Iranian-Armenian relations

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

The one thing that will definitely continue to happen with peacekeepers around is sniper fire. It happens on the Israeli-Lebanon border all the time. Azerbaijan will never agree to withdraw snipers.

Well if Azerbaijan doesn't withdraw snipers than there's no point to this.

[Federate]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

The only way they could be useful is that Azeris would have to think twice before attacking as there would be established 3rd party witnesses to their aggression. It would also remove snipers, and thus end all the sniper deaths. So as you see, mostly indirect benefits, as directly they are more or less useless.

The one thing that will definitely continue to happen with peacekeepers around is sniper fire. It happens on the Israeli-Lebanon border all the time. Azerbaijan will never agree to withdraw snipers.

[Federate]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Most likely I would think it would be EU/OSCE sending peacekeepers. I am all for anything that may diffuse the tension at the border and be a deterrent to an Azeri attack.

We are our own deterrents. Nothing strikes fear into the enemy more than a confident local population bent on defending its borders and survival. Foreign peacekeepers will probably not serve as deterrents if they follow the Rwanda or Lebanon model, they will be there to make sure we enforce any agreement and then sit by idly if a war breaks out, even if they come under attack. Ban Ki Moon will probably go on TV and say we should stop fighting, words nobody will care about. A NATO/Western peacekeeping operation (the worst thing that can happen) would never be accepted by Russia anyway.

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Africa has shown what Western peace keepers can do, nothing. It's better not to have a single soldier guarding the border then having Western peace keepers there.

The only way they could be useful is that Azeris would have to think twice before attacking as there would be established 3rd party witnesses to their aggression. It would also remove snipers, and thus end all the sniper deaths. So as you see, mostly indirect benefits, as directly they are more or less useless.

[KarotheGreat]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

Most likely I would think it would be EU/OSCE sending peacekeepers. I am all for anything that may diffuse the tension at the border and be a deterrent to an Azeri attack.

Africa has shown what Western peace keepers can do, nothing. It's better not to have a single soldier guarding the border then having Western peace keepers there.

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

I oppose Western peacekeepers in Artsakh too. You know your country is fuked anytime the UN deploys peacekeepers. We can do that ourselves. At best, maybe Russian ones.

Most likely I would think it would be EU/OSCE sending peacekeepers. I am all for anything that may diffuse the tension at the border and be a deterrent to an Azeri attack.

[Federate]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

I oppose Western peacekeepers in Artsakh too. You know your country is fuked anytime the UN deploys peacekeepers. We can do that ourselves. At best, maybe Russian ones.

[Mos]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

I suspect it's an Iranian domestic issue and he's not risking leaving the country. Unconfirmed reports on Twitter that Ahmadinejad announced a major press conference tomorrow right after cancelling the Armenia trip. Khamenei has been up his throat ever since the firing of some minister that was reinstated by Khamenei. There's some issues with the oil minister now and there's rumours that range from Ahmadinejad's resignation to announcement of new elections soon.

Yeah, not the best time for Ahmadinejad to be visiting, given the political situation in his country. We don't want to be talking with a man who may not be leader for very long. Another thing to watch out for is Iran's opposition to the international (Western) peacekeepers that may be deployed to the Karabakh region. This is something that we want, as it will prevent Azerbaijan from attacking or sniping readily, but Iranians are very much against it because they see it as a Western encroachment on their border.

[Tigranakert]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

I suspect it's an Iranian domestic issue and he's not risking leaving the country. Unconfirmed reports on Twitter that Ahmadinejad announced a major press conference tomorrow right after cancelling the Armenia trip. Khamenei has been up his throat ever since the firing of some minister that was reinstated by Khamenei. There's some issues with the oil minister now and there's rumours that range from Ahmadinejad's resignation to announcement of new elections soon.

Indeed, there have been major domestic things going on in Iran these couple of weeks...

Iran sends submarines to Red Sea -Fars news agency
Tue Jun 7, 2011 8:02am GMT Print | Single Page [-] Text [+]

TEHRAN, June 7 (Reuters) - Iran has sent submarines to the Red Sea, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday, citing an unidentified source, in a move that could anger Israel.

"Iranian military submarines entered the Red Sea waters with the goal of collecting information and identifying other countries' combat vessels," Fars said.

It did not specify the number or type of vessels involved but said they were sailing alongside warships of the Navy's 14th fleet.

State-run Press TV said in May the 14th fleet, comprised of two vessels, the Bandar Abbas warship and Shahid Naqdi destroyer, had been sent to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

"The fleet entered the Gulf of Aden region in May and has now entered the Red Sea in the continuation of its mission," Fars said.

Two Iranian warships passed through the Suez Canal in February, the first such move since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, en route to Syria. Tehran said the mission was one of "peace and friendship" but Israel called it a "provocation".

Iran announced last August it had expanded its fleet of domestically built 120-tonne Ghadir-class submarines to 11 which it said would be used to patrol the Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

It has deployed warships further afield, as far as the Red Sea, to combat Somali pirates but has not previously said it sent submarines to those waters. (Reporting by Hashem Kalantari; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

[Federate]

Re: Iranian-Armenian relations

I suspect it's an Iranian domestic issue and he's not risking leaving the country. Unconfirmed reports on Twitter that Ahmadinejad announced a major press conference tomorrow right after cancelling the Armenia trip. Khamenei has been up his throat ever since the firing of some minister that was reinstated by Khamenei. There's some issues with the oil minister now and there's rumours that range from Ahmadinejad's resignation to announcement of new elections soon.