COMMENTARY
I am not privy to the inner workings of the US State Department or any other Western Foreign Ministry ... but what I am observing is what I would describe as a very dumb geo-political strategy aimed at Iran. In ordinary life, we would describe this as 'shooting oneself in the foot'.
Iran has been 'kicked around' by the Western powers for the best part of the last century, and it should not be the policy of the 'West' any more. When I last checked we are not in the 21st century and not only are there a lot more people living on the planet, but way more educated people. It is time the geo-political strategists realized that what was a viable policy in 1950 is not going to work in this decade.

I am a huge optimist about the future ... but have an important caveat. Leadership needs to change gears so that 'people of goodwill' are able top become engaged in the global political process. At the moment leadership is controlled by those with money and power, and these people are going to promote policies that increase their wealth and power and in the process created very very dangerous instability.

The Occupy Movement with its center in the United States, the students in various parts of Latin America (Chile, Bolivia, Columbia), the Indignados in Spain, and all the different Arab Springs (and many others) are all part of a universal hope for socio-economic progress that is way better than anything wqe have had in the past. Why not? Our technology and knowledge is amazing ... why is it only being used to enrich the infamous 1% when it could be making quality of life for the 99% better than it has ever been

Ramping up Western sentiment against Iran is old fashioned ... out of date ... and stupid.
Peter Burgess

Iran shoots down US drone – state TV

IMAGE Iranian military shoots down US drone (Image from defenceaviation.com)

Iran's military says it has shot down a US reconnaissance drone aircraft in eastern Iran, state TV reports. According to reports, Iranian authorities managed to seize the unmanned aircraft upon being downed, which they claim received 'minimum damage.'

'Iran's military has shot down an intruding RQ-170 American drone in eastern Iran,' an unnamed source has reportedly told Iran's Arabic-language television network.

The RQ-170 sentinel 'is a low observable unmanned aircraft system which the United States Air Force uses to 'directly support combatant commander needs for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to locate targets.'

According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Iran says it will continue to respond in kind to any drones that have violated the country's airspace, even from outside the country's borders.

The US military has yet to comment on the report.

In July, Iranian officials also claimed a US drone was shot down while flying over the city of Qom, which authorities say was gathering intel on a nearby nuclear facility.

Sunday’s reports of the downed drone come as the conflict between the US and Iran centering around the Islamic republic's alleged nuclear weapons program continue to intensify.

In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors passed a resolution urging Iran to provide access to its nuclear facilities to UN experts.

The resolution followed a November 8 IAEA report which claimed Iran had been actively developing weapons.

While Iran has continued to maintain that their nuclear ambitions are for peaceful purposes, the US and the European Union have chosen to tighten sanctions on key Iranian industries.

Diplomatic tensions between Iran and the West continued to intensify after dozen's of Iranian students stormed the British embassy in Tehran Tuesday in response to the unilateral imposition of sanctions.

Britain immediately shut down its embassy in Tehran and subsequently closed the Iranian embassy in London on Wedensday, expelling all of its staff.

Other European countries also responded in kind, as Norway closed its embassy in Tehran, while Germany, ITaly, Sweden, and the Netherlands all opted to recall their ambassadors.

As the threats of even tighter sanctions loom over the country, Iran’s foreign ministry had responded that any attempts by the West to block oil exports would be met with a doubling of crude oil prices on the global market.

'As soon as such an issue is raised seriously the oil price would soar to above $250 a barrel,' foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast reportedly said.

Iran, which received some $56 billion in the first seven months of 2011 from crude oil exports, is the world's third-largest crude exporter and heavily dependent on revenues generated from the trade.

And while no final agreement on an oil embargo against Iran has been agreed upon within Europe, tougher sanctions could be be finalized next week, as various EU heads of state are set to meet for a summit this coming Thursday.