U.S., Israel at odds over Iran nuke program intelligence

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Iran earthquakes kill 180, injure 1,300

Deadly twin earthquakes strike Iran At least 150 people are killed and more than 1,300 hurt as the tremors reduce buildings to rubble. Aftershocks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Two strong earthquakes killed 180 people and injured another 1,300 in northwest Iran where rescuers frantically combed through the rubble of dozens of villages on Sunday.

Thousands fled their homes and remained outdoors after Saturday's quakes, as at least 20 aftershocks hit the area.

Casualty numbers could well rise, Iranian officials feared, as some of the injured were in critical condition, others were still trapped under the rubble and rescuers had yet to reach some of the affected villages. Some 60 villages had sustained more than 50 percent damage, Iranian media said.

Iran is straddled by major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 which turned the southeastern historic city of Bam into dust and killed more than 25,000 people.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Saturday's first quake at 6.4 magnitude and said it struck 60 km (37 miles) northeast of the city of Tabriz at a depth of 9.9 km (6.2 miles). A second quake measuring 6.3 struck 49 km (30 miles) northeast of Tabriz 11 minutes later at a similar depth.

Provincial official Khalil Sa'ie said 180 people had been killed and some 1,300 injured, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The second quake struck near the town of Varzaghan. "The quake was so intense that people poured into the streets through fear," Fars news agency said of the town.

About 210 people in Varzaghan and Ahar were rescued from under the rubble of collapsed buildings, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Since some people are in a critical condition and rescue workers are still trying to rescue people from under the rubble, unfortunately it is possible for the number of casualties to rise," IRNA quoted Bahram Samadirad, a provincial official from the coroner's office, as saying.

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Photographs posted by Iranian news websites showed about a dozen bodies lying on the floor in the corner of a white-tiled morgue in Ahar, and medical staff, surrounded by anxious residents, working on the injured in the open air as dusk fell.

"I was just on the phone talking to my mother when she said 'there's just been an earthquake', then the line was cut," one woman from Tabriz, who lives outside Iran, wrote on Facebook after telephoning her mother in the city.

"God, what has happened? After that I couldn't get through. God has also given me a slap, and it was very hard."

Tabriz is a major city and trading hub far from Iran's oil producing areas and known nuclear facilities. Buildings in the city are substantially built, and the Iranian Students' News Agency said nobody in the city itself had been killed or hurt.

Homes and businesses in Iranian villages, however, are often made of concrete blocks or mud brick that can crumble and collapse in a strong quake.

Red Crescent official Mahmoud Mozafar was quoted by Mehr news agency as saying about 16,000 people in the quake-hit area had been given emergency shelter.

Fars quoted lawmaker Abbas Falahi as saying he believed rescue workers had not yet been able to reach between 10 and 20 villages.

A local provincial official urged people in the region to stay outdoors during the night for fear of aftershocks, according to IRNA. Falahi said people in the region were in need of bread, tents and drinking water.

The Turkish Red Crescent said it was sending a truck full of emergency supplies to the border, an official said. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it had informed Iran it was ready to help.

(Writing by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Jon Hemming)

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US, Turkey plan for worst-case scenarios in Syria

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, meets with Syrian activists, in Istanbul, on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

ISTANBUL (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clintonand Turkey's foreign minister said Saturday that their countries are creating a formal structure to plan for worst-case scenarios inSyria, including a possible chemical weapons attack on regime opponents.

Clinton and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said their two nations would set up a working group to respond to the crisis in Syria as conditions there deteriorate. They said the group will coordinate military, intelligence and political responses to the potential fallout in the case of a chemical attack, which would result in medical emergencies and a likely rise in the number of refugees fleeing Syria.

"We have been closely coordinating over the course of this conflict, but now we need to get into the real details of such operational planning. It needs to be across both of our governments," Clintonsaid.

She said the U.S. State Department and Turkey's Foreign Ministry had already been working together on the issue but that the new working group would increase the involvement of the intelligence services and militaries of both countries.

