Iran: 4/6/12-4/12/12

This Tuesday Iran made another incredible move; they declared that they had captured an Israeli-backed ‘Terrorist Team’. Iran claimed to have captured the members of this terrorist team before they were able to initiate the plan; however no evidence was provided that there actually was a team, in fact no specific plan was even mentioned within the article. This could just mean that they picked up a group of men, that they “thought” were about to attack Iran. Next, Iranian intelligence officials said it had captured the members of the terrorist team with, “heavy bombs, machine guns, handguns, silencers, military and telecommunications equipment and other terrorist tools”(Washington Post 1). All of these materials could have easily been planted as well. So the probability that Iran has actually captured an Israeli-backed terrorist team is nil, but the possibility that Israel would attempt an insurgency in Iran exists and that is all Iran needs. I believe the real attempt made by Iran here is to grab some bargaining chips before the all-important talks between them and the major world powers only a few days from now. First, the threat from Azerbaijan, and now this possible terrorist team provides Iran with some breathing room. They can add this to their arsenal of counter-attacks that they will be bringing with them to a meeting that will certainly have them on the defensive. Anything that they can throw back at their attackers will certainly come appreciated, even if they have to invent it themselves. All of these examples can engender support for Iran’s claim that a nuclear weapon is merely for defensive purposes, because with all of these “dangers” to their national security, they need some defensive measures. It will certainly be interesting to watch these upcoming nuclear arms talks this weekend to see if any progress can be made.   

Washington Post 1- http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-says-it-captured-israel-backed-terrorist-team/2012/04/10/gIQA8I3I8S_story.html