Iran test-fires new missile as Strait of Hormuz posturing continues

Iran test-fired a new Qader missile today, in the latest bout of martial posturing over the country's nuclear program and the security of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane for oil.

Iran fires long-range missile during Gulf drill, IRNA reports

An Iranian warship launches a missile in an unknown location in this still image taken from footage released by Islamic Republic of Iran News Network on January 1, 2012

Iran said today it had successfully test-fired a long-range missile during its naval exercise in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency reported.

“We have test fired a long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (capable), which managed to successfully destroy predetermined targets in the Gulf,” the agency quoted deputy navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi as saying.

US Navy intercepted North Korean ship sending missile material to Myanmar

The guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell transits the western Pacific Ocean during combat system ship qualification trials in this US Navy handout photo dated May 26, 2010.

The US Navy intercepted a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missile parts to Myanmar two weeks ago, media reports and a US official said yesterday.

The New York Times reported late on Sunday, citing senior American officials, that a North Korean cargo ship was forced to return home after a standoff at sea and several days of diplomatic pressure from Washington and Asian nations.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner confirmed the interception, but declined to comment on the cargo or destination of the North Korean vessel.

“We talked directly with the North Koreans to stress the importance of not engaging in proliferation-related transfers,” he said.

“We learned that the ship, the vessel, changed course at sea, and we believe it returned to North Korea,” said Toner.

UN sanctions imposed on North Korea after it conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 include a ban on trade in nuclear and missile technology with North Korea. A UN resolution adopted last year authorised UN member states to inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo.

According to the Times, the destroyer USS McCampbell caught up with the cargo ship M/V Light south of Shanghai on May 26 after American officials began tracking the vessel, which was believed to have been involved in previous illegal shipments.

The destroyer asked to board the vessel under authority given by Belize, but the North Koreans refused, Toner said.

“The ship’s master refusing us permission to board it, as well as the fact that it turned around and headed back to North Korea, speaks to ... some of our concerns about its cargo,” he said.

Iran denies missile technology exchange with N.Korea

 

An undated handout picture shows the Iranian supersonic ballistic missile, Persian Gulf, launching during a war-game in an unknown location in Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied today a UN report that Tehran had exchanged missile technology with North Korea, a move which could be a violation of Security Council sanctions.

Iran and North Korea are both under UN sanctions over their nuclear ambitions. Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed at peaceful purposes mainly to generate electricity.

The report, obtained by Reuters over the weekend, said North Korea appeared to have been exchanging ballistic missile technology and expertise with Iran in violation of Security Council sanctions.

Iran has announced a string of achievements in its missile technology in the past years.

“We have repeatedly rejected reports on the exchange of ballistic missile technology or parts with any country,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at a news conference in Tehran.

“Our scientific and technological capabilities are high enough so that we do not need any other country to give us such technology.”

Western powers fear Iran is trying to build nuclear bombs and long-range ballistic technology which Tehran says is used to put satellites into orbit can also be used to launch warheads.

The UN sanctions include bans on trade in nuclear and missile technology with both Iran and North Korea, as well as arms embargoes. They also ban trade with certain firms and impose asset freezes and travel bans on some officials in the two countries.

US, Russia cap ‘reset’ in ties with START treaty

Clinton and Lavrov exchange documents formally, bringing into force the landmark nuclear arms reduction pact START during the 47th Conference on Security Policy in Munich today, February 5, 2011

The United States and Russia formally inaugurated their new START nuclear arms treaty today, capping two years of work to “reset” the sometimes strained ties between the former Cold War enemies.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exchanged the final START documents at the Munich security conference, where two years ago US Vice-President Joe Biden launched the Obama administration’s push for better relations with Moscow.

“Two years ago we all laughed about the translation of the ceremonial ‘reset’ button I gave to the foreign minister,” Clinton said, referring to a diplomatic gaffe in which she presented Lavrov with an oversized button on which “reset” was mistranslated into the Russian for “overcharge”.

“But when it came to the translation that mattered most, we turned words into action to reach a milestone in our strategic partnership.”



Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama signed the deal in April after a year of tough negotiations, committing the world’s top two nuclear powers gradually to reduce their atomic arsenals.

The START treaty has been at the centre of Washington’s effort to improve ties with Moscow, which hit a low with Russia’s 2008 war against pro-western Georgia and were further strained by disagreements on trade and US concerns over Russia’s record on human rights and free speech.

US officials say the “reset” has delivered results on a number of fronts including efforts to rein in the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, co-operation on the halting Middle East peace process and growing ties between Russia and Nato.

The START treaty itself is also seen as an important step towards Obama’s goal of nuclear disarmament — though analysts say there are much higher hurdles ahead if further progress is to be made.

Obama faced down sharp objections from some Republican senators, who said the new treaty gave too much away, to win Senate ratification late last year in a major political victory.

The START treaty commits the two nations, with 95 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons, to ceilings of 1,550 deployed strategic warheads in seven years, up to 30 per cent lower than in the 2002 Moscow treaty.

It will limit each side to 700 deployed strategic missiles and bombers and establish verification rules, absent since the US-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) expired in 2009, enabling them to keep tabs on each other’s arsenals.

