Accident or Assassination Attempt?
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here. Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]
When President Amadanutjob Ahmadinejad of Iran was visiting a refinery there was an explosion:
An explosion blamed on a gas leak struck a newly inaugurated section of an oil refinery Tuesday just before President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at the facility’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, state media reported.
At least one person was killed and up to 25 were injured by the explosion in Abadan in Iran’s oil-rich southwest, according to accounts by domestic Iranian news agencies. One Abadan resident quoted by the Associated Press said he saw rescue vehicles rushing to the site.
The incident did not disrupt Ahmadinejad’s speech, which included fairly typical denunciations of U.S. relations with Middle East autocrats and the course of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, according to news agencies.
Officials quickly insisted that blast was the result of an industrial accident and not an act of sabotage. Iran’s industrial sector has long been riddled with deadly accidents, from train and plane crashes to troubles at petrochemical facilities.
According to the semi-official Mehr news agency, the explosion and fire were caused by a gas leak, which poisoned oil workers.
Which raises two questions in response. First, was it really an accident? Second, does Ahmadinejad really think it was an accident? (And the answer to both questions could easily be yes or no, independent of each other.)
And I didn’t bother to report it at the time, but after having many of his allies accused of sorcery and consorting with jinn, a.k.a. a genie…
…Ahmadinejad was declared to be under a spell:
The president has taken the unprecedented step of refusing to obey orders handed down by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, less than two years after the pair formed a powerful political alliance to defeat anti-regime protests that swept the country.
Regime elements are taking sides, but the president is looking increasingly isolated as the Revolutionary Guard and the clerical establishment swing behind the Supreme Leader. Even Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, whose apocalyptic vision of Shia Islam Mr Ahmadinejad is thought to follow, has joined in the criticism.
“I’ve told some of my close friends that I am more than 90 per cent certain that he has been put under a spell,” Ayatollah Yazdi told reporters. “This is not natural at all. “No sane person does such things unless his free will has been taken away.”
Hey, how about a musical interlude?
Joking aside, it raises the question of whether they actually believe this crud, or are using religion to accomplish political goals, as been done by tyrants from time immemorial. There appears to be a real struggle between the leadership of Iran and cccident or not, is it possible that the incident could incite further strife between them.
We can certainly hope so.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
Obama would never have his loser CIA monkeys blow up a foreign country’s oil infrastructure, so if it’s an assassination attempt it’s definitely home grown I think.
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 5/24/2011 @ 7:19 amHere’s hoping the answers to your rhetorical questions are no and yes, respectively, so that Dinner-Jacket does the service of making himself more available to any assasins that wish to do the world a great big favor.
And not to quibble, especially about the picture of the comely Ms. Kardashian, even if she were a djinn she’d be an Armenian one, which, sadly for them, would be unacceptable to Persian purists…
I on the other hand, would council they not discriminate based on nationality 😉
Bob Reed (5f2db5) — 5/24/2011 @ 7:34 amI WANT MY THREE WISHES NOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!
peedoffamerican (ee1de0) — 5/24/2011 @ 8:36 amUm . . . what?
Oh. Sorry. Was gonna respond to the post, but that pic of Kim K. has put a spell on me. Can’t seem to focus on — anything else.
Icy Texan (b7f42a) — 5/24/2011 @ 8:38 amThat’s not a djinn. She’s an odalisque, also known as houri. You don’t want to see a djinn.
nk (db4a41) — 5/24/2011 @ 9:38 amNo, they don’t really believe this nonsense. It’s all cynical power playing.
It would be quite a step to damage one of Iran’s precious gasoline refineries over, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an assassination attempt. Then again, that doesn’t mean it was an Iranian attack, as this would be a great way for one of Iranian’s foes to stir up some delicious internal strife.
Dustin (c16eca) — 5/24/2011 @ 9:54 amDude! No need to be harshin’ on K.K.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
‘Cause I ain’t no odalisque Girl
I ain’t no odalisque Girl
She’s not a triflin’ ho-uri 😉
Bob Reed (5f2db5) — 5/24/2011 @ 9:58 amGiven the duplicity of dicators and the Middle East – not surprised if he had it done to show what a tough little guy he is
EricPWJohnson (887385) — 5/24/2011 @ 10:06 amMy brain completely shut down, more than normal. Wow. Just wow.
JD (85b089) — 5/24/2011 @ 10:07 amThat comment makes epwj an anti-Muslim bigot.
