Meanwhile in Teheran......

With the focus in the Middle East centering on the attacks on the US embassy in Benghazi and the violent protests elsewhere in the Moslem world, it is worth taking a moment to look back at what is happening with Iran these days. Indeed, much of the upset around the Moslem world carries with it the possibility that it was staged by the Iranians to take the eyes of the world off of it as it approaches completion of its nuclear weapons.

Here is the latest:

1) The Iranian government announced that the underground power lines to one of its important centers for enrichment of nuclear fuel were bombed last week. This shut off power to the nuclear center suddenly, and it may have caused failure of some of the centrifuges at that site. Iran is now blaming the UN Nuclear agency for the bombing. According to the Iranian government the UN agency has been infiltrated by foreign agents trying to destroy the Iranian nuclear program. Put aside the rather bizarre claim that the UN has been infiltrated by anti-Iranian forces. What this report means is that Iran is experiencing some sort of problems with its nuclear efforts. Normally, Iran would not announce that a power line had been bombed. The mullahs customarily stay silent about setbacks. Indeed, it may be that the power lines failed without any bombing or other foreign involvement. Either way, however, it is good news if a power cutoff damaged the centrifuges.

2) Iran has now admitted that members of the Quds force are in Syria supporting the armed forces loyal to the Assad regime. The presence of Iranian soldiers in Syria is nothing new, but the admission by Iran of this fact is a major change. For many months, the mullahs have denied the presence of their shock troops in Syria and have denouced those who report such facts as liars and defamers of the Islamic Republic. I keep waiting for the Iranian leader to quote Emily Litella, the character from the old SNL whose catch phrase was "Nevermind."

One final note: it is worth considering whether or not the video which has supposedly sparked the upset across the Moslem world was actually created by Iran as a diversion. Since 1979, the rulers of Iran have repeatedly used diversions involving attacks on Israel, the United States and other Western targets to take the world's attention away from Iran and move it elsewhere. We know that the man who made the video is a convicted felon with a history of bank fraud. We also know that he clumsily proclaimed himself to be an "Israeli Jew" when he was actually and Egyptian and not Jewish at all. We also know that the film in question was filmed one way with no part that might be considered offensive to an Islamic audience and then modified later by the "filmmaker" to contain the supposedly offensive language. Could it be that Iran wants to create unrest and attacks on American targets in order to stave off a pre-election attack by American forces on Iran's nuclear program? After all, America is less likely to attack Iran if its embassies are already the targets of mob violence across the region. White house planners would surely advise the president to wait for things to calm down a bit in the region before taking any action against Iran. Obviously, this is conjecture, but it does seem entirely plausible to me.