Now the treaty has taken effect, the two nations will begin exchanging information about the status of their nuclear forces and, within weeks, hold the first on-site inspections of each other’s nuclear arsenals in nearly two years.

The United States and Russia have already signalled differences over further cuts, including on tactical nuclear weapons that many analysts regard as a more immediate danger.

The US Senate has asked Obama to seek negotiations on tactical nuclear weapons within a year after START enters into force. But Russia, which has a stockpile several times larger than that of the United States, has resisted, saying talks should not be held until each country confines its tactical nuclear weapons to its own territory.

U.S. threatened to take military action against China over arms race in space

* WikiLeaks documents reveal battle for supremacy above the Earth in 2007
* Both superpowers destroyed their own satellites with missile strikes in show of strength

The U.S. warned China it could take military action in response to Beijing’s use of space missiles, it has emerged.

Leaked diplomatic documents reveal that the U.S. shot down one of its own satellites to demonstrate its ballistic power after China had destroyed its own weather satellite.

And despite being threatened with military action in 2007 by then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, China carried out another missile test only last year.

The military standoff has been likened to the ‘star wars’ strategic missile plan conceived by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

According to diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph, China and the U.S. jostled for position behind closed doors over the issue of missile defence.

China shot down a weather satellite stationed 530 miles above the earth in January 2007, sending over 2,000 pieces of space debris into orbit.

The strike was the first anti-satellite test since 1985 but despite widespread international criticism of China’s actions, then-Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jinchao stressed: ‘There’s no need to feel threatened by this.’

Cause for conflict: China and the U.S. engaged in a military standoff over space missile tests

The field of conflict: An artist's impression of a weather satellite, similar to that shot out of the sky by China with a missile




The U.S. state department appeared to not agree, with Clark Randt, the American Ambassador in Beijing complaining about the test to Chinese assistant foreign minister He Yefei.

Officials working for Ms Rice later told China: ‘A Chinese attack on a satellite using a weapon launched by a ballistic missile threatens to destroy space systems that the United States and other nations use for commerce and national security. Destroying satellites endangers people.’

Officials warned: ’Any purposeful interference with US space systems will be interpreted by the United States as an infringement of its rights and considered an escalation in a crisis or conflict.

‘The United States reserves the right, consistent with the UN Charter and international law, to defend and protect its space systems with a wide range of options, from diplomatic to military.'

While the U.S. said China’s testing of an anti-satellite missile contravened ‘the spirit of cooperation’ of international space operations in the 21st century, just over a year later Washington launched its own test strike.

A malfunctioning U.S. satellite was shot down in February 2008, with the public explanation that its fuel tank was defective and would be hazardous if the satellite retuned to earth.

However, diplomatic missives at the time indicate the strike was militarily-sanctioned, with the American Embassy in China receiving ‘direct confirmation of the results of the anti-satellite test’ from U.S. military commanders in the Pacific.

Leaked embassy cables reveal the shooting of satellite USA 193 angered Beijing.

A memo sent from the Beijing embassy in Februarty 2008 said the Chinese 'repeatedly emphasised that the United States should provide information on the planned satellite interception prior to releasing the information to CNN'.

Tensions were evident in June 2008 with Chinese delegates at a defence summit claiming the superpowers were ‘neither allies nor adversaries’.

However, China carried out a fresh test last year, according to documents sent from the office of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in January 2010.

A diplomatic cable said the Chinese destruction of a CSS-X-11 missile about 150 miles above the earth could be judged to have ‘furthered both Chinese ASAT [anti-satellite] and ballistic missile defense technologies’.

The cable also outlined the concern of the ‘Obama administration’ over China’s stance on space weaponry.

Warning: China's president Hu Jintao (left) angered the U.S. by testing an anti-satellite missile, with officials working for then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice threatening Beijing with military action

US Senate close to approving Russia arms treaty

Missile defence sticking point with Republicans

President Barack Obama wrapped up enough support yesterday to win Senate approval for a strategic nuclear arms pact with Russia later this week, a key step in his drive to improve ties with Moscow and curb atomic weapons proliferation.

The new START treaty cleared a procedural hurdle in the US Senate by a vote of 67-28 as 11 Republicans joined Democrats in a decision to limit further debate. The treaty will move to a final vote today after lawmakers deal with a rash of last-minute amendments.

Obama’s Democrats need a two-thirds majority in the 100-member Senate for final approval of the treaty. Senator John Kerry, who led floor debate as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said he expected 70 senators to ultimately vote in favour of the accord.




“We are on the brink of writing the next chapter in the 40-year history of wrestling with the threat of nuclear weapons,” Kerry said.

The treaty, which would cut strategic atomic weapons deployed by each country to no more than 1,550 within seven years, was signed by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April.

It is a centrepiece of Obama’s bid to “re-set” relations with Russia, which has been increasingly cooperative on issues related to US national security, from curbing Iran’s nuclear programme to the war in Afghanistan.

“This treaty will make America safer and restore our leadership in global efforts to stop nuclear proliferation,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said.

Senators yesterday debated and defeated a series of amendments aimed at changing the treaty’s handling of weapons inspections, data exchanges and other issues. Changes that would amend the treaty would effectively kill it by forcing a renegotiation with Russia.

At least 12 Republicans have said that they will vote with Democrats to approve the pact, which would give Obama his third major victory on Capitol Hill in less than a week.