JD (d48c3b) — 5/24/2011 @ 10:09 amRule 5.
Have Blue (854a6e) — 5/24/2011 @ 10:09 amI guess a guy just only has so much blood JD. 😉
Have Blue (854a6e) — 5/24/2011 @ 10:10 amJD
Was getting my hair cut today in the 4 seasons and a prominent Qatari came in and said Eric – “I’m shocked – shocked I tell you this is an outrage” I replied – yes it is, they would have done it for alot less – everyone broke up – the barber starting laughing so much I almost needed stiches
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=436630&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56
EricPWJohnson (887385) — 5/24/2011 @ 10:27 amThose red lights in the background of the picture, I’ve got the same set.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/24/2011 @ 10:49 ama more accurate question is whether they used Siemens PLC’s in the refinery’s control system. if so, this might very well not be an accident.
Rorschach (c5574d) — 5/24/2011 @ 11:01 amthings blow up sometimes – a whole neighborhood in California blewed up it was very scary and/or fatal for those involved
here’s a picture of the next day
gee willikers
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/24/2011 @ 11:05 amRor
lol as in stuxnet… lol
i thought that, too. and its worth noting that stuxnet is supported by humans willing to do wetwork. i noted for instance that someone assasinated one of the guys in charge of cleaning out stuxnet.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 5/24/2011 @ 11:22 amAaron,
Refinerys are complex – there is no way even with Obi-wan powers that a Final Destination like scenario could be done – even if overrides were able to be performed there are mechanical safeguards in place as all PLC’s are worthless piles of craptastic – ask anyone who’s run a factory
EricPWJohnson (a163c4) — 5/24/2011 @ 11:48 amThat old black magic has me in its spell, that old black magic that you weave so well.
LowKey (8096f2) — 5/24/2011 @ 11:49 amThose icy fingers up and down my spine
That same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine.
eric
well it allegedly happened accidentally, so it can’t be that hard to cause an explosion….
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 5/24/2011 @ 11:50 amAaron
Refineries rarely go boom, however there are alot of combustables, and there are numerous substations, it might nor even been at the refinery.
And remember
1. Its Iran
2. Its the mini me guy in cream colored suit
3. He’s fighting for his political life
4. Stunts are not unknown designed to generate sympathy
EricPWJohnson (a163c4) — 5/24/2011 @ 11:58 amThings rarely go boom. Except in this case, where things did go boom, thus making the rest of your gibberish speculation moot.
JD (318f81) — 5/24/2011 @ 12:17 pmI go for freaking ever between seeing anything get blowed up it seems.
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/24/2011 @ 12:19 pmOh, I kind of stopped reading when I got to this:
Oh, my.
Who was that John Lovitz character on the old SNL?
Simon Jester (3c9d00) — 5/24/2011 @ 12:35 pmDamn they missed.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 12:38 pmI think there’s gonna be a new 4 seasons down by the new world trade center thinger – I wouldn’t get my hair cut there I get my hair cut at my friend T’s or my friend P’s cause of it’s free, which is value
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/24/2011 @ 12:41 pmAaron, not only did they assassinate him, but they did it in a rather pointed way. they used one of the explosively formed penetrators that Iran manufactured for roadside bombs in Iraq (essentially oversized oilfield perf guns), married it with a big magnet, rode up next to his car on a motorcycle, stuck it to the roof of his car over the driver’s seat, rode off, then exploded it via a cell phone. message delivered.
Rorschach (c5574d) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:03 pmEPWJ, if the PLC was specifically programmed to make things go boom, there is no mechanical backup in the world that can stop it. those backups are for accidental upsets, they are not designed to stop deliberate sabotage. Given what you do over there, you really should know better than to make that statement.
Rorschach (c5574d) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:07 pmHappy, that pipeline explosion was due to a section of pipe that was manufactured incorrectly and welded on only one side, leaving only half the thickness to hold pressure, then allowing 40 years of corrosion to eat away at that half-thickness of pipe wall. when the pipe was laid, the area was rural, and corrosion protection systems for pipelines were not very advanced either.
Rorschach (c5574d) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:12 pmgot it – I live in a third world metropolis with crappy pipes too
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:15 pmror
you’re dead wrong, there are mechanical alarms, shutoffs once a critical measurement is breached -human interaction takes control
Refinerys have computer related crashes, sytems are hacked into and emergency computer shutdowns constantly.
