What's With the Shark Attacks Off Egyptian Waters? Mossad, Of Course

It just doesn't get any dumber than this.

Egyptian officials say they have not ruled out the possibility that a fatal shark attack in Sinai on Sunday could have been a plot by the Mossad.

“What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark [in the sea] to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question, but it needs time to confirm,” South Sinai Gov. Muhammad Abdel Fadil Shousha was quoted as saying by the Egyptian state news site egynews.net.

Israeli officials said the claims were too ludicrous to comment on. Israel has issued an advisory warning against travel to Sinai due to plots against Israelis by terrorist groups linked to al-Qaida.

The fatal shark attack in the Red Sea off the coast of the resort town of Sharm e-Sheikh killed a German tourist, just days after four Russians were mauled by sharks and Egypt declared that the waters were safe.

Experts said that despite announcements that Egypt had caught the shark, the one actually responsible for the maulings was still on the loose.

There's actually more likely reasons.

The attacks have prompted speculation about what could have caused the whitetip’s savage behaviour.

Possible triggers are overfishing,driving the sharks into shallower water to search for food, or tourists feeding the predator, causing it to associate humans with food.

Other theories include livestock carcases being dumped into the water after the Muslim festival of Eid last month.

Update: Via Carl in Jerusalem, we've got a photo of one of the sharks.

Israel Demolished Syrian Nuke Cache

You have to figure they were building up using either Saddam Husseins's former material or have been working in cahoots with the North Koreans and Iranians.

You didn't really believe the Norks were just going to give up their program and be honest about dismantling it?

Israelis ‘blew apart Syrian nuclear cache’

Andrew Semmel, a senior US State Department official, said Syria might have obtained nuclear equipment from “secret suppliers”, and added that there were a “number of foreign technicians” in the country.

Asked if they could be North Korean, he replied: “There are North Korean people there. There’s no question about that.” He said a network run by AQ Khan, the disgraced creator of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, could be involved.

But why would nuclear material be in Syria? Known to have chemical weapons, was it seeking to bolster its arsenal with something even more deadly?

Alternatively, could it be hiding equipment for North Korea, enabling Kim Jong-il to pretend to be giving up his nuclear programme in exchange for economic aid? Or was the material bound for Iran, as some authorities in America suggest?

According to Israeli sources, preparations for the attack had been going on since late spring, when Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad, presented Olmert with evidence that Syria was seeking to buy a nuclear device from North Korea.

The Israeli spy chief apparently feared such a device could eventually be installed on North-Korean-made Scud-C missiles.

“This was supposed to be a devastating Syrian surprise for Israel,” said an Israeli source. “We’ve known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can’t live with a nuclear warhead.”

Read the rest. Let's hope there's a surprise on the way for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The "no WMD" crowd was unavailable for comment.

More from Riehl World View, Atlas Shrugs, Pajamas Media.

Iranian Defector Was Spying Since 2003

According to this report, Iranian General Ali Reza Asgari had been spying on Iran for several years and it appears Mossad may have aided in his defection, which is sure to further enrage the Iranians.

Asgari’s escape has provoked alarm in the Iranian regime. “Asgari is a gold mine for western intelligence,” said an Israeli defence source. “We have been following him for years, especially since the late 1980s when he was commander of the Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon.”

In 1997 he was appointed deputy defence minister in charge of internal investigations. He uncovered several cases of embezzlement in the Republican Guard that made him unpopular. He was pushed aside after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2006. The two had been rivals for many years and Asgari realised that his days were numbered.

During an overseas business trip in 2003 he is said to have met a new business partner, who turned out to be a foreign intelligence officer. “Ali Reza was a wealthy man even before 2003,” said an Iranian source. “Since 2003 he has become a very wealthy man.”

More at Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, and Gateway Pundit.

Previously:

Intel Trove From Iranian Defector
Big Iranian Fish
Former Iranian Official Talking
Top Iranian General Disappears

Top Iranian General Disappears

Very curious.

One respected analyst with sources in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard says Gen. Ali Reza Asgari has defected and is now in a European country with his entire family, where he is cooperating with the U.S.

Other reports have suggested that the general may have been kidnapped by the Israeli secret service, the Mossad. A spokesperson at the CIA declined to comment on the reported defection.

"This is a fatal blow to Iranian intelligence," said the source, explaining that Asgari knows sensitive information about Iran's nuclear and military projects. Iran called tens of its Revolutionary Guard agents working at embassies and cultural centers in Arab and European countries back to Tehran out of fear that Asgari might disclose secret information about their identities, according to the analyst.

More at the Jerusalem Post.

Arab newspapers are hinting that the Mossad and/or the CIA could be behind the disappearance of an Iranian general, Ali Reza Askari, who was last seen February 7 in Istanbul, Channel 10 reported Sunday evening.

Askari is a former general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and served in the cabinet of former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami.

Baztab, a Web site linked to the Revolutionary Guard, first reported that Askari may have been kidnapped. Baztab recently reported that Askari's name was one of 20 appearing on what "appeared…to be a CIA hit-list [of former Guard officers]."

A win-win as far as I'm concerned. If he's out of the picture, then it hurts the Iranians. If he's cooperating with us, then it really hurts the Iranians.

UPDATE: This would explain much more if we indeed grabbed the guy.

A retired Iranian general linked to the killing of five American soldiers in Baghdad vanished mysteriously in Istanbul last month, Israeli media reported yesterday.

Arab newspapers are hinting the CIA and/or the Israeli spy agency Mossad are behind the disappearance of Gen. Ali Reza Askari, the reports said.

Askari, a former deputy defense minister, arrived in Istanbul on a flight from Damascus on Feb. 7, left his luggage in his hotel room - and vanished.

UPDATE II: More at Ace of Spades HQ.

Iran Nuke Scientist Whacked by Mossad?

Now this could be interesting. The first I've seen of it, but certainly it's a promising development (h/t Shiplord Kirel and So?). Still, take with a huge grain of salt. An Iranian scientist dies under unusual circumstances just as the hairy little munchkin is about to make his big announcement? It's just too easy to blame Israel and Mossad. So let's see where this goes.

A PRIZE-WINNING Iranian nuclear scientist has died in mysterious circumstances, according to Radio Farda, which is funded by the US State Department and broadcasts to Iran.

An intelligence source suggested that Ardeshire Hassanpour, 44, a nuclear physicist, had been assassinated by Mossad, the Israeli security service.

Hassanpour worked at a plant in Isfahan where uranium hexafluoride gas is produced. The gas is needed to enrich uranium in another plant at Natanz which has become the focus of concerns that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons.

According to Radio Farda, Iranian reports of Hassanpour’s death emerged on January 21 after a delay of six days, giving the cause as “gas poisoning”. The Iranian reports did not say how or where Hassanpour was poisoned but his death was said to have been announced at a conference on nuclear safety.

Rheva Bhalla of Stratfor, the US intelligence company, claimed on Friday that Hassanpour had been targeted by Mossad and that there was “very strong intelligence” to suggest that he had been assassinated by the Israelis, who have repeatedly threatened to prevent Iran acquiring the bomb.