He earlier won repeal of the US ban on gays serving openly in the military, and passage of an US$858 billion (RM2.69 trillion) deal with Republicans to extend expiring tax cuts and spur economic growth.

Republican opponents of the accord, angered by the their inability to stop the march towards passage, charged the Obama administration had negotiated a bad treaty that let Russia limit US missile defence options when the real strategic threat was not Moscow but states such as North Korea and Iran.

“Nothing that he has done has convinced me that he is committed to missile defence,” Senator Lindsey Graham told a news conference, saying Obama was effectively “giving the Russians a veto” over US missile defence plans.

The Senate’s top two Republicans — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip Jon Kyl — have announced they will vote against START, saying lawmakers haven’t had enough time to fully consider the treaty.

But the chamber’s third-ranking Republican, Lamar Alexander, joined Democrats yesterday in agreeing to end debate and move to approve the pact.

“I will vote to ratify the New Start Treaty . . . because it leaves our country with enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to kingdom come, and because the president has committed to an $85 billion, 10-year plan to make sure that those weapons work,” Alexander declared in a Senate speech.

Alexander’s state of Tennessee is home to one of the nuclear facilities that will receive billions of dollars in modernisation funding under an agreement worked out between lawmakers and the White House.

There has been far less public or political debate over the treaty in Russia. The Russian State Duma has yet to approve the accord and Medvedev has made clear that parliament should not ratify the treaty until US Senate approval is certain.

Konstantin Kosachyov, the pro-Kremlin chairman of the international affairs committee, said Russian lawmakers would carefully examine the US Senate’s resolution of ratification and other declarations before proceeding with their own vote, which could conceivably be held this year.

British Embassy Attack in Yemen

Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned the "shameful" rocket attack on a convoy carrying the deputy British ambassador to Yemen.

Fionna Gibb escaped unhurt from the blast in the capital Sana'a, which injured one of her colleagues.

It is the second time in six months that British officials have been targeted in the country.

Tim Torlot, the then British ambassador to Yemen, was unharmed when a suicide bomber wearing a school uniform detonated an explosives belt in April.

Rocket fired at British embassy vehicle in Yemen

A rocket attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa today targeted a vehicle carrying the deputy chief of the British mission in Yemen and a gunman opened fire at an Austrian-owned oil and gas firm, killing a Frenchman.

The shootings could be one of a number of high profile al Qaeda attacks targeting Yemen’s government, which earlier this year declared war on the group’s Yemeni arm after it claimed a failed attack on a US-bound airliner in December.

A police vehicle is seen at the scene of a rocket attack that targeted a vehicle carrying the deputy chief of the British mission in Sanaa October 6, 2010.





Britain’s Foreign Office in London confirmed there had been an attack involving a British embassy vehicle in Sanaa and said one British embassy staff member in the vehicle suffered a minor injury.

“The vehicle was on its way to the British Embassy, with five Embassy staff on board,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.

“One member of staff suffered minor injuries and is undergoing treatment, all others were unhurt. We are informing their families at the moment.

A security source in Yemen said three Yemeni bystanders were wounded. Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh later met the British ambassador to discuss the incident.

The Frenchman died in a shooting incident inside the compound of oil and gas group OMV, France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed. A security source said a guard had opened fire, and government forces subsequently disarmed the gunman.

A spokeswoman for Vienna-based OMV, which has operated in Yemen since 2003, said the situation was now under control.

An al Qaeda suicide bomber attacked the British ambassador’s convoy in April, killing himself and injuring three others.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said it was behind that attack, accusing the British envoy of leading a war on Muslims in the peninsula on Britain’s behalf.

Oil-exporter Yemen is beset by problems. It faces rising al Qaeda militancy and a surge in violence in its secessionist leaning south.

Yemen also has a shaky truce with northern Shi’ite rebels, reached in February to end a civil war that has raged on and off since 2004 and drew in neighbouring Saudi Arabia last year after rebels seized some Saudi land.

More than 40 per cent of its 23 million people live on less than $2 (RM6.19) a day, and concerns about instability and widespread corruption have crimped growth and made unemployment worse.

Yemen’s Western allies and neighbouring Saudi Arabia have long feared a resurgent al Qaeda wing could take advantage of rising insecurity and weak central control to use Yemen as a base for destabilising attacks in the region and beyond.

The United States has been helping Sanaa out in the crackdown, fearing its campaign against al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan had prompted the group’s hub to shift to Yemen.

Al Qaeda and the Yemeni government have clashed for many years, but the group’s operations have typically focused on Western targets.

An al Qaeda attack on the US embassy in Sanaa in 2008 killed 16 people, including six attackers.

Iran shows missile, says is friend to neighbours

ran showed off an improved domestically made missile today, the latest in a string of announcements about new military hardware it hopes will dissuade enemies from attacking.

The United States and Israel both say they do not rule out bombing Iran to prevent it getting nuclear weapons. Tehran, which started fuelling its first nuclear power station on Saturday, says its atomic programme is peaceful.

State television showed a test-firing of the nine-metre-long (30-ft) missile it said was a new version of the Fateh-110 weapon with an improved range of 250 km and better precision than previous models.