Most refinery accidents of a serious nature only occure after a section is shut down for maintenance and all the valves and shutoff’s are open and improperly serviced. Or a fire which usually starts with a vehicle or work crew with flammables outside of the refinery safety system
Thats why they put our names on the hard hats – so they know whose paychecks to stop 🙂
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:19 pmEric
your argument makes zero sense.
there was an exlosion. maybe mahmoud did it to himself, granted.
by why couldn’t a person loyal to the ayatolla do the same?
why not mossad?
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:24 pmRor
we are also having an unprecedented heat wave right now – is quite possible some gas bottles with more volatile gasses were left out and superheated
Powerful shrapnel filled heart stopping fuel air bomb type explosions – scary its over 55 centegrade at some of these plants – add in 30 more cent for heat and you exceed the tolerance for some half empty or nearly empty gas cylinders
we have a lady in the compound that bakes cheese cakes on the dash of her Landrover
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:25 pmAaron
Mossad wouldnt have missed
Someone loyal to the Ayatolla would have ceremonially stabbed him in the chest, cut his heart out and then really would do him some injury
Knowing the laziness of the Arabs and the fact in January the last European supervisors of the refineries the Austrians and the Germans – left
You afre going to see problems
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:28 pmFrom the info I have over here it doesnt seem to be a device – probably a gas bottle which lazy work crews allways are leaving behind – everything is steel here welding crap is strewn all over the place, Irans a mess, Pakistan is worse
If I were Pakistan I would be more afraid of those a-bombs detonating early
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:30 pmboom!
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:31 pmEPWJ, I’d be willing to bet that it would be possible to cause a deliberately programmed PLC to cause a vessel rupture and bypass the mechanical alarms (you also presume that the Iranian plant even had them. Not everybody follows the same safety rules we do.).
Rorschach (c5574d) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:31 pmIts like a russian admiral told me last month – the most dangerous job in the world besides being a submariner in the russian navy is a welder in Iran
In America I’ve seen idiots welding on their bottles . standing up while their flame is still going (in noisy environments – you think you’ve turned it all the way off – but in reality you made the flame bigger…) and the flame is actually touching the bottles – you cant yell you have to either – run away or run and tackle the guy
Last time I was in the field there is a artillery range and some idiot was trying to hammer a ring off a 155 mil artillery round – live round
we lived
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:35 pmror
nope.
Really
nope
You also have to remember those rigs were designed before PLC’s adding them after the fact is problematic as far as they are probably not computer controlled but computer monitored
which is the case for many refineries here in the states
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:36 pmLove the leftys comparing Likud to an zionist version of hamas who hates muslims because they are xenophobic………….looking at the trolls on hot air.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:39 pmror
Its noticable when a 600 ton vessel starts to over pressurize – its frightening – the most catestrophic accidents happen – wierdly – during unscheduled maintenance when outside crew and engineering firms who are experts (sarc) start opening things up and a solvent mixes with a detergent (you’d think that freshmen eng chem class would have sunk in)
Or a fire, lightning, welders, left trucks having hydralic failures breaking a pipe spilling pungent flammable chmicals on a hot pipe
but this explosion sounded like a dear departed welder or a guy who kicked a gas bottle to see if something was inside it
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:41 pm“Mossad wouldnt have missed”
Unless they wanted him to be paranoid, and perhaps attempt to strike back at the wrong foe.
The most likely explanation is just some normal mishap, but explosions at refineries are uncommon, and this guy is a major target.
Dustin (c16eca) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:42 pmthats lift trucks not left trucks
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:43 pmDustin
come on now they wouldnt have missed, some guy would have been tunelessly whistling walking away with a wheelbarrow and a sat phone…
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:44 pmDustin
I got just 2 more weeks to survive in arabia
there are serious accidents in the gulf – every day – an explosion at a refinery is not a rare occurance.
Once I was at the workers Hospital and say over a dozen french doctors operating in a chaotic MASH type environement and Doha has safety standards and does a much much better job with their workers than Abu dhabi and Iran.
When workers die in Iran from India – I’m told by more than one person they dump their bodies in the sea
When tragically a worker here in Doha dies – the emir flies the body home and pays for a decent funeral
At the asian games in 2006 and the closing Ceremony – at the beginning they had read off the names of the nurse that was killed crossing the street and the three welders that died and put memorials up for them that are still there today
So there is a difference.
