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RUSSIA

Russia, Bulgaria: Sign Road Map For South Stream July 17, 2010

Russia and Bulgaria on July 16 signed a road map for the economic and technical assessment of Bulgaria’s section of the South Stream gas pipeline, RIA Novosti reported July 17. The pipeline will transport Russian gas to western Europe bypassing Ukraine. The offshore section, run by Russia’s Gazprom and Italy’s ENI, will go for 900 km (559 miles) from Russia’s mainland under the Black Sea to the Bulgarian coast and carry up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The gas pipeline is scheduled to be launched in December 2015.

IRAN

Iran: Strikes In Tehran Continue July 16, 2010

Strikes at a Tehran bazaar reportedly continue despite state-run media claims to the contrary, The Green Voice of Freedom reported July 16. The state-run media reports said an agreement between bazaar representatives and the government was reached July 15, but the continued presence of anti-riot police and plainclothes forces near the bazaar suggest the protesters are not abiding by the alleged agreement. The National Trade Unions Council is responsible for representing the bazaar in the negotiations, but many merchants do not recognize it as strong enough to represent their interests.

Iran: Threatens To Blacklist Foreign Firms July 17, 2010

Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi warned July 17 that Iran will blacklist foreign firms like Russian energy giant Lukoil that pull out of projects due to sanctions against Tehran. Mirkazemi said companies that act against Iran will no longer work in that country. He singled out the case of Lukoil, saying the Russian firm had reneged on its commitments in the Anaran oilfield, which it discovered in 2005. Mirkazemi added that Iran might consider continuing to work with Lukoil if they adjusted the contents of their agreement.

Iran: Resolution Backed Urging Israel To Join Nuclear Treaty - Envoy July 16, 2010

Iran’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh said July 16 in Vienna that Iran will support the Arab League’s draft resolution against Israel’s nuclear capability, IRNA reported. After Soltanieh’s July 16 meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa, he said the draft resolution will be presented by the Arab League to the IAEA General Conference in September.

Iran: Militants From Across Border - Province's Chief July 16, 2010

The governor-general of Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, Ali Mohammad Azad, on July 16 said details differ between what was said by the group that claimed responsibility for the attack in Zahedan and what occurred, Islamic Republic of Iran News Network reported July 16. He said the militants are from across the border and routinely carry out operations in that province, adding that Iran’s enemies are trying to undermine security of the region and the nation.

Iran: Lawmaker Says Militants Enter Via Pakistan July 17, 2010

A senior Iranian lawmaker says militants enter Iran from Pakistan and other neighboring countries and urged Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) to reconsider its relations with militants, Press TV reported July 17. Head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the people demand that a solution be found to put an end to militant incidents. Boroujerdi said the ISI and the Pakistani government must take necessary measures to confront such criminals.

IRAQ

Iraq: President, Prime Minister Discuss Forming New Government July 17, 2010

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on July 17 discussed forming a new government, Aswat al-Iraq reported. They discussed the current situation in Iraq, means to form a new government and the relevant activities among political blocs. Both sides stressed respect for the constitution and how the nation might solve its current political crisis.


ISRAEL

U.S.: Security Aid Package To Israel Expanded July 16, 2010

An expanded U.S. security aid package should help Israel in its Palestinian peace talk efforts, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro said July 16, Haaretz reported. Shapiro said the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama specifically requested from Congress $2.775 billion in assistance funding for Israel, making it the largest security aid package in U.S. history. The Obama administration hopes the package will facilitate the decisions necessary for a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors, Shapiro said.


AFGHANISTAN

Pakistan: NATO Cargo Facing Restrictions July 16, 2010

Pakistan will place restrictions on NATO cargo destined for Afghanistan following the disappearance of thousands of shipping containers carrying weapons and other supplies, The Nation reported July 16, citing an unnamed source with the Pakistani Federal Board of Revenue. The board and the Commerce Ministry will impose the restrictions. The director of Custom Intelligence in Sindh and Balochistan, Zahid Khokher, said criteria will be established soon for upcoming shipments. Tracking devices will be placed in each container to avoid theft and damage, according to Khokher. He said it would also be helpful for customs intelligence to maintain a record.


SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Mexico: Car Bomb Attack Kills 3 In Ciudad Juarez July 16, 2010
Two policemen and a medical technician were killed and nine people wounded July 16 when members of the La Linea criminal group drove a car bomb into two police vehicles in Ciudad Juarez, AP reported. The attack, possibly the first involving an explosives-packed vehicle in Mexico, was in response to the arrest of gang leader Jesus Acosta Guerrero earlier in the day, according to police. Federal police were not immediately able to confirm if the vehicle was carrying an explosive or flammable device.

Mexico: Car Bomb Activated By Cell Phone July 16, 2010

A car bomb consisting of approximately 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of explosives that exploded July 15 in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, was activated by a cell phone, a Mexican army spokesman said July 16, El Universal reported. The spokesman said that investigations would continue in order to determine whether someone was driving the vehicle or whether it had been parked.

Colombia: Calls OAS Meeting To File Venezuela Complaint July 17, 2010

Colombia has called a special meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) to issue a formal complaint that Venezuela allows leftist rebels to use its territory as a safe haven, Reuters reported July 17. The meeting of the OAS permanent council is set for July 22. Colombian Interior Minister Fabio Valencia said his country has the right to denounce before the international community the presence of militants in Venezuela.

Mexico: Hyping an Attack in Juarez | STRATFOR

Mexican drug cartels' newest weapon: Cold War-era grenades made in U.S.
MEXICO CITY ...Sent a generation ago to battle communist revolutionaries in the jungles of Central America, U.S. grenades are being diverted from dusty old armories and sold to criminal mafias, who are using them to destabilize the Mexican government and terrorize civilians, according to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials. ...
...There have been more than 72 grenade attacks in Mexico in the last year, including spectacular assaults on police convoys and public officials. Mexican forces have seized more than 5,800 live grenades since 2007, a small fraction of a vast armory maintained by the drug cartels, officials said.

According to the Mexican attorney general's office, there have been 101 grenade attacks against government buildings in the past 3 1/2 years, information now made public for the first time.

To fight back, U.S. experts in grenades and other explosives are now working side by side with Mexican counterparts. On Thursday, assailants detonated a car bomb in downtown Ciudad Juarez, killing two federal police officers and an emergency medical technician and wounding seven.

The majority of grenades have been traced back to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, according to investigations by agents at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and their Mexican counterparts. ATF has also found that almost 90 percent of the grenades confiscated and traced in Mexico are more than 20 years old...

...One of the most common hand grenades found in Mexico is the M67, the workhorse explosive manufactured in the United States for American soldiers and for sale or transfer to foreign militaries. Some 266,000 M67 grenades went to El Salvador alone between 1980 and 1993, during the civil war there.

Now selling for $100 to $500 apiece on the black market, grenades have exploded in practically every region of Mexico in recent years...

...ATF and its Mexican counterparts consider information about the source country and specific make of grenades classified. Federal police in Mexico are now offering $200 -- about six weeks' pay at minimum wage in Mexico -- as a reward for every grenade turned over to authorities.

U.S. investigators and independent experts suspect that few military grenades have entered Mexico directly across the northern border from the United States.

MISC

China Security Memo: July 15, 2010 | STRATFOR

China: A New Round of Western Development | STRATFOR

Agenda with Dr George Friedman

Dispatch: Profiling al Shabaab