In recent days Iran has also publicised new mini-submarines, armed speed boats and a prototype long-range bomber drone. Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said neighbouring countries had nothing to fear from Tehran’s improved defences.

He criticised Washington’s decision this month to sell the latest Patriot interceptor missiles to Kuwait to counter a potential Iranian threat. Just across the Gulf, Kuwait could be in range of the upgraded Fateh-110.

“America is seeking to create a climate of fear about Iran by installing new (weapons) systems in the region, but there is no necessity for these systems,” Vahidi said.

Many of Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbours are concerned about the Shi’ite state’s increasing clout in the region and the prospect that it might acquire nuclear weapons.

Kuwait has expressed safety concerns about Iran’s Bushehr power plant which most analysts say does not increase Iran’s chances of getting a nuclear weapon.

Vahidi reiterated Iran’s offer of support to the Lebanese military, initially suggested after a deadly cross-border clash with Israel.

“Lebanon and the Lebanese army is our friend and if there were to be a request we are ready to help them,” Vahidi was quoted as saying by the students news agency ISNA.

The offer from Iran, which supports Lebanon’s militant Shi’ite group Hezbollah, could fuel Western fears that Tehran is increasing its influence near Israel’s northern border.

Concern about Iran’s nuclear programme centre on its uranium enrichment programme and its missile capabilities.

Iran has long-range missiles including the Shahab 3 and the Sejil which could be used to hit Israel and regional US bases.

Tehran is still awaiting the delayed delivery of Russian S-300 air defence missile systems. The United States and Israel oppose Iran getting the systems as they could help it withstand any future air strikes against its nuclear sites.

Iran unveils long-range drone to counter ‘aggressors’

Iran unveiled a prototype long-range unmanned bomber today, the latest in a stream of announcements of new Iranian-made military hardware as tension mounts over its nuclear programme.

On a stage in front of military officials, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pulled a sheet away from the aircraft, called the Karrar, which Iran says is its first long-range drone.

With the United States and Israel saying they do not rule out a military strike to stop Iran getting a nuclear bomb, the Islamic Republic has showed off new mini-submarines, a surface-to-surface missile and announced plans to launch high altitude satellites over the next three years.

Iran test-fires a surface-to-air missile near Tehran. It will soon add a long-range bomber drone to its military capabilities.






The presentation of the drone came a day after Iranian and Russian technicians began fuelling Iran’s first nuclear power station, something Israel called “totally unacceptable”.

In a speech at the unveiling ceremony, Ahmadinejad said Iran should seek the ability to make pre-emptive strikes against a perceived threat, although he said it would never strike first.

“If there is an ignorant person or an egoist or a tyrant who just wanted to make an aggression then our Defence Ministry should reach a point where it could cut off the hand of the aggressor before it decided to make an aggression,” he said.

“We should reach a point when Iran would serve as a defence umbrella for all freedom loving nations in the face of world aggressors. We don’t want to attack anywhere, Iran will never decide to attack anywhere, but our revolution cannot sit idle in the face of tyranny, we can’t remain indifferent.”

The exact capabilities of the new drone were not disclosed.

Iran, which says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, has warned that any strike against its nuclear sites would be countered by measures not restricted to the Middle East region. Ahmadinejad said yesterday an attack on Iran would be “suicidal”.

Iran has said it is prepared to return to talks with major world powers but the exact nature of such negotiations has yet to be defined. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week Iran would not talk to the United States unless sanctions and military threats were lifted.

Rockets hit Israel and Jordan resorts

Wreckage of cars damaged by a rocket attack is seen at a hotel area in the Jordan's Red Sea city of Aqaba, August 2, 2010.

Rockets from Egypt’s Sinai, where Islamist militants have operated in the past, hit Israel’s and Jordan’s Red Sea port resorts yesterday, killing a Jordanian civilian and injuring three others, Jordanian and Israeli police said.

A Jordanian interior ministry source said one of the four injured when a rocket exploded near a five-star hotel in Aqaba, later died from his injuries.






There was no word of casualties in the adjacent Israeli port and holiday resort of Eilat, police said. Aqaba and Eilat lie on the narrow northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba, an extension of the Red Sea, with Sinai stretching west and south of Eilat.

Jordanian Minister of State Ali al-Ayed said the kingdom would continue its “fight against terrorists who undertake callous attacks that targets innocent people.”

Israeli President Shimon Peres condemned the rocket fire and said Israel and Jordan, who made peace in 1994, were “partners in the uncompromising struggle to eradicate terrorism.”

“There is a real struggle in the Middle East between the peace camp of moderate countries and the camp of extremists, who want to sabotage any chance for peace,” Peres said.

Asked where the Aqaba rocket was fired from, the Jordanian source said without elaborating: “It came from the west.” Experts were investigating the site to find out where the short-range rocket had been launched, he said.

Egyptian security sources were quoted by the state news agency as saying rockets could not have been fired from Sinai since the largely empty, desert region was very mountainous.

“The only missiles that can be fired from Sinai are mortars which can pass over these heights,” General Abdel Fadeel Shousha, governor of South Sinai, said adding the area such an operation would require open space.

EXPLOSION BY BEACH

Aqaba resident Ibrahim Salymehin said he heard one loud blast and when he arrived at the scene he saw at least three injured men taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance.