Among the contingencies that the U.S. and Turkey agree on the need to plan for is "the horrible event" that chemical weapons are used, Clinton said.

"What would that mean in terms of response, humanitarian and medical emergency assistance and, of course, what needs to be done to secure those stocks from ever being used or falling into the wrong hands?" Clinton said.

In July, Syria's foreign ministry spokesman threatened the use of chemical and biological weapons in case of a foreign attack, assuring that government would never use them against its own citizens. It was the first acknowledgement that Syria possesses weapons of mass destruction, something that's long been suspected.

Later, the Syrian government attempted to back away from the announcement and revert to its previous position of neither confirming nor denying the existence of unconventional weapons.

Syria is believed to have nerve agents as well as mustard gas, Scud missiles capable of delivering lethal chemicals and a variety of advanced conventional arms, including portable anti-aircraft missiles.

Clinton said it was important not to take actions that could "catalyze even greater and more horrible kinds of assaults," and that she and Davutoglu discussed a "very long list" of issues on Syria.

"We have to be very careful and we have to do it in a way that always keeps in mind our goal — number one is to hasten the end of the bloodshed and the Assad regime," she said.

Davutoglu hinted at the possibility of setting up a so-called "safe zone" inside Syria if the humanitarian crisis, which has already claimed thousands of lives, triggers a massive flow of refugees who are vulnerable to attack by regime forces. He said 55,000 Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring Turkey, and that 2,000-3,000 were arriving daily. Recent arrivals came from the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo and surrounding villages, while others have come from Idlib and Latakia. Many more have fled to Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

"If there is a huge wave of refugee migration, then we need to maybe establish a mechanism within Syria in order to ensure humanitarian protection," he said. "Of course, we might try to protect people if they seek refuge in our territory, but if they have to live under continuous bombardment every day, if they are exposed to air strikes every day, and bombardment every day, this might even be considered a war crime."

Davutoglu said without elaborating: "In such a case, the international community can no longer keep its silence and there are certain measures that need to be taken up ... We need to brace for impact."

In addition to planning for potential catastrophes, Clinton and Davutoglu stressed the importance of preparing for a political transition that does not compromise state institutions that will be needed to maintain security and provide key services under a new leadership that would replace President Bashar Assad. Clinton said a new Syria will need to protect the rights of all Syrians regardless of religion, gender or ethnicity.

Both nations are concerned about extremist groups taking advantage of any power vacuum in Syria that could follow Assad's eventual departure. The Turks are particularly concerned about the Kurdish rebel group PKK, which already has bases in northern Iraq, from which it launches cross-border attacks on Turkish targets in its campaign for autonomy for the ethnic minority.

"We share Turkey's determination that Syria must not become a haven for PKK terrorists whether now or after the departure of the Assad regime," Clinton said.

Before they spoke to reporters, Clinton and Davutoglu met Syrian refugees to discuss their needs and Clinton met separately with six opposition activists, including three who fled the country within the past month. She said she came away from the meeting impressed with their desire to build a democratic society in Syria.

However, some of the recent arrivals in Turkey expressed concern about an apparent lack of unity among opposition leaders outside Syria.

Blasts, gunfire hit Damascus in blow to Assad

This citizen journalism image released by the Shaam News Network and accessed Saturday , Aug. 11, 2012 purports to show protesters in the village of Sarmin in Idlib province, Syria, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. Arabic on sign, right, reads "God has given us patience, so God will give us victory." (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTO

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Gunmen detonated back-to-back roadside bombs and clashed with police in central DamascusSaturday in attacks that caused no damage but highlighted the ability of rebels to breach the intense security near President Bashar Assad's power bases.

The apparently coordinated blasts point to the increasing use of guerrilla-style operations in the capital to undermine the government's claims of having full control over Damascus. It also suggests that rebel cells have established a Damascus network capable of evading Assad's intelligence agents and slipping through security cordons.

Assad's regime, however, has displayed no hesitation on the battlefield despite blows such as Damascus attacks and defections of high-ranking military and political figures, including the prime minister earlier this week.

