December 8, 2005: Apparently the Iranian Navy has been unusually active the past few days, with a significant portion of its vessels underway. What this means is uncertain ? no exercises had been announced, but it could be a surprise alert. None of the other Iranian forces seem to be engaging in any unusual activity. There are some major training exercises planned in the south, using, for the most part, ground forces.
December 7, 2005: An Iranian Air Force C-130 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 94 on board, and fifty or more people on the ground. Because of embargos (imposed because of Iran's sponsorship of Islamic terrorism over the last 25 years), Iran's air force is kept flying with smuggled parts and illegal imports of technology and technicians. This means a higher accident rate for these aircraft, which today's crash was just another example of. Russia, and China have been willing to defy world opinion and sell Iran some weapons and military equipment. This apparently will eventually include transports to replace the declining C-130s. This is the second C-130 to be lost by Iran in the last three years, and today's crash was preceded by the pilot protesting the poor maintenance of his C-130. This crash may have a different outcome, as most of the passengers were journalists, and the media community is unhappy with this.