A crowd gathered near the scene of the explosion several hundred meters away from a five-star hotel close to the beach.

“We saw the wreckage of a taxi which was burned, and fragmented metal scattered around the area that was cordoned off by police,” another Aqaba resident, Abdullah Yashin Rawashdehd, told Reuters.

Eilat District Police Commander Moshe Cohen told Israel Radio that his forces were still trying to confirm that five explosions heard in the morning had been caused by shelling.

Two of the suspected rockets or mortar bombs appeared to have landed in the sea, while another hit Aqaba, he said.

“It’s a little early to say, but it is reasonable to assume that it came from the southern area,” he said, referring to neighbouring Egypt, whose Sinai Peninsula has suffered occasional violence attributed to Islamist militants.

A police spokesman later said the remains of one rocket was found in Eilat and was being examined by bomb experts.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said the rocket salvo was a “deplorable action” intended to undermine direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Asked if Washington knew who was behind the attacks, Crowley told a news briefing: “There are armed elements here that want to see the conflict continue. They have used these tactics before and we’re not surprised that they are using them again.”

At least one rocket struck Aqaba on April 22, causing no casualties. Amman said the rocket had been fired from outside Jordan and Israeli media said Sinai was a possible launch point.

In 2005, rockets were fired at US warships in Aqaba but missed their target and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links to al Qaeda said it was behind the attack.

Two years later, a Palestinian suicide bomber infiltrated through Sinai and killed three people at a bakery in Eilat, which lies on Israel’s southern tip and has only rarely been touched by the Middle East conflict.

Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab states to have full peace treaties with Israel. Those relations were frayed by Israel’s crackdown a decade ago on a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

One killed and three injured after rockets fired into Israeli port of Eilat

Attack: Four people were injured after five rockets were fired at the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat this morning

One person has been killed and at least three people have been injured after several rockets were fired into Israel's southern port of Eilat this morning.

Five rockets are believed to have been fired from a location in Egypt during the attack.

Two of the missiles are believed to have overshot their targets and landed in the Red Sea, while another one struck the nearby Jordanian port of Aqaba.






Explosions: Israeli police inspect the site where one of the rockets exploded on the outskirts of Eilat. One of the missiles hit the nearby Jordanian port of Aqaba

Attack: Four people were injured after five rockets were fired at the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat this morning

District port commander Moshe Cohen told Israel Radio when asked where the salvo was launched said: 'It's a little early to say, but it is reasonable to assume that it came from the southern area.'

The injured people were believed to have been caught in the blast which hit Aqaba.

Eilat, Aqaba and nearby Egyptian Red Sea resorts have seen several violent attacks attributed to Islamist militants.

At least one rocket struck Aqaba on April 22, but failed to cause any casualties. Amman said the rocket had been fired from outside Jordan and Israeli media said the Sinai desert could be a possible launch point.

In 2005, rockets were fired at U.S. warships in Aqaba's port but missed their target and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links with al Qaeda said it was behind the attack.

Two years later, a Palestinian suicide bomber infiltrated through Sinai and killed three people in an Eilat bakery.

Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab states to have full peace accords with Israel.

But those ties were frayed by Israel's crackdown in 2000 on a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Investigation concludes North Korean missile sunk the Cheonan killing 46-Clinton: North Korea Must Face Consequences-Korean Ship Sinking Controversy Could Derail Nuclear Progress-Cautious White House Reacts to Warship Sinking-NKorea Warns of War if Punished for Ship Sinking

THE EVIDENCE AGAINST THE NORTH

* Fragments recovered from the waters near the Koreas' maritime border indicate the torpedo came from communist North Korea.
* Pieces recovered at the sinking site 'perfectly match' the schematics of the torpedo included in introductory brochures provided to foreign countries by North Korea for export purposes.
* A serial number on a torpedo fragment also was consistent with markings from a North Korean torpedo that South Korea obtained years earlier.
* Investigators also confirmed that several small North Korean submarines and a mother ship supporting them left a North Korean naval base on the western coast two to three days ago prior to the attack, and returned to port two to three days after the attack.
* All submarines from neighbouring countries were either in or near their respective home bases at the time of the incident.

South Korea honors sailors killed in ship sinking-South Korea's Lee talks security risks with Chinese leader

Choi Won-il, 2nd left, captain of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan, and the survivors holding portraits of the victims pass by family members during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean President Lee Myung-bak salutes in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean mourners leave after the memorial ceremony for the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a solemn military funeral a month after their warship sank near waters disputed with rival North Korea.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Shanghai on Friday that touched on security risks caused by the North's suspected attack on a warship from the South.

China, the reclusive and impoverished North's biggest benefactor with the most influence in Pyongyang, wants to prevent further tensions that increase the chances of war but is not about to punish its neighbor, analysts said.

"The bottom line is that Pyongyang knows that Beijing will not forsake them even if they behave in this provocative manner," said Peter Beck, a specialist in Korean affairs at Stanford University.

Lee, who met Hu on the sidelines of the World Expo in Shanghai, has signaled Seoul will not retaliate with force, calming investor concerns in Asia's fourth largest economy.

"I want to address the tragic loss of your country's warship," Hu told Lee. "To those who died and to their families, please let them know we grieve with them."