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:52 pmeric, was this not a new facility that he was there to “christen”? Iran has for ages been short refining capacity.
Rorschach (c5574d) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:54 pmRorschach, this was the secret ‘New Zion’ Iranian gasoline refinery. It is staffed by approximately 150 million Jews, and occasionally they are not counted in the census.
Ahmedinejad was there to “christen” it. Christ was a Jew. Some Jews would like to blow up Ahmedinejad.
It makes perfect sense. Ron Paul.
Dustin (c16eca) — 5/24/2011 @ 1:59 pm😆
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:07 pmRor
Iran has a surpluscapacity bacuse they are dipsh$ts and actually thought the chinese could do seismic surveys , they are trying to get into the LNG business which needs expert tech support and monitoring (with the austrians – not the aussies), Iran has regressed its totally backwards now – Just got back from Pakistan and India – those countries arnt going anywhere anytime soon.
But Even at my wife’s company, the types of engineers needed to build these new plants are in short supply, with the advent of the low cost rapid 3d seismic surveys more and more and more oil and gas is being found everywhere – its soo many protential projects than we have the worldwide engineering expertise to build in the next 20 years.
so no one, I mean no one is going to invest in Iran when there is Brazil, North Dakota, Oklahoma is rumored to announce a massive potential field at 40,000 ft deep (difficult to drill) Canada, Israel has a massive gas discovery perhaps rivalling Qatar and making both it and Palestine to be by far the weathiest countries in the world and more discoveries off of nigeria.
papua New Guinea, Perth and Brisbane also have large gas and oil fields to be developed
We are heading to Indonesia to develop even larger gas trains than Qatars Massive 7
In about 20 years there will be sooo much natural gas that a small boom will be heard on mars and a new somewhat smaller sun will breifly glow in the sky as the excess pesky oxygen is burning off which will melt the martian ice and the chain of life will restart there
yes – I’m an optimist
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:09 pmStux on stupid.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:10 pmWow are the left accusing Bibi’s supporters of hating israel? it seems they are.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:13 pmThe trolls on hot air keep on giving.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:14 pmDustin
Yeah but the Iranians lowered their oil taxes, unlike your hero Palin.
Did you catch the article exposing her as a closet liberal
too funny – I mean its a slap – but people are starting to zero in on her….
Shell Announced its removing the 10 billion dollars it was going to invest in Alaska and is shutting down and moving the investment into a giant floating lng plant off of Brisbane instead of spending all its money on Alaska government taxes
ouch!
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:15 pmEric do you lefty islam lovers always make these posts about palin now piss off.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:15 pmAnd yes eric I take those anti-oil company bloggers seriously.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:16 pmDohbiden
Yeah I know it was left bloggers but, but, you know its hard to explain raising taxes when productions declining no?
I mean, Americans are making less money so the govt instead of spending less – forces people to pay more with declining pay
Why shouldnt the same be true?
Sure leftys have orher motives – but in Palins case – on this – they have a point.
Which if they thought about it – its only reinfocing that they are wrong
So please, dont go on the record AGAIN that you are for welfare giveaways fueled with outrageous tax and spending hikes
again
🙂
You to dustin, going to have to ask you for your conservative card… if you keep it up!
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:22 pmI love how one who supports Dede Scuzzywawa is questioning my conservatism?
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:24 pmIts past midnight, going to bed, Those jews are keeping me up with all that dancing across the still gulf air….
freakin hot gulf air
EricPWJohnson (bc267e) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:24 pmNice to know.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:26 pmMy bean wif bacon soup was still going boom this morning.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:33 pmPalin is a tax and spend liberal
Dede Butchyfatwa is a real conservative.
Glenn Beck is an islamophobe
Debbie Schlussel is my messiah.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:38 pm/EricPW off
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/24/2011 @ 2:40 pmBack to serious matters….
AD-RtR/OS! (b8ab92) — 5/24/2011 @ 3:00 pmI wonder how much Spirit Glue Ms.K. had to use to keep that outfit in place?
Someone got all manic today. Good Allah.
JD (85b089) — 5/24/2011 @ 3:17 pmit’s not soup weather here in the not-heartland of America it’s more like strawberry-cucumber smoothie weather
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 5/24/2011 @ 3:25 pmOmar Al-Bashir is to the left of Obama.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 5/29/2011 @ 10:11 pm