In Aleppo, activists said Syrian forces pressed ahead with an offensive to break rebel footholds in the nation's largest city. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a helicopter gunship fired missiles on apartment buildings a day after protesters begged for international shipments of anti-aircraft weapons.

With diplomatic efforts all but exhausted, strategic planning has moved into high gear for Assad's possible fall or worst-case scenarios if the civil war deepens, including use of his suspected chemical arsenal.

In Istanbul, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Turkey's foreign minister said their countries were creating a special joint task force to respond to potential crises such as victims of chemical attacks or a dramatic spike in the more than 200,000 refugees that have already fled Syria.

"We have been closely coordinating over the course of this conflict, but now we need to get into the real details of such operational planning. It needs to be across both of our governments," Clinton said after talks with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Davutoglu hinted at the possibility of setting up a so-called "safe zone" inside Syria to protect war refugees from possible attacks by Assad's gunners or warplanes. "We need to brace for impact," he said.

The Arab League, meanwhile, announced that its foreign ministers will meet in an emergency session in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday to discuss the Syrian meltdown, which human rights groups say has claimed at least 20,000 lives. Some Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are major rebel backers.

Syria's security forces say they pushed the rebels from the capital after intense, week-long battles last month. But opposition fighters appear resilient and resourceful in some areas.

On the capital's northern edge, Syrian forces pounded the suburb of al-Tal with mortars and artillery shells in the third consecutive day of government barrages, said Mohammed Saeed, an activist in al-Tal. He said they were using helicopters to strafe the area, adding that two hospitals were hit.

"The situation is very grave and the town is completely besieged," he said.

It came a day after armed men snatched three journalists from the pro-regime TV station Al-Ikhbariya and their drivers while they were covering the al-Tal violence. The station's general manager Imad Sarah said efforts were under way to release them. In June, gunmen raided Al-Ikhbariya's headquarters, killing seven employees.

The bombings in Damascus itself brought chaos to some of the most exclusive areas of the capital in a symbolic blow to Assad.

One blast — from a device planted under a tree — was set off by remote control as a vehicle carrying soldiers passed by in the Marjeh district, an official at the site of the blast site told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk the press.

The explosion, which caused no casualties, was about 100 yards (meters) from the Four Seasons, one of the top luxury hotels in Damascus.

After the blast, gunmen opened fire on civilians "to provoke panic," the state-run news agency SANA said.

At the same time, the second explosion went off near Tishrin Stadium, less than a half mile (kilometer) away, SANA reported.

Just hours later, SANA reported that a bus was attacked in a Damascus suburb, killing six passengers traveling from the central province of Hama.

The news agency said security agents were pursuing the attackers in all incidents, referring to them as "terrorists" — the term authorities routinely use for rebels trying to topple Assad's regime.

Explosions in the capital have become increasingly common as Syria's civil war escalates. On Aug. 18, rebels carried out a sophisticated bombing of a regime security building that killed four members of Assad's inner circle.

Abductions, too, have been on the rise.

Syrian rebels last week seized a bus carrying 48 Iranians in a Damascus suburb. Rebels claimed the men are military personnel, including some members of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, who were on a "reconnaissance mission" to help Assad's crackdown.

Iran, however, says the group was pilgrims visiting a Shiite shrine in Damascus.

A Paris-based Iranian opposition group challenged Tehran's account by claiming Saturday at least seven of the captives as active members of the Revolutionary Guard. The statement by the People's Mujahedeen Organization gave names and ranks — ranging from brigadier general to colonel — for those it claims are part of the group held by the Syrian rebels. The list describes all the alleged Revolutionary Guard members as being from Iran's West Azerbaijan region along the borders withIraq and Turkey.

The opposition group's claims could not be independently verified. Iranian authorities had no immediate comment.

In Jordan, Canada's foreign minister called the worsening situation in Syria "tremendously horrifying" during a trip Saturday to Jordan's first refugee camp near its northern border with Syria. John Baird said Canada will donate $1.5 million to the World Food Program in Jordan and $2 million for medical supplies for doctors inside Syria.

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Murphy reported from Beirut.