South Korea lost 46 sailors when their ship was struck last month by what is believed to be a North Korean torpedo. If confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest strikes by Pyongyang since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.


A huge South Korean national flag leads portraits of the victims of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean mourners pay a silent tribute for the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean mourners pay a tribute in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


Choi Won-il, captain of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan, holds a portrait of a victim during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok express their condolence in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Koreans weep at the memorial ceremony for the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a solemn military funeral a month after their warship sank near waters disputed with rival North Korea.



A South Korean honor guard soldier stands in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel

South Korea's defense minister told parliament that investigators have found a piece of aluminum that appears to be not part of the sunken corvette. Military experts say aluminum debris is consistent with a torpedo attack.

Lee has been looking for regional support in the wake of the crisis, which experts say could result in economic and political moves to punish Pyongyang if Seoul formally names it as the culprit.

Lee may also have his first face-to-face meeting with a top member of the North's ruling class in Shanghai. The North's nominal number 2 leader Kim Yong-nam, who serves as the face of the government, is also attending the Expo.

GOOD NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS

Both Lee and Kim attended the same welcome dinner hosted by Hu in Shanghai, but were seated far apart and did not appear to speak to each other.

China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as telling Kim earlier in the day that China was willing "to promote good neighborly relations to new heights."

Neither Xinhua, nor a similar report by North Korea's KCNA news agency, made mention of the South Korean ship sinking.

Analysts say Lee's government, which has cut off once lucrative aid to the North and has few economic means left to hurt Pyongyang, risks pushing the North even closer to China if it decides to act tough.

"If the drive to cooperate with China starts producing results, North Korea's policy of ignoring the South will become more blatant, as will its hardline position against the South," said Cho Myung-chul of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, who was formerly an academic in the North.

North Korea may also try to raise tensions by resorting to saber rattling, experts have said.

Japan's Asahi newspaper quoted unnamed military sources as saying the North could test fire its mid-range Rodong ballistic missile from its east coast toward Japan some time next month.

The Rodong, with an estimated range of up to 1,400 km (870 miles), can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan. The North is barred from test-firing its missiles by U.N. resolutions.



Sirens blared across South Korea on Thursday as a solemn military funeral honored 46 seamen killed after a blast sank their warship last month. Officials vowed retaliation against those responsible for an attack many believe North Korea launched.

Warships anchored at the base south of Seoul where the funeral was held sounded whistles, and seamen aboard saluted when the vehicles carrying the ashes left for the cemetery.

A somber President Lee Myung-bak and his wife — who joined 2,800 mourners at the ceremony — offered white chrysanthemums, burned incense and bowed before the framed photos of the soldiers, while buglers played taps. Lee, the commander in chief of South Korea's armed forces, then saluted.

Former President Chun Doo-hwan, lawmakers and military leaders also paid respects to those who died in one of South Korea's worst naval disasters.

South Korea has not directly blamed its Cold War-era rival North Korea, but suspicion has focused on Pyongyang given its history of provocations and attacks on the South. South Korea's defense minister said this week the blast was most likely caused by a torpedo attack. North Korea has denied any role.

The name of each sailor was read out while Lee, clad in a black suit and tie, placed military decorations on a giant alter below photos of each man. They had all been posthumously promoted by one rank in recent days.

Buddhist monks clad in orange and white robes chanted prayers at the interfaith funeral. A Roman Catholic priest and a Protestant minister also participated.

"The Cheonan is engraved as history into the people's hearts and your honorable sacrifice is being reborn as patriotism," Chief Petty Officer Kim Hyun-rae, one of the 58 survivors of the disaster, said in an address to the funeral.

Tears welled up in the eyes of President Lee as he listened to Kim's speech.

The sailors went down with the 1,200-ton Cheonan near the tense western sea border with North Korea on March 26 shortly after it was torn apart by what investigators believe was an underwater blast from outside the ship.

The bodies of 40 of the sailors were recovered, while six others remained unaccounted for and are presumed dead.

The Cheonan was on a routine patrol before it split in two and sank near the disputed western sea border, a scene of three bloody sea battles between the rival Koreas that remain locked in a state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

"We cannot forgive this and must not forgive it and must not forget it," Navy Chief of Staff Kim Sung-chan said in a speech at the funeral. "We will never sit idly against whoever inflicted huge pain to our people. "

Military retaliation against Pyongyang, however, is considered unlikely as it could lead to major conflict and frighten away investors at a time when South Korea is recovering fast from the global financial meltdown and prepares to hold a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 in November.

North Korea has waged a slew of attacks against South Korea, including a 1987 downing of a South Korean passenger plane that killed all 115 people on board, one of the reasons the country is suspected of involvement.

The funeral took place at the 2nd Fleet headquarters in Pyeongtaek, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Seoul, the Cheonan's home base. After the ceremony, the remains were transported by hearse to the national cemetery in the central city of Daejon for burial later Thursday.

About 3,000 white and black balloons were released into the air. Cheonan survivors carried photos of the dead sailors.

Uniformed soldiers lined the streets outside the navy base and saluted when the funeral procession went by.

People at Seoul's main railway station, including uniformed soldiers on leave and traveling home, gathered around television screens to pause in remembrance.

