India has, for the first time in its history, penalized a foreign defense vendor, Israel’s Military Industries (IMI), for alleged breach of contract and confiscated its $70 million guarantee - alone of the five defense vendors recommended to be blacklisted for alleged involvement in graft. An IMI dossier was filed with the Indian authorities countering the charge. India is strongly suspected in Jerusalem of cooling its defense relations with Israel to line up with Tehran and Moscow and their refusal to join sanctions against Iran.
 

China and Pakistan are profiting hugely from sanctions-busting financial services to Iran, while Russia, India and Turkey also help cushion Tehran against the depredations of sanctions.

Notwithstanding the loud and angry Israel official contentions that the three explosions in Bangkok Tuesday Feb. 13 were part of an Iranian global terror drive, senior Israeli intelligence sources told debkafile that no connection – other than circumstantial - has been uncovered as yet between that incident and the sticky-bomb attacks on Israeli official cars in New Delhi and the Georgian capital of Tbilisi 24 hours earlier. In fact, Israeli counter-terror agencies are not absolutely sure of the source of the last two.

Straight after terrorists targeted Israeli embassies in New Delhi and Tbilisi, Monday, Feb. 13, Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz convened an urgent conference with Military Intelligence Director Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavy, Air Force commander Ido Nehushtan and Operations Division chief Maj. Gen. Yaakov Ayash. Their discussion went beyond the immediate import of the two incidents to focus on the broader ramifications of a potential attack with Israeli fatalities and its impact on the prospects of war.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday, Feb. 12: “We know exactly who was responsible for attacking Israeli officials abroad and we shall respond.” He referred to the bombs attached to the cars of two Israeli officials. One blew up in New Delhi, injuring Talya Yehoshua-Koren, wife of Defense Ministry representative to India, and three others. The other bomb was discovered in time by the car’s owner, a local embassy employee in Tbilisi, Georgia. Israeli diplomats and foreign officials were ordered to stop using their own vehicles. 

India is the first buyer of Iranian oil to agree to pay for its purchases in gold instead of the US dollar, debkafile reports exclusively.  Our sources expect China to follow suit. India and China take about one million barrels per day, or 40 percent of Iran's total exports of 2.5 million bpd. Both will therefore substantially cushion the impact on the Iranian economy of the European decision of Monday, Jan. 22, to impose an oil embargo on Iran and freeze the assets of its central bank.

Western intelligence circles believe master terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri survived a US rocket attack although his al Qaeda group the 313 Brigade eulogized him. Syed Saleem Shahzad, the Pakistani journalist who knew too much about him was abducted, tortured and killed, while his "man in India," David Headley is alive ...

Japan and India have embarked on a joint initiative to establish a new East Asia alliance that would overtake China as giant of Asia. They believe America's superpower status is not threatened by Beijing but foresee its recovery after the Obama presidency.

The material was identified as Cobalt-60 in a special security briefing to Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh as he flew off to Washington to attend the nuclear security summit opening Monday, April 12. Indian police have cordoned off the market for an investigation into the source of the material which may be used for making a dirty bomb. Sunday, April 11, Prime Minister Singh exhorted president Obama to jointly combat terror emanating from Pakistan.

India believes the credit cards used by the Chicagoan terrorist Headley can lead to his handlers, but the US is denying their interrogators access to him or their inquiry. And Delhi now accuses Pakistan's intelligence of engineering the attack on Indian residences in Kabul.

Indian defense ministry circles reveal a huge order of three types of armed unmanned aerial vehicles they have placed with Israel for deployment on the Indian-Pakistan border in readiness for the possible supply of American drones, including armed Predators, for which Pakistan is pushing hard. New Delhi seeks to counter their potential threat with Israeli Heron MALE, Searcher-II and Harpy killer drones.