky to most Iranians, their anticipation of its inevitability is growing. The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, told Iranians last week that "we must all prepare for the upcoming war." His warning, the bluntest yet by a senior official,