Kim Yong-mi wiped away tears with a handkerchief, her eyes red and watery.

"So many died too young," said Kim, 68. "As someone who's lived all these years more than they ever will, I'm ashamed to be standing here, alive."

Flags in South Korea are flying at half-staff and many government buildings in Seoul have hung large black-and-white placards reading, "We will not forget your honorable sacrifice." An estimated 400,000 people have reportedly visited mourning locations set up across the country to pay respects.

SKorean minister: Torpedo likely sank warship-Torpedo 'one of most likely' causes for sunk S.Korea ship

Graphic showing disputed maritime border


Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young said a torpedo was "one of the most likely things to be blamed"


South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, left, arrives to hold a press conference as Defence Minister Kim Tae-young follows him at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. Chung said that South Korea will take a "stern" action against anyone responsible for a mysterious blast that sank a South Korean warship near the border with North Korea, as the country starts a funeral for dozens of dead navy sailors.


Members of the South Korean special warfare command salute in front of the portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service at Seoul City Hall Plaza in South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. The defense minister says that a torpedo attack likely has torn apart and sank a South Korean warship that went down near the tense border with North Korea last month.


Family members of victims of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan participate in a memorial service for the 46 dead and missing sailors at the Second Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek in South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. The defense minister says that a torpedo attack likely has torn apart and sank the South Korean warship that went down near the tense border with North Korea last month.


South Korean honor guard soldiers walk by the portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service at Seoul City Hall Plaza in South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. The defense minister says that a torpedo attack likely has torn apart and sank a South Korean warship that went down near the tense border with North Korea last month.


A South Korean family pay a silent tribute in front of the portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service at Seoul City Hall Plaza in South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. The defense minister says that a torpedo attack likely has torn apart and sank a South Korean warship that went down near the tense border with North Korea last month.




An explosion from a torpedo likely sank a South Korean warship that went down near the tense border with North Korea last month, the South's defense minister said Sunday amid growing speculation Pyongyang may be behind the blast.

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said the most likely cause of the disaster was a torpedo exploding near the ship, with the force of the underwater blast ripping the vessel apart. Investigators who examined salvaged wreckage separately announced Sunday that a close-range, external explosion likely sank it.

"Basically, I think the bubble jet effect caused by a heavy torpedo is the most likely cause" for the blast, Kim told reporters.

Kim, however, did not speculate on who may have fired it and said an investigation was ongoing and it's still too early to determine the cause.




A giant offshore crane salvages a large portion of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan off Baengnyeong Island, South Korea, on Saturday.



South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan speaks in a press conference at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. Chung said that South Korea will take a "stern" action against anyone responsible for a mysterious blast that sank a South Korean warship near the border with North Korea, as the country starts a funeral for dozens of dead navy sailors.


An unidentified family member of a victim of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan cries in a memorial service for the 46 dead and missing sailors at the Second Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek in South Korea, Sunday, April 25, 2010. The defense minister says that a torpedo attack likely has torn apart and sank the South Korean warship that went down near the tense border with North Korea last month.



Seoul has not directly blamed North Korea for the blast, but suspicion remains given the country's history of provocation and attacks on the South. Local media have increasingly been speculating the disaster was due to a North Korean attack.

The Cheonan was on a routine patrol on March 26 when the unexplained explosion split it in two in one of South Korea's worst naval disasters. Forty bodies have been recovered so far, but six crew members are still unaccounted for and are presumed dead.

The site of the sinking is near where the rival Koreas fought three times since 1999, most recently a November clash that left one North Korean soldier dead and three others wounded. The two Koreas are still technically at war because their 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Kim told lawmakers shortly after the blast that a North Korean torpedo or mine was among the suspected culprits. He said earlier this month that a torpedo attack was more likely.

Also Sunday, investigators said a preliminary investigation of the front part of the 1,200-ton ship — retrieved the day before — pointed to an external explosion.

"In conclusion, after the initial visual inspection of the severed surface and the inside and outside of the hull, we assume the case is underwater explosion," chief investigator Yoon Duk-yong told reporters. "And looking at the form of the deformation, it is highly likely that a non-contact explosion was the case rather than a contact explosion."

But he said it's still too early to determine what caused the explosion.

Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said South Korea will take "stern" action against whoever was behind the explosion as the country started a five-day funeral for the 46 dead and missing sailors. Makeshift alters were set up in Seoul and other major cities to allow citizens to pay their respect to the sailors.

"We will remember all of you in the name of the Republic of Korea to let you keep alive in our hearts," said Chung, clad in a black suit and tie. The 46 sailors will be promoted by one rank and awarded posthumous medals, he said.

A torpedo attack is among the "most likely" causes of the sinking of a South Korean warship near the disputed border with North Korea, the defence minister said Sunday, amid rising tensions with Pyongyang.

The 12,000-tonne corvette Cheonan sank after being split in half in a mystery blast in the Yellow Sea on March 26, leaving 40 sailors confirmed dead and six still unaccounted for.

"A bubble jet caused by a heavy torpedo (attack) is thought to be one of the most likely things to be blamed, but various other possibilities are also under review," Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young said Sunday.

Shortly after the vessel sank, Kim said a mine or a torpedo could have been to blame, but Seoul subsequently rowed back and has since been careful to avoid pointing a finger at Pyongyang.

Several unidentified sources have been quoted in recent days as saying an underwater explosion was the cause of the sinking, but Kim is the first minister to make the link explicitly since a probe into the sinking began.

Initial inspections of the stern, salvaged from the seabed on April 15, and the bow, which was raised on Saturday, indicate it was hit by the force of a blast, officials say.

Live local television footage of Saturday's salvage of the bow showed a hatch had come off its hinges and a chimney was missing.

Yoon Duk-Yong, co-chairman of a joint international investigation team including US and Australian experts, issued an interim report Sunday that no soot, melting or any explosion holes were found on the ship.

"In conclusion, after the initial visual inspection of the severed surface and the inside/outside of the hull, we assume the cause is underwater explosion," Yoon said in the report.

"And looking at the form of the deformation, it is highly likely that a non-contact explosion was the cause rather than a contact explosion," Yoon said, without specifying what type of explosive had been detonated.

Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan on Sunday declared a five-day "national mourning period" for the 46 sailors until Thursday, with public shrines set up in Seoul and other cities nationwide for citizens to pay tribute.

Pyongyang has accused the South's "war maniacs" of seeking to shift the blame for the tragedy to the North.

The disputed Yellow Sea border was the scene of deadly naval clashes between the North and South in 1999 and 2002 and of a firefight last November that left a North Korean patrol boat in flames.

The communist North on Friday seized South Korean-owned assets at a mountain resort, warning that the two countries were on the brink of war over the sinking.

On Saturday, the North warned it would use "all means, including the nuclear deterrent" if it was invaded by the United States and South Korea.

The tensions prompted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to say she hoped there would be "no miscalculation" that could spark a new war between the Koreas.

South Korea President Lee Myung-Bak on Wednesday vowed a "resolute" response to the Cheonan disaster, calling the worst peacetime loss of life for South Korea's navy a "wake-up call" and describing the North as the world's "most belligerent" state.

Ties between the two Koreas appeared to have entered a new phase of reconciliation after an historic inter-Korean summit in 2000 but have spiralled downwards since Lee's government took power in 2008.

Lee has taken a tougher stance toward Pyongyang, while the North's nuclear weapons development sparked international condemnation and sanctions.

Hwang Jang-Yop, a high-ranking North Korean defector, on Thursday said it was "obvious" the communist regime's leader Kim Jong-Il was behind the sinking, accusing him of wanting to create chaos on the Korean peninsula.

South Korea Won't Retaliate Alone For Ship Sinking-North Korea torpedoed South's navy ship

South Korea's military believes a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine sank its navy ship last month, based on intelligence gathered jointly with the United States, a news report said on Thursday.

The Yonhap news report appears to be the clearest sign yet that Seoul blames Pyongyang for what would be one of the deadliest incidents between the rivals since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. It puts more political pressure on President Lee Myung-bak, but analysts do not see it triggering a war.



The military's intelligence arm sent the report of "certain" North Korean involvement to the presidential Blue House soon after the incident, Yonhap quoted a high-ranking military source as saying.

Lee's government has come under criticism for what many see as its overly cautious handling of possible links to North Korea. It has called for a thorough investigation of the sinking, thought to have killed 46 sailors.

Market players have been calmed by the South's measured response, seeing Seoul as unlikely to take aggressive moves that would escalate into armed conflict and harm the export-driven economies of North Asia, responsible for about one-sixth of the global economy.

South Korea's defense ministry had no comment on the report.

"North Korean submarines are all armed with heavy torpedoes with 200 kg (441 lb) warheads," the military source was quoted as saying by Yonhap. "It is the military intelligence's assessment that the North attacked with a heavy torpedo.

"The military intelligence has made the report to the Blue House and to the Defense Ministry immediately after the sinking of the Cheonan that it is clearly the work of North Korea's military," the source was quoted as saying.

South Korea plans to soon raise the front half of the 1,200-tonne Cheonan, which went down near a disputed sea border with North Korea, and will issue its verdict on the cause of the explosion that sank the warship after that.

Analysts said there is little South Korea can do even if Pyongyang is found to be the culprit, because a military response was likely to hurt its own quickly recovering economy and bolster North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's standing at home.

Lee ended a decade of no-questions-asked aid to the destitute North and called for a hardline push for Pyongyang to disarm.

"The nuclear issue has still not been resolved. This and the Cheonan incident all serve to inflict a negative impact on the Lee administration," said Lee Nam-young, a political analyst at the Sejong University in Seoul.

The reclusive North has denied it had anything to do with the sinking near the disputed sea border off the west coast that has been the scene of two deadly naval battles in the past decade.

It accused Lee of using the incident for political gains ahead of crucial local elections in June.

South Korea has few economic options left to hurt the North. It has already suspended its unconditional handouts that once were worth more than $1 billion to the North, which has an estimated yearly GDP of $17 billion.

The greatest risk to the region is a brief armed conflict where North Korea fires tens of thousands of artillery shells into the Seoul area, home to about half of the South's 49 million people, and fires its hundreds of missiles at major cites in the South and Japan.

Yonhap said the South Korean and U.S. military suspected the North was stepping up drills to infiltrate a submarine south of the naval border, hidden among Chinese fishing boats, and wage a surprise attack against the South.